With a few craft fairs behind me, my inventory in my Etsy shop keeps getting bigger…which is great for all of you who can’t come see me the fairs. I have put a few new ones into the shop, and will continue to update it this week. I have added all of my new Halloween wunzees and bib as well, just in time for the holiday. I mean, aren’t you supposed to dress for it ALL of October? You can find them all in my shop. Remember, if these aren’t the size you need, let me know and I can make it the right size for you.

Halloween collection

you are excited that you just purchased a Dirt Devil hand held vacuum, and are even more excited for it to arrive so you can clean up 6+ months of pet hair.

Dirt Devil M08220 Scorpion Quick Flip Corded Handheld Vacuum Cleaner

I have been itching for a DIY project. I read Bright Yellow World, and I see how Abby is fixing up her living space, and I read other blogs of people I DONT know (like Design Sponge), and I want to do something myself. My apartment doesn’t have a patio or a back yard, so alot of painting projects are off limits. I have every intention of someday fixing up my file cabinet, but the amount of spray paint it would take would likely kill me in enclosed spaces. So I wait.

But in the mean time I realized I could paint my coffee table. I bought it a bit ago because we needed a coffee table, and it was $50 on Craigslist. It wasn’t necessarily my style, but its sturdy, and it did the trick. It fit in with my “comfortable” furniture quality, and looked lived in. The whole thing is pretty solid wood, and its painted green on the bottom. I’m going to just make it black. More my style, fits in with some of our other furniture, and hopefully, because its not particle board, it should hold the paint. Still might be tricky, with the small apartment and pets, but I think we can pull it off.

the coffee table

Its been a while since I’ve painted furniture, and wanted it to last, so I was very thankful when I read Little Green Notebook’s blog, and the difference between latex and oil paint was laid out for me. I haven’t decided which one to go with, but its nice to know the pros and cons. What are your experiences with the different types of paint? It’s a coffee table, so its obviously used a lot. I mean…I’m typing this very blog entry with my laptop on top of it, and don’t forget the kitten traffic. I’ll keep you updated as we progress. Gotta go buy the paint now. Decisions, decisions….

Here’s a very basic outline of their experience with both types of paint:

LATEX (water-based) PAINT
Uses:
Walls
Light-use furniture

Pros:
Easy clean up with water
Cheap and very accessible (lots of colors)
Dries to the touch fast

Cons:
Requires several coats usually to get even coverage, usually need primer
Can peel easily – especially if lower quality
Can take weeks to fully harden/cure

OIL-BASED PAINT
Uses:
Heavy-use furniture
Floors
Mouldings

Pros:
GORGEOUS – amazing gloss and depth
Very durable
Covers stains remarkably well, without primer

Cons:
Stinky!
A pain to wash up after – as in, you need chemicals
Requires a steady hand and smooth application
Takes 12-24 hours (or more) to dry

Ahh the sea cow. This animal is held dear to my heart, as there are a lot of fond memories of my times in SF surrounding Manatee metaphors. I’m not going to get into the particulars, but I will tell you that if you haven’t seen manatee squash on Youtube, you haven’t seen anything. Check the bottom of the post.

Im going to start with this awesome Manabot by Hamburger Panda. I actually already have this as well as two other of their designs hanging on my wall.

These little clay manatees come in all sorts of different outfits! So cute for the manatee collector. ClayGirl 790 makes manatees her business.

This Save the Manatee shirt by Gnome Enterprises is super cute, and looks terribly comfortable. I mean…who DOESN’T want to save the manatees?

And NeedleNoodles actually gives you a choice in her Etsy shop. Make it or buy it. You can buy this Amigurmi manatee, or if you are feeling crafty enough, crochet it yourself.

These shot glasses would have been perfect when we were living in the house with 4 roommates. A manatee glass for all. CCCGlass has all sorts of painted glassware sets, depending on what YOUR household obsesses over.

I really need to figure out this craft fair circuit thing. I know that I’m new to it, but so far, aside from my Alamo Square Flea Market experience, I’m 0 for 2 in actual craft fairs.  Feria Urbana got rained out, and the SNAIL one I did yesterday was their first attempt, and while there was a ton of planning and preparation, the crowds just didn’t come.

I need to find some fairs (closer to home), that cost under $50 to get into, that bring the crowds. I spent most of my Friday sewing new products for the fair, only to have them just sit on the rack. I sold 2 bibs and 1 Wunzee. Definitely not worth me driving an hour to Sunnyvale. However, this week I will have quite the upload to my Etsy shop this week. Stay tuned.

I think I’d be good with one solid craft fair during the next few months, right before the holidays, so….know of any?

I have finally started to get my set up going. Got a sign, some photos, and a rack. I have decided that a 4′ table is too small, so I have to upgrade that, but its coming around. Maybe I could buy a pop-up tent as well…I could use that camping and elsewhere, so its probably a worthwhile purchase.

Any thoughts, tips or suggestions are taken. Do you have any go-to fairs that you think I should look into? Chalk this one up to experience. I took a few pictures.

I happened upon Isadora Clothing on Etsy, and automatically became enamored with her “Chameleon Dress”.

Per her site, “This dress is one of the most versatile pieces of clothing you will ever own. The bottom of this dress is cut in an a-line on the bias for a flattering fit while the top two branches of fabric can be wrapped in multiple different ways to achieve a variety of styles. Add some tube tops into the mix and you’ve got endless styles to choose from. The tubes can also be worn on their own while wearing the dress as a skirt!”

She even has a YouTube channel, so you can watch demos as to how to put this dress on, in all the ways possible. I think that this is an ideal dress for a wedding party. It’s quite possible that you will have bridesmaids that don’t all resemble each other. Size, shape, heights differ, and this may be the answer. I was in a wedding where we all wore the same bottoms, and chose different top styles in the same color from Davids Bridal. This chameleon dress is not only cheaper, but looks way more comfortable. She also has a ton of colors to choose from.

If you are concerned about coverage and/or bra straps showing, you can also buy it with a tube top. Adding EXTRA versatility. I am a fan of the halter.

I was craving a Chicken Pot Pie the other day, but with my current diet, eating one that was made as they usually are (fatty, multiple sticks of butter, etc), was out of the question. I Googled low fat chicken pot pie recipes, and the first one that came up was on About.com. Each serving was 280 calories, 5.8 grams of fat. It wasn’t drowning in buttery goodness, but for a healthy Pot Pie, it was pretty good, and super easy too! Totally reasonable for a filling dinner. And now I get lunch tomorrow!

I may not be much of a cook on my own right, but man can I follow a recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (white meat) – I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables – I opted for the peas, corn, carrot mix
• 1 10.75-ounce can 98% fat-free, reduced-sodium condensed mushroom soup - Campbell’s of course
• 1 cup reduced fat all-purpose baking mix – I used a healthy Bisquick
• 1/2 cup fat free milk
• 1 egg – I used egg beaters

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine chicken, frozen vegetables and undiluted soup in an 8 x 8-inch baking dish.

Whisk baking mix, milk and egg together until blended. Pour over chicken and vegetables. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden.

Cut it, and enjoy! Seriously…It was delish.

Per Serving: Calories 280, Calories from Fat 52, Total Fat 5.9g (sat 1.7g) Cholesterol 89mg, Sodium 793mg, Carbohydrate 36.1g, Fiber 3.8g, Protein 21g

Yesterday was the first day of fall, though in San Francisco you would never know it. We got a heat wave, and I believe it was throughout California. It got me thinking about the fact that I’ve never really known seasons. I’ve experienced them, but having grown up in California my whole life, the transition is minimal, and the year passes by without any real visible changes.

This past year, we drove up to Seattle on a whirl-wind errand that we had to run for Mick’s office. We literally left Saturday morning, and flew back Sunday. Though the drive up was worth the 15 hours + we spent in the car. We drove the long way for the pure sake of the scenery, and considering our trip was in October-ish, the highway was amazing. The colors in the Northwest were at their boldest, and you could definitely tell it was fall. I think that if I lived anywhere the seasons were a bit more prevalent, I’d be more likely to take the inspiration of the leaves and use that as a theme for a wedding, though the timing and location would have to be perfect. Its so warm and inviting…isn’t it?

We have this blank wall space in our apartment. It needs something. It has art on the wall, but thats it. A couch is too wide, and a love seat is too fat, so we figure a bench is what we need in this space. We went searching for a bench this weekend at Urban Ore. I had never been there before, and until I have a yard, or a space to do projects, this place is probably the wrong one to shop. Urban Ore is filled with doors, and knobs, and sinks, and toilets, and all sorts of cool recycled junk that you never thought you needed but now might want. Project heaven.

I did find a few awesome things though…and if I had the money, or the way to take any of it home…I’d have been all over it.

How cool are these! There were three Herman Miller school chairs. I know that they were probably worth more, but at $145 a piece, I just couldn’t swing it. I don’t know much about furniture, but I’m fairly certain these were a find.

I also for whatever reason fell in love with this Doctors table. Seriously, don’t know how I would have gotten it home, or who would have helped carry it upstairs, but it could have been the perfect bench…right? Would that have been weird and somewhat creepy?

This last find wasn’t even an option, due to the SOLD sticker on it…but LOVE. If I ever had use for an old beauty shop chair, in purple, I might have out bid the buyer. Urban Ore had all sorts of old stoves, irons, refridgerators, etc. It would have been the perfect place to transform your home into the decade of your choice. It’s times like these that I wish I owned. You cant do anything fun in a rental.

I will also bring my good camera here next time. So many photo opportunities, only thwarted by my iPhone. Well, you get the picture.

So I’ll admit I’ve fallen victim to the craze that is the vampire. Not so much where I’m a total fan crying at Robert Pattinsons feet, but I’ll admit I’ve read the entire Twilight series. Granted I HATED the movie…but you know I’ll still see the next ones. I’ve also become prey to True Blood. I missed the boat when the series started, but I recently finished season one on Netflix, and now I am watching multiple episodes a day of Season two On Demand. Its so bad in fact that I want the season to end…so I can have my life back. I think I have three episodes left. So comes my inspiration for the Etsy Tag Monday spotlight on Vampires. Here we go…

Cute little vampires are just so…cute! This 8×10 print is just enough adorable vampire to brighten up a room without scaring you. Karmic Pixie has this print in many colors…just in case yellow is too sweet.

Amy Jo’s Handmade created this cutie too! I guess the theme with Etsy vampire tags is cute over fright. This vampire kitty proves just that! All of her plushies are adorable, and look really cozy (though careful…don’t know if this guy will bite)

Need a cute (scary) case for your ipod or Nintendo DS? Check out this lil monster. Wiggletiggy has quite the collection of creatures.

I think that this is my favorite of the Vampire Etsy goods…How fun would this game of checkers be? Mummies vs. Vampires? I choose Vampires! Ps and Qs gets your game playing ready just in time for Halloween.