Thank to all who participated in my very first giveaway in honor of RetailMeNot.com’s 3 year anniversary. I wanted to congratulate the winners of the three $25 gift certificates to Threadless.com. I’d love to see what you end up with!

Picked by using Random.org and assigning every comment a number, the following folks have won. I’ll be emailing you your voucher code.

Congrats to Mindy, Talia and Jess!

Haha..I kind of laugh when I think of what I do being the fashion business. I mean sure, I am “making” clothes, but is it fashion when the customers are under the age of 1?

A few things have always had me curious though. Ever since I started with the Wunzees (its almost been a year!) , I’ve become more aware to what it would take to actually make it in the clothing industry. I’ve had people approach me at a few of the craft fairs I’ve worked and asked if I’d be interested in selling them at a boutique, or in a co-op situation. I did the math. For what it would take for me to 1)buy the bodysuit, 2)put the art on it (hand stitched), 3)sell it to them for 1/2 the price or whatever percentage they take, and come out ahead, would be a ridiculous amount of time and energy. I think I’d make $5 each in profit, tops, and for the 1-2 hours it takes me to make them, and the sheer quantity I’d have to make to survive…thats definitely not worth it. I don’t want to sew them with a sewing machine to save time, as that takes away from the look I’m trying to portray, and I am in no place to hire anyone. The whole thing isn’t realistic for me to make a living off of. But some people do it! How??

I’ve always wanted to know more about the supply chain of the fashion industry. The logistics behind finding the right textiles, getting your item made, selling it, and making a profit. I know that most people in the fashion industry are turning out garments for adults, and actually sewing the clothes (I buy my items wholesale), but a girl can wonder.

Thats why when I got this email about a workshop just down the street from my office I jumped on the chance to attend. It might not be the right fit for my needs, but I hope to learn something that can help me with what I’m doing.

Next Wednesday, I’ll be attending Fashion Business Incorporated’s “Production Essentials for Indie Designers”. Its for start-up and growing apparel and accessory companies to get an overview of the production process. Thats exactly what I’ve been wondering about! We will learn the steps to take from order to finished product, how to create a production calendar, producing on-time and on-budget as well as domestic and off shore production considerations. May be totally off the mark…but at least I’ll know! I’m excited to learn something new. Maybe it will inspire me.

If you have any desire to join me, it does cost $30, but hopefully it will be worth it.

DATE:
November 4, 2009

TIME:
6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

LOCATION:

The Small Business Administration
455 Market Street
Sixth Floor
San Francisco

Non-Members =  $ 30.00
Member = $15.00

I don’t know much about Pomplamoose, except that there is something completely adorable about her voice. (I also just found out that its the french word for grapefruit!)

My friend Jamie, author of Always More to Hear, got to interview them and will have a full article appearing on Examiner.com, all on the interview. I was perusing their YouTube channel and happened upon this one. Beyonce’s Single Ladies holds a special, albeit odd,  place in my heart. Enjoy the video, and don’t forget to check back to read Jamie’s article.

You are what you eat….

So I’m racking my brain trying to find a reason to make some of these awesome Halloween themed foods. I know that Halloween is just days away, but my place is too small for a party, and making thematic food seems a little silly for just the two of us.

I have family on the brain, and its this time of year that makes me realize how important it is to have kids around so I can have an excuse to make some of these spooky foods. I want to dress up my food all the time. Eating should be fun! I guess I don’t really need an excuse…

I remember making a pot of worms as a kid using gummy worms, chocolate pudding and crumbled up Oreos for the dirt. Loved being grossed out by what I was eating.

Parenting.com and Disney’s Family Fun have a slew of great recipes, and just cruising the sites, here are a few of my favorites.

Slimy Jell-O Snacks Recipe

Ingredients

• Gummy Worms
• Jello

Instructions

1. Prepare a package of lime or apple Jell-O as directed and divide among 8-ounce mason jars or clear bowls, filling only halfway; refrigerate them until firm.

2. Prepare another Jell-O flavor, such as cherry, berry-blue, or grape. While Jell-O is cooking, place three gummy worms on top of set gelatin and let another hang over the lip. Pour second flavor over the worms, filling to the top; refrigerate.

Pizza Mummies

Ingredients

• English muffins
• Pizza sauce
• Black olives
• Scallions
• Red or green pepper
• Cheese sticks or slices

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350º F. For each mummy, spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce onto half of an English muffin (toast it first, if you like).
2. Set olive slices in place for eyes and add round slices of green onion or bits of red or green pepper for pupils.
3. Lay strips of cheese (we used a pulled-apart cheese stick) across the muffin for the mummy?s wrappings.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the muffin is toasty

Goblin Grins

Ingredients

• 1 pea pod
• 1 red bell pepper

• few slivered almonds

Instructions

1. For each one, use the tip of a paring knife to cut a slit centered in one side of an edible pea pod (a parent’s job).
2. Cut out a tongue shape from red bell pepper and insert the top of it through the opening in the pea pod (it looks best if the inside of the pepper faces up).
3. For the finishing touch, insert a few slivered almonds for teeth.

For some additional recipes you can visit the Disney site, Parenting, and the Food Network has a huge listing as well. Even Instructables has tutorials on how to make scary food (like these Vampire blood Lollipops).

Happy Halloween everyone!

I’ve been busy prepping for the holiday fairs, and I finally got around to posting some new Wunzees. I am also planning on a few new things for my fairs, but I don’t want to spill the beans just in case it doesn’t pan out.

I put up some Walrus’, a few sock monkeys, and some cupcakes. I even did a hat and Wunzee set, from my how to on Ain’t Yo Mama’s Blog.

Check em out!

There really isn’t much to say to this other than WOW. Her makeup was done at MAC, and you can see some of the process on the Geekologie Blog from where this came. Outstanding. It definitely looks like a Lichtenstein. His work was influenced by both popular advertising and the comic book style, and I definitely thought of his paintings before comics when I saw this photo. (I’m not really a comic geek)

Also reminds me of my Halloween dress from a few years back.

Or at least learn a skill to get you into the circus!

Living in SF and the Bay Area has introduced me to alot of things I wasnt exposed to in Southern California. Circus folks are plentiful around here, and its a whole different kind of circus. Im friends with people who spend most of their time dancing, doing acrobatics and dressing like clowns, and that…is totally normal.

I’ve recently joined the Groupon website. They send me daily coupons to my inbox, but the way it works, is that enough people have to buy it to make it active. Hence…Groupon. It looks like todays deal is already active.  I’ve bought a carwash/detailing for half price that is just waiting to be used, and haven’t used the site again, thouhg interesting coupons have come my way.

Today is an example of that. If you have any desire to join the circus, hang out with the circus folk and talk about something that you have in common…Use todays. Its a trapeeze class in Oakland. $25 for a $40 class. Learn a skill…hang out with the carnies…and granted, you probably wont become a pro in one session…but at least you can find out if its your passion.

Im considering the class…though I’m not as young as I used to be.

The weekend has come and gone with Rocktoberfest 2009 behind us. This was the first party at my old abode where I didn’t have to worry about the morning after clean up. It was nice to be just a guest…and it didn’t disappoint. I put up the few pictures I took, and thought I’d share my favorites. You can see the whole set here.

3-D, Ralphie, and a kissing booth

This may look like 2 ordinary dressed dudes....but they are actually dressed like each other.

You should go and check out my post over at Ain’t Yo Mama’s Blog. I spill just a few trade secrets for the creating of my Wunzees. I mean…its a fine art you know?

Aimee’s blog is great and I am honored to be her first guest blogger. As far as her blog entries that I think you should read first, I highly recommend getting behind her petition to bring back the Yip Yips. She told me about her cause, and my childhood came flooding back to me. I mean…who doesn’t love the Yip Yips!

Halloween is almost here!! Hooray! This means a pre-Halloween costume party this weekend at the BBH (think Rocktoberfest #2) This also means that I have yet another excuse to wear fake eyelashes. “But why do you need an excuse Lauren?”

Honestly its because I prefer the totally obnoxious lashes. The ones that look best with some sort of costumery. Recently I bought 30 sets of lashes off of eBay, and 20 of them were black, cheap and lame and when I put on one pair, I lost half of the lashes on the application(serves me right for buying them on the cheap).

Mick however bought me a few nice pairs for my birthday, the first of which will come out with my 3-D glasses costume because they match! I’ll get pictures up after I wear the costume, but for now, I leave you with a little retrospective of eyelashes past.

Santacon 2007

NYE 2008

St. Patricks Day 2006

Halloween 2006

Halloween 2008