Too much?

This alone should be enough evidence that I need supervision in craft stores. ESPECIALLY by the dollar bin. But how could I resist any of this? Only a dollar for vintage circus themed items? Are you kidding me? YES! I WANT THEM ALL. And I bought them all.

 Stamps, cards, journals, gift bags, and baking cups. How could I resist? The balloon pattern is my favorite as seen by how many of each one I bought but I also really enjoy the acrobats on bicycles! I love it all and you can't stop me!

Hot air balloon baking cups- swoon. I should be set on baking cups for awhile now!

Warm and Fuzzy- A Hip Hop Love Story

 

I am lucky to live in a state with so much amazing, home-grown hip hop. This weekend I was also lucky to see Brother Ali in concert. Not only is this guy mad talented he is also one of the nicest, coolest guys ever. Before the show he was hanging out in the back, completely chill, signing t-shirts and taking pictures with fans. BEFORE THE SHOW! Who does that! So cool.

Whereas so much rap/hip hop is this hateful spew about violence, drugs, being rich, and degrading women, Brother Ali's music is about the positive things in life. Among other things he talks about being thankful for what you have. That is refreshing. His live performance is filled with this sense of community and what he called 'togetherness'.  He talked about the government and he talked about love. He talked a lot about loving yourself. I have a soft spot for people who talk about this especially  guys, since you don't hear it from them as often. Speaking directly to the ladies Brother Ali said in fairly simple terms "You may not have porno tits but, be honest ladies, does your man have a porno dick?" It seems crude as I write it here but as he was saying this and many other things his mixture of eloquence and frankness struck a cord. It was a concert/therapy session. I felt so much better after the show!

I will be completely honest. As there was much talk of togetherness and peace I did want to punch a couple of audience members in the face. WHY DOES THERE ALWAYS HAVE TO BE SOME DRUNK A**HOLE AT CONCERTS THAT I WANT TO PUNCH IN THE FACE?!?!?! Drunk a**holes stay home. Dance, head bob, jump around....do what you gotta do to have fun at a concert but DONT push through the crowd to the front because you were too busy getting drunk to get a good spot and really just  DONT wave your beer bottle, clutch purse, hat around in the air in a way that is going to HIT ME or you might just get HIT IN THE FACE. Can't we all just get along?

*note to self: need camera that takes good low-light pictures. any suggestions?

Shamrock Tag

After re-reading my yarnbombing book I have decided that I want to get more into it. There is no one in my area doing it right now (that I know of). Though in all seriousness I don't think there is anyone doing any form of serious street art in my area. My crew is small- just me and a sneaky accomplice/lookout. For St. Patty's we tagged a bunch of trees around a local trail. Being our first time out locally we got spooked by a couple of passing people (the started walking right at us!) so we didn't get many good picks.

Shamrock tag

 

 

In action

Hopefully more will be on the way.

A little crazy, a little late: Happy St. Patricks Day!

 

Ok. I survived another St. Patrick's Day, but oh there was so much to say. Every time I thought about spewing crazy thoughts all over my friends I bit my green-stained tongue. Not anymore! Where better to share my crazy than on the inter-web!

Lets get to it. As some of you may know I went to Ireland last year. It was a short, whirlwind trip that was crazy and amazing and mostly made me want to go back for more. This was also the trip where I met Steven. Yes we only talked in a pub for a few hours and no I will never see him again but I will continue to be in love with him forever. Yep it is THAT kind of crazy. Over a year later now I still sometimes get sad and mutter 'I miss Steven'. My friend who went on the trip with me freaked out at me the last time I brought up Steven but I don't care. (Something about how I need to get over it....blah blah.) Maybe it was because I didn't get to say goodbye properly, maybe it was because he was cuter than any other boy I had ever met, maybe it is because I am just a big ol bucket of crazy, but I will never forget him. Sigh.

Speaking of cute Irish boys are you familiar with Tommy Bowe? Because you should be:

Irish. Rugby player. Enough said! I think Tommy could help me get over Steven....Happy St. Patrick's day!

Pyrex love

As many others out there love pyrex so do I. It is the best. It is also expensive. My solution? I am thinking of making some faux pryex! (For my own personal enjoyment and use- pyrex people take a breath.)

At work we can paint chip/cracked bisque for freesies and recently there have been a couple of bowls in the stack. I have agonized over what to do with them. I try to think of people who need something/have a birthday coming up but I can't seem to think of anyone. So what better way to use them to create some of my very own pyrex!

I didn't even know about this turquoise balloons pattern! Isn't it the prettiest? I think so. This will be perfect for a shallow serving dish I grabbed.

It comes as a chip and dip?!? WANT.

Then there are these matching bowls that I think will work quite nicely for the pink gooseberry pattern. I plan on doing one pink on white and the other white on pink.

Hopefully I will be able to share updates of my crazyiness with you.

Pendants!

Here are some new pendants that I hand-painted. I am pretty pleased with them. We have MN Nice, Lace teardrop, matte finish spiral, bubbled oval, and romantic stamp pattern heart. I made these for myself but was thinking about putting some into my etsy shop. Thoughts?

Minnesota Nice! Get it? I had to make this one! Slug from Atmosphere was wearing a t-shirt at the concert that looked like this. If I put any of these into my shop the proceeds are going to go to Operation MN Nice.

Sweet Surprise

This year was a pretty good birthday. The day-of I was in Tombstone, AZ hanging out with my friends and the Earp brothers but when I got home there was a very sweet surprise.

 The cutest craft-themed cake I have ever seen! Cake Boss has nothing on this. A simple sheet cake baked by my mom and decorated by my sister. (Sure she used my marzipan but I guess I will just have to let that one go.) The simplicity and cleverness really create a lovely little confectionery masterpiece.

 Buttons! I love buttons.

 A spool of thread (that cleverly starts the frosting for my name).

Pincushion complete with toothpick pins.

The icing on the cake? (Please excuse this poorly executed pun). The craft themed necklace that my sister gave me as my bday present. Cuteness!

Welcome to MN Tour

Atmosphere came to Rochester. That's right folks this town just got SO MUCH COOLER. Though let's be honest, it doesn't take much. My friend and I put on our cutest hipster outfits and headed downtown for the musical event of the season. Atmosphere along with Prof, DJ Abilities, and Los Nativos sold out the show and though there were quite a few little young'ins there it was a good time. (All of them are on Rhymesayers - check them out!)

DJ Abilities started it off (he is kind of amazing) and I just wish there were somewhere in this podunk town that had DJ nights like that because I would go out dancing all the time. He really revved up the crowd and you could tell that everyone was feeling it.



Los Nativos started a little shaky but they found their footing and put on a good set. I was excited though that they then brought DJ Abilities back out for another short set. It was just so good.

Next was Prof, a young hip-hop artist from the cities. I will be completely honest with you I had never even heart of the guy before the concert and let me just declare my loyalty to him now. He is super talented, had great energy and also had a great 'lightness' to his set. Where as I think a lot of hip-hop stars have a bit of a serious (or 'trying to be serious') tone, Prof just seemed like the kind of guy who loves what he does and would be really fun to hang out with. PLUS he handed out free cds after the show. That always wins major cool points with me because it worked, I have now told everyone I know about him. He also signed cds and took pictures with fans after the show.

Prof

 This video is pretty cool. He wears a sweater vest, there are semi-creepy puppets, a fun new dance to learn,  and it has one of the best lines ever "I'm a clever motherf*er call me Sherlock Holmes."



But then of course they sent out the big guns. Atmosphere rocked. Nothing compares to the feeling of being in a room with hundreds of other people all bouncing and fist pumping in unison. There is nothing like it! They did a bunch of old stuff which was sweet and also some new stuff. My favorite part though was when they brought out Prof and Los Nativos to perform the song 'MN Nice' that they wrote just for the tour. YES! Sadly Slug kept talking about how he is all married and stuff now. I am happy for him (or whatever) but I am going to continue to have my little crush on him.

Like this post? Check out the article about Midwest Hip-Hop on Midwasted.com

To the Kia! AZ 2011

 

Oh Arizona. It has already been a couple of weeks since I had sun and warmth in my life! It was so good to visit our friends and I am very sure that they were also glad to see us. Some of the highlights of the trip included a trip to the 'Desert Museum', hiking in the mountains, TOMBSTONE, and playing the x-box kinect dance game for hours on end. Also we ate as much delicious food as our systems could handle.

Fooooooood!

 OK Corral!

Earp brothers and Doc Holiday!

Our group in the old west. Not gonna lie- Tombstone was my favorite. It was a really great birthday! I bought a sheriff badge that I wear at work because I am such a nerd. As soon as I got home I bought the movie 'Tombstone'. Ha.

Who knew? February=Craziness

The last couple weeks in February 2011 have been pure craziness, but in the best way possible. I have so much to catch up on but it feels kinda good in some weird way. A trip to AZ, turning 25, the Atmosphere concert, and the Oscars are just some of the highlights. Pending some more topic-centered posts I will leave you today with a few things that have been keeping me distracted on the internets.

: as far as the Oscars go it was a bit of a wash for me. But there are some really fun articles on my new favorite website Midwasted that sort of echo my feelings on the topic. Especially check out Top 5 Fiercest Bitches in Oscar Winning History

: also on Midwasted, my friend Krista shares her Boyfriend list. Michael Fassbender....mmmmm.

: Tangle is seriously the shit. When I grow up I wanna yarn bomb like this!

: Atmosphere is so f*ing good live. They recently went on this insanely cool tour of MN. Check out their song Minnesota Nice that they wrote just for the tour! (Fair warning- lyrics NSFW)

:I saw 'Exit Through the Gift Shop' and LOVED IT. I have been hanging out in the flickr Banksy group. Was there anyone else who secretly wished it would win the Best Doc Award so we could maybe see who Banksy is? And no I did not find JT's joke funny.

: ALSO the new Jane Eyre comes out in just 11 days. I am going to try very hard to remain calm.