To the lottie dottie in the yellow shirt...

Man, this quarter at school needs to be the fuck over already. The holiday season is here, and I need to be sewing, listing shit on Etsy, and getting ready for the huge December Crafty Wonderland sale. I've noticed a slight increase in Etsy sales the past week, and I'm starting to feel the heat to get my aprons and a new batch of coffee cozies up on there ASAP.

I got my first round of winter aprons finished this weekend. I'm incredibly happy with how they turned out. Photos will be taken this week, and I'm determined to have everything ready to be launched on Friday. This time I was smart about my collection. I came up with seven total designs. Two are one of a kinds, meaning once they sell, I won't be making any more. The rest can be reproduced up to four more times, and while I don't have the reproductions totally done, they are far enough along to where I can finish them up quickly. This rocks since once an apron sells, I can relist it on Etsy immediately.

I've also been brewing an idea for making vintage-inspired medical curiosity notecards. If it all pans out, I will be opening up a new side-project Etsy shop for all things mad science and medical grotesque.

Well, back to this boring-ass reading about the history of graphic design...

I totally had an Alfred Hitchcock moment this afternoon. This is what my backyard looked and sounded like around 4:30pm.



The video sort of ends abruptly because a spider fell onto my hand from somewhere up above and it freaked me out, but you get the idea.

Here's a brief recap of the first two and a half weeks back at school:

1. I feel like a rock star in my Intro to Graphic Communication class. I think I'm definitely one of the top 5 students as far as our first project goes. It's an ego-booster for sure. For our first project we were given the name of a state, and we have to come up with a logo for it based on the research we do about it (which is why I was asking about Hawaii a few weeks ago). I totally see the similarities in the process of designing logos and designing aprons, so I felt comfortable with all the research right away. I'm so glad the professor is teaching us about the process. We had to come up with a ton of ideas, whittle them down, expand on those ideas, then decide on one final logo (which is due next Monday). It's really challenging work, but I love it!

2. I feel like a talentless hack in my Intro to Computer Graphics class. So many of the students in there are really talented artists. We had to draw a celebrity (or part of a celebrity) and scan it in to use for our first project which was to use Photoshop to combine two celebrities into one person. I combined Pee Wee Herman and Lily Munster (see my sketch of Pee Wee Herman below).



Not only am I so not up to par at drawing, but after we hung up all our final projects in the classroom, and I saw everyone else's work, I felt the final composition of my piece totally blew. Sure, I proved that I knew how to use all the Photoshop functions the professor taught us, but as a whole, my project just wasn't as cool as about what 85% of the class made.



3. Art & Form is crazy. The teacher assigns waaaaay too much homework (50+ pages of dry, intense text book reading + a 2 page reading response each weekend), and what we make and go over in class seems more like high-school level. So there's just this weird imbalance there. I have a hard time participating in class discussions in this class (but have no issues with the other two), and I'm not sure why. I think maybe I'm just not as confident in talking about art as I am design principles.

Overall, I like what I'm learning. And that rocks!

I'm giving away some spooky vampire bat coffee cozies over at my FG blog. Check it out and enter if you so desire!

Holy frijoles! The Halloween Bazaar was incredible yesterday. It's the new record holder for best sale yet. I sold so much stuff—including a ton of aprons—and met a lot of nice people.

Booya.

Thank you to all who responded to my Hawaii questionnaire! The responses are helping me out a lot.

School is awesome, interesting, and at the moment, a little overwhelming. I feel my brain starting to grow and think differently, and I'm looking forward to finding my rhythm with the new schedule for both classes and homework. So things will probably be a lot quieter around these parts for a spell while I adjust to everything and work my ass off this quarter.

See you in December. Har.

Hey, if you've been to Hawaii and you have a few minutes, could you please answer the following questions for me? This is for my Communication Design class. We have to research an assigned state for an upcoming project. Feel free to give me as many details as you're willing to give. The more information I have about Hawaii, the better.

1. What made you want to go to Hawaii?

2. Was it for a special occasion (such as a honeymoon, family vacation, etc.)? If so, please list the occasion.

3. How was Hawaii the same as what you imagined it to be?

4. How was Hawaii different than what you imagined it to be?

5. Name 5 nouns (people, places, things) that you associate with Hawaii now that you've been there.

6. While you were there, did you find out any interesting and/or little known facts about Hawaii (include anything at all here, from crime to people to plants to the color of the ocean, and everything in between).

7. What was the weirdest thing about Hawaii?

8. Did you meet Dog the Bounty Hunter? Just kidding :)

Okay. So remember when I mentioned a few weeks ago how I was thinking about making a winter apron line? Well, this little seedling of a thought has now blossomed into a jungle of weeds that has completely consumed my brain. I've started my research, and I'm completely sucked in.

I have a few ideas jotted down in my notebook, as well as a few rough sketches. I went through my entire fabric stash, and plucked out anything I thought I could possibly use. I was delighted to find a few particularly wonderful fabrics I'd completely forgotten about. I checked out a ton of books from the library*, and this weekend I even watched the old Russian film Snegurochka (1968).

Snegurochka has some pretty awesome costumes and sets, but a little too much long-winded, boring singing if you ask me (thank goodness for the fast forward button on the remote). Check out these stills from the movie.



I've also had Yetis on my mind. I was happy to score a mini Treason figurine pack while browsing at Missing Link the other night. I've been admiring the Treeson line for a long while now.



These cute little guys now sit on my desk, providing me with constant wintry inspiration and motivation.

*These are the books I've checked out so far: Christmas in Ritual & Tradition, Christmas in Scandinavia, Scandinavian Legends & Folk-Tales (this book was published in 1956 and has some amazing illustrations in it. I think I may scan some and share them in a later blog post), and my personal favorite so far is Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals at the Origins of Yuletide. This book has shed some light on the genesis of some of the most common things we associate with Christmas (such as the connection between Santa Claus and fly agaric mushrooms), as well as introduced me to many old myths I've never heard of (like Befana the Christmas Witch). I've been quite giddy about the things I've learned. I'll share more about this a little later on down the line.

I just stocked the Flapper Girl Boutique with my new vintage-inspired Hallowe'en cupcake toppers in two designs.

Retro Pinup Witch

( More About This, If You Are Interested in My Shameless Self-Promotion )

Today has been a very lovely, somewhat leisurely Friday. One of the best treats was having lunch out with my husband at our favorite Lebanese restaurant, and stopping by an estate sale beforehand.

The sale was packed with lot of neat old treasures to comb through, many of which were too expensive to take home with us. That's okay, though. I feel that part of the fun of estate sales is seeing cool old things you don't see every day. Whoever this person had been, one thing was for certain—they loved perfume and crows.

Chas and I could not pass up this particularly awesome vintage ceramic crow decanter*, which now watches over our living room.



Isn't he lovely? He reminds me a bit of Tony Millionaire's Drinky Crow.

By the way, that lovely mad scientist cabinet you see behind Mr. Crow was made by the lovely esmeralda_m.

*His little top hat comes off!

I'm starting to get past the nervousness I've been feeling about going back to school, and am mostly feeling just excitement now. This quarter I'm taking Intro to Communication Design, Computer Graphics for Art & Design, Idea & Form. I can't believe my first day of classes is on Monday.

I need to get my ass to library tomorrow. Check out this awesome shit I have on hold, waiting for me there. I'm hoping this brings forth some more inspiration for my winter apron collection.

• Christmas in ritual and tradition, Christian and Pagan
• Scandinavian legends and folk-tales
• Pagan Christmas: the plants, spirits, and rituals at the origins of yuletide
• Christmas in Scandinavia
• Snegurochka on DVD

I have no clue what this Snegurochka video is all about. I don't know if it's a cartoon, a live performance, or what. Most likely, it will probably suck, but you never know with the library. Maybe it will be incredibly rad.

Ooooh! Look what I have. It's a box full of handmade Halloween cupcake picks. I'm really pleased with how these turned out.

I'm brainstorming, and I'd greatly appreciate some help, if you've got a few minutes to spare.

Please list as many nouns that come to mind when you read the following words:

Snow Queen
Ice Palace
Winter Animals
Magic
Pagan
Jack Frost

I just sold another Hallowe'en apron on Etsy, so I used the money to buy myself some winter boots (why? because I deserve it, dammit). They meet all my requirements:

• Black
• Suede
• Full knee-hi length (17")
• Lined with faux fur to keep my feet dry and warm
• Side zippers
• Flat soles
• Priced at a bargain




Booya.

Portland's beloved roller derby team, The Rose City Rollers, is hosting Skating with Scissors, a colossal juried craft event, featuring over 100 local artists and designers selling handmade jewelry, housewares, accessories, decor, stationery, clothing, and more.

Flapper Girl will be at this exciting event selling all of your favorite fall accessory must-haves. Shop our mega selection of fun & flirty ruffle-bum knickers (in sizes 5-10), stylish eco-friendly coffee cup cozies, whimsical vintage-inspired jewelry, and fabulous tulle hostess aprons (including the new Hallowe'en line).

SKATING WITH SCISSORS
Saturday, September 19
10am-7pm
The Hangar at Oaks Amusement Park
7805 SE Oaks Park Way
Portland, OR

This week I prepare for Skating with Scissors. I have 20+ pairs of ruffle bum knickers made. A ton of aprons. Coffee cup cozies (including my new batty ones for Halloween). Jewelry (though I'm going to make a few more rings). Most of my prep work will be doing things like making tags, signage, packaging things, ironing the aprons, getting change at the bank, etc. I also need to go hunting for a double rail clothing rack.

I'm getting really stoked for the Halloween Bazaar in the beginning of October too. I want to try to find one of those hot beverage dispensers and serve free hot cider to tie in with my Halloween coffee cozies. I'm not sure where to start looking, though, especially since I'm trying to find one on the cheap. I also decided to use that cool art deco flapper bat stamp to make cute Halloween cupcake pick sets. I picked up this other retro stamp for the same purpose. I'm going to have to venture into the *gasp* scrapbooking section (ew, I know) of either Michael's or Jo-Ann's and try to find some card stock circles or a paper punch or something. I also need to figure out where to buy those little paper shreds some people use in their packaging. Again, I'm not really sure where to even start to look for this in Portland. I don't want to buy a huge industrial sized box of it if I'm only going to be shoving a 1/4 of a handful of the stuff into a little plastic sleeve with some cupcake picks, ya know?

I also have another idea that involves using the art deco flapper bat stamp that might or might not work out. It involves fabric, and using some vintage trim I picked up at the Knittn Kitten awhile back. I'll post a photo if it works out okay.

While on our way to participate in our Friday night tradition of browsing books at Powell's, Chas put on Dungen's Ta det lungt in the car. And I liked it. A lot. It started a conversation regarding Scandinavia, and neither of us were sure exactly which countries Scandinavia consisted of. Suddenly, it became a big puzzle in my head, and I knew it would lead me to the Purple Room within minutes of our destination.

After finding out the basic details on Scandinavia* (which seemed to be similar to the rule about vowels**), I wanted to find a nice photo book showing what these countries looked like... but no dice!

Even after Chas and I conducted an Amazon search when we got home, we came up empty-handed. Damn. So if any of you know of some obscure, beautiful book on Scandinavia I should check out, please let me know. While at Powell's, I did start to read The Palace of the Snow Queen, and immediately put it on hold at the library when I got home. It seems like it's going to be an extremely awesome story.

Anyway, I'm not sure where this interest in Scandinavian/Nordic lands is going to lead, but perhaps it will infiltrate my winter crafting and sewing, which actually excites me since it seems appropriate, and a cool (har har) direction to take.

Right now I just want to get a clear picture of the land in my head, but I might find myself digging into the history or learning more about the contemporary culture.

Or it could just as easily slip out of my brain tomorrow. We shall see.

*Scandinavia is made of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and sometimes Finland. And if Finland is included, sometimes Iceland is included too. Though other sources argued that Norway, Sweden, and Denmark are considered Scandinavia, and the term Nordic Region or Nordic Countries include Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) plus Finland, Iceland, and a few other island territories. Confused yet?

**AEIOU and sometimes Y

One evening last week I saw a huge spider that seemed to be floating magically outside our dining room window. I took a closer look at it, and sure enough, this monstrosity was spinning a web right in our window sill. At first I thought it was a hobo spider, because in the darkness, it's size, coloring, and shape seemed to match perfectly. The next day, I looked at the spider in the daylight, and realized that it wasn't a hobo spider after all. It's just a harmless garden spider. I felt really relieved.

The next night I watched it some more, and was mesmerized that I was able to watch the spider spin its web so up close, with the safety of thick glass between me and the beast. It was so fascinating to see the tiniest details in its work. The next morning, it's huge (and I mean freaking HUGE) web hung in our windowsill majestically. The spider had worked so hard, and its web really was beautiful.

I found its daytime resting spot, in the corner of where the window meets our outside brick wall. When it rests, it sort of scrunches up, extending only its two front right legs. I can see silk strands attached to the end of each leg, and those strands are attached to the middle of the web. If I'm remembering correctly from the documentaries I've watched (while Nattie was on her spider & insect kick), they do this so that they can feel any vibrations in the web, signaling that either they've caught some prey, or an intruder is near.

Today, I actually got to see the spider wrap up a dead wasp in its silk. Then I saw the spider eat it. It was amazing!

I've also started referring to this creature as our pet spider. Anyone who knows me knows that this is insane. I have severe arachnophobia. I've had three spider bites in my lifetime, each time the bite has been infected to the point where a reddish pink line starts forming out of the bite, following a blood vessel (the beginning of the infection going into the bloodstream). I don't just think they're gross and scary. My animal brain has been taught to think they're a dangerous threat to my health.

So it's weird for me to feel any sort of affection towards a spider at all, but here I am, watching a spider live its life with interest, and starting to feel at ease with it being around. I look forward to checking on it during the day. When I thought about this earlier, I realized that I will miss this spider when it finally leaves.

It feels really good to let go of a good chunk of fear I've had in regards spiders for so many years. I know that I'm not cured of my arachnophobia, and the big, hairy spiders will always freak me out, along with the poisonous ones. But I feel less scared and less hateful of the small and harmless varieties, and the spots in my heart that those negative feelings resided in are replaced with a calm peaceful feeling. It's a bit of a surprise, but a really wonderful one.

I'm not much of a Christmas decor person*. That being said, I'm toying with the notion of creating a Christmas apron line. I probably won't even have time to do this, since I'm starting school in a few weeks, and my time for sewing will be drastically cut, but I want to think about it anyway. I don't know what direction this could take, but I'd like some input if you have any.

I keep getting drawn back to the Russian snow maiden, Snegurochka. So maybe more of a mystical line of Christmas aprons, perhaps with a Victorian twist is what I'm imagining. I see white, cream, blues, silver, and possibly some earth tones, as opposed to red and green and Santa Claus.

I'm also drawn to red plaid, but I don't know where that fits in.

Hmmmm.

*Ok, so I like vintage Xmas lights, and those vintage winter villages made of cardboard and glitter that now go for an arm and a leg at antique stores. I dig the occasional kitschy doodad, like those rubber elf ornaments made in Japan, and I will always have a not-so-secret love affair with vintage reindeer Dream Pets, but for the most part, the buck stops there.

Here is Nattie on her first day of 3rd Grade. Third freaking grade. She is getting so much older looking. I dug up some old photos to compare.

( Previous First Days... )

Craziness.