Missing Comic-Con

[Batman and stormtroopers images (c) Jon Snyder/Wired.com. Images from Wired.com.]

I live in San Diego. And I have never been to Comic-Con. To be honest, I was all ready to go back in January, and then May rolled around and my inner voice suddenly started saying, "eh...crowds? lines? How am I even going to get to the convention center? Do I really want to take time and money to go?"

I know, the word "geeky" should be scratched off my profile with big purple marker.

But, if you missed Comic-Con like I did, Wired.com has some great photos from the whole shebang. Here are two of my personal favorites. These two really jumped out at me because of the obvious "I'm at a convention center!!" background. Seeing Batman waiting for the bathroom and stormtroopers riding escalators? Priceless! I like this view of Comic-Con...it pleases me more than the photos I see of massive scary crowds of people. My eyes like seeing the convention center peppered with interesting and fantastic characters...maybe one day I'll see it with my own eyes instead of through Wired's.

This Book Belongs To:

[Bird Lovers Bookplate by turtlepapers; Dandelion Bookplate by TayloredArts; Hearts Bookplate by onegoodbumblebee]

When I was little, totin' around a bunch of books in my Keroppi backpack, I used to stick a bookplate in all of my books. It had a little polar bear reading, and I got a lot of joy out of writing my name on one. I'm a little possessive.

Now that it's been almost 2 weeks since my last Gocco project, I'm starting to contemplate my next one: bookplates! I don't know what direction I want to go in for the design, but I'm thinking I'd like to be adventurous and try, possibly, maybe, TWO (gasp!) colors instead of one! I'm also not sure where I can find nice labels/adhesive paper without going to Staples, although maybe that's not a bad idea in case I mess up on really nice paper...

...wish me luck!

Shop Hyperart!

[Images from Hyperart's Etsy shop]

I am so proud of my good friend Hyperart who has officially started selling items on Etsy!! Visit her shop here and check out the cute, high-quality, handmade goodness!
If you purchase anything from her store, she'll also throw in a free Night Owl bookmark to keep your page safe. Yay Hyperart!

Hope your Etsy shop is a huge hit. =)

Owls Galore

[Image of Owly: Flying Lessons from Andy Runton; Images of owls from Lauren Alane.]


I really like owls. My good friend introduced me to Owly back in college, and I have been hooked ever since. Owly is a graphic novel for kids, completely wordless but filled with emotion, drawn by the very talented Andy Runton. I'm happy to see that Andy Runton and his mother, Patty Runton, now have a teacher guide on how to integrate Owly in the classroom! Yay for Owly!

I think Owly is just about the cutest thing ever, so when I saw Lauren Alane's owls in her Etsy shop, I immediately fell in love! Her owls are just so adorable, and they'd look so cute on my bookshelf next to my Owly books. Check out Lauren's Etsy shop and her blog for more cute owls.

Fall Wish List: Shoes

[NA NA by Tajo; Belle by Sigerson Morrison; Check's in the Mail by Seychelles. All images from piperlime.com.]

My shoes need an upgrade. I think I am most in love with that last pair by Seychelles. They would look adorably cute with a fun twirly skirt. Piper Lime is way too addictive.

My First Gocco Experience

[My first Gocco project. A little smudged, but totally handmade by yours truly!]

On Saturday, I spent the whole day playing with my Gocco with hyperartpro! I now have 25 birthday cards, but it was a long (but fun!) 6 hours to get to that point. And next time I print, I'll be a little wiser about the whole process.

This is what I learned from the day:

[Burning a screen, attempt #1. Please let this work. Shoot. It didn't work.]

[Me tracing after my first failed attempt at burning a screen]

1) The photocopier at the library does not make dark enough photocopies. Note to self: adjust saturation on copier so that photocopies come out darker.

2) If photocopies are not up to par, using the handy-dandy carbon pen that comes with Gocco kit is a piece-o-cake.

[My second failed attempt at burning a screen]

3) Don't cry after you've wasted 6 bulbs and 2 screens without any luck of successfully burning a screen! Take a deep breath and remove the blue filter that the instructions told you to use! Next time you will know better! Really!

[Red ink! All over the place!]

4) Expect your hands and arms to look like you've been stung by thousands of bees if using red ink. This may only occur if you're lucky enough, like myself, to be a messy crafter. Make as many jokes about the red ink on your arms as many times during the night as humanly possible.

[It worked!! It really worked!!! Let's go eat dinner finally!]

5) Don't get impatient and play with wet ink. That stuff smears all over the place. ALL OVER THE PLACE.

[Hyperartpro's otter stationery. Totally cute!]

6) Gocco with a friend! Especially one who makes ADORABLE stationery with cute animals on them.

Well, aren't YOU lucky if it's your birthday soon! I have the perfect card for you. ;)

[Thanks to hyperartpro for taking all of these photos on Gocco day.]

What Claudia Wore

[Images from What Claudia Wore (photos originally from Nylon Magazine)]

I used to adore the Babysitter's Club. I probably read a good portion of all of the Ann M. Martin books up until I grew out of them around junior high. I would get really excited about any new BSC books they would have at the bookstore, and then I would promptly go home and read it in one night with a flashlight under the covers.*
Claudia Kishi was my FAVORITE character, and I somehow stumbled onto this blog through my random searching: What Claudia Wore. It's hilarious. One of my favorite posts is the post on June 27th (sorry, no direct link,) which updates the look of the BSC characters as hipsters using photos from Nylon. Ha!

I love it. Bookmark it. It's a good read, almost as good as the BSC. ;)

*I would not recommend doing this. I'm close to being legally blind.

Etsy How To: Gocco!

Thank you to hyperartpro, my gocco buddy, for showing me this video of making Valentines with a gocco. Thank you Etsy Labs for this easy to follow video!

I've been crazy busy (think bowl of cereal at midnight for dinner =P) but hopefully next week I'll have something to show!

Can't get enough of Etsy videos?? Check out Etsy's home on YouTube here.

Who needs a drummer when you have a tap dancer?

[March 2008 concert in San Francisco by Muhammad Asranur; Fashion forward leggings and shoes + Group shot at the April 2007 concert in Milano by Stefano Masselli.]

Who knew tap dancing was so sexy?? All I could think Friday night was 1) damn, this is a really good show, and 2) NEED TO TAKE TAP DANCING LESSONS. Meet my new band crush, Tilly and the Wall. Not only do they play hand-clapping/stomp my feet/bop my head indie-pop, but they also add a pretty unique sound in their music--a tap dancer. She was pretty awesome. I basically couldn't take my eyes off of her, and when my eyes did manage to look away, I had some really pretty fashion eye candy. Check out those leggings and shoes!

Great show Tilly! Maybe next time you come to San Diego I'll be boppin' around like Gene Kelly. With those leggings on.

Make a Magnetic Bookmark

[Image from Photojojo]

Super cute project from Photojojo! Make a magnetic bookmark from a photograph and it will end up looking like that person is peeking out from your book. If you are giving a book as a gift, this would be a really clever addition to the present, and it's super easy. Check out the instructions here.

Will Do Anything for Missing Books

Back in August, I packed up my little car and drove from Northern CA to Southern CA. My car was packed to the brim with stuff, and as a result, I was forced to leave behind one box of my books at my grandmother's until I could bring them back with me. This past weekend, I drove again back up to Northern California with the intent to bring home these books. I had originally looked for them back in February, after which I came up short and my grandmother suggested I check my mother's house instead.

After frantically searching everywhere for my box of books, I came up short again. I tore through the garage. I looked in the attic. I basically made a mess of boxes in my old bedroom. Nothing.

And then my mother remembered something. They had cleaned my grandmother's garage. They had brought boxes of books to the Salvation Army. And mine probably got lost in the mix.

I didn't really start crying until I got back to San Diego and realized which books were actually missing.

A signed copy of American Born Chinese. Books, graphic novels and my first ever Art History book, given to me by a childhood friend with personalized messages on the inside jackets. All my copies of Owly. A copy of Good-bye, Chunky Rice, which was ironically my THIRD copy, the other two I had given away. A copy of Roberto the Insect Architect, bought after my carefree days working at the children's museum and reading it over and over again. A perfect almost never been opened copy of Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart's pop-up book Sharks. Nowhere to be found.

If you're at the Salvation Army in the South Bay, and you see any books with an inscription to me on the inside front cover, give me a call. I really miss them.

Going Home

[Joss House in Old Town Auburn by J.G. in S.F.; Statue of Claude Chana by J.G. in S.F.; Foresthill Bridge by sk8freak]

At the crack of dawn, and I'm not exaggerating because we really are leaving at the crack of dawn, the boy and I are driving from San Diego to my hometown, Auburn. It's a speck on the map near Sacramento, and there were many, many times where I was bored out of my mind there...but sometimes I forget just how pretty it really is.

Think of me tomorrow around 7 in the morning, because I'll probably be chugging along on the grapevine and thinking about what I get to eat on my next rest stop. And maybe if the boy lets me I'll be singing along to Tilly and the Wall the entire 8 hours. Happy early 4th of July!!

Pink Argyle Notebook

[Image by Mo, notebook by hyperartpro]

I never technically had many things that were pink argyle. I have a pair of socks that are pink and green argyle, but not much else really. And now, thanks to hyperartpro, I have a beautiful notebook to show off to the world! The entire notebook, down to the gold embossing on the front, was made by her very own crafty hands. It is a really sweet gift and I'm not sure I can even use it now for fear that I'll mess up the pretty pages.