Let's have a Robot House Party!

Today I'm introducing a new etsy shop - Robot House Party. As the banner states - "Everything's Coming up Magnets", but contrary to the illustration, they are not done by robots. Not even awesomely cool robots who have house parties. They are done by two struggling/starving college students in between classes and studying with very little time and money left over to have house parties. They sometimes have magnet making parties and do the robot while making magnets though. Robot House Party is so awesome, they're the exclusive maker of magnets for The Mincing Mockingbird and Frantic Meerkat.

Jonah Hill bought one of my cards!

The Mincing Mockingbird said I shouldn't mention it, but since already posted it on his blog, I thought, why not? The joke in our house is I never see celebrities. They can walk right by me and I am just not paying attention I guess. Unlike the mockingbird, who can spot a celeb driving by us at 60 mph at night. So I'm at the Abbot Kinney Festival and am walking back from a trip to the wonderful Andy Gump portable toilet service (shudder), when a guy in front of me turns around and talks to someone behind him and I think "Oh my god! That's Jonah Hill!" So I proudly make a beeline back to the mockingbird to prove to him that I do NOT have a fame-sighting defect. While I'm telling him, he says "Oh yeah, he's standing in front of our booth." To shorten an already long story, he actually came into our booth, liked the mockingbird's painting of a roadrunner and a rattlesnake, and purchased one of my mother birthday cards.

The guy with him loved my cards and bought four, which is a wonderful feeling when you connect with someone and they "get" your humor. Not sure who he was, but he was probably some celebrity that I just didn't recognize.

Obviously he was a genius of some kind because he loved my cards.

I Made Ety's Front Page!

Mincing Mockingbird always seems to make the front page of etsy, and I've only been on it a few times, so when a co-worker and fellow etsyian, Minjae, told me my Pretty Kitty print was on the front page - I was overjoyed. Plus sales have been really slow this month (due to the financial crises I imagine), so the extra visibility boost was great. What was weird is that I always check the treasuries to see if I'm in any of them, and I didn't remember seeing that one. I went to look for it, and couldn't find it. Then I checked my screen shot and it says "Hand Picked" at the top. How cool is that? Someone hand picked my insecure cats.

Craft Show Mania!

Just thought I'd post a couple of photos to illustrate the madness and mess in our studio. The top photo shows our tent mascot, which Mincing Mockingbird found at Michael's and decided we needed. The other photo is the disarray that is my desk currently. Imagine a whole studio and half a house that looks like that. Hopefully after the Abbot Kinney Festival this Sunday, we'll be able to regain some semblance of order.

A Dog in a Top Hat, Some Hard Cider and Shortcake

Isn't this all a dad really needs on his birthday?
Introducing my new birthday card for dad.

Cool Stuff on Etsy

Today, in my spare time, I created this fall treasury. Actually it's just stuff I like in fall colors, though I did include pumpkin caramels, pumpkin chocolate truffles and leaf-shaped soap. I found the creepy baby hand soap through Geek Girl Friday who always introduces me to great weird stuff.

Albert and Claude Enjoyed Fencing with Kittens

Oh, sometimes they'd try it with ponies, but that was a little more of a workout than either of them wanted.

How did your mother get through the day?

Magnet Nonsense

Gahhhh! Not Another Craft Show!

We just got the notification that we're going to be a vendor at the Abbot Kinney Festival in Venice, CA. It's two weeks from Sunday and as they expect a crowd over over 130,000 people, we'd better get creating. I've got to make lots of cards, magnets and prints, as well as pill boxes. Mincing Mockingbird is working hard painting 4x4 paintings. He's already exhausted, so hopefully I won't find him collapsed in the studio covered in paint, brushes clenched in both fists.

Magnet Makers Rule!

Tried out the new magnet maker and it fantabulous-amazing! I made six different magnets and they turned out great. Now you'll be seeing magnets of everything in my etsy shop....my cactus, my bathroom door, the neighbor's cat....

Skipping Freaks & Dangerous Baths

More new magnet designs. And since we got the magnet/button maker yesterday and the magnet parts came today, I hope to get some magnets on etsy tonight.

Don Draper Throws a Party

I don't think Don Draper would ever throw a party on his own, but if he did, I'd like to think the invitation would look something like this. The Mockingbird and I have been devouring the first season of Mad Men and when I saw this image in an ad in a 1954 Women's Day, I immediately thought of Don Draper, who throughout the first season has either a cigarette or a drink or both in his hand. This piece is for the new small scale gallery room opening at Cactus Gallery in Eagle Rock.

I Really Need Some Coffee

Too Many Monkeys

Bird & Birdie

This is a new design for a magnet. We finally broke down and bought a button/magnet machine since Mincing Mockingbird sells so many magnets, so this is my chance to start my own line of magnets. Machine arrives Tuesday and I should be able to figure it by Halloween.

Gahhhh! I'm Not Ready For Craft Shows!

This is where the frantic part comes in. Above is a new pillbox I made and already traded with a friend for her awesome ninja magnets. I just ordered some more so I could have them for our craft shows coming up. Which, by the way, are starting to freak us out. Even though Felt Club isn't until November, I'm making lists of things I have to order and get done before then. Plus we may be in a craft show the end of this month, but haven't heard for sure from the selection committee. So we're going ahead with production like we are. Our magnet making machine will arrive hopefully tomorrow, so I need to start designing some rectangle magnets.

I think the problem is our full-time jobs. They seem to be getting in the way of our crafting and painting. Mincing Mockingbird and I both work an 8-hour day, then come home, make a quick sandwich (or bowl of cereal) and run out to the studio until 10 or 11 p.m. Then we collapse on the couch and watch some TV for our brief "relaxation" portion of the day.

Ah well...

Anywho - here's the list of vendors that are going to be at Felt Club. Some people I know through etsy and some who've purchased cards from me. I think it'll be a fun, crazy day.

The First Rule of Felt Club....

I didn't want to talk about it yet, but now I can - I got accepted as a vendor for Felt Club: Holiday 2008! Yay! I'm so excited. The event is Sunday, November 16th, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. at the Shrine Auditorium Expo Center (700 W. 32nd St., LA). Felt Club is an amazing indie craft fair with some of the most original arts and crafts ever. I've got a ton of work to do, but at least I have a couple of months to do it.

Now for the slightly dishonest, sneaky side of me....Mincing Mockingbird didn't want to apply to Felt Club because he was too busy and didn't think we'd get in anyway because it's so competitive. I went ahead and entered him as well (without telling him), thinking that if he didn't get accepted, he'd never know. Well...he got accepted, too, and I had to break the news to him that I entered his application without his knowledge. After pretending to be mad for about 2 1/2 minutes, he relented and said he was glad I filled out his application. Now we just have to figure out how we're going to run two booths at a crazy busy craft fair.

I'll post more info as I get it, but you can always bookmark their blog and check there, too.

Delightful Taste Adventures With Lamb

This is one of a few new pieces I did this past weekend. The headline was found in a 1954 Woman's Day magazine.

Give The Wolfman Some Candy

This is my new Halloween card. Inside reads "Trick or Treat".