Bohemian Mermaid Palace

I know I have the fever, so do you! First local craft show of the season... woo!

Hey that was fun! I know that's what I always say... but really. A great festival, (nearly) perfect weather, gorgeous location, nice quality crafts & music and very well organized event. The show folks came by VERY regularly to see if we solo vendors needed breaks or food. That alone was quite impressive. We even got food vouchers, very nice. I was pleasantly surprised at how many art friends I saw there. Always fun to catch up with my peeps. And Stu joined me on Sunday so I got a couple smooches too. The van ran great, no problems there whatsoever. I did have one minor adventure during setup. Gale force winds were a-blowin when I arrived. Most other vendors chose to wait to set up in the morning... oh but I was sure I could do it. Once my booth is up it's very heavy, I never have wind troubles. So I stubbornly insisted on trying to set up my tent, as I watched my neighbor's tear right through the top. She and another neigh bor held my frame a s I tied tubs and racks t...

Oh man... do I really have to say how excited I am that show season is starting? Nah. It's understood. My first show this year will be the Bodega Bay Fisherman's Festival down near Santa Rosa. Last year, as some may recall, this was also my first show scheduled and I was equally excited to go. However, it also turned out to be my first New Van breakdown, one of many in a string of unfortunate events. So I am feeling um... hm... a little nervous at the memory of being stranded in Willits. But I'm also feeling it will be a small milestone. If all goes smoothly, I will see it as a sign of a better year to come. Anyway, I came across this video of the festival so I thought I'd share. Seafood, boat parade, pet parade, kite flying, wooden boat contest, music, and crafts of course. Bodega Bay Fisherman's Festival

This is the first in a series of How-To articles I'm working on. I have a billion little projects in my head and I thought it would be fun to start posting them here. A girl's got to keep busy… The other night I was brainstorming some of these projects, itching to make some lists, but couldn't find a clean notebook (I swear I have a green one that's practically new argh). After tearing up the house a little bit, I decided to just make one. I wasn't fussy so it took me about 10 minutes. Maybe I should number the steps, huh? Ok... 1. Prepare the Paper. I have acquired a good stack of reusable paper under my printer, as you have I'm sure. You can use full sheets or cut them in half. I personally had lots of 3/4 and 1/2 sheets from printing mailing labels for my ebay stuff, so I used those. I didn’t worry about them being the same size or cut straight, but you could use a paper cutter to even them out. Make a stack of p...

Hey I did pretty well with my Christmas scores this year. Luckily, I got to ask for what I need... so it worked out well. Ok so first on my New Year agenda is to get my biz records in order. Stu got me Quickbooks for Christmas. Yay! I have used it at a couple jobs in the past, but now I'm learning all the ins and outs. I'm going to use the inventory tracking... so (theoretically anyway) after a show I will type in each item that sold and be able to see updated inventory levels. That will make quick supply orders so much easier. Rather than unloading the whole van and d oing a physical inv each time, or trying to do it at a show. Argh. Lots of other neato features, and it cost less than I thought. Oooh I also got a few gift cards from Mom... one I used to buy 3 new craft books. Heehee I get all giggly looking at them. I guess it's been a while since I added to my (awesome) craft library. I decided I needed some specific beading and jewelry maki ng books. I want to start maki...

Yep I know. Hey I have been doing stuff... I had to wait for particular gifts to be received before I could post photos. Man, I had some fun crafting this Christmas. It was great to do some crafts I haven't done for a while, some totally new ones, and none of them dyeing (which my friends probably appreciated too). So, woo! The big ones of course, were the long awaited Bacon Scarves! tada! I first found this idea at the super awesome Monster Crochet Blog . My brother A) loves bacon and B) questions the wonderfulness of crochet...so I sent him the link, and he made me promise to make him one. I didn't use her pattern though, I printed out a bacon photo and just looked at it while I went totally freeform. Really fun, but they took forever (I actually made 3). Good thing I got that nasty cold so I could sit around and crochet for a whole week. Hmmm... where's that other photo? I'm sorta between computers these days. Anyway, I made Stu a duck tape wallet. I ordered him some...

I don't think I have mentioned this... I was waiting until I had a photo to go with it. But, my dear friends Tom & Dimitra Chase have opened a new restaurant in old town Eureka, Cafe Nooner. Oh man it is good! Located at the site of the old Opera Alley Bistro... in Opera Alley, sort of behind ChinChin around the corner from Ramone's. They are open from 11am - 6pm daily. The food is really really good and interesting. Focus on local fresh ingredients, the menu is Greek & Cajun inspired but very California. So far my favorite has been the falafel... either as a kabob with red bean hummus, veggies, and pita - or on top of a big spinach & feta salad. Oh man. Ok so that's my plug. These are very old and dear friends of mine, they've owned two other restaurants... the Vista was theirs a number of years ago, then the Afternoon Deli in Nevada City (which they sold as a thriving cafe, still open to my knowledge). Really really great food, fresh and different. Outdoor...

Ok that was really fun and exciting... I'm still a bit stunned. Now let's keep Obama from being killed by idiots, ok? On the other side, I'm also stunned and saddened by the passing of prop 8. I really don't get it. Look, people... nobody wants to go to your house and sleep with YOU ok? Why would my little sister's marriage affect YOURS?? Oh wait, IT WOULDN'T! Argh. And trying to say it's not discriminatory is just ... well I can't buy it. Clearly we have a ways to go. But what an exciting time! Wooo! (Still a few Obama shirts left in the ebay store .)

I'm practically vibrating right now... I'm so pumped up for election day! I was out the door by 10am to vote. No crowds, no problems. I even turned in Stu's absentee ballot with no issues. Oh man, I am so full of um... a mix of excitement and fear, I almost can't stand the wait. Either way it goes, it will be a huge deal. Aaaaahhhh I just want to watch cnn all day. But alas I must dye some stuff... Speaking of coverage, the CNN web site has some great maps of results & polls. Not only for the national election, but state issues as well. Looks like locally, the Journal and khum radio will be covering results together. North Coast Journal website will turn into an interactive live chat-blog-thing today at 4pm. I'm all over it.

Hey wow... I am way behind on my updates here. Jeesh. Suddenly a whirlwind of creative activity and it feels so good! Let's see how much I can summarize here... Well, the big one right now is the mall store. That's Schatzi's Hidden Treasures near the food court center in the Bayshore Mall. This is my friend Timotek's shop full of fair trade imports from Vietnam, Ghana, Thailand... AND my own locally-dyed Bohemian Mermaid clothing and jewelry. Woo! The store just opened up and will remain through December. I'll be setting up the rest of my display Thursday. It's a beautiful store, not your usual importy stuff... an interesting variety of very high quality artisan goods. (You may have seen their store last year in old town behind the gazebo, this one is 3x the size!) Oh, we (Timotek and I) also have some Barack Obama T-shirts for sale on ebay . Free shipping, adult and kids sizes... now is the time, my friends. I have this great new print I want to share... ...