Ye Wenchie's Random Babbleings

F*ck it I'm back! I'm too ambitious for my own darn good

2012-01-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

So the blog overhaul aint happening for a while, due to the fact that I have way too much stuff on my plate right now. Also the only thing that's really bugging me is the title banner being to the left instead of centered.
I will likely reformat this when my website is created and be warned that is going to be for my acting so it will have a different look and feel but I will still be posting the same sh*t I post.

On to Part two of this post...
My way to effing ambitious list:
Finish Avant Garde Personal Storage Device
Clear sewing projects, 3 pillows, kidlet clothing 7 items, Basket liners for my mom.
Design mask/outfit for Labyrinth Masquerade ball
Make SP Chimes
Finish Wall Clock Photograph to repro clock face
Photo and list at least 30 pieces for the online store.
Finish Leather Cuffs
Design Leather waist cincher
Learn Illustrator to design vectors for website

Thats all I can remember off the top of my head right now, but now tht its listed I can get a bit more organized and focused.

Posts

2010-04-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry my posts are few and far between, I've been stalling because I am dreading the much needed blog overhaul ^_^

Baby carriers: One size does not fit all - latimes.com

2010-04-05T18:24:00.001-07:00

Solace's playgroup and we were in the local news Solace's name and the carrier I'm using got mixed up with another member's of the group. so Solace is really in a MetroWrap...yes it comes with the pirate bling, check it Baby carriers: One size does not fit all - latimes.com

Posted using ShareThis

The Adventures of a Haphazard Handywoman #2

2010-02-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

It has been quite some time since the last installment of my handywoman escapades(and my last blog post for that matter) the first one can be seen by clicking here

Problem: The kidlet is plundering the cabinets and drawers.
Welcome to the exciting adventure of practical baby proofing as my wonderful daughter transitions from baby to toddler and proceeds to attack all things that were previously out of her reach. She is now crawling, standing and getting her cute pudgy little fingers into everything.
However, one thing I despise is the impracticality of baby proofing by using things such as cabinet or drawer locks that one has to fidget with every time to open a darn drawer or cabinet, that's just outright annoying and they look like cheap plastic eyesores that would attract a child like metal to a magnet! So I had to find something that wouldn't piss me off every time I use or even looked it as I (and most of my generation) was raised without such things.

Solution: Install a double roller catch. I've found these common yet simple devices to be successful at preventing kids (at least till they're a kindergartner) from getting into things and I specifically remember dealing with them as a kid too.
Things you will need: A drill, as many double roller catches you need, and extra screws the same amount as what comes with the catch, and roughly the same size (they can be a little bigger, but try not to get smaller) as the ones that come with the catch.

Step 1: Remove the drawer or open the cabinet door.

Step 2: Put the catch part on the area that you want to have it installed and mark the holes with a pencil. Make sure the when the cabinet or drawer is closed that the catch will not prevent the door from closing all the way, and that it is not too recessed that it won't catch the prong or spear. I usually do this with the haphazard method of eyeballing it but you may want to measure.

Step 3: Then drill where you made the pencil marks, with an appropriate sized drill bit. I usually stick with one just a bit smaller then the screws or the same size as the screws. Also don't drill too deep as the screws are relatively short and you want them to anchor into the wood securely and you don't want to go bawls out and destroy the area where you're drilling.

Step 4: Drill the screws in with the catch where you have pre-drilled your holes, one side at a time.

(NOTE) At this point I ran into a problem as the screws the double roller catch came with were badly manufactured and the heads broke off on them, which I should have figured out by the catches being mis-named on the package.

So if this has happened to you grab a pair of pliers (I used needle nosed) grip those suckers on the threading and remove the screw by twisting it out of the wood. If the screw is too deep you could try to gouge around the edge so enough of it is exposed that the pliers can grip or you could start drill a new hole near it (I would suggest drilling it so the catch would cover up the broken screw once installed).

Step 5: Once the catch has been installed successfully put the spear or the prong into the catch, and mark the back of it with a pencil or a marker making sure to coat around the screw holes thoroughly. Then close the dawer or cabinet door and press it firmly closed. The pencil or marker marks should transfer to the other
side marking where to pre-drill the holes.

Step 6: Repeat Steps 2 and 3 with the prong or spear and check your work to make sure it closes properly.

Step 7: One down and the rest of the house to go ;)

V_V Blagh Update

2009-12-17T22:47:00.000-08:00

I'm tired exhausted, stressed, and low on the esteem front, I'm also so behind on posting things to etsy and my blog. I've been busting my ass on trying to keep this place clean and care for a little one who is teething and making me feel her pain. It's tough it sucks, and I'm exhausted as The husband was practically gone for 2 and a half weeks one a business trip, then being completely busy that he might as well have been gone when he came back and then another trip for half of this week. Being a mommy is more demanding and more stressful then a full time job because it's basically working 16 hours a day. Anyways not all is bad I've been making sales which is good but hardly enough to leverage me giving myself a pat on the back. Also Jason and I had a weekend escapade in the mountains for our 5th anniversary but the busy-ness is not done yet as the whole apartment needs to be rearranged and I still have to get my work area, that has gone beyond my usual organized chaos to utter chaos, organized. I also have no idea as to what to do about Christmas gifts this year as time and funds do not exist.

I need a full day to just shutdown crash out without disturbance, but instead I'm shutting off my brain and playing Dragon Age as a way to escape reality for a bit.

New Supply Items!

2009-12-07T17:34:00.000-08:00

Brass Mollusk Sea Shell

Raw Brass Steampunk Gear Circle

These are the first of many supplies that I have made using the lost wax technique I'm now finally getting these made and in my shop over a year after taking the class. Both can bee seen at SacredSupplies.etsy.com

Delays galore

2009-12-01T22:22:00.000-08:00

I look forward to updating some things this week with what I've been busy with and a new item or two. I still have a bunch of things to do as well, such as keeping the now mobile Solace out of trouble(she's an army crawling pro now) as baby proofing on a budget is slowly progressing, attempts to get things in order (my craft area has gone beyond the usual organized chaos to all out disaster), and just keeping things clean and put away in general.
So I will do my best or fail entirely so I just posting to post something

My Latest Addiction

2009-11-09T15:50:00.000-08:00

Perhaps I take the screen name way too seriously because I keep running into and loving stuff like this. I wanted to share this delightfully delicious fledgeling product called Pirates Chai first off it is perhaps the only powdered chai that does not have milk powder in it so for that fact I was partly sold. Then on top of that it's a green tea chai but not just any green tea it's matcha! If that doesn't get you then let me tell you it's spicy but not masala spicy it's actually just right to balence with the potency of the matcha. They also keep the sugar low in this so if you need more you add it making this a perfect drink for those who like all the above.

Add roughly 1 Tbsp of the chai to 1 cup or more of milk and you are set! I mix it with my homemade almond milk and use an Aerolatte to make sure it's entirely mixed.
I get Pirates Chai at my local CoOp but for those out side of Santa Monica can order it online at www.pirateschai.com and follow the paypal instructions at the bottom of the screen.

Halloween Festivities Part 2

2009-11-07T12:28:00.000-08:00

Solace looking adorable in her Halloween Trick or Treat outfit which was a gift from grandma!

Over the weekend Jason's mom was in town and Solace was very happy to see her grandma and has proceeded to be super fussy after she left, it could be teething but I really think she misses her grandma ;)

So back on the Halloween stuffs, after the pumpkin carving we went to the Fall Fest put on by Mosaic. Unfortunately there was nothing there for Solace so I said hi to some friends, and we left to have dinner. After that we went to the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval . I decided to go steam and wear my Damsel in This Dress Blue and Gold Peacock Tailed Vixen Corset.

Solace is wearing her evening costume to keep warm.
We didn't end up catching much of the shows because they were too loud for Solace but we did see some stunning costumes!

Masquerade Couple

The Torch and Pitch fork welding villagers ready to fight back against the monsters who have descended upon their lands. I didn't get a chance to get a good enough pic of the signs they had but the group was very clever.

This was a very creative and detailed costume I don't know if it's a porcupine or hedgehog but the spikes were individually made and went all the way down the back of this costume

Another very creative costume which reminds me of the Cephalopod Tea Party Blog that is currently having a giveaway which ends on Monday so swim over there and follow the blog!

Now time for some gratuitous robot shots:

After getting home from WEHO I had a craving for a Vincent Price movie so we watched the Pit and the Pendulum and then we called it a night, and a very god one indeed.

Halloween Festivities part 1

2009-11-03T15:31:00.000-08:00

To start the Festivities on Solaces first Halloween we did some pumpkin carving and I let Solace play with the pumpkin guts which were some new and apparently unsettling textures for her.

Pics of the finished pumpkin

I decided to do this pumpkin on the fly, freehand style, it's a dragon eye. I used to draw some really fierce looking dragons back in the day, perhaps I should pull those out and show them sometime.

WINNER of the Crazy About the Kidlet Giveaway!

2009-10-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

The winner is:
Hyla from MyFairyBabies.etsy.com
and Green Earth Journey!

Solace is at 74 Votes so the prize is $10 To Wenchie’s Sacred Relics or Sacred Supplies!
Thanks for participating!

Close Encounters of the Kitty Kind

2009-10-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

The Approach

The Intrigue
The Pet
The Cuddle!

Max was such a ragdoll (thats the breed of cat he is) for putting up with her grabbing and crying of protest from Solace when I removed her death grip from Max's fur. The encounter went really well Ru on the other hand may like her when she's a little older.

I was

2009-10-22T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was going to write an angry post about the blog spam I received this morning but I thought again and figured it would be in ill taste to tear apart and berate a company because they are ignorant to the ways of respectful interactions and advertising. Rather then actually giving them the free negative publicity and wasting my precious time, I will instead send them a message with the correct ways of interactive or grass-roots advertising and see if they give a s*it.
Anyways I'm feeling less then [Me < Everything else] right now as I = epic fail in life, my offerings, and holding any sort of giveaway. I admit perhaps I'm just going about it all wrong with the first not being well foreshadowed and the second with it's ulterior motives(which one can enter by not succumbing to them but I assume people no longer take the time to read.) I measure myself by a lot of things and not just my shop but I just feel constantly beat down because I have no freedom without compromising the little one I so adore in my life. Another reason to these nagging feelings is that I wanted to take a trip to Europe and off of this progressively God forsaken continent, well more like landmass as South America would not be far enough to satiate this need for an international escapade, which I wanted to do this year as the kidlet is still young enough to travel easily with and the event of that happening is steadily slipping away.
Anyways my nap-time break is over so I must get back to tending the miniature dictator, however no matter how bleak things look now I refuse to give up on or lose sight of my true ambitions, and I must add that jewelry design is not the end of my means by any way shape or form this is not my goal in life, although it is something I enjoy enough to do on a daily basis, that is what perhaps limits my success.
Anyways candid moment accomplished, cute pics of Solace shall commence within a day.

Rubies and Watch Parts - When a Ruby is not a Ruby

2009-10-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my self enlightening musings need to be posted here to dispel the unintentional deceit we have been privy to. This one in particular was due to lack of the technology back in the day when rubies were discovered. Rubies are nothing more then sapphires as they are both are corundum which is basically aluminum ions and oxygen, impurities there of create color. For example, what makes the ruby different has to do with minuscule amounts of chromium, in fact, only 1% of the aluminum is replaced with chromium making that highly sought after red color.

So what does this have to do with watch parts?
In 1704 the first union of watch movements and rubies came into conception with the advancements wrought by Peter Debaufre, Jacob Debaufre, and Nicolas Facio. The rubies (sapphires) are essentially the watch movement's bearings, and are present on the pallet, the piece which creates that time honored clicking noise against the escape wheel, these are referred to as jewels. When you see a watch that states "17 jewels" it essentially means the "bearings" are usually rubies (sapphires), but can also be garnets or in rare cases diamonds. These however are industrial grade and have very little value. Also around 1900 manufactured or synthetic rubies became the staple "jewel" present in watches. This was due to the efficiency of the process created by Auguste Victor Louis Verneuil, which affectionately called the Verneuil process and also referred to as flame fusion. Actually synthetic rubies (sapphires) were made even before Verneuil rained on the someone's scientific advancement parade, as they were the first on the market in the mid 1800's. Rubies (sapphires) are historically significant as they are actually the first gem stone to be synthetic or man made.
Who knew that rubies (sapphires) were so special!

Crazy About the Kidlet Giveaway - Up to $100 Shopping Spree

2009-10-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

COMMENTS ARE CLOSED THE CONTEST IS OVER

Welcome to my first giveaway inspired by how crazy I am about my little kidlet!
As you may or may not know I have entered Solace in the “Gap Casting Call contest” and she has a lot of catching up to do. So the amount of the shopping spree and how many chances you can enter to win it are dictated by voting on Solace.

Here’s the Prize Break Down:
0 – 100 Votes = $10 Prize
101 – 200 Votes = $20 Prize
201 – 300 Votes = $30 Prize
301 – 400 Votes = $40 Prize
401 – 500 Votes = $50 Prize
501 – 600 Votes = $60 Prize
601 – 700 Votes = $70 Prize
701 – 800 Votes = $80 Prize
801 – 900 Votes = $90 Prize
901 – 1000+ Votes = $100 Prize

How to Enter:
* 1 Entry Per Day For Voting on Solace Each Day
Post a comment with your email address letting me know each time you vote
(Voting is limited to once a day, you must create an account to vote)

* 1 Entry for posting the “Vote for Me” ad on your website or blog
Copy the code below the ad to the left and add it to your website or blog
Post a comment with your email address and a link to the page

* 1 Entry For blogging about this giveaway
Post a comment with your email address and a link to the blog

* 1 Entry For Posting a link to this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter
Post a comment with your email address and a link to your page

Which Equals a Chance for a Total of 20 Entries!

The giveaway starts 10-09-09 and ends on 10-25-09, I am not responsible for problems on the voting site, problems do exist on the site, if you are unable to vote try a different computer or enter with the three other options given. The winner will be randomly selected by the Random.org random number generator on Monday 10-26-09. The winner will be announced via a blog post on 10-26-09 and notified via email. The winner has one week (until 11-02-09) to respond or a runner up will be selected and notified on 11-03-09. Shopping Spree Prize can be used at Wenchie’s Sacred Relics and Sacred Supplies. Good Luck!

Fun Stuff Friday!

2009-10-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

Three fun things!

First direct your attention to the right of the screen you may have recgonized the avatar image from this blog post Fun Stuff By ArtSnark.

To reiterate, that awesome portrait was created by the most talented Stacey Merrill of Art Snark on Etsy Check out more of her impressive work at ArtSnark.etsy.com

Second order of funness!
Direct your eyes to the left of the screen,that Vote For Me ad is about a casting call competition that I've entered Solace in please take a moment to vote for her please vote daily and on all of her pics!

The third thing is a brand spanken new item which is a fall back entry for the current Etsy Steam Team contest which is "Seam and Steam: A Challenge of Metal and Cloth!"
This is the Sweetheart Cuff which was brought into reality by the teaching of Corrie Sullivan aka Corrie Hill Designs on Etsy

This cuff was hand sewn by your truly, there's a second one in the works and my master entry for the Steam Team challenge. I'm a sewing friend thanks to Corrie's class!

Happy Birthday to HiTree

2009-09-25T12:55:00.001-07:00

Solace Sleeping in her crib lovingly surrounded by a HiTree crib bumper.

If you know me then you know I love the items made by Tina with HiTree.etsy.com. Tina is an amazing crafter and I got these crib bumpers made for Solace before she was born and I've flaked on posting pics of these. Her Birthday is today and this weekend she's giving 15% off deal in her shop and hosting a giveaway on her blog hitree.blogspot.com! So be sure to check out her shop HiTree.etsy.com wish Tina a very Happy Birthday!

Buy an Item Get a Free Gift = FAIL

2009-09-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

That promotion was my first and it failed I assume largely in part due to the lack of forewarning =( anyways lets get beyond the "would of, could of, should of, to the fact that this ring is now listed in the shop for sale. It's a really nice ring that takes a bit of manual labor to make and I must say I am very pleased with the quality and look of it, as I'm keeping one for myself Yar! ;)
The Ye Ol' Pirate Ring can be seen in the shop by clicking here

Buy an Item Get a Free Gift This Weekend Only!

2009-09-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

Do you know what today is?
The day that happens once a year where you are free to release your inner pirate! That's right, It's International Talk Like A Pirate Day! See what it's all about on Talk Like a Pirate.com

In honor of this highly anticipated event I'm offering a free pirate ring with each order from my Sacred Relics Shop! Use the code "weekend deals" in the message to seller. This offer is valid from 9/18/09 to 9/20/09 Limit 1 per person.
Click har t' get some booty with yer loot! Yar!

Solace Paints!

2009-09-10T00:36:00.000-07:00

This is Solace's First Attempt at painting, I have to be mindful of where the brush goes because she will put it on her face or drop it on to my lap.

Greek Nouveau Chandelier Earrings

2009-09-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

New to the Shop Greek Nouveau Chandelier Earrings

Elegant and ornately detailed these earrings remind me of something the ancient Greeks would fancy. The faceted bronze czech glass fire polished bead stands out delightfully as it is captured between two brass watch gears and then framed by a pair of simple white beads. These earrings with their steampunk flare really embrace a new take on an Ancient Greek look hence they are named Greek Nouveau. These earrings measure 1.25 inches (3.1cm) in length from the bottom of the brass ear wire and are .5 of an inch (1.2 cm) wide.

These took me a bit to piece together and I am loving how it turned out. This is the first time I've used gears as bead caps and the fine detailed look they give is amazing! Although I doubt I will be making another pair of these specific earrings, I do look forward to utilizing the gears like these as bead caps in more of my creations.

New to the Shop - Labradorescence

2009-09-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Labradorescence Tie Tack Lapel Pin

The labradorite gemstone upon this tie tack is a sight to behold as it dances with a brilliant blue fire dances across its surface and has some nice clarity. The gemstone is set in a barrel drum which sits upon a balance wheel and a graciously sized pocket watch gear giving it an exquisite edgy look.
To make it quite simple, this tie tack is simply stunning.
The tie tack measures .7 of and inch (1.7cm) in diameter.

I really love the labradorite cabochon which was chosen to be the focal of this piece because of it's clarity and flashy brilliant blue display. I was fortunate to be able to hand pick this cabochon and other labradorite cabochons, which will be seen in following items, from a seller at one of the many gem shows that happen in Santa Monica.

Who loves MiniMonster? I do!

2009-08-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

If you don't know this seller yet you should especially if you have little mini-monsters running about.
This post has taken me too long in the making so with out further ado here's some of the amazing things that Kieutiepie got for Solace with the generosity of Connie "the head Monster" of Mini Monster on Etsy.

This adorable design is the Baby Girl MiniMonster onsie.

This cute little number is the Green Baby Shoe onsie.

These last two were made by the combined awesomeness of Mini Monster and the art work Kieutiepie! The first three are the art works of Connie and there are several more items I need to show by this super talented Etsyian. So there will be another post so appear sometime in the not so distant future. In the meantime check out her other offerings at Mini Monster.etsy.com.

Silverode

2009-08-10T00:16:00.000-07:00

Which also goes by:
Silverine
Oresilver
Iridimite
Silveroid
Silverode
Alaska Silver
Silverore
Oresilver
Albata Metal
Silvaloy

Have you seen any of these stamped inside those beautiful silver colored watch cases? Do you know exactly what it is you are getting with this case?

First let me clear up some confusion with the naming convention that are used with some of these cases, these are not comprised of silver and do not contain any silver what so ever the were intended to be a bit misleading but overall describe the color of the case which is silver colored.
The cases are a mixed metal which is commonly know as Nickel silver or German silver and are actually a mix of nickel, copper, manganese alloy, and sometimes zinc. Each case manufacture varied the amounts of these chemical elements slightly and then obtained a patent for their slight variations, thus having different names due to the patent.

Also don't misjudge one of these cases on being compromised by mixed elements as these cases are highly sought after because they are tough to tarnish and scratch, click here for an example of one that was recently sold from my supply shop.

For more information on the history of Nickle Silver see this page on Wikipedia.

Revenants

2009-08-03T23:14:00.000-07:00

Two new items in the shop today! Actually they are slight variations of each other but I'm very pleased to be upping my game as it were with higher quality items. Both of these earrings feature gemstones of the feldspar group of minerals sunstone and moonstone.

Stunning and elegant these earrings have their own story to tell, as they honor the cross culture mythology of butterflies, which are believed to be the souls of the deceased, by having a haunting air of ethereal art nouveau, combined with antique mechanical elements. On top of that these are graced with genuine sunstone gemstones which glitter in celestial brilliance.

The name of these earrings was choosen based on mythology dealing with butterflies click here for a link to a page about it.

Here's what Merriam Webster has to say about the word Revenant:
" * Main Entry: rev·e·nant
* Pronunciation: \ˈre-və-ˌnäⁿ, -nənt\
* Function: noun
* Etymology: French, from present participle of revenir to return
* Date: 1818
: one that returns after death or a long absence"

As you can see this word is from the 1800s to give the earrings that much deserved steampunk flare.

Seafarer's Tie Tack Lapel Pin

2009-07-31T19:37:00.001-07:00

Seafarer's Tie Tack Lapel Pin side view
Originally uploaded by ye wenchie

The latest greatest thing to my shop!
This tie tack is fit for any seafarer where as it has a striking nautical appeal of a compass with the way the gears are strategically positioned and then paired with the deep sea green of a real jade cabochon. This tie tack measures .7 of an inch (1.7 cm) in diameter the jade is 6mm in diameter.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28629040

All about the baby Video Blog style

2009-07-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

Solace Reads a book

Solace performs Shakespeare

Solace the Punk Privateer

2009-07-20T15:52:00.001-07:00

Solace the Punk Privateer
Originally uploaded by ye wenchie

solace in her pirate getup this is the hot weather version so the hat doesn't really match ^_^

2009-07-19T14:40:00.001-07:00

I must admit something, I forgot my mother's birthday. Which was a month ago but for the past few weeks I've been planning a day trip to make up for it and finally today we have our excersion to Catalina island.
One side of the island Twin Harbors is all recreational ie. Camping snorkeling and the like, and the other side Avalon is leisurly activities such as shopping ect. We are going to the latter side as my mom did a race today and Jason and I walked around 3 miles in our neighborhood yestrday.
I'm writting this on my Iphone as were heading over and I must say I nearly forgot how much I love being on a boat. I've never gotten sea sick and I love the movement in genral. Which leads me to believe if there's such a thing as a past life I was a sea farer. Which I shall elaborate on, in addition to not getting sea sick, I love fish especially raw fish, I can also live quite happily on very little water and food, I deal well with humidity and wind, and I don't mind doing hard work. ;)

Today is also Solace's first day on a boat and she is dressed accordingly as my little punk privateer, as I'm typing this she's passed-out in Jason's arms, and I can't post pics from the Iphone so they will be posted later

Bringing in the new!

2009-07-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

Fleur De Pearl - Mother of Pearl Earrings

These earrings shimmer with the simple elegance of mother of pearl that has been paired with the regal symbol of fleur de lis making this pair a fitting adornment for any occasion.

It feels good to finally have something new in the shop!
Now just 20-30 more items to go =P

Fun stuff by ArtSnark

2009-07-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

Etsy Steam Team member and talented artist ArtSnark is doing a few portraits of Steam Team members. She took this pic

ran it through the inspirational gears of her artistic aesthetic to create this!

To say that this portrait titled "Trust Me" is pretty friggin cool is an understatement! I can't wait to see what else she creates from the other Steam Team members so keep tabs on her blog ArtSnark's Artifacts: Art & musings for the eclectic soul,
and now that you've had a taste of her work check out some more in her shop! ArtSnark.etsy.com

I think I have

2009-06-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

Listing Block! Its like writers block except with listing new items to my shop.

That is the pile of items that have not yet made it to the shop

2009-06-08T13:42:00.001-07:00

Hello there it's me blogging from my Iphone!
Last week was hella busy and much of it is dealing with more aftermath of doing a home birth. It's not too big of a ordeal it's just getting Solace her birth cert which has been done so the next process is with getting her a social security number. It's less paperwork but a bit more challenging where as they really want two forms of ID for the child but you have one ( the birth cert) that qualifies. So it takes a few ackward looks from the clerk and then they say they have to have the supervisor verify the birth cert and it will take a few weeks. Overall it's a pretty painless ordeal but a bit time consuming. Anyways Solace is now official so I'm happy

Green Baby Bargains gift cert giveaway!

2009-05-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

GreenBabyBargains.com is still one of the best kept secrets on the web! I have loved all of the products I've gotten through this site which range from clothes to bottles and many other things. They are always around 50% off or more, fortunate for me they take paypal so I don't have to ask the hubbys permission before I buy these goodies ;P Also they ship super fast which always puts a smile on my face! Right now they are having a $50 certificate giveaway so click here to enter today is the last day!

Thanks to Hyla of Green Earth Journey for showing me this site and a big congrats to her having a beautiful new baby girl!

Is Polypropylene a safe plastic

2009-05-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

With the recent CPSIA bans on Phthalates Lead PVC in children products and with impending bans on BPA manufactures have turned to the extensively used currently deemed safe polypropylene among other plastics but is it really harmless?

Recently I was doing some research for an eco-friendly baby bathtub of which there is only one that comes up when you do the search the tub in question is a great concept and touted as being "non-toxic, recyclable, energy efficient, BPA and PVC free" I was ready to press the checkout button when I thought is any plastic really eco-friendly? Then again is any plastic really safe? So I looked into this mystery "non-toxic, recyclable, energy efficient, BPA and PVC free" plastic. Turns out its made out of our friendly plastic Mr.Polypropylene (PP) which is one of the most used plastics!

This #5 recyclable is what replaced the BPA and PVC in those baby bottles, it's the plastic tub you get from the prepared foods section of your grocery store, it's your yogurt container, the cap to your glass/steel water bottle, in addition to many many other things and it's even used in Europe! So you figure it's safe right? Well perhaps we were wrong as a recent experiment by researchers in Canada had their research fouled by two compounds, quaternary ammonium biocides, and oleamide,leaching from their polypropylene equipment. The fortunate thing is that they noticed this and raised a red flag about using PP which is now being brought into question in much the same way Mr.Polycarbonate was in the early 90s according to the Environmental Working Group. I wonder about how many crucial experiments have been fouled by these products leching unnoticed.

So what are quaternary ammonium biocides, and oleamide besides hard to to pronounce?
Lets start with quaternary ammonium biocides are an anti-bacterial compound which has a variety of applications including being mixed in with the plastic that holds your pro-biotic yogurt which sounds like false advertising if it does leach this compound into your friendly bacteria. Not to mention it getting into your body and killing your friendly bacteria that you tried to hard to place there by eating yogurt and into the environment killing off friendly bacteria which the results of this happening are largely unknown but most anti-bacterial hand soaps have been causing a commotion.

On to the other compound olemide leaching from PP, this is naturally occurring in the body and causes sleep to be induced when one is sleep deprived as it collects in the cerebrospinal fluid. If you're like me you may be asking why Mr. PP has this compound is he being sleep deprived? Actually it's used as a slip agent or lubricant as it were. Since this compound is found within the human body this substance is of the highest concern as no one knows what it's effects could be perhaps making people lazy, hallucinate as if sleep deprived or the "run-of-the-mill" effect of causing cancer.

However, before people go screaming into the streets that Mr.Polypropylene is the devil what caused these compounds to leach in the first place so that is still a mystery but the EWG reports that they were "conducting experiments on a human enzyme" and that the "substances were leaking from the plastic tubes they used to transfer liquids in the experiment." Also there is currently research happening to see exactly what the potential effects these compounds can have on us and the environment.
So in conclusion this knowledge is your to take whatever action you want to with it. I personally did not buy the bath tub because a baby can be very susceptible to these compounds being absorbed through their thin skin and I save money on not getting one anyways, however I still come in contact with this plastic almost daily so I anxiously await the results. As do product injury lawyers it seems, more info can be found at Lawyers and Settlements.com, The Environmental Working Group(EWG), Gaiam, and lastly a report of the leaching study here

I need a massage!

2009-05-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry updates have not been happening the past week or two and this week seems that it may be no different. I've been busy so busy in fact that today I actually took a nap which is impossible for me to do unless I am completely drained. I haven't taken an afternoon nap since the first week Solace was born, and I was running on very little sleep for the past week in prep for vending at an event and hanging with the family that flew in town over the weekend. I just feel bad because I feel like I didn't have a chance to enjoy spending time with them, working the event and lack of sleep =/
Anyways, today I got Solace her birth cert and I was able to get to the Monday Mommie movie at the Pacific Theatre in the Grove it was Star Trek which was a really great movie I really enjoyed it! Then afterwords I headed to Mani's bakery to get food to go then the grocery store and home to promptly pass out for a few hours before making dinner. Tomorrow I have a bunch of errands to run around town and a couple of appts going on the rest of this week in addition to taking inventory of what was sold at the event so I can get my shop out of vacation mode. I did really well at the event and made the most I have ever made in a day so I am pretty happy about that =D

The place to get your eco-friendly packaging and other office supplies

2009-04-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Green Earth Office Supply
I have to share my new packaging supply find as this place has the best prices on truly eco-friendly products. Upon finding this site with it's html novice style layout I was a little deterred to try it as they don't use paypal however with it being through Yahoo Shopping I deemed it a bit safer to try out.
Below is a comparison of of the more expensive Jiffy padded envelopes that I got from another "green office" supply with the less expensive NatureWise ones from Green Earth

The more post consumer content the better as it's putting your recyclables to good (re)use.
I also applaud them for reusing packaging as my items were shipped in a reused box shown below! This is honestly the one green company that really works hard to to be green all around in contrast to where I was getting my packaging supplies from before the envelopes in their own separate 25 pack boxes creating more waste that I had to deal with.

The only cons are you must make a minim order of $40, they only ship UPS, and that it took a while for them to send out the items which seemed to be sent out after I called and emailed them and I didn't receive any response just my items a few days later. They also offer a free item with your order and I selected one but did not receive it as they may have ran out of the free items either way it would have been nice to get correspondence in some way. However these are the only down sides but not a big issue as I got what I needed.

Overall I am pleased with their dedication to being green and very cost effective I got my items and that's what counts, for this I look forward to ordering from them again and to better customer service/business management in the future from Green Earth Office Supply

Solace at 3 weeks

2009-04-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

Easter was an interesting day where I realized that anything I want to do depends on what Solace wants to do. I wanted to go to church and she wanted to eat, I wanted to get to my mother's house by 1pm and we left at about 2pm because Solace once again wanted to eat right when we were ready to walk out the door. Anyways we did capture a pic of the Easter bunny

Yeah I did that pic up Anne Geddes style :D here's a few more pics of the little bunny in her Haba Dream Meadow

Yesterday was officially 3 weeks for our baby girl and to celebrate we went on a 2 mile walk! (actually I needed to go to the post office) Solace did really well with the walk so a piedi is the way to go for me to get out of the house and feel a sense of my freedom. Also yesterday Jason took me out to all you can eat sushi at Midori which was delightful being able to have raw fish again (this is what makes me the heathen vegan I can't get fish out of my diet especially when it's raw!) The only limitations on sushi still lies with the mercury so I couldn't have all of my favorites which will have to wait till Solace is weaned :(

Getting adjusted

2009-04-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today was my first lone outing with Solace and the drive to downtown went smoothly. However after parking and getting the stroller set up I then tried to attach the car seat to the adapters that attach to the stroller and it clicked in but it didn't look right. I had the adapters backwards and now they were stuck to the car seat and wouldn't release. Flustered panic mode set in as I can't get the car seat back into the car without removing the adapters which were now stuck to the car seat! I take Solace out of the car seat and lay her on the floor mat then I turn the car seat upside down to try to pull the suckers off and they don't budge. I remember that my husbands tools are in the car so I grab the tool bag and find the longest flat head screwdriver to pop off the latch which doesn't work. I ten getting more frantic call the husband who's only solution was to break them off (cringe) which wouldn't work because that would break the handle of the car seat too making it rather useless. Then Solace decides to wake up and start crying while I'm on the phone and trying to pry the latch off at the same time but since it was latched wrong there was no way to pop off the latch because there was no slack to do so. After getting off the phone with the hubby I bend out the plastic a bit to get a better view and I realize that I can slide the latch off to the side which works! I thank God and pull the first adapter off and I hit myself in the face with it because I used too much force to get it off and yup it left a mark and will most likely bruise up.

I had better luck with the second adapter and I finally get it attached to the car seat correctly and then to the stroller and pick up the crying Solace and comfort her before putting her in the stroller. Disaster resolved! I head to my destination which is Bergers Beads and Solace attracts all sorts of attention cause shes cute, petite and Asian women (who pretty much run the store) adore her beautiful nose. I start getting my supplies and Solace wakes up and starts crying again the ladies can tell that she hungry and graciously let me breastfeed her in a secluded corner of the store! How friggin cool is that! Mad respect for the staff at Bergers Beads! This made my day and Solace's as well because she didn't have to wait till I was back at the car for boob-juice! After getting the rest of my supplies at Bergers I head to my other stops where the now sleeping Solace gets even more attention by the time I was done Solace started crying again but fell asleep on the way back to the car so I didn't wake her. Then I had to get some grocery shopping done at trader joes fortunately she remained asleep for that and finally woke up once we got home.
So overall doing an outing with the baby is like being permanently handcuffed to someone you are tied to this precious little being escaping the cuteness is futile. Anyways I'm exhausted and I need to muster up the perseverance to work outings more successfully.

Amusement

2009-04-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

This is a creepy pic that Jason took of Solace's hand so I had to do something fun with it. This was achieved by using the Despair.com Parody Motivator Generator

Recent Study on Breastfeeding

2009-04-07T17:23:00.001-07:00

Here's the low down on the study: "Exclusive breastfeeding at 1 month of age halved the risk, partial breastfeeding at the age of 1 month also reduced the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, but after adjustment this risk was not significant." the rest of it can be reviewed by clicking here

More about the Baby!

2009-04-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is all I can talk about right now as she dominates my life at the moment. Anyways Saturday 4/4 was the day that Solace was supposed to be born =D and it also was the first time she met her uncle!

That's my brother Bryce with Solace.

More on the details of being a new mama
With home births it is recommended to have the baby get checked by a pediatrician within 72 hours after the baby is born. So once the birth happens the pediatrician is called and the appt is scheduled. The pediatrician I choose was Lauren Feder M.D. who is the author of "Natural Baby and Childcare"

which is a great resource for homeopathic remedies and Lauren recommends using the book during the off hours for non emergency situations. I decided to go with her because she seems to be the pediatrician leading the charge with homeopathy backed by her degree in the medical field. In addition to the book mentioned she also has another one about the ever controversial childhood vaccinations called "The Parents' Concise Guide to Childhood Vaccinations: From Newborns to Teens, Practical Medical and Natural Ways to Protect Your Child." I originally found out about her through my birthing class and I very thankful for her practice being local and that with her unique business she has space to see to Solace's care.
Tomorrow is our next visit and in other news about Solace she finally has been able to catch her ever elusive thumb to suck on and I shall leave you with a pic of that.

Solace is one week old today

2009-03-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

The week to me has seems to defy time as I have to focus to figure out what day it is or what events occurred on which days. It doesn't feel like a week progressed but then again it feels like more then a week has gone by, this seems to be what happens when you give birth and are drugged up by the natural hormones trying to balance themselves out and the body recovering from creating a baby in general.

I wanted to highlight a few things from Solaces birth being that it was a home water birth and very few people are familiar with what goes into it. First with any home birth you will need to purchase a birthing kit which can include a varsity of things depending on where you get it from. I got mine through In His Hands Home Birth Supplies which is a Christian based company out of Texas I enjoyed this company as they put in a few thoughtful extras with the kit and everything was packed tightly in a perfectly sized box with no extra packing junk just your supplies I got the deluxe kit which was $38 and they shipped that sucker out pretty fast too.

Above you can see the pool set up in the living room with the Midwife Ashley who works with Mary Lou of The Beach Cities Birth Service Elena who I think is a doula as well as assistant to Ashley and Mary Lou, and Victoria who is an amazing friend that has gone far above and beyond in helping us with the birth and getting adjusted to being parents. Her husband is also an amazing photographer of Rustin Michael Photography and I plan on having him do up some pics of Solace =D
Ok back to the birth stuff, The image above shows the pool which is a La Bassine Birthing Pool that a friend of ours loaned to us, we just had to get a sterile liner and hose to fill the pool. The pools and accessories can be purchased through Your Water Birth.com. The pool looks small but was ample room for me my hubby and the midwife to do her thing! Even though it's a blow-up pool the sides were sturdy for leaning on and no water spilled even with the pool a little over the fill line with the addition of boiling water to keep the water warm.

So that's some of the details here's one more image of our one week old little girl.

Welcome Solace Anastasia Perr

2009-03-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

After horrendous contractions that had me spewing my guts out,getting the birthing pool set up and 4 hours of active labor and 5+ very painful pushes came this precious little girl.

I bring you Solace born at 5:06pm, 6.5lbs and 20in long! Darn right she's a little pirate squinting up at me with one eye as she feeds!

The Impending Baby

2009-03-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

I think it is safe to say that the Impending Baby is now the Pending Baby I will try to keep updates on twitter which can be seen in the left column on this page or you can follow me on twitter by clicking here

I didn't expect to be so busy!

2009-03-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

So blogging is general is backlogged I have a lot of things to post which are sitting on the back-burner for now. Things that have taken up my time are that we got a new car upon the discovery that the Impending Baby's car seat would not fit in the Mini which is our primary vehicle! Needless to say our over powered John Cooper Works packaged go cart Mini is gone. We now have the Blue Turtle a brand new 08 Honda CR-V.

Sadly I didn't get my 4 wheel drive which makes this SUV a mere UV. But I still have the Jeepness Of Fury (94 Jeep Wrangler) to meet my simplistic rugged 4x4 needs. BTW it made me very sad when I told people about us getting a new car and they all thought I gave up the Jeep Wrangler =( which is the car I've always wanted and when I spied this ol oxidized paint covered built up leaky wrangler at the corner of the lot in the big Annual Anaheim stadium car sales event about 7 years ago, I had to have it! So seeing that it was a bit of an underdog I got a warranty on it that more then paid for its self and shes had issues here and there but nothing really super major (although the tranny may need to be rebuilt soon =( ) However parts for this vehicle are plentiful and it takes less labor for it as it's so simple to work on compared to most cars today. So that's why I love my car roll up windows oxidized paint and all!

Alright so I've gotten off track! Other things that have been going on is the acquisition and organization of baby stuff that are necessary but remained neglected from our registries. As well as acquiring the birthing supplies and performing other preparations for giving birth at home.
I will try to keep up on things this week as the real countdown has started which is scary! So yeah things are getting interesting!

A slight change!

2009-03-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

I won't be doing the talented friends post today because the next ones gonna be a biggun however this series will resume next week. I just have too much to do today with projects (for the baby of course) and just getting this place situated and baby prepped. Also I have a pile of dishes to do as the kitchen sink has been cloggged and they plumbers have been here since 8:30 am (it's now around 11:30 and still not fixed) as a self proclaimed haphazard handywoman this was way beyond what I could handle so I had to call in the "pros" and I will blog next week on three methods to unclog a minor clog. I also should have more goodies coming in for me to blog about next week as well =D It's at least something for me to look forward to. In the mean time check out the write ups I did for Wunderkind and Choklit on Etsy Addicts, and follow that blog if you love etsy don't already follow it!

The Adventures of a Haphazard Handywoman #1

2009-03-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start posting on some useful things that just about anyone can do around the house. Some of the handy remedies I've stumbled upon with creativity and others I've done a bit of research, anyways these should be jolly good reads!

Problem: That plastic wall anchor ain't anchoring no more!

I recently came into this problem with the left side of the toilet paper holder. The dry wall (frail plaster-like wall surface) had eroded around the plastic anchor of the screws. So I removed the left side of the tp holder (there was a teeny tiny screw that needed to be unscrewed in the inner part close to the wall) and yanked the plate out of the wall which is not a thing you should do! I'm haphazard so you don't have to be =D unscrew the screws and gently remove the anchors. Anyways above you can see the blue plastic wall anchors on the screws in the plate and the nice big worn holes in the dry wall.

Next I measured the holes they were about half an inch in diameter which means I can't just go and place another drywall anchor in those, so I had to come up with something different.

Solution: Toggle Bolts!

You may have seen these guys if you ever installed a hook for a hanging plant or one of those old school lamps with the chain. These guys are tough and in this case a life saver! Buy the appropriate sized toggle bolt, ones that will fit in the holes without having to do mire damage to it, and the correct screw that goes with those toggle bolts.

Put the screws through the plate and thread the toggle bolts on with a few twists as depicted above.

Now here's the hardest part clamp the toggle bolt in half so you can get it into the wall, if the bolt is a bit too big use a flat head screwdriver to shave off a bit more of the wall by pressing in with it or rotating it in the hole so you don't damage that nice paint job.

Once you get the bolt(s) in the wall pull a little on the plate or screw so you create some tension to tighten the screw.

Now get the screw(s) secure and not wobbling in the wall you are set!
Here's the end result:

a toilet paper holder that does it's job!

Fail!

2009-03-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

I messed up on an order by only shipping half of it, which = FAIL. It seems I am now suffering from preggo-brain which also = FAIL in dealing with simple activities. I just feel really bad for this customer, however she has been really forgiving about this whole ordeal even though it took me 5 days to get back to her which = FAIL. So I'm really kicking myself in the butt for this one and really pray I don't fail this bad again =(

Anyways, preggo-brain means the only thing I think about is the impending baby which is slated to be pending in (Egads!)less then 4 weeks! I still have a ton to do in this apartment =( which has brought out the handywoman in me which I will go into details about later! I've also had to drop some projects I planned on doing such as making cat scratchers out of the plethora of cardboard boxes I have about, and I will now be offering those cardboard boxes on craigslist. I also won't be doing all that I wanted to do with the chopped up christmas tree sitting on the balcony and I've dropped the candle making project which would have used the needles of the tree and I have no idea of what to do with those and will probably find a city compost bin to dump them in. However the other two projects are under way and the first is for the baby (of course) and that is a butterfly mobile.
Anyways the spring cleaning/baby preparations shall now be underway as I have a mop and a step stool to reach and clean the ceiling fan blades and the retarded 2 ft dust/mold collecting gaps between the tops of the shelves and the ceiling throughout the apartment. I shall spare you the rest of details because I feel utterly overwhelmed under the weight of what I need to get done before this little girl chilling in my belly makes her appearance. I just pray she will be a week or two late so I can get it all done!

Talented Friends Joanna Torres

2009-03-06T15:11:00.000-08:00

In the previous posts I had you meet Julia LoVan of Julia LoVan Dresses and Corrie Hill Sullivan of Corrie Hill Design. Now I would like to introduce you to another fellow Etsyian Joanna Cheng Torres aka JojoCheng with her Jojo's Handspun Yarn shop on Etsy!

Joanna is another person that is a part of the Mosaic Community however I know her through her husband John Torres who is a very talented musician and a wonderful friend to my husband!
Joanna lovingly hand spins yarn which is a process I really want to see! Her yarn varies from rustic to ornate with a wide range of unique and vibrant colors. The color qualities seem to stand out even more with the attributes they are named with.

This one is called EFFERVESCENCE and is a delightful almost alchemistical mix of merino, corriedale cross wool, baby (cria) alpaca, tussah silk, BFL (bluefaced leicester), firestar (glitz). With such hand spun delights it's no wonder why her shop is near empty right now! But don't fret more will surly be up soon so keep an eye on this talented yarn maker!

Poor Ru

2009-03-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

This is the ever adorable little Ru before I got lovely little this companion for Max she had a rough life! But now that I've had her for 6 or more years it's been all posh. Yes I spoil my cats with the best foods, Max and Brix are on Innova Evo and Ru is on Wellness because she has a sensitive tummy.
Anyways lately she's been itching and has some scabbing around her neck at the base of her tail but no hair loss so it didn't point to mange and when this first started happening I searched for fleas but couldn't find any and there were no reddish bumps pointing to these coming from flea bites. She has had a history of dandruff so I figured it was from that and would go away in time. As of last night, however her scratching had gotten worse and there are now scabs all down her back! So I searched the skin again and was able to spy one massive flea! I've been good at keeping the cats flea free until now which Ru being the only girl in the tribe has been painfully struggling with them. Also fleas love me and Ru has been sleeping on my pillow at night and I have not gotten any bites even though I have extra blood with being pregnant, which is another reason I didn't think she had fleas!
I did some research and decided to spray her with a diluted tea tree oil solution and rubbed it in, making sure she didn't lick at it as I prepped the tub for her arrival. (NOTE If you use tea tree oil as a means of flea control make sure your cats do Not ingest it as it is toxic to them if ingested I had to do some research on this before deciding to use it and some sites do not mention that!) Until three years ago I had been good at keeping the cats familiar with taking baths but since that has lapsed Ru being sensitive gets really scared so much so in fact that the bath literally scared the piss out of her, twice V_V Anyways to bathe the cats I use Wags Wheatgrass Coconut Shampoo which really helps their skin, coat, and smell, if that isn't enough it's all natural with no eco-unfriendly chemicals.

To check out this product Click Here
So here's a pic of the unhappy wet princess after her bath:

She should be done drying by now and I have one more thing to put on her itchy coat and that is a mix of Olive Oil with Coconut Oil and Honey, The oils are to soothe her skin and coat, plus enzymes in honey are very effective at treating itchy bug bites and wounds in general. Also by combining the honey with the oils it is not sticky, however she may end up getting lots of licking from Max as he loves sweets.

I actually found out recently that combining honey with coconut oil rendered the honey stickyless as I used it to clear up it a little itchy preggo rash I had, which is did over night! So there's a Wenchie remedy for ya!

Life as we call it

2009-03-05T15:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the most recent appointment with my midwife, and good news the baby grew! The measurement is still a little small but the 2cm improvement is a big one! Thanks for those who prayed and sent good thoughts for her not to be growth restricted! Other news on the appointment I elected not to take the group b strep test. Why would I elect not to take a test for a bacteria that is linked to serious illness in newborns? First because 0.5 percent of the women who have tested positive for GBS and delivered without treatment, had infants that became ill from it making that a rare occurrence. Second I'm doing a home birth so I don't have the use of intervening drugs be pushed on me, but that doesn't mean that the midwife could not administer the antibiotics through an IV during the birth process. Third I do not do well with antibiotics, as I've had a problem with sinus infections for most of my life and came to the discovery that the antibiotics given to me by the Doc. would make me more ill so that I could "feel better." Which means I got all of the side effects, lets add a little nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, extra dizziness, ect on to that sinus infection. Needless to say I decided to prefer to function better and get better by using homeopathic remedies and by doing this I also found the cause of the infections (something I sought from the doctors but they never wanted to diagnose) which was dust allergies.
However, with my reasons not to do the testing that does not mean I'm not taking natural preventative measures which Mary Lou has included in the birth booklet that she gives to her customers. These measures and the statistic above are referenced from Mothering Magazine, prevention can be done through the use of probiotics or the ingestion of fermented foods such as pickles, yogurt, kefir, miso and tempeh. Miso and tempeh are pretty frequent in my diet as well as

GT's Organic Raw Kombucha which really boosts my immune system, gives me energy, and is packed with the best vitamins for pregnancy, since most of the immune system boosting herbs I use are so are not to be used during pregnancy I have defaulted to this and yes it is safe for pregnancy. Garlic is also very effective at treating this as well which is something I include in nearly every meal.

Talented Friends Corrie Hill Sullivan

2009-02-27T15:08:00.000-08:00

In the first post I introduced Julia LoVan the creative mind behind Julia LoVan Dresses on Etsy! Now I would like to introduce another friend and fellow etsyian Corrie Hill Sullivan of Corrie Hill Design on etsy!

I met Corrie through Mosaic(I forgot to mention in the prior Talented Friends post that I also met Julia through Mosaic as well)and she is an energetic, adorable and amazing woman who is originally from Ireland. CorrieSullivan is her user name on etsy and she boasts a delightful mix of goodies for the wee ones. These range from bibs, onesies, baby T's, pillows and more, with fashionably handmade applique adornments such as cupcakes, vespas, guitars, butterfly's and birds. If you are an LA local at Unique LA she also offered a mobiles made of bird ornaments lovingly adorned with vintage buttons and lace. For my little girl's baby shower she presented this Corrie Hill Designed original super adorable cupcake baby T-Shirt!

Corrie's designs are a cute blend of pop culture and folk art rusticity which gives her a great style for kids and cupcake lovers. If you have a baby or toddler in the house, one on the way (like me)or are searching for a gift, take a peek at what she has to offer at corriesullivan.etsy.com

Talented Friends Julia LoVan

2009-02-20T10:15:00.000-08:00

I would like to recognize some of my amazingly talented friends that I know in person! I will try to spotlight someone either each Friday, within my next few blog posts or just sporadically because I'm bad with blogging in general.

The first person I want to showcase is Julia LoVan the creative mind behind Julia LoVan Dresses on Etsy

The things I appreciate the most about Julia is her dedication to the underprivileged community and in addition to that focuses on being eco-conscious by being, "on the constant search to use more recycled or sustainable materials." Her day job is working with intercity kids and I had the pleasure of helping her with Illuminate that gives a safe and creative haven to underprivileged kids during the summer, by equipping them with useful artistic abilities that they otherwise would not have known.

With everything she does she gives back in some way and this is stated in her shop. "Julia LoVan Dresses operates out of Los Angeles and create products that are hope-filled. We are on the constant search to use more recycled or sustainable materials. The desire to do so comes from a passion to seek justice for our friends: the local and international poor and underserved populations. This is achieved through using fashion and networking with global organizations to create housing and jobs. Part of the proceeds goes towards the building of orphanages in Lusaka, Zambia with Breath of Heaven Children's Ministries. For more information or to partner in this endeavor, please email julialovandresses@gmail.com.
Simplicity, compassion, beauty."

Recently she has been featured on Wrecked For The Ordinary

So kudos to Julia as she is one of my talented friends that really shines!

The Impending Baby

2009-02-18T10:49:00.000-08:00

Monday was my most recent appointment with Mary Lou (my midwife) and everything is great except the belly is measuring a bit small and it didn't show any growth from the last visit =/ So I had to set up another appointment with Dr. Rothbart to get an ultrasound done to see what exactly is going on with my little girl.
Fast forward to yesterday morning...The the ultrasound is done and she is measuring slightly small but not showing any growth restriction (although it could be the first signs of it) or problems with her getting nutrition. So I just pray that she is petite and that growth restriction is not the cause! Anyways no pics from the visit but I had my hubby get video enjoy.

Busyness

2009-02-16T22:19:00.001-08:00

Last week was awesome having my best friend Kieu aka Kieutiepie on Etsy over from Weds to Sat. On Thursday was the V-tines Day gift fair at EA of which the gift fairs are well set up by Staci G. and attended by the peeps at EA. It's a great event to boost moral and help put those on "crunch time" to be reminded, and get something for their temporary neglected significant other. While at the fair Kieutiepie and I met another etsyian named Magic aka ChaoticHappy on etsy who runs the etsy shop with his wife and makes a fun eclectic assortment of plush zombies and other unique items. Here's a pic of Kieu at Magic's table

And this is a pic of me with a customer at the table Kieu and I shared.

Other then that we ended up being pretty busy with her short term testing job at Activision, the wonderful gift fair at EA, and with Jason hiring Kieu to do data entry for this big Final Cut Server Event he's putting on. So needless to say we had very limited time to fart around playing video games or make jewelry, however having her here made it a great valentines day being with the two people I cherish the most in my life.
For the most part Jason and I don't really celebrate v-tines day but we had sushi (cooked only for me of course) and then later that evening stayed home and watched "Day Watch" the sequel to "Night Watch" both of which are fantastic movies to come out of Russia and you have to watch it subtitled because of the artistic innovation used in the titles. I'm also glad that Timur is now working on the third one (Twilight Watch) as I heard rumor that it was not going to happen.

Anyways photoshop has crapped out on me, I know why I'm just not saying why and it will be resolved in a month or (groan) longer which really puts a damper on listing new items. So far I've been farting around with GIMP and it's really nice for a free program but it really messes the quality of the photos or I just can't figure out how to get it to output the same quality as PS. Anyways adding new items is going to be a pain as I may have to migrate from my PC to a mac G4 but perhaps I could use this to my advantage and swipe my hubbys G5 and use the Cannon 50D in the process.
Anyways I have more supplies to list in my Sacred Supplies shop I give you brass adjustable ring blanks!

These are so much better then the ones I've gotten before as they are solid brass, very comfortable to wear, and they have a nice ridged design going around the band and the band ends under the glue pad so it looks seamless. These were a great find for me and I will be switching to using them after I finish with the other adjustable ring blanks which require sanding to make them comfortable.
Anyways I'm fighting off an impending sinus infection V_V so now I shall nap till it's time to make dinner.

A Wonder-Full Day

2009-02-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

The day started with a beautiful drive to downtown LA in which the skys were clear and the mountains could be seen showing gleaming with a white brilliance of fresh snow unobstructed by the usual Los Angeles smog.
The first stop on my check list was A&A Jewelery Supply to gather some displays for the EA v-tines day gift fair on Thursday. They have the best prices on packaging and other great items for a variety of jewelry making and levels of jewelry making.
A&A Jewelry Supply is located at:
319 w. 6th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90014

After finishing up there it was time to hit up the bead supply stores! Which are located off of 8th and Maple where I usually shell out the $6 to park in a lot and walk the area as the stores are in close proximity and I tend to spend over an hour in the area. The first of these I hit up on my usual supply gathering circuit is Berger Specialty Co. Inc. aka Berger Beads I check out this store for various findings and other fun vintage items that the others don't have.
Berger Specialty Co. Inc. is located at:
413 E. 8th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Next I walked to Bohemian Crystal which has the best prices on Swarovski Crystals! Also another utopia of various findings as well.
Bohemian Crystal is located at:
812 S. Maple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014

My final stop on the supply gathering circuit was Athenian Fashions Store which they have two down town but only one is their official supply store and it's on Maple just a few store fronts up from Bohemian. This store has a highly organized and vast chain selection this is where I get most of my chains from but I don't suggest getting much else as their prices are a bit on the high side but sometimes you can find those awesome deals by stalking the rows of items for a bit.
Unfortunately I don't have the address to their supply store but walk in to their jewelry store which is right across from Berger and ask them for the location of their second store, or just walk up Maple and they are just past the lingerie store.

After pilfering those shops back into my trusty steed of metal Jeepness of Fury, and I was off for some tasty vegan goodness that goes by the name of Doomies Home Cookin' however to my horror and dismay this portion of the quest was thwarted! Doomies has closed until a better location can be found which is a good thing as it was in Chinatown and didn't offer Chinese food, a bit misleading for an area that is reserved for cheap yummy asian eats loaded with sodium, MSG, and all sorts of meat. It is also a land weird herbal shops, counterfeit and (sometimes illegal)wonders! Doomies just didn't quite fit in to the mystique of Chinatown. However the man is doing catering and I highly suggest the vegan goodness in the form of tacos or fried junk food goodness that only he can make! For further updates on Doomies or info on how to get him to cater your event go to his myspace page http://www.myspace.com/doomieshomecookin

Since that was a phail I defaulted to Little Tokyo Sushi, which by 2pm most of the sushi places were closed for the afternoon so the hunt was on for the open sushi restaurant! I landed in Tenno Sushi which closed at 3pm and had 1/2 off sushi (saving money with my expensive tastes is a good thing) so I ordered a veggie roll, inari, and an eel roll. All was good and 1/2 off is a splendid thing!
Tenno Sushi is located at:
207 S. Central Ave / off of 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Alright so after a quick lunch I was running late to my next stop of the quest! Which was to pick up something most wonderful! A custom made crib bumper set for the head and foot of the crib, that I have been waiting to get and it has not happened yet >=[ I'm in nesting mode I need it already!
Anyways so this miraculously splendid item was created by the amazingly adorable genius of etsy seller HiTree! I have been dreaming of the day I could buy one of her items from seeing them pop up on the Etsy front page. This urge came even more apparent when I found out she's a local artist when I spied her booth at the Unique LA even that two friends of mine were sharing a booth at (they are awesome and I'm a flake for not blogging on them but I will get to that this month or next month)
So needless to say I've been drooling over the cutness that the HiTrees are and I began following her blog and she follows a blog that my best friend Kieutiepie started called Etsy Addicts making this a neat little full circle of Etsy community greatness! One day upon following HiTree's blog a post about her making a crib bumper of the trees really caught my attention and I had to have one for the impending baby! However to my dismay the one that was created was out of my budget so we tossed some ideas about and she was able to create a partial bumper for the head and foot of the crib that could fit my budget! I was sold instantly! So about two weeks later it's finished and illuminates with tree hugging love as we opted to save a tree on shipping and I went to the studio to pick it up! Meeting and chatting a bit with Tina was awesome! This was a huge treat and I would love to get a Los Angeles street team meet up going because of how amazing Etsyians are! Also I will take pics and blog more on the bumper once I get the crib, I may jump the gun though with getting the crib taking such a long time.
However after that fantastic experience the day was not over yet! I deserved (craved) ice cream! Which being in the downtown area hopping on the 101 and going to Scoops is the only option! Fortunately I facebooked this endeavor and was joined by two friends Ernae and Helen! So it was a social event as going to Scoops should be!
The special thing about Scoops is that they have homemade ice cream of unique and delicious flavor. On top of that 4 of them are always non diary! So I can really go to town there. I had three out of the four strawberry cheesecake, banana oreo, and chocolate vanilla.
Scoops is a must try and is located at:
712 N Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029

After the joyous meeting with friends I had one more stop on the quest! Surfas! This is where one can find all sorts of things like good imported beer, cooking, baking and confectionery supplies and the packaging there of. As well as cooking courses and more fun items. I only needed packaging for the baked goodies I will be bringing to sell at the EA V-tines Gift Fair oh and a large bottle of organic vanilla cause that stuff goes fast.
Surfas is located at:
8777 W Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230

As if my day was not full already with wondrous delights I had one more quest to take on Dinner! So I went to downtown Culver to hit up M Cafe and what fun! There was the Culver City farmers market that goes late into the evening! Which had lots of preped food vendors, fresh produce, and some hand made items. Which with that and dinner at M I was done for the day!
M Cafe is good food and is Macrobiotic meaning no dairy no eggs no meats besides fish! All of their food is good and budget willing I frequent this place quite often.
There are two locations see their website MCafeDeChaya.com for more info.

Pics Of the Baby Belly

2009-02-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

These were done a few weeks ago so it's a little bigger now and I plan on taking more once I get my hair done this weekend.

The Belly in it's full glory!

Peekaboo belly - I look like I'm trying to hide it

Fun things Ahead

2009-02-09T22:59:00.000-08:00

I have delayed a post that I said I would post a while ago about my eco-friendly rug solution. The delay was actually a good thing and perhaps a touch of the ol intuition as I found out on Saturday that they are here o_0.....

Also tomorrow I'm taking a special trip to meet a fellow etsyian who has made something incredibly wonderful for my baby!
Stay tuned for the cryptic nature of this post to be revealed!

About Work

2009-02-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

These are not yet complete but I just had to show them off.
Sorry but these are not for sale, until I decide to go through the process of making more. These bad boys, for the time being, are my fancy little work goggles comprised of hand hammered into shape military wings (I'm not a wiz with the metals yet so I use brute force rather then a torch and pickle and I don't have proper studio space for such fun useful things). The other parts are hack sawed screws and brass carpet spikes (recycle reuse).

The things I still have to add are more screw heads and then brass clips for securing the extra portions of the elastic straps.

The next item I want to show off is a wire wrapped dragonfly that took me a little while to flush out the concept and work it into the final sterling silver design. Overall I think it turned out pretty well and I will be making more of these eventually.

Things of today

2009-02-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

I had my midwife appointment today and things are all good the only thing is that the baby has not turned yet but that's not too much of an issue till my next visit. Which if she hasn't turned by then, I've got exercises to do to make her turn. Anyways yoga helps out with that too so I need to join a class by next week to help with that and the ever on going hip cramps. Also another thing that Mary Lou (my midwife) brought to my attention was potty training infants http://www.pottywhisperer.com/howitworks.html which I think is cost effective and eco friendly by not wasting water on washing cloth diapers or putting disposables in landfills. Really if a kitten can use a litter box why can't we teach an infant to use a toilet? Are we really dumber then a kitten as infants as toddlers? I would pray not, and the people who do that prove it.
Since I'm on an eco kick right now I'll go into a few of my ambitions with the home front. I really want to start composting since I cook nearly every day and with the rinds and extra bits going in the trash I feel bad because it can go for good use and on top of that it stinks up the house when the trash is opened. The biggest issue it that I don't have space outside to compost things so I'm looking into getting a NarureMill electric composter

I also want to start a little garden on my balcony for that compost to go to good use. Now for those who know me I have quite the brown thumb =( but for some crazy reason I think I can do this with the baby in the household. For starters I'm not going to be growing from seeds but I'm going to buy young "organically" grown plants from a new seller that I spied the other week when I went to the Saturday Santa Monica farmers market off of the 3rd Street Promenade. So the things I want to start growing are peas, blueberry's, tomatoes, and garlic. Then I'll move on to lemon and avocado trees, carrots, potatoes, and work on growing other things from seeds. Most of this push to make my brown thumb green is because of several agendas first being that I want to start juicing and growing ones own produce is highly cost effective since it takes a lot to make a little juice. My other agenda is that I think its a good thing to invest in my child's future by being able to teach her practical and useful knowledge like this. My third agenda is with the major corporation pushed consumerism mentality which is horrid for the environment.
Anyways I shall leave you with and image of fresh baked vegan chocolate chip banana bread!

Drilling Success!

2009-01-30T18:16:00.000-08:00

That right I drilled holes in metal folks! And my goodness the dremel is beyond amazing it drilled through the items like a hot knife through butter. I don't know why I've waited so long to get one (well it was actually mainly due to finances) but now I can't live without this little friend =D one necklace is done, two more items are in their final stages (a pair of earrings and a pendant), and one is awaiting drillage (another pair of earrings)because I forgot about it.
In other news I may end up adding more items earlier then I had planned because sales have been pretty fair lately and the gift fair on Feb 12 is quite some time away yet. I make no promises in that though so we shall have to wait and see.

Thwarted!

2009-01-29T15:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my playing with the dremel to drill metal was halted due to the jury duty run around and today I was determined to get my drill on. Much to my dismay that will, yet again, be put off. My drilling has been thwarted by a little fella called Collet! Now Mr. Collet is very useful if not crucial for use with Mr. Dremel unless he's the wrong size. Which is my big D'oh moment of the day/week of drilling attempts. As you see in the pic above my triumph in getting my metal drill bits and the 2, too large, collets that came with my dremel. So many things to learn about my new friend Mr. Dremel, and metals within my household are spared for yet another day V_V.

Eh

2009-01-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

Today three things occurred yesterday! I had my visit with the back up doctor Jason Rothbart who was a very nice and jovial fellow. I pray that I don't have to see him again...dealing with the birth of my child, not that I have anything against him but I want to have my baby at home without complications if you catch what I mean ;).
Number 2 I gots Flor Samples! I will do a whole post on this later today.
Number 3 I've got a thrillen for drillen and I got my bits for Mr. Dremel to drill metal!

Oh and the day before that I contacted HiTree who is an LA local and young mother as well, to make something for my baby! I'm so excited and we're going to save a tree in the process!

Babbelings

2009-01-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

My shop will be closed for the afternoon on Feb 12th because I will be vending at the EALA V-tines Gift Fair. So I won't be adding any brand new items (unless I get a custom order) till after that, cuz' my EA peeps get first dibs.

In other personal news my mother wants to be present for the birth of my child, however I've come to the realization that I really don't want her to be there. Her showing up afterwords is fine. However I have a feeling if she is present I would make her miserable and on top of that I don't want to deal with her. Through out my life I have felt a lack of care or support with my aspirations and abilities from her, although lately she has been better with showing support by purchasing items from my shop and buying me maternity clothes which I appreciate greatly and I understand how she is trying to do better. Its just when it comes to major things like this I can't make a full amends for the past, and on top of that finally telling her about our plan for home birth was met with uneducated opposition from her rather then an openness which is something that annoys me greatly, coming from someone who I wish were more supportive. I know she wants to be there and I feel bad for this realization I've come but I really don't want to tell her up front how I feel because it may hurt her feelings. So I'm kind of torn with to tell or not tell birth and then have her come over.

Anyways to end this post on a lighter note here's some random useless knowledge:
Mineral Oil and Pertoleum Jelly are byproducts of processing crude oil (There be black gold in them there beauty products)

Lanolin which is commonly used for soothing cracked nipples from breast feeding comes from a fatty/waxy substance that sheep secret from glands on to their wool. (sorry not vegan friendly)

A day in the life

2009-01-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

Today was the second official appointment with the midwives of Beach Cities Birth Service Mary Lou and her backup midwife Ashley, who works out of Mary Lou's home as well. I really wanted Jason to meet Ashley so this was my second appointment mainly with her and the next one is with Mary Lou. The appointments are extremely relaxed and generally the same routine with a lot more care and respect. The general routine is pee in a cup and insert a strip that checks for protein (preeclampsia) and sugar (gestational diabetes) which showed up negative for both! Checked my weight which is 170.5 I gained a whole half a pound from the last visit. Next was getting the blood pressure checked which turned up good as usual. Then Ashley checked the positioning of the baby which it seems that she has turned already (meaning she's upside down which is a good thing) but it won't be really noticeable or an issue till the next visit. Things are progressing really well and I pray they continue to!
Also this past weekend Jason and I found out two of our friends gave birth, another two are pregnant and the wife of a new business contact of his is pregnant as well! So ladies if in California beware the water unless you want to get pregnant ;)

On with my creative ambitious eco friendly side, I have completed phase one of operation Christmas Tree Demise which was using a little hand saw on out little four foot christmas tree to remove the branches from the trunk. Phase two is set to begin shortly and is the removal/collection of the needles (for candles and perhaps potpourri} and the drying/sectioning of the trunk (for a variety of items one of which I just thought of ...I may carve a section, with my new dremel 300 =D, to make my own candle mold which is classified as crazy ambitious but I love me power tools) So I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

My New Most Favorite Aunt

2009-01-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

Well a non-biological Most Favorite Aunt. This etsy seller has an adorable and clever name which pairs well with the beautiful hand knit items she has to offer. Lately I have been breezing through etsy in search of adorable handmade goodies to add to my wishlist.com baby shower registry for my baby due in April and I had not yet come across this seller. Actually she found me and offered a trade, which happens quite frequently on etsy, however I tend to be picky so less frequent with your truly. In this case the cute little baby cap, shown above, came to my attention. Then my picky nature got the best of me and I had to ask for a custom inception of it and in black with a purple flower, as finding items with this color combo is tough! Much to my delight she said she could do it and even going beyond that promptly created it that very evening! A, very, few days later it arrives in the mail and is stunning in its crafting, comfort, and cuteness!

I can't wait to see it on my little girl! Check out Most Favorite Aunt's shop and the other items she has to offer at MostFavoriteAunt.etsy.com
Currently in Most Favorite Aunt's shop there is a "CPSIA CLEARANCE" section. Which is a really sad but soon to be resolved issue with the passing of a great but ill though out and implemented bill that at the moment will make handmade baby goods no more due to the stringent and extravagant costs imposed on these handmade sellers. For more info about this daunting issue check out The Handmade Toy Alliance at www.handmadetoyalliance.org.

The Spiked Hairsticks Are Back!

2009-01-18T21:31:00.000-08:00

They are back alright but in very limited supply as at the moment I can only make four pairs and one pair has already been sold! These will most likely only be plain ones for now and in the future I will be making some with spike dangles which I have on my own pair. Click the image of them on the right to purchase them from my shop!

ShaNickers ShaTastic!

2009-01-15T17:05:00.000-08:00

Much to my delight this very afternoon I received my shanon1972 ShaNickers Wall Decals! They arrived well protected in a poster tube shown here with one rolled out and the other to the side

I've been really antsy waiting for these I ordered them on Dec 23 and received them today Jan 15th. Word to the unwise, expect orders that take 2 weeks to take longer over the holiday season ;)
The wall decals I purchased were for the living room
Circles Intersected

and for the "impending baby" Butterflies In Flight

In my over eagerness and sheer excitement at getting these (which I have been waiting to purchase since I saw her as a featured seller) I neglected the instructions for Circles Intersected of which I basically ended up following anyways because the I found the overall packaged design very intuitive.Also it mentions an included squeegee which I didn't get but it would have been an unnecessary waste to begin with, in addition to that I ended up doing it by myself, although the instructions say it should be done with two people, which was still really easy to do. However I will have to follow instructions and enlist the aid of my husband to place the Butterflies In Flight decal because it does not have the clear transfer paper.

On to the Installation of Circles Intersected
The first thing I did was decide to change the way I wanted the design to go up as I wanted to have Circles Intersected to be intersected by to be finished yet unfinished painting, and I also decided to use the bottom section upside down. So the first thing I did was cut the sheet in half separating the top portion from the bottom. Next I whipped out my level and straightened out the the picture to use as a reference as it is exactly centered. Then I placed the whole sheet against the wall and peeled the corners getting the sticky clear transfer paper, with the decals firmly adhered to it, on the wall. Holding it firm I then peeled or slipped out the white backing.

After that was complete I ran my hand over the clear transfer paper and decals which were securely on the wall. Next I slowly and gently removed the clear transfer paper making sure the decals stay stuck to the wall.

After the clear sticky transfer paper was removed I smoothed out the decals and much to my delight smoothing out the bubbles was easy. Then I repeated the process for the top section the whole process took me about 30 minutes and this is how it turned out! =D

These decals as well as many other designs can be purchased at http://Shanon1972.Etsy.com

I'm a bad blogger

2009-01-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

The holiday season was wonderful and I promptly became sick when the in-laws left. Anyways I've made my first purchases (well one is a trade) from Etsy for the baby! I'm really super excited as I'm getting wall decals from shanon1972 aka ShaNickers and a lovely hand knit cap from MostFavoriteAunt.

Other then that my laptop is dead until I get a new power cable or strip and reconnect the broken section. =( so my overall writing and new additions to the shop have dwindled because I'm tied to a desk top and I don't have my notes ect. So that makes things a bit harder to deal with. On top of that my car is being poopy I had to get the brakes replaced and now there's a leak with the transmission. There is also other havoc afoot but that is quick and easy to with. However with all of this crap going on I'm not in bad spirits. I'm still creating and I've got some fantastic things to reveal that takes my steampunk work into another direction and on top of that I've found a use for nearly all of my parts which means no waste! Not that I waste things anyways because I initially know that everything has its use it's just a matter of finding it ;)
Other shop news is that the spiked hair sticks will be making a comeback! I've finally got my hands on more hair stick bases for those guys and I'm in the process of making them.
I'm also planning on getting a dremel soon for drilling holes in metal which will up the bar on my creations =D
So i closing lots of craziness but I look forward to updating the Wenchie's Sacred Relics shop soon as well as updating the banners in both of my shops and making this blog look like something.

Crunch time

2008-12-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

This is a point in time when my ambitious nature gets the best of me because I'm actually acting on things and this is sheer trouble. However, I am managing to focus on one thing at a time so things are actually getting accomplished. On today's ambitious agenda I have to run to the grocery store to get the rest of the ingredients for the gluten free vegan cookies to bake, I have around 15 items on stand by waiting for the industrial glue finishing and this needs to be done before the 3pm which is the Santa Monica new mommies and preggos group meet up. After that I need to head to home depot and get the metal rod and wood rosette to create a base for the acrylic ring/bracelet display for thursday (<---ambitious). Then I need to find time to figure out illustrator and create my logo(<--- insanely ambitious) so I can then print them out on the photo sheets and cut them for business cards. On top of that I need to list the ingredients for the vegan pumpkin bread and vegan cookies cut those suckers out and get them on the packaging which I still need to get food grade cellophane from Surfas to seal the cookies in and I might as well get a display for samples of the pumpkin bread and cookies too. The time is now 11:40 I need to crack the whip!

Also I haven't been farting around this morning I had a somewhat pointless obgyn appointment with the male dr where I'm sitting around for 30 minutes then get the blood pressure test, pee in a cup, the dr checks the babies heart beat only to say everything's good which takes a whole 8 minutes, also this was with the male dr who is the partner of my usual obgyn and I don't care for him at all I can't wait to jump that ship and finalize the hiring of my midwife. Jason is getting hung up on the budgeting details and I'm just like f*ck it this is more then just money to me this is my peace for the delivery and health of our child.

Super Urber Busy

2008-12-08T10:27:00.000-08:00

This week is crazy to say the least, I may be a part of a reality TV show providing it gets green lit, which I need any and all who read this to pray, send good vibes and other positivitys upon this endeavor. Also this week is the gift fair holiday boutique at EA so today I need to work hard on getting everything prepped and ready for this and I pray I make a grip of sales! I'm also still looking for someone to help me carry stuff since Jason is completely tied up this week. Also the day of the boutique is Jason and my 4th anniversary! Four years and we're having a kid! So along with all of that there is the never ending process of getting this place situated while breaking out the Christmas festivities. Most of these things I need to accomplish today and finish up tomorrow so I can finalize boutique preps and finish a few creations.

Oh and the really fun news is that I finally ordered a custom kimono from Sky Creations of which I have drooled over for a long time and will be good preggo wear! I can't wait it's to be finished in seven days! Here's what one looks like click on the pic to go to her page

and my kimono will look a little like this
for custom orders check out http://www.skycreation.com/

Ultrasound 11-11-08

2008-11-18T17:36:00.001-08:00

Ultrasound 11-11-08
Originally uploaded by ye wenchie

Here's the most recent image of the baby upon this visit we found out that it's a girl! In regards to names I have one that I've settled on but the hubby finds it depressing although it means "to bring comfort." However everyone else who we have told has loved the name so there =P
Anyways in the pic she's getting big so you can only see her head and torso. She's healthy and very active I can feel her using my uterus as a punching bag, which happens more frequently in the evenings around dinner time. In addition to spending time with friends I've been doing the finishing touches on moving in to the apartment, and squeezing in some time for painting/ornament creation the first of these can be seen here . Within the next week I should have two sets of Holiday ornaments for up for sale in the shop.
Lately I've been in a much better and obviously more productive mood so my presence online has dwindled a bit. I will try to update more frequently once the apartment has become entirely livable with should be by the end of this week for a 24 tv movie party =D

Getting the Blagh out

2008-11-05T19:59:00.000-08:00

Well actually I've been getting out more often and spending time with friends which has been a great help in getting my sanity back on track. I've also been baking a lot more, which tends to happen around this time because pumpkins are in season. Along with the baking I've been thinking about offering some of these goodies in my shop such as vegan and gluten free pumpkin chocolate chip cookies which is an option that no one is offering on etsy at the moment and to my surprise these are being well received by non vegans and non gluten free people.
I have lots to do such as repairing my mother's(in-law)necklace, painting, gearing up for the holidays and an opportunity to sell at a consignment shop. However these things are still on hold for the time being as I'm not back to 100 percent yet but I anticipate that I will be soon.

Bleak - A Rant

2008-10-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

Well I'm laying low for a bit I just feel creatively blegh and a little preggo sick still =/ which I'm going to see someone about or I may just get acupuncture if it can be afforded. But my sales are doing terrible right now, and it sorta spurns on the blaghness, because I do take pride in my work by making sure things meet my high demand of quality. However, I guess most of my skills are going towards culinary delights of which I will be serving to my mother tomorrow who is to be home on crutches for two weeks. Also some of this blaghness could just be from pregnancy stuff with the crazy hormonal imbalances and such.
I'm also pretty sad right now because I have no halloween costume and I love dressing up =(. I also can't wear my default victorian/steampunkish costume because corsets and being 4 months pregnant don't mix unless you can find or afford to have an authentic preggo corset made. Though what I really wanted to do for this year was master the art of wearing a real kimono with a tied obi, which can be bough at the massive Marukai, but sadly that will have to wait because of a lack of sales =(.
Anyways to end this on a good note I did my first yelp review today on Funnel Mill you can click here to see it.

Aloha goodbye

2008-10-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

Jason and I arrived safely in LAX at 8am thins morning (redeye flights For The Win) with my left ankle(which has two metal screws in it) painful and swollen =/ I slept most of the way home so I didn't move my legs around as I should have which can cause blood clotting while being pregnant because of the increased blood flow. Right now my ankle is elevated and I'll see if it improves over night if not I get a field trip to the Doc tomorrow =(
My time in Hawaii was great and crappy as well. For some reason my body does not like Hawaiian food even if it is vegan =/ but I did alright with veggie sushi(ume shiso and natto rolls are a new obsession since albacore is out for now) which unfortunate for me was not really near where Jason and I were staying (which was at my brother's house). Other then that being pregnant puts a damper on things while Jason was out partying with the bridal party and other wedding guests I was at my brother's place reading The Graveyard Book. So needless to say I didn't get any quality with my husband(besides sleeping) because we had to be chauffeured by someone since we didn't rent a car =( which was a bad idea at times. But the one fun thing I was able to do besides walking around and shopping on a super tight budget was snorkeling and finding a sea turtle which was great and there's a whole back story with that and my first trip to Hawaii when I was 5.
The main highlight of the trip was my brother's wedding. Which I must say was beautiful and Lindsey (my new sister) looked very lovey They rented a beautiful beach house for the bridal party and the ceremony which worked out really well and made things a lot of fun. There was a threat of rain which actually passed before the ceremony and high winds which worked to give the wedding a mystical appearance with Lindsey's veil flowing elegantly with it. Most of all with this trip it was great to be able to know Lindsey more and meet her great family and their friends as well. It's always great to see most of the family gathered together and I was able to meet my Uncle Dee (my aunt Teresa just re-married a year or two ago) and other family members I don't get to see that often. Although the wedding guest list was small(because the trip to Hawaii is expensive) I personally thought and felt that things were more meaningful families joined together as if they always were, new friends were made and everything that meant the most worked out beautifully.

Uneventful Appointment

2008-10-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

We did not find out if the baby is a boy or a girl today as things were rushed at the obgyn office because of the delay in the Dr's arrival so all we got today was paper work for more blood tests(which I need to take in 2 weeks) and to hear the baby's heart beat(sounded like a techno beat to me). So no new pics as there was not time for the ultrasound =/ but in 4 weeks we will find out the details ;)
In other news I finished my brother's cuff links and I think I shall make more like them since I have not come across anyone else making ones like these. Also for the time being I shall not reveal them until I make a second pair because I want something in my shop so people won't harass me to make them a pair =P Anyways I pray that he likes them and that they will fit well as they are a bit on the large and odd shape side. Jason gave me the thumbs up on them so I shall trust his opinion.
In other news I will be in Hawaii for my bro's wedding this week, and we leave early weds morning and we will be back late on Sunday. I still need to update my shop announcement and stuff but that is all for now.

Last Night

2008-10-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

I was able to attend the Graveyard Book tour here in Santa Monica it was a fun and unique event which started out with a Vincent Price impersonator, who did an ok job but I was most pleased that he mentioned Vincent Price's cookbooks of which there are two, one of which I own and is worth $100 ^_^. But back on the details of the event Neil Gaiman then read a portion of the 7th chapter of the book. Along the tour he has been reading a chapter starting from the beginning to the end which is available online you can find the links through his website http://www.neilgaiman.com/. after the reading clips of the Coraline movie were shown and it looks great he choose to have it done in claymation and it will be shown in theaters using the new 3d technology. After that was the Q&A, of which no question is treated like a dumb question and he answered them with complete sincerity and wit.
One of the many admirable things about Gaiman is that during the Q&A section he mentioned how he packages his own scripts (packaging means he chooses and attaches a director most likely some of the actors as well to the script).
After the Q&A he gave a reading of a prayer/poem that he wrote for Tori Amos when she was pregnant it's called Blueberry Girl and he saw it in print for the first time at one of his stops during this tour. It's a really lovely poem and I want a copy of it being pregnant and all ^_~
Needless to say it was a great event, Neil Gaiman was as charismatic as usual and to be expected, and I purchased a signed copy of the book the perfect Oct read.

Relief

2008-10-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

Yeay for sales which helps quite a bit so I can now get at least some alginate, which by the way is an enviro friendly non toxic mold making compound that is derived from seaweed. Which I will be using to remake wax versions of my hair sticks. I was also thinking of making a new mask for Halloween using the alginate, I found a tutorial on www.artmolds.com (where I will be purchasing my alginate from) which is an amazing website for casting stuff and its making me get a bit too ambitious. My ambitions get me into trouble by making my Wenchie etsy shop too eclectic =/

There is a lack of

2008-10-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

Sales V_V nothing has moved this week I still have a bunch to list but I'm being lazy about it because I'm not feeling the love. But! I am however not puking! Second trimester here I come!
So this week I've had a bit of a problem because no sales = no supplies to finish these unique ambitious creations I have floating about. One of the most frustrating things is the fact that I never got the molds for the hair sticks I made for the lost wax class which has set me back quite a bit in time and more so in money since I need to buy some sort of mold making material to make another wax casting of the originals. The hair sticks I make have always been decent sellers but the wood bases in my area have run out and it looks like they are unable to get more of the same type =/ that's why I'm making my own but out of metal. I was able to track some down online but I need money to get them.
Rant session is over
Other then feeling better and not puking I was able to deal in some culinary arts by making some delicious Vegan Banana Bread with Pecans and the ultimate Vegan Breakfast Sandwich (hash browns, grilled tofu patty, soy cheese, and tempeh bacon between two slices of toasted whole wheat bread)
Also I've discovered that I'm officially off of gaming hiatus I can enjoy playing video/computer games again it feels so good to be back in the habit, I miss you Guild Wars!^_^

Here's the latest creation the Moon Bat I will try to get it up this evening:

Fascinating !

2008-09-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

Lately I've felt inspired to make a few things and I bought supplies (on etsy of course because I'm not going anywhere with how bad I've been feeling) to facilitate my inspiration instead of unpacking and organizing the supplies I have currently. Which I must say is bad but I do have to dig through my supply swamp for some bits but that still fails to get it organized. Anyways I made a little steampunk Halloween pendant pics will be posted once it's in my shop, and I am making a pair of cuff links for my brother which will have a bit of a military flare since he's in the navy I just pray that they are not too big because they will be on the larger side for cuff links.

Now for the Fascinating part since I'm going to Hawaii for my brother's wedding on Oct 16th to the 19th I've been doing research on what I can actually do while I'm out there being prematurely pregnant and all, as Jason and I were actually going to work on getting me pregnant while in Hawaii. Back on to the topic at hand, what can I do while in Hawaii? The only thing that came to my mind as safe was snorkeling so I thoroughly researched it and came across and interesting article that said this about dolphins click on the text for the link,"Using echolocation, similar to an ultrasound, a dolphin can tell that a woman is pregnant, and anecdotal evidence suggests dolphins may pay more attention to pregnant swimmers." I had no idea that dolphins would be able to detect that. They are some crazy little critters! So really besides eating, light walking, and snorkeling/swimming there isn't much else I can do no surfing no kayaking no parasailing, no rides on power boats, ect ect ect. Right now I just keep praying for the "morning" sickness to leave me be.

Still

2008-09-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

I'm still dealing with the morning sickness =( supposedly later this week as I enter week 14 of pregnancy it should be over... I pray the vomming will be over! So enough whining, I found out yesterday that as I'm at the beginning of the second trimester of pregnancy that I should not be sleeping on my back as the weighted uterus can block crucial blood vessels to the baby and lower my blood pressure. I found this out while trying to find some at home exercises I can do that are preggo safe, upon looking up sit ups or crunches this is what I came across Click Here

Sorry for the delay

2008-09-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

My computer was exiled from the internets for a span of several days per order of the hubby and I had to lobby to get them back on. (Actually the hubby was trying to make the wireless more secure and take care of other issues) On top of that the all day "morning sickness" decided to rear its ugly stomach angering head once again. But other then that there really are no other excuses besides that I'm a lazy blog neglector. Blog neglect is a serious crime and should not be taken lightly =(

Now for the update

That's the new ultrasound pic that was taken last week at 11 weeks along. Although you can only really see in the pic that the little one is bigger in the ultrasound we could see it's fully formed hands and feet if which it was using to do the Curly shoulder spin or rug spin which was really cute and entertaining and even the obgyn was surprised at the little ones vitality. As of yet the sex cannot be determined but on the next appointment which is right before Jason and I leave for Hawaii for my brother's wedding. Of which I need to make him some cuff links as a late b-day present.

Which brings me to the last part of the update which is with my creations. From the move my crafting supplies are still in disarray so not many new things will be made except for this one as I have catching up to do on getting completed items that have been floating around for a while listed. Then I get more items up in the supply shop and make more sales before I leave in Oct.

Back in business!

2008-09-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

The move is finished and things are still being sorted out and put in their places but the best thing is that I can get back to making and selling things =D I have some really exciting projects to finish up as I got the last components for them arrived right before the move so I'm really looking forward to getting back to these secret little accessories I'm creating.

Other then that the new apt is great so Jason and I have the second bedroom as his office/my mad crafting space. However this place has its little quarks which I have decided is a subtle homage to the Winchester House. What exactly are the quarks? Well they mainly deal with the sliding glass doors out to the balcony. The word "doors" is not a typo as there are two that slide into each other where as there is usually only one that slides, and the other side is a glass panel. So to aid in this confusion the screen door is on the wrong sliding glass door because there is no space for it on the side that it is on. Lastly to make things more complicated there are no handles on the outside of either of the sliding glass doors so getting back in is complicated to say the least (yes I almost closed myself out on the balcony). Needless to say things like this highly amuse me, but I will fix the screen door and the handle dilemma. There are also other subtle mistakes in this place but they can be easily taken care of by me and are not as amusing as the sliding glass doors.

Tomorrow I go in for my second obgyn appt to check on the baby so another ultrasound should be done tomorrow.

Moving Mayhem and the Aftermath

2008-09-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

After much packing last week Sat was the truck rental and the big move. We kidnapped a mexican from U-haul who was the Übermensch in disguise as he carried very large and very heavy items with ease for his slender build. In addition to that he was a hard core motivator who showed us what lazy and weak Americans we are (like little kittens, or girly men) of course that didn't apply to me as I'm in Preggo Exempt status and we were sure pay him very well for the torture of our moving hell. I would highly recommend kidnapping this particular mexican if you are in the Santa Monica area as he totally kicked our butts and did a super fine job and speaks fluent english, however I can't remember his name but he is out at the U-haul on Lincoln daily so I'll have to ask him for a refresh on that.
So during that George and Lori came over to help with packing and Lori busted out the nightmare of a kitchen.(I cook nearly every day so there's a lot of stuff and its usually dirty because Jason doesn't help with doing dishes, a problem that will be resolved with mister dishwasher machine). So continuing with the move we still had a bunch of stuff to pack and no boxes so I had to put items away in the new place to free up the boxage. Sunday rolled around and we had Benson help us out as there were still a ton of boxes. Our ex-neighbor to be (the nicest neighbor, and I'm not being sarcastic) commented that it was "the move that never ends" and she certainly was right! I one bedroom apartment was packed like one of those mini clown cars where 50 clowns come out when it seems only one midget should fit in it, or more like how Jesus fed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish.
At the end of Sunday we still had more stuff to move which was completed on monday with a huge pile of stuff (clothes electronics pretty little things ect ect ect) for Salvation Home Pickup to take seriously it was huge and I should've taken pics. The salvation army gents came over this morning to take the items they would have taken a lot less (only the items that you call them to take) but I played the preggo card without meaning to and they took most of it cause they were cool peoples. Alright the next course of action is getting the rest of the stuff out which was a 16mm projector, weights, coat rack, desk, bookshelf, and a computer monitor. The only things that are left are the desk and bookshelf and they will go to the street for someone to feel like they are stealing but they are really free.
Anywhoo we have a cleaning crew coming over to the old place tomorrow to bust out the dust and fur (it's such a mess OMG) but the moral of the story is don't horde useless s*it.

Oh and we don't get the internets set up at our new place till Saturday so Jason and I have been leaching off of Funnel Mill which should have closed an hour ago but they are so kind that they stay open for us lame people who keep them here an hour past closing, seriously this place is the Heaven to our moving hell.

V_V

2008-08-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

I now have an idea of what bulimia feels like as since yesterday I have been unable to keep food down. Liquids are ok if taken slowly and same with the soy yogurt I've been having in the morning. I despise vomiting and I don't like the fact that it comes with being pregnant. Also so far I've been the only one able to pack for the move as Jason has been really busy this week, and the packing is not going very fast with the way I'm feeling. This is just a really crappy situation.

We're Moving

2008-08-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

Thats right we're moving a lengthy 4 miles from our current one bedroom place in the Palisades to a spacious 2 bedroom place in Santa Monica a decent area just not quite as nice as the Palisades of which I shall miss =( but the new place is in walking/biking distance from the places we frequent. This move will take place next weekend so sending out orders may take a bit more time.
Moving while I'm still in the first trimester is harsh and the packing of my supplies and product is going slow. I still have a bunch of items to list mainly watch movements for sacred supplies. I did however, get three creations up in my regular shop:

Earthly Pendant

Sultry Rose Brooch

Bell Flowers

Ultrasound pic

2008-08-14T22:12:00.001-07:00

Ultrasound pic
Originally uploaded by ye wenchie

Click on the pic to see a bigger version.
This is the picture from the first ultrasound, the forming baby is in the red ring I drew in, and we could even see the little flutter of a heart beat which was very cool.

Today the morning sickness was too much and I vommed today has been by far the worst with the morning sickness and I had to get a nausea prescription which is something usually used for cancer patients but works for morning sickness as well. I'm also supposed to take a break on my prenatal vitamins, of which I have ordered natural organic ones that should be gentler on the tummy. and are less expensive then the prescribed ones.

Slow Going

2008-08-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

I managed to get a few movements up on my supply shop Sacred Supplies, Other them that nothing. =( I've been hit with the morning sickness and a sinus infection which leaves me feeling nauseous and air headed all day. On top of this we're going to be moving soon, actually at the end of the month so things will be even slower during that time. It's really aggravating not being able to get anything done. Anyways yesterday I had the first appt with the obgyn and with the ultrasound got to see the little flutters of a heart beat with the baby. I got pics and I will get around to posting them um sometime. It's pretty crazy and brings this to a whole new level of reality.
Well I'm off to try to feel better.

Ugh

2008-08-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

I will get some items up in both of my shops this week I have been feeling exhausted and blagh because of being pregnant but supposedly this should be subsiding soon. I've also been busy with the pregnancy stuff trying to find a ob-gyn that is more holistic minded which sadly is tough to find. Today I spent the day cleaning the stove. I cook almost every night and it hasn't been cleaned for well over a year so it was quite a mess. Also I cleaned the bathroom which I didn't even finish before feeling extreamly exhausted because I don't have an adequate brush for cleaning out the grout as I have an old tooth brush that I've re-purposed for cleaning.
I also had a great chat with Kieu today and we whined at each other for about an hour =P.
Other good news is that I have items back from the lost wax technique class and I'm working on finishing them to a nice mirrored polish before I post pics of them ^_^

I also need to begin getting super serious about the business side of things and keeping precise track of expenses and such which I am terrible at, such is the burden of the artist =(.

Other news is that Jason and I may be moving within the end of this month to a two bedroom place so I have a bunch of items to try to sell and get packed organized ect.
I'm so busy for feeling like I'm not doing much. I hate having my shop upkeep prowess thrown off by this =/

Brix is a Jerk!

2008-08-05T16:09:00.001-07:00

Pirate Brix
Originally uploaded by ye wenchie

Yes the terror of the high seas (household) created quite a commotion on his luxurious and relaxing vacation at the California Cat Center, while Jason and I were off in New York celebrating our mother's birthday (actually my mother-in-law but she awesome so I prefer to drop the in-law part) and that I'm pregnant.
So back on the terror for the first time he decided to attack a woman for the first time at the Cat Center and bit her pretty dang hard too I'm very thankful that she did not have to get stitches but Brix has reached infamous bastard status and did this for no apparent reason either. So I need to contact his previous owner and try to get his vaccination records =/ that poor woman. He has bitten and is usually only aggressive with men so this really sucks and there are a ton of health concerns for being bitten by a cat as they harbor some very harmful bacteria ect in their mouths, but the owners of the California Cat Center are very gracious women and are willing to give him one more chance at the original Van Nuys location. Of course he had to be reported to the state as with any aggressive animal and we have to do a rabies quarantine on him.

Very Rare Indeed

2008-07-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

I have an item of which I thought was a movement from a pocket watch but it is actually from "a gas light night clock." Here is a bit of the correspondence from an awesome gent with the Waltham Database Tom McIntyre,"Thanks for the pictures. Your “watch” is actually part of a gas light night clock. It was fitted with a milk glass dial and a bracket that held it in front of the flame of a gas light...The movement was made in 1896."
This item is pretty hard to come by considering that I have never heard of such thing. Also this clock still wants to tick so I need to hunt down someone looking to restore one, even though this movement is missing the gears for the hands which were made specifically for this clock only.

I've got Diamonds Biotch!

2008-07-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Actually I nabbed some really nice lots of watch parts and several of the fancy watch cases have little diamonds in them =D these lots cost much less then the worth of the diamonds. One case will be going to my mother in law for her b-day this weekend and the other two will be snazzed up and sold on etsy.

Welcome to my Insanity: Symmetry vs. The Watch works

2008-07-26T14:29:00.001-07:00

Ladies Bondale pocket watch face
Originally uploaded by ye wenchie

There is something wrong with the roman numerals on this watch face and it tugged at my intrigue so much so that I had to see with this is all about. What is the problem you may ask, I shall put it simply! The representation of the roman numeral four is wrong! Instead of the correct numeral representation IV it is IIII which seems quite self-centered if you ask me ;)~
Moving on with this simple problem there is a simple and positively compelling reason behind this numeral treason that is based in artistic aesthetic of symmetry. Which is something that compels or restrains me in my own works of art. The four represented as IIII balances the dial with the eight VIII because eight is the heaviest numeral or the numeral containing the most strokes which would set the symmetry of the dial off "balance." Thus the four has taken up the slack in restoring the balance, and to tell you the truth I would have done the same thing!

The Precious' Of The Pirate Wenchie

2008-07-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

There's this one watch movement which of course is of the captivating Elgin brand and upon my research last night here's what the serial number revealed Click Here. My little precious is from 1905 =D I did a little dance and blabbered to my uninterested husband. In my hands I held a piece of equipment 103 years old and it is nearly pristine (one of the top silver gears has been replaced or scratched to heck so the etched design is gone). I will be taking pics then turning it over to be sold =( but for now it's my precious!
Which has got me thinking my treasures are and have always been antique items because of the pure artistic nature of them which lacks in this fast mass produced blandness of a world we live in. However even that can be appreciated in a way but it lacks a soul the personality an artist can give to their work. I subconsciously believe that when I create something I breathe life into it. A piece of my soul gives life to my work and I feel that with the artwork I admire I can see it's soul as well.

Another precious thing to me is my sacred coffee shop funnel mill which shall soon be over run by yuppies and hipsters =( which is good (the place shall stay)and bad (over crowding). Funnel Mill has just been voted the best coffee/tea shop in all of LA by the Los Angeles magazine =D and so this shall be revealed once that publication comes out (I know this before hand because I'm a regular) but as a symbol of gratitude they will be offering the Kopi Luwak (poop) coffee with a $20 discount of $40 a cup.

Here's a snippet of what Funnel Mill has about it and click on the image above for the full story.
"Kopi Luwak coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an area well-known for its excellent coffee. Also native to the area is a small civet-like animal called a Paradoxurus. That's the scientific name, but the locals called them Luwaks. These little mammals live in the trees and one of their favorite foods is the red, ripe coffee cherry. They eat the cherries, bean and all. While the beans are in the Luwak's stomach, they undergo chemical treatments and fermentations. The beans finish the journey through the digestive system, exit. The still-intact beans are collected from the forest floor, and are cleaned, then medium-roasted and ground just like any other coffee."

So Sleepy -_- zzZzZzZZZzZzZzz

2008-07-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

I have succeeded at not getting done what I had wanted to get done today. What has been done is taking my car to the shop and it's going to be a shiny new radiator for Jeepness. Yes I named my Jeep Wrangler her full name is Jeepness of Fury =D and I figure cars are like large mechanical pets, you feed them, clean them and take them to the Mechanic Doctor when they are sick. Which means Jeepness is having surgery omg my poor car!
Now enough of my insane banter from being very sleepy, I tend to research my items pretty heavily and fill my brain with useless knowledge which I shall from this day forward share with those who may so happen to stumble upon this blogamigigger.

I recently wrote of acquiring my grubby little paws on a fabulous lot of watch parts with are cases, bands, movements, watch makers vials, amazing tins, and other fun things. So most of the intact movements I will be selling and I like to know what I selling so I've been doing research on the brands and the history of wrist watches in general which I found out women were the first to wear wrist watches or wristlets as they were referred to at the time, where as the watches were decorative pieces more like bracelets and even as I've found brooches with the watch set upside down so the lady could peer down and not have to fondle with her bosom trying to peer at the time. The reason behind why women lay claim to wearing the first wrist watch has been said to be because of the women's rights movements and women moving towards being in the work place. This essentially began in 1848 when the first official Women's Rights Convention convened and push ahead in the 1920s with the 19th Amendment allowing women to vote.
Men later too on the trend starting with the first world war. Here's what a site on the history of the Gruen Watch Co has to say about it,"Most men saw wristwatches as being extremely effeminate and continued to carry pocket watches. Things began to change after the military on both sides used wristwatches during the First World War. When huddled in a muddy trench or flying an airplane, a wristwatch proved to be much more practical and convenient than a pocket watch, and was easier to protect from damage. This helped to remove the wristwatch's feminine stigma, making them acceptable for men to wear in civilian life. However, most manufacturers, including Gruen, were careful to call them "strap watches" since "wristwatch" still sounded effeminate to male customers."
Those are the interesting tid bits I found out today and I look forward to getting the movements up on my Sacred Supplies shop tonight.
Here's a list that I worked up of the brands to expect:
Bering Watch co
Benrus Watch co inc
Beverly
Bulovia Watch Co
Englin USA
Etna Watch co
Glycine watch co
Gruen Watch co
Harman Watch Co
Helbros Watch Co
Klasons Watch Co
Liban Watch Co
Libela Watch Co
Louis Watch co inc
Mildus watch co
Rensie Watch co
Royce watch co
Winton Watch Co

The Motherload Has Arrived!

2008-07-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

OMGWTFBBQWFSLOLSFCROFL LOLZERS

I won this ebay auction and it's a huge lot with the most amazing things a 1950's "standard" broken high school clock that I just dismantled. Guilty Pleasure: I love destroying things to see how they work but I won't do that to working pieces or heirlooms. So the second part of this lot are Watch Parts! A ton of tiny amazing whatch parts in amazing vintage tins like an Underwood typewriter ribbon tin (I have never missed my underwood typewriter more then I do now I should have kept, it I was 19 when I let go of it). I also just found a watch face with jewels set in it which I have to see what they are. OMG I'm in over my head =D

Bringing in the new

2008-07-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

"Bring out the ol' bring in the new" strangly one of my fave lines from The Hudsucker Proxy <---I love that movie<

Here's the scoop on the new items click on their images to visit the listing in the shop:
Rosebud Steamworks Bracelet

Since the earrings were so popular (and I have no more matching french hook ear wires in stock to make more)I made a bracelet which I tested for two days first without the watch gears then with them in.

The Gentleman's Tie Tack Lapel Pin

I really love how this one turned out, the texture of the button reminds me of a lizard skin texture and something for a refined yet adventurous gent. I used one of the left over button portions from the Industrial Gape Leaves earrings, and then topped that with another metal victorian button then a watch gear.

Gear Simplicity Tie Tack Lapel Pin

This was one of those pieces that made it's self where as the gear fit perfectly in the crevice with a little gentle hammering after I removed the top section of the 2 part vintage plastic button. Then I secured the screw head(from a broken clock I dismantled)upon the top.

So there you have it more items will be up later today!

PHAILED

2008-07-02T15:08:00.001-07:00

phailed
Originally uploaded by ye wenchie

I've totally phailed, failed so bad it's spelled with a ph! Well my efforts to being productive have been halted at every turn.
I finally finished my acting resume and found out that my hubby took the usb cable to the printer so I had to spend 20 minutes combing through our disaster area of an apartment to find one which I did! So I got them all printed and the stapler we have is retarded so I have to calk it like a shotgun each time I make a staple with was 40 times 4 staples on ten sheets of resume + headshot. Mind you the hours of the agency are wonky so at that point I'm running low on time.
I got the shotgun stapleness completed and run around like a psycho in a padded room to get everything together to nail out a bunch of tasks today. I get out to my car and there's a nice little puddle underneath. I proceed to set down my items and inspect the leakage it's anti-freze the nice green stuff that animals like to kill themselves with because it's sweet. I proceed to my apt grab kitty litter so no animals attempt to drink the stuff ( plain clay kitty litter is great for cleaning up oil vomit and other nasty chemical spills =D ). Back at my car I shake the litter al over the puddle, unlocked the hood checked the radiator hoses which one could be tightened as there is the slightest hint of a leak at the top, then I got down as low as possible because I'm dressed nicely but in black so it's not too big of a deal. and noticed the lovely green anti freeze seeping from the while bottom of my radiator yes my dear friends I most likely have a crack in the sucker. My plans are crushed and my bank account is looking pretty bleak.
Needless to say this day is a frustration fest, but I’ve had worse days and I still being productive with other things and last night I uploaded more items to my supply shop so I may get a few in my regular shop today but I'm not to sure about that now.

Sporting the Goodies From Figments and TotusMel

2008-07-01T11:46:00.001-07:00

Sporting the Goodies From Figments and TotusMel
Originally uploaded by ye wenchie

The earrings are by TotusMel(Click Here) and the necklace by Figments (Click Here). Two very stunning items from Steamteam buddies.

(My messed up teeth bug I got to get them fixed again V_V stupid retainers being breakable)