grabbing a quick bite to eat before i head off to class. also here to report that most that saw my shirt yesterday immediately thought it said “check your grandma”. does this suggest that people are too lazy to get past the “gra”, or is it a testament to the latent guilt brought on by the bad treatment of the elderly in this throwaway culture?! FIND OUT NEXT WEEK AT narwhalcreations dot com!

the first order of business is the quite successful second edition of the plastic bag bag, which i made for my dear friend emily for her birthday:

i spruced the design up with some rick-rack and a fancy fabric interior.

i also put a scary amount of time into making this delightful eye candy:

behold, fabric covered floss bobbins! i don’t know how many hours total these took– let’s just say more than five and less than ten– and i wound up with a whole 30 of them. i got the idea from this post over at The Small Object blog, which is a great place with lots of cool tutorials and lots of craft inspiration (craftspiration?). this project makes for a very pretty storage solution, if you’re willing to put in the time.

and lastly on the creation front is an idea that was inspired by my hatred of internet grammar. i’m pretty sure i was an english teacher in a former life, because every time i read that something is “better then” something else, or some one “should of” done something, i kind of want to jab knitting needles in my ears to distract from the pain in my brain. without further ado, i give you this:

this is my pathetic excuse for cursive handwriting (so perhaps i wasn’t an english teacher…maybe an editor). i silk screened it in a violent spell-check red. now, rather than confront people about their poor vocabulary decisions, all i have to do is stare at my shirt and cough quietly. i won’t lie, passive aggression has always been a strong suit of mine.

lots of new changes on the horizon; school will be out in a few weeks, which means more craft time, but unfortunately also means full-time work. also, it’s warming up considerably here, and while all the craft bloggers up there in the arctic north are cheering for the onslaught of spring, i’m definitely not looking forward to it. it’s easy to love spring when you’ve just endured frost-bite inducing wintry weather, but here in houston, spring means that i am suddenly struck with the realization that my car has no air conditioning and oh my god this is going to last for six more months. there are a couple things i like about spring, though–one being that i can actually afford to buy strawberries, and the second is that medians everywhere are erupting in wildflowers. houston isn’t the prettiest city in the world by a long shot, but i get a smile every time i pass memorial park, where giant bunches of wildflowers have suddenly proliferated. i think a lot of it is their sign: a small green plaque reading “Wildflowers Growing!!” two exclamation points and everything! gah, it kills me. in the meantime, i’m going to have to get used to arriving everywhere slightly sweaty with a nice tan on my left arm.

a bag made of bags!

i actually fused together several layers of plastic grocery bag to create a sturdy, water resistant material. then i made a bag out of it. while surprisingly attractive for something some people may consider to be made out of trash, it is just a prototype, practice bag. in fact, i was nearly done making it before i even measured anything…although that may be more of a testament to my aversion to measuring than anything else. anyway, prettier bags are hopefully on the horizon.

in other news, as you may have surmised from the title of this post, i am currently quite sickly. what was a mildly annoying sore throat blossomed into a highly annoying drippy/stuffy nose. despite the copious amounts of snot my body is producing, i was able to attend one birthday party and two art openings this weekend, AND hosted a wildly successful tea party. we dined on these little treats:

i also ran across some really cute, WAY CHEAP fabric at one of the most unlikely of places: wal-mart. i know, i know, it goes against everything you ever believed to be true, but look at the choice prints i picked up for only ONE DOLLAR A YARD.

only a significant shortage of funds prevented me from grabbing more. this is the kind of find that makes you shout “SCORE!” very loudly in the middle of the fabric department, much to the embarrassment of whoever’s accompanying you. or it is for me.

and lastly, i’ve forgone the craft-blogger stereotypical pet choice (cat) by adopting these beautiful little babies:

ahhhh, they’re so cute! the BF and i have joint custody of what he refers to as “the kids”. we quickly abandoned their carefully chosen names, and have resorted to calling them eatie and sleepy, because they eat a lot and sleep a lot (respectively). i am having way more fun owning mice than a normal person should. i won’t divulge how long i can spend simply sitting and watching them, because it seems like the kind of information most people would be embarrassed by, but let me tell you this– it’s better than television.

on that note, i’m out.

yummmm. i made these for a studio mate’s birthday this week. i wonder if anyone will pick out that i inadvertently used the same palette i use for paintings…hmm.

speaking of culinary delights, i recently had the opportunity to sample something that was most definitely NOT good to eat– i’m talking about the epicurean atrocity that is chocolate skittles. i’d consider myself something of a candy buff (i think this is the fancy way of saying I LOVE SWEEEETS without the manic, drool down the chin bit). now, while i have an inordinate appreciation for all things sugary, i knew full well that chocolate skittles were probably grosser than gross. this didn’t stop me from buying a pack and trying each flavor of skittle. i have to say, the “chocolate pudding” flavor skittle is pretty good. the rest, not so much.

in other news, none of the projects i’ve been working on are finished– such is the life of a full-time student, part-time worker, i suppose. the BF’s birthday present is sitting half-finished on a pile of fabric right now, making it…about a month and ten days late. and not very close to completion. and he hasn’t broken up with me yet, wow. (i distract him with yummy things to eat. they take much less time to make).

despite the creeping progress on the already-in-production projects, i broke down sunday and whipped out the sewing machine, determined to get something done. i’ll keep it a secret for suspense. it’s called a CLIFFHANGER. i will tell you a key ingredient was heaps of these:

heehee.

drinking a glass of red wine and playing roller coaster tycoon…is that sad, or COMPLETELY AWESOME?!

however, the start of classes means i’m back in the kitchen, since i like to have a nice, home cooked lunch at noontime. gives me something to look forward to in the long, eight hour marathon of painting. i just cooked up this bad boy for tomorrow:

YUM.

speaking of kitchens and crafts, i had the sudden inspiration to cross-stitch a totally homey, cutesy piece to hang in my kitchen. it’d read “Bitchin’ Kitchen”. oh, how lovely it would look over the wonky shelf above my stove! there would probably be a whisk on it.

yet another project to add to the pile.

project number one: Operation New Purse

my current handbag is one i designed and my mother made, as my sewing was not quite up to par at the time. it’s had a good run, but too long without upkeep is reducing it to tatters. i’ve planned construction on a new purse, made from the most beautiful green felt, ever:

i’m also rocking off relatives’ faces with my freshly-minted set of thank you cards:

not to mention the BF’s birthday presents, which– if they go according to plan– should include knitting (which i’ve only just learned) and embroidery (which i’ll have to learn). maybe i dream too big…