craigslist finds

let's pretend i have a retail space (i wish). while we're pretending, i'll shop for some furniture that will decorate the space & display all of the lovely things i'm selling. bl marble co. office chair, $80; metal storage cabinet, $1200; black serving cart, $30; ge iron fan, $500.

d'eez stamps

i love stamps. it's a fad, i know this - i'm fine with it.

in the last few months i've become curious about printing processes. i tried screenprinting & it was too intense, i thought about buying a gocco or taking a letter press class, but turns out i'm cheap. i starting toying with the idea of linocuts or block printing so i bought supplies for linoleum block printing & took a stab at that. i failed to think about printing (ie. the ink & roller) my cut so i headed down to utretch & remembered that i wanted to try making rubber stamps after seeing this post on red relvet art. soooo, i picked up ink, a roller & some .25" rubber pads.

i had some time last night so i got motivated. i just drew my design (i always embroider a circle on my projects, so this can transfer to paper) on a 1.5" square of the rubber, cut it out using the speedball cautting tools, rolled out the ink, applied it to the stamp & pressed the circled d to the paper. super easy peasy.

this post led me to review my latest projects folder. what is my issue with pink?

anticipating halloween

i'm so pumped for halloween this year! i'll be in san francisco with three of my favorite people in the world, hopefully erin & i won't get lost in the middle of the night & fall asleep in our costumes upon safe arrival home.

i've got a reputation to uphold: jennifer beals from flashdance, margo from the royal tenanbaums (notice the wood finger - big ups to bill sohn), little dead riding hood & an early 20th century concession girl. i try to make or assemble my costumes by hand & independantly (ie. i don't buy sexy nurse outfits). i feel pretty confident about this year - it'll be immaculate (*wink wink).

make this - 10 minute top

i'll make this top in the next couple of days. thanks to stitch lounge | sew urban for the tutorial.

via craft:

new york seltzer bottle

this is mine. this new york seltzer co. bottle is mine for just $12, while similar ones sell for almost $100 at boutique retailers such as maison luxe. which, to their credit was the first place i saw these used as decoration.

etsy wednesday

i'm stamp crazy. i want to make them, use them & abuse them. watch out friends, packages & mail will soon be covered in ink blobs & silly shapes. mayberry sparrow is run by corrabelle out of hamilton, ontario & she makes beautiful & sweet rubber stamps for as little as $3. get some, use some because i love me some scatter brained graphic designers getting their hands dirty in all sorts of stuff. check out her blog too.

quick hawaii download

most of the deotte clan (& more clearly, my feet) made it to hawaii for my cousin carrie's wedding. my short trip was filled with ample beach time & a large amount of family time (which really means eating, drinking & smartass time). maui was beautiful, warm & sunny. my parents, brother & i stayed in between wailea & kihei; our balcony had panoramic views & was enjoyed most mornings with coffee & a book (i finally finished under the banner of heaven). after the slow mornings we'd head to the beach for some sun & surf. the water was warm & we spent hours playing in the waves; the waves at big beach were monsters & my dad was hard core in getting in on some washing machine action. after the beach we'd head home for lunch & some poolside beverages. let's face it - the deottes enjoy laying in the sun. the luau we attended for the rehearsal dinner was out of control; good food, beautiful music & shiny buff men in very little clothing. my final night was spent at carrie & adam's wedding, it was just perfect. i won't go into all the gushing about the location, the dress or the food - i'll just say, it was perfect. i'm so happy that i got to see my extended family & celebrate this occasion with them. mahalo!

go here for more pics

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creature comforts is run by ez. it's the craziest, most beautiful & most comprehensive collection of all things lovely. seriously, it's craziness, wonderful, wonderful craziness.

snowblinded by anthony cozzi

this series of limited edition prints, titled snowblinded by anthony cozzi, is just gorgeous. cozzi was born & raised near denver, co & pulls most of his inspiration from the nature that surrounds him. volcano is my favorite & if i had an extra $350 lying around, that one would be hanging in my apt.

found art

i got back from hawaii late last night; it was 88 & sunny when i left maui - it was 52 & raining when i got home. i'll have pics up by tomorrow.

today my found art post was discovered by another, slightly north. i just love this wheatpaste octopus with birdies (by flickr user howard stern oner) & the photos of it are just perfect. check out his personal blog as well.

i've been seeing a lot about the street art collective, owl tree, in capitol hill & i've yet to be there. in fact, i'm not even sure where it is in my lovely neighborhood, can anyone assist?