Monday, July 30, 2007

If You're Dorky and You Know It....

This is the long-overdue part 2 of our adventuresome Friday a couple of weeks ago. In addition to the Yummy Cupcakes outing we also made a pilgrimmage to the Kwik E Mart in Santa Monica. More photos are in my Flickr gallery.

We parked about a block away and were able to walk right in as soon as we got there but by the time we left there was a line outside. People inside were a little crazy and buying all of the Simpsons merchandise they could get their hands on. Store employees were restocking as fast as they could but there were a few things they said they wouldn't have until later in the day. The parking lot was downright dangerous with people just pulling in willy nilly and parking wherever they felt like.

One thing I was really disappointed with was the Jasper in the Freezer graphic - they put it on backwards! (Here's a good photo of the one in Seattle.) I didn't even take a photo of it; it didn't look right unless you opened the freezer door and viewed it from the inside. Only twelve stores in the country got these graphics and they couldn't get them all applied correctly. Weak.

Despite the the crowds (and the backwards graphic!) we were really glad we went. It was a good transformation and of course all of the graphics were great to see in person. At first I thought we'd feel a little self-conscious about taking our photos with giant plastic cartoon characters but everyone was doing it so it didn't matter! Now I just need to find time to go see the movie.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Pranksters and Marketers Will Use This for Evil

How cool is this?! Kameraflage technology works by using special colors that are invisible to the naked eye but can be detected by a digital camera. (Notice that you can see a lightening bolt coming from the cloud on the shirt only in the display on the iPhone.) I'm thinking of not only the art/craft possibilities, but the practical joke possibilities as well. Wouldn't you love to sport an invisible thumbs-down symbol on the outfit you wear to the next wedding you attend where you just *know* it won't last? ha ha It would only shown up in the final photos!

This technology could be good (or bad) for some stealth marketing too. What if you took photos of well-known buildings or landmarks only to find a giant advertisement revealed when you looked through your digital camera's viewfinder? Or graffiti! What if graffiti artists started using these colors. That could actually be a good thing. Maybe I shouldn't be giving anyone crazy ideas. I'll go back to thinking about fun art/craft projects.

via Gizmodo.

(edited to note: Okay, I just took a more in-depth look at the Kameraflage site and they *are* marketing Kameraflage Billboard™ as a way for "advertisers to place messages in new locations and situations." All I have to say is thank goodness for Photoshop.)

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

The Holy Grail of Cupcakes

I haven't had a chance to blog about our adventuresome Friday, two Fridays ago, so this is the first part. One of the places we had to check out in Santa Monica was Yummy Cupcakes. Holy Moly does this place live up to it's name! They have a group of standard flavors they make every day but then they have the add-ons. The extra-special flavors that are only made on certain days. We tried Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip and Brown Sugar Cinnamon. The PBCC was my favorite, and I have to say the BSC was a little too sweet for me. Although Dan definitely did NOT agree. He loved the BSC!

On July 25th and 26th they're having Christmas in July! Woohoo! You can enjoy holiday flavors like Eggnog, Peppermint Patty and Candy Cane. And on a charitable note, they're also collecting school supplies for homeless children ages 5 - 17. So drop off a donation and treat yourself to a Christmas cupcake at the same time. Win-win.

[I'm not affiliated in any way with Yummy Cupcakes, they're just my current food crush.]

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Friday the 13th Super Sale!!

We couldn't let a Friday the 13th pass by without doing a little something to commemorate it. So we're having a super-duper one-day, one-item, liquidation sale! The creepily cool Wraith Necklace is available all day for only $14.00. This one is high on my list of favorites that Robin has made because it combines two of my favorite things: skulls and the color purple! Also check out the Wraith Earrings and Bracelet.

Felt Club This Weekend - Oh It's ON!

Just a reminder that Felt Club is happening this weekend, Sunday, July 15, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Ukranian Cultural Center. We went last year and it was packed! You'll have to get there very early if you want to snag one of the 250 swag bags they're handing out.

A one dollar donation at the door gets you a raffle ticket for a door prize and then you'll have access to over 70 DIY vendors including my BFF's Sean and Aldo from Social Studies Design. They've been cooking up some great new products lately and they always sell out quickly so be sure to run straight to their booth as soon as you get there! Seriously.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Craft Is As Crafty Does


I'm happy and proud to announce that I'll be co-writing on another crafty blog! Eve of Craft Tutorials put out a call for bloggers and she's got a really talented group lined up to post tutorial try-outs, new tutorials, and any other craft related tidbits we find. I'm excited about this because I have a ton of backlogged projects that I've been meaning to try and I think this will be the motivation I've been needing.

I just posted yesterday with a round-up of fun pincushion links so please go over and have a look. Lisa posted some great photoshop effects yesterday too!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

My New Best Friend

I found this library receipt in a book I recently checked out.
  • Book of the Dead? Check.
  • Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus? Check.
  • Toy Story 2? Check.
I want to party with this girl.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Old School Crafty Goodness

Robin and I come from a very crafty family, and thinking back to my childhood there wasn't ever a time when I wasn't making something. Both of our parents were always making things (still are actually) and the family tree is loaded with great-grands, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who are multi-talented and creative.

This got me to thinking about how many items I still have that friends and family have made for me over the years. (Go ahead and say it: pack rat!) And, no surprise here, I've noticed the things that mean the most to me, and that I've kept the longest, are almost all things that were handmade by people I know. I thought it might be fun to share them on the blog once in awhile because some of them are really great.

First up is a little blue bag from 1973 or 74. My aunts made these personalized bags for all the cousins for Christmas one year. Of course they were filled with pencils and notebooks and other presents and even had a matching drawstring coin purse inside. I just love the red top-stitching and the hand-embroidered name. This one is Robin's, but I have mine packed away somewhere. It has a groovy heart patch on it! You can see this one was used a lot as it has a nice big glue stain in the lower lefthand corner.

Now that I sew I have a much better appreciation for this bag. It must have taken quite a bit of time, not to mention patience!