Fair finds - Part 2

Remember when I reported that I would diligently follow the amazing crafters I ogle at craft fairs by utilizing a folder in my bookmarks bar? Yeah. Well. That was like two whole laptops and fresh starts ago. Perhaps a better system will be to chat about them here and tag appropriately as "gifts". Yes. Let's try that.

And now, jewels to remember from Maker Faire, Bay Area, 2015:

"Be still my heart"-pottery. Such beautiful platters, mugs, and bowls, oh my.

Hand-painted laser-cut wooden jewelry. Kicking myself for not buying a constellation brooch.

One of a kind marbling effect from scraped-off graffiti. 

The tailored fashions of my Lois Lane alter ego. Dots to boot.

Free color consultations

I hereby offer the world my free color consulting services. If you present to me a problem in which you need to make a color-based decision and need a second opinion, you are free to email me (this was always true, of course). Tell me what's going on. Which way are you leaning? What other colors are at play and can't be changed?

I like thinking about colors and will happily ponder your dilemma. I especially like picking wall paint colors, but I'm up for anything. 

Recently I helped my sister pick a wall color for her newly renovated kitchen-dining room situation. Here's what I knew - she has cherry cabinets and stainless appliances. There is a white door in the dining room and white trim. The floors are on the light side of medium brown.

What she wanted - she was thinking warm. Very tan. A bit orange. Some brown. Very neutral and warm. She was leaning light in tone under the common assumption that it lessens the pain of regret.

What I suggested - I suggested she not go warm, and instead go cool to balance the cherry cabinets. If she was going to stay neutral, I was trying to get it as far from beige as possible. When I learned she really wanted a tan color for the adjacent living room, I was sure cool (or as white as possible) was best.

Light blue-green/sage was my first impulse because red and green are complements and blue would keep it more to this family's tastes. I stayed with Behr colors because that's where she started and it was easiest. When pressed for top choices for THIS situation, I suggested mainly light colors for the same reason as my sister. I later went back and told her that if she embraced the blue-green idea and thought she could go deeper, Recycled Glass was my new top choice.

She ended up going with my first top choice (for her), Whitened Sage. It's quite white, she reports. I'm told you can only really tell it's green when you look at it near the white trim. This doesn't please me, but total satisfaction and non-regret is reported. Go team!

Temp tat tizzy

Temporary tattoos have got me in a tizzy. Three months ago I purchased a Tattly subscription and sadly, those splendid deliveries have ended.

Here are a few of my favorites from the website:

One great thing about the subscription service is that they'll send you some that you can't buy solo - ones that only come in sets. I got "stop and smell the roses" from the floral set and love love loved it.

the floral set

I'd really like to buy the floral set and the lovely set and mix a bunch together for a "half sleeve" look. Then I'd waltz around town, go about my business (but not to work - not that brave) and see what it's like. When I have just one tat showing I feel different. A little badass, edgy. A little cooler (or wannabe cooler). And I wonder if I'm judged in any way. I'm wondering if I judge people this way. Kinda like donning a fat suit, I'll don a tat suit and see the world through that skin. Stay tuned!

Today I'm sporting a funny bunny on my forearm. I'm at a hotel in Utah and I found a bunch of Tattly's in their gift shop! I couldn't resist.

Funny bunny and my favorite scar

I'm sad my subscription is over and I'm seriously considering signing up again once my stash runs low. I don't love ALL the designs I get, but the majority speak to me or grow on me. And if something I get is super not my bag, I give it away. Non-problem, solved.

Last but not least, here's a bonus (related) link combining my love of fake tats and tasty food.

DIY Space Ghost costume

Image from here. Although how did they get it? I must learn these things.

For the longest time I didn't really get costumes. Some people seemed to put a lot of work into them. Costume parties and even the annual arrival of Halloween would cause me anxiety instead of excitement. What would be interesting, easy, fun, and not over-done? What can I put together kinda quickly using what I already have while not spending too much money on the things I'd need? 

The "easy" and "kinda quickly" in that thought process are the problem. With good planning, the execution of a decent costume isn't that hard. I should know! I've currently outfitted Space Ghost, The Queen of Hearts, and two other characters with back-slapping success.

Here I present to you my DIY Space Ghost:

The plan - I planned on wearing a white t-shirt, white jeans, white shoes, a basic black eye mask, and everything you see above. I was skipping the black hood. I'd have to buy a lot, but the items didn't seem tricky and the DIY accessories seemed easily doable.

The purchases - I bought the yellow kid's superhero cape and the long white gloves at a party store. Once I found the yellow cape, the Space Ghost costume was a full-on GO. At Michael's I bought red and black felt, a basic black eye mask, yellow foam paper, and sticking Velcro tape. At Target I bought a white V-neck T-shirt and white jeans. I looked around for white Converse-like high-top sneakers but when I stumbled upon gold sparkly platform slip-on sneakers on clearance, I stopped looking (this is called costume personalization).

What I had at home - white felt for the eyes, black vinyl fabric for belt, safety pins, scissors, hot glue gun, two space-related fake tattoos (the inspiration for my Space Ghost costume in the first place)

DIY entailed - (belt) hot gluing red rectangle to black rectangle and using sticky Velcro when it's time to secure it around your waist; (power bands) cutting red felt into arm bands, cutting yellow foam into rectangles, gluing yellow to the red, drawing lines on yellow with a marker, and using sticky Velcro when time to secure them around your arms; (chest piece) cutting red felt triangle for the chest piece, cutting black felt for the chest piece, hot gluing black to red, cutting white shapes from sticky-backed white felt, sticking white eyes onto black felt, securing chest piece to cape with safety pins

Deviations from the plan - I hated the white jeans so I wore my black skinny jeans. Gold sneakers instead of white shoes. Didn't wear the black face mask cause didn't feel like it.

The outcome - Excellent! People all around recognized me as Space Ghost. When probed, they said the colors and details gave it away very clearly. The new shoes gave me lots of extra kick. Space Ghost was channeled. Fuck yeah.

What I'd do differently - Not rely on sticky Velcro closures. The sticky kind will work for one event, so it was good enough for this day. But a simple upgrade for my future Space Ghost outings will be to secure the Velcro with some needle and thread. Also, fabric glue might be preferred to hot glue for a lot of this sticking, but I have yet to try.

So there you have it. I think this Space Ghost will serve me well for years to come. 

...

What's my next DIY costume you (don't) ask? Inspired by recent news articles, reading The Lacuna, and my desire for new red boots, I'm thinking Frida Kahlo:

Frida Kahlo's personal wardrobe, red boots

Streaming zen

The other day, wistfully dreaming I had a sea plant aquarium to stare at, I thought that maybe a video of a sea plant aquarium would be nice. That search failed, but it did inspire me to think that the Monterey Bay Aquarium, or any good aquarium, might have a webcam or two trained on hypnotic things. And they do! Care to watch the jellyfish? Look out on the bay or perhaps the open sea? Watch sea otters swim by? Say hello to birdies? 

Not a terrible way to zone out for a minute or two. 

They also have a beautiful array of desktop wallpapers, images for Facebook covers, and animated gifs on their site. Thank you, Monterey Bay Aquarium. You are a resource. You offer a free field trip to zen, along with regularly scheduled feeding times. I mean, just look at these...

I yearn to communicate in gifs proficiently. These will certainly help:

Keep up the great work, aquarium website departments!