Adore

I mentioned having a nice weekend and it being pretty here in Seattle. The picture of my sister was taken in West Seattle. We got ice tea, sat outside and had a knitting lesson. Although at one point she said I was not a very good teacher. I was only laughing at her because she had a little song to go along with the steps which I found helpful but you know when you know how to do something and someone does it all wrong and it's sort of funny? But she got it. I think she likes it.
Next is some pics of a hat I finished last night for baby Kyle. It is off in the mail now going to Mass. for some baby lovin'. I can't wait to get a picture of him with it on. The hat was relatively easy but I think I want to try some other kind for the next baby.
The last pics are the things I got from Ashley. See, how could you go wrong with a trade? I love it all and wore my scarflette around all night even though I didn't need to.

Things to do

I didn't do the fast. Why? Because my sister ended up having to take antibiotics and she didn't want to start when on them. Also the weekend is so much more fun we you can go out to eat and hang out. It was so nice for once on my days off that I went to West Seattle with my sister on sunday for a little knitting lesson in the sun. It was so fun.

This week I have a lot of tasks to accomplish. this is my list:
1. finish baby Kyle's pixie hat (almost finished)
2. continue to work on package for Bellajolie and for Milkypop.
3. continue to work on owl pins for show in Nov and Dec
4. start knitting for more babies (NOW there are 3 more...I just found out one of my favorite people in the world, Colleen, is having a baby!!
5. continue working on button rings for shows as well.
6. Meet with Nikki again for She's Crafty planning (we are starting a craft night once a month to make a certain craft)

That's it. I am sure I could go on but I won't.

to ashley

This is a package I just sent to Ashley in Lynwood, WA. Inside this pretty box was button magnets, a necklace, earrings, this old vintage button? that I turned into a pin, some button rings and some candy. I hope you like it, Ashley!
Tomorrow I start my fast for three days and the thought of it makes me hungry. I want to go pig out tonight! I am going to work on other trades this weekend so I keep myself preoccupied. Brown rice and veggies- here I come. Bye bye delicious sugar, candy, coffee, bread (i love you), cheese, dairy in general. Oh I miss you all already.
I heard I'll be glowing in no time. I better.
bye bye

Georgia, trades, more owls

Here are some photos of my weekend and of my exciting mail I received yesterday. First up, owl assembly lines. I have signed up for a few fairs for the holidays. The first one is Urban Craft Uprising here in Seattle. I am sharing a booth with my friend and busy donut maker, Stuart. For this show I would like to have owls, button rings, and anything else I may come up with for this day. I am also participating in a show in Columbus, Ohio, my home state, called Plush Rush. I am not too sure what I will make for this. Maybe something bigger would be better? I am also doing a lot of trades for the holidays. My goal is to get all my holiday gifts from doing trades. I got these wonderful packages in yesterday that were so much fun to open I almost gave myself a heart attack. The beautiful hat, bag, scarflette, and delicious candies was from Francesca. The other fantastic package was from Katey. In there was tons of goodies including this cute owl bag, a notebook full of pretty paper, owl note cards and "You make my bunsen burn" note cards, a cute fawn keychain, a bag of buttons, a cute keychain wallet type of thing, and two beautiful prints. Sally and I have fallen in love with her prints which is why she is having a show at Fancy coming this December!
Lastly is a picture of the new addition in the Van Hollebeke/ VanRask family. Her name is Georgia and is cute as can be. Congrats to Joe and Alix for bringing this bundle of joy into everyones lives!

Winners!

There were two winners for the drawing at Schmancy. Winner #1 won a signed Kozik Mini Circus Punk and winner #2 won a Parapluesch toy! You have to check out this site!! It's hilarious, cute and addicting!

New necklace and Frankie

My cat, Frankie, is one of the cutest, besides her sister, Jackpot, she is the cutest. But doesn't everyone say that? I took this picture this morning and doesn't it look like it belongs on the cover of some 70's or 80's album cover? Her eyes are sparkling and looking right at you. It's so funny. She is a handful at times but is really sweet and cuddly..she loves to spoon.
The picture of the necklace is something I made last night. Some woman was staying at the Moore Hotel the other week and had a beaded necklace on that wrapped around her neck twice so one was long and the other was snug on her neck. It looked really good for some reason and made me like beaded necklaces again. I have an endless supply of seed beads of many many colors. However it looks like these colors are the colors of the season.

Package from Mo!

I love trades. Why? Well all I got in the mail before was junk mail and bills. But NOW I am getting fun packages such as this one from Mo! I love everything!! Thanks so much Mo! The cards are beautiful and sparkly. I got different colors with the pretty bird perched on the branch. I am so excited to send them out to people who will appreciate how wonderful they are. She also sent some buttons which I love! I can't wait to go home and make myself a button ring! I don't make myself things very often but I just love the buttons and since they are a gift I figured at least one belongs to me! I also got pretty in pink earrings, and a delicious dark chocolate, lime, and macadamia nut bar! Something to keep me perky in these gloomy days! Trades=Love

Switchboard Tradin'

Here are some really bad pictures of some jewelry I make. It's the beaded stuff and the earrings with all the colors are chain with sequins. I have lots of different colors for the sequins. They are fun and probably for younger, hip girls. I just thought I would put something up in case any of you switchboard ladies are looking!

One Good Bumblebee

I just thought I would put up a few images that Katey just sent me. Go check her site out!

One Good Bumblebee

I just thought I would put up a few images that Katey just sent me. Go check her site out!

More Owls

These are a few more owls I made. These two I turned into pins instead of magnets. I like the pins better and they look really cute pinned to your shirt or bag. These were sent out this morning to Katey Her prints are freakin' adorable. We did a trade and I am so excited to get my prints here and put them up in my house! My first goal was to start getting all my holiday gifts through trade, which I still want to do, but this package is going home with me! I'll take a picture of it when it gets here to share with you all.

Lookin' for art

Today I finally had a minute to sit down and look through my art show schedules. Not only am I doing shows at Schmancy but I am also doing shows now for Fancy and Pants. If you are looking for a show, send me images of your work, contact info, etc. There are some booked already and a few group shows I am working on as well but there are still plenty of spaces and I love to look. Email me at kristen.rask@gmail.com.
Tuesdays tend to be busy so I don't have much time. Got a bunch of new stationary and memos, etc in today and had to price them all, returning emails, packaging up orders, etc. Glad the day is over. xo

Show

Last night was Lisa Congdon's show. Here are a few pics from the show. Hopefully I can get some better ones of her setting up, etc. from her. Although I am sure they will also be up on her site. If anyone is interested in purchasing her work, please email me directly at kristen.rask@gmail.com for questions, etc. I will be putting up more images up soon.

owls, chickens, bunnys

Today Lisa's show begins so last night I said goodbye to Plush You! It was sad and sort of nice. Nice only because Lisa's work is amazing and it's sort of nice to look at something new every once in awhile. Seeing as that I am here everyday, changing walls once a month really helps it to feel new and fresh. Lisa's work is up and I will put picks up tomorrow of the show.
The pictures of the owl, chicken, and bunny are things I am working on for a few trades. I made these last night and turned them into magnets. I love the chicken and owl the most. They are really fun to make but I tend to get really excited and obsessed when I make new things and needless to say- I am VERY tired today! But it was fun and I finished the package for Francesca. Off to Italy tomorrow (the package-not me)
xo

I love Noupas!

I just got in Noupas and I LOVE THEM!!! They are so cute and only $6.00!!! Come and buy one or if you are interested in getting one online...well they aren't on my site yet but will be soon Or email me!!!
Also a freindly reminder about our opening Reception tomorrow evening for Lisa Congdon starting at 6:00 and going until 9:00. Come meet Lisa, look at her amazing work, and eat Schmancy birthday cake!

Uwajimaya

This morning before work I ran to Uwajimaya to grab some things for the store and for Francesca's package. I also found these two items that I could not resist. The little book is all these different Japanese postcards. The artwork is really colorful and cute. It reminds me of artwork from old childrens books. The other book is patterns for making different felted items. If I feel like making a felted mini bathroom, I can now! Even down to the toilet bowl scrubber. I got a lot of work to do this evening!

first panel- done!

I have been making this blanket for myself for YEARS! The great thing about knitting is that you can put down a project for weeks, months, or even years, pick it up and get excited about it again. I can't remember where i got this pattern because I got the book out of the library. But it is really simple, and you can create it however you want. I finally finished the first panel the other night, you have to make three. So maybe in another 5 years it will finally be complete!

Home of the Sampler

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. I had to work all weekend so I decided that since I didn't get a two day weekend, one of the weekend days could be used for working on rings. I finally finished my rings to give to The Sampler. I was going to put a picture up of them but I forgot the cord to my computer so can't upload them. I still want to make little bags for them all to go in and maybe make a few more items. I also really want to start on my package to Francesca in Italy. We are going to do a trade. Her site is fun to look at! She makes really beautiful hats and scarfs. It's also fun to see all the amazing things she has traded in the past. I can't wait to get started on hers. I am sending out a few to Lori and Mo tomorrow. I can't wait to see what they are sending me!! bye

Crafters United

Today I am going to work on some things to donate to Craft Revolution. Please shop there or donate there to help The American Red Cross aid those in need due to the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. I can't even imagine what people are going through in New Orleans and the way this has been handled by our President and government is disgusting! My heart goes out to them all. I hope I can make a small difference with my contributions.

Lisa Congdon!!!

The story of Lisa Congdon. Lisa came in to Schmancy in December and bought a print done by Caroline Hwang. She later took a picture of it and emailed me a picture of the print nicely framed and displayed in her apartment. I thought two things:1) that's so nice of her 2) she has such a nicely decorated apartment! Great use of color! She started sending me a few pics of other things she does and then I thought....this woman is so freakin' talented and she has to have a show at my store. I also love nice people and she was always so nice even though I don't even know her. Her show begins this friday at Schmancy. Opening Reception goes from 6:00 to 9:00. Come meet Lisa, eat birthday cake (b-day cake is for Schmancy's first birthday), and celebrate the grand opening of Pants!

Schmancy's birthday!

Today is the day Schmancy made it's first dollar! It was an exciting moment in Schmancy history! To celebrate in my own Schmancy way I decided to buy myself, on Schmancy, something nice. I have been needing a digital camera for sometime now. My sister takes all my pics for the website and ads. But she is a busy woman and I need stuff on my site a lot faster so I got a camera. Other good uses for a digital camera are to take pics of things for my blog!
My friends gave me a card to a local bookstore, Bailey/Coy Books, so I went there this morning and got Happy Kitty Bunny Pony. I have been eyeing it forever and think it is so cute. I have a lot of old chilrens books and all the images remind me of easter, childhood, and Cleveland.
Schmancy was one of the fastest, least thought over, ideas I have ever had. It makes me realize how those can be the best decisions to make. I talked about it with Sally, left at 6:00 to go get a drink with some friends, told them all, went out for another drink to celebrate, called my parents the next day to gauge their response, they were happy and very supportive, got more excited, had the lease two days later! Painting started shortly after with the help from various friends. Finally September 2nd I sold my first item which was a sewdorky donut. And the rest I guess is history.

Arrested Development

Michael and Maribel have been telling me about Arrested Development for some time now. I finally got my hands on the first disc via Netflix. It is really funny and I heart David Cross. It's great to watch while you knit something. I started working on this blanket that "I have been working on" for 3 years! Working on= started doing it 3 years ago and haven't picked up very much since. Well until the other night. But I think this might be my new favorite fall activity.

Trading

I have not been on the switchboards in a long time. Why? Because everytime I go there I have a really hard time leaving. It can seriously suck up my whole day but I think it is a great resource and I always feel very inspired after. So I always want to get in on the trading action but have no way of showing the kinds of things I like to do. Everytime I read someone's blog with pictures of a cute package full of tea, cute paper, stuffed critters, earrings, and postcards so and so sent so and so, I get to wondering...how can I do that? So here is my plea. Here are a few things I like to do. SO I have aprons, bags, and button rings. I enjoy many things so let me know if there is something in particular you want!