GOLD!

I got this gold cellophane stuff from SCRAP for making gold props. It's only gold on one side, so to make a gold chain I had to cut long strips then fold them in half and glue them shut. Then I glued the folded strips together and finger-crocheted the chain and taped it together at the end. Of course there is an easier way to do this. It's called getting a fake gold chain from SCRAP instead of a sheet of uncut wine label cellophane. Or/and getting a cat who doesn't have gold-batting fever. But I guess they didn't have those when I went.

I made gold nuggets and bone using a covering of the same cellophane, but it was decided to be not quite shiny enough. The nugs looked a bit like chocolates. So now I'm gluing gold sequins to the entire surface of each item. I don't think I'll do the chain because the sequins would probably just fall off. Maybe I'll get some glitter glue or something if it looks horribly un-shiny.



I also made the prospector hat and beard, neither of which are entirely finished yet. The beard needs more hairs, and the hat needs to not be purple. But Channing looks pretty prospectory, right?

Today I'm going to focus on the dogsuit. Definitely. I've been procrastinating on that part, and I really shouldn't wait any longer because I haven't decided exactly what direction I'm going with it. And it's like the most important thing! Eeek!

sewings

I've been getting cranky lately about my wardrobe. I've had most of my clothes for a really long time (like shirts from 4th grade) and am getting tired of wearing the same things after 15 years. Plus they're starting to wear out. Noooo! When I go shopping I just get more cranky because everything in the store is too big or too expensive or both.

Luckily, I know how to sew. So yesterday, instead of being cranky and refreshing the job listings on craigslist 1000 times (like I did the day before), I decided to do some sewing. I made a skirt out of an ill-fitting shirt that I never wore because it was too big.

Before:


After:


I got the idea from the CRAFT magazine blog. I didn't actually look at the tutorial until I was finished, but I did basically the same thing with the exception of the puffy front pleats. And I moved my shirt's pocket onto the back of the skirt. I think mine is less puffy because the shirt I started with was 100% silk instead of whatever stiff fabric men's shirts are made of, not just because of the different pleats.


I also finished the nose for my retriever costume. Here it is 3/4 of the way complete:



Today I'm going to work on the paws and tail. The filming got moved back to the weekend after my birthday because someone neglected to book a hotel before everyone else who wanted to book a hotel in Nevada City. (Who are these people?) I would have been more enraged, but it's actually good because it gives me a little extra time to work on everything.

Last night Channing asked me "what did you learn today?" and I said "I learned that I'm much happier when I'm making things than when I'm looking for a job." Which I guess I already knew.

The only appropriate way to celebrate

is with more pretending to be a bear and mauling! Hooray!

And hooray for face cut-out things!

Some of my hobbies

Holding hands


Celebrating holding hands through pie


Pretending to be a bear


Mauling



Celebrating pretending to be a bear and mauling through.....?

More details coming soon!

Hooray, I did things!

I am waiting for my ex-landlord to call and tell me when she's going to do the walk-through on our apartment. She told me to call first thing in the morning, which I did. Actually I called about 18 times because her phone was busy forever. I finally talked to the guy who works in the office and left a message for her to call me, after Channing left two messages this morning on the answering machine and her cellphone before the office was open. But now it's 1:30 and I still haven't heard back from her.

Aaaaughhh! But I suppose I am taking advantage of not being able to really do anything to get small things accomplished. I posted dvds for sale on etsy. People don't really seem to use etsy to sell dvds, so we'll see how that goes. Maybe you should buy one! You know someone (besides me!) has a birthday coming up.


Yesterday we finished unpacking everything! And finished a few decorating projects.





I made my own bathmat, which took forever. I used a fabric that was likely to fray if I left rough edges, so I had to sew 28 five foot long tubes and turn them all inside out before I started weaving. But, as an ex-Bed Bath & Beyond Employee (circa 2000) I know that buying a bathmat that's long enough to go in front of our super long tub would be both expensive and boring-looking, so I think my effort was well-spent. I'm really happy with how my mat turned out. It reminds me of a mermaid.






Mr. Tusks really enjoyed the weaving process, but he wasn't too bad because he was pretty tuckered out after going outside for the first time ever and trying to befriend the other cats in/around the building. Actually he's sleeping in pretty much the same position right now, except he hasn't even done anything today. The sunbeams falling on the bed are pretty hard to resist.





We hung these picture frames which I painted to match our turquoise and orange (it's not as bad as it sounds) kitchen.





And found a temporary home for the movie set I built but am not going to use for a long time. It's like Babe, Pig in the City, but with huge non-porcine animals. So maybe it's more like Godzilla. Godzilla probably liked sponge painting. We, however, are planning to cover it up as soon as possible.

For the rest of the week I'm going to be doing a lot of cooking. Channing's birthday is tomorrow, and I'm making sugar-free pear pie! I know that doesn't sound great (because it says sugar-free) but I have a magical cookbook which has really great sugar-free recipes, so it probably will be. Then on Saturday we're having a housewarming/Channing's birthday party, so I'll be making lots of snacks for that. Mmmmm. I love snacks.

movovoeomvoemomoemvoemomevmoemv

So, we moved. Yesterday we finished cleaning the old apartment and brought the rest of our stuff to Oakland. It was heavy, but luckily Channing was tough and carried five bags while I carried one. Ok, that was only for the last block, but it was still a shocking display.

I've been hard at work on decorating, but I seem not to have actually completed anything. I guess most of what I did was actually unpacking and deciding where things go, not decorating.

Three weeks until my birthday! That's when we're going on a mining adventure to film the first scenes for the Golden Retriever movie. I have lots of work to do before (and after) then. I started on Channing's beard today, but I still haven't finished my Retriever costume. There are only a few finishing touches left on the dogsuit, but they're important ones, like the nose, paws, and ears.

Here is a preview of exactly what we will look like when our costumes are completed:




JK!

finally posting some things on etsy

I finally got around to posting some more zine-items on etsy. Rainbows Are Not People (coloring books) and More Funny Jokes about Sea Creatures (joke books) are now available for cheaps.

I guess I will post dvds on etsy soon, as I don't really have another place to sell them. If you want a dvd of Dreamboat or Snowfakes, I have them. They feature special features. Any other video artists out there want to give me suggestions on what to do with my videos/where to sell them/where I can show them? I hate for them to be languishing unwatched after I spent so much time making them.

I'm moving to Oakland in nine days, and am trying hard to be excited about it. If you want to tell me any great things to do/places to get a job in Oakland I would be much obliged. I will be living pretty near Lake Merritt. My new apartment has a table and benches that fold out of the wall to make a retractable dining nook. I'm excited about that part.