Serious Craft Blog

My first notebook using the 'new' binding machine I got from ebay.
I special ordered some 19-ring wire combs that will work with the binding size I got. I hope they'll work out.

And a handbag I recently made with Amy Butler fabric and pattern.

I now see why some people complain about her patterns. Some of her conventions and techniques are a little confusing or difficult. Why would you sew skinny pieces of fabric, backed with heavyweight interfacing, together and then flip them inside out? There are easier ways, woman....

I am surprised. McDonald's iced coffee is pretty good. Of course I've been hearing that that is the case, but I believe it now.

It's awesome, because SBux is so snobby they can't even do that. They can't make a good and simple iced black coffee with milk and sugar. And if you want to make it right, you'd have to do it yourself at the counter, and sometimes they don't have sugar syrup, so you'd have to use crunchy sugar that doesn't melt. Why can't a major coffee shop chain even make simple things like a lemon iced tea? Believe me, I've asked.

I looove this pen. It's an Itoya O'netts Paperskater. I used to have two, but eventually I lost them and they don't sell 'em anymore. At Hillcrest Stationers yesterday, I found again! I couldn't believe I finally found a replacement.

What's so good about it? It's an all aluminum barrel. Ink writes pretty smooth, not the best, but writes well until you drop the pen a couple of times. But refills are easy to find. It's very simple but elegant. The barrel is a satin shimmery blue. It has a good weight. It's very solid. The grip has good texture. It's a very good pen. It was about 19 bucks--a bit more than what I paid for previously, but it was such a rare find. The burgundy version was pretty too, but I had to have the blue one again.

Yea yea, it's just a pen. Psh, you just don't understand....

In more thinking about patterns, I recalled that my baby got me a spirograph set last xmas because I had mentioned I wanted one. I had never busted it out to play, so I busted it out today. It's a really antique set from the late 1960s. The box has a pricetag that reads $2.88. Amazing.

Spirograph is a fun and mind-numbing activity because no matter what combination of discs you use, you will always end up with a pretty and symmetrical looping beauty. But if you want to achieve a very specific pattern and size, you will have to be observant and think about which loop matches which disc; or just do a bunch of experiments.

I was thinking about how spirograph designs can be applied to surface pattern designs. To screenprint them it would seem like an impossible task. How would you create the template without using photo emulsion (which I haven't got the means for yet)? I guess for now I can only stick with little notecards and such using hand-drawn spiros.

Etsy is a good source of inspiration for these things.

I haven't done anything in the past two three days 'cause I've been too "beddy" (zzz) and too "smashy" (Smash Bros).

I LOVE these pens. I love their colors, their super slender barrels, and simple straight form. They make me love to draw and write. I want all the colors! As they say, it's Le Pen—THE Pen.

I picked up Burgundy, Oriental Blue (or Teal?), and Black: