8/16/2010

Distractions...

Well, progress has been rather slow for me lately on knocking out my unfinished projects. I have been getting distracted by a myriad of things from every angle and it seems like the only crafting time I have found has been at my S&B group on Tuesdays. I have finished quilting the baby quilt from this post and I am about halfway done with the binding, and I have finished my first sock and have started the second one.

Distraction number one is that I started a sugar cleanse at the beginning of the month. Yup. No cane sugar or corn syrup whatsoever until the end of the month. Sweets have always been my vice and before I started this thing I would eat them at least once a day. It was hard for the first week, because there are so many things that have unnecessary sugar in them, like salad dressings and other condiments, but now it is very easy for me. My goal was to get the incessant need for sweets out of my system and develop a healthier eating style. When I want something sweet now I have fruit instead of ice cream or cupcakes and I really do not feel like I am missing out on anything. When all this is over I am going to limit myself to one sweet thing a week.

In conjunction with my sugar cleanse I have been going to the gym a lot more as well. My co-worker and I go to the one out near our work a couple times a week, and I just discovered that the one in San Leandro has a 24-hour lap pool, which is absolutely the best idea since sliced bread. Seriously though, swimming is the only form of exercise that I truly enjoy, so I could stay there for hours. It has only been two weeks but my energy is way up and I can tell I have already lost weight, so yay!

Distraction number three has been my new camera, which has kept me busy both taking and editing pictures, and I am having so much fun with it. I am trying to work on my portrait photography skills since it seems like I have a hard time taking pictures of people. Here's one I took recently of my co-worker, one of the most talented people I know:


Aubrey Hebert is an amazing artist, specializing in animation and manga styles. She is setting up an art blog right now.

Last on the list of distractions is my ukulele. I wrote a couple new songs and it rekindled my need to play as often as possible. Plus I have been teaching Aubrey how to play so it gives me a good excuse to bring the uke with me to the city and play it when I have time. I have learned a ton of new songs this week and I am having a great time.

Hopefully things will settle down into some sort of a routine soon and then I can figure out where to squeeze in some more crafty time. I better get cracking, I am sure Christmas will be here before I know it. Anywho, to distract you from the fact that I have nothing crafty to post, here are some pics of my awesome button cabinet and the new print I picked up at Renegade Craft Fair:




8/02/2010

We Have A Winner!

Alrighty, it's time to see who wins a custom owl pincushion in celebration of my 5th Blogiversary! The random number generator has selected number 2 , which means that nadiwoo is the winner! I'll send you an e-mail and we will get the ball rolling for your little owl.

In other news, I got to visit Renegade Craft Fair this past Sunday out at Fort Mason in San Francisco. In all the years that I have lived up here I have consistently missed every Renegade and Bizarre Bazaar, but this year I finally got to go out to one with a few friends from the S&B group. We all had a great time shopping around and I picked up about a bazillion business cards along with a few choice goodies.

I recently purchased a new camera (yes, besides the Diana Mini), a Canon Rebel XS, which is awesome beyond words. My old Olympus FE-300 has not been doing so well lately, and I have noticed a decline in the sharpness and color of the photos it takes, so I thought it was time. I took it with me to the fair but I find that I am more shy about taking photos with it than my old camera, probably because of the size. I always ask people if I can take pictures, of course, and I love doing so because it usually gives me a chance to have a conversation with them, tell them about my blog, etc. But at Renegade I only got up the courage to ask one person, but I was so captivated by her booth no nerves could stop me:





Tinted Mint is a sweet little company started by Patty, who is just as lovely as the products she sells. You have to go over to her website and check out all her supplies she carries, as well as the beautiful things she makes from them. I want to buy absolutely every piece of waxed paper and washi tape she has, and make them into envelopes like she does. Thank you Patty for letting me photograph your booth!

There were tons and tons of other cool vendors there, and some of my particular favorites included The Postage Service, Rar Rar Press, and craftyFOLK, and a million others. I hope that I will get a chance to sell out there some day, it looks like a great time!