My Friends are Electric

Just like Gary Numan!

Not gonna lie, I love getting mail. Lookee what I got from awesome possum Cedar Fern Jen. I'm a big fan of silver and copper so I am so stoked to get these gems from her newly opened Etsy Shop, Joies.

Her silverwork is so dainty and detailed I am amazed how she get the wires to twist and not scratch the skin. Dude, if I could figure out how to zoom in on the clasps on the back of the

necklace, I can show you more of the detailed work she puts into her pieces. There are more matching beads and swirly prettiness that happens on the back of my neck.

I'm so excited that Jen's shop is ALIIIIIIIIIIVE and she is sharing her beautiful creations. Check out her shop for more of her simple and sweet work.

A Fine Romance

So yeah I got tagged twice for the Plastic Joy Award but I really wanted to keep this blog Barbie-free (just look at that horrifying graphic, the horror the horror)! I figured this is a perfect time for me to hit the publish button since these tie into the imaginary boyfriends realm right? If you are really curious about my response, you can always check out Whisker Biscuit and Lindsay on the Go's comment section for my dreamboat list.

This post is best read with Lena Horne's A Fine Romance playing in the background.

So say I've got a friend visiting Vegas, what would I beg her to do? Visit the The Heart of a Woman: Harlequin Cover Art 1949-2009 of course.


I think it's a very cool reflection on pop illustration/book design and also a reflection of how the roles of women have changed in the past 60 years. We went from "Vampy tramp" to "protect me from bears/snakes/bad men" to "career women." Pretty hilarious yet pretty to look at all at the same time.

(OMG Snake! In a Box! It's a Snake in a Box but right over his trousers!)

(You can totally see the transition from "protect me from bear' to 'career women' with her nurses outfit IN.THE.MOUNTAINS.)

(Before GH, Chicago Hope, ER, the fascination with doctors and nurses goes way back apparently.)

Lastly, because I've got to bring it back. These many of these beautiful ladies have been turned into stationery thanks to eHarlequin (does anyone read those anymore really? Lemme know, I'm just real curious) so check out the vampy postcards, collector tins and notebooks over there.

Special special thanks to PG from Half the Sins of Mankind for catering to my eccentricity and sending me the exhibit catalog.

And erm Biz and Linds, thanks for that Award².

Follow Friday

This follow friday, follow the lovely Cedar Fern, she may not post for awhile going off to get marrit and all but when she gets back, there will be some beautiful jewelry up and who doesn't love sparkly thing-ies?

right? right?

that is all.

Crafting Hour

Yeah so I haven't been able to get creative juices flowing lately but you know who has been pretty prolific?

Nope, not Frank Stallone.

Check out her headband, masquerade masks, and that time she made all the tree huggers cry.

In between the crafty posts she's got a pretty wicked sense of humour.

Country Living Fair

First time in my life, Mom and I took a roadtrip just ourselves to C-Bus to the Country Living Fair, where Olive Grace Studios was a vendor! It was so great to be around my beautiful fellow Corporate Punks and I met Kori's cousin Tiffany from Bama who supplied these beautiful photos and she BLOGS about her adorable kids. Man I want her camera and her camera skillz, yoink!

O

H

!

I

O

!

(srsly, i think i have the cutest and mostest talented friends in the world and here are only two of them!)

So yeah, I'm flooded with ideas, especially with the introduction to American Primitive style which was everywhere at the fair. Some friendly folks also gave me good pointers on growing Hand Pecked. Mom and I reached the conclusion that we definitely can not take Hand Pecked on the road like many of the Country Living vendors but I will be concentrating on interweb presence.

Baby.

Steps.

Olive Grace Studios

Ever have one them friends who kick so much ass that instead of being jealous, you just turn into a pool of awe that is the girl crush?

Yup, that Kori has done it. Here is her sweet little quilt shop. It is simply beautiful (and she carries paper goods too!)

Miss Olive Grace herself.

p.s. : suck on that no talent Tanner!

UPDATE: Olive Grace Studios will be exhibiting at THE Country Living Fair this weekend in Columbus Ohio. Booth 365. VAMONOS!

Fateful Encounterings

Back in the day when I first graduated from school, I worked at a place where this crazy lady had the same last name as one of my neighbors from college (BTW, the lady's crazy in a kick-ass way, because she did all sorts of stuff I would never think to do like jump out planes, fly a chopper, pack up a developed career and go fly planes. She might have been a German Chuck Norris in girl-form, and she made some great chili. I hear she's married now, you lucky lucky dude whoever you are). What are the chances of that right? It wasn't a strange last name and it took me several months for the brain synapse to occur to ask her if she had a younger brother in Charlottesville. Yup, her little bro was part of the group who spent many good weather days and bad weather days outside, in the courtyard of a special little house called MoHo. Oh and did I mention her best friend went to a small architecture school with me and we all went to the first post-college wedding together for another mutual friend? Craziness, I feel I should draw a web diagram somehow.

Psyche, I'm lazy but look at this cake instead.

Well my co-worker/her roommate and I lost touch once I left that job and a couple of days ago I came across this cake mentioned by C&C. Hmmm the photographer's name sounded mighty familiar and I was totally like is this the same Beaner and wow she is still with Tucker and OMG she's on the WEST COAST Now. YAY, once again, I'm encountering the same groups of people from like 10 years ago, thanks to Al Gore's invention of "The Interweb." I am thrilled to say Sabine's work is pretty awesome with all her outdoorsy/nature weddings shots and I'm slightly bummed she's so far from me now. If anyone is in the San Fran area getting hitched and doesn't like the forced posed looks of let's-hang-this-stuffy-photo-over-the-stuffy-fireplace-style shots, please check her out and tell her hey for me.

PS. she blogs here.

As I find all these connections in my life, I truly hope these are all signs that I was born to a be a corporate punk and Hand Pecked is meant to be =)

It's ALIVE!!!!!!

I sure will.

I will have two vacations to C-Bus and Y-town this year back to back with hopeuflly a trip to NYC squeesed in soon.

Sign of aging #8979879: vacation = "mega craft fair" instead of "getting S-F'd"

Filling in

I haven’t blogged in awhile, mostly because I’ve been overloaded with work and not knowing where my camera cable is. I will update with photos later on.

TheRoot.com Inauguration Ball
I was Palli’s impromptu date and ditched our SigO’s for an awesome inaugural ball at the newly opened American History Museum. I know there were some Hollywood type stars there since they were surrounded by a posse but sadly I’m not “down” with it enough to recognize who’s who. I didn’t even know who Biz Markie was until the day before.

Totally dorking it out, Palli and I recognized more literati than celebrities. One of my favorite poets, whom I enjoyed seeing frequently at UVA, Rita Dove and her husband were there as well. Yes, I got really excited at seeing a friendly face. I was so glad that she was so nice to us and asked about our lives after college.

//Side note, I found out Rita Dove is from Akron, Ohio. I’m finding that I’ve got all these cool Ohio connections everyday. Also, is there a coincidence that I’ve lived on and off of a road that shares the same name as her grandmother? I didn’t think so….//

We kicked off our shoes and joined the giant dance and shook it to old school hiphop even I recognized. I got to check out the newly renovated museum and man seeing the star spangled banner in the dimly lit room with simple words of national anthem was very powerful. I think every American should come check this out and understand what US went through during the early 1800s. By midnight, we knew we had to head back home so we can rest before work the next day. We got back into the pumpkin carriage disguised as a blue/green jetta and went back to our normal lives.

I Love Christmas Time!

Over at the hen shack, it's a complete mess. I've completely taken over the dining room so I have space to make all of my holiday crafts. This year, on top of the Christmas cards I usually make, I'm combining paper fan and snow flake cut outs for patterns playing so I can have some really cool paper ornaments. I will post some examples as I complete them. For now, I need to get off my ass and work on the webpage for awhile. Check out Kori's site http://www.olivegracestudios.com/ beautiful huh?