Instagram love

So I decided to get on the Instagram bandwagon. Instagram is a fun app where you can make your photos transform into vintagey yummies. You can also share them with the Instagram and other social network communities. These are my first six pics. That dang squirrel keeps trying to get to the birdfeeder. He's made a few leaps but hasn't quite made it yet.

One owlet left in the box

There's only one owlet left in the owl box. Wesley is the last little one of Molly and McGee's 4 owlets. The other three are living in the neighbor's yard in a palm tree. Heh heh. Check out the Molly's Box blog for some amazing pics and the Owl Box site for the live stream. I better hurry up and finish my owl plush before they're all gone.

Artist: Grand Ole Bestiary

Gah, these photographs by Grand Ole Bestiary are so cool! It would be fun to sneak one of these into a wall of family photos. heh heh. Check out the Grand Ole Bestiary store here.

Artist: Cassia Beck of Lola's Room Photography

Check out this beautiful vintage-y photography by Cassia Beck of Lola's Room. I love the faded color palettes. Darling! See more in the Lola's Room etsy store and on Cassia's flickr and blog.

Artist: Dahlia House Art Studio

I've been busy making new product for the No Coast Craft-o-Rama and all I can think about is Christmas Christmas Christmas! So in the spirit of Christmas I'll share these gorgeous cards today that I saw on Etsy. They are by Dahlia House Art Studio and are actually manipulated photographs. Don't they look like paintings! I (of course) adore the two with kitties in it. See tons more artwork in the Dahlia House Art Studio Etsy store.

I'm back to blogland. (Sheesh it's been a while)

Hi all. I'm finally back from all my recent trips. Man, what a whirlwind. So, as you know, I went to NYC. After that I was back in Minneapolis for a couple of days, then to Wisconsin then back to Minneapolis, then to Seattle for Plush You (more to come on this in some later posts), then to Sacramento to sign No Monster Here books with the author, then to the L.A. area to visit the husband's brother, then back to Sacramento, then, finally... back home to Minneapolis. GAHHHHHH! I've never ever traveled that much in a 3 1/2 week stint. I am so tired and the work has piled up back here at home. But I'm ready to move ahead full force on all of my projects. Yay!

Here are a couple of pics from when I was in Seattle and Cali. More from NYC, Plush You, and No Monster Here coming soon.


Seattle skyline.


A traveling food stand shaped like a pig. funny!


PLUSH YOU!!! Super fun. I'll be putting together a post of my Plush You pics soon.


In Sacramento, signing No Monster Here books for everyone who pre-ordered. You can still pre-order here before the end of the month to get your book signed too.


My husband's Sand Skull that he made on the beach in southern Cali (only to be washed away and hour later).


A rainy Venice Beach.

Freshest meal ever

What a great 4th of July weekend. I spent it at my parent's house in Wisconsin and it was so beautiful and sunny outside. Yesterday we made the greatest meal ever. First, for a snack, we rented a popcorn maker and made fresh movie popcorn. Dad picked lavender from the garden (not part of the meal but still pretty). Then mom made a pie out of all fresh berries: raspberries and one blackberry from the garden, local strawberries, blueberries, and cherries with homemade crust. Then it was fishin' time (that's me in the pic). Caught 6 big trout that we gutted, then put fresh rosemary, sage, parsley, lemon verbena, and a small onion into it's belly, then cooked them on the fire pit. Lastly we had fresh red potatoes from the garden with fresh parsley on them. YUM YUM!
p.s. - today's my bday. YAY!

Artist: Stephen Tamiesie

I'm loving these photos by Stephen Tamiesie. I just love how stark and muted they are, and how it takes a second or two to realize the subject in the photo. See lots more on his website, blog and etsy store.

Artist: Susan of TADA's Revolution

These pics are so dang cute I can hardly stand it! These photos and little amigurumi (fun crocheted characters) were made by Susan of TADA's Revolution. Check out more on her flickr and blog. She also has an etsy store where she sells a few cute characters and fun Japanese craft books. Neat!

New Kitties, sketchbooks and a cross stitch pattern

Hi all. I have some new Kitties to share. They'll go up in the store this week along with a couple of new Kitty sketchbooks. I can't wait to make some more! I especially like the little Siamese kitty, I'll definitely be making more of those. Also, remember the cross stitch that I did on my bag a while back? I finally made it into a pattern. Yay, that's something that I've been meaning to do forever and now I can cross it off my list. It's up in my etsy store too. Lastly, a lot of you may have discovered this program already, but I used it for the first time yesterday and I just love it. It's called Poladroid and it can make any of your digital photos look like polaroids. So fun! The free download can be found here. I made one of my Kitty, Sammy. He was laying on his back looking all cute. Marew!