when boredom strikes.

Y’all. I’m posting this now because I don’t know when I’m going to have another chance to do anything besides workkk!

So. This weekend, well, between last Thursday and Sunday, I made ten sales on Etsy. TEN. Now, I realize for successful Etsy veteran shop owners, this might be laughable, but damnnn. 7 canvases and 3 scarves took up my entire weekend. Here, have a looksy:

just the beginning.

only the sixth or seventh time i've painted this quote.

watched a lot of movies. some of them, twice.

done deal.

not my fave color scheme, but i was happy with the font.

you can't tell, but the background is gold and shimmery!

me likey.

thankful for a nice and simple custom order...

and that's just half.

This morning I woke up and checked my email around 7am. Nothing. Refreshed the page around 7:15 and whatdoyaknow. Sold two canvases. When I came home for lunch today (well, technically I’m still on my lunch break, so this all just happened), I talked to my mom on the phone and she mentioned how cute the Alice in Wonderland canvas turned out. Said something about how I should bump the price up a couple dollars. I agreed, so I logged on to Etsy to make the change and… uhh… someone had already bought it 6 minutes earlier. So yeah. I’ll be painting canvases all night instead of cleaning my apartment. Can’t say that’s a complaint

Like what you see? Have a certain quote in mine? Check out my Etsy shop. Even though so many orders sometimes drives me crazy, I still love painting quotes on canvases and scarves. How lucky am I to have my work worn or on display all over the country (and, uh, well… the world, because I’m international now haha)?! Answer: so so so lucky.

Thanks for reading, and until next time, HAPPY CRAFTINGGGG!

Hugs,

Kirks

Ohhhh hi.

Last Friday I was working on some rather interesting transfer articulation tables. Most of them were from random culinary schools and all the courses were coming in as electives. Because I was doing this for so many hours straight, I had to make it interesting. So I chose to find entertainment in the titles of some of the courses. One particular school, the Wisconsin Culinary School or something, had at least two dozen courses that were pretty standard. Ya know, “Sanitation,” “Kitchen Prep,” and so on. However, there were a few oddballs thrown in that gave me a chuckle, or at least added some interest. Meat Identification. Ice Carving. Lunch Cookery Trends (?). Comfort Food Production (sooo, mac and cheese class). And my favorite: Traditional Modern Vegetables. HELLO. Oxymoron.

I’ve also been having to abbreviate the crap out of school names. After saving one table for Finger Lakes Community College, I realized I chose to call it FNGR LKS. They must have a finger lickin’ good time.

There was also a period of about an hour when I was abbreviating “Freshman Seminar” as “Fresh Semin.” Oops. Haha.

Anyway. Got s’more Etsy orders, so that’s good.

My roommate and I had planned on getting a Christmas tree but never actually did. Soooo we threw some lights on Gerdy the dress form and put the presents under her… feet. Or prongs. Orrr whatever. Looky!

presents.

tree.

So that’s that. I bound a book over the weekend, too! Used some scrapbook paper and cardstock. It’s about 20 pages long. This is the only picture I have of it though. Cindy was helping to prop it up while the glue dried:

cindyyy and a handmade book.

Yeahhhh. She’s my manny head. I’ve had her for over four years. Someone named her Cindy awhile back and apparently scribbled her name on her neck in a Sharpie. Quite the head turner, eh? Now she’s mine and I love her dearly. She even has a facebook. Cindy Houchin Forrest. She’s pretty much head over heels in love with herself.

I really need to post some new stuff to my Etsy shop. I found a bunch of bracelets that my sister made a few years ago (they’re gorgeous!). We tried (and failed) at starting an Etsy shop for that then. But nowwww I think I’ll have a little more luck. Stay tuned for that post. Although, it could be a week before you see anything else from me. All I wanna do is sleeeeep.

Holy moo cow. Y’all! It’s been over two weeks… and I have the most perfect excuse. Ya see, my blog is titled “When Boredom Strikes,” and unfortunately for all you readers out there, boredom has yet to strike again since my last post! I guess that’s a good thing?

Updates:

1. I have a job. A real big person job. And it’s DA BOMB. I’m working in the Registrar’s Office at Miami with a dozen or so of the nicest and hardest working people I’ve met at the University. I have my own desk and computer (with TWO super enormous computer monitors – I feel special) and all kinds of course bulletins and student handbooks and reference books. It’s great. I’m working on the Transfer Credit Evaluation and Transcript team… basically my life now consists of hundreds (if not thousands) of course equivalency tables, course descriptions, and school transcripts. Pretty fantastic.

2. I have another job. It’s called running my freaking insane Etsy shop. I’ve had a ton of custom scarf and canvas orders over the last two weeks. I’d basically get home from my nine to five and go straight to work on filling those orders. Finally… finally… as of this morning, I have closed all my orders. BOOYAH, MOTHA TRUCKAS. I couldn’t be more excited about the success of my shop. Seriously. Never expected this would happen in a million years.

3. Now that I’m all caught up on Etsy, I get to start working on Christmas gifts! Eeeeek! New favorite thing. Maybe after the new year I’ll post some pics of my projects.

4. My aunt saved me and my sister the “wishbone” on Thanksgiving. She made us rip it apart as soon as we walked in the kitchen. Molly has been a vegetarian for over fifteen years and a vegan for over five. I was vegan for five years and I’m now vegetarian. I’m not necessarily as grossed out by meat or animal bits and bones like she is, but it was still rather disgusting. We wore gloves. Funny? Ehhh… you tell me:

Molly... freaking out.

me freaking out.

Now, for your craft fix… here are some of the things I’ve been working on lately (either for my shop or for birthday gifts and the like…):

Tammy turned 21 and this is what I gave her. Bearded men galore!

so hot. lol.

painted some mugs at the local pottery-firing joint.

they were displayed in the front window. nbd.

custom Etsy order. that was fun.

Tonya turned 21 and this is what Tammy ordered for her. Im Ole Gregggggg.

dont get it? youtube ole gregg. actuallyyy, dont. its almost too creepy.

seven stencils. two hours per stencil. my fingers still hurt but it was so worth it.

another custom order. not as time consuming as the other quote, but still a big project.

So that’s that. I promise I’ll try to blog more often. I miss it lots and lots, but my bedtime comes much earlier than 3am now (that’s when I’d usually write my posts). Remind me to tell you about the psychedelic Christmas music that was playing Uptown over the weekend… that story needs to be told (next!).

Thanks for reading and happy crafting!

- Kirky

Hey y’allllll!

As promised, here are my newest scarves! They’re “infinity scarves” or whatever. I’m warning you now, I take super awkward pictures. The lovely scenery is a lake on my sister’s campus, Kentucky’s very own Morehead State University. It’s pretty pretty.

blue paint on gray jersey.

double wrapped.

double wrapped.

red paint on gray jersey.

idk.

double wrapped.

Check out my ETSY SHOP if you’re interested in buying one. They make great gifts and they’re totally cooler than a mass produced store-bought scarf. Just saying. I’ve had a few friends request custom stenciled scarves as well, so if you’ve got something in mind for yourself or a friend or family member, send me a message or comment below and we’ll make a deal. That sounded sketchier than I wanted it to.

Yup. So I start my job tomorrow. That’s exciting. I’m nervy. What else is new! Wish me luck, friends

Yo, sup. This post goes to show how extremely un-cool I am. Not because of the nail polish / newsprint tutorial thingy. But because I’m quite possibly the worst subject of a picture ever. EVER. Thanks, Tonya Atha, for this awesome idea!

base coat.

newspaper squares.

rubbing alcohol.

apply rubbing alcohol to newspaper square with a cotton ball.

 Put a clear coat over this so it doesn’t rub off an hour later. Lesson learned.

this is why im not a hand model.

hand model. i have no teeth. uncomfortable just looking at this.

That is all.

Y’all! Exciting news! I have finally, finally, finished Molly’s scarf. BOOM. Betcha never saw that coming. Casting off might just be more rewarding than dropping off packages at the post office to be shipped to Etsy buyers. (Speaking of which, I sold another scarf last night and it was awesomeee.) Knit stitch is a piece of cake. Purl stitch, on the other hand, still confuses the hell out of me. I thought I’d be able to pick it back up pretty quickly, juuuust like I did when I learned it a few weeks ago. NOPE. Chuck Testa. I struggled for a good hour or so the other night… this is all too familiar. Oh well. Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll be able to purl like a boss.

The last few days have been pretty spiffy. During our Thursday coffee date, Amber and I tried brainstorming new ideas for my etsy shop. Back in September, I stenciled my signature mustache on some old canvas I found. The idea was to put two stenciled pieces together, stitch away, and make a mustache plush. I played around with two sizes; one about 5 inches long and another about 3 inches long. (Don’t you dare That’s What She Said me, I simply will not have it!) I’m still working out the issues, but I think the smaller plush mustaches would make adorable key chains. Again, this is all just an experiment. Stay tuned!

Friday, Jen and I got lunch at 45 East and I had the yummiest salad of all time (almonds, bleu cheese crumbles, mandarin oranges and a raspberry vinaigrette). We chatted about the usual shtuff and she gave me some information about a Masters program that I’m seriously beginning to consider. Woot! Alsoooo. Jen has started a blog of her own and gave me permission to share it with y’all! Check it out: At First Glance: Inspiring Creative Thoughts and Pauses. SO EXCITED ALREADY!

Saturday was equally exciting! Amber and I went to You’re Fired and painted mugssss yessss loved that. Then we got dinner at Kona and marveled at how funky and unexpected the restaurant was. Saturday night, Jen and I went to see a few friends perform in The Crucible at the Oxford Community Arts Center. Supaaa fun

So that brings us to today. Sunday. I’m doing laundry. Knitting. Blogging. And brainstorming ideas for Christmas gifts and birthday presents. Speaking of gifts, you know what would make an awesome present?! Anything from  my Etsy shop. Yep. As mentioned in a previous post, enter the coupon code ARTSYFARTSY1 for 10% off your purchase. Aww yeahhh.

Thanks for reading. Happy craftinggg!

- Kirks

Y’allllll. I am in serious need of a craft fix. This is my problem: I get on these craft project kicks, they last about a week and a half, and then I get bored. The magazine bowls lasted about 6 months before I got bored. The scarves… well, they’re a made-to-order kinda thing. The painted quotes from a few weeks ago? Yeah. Bored with that. I’m still maniacally knitting away in public places for several hours at a time, so that’s good. I have to finish this freaking scarf for my sister so I can move on to some new stitches and maybe, just maybe, a pattern.

I don’t have much to blog about. No embarrassing stories. So. I’ll resort to a facebook conversation I had with a few friends last night in the comments on one of my profile pictures.

One of my friends, Cupcake, is terribly afraid of glitter. Don’t get me wrong, glitter is messy, nearly impossible to clean up, and when mixed with even the slightest amount of water in the attempt to remove it from your hands (or worse, face), it is the nightmare of all craft-related nightmares. Everything made perfect sense at 1 in the morning ,but looking back at the conversation, the part I was told to blog about was a bit of a stretch. A very creative stretch, nonetheless. Here’s the deal: Cupcake and friends are coming back to Oxford for Homecoming in a few weeks and they’re trying to convince me to make poor life decisions with them, as usual. I told them no, as usual. Cupcake’s message was this:

“Let me relate to crafts for you. This is like herpes. Every few years there’s a big flare-up and you’re all embarassed and set out to do everything you can to stop it. But you can’t. Then when it’s over you realize you didn’t mind because getting herpes in the first place was actually a blast. Worth it.”

Herpes means glitter. Glitter is a craft supply. Therefore, herpes flare-ups equal craft flare-ups. Which I think I’m having right now. Okay. That makes perfect sense. Smola, I realize this probably isn’t the way you intended for me to take that comment, but this is a crafty blog. Gotta keep it crafty. The end.

Yesterday I made some adorable little owls out of toilet paper tubes. Saw these on craftgawker about a week ago and couldn’t flipping wait to run out of toilet paper! I wrote “I think you’re a hoot” on the back and gave it away. Not gonna lie, I was kinda proud of myself.

owl be making these all the time.

hello, handsome.

Today I made a bracelet for my seeester, who’s home on fall break. It’s just braided cord with brass hex nuts. I think they’re 4-40′s. Super simple.

im hexy and i know it.

Yup. This is my life. I’m currently watching The Mothman Prophecies. Pretty great. After I post this blog, I’mma be looking for something crafty to do. I still haven’t finished bedazzling the crap out of my 3′ tall spoon and fork. Maybe I’ll do that. Anyway. Until next time, HAPPY CRAFTING, y’all!

FRIENDS.

Five random things:

1. Yesterday I was cleaning out my Skype contacts (because apparently I never updated my privacy settings and random people have tried to contact me). One of the personal messages was “i was browsin people near me and i unearthed your name.” Uh, unearthed? I mean… okay. Not the first verb I would have used.

2. Last night, a few friends came over to play the greatest game of all time (EUCHRE). Believe it or not, I did win my team 4 points in a loner. I never go alone. We still lost 2 out of 3 games. That’s beside the point. About an hour into their visit, I looked over and found a folded up piece of paper on the floor, almost under the couch. It didn’t belong to anyone there at the time, and as far as Stormy and I can tell, it couldn’t possibly belong to anyone else that has visited our apartment. Here’s the note:

roommate confusion. and suspicion.

uh huh.

It’s difficult to read, but it’s a to-do list of sorts. 1. Make CJ crush cans. Okayyy. Who’s CJ? And do you want him to physically crush cans (for recycling, perhaps), or make him an Orange Crush soda can to share your feelings for him? 2. Cucumber shots. PARTY! Sounds kinda disgusting. 3. Invite Julian’s girlfriend (Katie). To the party with the shots. Got it. 4. Kill CJ. DAMN. 5. Eat CJ’s dead body for brunch. DOUBLE DAMN. For brunch? Morning after the party? Is his dead body the perfect cucumber/vodka hangover cure? Beats me. So yeah. There’s that. Again, Stormy and I have absolutely no idea where this came from or who wrote it. If you, by some incredible chance, have a better understanding of this list, by all means LET US KNOW.

3. My aunt threw a bridal shower for her future daughter-in-law this weekend and my mom and I drove up to visit. This random point mainly exists so I won’t forget how funny I found my aunt’s comment about a panini maker: “Paninis. Really just a grilled cheese sandwich with stripes.”

4.I have a job interview with the Registrar’s Office at Miami at the end of the week! OH EM GEEEE. I’m not getting my hopes up, but at least it’s something, right? Keep your fingers crossed!

5. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve learned to knit. I can do the knit stitch. I can do the purl stitch. I really want to practice rib stitch (ribbing? rib stitching?), but I’m forcing myself to finish at least one project before I get started on that. My sister is coming home for fall break at the end of the week and I’m trying to finish a scarf for her. Don’t get excited. It’s nothing fancy. Literally as simple as it gets… but it’s a start! Seeeeee:

no dropped stitches!

halfway there.

Anyway. That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and happy craftingggg!

Y’all. I don’t have much news to share. I’ve figured out how to make etsy coupon codes. Free shipping on all orders placed before October 10th! Woot. Just enter the coupon code: CRAFTY1 and you’re golden. We’ll see what happens. Here’s the link to my shop: COOLZEENS.

Other than that, I seriously want to color my hair. I’ve never colored it before… Stormy and I might give it a try on Sunday. Wish me luck?

Oh, and here’s the most recent quote painting. It’s Big Fish.

you liiiiike?

YUP. I’m also knitting a scarf. That’s exciting. You know what’s even more exciting! I have an interview with the University next week. EVERYONE PLEASE CROSS YOUR FINGERS A MILLION TIMES JUMP UP AND DOWN RUN AROUND IN A CIRCLE basically do the Snow Day dance because it would be fan-flippin-tastic if I got a job.

That’s all I’ve got. What a pointless blog entry.

Oh, hi. Currently sitting in the most comfortable butterfly chair EVER, in my living room, in the basement of my apartment complex. The half-windows are open (by some magical feat, Stormy was able to open them… it feels much less like a hole in the ground now). I’m doing laundry for the first time, too. I need to save more quarters! Speaking of laundry, the dryers are enormous and I could so totally fit in one if I tried. But that would be scary. Because I’m a little claustrophobic. Yeah. Before I get to the new crafty shiz, I’d like to begin with a fabulous life update and a story from this afternoon! Deal with it. But first, here’s a handsome bottle cap dude to satisfy your need for something other than a hundred boring words to look at:

hottayyy.

So. Once upon a time (last Thursday), my friend Amber and I decided to get coffee Uptown. Amber and I met on a Miami-sponsored trip to San Diego two summers ago. Sadly, we didn’t see much of each other at all last year, but we’re making up for it now! She’s the perfect example of a friend that you can pick right back up with where you left off. Today, being Thursday, was the day for our weekly coffee date. YAY! We each got a Salted Caramel Mocha from Starbucks (bigggg fan) and sat outside for an hour or so. Eventually, we decided to find a picnic table and people watch (totes a fave pastime of mine).

It was only a matter of time before we encountered Android Man, appropriately dubbed, due to his selfless promotion of his Android phone. Allow me to explain… “Do you ladies sit up here often?” he asked. Uhh, sure we do? (Here we go.) He explained that he was geocaching and needed help finding a particular location. He showed me a picture of a certain street corner in Uptown Park. It happened to be the corner we were sitting on. What exactly is geocaching, you ask? Well. Android Man wasn’t very helpful in answering that question. Neither is this official website. Apparently, Android Man was looking for a film canister or a pill bottle with “paper in it.” Amber and I were both curious as to what exactly was so important about this piece of paper. Android Man further explained that anybody can participate, as long as they have an Android phone. And Google Maps. (And absolutely nothing better to do with their time – perfect for me, right?! Ha, unless the capsules contain cash moneyz, I think I’ll pass.) After our brief conversation, Android Man began scouring the area for the precious capsule. He looked just about everywhere for ten minutes or so. He hollered back at us that you’re supposed to do this in pairs, but that his partner basically stood him up. SAD DAY. Weird, weird dude. A little later, Amber and I went our separate ways and I discovered my very first parking ticket! YES! I was 2 minutes too late. Oh well. It was truly only a matter of time, considering I spend so much time Uptown these days. 10 bucks… meh. I think it’s kinda funny.

Okay. Now to the craft update. Last weekend, my friend Tammy bought a pack of five small canvases for hella cheap and asked me to paint her a quote. YES. AWESOME. LET’S DO IT. With the extra canvases, I experimented with “mixed media” -esque techniques. Basically, I dug through my paint and used a little bit of everything. Sequins also came into play. Sparklyyy.

I’mma start with my favorite. This one is for my sister, Molly Mollz.

sketching it out.

coloring in the lines.

the perfect combination for sparkly goodness.

painted over marker.

outlined in black acrylic.

filled in with white acrylic + glittery glaze.

The finished product is much shinier than it’s possible for me to capture in a picture. I SUCK AT PHOTOGRAPHY. Oh well. Here are the others:

sequinssss + puffy paint = flashback to 4th grade.

went a little crazy with nearly every craft supply I own on this one.

I have mixed feelings about this one.

second favorite.

ya dig?

derp.

the gang. chillin on the futon.

These will be listed on my Etsy shop whenever I get around to it. Probably tonight. Yeah. One more thing. If you’re craving chocolate and you’re extremely bored, partake in an M&M’s DUEL. See rules here. HA. Loves it. (Thanks for sharing, Amber! Too perfect.)

Peace. Love. Cats… erm… Crafts.

- Lizzzzz

FRIENDS. BIG NEWS! I’ve learned to knit. I sat down on Sunday, needles and yarn in hand, scanned through knitting how-to videos on youtube, and struggled for several hours before realizing that my interpretation of “casting on” was completely wrong. I gave up trying for a few days untilllll my stubbornness got the better of me. I started messing around with it again this afternoon – easily watched two dozen high quality youtube videos. Yeah right. “Judy” was SO not helpful. Anyway. I took pictures of my progress. Enjoy.

Somethings not right.

Seriously. What the frup is that.

Amazement. Casting.

Attempt #54879 at the second row. Bout time it worked.

CHYEAH SECOND ROW!

After this, I went to Chipotle with muh friend Tammy TamTam. Returned just in time to watch Survivor. (I don’t have a favorite yet, but I’m pulling for Coach this time around. Go figure.)

Concentration. Dedication. Master of the yarn at work.

"Ehhhh?"

What Tammy thinks a meow looks like. (Stormy judges.)

3 hours later. AWW YEAH.

YUP. That’s what I did with the majority of my evening. Earlier in the day, I applied to 3 more job postings at Miami, Subway, and Kroger (1 hour long application – holy flipping cow what a joke). Tomorrow, Chipotle, Patterson’s Cafe, and DP Dough are on my list. Wooooot. Mehhhh. The apartment across the hall from us is currently unoccupied and being totally ripped apart. The construction company gets in at 11am and sticks around until early evening (last week, they had the audacity to saw-zaw shit in the hallway until midnight). Today, they decided that taking a jackhammer to the floor directly outside my door was a good idea. My sister skyped me around this time and she got to witness me bitch them (the construction dudes) out through the door. That amount of noise and sheer destruction makes it impossible to think straight. So I left. Went to Kofenya to read for an hour. Mmm. TICKED ME RIGHT OFF. I’m rullll close to throwing a hissy fit. In public. To actual people. Yeahhh.

Sooner or later I’ll get around to posting the new scarves I mentioned earlier. The lighting in my apartment sucks ballsss; I have yet to capture them in all their glory. Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading and/or judging. Happy crafting!

- Kirks

What happens when a craftaholic stumbles upon the buttocks of a mannequin in a thrift store for 5 smackers:

She fills the empty space with spray foam for stability... and it expands more than anticipated...

... covers the freshly primed bum with sketches of paisleys that resemble other... things.

And paints him up real good, sticks him in the backseat of a car, and delivers him to a friend that appreciates awkward "art"

I strongly considered making him into a lamp or a footstool. Oh. I also wanted to put a fart machine in there somewhere, but of course this was realized after the spray foam… expanded. Cheapest and by far most original gift I’ve ever made. Tammy Atha, you are one lucky gal.