higgins waterproof drawing ink

(it's my fortieth post, and i think i've decided to actually start giving posts titles. interesting idea? i think so.)

today i'm going to tell you a little about higgins waterproof drawing ink. i've figured out that this is mamus' secret weapon - i swear, before i knew about this stuff, i couldn't paint.

but put a paintbrush in my hand now, ask me to do details - and, voila! after a quick warm-up i feel like i've been painting for days. this acrylic ink glides on smoothly to any sort of paper/paint surface like it just knows where to go.

do you have a favorite paint/ink? i'd love to know some more brands that i could try!

thirty-ninth

for the third day of the october blogging workshop we have been asked to create an "about" page - clearly one of the things people hate writing about most! funny thing is, it never even crossed my mind that perhaps someone might want to know something "about me" without having to skim through all of my posts. so, if you want to know "about me", click that little link up in the left-hand corner. need to know anything else? please feel free to ask!

thirty-eighth

happy monday! it's my first full week of the october blogging workshop run by sunday afternoon housewife. it only makes sense that we will be doing a recap of our crafty vendor/shopper weekend. this past first friday, i was a vendor at the indieana handicraft exchange mini fall even at the harrison center for the arts.

i split a table with mamus, as i wasn't sure in the beginning if i wanted to vend. and to be honest, i wish i hadn't bothered. the whole event was really terrible for me. it was great getting to see friends i haven't seen in a while, meeting a bunch of new people, and getting to see some new items from my favorite artists - but aside from that, meh.

i had a similar experience at the last handicraft exchange, so it's really forcing me to take a look at what i'm doing. during the summer event we were outside where the temperature was 90 degrees plus and a lot of the shoppers didn't even know we were part of the event. this time around the event was very poorly advertised in my opinion - no flyers, posters, and very minimal online advertising. after having conversations with past vendors and shoppers, it came to light that many people did not even know the event was happening. that's all fine and good, but i have to wonder, am i just making up excuses to make me feel better?

i can't really tell. i get a lot of good feedback from my items - "that's cute!" "how funny!" "this is beautiful" "how soft" - but i don't get a lot of sales. perhaps it was too soon for scarves, perhaps many of the shoppers did not plan on buying anything as it was a first friday event (where the majority of people aren't shopping), or perhaps i'm just missing....something.

i have one more event coming up on friday, november 5 - Murphys Seasonal Bazaar. i have higher hopes for this one - the murphy building's artists have put together this event, hopefully the first of many!

thirty-seventh

i've taken on quite an ambitious cause (one of my own, so it's excusable).

head on over to nutritiousknitting.blogspot.com to see what's happening.

i hope you can take part! please, also, if you have any recommendations/criticism/helpful tips, do let me know!

thirty-sixth

this marks the beginning of the October blogging workshop run by the amazingly fun martha of sunday afternoon housewife fame.

i've been wanting to write more & participate in a workshop, and when i saw her post that she was offering one the other day - i couldn't pass it up! so, here goes nothing!

our first prompt was to check out some new-to-me craft blogs on the interwebs and poke around them to find out what i like/didn't like. what's better than looking at new crafty goodness!?!

first up:
polka dot robot
the first thing that struck me was how well (& how many) photos were used - photos for everything! i love being about to see photos about what i'm reading about, instead of just imagining things. don't get me wrong - i love using my imagination - but seeing what someone is actually writing about is great! i am totally one of those people that wants to take a photo of everything to share it, but i forget to take the photograph! while i enjoyed the idea of having 4 different crafty ladies post on the blog, it did in part feel like i was reading 4 different blogs at once - which felt a bit confusing.

next:
loladee (actually was a click-through link from polka dot robot that i couldn't pass up reviewing!
i immediately was drawn to the simple, bubbly graphics. the first post was "5 things [i fell in love with] friday." i gotta tell ya, i love these things. i love seeing what other people love - because more often than not, they are truly love-able! this can actually lead to a endless chain of link-clicking and cuteness - i've lost days at a time by doing this. the design of this blog is so simple, yet everything pops so dramatically. i am definitely adding this one to my google reader!

last:
bakerella
the first thing i see on this site is a big beautiful red apple. i love food, food is fighting for my number 1 passion (along with creating things). any time you blog about food, you're a#1 in my book. when you attach incredible photos to that, you're golden. i could look at these photos for hours (i imagine a snack will be had after this post...) i love that this blog has minimal design, but plenty of content. simple colors and graphics lead to a simple, easy to navigate site. this site did have a negative for me - the corporate advertising. these ads felt ridiculously out of place and really ruined the vibe for me.

well, that looks like it for today! my next prompt is monday - can't wait!

thirty-fifth

oh, hey blog world. where have you been?

upcoming fall events include:

october/1: indieana handicraft exchange fall mini
november/5: murphy's seasonal bazaar


new items should show in up bloomington at the paper crane gallery and in indianapolis at homespun: modern handmade.

there are new scarves, hex signs, and paintings to be seen!

here is the tiniest preview!



see you soon!

thirty-fourth

puppies for sale!