blacklilypie

Sugar Bones

2011-10-27T12:38:00.000-04:00

Soooo, here is a new addition to my Etsy shop.

Its a new set of one inch pins with little bones on them. Its really fun to draw cartoon bones you know...

I had originally drawn this design with realistic bone shapes, but didn't like it and redid it all with the traditional bone shape.

So, doing stuff in my new home of Ottawa, being a tourist, seeing things, doing stuff...

Driving to nowhere to buy beer.

Looking in every comic store in existence for Batwoman.

Taking a tour like tourists.

My mom and dad visiting and everyone being colour coordinated by accident. :3
We saw D.O.A. on the street right after this. (Most Canadian day ever.)

Taking touristy photos.

Carving new stamps for fabric printing.

Timbits.

Painting a new photo backdrop that will either be awesome or terrible.

So, in general, I spend all my time taking iphone photos of things. heh heh.

shussshhh shusshhh

2011-09-12T20:28:00.000-04:00

Sooo...a good thing about moving to Ottawa, I finally got an "when we move to Ottawa present."

AWWW YEAHHHHH.

New tablet!

My old one has a crack in it, is GROSS and the mouse double clicks randomly and doesn't scroll and it is OLD AS HELL and DYING. My new Intuos4 is like, too cool for school next to that 10 year old (at least) thing.

The new one makes a nice marker-like shusssshing sound when you draw. Plus it has programmable keys and all sorts of nibs and its all like black on black on black like Batman's tablet would be. Yes.......

So I am getting used to it. I have never drew things from scratch on my tablet, I scan in pencil drawings or inked stuff and go from there. Might change now.

Want to see some sneak peek stuff?

There.

These are works in progress, I am still working on colours and packing ideas and other parts of the projects. You know, just making crap up as I go along.Heh hehhhh.

Oh, and I asked Nathan to take a pic of my in my studio, you know, so I can be current and not be a liar with outdated profile pics on the internet. This is the BEST one!

There must be a deadly herp derp leak in this studio. hahaha.

I moved to Ottawa... It's a big deal.

2011-09-09T18:02:00.002-04:00

So, packing up my old studio (which I was not supposed to do, the movers were supposed to, but no way man!) was kind of sad. I am moving to Ottawa because of my partner being relocated in his government job. Ottawa is the capital of Canada for you non-canucks. But its smaller and more dull than Toronto.

The movers packed (and overpacked) everthing we owned, and we had to squat in our entirely packed house for a night and it was weird.

Rocko the Cat did NOT like going in the car. Six hours of an insane, freaking out, panting little nightmare. He took it out on my by constantly gouging my flesh when i tried to wrestle him from under the gas pedal.

We had to squat AGAIN because the movers were delayed a day. It wasn't bad actually, its like camping with a kitchen and no bugs.

Then they delivered all our furniture and we had about one billion too many boxes for our new smaller apartment. UGHHHH.

Rocko the Cat is in a constant state of terror for days. He won't eat or drink or walk normal (slinking around) and he hides constantly and I keep loosing him and thinking he jumped out the window or flushed himself down the toilet.

We eventually get ourselves out from under the mountain of stuff we own for some reason, and are playing adult and putting things on shelves.

My studio is a nice greyish pinky purple. I painted it before the landlord told us not to paint anything because it cost him so much money to paint the whole place beige. (Um, I cannot live in a beige house! CAN NOT.) We may have to fight to the death.

Ok, so now my "Woe is me, I am moving to Ottawa so I can't make bookmarks and stuffed dudes!" period is coming to an end. Back to work in my illicitly purple studio.

P.S.
-Ottawa is small.
-There are crickets and squirrels being noisy all day.
-Kids. Every person has a baby every 5 months here.
-I don't have cable anymore. SUCKS.
-Do people really put up paintings with those Command Adhesive things? NO ONE DOES THAT, LANDLORD. I need wall anchors for my heavy ass art.
-Oh yeah, back to work.

Farm

2011-07-09T21:47:00.000-04:00

Visiting the Farm on Canada Day

We've decided its officially a friend tradition to visit this new little farm that my friends are working on building. On Canada Day, we go to meet the new animals and see the new projects. Its super fun, and also really heartwarming to see people living out dreams.

I took over 500 pictures, and most of them are horrible. I take so many because I know that in a year, this little farm will be different.

I made a Flickr gallery of some shots, and if you are interested in how a little farm is born and what it takes to get things going, Tracy's blog, Journey to Casimir is documenting it all.

Wish I would have eaten more roasted marshmallows. :-)

Getting stuff done.

2011-06-30T11:43:00.000-04:00

Framed up two of my little paintings, listed 'em on Etsy.

Here is one...

Here is the other...

Annnnd...

Finally listed this little monster that has been laying low in my studio for quite some time. He is so sweet and innocent. Totally. Not evil at all! For some more pics, check out his listing...

Going to the Farm for Canada Day. I will not get a sunburn, I WILL NOT. I will cover myself head to toe in baby bunnies for protection.

Painty Party

2011-06-28T21:21:00.001-04:00

Painting little doodles. Trying to remember how I ever painted anything before...I think I forgot how in the months since I have done any new work...

*dabble dabble*

blargh argh!

2011-06-24T18:24:00.001-04:00

Good stuff:
-found non-hovel apartment in Ottawa. No raccoon skeletons!
-Its close to the booze store. Important. So, so important.
-"Adventure Time! Come on grab your friends..."
-Not a zombie.
-Have a date with fajitas, and we are going to make out, and its gonna be so great.

Bad Stuff:
-Canada Post strike is crampin' mah style.
-Its muggy. Flop.
-Food tastes too good.
-My cat is loosing his mind and thinks screaming is breathing. Hate his stupid-fat-idiot-cute-face...

R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant

2011-05-31T17:18:00.000-04:00

Doors open Toronto is neat. Buildings around the city open their doors to the public and you can peek around and check out churches, historical landmarks and amazing architecture.

R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant was one of the places I went...Art Deco, yes please. Its one of those places you feel like its a joke that someone actually got to build a utilitarian building that is so interesting. Like, was no one paying attention and the architect slipped it under the door?

Went to Ottawa to check out neighbourhoods to live in. It was drizzly and crappy, I took no photos.

It is pretty in Ottawa, like everyone always says when they are trying to make you like it. You can see the money spent on making it that way. Its crazy clean and lots of adorable little 'hoods, with way more of a country sweetness, less McMansions blotting out the sun in older suburbs.

BUT I found myself worried it was missing the grit of Toronto, the downtown turns to adorable cottages in the blink of an eye! As far as I saw, its so much more white bread. Also, after living 10 years in Toronto, seeing and hearing so much French again is bizarre!

I am less worried about some things, and more worried about some things.

3am in Toronto

2011-05-01T23:08:00.000-04:00

55,000 people went to UFC in Toronto, we tried to wait until the crowd cleared before heading home from our own UFC partything. It didn't work, and took forever, but I ate cookies when I got home and forgot all about bloody eyeballs.

Trust me...

2011-04-26T14:00:00.001-04:00

I never lie.

Don't have to.

Come on down.

I have...

2011-04-25T20:16:00.000-04:00

I have over 1000 pics on my iPhone already.

Spring is coming, finally, my hands are always cold.

BLOODY HELL

2011-03-16T21:07:00.001-04:00

Shit changes. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes you are just like...ummm, whut?

Sometimes you are moving to Ottawa.

Living in Toronto, in a hip as hell neighbourhood with hipsters hipping, its terrifying to think about moving to dull, boring, lame Ottawa. I know nothing about it because no one cares about it when you live in Toronto. All the footage we see is skating on the canal or people having calm and Canadian press conferences.

But job offers getting turned down because you like to look at daddies with full sleeves at the grocery store is kind of a bad life plan right? RIGHT?

Not moving until fall, so I have one last summer to do Toronto. Go to shows, eat Burrito Boyz and generally try not to think about how cold and safe and family friendly Ottawa is. As it gets closer the moving date, I am sure I will flip my shit.

(Everyone says I will love it there, I say, you move there!)

Lived in Toronto for 10 years I guess, and I feel like I am a bit tired of certain life stuff, so it will be fresh and new, even if that new is dull.

P.S. I am pretty sure no one has ever used that font for an Ottawa graphic. And never will again. Ever.

iPhone wallpaper

2011-02-21T17:34:00.002-05:00

iPhone! I haz one. Took a while, but I haz one.

Anyway, I tried making some iPhone 4 wallpapers today. Just cropped some images to the correct size. I am going to have fun doing more involved ones in the future, I am sure!

Want to download? Here!

:-)

What was that?

2011-01-24T18:26:00.002-05:00

I have taken to listening to screamingly loud music on my iPod while doing chores, which means I am constantly waiting to be murdered.

You can't hear anything with Beats smashed into your ears and some dude screaming about goatblood or whatever. There is always a freaky killer clown behind me or something, just know it.
Click here to see a bigger one if don't know how to work your internet machine.

What is with the comics? I have no idea.

Boner killer.

2011-01-18T20:00:00.001-05:00

So...

Celebs. They are most likely boring-ass regular people. Granted, they are beautiful-ass, regular people. When they aren't being their characters, they are pretty dull to me, just like other regular jerks. Beautiful...regular....beautiful...what was I saying...?

Nothing is a bigger boner killer for me than hearing a favorite actor/musician, who I may have concocted some sort of fake personality for in my ugly-person-brain, give props to God.

It shatters my fake fantasy love for them.

Lil Project: New Coat Buttons

2011-01-04T17:37:00.001-05:00

Back in the day, I worked in a clothing store that sold coats. I would often mention that changing the buttons on a coat was a good way to make it look better. The store where I worked would sell every coat with cheap tortoiseshell plastic buttons, and that made me barf. Nice coats ruined by ugly-ass buttons.

When I suggested that sewing on new buttons would transforma a coat, the customers would looked at me like changing the buttons on a coat was the most work any human had ever had to do. Its not a big deal! Sewing a button is something every man,woman and child should at least know how to do.

Lets do this.

Buy an "affordable coat"...Ok, boring/cheap/whatever coat. This one is a very normal one from H&M which I bought because I needed a "lady coat."

See, cheap buttons. Horror.

Figure out how many buttons you need, buy 'em. I bought mine off of Etsy, by searching in the supplies category. They were extremely affordable.

I had a hard time finding buttons I liked that were also the same size as the old crappy plastic buttons, so I gambled a bit and bought slightly smaller buttons. I knew I may have to sew up the button holes a tiny bit if they ended up too small.

See, tiny! Oh well.

Sewing them on is easy but boring. Only 5 of them actually keep the coat closed, so I focused on sewing those on really well and kind of phoned in the other five. haha. No one will ever know.

In the end I only ended up replacing the double row of buttons on the jacket, not all the pocket, collar and shoulder ones, it was just too many white buttons. I think it was a success! I didn't even have to sew up the button holes more because of the smaller buttons.

I had TONS of people compliment me on my coat, and its is all really the buttons. FOOLED YOU.

Ever since working at that clothing store, I feel its my mission to rid the world of hideous plastic cheap-o buttons. I banish you.

Do it!

2011

2011-01-01T13:32:00.000-05:00

Welcomed 2011 by drinking cheap pink bubbly at a small nerd party in my nerd apartment.

I don't have a hangover, so I am taking that as a good sign the year won't be a crapfest.

Cheers!

New Year Comic

2010-12-29T19:21:00.002-05:00

I spend long ~~hours~~ minutes making a magical, beautiful comic about New Years...

My copy and paste skills are enviable.

Anyway, 2009 sucked unbearably, and 2010 was kind of the fallout and self-pity session after that, so lets just all get together and wish it goodbye with a swift kick in the pants.

2011, don't make me make you a coffin.

Atari Teenage Riot

2010-10-05T21:03:00.000-04:00

!!Atari Teenage Riot!!

1!2!3!4!

One of those shows that I had a lot more emotionally invested than I realized. It was like a loud, crashing flashing time machine, and it was awesome.

I had to make some gifs from my videos. I am going to make more gifs from now on.

And then Alec Empire responded to my twitter declarations of love, and I am pretty sure I am officially in the band now.

Yes.

Hey internet.

2010-09-19T15:15:00.000-04:00

Living with someone who can't really use their hands is kind of crappy because you always have to do the dishes and feed the cat. But living with someone who can't use their hands is also an AWESOME excuse for not updating your blog... Right?

Ok, my cyborg is on the mend, the excuse is wearing thin...

I have something worthwhile to post about anyway.

THIS.

This amazing woman is Velouria Adore, and she contacted me to ask about getting a tattoo of one of my illustrations... Of course I said yes and then she actually went and did it!!!

Here is the original illustration.

I did this little painting for a student organized book project at the end of University (OCAD in Toronto,Canada) All the students illustrated "Candy" in black and white only, in a square format.

Love this one...

and this one shows the tattoo really well...

If you want to creep on her (like I know you do) there are a few more photos at my Flickr, and of course you can visit her model profile, www.modelmayhem.com/x_kitten, where there are many more.

So impressed with the work of her tattoo artist. All the subtle gray shading is perfect, its the closest to a copy of my work I have ever seen in tattoo form. :-) Grah, its gorgeous!

Thanks for making me look good!

Human meat accident!

2010-08-20T18:08:00.000-04:00

So. Pavement is stronger than human mean and bone. Now we know for sure.

*Someone* might have fallen off his bike and turned his wrist to mush and bone dust.

This guy took a flip over the handlebars when confronted with a streetcar track on his way to work. I was unaware for hours and hours he was at the hospital!!

After his trip to a few emergency rooms, and surgery to fix him up, he is new and improved with metal parts.

Hospitals are scary and weird. I wasn't too helpful as the unhurt party, as I am a hardcore fainter, who can't seem to keep conscious in the same building as a band-aid. I actually had to sit n the floor with my head between my knees at times. SIGH. Been that way my whole life, gotta deal.

So now the surgery is done, he is on the mend, and I am playing nurse. It doesn't come easy to me, I am kind of a mean nurse actually. So my shop and creations are on hold for just a little while. But I am sure once the arm heals a bit it will be back to business as usual.

He is doing well and I am doing well and even though I have to do the dishes for 6 weeks, its still kind of fun to have a cyborg around. Yay for science!

P.S. We are both buying bike helmets. :-) Lesson learned!

2010-08-09T15:55:00.000-04:00

I have been back from The Farm for a week.

Maybe its time to stop pretending I am still on vacation.

or maybe,

I will just stay there...

for a bit longer.

Impressing people. Its easy!

2010-07-29T21:40:00.000-04:00

You are so lucky to have learned this lesson for free. I should be charging for this gold.

Haha.

:-)

Its ok.

2010-07-26T16:15:00.000-04:00

That is it. I am declaring it.

Blogs are for interesting people, and when you aren't doing anything interesting, they feel like a lead weight.

I am not quitting blogging, or anything drastic like that. Just putting it out there that times come and go where I am bored and bored people are boring. Bored yet?

I think I need to try something new with this blog, because its a dull advertisement space for my Etsy shops, which I also find incredibly dull these days. I don't produce any design or product when I am bored.

So there it is. I am bored of me. At least this me. Just part of the insane freakout that is my rapid aging.

At least it made me make this graphic....

Stay tuned. Or whatever.

It was too hot.

2010-07-13T18:12:00.000-04:00

Too hot to blog. Too hot to live.

Sure its an excuse, but life sucks when its hot. Plus a repairman broke my freaking door. See? Valid excuse for not blogging. (heh heh...)

So I finally got a new bookmark in the shop...

Choose...

Its a dual sided bookmark, with white wings on one side, and black on the other.

The bookmark has the word "Choose..." on the bottom of both sides. I didn't want to label black or white, because who knows who the real good guy is on any given day.

I worked on this image first a a pin set, the idea of the wings being the pins. I actually have the sets completed, and they are ready to go, just need to 'shop the pictures. Might have to wait until tomorrow.

Just for fun, here is the sketch it came from (its a Photobooth image)

Looks the same essentially! Haha I was sketching some ideas, but once I scribbled this one down I was like "Thats it!"

So tomorrow the pins sets will be posted. I am thinking of trying to do a few new pin sets in the upcoming weeks. I have retired older sets over the years and my pins section is getting sparse. :-)

Thanks for looking!

Earthquake. Yeah.

2010-06-23T14:27:00.001-04:00

Wait. We can have earthquakes in TORONTO?? NO WAY.

Just had a little earthquake here, and sitting in my studio, which is in a hundred year old building (which may or may not have been built by unskilled townspeople) I felt the tremors. The building started creaking and the walls and ceilings were cracking. Sounds scary right? Not really because it always creaks and cracks and shakes when people walk on the stairs or sneeze really loudly.

I wonder if it shows a lack of appropriate action in a dangerous situation, because I didn't run to a door frame or whatever you are supposed to do, I complained then looked on Twitter. The cat didn't even wake up.

Anyway, I *was* working on listing a stuffed Skull and Crossbones!

Its available at my Etsy Shop.

The bones are not attached and they can be arranged how you desire, or you can hit people with them.

I also listed a plush bow...

It is also available at blacklilypie.etsy.com

Its a nice tapestry style fabric. Would look great in your boudoir!

I am already tired of people on TV and Twitter and Facebook talking about the earthquake. "I totally dropped my ice cream!" and "It felt, like, shaking, and...stuff." Already BORED of it. Even bored of my own anecdotes. I am such a grump! ha ha.

Guess I should get back to work...

Bones

2010-06-18T13:21:00.000-04:00

Hey. What is that? Those?

I have no idea.

Ever make something you don't really know what its purpose is? Heh heh. Working on a few stuffed items this weekend, will probably put them in the shop next week.

weekend recap

2010-06-14T16:31:00.000-04:00

Look at my bike. Isn't it cute?

My leg looks funny.

Its small enough that legally I could ride it on the sidewalk (its based on wheel diameter) And even though I usually don't ride on the sidewalk, it just necessary sometims when you live in a big city. I like knowing I am *in theory* allowed to do so.

This is where I rode it to...

And this is me at a True Blood Party on Sunday.

It might have been rude to park myself dead center to the screen, I realize now. But I was there first!

There was pickled eggs! Jealous? No me neither. (Sorry Tracy! I bet your eggs are the bestest eggs on earth, but they are still eggs. :-) ) You were there in egg-spirit.

So this weekend, I got to see ducks (cute!), had cake delivered to me in bed (hazelnut actually...), watch like 6 episodes of Rome (sad but awesome!), see bill and eric (Team Bill), drink sambucca (I want to wear it as perfume), and buy products from the drug store (My favorite store on earth.) The little things make the big things suck a bit less.

Now back to reality. I guess.

Lil' painting

2010-06-08T16:38:00.001-04:00

A little painting is finished...

This tiny little painting started out as a face doodle on a scrap of board...

It was inked with acrylic ink then painted in acrylic paint. I sealed it with glossy varnish.

Her little face is cute, no?

I am waiting to put her into a little Ikea frame. A painting this small just seem like it should be sold as a complete package. I will just let the varnish cure a bit more and probably will list it on Wednesday...

(UPDATE!: Here she is in her frame!)

Think she would make a nice bookmark? print? hmm. Will have to do some test printing tonight too. Much to do, much to do...

New painting and more bread rambling...

2010-06-02T17:05:00.001-04:00

Worked on a new little painting...

First, a little pencil sketch emerged...

Unsurprisingly, he seems to be some sort of fox-like creature...

And then the painting...

A Fox Soldier! He is dressed in his best uniform with his buttons all shined up.

and the I scanned it and printed it and matted it!

This is a photo taken in my studio. I have not had the official listing picture photoshoot, as it is rainy and gray today. This little print needs natural light! I really love the print in real life. I had not planned to mat it in an oval, but the subject matter just seemed too perfect to not try and it worked.

I think I will mat the original and sell it too, it needed almost no Photoshop and is pretty much identical to the print.

(Update: I listed the print at Blackforestcake! Check him out...)

And...

On the weekend I got a cute new toy. (Ok, its not a toy, but this thing is fun to me.)

A teeny, tiny bread machine!!

After much use and abuse of the old second hand bread machine I was gifted, it became clear that I needed a new machine. The old ones pan kept popping out and then it wouldn't let go of the loaves!

After scouring reviews, I decided on this little baby. The Zojirushi Home Bakery Mini Breadmaker. It IS little, only making 1 pound loaves. That is about 9 slices of bread per loaf. That is really small for bread machines. Its about half as big as my old one.

See? Small little perfect loaves of bread. This one is a light rye.

I have made two loaves of bread so far, and its a dream. For two people its perfect to have such small loaves. Bread machine bread only has a short lifespan and we would always have mouldy leftover bread at the end of the week. It also has a handle on the top so you can move it around. I really struggled lifting the old machine, it was the size of a microwave!

We had to drive to the super faraway Pacific mall to buy it, but a trip to "The World's Largest Asian Mall" is hardly a hardship...

I am going to try to make pizza dough in it next. Like, right now. YAY!

(Update: I totally made it too. It was so fat and ugly! But tasted soo goood.)

When they say "thick crust" in a recipe, they mean THICK! hee hee. Next time I will make two instead...

Waiting and Updating

2010-05-19T12:43:00.000-04:00

I am stuck in the house waiting for a delivery man to ring my bell. My least favourite state to be in is waiting. Its stressing me out!! This delivery has been lost in limbo for days and if I miss him, its going to be sent back to the middle of nowhere. *bites fingernails*

I listed my little graveyard I sneak peeked a while ago...

Its a set of eight, and they are super cute in person. So fun to make!!!

I also completed the project I had sneak peeked in my last post. The funny thing is the part that I showed in the photo actually got axed! I had originally been painting a black, a white and a grey cats paw to make bookmarks out of. After scanning and test printing, the grey one just wasn't doing it for me, so I trashed it. The actual painting of the grey cats paw is really cute though, I might just sell it!

Here are the completed black and white. The white is really a cream colour... The backs are a print of a fur-like pattern I painted and scanned.

Lastly, I joined formspring.me

If you haven't heard of it, its a site that makes it easy for people to ask you questions, even anonymously. So of course it has the potential for people being rude and horrible, but also the potential for people to learn things that they don't feel comfortable asking that they genuinely care about. I guess it can be sort of a scary concept. We shall see how it goes. Its fun to learn about the bloggers you follow, so lets hope I get some good questions someday. I added a formspring.me box the left sidebar of my site, so if anyone has a question, ask away with the box, or at my profile page.

I am going to test my doorbell now to make sure it works. That is how much waiting for this delivery man is stressing me out. haha.

Those brushes were in that jar of water for two weeks.

2010-05-12T12:39:00.002-04:00

Working on a little painting project.

I always add all the colours of paint I own to my wet palette, even if I don't plan to use them. Because I am a bad planner, and who knows what will strike my fancy once I start painting...

P.S. A new clean palette sucks. I know artists sometimes go on about how they love preparation for painting, and some elements of it, I do enjoy. But the setting up of new paint is annoying and I usually avoid it until my palette is a murky, sloppy mess that is almost unusable. Weird huh?

Ok, less posting about painting, more painting.

On my desk right now...

2010-04-30T16:27:00.000-04:00

This little graveyard...

Made from sculpey and hand painted in acrylic. I finish them with a super matte varnish, that almost gives them a dusty look when dry. They are so cute and a bit wonky. I try to not to be too rigid when I sculpt them, keeps them fun (Yeah, I think they are fun!) but still real enough to be spooky. I want a halloween dollhouse!

The gravestones still need their little bases painted and signed, so they aren't quite ready to hit the shop yet. I will probably wait and photograph list these on Monday, because I can.

I totally borrowed these pics from a friend...

2010-04-21T12:09:00.001-04:00

A few friends ventured to the land of suburbia to see The Agonist.

I didn't bring my camera, all these pics are by Vivien H.

FOOD.

2010-04-11T16:17:00.002-04:00

My parents gave me an older bread machine.

My parents live a healthier life than I do, I guess. They stopped using this old machine. Yay for me! I am loving it.

Breakfast: bread!

Lunch: bread!

Dinner: bread!!!

I have only had it for a week or so and already I already have said the phrase "My pants are so tight, wait...these are my loose pants!" ARGH. That might have something to do with me cutting fat slabs of it and then slathering them with butter and peanut butter for ever meal.

My breads have been quirky. Dude called them artisan bread. I guess I can blame the machine. Its not like *I* had anything to do with it. The machine is an artisan.

I also was handed down this book from my grandfather, which has more hazardous recipes for me to try. I am going to make a bread from each continent.

I laughed at a particular chapter in the book...

What? You need someone to tell you how to slice bread?? You shouldn't handling a knife then, because you obviously have the brain of some sort of chimp.

Then I tried to cut my bread...Pathetic.

I sucked it up and went and read the chapter. I must have chimp brain. My slices were 2 inches thick at one end, and paper thin at the other and the whole loaf look like wolves tore at it.

But it tasted SO GOOD.

*Explodes*

tokidoki overload!

2010-04-10T13:43:00.000-04:00

I know I just did a post that consisted entirely of "Look at this stuff I got", and that posts liket hat can come off as obnoxious, but LOOK AT THE STUFF I GOT!

I died of cuteness.

They smell of blueberries. *melts*

And this little thingamabobber.

Its the softest thing ever. I am having a hard time even touching this kabuki to makeup, I want to save it and pet it. :-)

These items were ordered from Sephora online, after my fruitless visit to the downtown Sephora left me heartbroken, as they didn't carry the tokidoki line (yet?) I wanted more things as well, but a few days into the release, some things were already sold out!

Gawd, its cute! The packaging destroys me. I would buy it if it had a lump of coal in that box.

Thing photos.

2010-04-06T11:41:00.000-04:00

Things from Easter weekend...

Ok, now back to work.

FOX!

2010-03-31T15:11:00.001-04:00

This may be one of the cutest things I have ever made. I just think it came out really well.

Lil Fox!

Photographing him was difficult, I couldn't get really get the angles I wanted. On inspection I should have faced my photo studio differently so the light was on the opposite side... He turns to the side a bit, with one arm a bit higher than the other. It gives him a natural "good side."

He is stereotypically cute, with his little beady black glass eyes. He is remarkably not quirky, he looks like a real little stuffed animal. I think making the legs grey wool was a good idea. I mean, I think the cutest part of a fox are his black legs! The backs of his ears are also grey.

He is for sale at blackforestcake.etsy.com

I am going to give my hands a rest after sewing for a few days. They always get pretty beat up from wool, which my skin finds irritating. I think once they heal up a bit, I will use this fox pattern for other animals. Maybe after Easter.

Off to eat a cadbury creme egg now. :-)

A few new things

2010-03-30T16:13:00.000-04:00

I have listed a few new items today!

A super lady-like cat doll.

I struggled with deciding which of my Etsy shops she should be listed in. She is definitely sugary sweet and an animal (blackforestcake?) but she also is similar to cats I have sold in the past (blacklilypie?) I suppose it doesn't really matter.

I also listed a weird little rabbit...

The little circles of grey behind his eyes instantly turn him from "cute rabbit" to "Tim Burton inspired creepy rabbit." Haha. Such a small thing. They give him sort of a skull like face. He is a test of a new pattern, really. I haven't decided if I will be making more of his type of doll yet...Probably!

I also added this:

A cat face chalkboard.

This item has been hanging out in my studio for QUITE some time. I finally decided to make a "Scratch and Dent" section at blackforestcake, for projects with more quirks than others. This blackboard has some scratches on it from my first chalking attempt. (See them?) But thats ok, its still cute and works great!

I am already working on a new tiny fox plush, and have a little glittery fox mobile to Photoshop and list. It must be the Spring that is making me make animals like mad. :-)

New at blackforestcake.etsy.com

2010-03-25T11:19:00.000-04:00

Fox! (Of course...)

Party Fox!

The orange felted wool I had in my studio was calling out to be a bright little fox. He is a quirky one, with little green glass eyes and wild whiskers. He is available at my blackforestcake etsy shop, if you want to see more photos of him.

The little felt hat is removable, and the gift box fits overtop of the cake so you can surprise him. the cake is made from paper, modeling paste and sculpey.

This orange is so vibrant it is really hard to photograph. He looks radioactive in some pictures. Haha.

Critter peek!

2010-03-23T11:44:00.000-04:00

Back to work!

I am back at it, in my little studio. I am working on a new little critter that will be listed in my blackforestcake Etsy shop.

Here is a little hat that will come with him...Its about 4 inches tall.

Want a bit of a peek at his weird little face? Here you go...

Crazy whiskers!

I don't know exactly when he will be listed, as I have a few other bits and bobs to add to him that are at that *experimental* state where they could go well or go in the bin. :-) Plus its gloomsville outside and that always makes taking photos more of a pain.

I am also working on a DIY purse project that I will post soon. All I will say is *STUDS!*

Little rest

2010-03-20T12:41:00.000-04:00

I have been on a little rest this week. I guess you can call it a vacation.

-Looking at stuff. Stuff I like.

-Alice in Wonderland (Seems wrong to punch a mom but I wanted to. SHUSH!)

-wasting time and slowly running errands

-scouring Winners for purses (I found SO MANY I WANT!)

-buying anime that looks like its for 14 year old goth girls

-eating burritos and BBQ at hipster joints

-shopping for running shoes I might actually run in. (Maybe.)

-getting my health card updated and signing up to donate my tissue and organs to transplant patients and misc. SCIENCE research.

-visiting asian supermarkets (LOVE.)

-being out of my studio for a change

The weather has been crazy nice for this time of year. Perfect to recharge my batteries.

Newness

2010-03-15T11:08:00.001-04:00

New blog layout!

I get bored of looking at the same old thing. I always start to say to myself "What was I thinking when I designed this?"

I am still working out some of the quirky bits, and need to make a few more graphics...

I think I like it.

:-)

I have the touch. Of death.

2010-03-03T16:31:00.002-05:00

My baby is sick!

(Ok, more accurately, my baby is DEAD. Hows that for overdramatic. DEAD BABY!!)

So life has been a freaking bowl full of cherries for me lately.

1. Jury Duty. Yes, it actually happens in real life. I had to waste a week of my time sitting around waiting to be chosen for a jury. In no way do I think being on a jury is a waste of time. If I was chosen I would take it very seriously. BUT I wouldn't be chosen. I have pink hair, am hard to pin down on what my opinions would be by what I look like or what my job is, and I am self employed and wouldn't get paid while the trial was on. So I just sit in limbo for a week. P.S. The Toronto courthouse is kind of a dump.

2. Hard drive on netbook died. It just gave it up and is basically a super expensive trivet now. I was using it, I killed it. I blame Twitter. it was also just a baby, like 6 months old or something.

3. My iMac DIES!!!!!!!

AHHH!

My BABY!

ARGH!

Nothing could revive it. Eventually had to go to the Apple store for some nerd love. Hard drive is being replaced as I write this. At considerable cost. CONSIDERABLE.

So two hard drive failures in three days? Awesome luck all around. Thankfully, I have *most* of my stuff backed up on an external drive, but I did loose tons of photos, my itunes library, email archives, and an awesome vector project that I had worked on for days and days. Probably other stuff but I don't even want to think about it...

So basically if anything else goes wrong at all, ANYTHING at all, I am basically going to go nuclear and destroy the earth.

Both my Etsy shops are closed until my iMac comes home with its organ transplant, and I reinstall everything and all that nonsense.

Sad Mac. :-(

Invisible threads

2010-02-04T12:30:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of one of the projects I have been working on lately...

Mobile with black sparkle hearts.

I have never had so much trouble photographing something. EVER! I mean, its made from INVISIBLE THREAD. And black sparkles are no picnic to photo either. Plus it spins and sways constantly. YEESH. Even though its terrible to capture, I am actually quite happy with it. I have a mobile hanging in my kitchen (Its bats, from a Martha Stewart halloween project pattern) and I love it...

I haven't listed this in my Etsy shop yet, as I think it needs a new photo session, and I may as well wait until some of the other mobiles I am currently finishing up are ready to be photographed.

There are sparkles on EVERYTHING!!

Messing around

2010-01-29T15:57:00.000-05:00

Decided to start some new little projects today, as I wasn't feeling the paintings I had started.

What could this black bat shape be for? hmmm?

I have been off to a slow start this year with completing projects. I start them then I hate them. Its so easy to get distracted. But when I am laying in bed thinking a project, and I can't stop and go to sleep, like I was last night, I know I am on the right track.

Oh, did you see my bobcat print? Its listed at blackforestcake. I think I see many more animal paintings in my future. I want to to do a wolf next. That will be challenging...

But right now, its Friday, and I have to go and play Mini Ninjas. (I spend a lot of time awwing over turning into foxes and raccoon dogs!)

Blackforestcake!

2010-01-06T17:50:00.000-05:00

This little raccoon was just added to my Blackforestcake shop!

He's waving.

My parents found this amazing wool, which I think was intended for clothing production. May mens suiting or coats... It probably is vintage actually, but I guess I can't say that unless I actually know...but I bet it is.

This wool is perfect for critters! Its so sad that I can only make a few of them then its gone forever. SIGH.

When people touch this raccoon in real life, the first thing they say is "Wow, He is sturdy!" That sturdiness is why sewing felt dolls is only an intermittent thing for me. Its tough! :-)

More critters listed tomorrow I think...

Blackforestcake

2010-01-04T14:53:00.000-05:00

I made a new little print available at my "cute shop" blackforestcake!

Little squirrel having a lunch break.

I did this painting before the Holiday madness set in, and its been sitting around my studio. I am varnishing the original today, and depending on how it turns out, I may sell it too. :-)

I am having a hard time getting back into my normal routine because something is going on with the heat in my studio. Its not broken, but its not working either! I am usually always complaining about being cold, but it is actually cold in here this time. The heat is cranked up and the heaters are merely warm. My apartment building is really old and has no insulation.

Its making me grumpy. Grumpier than usual!!

P.S. Tomorrow is photo day for the wool critters I made before Christmas.

See ya 2009...

2009-12-31T10:42:00.000-05:00

Not going to sugar coat it. 2009 was a crapfest.

I usually don't care about the New Year, much like I don't care about birthdays or anniversaries. This year I feel different, like I can't wait for 2009 to bite it. It was terrible.

You can't have really good years without bad ones, right?

So see you in 2010. I hope it will be a totally different kind of year than 2009, and bad or good, at least its will be new.

Look at this!

2009-12-18T11:31:00.002-05:00

Prezzies!
Originally uploaded by Kyestera

Hey guys, do do remember a sneak peek I did a while ago with a picture of a sock creature? Here he is completed and at his new home! Thanks for posting pics of him L! :-)

He was a birthday git for an awesome friend. For a while he was lost in the mail, I was scared he had escaped.

So is he a cat, or is he a monster? Who knows...

Peek!

2009-12-14T11:15:00.000-05:00

Sneaky peek!

New stuffed wool guys, sitting in a box, waiting for their makeup and accessories!

Orange Cat is a gift, but the others will be in the shop in the New Year.

Keeping busy. :-)

Holiday!

2009-12-08T17:36:00.006-05:00

Its that time of year!

Both my Etsy Shops (blacklilypie and blackforestcake) are closed until after Christmas!

I closed earlier than many other shops chose to this year. I think its the right decision for me, but it feels very strange to have complete freedom. Its weird to not get so much email. haha

Right now is kind of a prep period before the New Year when I think a few changes will take place.

I am going to be posting some progress of new projects and items that will be ready in the New Year, hope you come by to see.

Rocko the Cat

2009-11-13T11:28:00.000-05:00

Rocko the Cat learned a new trick. He has decided he no longer meows, he just squeaks.

This is amusing because he is a massive fat man cat.

Fearsome, no?

Happy Friday the 13th. :-)

Christmas already?

2009-11-10T12:23:00.002-05:00

I am so not in the Christmas mood yet, but I am actually late on all my Christmas items this year! Being a Canadian selling mostly to Americans and overseas, means Christmas is actually super close!! Eeep.

Hope this isn't a sign of how this Holiday Season is going to unfold. Must organize!

I put the Spooky Christmas Pin Set back in my shop.

I often get a request for it about this time of year and go "Oh yeah!" to myself...

I also made two sets of gift tag stickers this year from previous years illustrations.

In an effort to make them as affordable as possible, I chose to laser print them this year on glossy sticker paper and they came out great. I wanted to do a bigger set, because everyone hates scrambling for labels while you are wrapping. There are 28 stickers in each set.

Spooky but subtle.

You could use them on Grannies gift and she would be ok with it, right?

And a "Bad Cat" set for my second shop, Blackforestcake.

I am not sure if I will do any more "Christmas" themed items this year. That might be it. Unless the Holiday spirit somehow infects me. ;-) You never know, I am already dying to bake Christmas cookies and cakes and cupcakes...But I have to wait, as I still have Halloween baked goods!!

Tonight I am off to see AFI and Gallows. Um YAY! Hopefully everyone is 15 and short so I can see something. *Off to find tallest boots I own.*

Halloween's over. SADNESS.

2009-11-02T15:09:00.000-05:00

It hardly seems like it happened at all!!

It was a whirlwind this year for sure. Usually we have a big party to go to and have worked on our costumes for a little while. But this year was a bit different and we weren't even doing costumes for a while, then just pulled it together the last day. W then drove 5 hours, party, then got up at 9 am and drove 5 hours back. Plus we got burritos and Ikea and went to the outlet mall to buy cheap duds. PHEW.

Black Metal.

We had this book to use as a reference, True Norwegian Black Metal.

Note: There are NO black metal girls for me to emulate. Girl black metal fans just look like girls with black clothes. I guess I am dressed as a black metal man.

Nathan was a natural. He does have a lot more studying it under his belt. ;-) Plus he is a natural poser.

We even played brutal beer pong. Brutally. See how tortured we are?

I am just glad that between the two of us we own 20 studded belts.

Oh yeah, there were also a bunch of kittens.

Now to recover. Should only take a week or two.

I have some other pics at my Flickr. In typical Tara fashion, I wore a camera all night and hardly took any pictures. Guess I was too busy being a bringer or doom or whatever. I didn't even take pics of my bat cupcakes!

Bye Halloween. Miss you.

New on Thursday

2009-10-29T13:49:00.000-04:00

I am super lucky, and was chosen to be interviewed on a blog!

To check out my interview, go on over to To Paraphrase, or click here to go right to my interview...

Its always nice to have someone be interested in your work, especially other artists. (And especially ones who understand when you take forever to do the interview!) I think she made me look good, choosing really nice images of my work. Thanks so much!!

Also new today, added a item to the shop.

Meghan is now a bookmark!

I worked on how to crop this painting for quite some time, trying many different shapes. I think the slender oval with a border suits the image and I am very happy with how it came out. And the glossy lamination really makes the colours look rich. :-)

Its so close to Halloween I am vibrating with spooky happiness. I started making cookies (multiple kinds!) and I might get to visit with foster kitties on Halloween too. *Plus* I might even get to go to Ikea to feed my buying-jars-to-put-baking-ingredients-in fetish. Busy!!

New print!

2009-10-28T15:14:00.000-04:00

A new matted print in the shop today.

Meghan. A 5 by 7 inch print in an 8 by 10 mat.

There are parts of this painting I looove, and parts I haaate.

Her face in the original is so pretty with such subtle layers, and some of the background splotches are so perfect...But she has major proportional problems. Haha. I don't feel bad about tweaking her a bit in Photoshop, because I like the final outcome. I think the print looks great. The colours look really rich and warm in the off white mat.

I am also assembling some bookmarks this afternoon with this image on them, and they look really nice so far. Will probably post them later today.

And, I started a winter/Christmas/Holiday project! It was hard to do it before Halloween, but I am responsible like that. ;-)

Friday is not a day for stress

2009-10-23T15:58:00.003-04:00

Sewing sucked my will to live.

So I moved onto something else.

Sometimes your plans change. I was struggling with sewing, and everything was going wrong. So I just put it all away for another day and started something new. Much better!

We shall see how this goes...

Sock thing.

2009-10-21T20:12:00.000-04:00

This is a sock creature being born in my studio.

What will he be? His little personality is forming...Life as a pair of pink socks can't be easy, he might be a tough-ass. haha

I will see what he wants to be tomorrow morning.

Sparkle.

2009-10-19T15:58:00.001-04:00

Sparkled!

A little painting in the studio getting its final touches...Notice a similarity in someones hair colour? HEE HEEEE.

Black Sparkle.

This little painting has a hand painted frame too. It has been hanging around in my studio for months and months! So I thought I should actually get around to filling it. Adding the little black sparkle necklace and bow on top of the varnish was fun. I know the idea of adding sparkle to anything could make it a cheap piece of junk so it was a gamble...but I think it looks cute. Cute junk!

Its available in the shop right now...

Ok, now to clean up a billion tiny sparkle flecks from everything...

New in the shop...

2009-10-14T17:17:00.000-04:00

I have two new little items for my shops today!

This is "Little Kay"

This little original painting is on a handmade polymer clay ornament. I am always experimenting with painting of different surfaces. I haven't decided if I am going to do more of these or not, it was fun, but sometimes fun isn't a good business decision. haha.

I made this little fox for my Blackforestcake Etsy shop. Aw, isn't he sweet?

And...

I got my cookie cake for 1500 sales! That baby was eaten so fast. Sure, I like to make real homemade cookies from scratch, but sometimes an overly sweet mall-made treat is just what you need. JUNK! :-)

I somehow hurt my back like a sad old woman, and sitting in my studio chair is killing me. Hopefully I heal and can get pack to work, because the next two weeks are a basically the best time of year. I have so many plans for things I want to make!! CakesCookiesDecorationsCostumesCoffins! :-D Can you tell I am excited?!

Montreal

2009-10-12T12:13:00.000-04:00

I went to Montreal!

And ate poutine.

Won a trip to POP Montreal, a music festival all over the city. Went by train! I put some pics as a Flickr set.

Here is a quick description of the trip:
-So many screw ups by the newspaper we won the trip from, they sent us someone else's train ticket, then only sent one ticket instead of two! UGH.
-SO bloody cold.
-everyone was super nice, even when I was like "Pardon me?" when they spoke French to me. (I kept feeling so rude!)
-gorgeous architecture *whimpers*
-one billion new bands, one billion indie kids
-booze at supermarket and gas stations (so WEIRD!)
-should have brought a black towel for my hair (sorry hotel!)
-Want to go back.

Sweet!

2009-09-29T13:08:00.009-04:00

Ok, important stuff first.

I made sweet lemon poppy seed cakes.

YUM. I used a recipe from The Martha Stewart Livings Cookbook: The Original Classicsbut no one tell Martha that I added poppy seeds to the cake. Like really, lemon cakes are supposed to have poppy seeds in the cake, not just on top. Really!

They are super good, with a blast of lemon syrup that is supposed to seep through the cake but just really stays on top just under the sugar drizzle. Trying hard not to just scarf down both cakes in one day.

Next sweet thing..

Two paintings that I have been slowly finishing for the last few days. I might have to do one hundred more of these, as there are so many cat faces that need representation. They are available in my Etsy shop.

Third super sweet thing is:

Won a trip to Montreal!

Going to Pop Montreal on a TRAIN. Can you tell what part I am excited about? Haha. I lived in a "train town" most of my life and never went on a train. It just sounds fun to me. I don't know any of the bands at this festival, but there are so many i am sure I will like some of them. Never been to Montreal before, it will be *so* interesting.

AND

1500 sales at my Etsy!!!! SWEEEET.

Thanks to all my customers, you guys are big buckets of sweet sugar and stuff. Big thanks to Lynds the Crazy Cat Lady for the purchase that put me over the top. :-) YAY.

Oh yeah, and last sweet thing is that its getting colder and I can wear coats. YES. This is a big deal to me. Coat addiction activate! :-)

Halloween fever.

2009-09-18T11:45:00.005-04:00

They are back!

Halloweeeeen Pins!

I decided to bring back my two little halloween pins again this year. I am just offering them until Halloween (duh!) I think I am more excited about Halloween than usual, maybe I am just embracing my dorkiness earlier than I usually do. :-)

Halloween is great.

New black things...

2009-09-17T15:15:00.004-04:00

New things in my shop this week...

Glittery bat! A hanging clay bat covered in the finest black glitter. He has little orange glitter eyes too. Black glitter is EVERYWHERE!

Glittery Coffin! This little clay coffin has both silver and black glitter. Its really quite tiny in real life.

And this new Bad Black Cat Bookmark. I had another black cat bookmark, but since that has been sent off to blackforestcake, I thought I needed another one. This one is a bit more of an evil little black cat. Not that black cats are ever evil. No. Never....

I have a few more things that I am editing photographs for too!

I will raise it from the boneyard.

2009-09-10T18:33:00.003-04:00

Its kind of dead around here...

There comes a time in every blogs life when they sit un-updated and boring. Its inevitable! I can't help it! So its not even my fault or anything... (haha, I think they bought it.)

Ok, so I have made up a bunch of little sets of mini gravestones. I already listed a set of four, and a set of two. I could have made them all day, its so FUN.

I have been keeping busy doing nothing. Buying books, making terrible cookies, trying to eat veggies and nerding out over halloween. This weekend my neighbourhood has a street festival, so much food and drink will be had. I will have to try to make more of an effort to take pics and post them. Its a cute festival.

Blog entry! Hah. I did it!

Socks

2009-08-10T16:47:00.003-04:00

I made a sock creature for a friends birthday, then got a great idea to make...

Haha! He is cute! I listed him at blackforestcake.

There is a quirkiness built into sock monkeys. Judging from every one I have ever encountered, there is bound to be some interesting flubs, lumps, and weirdness that makes each sock monkey its own. They naturally have that kind of unique wonkiness that people who make hip, handmade stuff often try to fake. haha! I think I will make more. Its fun!

The one I made for my friend is a prototype, and is still secret. Its a little less "cutesy" and a little more "evil." I am working on the design a bit more before revealing it.

Now I have to go lay in a wilted puddle on the floor. Melt.

Lil clay things

2009-07-23T17:14:00.002-04:00

No, I haven't died.

I just took a mini-vacation.

Maybe it was a bit longer than I expected, but circumstances called for it. I guess its finished now and I am working on a few projects all at once...

This is one of the things I am trying. Sculpey!

Its a really easy product to work with. It feels a lot like plasticine, but bakes hard in an oven. I am experimenting with building little wire armatures, and baking each little item more than once, building up layers. Its fun. I think I could use a few more tools though...

The real purpose of making these wonky little things is so I would have something cute to paint. Sculpey actually comes in tons of colours, but since I was going to paint everything, I just used the normal artists "Super Sculpey."

You can see my little items are in fact little.

I know some people get REALLY good at making tiny objects, and it can take years. While researching it I saw a ton of amazing creations... I have a lot of ideas for things to make, but they all revolve around the idea that I will paint them, so I have to do this test batch of little things to figure out the mechanics of that. Making little clay items is super fun, but if they look like a kid did them after they are painted (like they do now) then I am abandoning the experiment.

So the first watery coat of primer is on (that is what you see in the photo) then I will probably sand them a bit, then paint and seal with varnish. Crossing my fingers it will alllll work out. I might declare this weekend a "working weekend" where I just watch movies and drink tons of coffee and make stuff.

FOOD.

2009-07-03T14:53:00.003-04:00

So I decided to drown my sorrows in the most stereotypical girl way. EAT FOOD.

But first I had to make food!

I was using my new KitchenAid mixer and Martha Stewart's Cupcake book. The topping recipe made SO much streusel that I was like "Oh crap, I did something wrong!" Each little cupcake was under a mini sandpile of topping!

But I soon learned that the recipe was fine. The cupcakes (muffins?) puffed up and they smelled amazing. Drizzle, drizzle with glaze and TAH-DAH!

YUM. I made a tray of big huge fatty cupcakes and a half tray of teeny little cutey muffins. They were so good, but so freaking messy! There is streusel topping fallout all over the apartment.

Here is the recipe online if you dare make these badboys. I even used my awesome cupcake papers I purchased on Etsy from The LayerCakeShop. On all the ones I DIDN'T photograph. OOPS. Trust me, they were adorable and stripey.

So my mixer is awesome, my cupcakes were awesome, and I even got myself to finish and list the painting I sneak peeked in my last post... Which is awesome if you ignore the general laziness.

Its listed at my blackforestcake shop. Duh.

So its Friday, and miraculously there are TWO cupcakes left. I must avert my eyes, so I can have cupcake and coffee while watching cartoons on Saturday morning.

Do not read if in a good mood.

2009-06-29T15:53:00.005-04:00

Ok, stuff sucks. Phew! At least I got that out of the way right away.

Its summer, Toronto garbage strike, Etsy problems, wedding screw ups, traveling, job hunting, sensitive skin, people being idiots, my computer imploding...GAH!!! I could go on and on. WOE IS ME.

Here is a painting that has been sitting unfinished for weeks...

Its currently wet with its first coat of varnish and its at its most screw-upable. Little fuzzies, blobs, smears and bubbles stay the heck away from my varnish. I am SO not in the mood for it!!!

If it wasn't for the nightly baby raccoon party directly outside my window, I would be kicking puppies and slapping old ladies.

Can't all be sweetness and cakes can it? :-P

FREE SHIPPING SURPRISE!

2009-06-16T10:16:00.005-04:00

Yep! FREE.

I have never offered free shipping in my shop EVER before!

This is a surprise sale, and it won't last for long. So if you have been holding off getting that ~~spooky~~ special something, now is the time!

EDIT: My free shipping promotion is now over! Thanks to all those who took part.

Friday. Yesss.

2009-06-12T11:34:00.002-04:00

The two new sticker sets for blacklilypie are in the shop!

Monogram Sticker Set (Customizable!) and Gothic Girl Set.

I received my birthday gift a day early! Mostly because it was in a big box and my dude had no where to hide it...Ok, and because I was bouncing around asking for it constantly like a spoiled child.

KitchenAid mixer! Isn't it cute? Even with my greasy fingerprints all over it and photographed lazily at night... I was just complaining that many of the dessert recipes I want to make need a mixer. It looks small in the photo, but in reality its a monster to someone with 2 square feet of counter space.
I teased dude that it was sort of a weird and "wifely" gift to get for your birthday. He said it was this or a gift certificate for an expensive tattoo. Both gifts will last forever. ;-)

I will have to buy myself something immature with my birthday gift spoils. (Thanks Mum!) Makeup! Clothes! OOh, or maybe some imported good from the chinese mall next weekend. *Drools*

Cake and Pie

2009-06-11T12:43:00.007-04:00

I have been focusing on adding new products to my cutesy shop, blackforestcake. But I have not forgotten about blacklilypie!

This is a sticker set that is waiting to have its photoshoot. I just snapped this one as I was re-shooting some other items. *EDIT* They are now listed here. I have a few other sticker sets on the board too.

I designed this topper to be used with multiple sets, making it easier and faster to produce with just a few elements that change. I am working on a monogram set this afternoon. :-)

I have been posting links to some books I am in love with on Twitter, but I don't want anyone missing out, so here they are:

..

-Martha Stewart's Cupcakes-I liked the Cookies book she did so much I had to have the cupcake one. I can't wait to try some of them. Plus there is vampire bat cupcake. I pretty much squealed. Love her or hate her, she has good people working on her books.

-Gothic and Lolita by Phaidon-There is just something so awesome about seeing real people wearing clothes like this with all their little DIY additions and attention to detail. I just get a fuzzy feeling when people are weirdos, and they go to weirdo bars and cafes with their weirdo friends and don't care if you think they are silly. I also love seeing peoples rooms.

-Japanese Goth-Illustration,fashion,dolls,bands, and everything in between. Would have made a really great huge coffee table book. I just eat up some of those beautiful pictures. Here is an interview with one of the authors and some examples from the book...

I like books. There are stacks of them I should mention here. Maybe I should try to keep on that. ;-)

blackforestcake!!

2009-06-08T11:30:00.003-04:00

SOOOOO....

My new shop is live!

The idea behind opening a new shop is so I can eventually separate my items into cute and kid friendly items and spookier and darker items. I know many peoples cute and spooky axis cross, but many peoples don't. So instead of limiting myself to create things that ride the middle, I can feel free to be as sweet or as dark as I like. Ahhh, thats better! :-)

This new shop will focus on animals, cakes and sweets, items for kids (and big kids.) I will be adding lots of affordable paper goods, some prints for kids rooms, original art...

The new shop will never be as large as blacklilypie, which is my true love. But its nice to have more space to stretch, and bouncing back and forth between dark and light will be great for fighting creative fatigue.

Thanks for looking! Now everyone go eat some cake.

Mini Trip

2009-05-27T12:23:00.002-04:00

Zoomed home to my parents on the weekend. It was a crazy fast trip, there and back powered by ice cream, Tim Hortons and chocolate mini eggs.

Zip! I saw a moose but I was too slow.

I spent my weekend lounging on the deck with my parents, soaking up that tiny sliver of time in Northern Ontario that you can be outside when its warm and the bugs are not biting you yet. I even ate a hamburger from the BBQ, which is the thing I pine for the most each summer. I don;t even care about meat at all, but the BBQ smell and the summer feeling just makes me so happy.

Their lawn is a mass of these tiny flowers. They look so organized in batches of colours...Love them. I think everyone agreed it was a shame to mow them, so no one did.

So you can see that I obviously didn't get any work done.

I am continuing to work on my second Etsy shop items, I keep having to push back my shop opening date and its making me grumpy. But it will happen soon. I will finally commit to a day and start sneak peeking items. Just not today. :-)

Now if the delivery man would arrive with the supplies I ordered, I can get to printing cute creatures!

Sweet Secrets...

2009-05-13T18:31:00.003-04:00

I mentioned in my last post that I am working on opening a second Etsy shop...

Its still not open, because I want to have a nice little starter set of items to stock it. I also am working on the branding, graphics and other things that ones worries about.

I can give you some sneak peeks of my progress though...

Cakes!

Strawberries!

And doodles!
(You have no idea how many time I have held up these guys and said "SO KEY-YUTE!!" I am in love with them.)

I think the shop might be open next week. I have to buy some specific supplies to finish some items and its my dudes b-day AND a long weekend with lots of plans, so I don't know how much time I will have available to me. So I am not giving an opening date yet. But its coming!! :-)

I call him Lefty.

2009-05-06T23:17:00.004-04:00

So my work-on-stuff-and-post-it plans got a bit messed up when my dude decided he is a sports superhero and dislocated his shoulder.

He tells me he was making a totally amazing catch in softball and somehow fell. So Lefty and I spent time at a tiny walk-in clinic (which was majorly depressing and full of sad poor people.) I have been babying him a bit evn though he isn't even being a baby about the whole thing. he is just kind of useless at doing anything!

But he is back at work with flashy red arm sling, so I can work again.

I finished my calendar (Which Cathy totally guessed it would be!)

I decided to add colour after all and I think I like it. If you are not a "write stuff on a calendar" type person, I have also made one without the grid, which I will be listing tomorrow. It has a slightly different colour scheme.*EDIT* Here!

I also snatched up a second Etsy shop username, which I am going to start planning on setting up and filling up in the near future. Its still sort of a secret I guess. ;-)

Working on something new...

2009-05-01T23:25:00.002-04:00

Spiders like flowers.

Can you tell what it will be?

I had this illustration board hanging around that is not the usual surface that I like to paint on. Its slick, and even has a bit of a shine. It seemed perfect for ink.

The surprising thing is that I actually did a pretty organized and complete sketch. I often just go "EH, I will figure it out as I go" and that is sometimes a horrible idea. I then decided to use an ink pen instead of the acrylic ink and brush I have been favoring lately.

This is actually a test print of the drawing, after it was scanned and Photoshopped. I was going to add digital colour, but once it got to the completed ink stage, I just liked it as is. Its not a secret that I always like line art better then the coloured versions. I bet I had a lot of blank colouring books as a kid.

I am not even going to pretend that this is going to be finished before monday. Its the weekend! No one wants paper goods with Cheetos fingerprints on them. :-)

New dolls!

2009-04-27T15:28:00.002-04:00

I have two little guys to show today.

The shadow has been revealed. Its a smartly dressed mini-cat. I used a version of my larger cat pattern. I just wanted to make the tiny clothes...He has a little tie, vest and a walking stick with a glass bead. Smartly dressed gent. I almost gave him a little bowler or top hat, but it seemed like overkill.

And this little scamp (or vamp?) is the first of the crew of cemetery bats I have been sneak-peeking for you.

He wanted his coffin to match his eyes. I mean, who doesn't?

I have 5 other undead bats to work on photos for. Each is a bit different. Making a ton of little dolls on stands wasn't as easy at I thought it would be, it took really long. The hint in that statement is that these guys may not be a regular feature in my shop...My favorite part was making the little tombstones. That was SO FUN. :-)

More tomorrow.

Sneak Peek. Still.

2009-04-21T21:33:00.004-04:00

So instead of finishing my new creations today I did laundry and dishes and made muffins and other boring things that the wife of a house does.

Then I decided to work on some little bat beasties, maybe take a photo to show their progress...

BUT SOMETHING WEIRD HAPPENED!

AHHHH! A strange shadow appeared in my photo! OMG GUYS! I am so scared. The shadow looks so....dapper and dashing. What could it BE? I am too scared to work anymore tonight.

I am betting the source of the mystery shadow, some beastie bats and some other spooky creations will show up on Thursday or Friday on this blog and in the shop. I hope I can make it till then without more terror!

EDIT: The project is growing! I need some more spooky components that I will seek out on the weekend. MONDAY!

Junk and Stuff

2009-04-17T18:58:00.003-04:00

Working on new mini-items...

I am making some mini-animals on little stands. Its a messy job, because I need SO many different materials to make them and their homes. Felt,beads,cardboard,glue,thread,fabric,paper...PHEW!

Some are sweet and some are spoooooky. :-)

Prom!

2009-04-08T20:00:00.003-04:00

Prom!

The Winterwoods at their prom, before they were The Winterwoods of course.

Because the subject matter, I felt like it was ok to have a bit more fun, and not worry as much about the stuff I usually do. Its more cartoon, right? Fast and furious.

Being a Canadian, I didn't have a "prom." I had a semi-formal (whatever that was for) and a "Grad" when I graduated. Both were crappy. I think I went to both, even though my internal voice screamed nooooo! Live and Learn. I skipped my high school and university graduations ceremonies, so I guess I learned my lesson. Since I have also decided not to have a wedding, I am home free for "everyone look at me and my big dress" events for life. WooHOOO!

Sneak Peek.

2009-04-07T14:06:00.001-04:00

Working. Doodling. Sniffling.

Prom.

Big bad black cat.

2009-04-01T18:06:00.002-04:00

Ok, maybe not bad, maybe just naughty?

This stationery set is available in my shop today.

He is the perfect amount of cute but not sugary that I like so much.

Black cats always seem to have a touch more of that cat evilness to me. They can't help it, they are just born bad right? I shouldn't make claims like that, my cat is gray and he is a nightmare. Big fat fuzzy nightmare.

I have fought the urge to use black envelopes for things I create and sell for some unknown reason. Maybe I thought people would be put off buying black envelopes? I have no idea why I think these things. Sometimes you just don't question things you decide, then realize later its idiotic. Black envelopes for ALL.

I am not going to pull and April Fool's Day crap on you. I generally hate that shit. But Trent Reznor's was a good one. I laughed. Those glasses have went from trend to joke so swiftly. haw haw.

cat-ish things...

2009-03-30T21:30:00.003-04:00

I put two stationery sets in my shop today. I have been doing some gloomy or dark stuff lately, so I bet some people will be happy to see something fluffier for a change.

This batcat stationery is a modern makeover of one I designed in university. Batcat has gotten a 2009 update, but everything else is pretty much the same. I packaged them nice and small to make them easier to ship. (Easier means cheaper too!)

Not really all that proud of my photography on these babies, but what else is new. I guess I shouldn't publicly point out that they are photographed poorly. Forget I said anything. The overcast days make my photos so dreary. Which is fine when they are supposed to be dreary!

So now I am working on something new. Look at this bad boy!

Heee heee! My favorite part is the chewed ears! I might have to make that more of a feature.

This is just the first rough part of blocking in the shapes. He will have his fur and features tweaked soon enough...He is an Illustrator drawing, and I will show you the rest of him when the project comes together... P.S. Think I have enough icons in my dock??? Haha.

Peek!

2009-03-27T21:14:00.003-04:00

Despite lots of goofing off this week, lunching and shopping and kitten visiting, I am making progress on my stationery sets...

Here is a peek of what I am packaging right now.

Pink and purple...Will probably be ready by Monday, because I have more goofing off to do since its the weekend!

Nocturnal Notes Stationery Set

2009-03-26T16:14:00.004-04:00

A new stationery set is complete!

Nocturnal Note Set!

YES, its the same image that you have seen one billion times before in my shop. Haha. This is actually my test stationery. To see if I could print something balancing quality and cost. I think it came out quite cute!

I would love to just send them out to the printers like some other stationery sellers do, but you have to do such large volumes...If I did work that was a teeny tiny bit more salable to a wider audience, I would be all over that. I hope gravestones come into fashion.

The set has 6 printed papers, three blank, three lined. And then I added some little stickers!

The stickers were initially added for addressing the envelopes, but then I added some useless ones just for a fun extra.

I am thinking of getting purple or even gray or black envelopes to try out with this set. I think half of the reason I am doing stationery is so I can buy envelopes. (YAY!!) I wonder if I should design the stationery first, or buy the envelopes first?

I have another stationery set (a batcat one!) that is still in the development stage, but its almost there. I am just fussing with the printing and colours.

Off to draw something new to show you. I promise not to recycle any old artwork. hee hee.

Spring!

2009-03-23T16:28:00.005-04:00

Its so sunny and bright outside and little squirrels and birdies are squeaking to each other outside my window. So cheery!

So of course the item I made is the complete opposite. Bloooood! Ok, its only a teeny, tiny drip of blood. Hardly even visible unless you look.

This bookmark is possibly the MOST annoying item I have ever produced for my shop.

I fought tooth and nail to make these. My laminator ate some, and the rest were plagued with fuzzies and lumps and bumps. I have a HUGE stack of them that are unsellable. Depending on how long my memories of the rage that I felt trying to make these things, they might not ever be made again.

The junk.The success.
After these photos were taken I tried to make more and failed miserably again! The failure pile is a mile high! Plus I look like a dork.

I will definitely use the bookmark image for something else though. I have plans for it.

Its a productive day, with grocery shopping, photographing new items, laser printing (new printer!) and buying Nine Inch Nails tickets for June. I am working on stationary sets this afternoon, so hopefully they will be available some time this week. Should probably keep moving before my Monday-steam runs out....

Good intentions don't always make for good outcomes.

2009-03-17T16:28:00.005-04:00

Sometimes things just don't work out the way you want them to.

Every project I started for the last little while has turned to crap at some point. I spent a lot of time trying to make myself like them by repainting, tweaking, cutting up and gluing back together...But at this point, I think its best to just let them go in peace.

So all my papier mache stuff is junked, my paintings trashed, and my experiments won't see the light of day. Oh well.

Its kind of a weird, messy time right now for a lot of people I know and interact with. And yeah that includes me. Being an person with an extremely low-drama life I find even a bit of conflict strange and tiring. I am just so used to nothing happening! Sorry if this seems like typical cryptic internet crap, but I do have a life outside of making bats in hats. ;-P

So today I am starting new projects. I am going to try to be more selfish and make things I don't want to sell. :-)

Batcat Birthday.

2009-03-03T13:40:00.004-05:00

I made a card.

Batcat birthday card! I used to have another Batcat design in my shop but it wasn't vibrant enough for me. So this is the re-do. I wanted to do a card that also had a an interior image too...

I added a little space to write your b-day message inside.

I think its a bit funny that I did a birthday card, since I don't even really like birthdays. I totally get kids birthdays, and the big ones like 30 or 40 or 100. But I could cut the rest and be fine with it. Sometimes I think being one of the people who doesn't particularly like birthdays sets off peoples "lets buy a cake!" alarms. SIGH.

For years now I have been trying to care about other people's birthdays, because I know everyone isn't like me but I really suck at it. Sorry everyone! There is always next year for me to do better. :-) When you are 100 I will get a skywriter or something insane to make up for it.

I have made one more card, but it might have to wait until tomorrow.

On a roll.

2009-02-26T18:55:00.004-05:00

I am really milking this one painting for all the blog posts I can get out of it!

I worked on this painting WAY too much. Like, hours and hours and hours. I am usually a super fast painter. I still have the urge to work on it too, I just can't seem to get it where I want it. If I just liked more colourful subject matter, life would be so much easier. All that black on black was such a pain.

The scanned and photoshopped version is ready for the spotlight!

It looks almost too dark until you put it in the mat, then it totally changes. I guess having a photo of it in the mat would make more sense. Uh, go look at the listing to see one. (See what I did there? ) Haha.

I am probably going to do a bookmark or mini print of something else with this image. And if I can work out the kinks on the original I will sell that too.

So now I have to go and baby my cat. I had to shave some of the fur off his tail and it majorly hurt his pride. Handsome cats take things like this very hard. It should grow back in a few weeks, but until then he is a big fat ugly cat instead of a big fat adorable cat. Sigh.

Still more Winterwoods.

2009-02-24T22:32:00.002-05:00

They are probably about half finished... Ok, maybe 40 percent. 30? Does a face count for more percentage than an elbow?

Her face is complete, working on the hair. I rarely fully finish one area at a time but I am giving it a shot.

He looks a bit better now. I am still not sure if I digging him yet though. But there is still work to be done, so that could change. He looks less like a teen heartthrob though!

Next is clothing, and sometimes I kick myself for getting all involved in intricate outfits when it comes to painting them. Like ruffles and tiny buttons?! WHY did I do that to myself!

A few more days and they will be ready. I already have an idea for the next painting of them. Obsessed much?

More Winterwoods.

2009-02-23T20:37:00.004-05:00

Little sketch...

I swear he won't look like Zac Efron when its painted. (Ok, I hope!) And I took it on an angle to try and keep a bit of mystery, but I think it just added gigantism.

This is another drawing of The Winterwoods, a couple I did a print of before. I like the idea of people who might come back again and again. Or maybe I just like the idea that I get to draw their clothing. Ha. Plus I can make up more of a story for these people, and then ideas come to me more readily. I always enjoyed falling back on Batcat when I felt less than creative, and becaus it wasn't forced I made some good quality artwork. So I am trying to do it again with some new kids.

Its too cold in my studio for me to be too productive today. So I leave The Winterwoods in their sketch form, and get to the business of making myself a mini-apple crisp.

Anita Blake!

2009-02-19T18:03:00.004-05:00

The Anita Blake painting I have been posting progress shots of is finished...

I am not gonna lie, there is some digital cut and paste going on here. Her shrunken body was enlarged. I know a lady isn't supposed to share secrets like that, but it was pretty bad, so I must confess.

I actually like it quite a bit. You have no idea how scary splattering blood on it was though! Its could have ruined it so easily. That monster behind her isn't supposed to be anything in particular. There are a billion supernatural things in the books I could have done, but that would have taken research, and I am lazy. I wussed out at adding arm scars (the character has a lot of them in the books) but only hardcore geeks would know that right?

I made bookmarks with it! It seemed like the logical. They have a blood red back to them. So appropriate. I am probably going to have it as a print in my Etsy shop too. But later.

Most selfish painting ever. haha.

Ghost Girl!

2009-02-18T14:56:00.003-05:00

I think she seems like a ghost, what do you think?

I think it turned out pretty good. She has a bit of that " big eyed girl" current look that I usually try to avoid, but I can live with that. I used my favorite colour combo, black purple and gray, and that alone makes me like it. If it doesn't sell in 4 months I am totally keeping it!

She is in the shop, and I put her at a competitive (is that the word I am looking for?) price for an original painting. :-) Cheap is what I mean.

I had planned to post two paintings, but it is too dreary a day to get good photos of the other one. Plus I might hate it, so I need to stare at it for another day. So tomorrow.

Painting progress...

2009-02-17T19:19:00.005-05:00

I posted some line art last Thursday, and I am slowly turning it into some sort of actual painting.

Its coming along. She has "giant head" right now, but I can probably fix it. Or just burn it if I can't. ;-) I am liking it less the more I look at it, but I am trying to not be all Debbie Downer about it.

My dude switched to night shift this week and its making me all weird! I don't know when to eat my meals. A voice in my head says "When you're hungry dummy!" but that is easier said than done. Watching someone eat dinner hours after I ate mine is torture!!

Tomorrow I have finished paintings to post and list! Yay!

Today is pointless.

2009-02-16T16:25:00.004-05:00

Its one of those days I can't make myself do anything worthwhile. I have some pouches to photograph, bookmarks to make, whatever, don't want to. I feel like moping today.

So I started a totally pointless painting. No plan, no direction, just paint and pencil on canvas. Its an exercise in uselessness. I am not trying to challenge myself or illustrate something. Its just because I want to do it...

It may be beautiful, it may be horrible and get painted over before 10pm tonight. But at very least, I am doing something. And today, that is a victory.

P.S. Hello 50 followers! (Thanks Rachel!!) Its such a cute little number. Makes me feel quaint. Maybe someday I will have 50 000 like some blogs. Maybe interesting content will go out of style and complaining and pictures of half finished artwork will come into vogue. YES.

Two new Loves.

2009-02-12T10:56:00.002-05:00

After hinting I would create some new animal "Love" pin and sticker sets, I actually DID IT. *gasp.

Panda Love!

Bunny Love! (Its not even listed yet. I am a marketing genius.)

Panda was quite the leap for me. I intended the Love sets to be Canadian animals that I loved. I kind of changed the rules by adding a Red Squirrel (which Canada doesn't have, we only have brown and gray and black, which are cute but no big ears I love so much...) so after that the concept changed.

I do love Pandas, I somehow don't even believe they are a real animal. So weird. And Bunny Love just seemed natural. I did struggle to choose a bunny that represented every bunny. Its impossible! They all look so different. So screw that, I just did a mix of them all.

So the Love set got a bit bigger. I already have a few ideas for more, but I don't want to go nuts. Maybe in a while...

Today I have an appointment with a makeup artist friend who will make me gorgeous. No reason, just because its fun, and I am a good consumer. So I have an excuse to not work any more today. haha!

Lastly, I leave you with this little sneak peek at my work in progress.

It didn't start as fan art, but it became it as soon as I did the hair. I do so much work that I think is acceptable for people to hang in their homes, and then it doesn't sell. This one won't be as pretty. Sometimes you just need to nerd out and do something with blood splatter for yourself, Am I right? :-D

Get your fresh paintings! Right Here!

2009-02-11T10:04:00.005-05:00

*eep*

Listed another original painting! (Two actually...)

"Sugar and Spice" and "Not Very Nice" are now for sale at my Etsy Shop.

Batcat is a moody beast. He can be both sweet and sour. I think I just wanted to have an excuse to paint night animals! This can serve as my Owl contribution to Etsy, as it seems that every hipster person on earth likes owls for some reason. *snark* Ok, I can't point fingers. I like bats just like every other gothy-girl out there. I think I just burned myself.

I feel a bit of that "OHNO...CAN'TSELLMYARTWORK!!" creeping back in. These two paintings are really cute in real life, and mid way through taking photos so I could list them I changed my mind. Then I changed it back last night. Haha.

So there. They are out there. I can't really take it back now. *cries*

Love the critters.

2009-02-09T16:02:00.006-05:00

They are back.

The 'Love' sets are finally back in stock. I am updating the listings.

I have had these pin sets in my shop for a LONG time, and I am constantly thinking about discontinuing them. I think "People must be sick of seeing these things!" But then as soon as I sell out I get people asking and asking for them. So instead of discontinuing I might even expand.

I made a ton of them up. I wanted to shoot new photos of them but it was cloudy yesterday and its cloudy today. This is the kind of thing that needs natural light to really show is bright colours. So I will hold off on the new photos...

Now off to sketch some new 'love' set ideas...