While walking...

New little wallet

 A few weeks ago I decided to ditch my old wallet – a fraying, dirty, red coin purse with a zipper closure that barely accepts my ID and bank cards – and make a new one for myself. I like to avoid collecting too many tidbits in my wallet, so I wanted to end up with a simple, single compartment, envelope style wallet that properly fit my cards and things without stressing all its edges (as with the old one). I fiddled around to create a template using paper and flexible board, and ended up with a sturdy, fabric lined, partially hand stitched wallet with a pretty little elastic strap-wrap closure. I started using it as soon as it was complete, and so far it's been great!

Wedding Bow Ties for Bowie

Last winter I made bow ties for my friends' dogs, just for kicks. This spring one of their coworkers saw the "doggie bow ties" and ordered two for her dog, coincidentally named Bowie, to wear to two summer weddings.

taking care of my little broken camera

I recently sent my tiny digital camera to the manufacturer for repair under its warranty and got a message that said it would cost $130 (that's what I paid for this refurbished camera when I bought it) for them to send me a "new" refurbished camera to replace this one because they couldn't repair it. The reason I think it's sort of a scam is that this camera works fine on the inside, it's just a gently broken lens cover! I figured they would have sold me another one for $130, then repaired mine and sold it, too. Wouldn't that be classic? Well, I had them return it to me instead, so I'm just gonna keep using it. I made this case to protect the lens, which stays open even when the camera's off. Yay. 

Made from bright fabric scraps – great for not losing it – and cushioned using scraps from a wool sweater that I wore long after it died... it's all hand-stitched together.

making a rafia wrap lei

Several weeks ago, I was busy making prototypes for a hula show (took place last weekend ) and took these photos... didn't end up sending the photos out to performers, as planned, but I thought they were nice and thought I'd share!

xmas splendor on vashon island

I know it's a little late, but I can't skip this wondrous project we did at Julian's mom's on Vashon Island over the holiday:  painting with tiny brushes and food coloring these yummy, home-baked, hand-glazed sugar cookies.  It's a seasonal tradition at Paula's!  I think this would be worth doing at least ten or eleven times during the year . . . 

my dino (in sweater) smooching Julian's dino on the nose.  note that his is painted on a goose-shaped cookie.   the cookies expand when they bake, leaving plenty of room for interpretation.  Julian found a beard in a hand, his  brother, Sam, painted a girl's face in a tea pot–  I found a bird on a branch in a hammer– totally makes sense.

blessed indeed we are to witness such wonders.

Bathroom Cleaning Checklist!

I've been meaning to make a cleaning checklist to put up in our bathroom (shared by four people on a regular basis) before my housemate Katy gets back from a long trip... she's been gone for over a month, and now that she'll be back in about one week, I felt it was time to get our bathroom cleaning act together...

noticing the bathroom window

kitty bookmarks...

tissue paper flowers

one evening last week I helped my 
mom make these tissue paper flowers
that she would use to decorate a 
dance hall for a spring swing dance 
party... making the flowers is sort of 
cathartic and addictive.

Red

(please click for better resolution)

Playing with Photoshop

About a month ago my friend Kate and I embarked on a funny little project - finally getting her together with Bollywood king, Shah Rukh Khan: I conducted a little photo shoot in her bedroom and blended her into this ad she found in a hindi newspaper. I'm usually not too confident in my Photoshopping skills, but we were pleasantly surprised by the results...