Destination Wedding Tags

Luggage tags are a fun favor or bridal party gift at a destination wedding.  In sync with the travel theme often used with destination weddings, luggage tags can be incorporated in the creation of save-the-dates or invites.  They also make great personal gifts for the members of the bridal party.

Today's destination wedding location: Turks and Caicos!

I wish I would have taken a picture of the tags with the suede lace at the end, but I think you get the idea. :)

Closing the Shop for a Week

This coming week I will be graced with the presence of my dear friend, as well as my boyfriend's mother.  Instead of trying to manage the shop as well as be a courteous entertainer during their visit, I am closing Of The Fountain until June 7.  I will leave Oh Yeah Cat Heads open as all of those items are in stock and ready to ship.


In way more important news, Happy Memorial Day.  Found on the Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery:

Not for fame or reward

Not for place or for rank 

Not lured by ambition 

Or goaded by necessity 

But in simple 

Obedience to duty 

As they understood it 

These men suffered all 

Sacrificed all 

Dared all-and died

Take a moment today to be thankful that thousands of people you've never met have risked their very existence for you to live a free and happy life.

Send Me Nudes

When I first started working in leather almost 2 years ago, I hadn't yet begun to dye my stamped tags.  I would stamp them, add a suede lace tie, and then Waaa Laaa! - I considered the tags finished.  When I discovered that I could dye the tags....holy crap, I thought that was the coolest thing ever and have been dying my tags ever since.

However.  I think if the right shade of leather is used, the tags can look really neat if left undyed.  The nude leather contrasts quite nicely with the brown of the suede lace.

If you desire more nudes, I have a necklace in my shop that is naked, undyed leather and can be totally customized.

Mediterranean Succotash

In looking to eat a little healthier, I made this vegetable-filled dish by Rachel Ray the other day.  More precisely, my boyfriend made it, and I just took pictures.  Also, I am a little weird when it comes to what constitutes a complete meal.  A meat (or meat-like product: tofu, chick peas, etc.) and a side are needed to form a happy dinner meal.  To me, this succotash dish is like a side as it is filled with only side-type foods: vegetables and beans.  So, to balance out the meal, I added a cooked hot dog for each of us to act as the "meat".  Yes, this may seem weird.  Even weirder, it was a naked hot dog, with no bun or condiments.  Perhaps even weirder, I put all the hot dogs on one plate and me and my boyfriend just kinda shared the plate while we ate.  I must say, the hot dogs used for this occasion are the tastiest hot dogs that I have ever eaten.  Nathan's Hot Dogs are that good - that you can eat them totally naked and be in heaven.  While I found them to be a little expensive, they are so worth it.

Mediterranean Succotash

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, yellow, red, and/or green, seeded and chopped
• 1 bunch asparagus, sliced on bias, tips 1 1/2 inches long
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1 can butter beans, drained
• Salt and pepper
• Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 
  
• Directions
• Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, onion, garlic, peppers. 

Saute peppers, stirring frequently, 5 minutes.

• 
  
• Add asparagus and corn, cook 3 to 5 minutes longer.
• 
  
•                    

• Add beans and heat them through, 1 or 2 minutes. Season dish with salt and pepper, to your taste, then stir in parsley. Transfer to dinner plates or bowls and serve.
• 
  
•               

We really enjoyed this dish.  The hot dog (on a nearby plate) added just enough meat taste so I didn't get bored with just the succotash.

Oh Yeah Cat Heads Update

I've really been neglecting my Oh Yeah Cat Heads shop lately.  I've just been too busy with orders for Of The Fountain to make any new cat heads. This makes me sad 'cause I like making those little guys.  My better half will be gone for a few weeks next month, so I plan on making more items for the Cat Head shop then.

 For some reason I get super bored when he is gone.  So bored, in fact, that I keep a constant watch on the clock, just waiting for the second that it becomes a reasonable time to go to bed.  Come on 9:00pm!!  I feel that is an acceptable time to go to bed, even if I don't plan on waking up until at least 12 hours later.  My plan to alleviate the boredom while he is gone this time, is to make cat head brooches and sculptures.

The only new activity in the shop has been the introduction of some tiny muslin bags.  I've stamped them each with my hand carved cat head stamp.   A set of 5 is $5.95.  Show your Cat Head pride!

So Freaking Cute: Mini Buntings for Cakes

I've been seeing the cutest thing all over Etsy lately: mini buntings for cakes!! Oh mah gawd!  Buntings are cute enough on their own when they are normal-sized.  But to shrink them down to Barbie doll size, is *adorable*.  The other thing I like about the mini bunting is that it is an afforable way to cute*ify a cake.  You can rinse off the wooden stakes and reuse them.  I think it would be kewl to have a little bunting span across the table of Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas feast!  You could stick it in the turkey or some other sturdy dishes. Below are the cutest ones I could find.

                                                 

$20. BarbaraARyan

$15. twirlingbetty

$14. AtCompanyB     

$16. boobahblue

$13.50. KnockKnocking

$21. JaimeMancilla

Flowers In A City Of Stone 2

As I've already explained, nature is hard to find around my apartment in the city.  So, I like to buy fresh flowers whenever possible.  During visits to my late grandmother's house, I often frequent her backyard pond area.  Not only is there a cute little gold fish pond, but there is also a variety of flowers.

 This man made pond features a "big pond" in the front and a "little pond" behind the fountain lady, filled with a million (yes! a million!!) gold fish that are the spawn of two single fish.

My absolute FAVORITE flowers back there area the gardenias.  They smell like love and only bloom for a month during the summer.

  I discovered this bush by following my nose.  After taking this picture, I picked off this bloom and stuck it in the air vent in the room I was sleeping in so I could smell the heavenly gardenia smell in my sleeps. 

Sadly, as gardenias grow on a bush as opposed to being stemmed, you can't buy them at the grocery store. So instead, this week I bought another flower that I used to love to observe in her back yard - hydrangeas.  I couldn't find a picture of them, but her hydrangeas ranged from blue to purple to pink.  Because my grandmother's hydrangeas were the only ones I remember seeing growing up, I was surprised to discover that they "make 'em" in white.

Until recently I had never seen hydrangeas in the grocery store and my selection was very limited.  I guess now that it's getting warmer, they can offer a larger variety. Yay!  These have lasted me a few weeks. I think $5 or $10 a month is not too bad for a constant appearance of fresh flowers in the old homestead.

Custom Stamped Leather Key Chains

A few months ago I started offering leather key chains after discovering that I could incorporate eyelets into my work.  The eyelets are useful in leather key chains as they keep the hole in the leather from being torn by the constant pulling of the key ring.  I've had my leather key chain attached to my keys for over 6 months and am really loving how the leather ages and develops wear, while still surving the daily beating I give it (mainly by violently slinging it on the floor when I return from my walk to the post office) . 

  
Below are a few samples of some recent custom work.

How a Dead Worm in My Food Made Me Happy

I have recently become infatuated with eating artichokes.  Yeah, they're pretty awesome. An interesting thing happened on the last Artichoke-For-Lunch Day...

As I was going to town on my artichoke, I came across a curious sight: a little meal wormy guy inside my freaking artichoke.  I will say this, I was not grossed out. I was PISSED!! I look forward to Artichoke-For-Lunch Day.  It's like the highlight of my day.  So when I was forced to stop eating my precious artichoke because of this discovery (I wasn't hungry enough to simply "eat around" the worm and his mess), I felt a variety of emotions.  Anger, of course.  But also sadness, as now I hadn't anything to eat for lunch.  Really.  Most days I stare into the fridge/cabinets at least 6 times throughout the day, trying to find something to eat, but nothing is good enough.  It's all so...bleh.  Yet, I keep returning to these little food closets throughout the day, hoping that something *awesome* will magically appear since the last time I checked.

Anyway.  Upon sharing my annoyance at having to starve during this day's lunch, my better half prompted me to take pictures of the worm and return the wormy artichoke to the grocery store.  Oh, I took pictures all right!  But there's no way in hell I was going to return the food and demand a replacement or refund.  1.)  The thing cost me $2.50.  As someone who worked in retail for 7 years, I just can't bring myself to return something that cost me less than $3.00.  2.) It's not the grocery store's fault that a little worm crawled into this artichoke while it was growing out on the farm (or wherever artichokes are born) and lived in it, happily munching away at the insides of the artichoke until I fried it's ass in the °500 oven.  I bought two artichokes at the same time, and the second one was fine.


Here are the photos.  Stick with it till the end, as I end up playing with my beautiful food.

 This is the point that I discovered the worm.  I was only a few layers in . :(

 After peeling away a few more layers, I found evidence that the little worm had been quite a busy guy, eating throughout the artichoke.  Thanks...Before I found this, I had considered just throwing away all the pieces covered in worm taint and resume my lunch, but upon seeing this I gave up that dream.

As I now had nothing to occupy my time on my lunch break, I decided to finish peeling the leaves off of the artichoke so I could play with the furry part. 

 I can't believe that I only started eating these a few months ago...they are so fun and yummy.

As I wasn't going to remove the "fur" to get to the yummy artichoke heart this disappointing lunch session, I started petting the artichoke and fluffing out its fur.  (While I think the "fur" is in fact called the "choke", I prefer the term "fur". I'm from Georgia, leave me alone. ><)

The enjoyment I received from playing with this artichoke was actually slightly more satisfying than eating the artichoke itself.

Thank you, little wormy guy, for sacrificing yourself purely for my entertainment!

I was kinda sad to throw my art work away. (I saved the worm in a Ziploc bag until my better half came home from work and could Oooohh and Ahhhh at it.)

Evil Cat Asylum

A few times a month, I acquire new cardboard boxes, most of them being filled with supplies for Of The Fountain.  Like many cats, my cat Rasputin loves boxes.  No matter the size, he will attempt to crawl or hop inside.  Whenever I am in possession of a large box, I like to build stuff for him.  I spent an entire afternoon once taping a bunch of boxes together to create a giant catty apartment for him.  So, after receiving my latest shipment of supplies, I created a very special place for my Lil' Pooper.

 Upon emptying the box of its contents, Catty hops in to conduct an inspection.  Then, I get to work creating....

  

....an Evil Cat Asylum!!

 This locale acts as a refuge for evil cats.  Here they can congregate and share their woes of living the evil life.

 As Rasputin is the leader, he gets his own office space.

He's always eager to greet new members!

 He prefers not to follow traditional thinking, and can often be found trying things in a new way. For example, how he enters his office...

 Or hell, let's break down the walls (social barriers) and get rid of the elitist "office" altogether!

 The facility also features a free play area in front of the building (toys provided).

Yay! Evil 4Life!