wha?

so november was “national blog posting month“, a little movement, inspired by national novel writing month. the challenge is to post in your blog for all 30 days of november. i heard about nablopomo on november first, and i went to the official site, and before i knew it i was signed up and had a blog there. so technically, i did not post daily here at paintedfishstudio.com, but i did there (mostly with copy/pastes of my painted fish blog entries. but there are a few you didn’t see, mostly involving me whining and drinking).

it was a fun month. the best part was signing up: i “met” other bloggers participating, so here’s a shout out to the cool kids! if you’re at work, and bored, some blogs to check out:

• elsie marley
• duo fiber works
• sarcastic mom
• jenn in holland
• sticky feathers
• and of course, the write ingredients

so… now i’ll go back to posting m-f for the most part. i’ll skip the weekends unless i’ve got something exciting to say! that’s it for me, i’m taking the day off to prep for tomorrow and go to no coast craft-o-rama. have a good weekend, and i’ll see most of you at the 4th annual xmas pARTy!

CorAzoN has found a new chocolatier - lovehandle chocolates. they will be having a tasting at the CorAzoN on lake street, this saturday from 4-6pm!

now, loyal readers, this sounds wonderful, but we have a conflict: our annual xmas pARTy. if you feel it’s necessary to take a road trip in the name of chocolate, i won’t be offended! i fully intended on walking to the washington ave location thursday afternoon to pick up some chocolate, but car problems led me to leave work early and i probably won’t have time to stop at CorAzon before the pARTy… so i’ll try to make up for it with some other chocolatey goodness!

i have gone to, and purchased from, the mcad annual art sale in the past. it’s fun to see what students are working on, and there are affordable art options! i’ve purchased prints and photographs for under $30. here are the details:

support young artists at the 2007 mcad annual art sale on friday, nov 30 and saturday, dec 1–celebrating 10 years of connecting great mcad art and artists to the community.

choose from thousands of works by our gifted students and recent alumni–from paintings, prints and photographs to sculpture, furniture, toys, clothing, jewelry, accessories and more. Each purchase directly supports the artist who created the work.

friday, nov 30: 6 to 9 p.m.
admission is $35

saturday, dec 1: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
the sale is free and open to the public mcad main building (2501 stevens ave), first and second floors

i generally go on the free day. you do risk missing out on the best work (you take the work with you upon payment), but you can keep that $35 and put it towards a purchase on saturday!

update: the strib has an article about the sale. here’s the link, which will probably expire after a week…

i finally hung my prints from adam turman: i ordered them months ago, and i’m lazy. but first, i must say they needed to be pressed/flattened, as they were shipped in a tube and were really curvy upon arrival. then, i needed to buy frames. then once i bought frames, the prints were about 1/8″ too long, and they needed to be trimmed, not a task for one with 3 glasses of wine in her system. anyway, after a long delay, they’re finally up! no picture is available, as the prints face 2 windows, and it’s impossible to photo with the window glare.

anyway, you may be familiar with adam’s work if you read the city pages or eat at pizza luce. i first came across his work at last year’s no coast craft-o-rama, and found an awesome hotdish print, perfect for my midwestern sis who has a rep as the hotdish queen due to her east coast roommates that had never heard the term “hotdish” in their lives.

a few months ago i bought his grainbelt beer sign print, because the grainbelt beer sign is a huge landmark for me - it’s one of my earliest memories of downtown minneapolis, dating to age 4. when i saw the sign from hennepin, i knew that’s where the river was, and there was a big, scary bridge. i have a soft spot for that massive sign. i wish they’d light it up, despite the energy waste and cost…

i also bought his gold medal flour print, mostly because i love the colors. and lastly, the trolley/bandshell print, as apparently i rode the lake harriet trolley with my grandparents/mom as a kid (but i don’t remember…)

so, adam will be at no coast craft o rama this weekend. i don’t know him personally, but he does have cool stuff to check out!

this saturday is the 4th annual xmas pARTy, where we gather at my “studio” (a.k.a dining room/kitchen) and create our xmas gifts. while pARTies in 2007 were few and far between, we still have fun stuff to make: soaps, lip balms, glass ornaments, collages, jewelry, paper bead bracelets, books, salt scrubs and more. all supplies will be available, and the studio opens at 1. yay!

when jenn sent me sarah kusa’s web site last summer, i knew her work would be perfect for my great-grandmother’s chair! i had made it my personal goal to get the chair re-done this year, and the death of my grandfather made it a higher priority. i was having a hard time figuring out fabric choices: what color(s)? should i use a pattern? but sarah’s work was exactly what i was looking for: something unique, yet appropriate for the chair type.

when i emailed her my request, to my delight, she agreed to take the custom job! she guided me on fabric choices, and i perused her web site daily to decide on the pattern. the ink choice was actually done last-minute, and i think it works well with the fabric i chose and the wood of the chair. before and after pictures after the jump…

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no coast craft-o-rama is friday, november 30th from 3pm - 8pm and saturday, december 1st from 9am - 5pm! it takes place at the midtown global market in minneapolis on lake street and chicago avenue. there will be over 100 vendors, all offering unique handmade goods.

the crowd can be a bit overwhelming, but it’s still to see all the great handmade crafts. i’m taking friday afternoon off to avoid the saturday swarm.

my etsy shop has been up for about a week and a half now, and it’s been really fun adding to it and dinking around. one benefit is the etsy community: so far everyone has been very friendly and helpful. and i’ve found a lot of new fun stuff!

this week’s etsy find is from duck kisser emporium. he makes really funny toys. my favorite is gus, the angry goldfish, pictured above!

photo credit: duck kisser etsy shop

the holidays are blarg for me. i enjoy the decorating and excitement, but i hate the commercialism. i enjoy spending time with family and friends, but it’s also a sad time for me as i’ve lost a couple of family members during the holiday season over the years. so i go back and forth: no tree this year! well, maybe a little one. leave the decorations in the basement! well, little white lights could stay up all winter…

so i present to you, loyal readers, my version of snow globes! they’re easy to make, and you can use traditional holiday themed items, or grab those silly figurines/toys you know you’ve got stashed in a drawer somewhere. instructions after the jump…

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more etsy production: new block print cards of 2 wine bottles. 3 ink colors, 3 different blocks. it’s been so long since i have block printed and i forgot how much fun it is! i’ve got a few other ideas… can i quit my job but keep my salary?

i made some tiny boxes this weekend for the painted fish studio etsy store…

yay! my coffee cup (lime) was on etsy’s home page today! i just happened to log in and woah, wait, that’s me! so far the views on that item are at 174, while all the other items hover around 10-20. what great exposure! and i made my first sale yesterday: one of my hardbound journals was sent as a gift from the buyer. i’ve been obsessed with this etsy thing for the last week, and it’s nice to see some stuff happening!

the shop address: paintedfishstudio.etsy.com.

no room on my dining room table for turkey!

lots of good stuff to do over the turkey day break:

• wine tasting tonight at the wine thief
  pick up your weekend refreshments (and remember, it’s a 4 day weekend!)
  4:00 - 8:00
• holmquist pottery studio holiday sale
  cute gifts for pet lovers, that aren’t overly cute!
  nov 23 - 25
• bj christofferson annual holiday show & sale
  bj is a local artist and makes really cool dioramas, ornaments, cards, icons, tourist art bj’s website
  nov 23 - 25, 4800 14th avenue south, minneapolis
• jewelry trunk show @ 526 gallery : nov 24
  skip the mall and check out the 526 gallery jewelry trunk show featuring local artists and artisans! pat from heartstrands will be one of 5 artists.
  526 selby avenue, saint paul from 11:00 to 4:00.
• these elves went to art school @ the gallery at fox tax
  over 35 local artists have contributed works highlighting their own style in miniature form
  check the fox tax website for location and gallery hours
• northern clay center holiday sale and exposition
  thru december 30
• frida kahlo @ walker art center
  thru january 20
• georgia o’keefe @ mia
  thru january 6

i’ll be making stuff over the break for my etsy shop. i’ll be working on cards, small boxes, books, and collages. need some crafty ideas? check out the make it! category. happy turkey day!

i finished my light last night! the whole process started with the discovery that light made a canvas (moon) work on a different level. i wanted to experiment with light a bit more. nothing serious, so it had to be cheap. my first instinct was to check the ikea site to see what light options were available that i could play with, and i found the perfect “canvas”: the grono. i was so excited about my discovery, i was sure i’d have a great submission for ikea hacker. sadly, i’m slow to the game: lots of people have already submitted their grono lamps to ikea hacker.

but i’m still pretty happy with my lamp. details on how i made it, what’s on it, and what’s behind the title fisch after the jump…

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holmquist pottery will be holding its holiday studio sale friday, nov 23 - sunday, nov 25. their studio is in northfield, so if you need a break from family, escape and take a little road trip!

i’ve been a fan of theirs for a few years: i recently purchased a new tea mug from them, and i have a few of their treat jars. they’ve got great gift ideas for pet owners. directions and details after the jump…

photo credit: holmquist pottery

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holidays are for drinkin’! taste some yummy wines at the wine thief and bring lots home to get thru turkey day.

• tuesday, november 20 4:30 - 7:00
  join ricardo from rical as he pours silentium jovan, silentium oak-aged, atalaya, and reinares viura.
• wednesday, november 21 4:00 - 8:00
  terry from bourget imports will be pouring paul zink cremant, grand cru alsacian gewurtz, and pinot gris; panarroz, matzin zin; cuvee de pina; and bueller tokay.

all wines sampled will be 10% off while being poured!

pink sparrow has super-cute felt pins at her etsy shop, but i’ll be honest and say i’m a bigger fan of her jewelry (which is not available on her shop, sigh.). i bought one of her necklaces at craftstravaganza last summer, and i can’t wait to see what she’s showing at the no coast craft-o-rama (nov 30 - dec 1)!

i took a photo of my necklace, view it after the jump…

photo credit: pink sparrow etsy shop

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i have a ton of felt in the studio, from a martha stewart project gone bad. i want it to go to good use! felt is big in the craft world right now — it seems every other crafter is using it. so i decided to apply it to what i know best: books.

these simple, accordion fold books are really easy to make. the instructions may seem daunting, but keep in mind i’m trying to set the tone for good book making! details after the jump…

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one of the reasons i set up this blog was to support an etsy shop where i’d sell my books. it’s been 2 months, and i’ve finally set it up! the biggest hurdle was the photography. i’m using a canon powershot, without a lot of bells and whistles. i hate using the flash, and i’ve been struggling with lighting. i debated pulling out the old-school minolta slr, but i’m too impatient to go back to film. so i decided it’s now or never!

i’ve only got a few items up, but i’ll be adding more throughout the week. i’ve got a few more projects up my sleeve and am hoping to be productive over the 4-day turkey day break.

check it out: paintedfishstudio.etsy.com