My work space

Here's a little tour of my work space!  I scored this industrial midcentury desk when we moved into this artist community - the art gallery next door was getting rid of it, and I was in the right place at the right time... so I decided to be one of those fancy people with TWO desks - best decision ever. I like that I can leave a project out for a few days and still have another workspace available for other tasks, heehee. 

It's taken me a long time to find the right layout and storage for my needs, but this is by far the best set-up I've had so far - I feel like I've been way more productive. The biggest game changer: the dark grey drawer unit in the picture above (it's the ALEX unit from IKEA - I've always wanted one, and I finally got one with our tax return this year haha) the drawers are big enough to hold 11x17 prints in them! and they're shallow enough that I can store all my loose sketches without everything getting lost in a giant pile :)

Whenever I find small vintage suitcases or train cases like the ones above, I like to use them to store extra art supplies and sewing stuff. It kinda doubles as decor, kinda? I mean, some people might see it as clutter, but I like it. Anyway, at the moment I'm working on some new brooches for my etsy shop - hopefully I can have them up in the shop soon. Right now, the shop is empty and sad. I'm also working on something I'm calling "TinyArt Originals" for the next art show in my building. I'll give you a hint: it's going to be tiny :) hahaha.

- Elizabeth

Bloglovin' Brooch Giveaway

Check it out, guys. I made a blogger badge of honor brooch for this most spectacular occasion: my first giveaway ever! The only mandatory entry is following us on bloglovin', but there's some other ways for you to earn extra entries, like tweeting about the giveaway, following us on twitter, and adding our etsy shop to your favorites :)

You can enter through Rafflecopter below:)
The giveaway ends at midnight, July 10.
Good luck, ya'll.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

-Elizabeth

Bricks & Burritos

Hooray for matching Franklin today!
His style is like a weird bohemian grandpa bum, which I totally dig. So I embraced it and wore a few extra layers to really emphasize that homeless look, haha. I think we really captured each others' awkwardness with these pictures, don't you?:

I made him wear this Kerouac brooch set I made, because it fit today's vibe pretty well. We had every intention to screech up to our friends' house, and force them go to Tacoma with us, but we chickened out and texted them instead. They were busy. So we turned around and went home to drink whiskey & coke and make music. On the way back, we stopped by this burrito place that boasts their baby-sized burritos. Not baby burritos. Baby-sized burritos. I'd say the description was pretty accurate:

And now, stomachs full and heads a-buzz with whiskey, we're off to go make music in the attic band room.

What we're listening to right now: Nirvana - where did you sleep last night?

-Elizabeth

Staying Home Sick & Making New Brooches

I stayed home sick today with a really nasty cold. (Take your vitamins, kids!) I still feel as awful as I did when I woke up, but guilt is probably going to make me drag myself into work tomorrow. I hate calling in. Even if it's completely legitimate, I feel so guilty knowing that someone has to pick up extra slack because I'm not there. Blah. I spent the day in front of the heater, watching netflix and working on some new brooches for the shop.

Check 'em out:

Winter Is Coming Brooch // Cat Lady Brooch // Twin Peaks Series: Log Lady Brooch

Franklin & I started reading Game of Thrones, which my cousin recommended to us, and it's so good! She actually requested a custom brooch a little while ago that fits the same "Winter is coming" theme, so she was the direct inspiration for that first brooch. I've taken so long on the brooch she requested, though, so I'm probably just going to send it to her as a christmas present, haha. Hopefully she doesn't read this, or it won't be much of a surprise!

What I'm listening to:


-Elizabeth

PS: What should I have for dinner?

New Brooches!

Hello, folks! I finally added a couple brooches to the shop! I have a bunch more, but I've had a bit of an issue when it comes to taking photos for the shop: by the time I get home from work, it's dark out! Daylight, what's that? I don't even remember.

Allow me to introduce, the new Kitty Brooches:

(From left to right: Fat Kitty, Knitting Kitty & Bookworm Kitty)

I've only added Fat Kitty & Bookworm Kitty to the shop so far, but I'll be adding Knitting Kitty as soon as I get enough daylight to get a good picture! These brooches all come with a matching "pocket totem" that you can tote around with you for good luck! I like having little trinkets in my pocket or my car for good luck, so I thought it would be fun to start including them with my new brooches.

I also decided to start freshening up the shop with a new look. I'm still in the process of taking new pictures of the older listings, but it will happen eventually! In the meantime, you get a look at my embarrassing hodge podge of a shop.

-Elizabeth

Out of the Woods

I had every intention to keep this thing updated this week, but it sorta got away from me! So here's a little recap.

1. Finishing up a custom fern brooch for a dear friend
2. In the woods for a night. We forgot a vital part of our tent, but it worked out :)
3. Our good friends Justin & Cat have chickens, and these are their eggs! So pretty!

I spent the rest of the week battling migraine headaches and working on some new brooches to add to the shop! Once I finish this new batch of brooches, I'm going to completely change the look of the shop. I'm hoping I can get that all finished before the end of the month. Also, I don't know if you noticed, but I gave the ol' blog a little makeover.  The changes were small, but I like the end result. What do you guys think?

What I'm listening to: the hopeless opus by of montreal
What I'm gonna do when I'm done posting this: play minecraft with Franklin!

-Elizabeth

Brooch the Subject: My Little Wooden Horse

I've been wanting to do a regular, somewhat-weekly post featuring my ever-growing collection of brooches. I really have a hard time leaving the house without wearing a brooch, so I figured this would be a good way to share my obsession, and inadvertently make sense of my brooch-making habits. I searched high and low for the perfect brooch pun, and I finally found it. So from now on, these somewhat-weekly posts will be titled: Brooch the Subject. heehee. Because, well, it is! the subject, I mean.

This one, I found at the Goodwill, during it's annual "western day" sale. (and, yeah, I request off work for it, so what?) I have found many a vintage western shirt and leather satchel during western day. This year, I expanded my search to the jewelry display, where it was pure madness. People pushing, yelling, and "aggressively perusing" as I like to call it. Lucky for me, what I find super-amazingly-awesome and extra-neato, most people consider quite hideous. (more kitschy goodness for me!) And then, there it was. Hiding in plain sight. The moment I saw it, I knew it was meant to be...

I'd like to introduce you to my little wooden horse:

I think this might be my favorite brooch, ever. He looks like he wants to be your friend, but he also looks like he might want to snack on you later. I especially love that his head is a completely separate piece from his body, and I like his sarcastic little elbow nudge - it's both endearing, and mildly threatening, haha.

-Elizabeth

Floral and Denim

I bought this really sweet old floral fabric, and some light denim fabric at the thrift store a long time ago, and I wanted to make clothing with it. Whenever I take on any sort of sewing endeavor, I usually make some awful mistake that takes hours of me ripping stitches and crying in frustration. This was the first project I worked on where I didn't completely wreck everything, AND my sewing machine decided to cooperate with me. TWO FIRSTS. I think that deserves a glass of wine. Oh, what's that? I'm already drinking it? okay.

BEHOLD! My floral masterpiece!

I made the shirt and the skirt from scratch, huzzah! (oh, and the brooch!) I don't use patterns, but I do reference my own clothes, just to get an idea size-wise. The fit of the shirt is a little wonky, but I still dig it. The front is closed with snaps -- the buttons are just there to trick you. (bwahaha!) I've never sewed a button hole before and I have no intention to try, haha. The same goes for sewing zippers. Some things are better left unlearned.

Also, I don't know about you, but no matter how much table space I have in my sewing room, I always ALWAYS end up on the floor, cutting and pinning like a mad man. But whatever works, right? When it comes to makin' stuff, I live by this rule: THERE ARE NO RULES. If anyone tells ya different, then they're fools!

I made a matching bow with the fabric scraps (it looks pretty awful on the backside, haha) and I used this crazy 70s polyester for that sweet mismatched pocket, which I haphazardly sewed on using a zig-zag stitch (of which I am not very familiar with). I am not friends with my sewing machine. In fact, I think we might hate each other. Thread tension? I know it should be adjusted when you change stitches and material, but I always keep mine at 2. I don't even know what that means. Any tips about thread tension are welcome, by the way! I'd like to finally get the upper hand with my sewing machine. Too many times has it left me in tears, haha. Oh, I'm rambling! Here are some detail shots:



I think I'm going to make about a million of these skirts now. They're so easy! I made this skirt this morning, while Franklin made us breakfast! haha. The pocket is what really gets me. I'm so excited to make more! heehee. If I understood sizes better, I might even think about selling them. but for now, I'm just going to focus on frugally expanding my wardrobe.

-Elizabeth

New Brooches!

I've finally added some new brooches to the shop! I have a few others in the making, but I haven't had the time (or patience) for painting this past week. I just have to say, that this soy sauce brooch is my absolute favorite. I almost don't want to sell it. I know I can make another one for myself, but I like THAT one, haha. The kikkoman soy sauce dispenser is so iconic to me, and it totally reminds me of my childhood, so lookin' at it makes me oh so happy. heehee!

Also: I know it sounds super weird and sappy, but whenever I ship off a brooch I've made, I get a little sad to say goodbye. I get attached to them, because I spend so much time working on them that they almost become like characters to me. Like weird little friends, haha. But then I think, now they can go be someone else's weird little friend! Maybe I should change the name of my shop to weird little friends, haha. It's starting to sound quite catchy.

-Elizabeth

Book & Quote brooches, yay!

I finally added some new brooches to the shop! I just started a new "Book & Quote" brooch set series, but I've only made one so far. It's a book I first read in seventh grade, and it's been one of my favorites ever since... On the Road, by Jack Kerouac:

I have no clue what to do next, though. Walden, maybe? That's pretty classic, and up there in my favorites. I'd look to Franklin's book collection for inspiration, but it's all sci-fi and fantasy, haha. Don't get me wrong, I like sci-fi and fantasy every once in a while, but I don't know how many people want to sport The Dragon Reborn on their lapel, hahaha.

-Elizabeth

**Custom orders are welcome, by the way. Especially regarding book & quote sets! just shoot me an email at lizzy.sadile[at]gmail.com