Scribble Nation

Kitty for Pooks!

Block Block Block

I have been carving up a storm trying to get some block printing done. On the right are four of my newest Scribble Nation themed blocks, Fez, Orange, Olive, and Nacho Cheese. On the left you can see a bit of my Barack Obama block. This thing is taking forever. Hopefully it will be a worthwhile effort in the end.

I decided to break in my Olive and Fez blocks by printing them onto some old T-shirts. I think this fabric should make some pretty ridiculously cute baby pants. Waddya think?

Either my method or my carving is inherently flawed because no matter how hard I try there tends to be a lot of smudging and annoying little marks here and there.  Perhaps I'll get better with practice.

I also made a slew of card prints. Unfortunately, I am not to thrilled with how they came out, so I don't think I'll be adding them to the shop.  I will, however, be giving the best ones away as freebies with orders for a while.

As for my big Brooklyn trip yesterday, let's just say that the big city bamboozled me once again, only this time with a vengeance.  I'll spare you the sordid details, but I'll give you a hint: My Virtual Lab was canceled so that I could make an unplanned trip to the Brooklyn Naval Yard. The good news is that the car is in one piece and was easily, though expensively, recovered. AND the how-to video I made at Etsy Labs was a lot of fun and I think it will come out quite nicely.  I was ready to throw in the towel and say "nuts" to rescheduling the Virtual Lab at all when I got a very nice email from a newbie soap maker today saying how much she was looking forward to attending the workshop. Apparently the subjects that she is having the most trouble getting information on are the subjects that I plan to cover in the workshop. So I have decided that I must forge on and conquer my Brooklyn jinx. Etsy soapers need the scoop!

In Case You Didn't Know

I freaking LOVE Underpants Squirrels. I do. Right now I love them more than any other type of imaginary animal. And thanks to my BFF Michelle and one Ms. Karen Sweet of Deliciousness I am the owner of not one, but TWO authentic, one of a kind, Underpants Squirrels.
BEHOLD!!!

On your left you'll see Mr. Rolf De Vroom, a classic Incognito Underpants Squirrel.  Because Karen knew just how much I love Underpants Squirrels she sent me this guy free along with the Lipstick Underpants Squirrel, Ms. Mimosa Schwenke, which Michelle purchased as my birthday present.  I'm thinking of having these squirrels star in a series of short films and or comic strips.  Cross your fingers Underpants Squirrel Fans.

Dying for your own Underpants Squirrel or Hideous Bird? It just so happens that Ms. Karen Sweet recently added NEW SQUIRRELS to her shop. Check em out!!

Etsy Buy Handmade Deliciousness

Woops!

In my July Newsletter (mentioned in my last post) I accidentally listed my Virtual Lab as happening on Wednesday, JUNE 16 when in fact it will be on Wednesday JULY 16. Hope I didn't confuse anyone too much. And Thanks Jen for letting me know!!

July Newsletter!

Scribble Nation Gets Bubbly, our latest newsletter is out!

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Going North

It's that time of year again! Scott Bobleo, Gracie, and I are packing up the car and driving our seven - eight hour journey to Maine.  To celebrate, I've posted some pictures from six of the seven past voyages to Vacationland. (Missing pics from 2002)

July 2007 - The Great Paddling Voyage to Lobster Lake.

My Uncle Andy leading the way.

The stormy sea that is Lobster Lake.
Happiness is...

Rescuing butterflies. For more July 2007 pics, click here.

July 2006
Hiking Baxter State Park

Picking wild blueberries.

Lovely pond.

Bobleo vs. Wild

July 2005 - Lobsters & Knitting

2004

Heather reading under the twin pines.

2003

Uncle Andy & Aunt Missy on top of the mountain. (But not covered in cheese.)

2001

Bobleo and I in Wonderland on Mt. Desert Island.

Bobleo and I playing around on The Bubbles - Acadia National Park.

Me pretending to chuck rocks from off the mountain top in Acadia.

I'll be back from Maine on July 14 with plenty of new pictures. Have a great week everybody!

Famous Famous Famous

Our CT Etsy gig at The Sandy Hook Organic Farmer's Market got us some great press!  The Newtown Bee wrote up a very nice article about Etsy, The CT Street Team, and included three whole paragraphs about Scribble Nation! Pretty swank, I must say. Here's what they said:

 "Mary Helen McNally of Woodbury is a former Newtown resident who, with her partner Michelle Barney, creates functional art for their business, Scribble Nation. Scribble Nation has been with Etsy for more than two years, said Ms McNally. "Etsy is awesome. It's a great tool for getting yourself out there."

All of their work, from stuffed animals to household items, uses a variety of mediums and craft techniques, resulting in art "with a sense of humor," said Ms McNally. Old Barbie doll boots are embellished with funky miniature plastic flowers or rhinestones to become reincarnated as brooches. "The Glamour Cross is big," said Ms McNally, showing off the display of hand-sized crosses garnished with faux gems, sea shells, or old costume jewelry, somewhat like Mexican folk art, and sure to be a standout at any prayer service or private altar.

"We do a lot of what we call 'upcycling,' to take something old and make it new," Ms McNally explained. Old tobacco cans, for instance, are painted and decorated to be sold as containers. Handmade cards, felted wool pin cushions, plush dolls, and off-the-wall magnets were just some of the other items Scribble Nation marketed this past week, along with fez hat or punk rock toilet paper cozies. "You have to appreciate kitsch to appreciate our things," Ms McNally said."

The article also included two pictures from my booth! One was of the Nesty Dolls (which were also posted on the front page of the paper, and one was of our Glamour Crosses. Sweet!

I found this awesome game on SubuRose's Blog.

The concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

My Mosaic answer:

1. Chasing the Queen, 2. "What? Sushi? What is it?", 3. Bethel, CT: The Sycamore, 4. National Geographic behind the scene, 5. Tom Waits Coffee and Cigarettes, 6. mango lassi, 7. Marine Park, 8. ice cream cone sticker, 9. Mother Duck & her Ducklings, 10. Step by step… steadily ♫♫, 11. Got milk?, 12. Boot-onnière's 2

Being Green & Blowin' the Scene

Tuesday I joined some of the ladies from The CT Etsy Street Team at The Sandy Hook Organic Farmer's Market to kick off CT Etsy's Traveling Green Tour.  It was a very nice market and although I technically lost money I gave out a ton of Sudzi samples and brochures and I had a great time hanging out with Liz, Jillian, Jen, and Dana.  I think if I do this market again it will be to sell soap exclusively.  Here's a shot of the action from my booth:

When I got home I saw this little lady watching me from the back yard.  I won't miss paying for gas to drive all the way out here to Woodbury, but I will miss having such a lovely yard and such a cute fuzzy neighbor.  This little mommy bunny has a bunch of cute baby bunnies that I was lucky enough to see once or twice. Adorable!

I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but Scott and I are on the move again.  We are moving back to Bethel or Danbury - hopefully on August 1st.  Woodbury is nice and our apartment is great, but the commute and the heating oil are killing us.  So, we've decided to take advantage of one of the up sides of renting (the lack of commitment) and haul ass toward a new place closer to Scott's work.  We are checking out two very promising rentals in Bethel and Danbury tonight. Wish us luck! One place is a condo in Danbury which sounds almost too good to be true. Stainless appliances, private fenced yard with patio, walk in closets! Woo wee. And it's in a nice neighborhood too! The other place we are checking out is in Bethel, very close to the street I lived on during High School.  It's a 2 bedroom duplex with a nice yard and a basement for storage. Both of the people I spoke to on the phone sounded really nice so I am hoping that one of these places will be the one! We were all set to move into an apartment in the Stony Hill area of Bethel when things got weird. Real weird. While we are flustered to be back at square one we are REALLY happy that we didn't wind up moving in to that place.  The hunt continues!

Sudzi!!!

After what feels like a million years of plotting I have finally launched my bath and body shop on Etsy, Sudzi SoapWorks! I only have three items listed so far, but there will be much much more to come!! Woopee!

Busy Bees

My oh my. This summer is shaping up to be a whirlwind of action packed adventure! I kicked off the summer by going to see my lil' sis graduate in Florida plus a pit stop in one of my favorite places, Key West.  Then this past weekend I made my way up to Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island to celebrate Todd's 30th birthday (Michelle's hubby).  It was a really fun weekend. I developed a serious boogy boarding obsession which resulted in a crazy sun burn (turns out you get massively burnt when you stay in the water for more than 4 hours straight. Woops.) but it was so much fun that it was totally worth it. C.B. and Brian, Michelle's sis and bro-in-law took us all out for dinner at what must be the most fabulous buffet restaurant ever. Has anyone been to the Nordic Lodge in Rhode Island? If all you can eat lobster, king crab, and filet mignon sounds good to you than you'd better check it out. It was a once in a lifetime food experience I will not soon forget. Thanks C.B. and Brian!!

Next week Bobleo and I are off to Maine.  We won't be making any epic journeys this year. Instead we'll be taking some day hikes and spending the rest of our time relaxing by the lake. I think it's very good timing for this kind of July trip this year. Bobleo and I are also in the midst of moving back to Bethel, CT. Stress levels are getting higher as our deadline gets closer without having found a new place to live. I'm sure everything will work out though - it usually does. But a week's worth of forgetting our troubles in Maine sounds pretty delightful. I'm looking forward to it.

So while this blog has been pitifully quiet lately, I assure you life in Scribble Nation has not.  I'll try a little harder to report it to you more regularly. This afternoon, for instance, I'll be at the Sandy Hook Farmer's Market for The CT Etsy Team's first Traveling Green Show.  It's a great concept dreamt up by Jillian, our fearless Team Leader.  The team will be joining in farm markets across the state adding a little local artistry to each one. If anyone is in the Sandy Hook area this afternoon I'd for you to stop by and say hello!

Mary & Melissa's Guide to Life

My B.F.F., Melissa G. and I had this green notebook covered in stickers and graffiti that we treasured during most of Middle School and High School. It was called "Mary & Melissa's Guide to Life" and every time we had some kind of ground-breaking brilliant notion, we'd write it down in this notebook. We also added a slew of stories, jokes, and song parodies to this collection.  I pulled it off the shelf today and thought about how much fun it would be to share it with the blogosphere. So here goes, your first snippet from "Mary & Melissa's Guide to Life":

Here's a tip:

- Never go on a carnival ride in a button down skirt.

- When you spit, make sure the wind isn't blowing your direction.

- Never drink a cherry slushie with gum in your mouth.

- When a car is coming get out of the road.

- Don't smile at old men you don't know.

- Big fat girls do not necessarily have big fat hearts.

- Never tell Melissa you dislike Italians.

- Never drink on an empty stomach.

- Never trust a guy who stares at your chest, legs, nose, shoulder, ass, or any where else.

- Never spill the hash.

- Never throw your sandals from carnival rides.

- Don't tell someone they're "marked" unless you've already got a getaway car.

- Beware of trees (and their shadows - those are some sneaky motherfuckers).

- If you haven't fed your pet lizard in a week don't try to pet him.

- When pummeling an oompa make sure you are swinging low enough. (Oompas are short.)

- Don't call a cab unless you want to be late.

- Never date a guy with more female characteristics than you.

- Revenge is a dish best served with pee.

- When sledding without a sled, be sure to avoid logs positioned in such a way that they will be shoved directly up your ass upon contact.

- After telling a teacher he needs it "hard up the ass" make sure you remember your EXACT words.

- Don't give Mary a half chewed toothpick if you ever want it back. (In fact, don't give Mary anything half chewed if you ever want it back.)

- When persuading someone to fork over their candy supply, licking their face really helps.

- When you are drunk don't mess around with boys you wouldn't mess around with sober.

- Never try to drop kick your sister if you've misplaced the ground.

- Always remember that drunken back massages often lead to drunken regrets.

- Please don't feed the wilder-beasts.

Fishy Fishy

Would you believe this little fishy is a part of a project that has been going on for over a year now? I started creating these little fish last year, but got hung up on the fins when they didn't work out as originally planned. Originally, I had wanted to burn synthetic ribbon or tulle to the right shape and glue it on as fins. That proved to be messy, ugly, and all around problematic. So the little jar of fishies waited about a year for me to come up with plan #2.

Lucky for them, plan #2 landed in my brain tonight. I painted small pieces of paper with watercolor paint and glued THOSE in as fins. Nice, huh? I took pictures documenting the creation of these fish from start to finish. I'll post that later this week. For now enjoy these finished orange goldfish. Their purple and green buddies will be made later too.

OMG!!!!

I'm SO not crazy. I've been telling people I hate using cell phones because they make my head feel really REALLY hot - like burning hot. And everyone thinks I am nuts. But look at this!!!

Ha HA!!! There are about a million more videos of this happening on YouTube too.

I'm Just Visiting.

I live underwater. :)

The Littlest McNally - All Grown Up

There she is folks, happy as can be!! Congratulations Caity!!

He she is with her boyfriend doing a little victory dance.  And guess what? Her dress is handmade, by her!! That's right, smart AND crafty. Way to go lil' sis.

Hemingway House - Key West

During my excursion to Florida we visited The Ernest Hemingway House in Key West. 

It was a beautiful house, and there were tons of cute kitties everywhere. Some have extra toes, and some don't, but they are pretty much all descendants of Hemingway's own pet cats.  When he lived in the house he had around 50 cats living with him.  I read somewhere that great writers tend to live with cats, and that if you have any intention of becoming a great writer you'd better stock up.

The house was filled with beautiful artsy objects.  I snapped some photos of my favorite pieces, including this set of squid tea cups.  One day I would love to create a set of my own just like this.

One of the most interesting things, to me, that we learned during the tour was that Hemingway was thought to suffer from severe bipolar disorder.  The tour guide mentioned that it is believed to have been a genetic trait due to the many suicidal deaths in the family. Hemingway's own father took his life when Hemingway was only 20 years old. Hemingway also took his own life after losing a large portion of his memory during electric shock therapy at the age of 61. 

One remark from the tour guide was that stuck in my memory was that it was such a shame that they didn't have the medications available today while Hemingway was alive.  Though I agree that its a shame that anyone was ever made to suffer through electric shock therapy, I am not quite sure I agree that Hemingway would have been better off on medication.  Whose to say whether he would have been able to accomplish what he did, literary-wise, without the passionate, violent emotion that goes along with bipolar disorder?  Isn't it possible that while we are medicating the "disorders" out of people we are medicating out their potential for genius? 

I know this isn't true for everyone, and I am definitely not passing judgment on anyone for their own personal decisions when it comes to medicating themselves or loved ones.  Sometimes medication IS the best choice.  But in my experience I have found that sometimes being different, even dangerously different can be as much a gift as it is a curse. It seems nowadays that every deviation from what is considered to be normal and healthy can be named a disorder and medicated away.  I only wish that learning to live with these differences was as popular an option as attempting to eliminate them.  Not just ignoring it, of course, but truly learning how to be happy and different at the same time.

Jewelry Spectacular!

Last Saturday The CT Etsy Team held its second large scale craft show.  It was titled The Jewelry Spectacular and featured Jewelry sellers as the main event.  Due to some sweltering weather and probably a bit of bad luck the turn out at this show wasn't quite as spectacular as we had all hoped, but que sera sera, I know that Michelle, Lauren, and I still had a great time meeting new people and giggling away behind our own table.

Here's a picture of the action!!

And here is a shot of Lauren trying to get all of our Upcycled Bangles on her arm at once. 

 

I purchased an awesome pair of earrings from Ms. Kitty Fantastico. Check out these bad-ass rock n' roll apples! Boss!

I also got my mitts on a beautiful pair of earrings from Carrie W. Designs. These are soooo pretty - I have been wearing them non-stop ever since the show.

Bath & Body 101

I'm pleased as pop to announce that I'll be teaching a class at Etsy Labs in July! As some of you know, I have a very crafty day job that involves creating and writing about all kinds of awesome bath and body treats. At the upcoming class, titled "Bath and Body 101" I'll be sharing my expertise by helping people create three of the most basic and essential handmade bath & body items: Melt & Pour Soap, Lip Balm, and Sugar Scrub. Each student will leave the class with 2 bars of soap, 5 lip balms, and 3 2 oz. jars of Sugar Scrub! In addition to making these three items, we'll be discussing some basic formulation theory, ingredient information, and some of the legalities that go along with selling handmade bath and body products. The class will be held at Etsy Labs on Monday, July 28.

It's my first class at Etsy Labs so I am really majorly excited about the opportunity. I was lucky enough to have it scheduled during the same hours as Etsy Labs' Monday Craft Night. On Craft Nights Etsy opens its doors to Etsians to come by and get crafty together. There is often a free mini-workshop or class going on, but Etsians are welcome to work on their own personal projects as well. I would love to see some other Etsy crafters at Etsy Labs on July 28th, whether you decide to participate in my Bath & Body class or if you just want to hang out at Etsy Labs for Craft Night I hope to see some of you there!

And if that wasn't exciting enough as it is, It looks like I'll be trekking to EtsyLabs again on July 18th to host a Virtual Lab on some of the finer points of making Bath n' Body Products including legalities and labeling requirements that are often a surprise to newbies. AND I'll be creating a video tutorial at Etsy Labs, showing Etsians how to make a surprise Bath n Body Goody. Everything is coming up bubbly lately. I guess it's time to get my keester in gear and get the soap biz up and running!!

Oh My Letterpress!!

S. Bobleo and I celebrated our seven years of dating anniversary on Wednesday. After seven years of anniversaries he has finally gotten the idea that the man is generally expected to make some kind of to-do toward the lady, generally involving flowers, chocolates, or some other such romantic display.  As pretty much everyone knows, S. Bobleo and I are not the most conventional couple so while I went to Lindt Chocolatier for his gift, Scott went to Lowes Home Improvement for mine! Knowing he had built me something, but having no idea what was driving me totally bananas.  I never would have guessed what he arrived home with on Wednesday afternoon.

Bammo!! A homemade letterpress machine!  He used the template and directions from a recent issue of Readymade magazine to build it.  It's a very neat design, featuring a bottle jack, bungee cords, and plexiglass as the main active components.  The design is a tad bit flawed. Since it doesn't have any guides the press tends to get all slanty and swing around too much.  S. Bobleo will be fixing that as well as some other minor imperfections ASAP.  After taking it for a test spin using a block printing stamp from my shopping bag adventure we went out for a nice meal at our favorite Indian restaurant, Kolam. 

After that we went out to see the new Indiana Jones flick.  My opinion? While it did have some ridiculous parts I would compare my enjoyment of the movie with that of Die Hard 4 - fun, but of course, not as good as the originals.  Overall, I liked it and I'm glad I went to see it.  If you love Indiana Jones movies as much as I do than you should go see it for yourself and try to experience it without any prejudice against it being so "new".  I remember being a kid waiting on line for the Last Crusade and wanting to cry because I knew it was the last one. Though my Dad insisted it wouldn't be I was pretty heart broken.  No matter how corny this new movie might be, I was happy to see my favorite character (besides Popeye) again.

Tonight I'll be hopping a plane down to Florida to attend my baby sister's high school graduation.  The fourth kid in what was originally a trilogy has turned out to be far more genuine and worthwhile than the latest Die Hard or Indiana Jones movies.  She's gorgeous, smart, funny, and gifted - and about to enter what were some of the most challenging years of my life.  To celebrate, my parents are taking all four girls with them to Key West.  We'll spend two days or so snorkeling, exploring, and having a generally swell time. I wish the Bobleo could have come with us, but we'll have to wait for Maine to spend some fun time together. This trip looks like it will be exclusively McNally.

I'll return all emails, convos, etc. when I return on JUNE 4th.  I may pop in to check for urgent emails at some point over the weekend, but don't count on it. :) All orders from the Scribble Shop will ship out when I get home. Bye bye for now my little Scribblerinos!!