The first photo is my stuff–the bottom one is the girl who was sitting next to me.
Craft show
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Category Archives: creative
One of those weeks
See this hole punch?
I spent WAY too much time this week looking for this hole punch. Convinced it was gone forever, I bought a new hole punch.
Today, I’m running around trying to get things ready for this craft show tomorrow…I look down, where I have a bunch of craft supplies just kinda hanging out, and there is my hole punch.
Now, the new hole punch was all of $1.99, so it’s not really such a big deal, but seriously? It was right there the whole time? Argh.
I blame the gnomes.
What I’ve been up to
Uploaded some photos to flickr–this isn’t everything I made during the last week, but it’s a decent sampling!
Bookmarks-famous first lines. If you have a favorite first line of a novel (that will fit on a bookmark), please share it with me!
Assorted quotations for framing.
Assorted notecards.
I’ll be posting a bunch of things in my etsy shop over the next few days, so look for them there if you’re interested…or contact me directly if you’d like!
on etsy: calligraphybyerin.etsy.com
on facebook: facebook.com/calligraphybyerin
on twitter: twitter.com/calligbyerin
I plan to offer some specials to facebook fans/twitter followers, so now’s your chance to get in on that! 🙂
calligraphy by erin–in the real world
At the beginning of the week, I got an email from Jen about Artisan Day at the UB Farmer’s Market. They were looking for artists and crafters to set up…this Saturday, August 1.
After a brief moment of panic (this Saturday? holy crap!), I decided to do it…and so I’ve been busybusybusy all week. This is why I’ve not actually been in front of the computer all that much. I’ll post some photos later of what I’ve been working on.
So anyway, if you’re interested, I’ll be at the UB Farmer’s Market tomorrow from 9-1 (UB South Campus on the Main Street sidewalks across from Kenmore Avenue in Buffalo). Please stop by and say hi!
Like sands through the hourglass
So this weekend, Rand and I went to PA for my cousin’s graduation party. I made him a gift, in addition to a bit of cash, of course. 😉
This, along with a couple of other new items, have been posted in my etsy shop, although it’s probably a bit late to get any sales on it now! I also made some new bookmarks, posted to flickr, that will be posted in the shop this week. (Oh, and last week, I got a pretty new banner for my shop courtesy of etsy seller the photospot. I think it looks great!)
In addition to the graduation party, Rand and I were able to hang out with my friend Anita, who lives on the west coast. She happened to be in town visiting her parents, so yay!
Before we left for PA, Rand and I noticed that the stuff in our refrigerator wasn’t really as cold as it should be. I turned up the temp a couple of notches, and we decided to wait until we got back to worry about it.
Sure enough, there was no improvement when we got back. We did a little bit of research, and determined that it wasn’t worth trying to have it repaired. This morning, Rand went into work a bit late so that we could go to Sears and look for a new one. It’ll be delivered tomorrow. (It’s a Kenmore, in white…nothing fancy. Because our space is limited, we didn’t really have a whole lot of options. The new one is much better than what we have, and is Energy Star rated.) In the meantime, everything perishable is either in the freezer, which is still pretty much working (not 100%, but enough), or in coolers.
So today, other than dealing with that, I’ve been cleaning up the kitchen, reading submissions for Toasted Cheese, taking care of some stuff Rand and I are selling on Amazon, and getting my car inspected. The inspection wouldn’t have been bad, but my check engine light was on, and so I had to pay for the diagnostic so they could figure out how to get it to shut off…but still, relatively painless. I’m good for another year, by which point we will probably have gotten a new car.
Hmmm…was that all? The excitement of my life knows no bounds…
New etsy items
Some things I’ve posted in my shop this week:
(actual size=matted for a 5×7 frame)
(Bookmark, “live, laugh, love)
(Bookmark, “We read to know we are not alone.”)
(Bookmark, “Music is an outburst of the soul.”)
More coming soon! Check out my etsy shop here: calligraphybyerin.etsy.com
Twitter:
Facebook:
Baking as therapy
The other day, I deeply mired in crippling self-pity. I decided to bake to cheer myself up. I went with cupcakes, because cupcakes always make me happy. I didn’t have anything specific in mind, so I started poking around my various cookbooks and the internet.
I decided to go with something basic: Amy Sedaris’s vanilla cupcakes.
1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter
1 ¾ cups of sugarBeat well, then add:
2 large eggs
2 Teaspoons of pure vanilla
½ teaspoon of salt
2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
2 ½ cups of flour
1 ¼ cups of milkBeat well, fill cups, and bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes. You should get 24. I get 18, ’cause I’m doing something wrong.
(this recipe is also in I Like You; Hospitality Under the Influence)
This is a basic, but very, very tasty, vanilla cupcake.
We had a pint of fresh raspberries in the refrigerator, so I topped them off with raspberry buttercream frosting. OMG, yum. I highly recommend this frosting.
I didn’t take any photos…while the frosting came out very yummy, it was a bit on the runny side and did not make for pretty cupcakes. I am saving both of these recipes to make again!
And, when all was said and done, these cupcakes achieved their goal. There were a few shaky moments…like when my oven inexplicably jumped up 50 degrees (it does this frequently, and it’s maddening) and when I ran out of powdered sugar and had to go out for more. But it was all worth it!
(side note–does anyone know why the cupcake recipe never *actually* makes 24 cupcakes?)
Photos being uploaded
I’ve stareted to upload photos. Vacation photos will be going into this set.
I also uploaded some calligraphy stuff I did yesterday. Enjoy!
Quick calligraphy update
I spent a lot of time this weekend thinking about/working on my etsy shop
You can help me out by becoming a fan on facebook (or, if you’re already a fan, by inviting a friend or two!) I also started another twitter account–one especially for the calligraphy: calligbyerin.
I’m off now do do some errands, which includes a stop at the craft store for some supplies. I plan on posting a few new items this week.
Let me know if you have a favorite quote/saying that you’d like to see in calligraphy!
Oh, those vacation pictures will be coming later today… 😉
Strawberry cupcakes
As promised, here are the strawberry cupcakes I made last week:
I found the recipe at Dozen Flours.
I thought they were rather tasty. They’re “frosted” with plain whipped cream (homemade, of course!). I’ll definitely make these again!
Fresh strawberries…yum! I love this time of year. 🙂