So technically I made this for Halloween but really, I'd wear it every day if I could.  Or if there were a convention in town any time soon!
The shirt came from a little thrift store that also had the exact same sparkly gold binding I needed for the sleeves!  Had to make it fit first and cropped the sleeves a little.  The badge was black denim I drew out then painted and the black collar came off of one of my oversized Trek t-shirts that I was going to alter anyways.





Geek love.

So I realize that our staff Christmas party dresses were all posted long ago but I've been m.i.a. from around here for a long time and haven't made much else lately.
Basically if I sew something it's because I'm obsessively picky and can't find exactly what I'm looking for.  This was originally going to be long sleeved with a scooped back but I knew I'd be sweating balls by the end of the night.  Bought some kraft paper and traced a long t-shirt and the sleeve of another one and just kinda made it up as I went.  Didn't get enough pictures though (ignore the stupid faces...).
The inspiration came from listening to too much Nick Cave and 45 Grave all winter while not being able to really afford anything from the Urban Outfitters website.  This also cost me less than $20 including the applique and over a meter of fabric leftover. 




sequinariffic!

[too]

(firstly, if it's too image heavy I can lighten the load, sorry, I just had too much fun)

So my friend gave me some fake Converse low tops because I was too poor and picky to by my own (it's hard to find union-friendly, ethically made shoes under $80!)

They were brown and that was cool, it was something different but I'm not a brown type of gal.


The options really are endless so I threw some ideas around with a roommate, hauled my crafting arsenal to the front porch, brought out the stereo, coffee and cigarettes and started the transformation:

*gasp* white washing!  I ended up doing 2-3 layers for optimum opacity.

nothing says punk rock arts and crafts more than a palette ripped from a case of beer

Another one of my roommates joined me, apparently she'd been wanting to paint her shoes black for a long time too.  Then she got me to add the text to match my shoes.


(sorry for the silly sunglasses, I looked like I was on the dope) This is the best craftin' spot in East Van! 

There was an unfortunate spaz moment on my part that took a casualty with it.  It was an old skirt and could use some painting anyways.  Upon the professional layout sketching of the toes, I was greeted by a curious friend, probably wondering what a snail was doing on a shoe...


Many house guests, a few tacos and too many cigarettes later...

2 snails!
By now it was late evening and I had to go bake+decorate two cakes and partake in throwing a party so I finished them the next day because the snails were getting pretty lonely.

Basically, I've been drawing that cartoon snail for about 5 years now and yet a different roommate stick'n'poked it on my arm, I love the little critter.  Otherwise, I would have done something much more intense and elaborate than...

Worms 'n' dirt .. and sun!
Yeah I had planned to make them so "badass" and "punk rawk" and they just ended up being ridiculously cute.  Pretty much me in a nutshell 

Oh yeah, the text that's on 'em too:

Keep Going!
See, snails are slow and steady but they get where they're going (unless they are hedonists and jump on the back of a turtle!).  I'd like to think the cute snail on the left is trying to see the gimpy snail on the right and both the wormies are trying to get to the surface to be picked up by a bird, eaten and then horked into the mouth of a baby bird.  The sun was just filler.  Metaphor, symbolism, simile, etc etc

Awkward Angle Cankles!


SOMEhow I forgot to take pictures of the dinosaurs I cut out of some random fabric I found in the basement and superglued to the tongues!  And I thought the close-up shot showed the detail on the worms 'n' dirt but it didn't.  It may look like it did but it didn't.

I also didn't use a fabric medium with the acrylic because I thought I had ran out but later found a whole unopened bottle.  Also found an aerosol gloss sealer in the living room and gave them a few coats of that. 
They're obviously a little stiffer and need to be traipsed around in, I'm hoping they'll get dirty and go to the colour of raw canvas but they'll probably just crack and I'll be glueing them together and repainting them forever.

phew, okay, done

[Strawberry Banana Muffins]

So this may or may not have been made a few months ago but I just found some pictures and felt like sharing...
around Valentines I found some flimsy silicone muffin trays (pans?) in the shape of hearts and I'm not one to shy away from novelty kitchenware, let me tell you!

They may look like misshapen lumps but hot damn, do they taste good!

I used this awesome recipe:

Strawberry Banana Muffins
Ingredients (use vegan versions if you want):
4 oz. unsalted non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
1 1/4 cup vegan sugar (anything that isn't refined)
1 banana
2 cup flour (I use whole wheat)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegan milk substitute, with a little arrowroot as thickener (You don't have to use arrowroot if you use about 1/2 cup of flax meal, the best egg replacer and nutrient-adder ever)
1 teaspoon vanilla
15 fresh strawberries, dry, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
Directions:
Cream together margarine and vegan sugar until light and fluffy. Add the banana, and cream until well blended. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Combine soy milk, arrowroot and vanilla. Alternate adding wet and dry mixtures to creamed mixture. Fold in strawberries. Fill muffin tins nearly full, and bake at 375F for 25 to 30 minutes.

It turned out that they were quite decadent and could almost be cupcakes (aside from the whole healthy tasting factor).  So, being xhxcorexemox I split some of them in half and filled the gap with organic strawberry jam which looked much more badass and tasted much more awesome!

The best part is that they stayed sooo moist the next day, I don't think they lasted much longer than that.

You can also make 'em with other berries, get fancy with jams or glazes, or just keep 'em banana if you're feeling simplistic.  Viva la Muffcakes!

Okay, I don't know how many other canadians are here but I don't think I've seen most of those products (aside from the Amy's meals and something else)!

Personally, I'm not big on the whole fake meat thing, I eat veggie dogs if I get a craving specifically for them but otherwise I like my burgers to taste like veggies'n'grains.  Never really liked red meat when I did eat it though.
My meat(less) exception is:



-Yves chicken souvlaki skewers!  I usually find them at Safeway but they're a rare hit or miss deal
-veeeeegan (with 15g of protein and 1g of fat!)
-about $5 CD for 2 skewers, once I found them for $2 on sale and stocked right the eff up
-the only yves product that gets a 5/5

The best way to eat it is with a little hummus and balsamic vinegar and a salad with black olives, can be microwaved but best grilled to get it a little crispy *drool*

Another common search for the perfect substitute is with milks!  Soy milk makes me feel gross and the thought of drinking a class of milk straight up makes me gag, and I have a strong stomach.


-Manitoba Harvest's Hemp Bliss (chocolate)
-Vegan and Canadian (whoo)
-about 3 or 4 bux
-0/5 NO DICE!!!  other people I have discussed faux milk with have agreed, something is just not right, some things should not be milked though I'm sure it's good for you and all that jazz.  Couldn't even finish off a glass of it.

but there is hope!
*insert backlit shining beam of light here*


-Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze, I prefer the unsweetened variety as it boasts only 40 calories a cup as per sweetened soy milk which can get up to 160
-Vegan Heaven
-$2 at the local grocers, $4 at Safeway(boo!)
-5/5 It doesn't have the suspect hormones of soy or the watery thinness of rice milk, it's something you can drink the plain unsweetened variety of and not spit it out and want your money back.  I have yet to find the unsweetened chocolate but oh my, the sweetened variety is fake milk at its glory with no chalky aftertaste.  Won't drink coffee without it. 

....
..it's awesome.

the chance that I get around to actually finishing something I start is very rare, these were done a few months ago on an insomniatic whim


Okay, this one was started over a year ago, I had the skull all done in an attempt to start painting freehand then remembered that there's a reason I don't paint freehand and just added some stenciling.
The text was a stencil I made about 3 years ago and never made the shirt I intended it for (lyrics from at the drive in, was gonna put in on with this old zombie comic) and the bats I put on everything.
oh and it's about 12" by 12"



Woah, never seen that one before!
Silver on turquoise, sorry for the off-coloured photo.  Tried doing text with plastic dollar store stencils and I don't know if it was my lack of experience with them or my lack of patience by going letter by letter but it's okay, I like things to look like they were made after a 6 pack of diet pepsi bender.
6"x6"


pretty self-explanatory, I'm one of the only punk kids I know who isn't really into the Misfits but I like the stencil so I wanted to put it on something I wouldn't wear and have some fun with splatter paint

(note: there is lime green on each one, there would be lime green everywhere if it were up to me)

Okay, I haven't posted here in well over a year but found pictures of some outcomes of a crafty afternoon.... crafternoon!! on the front porch with my roommate

sorry the picture's aren't too detailed


the red mirror I found at the hardware store in clearance then, on a whim, bought glitter glue and made it much more "6 year old stuck in a 20 year old's body"
the picture frame I got with the glue at the dollar store and made it pink then found neon pink paint in the free box and put it overtop though it's hard to see
the dinosaurs I have a ton of and attached them with super glue


this bad boy is quite a bit darker and came from Value Village in a hideous shade of blue and gold so I made it a less hideous shade (I'm the only person I know who doesn't like the colour blue)
the jewels I've been collecting for a while and adhered with super glue as well then for some hair brained-glue fumed reason I decided to haggardly outline them but luckily it's not toooo visible
it is the cheesiest thing ever but I've wanted to do it for years now but just never got around to it (reference to Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh by Bright Eyes) and it makes me smile and feel young again whenever I see it

I don't know if I've ever even posted here yet!

So here's a little mini-tour of my shit hole a.k.a. house and home.
A little backround history:
I moved in here last June with my ex, have had 4 different roommates and now it's allll mine.  My dad owns it but lives in a different province so I can do pretty much whatever the fuck I want *insert snotty attitude here*.  We painted/customised every room except for the shitty bathroom so far because the previous tenants smoked inside for 6 years and the walls were shit.  It was haggard beyond beleif.  We even replaced the carpet in my old bedroom and by we I mean of course the boy did it.
My friend and I also put on punk shows in my basement and bands from all over the vast country of Canada have played here (www.myspace.com/vernondungeon) and it's my love.  And this is me narcissistically showing it all off.

Hmm now.. where to start...


This is the view to the left when you're sittin' on tha front porch.  Right across from the soothing sounds of a train yard.


The view to the right.  I live on the same property as a mechanic and next to a tow truck company.


The lush exterior of the front porch which is really the side porch...  that's the cleanest it's ever been!


Chillin' on the front steps.  Note the log stumps.  We have a wood burning furnance and before the ex moved out we loaded up a lifetime supply of wood.  They are now "patio furniture" which works since I don't have to worry about them getting destroyed by drunk kids, like everything else has.


Speaking of which... just some of my friends chillin' outside before a show.  Oh yeah, we painted the outside trim that bright green, it used to be poo dark green.


Same friends+another rommate at a previous show.  Yes, 4 people can accumulate that much garbage, it was disgusting and will never, ever happen again.  That "bench" is also gone because it was a little too ghetto for me.  It now has "sitting area for n00bs" written on it.


Main entrance welcome signs

It's a box of a house, there aren't any hallways, the living room is semi divided into two rooms with a bedroom off of each one.  The third bedroom is off the kitchen as is the bathroom.


The part of the small living room where I make magic.  This paint colour is Debbie Travis' "Angry Lemon Yellow".  I think we picked it mainly because of its name.


The other small part where my magic materials are stored


Small area where I waste many a wee hour of the morning


My roomate's old couches and the coffee table we reconstructed from a pot-plant-growing table the last tenants left over.


A closeup of the decorations.. most of the posters are from our shows or ones I went to when I was touring with my friends' band this summer.


Technically, the front door and the entrance to my bedroom.  The last tenants left that wicker thing too and I've been meaning to spraypaint it ever since I moved in....


They also painted this room so we didn't touch it because painting 5 other ones was enough.  It was our computer room but is now my bedroom and I've slept there twice in the last two months...

Onward to the kitchen!


For some reason we have a brand new stove and it's very out of place.  I also drink a lot of Tab.  And I rarely listen to HIM anymore but Ville is officially the Kitchen God (a feng shui thing) so I can't remove him now.


The top half of my fridge.  The things with the red arrows were stencilled.  Everything else is a collection from friends/travellers/drunk people/sober me.  I cover up the crappy stuff my ex put on there.


Full Frontal Fridge Action!


Kitchen Cupboard Closeup!  Yeaahhhh never got around to finishing that because it was a pain in the arse to do each letter individually.


My roommate was in the process of moving out so mind the mess.  I'm super short and those cupboards are really freakin' tall so I only use the bottom shelves...


This would be where I would eat if I still cooked food.  I sorta had a toy dinosaur theme going on on the windowsill but the cat knocked a bunch of them down.


That's my favorite one.


Bitchin' shower curtain!


There are no walls... we ripped out the linoleum/shitty whatever the hell it was on the walls and just like me, the ex was never good at finishing projects so it's just chillin' like that for now and probably forever.  It's only behind the toilet and partially on the wall in front of it.


What a scenic view from my bathroom window!


This was my old bedroom but the colour started to bug me and it was too weird to stay there after the ex moved out.  I wish I had some pictures of the leopard print wall paper border, you can kinda see it on the corner of the walls.


My roommate would kill me if I showed the face he was making in this one... it used to be his room until my most recent roommate took over and decorated it as seen in the previous picture.


For some reason this bedroom is right in the middle of the house which I always found odd... it's my favorite colour of them all.  It has now turned into a guest room/movie watching lounge.


The cloest has a door on each side!  The other one leads to the living room (of course) and it's like a secret little passageway!

And lastly, the basement.






We can get up to 100 people coming in/out of there, I want to decorate it more but it'll probably be a futile project.

AAAND my selfish time is over.. ..
.. now.