Just for Ewe - and eventually me!

It's been a while since I have had the time to make a post. I've simply been very busy between Independent's day Organization, moving into the new studio space and the Columbus Food Truck Fest. Now that two of those 3 things are pretty much done with I find myself picking up other things. These are important things that I hope will be the foundation for my life in the upcoming years. Re-applying for Grad school and working on a business plan for my own yarn store. If you remember in my "Craft Wars" episode I talked about wanting to open a yarn store. It was not a lie to sound meaningful on TV. It is something that I do really plan on doing.

There is this sweet little Yarn Shop up around the lake house called "Just for Ewe". It is a very inspiring place where the yarn is like waterfalls of color through out the store. Not that I want mine to look like that but it's fun to go in there.

They also have Sheep!

And an Alpaca!

The quaint little storefront is set back away from the road in the back lot next to the sheep and alpaca stable. In the front lot is a small craft gift and candy store.

The entire place is just dripping in colors and fibers

There was even a place for the boys to sit down and relax amidst it all.

I've been reading a ton of small business books and contacting potential vendors about price lists and working out the details in my head of going from pop-up to brick in mortar in two years time frame. I feel good that I am well prepared when people ask me the serious business questions that I can give them complete answers without hesitation. A few other business owners have told me I've been doing my research and off to a really good start. The problem is just making that final leap to start this. I have a handful of forms and documents that I need to send out with checks to get this party started.

No War just Outfit of the day!

Today is normally the day I would talk about Craft Wars on TLC and it's new prime time at 8pm eastern but I will do that tomorrow, maybe........ I've watched both last week and this week but I can't even collect my thoughts very well because I have been so busy. I also need to pack for NYC and sort out some more of my plans.

Instead I celebrate the completion of our kitchen with an Outfit of the Day post. Nothing particular exciting except for wearing some snazzy Alexander Wang T shorts I picked up in Chicago months ago.

 Amidst the the new kitchen where we still have days of organizing and putting away of utensils.

I am wearing

RCVA shirt from Milk Bar

Vintage Gnome Necklace from the Upperdeck of Substance

Alexander T Wang Shorts from Chicago

BCBGeneration platform heels

Hello Kitty Glasses from tobi.com (I also saw them all over Santee Alley in LA)

Pale legs courtesy of not enough sun.

This pictures shows the shoes off a bit better and I look kind of mean. I'm ok with looking a little mean. If you noticed the blonde hair it is just temporary till my hair cut and then once I have the bangs I'll know exactly where to put the color in to give myself maximum awesome. Since the show I realized I say the word "awesome" a heck of a lot, I can't help it, I tried, and I failed. I also realize I still need to write my incredible blog post on the things I learned from being on TV.

Just one more day till I am in NYC but my head already feels like it has gone on Vacay!
Do you have any travel plans this weekend? Andy cute digs that make you want to do an Outfit of the Day post for your blog?

Cheers!

Insta-post

Welcome to another Instragram photo laden post. I promise it won't be boring. In fact a bit fascinating. If you follow me on twitter, tumblr or perhaps Facebook some of these pictures may seem familiar. I tell people that with Instagram I can now take pictures to fill my void of status updates on Facebook. I'm not big on facebook, I use it mostly to keep in touch but not to do anything of substance with it aside from my Fashion Design page for Torn Angel.

Ahem let's get on with this post shall we?
Below we have two water colors I was tooling around with, not very impressive but exercises into some things I was thinking about. What was I thinking about? Bruises and wounds per usual.

I took the first swirls and played with embroidery on the paper to outline the colors and I like it well enough but I need to dig deeper and be more bold with my coloring. In terms of medium I do really like this mixture and will continue to explore it.

For the second water color I took a cue from some student work that I saw during their portfolio evaluation. It is amazing what the kiddos can teach us even when we are supposed to be their teachers. I think in art it is always a give and take because sometimes the fresh perspective of a student can bring new inspiration to us art vets. In this case it was playing with the already present lines and colors in the water color and highlighting areas by outlining the pattern. It was fun, not so much my style but gives me some ideas to go along with the embroidery work and working with a larger scale painting and thinner threads.

I just had to share this pretty new necklace I got when I worked the Columbus Food Truck and Cart Fest. It was the vendor's first show and her store is called Poor Sparrow. I love the simple aesthetic she uses and her prices are so affordable! I hope that I see her at Independents Day as a Vendor but only the Jury can decide. I'm also wearing my summer staple which has been an Alison Rose Cat Tank.

While I was in Pittsburgh for a Wedding last weekend the Hubby and I finally got to go check out the Mattress Factory Museum. It was full of surprises and amazing experiences. The above photo was in the corner of their parking lot. It looked like a graveyard of weeping angels to me from Dr. Who, such as below.

This was another fascinating room of mirrors black lights and neon circles. The photo really doesn't even come close to capturing the feeling when you are standing alone in this room. Like I said before most of the charm in the Mattress Factory is experiencing the art for yourself and interacting with it.

Lastly I just had to include this picture to show everyone I am not afraid to sparkle, I am just not a fan of glitter. Give me sequins any day of the week and I am happy to wear them. I had a nice little recap of my Craft Wars viewing party by Jackie Mantey of the Columbus Alive right here.  I also did a Guest Post on Nikki McGonigal's Blog on my Candlestick lights from my episode of Craft Wars, right here!

Craft Wars Episode #4 - Alter or Falter

Hello Friends! So the other night was a little bit exciting eh?
My one hour of craft nightmare on national TV courtesy of TLC's Craft Wars has finally passed.

It was an amazing experience but even better was all the love and support I received from friends worldwide and locally over the show. The theater was sold out with over 120 people in attendance, the overflow they let sit in the lobby bar and put it on the bar TV's. We raised a good amount of money for the Mid Ohio Food Bank and had a great time heckling the entire time.

Now get ready for a doozy of a post. Next week I'll re-cap about things I learned from being on TV, and how surreal it is with the social media that we have today.

For now the Episode.......
We started with the usual pop craft. Our theme was to make a keepsake box using locks and keys. Very cute concept but honestly someone could play with it for days arranging the keys and colors and items from the craft closet. There was so much in there it was hard to keep track of and you only have that one hour to make it. The locks and keys were a huge mix they included things that I hoped I didn't have to deal with which were heavy heavy duty padlocks. It was really tough to work on something for a child when it weighs so much. Also waiting for glue to dry or potentially paint is a fiasco so I totally feel for the all the pop crafters using so much felt. Spray paint would of been my first choice if I had better colors to choose from in the wood shop. I went for the fabric paint purely on color choice and it was a brand I thought I knew and used extensively when I used to teach high school kids summer workshop at CCAD. It obviously failed us miserably with our lace stencil and hopes of a pretty hill. We moved on hurriedly and unfortunately felt was the quick fix *whomp whomp*
I was very adamant about having the inside of our box lined so that when

While working on our own craft furiously we had no idea what was going on with the other crafters so watching the show was the first time I got to see how they were working and what their pressures were. It was also surprising the things I don't remember saying and the things I do remember. Such a whirlwind.

The Judging on the Pop Craft was per usual a bit rough. Also going first did not help the feeling of anxiety. I was evidently torn apart for my lack of color but what could I do? The top was doused with rhinestones but you couldn't see it so well in the show. It might show up better on the still photos when they get posted.  In the end I still moved onto round 2, the Master Craft!

Now this half was really tricky.
We were asked to make a large scale craft to be included in someone's wedding. We had to use the materials given to us.

• Old Jeans
• Baby blankets
• Candlesticks
• Wedding invitations

Very random and not easy to work with. The baby blankets were like the ones they use to cover a newborn baby at the hospital. not very big and not a good material. I had high hopes of making a lacy looking snowflake out of the blankets that just kept looking like a really bad kid's craft, thank god they didn't show that.

The jeans were just that, old in every variety and state of wear you could think of. There were a lot of children sizes and acid wash (I'd like to think that was a throwback to 90210). To work with them well, it was denim so no big mystery. I do it all the time when I have worn out jeans and I don't want to waste the fabric. I was a little sad I didn't bring my own sewing machine on set because she would of been MUCH faster the the Singer machines we had on set. I kind of wanted to scream at the machines for being so slow (I probably should have).

The Wedding invites were the only paper product supplied to us and you would of thought they were super versatile but it was a bit hard to work around the graphics already printed on them. Also the colors of the invitations with the jeans and baby blankets kind of dictated what this wedding projects color scheme would be. TONS OF BLUE! with splashes of pink.

Finally the famed Candlesticks. Those were not even on my radar at all! I think about halfway in I started to play with them and thought it would be fun if I could get the light fixtures to work with them. Lo and behold they fit into the candlesticks perfectly! Then it was all about incorporating them into the overall look.

This entire time I was barely paying attention to what Andrea was doing b/c I was so engulfed in my own project. The helper's we had on set were also fantastic. I was blessed with two men who were not only cute but also both skilled at wood working. My frame went up with hardly any help from me. I drew out the plans, told them the measurements and I bored holes for stringing up the garland afterwards.

It was a very long day since everything is shot at once but watching the show it went quick as a bunny. During the final Judging it was nerve wrecking and I felt like I wanted to cry but only out of exhaustion. I very well would of just collapsed on the floor and laid face down if I didn't care about proper etiquette. Yes there were things I would of done if I had more time but we didn't and this is what I came up with, with my team and Bestie Claire. We worked damn hard and I'm still proud we got it all done. of course it was bland is colors we only had so much choice and well it's a photo booth for a wedding.  I would hope the guests would be the central point of the piece and not what was behind them. Photo booths are meant to enhance and add some levity for pictures.

Things I would of done if I could of hand more time. Clean up the garlands more, done some extra flower accessories on the ground around the bench. There was this large White flower cone I made which at the last second Claire told me looked weird so I hid it. I should of just kept it out to show I  had another piece for the photo  booth but woulda coulda shoulda's won't get me that 10K.

Was I disappointed? Not really. I was on flipping national TV for an hour. I got to go to LA to film this. I had fear reign of a ridiculous amount of craft supplies to make something I always wants to anyways (although I would done other materials and given myself a month to make it). How can someone complain about an amazing life experience such as that? It's just another thing off my large and lively bucket list.

Next up! Getting some celebrity to wear one of my designs on the red carpet for an event.  Ideally the Emmy's or Cannes Film Festival (just saying).

If you would like to see pictures from my DIY wedding last August here is the link from my Feature on Rock N' Roll Bride!

Tonight I'll be on TV!

Finally my episode of Craft Wars will be on TV tonight. I'm filled with anxiety and mirth over what I'll be watching in a theater amongst friends and family as they watch the same time as me what will be playing nationwide! There is WiFi so I hope to also be Live Tweeting as I watch but we shall see how I keep up.

Anne Evans of Columbus Underground did a great write up about it here!


There are things I don't even remember saying in the Promo Video and I am sure there will be many more things when we watch the episode, such as "That's AWESOME" ~sigh~


My assistant on the show and local Bestie Claire and I are hosting a Viewing Party at the Gateway Film Center on OSU campus tonight. It will be open to the public asking for donations for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. Doors open at 9:30pm and show starts at 10pm eastern.

We've even made some special buttons for the event!

CHEERS!

Craft wars Episode 3

Last night was another anxiety filled round of Craft Wars. I know it feels like that is all that is going on my blog right now but I have many things in the works. Just that darn kitchen impeding my studio space and starting up my Hell month of having triple jobs keeps me off the blog more then I would like.  Bear with me and we will still have a good time with DIY demos, tutorials and OTD's on the way!

Last night was my first time being involved in a livetweet! Which was an experience all on it's own. I thought I would be good on my phone and kindle fire but the responses were blowing up the entire time so i had to break out the laptop. Commercial breaks were like a well needed breather.
Once again three very different crafters from all sorts of backgrounds were pitted against each other in a toy and pet themed craft off.


Of course the Cute Asian girl Amy Ng with her foxy scarf was my favorite of the show. There was the castle builder Brad, which I thought would be some tough as nails competition and then the glitter loving Pam.

Their first challenge was to construct a toy box using toys. Very cute and clever for a challenge. The judges were ruthless in their critiques on construction and misuse of materials. Amy was pretty much a shoe in with her clever little box turning it into a monster game to feed the toys to. Robby the Robot was getting some tough love from the elements when he toppled over and I thought for sure that Pam would be a goner and not have the time for repairs. Whilst Brad just kept plugging along proud of his work.


Personally when I think of toy box I think of a chest or that rad Euro Techno group ToyBox which is probably what would of been going through my head if I had this challenge.




Anyways! The winners were Robby the Robot box and Amy's Monster Box. The Judges were harsh in their critiques how they worried about Kids getting into the glitter and the clean up afterwards on poor robo Robby. While Amy did not escape scorn either for using felt everywhere because let's face it kids are sticky and fabric on toys unless it's a stuffed animal are not a good combination. Another problem is that you can't just stick a felt box in the wash to get it clean. I was not too surprised about Brad going home with his tent box. It was a cute idea but not very well executed and I think he should of stayed with materials her knows better and castle it up! I was sad to see him go of course because knowing that the master craft was huge he could of made an amazing Cat Castle that my three lovelies would of pounced on. Here is the last Video from TLC

 

The Master Craft was creating a pet house out of pet toys. Pam and Amy did not disappoint in size and both of them had strong beginnings. I was surprised by how much more work they had to do in their last hour. The fabric that Amy used for her bottom floor wall paper was super cute but her second floor was lacking in decor and the use of her materials was too literal. I would of taken the food bowls and made decorative mirrors on the inside and used the stuffed toy dog bones to create the flooring in the upper cat area instead of just a cat bed. This is supposed to be luxury right? What cat wouldn't love an entire squishy furry floor for them to knead and roll on?  Pam's aesthetic wasn't my taste but the craftmanship was there for sure. I think Glitter all over the walls was a bit much because just like the kids the animals will get that on them one way or another. From experience I know what it is like to clean up some glitter/sparkle poop out of the litter box.

At the end of the this episode I got to see my promo commercial! But I was on the phone having a quick festival recap meeting for Friday's Food Truck and Cart Fest.

What would you do differently if given these challenges?

Craft Wars Episode #2

Did you get a chance to see the latest Craft Wars?
I know it was a super busy day being the night before the Fourth of July holiday and at least in my neck of the woods we were out and about to see Red White and Boom on our bikes.

Thankfully a friend has it DVR'd so we saw it the day after. The line up for competition was certainly a mixed bag with a strongly proclaimed crafter, a welding artist and Vintage re-vamp decorator.

It was great to see a guy involved on the show and another younger person that I felt I could connect with. It also helped to break up some of the misconceptions of what and who a crafter is.

The pressure of the Pop Craft was definitely felt as they were asked to make a bird house that was functional and meant to be outside. I felt like the Judges comments were pretty dead one.  I did not really agree with keeping that woman Michaela, I think the competition would of been much more intense with Mandi versus Kevin.  Kevin had a great a innovative birdhouse design but the foam core was a very poor choice.  I completely understand why he did it, with only an hour of time you feel the pressure about trying to get the wood cut and still have time to put it all together.

If I was doing that challenge I most likely would of taken apart the junk drawer itself to use as wood for my birdhouse or tried to get a ready made box and cover it with the wood. I would of also used the rubber brands stretched out as covering for the roof of my house to give it some color and a little bit of shingle feel while water proofing the top. My house would of been for a magpie, covered in just the shiny bits like the keys, bottle cap tops, coins with several different perches around it.

The Master Craft of making patio furniture was a lot of work to put into just 5 hours. I'm not even entirely sure what I would of done in that time. The bar seemed to be necessary with bar stools seemed simple enough. Kevin definitely played up his welding skills which I thought were fantastic. I was very skeptic of the boogie board chaise he was putting together but the finished project turned out pretty well. I think my favorite thing of his was the deflated beach ball tray. I thought that was clever and a great little addition. I was also very fond of the way he got everything to coordinate together such as the drop lights, the stool covers and that amazing skimmer board bar top. His whole project just felt complete. Aside for the missing storage the judges pointed out. I think the storage would of been an easily forgivable things considering how good it all looked. Personally I don't worry about storage because you can always find some milk crates someplace and cover them in or if they are behind the bar no one is going to see them but you.

As for Michaela's I just didn't really like much of what I saw was going on. I felt that wave table was a bit of an eyesore and all her pieces seemed to be mismatched from each other. There were some cute ideas and concepts but the execution just wasn't all there.

I applaud Kevin for his Victory but still wish I could of seen more of Mandi's Skillz.
She had a great blog post about her defeat on her blog here!

Craft Wars

Hello!
So if you recall I had a super secret project that I was working on and was in LA earlier this year. Well the cat is now out of the bag!

I am a contestant on the amazing new TLC show Craft Wars! It had it's premiere this past Tuesday and will continue to air Tuesday nights 10pm Eastern on TLC.

You can see the video here where I am scurrying around with wood in my arms and making faces.


It is super exciting and almost dreamlike to have the opportunity to meet some amazing people who share the love of crafting and be a part of the first season of this new series! It is still surreal to see my face on TV for the current Promo's. I also got to meet Tori Spelling, Stephen Brown (Glitterville), Erica Domesk (P.S. I made this), and Jo Pearson (Micheals Craft Store)

Of course I can't ruin the suspense so you will all just have to stay tuned to see when my episode airs as well as what happens. In the meantime I'll be live Tweeting as I watch my fellow crafter's episodes air and I invite you to join in on the fun using #craftwars when you tweet at me "torn_angel". I'll do my best to give you a little blog write up the day after to get some more in depth opinions on the challenges the crafter's face!

Cheers!