im addicted to making these lined zippered bags that i found on this thread on craftster. i made them with all the scrap material in our house. zippers are really cheap and easy to "ninja," so they're virtually cost-free. also it's a great way to get used to zippers and the zipper foot. they're so easy!

also, i bought some great fabric from purlsoho. it was expensive but worth it.

i havent been doing too much sewing lately but yesterday i did hem a shirt-dress i got at good will. i also tacked the sleeves. it's a lot cuter now.

magnolia bakery cupcakes.



Will and i made cupcakes from the magnolia bakery recipe. they turned out delicious. they're pretty buttery and dense, but still taste light. it's hard to explain. i guess you'll have to make them to see.

i got the recipe from the 52 cupcakes blog

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line 2 muffin pans of 12 muffin spots each with cupcake liners. whatever they're called. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. In a small bowl combine both flours.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
4. Add the sugar gradually and beat for 3 minutes or until fluffy. (will did this because he's really good at mixing. he has good arms because his car has manual steering)
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla.
7. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overmix.
8. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 full.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
10. Cool the cupcakes in the tin for 15 minutes.
11. Remove cakes from the tins and cool on a wire rack before icing.

for the icing,

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
6-8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add in 4 cups sugar, then the milk and vanilla. On
medium speed of an electric mixer, beat about 3-5 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
2. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well (about 2 minutes) after each
addition, until the icing is thick enough for good spreading consistency (you may not need all
of the sugar. we used about 6.5 cups total).

we frosted ours pink and blue and just spread on. you could pipe the frosting from a pasty bag for the swirly look.

These are all presents i've given my boyfriend:

I. I went through a softie phase and here is what came of it:

a.
this is an ankylosaurus stuffed animal i made in about an hour and a half without a pattern. it is very crude but cute in its crudeness.

b.
this is an elephant i made with a supremellllly complicated pattern. im not the greatest sewer so he didnt turn out perfectly, but he's cute nonetheless. he's bigger than i thought he'd be. he took about 5 hours total and i worked on him on and off.

c.
here is ankylosaurus #2. he was made by embroidering an image and then sewing pillow-style. i wish i had used a thicker thread, but i do like how he came out. the sewing was a breeze but i rushed it. the embroidery took long but was worth it. id say it took about 4 hours on and off.

II. He loves Haruki Murakami, a Japanese author (Kafka on the Shore, Norwegian Wood, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle) so i made a triple layer stencil. i really like how it turned out.


ive been addicted to embroidery. it's so relaxing and rewarding. i love how things come out when they're done with thread. im thinking about doing one and then framing it for my dad for father's day. i think ill do one of a california craft bungalow because he loves architecture and that's one of his favorite types of houses. he also likes chairs, oddly enough. and jay-z. i have a weird dad.

sorry for the long wait! i dont know if i have any readers but i do know that i should post in this more frequently.

it's been so long! i havent been crafting as much as i should but ive done a few things.

but this update is about other crafty people in my life.

firstly, my new (and fucking awesome) boyfriend will made 2 adorable easter eggs.


this is a squirrel easter egg (it's my favorite animal)

this is an audi egg he made for my mother.

he also drew me a squirrelysaurus, a hybrid ankylosaurus-squirrel:

it reminds me of the art in the royal tenenbaums. i love art like that. with a handwritten pencil title complete with a period at the end.

and for those of you who wonder where my crafty impulses come from, meet my mother, the crafting queen. she used to be really into making things for my class when i was little, but when she went back to work she had less and less time. lately she's been sewing again. she sews me a new lunch bag every monday, wednesday, and friday. i kid you not.

a pile of some of them

a few of my favorites.

my computer is fixed! yay!

so lately my crafting has been limited, but here's what i have.


i worked on a scrapbook for a friend, and i really liked this page so i thought i'd share. it's just a sorta messy page with artifacts from our relationship - a ticket stub, a sticker, pieces of letters, etc. lately ive been liking this exercise - mapped out compilations of things - or junk to some people - with hand-written explanations.

ive also been working on an "art journal." it is essentially a written and visual medium to journal or list, and it's fun to write whatever is on my mind or give myself an activity. here is a picture of a page, i tried to make it blurry but if you work really hard you can read what it says.



tons of buttons! im thinking of putting them in sets of three and selling them. anyone interested?


and finally, the screened shirt (please excuse my polka dotted bra):

would people be interested in purchasing one? id probably sell them for 15$. but i dont know. i might need to retire the screen. let me know please!

i think im going to get some stickers screened to promote this site.

my computer broke. well, i broke it. i dont want to get into the details, ill feel stupid again. but because of this it's hard to upload photos. i need to get a usb flash drive to do this, and i will soon, but i predict posting will be slow. ive been making a ton of new button batches, embroidering some more (monagrams and hopefully a new photobanner for the site), and i gocco-screening some shirts. Im thinking about selling them, im really digging them. ill post up pictures soon. it has the name MILKFISH printed on it, because that's my new design alias.

you should probably buy a shirt because i need the $$, and you'll just love to wear it.

so take care loyal blog readers, if youre out there.

my camera got lost in the woods and miz found it and i had to walk down the steep hill and i wasnt about to walk back up it in my condition soooo

there can be no picture posts at the present time.