self portrait thursday 1/31/08

self portrait thursday 1/31/08, originally uploaded by laurensmashtoys.

Did I tell you how cold it is here? I am going nuts. I have to wear a scarf like almost 24 hours a day. It is ridiculous :D Well, its not *that* cold, just like 10 degrees or something. I miss my 50 degrees! I seriously was outside yesterday and felt like my skin had frostbite in like 10 seconds! Crazy.

I did get to sew like crazy yesterday, and for some reason I was all about the squirrels. I ended up with 3 squirrel pouches and 2 squirrel plush. I sewed so much that I even made myself a bag out of that fancy woodgrain fabric from before. It always rocks when I get so much done I feel like I even deserve something as a prize! It is awesome.

I am totally going to see Juno this afternoon by myself. I think it will be fun for me. I talked to Ryan, he moved into his new place yesterday. He said Baby is doing good. I miss her so much. She is really the best dog ever. Just writing about her is making me super sad. I have some stuff to send her to her new house. I hope she likes it. She was always there for me when I was bummed out. I think she will be good, she is pretty adaptable. I mean, she did so great moving across the country and all, she could probably take on anything.

I think today will be more sewing, I have to go and get some more muslin from the fabric store. I should probably pick up some more thread, I have been going through so much.

P.S. I delivered the Lions to Sydney and Quinn and they went over pretty awesomely. That is why I sew toys for sure. Sydney said "I wanted that!" I was like "great, that is why I made it" then she took care of it for the rest of the afternoon. It made me feel pretty wonderful!

I need that song, those trusty chords to pull me through...

productivity makes me smile, originally uploaded by laurensmashtoys.

oh dear, the sunshine is out today and I feel my mood lift a lot. I love that. It is amazing how much the sun affects your mood! For me it is a lot at least, when I was in California there was so much of it, I had almost forgot there were places where you get almost none! Of course my mood could have something to do with margaritas and enchiladas, but who knows... :D

I did get a few things sewn up yesterday, a periwinkle lion for my little friend Quinn and a white lion in heart pants for my shop! And even a little puppy dog pouch which I love.

The plans for today include a ton more sewing, some lion delivering and hopefully a bunch of fun. Maybe I will make some sort of cake. I like cake :D

I'm Barely Breathing...

Lion for shop, originally uploaded by laurensmashtoys.

ah. A tough day for Lauren Smash! I am being a busy bee and keeping myself occupied sewing a bunch. That is the good part of the day. I worked a little bit on getting a job and I finally got my resume emailed to me which was super helpful and great.

But for some reason, today is just a downer for me. :( I am feeling really creative lately but a bit sad and such. I am trying hard to work through it. Don't tell anyone but I miss California a little. Mostly this weather is getting me down. Don't get me wrong, this is where I want to be and am happy to be here but just a little down today. I am also looking forward to getting a job, I really like to work. I think that I am gonna have a few of those days still ahead of me. I will have to chug through and sew my way out of it I think!! :D

I am really loving my lions, they are so fun to make! I have another little design that I am working on which is super fun and I can't wait to show you! More pouches and totes are on their way too!

I am going to make enchiladas tonight for dinner. I have the morningstar meat free chicken strips and I really like those so I think its gonna be good.

I think I might go and see Juno tonight. I really want to see that movie so bad, I don't think I can wait much longer. :D

New designs and marathon sewing

Sydney's lion, originally uploaded by laurensmashtoys.

I am really loving on my sewing machine lately. It is so good for me and is making my days feel pretty good. I think I told you that Sydney, my friend's daughter has requested a lion from me. This is version 2. :D I really like how it came out and I really like the faux fur. It is a soft pink and looks good with almost every color so far. I chose not to make the fur go all the way around, it just looked better to me. So I am pretty happy that I have finished my first new design since I have been back. There are a few more in the design mode. I am glad the struggle to make the things that make me the happiest is starting to ease up. I hate how that happens. Life is crazy.

I will say it is being made easier to not fall into the trap of doing nothing by my mom! I was so thrilled when I came home and she was sewing!!! She had received a sewing machine about a year ago and didn't take it out of the box until just recently but she has been sewing a lot and that makes me feel good. She is also doing a lot of embroidery and I hope she will teach me how.

Today will be some sewing, some job applying for and some thread buying(I used a whole spool of my mom's so I have to get her some too) and actually I think some apple muffin making cause I am really wanting some right now. I think that is what I am going to do right now :D

I am feeling good about this week.

Self Portrait Thursday 1/24/07

Self Portrait Thursday 1/24/07, originally uploaded by laurensmashtoys.

A tiny setback with the past couple of days, I have been feeling pretty sickly, which sucks. My stomach has been feeling weird, the only thing to make me feel better was a burrito.(and some soup and gingerale, but that is a different story) And let me tell you, finding a good vegetarian burrito in Ohio is not easy so far! It seems the residents of this state do not like black beans. I couldn't believe it when a super yummy burrito came from Chipotle! At least now I know...

I can't wait to make the next thing up on my list. A request from my dear best friend baby edition, Sydney. She has requested a lion for herself and her brother. Who am I to say no to that?! I have some cute ideas down on paper, I wish I had my scanner. I will have to figure out my mom's.

Tomorrow I am going to se the play Avenue Q! I can't wait, I just hope I have something to wear! It is supposed to be an adult sesame street. It should be fun and I am super excited.

Yay!!

I made this all yesterday, originally uploaded by laurensmashtoys.

I have been having a hard time with sewing since I have been back. Yesterday I had a burst of creativity. It felt really good to sit and sew and listen to music.

Today, I am working on a new design, inspired by my best friend's daughter demanding something from me. She is so funny.

I hope all is well for everyone, I think I will be around here a lot more, especially since I finally found my camera cord which I had been missing for awhile.

Easing back into life in the Coldest place ever...

:D So, I am back, a little bit settled and ready to rock! I have taken this week to kind of chill out and relax before finding a job and getting back to normal life. I have been spending my time with the people I think are most important right now for me :D Yes that means you.

I have had the good fortune to do something I have been excited about for a long time, hanging out with Missy's kids!

That is me and my very best friend hanging out and crafting today! She made me this book mark:



I even had to kiss the frog on it. She is so funny. She did even up giving me an awesome comb sticker to put on my hand so I could be "extra sparkly and pretty" I wore it all day! :D

And no trip to Missy's would be complete without some time with my new little boyfriend!

We made this collaboration, I drew the girly and he made her pretty!



Don't we make a great team?!

All in all, it was an awesome day today. I took a little nap in the morning, I spent some time with my peeps, I got a hair cut, I organized some of my stuff. I am hoping so much that tomorrow I can finish my cute valentines day goodies for my shop and get them listed!

I am going to leave you with a picture of Missy and a bunch of money. Ok, its really just $20, but she looked like a rapper.

Don't mess with this guy, or the lady in the background...

Don't mess with this guy, or the lady in the background..., originally uploaded by laurensmashtoys.

Hey kids! I am back! I am safe and sound and smiling in Ohio! More later...

oh, and if you want to read some cute stuff about my trip, check out The Overnighter my best friend's blog, she came with me!

Don't forget to forget you forgot me

cause when I show up at your door, I'm gonna remember that you were my friend, and fall asleep on your floor...

ahhh I am leaving the day after tomorrow. wow. :D Hopefully I will have something interesting to blog about soon, right now it is all:

pack pack pack
clean clean clean
buy stuff and do stuff for my trip
worry, wonder, daydream

sounds pretty exciting, huh?

Have a very productive day guys!

Straight up on a Mission

On a mission, originally uploaded by laurensmashtoys.

oh my goodness, I only have like 2 more days to get ready to move. I am straight running out of time for sure. Today I got all sorts of stuff done.

I have a long way to go though...

I got my triptik and packed some, cleaned a bunch. I am super boring right now.

I had some valentines motivation for my shop, but all my fabric is packed, it will have to wait until next week.

I feel a million times less sick than I did yesterday which rules. I didn't want to be sick driving across the country.

I like not having a job, well for a little bit anyways. I actually had motivation to do so much today!!

Last night I watched Meet the Robinsons, that animated disney movie. It was so funny. I loved it. :D

well, more cleaning and packing for me!

amazingly amazing

this is my sewing machine, originally uploaded by laurensmashtoys.

this is my sewing machine. It is not the best but it works well for me and I love it. I love the MyPaperCrane sticker. It is on the top, the little girl. It is my favorite thing. I took this picture cause I did an interview with Megan from the Etsy Plush Team and she wanted pics of my work area. So I cleaned it up and made it look like I am not as messy as I am. It still looks cluttery to me. Hopefully when I move and get my own place I will have more room to set up a proper studio and my stuff won't be shoved into such a small area. I need more storage stuff too.

Today is shaping up to be pretty good. Lots of cleaning and organizing for my move. I have a lot of stuff. I am going to throw a bunch of stuff away. It will be good for me to get rid of some of it.

I guess Missy and I are gonna go to Las Vegas on our trip back to Ohio. That is pretty exciting I think. I am gonna win like $20 or something :D

Sundays are sort of depressing. I am listening to Bad Religion but I would rather be listening to the Lawrence Arms. I want to sew but I think it would not be the best idea. I should be packing more. I am feeling pretty sick though so I am being lame. I would really like a nap today.

This week is going to be so full of stuff, I hope I don't procrastinate as much as I know I am going to want to.

I know it's dark here, you know that I'm scared too

For some reason right now, of everything but you
Right now you're all that I recognize

Last night was fun, I had some time to kill after work before I went home, so I went to the bookstore and picked up the second book in the His Dark Materials series, which are the books that the Golden Compass comes from. The book I bought is called The Subtle Knife. So far its pretty awesome. After reading the lord of the flies and hating it, I was pretty determined to buy something I was going to enjoy. I really liked the Golden Compass, it was really entertaining. The Subtle Knife is turning out to be even better. It sort of reminds me of a book that Stephen King collaborated on with Peter Straub called The Talisman. It has a kid as the main character going between worlds on a journey. That is a super good read for me. There are some books that after reading I say damn I wish I could erase that from my brain and read it over. That book is one of them. So, anyways, I read a bunch in the Subtle Knife, and had coffee and waited.

When I finally got home, I didn't feel like eating so I picked up my yarn and my needles and knitted and purled a little. I then picked up stitch and bitch and read a bunch in that. I was going to try and learn to bind off but I was distracted by my growling tummy and put that down to try some more tonight. After dinner, I picked up the Subtle Knife again and read some more.

Then I got bored of that and made this bunny:



All in all, I feel good about last night. This weekend is going to be filled with organizing and packing and over all getting things ready for my trip next Thursday.

It is also my last day of work which rules. :D

It is also a crazy downpour in San Francisco and from walking to work from the train today, I am soaking wet up to my mid thigh! Crazy. Soon I will be frozen and snowed in. I can't wait. :D

I'm just trying to relax as the killer's waiting right outside my door

Oh goodness. Why do some people try their hardest to make your life way harder right before you are done with something? I am done with my job tomorrow and there is one person who drives me insane. I hate it. I am glad I only have one day left.

Anyways. Enough about that. I can't let it annoy me cause for sure I have good things ahead of me. Looking forward is the only thing keeping me from going home right now. I got to work some last night. I really am trying to learn how to knit. I swear. I sit with the book and try my hardest to focus, but it is hard for me. I usually end up screaming and comforting myself with my sewing machine. I got this elephant done, and it made me feel better.



I really need to work on some presents. I keep saying that but I am leaving a week from today and I am going to have nothing for anyone. Oh well. Tonight I have to wait till 7 to go home. Im gonna go to the bookstore and get a book I think. Something better than Lord of the flies. Other than that, some sewing and whatever.

Can you tell I am super mad right now?

The countdown continues...

I am going to try and stay away from telling you every day how close to leaving I am. I am very excited though so you can imagine that is what is mostly on my mind right now...

I am trying to keep focused, at work(I am still working today through friday)and also at home, sewing and cooking and all of that. It is hard though. I keep daydreaming about what it is going to be like!

Yesterday was fun, I worked on this little elephant in pants:



He is wearing courderoy pants because I love sewing courderoy pants for toys. I don't know why.

I also got to work on my first Boy koala, He is wearing some fun robot pants.



I wish I would have bought more of this fabric. But I know if I bought as much fabric as I wanted of all the fabric I really like, I would drown in a sea of it.

Yesterday Ryan and I also took the dog to go to the Albany waterfront park. I talk about that place a lot. I love that you can crawl all over the rebar and concrete of what seems like a million years past. The problem is, that it is on the San Francisco Bay and since the oil spill the water surrounding it is kind of mucky and gross. Of course my dog decided to jump full force into the gross mud and cover herself in it. I was so grossed out. I didn't even want her in my car but I had to get her home. We ended up giving her a bath and now she at least smells good. I think, I don't have a sense of smell.

I also bought some new c.d.s to make copies of Ryan's music. Today I am going home a little late, Ryan started his winter drawing intensive class. He is going to have 2 weeks of 8 hours a day straight drawing. He really loves that class. Tonight, I am going to work on some toys and start organizing my mess. I need to pack up my supplies and stuff this weekend. Crazy!

New Year, New Blog!

Here I go, moving forward with new stuff! I am totally excited about this new year up ahead, which is weird cause I usually hate January! But this year is different, I have all sorts of fun stuff ahead of me and I can't wait to kick ass at life :D



So it totally looks like I am doing the pledge of alliegence here but maybe it is just a pledge to try my hardest in the upcoming year to work my ass off with my shop and my art, move home to Ohio and create tons of new stuff including opportunities to be happy for myself. I am super excited.

I don't like resolutions cause they totally make me want to break them. But if I were to list a few things I am looking forward to doing in the upcoming year it would be sorta like this:

1. Learning to really knit. I want to make a sweater super bad.
2. Hanging out with my best friend and her kids as much as possible.
3. Improving my sewing skills in any way I can. I want so bad to make a quilt and actually put binding on it.
4. Learn more different craft-y stuff.
5. Meet more crafty people.
6. Spending time with my family!(I am so excited, I miss them so much)
7. Finding some sort of awesome thing in every day.
8. My road trip home and having so much fun with my best friend.
9. Drawing more, maybe buying nice pens and pencils so I am not using a smeary papermate pen to sketch.
10. Traveling. I am totally going to try and do that more this year. Road trips are so much fun for me and I want to see everything. I am stoked to go to Chicago. I really love it there. Maybe I will even make it to the Etsy Labs this year.

Well there is a lot more but that is all I can think of right now.

p.s. you can read my old blog too! www.sanfranciscolauren.blogspot.com