Go number six! Go number six!

Daaamn this has been a busy few weeks! I was doing a decent job of photo documenting all the happenings for future updates (still can't seem to make my blog ever keep up with real life) but then my computer experienced some sort of technical disaster and I lost a month's worth of photographs! How frustrating! Fortunately, the most important thing I wanted to share didn't get lost.

Most important thing = WINNING!

This sentiment may come as a surprise to those of you who know me as a good natured and laid back person. The truth is, I have a wild competitive streak that I no longer even try to hide under an air of dignified calm. I can't stand fighting but I love love love competing. I play Scrabble with narrowed eyes and lip-biting fervor. Nobody shit talks like I do when putting around the mini-golf course. I promise, bringing an irrational level of intensity to these games makes them so much more fun (for me).

I bring this up because I'm currently in the throes of contest-induced passion. I entered The Ready Aim Redesign furniture makeover challenge sponsored by the heartwarming Dwell With Dignity organization. I decided to participate because I'm always dragging junky furniture off the curb and into our garage while promising to fix it up but I needed a contest to motivate me to get it done. The best part is that the top ten finalists were selected by a handful of impressive people like my absolute favorite designer Jonathan Adler and favorite design blogger Grace Bonney of Design Sponge! I know I use exclamation points generously but I really meant that last one.

So, holy crap, I found out that my chair makeover made it to the top ten finalists! Now the winner is decided by popular online vote. I've been checking the vote counter like a spider checks it's web and I'm currently in a three way close running for third place.

This is the part where I ask you for a favor...

If you want to indulge my win-centric nature or maybe vote against me because I once sunk your battleship, please head to the official contest page, click over to the voting area and pick your favorite. My entry is number six.

If you are are not easily moved to vote and want to be convinced that my entry is worth your vote, I'll tell you a little about my chair and why I think it deserves to win. Also, voting is easy and you don't have to sign in or anything.

chair story:

I was walking home from work and saw this bedraggled chair on the side of the road waiting to be picked up on trash day. Despite the fact that it looked like it had been partially devoured by squirrels, I picked it up and carried it home on my back (+1 for being tough).

I gave it a thorough washing, sanded the wood and stripped off what was left of the cushioning and upholstery and gave it multiple coats of bright chartreuse paint. (+1 for color bravery?)

I have a habit of hoarding any upholstery scrap fabric bigger than a dinner plate that my boss is throwing away so I saved three pieces of gray wool for this project. (+2 for trash saves)

I wanted to make the chair as unique as possible to get the judge's attention so I decided to embroider the wool before upholstering the chair with it. I learned how to do french knots and I spent hours creating a barnacle-like pattern with the knots using pale blue thread. (+1 for imparting a tedious process?)

I'm very proud of the way it turned out. I love the lines of the chair and that I got to save a nice sturdy piece of vintage Drexel furniture. Hope you like how it turned out and I double hope you still like me after finding out how competition crazy I can be.

A handful of fine things

Here are five things that I am especially happy about right now.

1. Tomorrow is the grand opening of the Cute Show at the ellO Gallery and I can't wait to see my work on display and meet the other artists. Ah, what to wear?

2. A new machine has debuted that is a self-contained screenprinting device much like the Gocco. It's called the YUDU and looks like it has the potential to satisfy me in some way after I run out of supplies for my beloved Gocco printer. This gives me hope.

3. Etsy and Apartment Therapy have teamed up for a new creative competition called "Do It Now!" which encourages everyone to finally tackle a small household project in a creative way. I have so many ideas for fixing up my place that I never start so I am glad for the little nudge. Actually, the possibility of winning a $250 Etsy shopping spree is kind of a big nudge. I've already begun to spruce up the entryway to our apartment.

4. I am going on a business/fun trip! My old friend Ashley (of Fern Animals) and I are headed to New York City next week for the premire of Handmade Nation and to hear a lecture by Faythe Levine. I can't wait!

5. I finally thought of a concept for my first attempt at zinemaking and, by popular request, it will be overflowing with bunny illustrations.

I'll elaborate on all these super things in other posts but I just felt like bursting and wanted to share. Let me know what you're especially overjoyed about and help keep this glee-bubble intact!

Marceline's zine challenge

Earlier this month, Marceline of Asking For Trouble made a post in her blog that initiated a challenge to her readers to create their own zine. Marceline is a self-proclaimed "zine evangelist" and has been creating zines for a good long time. In her post, she made her challenge especially pointed at four makers who she would really like to see create their own zine and I was one of those she selected.

When I read her post, I immediately busted out my finest Mufasa interpretation and roared "Is that a challenge?!" at my monitor. Then, I accepted her call with pride and determination because I've always been tempted to try.

So far, I have sketched a few ideas but I am finding this task to be more arduous than expected. I'm not an avid zine-reader so I feel a bit lost. Thinking of a topic or theme seems to be the hardest part. I suspect I need to read a few more zines for inspiration so I'll be more familiar with the genre. I love this kind of research and required reading suggestions are more than welcome! I'd also love a few ideas for what to make my first zine about. So far, my only concepts are a tribute to french toast with techniques and recipe ideas and another about really absurd tips for having a happy relationship with your bunny companions with lots of illustrations of rabbits wearing romaine-leaf capes. So yeah, I need a little help.