baby-ushka

baby-ushka, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

BF babyushka insisted I strap ice to his head because he had "a concussion" from hitting his head while exiting his car.

Illustration Friday- "climbing"

I experimented with some textures in photoshop for this week's Illustration Friday topic "Climbing".

Saturday morning cartoon warning:

Exposure to Power Rangers Jungle Fury may lead 33-year-old men to suddenly drop kick you while you have your back turned. Aforementioned 33-year-old man has yet to feel the forthcoming fury of my foot upon his a$$. It is definitely on its way though.

best/worst idea of the week

A few days ago Sal had the idea to funnel in half a jar of Ovaltine into a gallon of milk. At the time we were thinking, "Wow, why haven't we thought of this before!" and proceeded to high-five each other. Our 10 year old boy brains hadn't processed if we would actual want to consume a gallon of chocolate milk. It is four, five, six mochaccinos later and I'm thinkin' it was a very bad idea.

my precious.

I'm not enjoying this getting older thing. I've been spending a lot of time lately looking for stuff I misplaced. I spent a good half hour the other day looking for my precious yellow comb. I don't have any other hair maintenance utensils so it was essential that I find it. Out of desperation I had to use a bamboo fork to comb my long wet hair. Do you know how long it takes to comb your hair with a bamboo fork? Too long.

Timmie 181

Timmie 181, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

Timmie 181

Timmie 181, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

Timmies 178-182 in the shop tomorrow!

Timmies 178-182, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

Here's my Valentine For Fred Flare's Fundraiser-

Fred Flare will be putting them up for sale at the end of January with all proceeds going to Elder Craftsmen. Smooches.

Timmie shop update 1.17.09

Timmie shop update 1.17.09, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

The next shop update will be this Saturday at noon EST. I will be adding about 5 Timmies and some Timmie gear sold separately - cloaks, capes, and hats.

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Cardboard from the blog Design Boner.

I think this is the 3rd or 4th time I've been tagged so please excuse any redundancies in my answers.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.
2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they've been tagged.

__________________________________________________________________________

1. I have a fake tooth.

2. I don't wear shorts ever.

3. I generally dislike figurines, unless they are designed by someone like Yoshitomo Nara.

4. I have a mild addiction to art & craft supplies.

5. I don't understand why printer ink is so damn expensive.

6. I have a weird European accent even though I was born in the U. S.

7. I never take baths, only showers.

---------------------------------------------------------------

I lightly tag (no obligation): Sal, Kensuke, Liz , Sarah, Amy, Linda, and Kyle.

Tip of the Day

Do not attempt to sing the high pitched song Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees on the American Idol video game unless you:

A) are a professional singer
or
B) are a dude who just got kicked in the nuts

I think I ruptured some innocent cochleas in "singing" this song at a recent holiday party.

Phase 4 - a.k.a the "Iguana Phase".

Here is a quick sketch of phase 4 of the LET ME JUST PUT SOME (retinoic) ACID ON MY FACE EXPERIMENT. My skin is almost back to normal except for my forehead which is still shedding. I plan on re-entering society tomorrow. Do not be alarmed if you see an iguana lady waiting behind you at the post office, it is just me.

NEW | PBJ Note Pad

Made to order. Now available in my shop!

Fred Flare's valentines for charity

Help Fred Flare raise money for a good cause by creating handmade valentines! Send in your handmade valentine before January 15th to FF's Brooklyn location. All proceeds benefit Elder Craftsmen, an organization based in NYC that brings craft workshops to local senior citizens.

Fun and for a good cause? I'm on it!

You can find all the info HERE.

umm...

avocado-head, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

I tried out some new moisturizer *ahem* anti-wrinkle *ahem* cream *ahem*. Ya know, as a preventative measure, and my skin turned the texture of an avocado!!!! On the bottle it says, "some irritation might occur", but I have no way of telling if this is normal. I haven't used the cream in 2 days. If I had a wrinkle in between my eyes, it is now gone, but I am too horror movie-ish to leave the apt in my current state.

Do you think:
A) Don't worry it will go away.
or
B) Panic and call my non-existent attorney.

2008 Blogged Year in Review!

January:

1. Made a tape dispenser out of recycled wood with my dad.

2. Realized that there was formaldehyde in my shampoo, and figured that it can't be good for you.

3. Made a chalkboard from an old painting (masonite, black paint, gesso, and some acrylic gloss). Wrote inspirational messages to myself on aforementioned board.

4. Made some rice pudding out of leftover white rice from Chinese take-out.

5. Rented a bunch of Pippi Longstocking DVDs and gushed over my hero.

6. Hit my finger with a wooden mallet.

7. My PB&J card was featured on Etsy's The Storque.

8. Purchased a giant wooden button, which I still haven't had the guts to use yet.

9. Purchased a tea infuser shaped like a house.

10. Went to see Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein perform at a comedy club. While we were there, Sal's car got towed away. This was my first visit to the pound. While I was there I got cursed at by a stranger, and watched Sal shell out $300 for a simple mistake.

February:

1. Went to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA for my birthday.

2. Finished working on the website for the book Horton Hears a Who!

3. Started a rubber band ball out of the rubber bands my postman leaves in my mailbox.

4. Added Timmies #131-135 into the shop.

5. Did an interview with Flashfilm.com

6. Celebrated Leap Day by photographing Timmie leaping over bananas in my kitchen.

March:

1. Battled dust bunnies and cord clutter behind my desk. The dust bunny battle has subsided a bit, and I cut down on a lot of cord clutter by investing in a wireless mouse and keyboard (and plenty of rechargeable batteries from Ikea).

2. Had an enjoyable banking experience.

3. Purchased some Friends With You USB flash drives from Mimomot. This really came in handy after my 10 year old PC decided to implode. R.I.P. giant old Dell that I got free from work.

4. Realized that I am borderline obese yet continue to eat fudgy bars.

5. Was saddened to hear that my friend got ripped off my an online art scam. Please be careful kids!!

6. Started the Timmie in hats collection!

7. Discovered grape juice with whole grapes inside of them and cookies filled with chocolate via a Korean friend.

8. Had a horrible bagel and coffee in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Made up for it with my favorite red velvet cupcake from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

9. Saw a cross shaped glow from the moon. Had my science writer friend explain to me that it was just a refraction of light, and that I did not just have a religious experience.

10. Experienced some peepin' doves. I think they are peepin' into someone else's window now because I haven't seen them back. Maybe they moved to Florida or Staten Island with all the other Brooklynites.

11. Went to a maple and honey farm in upstate NY. Yumsy fun.

April:

1. Was shown the way to the crack, crack, crack song AKA the egg song. Which I just noticed the link I originally posted has been disabled. Booo. Here's another link.

2. I debuted the Parachuting Owl t-shirt.

3. Made a tote out of a tank top.

4. Purchased some stationery inspired ceramic plates from Fishs Eddy. Which I now see are on sale. Arrgh.

5. Noticed that my boyfriend looked like the suspected terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, so I gave him a makeover.

6. The Fuzzy Bunny organic cotton shopping tote entered the shop.

7. Watched the movie Juno on DVD, and downloaded the soundtrack from iTunes shortly thereafter.

8. Purchased a smile tumbler handmade by Ryoko, that I wasn't able to get a decent pic of, but you can find it here.

9. Completed a website for Dr. Seuss' The Lorax.

10. Declared that the XXX flavor of Vitamin Water was the best. I have moved away from VW somewhat onto some electrolyte water, cause God knows I don't need any extra calories in my diet.

11. Made a bunny head wallet, which was a labor of love.

May:

1. Had my first 50% off sale of the year.

2. Illustrated a seedy bagel.

3. Made some more Timmies w/ accessories for the shop.

4. Found a dead naked Barbie floating near a gutter. So sad.

5. Came across an article describing where all the missing socks in your laundry may have wandered to.

6. Discovered maple butter. So damn delicious. Liquid candy- I heart YOU!

7. My brother found a baby bird and decided the best idea would be to hand it over to me instead of contacting a professional. After failed attempts of giving it some nutrition, I quickly crocheted it a nest to protect it from the wind, and placed it back into the cruel, harsh world. I was quickly schooled by some kind commenters on what would have been some better options.

8. Developed an achy wrist from too much computer time. Made a temporary wrist guard so I could finish up a CD-Rom project about teaching kids about the Euro.

9. Finished up my Totoro for the Totoro Forest Project.

June:

1. Gave away my vintage toy toaster.

2. Spilled some milk but didn't cry.

3. Had a pink sale!

4. Organized my studio a bit.

5. Daydreamed about owning an Electra bicycle. Still am, but I can't justify buying another bike.

6. Went to see the APAK show at Giant Robot.

7. Had an "oh gaaad, I think I just ate vintage popcorn" scare.

8. Cleaned myself with some wild rose soap that I picked up from Trader Joe's.

9. Went to the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, and to my friend's art show in Poughkeepsie, NY in the same day.

10. Gave away my aluminum Salt and Pepper shakers.

11. Organized my office closet.

12. Made my first organic cotton softie and my first softie with eyebrows. I'm doing the Groucho Marx eyebrow lifting thing as I type this.

13. Gave away my beloved vintage rainbow down jacket.

14. Got cheered up by Family Guy's version of Peanut Butter Jelly Time. Where ya'at where ya'at.

15. Had an HTML epiphany. Which I think I already forgot what it was exactly. Yea, I forgot. I want to try to redo my portfolio in HTML. Maybe I will have a re-phiphany when I start to build that site.

16. Painted a fierce Timmie. I recently added this painting to my Etsy shop.

July:

1. Learned all about grey and gray! With your guidance I've chosen to use grey.

2. Made some hang tags for my totes out of recycled paper.

3. Ate a giant piece of bread and was happy.

4. Made a toupee for Timmie. He was a satisfied customer.

5. Introduced Leif Skoggins and his story to the world. The charity event for the Totoro Forest Project was a huge success. Every piece of art sold, and last I heard they raised over $200,000 for the fund! I wish I was at the auction in person, it sounded like an amazing event! The art from the show is currently on view at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco till February 8! Anyone have a private jet to fly me to SF for this?? ;D

6. Purchased and killed a Ficus Benjamina from Ikea Brooklyn. Its corpse is still in my hallway waiting for a miraculous recovery.

7. Realized that Cosmo mag was trying to turn me into a skanky-ho by sending me free issues for at least 6 months. Thankfully, they have stopped clogging up my paper recycling bin.

8. Timmie started his breakdancing career. He plans on trying out for next season's So You Think You Can Dance.

9. Discovered a micro frog, that I named Frank, in my ficus tree. I haven't seen him in a few months. I hope he escaped my apartment to greener pastures.

10. Made a bag out of scraps with a pattern from Martha Stewart. This was the first time I downloaded a pattern from anywhere. I want to learn how to make patterns for clothes one day.

August:

1. Made a mini cloth notebook cover.

2. Had RSS feeds explained to me for the 3rd time.

3. Went to my first craft night at Etsy and did some potato printing.

4. Went to the Bronx Zoo and felt bad for the caged/fenced in animals.

5. Made some Timmie brooches.

6. Almost sliced off my finger tip with a paper guillotine.

7. Created the character Squeezy Poof!

8. Visited Cape Cod, bought a spy cam.

9. Purchased some of Camilla Engman's decals, and had a grand ol' time playing around with them.

10. Some letterpressed cards that I designed for Catfish Greetings hit the shelves. I loooove the texture of letterpressed cards!

11. Made a Timmie journal, Squeezy Poof pouch, and some Timmie stickers.

12. Sold my last Happy Bears t-shirt.

13. Saw Bobby Flay at a taping of Center Stage at the Yes Network.

September:

1. Visited Washington DC for a day.

2. Discovered the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

3. Found a use for 10 year old puff paint.

4. Worked on an animated intro for the kids graphic novel Babymouse: Monster Mash.

5. Went on a bus tour of NYC with a visitor from Italy. Very informative tour. Visited the UN for the first time (total waste of money).

6. Purchased a bunch of string.

October:

1. Worked on some costumes for Timmie.

2. Watched Flight of the Conchords for the first time.

3. Had a 3 week obsession with Bret. ♥

4. Made a cloud mask.

November:

1. Visited Iceland.

2. Got engaged.

3. My fat busted through a pair of my jeans. Not good.

4. Created the potato-chip-eating Mr. Blackbean!

5. Had my 2nd half off sale of the year in my Etsy shop.

6. Was honored to be in Danny Gregory's new book An Illustrated Life! So inspirational!

7. Had some of my ornaments in Art Star's Holiday show.

December:

1. Re-watched one of my favorite movies Amelie.

2. Added some of my studies painted at the Art Students League to my fine art shop on Etsy. I will be adding more shortly.

3. Bought myself an 8 month supply of handmade coconut soap.

4. Put a pigtail in Sal's hair after he passed out from drunkenness.

5. Saw a cross glow in my apartment. Took it as a sign to make sure my floors were super clean.

6. Found out about the existence of corn and bamboo fiberfill. They still haven't arrived yet, but I look forward to testing them out.

7. Prepared for my first NYE party at my place. Arranged all my items meticulously to impress my visitors with my organization skillzzzz.

Bamboo wipes

I came across Method's wood surface wipes made out of 100% bamboo fibers at Target yesterday. Method is doing such a great job cleaning up the home cleaning industry from harsh chemicals. I was originally looking for the wood floor cleaner but Target was all sold out! I am using these wipes to clean up some parts of my floor. I do not recommend doing this though unless you want to slip, fly up in the air, and break your bum.

update: I found the proper floor cleaner at my local grocery store. It was $2 more than Target but I bought it anyway because I want to help support the local businesses and let them know there is a market for natural goods in my 'hood. The floor cleaner brought back some of the shine and took away some of the slipperiness from the wipes. Order on the floor has been restored. I'm a happy girl.

Happy New Year!

Many thanks to everyone who has kept me company on the interwebs in 2008! I am continually grateful for everyone's support. I can't believe another year went by so fast. Is it just me or is time flying by these last few years?? It is creeping me out actually. I need one of those time freezer machines.

Here are just a few pics of what remains from the New Year's Eve party at my place.


Sal had a great idea to have the guests write down their resolutions on my chalk board. I love the way it turned out! My favorite is "think happy thoughts". You will also notice some unsavory resolutions which made it even funnier. I don't want to erase this board now!


One of the guests combined 2 of my tchotchkes together and it looked awesome! Way better than the way I had it.


~gotta make sure everyone recycles! The craptacular recycle symbol is the best. The thousands and thousands of dollars my parents paid for art school have really paid off.