Field Trip to East Coast Colors

I took a train ride out (yes, that is my run-down train station) to Long Island City to go check out East Coast Colors, a small handmade artist oil paint company started in 2008. I met up with a few of my former classmates to view a paint making demo.


Here you see the owner Jacob mixing up a brand new color for the East Coast Colors line. The staff was very knowledgeable about all the ins and outs of the paint making process and graciously answered all of our bazillion questions about pigments and mediums.


On this shelf you see some oil mediums they have for sale. One of particular interest to me was the sun thickened oil which is supposed to give your paintings an enameled look! I might have to buy and test some of that out one of these days.


At the end of the demo I purchased a tube of Transparent Red Oxide (which I think will be awesome for underpaintings) and Genuine Naples Yellow, which Jacob's assistant, Josh, tubed for me right on the spot! There is definitely a satisfaction from buying directly from the person who makes something.

The third member of the team, Bob, mentioned he will deliver the paint to you in person if you live in the NYC area, FOR FREE! Now that is some seriously good customer service.

Hooray for locally produced items!

For more info on East Coast Colors you can visit their BLOG.

Timmie tourists

Timmie tourists, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

Sal with his mii

sal with his mii, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

very matchy matchy last night!

The latest mini satchel

the latest satchel, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

This one is my fav so far!

January 2011 shop update

january 2011 shop update, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

I will be uploading the leather satchels and totes I've been working on and few hats for Timmie this Saturday at 2pm EST.

crispy rice treats control my mind

crispy rice treats control my mind, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

Anyone else have this problem?? I suspect the sugar content in the marshmallows as the culprit.

January Shop Update Sneak Peek

I've been working on some mini leather satchels for the next shop update (Jan 15th). I will also be adding some more crocheted hats and want to make some more Scandinavian ~ Fair Isle inspired knit hats for Timmie. For the update after this one I am going to do a girly-themed collection. February always has me thinking pink... and reds and frills and thrills (hopefully).

Laundry room inspiration

Loooove this idea from Country Living magazine to re-purpose a dollhouse for storage!


This cute vintage jar I saw on Ebay would make a nice laundry detergent container.


I'm thinking about getting a glass jar with a spigot to put fabric softener in. I'm wondering if the softener would be too thick and clog up the spigot. The one above from Neiman Marcus has a section on the bottom to store stuff. I can put some Timmies in there to keep me company while I do laundry. :D I saw a similar one at Macy's the other day for $20. I would definitely want to try out this idea on a cheaper version.

my breakfast companion

my breakfast companion, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

7 layer cookies for January 7th!

I like big - jars - and I cannot lie

i like big - jars- and i cannot lie, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

Here is the latest addition to my glass jar collection. This 5 liter jar is part of the Fido collection by Bormioli Rocco. Still too small to decant a big box of laundry detergent into it, so I'm still on the lookout for an even bigger one...

Happy New Year and my first dress!

newyearsevedress, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

Here is my first attempt at making a simple dress. I used iridescent taffeta fabric which made it unintentionally 80's style-ish, but I still think it was passable for a NYE party. Next time if I'm looking for shine I will test out a thick satin fabric instead.

Best wishes to everyone for a crafty happy healthy 2011!

2 trick (stitch) pony?

(click image to enlarge)

I was flipping through the tv channels one night and came across a lady talking about Tunisian crochet a.k.a. Afghan crochet so I decided to investigate. I purchased some long crochet hooks on Etsy and gave it a go. It took me much longer to do than single crochet but I love the tight woven look! I'd like to see some fiberfill try to squeeze through those stitches!

I feel like flying to the UK...

to bring back some more enamelware!

My parents just bought me a washer and dryer as a gift so I've been hunting for a cute container to hold laundry soap.

Look at this simple and beautiful thing-


and this container below would be awesome to store shoemaking tools!

You can find these containers HERE.

Now that I think about it, I always bring back metal housewares when I visit Europe.

One day I will take some pics of my metal collection and post it.

Still on the laundry note, look at the retro packaging on this laundry powder-

I am definitely a sucker for nice packaging.

Added a few more things to the shop today...

Innocent mushroom


wool bonnets

Cat ornaments available at Art Star Philly!

photo by Art Star Philly

So Softies ornaments are available at Art Star Philly! I sent over some cats, snails, and bunnies this year. Stop by the holiday show to see over 30 handmade ornaments if you are in the Philly area.

Korean cloth tape

I spy cloth tape in NYC! I've been drooling over cloth tape on Etsy for about a year or more and finally find some while shopping around here. I found the red ones at the new Paper Source location in Brooklyn and I found the yellow plaid and brown stripes at Kate's Paperie last night in Soho.

I'm still eyeing the navy blue stripes and the red and blue one though!

Cute Knitting and Sewing Kit

I just saw these sweet vintage inspired knitting & sewing kit at Kate's Paperie. Organization inspiration!

shop update today!

shop update today, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

♪Baby, it's cold outside!♪

This afternoon I will be adding 6 Timmies, 6 Timmie coats sold separately, and a pink ballerina bunny to my shop at 4 pm (Eastern Standard Time).

20% OFF your entire order in my shop!!

I'm very excited to announce that I am able to offer a coupon code for my Etsy shop. You can take 20% off your entire order with the code NOV20off . This code will be active for the rest of this month.

Expired milk mini print / note card now in the shop!

I've just added a mini print of my illustration of the orange juice cop delivering some bad news to the cereal about his milk friend.

I'm selling this with an envelope so you can mail it to one of your friends who appreciates dark humor involving dairy, dry cereal, and citrus juices.

Snail bookplate

My first printable to go into my Etsy shop ~ The "Take It Easy" snail bookplate!

My dad always says, "take it easy" to me whenever I start talking fast and get irritated because he can't understand what I am saying (98% of the time) ... that is where I got the idea for the Take it Easy snail journal from!

Wool coats for Timmie coming soon

For the next shop update I am working on a new collection of Fall/ Winter coats for Mr. Timmie Tadpole. We wouldn't want him to freeze his little flippers right?

When I have everything ready to go, I will make an official shop update poster with the date and time. Timmie likes his clothing updates very official. I wouldn't want to get him angry. :)

King Con tomorrow!

King Con!, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

Tomorrow (Sunday) I will be sharing a table with Sal at King Con , a cartooning, illustration and animation convention, at the Brooklyn Lyceum in Park Slope. I will be selling mostly my paper goods and a few softies for good measure.

More info about the show HERE.

Some photos from the shop update

Shop update today!

Later today I will be updating my shop with 10 Timmies and approximately 6 Timmie hats and 6 masks. Hopefully I will have all the photos edited and up on Etsy by 4pm Eastern time.

Coming soon to the shop!

(click photo to enlarge)

Creepy ski masks for Timmie! I wanted to make something weird & creeptastic for the Timmies to wear for Halloween this year. I will be updating my shop this upcoming Tuesday the 26th with about 10 Timmies.

Currently I am having an additional 15% off sale for this week to try to make some space for the new items. You can check it out HERE.

balmoral boots finished (finally!)

I finally finished the Balmoral style boots that I started in April! While awaiting feedback for the project I'm currently working on, I decided to try to finish up these boots. This is my first attempt at cutting, dyeing, and attaching the leather sole and heel myself. If I wasn't worried about getting brain and nerve damage from the toxic glue it would have been a tad more fun. I might leave the soling up to the pros the next time around. Maybe. Or set up a shoemaking station outside of my apartment :). I still need to make the insole lining (polka dot lining temporarily borrowed from my other shoe) and find some navy blue shoelaces. Yay!

j'adore order

too bad order around here only lasts half a day. Sal needs to purchase stock in the t-shirt shop Threadless.

bottle candle holders

I finally found a use for the glass bottles I've been saving. I brought back the small one from Italy about 2 years ago and just brought back the jumbo coca-cola bottle from Venezuela recently.

In the bottom photo you can see Sal enjoying his peasant-size portion of defrosted Trader Joe's vegetable fried rice. Yumz ;)

I'm ready!

I am ready for Halloween folks. I am going to go as a woman who cares about her dental cleanliness!

I found the black tooth powder right away in Manhattan this past Friday and purchased it. The clerk kindly informed me (good customer service in New York, what a concept!) how to use it:

1. dip your wet finger into the powder and rub it onto your teeth and gums for about two minutes or so
2. brush powder around with a toothbrush and rinse

The powder was very finely ground with a hint of menthol flavor. No horrible burning minty sensation (or gum bleeding) after brushing. Hooray! I look forward to seeing what happens to my teefers and gums with continued use.

P.S. Also functions as a great way to frighten your spouses/children/roommates/pets while getting dental cleanliness! Win/Win.