Last Week, on Instagram...

• Mini S'mores Pies!  I made them from a pinterest recipe (of course).
• We found the most amazing toy store with tons of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Doctor Who.
• Turks flashing his best Blue Steel in front of our own fun collection ^_^
• Look at these sweet beans!  They love when I don't make the bed.
• Turks being pitiful.
• This was a Throwback Thursday of a photo Andy took in our old apartment in Virginia.  Turks loves cheese!  Also...last week was full of Turks photos. #sorrynotsorry
• I popped over to Ikea during the week and there was no one there!  It was like a Christmas miracle.
• Fall mean Caramel Apple Pops are in season.  My favorite!
• Saturday was a block party and sidewalk sale on North Loop.  So fun!

Gratuitous Kitten Pictures!

Our kittens are kind of awesome. Visual proof:


Turks


Sprinkles


Turks


Sprinkles


Turks


Sprinkles


Turks


Sprinkles


Turkle


Sprink

Last Week, on Instagram...

• Turks...being the Anti-Helper.
• I finally got a starter set for Project Life!  I'm so excited to start building our album.
• Twinkie Chan did an outfit post with one of my scarves! And Zambie Candy drew a picture of it!  I died a lil...it's all so awesome.
• I got to hang out the ladies of Remixologie last Wednesday.  They are seriously cool chicks.
• And I popped over to Blue Velvet for the first time and they had just put out the most impressive display of ugly Christmas sweaters.
• Turks...being Turks ^_^
• A select from my piece about Remixologie.  I just want everything they have for sale.  Is that wrong?  No.  No, it's not.
• I found out that Jo's has the most delicious hot chocolate.
• A TARDIS!!!!  I might need to build one of my own, just so I can take photos beside it all day.

Follow along at @thepinksamurai for more vintage, cat photos, crafty stuff and general geekery.

Daily Drawing: 344 | Sick Day

[This is part of my 365 project where I draw my outfits every day!  Check out my first post of the year for details]

Today was a rough day for a little kitten.  Turks isn't feeling well.  We went to a new vet, our first since moving to Texas and I couldn't have loved the office more.  The staff was so sweet and the vet was so informative.  They definitely know how to handle crazy ladies ^_^  Turks will be totally fine, but he's got to take some medicine for a few days which isn't fun for either of us haha!  On top of the meds, he's getting lots of extra lovin' and attention for a little while!

Turks and Sprinkles, Lately

It's been entirely too long since my last post of gratuitous cat photos.  While poking through my phone the other day for some
Throwback Thursday action on Instagram, I discovered all these photos of the kittens that I'd never shared.  Not being one to deprive the internet of more cats...here you go!

We got a new-to-us chair a few weeks back (it's been in my family since my Grandmother designed it and had it made in Italy...long story!) and the cats just love it.  Turks spends most of days with his butt firmly planted on it.  It's his now.  Meanwhile Sprinkles just sleeps under the bed when she's not demanding skritches and cheese.  She leads a hard life.

Other than that, all's quiet in kitten town.  Besides the fact that they're pounding food for the winter.  I'm right there with them, though ^_^

Last Week, on Instagram...

• Pacific Rim came out last week!  I can't even tell you how many times I've watched it.
• The sleepiest Turks.
• Still the sleepiest Turks.
• I managed to make a bitty bee hive that actually stayed all day!
• Marveling at my magical Hello Kitty purse because that day it held a tripod and two cameras along with everything else I pack in there every day.
• Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park.  I absolutely love this little park and shared more photos of it in this post.

Last Week(s), on Instagram...

•  We put up shelves last weekend!  We've been having a fun time organizing and displaying all our collections.
• I posted about the giveaway I've got going on...check it out here.
• Torchy's Tacos is pretty much a weekly occurrence.  This time, I was able to take my Aunt for the first time!
• Turks is adorable.
• I made some new scarves!  I'll be adding them to the shop soon.
• In the middle of the week, I was feeling a little cooped up in the apartment, so I hopped over to our pool to read.  It was quiet and the breeze was warm.  So good!
• Sweet Sprinkles.
• Nasty Sprinkles.

A few from the week before:

• The cutest sewing kit ever at Terra Toys!
• Sprinkles being all like ppffffbbtthhh
• Turks on point!

Follow along with @thepinksamurai if you want to see more fun stuff...and kittens.  Lots of kittens.

Last week, on Instagram...

What a full week!

Turks was a handful, as usual.  I put that mirror up in our bedroom the other day, and not 2 minutes after I did, he was staring longing into his own eyes.

The one of the me on the cow was a quick trip to Amy's Ice Cream at the Arboretum.  We found some giant cows and had to sit on them...naturally.

And the weekend was full of the Texas Style Council!  I've posted a bit on instagram, and will do a full recap after I've recovered a bit more from it haha!

Turks turned 4 last week!  Our sweet bad kitten is getting so old :P

I checked out Thrifty Chicks Vintage for the first time and posted about it for Thrifty Thursday.  I need to go back and really comb through these patterns some more.

The last two are of Sprinkles being a crazy person.

I hope everyone had a great week last week!

Last Week, on Instagram...

•  Still working on the self-portrait challenge from A Beautiful Mess.
• The first photo I posted showing one of my new free embroidery patterns.
• Yesterday we were driving around and saw this pink gorilla...so naturally I needed my photo taken with it!
• Turks is the cutest snugglebean ever.
• We visited Toy Joy for the first time and it was so fun! There was more than just Hello Kitty...but I definitely spent the most time in that section haha.
• Andy and I also went to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema for the first time!  We went for Wolverine and they were playing all kinds of silly Wolverine things before the show.  It's the only place I want to see movies...forever.
• A new DIY I'm working on.
• One of my favorite things is taking "screaming sprinkle" pictures haha.  She's got a really menacing yawn.
• This book might belong to my mom...oops!  I want to frame it and put it with my lil Singer collection.
• Edamame is delicious.
• Turks!  I already posted this photo...but I love it...so here it is again!

There was more going on this week on instagram that I didn't include.  Follow along for more pink stuff and kittens!

Daily Drawing: 170 | The Littlest Things

It was a quiet day around the Helms household today.  Lots of drawing, photo editing, Top Gear (UK only!) watching and kitten cuddling.  With Andy away this week, I forgot to set the alarm, so the cats and I had a slow start to the day, too.  Well...that's not totally accurate.  Turks was up early being bad and getting into all the places he shouldn't be.  So after wrangling him, I went back to bed :P

I'm lining up a full day for myself tomorrow, though!  Exploring, writing, editing, drawing.  I love being busy and being able to check things off my to-do list.  We'll see how it goes.  Right now though, I've got to chase Turks out of the laundry room >_<

This is part of my 365 project where I draw my outfits every day!  Check out my first post of the year for details!

Daily Drawing: 149 | Closet Creep

Turks figured out how to open the closet door today.  I walked in the bedroom and saw the door wide open.  Upon further inspection, I found Turks in the middle of a pile of laundry that he'd knocked over. What a jerk!  He was super cute sleeping there, though.  So I just left him.

This is part of my 365 project where I draw my outfits every day!  Check out my first post of the year for details!

Last week, on Instagram...

1. One of our favorite traditions as a couple is our early Sunday movies.  We've got a great theater near us that's virtually empty on Sunday mornings, and this showing was the perfect example.  Only one other person in the whole theater for our 3D viewing of Jurassic Park.  Too bad it wasn't just us so we could quote the whole movie :P
2. I posted a quick crochet tip for keeping a nice loose chain on your work.
3. Sprinkles must've known that I was a little nervous about my procedure the next day, and was extra snuggly with me on Tuesday night.
4. We spent a lot of time in waiting rooms getting ready to have my sinus polyps removed, so a bag of crochet projects was a necessity.
5. My procedure went well...faster than the doctor had predicted and I got to go straight home from the hospital.  I might tell the whole exciting story sometime later ^_^
6. Turks has been the most amazingly loving little creature since I got back from the hospital.  He's hardly left my side and just sits and snugs and purrs all day while I drift in and out of sleep.  He's The Best Cat™.
7. Even in my painkiller haze, I had to get out a Thrift Thursday post (even if it was a day late).  Denova is one of my favorite spots!
8. Another Denova pic, because I neeeeeed that mirror in my life. 
9. Annnd...another shameless pic of Turks the Sweetest Kitten!

Turks Outtakes

Here are some outtakes of my mini shoot with Turks the other day. This was for the "something fun" post in the 30 Day Photo Challenge. He just loves that feather toy. In the morning, he'll walk through the hallway and just look back and mao (not meow, but mao), just waiting for me to follow and play. So cute!

I'll be catching up on the Photo Challenge later this week. I've just finished our invites, save addressing, which we'll do as soon as possible. Next on the list is fooooood!

<3

Re:Make Re-cap

Re:Make was last weekend and since I totally bugged the crap out of you guys in the weeks leading up, I figured I should share some of my thoughts on the show and post waaaaay too many photos.

As craft shows go, the organizers were really great.  I got all the info I needed in terms of setting up and they created a really intimate space for the show.  Brit+Co provided pipe and fabric backdrops for everyone that made the space really consistent and kept your eyes from wandering up to the massive convention center ceiling.  That being said, there wasn't a lot of promotion or advertising for the show, so the crowd was really sparse.  For me, it wasn't a show for making boats loads of cash (no diving into my silo filled with gold coins, today), but it was amazing for networking with other artists.  I got to see some old friends, meet some new ones and was inspired to make new things.  Also, I had a legitimate reason to wear a fanny pack and that's pretty great.

So here's a massive photo dump of weekend!

Scarves and bows!  I hand stamped these scarves using this technique and couldn't be happier with how they turned out.  The texture is just so cool!  And seriously...who doesn't love an obnoxious bow?  I've been wearing the small pink and teal ones almost everyday.

PS: Andy totally designed and made those peg-board easels just for me!  They fold and fit perfectly in our new car.  I insisted they be painted bright pink, obviously.  

Out of all the new scarves I made for the show, I think I'm most proud of the dip-dyed denim ones.  I just used bleach to create some really fun color-blocking and textures on the denim.  Would you be into a DIY post about it?  It definitely took a lot of trial and error to find the right technique for these lil guys.

I was in awe with all the colors and patterns around the event center for this show.  Brit+Co's branding is super bright and fun, and think they did a great job curating folks that really fit in with their brand.

Happy Cactus was across from my booth and Brannon and I took turns watching each other's booth's when we needed a quick break.  Maker solidarity, you guys!  How adorable is her illustration style, by the way?  Those cacti kill me.

MakeATX, being as awesome as ever.  I love these ladies' sense of humor.  You know, their business cards have a pop-up unicorn on them.  They are true heroes!

See what I mean by bright branding?  This "Re:Charge" space was occupied by mostly boyfriends, husbands and fathers, patiently waiting for their ladies.  Also, I just remembered seeing a lady on the first day that was carrying around a tray of watermelon slices and just chowin' down.  These were like, legit giant slices of a huge watermelon.  Austinites are kind of the best.

Brandie (on the left) and her shop Blue Morpho Apothecary!  We're Team Building chairs for the Austin Craft Riot together this year and I'm getting excited for our next meeting!

I loved the styling of her set up.  A customer stopped by and helped make the best action shot.  I might have told her to reach again so I could get a shot at another angle...perpetual photo director haha!  It's totally normal to tell strangers to pose in photos for you, right?  :/

Oh, Poppy and Fern!  Rachel's work is just stunning and I finally bought a piece on the last day of the show.  She embroiders everything by hand and does it free-style.  No patterns for this lady!  

I mean, really?  They are pretty much the cutest things ever.  I'm hoping to get some custom portraits of Turks, Sprinkles and Mooch eventually.

I think I see Lisa at every craft show in town...she's a seriously busy chick!  Her "make your own nail polish" station is always filled with excited folks.  Someday, I will make the perfect pink polish, and everything will be right with the world.

The Triumphant Betawife!  Lauren is the reason I got into the show, so she's pretty much the best.  She posted that they had extra spots and after I applied, she referred me to the Brit+Co folks ^_^  Thanks, lady!!

She's also brilliant and set up a Star Wars photo booth because the last day of the show was May 4th.  I firmly and vehemently defend this statement, by the way.  I might look jolly in this photo, but it's serious business.  This button was in my shop many moons (that's no moon...) ago and I think it might need to make a comeback!

This is a quick snap of my little haul from the show.  The shirt is from Eleventy-Five.  Jessica was in the booth directly across from me and we spent a lot of time chatting and talking about cats ^_^ The tea towel is from Fair Morning Blue.  Tracy's sweet little girl is learning crochet and was able to tell me which stitch I used for one of my cowls!  And the necklace is Poppy and Fern, of course.  I found the pinkest one she had :P

Not gonna lie, I was a little bummed that I didn't sell much.  But it was a slow show for most sellers and it's not that I'm glad they didn't do well, but I kind of am hahaha!  At least I know folks weren't just avoiding me because I was stinky or something.  I'm definitely looking forward to a better turnout next year.  Plus, I'm always one to look on the bright side and I'm so glad to have been included with such awesome folks and to have been able to hang out with them all weekend!