01. This was the first handmade book that I made in a while. Possibly the first one I made this year. I need to get back on the bookmaking train and start making some more.

02. I never quite got the hang of making good home made paper. They're still a little crappy and not useable for things I'd like to make. I've decided to put all the sheets I made to use and create little tags for products I sell and send out. I bought alphabet stamps and ink (from the clearance bin at Michael's) and finally found a good use for them!

03. Met up with some friends the other day at TCBY to talk business. My friend Steven recently started up his dream business and has hired me to help. Things seem to be going really well so far and we just started recently!
Check out our website, facebook, and twitter!

04. I can't believe the time has finally come. I'll be hopping on the plane early tomorrow morning. I've been dying to visit Seattle, and dying to finally go away for a few days! I need a change of scenery, and I've got some nice things planned for this trip. I'm ecstatic.

Have a wonderful week!

Here's just a tiny list of things that are currently making me a happy camper.

01. Crayola Crayon Maker

Seriously, this thing is the coolest ever. I've only used it a few times since purchasing it, but I'm so happy I did buy it. I'm all about reusing and upcycling and whatnot, so being able to make old gross crayons into new nice ones is pretty wonderful.

02. I finished my summer job on Friday which basically means that summer is pretty much over and the Fall semester will start up in no time. One thing that's keeping me positive is the fact that I'll be going on vacation this week! I'm leaving on Monday for Seattle, and I am so psyched.

03. Here's another little store update: I officially have eleven items listed. I am currently working on a bunch more and hopefully before the semester begins, I'll have about twenty items up. That's my goal for now, so we'll see how that goes!

04. I've downloaded the app for StumbleUpon, and I do not regret it. I have really come upon some awesome links that I otherwise wouldn't have found on my own. Such a handy app to keep me busy during train rides and such.

05. I feel like I should have known this, but I just discovered that Aimee Mann was the vocalist for the band 'Til Tuesday. I was really surprised when I found that and I feel like I appreciate 'Til Tuesday much more now.

...Now to do some last minute packing.

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything. I've been super absent from the world of the wide web, and I won't apologize for it. I've been productive and enjoying my summer. I find that pretty awesome and important.
Here's a quick summation of what has been keeping me so busy.

01. Ever since I've started up my online store, I've been busy making more and more things. I've been playing around with my own stencils and experimenting with prints. Here's a shirt that will hopefully be done and added to the store soon.

02. Along with prints, I've been playing around with color and pattern combinations. Another shirt that will hopefully be up soon.

03. Of course have to throw in some galaxy related items as well. Here's my subtle mustache galaxy tee.

04. Besides store related projects, I've been spending a lot of time trying to sew up a dress for a friend. Our goal was to finish it by Friday, but couldn't meet that deadline due to broken sewing machines. So we had to stick with my usual hand sewing method.

05. I tried so hard to master the art of paper making, but I haven't quite gotten it yet. I've given up on that for a little bit, so I've been playing with paper mache. I've decided to put all my scrap paper to good use by making paper mache canvases and such.

06. Last but not least, this morning, I quickly threw together a hand-made book to be used as a 'brainstorming note pad' for ideas and such for projects and products to make for my store. I've been so motivated; I can't be stopped! I'm on a roll with makin' and constructin', I have to keep track of it all somehow.

To keep me fully loving life, I have wonderful classic '80s new wave to get me through it all.

Where's the best place to find button down shirts? Thrift shops or your dad's closet! I always go through my father's closet. Being the nice daughter that I am, I of course take the clothes he doesn't wear anymore.

Being that most button down shirts you will find are oversized, you'll have the chance to rework them the way you want. Whether you want it to be super long, super short, or somewhere in the middle, it's completely your choice.

First find a shirt or two you'd like to revamp.

Take off the sleeves. You can cut, or use a seam ripper if you feel the need to be exact.

After you take off the sleeves, it's all up to you on how you want it to fit. I personally use a comfortably fitted shirt as a guide. Find a shirt in which you would like your button down to fit like, lay it on top of the button down, and use chalk to trace the width. When you sew it, follow your chalk guides. When you have it fitted the way you want, hem the bottom and the sleeves.

If you don't want to take it in and your comfortable with the size, then just go ahead and hem the sleeves.

After that's done, you're all done!

Those are three that I've worked on. These are 'before' photos; I went crazy with embellishments (upcoming post alert), which you're free to do after resizing the shirts! They should not be kept naked, don't you agree?

I've decided to move my online shop off of Etsy. It was a quick, last minute decision, but one I probably won't regret.

I've never felt that the shop I opened on Etsy was really official. I just had this weird deep feeling that I wasn't comfortable with, and I didn't want to continue on some site I just wasn't feeling. Ever since I've opened it, I only had two items listed and was never motivated to add more. I needed to fix this.

I browsed for other options and came across Storenvy. It seemed like an answer to my prayers. I Googled more about it - compared to Etsy and Big Cartel, it seemed like it was the best way to go. So on a whim, I signed up.

I don't think I have felt this motivated in a long time to actually continue something I started. I feel encouraged to create more, and list item after item. The layout and posting process is less intimidating, and I feel so much more comfortable using it than Etsy. Of course thinking about how much traffic Etsy gets, it may be a little difficult in my part to really promote this by word of mouth. I'm not good at promoting myself whatsoever. But it's a challenge that I'm willing to face.

The shop is still in the early stage, as I only do have four items up at the moment. Hopefully I'll have more up at the end of the week.

Words can't describe how excited I am to finally get the ball rolling. It's about damn time.

Visit my currently tiny shop at marsenroute.storenvy.com. Thanks!

Have you bought perfume recently and didn't have it in you to throw away the box because of it's lovely packaging? Story of my life. I have problems throwing things out - I'm on my way to becoming a full time hoarder.

Anyway, if you find yourself in the same boat, make a use for that box! Do something with it. Store pens, buttons, paintbrushes, office supplies, etc. The possibilities are endless.

I'm not big into buying perfume; I always receive them as presents. One perfume that I actually make an effort to buy is Harajuku Lovers - that's right, Gwen Stefani's perfume. She has great style and a great sense of what smells wonderful. I love the cute packaging and didn't want to throw away the boxes. One day, I did some hella organizing and decided to use those boxes. Snipped off the top flaps and filled them in with my makeup.

Went to TJ Maxx recently and saw this Harajuku Lovers perfume for sale. Cheap price! Had to buy it. Once again I didn't want to throw the box out. So I organized my desk up a bit by storing my crafty shape punches in there. They all fit, and all was right in the world.

So I guess the moral of the story is don't throw something away if you can find a productive use for it!

I'm going to take a break from the usual Thursday post and talk about the new No Doubt video, Settle Down.

No Doubt & Gwen Stefani have been my favorite since I can remember. I became a fan in elementary school around the time Return Of Saturn was released. I WAS OBSESSED. I know it sounds corny, but Gwen inspired me so much growing up. I am the way I am today because of her. Her fashion sense, her hair and makeup, her awesomeness - I wanted to be just like her. I began sewing at an early age, imitating her wristbands, jewelry, sewing clothes for my dolls making them look like Gwen... I was never tired of it. I eventually began sewing my own clothes and found my own style. I have Gwen to thank for so much.

Getting that out of the way, I can't express how excited I am for their new music. Their recent music video (first one in ten years!) was released the other day. Just when you think they're already so damn cool, they go and out do themselves. I love the new song - trying to figure out what kind of sound they're going for, but whatever it is, I'm digging it. The video is fantastic. And Gwen's pants..... can I have them please???

I grabbed this off of Beacon Street Online:

L.A.M.B. — We sat down with Paula Bradley, our Design Director for L.A.M.B. and she shared with us how Gwen’s trousers in the new No Doubt "Settle Down" video came about.

"Her pants were inspired by a conversation Gwen and I had months before the video. She said she wanted to be back to her roots. More "UNDONE". We were talking about the concept for the video and Gwen said she wanted to use Indian fabric! and other mixes. I thought this was fabulous. We love the mirrors. So I went looking for all types of vintage Indian mirrored fabric, belts, anything i could find that had the mirrors hand embroidered on them. We bought a pile of them and then began to lay them out like a jigsaw puzzle. Only sections of the costume have mirrors. No two pieces are the same. When I first showed Gwen, she felt it was a little too "Hippy" and not No Doubt enough. So then came the checkerboard!!

The idea of the pants was fantastic, and making them was quite a journey. Thank God for Gwen’s trust and patience. In the end I think they were quite beautiful, and performed wonderfully. There are hours of work into something like this and you have to really be lucky enough to work with someone truly amazing to get the opportunity. We almost lost these pants, but Gwen believed in everyone and in the end the pants just got better and better."

Paula Bradley
design director L.A.M.B.

...I sense a future DIY project for myself coming.