My friend's birthday was the other day and I wanted to bake her cookies. I asked her what her favorite cookies are and she responded with both oatmeal and peanut butter. I was curious as to if there are cookies of both oatmeal and peanut butter combined. I instantly Googled it, and yes! Found a recipe.
I changed a few things around to make it my own and it was a success.

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter (either creamy or crunchy, personal preference)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
01. In a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
02. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
03. Add the oats and baking soda and mix, mix, mix.
04. On a greased cookie sheet, drop in the mix by tablespoons about 2 inches apart. You can pat the droppings down to flatten the cookies a bit.
05. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes.

Extra notes: I've found recipes that have used crunchy peanut butter. I personally used the creamy peanut butter which worked great.
I also found myself with no oats and no desire to go to the super market just to buy oats. I had a box of microwaveable oatmeal, used three packets for this recipe, and it tasted great. It can be an option if you have no oats at home.
These cookies will be soft when you take them out of the oven. Soft and chewy, always a winner.

Enjoy!

I always find it tough to find a good gift for my parents for all holidays and birthdays. Once in a while something will click that turns out to be a great idea. On Sunday, for Father's Day, my dad just wanted a simple day with his family. We had a barbecue with family friends at a park. It really was a pleasant Sunday.

As for the gift, I remember my dad asking for a pillow similar to one I made for my brother, which I posted about a year ago. I figured this was a good time to finally make it for him.

I measured my brother's pillow, gathered all thick sweatshirt-like material as well as other material to spice it up: my dad's old plaid shirt, shoelaces, and buttons.

These cylindrical pillows seem to be in high demand in my neck of the woods. My brother's friend also requested one which I plan on getting around to soon.
I'm happy I can finally cross this off the list of projects to do!

I find it hard to follow through with these wishlists. I love shopping; I love shopping for clothes, art supplies, shoes, hair dye, and pretty much everything else I haven't listed. But while I, like many others, want want want, I try not to be so materialistic. I tell myself I have so much already. These are all wants, not needs. But once in a while, I like to create lists for future reference for when I want to treat myself.
I don't have a theme for this wishlist; these are random wants I came across recently.

01. The Riot Grrrl Collection - This is a new book that was published by The Feminist Press at CUNY with 350+ pages of zine styled riot grrrl pages. This book looks amazing.
02. Beetlejuice: The Complete Series - When I found out recently that they released the entire series on DVD, I knew I immediately wanted this. This is one obscure cartoon from my childhood that I really want to reconnect with.
03. Rookie Retro - Blue/Yellow Roller Skates - One dream of mine will always be to join the roller derby. I was never much of a skater when I was young, and so I'm quite rusty. I want a pair of roller skates to practice!
04. La Riche Directions Alpine Green Hair Dye - I've tried all kinds of hair dye for unnatural colors, but I've never used Directions before. In fact, I never heard of it before a few days ago. I've read good reviews and I want to try their green; it looks like the perfect shade of green I'm looking for.
05. Jeffrey Campbell Hawk Be Skull - I love Jeffrey Campbell. Some JC shoes are too wild for my taste and some are just right. I don't own a pair of shoes like this and they instantly caught my attention. I want!

I've been all about foreign music lately. My song of the moment is this Italian song by Fran Jeffries. This version appeared in the 60s Pink Panther movie and it's fantastic.

I had this old t-shirt from Salem for years. I went through a phase where I convinced myself I could fit into youth small t-shirts. While I did, and still do fit into youth small t-shirts, they're uncomfortably tight. This shirt was a youth small, and I didn't have it in me get rid of it cause I love it so. I took action to make it wearable.
I bought this lace button down from a thrift store about a year ago. I would have worn it as is, but my gut told me to use it for something fun. So I combined the two.

I added the lace for the sleeves. But I didn't want regular sleeves, I wanted raglan styled sleeves.

The lace and the "magic" aspect I think are a nice witchy combination.

So happy I can now wear this shirt without being suffocated with fabric.

A while ago, I posted about my switch to Storenvy. After talking to some friends and gaining insights and working up motivation to actually give a damn, I decided to move back to Etsy, and I'm sure this time it's for good.

I wouldn't say Storenvy wasn't a satisfying experience, but being that I am not one to self promote (not purposely that is, I'm just not good at it) it seemed challenging to get myself out there. Etsy makes it easy because it's the go to site for crafted goods (everyone and their mothers browse through the site) and they make it easy to promote and whatnot without really trying. I need that push and assistance. When I moved stores the first time around, I felt Etsy was a temporary thing. I couldn't really get into it, but now that I'm back on there, I think the flow will be more comfortable. It really is all about trial and learning, right?

So anyway, here I am back on Etsy, giving it another go. Once again, the thrill of a new store makes me feel motivated and I've been really sewing up a storm this summer break. Got to take advantage of the free time I have these days, right?

While on a roll with changing things up, I also went and changed my blog layout. I am totally loving it, and I hope you do too!

I also feel the need to share my song of the moment. I currently have this song on repeat as I continue to sew up that storm.
I love Grimes. Have I ever shared that before? Well now you know. I love Grimes.

This is Orbert. He induces fear in those who litter.

Fall semester introduced a new class into our curriculum: a storyboarding class. Being that it was a new class, it was kind of a mess; the professors were trying to figure out how to come about teaching the class.

This first project was a fun one. We had to create a character out of a random shape. Then develop it further: different views, its movement, and backstory.

Orbert is a cotton candy colored plump little grumpy mcgrumpster who gets easily pissed off, and when he's pissed off, he eats you. He doesn't tolerate littering; he's always on trash patrol. He's got arms made for picking up said trash.

I wanted to take it one step further and create a somewhat 3D version of him. I turned him into a plush doll. Made him out of an old tshirt (the color almost matched my sketches of him), beads for the eyes, shoelaces for the angry brows, and embroidered nose and mouth. In rush to get things done, I even took him on the train with me to sew.

At the end of the semester, my professor gathered some of the 3D characters and put them in the display case in the Illustration wing. I felt special.

He sits at my desk and watches me work everyday. Creeper.

The other day, I was hit with all this energy. I spontaneously decided to bake. I was looking through cookie recipe books and found this easy recipe for delicious cinnamon goodness.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toppings:
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
*Note: may need more topping mix as you coat the cookies

Directions:
01. In a large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
02. At low speed, add the sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla (dough will be pretty stiff).
03. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until dough is stiff enough to handle easily.
04. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
05. After dough is chilled, roll dough into 1 inch balls.
06. Place balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.
07. Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until a delicate golden brown.
08. In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients. Roll the hot teacakes into the topping mix and let cool.

Enjoy!