This summer has been an interesting one in a creative sense. I've been experimenting with a lot of materials and methods, and I've been buying so many art supplies. Like a crazy amount. I'm not going to go into that, but here and there I did splurge on other fun stuff.

Last month I finally got a new phone. I got the iPhone 5, which made me want to go phone case shopping. I browsed through Etsy. I really wanted a case with a cover to slip in cards and whatnot. I really wanted to have my train tickets and cards accessible and this cute pineapple case is perfect for that. It really was the exact size I was looking for.

I've taken a mini break from any kind of music buying since I've spent so much on art supplies. But when the new Raveonettes album was unexpectedly dropped, I saw they had a limited edition vinyl and I hardcore splurged. It's the strangest vinyl case but definitely real cool. Fits the album theme pretty well.

I also put in another order into Spoonflower and got more fabric printed. I tried a different fabric this time around. It's a more stretchy jersey kind of feel. I prefer it so much more than the cotton voile as its use is more for what I want in fabric. I love it.

Have you heard new Raveonettes music? They're music always has hints of dark themes, but this album is their darkest for sure. I love it. They never fail me. Check it out for sure!

Lately I've been managing my spare time pretty well in which I've been working on my own personal things. The past two weeks I've started a lot of projects I've been meaning to get on. It's exciting to finally find some time.

01. For the first time in weeks, I finally found a free moment to give myself a manicure. I've discovered a color I love by OPI named Cajun Shrimp. It's my new favorite nail polish color.
02. I've been playing with some decoupage prints. Still in the early stage. It's been a while since I've sat down and completely winged a project which is still in the experimentation phase. These days I usually let things stew until I have a chance to do it. And it usually works out well. I've been spoiled like that, so I kind of feel good having a project not work out as planned right away. It sounds weird when I try to explain it.
03. My spaceman design will soon be available on shirts! I got around to printing some shirts which look really cool. I can't wait to post the final products.
04. Yes, those decoupage prints and this Twin Peaks linocut are related. I'm working on making some fun dancing man linocuts, but as I shared, it's still being worked on. There were some execution flaws from some art supplies used that changed how I would like to print them. I'm hoping to make it work soon.

There are a bunch of other projects that are in progress currently. I'm hoping to get a nice flow of posts about them as I finish them one by one. I'm anxious to share them.

My song of the moment which I really have been playing non stop this week is Interpol's new song. So good.

Working in a screenprinting shop has changed my view on graphic shirts and garments in general.
I was walking through H&M recently with my friend/coworker and he even pointed out to me how he can't look at shirts the same way. Simple prints with simple one color text is so easy to make, why should we dish out over $20 for that, you know?
It's been somewhat hard to shop lately.

For me to buy a shirt with graphics and images, they need to be extravagant.
Beloved Shirts has some straight up cool shirts. As much as I can easily make shirts like these at work, I would buy these.
Here are five great shirts that I'm diggin':

01. Wave Tee 02. Flamingo Tee 03. Lick Me Tee 04. Donuts Tee 05. Chevron Tee

I have really developed a love for t-shirts. They're just great and just work with everything. Converse and t-shirts. Classics.

It's crazy to look back at how much I progressed in the arts, especially comparing art supplies I used then and what I use now.
Once upon a time I used to draw on t-shirts. I had first started using fabric markers to do so. I collected a whole lot of colors. Eventually I eased off the markers and started using fabric paint, which is what I occasionally use now with screenprinting paint.
After buying plain white socks, I thought to pull out those old fabric markers and see if they still have juice.

Turns out I still have a whole bunch of colors that are still good.
I set up a work spot and folded up paper in the socks just in case the markers bled through.

I also am finding that I'm going through a tropical/Hawaiian art phase. I had luaus in the back of my mind when planning what to draw. So I projected that on top of both pairs.

They need some drying time. But when they're all ready, I'll be wearing them asap!

Here's an easy-peasy DIY with washi tape.
I've been obsessing over washi tape lately, just like the rest of the world. They're so fun.
I've also been trying to use clothespins more, for decorative purposes. I found a little batch of them in my basement and thought why not decorate them with my washi tape. I've seen this a few other places and I wanted to try it for myself.

All you need is the clothespins, washi tape, and scissors or an X-acto knife. A cutting mat is optional.

Just line up the tape on the clothespin and cut off the excess.

It's as simple as that.

Afterwards, what you do with them is all up to you. They look precious holding up art prints.

Bam.

I think I've shown my love for bookbinding enough so far, right? Being a self taught binder, I gave in and took a book binding class my last semester of college. It was the best decision I've made in a while.
I learned quite a number of different binding methods and the right way of binding. My self taught binding was a little rough and I fudged things to make them things work, in which they did some of the time. But those fudged ways can only get me so far.

We were taught Japanese stab bindings.

Plus paperback sort of bindings. I love the envelope one.

And hardcovers as well. These are a bit more tricky but I LOVE the end results. The middle one is my favorite.

For our final project we had to create a book (obviously) and fill it with content that is personal to us. I had taken a book illustration class the same year; my friend and I wrote the story together and I created the illustrations for the main project. I decided to carry that into book binding and take my drawings and turn the book into a coloring book.
I had brought my drawings into Photoshop to trace over and thicken up the lines, and then figured out how to print the pages. Was a little tough to get that part down, but I eventually figured out how to print them.
Yea it may be a little unconventional to make a hardcover coloring book, but I think it's fun.

I have a few projects in mind in which I will be using this newly learned knowledge of book binding. I really can't wait to get them rolling!

Kawaiiland was a blast. This was the first event I was featured as a vendor and it was such a good thing for me to do. My friend Steve hosted the event, and being that he played a large role in booking and planning the event, he got me a spot to be a vendor.

I arrived early to set up my table. I had researched for booth setup photos to get ideas. When the time came, I had no idea how to set my table up, so I kind of winged it. It was a little messy but I had plenty of friends come and help me out.
Pocky was also a sponsor; we were given so many boxes to lay on our table for people to take. It was tough figuring out how to lay them out on my already messy table.

I taped one of my posters to the wall to add more decoration around my table. I also took advantage of the couches around me and laid out more shirts.

There were so many vendors, three great bands/musicians, and so many people attending. I made a few sales and gave out plenty of business cards. I was the most grateful; my friends, employees & boss, and mom came out to support me and I couldn't have been happier. I would say even though it wasn't exactly my kind of crowd, I was happy to have experienced that exposure. I would have never found the guts to play the role of the vendor and I'm proud of me for getting out there.