Ron Carlo and Carl's Mexican Vacation

Ron Carlo and Carl went to Playa del Carmen last week.  They tagged along with a bachelorette party (because they had a free place to stay). Here are a few pics of their shenanigans...

monsterami for sale at Sanctuary Home Bath Garden in Austin, TX

Monsterami is for sale in a second store!!  We started selling at The WonderCraft in February, and now we are available at Sanctuary Home Bath Garden.

Sanctuary Home Bath Garden is an amazing little boutique on Bee Cave Road (behind Breed & Co.) owned by Hanna Curran.  It's filled with lots of cool gifts and is decorated in lovely, calming shades of green.  I saw lots of things I want to buy for friends as well as for myself.

http://sanctuaryhomebathgarden.com/

Please check out Sanctuary if you're in the area -- it's a super cool store!!

Emilio

My name is Emilio. My dad died 2 1/2 years ago. I think about him almost every day.  Sometimes I cry.

TONIGHT - Garbo Salon 25th Birthday Party & Local Vendor Extravaganza!

I'll be selling monsterami tonight at this event. Should be lots of fun -- a band, margaritas and lots of local vendors selling cool stuff!  BONUS... this event goes to benefit SafePlace. SafePlace works to end sexual and domestic violence through saftey, healing, prevention and community change.  

6 - 9 pm

Garbo A Salon and Spa
7739 Northcross Drive
Austin, TX 78757

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=287257418228&index=1

Please come out and show your support!!

this is a pic of my table setup test run. (please excuse the mess in the background!)

Gregorio

My name is Gregorio. I like leg wrestling but I'm not very good at it. I lose a lot.

Hal

My name is Hal. I can't fall asleep with the TV on. I have to have complete silence. It has to be really dark in the room too.

Reuben

My name is Reuben. I don't like to shop at thrift stores cuz all the clothes have an old dirty stink that doesn't come out even when you wash them.

Toots

My name is Toots. I like peanut M&Ms. I suck all the chocolate off first and then I eat the peanut last.

Our first PRESS!!!

This is so kickass! Monsterami is mentioned in this article in the Thrillist about The WonderCraft.  We have our pincture printed and even our own paragraph!!!

The oddest offerings are crocheted creatures from Monsterami, whose name-tags come with probing biographical info like "Richard wears his swimsuit when he runs out of underwear" -- before the heat can be caged, it must first be netted.

I can't stop smiling!!

http://www.thrillist.com/austin/wondercraft

Felipe

My name is Felipe. I lost my job and now I collect unemployment. I'm happy cuz now I can stay caught up on watching Oprah.

It's business time...

So... yesterday was my last day at my "real job". I was laid off after 9 years of working for the same company. They are shutting down the whole office so everyone was in the same boat. I'm looking forward to taking some time off to focus on monsterami and my friend Terra's bachelorette party and wedding.

Today I started working on some financial stuff, I organized my workspace, looked into some web design stuff, came up with a new banner, and went shopping for various and sundry things for my next event on March 11th.

My friend Christian is a fabulous photographer (http://www.xianstudios.com/) and he took some photographs of my monsteramis last week. He's also designing new business cards for me. I'm so excited!

Here are a couple of the pics he took:

 

The WonderCraft Grand Opening is TOMORROW!

Everyone please come check it out!

It's a really cool airstream trailer that has been turned into a mobile craft studio/boutique. They have lots of locally made goods for sale (including MONSTERAMI!) and some local makers will be vending their awesome products. I think there will be free wine and cupcakes, too! 

It's from 6-9 pm, behind The Art Pad at 48th and Burnet.  Thursday, February 25, 2010

http://thewondercraft.blogspot.com/2010/02/come-tie-one-on-at-our-grand-opening.html

Vinny

My name is Vinny. My favorite time of year is when McRIB IS BACK! I like mine with extra pickles and onions.

Other News Update

Before I forget... two recent events that will impact my life and monsterami's future...

1) Monsterami's application for the Renegade Craft Fair was declined.  I was really disappointed because I thought monsterami fit in perfectly with the Renegade concept. I was baffled when I got the news. I even posted a comment on the Renegade Craft Fair Facebook fan page, expressing sadness that we were declined and stating "I wish I knew why."   Yeah, THEY DELETED MY COMMENT.  I am tempted to tell everyone to BOYCOTT THIS EVENT, but that's just my sour grapes talking.
http://www.renegadecraft.com/austin

2) I was given my walking papers at work. My last day will be February 26, 2010.  It sucks, but at least I will have more time for monsterami. I have a lot of ideas for new products and marketing strategies, but not enough time in the day to work on all of them.

One new product idea... baby bibs! I'm in the testing phase right now, washing and drying to test for shrinkage, and even field testing on a REAL LIVE BABY for comfort, durability and scare-ability.  haha

monsterami sale on March 11th, 2010

I'm proud to announce I will be selling monsteramis at the Garbo Salon & Spa 25th Anniversary Party and Local Vendor Extravaganza on March 11, 2010!

here are the details
date:        March 11, 2010
time:        6 - 9 p.m.
address: 7739 Northcross Drive, Suite K
                Austin, TX

This will be an outdoor event benefitting SafePlace. http://www.safeplace.org/ 

There will be a band, refreshments and local vendors.  Please come out to support us!!!

I've been working on my table display and have bought a couple of cool accessories... including a birdcage and a bicycle!  Check out how cute they are!

Jeff

My name is Jeff. I don't drink beer. Beer gives me gas.

Humberto

My name is Humberto. I got my foot slammed in a door when I was little and my toenail fell off. It grew back but now it's flat on one half.

Ronaldo

My name is Ronaldo. On Sundays, I like to make homemade onion rings and watch True Blood on HBO.  I want to fall in love with a vampire.

Fabio's Ride

Here are some pics of Fabio on his Ducati. He looks pretty happy IMO...

Zod

My name is Zod. I like to go to Oktoberfest and drink beer and eat bratwurst. I like to do the chicken dance.

Antonio

My name is Antonio. I can drop it like it's hot. But I choose not to.

JoJo

My name is JoJo. I talk a lot. People tell me to shut it because I tell the same story over and over. I tell them to bite me.

WHO DAT?!

My name is Beauxregard. After the Saints win the Superbowl, I'm geauxing to a crawfish boil. Ima suck on some heads. Geaux Saints!

Big Carl

My name is Big Carl. I'm friends with Steve. One time I saw a chupacabra lurking outside my bedroom window. He scared me. Then I ate a Toblerone and fell asleep.

Jonah

My name is Jonah. I stuck my chewing gum on the wall behind the TV. I got in trouble. I'm not allowed to have gum anymore.

Ping

My name is Ping. I am allergic to all nuts except peanuts. Peanuts are legumes.

a little less crazy today

Last night, on the advice of my therapist, I performed a ritual to rid myself of old baggage and emotions and STUFF.

A few night ago, I went thru my entire apartment and threw out (recyled even) all this paper I had been hanging onto - old greeting cards, tax forms, unfinished crossword puzzles, unread magazines. It was a very cleansing feeling to open up some space in my apartment as well as in my soul (in a metaphorical sense). I found a bunch of journals I had kept, some since I was a senior in high school. It felt toxic to touch them and I was even more afraid to open and read them. So I wiped the dust of them and returned them to their original hiding places.

I really wanted to get rid of them but I have this irrational fear that someone would find them and read them and all my crazy would be exposed.  So I told my therapist about this and he suggested I burn them to say goodbye to all the old issues and emotions contained on those pages. After arguing with him about my concerns for fire safety, we agreed that I could just tear them up and recycle the paper. Oh! And we agreed I could drink wine while doing so.  haha

Here is my pile of journals and my glass of wine, laid out, waiting for this journey to begin. I call this picture "Whole Lotta Crazy".

 

I peeked into the first journal (written when I was 17 yrs old) and found a bunch of poetry I had written and/or collected, and I tore a page out that had an original poem on it. I ventured to read a few more pages after that. But then I got to the page where I wrote that my dad called me a whore and I wrote "FUCK YOU BASTARD" in all caps and then a few pages later where I wished he would die in a horrible accident [not to worry, he died many years after I made that wish]...and I decided to stop reading. Can you blame me? It's hard to look back at what an angry little girl I was.

I started tearing pages out and ripping them in half and then half again. It became more hypnotic than cathartic. But a few journals later (this one was written in 2007), when I happened to stop at the page where I wrote about my dad dying, I cried. It was the only time I cried during the whole process (but I'm crying a little now as I type this). I tore out that page and saved it as well.

Here is a pic of almost 20 years of my crazy in a pile. I call it "Less Crazy Now".

In all, I saved three pages. The third one was written in 2001, right before I started seeing my first therapist, and contained a list of my issues I wanted to work on. I am seeing a new therapist now and I am disappointed to report that old list of issues still pertains to the present.

What does any of this have to do with monsterami, you ask?  Not a whole lot... I guess what I am trying to illustrate is that where there is creativity, there is oftentimes some crazy, too.  Sometimes a lot. haha

Happy to report that I feel a little less crazy today.  :)

Claire

My name is Claire. I like to eat paella on Sunday. It makes my tummy smile. Especially when accompanied by bottomless mimosas.  :)

Lars

My name is Lars. I have an outie belly button. Sometimes I grind my teeth at night.

Steve

My name is Steve. I have nice skin because I use proactiv. It makes me sad when I get called pizza face.

a history lesson: the evolution of monsterami

I was cleaning my apartment tonight and I came across the FIRST MONSTERAMI EVER MADE!  I can't help but laugh...I read the Crochet for Beginners book wrong and instead of doing single crochet in the round, I did slip stitches for the entire thing. That's why his head is so misshapen.  haha  Well, that and I didn't know how to decrease stitches properly...

I cleverly thought to pose him with a bunch of martini glasses to make him seem more interesting....

The next day I decided to get off my lazy ass and google amigurumi.  I actually found some videos online and learned how to do it "the right way". My second amigurumi creation was a frog - and I followed a pattern and everything!

[I realized later I was still doing it the wrong way...I was crocheting in the back loop only instead of thru both loops.]

My third creation combined regular crochet with crochet in the round. I bought some more yarn colors (you can only make so many green and white things) and found another easy pattern online.  I posted this pic of him on my facebook page...

His pic got the following comments:
"looks like he had a few already"
"man, you look goofy when you drink wine"
"what you made it? what is it? a sponge?"
And Voila! The first monsterami with a name was born... Little Drunky!

So there you have it... for all you history buffs out there.  haha (And before anyone asks, no, I cannot recreate that first one. He was one of a kind...)

p.s. All three were stuffed with cotton balls. haha I was too lazy to go to the store to buy polyfil and I wasn't sure I would stick with this new hobby. 

Fabio

My name is Fabio. I like to eat pickles at the movies. I roll my own cigarettes.

Richard and Carl

Richard and Carl are best friends. Richard wears his swimmy suit when he runs out of clean underwear. Carl likes to chase badgers and eat bologna sandwiches.

Lars

My name is Lars. I have an outie belly button. Sometimes I grind my teeth at night.

a wonderful evening and The WonderCraft

I went to an Austin Babes in Business meeting last night (my first meeting). I was nervous about going because I'm shy talking to new people and this was obviously a group that knew each other well. Everyone was really nice and I got a lot of positive feedback about my monsteramis. We were told to bring samples of our stuff (most of the members make handcrafted goods, lots of Etsians, etc.) but I think I was the only one who brought a HUGE bagful. haha  I think it looked like I was guarding my bag all night, but in actuality I'm just not a mingler. I find a place I like and I stay put. 

We had a roundtable meet and greet and exchanged business cards and talked about our crafts. We ate and drank (I drank more than I ate, as usual) and had a gift exchange (I took home a really cool handmade glass business card holder from Third Coast Art Glass!).   

Afterward, Beth H. and Beth A., two of the girls who own The WonderCraft [www.thewondercraft.com] asked if they could sell my monsteramis in their shop on consignment!  I was so excited!! I left them with 12 monsteramis. 

I was drunk and forgot I had a camera with me so all I have is a pic of the receipt I got and a flier. 

"F you, William Hung!"

Franklin's favorite song is She Bangs. He credits himself as being the inspiration behind William Hung's performance of the song on American Idol and his subsequent rise to fame.  Please don't mention William Hung's name around Franklin as it is still very much a sore subject... he firmly believes he was cheated out of his 15 minutes of fame. 

Marty

Marty is a cheeky little monsterami monkey. His favorite food is chocolate chip cookies. He's been spotted lurking around cookie jars across the great state of Texas...but his lightning fast speed has so far prevented him from being caught.  If you see him, proceed with caution. He WILL bite.

Whatsa happening, hot stuff?

A few exciting things have been happening in monsterami-land lately.

First, I had a meeting with a potential investor a few days ago. He's really interested in working together, but we have to overcome a few obstacles...mainly how to mass produce them by machine (if a machine exists that can crochet stuff like this). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can work something out.

Second, I was just asked to be a vendor at Garbo Salon's 25th Anniversary party on March 11, benefiting Safe Place. My friend Lauren Collins is an esthetician at the salon and she showed the girls in the salon my monsterami pics on facebook and she said they all loved them.  Thanks, Garbo girls!
www.garboasalon.com

Third, I'm considering applying to be a vendor at the Renegade Craft Fair in May. It's a well known craft fair in cities like Chicago, Brooklyn and San Francisco, and this will be the first year it's held in Austin! I have a couple of weeks to decide...  (I am maid of honor in my friend Terra's wedding in May so I don't want this craft fair to interfere with my MOH duties.)
http://www.renegadecraft.com/

Lastly, here is a pic of my latest monsterami. I am only posting this pic because I think the socks are cute. (This was a custom monsterami and the buyer paid double to have a Texas A&M monsterami made.)