This time, 11 x 14
Meet my new gloves!
I think I found my solution to not being able to afford the leather driving gloves that I SO BADLY want...
I had these white cotton gloves from an estate sale that I was going to put on etsy but then discovered, in the bright light of day and not inside an old house, that they were kind of badly stained and yellowed. And not in a nice, antique-y looking way. So I decided to try dyeing them, since I have a million colors of dye and they were going to be redonated anyway. They came out way better than I ever imagined! They look like suede or leather from a distance and the details look so cute against the dark color.
Dyeing things is so much fun! We're going to place an AA order soon (I hope) so I can try leggings and v-neck shirts.
I had these white cotton gloves from an estate sale that I was going to put on etsy but then discovered, in the bright light of day and not inside an old house, that they were kind of badly stained and yellowed. And not in a nice, antique-y looking way. So I decided to try dyeing them, since I have a million colors of dye and they were going to be redonated anyway. They came out way better than I ever imagined! They look like suede or leather from a distance and the details look so cute against the dark color.
Dyeing things is so much fun! We're going to place an AA order soon (I hope) so I can try leggings and v-neck shirts.
Best dinner ever
Tonight's dinner was so delicious!! I mean, it's true, I've never had anything out of a Moosewood cookbook that wasn't really good, but this is definitely one of the best things -
avocado & grapefruit salad (with garlic, olive oil, spinach)
black bean chilaquile casserole, MM...contrary to how cheesy this looks, it's actually really low-fat and it was so good. I used my 60s casserole dish! It's all iridescent on the outside and perfectly sized for four portions (two meals for us).
avocado & grapefruit salad (with garlic, olive oil, spinach)
black bean chilaquile casserole, MM...contrary to how cheesy this looks, it's actually really low-fat and it was so good. I used my 60s casserole dish! It's all iridescent on the outside and perfectly sized for four portions (two meals for us).
IT - Something Wicked This Way Comes
This is one of my favorite books of all time. It perfectly captures the feeling around fall and October and Halloween! I love Ray Bradbury in general...he has great descriptive passages that are full of inspiration for all kinds of things. I reread this last week and took notes on all the parts I really loved. I'm working on some sketches now, inspired by it. Autumn is coming up and I am so in the mood to think about creepy carnivals and witches and falling leaves. It's a shame that most of the covers of this book don't seem to be that great, because the potential is so high! I like this one, though. Maybe someday when I'm a famous illustrator I can do a reissue :)
Ebay vs Etsy: A Guide
So, I've been selling stuff on eBay and Etsy for a while now and I thought I had familiarized myself with the fee structures. When I looked at my eBay account and saw that the $75 sale I'd made the other day had over $5 in "Final Value Fees" taken by eBay, I was kind of mad. So I decided to take another look at the two sites' fee structures. I made a little guide:
Here are my big problems with eBay/Paypal/life.
1. The outrageous 8.75% eBay charges you on the first $20 of anything you sell. That's $1.75! That's pretty ridiculous. On Etsy, the first $20 costs you the same as the rest, 3.5%, which for $20 is only $0.70. Even on low-selling items (or especially on low-selling items), Etsy is much less expensive than eBay.
2. So say you owe $5 in Final Value fees to eBay which you will pay from your $75 sale. You can't just pay the $5 directly from that sale - it goes to Paypal first. And Paypal takes 2.9% of those $5 just like they take 2.9% of the other $70. So you're basically paying Paypal fees on your eBay fees. This is kind of like being taxed twice. Really annoying.
3. Ebay charges you a minimum of $0.35 to list an item (unless it's media) and if you want to list anything above $10, it goes up to $0.55. If it's above $25, you'll pay $1.00. You could start your item at $9.99 to save on listing fees, but there's no guarantee that you'll get the $35 you want.
The list goes on, but I'm annoyed enough already. The only good thing about eBay is the fact that more people use it so you can (MAYBE, if you're lucky) get more for your item. And that you can sell non-old stuff on it.
Here are my big problems with eBay/Paypal/life.
1. The outrageous 8.75% eBay charges you on the first $20 of anything you sell. That's $1.75! That's pretty ridiculous. On Etsy, the first $20 costs you the same as the rest, 3.5%, which for $20 is only $0.70. Even on low-selling items (or especially on low-selling items), Etsy is much less expensive than eBay.
2. So say you owe $5 in Final Value fees to eBay which you will pay from your $75 sale. You can't just pay the $5 directly from that sale - it goes to Paypal first. And Paypal takes 2.9% of those $5 just like they take 2.9% of the other $70. So you're basically paying Paypal fees on your eBay fees. This is kind of like being taxed twice. Really annoying.
3. Ebay charges you a minimum of $0.35 to list an item (unless it's media) and if you want to list anything above $10, it goes up to $0.55. If it's above $25, you'll pay $1.00. You could start your item at $9.99 to save on listing fees, but there's no guarantee that you'll get the $35 you want.
The list goes on, but I'm annoyed enough already. The only good thing about eBay is the fact that more people use it so you can (MAYBE, if you're lucky) get more for your item. And that you can sell non-old stuff on it.
Breakfast
When it's 90+ degrees everyday, I am too hot to find food even remotely appetizing. It's really bad, because it just makes the effects of the heat worse. This morning I decided to eat an actual breakfast instead of pickles or cheese (yes, actual "breakfasts" I have eaten recently). Luckily, it wasn't hot yet, so turning on the oven wasn't horrible.
Poached egg and roasted asparagus!
It was really good. I'm proud of myself for actually knowing how to poach an egg...for some reason, it seems really fancy, even though it's not at all difficult. If only I could figure out how to do a souffle without it falling...
Poached egg and roasted asparagus!
It was really good. I'm proud of myself for actually knowing how to poach an egg...for some reason, it seems really fancy, even though it's not at all difficult. If only I could figure out how to do a souffle without it falling...
IT - Snow
Snow is one of my favorite things, and not just in real life. In art, I love how it creates a nearly monochrome palette and it's really interesting to see how different artists choose to represent it. I always think about this really great set of photos that someone had taped to the front of their locker in the photo building in college...I wish I had gotten a postcard from his show! They were all taken with snow on the ground and unless you looked carefully, you would probably think they were shot in black and white. Here are some of my favorites -
One of my favorite Hiroshige prints ever (#47, Oi River, from the Stations of the Kisokaido)...click to see it bigger, it's beautiful!
Monet, Boulevard des Capucines (also better bigger)
I can't wait until winter so I can do snow sketches...if I did it in this 94 degree heat, I'd just be sad.
One of my favorite Hiroshige prints ever (#47, Oi River, from the Stations of the Kisokaido)...click to see it bigger, it's beautiful!
Monet, Boulevard des Capucines (also better bigger)
I can't wait until winter so I can do snow sketches...if I did it in this 94 degree heat, I'd just be sad.
Bowsbowsbows
I've made lots of bows from the scraps of vintage fabric I have left over from hemming/remaking thrifted dresses...I think they're pretty cute! I'm going to put them up on Etsy as soon as I have clips to attach to the back. I'm thinking of making three kinds - hair bows, clip-on bowties, and bows with safety pins on the back (clothes bows?).
Fallish Shirts
Here are the shirts that I dyed two days ago! I like how they came out...the greens and browns and reds are really good for fall.
This week I'm going to work on getting them listed on Etsy, maybe saving a couple to print on (but we have to get gold ink first, so maybe I'll just dye some more for that).
PS. I enrolled in some illustration classes at SVA and I'm nerrvous! I haven't been in school for so long, I'm afraid I forgot how or something.
This week I'm going to work on getting them listed on Etsy, maybe saving a couple to print on (but we have to get gold ink first, so maybe I'll just dye some more for that).
PS. I enrolled in some illustration classes at SVA and I'm nerrvous! I haven't been in school for so long, I'm afraid I forgot how or something.
New Colors
I got my six new dye colors in the mail today (extremely quickly! Thank you Dharma Trading!) so now I have eight shirts dyeing. They have to sit overnight and then tomorrow I will see how they turned out! It's always a surprise. All the colors I got this time are warm colors...I was thinking of fall leaves and how some people might not be as into the whole black/purple/navy thing as I am. Here are some terrible photos from my phone because my camera is dead (like, completely) and I don't know where the other one is.
New dyes! Lovely colors - oxblood red, moss green, burgundy, golden brown, soft orange, and bubble gum (so I only bought this one because I like pink and it was cheap...it definitely does not go with my palette at all).
I'm hoping that orange becomes a little less road-work-crew when I wash it out...it probably will.
Shirts in their plastic cup homes!
Last night I played around with some acrylic paints and remembered how difficult (for me) to work with they are. I really, really prefer oils. I'm going to the art store this weekend to buy some gouache because I've never used it before and I love how it looks. I hope it's easier than regular watercolors, because I'm terrible at watercolor.
New dyes! Lovely colors - oxblood red, moss green, burgundy, golden brown, soft orange, and bubble gum (so I only bought this one because I like pink and it was cheap...it definitely does not go with my palette at all).
I'm hoping that orange becomes a little less road-work-crew when I wash it out...it probably will.
Shirts in their plastic cup homes!
Last night I played around with some acrylic paints and remembered how difficult (for me) to work with they are. I really, really prefer oils. I'm going to the art store this weekend to buy some gouache because I've never used it before and I love how it looks. I hope it's easier than regular watercolors, because I'm terrible at watercolor.
Bread!
Yesterday I baked my first-ever loaf of bread...it's pretty tasty! After reading online, I think the only problem with it is that I didn't knead it for long enough...it came out a little bit dense. I guess practice makes perfect? The bread is really good with a chunk of swiss cheese and some jam on top.
Tomorrow I'll get back to updating! I've been on vacation and not accomplishing much of anything.