Matt Bellamy and his awesome tiny pants

In case you didn’t know, I’m a big fan of Muse.  Yes, I’m a fan.  I’m embracing my inner 14-year-old girl, and being a balls-out fan.  Matt Bellamy is the frontman of Muse.  Now, he’s no Mr. AmyD (who is incredibly hot and fantastic), but he’s pretty awesome.  He can sing, play piano and guitar like some kind of freak and is full of bravado that I like in a rock star.

snappy dresser

The man can dress.  His latest forays into shoulder pads aside, I love his clothes!  I’m pretty sick of the “ugly is the new cute” look in rock bands.  I don’t want to see what you look like after a few days of not showering, or changing your clothes.  It’s appreciated when someone makes an effort.

Matt Bellamy wears some tiny pants!  In the video for “Undisclosed Desires” he’s wearing some TINY pants.  I called my friend, Michelle, to chat about this new video.  Like me, she is a 14-year-old girl trapped in the body of a mom.  She has an unabashed love for Muse as well.  Our conversation went something like this,

AmyD: Hey, did you see that new Muse video?

Michelle: OMG!  It was hilarious!  Those glasses were so funny.  They crack me up.

A: I know! He’s so dang cute!

M: He is!  Dear lord!

A: How about those pants!  They are so small!

M:So tiny!  Little pants!

A:I should make you a pair!  You could wear them on your fingers.  They’d be true to size.

And she laughed.  Michelle is good if you are trying to be entertaining.  She laughs like an insane person and holds nothing back.  So she laughed like it was 1978 and I was Steve Martin.

Making these pants put me back into creating-for-fun mode.  Since I usually make things for money, it was really fun to make these tiny pants.   They have a little velcro fly and all-in-all, it was tons of fun.  So Michelle, these are for you.

action shot!

A few crafty (and not crafty) things for your kids to do without you!

Been thinking about this a lot lately.  I love crafting with my kids.  It’s fun.  It’s a bonding and learning experience.  We get to share creativity.  All of these things are true, but that’s not what this is about.

Sometimes, I may have an unexpected deadline and no sitter.  Or maybe I just don’t want them in my grill all the time.  And yes, I know they should do things without me, and they do.  This is for the times when they don’t really want to and you need them to.

Yeah, I think she's gifted

1. Whatever the season, find an object that you can cut out in paper or felt that is about 6 inches tall.  For instance, we did pumpkins in the fall, hearts near Valentines Day, trees in the summer.  I usually cut about 10 per kid.  Then I put glue  and sequins, glitter, buttons, yarn etc on the table and they decorate them.  (While they are doing this, I sew an apron, or do laundry or sneak into the bathroom and read.)  When they are finished, we use a hole punch and poke holes in the tops of these things, or the sides depending on what it is, and string them together.  Now we have a garland! Hang it above the kitchen table or on the fireplace.  Ta-da!

Making a Christmas Tree Garland

2. Wash potatoes.  Seriously.  They LOVE it.  When my kids were really little, like just barely walking, I would give them one potato and a bowl of water.  They would wash their potato for at least half an hour.  Potatoes are dirty, people!  Now that they are 7 and 5 (the 15 year old isn’t into this one), they take them into the bathroom and wash them in the sinks.  Give them toothbrushes or scrub brushes and let them go to town.  A couple of towels are good too.  It’s fun to play in water, dirty water, and also then at dinner, I have clean potatoes.

3.  Put all the kid-friendly craft supplies on the table and don’t say anything.  This is not a sure thing but usually, if you just start making something they will want to see and join in the fun.  We have a TON of supplies and kits and whatever else.  So I put it all on the table and start making a card.  They will want to be sure you aren’t having fun without them and wander over.  When they get involved, slowly walk away.  I know! If you are judging me right now, you either have a nanny, or have one kid.  This one sometimes backfires.  Not a good one to do in my house when they haven’t slept or are just being jerks.

4.  Window crayons.  If you don’t have these, you should.  They are just crayons that write on the windows and easily wash off.  I am in love with window crayons.  We have a sliding glass door to the patio (slab) and they love it. Which sort of leads to the next one…..

5. Give them a spray bottle of water and two small towels or washcloths.  Two because they will want one to be sort of dry.  If you have any glass doors in your house, this is really great.  Let them spray the water on the window and wipe it off.  Over and over and over and over.  My 7 year old isn’t really into this one any more,  so I have a variation.  She washes the baseboards.  SERIOUSLY!  For her, it’s not an annoying back-breaking chore that you won’t ever get thanked for doing.  It’s a fun thing to do with a spray bottle of water.  And she doesn’t soak the floor because she’s 7.

Those are the ones I think are the easiest.  I didn’t even get into old lipstick and fingernail polish, putting socks on their hands and letting them dust, or putting wet socks on their feet and letting them mop the kitchen (so fun!).

The Beer Apron Delivery to Wholly Craft!

Hello, wonderful people!  This is the last Beer Apron delivery I’m making to Wholly Craft before the holidays.  A few of you have been eager enough to make the haul up to my place to get one, and I really appreciate it.  Here are a couple pics of the ones I’m taking to Wholly Craft tonight.  I only have four, so if you want to put one on hold, call Olivera 614-447-3445.  They should arrive just before 8pm.

Here are the pics I just took with the trusty iPhone.  Ignore piles of fabric and thread all around.  It’s been a crazy season!

I have two full ones and two half ones.  One of the half ones is in that gorgeous toile.

Enjoy!

Where is my stuff?

Hello everyone! It’s been very busy here at the AmyD sweatshop.  If you head over to my online shop, you’ll see a dearth of merchandise.  There are a couple aprons and skirts and scarves.  A really cool scarf.  (makes me think of Mr. Poshta Designs, actually)

Ohio apron, pic by That Patti

For you, however, I just made a batch of coffee sleeves and delivered them to Wholly Craft and the kickstart.  And, more aprons!  Delivered some to the kickstart and Wholly Craft.  Olivera, of Wholly Craft, will be at the North Market this weekend with AmyD merchandise and tons of handmade goodness from all over.   Also, you can get the aprons at Whole Foods on Sawmill Rd and coming next week, the Whole Foods on Lane Ave!

If you didn’t know, I have three kids.  Everyone here is sick.  Flu.  Pneumonia.  Random coughy snotty things, so really, you don’t want to see me in person.  really.

The Best Present Ever

You may have heard me talk about this before, but if not, here you go.

About 11 years ago, I was living in Athens, Ohio.  Work was all-consuming.  My son would have to have dinner with me at my office.  Needless to say, my house was a disaster.  Like a frat house after a party kind of disaster.

My dear and wonderful friend, Holly, has known me for a long time.  We met when I was 14.  She was all punk-rock and super cool, and I was a dork.  Total dork.  I had feathered hair.  It was 1984.  She had black hair and a long white braided tail.  Right?  I know, now you say “Oh god that’s dumb!”  But then, well that was the shit!

Me, Mr. Holly (Eric), and Holly 1992?3?

So you get that she’s known me a long time.  She’s known me through some very unflattering stages and changes.  Well, this year I was overwhelmed with life, the way one gets.  For Christmas that year, she gave me “Wife Wednesdays.”  Wife Wednesdays meant that EVERY Wednesday for 3 months, she would come to my house while I was at work and clean it.  CLEAN.  I mean, she swept, picked up, did dishes,  did laundry, PUT LAUNDRY AWAY, changed sheets.  She did it all.  But the best part was she would make a casserole and put it in the fridge with instructions on how to cook it so the boy and I could have a nice dinner.

The first Wednesday was the day after New Year’s and she came!  It was so fantastic.  It’s not like she didn’t have stuff to do either.  Holly has three kids of her own and a husband.  (he’s pretty foxy, but so is she)  But still she managed to do this wonderful thing.

Holly - stole this pic from Eric's Facebook

So if you are looking for a great gift for a single mom, this would have to be the most wonderful gift ever given.  Better than your only begotten son.  (ok, calm down, just kidding)

Thanks Holly, it’s been 11 years and it’s still the best gift ever given!

 

Today’s Action at Whole Foods in Dublin

When I was first approached with the idea of selling AmyD aprons and coffee sleeves at Whole Foods, I thought it would be cool and that it wouldn’t happen.  Today it happened!

When we met and talked about what I do, the team at Whole Foods was really interested in the way I recycle material.  We decided that for Whole Foods, I would make the aprons with reclaimed fabrics.  A bit of a challenge to find and take apart sometimes, but I think it was worth it.  I brought the coffee sleeve to them as a thank-you gift and they decided it would be a great fit in the mix too!

Here is a pic of the rear of the display at Whole Foods and me looking dorky.

This was taken with the iphone, so not the best, bear with me.  Patti, of That Patti, was there taking pictures and I’m sure they will be way better!

The whole experience is pretty surreal for me.  You may be reading this and be a successful entrepreneur and think it’s small potatoes.  To me, it’s the first time since I’ve been doing AmyD that I think, “You know, this might be a viable career choice!”  I might get to make stuff for a living!  The possibility of the possibility is exciting.

My husband has been really great through this whole thing of not sleeping, cleaning, or cooking that I’ve been doing while getting this ready.  Of course, I delayed because I kept thinking the order wasn’t coming.  This is when I should have been preparing, but nah, I wasn’t.

And Kristin, my wonderful friend who helped orchestrate this whole thing has inspired me to try all kinds of new things.  By the way, “helped orchestrate” = put the whole thing together and kept making sure I was on task.  She just thought it was going to happen and it did.

Here is Kristin and I putting together a rack…..

I was really sort of nervous to meet the folks at Whole Foods.  They were so easy to talk to!  They answered questions and let me talk all over myself, as I tend to do when I’m nervous and sleep deprived.  All of them really seem behind the idea and want it to be successful.

This is a whole new audience for me.  I’m unsure and excited and a little freaked out.  It might seem small, but to me it shows a possible option.  That’s huge! Hooray!

The Kickstart!

Time to break out the pleather pants!

Maybe you’ve already heard the news, but AmyD is moving down to The Kickstart!  Starting on September 5th, you can find me in the Short North.  I’m so excited!  The folks there are the nicest.  Honestly, I was a bit worried.  You know, it’s supercool there.   (Scooters and fantastic coffee and seriously attractive people)  But thankfully, everyone is nice and so fun!  I hope you love it too!

We are having a party after the Barista Jam Saturday!  I’ll be there along with Mr. AmyD, so stop by and say hello!

I still take custom appointments, and we can meet there!  You can still reach me at 614-266-5454 to set something up or email me at amyd@madebyamyd.com

In other good news, my site is back up.  You’ll notice that there are fewer things there.  That’s due to the wonderful people who took great advantage of the 40% off sale.  Thank you!  So the sale is over, and some new things will be added soon!

Starting 9/5, you’ll also be able to find The Lucky Ladle soups and turnovers at the Kickstart too!  Isn’t that great?  I’m telling you, after you try this soup, you’ll think about it nonstop!

Lots of changes!  See you soon at The Kickstart!

xoxoxo

40% off everything online at madebyAmyD.com

Here’s the announcement from my site. ….

DANG!  Fried server issues!  This means you can see the first image of each item, but when you click on an image, it’s blank.  ROT!  To help you with this problem, I’m giving a 40% discount on everything here until the problem is resolved.  FORTY PERCENT!  Here’s what you have to do to get it……send me an email at amyd@madebyamyd.com with the name of the item you want.  I can either send you a paypal invoice, or send me your phone number, I’ll give you a call and we can work it out.  The 40% off is to cover the pain-in-the-ass factor.

Thanks!

xoxoxox

AmyD

Another zucchini save

What is the purpose of zucchini?  I need to look that up to see what is in it that makes people grow so damn much of it.  There is still some left and Mr. AmyD won’t touch it.  So I have another zucchini-hiding idea for you.

This week i made wraps with it.  I diced it up and put it on a tortilla with those tiny black salty olives, green olives and hummus.  Oh, and sundried tomato.  Holy cow it was delicious.  The zucchini gave it just a little bit of a crunch and some texture.

There’s some big stuff brewing in AmyD land.  More on that later in the week!

xoxo

Love those Crafty Michiganders! Lots of pics!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in the Columbus Crafty Cotillion’s craft fair at the Ohio State Fair.  As far as craft fairs go, this was one of the best organized ones I’ve been to.  Parking was great, loads of fantastic volunteers to help load and unload.

The logo that Clinton Reno made was over the top wonderful.  Here it is…

Clinton Reno made this!

Also, I saw REUSABLE PAPER TOWELS!  Now, I’m sure we are all using less paper towels than we ever have, right?  We know better, right?  We use only cloth towels in our house, but at times I can barely shut the dang drawer because there are so many.  Well, Lisa Miner has developed a way to help me with this problem!  Check out this pic…

The Un-Paper towels are at the top of the pic.  they are squares of fabric that are cotton on one side and terry cloth on the other.  They have little snaps that hold them together and come rolled up like paper towels!!  Genius!  From an email Lisa sent me, “I use resin snaps and there are 10 towels on a roll. I sell them for $20-25 (depending on the fabric).”

Ok, final review of the craft fair is this, it was well-organized, great vendors, and great creations.  It was at the Ohio State Fair, and in my experience, the best craft fairs are the ones that stand on their own.  Meaning, not a craft fair attached to another event.  Money-wise, it wasn’t so great.  But, I had a good time!

Crissy Gipson, of Indie Biz Chicks, Lish Dorset and Bethany Nixon of Handmade Detroit made the trip down from the Mitten to visit us here at the Crafty Cotillion Handmade Expo!  First off, do click on those links.  Each one of these fine ladies has a website on which you could spend an entire evening!  It was so nice of them to make the drive and we had a great time afterwards.

See?

me, Dilara Casey, Lish Dorset, Olivera Bratich, Bethany Nixon

Crissy was taking the pic, unfortunately, or you could see her sweet ass too!  She is recovering from being gravely ill (read: blood transfusions…plural…for real!) so I was so happy she could even make the trip. Dilara Casey is there in the pic, she is Buckeye Bling.  That’s right….the inventor of the Buckeye Rosary.  Olivia is the owner of  Wholly Craft.  I seriously felt like I was witnessing some kind of spectacular craft summit.  I felt like I was in the scene from the Godfather where they meet in Cuba!

Here is a nifty video documenting part of the fun!  Keep in mind that it was a bazillion degrees and I was sweating like an Easter pig!

We all were so similar, it was instant b0nding and great fun.  I can’t wait to see them again!  I’m crossing my fingers that I get into the Detroit Urban Craft Fair!

On that note, if you’ve stuck it out with me and made it this far, I made it into Craftin Outlaws!  Hooray!  See you there!