kitty shenanigan's: cone of shame

Poor Jasper has learned the humiliation of the "Cone of Shame" this week. 

Seriously Mom... please don't post a picture of me in this thing!

Jasper had a scrap with another animal which left him with a huge gash in his side and a nasty abscess on his chest. So... he has to now wear the blue Elizabethan collar (that is the actual vet term for cone of shame!) to keep him from licking his newly patched up injuries.

Poor kid had a tube through the abscess so it could drain.. Gross, I'm Sorry!

Jasper found a square of sunshine to feel content in his cone. At least for a moment.

Oh... and I have learned the most annoying sound to wake up to in the middle of the night...

Jasper's tongue trying to obsessively lick the cone away! Sigh..

I don't know who wants it off more?!

shoe-spirations: kryssy's wedding sandals

I made the decision to stop sitting on my duff whilst awaiting school & start practicing the shoe making skills and knowledge that I learned from my time at The Shoe College in Jerome. So, I started by making a pair of sandals. 
The sandals were inspired by my friend Kryssy who is finally getting married to her amazing fiance Chris. They married on 4.14.14 in Hawaii. I figured a Hawaii bride needs a pair of sandals not a pair of fancy heels. Plus it is a good simple place to start with working my way up to more complicated shoe designs!

It all started with a collection of materials & a glimmer of an idea..

Pieces cut & an idea is starting to come together. 

Hand sewing sequins on vintage lace with the help of my Grandmother's thimble. 

The utterly scary commitment of sewing leather together!

An even scarier commitment of painting cursive letters on to the soles!
As you can see I did flub it up, but it was fixable... BIG sigh...

Gluing and making the mid-sole comfy with extra cushion.

Making way for the straps to go through the top sole.
 I punched a lot of holes & had a few hand cramps!

Coming together... literally!

Lookin' more like sandals with every step!

Let's glue this shit together!

Lining pieces up with loads of glue is a little nerve-racking!

The finished product made me giddy!!! It was a inspirational reminder of why I'm working so hard to get to school. I was so happy, even through the hand cramping episodes of punching hole through leather. 
I added so many meaningful details to these wedding sandals. I followed the old, new & blue wedding tradition by using the blue leather, vintage lace & sequins, and well the shoes were completely new! I also stamped into the leather their names and the date that they married. I had to add some pink, as Kryssy loves pink. So the pink sequins from my Grandmother Frances' craft supplies had to be used. I also felt so much love for my friends union I knew it needed to be written in pink.
I wish Kryssy & Chris a lifetime of love and happiness. 

I'm still giddy about this shoe project and I'm already planning the next. 
Stay tuned...

sshhhhhhh..... silent sundays: rainbows in the hangar-hood

shoe-spiration: the cobbler's holiday

So.... I was having a crap day today. At the end of everyday I mop. Whilst mopping I like to look at the books on display in the windows next door at Serendipty used bookstore. They've been the same ones for awhile but today a new children's book caught my eye. The Cobbler's Holiday or Why Ants Don't Wear Shoes. I had to know about the cobbler's holiday & see the rest of the illustrations of these well dressed ants!

I finished the rest of my closing duties and marched my self straight into the book shop and well.... I bought it. It was so darn cute I couldn't bring myself to put it back into the window. 

I'm so glad this simple book was in the window to brighten my day and to give a shot of shoe-spiration to my cobbler dreams. Thank you Serendipity you made my day!

                

                

                

                

st. valentine's day....

So... much to many's surprise this year I've gotten a man. My mother is ecstatic! Most years Valentine's day is just a day for others and a boost to candy and card sales. This year I bought a card....

The perfect message to my fabulously weird guy!

I found it on Etsy with Little Low Studio from Austin TX. 
I don't know if you've noticed but I'm quite strange and it has taken me a while to find the perfectly weird & slightly old fashioned guy to like! I hope he sticks around!
Happy Valentine's to everyone.  

sshhhhhhh..... silent sundays: PDX trip highlights instagramed

shoe-spirations: orla kiely + clarks

Orla Kiely is one of my most adored designers. Her bold print retro aesthetic makes my heart sing. I've always thought she needed a shoe collection & I secretly hoped it could be me that helped her with that. Clark's beat me to it & well... poop, they did a great job too!

Sweet collection profile!

I want these so bad my eye is twitching!!

LOOOOVE the big buckle!

I think these could replace my summertime flops, just sayin'!

Mary Jane's with punch leather flower detail....I'm drooling!

This sole detail makes my soul dance a jig!

Maybe someday still I'll get the chance to design shoes for Orla. Until then these Clark's are flippin' fabulous.