Spring in Hoboken

Spring came today to Hoboken, New Jersey.  It was nearly 70 degrees and sunny.  There was a breeze off the Hudson and the tourists were out for Carlos Bakery in droves.  The locals were out enjoying the weather too, playing wiffle ball and Frisbee with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop.  It was nearly idyllic.  How do I know all this?  I work in Hoboken and I got to enjoy the weather myself.  After work, I went for a nice long walk, but for the first time in months I wasn't cold at the end.  I took some pictures and who did I think of sharing them with?  All of you!

This one is an iconic one,  the clock tower is the Lakawanna tower attached to the train station.  The train station began construction in 1906 and opened in 1907.  If you are interested at all in the history, check out this website: Maggieblanck.

The breeze was quite brisk on the boardwalk, but the view was spectacular, and the clouds were so airy and puffy I couldn't resist snapping very touristy picture.  Here, for example, the empire state building.

 And of course Liberty Tower.  Fun fact, when we first moved to New Jersey, Liberty Tower was only about 10 stories.  It has been really interesting to see it grow.

I took all these pictures from the edge of the Hudson.  Jersey City has been developing its water edge for the last years and it is really nice now to follow the water, north or south and experience the changing neighborhoods.  These posts in the water are about where the border between Hoboken and Newport falls.  There were some mallard ducks swimming and chasing one another through the posts, but I couldn't get a focused photo of them.

I know this post diverges from what I have previously posted, but I have been somewhat stalled on my crafts.  I am working on a purse for a friend, and it is very slow going.  I will post on it when it is completed, but in the meantime I will try to keep you updated on what is going on here in other areas.  Thanks for reading!

Braided fun

A few months ago, I saw a braided, seed bead necklace on a woman.  I thought it was beautiful and it inspired me to make my own.  Mine is not like the inspiration, but still very elegant.

I wore the green one I made to work one day, and immediately was asked to make some for various people.

After making quite a few over the holidays, I have finally gotten some listings for them up on my etsy shop.

I took these photos on a hand made and decoupaged model.

My Favorite Science Fiction

As a huge, and I mean HUGE fan of Doctor Who, I became obsessed when K-9 returned (with Sarah Jane of course).  Also a big believer in tea (getting the British connection yet?) I decided that the appropriate form for K-9 to take would be. . . but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 I painted it with acrylic paint, so it is not food safe, but I have been extremely pleased with it.  I still need to add a nose piece to emulate K-9's laser weapon, and a sensor plate to his eye area.

On a side note, I am loving taking pictures with my new camera, so expect a few more photo heavy posts.

Time Lapse

Well, it's been a couple of months and I haven't gotten a post up.  So here is a quick recap of the last few months for me.

First, you all missed my Thanksgiving feast, so here's a quick peak:

 The whole spread.

 Homemade cranberry in a mason jar!  Yum!

 Chocolate chip pumpkin bread!!

So Thanksgiving was fun and full of delicious foods.  Christmas came up fast, and gingerbread houses were the extent of our Christmas crafts:

 My favorite part was the jolly rancher windows.

I found this cool tutorial for woven paper ball garlands, so I tried them out:

I made them out of recycled magazine pages, and I found that a glossy mag works much better than a cheap catalog.  The paper balls turned out really well and I had a great time making them.  You can bet that as soon as we have our own Christmas tree, these will have an integral place on it.

Most recently, I got myself a new camera.  I won't put a photo of it up because my old camera won't do the new one justice, but I can assure you my photos will improve in the future.

Well, that's my recap, hope you enjoyed.

Gingerbread

Happy Holidays all!

New York Comic Con

NYCC was so amazing this year.  We went all three days and spent hours and hours enjoying the experience.  We saw all sorts of cool and geeky things and some really amazing costumes.  For example, check out this guy, who also made kotaku!

His hand was about 15 pounds, and the fingers all moved!

I also saw this group, dressed as the cast of Doctor Who.

But now for the best part!  My costume went over fabulously.  I dressed as Kaylee (Kaywinnet Lee Frye) from Firefly.

I altered a Dickies coverall, by shortening the torso, removing the sleeves, and shortening the zipper.  I also altered the pockets to match the pockets of Kaylee's uniform.  The hardest part for me was finding a pink floral shirt. Who knew that they weren't so possible at the moment?  I ended up finding one in a size 15 and had to take it in considerably to make it fit.  I made a pink pendant like Kaylee's and finished the costume off with a pair of black work boots.

I had so much fun making this costume and even more wearing it, but the best part was that Jewel Staite (who played Kaylee in the film and the tv show) was at NYCC!  She was signing autographs both Saturday and Sunday and I eagerly waited in line to meet her.  She was so nice and bantered with me about my costume.  She signed a photo for me and also SIGNED MY COSTUME!  I asked and she was so nice about it and said yes immediately.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all.

Decoupage Fever Continued

Well, I've completed the project and I now have a new logo.  I made my new griffin logo by decoupage.  I cut pieces from magazines and catalogs to make the image.

  

I then mounted the completed griffin on a piece of glass I painted blue.  I plan on hanging it on the wall and using it as my new logo on both my blog and my etsy store.