Scribble Nation

Mary's Berries - A Kitschy Collection

I've been collecting these awful figurines from the 70's for years now.  Every time I find one at a thrift shop I grab it up as quick as I can.  Etsy was looking for some Etsian collection videos so I decided to make one up real quick.  I've been meaning to show these guys off ever since Michelle gave me the "Things Go Better With Sex Guy" - the figurine that started the obsession.

Hey! Rock n' roll, The Storque just posted an article on my ugly Berries collection. Woo wee. Way to share the freakiness! Oh, and apparently I've been calling them by a backwards name all this time - it's R.W. Berries! That's me, the queen of dyslexia for you. :)

This is Me

After being sick all last week I seem to have lost my momentum. Blech.  That stuff takes a lot of energy to work up so it sucks to back at the bottom of the hill again.  But I am determined to get back on the productive trolley ASAP.  I have all kinds of cool things going on behind the scenes that I am just itching to announce once they are concrete.  For now, I've been focusing on listing some new items that are long overdue to hit the Scribble Nation Shop. This includes a bevvy of new Boot-onnières, including Michelle's awesome Button Boot-onnières, a slew of new Kitschy Kitchen Magnets, and a couple of adorable clutch handbags. (One of which sold already!). I'm also getting some more Upcycled Envelopes ready so they should be up pretty soon. 

Prom Pixie

Sniff sniff. There she is, the littlest McSibling trotting down the dock in her Senior Prom dress. She'll be graduating High School at the end of the month.

It feels like only yesterday, and not almost ten years ago that I went to my prom. Though, in truth it wasn't MY prom, but a childhood friend's. Either way it was a prom, and the only one I got so I'll try to keep it alive in my brain for the sake of sentimental checklists. Prom, check.

While my date was a love lorn friend, Caity's was her high school sweetheart and boyfriend of two years, James.  Though I am yet to meet James in person, he seems to be a very nice guy. Sweet, funny, and madly in love with my little sis.  They make an adorable pair. :)

Here's the money shot!! The classic side by side prom pic. I wish I had one of these, but alas, I've only got a handful of snapshots. I wonder if I can dig them up? Might be time for a scan.

Ohhhh yeah. I just found my prom's side by side. I've got to warn you people, it's a whole lot less virtuous. :P Yes, that's stogey in my hand. And yes, I am practically tiny next to my date despite the fact that I was wearing 4 inch platform shoes. Oh well.  His name, by the way, is Steve Celentano, and was very good friend of mine while I was growing up. I haven't seen him in a verrrrry long time, but last time I did he seemed quite happy. Here's hoping he still is.

Turtle!

I just got these awesome pics from one of my Dad's latest dives.  This Hawkbill Sea Turtle swam right up to the camera! What a ham!

My Pops is quite the Cousteau. Check out the last picture he sent me, from a close encounter of a very much scarier kind. 

Craftastic Makes Scribble History!

I am happy to report that Scribble Nation's first craft fair went rather swimmingly.  It was a small show, with a relatively small amount of shoppers, but a great way to get our feet wet.  We sold a fair amount of stuff throughout the day, got to meet many of our fellow CT Etsy Team people, and overall had a faboo time. 

Here's Michelle showing off our fancy table! We didn't get to bring Godzilla this time, but we're hoping to have him fixed up in time for Friday's Sidewalk Sale in Bethel. 

We came up with a crazy idea while setting up to give away buttons to anyone brave enough to model our Scribble Nation Crown. I made this wacky hat one night while I was getting silly with a glue gun. I giggled for hours while I scared the bejeezus out of Scott Bobleo that night. Mwa hahaha. He begged me not to wear it in public, but I said "poo poo to you Scott Bobleo. I'll do what I please." And I did.

Here is Bobleo Senior modeling the hat in question.

And a fetching young lady who tried it on for size.

And best of all, this crazy kid who came with his mom. He had a hilarious joke for every item on the table and was cracking us up the whole time he was there.  We sort of wound him up. Can you tell?

For more pictures of the Craftastic Event please check out The CT Etsy Team Blog.

I had the Weirdest Dream Last Night

I was a frat boy whose buxom girlfriend (played by Jenny MCcarthy) was bitten by a vampire and than won a hamburger eating contest. Right after that I switched from being in the frat boy's point of view to being in my point of view.  Now I was in Brooklyn at Etsy Labs going to some class. I met some of my old friends there and was all "I didn't know you worked at Etsy Labs!" and they were all "Yeah, duh. Of course we do. Let us show you where we all live." So they took me to this crazy Condo Complex. It was a series of buildings with four apartments each, in a horse shoe pattern.  In the middle was a huge courtyard, with a really cool pool that everyone called "The Grotto". It was a really fancy pool that incorporated a lot of stone and natural shapes. It was actually very similar to the playboy mansion pool which is also called "The Grotto". Very cool. My friends show me their apartment and explain that everyone who works at Etsy in Brooklyn lives in this fancy gated community that they call Etsy Town.  Each apartment building also has a rooftop garden and a huge art studio for the people that live inside.  After my friend's show us (now Scott is here too) their apartment they take us down to the pool. We are all having fun and drinking fancy cocktails when I look at one of the people and recognize an acquaintance I have that has always seemed to dislike me.  I was in the middle of asking her why when the sun went down!! All of the sudden the Jenny MCcarthy vampire started running a muck in Etsy Town! My memory gets a little foggy after this part, but I think my point of view kept switching from me to frat boy in a strange attempt to restore order while saving Jenny MCcarthy Vampire Girlfriend's life.

Dreams are wacky, yes?

Come on Guys!!

I'm trying to work!!

These two never quit.

Hot Rodleo

Scott Bobleo finally fulfills his lifelong dream of owning a dirt bike.  After months of unsuccessfully selling the big ugly truck, someone came along and offered to trade us a 2003 Yamaha Dirt Bike for it.  Considering that the bike is worth more than the truck, will not require insurance, and will be a whole lot easier to sell when the time comes, we decided to take the deal.  (Not to mention Scott has wanted a dirt bike for... like ever.)  Happy birthday Scott Bobleo!!  Here he is looking cool:

And here I am looking cool:

Scott says we can put an Etsy sticker on it. LOL.  I'll be learning how to ride this puppy myself, once Scott figures it out.  It's actually a small bike, so I'll be able to drive it too.  Time to go helmet shopping.

Spills and Thrills

Scott Bobleo had the day off on Saturday, a nice treat since we rarely get a whole day to spend together anymore. We decided to have a nice afternoon date. :) First we went ice skating at the Danbury Ice Rink. Scott hasn't skated since the day he cracked his head on King's Lake in Bethel. That was his first and last experience ice skating. Every year I beg him - "Please!!" to go ice skating, but every year he drones on and on about how I couldn't possibly understand how awful it had been to hit his head while ice skating as a kid. Snore! So this year, I made my usual request, and to my surprise, no story! He said - "you know I've always wanted to try ice skating." So off we went. Within 15 minutes Bobleo was literally skating circles around me, twirling around and even hopping into the air! Sometimes it's downright annoying to be partnered up with someone who has a natural ability at EVERYTHING. LOL. It turned out that this trip was not meant to injure Bobleo. It was meant to injure me!

Twinkle Toes McNally took a dive (or 6 or 7) last Saturday and managed to bruise her knees, wrists, and elbows something fierce! Check out this elbow shot -

I went down so hard that it ectually embedded the stitches of my sweater into my arm! The best spill of all though, was when I wiped out in front of Bobleo and he SKATED INTO ME. He ripped a giant hole in my jeans with his toe-pick! He had denim hanging of his skates! Luckily, he only ripped my pants, and not my ass! I spent the rest of the afternoon feeling a slight draft now and again, but otherwise it was a harmless collision.

The rest of the weekend was a flutter of toilet cozy sales and crafting. I finished  my super cool craft for the Scissor Squad's Holiday Swap just in time! But alas, the weather reports insisted an ice storm for that evening, so I had to cancel. Murphy's law prevailed and the weather wasn't too nasty that night anyway. Argh! We'll be giving it another go this Tuesday. Hopefully we'll make it there this time.

On Monday I got to meet Michelle's darling new baby!! Natalia Rose is Pooks's little sister and she was born Monday morning, weighing in at 7 lbs. 11 oz. As all of you know, I am a crazy Pooks fan, so MIchelle Baby #2 is just about as good as it gets. I harassed Bobleo all night with baby talk. If ice skating has taught us anything, it is the value of persistence. One of these days that boy is going to say YES. For now I will have to settle with being an honorary Auntie to some of the cutest kids I know. It's not a bad gig.

God Fuzzgot About Us

A tragic story of fuzzy refugees.

These are the last of the Fuzzy's, a small band of synthetic blend refugees. Since their creation, three days ago, these Fuzzy's have been under constant attack by two carnivorous felines that lurk in their territory. The first Fuzzy victims were taken in the night, just hours before they were made. The only trace that was left was the occasional google eye or string of fluff. In the morning, the survivors moved on to a new location, hoping to leave this carnage behind them.

"It was like waking from a horrible nightmare.", says Rikeeta Fuzz. E. "We were just happy to make it through that horrible night alive. BY the time we reached the next location we were physically and emotionally exhausted." 

But it wasn't long before the felines discovered the Fuzzy's new hideout, and now they had a taste for Fuzzy blood. By the next morning their numbers had been halved by the vicious, night time attacks. Finally, the Fuzzies retreated to the safety of a desk drawer. Surely, they would be safe here. Yet somehow, day after day their numbers dwindled. Fuzzy remains continued to appear throughout the area. How was this happening?

Never underestimate the wiles of the domestic cat.

Their numbers depleted, the surviving Fuzzy's are nearly all injured, some blind. They've been moved to what I believe is a secure location. But will they be safe there? Only time will tell.