That Was a Terrible Idea.

Our anniversary is April 29th, but I have Roller Derby commitments on Thursday so Adam and I went out to dinner last night. It seemed a bit like a comedy of errors.

We went to Gardunios, a local Mexican restaurant... ACTUALLY is New Mexican which is very different but when one is raised in New Mexico it is usually just called Mexican food. The main differences with Mexican food and new Mexican food are that New Mexican food usually uses sharp cheddar cheese and green chili. If someone asks you "red or green" in a restaurant here, Mexican or really any type, they are referring to chili. It is a common question.

Gardunios has delicious enchiladas and tasty margaritas. It was a lovely evening so we decided to sit outside on the patio. I have lost nearly 30 lbs now so my wedding ring has become VERY loose. To demonstrate that we should do something to get my wedding ring re sized I vigorously shook my hand (expecting it to fly off) very carefully avoiding the nearby bushes. To no surprise my ring flung off my finger. What I hadn't noticed was the large cracks between the wood on the patio, or at least not until my ring was already airborne, and the world turned to slow motion as I watched my ring fall, roll, and drop through the cracks.

Adam went to the car to see if there was anything that we could use to fish it out with and when the waitress came back I mentioned it to her. She said "people drop things down there all the time, there isn't really anything we can do about it." but she must have mentioned it to someone else because within minutes a young man ( maybe a few years younger than I am) came out with a plumbing tool used to pull things out of drains. It was basically a very narrow tube and wit a claw at the end. The waiter quickly retrieved and returned my ring. It was magic.


Relief washed over me and we enjoyed our dinner for a few more minutes. Autumn joined us at gardunios and like any toddler with a healthy interest in the world around her she amused herself by doing things like; sticking her fingers in food. The salsa was a little hot so to spare autumn from the rude awakening of HOT chili Adam quickly snatched it away from her little hands. I barely caught my margarita and the chips, sopapillas and empty guacamole dish ended up on the floor. When the calamity was over and the dust settled I looked at my glass and the base had broken off the stem. Adam and I traded margaritas because I did not want to face our waitress after the ring incident. She brought us another one, which we shared and we were able to get through the rest of the meal without any more problems.

Then we went to toys r us to look for a star wars Lego set that had guys with light sabers and was within our price range and buy autumn a toilet. We spent a disgustingly long time in the toy store admiring everything. I felt like a kid again. They had some cool Joan Jett and Debbie Harry barbies, and I was really into the retro revival dolls.

After that we went to Trader Joes to get our groceries. I LOVE trader joes. For real.

Ok.

The End.

Xoxo,

Erica
P.S. Not pregnant. :(
Now is a bad time anyway.

Does this block make my butt look big?

It’s not that often that I get to do a post that is about knives, but not about metalwork. This weekend wasn’t my most productive ever, but I completed a couple of projects that I really needed to finish. Erica’s weekend was much more productive, and resulted in multiple sales! Her new Caustic Threads shop (www.etsy.com/shop/CausticThreads) has only been up for a week or two, and things keep flying off the shelves. If you like the name, I’ll take a little credit, but we did throw around quite a few names before she settled on that one.

Anyway, enough about my beautiful wife… (no, there really is NEVER enough about my wonderful wife).

In a way, this post is about clothing, but clothing for knives, not for people. There are a couple of different styles of knife clothing: Stands, Blocks, and Sheaths. I’ve done all three, but today I’ll talk about blocks and sheaths.

In the kitchen, you expect to see a knife block. Sometimes whole families of knives live in one block, sometimes they hide in a drawer (the knives, not the blocks), more rarely there is a block for a single knife. I haven’t made that many blocks, but they have all been singles, and I try to make them match the knife – for obvious reasons. Blocks are a handy place to store useful tools in plain sight.

This weekend I finished a knife block for Bdoodles. Bdoodles is one of my favorite customers, not only because she has come back for more, but because she likes to give me ideas, and let me go from there. She has her own etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/BDOODLES so please check out her stuff as well. A few months ago I made a couple of antler handled letter openers for her family. This time it is a knife for cutting up the deer that they bring home. The request was cedar and blue, slim. This is what I came up with:

And if you want more pictures, check out the etsy listing at: http://www.etsy.com/listing/45597659/custom-order-for-bdoodles

On the other hand, some people want to carry their knives with them. In which case, sheaths make way more sense. Sheaths can be made of wood, leather, textiles, plastic, and lots of other things I suppose. They can be hung from belts, stuffed in boots, or attached to anything as long as the hardware is designed right. Hopefully I managed that.

This weekend I also finished up a sheath for NJJ. On the other end of the spectrum from BDoodles, and just as much fun to work with, NJJ had some specific ideas, and as I kept him abreast of the progress, added more details, and ideas. I think that I made them work. This is a camp/utility/tactical knife rather than a kitchen knife. The sheath can be hung from a belt, snapped to a backpack or vest, or tucked into a boot. I’m pretty pleased with how it looks. Here it is with the knife safely tucked inside:

For more pictures of this one, check out it’s etsy listing at:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/45530150/custom-order-for-paraclete-please-do-not

Some alternate commentary is also available at www.hangedmandesigns.blogspot.com.

Adam

A personal Favorite.

There are tons of amazing people in the etsy community, and occasionally we are lucky enough to meet someone the is not only talented and creative, but also kind, funny, friendly and wonderful. Tracy is one of those really extraordinary people.


She has two Stores filled with stunning items:


http://www.etsy.com/shop/babynest
♥♥ Friday, Saturday & Sunday Sale ♥♥
♥♥ Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Mix and Match ♥♥
*APRIL Contest* ((*For every purchase in the Month of April, you will be put into a drawing...May 1st I will draw a name...The winner will receive a Custom Basket (3" x 5") of your choice of color*))



http://www.etsy.com/shop/passportdesign
SALE: 10% off entire store for the month of April










I love Tracy's pin cushions, I have purchased two of them. One for myself and one as a gift. They are unique, and really beautiful. I use mine all of the time. You can see the listing for her pink primrose pin cushion here.











This beautiful Sunshine and Spring Doily is ONLY $6! What a great way to brighten a room! Look at it here.









I have also been trying VERY HARD to come up with an excuse to splurge on one of these fun skirts. check out the listing here

In addition to having two awesome stores she has a beautiful daughter and a husband. She also keeps some adorable bunnies.



I met Tracy in ChristieCottage's BNS thread. Feel like joining the fun? here is today's thread, there will be a different one tomorrow. http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6502022&page=1 If you are interested in joining on a different day just search the forums for christiecottage. Also, if you hang out in the promotions section for long enough you will surely see it. All you have to do is keep the thread active and buy something from any of the one stores on the thread. It is a great opportunity to meet some amazing artisans, promote yourself, and have a ton of fun.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Xoxo

-Erica

From the Caustic Studio

I have been watching for pictures from the bouts last weekend and so far now very many have popped up. Pictures of my team WATCHING roller derby is not very interesting, so I will wait to talk about the games until I can find some good action shots. I know there are some. I saw Them being taken.

I have been sharing my caustic threads shirts on my face book page ( I only have a personal page) and on my twitter and have had a lot of requests for different sizes.

Last night I went shopping and picked up quite a few shirts.


I now can make men's shirts and have a very wide variety of women's sizes.


This is the first print of a new screen I burned. I Like how it turned out.

And these are the shirts I printed this morning. Now I just need time to list them all. I definitely love screen printing, it is really fun, and some of my designs I think I could turn into art prints, which would also be fun for my original store. Please take a look at my new store http://www.etsy.com/shop/CausticThreads if you have a chance.

In other news, I have been really tired lately, and I am not sure why. My co-worker thinks I should take a pregnancy test. I would like to have another baby some day, but I really want to wait until the end of this roller derby season, so now would be a VERY bad time for me. I am on birth control so it is pretty unlikely but I had thought that it was a possibility before my co-worker mentioned it so I may be taking a pregnancy test soon.

SO, How are YOU?

Xoxo

-Erica

Evolution of a Black Eye.

Hi guys!

On Friday Adam, Francis and I drove to Tucson for the dust devil roller derby tournament. When we stopped to get gas and ran into the bathroom I got a few funny looks that totally confused me.

Then I remembered that I have a black eye.

The only other time I remember having a black eye was when I broke my nose when I was four. Stupid highway underpasses and patent leather dress shoes.

I am completely fascinated by the daily changes in color and even shape. Here are a few new pictures:




This one is from Saturday. It turned VERY DARK PURPLE on my eyelid. It was actually a very beautiful color, deep and reddish, like a plum.

This one is from Sunday. Yes. I am wearing the same stinky shirt that I wore on Saturday. WE wore black jerseys for all three games this weekend. The color became a little yellowish in some areas and now it is dark underneath my eye, not just on the eyelid.





And this was today. We were headed home from Tucson which is most of the reason I look so grumpy.




Last but not least, here is an adorable picture of autumn and I that was taken at the venue between out two games on Sunday.

I am hoping there will be pictures available for the bouts tomorrow, and I will tell you more about the weekend very soon.

Xoxo
-Erica

REALLY BIG STRAWBERRYS (read:YUM)

Well, this is not a fashion Friday post. It has been a while since I have done one, but I felt like writing about something else.

I eat a lot of fruit.

What can I say, I have a terrible sweet tooth, and at least fruit is good for me.
I like most fruit. I don't care much for apples peaches or mangos but I Love strawberries, grapes, oranges, mandarins, melons, tomatoes, avocados, bananas, cherries, pomegranates... you know... Fruit.

I get sad when some of my favorite fresh fruits are out of season, but it is worth it for the bliss that comes when I have my first bite of watermelon or my first strawberry or cherry.

Much to my joy strawberries are back in season, and the first package of strawberries I bought were "California giant strawberries".


Seriously. These things were huge. I am not sure if you can tell but they are about the size of a small apple or a plum. They are not only huge, they are also DELICIOUS. I was a little worried they would be bitter or bland, but they are as sweet and luscious as they look.


I am not sure how they happened. I don't know if they are cross pollinated, or pumped with growth hormones, or if they just pick all of the really big strawberries and sell them together, but They are wonderful.

Also, I really appreciate all of my loyal blog readers.

So THANK YOU.

You are as sweet as a strawberry.

I sold two items in my new shop yesterday, and was surprised and excited. Please take a look:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CausticThreads

I still have more items to list, but I appreciate any feedback you have about my new store. I also want to have a new giveaway, so let me know if you have any ideas. I love to hear from you.

I am headed off to Tucson this afternoon to play 3 roller derby games in 2 days. I'm exhausted just thinking about it!


Well, Happy Friday, have an excellent weekend!

Xoxo.
Erica.

Shiner!

One thing you may know about playing roller derby, is that it is a very bad idea to hit your own jammer. If you did not know that here is the basic structure of flat track derby:

There are two thirty minute periods that are comprised of "jams" that can last up to two minutes each.

Each team has 5 players on the track, 4 blockers and 1 jammer. After the first pass, which only establishes lead jammer (the lead jammer has an advantage because she can call off the jam when it is most advantageous for her.) the jammer scores points by passing each opposing blocker. The blockers are trying to prevent the opposing jammer from scoring points by hitting her and blocking her. They are also trying to help their own jammer by giving whips and creating "clears" (or moving opposing players out of the way).

Knowing this, it is pretty obvious that when one is playing roller derby she does not want to HIT HER TEAMS JAMMER.

It is an even worse idea if your jammer is about a foot taller than you and her teeth are level with your eyebrows when you are both in derby stance.

Things like this can happen:

It may be hard to see, but after my brow collided head on with my teammates teeth at scrimmage last night I had a lump on my brow about the size of a golf ball(thank goodness for both of us she was wearing proper protective gear, including a mouth guard)


This is what it looked like this morning:


These are two pictures are very rare photo's of me as I am usually wearing make-up and I think I have only had one other REAL black eye in my life. That was when I was about five and I broke my nose- great story, for another day.



It will be kinda cool to have a black eye for the tournament this weekend, but I am not looking forward to going to work like this. Even though I work for my dad and outside traffic is minimal it is a little embarrassing to have people wonder how it happened. My dad and co-worker both know I play roller derby but many of our customers do not.

I started a post yesterday, should be able to put it up tomorrow. I am sorry I have not been as diligent with my blogging lately, but I am sure you all understand that life happens.

Xoxo,

Erica

Whirlwinds, Derby and Dust Devils

Our Munecas travel season is in full swing! WE just returned from Denver where we got a brutal beating from Rocky Mountain Roller Girls on Saturday (though the announcer gave me "hit of the game" which was totally awesome), and then proceeded to pull of a win on Sunday against Pikes peak derby dames.




Adam and Autumn traveled with me, and I really enjoyed having their support and company. I spend so much time and energy missing my loves when I travel, so it was also fantastic not to be wallowing in self pity because I couldn't see my husband and baby. Yes, I am that in love with them. I miss them terribly when I go away. I don't care if it is lame or pathetic, that is the way it is.

After my vacation in Savannah and my games in Denver and Pikes Peak my head is definitely spinning, and my shops are both being a little neglected as I have tons of items to list and no time to really do it. I also need to finish up some paperwork for our first bout at the convention center and get up the courage to ask my dad to sponsor Duke City Derby.

My birthday is this upcoming Sunday and then we will be headed off to Tucson for a Derby Extravaganza called Dust Devil where we will play 3 sanctioned bouts in two days. Awesome.

Then I may need some sleep. Seriously.

Xoxo,

Erica

What a lovely trip!

Savannah is really beautiful this time of year, the weather was phenomenal and everything is starting to bloom. The azaleas were not in full bloom yet, but many of the flowering trees were blooming.


I thought this was so pretty! The blossoms mixed throughout the Spanish moss create a fairytale ethereal ism, a little spooky but still lovely.


We went to the beach and autumn enjoyed playing in the sand.


Everything felt warm, bright, fresh and happy.


And it felt like Autumn and I really bonded. It was so nice to be able to just spend time with her. It was also wonderful to see my mom, step dad and brother.

It was a very relaxing trip, and while I missed my husband I was NOT ready to go home!