the haps

 well once again it is monday and the weather couldn't be more wonderful! why is it that when you have to work the weather is amazing? oh well, makes the ride to and from work soooo nice and not having to wear a scarf FINALLY is just so thrilling! eek, summer is here!!! yayayayayay!!! so many exciting things to come when the weather is nice, bike picnic dates, rides to the watering hole, tubing & camping...oh so much fun!

well the mister and i had such a wonderful weekend with the family. we always have such a great time when we see them and it is just so nice to get away sometimes and just relax!


the weather was great on friday, when we got up north we went straight to the grocery store to pick up some yummy grub and turkey burgers were made and devoured...so so yummy!

then us ladies got down to business....making clay skull beads!!!! oh and the little nugget helped too....isn't she just the most precious thing!?!? she hung on the mister and i all weekend and i can't complain at all...i love getting attention and giving attention to that little nugget! who wouldn't though, she is just way way too cute!!

kelly-anne aka tinytangerines makes adorable crocheted bows and uses the skulls for some of them..sorry, i have no pictures to show as they sold like hot cakes but i am sure she will have more up soon! yay! i on the other hand just love skulls and it was my chance to make some mexican inspired sugar skulls beads :D

i painted a few and i just LOVE how they turned out... although my back was a bit anger at me... i think they would make super cute earrings but not sure yet as they may be a bit too big but i will try them out and see....i will keep you posted...

speaking of posted, my new owldorable collection is up, in my shop! YAY!! since kelly-anne has such a great camera i took the opportunity and borrowed their camera for a bit, we really do need a better camera...one day...for now i just gotta work with what i got! ALSO... i am offering 20% off on all the clothing in the shop, sale ends july 1st!

did you have a fantastic weekend?

xo,
cb

skirts and thighs...oh my!

hi! hope your weekend was amazing!

i have to say that friday was just a perfect day! exactly how i wanted to spend it! the mister and i slept in till 11 and boy did my body need it! i get an intense workout each day now that i ride to work and shuffle 60lb rugs and by the end of the week, i am a wee bit tired but i really do love it!

we got dressed and headed to the library to pick up some books. our book drop off's are all painted and this one, which is my favorite is painted like a regal eagle...hehe...

we rode back to the house and i worked a bit on some new owldorable necklaces and earrings. i am SUPER excited about them...i made myself one...here is a little sneak peak of what is to come soon....

 later that night was the east bay bike party and SKIRTS was the theme for the ride.... and of course i wore a skirt! i wore one of my favorite pleated skirts that i call mini mouse, as it has tiny white polka dots. i usually don't have trouble riding in this skirt but for some reason it was blowing all over the place, THANK GOD i wore long black little shorts underneath :D

speaking of indecent exposure, tina from citygirl rides did a post on a cop that ticketed a lady bike rider for wearing a skirt too short because it was distracting to drivers...hmm...well that is about the stupidest thing i have ever heard...i see plenty of horrible drivers that are NOT being distracted by pedaling beauties and the main distractor being the phone and texting, please be careful while driving, riders get killed ever day by drivers and they get away with it! the law is so unfair as you can see!!!

anywho enough with my rant... here are some funny pictures of some men riders that got really into the theme! and it was a great turnout this time too!

can you spot the man in the dress?

wish i could make this bigger but there are several men in dresses and skirts in this picture

such a great turn out!

scraper bikes

this made me giggle and then thought about buying it! hehe

xo,
cb

lets go oakland!

well happy monday to ya'll! hope you all had a fantastic weekend! the weekend started off to a great start...with only one more week left of work, it really brightened my day :)  yahoooooo! we wanted to celebrate me quitting and what better way to celebrate then with a little bit of baseball, one of my favorite sports!

we're a's fan and we live only 2 bart stops away from the oakland coliseum so it is perfect! i met the mister there after work were we drank a few beers before heading into the park.

bleacher seats are so cheap and really awesome too! it is never really crowded so there is always a great spot to plop. it was chilly and the mister had the great sense to grab a mexican blanket which was much much needed!

it was a great game and even better that the home team won! go a's!!!!

saturday we slept in and sadly the mister had to work which isn't his usual schedule but he had to switch days so that we could go on our bike ride sunday. we rode off that afternoon and parted ways. him going to work and me going to the library to pick up a book and then head on out to berkely to drop some owl earrings off at a store. the rest of my day was filled with sewing and then packing for our extremely early bike ride sunday morning! so far the weekend was pretty awesome.....can't wait to tell you about the ride!!!

stay tuned!!

xo,



cb

wheelin' and deallin'

happy monday everyone! hope you all had a great weekend!

this saturday was my alma mater's annual spring fair so the mister and i woke up bright and early saturday morning and headed over to oakland which is a couple cities north. we got there early, snagged a table and a couple of chairs and set up.

***the pictures that came from this roll came out really cool and we have no idea how it got that nice glow, if anyone cares to show we would love it!***

  my shits glow-ing!!!!

i always like taking pictures of my display so that i can review it and see how i can improve. plus it is a chance for me to step back and look at the overall presentation of it. it is hard to do it while at the fair as i am always nervous and have things to do before the crowd comes.

well it wasn't the greatest turn-out but sometimes you win some and some times you lose some. i didn't do horrible but i didn't do great. the spring fair is never a huge haul but it is always great to have the experience and get your name out there. we sat next to the jazz band that was playing which was really nice...the mister and i wiggled and snapped along to the music while sitting in our seats :D

after the fair, i dropped some owls earrings off at one of the local shops i sell at and then hit up the neighborhood thrift store. i was really excited to find a pair of black boots that i have been dying to find! they are gonna replace my doc martins which i will add to my shop when i have a moment.

i also found this pocket watch at the thrift store that has an engraving of a ship, i LOVE IT!! i had the perfect chain for it too, yay!


the rest of weekend was full of weed pulling and sewing, sewing, sewing!

how was your weekend?

xo,
cb

success!

i am happy to report that the craft fair was as the title of this post implies....A SUCCESS! the holiday craft fair always does well because people are in the mood to shop. i had a lot of fun this time around, met some really nice people and chatted with friends. i was really really happy with my display, we got a lot of compliments on it especially the typewriter...that was pretty much the topic of conversation besides chitchatting about bikes and riding. displaying the owl earrings on the type writer was great a idea so many thanks to all of you for giving me great feedback!

since i love color so much i wanted to make my shop stand out so i used one of our yellow bed sheets as the table cloth and my vintage floral suitcase as a prop for my bike embroideries. i was a little nervous about selling them as this was the first time bringing them and i was really satisfied with the feed back and comments that customers gave me. it felt really good to be rewarded for all the hard work i have put in these last few months and validation that my work is appreciated.

damn you camera cord!!!!!!!!

each year that i have done this show i learn something new and i always improve each year. i think the reason it was a success this year was the great visibly of my table and price point too. i know what to bring next year and what not to and then maybe trying another new craft out and see how that works too.


everything that didn't sell will be up in my shop next weekend. if you see anything you want as a present just know that i mail everything out expedited which is typically 2-4 days depending where it is being shipped.

i want to thank every one that stopped by and helped support citybirds, i am so grateful and humbled as an artist. i had two customers that came up to me that had purchased my items in previous years and it was great to receive their sincere compliments. i also want to thank all of you amazing readers for being such a great support for me and for that i am offering a giveaway open to all my readers as a thank you....just simply leave a comment stating why you love buying handmade :) and you could be a winner of of these cute red owl & white leather earrings! entry ends monday dec. 13th

so you ask what is next for this crafter? well i have tons of presents to make which i am excited about as i am trying out two new items which i can't mention as my friends and family read my blog and i don't want to spoil their presents, so after x-mas i will show pictures and diy's for making them!

many thanks again!


xxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxxxxooooooooo,
cb

i'm almost there!!!!!

 first off... have i told you how much I HATE OUR DIGITAL CAMERA!!! it takes the worst pictures and in order to even have it take a non-blurry picture we have to have it on pets/kids...LAME! if any one can recommend a great digital camera...one that takes great pictures, is on the less expensive side and is lightweight and small...i will love you always!



ANYWHO....since we were couch potatoes this weekend, i thought it would be a great idea to get some crafts done and since i am very good at multiy tasking i got a good deal done! i finished the boy and girl bike embroidery and it is going in a brown faux bamboo frame!

some of you have asked what type of material i am using and i am not entirely sure as one of my clients gave me a HUGE bolt of this fabric. It is a tightly woven canvas that has been so perfect for embroidering on! also some of  you have been asking what patterns i am using...i don't use any patterns. the mister hand draws all of the bikes on the canvas for me and then i embroidery on top of his line work...i think we make a good team :)

here is the one i am almost finished with...a schwinn tornado! i just need to embroider all the metal parts and this bad boy is done!

i also finished up some owl earrings...just three and i have 4 more to do and i still need to go pick up some jewelry parts at the store...eeek!! two of them have leather strips one them, i tried to take a close up of them but failed...as our camera is super freakin awesome! question: what do you think about the earrings being displayed on the typewriter for my craft fair? we have an older black one that i was thinking of using but that baby was waaaaayy to heavy for me to pick so i used our blue one instead....


tonight i am working on some hair clips...will post pictures of those as soon as i can! can't wait till it is all over and i can kind of relax....still have to make some christmas presents!!!!!!!!!! a crafters work is never done!

xo,
cb