Poor Lost Bread

it's official! (kind of)

2008-02-25T11:36:00.002-06:00

I'd like to UNOFFICIALLY announce the launch of creepmousetoys.com !

Unofficially because it's not official yet (ie - copyrights pending, etsy store pending, getting home to a sewing machine pending, a basically all the pages are still 'coming soon' except the BLOG is up, as is the contact page!

So, this may be the last post as Poor Lost Bread as I am now making the transition to Creep Mouse Toys at the new website!

Feel free to check it out (if you haven't already) but please don't judge it as of yet! There's still a lot of work to do, mind you. : )

Also, in the midst of this exciting transition I'd really like to thank everyone who has helped me out along this project known as 'poor lost bread', anyone who purchased anything, anyone who just supported the idea! Thank YOU!

Oh, I mean, Merci à VOUS!

BIG NEWS!!!

2008-02-15T10:38:00.003-06:00

First, I know this blog is basically dead, but it's because I haven't been doing plush things so there has been nothing relevant to post. That is, until TODAY! Or, well, yesterday too I guess.

So, I'm not sure which news is BIGGER so I'll just go in chronological order. First, yesterday, I officially purchased the domain name creepmousetoys.com which, I'd like to announce, is the future name of poor lost bread (in the works still). But yes, I"m working on it! So I should hopefully have a nice fancy website by mid summer (July 1st is MY personal deadline).

SECOND, I got accepted to the PLUSH YOU show this year at Schmancy in October! SO EXCITED! I can send 3 items and I'm super excited because it's perfect timing to show off my new name and my new idea (or "vision") of plush, along with some of my poor lost bread classics (don't worry!).

Anyway, I miss sewing so much, but the future seems very promising and I can't wait until the summer! Oh, and France is going quite well too! Today we went to the beach and I found a star fish....

je suis à montpellier!

2008-01-04T19:52:00.000-06:00

*view from my hotel window. moving into the dorm tomorrow!

le fin de 2007

2007-12-31T12:55:00.000-06:00

This photo is half of two dozen carrots that I've been scurrying to make up these last few days for a couple craft consignment stores. Including The White Rabbit (see link at side bar).

Happy New Year!

à bientôt Madison

2007-12-29T21:35:00.000-06:00

First is my seasonal card to EVERYONE!

Today I said farewell to Madison until June. I thought it would be bittersweet, but it was mostly just sad. I won't get all weepy because there are plenty of other weepy blogs you could be reading. So instead I'll post some of the pretty photos that have been taken in the past weekish.

Here is the pile of slippers that I made for the fam and some friends, although they're not complete. The finals versions were personally embroidered with the name of the recipient sewn to the heel.

And here is the wrapping paper I made at kinkos by using some red and blue wrapper paper found at a thrift store and making more copies (illegal?) for PERSONAL USE on neon 11 x 13 sheets of paper.

And finally, some photos that Adam took of his bug collection since they are too pretty to just leave in a dark, lonely folder on my desktop.

WINTER!

2007-12-22T17:16:00.000-06:00

According to my assignment notebook, today is the official first day of WINTER! Not to mention all of a sudden only 3 days until Christmas (and 11 until I take off for France!).

Right now, finals are done as of yesterday, and I'm just working on packing up everything to get moved in the next few days...

The Etsy shop has been closed but I may post a few special orders / reserves for people. I really don't have much left though, but feel free to send me an email (poorlostbread@gmail.com) or a message on etsy if you'd like to check on my stock.

Anyway, I'm very excited for everyone who is getting one of my plush for a holiday present--if you do and you read this I'd really like to have a photo of your toy in it's new home!

Off to pizza and packing....

allez-y!

2007-12-10T23:52:00.000-06:00

(on the left) Saturday : one year celebration with delicious paella made by le chef Adam, followed by a live improv performance of one of Adam's fellow entomology majors.

(on the right) tonight's batch of 6 coals for the Glitter Workshop, hopefully I can get them over there tomorrow or Wednesday. I have another 9 or 10 to make tomorrow in order to take them to work on Wednesday, so expect more plentiful and aesthetically pleasing coal snapshots to come.

Otherwise,

Sunday and today were spent for the most part in Chicago. Got my VISA, a book of 501 French verbs, and a good haul from a 50% fabric store moving sale (photos of those goods coming up, they should be documented and shared).

Also, I'm trying to think of some plush to make between finals and when I shove off for France to send to stores to sell for me... any suggestions of anything you'd like to see in plush format?

Off to the nightly episode (or two!) of The Twilight Zone!

Night!

evidence

2007-12-05T23:53:00.000-06:00

the photo on the right is that previously mentioned particular car at the end of my block... my car was about 1/2 this bad this past weekend, or maybe less, but it seemed pretty bad... AND still 3 more days of snow in next 10 days. i feel like we haven't had this much snow in the month of december in the past 2 years combined.

the photo on left is the thank you card i made and gave to eric for shoveling and driving and rescuing my car.
the card is one of 5 i copied at kinko's using their really fancy color copiers and some cardstock, of a card i actually have dated 1947. i plan to do a lot more of this kind of vintage-stationary reproduction soon... i just need to have a good reason because those color copies aren't cheap!

still snowy

2007-12-05T20:44:00.000-06:00

although i have no photos of the snow to show, i may try to get some tonight. there is on particular car at the end of my block that is hardly visible under the masses of snow and ice.

but anyway, i found this lovely photo of my plush in action at the kismet gallery's plush vinyl + clay show in Troy, NY right now.

also it seems the croque monsieur moustached sandwich has already been eaten or perhaps purchased? who knows, maybe he's living in nyc now, spreading his toasty warmth.

one full week of classes left, with a trip to chicago this weekend to meet with the French Consulate to get my VISA (fingers crossed!), and then finals and then moving and then christmas (oh no i don't have any presents), and THEN FRANCE! AHHHHHHH!

but, i still have about a month, and i really really want to get some sewing in too, hopefully tomorrow after my oil change (yes Mom I remembered)...

Yip yip!

snowy

2007-12-03T21:41:00.000-06:00

i keep forgetting to upload my photos onto my computer before i leave to get internet (since i don't have it at my house)! but, luckily a recent Poor Lost Bread convert has taken a photo of her pink bulb ornament in her pink holiday tree! (thank you Sandy!)

nothing like a pinky photo to help me forget about my $30 parking ticket and the dread of oncoming "snow showers."

this past weekend there was SO MUCH SNOW. luckily one of adam's two weight-lifting room mates was nice enough to help me rescue my car. and adam helped too! my keds became swamps though, and now they're crispy from all the salt...

but i did order some boots yesterday and they should be getting here tomorrow! yay! i'm having everything i order online these days shipped to adam's house since i suspect somebody STOLE my yellow reebok's, of which i have still not received a full refund, but i talked to a reebok rep last night and he said it takes up to 30 days. boo hoo.

speaking of 30 days. 29/30 days until i fly away for France!

and... less than that to make presents for everyone i love! yiiiikes! jo ann's here i come, oh, and i have to get my oil changed, bah!

but no, i have lots of ideas for presents, although most people i'm making them for are going to be snooping around here so i'll be posting them and how-to's AFTER the 25th, but more sweetie photos to come, including my recent project at kinkos involving vintagey stationary and a color-copier!

brrrr

2007-11-29T12:34:00.001-06:00

Since updating the shop I've been busy printing a lot of new faces and piecing together patterns and designs that I've been wanting to for awhile now. Also I shipped a large box of croissants to Shanalogic and I'm currently in the process of getting together a box of goods for White Rabbit in Iowa City.

In the past few days I've made a set of pigs in a blanket and, a very handsome carrot.

Time's running out and I only have about a month until I leave the country, but I'm excited for when I get back. I have big plans to get a business license and learn more about the business world, and also perhaps invest in a serious website. poorlostbread.com? Hopefully someday!

I recently started compiling a wish list for the holidays, which I haven't in a long while since I always feel uncomfortable telling people what to get me...

If only it was realistic for me to wish for a baby ant eater :

Also good :

real quick!

2007-11-27T00:33:00.000-06:00

I've been up all night loading up my etsy store and flickr site... So check those out if you're looking for some REAL updates!

Day 1 of the High Noon Craftacular.

Day 2 of the High Noon Craftacular.

My personal haul from the Craftacular.

AND still enjoying leftovers.

Please forgive my tiny entry, I'll go into more depth about how the Craftacular went (besides AMAZING) and other exciting upcoming events soon!

ça va!

2007-11-20T20:06:00.001-06:00

I bought these little Cram Cream cuppies at The Glitter Workshop this earlier today when I dropped off some little cards and mini candy canes to go into the goody bags for the lucky first 50 people who come to the High Noon Craftacular this weekend!

I'm officially finished with school stuff for this week, although I have a take home test, and a few assignments (including recording myself reading an excerpt Le Petit Prince by next Monday... + 150 pages of le Passé Simple, but I don't have to worry about that NOW! Because it's almost Craftacular time! I have a ZILLION things to stuff, many photos in the coming days should be expected.

Also, for anyone interested in buying stuff from my etsy store, you've probably noticed it's empty....

I'm going to refill it as much as I can sometime early next week. Hopefully Monday, but Wednesday at the latest!

Yum, stuffing. Oui, ça va!

craft fair prep I

2007-11-18T22:38:00.000-06:00

This weekend I made the very first batch of official Poor Lost Bread Poor Lost Bread's! The story goes, French toast translated into French is pauvre pain perdu, translated back into English is poor lost bread.

The photo doesn't do it justice, being as there was no natural light involved that probably makes sense. The bread is made of a yellowy wool felt, and the crust is a really soft, brown/tan alpine fleece.

Also got around to making some holiday ornaments in the form of multi-colored light bulbs :

And, perhaps MOST exciting, Poor Lost Bread has now branched out from plush only to incorporating stationary (sort of). But really, I'm excited to open a new area of design! I made these gifting labels by taking a photo of this white lacey fabric on black felt and distorting and coloring it. They say To: and From: (pretty simple). Up in the store if there are any leftovers after the craftacular.

More photos and excitement to come!

where's plb?

2007-11-13T20:21:00.000-06:00

HA! ok, I just checked onto flickr and saw that the Kismet Gallery had posted an image of the poster they've made and, well, poor lost bread DID make an appearance on the poster, it's not a very established one. more like a "where's waldo" appearance. but still... waldo's famous, i guess?

Plush, Vinyl, and Clay

2007-11-13T20:06:00.000-06:00

these are the little guys i put together for the handmade toy show at the Kismet Gallery in Troy, NY. Sorry about the blur, but I was in a hurry to snap a photo and wrap them up since they're due in NY asap!

Here's some more info on the show from the Kismet Gallery :

Plush, Vinyl, and Clay
International Collection of Handcrafted Designer Toys

With the holiday season quickly approaching, multinational corporations are gearing up to push on the American public their next “must have holiday toy”-- which will be another mass produced, sweatshop made piece of junk. In fact, 75% of all toys sold in America this holiday season will have been manufactured in sweatshops somewhere in China. Furthermore, they might possibly contain lead paint. In stark contrast to these multinational toy makers, designer toy artists from around the globe will be handcrafting one of a kind and limited edition collectible works of art.

This holiday season, we at Kismet Gallery are looking to do our part to combat the spread of these mass produced sweat shop made monstrosities. On November 30, 2007 Kismet Gallery in Troy, N.Y. will have an opening for Plush, Vinyl, and Clay at which we will showcase work from designer toy artists from around the globe.

Kismet, located at 71 Fourth St. in Troy, NY (telephone 518-272-1918) was established in June 2006, and operates as an artist-owned gallery and studio space. Showcased in Kismet’s 3,500-square-foot gallery are the works of over 150 local, national and international artists and artisans. Kismet’s philosophy is to bring fine art to the masses without being pretentious, showcasing work that is both enjoyable and affordable. In 2007, Kismet was voted the Best Art Gallery in New York’s Capital Region. On the last Friday of every month, we have an opening and reception at the gallery in conjunction with an art walk in downtown Troy. These opening nights are consistently attended by up to a thousand people.

Kismet Gallery is a new breed of bottom-up retail enterprises, where we pride ourselves on doing things differently. Unlike other retailers, we never sell anything made in a sweatshop—just one-of-a-kind handcrafted items which are sustainable and manufactured by our family, friends, and neighbors in our community. At Kismet, we stand for principles over profit; idealism over hype; values over image; and mutual aid over competition. Unlike retailers at the mall, for every dollar spent here at least 60 cents goes back into our community to pay our artists; the rest goes to keep the gallery open.

As owners, we see ourselves primarily as activists fighting back against the corporate takeover which is running roughshod over our communities. We view the corporate flagpoles dominating our streets and the city outskirts as being representative of conquest, not community. Our once-bustling downtowns have been left derelict, once-plentiful resources have been pillaged, and once promised jobs have been axed in favor of sweatshop labor. The time is now to kick the corporations to the curb and to reclaim our communities.

dressy bessy + slobby bobby

2007-11-13T19:53:00.001-06:00

*beignets made for a special order

so school and sewing are REALLY taking over my life and the limited internet access i have makes it really difficult to post stuff when i actually DO have access, since so much of my homework and assignments are online now those get priority resulting in a very deprived poor lost bread blog.

anyway, since i just learned how to do this AND was just talking about how school is taking over my life you can look at this beautiful powerpoint i made for my french business class. it's on this music/craft/everything fair in Montréal called POP Montréal but i focused on Puces Pop which is the craft fair part of the extravaganza en français.

also i've been eating very well (yikes), and here's a very personal photo with the baked macaroni and cheese i made... last week? yes, last week.

my first casserole ever.

a pile of felt creme brulée dishes :

halloween!

2007-10-29T22:37:00.000-05:00

costumes that i scrapped together from scratch. consist of silver pleather and yellow piping. i'd like to thank my mom for the never-ending supply of joann's coupons. anyway, they were a big hit and really fun to wear.

PLUS there are STILL a couple of days until Halloween is actually gone so hopefully we'll be able to wear them out again. tomorrow? (WSUM zombie dance party)!

STUDYING ABROAD

2007-10-24T23:19:00.000-05:00

à Montpellier, France!

Le semestre prochain!

bike + crafts

2007-10-23T20:09:00.000-05:00

plenty of quick updates!

(1)

new bike, cost me $1 at the dig and save (+ 31 $ to fix the tires and a lesson from dad on how to tighten the brake)....
and i'm ashamed to admit that i still have only ridden it around the park (to practice) and the two blocks from adam's house to my own...

(2) bought some new shoes today... let's just say i could have bought 70 bikes at the dig and save (jeepies). but wait, i think you can understand:

(3) finished 18 croissants (more to go!), and 18 creme brulée dishes:

(4) took 2 really hard french tests yesterday, but they were good at the same time. neurosis test thursday... ahhh so much school stuff i can't even write it all. + still waiting to hear if i've been accepted to study abroad at Montpellier and/or Paris next semester... should have heard everything by this time next week!

(5) Halloween (or black and orange day) coming up this weekend, with adam djing at a friend's birthday party and then a few other things going on the rest of the weekend(including working, bah, and practicing for a mock-interview en français for my french biz class). anyway, the costumes are 90% done with only accessories needed as of now, but here's a SNEAK PEEK or rather the photo (from the movie: Planet of Vampires) that inspired them. think silver pleather + yellow piping:

i'll have (several i hope!) photos of me and adam in our halloween space gear after friday night!

the camera was on?

2007-10-23T19:55:00.000-05:00

smokey

2007-10-15T19:02:00.003-05:00

here's the cigarette/throw pillow laurel received for her birthday already, even though it's not until tomorrow.

and here is one reason why i love cows :

bah!

2007-10-15T12:18:00.001-05:00

i have lot of photos to show off but i still have two more birthdays to pass until i can post them all! i'll try to get one of them up this evening of what i made my former roommate Laurel for her 21st.

also, i'm working on getting a photo of my $1 bicycle but i really don't feel like i should until it's in 100% working order (i still haven't had time to get the brakes fixed to my liking).

BUT the BIG NEWS of the day (and maybe the week) is that i got my first invite to a gallery show! it's going to be from Novemeber 30th to January 25th! and things are on consignment there too so besides getting some great publicity i might make some extra $$$.

it's being put on by the Kismet Gallery in Troy, NY. I really want to try to make it out there for the reception on the 28th but I don't think that's a cost (or time) - effective idea. oh well, hopefully there will be future shows that i'll have a realistic chance of making it too.

well, now I have to figure out what I'm going to make and get started (PLUS i still have a TON of plush to make for the CRAFTACULAR, but I really needed this jump-start, and I feel back to my plush-level of excitement now!)

more SOON i PROMISE!

lamb chop loves mint sauce loves lamb chop

2007-10-07T19:46:00.000-05:00

so i figure my grandpa is the least likely to find himself here before his birthday (compared to my technology savvy friends and father), AND i'm itching to show off what i've been doing since i have not turned out any recent final products for the craft fair....

anyway here's the plush lamb chop with a goop of mint sauce that i've made for my grandpa:

and the sketch i made at adam's (since i don't have internet at home and i wasn't exactly sure what an accurate lamb chop looked like so i had to make a quick drawing at his house and take it home to work off):

i have photos of other handmade gifts waiting to be posted until the day of, or after, they're received! oh and if anyone tells my grandpa what i got him i'll drown you in mint sauce.

cheeky

2007-10-04T23:01:00.000-05:00

todays obsession : i want my "high cheek" pierced. the left one. with gold.

besides THAT and a few midterms, i've finished up the batch of coal, here's the better photo for you :

i've also been prepping a couple dozen croissants, and made two for a "special order" through work people today. here's a goofy photo of the pile of doom lingering on my work table :

i guess it doesn't look that scary--but it is!!!

i've also completed 1/2 of the birthday presents i'm making for the next two weeks, so that's good! i have one in the cutting process and another on the drawing board and then after those two i should be in the clear to focus on stuff for the Craftacular and a few holiday competitions, etc.

i'm not sure who, of those with upcoming birthdays, reads this so i'll save the photos of the plush presies until the actual DAY OF.

I'M OUT OF FLUFF! GOING TO JO ANN'S SOON! thinking of signing up for a jo ann's credit card....

naughty

2007-10-01T10:07:00.000-05:00

so here's about 2/3 of the coal stocking stuffers i've been working on (on and off more i guess) this past week. i printed a bunch of eyes on wool felt with the gocco but the screen was so packed with eyeballs that it was really difficult to make sure all the eyes were always inked.... so i have only one tube of ink left! but i did make a lot of eyes.... i think i might try to pick up some other kind of fabric ink locally and see how the results are instead of ordering $4 tubes from japan every time i need them... blah.

i have a lot going on in school this week, but hopefully i'll be able to at least get something new out of it! i have 3 more birthdays coming up in the next 2 weeks, and those 2 holiday contests, AND of course, the show to keep up with (and even a few special orders of croissants!). if not i'll just take a lot of photos posing frowny coal. whoop.

plush team

2007-09-28T12:24:00.001-05:00

so i forgot to mention (in the excitement of the show acceptance) that i've also become part of the etsy plush street team. which is a great group of plush makers! there's the blog, flickr gallery, and an etsy shop!

right now i've been working on make 34 frowny-faced, coal stocking stuffers! i've found the photofabric for labels i've been looking everywhere for so i made new labels and yea, coal! hopefully they're not to sad... it's supposed to be a good joke! i'm also brainstorming for both the street team's halloween contest AND softie central's holiday plush contest...

going home for the weekend, watch my brother play football and give him his birthday hot dog plush. probably going to take my sewing machine along with me...

oh also! naomi at the glitter workshop put up some photos of the frenchies on dispay in her shop!

craftacular!

2007-09-25T12:28:00.000-05:00

so it's official that my first craft fair will be the glitter workshop's craftacular in madison! i have a HUGE list of ideas for the show, holiday stuff, display tactics, plush improvements, etc. so i'm WAY excited!

also, i'll be putting up some of the new, holiday plush i make for sale in the etsy shop so they'll be available beyond the craftacular! I'M SO EXCITED!

(and slightly nervous... i better get STARTED SOON!).

birthdays!

2007-09-24T10:23:00.000-05:00

so in the next month i think i have 4 or 5 birthday presents to make! yow!

anyway this is the first. some all american food for my all american brother. he turns 18 tomorrow! but i won't be able to give this to him until the weekend. i hope he's not a poor lost bread blog reader or else this is totally giving it away. but i think it's safe to assume he's not into this, or at least not yet.

i've decided that fleece is so much nicer than felt! at least it feels better to work with because it's so soft, but it doesn't hold boxy shapes as well as felt does. also i decided i'm not very excited about using safety eyes. i've got a plan to break out the gocco again but for printing sheets upon sheets of eyes instead of faces straight onto the fabric i'm going to be sewing. this way i'll have my flexibility with the expressions of the plush... i'm afraid they're getting too dull.

steeping

2007-09-23T15:10:00.001-05:00

i successfully dropped off the goods for the glitter workshop this morning, after a quick trip to joanns to return (hassle free!) that dumb circle puncher that didn't even punch a single piece of paper let alone felt... and bought a bunch of safety eyes instead...

and i realized that although i've been making plush like mad, i haven't really made any for my friends/family as gifts! so, i finally got around to making adam his very own plush, custom designed (although i'm definitely going to take the design and make some more, with slight alterations!!!):

it's a cassette tape if it isn't obvious, although i hope it is. it' a little rough around the edges, but i think that gives it character! especially as a handmade gift... i'm excited about making more, the possibilities are endless! almost. this one is made out of fleece which is actually the first fleece plush i've ever made! it was a little nicer to work with than felt, not so easily pill'ed and such. plus it's really, really soft. i also embroidered a little 1/1 on the top of it, (one of one), so i'm afraid this tape quite hard to find.

curly photoshoot

2007-09-22T22:39:00.000-05:00

well well well welllll i spent thirty minutes darting around the park with three teddy bears in my arms in attempt to find a secluded, pretty area. i really dislike being watched when i take photos, especially ones where i have to pose teddy bears! even though they're really cute. maybe it's a phobia.... (i just wrote write-up about spider phobias for my neurosis class and how they used exposure therapy by continuously showing "spider-anxious" individuals videotapes of spiders... SO that means i just need someone to go with me when i take photos and critically stare at me, or worse, at what i'm taking photos of).

ok...........

also i spent like the WHOLE day sewing these great little guys for the glitter workshop, despite a few frustrating moments.... but really sewing is making me work so much on my patience which is good because i think i've always been really impatient and hurried. so it makes me slow down or else if i don't things won't turn out like i want them. and i'm also learning a lot from my mistakes (corn i know but i am), so each time i mess something up i make a memo to not do it again! hey! yea! i'm getting bloggier and bloggier.

or maybe it's because i've been at the union for 2 hours now in the same room as where they're projecting the badger football game and i've caught some unknown, contagious social disorder.

new friends, curly ones

2007-09-21T11:55:00.000-05:00

so yesterday i spent the evening working on three little curly bears. i got this amazing dirty blonde curly faux fur fabric at joanns last week and i hardly used 1/4 of it to make these guys so (hoping there's a positive response) there will probably be more of them to come!

there are photos of the other two bears on my flickr site (link on the right side bar list thing). i apologize they're so blurry! i took them in a rush this morning but i plan to go on an entire photo shoot with the bears sometime this weekend!

pretty pain

2007-09-18T22:41:00.001-05:00

there she is!

also, notice anything new? pretty and at the top of this page perhaps? yep! i made a new banner yesterday with a sample of a provencal fabric design.

still need to make some new labels sometime this weekend probably. hopefully i'll have some good news tomorrow!

night!

monsieur celebrity

2007-09-17T12:47:00.000-05:00

just discovered that the blog softiescentral featured monsieur croque monsieur! it's tiny, but it's the first publicity i know of! exciting!

Blushing Brioche

2007-09-16T21:05:00.000-05:00

so I finally got around to finalizing the brioche design and getting a few done. this is one of 5 that i made, they're all pretty much the same of course. i'm still working on the pain au raisin, i was waiting to get purple thread to sew raisins on and i finally got some this weekend.... so soon, soon. i also made a baguette this weekend :

i don't know if i should be calling it a baguette though because it's about 4-5 inches thick and, tops, 2.5 feet long... whereas real baguettes are only a few centimeters thick and up to a meter long. but that's alright, real baguettes don't have faces either i suppose.

at the same trip to joann's that i bought purple thread i also bought a sticker maker. it has this crank on the side and so you literally crank out stickers, i haven't had a chance to give it a go yet but there'll definitely be an update on that!

the next few weeks should be exciting i hope!

blog blog blog, blog. blog.

1% milkfat

2007-09-11T12:53:00.000-05:00

since classes have started (last tuesday) i really haven't had much time for sewing. i managed to finish shanalogic's order of croissants but they've been sitting in my room for almost 4 days now just waiting to be mailed (addressed and everything!). so once i get those out i'll feel somewhat accomplished. but basically all my sewing and crafting is on hold until i can find time! i just hope i do find time!

i have a brioche and pain au raisin in the second round of designing. i've got their patterns and instructions i just need to actually start making them with the adjustments since the first round. i'm really excited about both of them though, especially the brioche! i keep writing about them but it probably doesn't look like i've made any progress but my goal of this coming weekend is to at least get one fantastic batch of brioches out of it!

really, they're cute. until i get a photo of my rendition, imagine these guys :

with faces!

what's cookin?

2007-09-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

so i've been really bad about writing anything here lately.

i'm already buried in classes and it's not even been 3 days yet. but i have lots of hopes and plans (and support!) which make me confident that there are many more croissants to be made!

in the meantime, i've been working on an order of croissants for shanalogic. i currently have 6 done, a few more and some berets and they should be good to go by this weekend! until then :

i also got more screens and bulbs from feltcafe so i will be very BUSY and hopefully have a very FULL etsy shop VERY soon!

pretty day

2007-08-25T14:28:00.000-05:00

made some cookies (all from scratch!) earlier this week :

this morning, after only 4 hours from sleep (trouble falling asleep) i wandered to farmers market with laurel and jill and here is what i bought, for a total of $9 :

and a bouquet of flowers that were labeled 'strawberry flowers' at market but when i googled them to find out more about them all i found were the actual flowers that bloom with strawberry plants that are white and yellow! :

i like how they have little circles of smaller, yellow/white blooms in them, it looks like they're each wearing their own wreath of littler flowers on their little heads, you can see it most in the bottom-center flower in this photo :

i also have a stack of 11 croissants (lost one in the process of cutting!) waiting for me at home :

really beautiful out today, especially compared to the nonstop rain we've had for almost a week. and there's just enough breeze to give the lake whitecaps which is great.

i plan on making ratatouille tonight with the eggplant, zucchini and cherry tomatoes from market. i'll stick the recipe in here if it ends up being any good!

disaster zone

2007-08-23T19:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Croissant now available at Shanalogic.com. The link to the right under poor lost bread sites is directly to the Happy Croissant page! It's a really amazing handmade-stuff store, I recommend checking it out!!!

anyway, while looking at pictures, both for inspiration and information of the anatomy of French pastries, I found this and thought it was a pretty good idea :

also made a lot of gocco faces last night, a dozen croissant ones and 1/2 dozen faces that are to be announced (surprise ones!), but in the process broke the screen so i have to order more before i can print any more. luckily that means i have like 16 croissants to make and 6 "mystery items" and a few other things so i'll be fine until i can scrounge up a few gocco light bulbs and screens.

Clean Stove, Toasty Monsieur

2007-08-21T21:47:00.001-05:00

Voici, Monsieur Croque Monsieur!

He was created in the midst of me asphyxiating myself with Easy Off Stove Cleaner, and doing laundry in the creeeeepy basement. But he turned out rather nice. Especially his moustache, which was a lot harder than it looks!

I also had another croissant photo shoot for the croissants on the plates Mar got me when her and Mom came up last week :

pretty cute huh?

Well, don't know what's next. Brioche and pain au raisin, pain au chocolat perhaps? Baugettes still too!

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

2007-08-20T23:09:00.001-05:00

Etsy store is looking (and doing) pretty well!

Here's what my apartment looks like (minus a creme and a croissant who are resting up for their voyage to Canada tomorrow morning!).

I was really excited and tried to make cookies today but I started preheating and discovered that my oven is a coal mine AND a smoke stack.

Bought 2 background music Frenchy records for my show and some old Twilight Zone on VHS today.....

Well I really would write more but I'm very distracted by Jurassic Park right now so I'll really do more tomorrow probably. I just mainly wanted to post some photos!

chez Adam

2007-08-19T17:04:00.000-05:00

- Finished the 4 creme brulées and 6 croissants for Shana Logic. I'll be sure to post the specific URL when they get up on her website!

- Set up sewing station / corner in my new apartment, where I made 4 little French Beignets :

And I plan on spending the rest of the evening making a few croissants and cremes for my etsy store!

Brioche à tête and croque monsieurs are on the drawing board currently! They're going to be really adorable...

chez moi

2007-08-14T18:07:00.000-05:00

ok so i'm basically all moved in! and i really love it! and i'm really tired of lifting things! and i JUST counted 13 bruises on my leg, just now, in a public place, since i decided to go without internet in my new apartment to save on $$ so i have to go other places to get it.

i bought a vintage swimsuit today (FINALLY!!). it's mustard-yellow with swirls of varying shades of yellow swirly swirled in it, it's sort of way risqué though, b/c there are side panels that are just mesh and the panels extend all the way to dem leg holes so you can see 1/4 the butt on each side which would equal seeing 1/2 my butt when i wear it. aw well. you can see the duckie tattoo which is cool though. and the 'breast cups' are cones of doom which i'm going to have to fix. BUT it is amazing. and as soon as i get a photo of it (on the ground not on me) i'll put it up b/c it's so amazing.

so i'm very excited about that. i also bought an iced skim latte. my step-mum bought a croissant today! i'm already planning on putting that $ towards a neon green Dickie's messenger bag for class--but I'm going to remove the Dickie's tag (I don't like the colors) and put a horsie patch on it instead--is the plan anyway.

Wow this is a weird post.

Umm... my bed is really soft bc I used like 100 of the neighbor's drier sheets they had downstairs in the old house before i moved out! ha HA!

so my mom and Mar are going to be here in 3 hours so I came to Michelangelo's to get (1) coffee and (2) check out some things to do this evening. I'm thinkin : walk to the union and get ice cream and check out the new photography they're spoze to have up of France and Italy AND/OR go to the Simpsons movie BECAUSE it's in this really old and huge and AAMAMMMAAAZIIINNNNGGG theater downtown that i think would make any movie good. so i'm going to call the theater later and make sure it's in the big one or else that's scratched.

ummmmmm woo wooo.
welllll, oh, yea, felts. so i stayed up til 4:30 last night sewing Shana Logic's 6 croissants together, so all I have left now is the hand sewing. Then today I made 6 more croissants for my own purposes, and prep'ed a lot of creme's. then after moving some more shit and getting my hair cut and getting my record player set up I blasted that Christophe record :

and made 4 of the however many creme dishes, also for Shana Logic. So those are actually probably going to get sent off by this weekend! Yay!

Okay. I have to watch that youtube movie now, only in silence b/c it's really quiet here! shh!

ps... is Christophe's fly totally open when they do that ground-shot, looking up at him? umm, totally is. shameful.

moving I

2007-08-11T23:16:00.001-05:00

REMINDER : there are still two little frenchies for sale in my etsy shop! with VELCRO berets! they check on their status more than i do, as you can see...

after working at the museum all day (and being an annoying 8 cents over), i started packing and doing all the laundry i had to do. which was a lot. but now it's all done and i'm not totally packed but it's going to be not as bad tomorrow, giving me time to run and see if i can find a card table and buy some last minute supplies from target.

however, lost bread news : Shanalogic replied that they would like to sell some things there! i probably won't be able to fill the order completely for a week or two, but as you can see, i've already started painting faces on the cremes. this time i left the faces dry before so the paint didn't settle as much and i like them a lot better like this! (i spent 2 hours last night printing over 40 faces on all diff colors of felt so i should be well stocked for awhile!)

Shanologic is out of Michigan but it's an online store so please check it out--but don't worry i'm sure i'll write a 500 word dear-diary-form post about it when it happens. with a lot of omg's.

aren't they cute??

also yesterday i stuck little flushed cheeks on the pies that i'm going to send off to White Rabbit which is in Iowa City.

creme de la creme de la creme de la creme

2007-08-09T20:55:00.001-05:00

sooooo my summer class final went well and now i'm free for 4 weeks (besides working & sewing) until fall classes start!
AND i move in 4 days!
AND went grocery shopping AND discovered they sell 1/2 gallons of strawberry milk! it's like pink gold.

also both the White Rabbit in Iowa City and the individual who bought a croissant from my etsy received their packages which is good. if you are in Iowa City you should go check them out. I'll be sending plum pies there too next week! Exciting!

besides drinking strawberry dairy and getting giddy, i've been working on watercolor-stained, embroidery-thread freckled, creme brulées lately :

Adam + Mlle. Creme 4ever :

but Ortwin (the cashmere-courderoy combination reincarnation) is too busy to appreciate them with Adam's new monster headphones :

lost bread finding its way

2007-08-06T19:15:00.001-05:00

(1) sold my first croissant on etsy less than a week after posted! (thanks to flickr publicity)
(2) white rabbit gallery in iowa city, responded SUPER fast, + is interested in my 4 new croissants to sell there!
(3) yay!!!! i'm as happy as a butchered cow.

(really happy!)

!

7 days

2007-08-06T13:54:00.000-05:00

til moving!

my realtor just called to arrange the key drop-off (though i'm supposed to call her Sunday to remind her!).
and now i'm off to borrow boxes from the cardboard room in the veterans hospital!

in celebration, my four new croissants (with fancy new berets) are having a party in their new pastry bag home :

pop art to plush

2007-08-05T11:45:00.001-05:00

I haven't taken any new photos of my patisseries so until I do, I found some other neat photos of art while browsing Pop Art by Richard Leslie....

Object (Le Dejeuner en fourrure)
Meret Oppenheim, 1936

Pastry Case, 1
Claes Oldenburg, 1961-62

Floor Cake (Giant Piece of Cake)
Claes Oldenburg, 1962

Still Life Painting, 30
Tom Wesselmann, 1936

as far as MY crafts/arts go... I've stained little toasty faces on the creme brulees and started a batch of 4 pain au chocolats. I also went to the craft store yesterday and bought a lot of supplies, leaving me with only about 6 square feet of floor space in my room... hopefully my new place will give me a little more room and I can assign a corner to be studio-esque and hope that corner doesn't take over the entire efficiency.

Also news : put some of my fav links up, AND got 15 hours of sleep last night.

Little Frenchies

2007-08-01T15:20:00.001-05:00

Croissant.....

with a beret....

or a little heart.

Face printed with gocco black fabric ink.
Measures 8 x 6.5 inches (mini croissants are currently in planning...).
Made from my own design, out of felt and polyester fiberfill stuffing.

Selling on my etsy!

samba bossa nova

2007-07-29T19:03:00.000-05:00

so apparently my gocco really did arrive in 3 days... at 7:30 am on Sunday.... when we were still sleeping. oh well, hopefully i'll catch the mailperson tomorrow or else...

i also spent most of the day (AFTER doing my reading for class) sewing labels together, wrapping Amanda's birthday voodoo doll, and making 4 little crusts for the petite plum pies i'm hoping to sell around.

i feel kind of strange and truthfully a little awkward writing this since nobody's bought any of my things yet and therefore nobody knows about this site except me and you.

ohhh well.... tomorrow, as much as i'm going to want to break into that gocco thing, i really need to do productive things, like REAL LIFE productive. getting my parking figured out and dropping rent off to be exact.

THEN i'll carefully read the instructions and if i need to make photocopies, draft those, so i can copy them free of charge at work on Tuesday. i wish i had those photos of the labels to put up....

oh also big news, sort of, i signed up for a flickr account, so photos pending i suppose.

merde, il pleut

2007-07-27T01:43:00.000-05:00

My gocco was shipped today from Japan from FeltCafe, and it's expected to get here Monday or Tuesday! Probably the most exciting thing to happen for all of next week....

Also I've completed the rough draft stage of the pattern for my croissants (I still can't decide if I want them to have little berets or not.... although they probably should). So that's going to be the first thing on my list of things to gocco. I would put an image up of the prototypes but I think they're too colorful to be appetizing or taken "seriously". I also can't wait to try to make some stationary too....

None of my 3 little Fancy Cakes have sold on Etsy yet... although they may be a little rough around the edges, and they don't have labels like I wish they did. I'll probably order some soon (if they sell I'll use that $, if they don't I may try to gocco my own).

Bon nuit! (ou bon matin?).

Day 1

2007-07-23T23:48:00.000-05:00

Officially an Etsy Seller as of today.

www.poorlostbread.etsy.com