SUSANNA RYAN

Bread Tag Christmas Tree

2011-12-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

Since last March, I've been collecting plastic bread tags. My hope is that by the time I am sixty, I will have amassed a collection that has one dated tag for every day of the year, which I will enter into the Puyallup Fair Hobby Hall and win a moderate-sized ribbon. So far, I have a little over 400 tags, with something like 130 unique dates.

To let a selected few out of the jar for some fresh air, I decided to make a Christmas tree out of them for my wall.

Thanks, double-sided tape!

Overdue: The Unicorn From a Planet Far, Far Away

2011-08-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

About a year and a half ago, I started drawing a comic written by my eight-year-old self called "The Unicorn from a Planet Far, Far Away". For one reason or another, I never finished it. After rediscovering the old notebook the story was scrawled in, I decided that leaving the comic incomplete was the worst thing I've ever done in my entire life, ever.

I couldn't tell you where my obsession with people getting divorced, people getting in car accidents post-divorce, or dead parents came from, but they run with reckless abandon in this story. So, better late than never, here it is: The entirety of "The Unicorn from a Planet Far, Far Away," written by Susanna Ryan, age 8. As I said in my old post, the only things changed are misspellings and wayward punctuation for clarity. Enjoy! I'm sorry to anyone reading this on my actual blog that the pictures run into the sidebar a little bit. Whatever.

A drawing

2011-05-01T01:01:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share an illustration I made this evening. It's my boyfriend and I riding an over-sized Jack Russell Terrier, for whatever reason. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I suspect that yarn may not be the most effective method for staying atop a giant canine, but it is what it is, I suppose!

small monochromatic collections

2011-04-15T00:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my collections of small objects, some old, some not-so-old, arranged by color.

RED: wooden block, plastic game pieces, tiny man with hat, devil finger puppet, "WIN" button, harmonica, box of dice, heart-shaped diary lock, elephant cupcake decoration, bingo marker, vintage Candyland game piece, New Mexico puzzle piece, order card, "E" refrigerator magnet, anti-Reagan pin, feather, generic Lego, cardboard "I'm wounded" circle, plastic pegasus, small scissors, Mr. Potato Head ear, plastic marker, Mr. Potato Head body.

YELLOW: 1967 third place science fair ribbon from St. Alphonsus Catholic School in Seattle, WA, wooden number five, Nancy Drew mystery card, "HARD" card, poker chip, West Virginia puzzle piece, "e" refrigerator magnet, felt pen, wooden building, owl flash card, rubber eggs, vintage Candyland game piece, metal automobile, pear puzzle piece, man with something up his sleeve, small hat.

GREEN: Betty Bolling birthday candles box, plastic indian, lettuce play food, plastic pipe, a very small girl, toy car, magnifying glass, game marker, wooden block, metal automobile, vintage Candyland game piece, German paper domino, "e" refrigerator magnet, Oklahoma puzzle piece, two crickets on a wooden slab, emotionless man in overalls.

BLUE: "first man on the moon" stamp, metal anchor, squirt gun, bread tab, Planters luggage tag, game piece, plastic cowboy, Seattle World's Fair 1962 stamp, "a happy birthday to you" pin, plastic markers, "I am a blood donor" pin, Mr. Potato Head shoe, another shady-looking gentleman, small bottle, Princess telephone charm.

TAN/BROWN: library book card, Mr. Potato Head hand, wooden head, religious charm, number die, wooden block, Scrabble tile, lobster brooch, French memory card, "Clean Cal's Pal" button, library "noted" stamp, a wrestler, Seattle World's Fair 1962 token, wooden horse.

SILVER/WHITE: tintype photo, Lego brick, lead type, restaurant number ticket, master key, Lego crystal, my wisdom tooth, magnetic words, a toy gun attached to a lock, 1957 quarter, plastic game markers, circus seal cupcake topper, a gumball, an arrow, Seattle World's Fair 1962 charm bracelet.

Sears portable phonograph box

2011-03-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

There are few things I love this world, but among them are generally disinterested fiddle-wielding lions, cardboard, and products not recommended for the under-3 set. So, you can imagine the myriad of emotions I was feeling when I walked into work this morning and saw this box that someone had given us donated books in:

"Holy crap!" I said, out loud, with the empty basement hallway as my only audience. I removed the books from the box, put them in another box, flattened this box, and nonchalantly took it to the staff room where I removed the giant, lethal-looking staples with a table knife and slid it underneath my bag all in the same breath. I thought that if others were to see this old, beat-up, taped-together Sears portable phonograph box, they would be envious and upset, starting an inner-department brawl that would inevitable lead to some sternly-worded memos (and bloodshed). I was forgetting one integral factor, however: That nobody actually cares about these things.

This box has many things going for it:

A confusing artistic concept. The tents in the background suggest a circus, yet based on the behaviors in the foreground, I am getting more of a rag-tag animal band vibe. Then, there is a very last-minute bird thrown in there, and what is either a unicorn horn or a party hat on our raised-by-wolves friend. (EDIT: It may be a fair.)

A large cautionary message. Typically I am weary of warnings, as they only serve as a hindrance to a really good time. However, there is just something about this one. Maybe it's the thrill at the prospect of dangerous phonographs, or the vague notion of "precautions," but whatever the case, I approve.

Slightly askew print registration. There are few things I love more than two color printing, especially when the said colors are overlapped to make an additional color. One thing I love even more is when the aforementioned two colors are just slightly... off. Slightly.

Someone wrote "Merry Christmas" on the top in felt pen.

Its existence. I always appreciate things that shouldn't have made it to the present day having somehow done just that: Paper things, things intended for one-time use and then to be thrown away, things that just fall to pieces with age. So whenever I find something like this, however it managed to come into my life, it's pretty special. I bet whoever slapped the Sears shipping sticker on this box forty-some years ago didn't think it would live to see the flying cars and standard-issue robot maids of the year 2011.

The Free Space (Car edition)

2011-03-19T23:42:00.000-07:00

Car-related Bingo cards have been finding their way into my life lately, and while the prospect of keeping my eye out for haystacks or red Studebakers isn't the most exciting pastime I can think of, I enjoy them nonetheless.

This one is so unattractive it bothers me. It begins to win my heart by making the letters in "BINGO" look like roads across the top, but I quickly come to my senses when I see, well, just about everything else about it. I'm glad I wasn't alive to see so much as a second of the 70s – the unsightliness of it all would have done me in.

the Evolution of the Bad Pipsisewah

2011-02-03T16:58:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I obtained an old, 1920s "Uncle Wiggily Game" game board at some antique store somewhere. There weren't any pieces, or the box, it was just a lonely, scribbled on board that I felt compelled to give a home. Mostly, I had fallen deeply in love with a mysterious octopus-like creature in the corner by the name of the Bad Pipsisewah, and was somewhat amused by this stand-offish bear. Reason enough, I believed, to shell out the $2.00.

Days ago, my darling mother picked up a later version of the same game from the late 1940s. Looking at photos of it, I noticed something: The Bad Pipsisewah was, like, a totally different dude.

At some point before 1949, the Bad Pipsisewah in the "Uncle Wiggily Game" turned from being a somewhat charming cephalopod to a club-wielding rhinoceros-giraffe hybrid with a jaunty cap. The first iteration of the Uncle Wiggily game was distributed by Milton Bradley in 1916, six years after Howard R. Garis created the Uncle Wiggily character. As far as I can tell from the illustrations in the newspaper comics and subsequent Uncle Wiggily books, the Bad Pipsisewah has ALWAYS been a rhinoceros-like miscreant and not EVER anything resembling an octopus or creature of the deep. So, what happened?

After a little investigation and research, I have absolutely no answers. What I do have, though, is a run down of (almost) every incarnation of the "Uncle Wiggily Game" Bad Pipsisewah from 1916 until 1988. Uncle Wiggily experts of the world – what's the deal?

Original 1916 Milton Bradley version - Original here

1923 (?) Milton Bradley version - From my collection

1949 Milton Bradley version #1 - From my mother

1949 Milton Bradley version #2 - Original here

1954 Milton Bradley version - Original here

1961 Milton Bradley version - Original here

1967 Parker Brothers version - Original here

1988 Parker Brothers version - Original here

You may notice that two versions were released in 1949, with the main differences being the colors of the outfit. Hmm! I excluded one pre-1949 Pipsisewah because I couldn't find a larger version or date for it. Also, Parker Brothers put out two versions during the aesthetics-challenged decade that was the 1970s (in 1971 and 1979), neither of which I could find a decent picture of. The "Uncle Wiggily Game" is still in production to this day.

The Free Space

2011-01-23T18:15:00.000-08:00

There is something so satisfying about the free spaces on Bingo boards. Here are some examples from my personal Bingo cards, but there are many more spectacular free spaces to be had in the world.

Speaking of games and not having fun, I picked up a 1967 copy of Milton Bradley's "Go to the Head of the Class" today, and was delighted by the cast of cardboard characters included in the set.

Do you see the hollow, emotionless void that is Daddy? He can't even be bothered to make eye contact. Perhaps he found out about the tribal tattoo Brother is hiding underneath his modest turtleneck and sweater combination.

Butch, Susie, Bonnie, and Cowboy Joe look like a thrilling bunch. This crew makes appearances in other Milton Bradley games, including my 1956 copy of "Chutes and Ladders," except they look a little different!

Late 1960s "Go to the Head of the Class" Bonnie vs. 1950s "Chutes and Ladders" Bonnie

Late 1960s "Go to the Head of the Class" Cowboy Joe vs. 1950s "Chutes and Ladders" Cowboy Joe – he definitely didn't grow up to be this guy. No. Definitely not.

Late 1960s "Go to the Head of the Class" Butch vs. 1950s "Chutes and Ladders" Butch – which set of eyes is the most creepy and eager to please?

A previous GTTHOTC version had the whole crew in the 1950s-style, as seen here. "Daddy" looks like John F. Kennedy married the ventriloquist dummy from Magic. I hate to admit that his soulless 1960s existence may be an upgrade.

Doing actions!

2010-10-11T02:50:00.000-07:00

I realize that being so self-congratulatory about my illustrating skills having graduated first grade is terribly unbecoming, but you need to understand... Having spent the better part of my life drawing people only standing with their arms to their sides or awkwardly upwards and facing straight ahead (evidence, evidence, evidence, slight exception), being able to draw someone doing something is worthy of a small, one-person, 3AM party. I will bring the vegetable platter and tea.

Between work and school and satiating my budding Mike and Ike addiction, I am illustrating a children's book that my main squeeze Ben wrote in what is surely the most adorable collaboration planet Earth has ever seen. I won't get in to what it's about just yet, but I will say this: Robots.

This tired scientist dad is not only sitting somewhat believably in an office chair, he is also holding an over-sized book AND putting a pen to his mouth in a slightly realistic fashion.

I mean, okay, it needs some tweaking still, but if I can even KIND OF draw tired dads in office chairs, it seems like a step in the right direction. Way to go, self. Way to go.

a boy and his robot friend

2010-09-06T01:10:00.000-07:00

This is totally the kind of thing that I am going to look at tomorrow morning and wonder where it came from. "What HAPPENED last night?" I'll ask, only to look over and find an ominous pile of Starburst wrappers on the counter and three mugs of half-finished tea in the sink. "Oh crap. This can't be good..."

To my horror, I will discover that I gave somebody I drew a nose.

(You can click to see it larger)

Anyway, this may be the start of something neat, or it might just be a boy and a robot and a paper airplane, which is arguably still pretty neat.

Seattle photos, nerding out

2010-08-22T01:56:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if it's the fact that it's three in the morning, or the dreamy voice of Ira Glass echoing in my head, or if I just truly am this entirely helpless, but I've spent the past few hours getting all mushy about history.

I stumbled across this wonderful photo archive on Flickr while I was definitely NOT searching for old photos of local libraries on a Saturday night, and I couldn't bear the thought of not sharing some favorites with my three loyal blog readers.

Just some kids having a scrap metal drive in fabulous Lake Forest Park, WA during World War II. Just like children today would!

The 1962 Seattle World's Fair, blowing your mind with the future.

Always ablaze, that Playland!

Too much wonderful for one Halloween photo!

I stare at old photos so dreamily, like a torn-out magazine page of Justin Bieber in my locker, wishing so hard that I could be there. But for the most part, this was just everyday life for these people. They didn't think, "This is SO 1946, what we're doing! Can't you tell, all the design elements are there, and our clothes, they are spot on mid-1940s!" They were just being alive.

Who is to say these moments weren't mundane? Something so mind-numbingly unexceptional that it would be seem totally ludicrous to think of someone seventy years down the road caring in the slightest, let alone wanting so badly to be there!

I sometimes forget that people still worried about money and relationships and their jobs. That behind these faces are real people, who had problems of their own. It wasn't all tasteful typography, homemade Halloween costumes and grandiose visions of our technological future. After photos are taken, these people didn't disappear (well, maybe some of those Halloween kids did, they're spooky!), they went on with their lives.

Sometimes, though, it's fun to forget historical context, reality and the complexities of emotion, and look at photos like these and just imagine that life really was one big, beautiful metal-pilin', amusement park-burnin', ginormous computer-seein', 24/7 Halloween party, and that no one ever worried about paying their electricity bills or putting food on the table.

I guess I should go watch some Jersey Shore or something.

technically edible

2010-07-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

Technically.

Friends don't let friends hoard ironic woodland creatures.

2010-07-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

So, I've been getting a lot of thrift store shopping-related questions on these here internets lately, especially through my Flickr. I started to make a little list of friendly pointers for thrift success, but one of them felt so important that it warrants its own post: Friends don't let friends hoard ironic woodland creatures.

Moderation in all things, my friend, owls being no exception. Actually, I think Aristotle may have been specifically referring to tacky owls when alluding to this in his Doctrine of Man. I know, they're owls. They're, uh, smart, and, er, they do that thing with their heads, and they make cool sounds.

But lamps, cookie jars, fifty different figurines, bad earthenware mugs, wood plaques, kindergarten craft projects, owls in the oven, owls comically falling out of the closet every time you open it up like an under-budget informercial... It's too much.

I'm not quite sure when owls seemingly instantaneously became everyone's favorite nocturnal bird of prey. My understanding is that one day, the cool police called and said, "Hey guys, you know those owls made out of tiny seashells that have been gathering dust on your grandma's shelf because they are hideous? Well, enough time has passed where you can effectively put these in your apartment and people won't think you're a 90-year-old with prosthetic limbs, they'll think you're ironic and cool!"

Unlike real owls, though, this isn't one of those things that is going away (oooh, Endangered Species joke, what up!) It almost seems like an young adult rite of passage: The awkward kitschy owl housewares phase (AKOHP).

As much as I'd like to be holier-than-thowl (yeah, I said it), I am not immune to this phenom. However, I have a rule: One owl. That's all I get.

Find one really great owl-something and love it. Or don't. But should you want to, search high and low. Be picky. Don't buy the first thing you see, because I guarantee you it will not be the last one you see. And when you find that one very special owl, you'll know it, because it will be hooting and hollering all over you.

My owl of choice is a clock. The details, the shifting eyes, the lack of a putrid 1970's color palette, I like things made out of wood, I needed a clock, it was $4.00... It had a lot of things going for it.

This being said, however, if you ARE going to take the plunge into your own AKOHP, for the love of all that is good, please do not buy your owls new. This is a crime against humanity and all better judgment. I know it's difficult to enter a thrift store and take one short walk down the knick-knack aisle, but spending twenty times as much money to buy something that LOOKS like you found it in a thrift store knick-knack aisle is ridiculous.

Someone on this planet spent twenty-five-freaking-dollars on this owl cross-stitch at ModCloth, and while it's not my money, someone working for minimum wage is Wyoming would have to work nearly five-freaking-hours to earn enough to buy this freaking thing. And this freaking napkin holder is out of stock. This freaking eyesore of a wicker mail-holding owl is back in stock (finally! There IS a freaking God!)

Okay. I'm done. Bottom line: Buy owls wisely.

"Freaking" count: 6.

there's an octopus in the library!

2010-06-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

I made a book

2010-06-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finished up my first (okay, fine, second) attempt at bookbinding by hand. I think it turned out pretty well! It's easier to tell in person, but I feel like it's worth mentioning that it's supposed to look like a discarded library book. I did all the illustrations, etc., as well.

Success!

(Hah, I just realized that the cover looks an awful lot like my new blog design! Clearly, I'm going through a green-background-with-overlapping-slightly-opaque-color-blocks phase. There are worse things, though, I guess. Like pouring-mayonnaise-in-library-book-drop phases.)

shameless plug(s)

2010-06-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

I made this header for my mom's blog, "By Hand," which features things written, get this, by hand. Check it out: BY HAND!

In other look-what-I-made news, I made this logo.

See it in action at alpertech.com.

Can you guess what my favorite color is?!

Fierce

2010-06-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

Nothing to see here, folks. Just a boxing baby lamp. No big deal.

More than you ever needed to know about: Kopeefun

2010-06-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

I am kind of obsessed with seeing how packaging changes over time while a product stays, for the most part, exactly the same. I'll file that one away in the "things I probably shouldn't bring up on a first date" department, but nevertheless, it's really interesting to see the color, type and style of the time reflected in newer and newer incarnations of the same thing.

Today at the flea market I found a pretty interesting thing. It appealed to a number of my interests, and that's always a bonus. It's "Kopeefun," a kit that provides the tools necessary to make your very own surely-hilarious cartoons (the tools being, essentially, a sad little popsicle stick and some elbow grease) by transferring existing newspaper headlines and cartoons into new ones.

Sounds exhilarating, I know. But I, admittedly, spent many an afternoon in my younger days doing crayon rubbings of anything that had any sort of texture at all, so I know how it goes.

Anyway, in going home and doing a little bit of research on Kopeefun, I was, naturally, delighted to find earlier and later versions. I thought I'd share!

The first one I could find is from 1935. While the sweater-and-tie combo sure is a cute one, this is the only time I spotted this illustration, or any of these design elements, really. I'm especially partial to the cursive "Kopeefun" across the top.

Original is here.

This one is also from 1935, but is very different than it's predecessor. It takes some liberties with the way that the letter "U" typically goes, and how happy families with one adopted red-headed attention-seeking child are. Despite all that, Kopeefun will shut your kids up for a second, so that's a bonus.

Original is here.

I am not positive that this is the same thing because the art is so different from all the others, but nevertheless, this example from 1938 is terribly adorable.

Original is here.

The next is mine, from 1940. While the previous appear to merely be the necessary tools ("magic paper" and a popsicle stick), my kit has a package of "magic paper" sheets, an idea book, a scrapbook for your finest and most funny, as well as some loose sheets of comical scenes where you were supposed to rub at it for awhile until it got funny. "Just rub" is dang-near as prominent as "Kopeefun".

This set from 1948 advertises the "new"-ness of a product that had been around for at least thirteen years. In an ad I found from the early 1960s, it boasted that Kopeefun was "ALWAYS new". So, I guess it because new newspapers that you could copy came out every day, and not that superior popsicle stick technology had come to surface.

Original is here.

Totally 1952. I notice that they use Comic Sans' older-yet-still-related brother Balloon Bold, bid farewell to that art deco-style type, and that twenty-year-old family suddenly feels so modern.

Original is here.

This one is from 1963, and feels more "as seen in the back of your comic book" to me -- like something you mailed away for. I haven't even mentioned how weird a name like "Kopeefun" is, but I guess it's a given. "Kopeefun". I'm probably going to have the FBI show up on my doorstep tomorrow morning based on how many times I've Googled that today.

Original is here.

This version from 1965 seems to go back to simplier times (two bullet points, really?), but that extended, all-lowercase typeface on "kopeefun" is undeniably 1960s. Less hand-lettering, more... canned.

Original is here.

I wish I could find a better photo of this 1966 set! If you look closely, you can see that our favorite aging family is still alive, well, and apparently on some kind of human growth hormone regimen. However, unlike previous versions, it features a real photo of kids using the product, as I've noticed many other games from the time period do.

Original is here.

The last one I could find is from 1972. While the printing quality has surely improved and far more colors are being used on the box, it's basically still just a regurgitation of design elements from the previous decades. In looking at the "magic paper" replacements on the left, you can see the early 1970s influence (I spy with my little font-loving eye something that looks like Helll-vetttt-ticaaa!) and a new cartoon-y kid.

Original is here.

And then, you know, photocopiers happened.

say hello

2010-06-03T14:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a screen printed poster I just finished up of my class. I'm in the bottom left corner!

Photo by Devin Belmain.

Printed with help (lots, and lots, and lots of help) from Kyle. I love how it turned out!

Lines on cardboard

2010-05-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret.

Why did you make me a huge dork with a thing for simple, colorful depictions of state territories from the 1940s and 1950s (alongside a laundry list of other very specific interests)? It's not helping me relate to others on that, you know, basic human level, where small talk is made in elevators about mundane common interests like sandwiches and Tamagotchis (or whatever). It's a good thing that I hate talking to people in elevators, anyway.

I thought I would share some of my things I've collected that fall under that category of wonderfulness -- those shapely slabs of where we live.

They really gave up on Washington in that last one.

Also, hi! It's been awhile.

I'll sort YOUR 600s

2010-03-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

Hi! Still here! I've been busy, or maybe just boring.

Here's something I made earlier:

A Dewey Decimal System poster!
It's funny (not really), I am very much into two or three color design, posters and packaging, but I have never once tried it myself. It's not easy! But I achieved what I wanted to achieve, so that's good. I guess.

I've been doing some other things, too, but can't seem to complete anything. My desktop is covered in half-finished half-ideas. Hopefully I'll have more things to post soon!

On ceramic ducks and sensible sweaters

2010-02-23T20:35:00.000-08:00

I mean every single thing I'm about to say.

I love the home shopping networks. What started as a few laughs at a late-night clearance sale when I couldn't sleep has turned into, well, like, it's kind of a problem. Not for my bank account, as drawstring khaki-colored sweatpants and ceramic egg-shaped water bottle holders aren't exactly life essentials for me, but for my sleep schedule.

The thing about QVC and HSN (originally I was HSN or DIE, but I've become quite the QVC viewer as of late) is that they make every last detail of every last thing sound simply extraordinary. Oh, that shirt appears to have yet ANOTHER shirt undernealth it?! BUT IT'S ONLY ONE SHIRT? UNHEARD OF! These battery-operated candles are less likely to burn your house down?! SAY WHAT?

They are so excited about everything, almost to the point where it exceeds the barrier of excitement and start going backwards into not being excited at all (there has to be a physics equation for this phenon). They are so excited that I have actually considered calling up and buying things at 2AM that I should not want.

A wonderful moment happened a few nights ago when an interior designer was talking about his bedding, and how he likes to change it up frequently. "Every one has their vices," he said. "You know, they drink or they gamble... I do both... But I also like changing my bedspread."

It doesn't help that the late-night callers are WONDERFUL, rambling on about their purchases and their grandchildren and their slew of cats while the hosts nod and look so genuinely excited to talk to Martie B. from Boston, Mass. The hosts must go home and drink, cry and be exhausted.

There is no way that channels like this can last must longer into the future, especially with my generation. You know, the internet exists, and attention spans are short. This makes me sad, but I'm not sure that any amount of reinvention could change that. Television just isn't as efficient as these internets. HSN's death feels inevitable, like me marrying candy, but that doesn't make any less depressing. I guess that all good, distracting, sleep-preventing things must come to an end someday.

I love you, Grape Nuts

2010-02-22T22:02:00.000-08:00

In case you were wondering what I ate today (and you are, believe me)...

Grape Nuts! The best!

I'm going through a computer-only art phase, but surely it will pass. I know that deep down I'm made for #05 Micron pens, cheap paper, crappy scanners and unholy methods of coloring (the best of both worlds, Hannah Montana-style). Something gets lost in translation, I think, when I go paperless. But it's not as though I like looking at little waffle drawing any less either way!

Speaking of that sentence... I feel an overwhelming sense of guilt every time I start a sentence with "but". Somewhere along the line of life, some teacher pounded it into my head that if you use "and" or "but" in such a manner, death is nothing less than imminent, just like if you say "shut up" or use karate moves on your siblings.

I don't think that this is actually the case. While the ultimate source on all manners, The Internet, has conflicting reports, it's seems like the kind of thing that is okay when used sparingly. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, and you shouldn't let you're fourth grade teacher keep you down anymore. And sometimes it just makes you look cool and grammar-rebellious. But sometimes it doesn't.

more like, copperplate DUMB

2010-02-14T23:02:00.000-08:00

I'm sick! Thanks for nothing, vitamin regimen.

It takes a lot for me to really, really hate a font. With most fonts, like most people, I can at least kind of justify their existence. "Oh, that might be good for a third grade newsletter by a teacher that doesn't know any better," I might say, with a shudder, about Comic Sans. This justification makes me able to rest a little easier when font atrocities happen.

But then there's Copperplate Gothic. This font doesn't even make sense. For some reason, I've been seeing it all over the place lately, from lawyer hotline bus ads to Valentine's Day cards (I can only assume from people who secretly want your font life to be unfulfilling). Cooperplate Gothic must be stopped.

I think that the thing about this particular font is that it doesn't say anything. It has no sort of statement to make. The aforementioned and notorious Comic Sans says that it is fun and carefree and youthful and typographically naive, but Copperplate Gothic doesn't have anything to say. It seems to me like a desperate late-night font-list scroll thoughtless decision. A "good enough!" decision.

There is a whole wonderful, mysterious font world out there that is easily accessible. In five minutes, you have more fonts than could be imagined thirty years ago! Embrace it!

Why not download yourself a nice Goudy Bookletter? Look at that ampersand! What about this, even? Really, though, even Candy Cane is looking pretty good right now.

Cooperplate lovers (are there any?), make a believer out of me. Show me Cooperplate in action. Show me Copperplate with something to say. Otherwise, I'm going to go back to crying at just the thought.

Comical

2010-02-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of questions about my eight-year-old self. I don't know how I knew about half the things I was writing about, having had my formative years in a mostly uneventful, drama/divorce/death-free environment. I also don't know how I was so AWESOME.

When I was eight, I remember informing my teacher that I was going through a mid-life crisis. "You're eight, Susanna," she said. "If anyone in this room is gonna have a mid-life crisis, it should be me." But at the time, I was convinced, and looking back at my writing from the time, I think it shows.

My friend sent me a comic a few nights ago that was written by a kid but illustrated by an adult, and it was really good. I was inspired to do something similar with one of my old stories that I have stashed away in spiral notebooks from elementary school's past in my closet.

There were lots of little stories I had started writing but had gotten distracted during and just started drawing cats in various situations, never going back to finish. However, one story, titled "The Unicorn From a Planet Far, Far Away," really stood out to me. It was RAD... Several pages long, double spaced, and uninterrupted by doodles or side stories.

So, I made a comic of it!

Comics are the kind of thing I really enjoy making but am not necessarily good at. That being said, here is the first installment of "The Unicorn From a Planet Far, Far Away." All the wording and dialogue are completely as they appeared in my third grade notebook, the only things that have been changed are some unfortunate spellings and I've added in some bonus punctuation to make things more clear. Other than that, behold! (Clicking it will send you to my Flickr, where you can view it larger)

It only gets more awesome from here, more to come!

[INSERT 'SEW' PUN HERE]

2010-01-31T19:29:00.000-08:00

I just thought it would be a good idea to make a giant ice cream sundae with like everything in the fridge that seemed like it might even kind-of-sort-of be good in an ice cream sundae, and man, it was not a good idea.

I never posted about my dear sewing machine that I got back in September, so I thought that I would to get my mind off of my bad decisions.

This was JUST SITTING in Goodwill like an insecure high schooler at the Homecoming dance. I was like, "OH NO YOU DIDN'T GOODWILL!"

I almost didn't want to look closer because I knew that I would fall in love and then be sorely disappointed when they wanted three million dollars for it. But I looked anyhow, and it was gorgeous -- and only $24.99, which seemed pretty amazing for a vintage sewing machine in near perfect condition with the original accessories. It's a 1956 Brother Pacesetter.

It had every last little doo-dad with it, except for the seam ripper (which, let's be honest, is one of the few things I'd actually be using).

That may be the original lightbulb. Awesome.

This is pretty gross.

It's built like a cat! Like seriously, I could throw it out a window and it would just be like, "Whatever." I'm still pretty pumped about it, and love hearing it's chunka-chunka-chunka (that's my best imitation of the sound a sewing machine makes. Who knows.)

T is for...

2010-01-25T22:06:00.000-08:00

This evening I made a "T". I was going to make an "A," because that kind of makes sense, but there seem to be surprisingly few things that start with "A" (that I can draw with any sort of competency, anyway). I'll make one sooner or later, when I grow up and learn basic pen-wielding skills.

I tentatively plan on making every letter of the alphabet... "tentatively" being the operative word.

P.S. My bloggidy blog got an "Extreme Makeover: Wow Your Header Has Too Much Going On" edition. I like it.

shameless plug

2010-01-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

My BFF Kevin started a blog called "Death of Analog," chronicling the awesome horribleness of his ever-growing collection of thrift store VHS tapes and outdated magazines. He is ridiculously funny, and I suggest you read it!

Plus, I mean, I made the adorable logo, so, you know. There. D.O.A.! D.O.A.! D.O.A.!

crafts: bird rings & board games

2010-01-11T21:13:00.000-08:00

I've haven't been doing a lot of stuff-makin' lately, which is sad. However, I did make a little somethin'-somethin' this evening and I think it's mildly adorable.

I have about 3,000 million old falling apart children's books I've rescued from the Goodwill Outlet's ever-looming chipper with such ridiculously adorable illustrations it makes me want to roll down a grassy knoll into a pile of pirahnas. I thought I'd put a small corner of one into good use this evening by making these rings. Ring bases, small round wood things from an old board game, the pictures, super glue and some mod podge later and beeeep booommmm beeeeee BAM, these were born.

Has anyone in the history of forever ever used super glue without getting glued to their cats/self/clothes/other material possessions? Every single time! I have an abusive relationship with super glue, but I keep on crawlin' back.

While I'm at it, here's something from last month:

I made my sister a personalized "Apples to Apples" game for Christmas, using people, places and things related to her and our family. There's somewhere around 300 noun cards total (five cards per 8.5''x11'' piece of paper, which had to be printed one page at a time or my printer would freak out).

It's called "Dehydrated Pears to Dehydrated Pears" because my dad was a pear-dehydrating maniac when we were younger.

For about a month, I kept a little TextEdit document on my desktop and a scrap of paper in my pocket to write down an idea whenever it came to me. Some of them were obvious: The names of our various relatives, cats, and what she's interested in (Star Trek and Metro buses, basically), and some of them are really, really, family-specific (blindfolded tag, foggy ziploc bags, no water chai tea lattes, etc.)

The best part is, there are only about five people in the world that can competently play it.

TOO MUCH TO HANDLE: part II

2010-01-03T14:31:00.000-08:00

han•dle |ˈhandl|
noun
1 the part by which a thing is held, carried, or controlled : the pan features helpful lifting handles.

from upper right: pink Harcrest pitcher, vintage purse, vintage Riviera gravy boat, rotary phone, red kitchen utensils, IKEA tea kettle, unmarked blue teapot, Fisher-Price Hickory Dickory Dock Clock, red Hall soup tureen

The realization that you've been influenced by a Hallmark artist

2009-12-29T17:48:00.000-08:00

I have a deep, dark secret. It is hiding in my closet. It 100% undoes any cool points I may have had. But I'm putting it out in the open: I have a fat Joan Walsh Anglund collection. I mean, a trunk full of stuff. Books, dolls, board games, stationary, needle points, ceramic figurines, bed sheets, plates. Yeah. It's pretty severe. "A Friend is Someone Who Likes You"? I have it. In paperback and hardback. "What Color is Love?"? Yep, it's in there. "Love is a Special Way of Feeling"? Totally.

For those are you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Joan Walsh Anglund is a writer and illustrator. She is still alive, but many of her most famous books were published in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Her style is what your grandmother would describe as "sweet," and her books are something that you would probably get somebody at the last minute when you're desperately browsing the Hallmark aisles for something that says, "I don't know you, but I care."

I was most active with my collection from roughly ages eight to 12. I don't quite remember how it happened, but I think my mom had picked something up at a store and I commented that it was cute, and then it snowballed into a big ol' straight-up Joan Walsh Anglund brouhaha. All kinds of years later and it's still occupying a good portion of my closet as well as much of my guilt-quota. For some reason, I feel bad that I abandoned them and their disproportionate head size in favor of vintage dishes and board games and type-related what-nots.

A few days ago, I was in a Goodwill nearby and saw some sort of Joan Walsh Anglund swag. It was then, and only then, that I realized something; my thought process being as follows: Oh dear what, no, no, oh geez, yeah. Crap. Yeah. Joan Walsh Anglund's style has like, totally rubbed off onto my drawings. I have been subconsciously influenced by a Hallmark artist.

It was a rude awakening for me, but I can't exactly say that it's unexpected. Many of my formative years were spent admiring her work, so it makes sense, I GUESS. It's not severe, but it's definitely there. Small details, simple faces, busy backgrounds. Dotty little eyes. A preoccupation with bears and love (see: "The Brave Cowboy").

Here's a little somethin'-somethin' of mine...

And here's something of her's.

I mean, surely the differences outweigh the similarities (right?), but nonetheless, it's totally there. Oh well. At least it's not Garfield.

As a side note, I have 11 whole readers subscribed to my blog on Google Reader! Okay, so one of them is me, but still! It didn't even make the list of the 20 "most obscure" blogs I'm subscribed to (it did, however, make the top 21). That's pretty cool. Thanks, whomever you are!

TOO MUCH TO HANDLE: part I

2009-12-28T18:22:00.001-08:00

It's no secret that I adore vintage dishes. When I see a mug but I can't decide whether I want to make the 99¢ splurge on it, there is one thing that will typically make or break the purchase: The handle.

I have been known to rub handles against my face like an ultimate plush throw. Sometimes I see the handle on a nice vintage mug in a thrift store and audibly gasp from afar. Lately, I've been trying to figure out what it is about handles, what the magical math curve equation that makes some handles so attractive.

In trying to figure this all out, I've started taking pictures of handles I like. Originally, I intended only to photograph mug handles, but then I started to see handles on other things that looked oh-so good to me, too. So, here is the first installment of what will surely be way too many of "Too Much to Handle". I can't be the only handle admirer out there, right? I sure hope so.

From upper left: Plastic saw from Archie McPhee, Fiestaware mug, Homer Laughlin mug, unmarked, gun toothbrush handle, unmarked, unmarked, Buffalo China restaurant mug, plastic-handled scissors.

Total number of times I said "handle" in this post: 12.

wrapping paper melts my heartsicle

2009-12-18T18:56:00.000-08:00

I get mad at vintage wrapping paper. It's too amazing. If I got a present wrapped up in this paper I would probably throw up with delight, then promptly shove the actual present aside and think of the best way keep the paper intact while I find a frame to put it in. I love it.

As for me, I've been spending a ridiculous amount of time drawing dogs. Unexpected!

Candy!

2009-11-20T22:08:00.000-08:00

Staying with the trend of keeping this web-log as far off from it's original intended purpose as possible, you know what is delicious? Necco Wafers!

They recently removed all the artificial colors and ingredients from Necco Wafers. Now, the colors are a lot more pale (I can relate), but have a lot more flavor! As a die-hard Necco Wafer fan, I approve.

If wishes were dishes (and they are)

2009-11-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

Today was a really amazing thrift store dish day. I don't know if the planets were aligned just right, or if I was cashing in all my opening doors for old people points, but man! It was just a really great day.

First, I go to Goodwill in Lynnwood, WA, and there are so many different dishes I want to look at that I actually need a basket! I don't think I've ever gotten a basket at a thrift store before.

These were my final selections -- lots of light yellow, for some reason! There is some Fiestaware in there, as well as a Bauer saucer and much Coronado Pottery, which I had never seen before. The top cup is a mystery. It was taped together with a newer light yellow Fiestaware saucer, but I knew that it was no way Fiestaware (especially the new stuff), so I had to buy it! Any ideas about the maker? The geometric pattern at the bottom is so attractive.

These were taped together with the lovely blue Coronado saucers pictured up above, so I had to get them, even though the top one looks like it had a bad year and contracted a venereal disease. On my Flickr I was going to joke that the bottom one looks like a color that only Franciscan Ware would think was a good idea to make, but it turns out that Coronado and Franciscan are one in the same. Har har har... (Oh my god, am I making pottery jokes? Who AM I?!)

This was at Value Village in Lynnwood, WA. I saw it and almost didn't want to pick it up, because they have gotten SO EXPENSIVE lately and whenever I see something I even kind of like, it's $24.99. I picked up anyhow and it was $3.99. I proceeded to pace around with my mouth hanging open, hugging this pitcher so close that I'm amazed it didn't break.

And THEN...

All those red-handled kitchen utensils were 69¢ each at Goodwill in Everett, WA (totally match some earlier-found utensils I have!)

The Bauer bowl was $1.49 at St. Vincent de Paul's at Everett, WA. I NEVER go to that St. V's! I saw this bowl, gasped, told myself that it was probably some Pottery Barn look-a-like that couldn't possibly be Bauer, turned it over, then ran over to the cashier with it!

I only spent about $10.00 today, but that was with the use of the last of my Goodwill gift card... Probably about $17.00 without it!

INSPIRATION: vintage lettering books

2009-11-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

I realized a few days ago that my letter-drawing repertoire is rather pathetic. Fat block letters, slightly skinnier block letters, block letters with rounded corners, cursive, some junk I stole off of the cover of American Girl's "Clever Letters" back in the day (you know, the "DAY"... ten years ago...) And that's about it.

That's why when I see books like Carl Holmes' "ABC of Lettering," I find them so inspirational in my pursuit of furthering my lettering career. Not only that, but it has that great style I adore so much. It looks so spontaneous and classy... It's refreshing to see something that doesn't look so computer-generated and canned. Anyhow...

Here are examples of lettering that express the ideas behind the word. I especially like coldness and frivolity (on this page and in life in general). I find their choice for "cheapness" interesting, as well.

I just liked that skeleton, what can I say.

I'm off to practice my letters (and probably ultimately end up resorting back to my tried-and-true block letters, in various weights!) The Seattle Goodwill's Annual Glitter Sale is tomorrow, but I'm a lover, not a fighter, when it comes to thrifting. I wish I could just go to see all the neat vintage things they have (just to look!), but it gets so crowded and stuffy in there that it just stresses me out. If you go, tell me about it!

An Accidental Collection of Letters

2009-11-12T19:06:00.000-08:00

I accidentally started a new collection: Vintage die-cut letter stencil kits.

Yesterday I went to the Goodwill Outlet, and sitting amongst a bin full of soggy odds and ends (ew) were two perfectly unsoggy letter stencil kits. A girl's dream come true! Well, my dream come true, anyhow. There is something so satisfying about these little kits and all the letters inside them.

This first kit is from 1953, made by the Kenworthy Company. The letters are three whole inches long!

The smaller letters in this kit are from 1958, also by the Kenworthy Company. Most of them aren't popped out from their original holders. Fancy business up in here.

how to create a children's book, pt. 1 of many

2009-10-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

Over the next few months (hopefully), I'm going to be documenting the process I go through to create a children's book. People seem to be really interested in how I do things, or at least they do a dang good job of pretending like they are, so I thought a how-to guide of writing and illustrating a children's book from start to finish could be kind of fun. Stay tuned!

Oh, and...

Happy Halloween! My entire plastic pumpkin collection is conveniently located here.

superior, indeed!

2009-10-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

Today at Goodwill, I picked up a toy printing press from the 1950s for $2.99. When I snatched it out of the bin, I said (out loud, to no one), "You go with me now."

One of the neat things about this particular set, the Superior "Cub" Printing Press, is that it has the ability to print little pictures for extra typesetting class. Oh, back in the day when kids didn't mind individually setting type, letter by letter, for lackluster final results. I love it.

Equally loved is that parents didn't mind giving their kids a bottle of ink and a small metal pole and telling them to go at it.

Right after I took this picture, all the rubber letters fell out and needed to be arranged again.

Picas are my preferred method of measurement, for everything, always.

Do you think that Balloon Bold was the Comic Sans of the 1950s?

I would like to be a professional typeface describer. I seriously cannot think of anything more sterile.

INSPIRATION: two-color printing & dragons on wheels!

2009-09-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

My children's book illustration-love tends to fall into the decades from the early 1930s to the end of the 1950s; however, I do make some exceptions! Like these drawings from "John Martin's Book: A Magazine for Little Children," published February 1916. I love two-color printing and thinking about publishing at the beginning of the 20th century.

Look at how dapper those freakin' pigs are!

Limiting your printing to only a few colors forces you to think creatively about patterns and textures... Love this, especially that dragon on wheels!

Who are these miracle children who don't spill food?! I surely haven't met them...

The amazing thing about this book/magazine is that a year's subscription cost $3.00 in 1916, which would be nearly 60 dollars today!

Anyway, that's all for now. I've been super busy, but I hope to update more, especially in the upcoming weeks!

lettering kits & trips to the moon

2009-09-13T22:47:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it: I haven't been all that fantastic at my drawing every day in September goal. I've been mega-busy all of a sudden, tying up loose summer ends, I suppose. It's okay, though, I'm still drawing when I have an open minute, just nothing fancy.

I've been going to thrift stores since I was a little kid, when I cared more about the big gray cats-doing-ballet sweatshirts and fill-up-a-toy-bag-for-ten-cents deals than the vintage plates and tin toys that I go crazy for now. Wooden things, paper things, plastic things, I've loved them all.

Here are two finds from a quick trip yesterday:

This was 99¢, it's so rad! I love letters and fonts and typography, 1950s packaging, and gettin' my stencil on... So basically, it's so many things I love all in one tidy box.

When I saw this, I was so excited I couldn't even concentrate long enough to read what it said. I just knew that I had to run out the door with it (after paying, of course!) before Goodwill could change their mind! I mean, that guy on the rocket, the naked lady, the devil, money bags and cat? There is a whole lot of awesome goin' on here, and for 99¢, who the heck WOULDN'T buy this?! Okay, maybe a lot of people. But whatever.

Hopefully real drawings soon... Will you invite me over so I can sit around and draw the things I see in your place of residence? I'm all out of things to look at and draw 'round here!

INSPIRATION: sea creatures doing things!

2009-09-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

I recently found this book called "Oscar the Trained Seal: The Story of Oscar on the Radio" by Mabel Neikirk, illustrated by Marguerite Hanson from 1945. The illustrations are too much! Ice cream and seals are a winning combination.

There are more over in Flickrtown!

inside my bag

2009-09-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

Hi! I drew something! So far so good on this whole drawing everyday in September thing. I mean, we're only four days in, but I'm still feeling so inspired.

Usually my bag's innards aren't this much of a tragic mess. It's time for a clean up!

My ears ache! Boo.

things in my room, A-Z

2009-09-03T22:47:00.001-07:00

I actually drew this a few days ago, but I have yet to scan my newer things, so here you go!

Surprisingly, A, F and H were the hardest to come up with, but I had two ideas for X! You can click on it to see the bigger picture on my Flickr.

I just found out earlier today that I got into the publishing program I was lusting over. I can't believe it, I'm so pumped! Things are going to be different around here.

hi september & stuff around me

2009-09-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

I seriously cannot believe it's September already. On one hand, September always feels like a fresh start, but on the other, it starts getting dark so early and looks so dreary outside. I'm trying to look on the bright side, though.

I actually drew this yesterday. I'm so excited about thrift stores getting out the Halloween stuff! Some of them have already started, and I know they are going to ramp it up after Labor Day.

What does all this stuff being in one location say about me? Geez.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Evergreen State Fair. Bunnies! Scones! Shady roller coasters! I'm pumped.

INSPIRATION: the circus!

2009-09-01T00:48:00.000-07:00

There is nothing I love more than the beautiful illustrations from children's books of the 1940s and 1950s. Must've been something in the water! Here are some recent favorites from the Little Golden Book "Little Peewee" by Dorothy Kunhardt, illustrated by J.P. Miller in 1948.

I will have a baby if, and ONLY if, they arrive with the ability to lift cars with seals in them. That's the only way!

what I ate today, and what's in an arm's length!

2009-09-01T00:20:00.000-07:00

I thought that if I started a bloggidy blog blog, it would force me to draw more! So, here goes nothin'.

This drawing from earlier today marks two "firsts" for me: The first time I've drawn headphones and the first time I've drawn a cell phone! It's also home to the ugliest thing ever drawn in the history of mankind, that Ugly Doll! I did his cuteness no justice at all. Oh well, I think the rest of it turned out pretty nicely.

This does not include the two string cheeses I ate after I drew this!

Hopefully I'll get around to updating this business on a regular basis. Hi!