drew-o-rama

80 seconds

sailor stripes

Picasso | the original Breton fisherman shirt

I've always loved sailor stripes, just like my friend Pablo above. I have too many striped shirts so I really don't need another. But if i were to go shopping for some more, these would definitely catch my attention...

urban outfitters | yesstyle.com

urban outfitters | american apparel

swell | h&m

love you!

xoxox
-drew

andrew on the moon

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I found this great book today while thrifting and I wanted to share it will all of you. It's called a "story book greeting" and was produced by Gibson Greeting Cards probably in the 60s or early 70s.

10-4 good buddy,
-drew

I love my neighborhood

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I love my neighborhood. I love that the building I live in is almost 100 years old. I love that the neighborhood is home to quirky characters like the old man that stands on the sidewalk singing indecipherable church hymns or the guy that feeds left-over bread to the birds and will never, ever step on a crack in the pavement. I love that my neighborhood feels like its own small village even though it's literally in the middle of a region with 2.5 million people.

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I love that I see muslim women wearing head coverings walking past the county's oldest Jewish seminary. I love that I can walk to the grocery, bank, drug store, two coffee shops, a billion yummy restaurants many of which are ethnic, an independent movie theater, hardware store, ice cream shop, independently owned clothing shops, a delicious pastry shop...

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I love that most of the houses in my neighborhood are at least 150 years old. I love that I have seen gay couples comfortable holding hands while walking down the street. I love that the original gas-powered lampposts are still in use.

I love that I don't have to use my car to get the things I need. I love that the city is building a streetcar system which includes my neighborhood. I love that one of the city's biggest and wildest parks is a block away. I love that I can hear people speaking other languages as they walk by my apartment windows.

Have I mentioned that I love my neighborhood?

XOXO
-drew

P.S. What do YOU love about YOUR neighborhood?

aaron dyer

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Happy day, everyone! It's raining where I am so I need some brightness in my life... That's why I am sharing with you the retro photo styling of Aaron Dyer. Check out more on his site.

You are all FABULOUS!
-drew

the end of another season

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If you are a regular reader of this here blog, then you know I don't post regularly. It's fairly seasonal... I tend to post a lot during the spring and summer and then again late autumn up to Christmas.

The reason why it's sporadic is because of the fact that one of my jobs is coaching a high school color guard. We choose to be very competitive which effects my stress level which then effects my desire to do "extra" things like updating my blog.

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We just finished our winter season a week ago. We reached all our goals for the season which were admittedly lower than in seasons past for the fact that the average age of the kids is 15... we had a large amount of kids graduate last year.

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This year's show was entitled, "Fly, and be Free." The kids represented birds escaping from their birdcage. I just thought you might like to see some photos since we get pretty creative with their costuming and props. Their costumes are designed by my friend Jay and custom made in Los Angeles. The floor tarp you see in the bottom photo is digitally printed on to vinyl, just like billboards.

Now that things have calmed down, you can expect more posts!

XOXO
-drew

future blooms

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I am loving this local Cincinnati program "specifically aimed at the aesthetic enhancement of vacant, abandoned and foreclosed properties." Simply by painting abstract doors, windows, flower boxes and curtains in bright colors on the boards that cover these buildings, the group hopes for "a reduction in crime surrounding these properties and a rise in area property value." Cool!

ernie sweater

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A few years ago, super knitter Debbie Stoller of Stitch 'n Bitch fame, asked me to design a sweater for her fourth book. Always one to add some humor to my creations, I designed a wrote a pattern for a sweater inspired by Ernie. You know, as in Bert and Ernie.

Thanks to the awesomeness that is Ravelry I can see who has knit the sweater and how they look wearing it. I have a secret fear that the pattern is actually really bad and that people who follow the directions are going to end up with a sweater that has 3 arms and is too long. I guess I just need to relax and give knitters more credit.

To knit the sweater yourself, check out Debbie Stollers's Son of Stitch 'N Bitch. Also, check out her fifth book in the series, Stitch 'N Bitch Advanced, due in November 2010.

crafty supermarket

If you are in the Cincinnati area, stop by the Crafty Supermarket this Saturday! I will be there, along with a ton of other cool indie artists from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and a few other places.

I was a part of the first Crafty Supermarket last November, which was also the launch party for Grace Dobush's book, Crafty Superstar. Grace is the organizer/founder and is super cool.

The show is at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center which is literally right down the street from me. Stop by and say hi!

inaluxe

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Can I have one of everything in this Etsy shop?!

tell your story

Check out this great upcoming online class by Elsie and Rachel. I was honored Elsie and Leigh-Ann asked me to be featured in their Style School class a few months ago. It was a lot of fun and I know all the students had a great time. More info below:

Tell Your Story is a six week online art journal class taught by Elsie and Rachel of Red Velvet Art. They've designed this class to help you artistically document your daily life as well as your hopes and dreams through daily prompts and challenges. They'll be sharing book making projects as well as tips and tricks for finding and storing your supplies.

Along with daily prompts you can participate in live chats to get friendly with your classmates and enjoy Q&A time with your teachers. Click here for registration information and more details or e-mail racheldenbow(at)gmail(dot)com.

what's up this week

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I had a fun time at my parents for Easter. I got to spend some time with my niece and nephew, east lots of delicious food, and even got help with my taxes from my mom. And, my mom sent home a TON of food, including half of a bunny-shaped cake, a 4 lb. box of Twizzlers, Rice Crispies treats, and left over pork, chicken and cheesy potatoes (which I am eating tonight.)

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Up this week:

- Listing more items in BOTH shops, including even more vintage fabric.

- Preparing for the Crafty Supermarket, on April 17th in Cincinnati. Lots of cool indie vendors from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Check it out if you are close. And, you can stop by and say hello and meet me!

- Preparing for national championships with my group of high school kids. Our goal is to be in the top 30 out of 100 other schools in our class/division. I'm also excited to hang out with friends once we are done competing.

What are all of you up to this week?

give-away!

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YAY! MY FIRST GIVE-AWAY!!!!!

What do you have to do to get one set of the above vintage fabric fat quarters? Just leave one comment on this post before 11:59pm Eastern Time on Sunday, 4 April 2010.

I will randomly draw one name on Monday, 5 April 2010 and you will get to pick your favorite set from above.

Good luck!

** THE GIVE-AWAY is officially closed. The random number generator from random.com chose number 20. The winner is Liz from chedderfish.com. Congrats! **

i'd rather be knitting

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It's 12:45am and I usually watch BBC World News every night at this time. But I didn't feel like doing that, so I sat in silence and worked on the sleeves to the hoodie I am knitting for a friend.