Adventures in Crafting!

When I was visiting the Lehigh Valley I decided to go to the Indie Made Craft Market in Bethlehem. The IMCM has been around for a couple years I think, and I always miss the opportunity to go.  This time around My good friend Meghan insisted we go, most importantly to be one of the first 50 people to get free swag bags, and also because it was World Wide Knit in Public day. I myself am not a knitter, but Meghan is, and I do love me some free swag so we set out on our way.

 Even the posters were crafty!

The IMCM was being held at the Bethlehem Ice Skating Rink, but Meghan and I ended up going to the wrong ice skating rink. Seriously Bethlehem, how many ice skating rinks do you have? I thought, wow there are a lot of people here, but rather than seeing fellow craft enthusiasts, I saw people getting out of their cars with skates and hockey sticks. Strike one. My phone died and I couldn't figure out where else we had to go, but eventually we figured out where to go, got there, and hoped we still were eligible to get some free swag. I ended up being the 48th person in line, as Meghan was the 49th, and we did end up with some sweet swag bags. Each one was different, and had little somethings from the different vendors at the market.

So many business cards! So much awesomeness!

I wanted to share with my readers all the things I found(bike related, and non-bike related) and shout out to the vendors that I absolutely adore.

First off, the only reason I know about the IMCM is because of my good friend Emily. She's been making jewelry for many years, and is in an amazing jewelry group call Blue Stem Studios. They consist of many individual artists, but I definitely recommend checking out Emily's shop on Etsy, especially if you like quality stone and metal working with the occasional found items such as plastic dinosaurs.  

This is part of a broken plate made fabulous!

I may or may not have a new love interest(remember that drama I keep talking about? Yeah, I'll tell you later). So I saw Geek Boy Press and immediately had to buy something for him. My friends Patt and Emily have plenty of Geek Boy's lady superheroes and villains decorating their daughter Wylie's room, so I always wanted to see what else he had to sell, as I'm not the biggest marvel/dc comics kind of gal.Geek Boy has everything from comics to Star Wars to Ghostbusters to popular movies and other TV shows. He even does commissions! Looks like I might be getting those Bioshock posters I've always wanted.

I went with my favorite droids, and he loved it. <3

Next I stumbled upon Survive Design and their stunning but simple bags. I got one for free in my swag bag - the pink and green bunny watching tv. However, when I saw their other designs I wanted to swap it, or collect them all. While these are more my style, they also have larger purse/tote styles available.

I love the bike, the owl, and the robots.

A good part about the show was that I got to spend plenty of time with my friend Meghan, as we hadn't spoken in quite some time. Here's Meghan doing what she does best, being awesome. She also is an artist, so check out her site too!

She just learned a new knitting technique. So proud!

While I was sitting with Meghan in the knitters circle, I couldn't help but notice that Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation was staring at me from across the room(see below). I had to go over and see who had made this glorious thing, as I am a huge fan of parks and rec. I approached the stand and got to meet Aaron and his wares called Aaron Takes Pictures. We talked for a while and he also offered me some PBR goodies that he had left over from the Philadelphia PBR craft show. His photographs are pretty amazing in their simplicity, and not to sound shallow, but it definitely helps that he was downright cute.

Ron Swanson, giving his best Ron Swanson.

I thought I'd leave the best for last. While each booth had a couple items I wanted, BubbleDog made me want to run off with the whole table of goodies. Everything from plushes, shirts, pillows, belts, and paper crafts. If you click any of the links on this blog, Bubble Dog is the way to go.  He makes so many interesting characters and each one gets more adorable. I was completely overwhelmed by his collection of belts. I knew I had enough money for one and that I needed a new belt. I spent about 30 minutes though in front of his stand trying to decide which one suited me the best. I even needed Meghan's help. I decided to get this one.

Narwhals in LOVE!

I wish I could post everyone of BubbleDog's items on here, but check out the website again. He also sells exclusive items here at ShanaLogic. They also have tons of other cute adorable things that I insist you look at.
I've already found two amazing bike-related shirt dress there that I want. This one and this one.

So glad I went and I had a blast. Can't wait to go to the next one! Next time I will have to take my good friend Alicia with me who probably has an equal love for Ron Swanson and Narwhals, but more importantly crafts!

The Many Gifts of the Internet

Being mostly unemployed, I spend a lot of time online. Not to say it's all I do, and I know when to quit, but yeah, I spend a lot of time online. I have a really happy blog coming up, but it might not get posted for another week, so in the meantime, I thought I would share some of the many gifts of the internet.

This was just posted yesterday, and he knows what he's talking about.

 While on the topic of motivation, I think I will also post my favorite affirmative video.

And now some comics!

Every. Genital. 

This Picture combines 3 things I love. Bikes, fruit, and CAKE.

Biking IST KRIEG!

Safety First! 

 I want this. I saw it at the NAHBS in 2010 in Virginia.

This is an amazing shop I found on etsy called Lofty Mornings that has a lot of nice earthy bike stuff on it. It's kind of awesome.

I thought of posting more but I actually work in the morning and should probably sleep. HAHAHAHA. Maybe. I can't wait until my next entry, I may even have to break it into two parts. I'm going back to Allentown for a bit, so stay tuned for fun adventures. Until then, get on your bike, the weather has been AMAZING.

An Ode to Threadless and Bicycles

I'm in the worst mood lately, so consider this entry for good measure. I have been making progress with biking and exploring new things, however I've been going through some personal issues lately and am having a hard time gathering my thoughts. 

The first 6 shirts can be found at Threadless. IF you've been living under a rock, or just aren't into t-shirts, Threadless is a lovely clothing company that let's artists contribute original designs, and let their customers vote on ones they want to be made into shirts.

 Liberty by

Kneil Melicano at Threadless

I'm not all about wearing bike shirts, just to say "HEY EVERYONE! Yeah I ride a BIKE!" But most of the ones I own are ones that I really like the art concept. I bought this one because I really like the symbolism of the phoenix.

Missing by Julian Glander at Threadless

This one I bought after Tom had his Bontrager stolen out of the back of his car. It's a sad sad thing when a bike gets stolen. I feel like this is the general thought that anyone would have towards a bike thief. Tom's a good guy though, and thought, that if some jerks stole it and tried to sell it, then maybe someone somewhere bought it and enjoys riding it. If YOU have ever had a bike stolen from you, check out the I Hate You Bike Thief blog/website. There are posters you can print to tell your local bike thief that he/she's a jerk face and reader stories that are HILARIOUS.

Have A Nice Day by Chalermphol Harnchakkham at threadless

I never bought this one, but think that it's really beautiful. I love nature, and I love bikes - the bird on the handlebars is a nice touch.

Bike Chaos by Fabio Franca at Threadless

I love this one. I wanted to buy it for Tom but he tends to like smaller simpler designs. I like it though =)

Color Wheel by Ross Zietz at Threadless

This one they just recently put up, I think it's pretty cool, maybe for some of you art majors out there.

Infinity MPG by Ross Zietz Threadless

This is Threadless' most popular bike design. I decided to show the tote bag, because if I ever do end up getting it, I'd get it on a bag or a water bottle, rather than the shirt.


Another one of my favorite shirts that I'll probably be wearing a lot this summer is this one

It's JANE! from See Jane Ride! (no, not the model, on the shirt!)

They also have a slamming shirt-dress that I want to get. Look look look at it!

These and other merch can be found HERE. I'd recommend it especially if you're an active sassy lady and of course if you love See Jane Ride.

Well hopefully blog, this will hold you over for now. Coming up soon -

-My personal beliefs regarding motion and why everything in my life needs to constantly be moving, and how biking fits into that.
- My progress so far, and things I feel better about, like evil hills.
-Ride soundtracks. I don't know if there's some rule that it's unsafe to listen to music while on a bike, (not being able to hear things around you) but I always have my ipod with me, and I'd like to share the tunes.
-Updates on some more adventures, Trips back to Allentown, and Vali's biking progress as well.