Posts Tagged cats

June Blog

June 10, 2013 at 3:46 pm · Filed under Other ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Time for my monthly blog update! I’ve been busy as usual since my last post – I moved to Hamilton over the May long weekend and everything went smoothly! It was super fast and easy, and I was grateful for all of the help from family and pals. What a lucky gal I am! It didn’t take long to unpack the boxes and set everything up (we were literally all unpacked by Monday evening, except for a few shelves and wall decorations.) I can’t stand living amid chaos and boxes, so I pretty much didn’t bother sleeping until everything was in it’s place 🙂

It was hard saying goodbye to my retro townie – I loved this place so much, and so did the kitties:

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But it didn’t take long to adjust to the new place, and here are a few of my favourite things/spaces – first up, obviously, the ‘biskit craft room!!! It was already painted a pale pea green which sort of matches with my brand colours – how perfect!

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I also love the peg board in the kitchen (we cook a lot, so this is amazingly convenient):

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I also dig our funky little living room:

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and this super sweet retro brown chair that I picked up for only $7  – what a find! The kitties love it, too (which is the most important part):

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New home sweet home ❤ I also love the area we’re in – so many beautiful gardens all around the neighbourhood 🙂 And I’m closer to more of my pals now, too (old and new ones) which is exciting!

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I got some of the sweetest house warming gifts, including this chalkboard photo frame from my friend Miss Tea. We made them together as a super fun craft project, which was the best part:

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And this adorable pom pom plant from Heather – which matches perfectly in the craft room with it’s green & orange:

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Such sweet ladies!

After the move and unpacking were complete, I had to get back to crafting ASAP! May/June are the beginning of wedding season, which is probably the busiest time of year for custom orders (next to Christmas, of course.) Plenty of brides-to-be have been requesting bottle opener keychains and pocket mirrors for wedding favours:

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and I’ve also been getting lots of requests for custom couple portrait pillows. I love making these!

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I’m super behind in re-stocking for shows with all the requests, but hopefully I can get caught up this week before my next show, Heirlooms, An Etsy Artisan Market, in Welland on Saturday June 15th! My dear friend Heather of Needlings will be there as well which makes it even more awesome! 5 more sleeps!

I did manage to squeeze in one show on June 1st, Craftstock on James North in Hamilton. Always a fun time thanks to Laura, the lovely organizer, and also creator behind Adelaide 🙂 (she makes some super sweet hair flowers so check ’em out at the next Craftstock!) This was my set up for the show (although much less yellow-tinged in person – haha, sorry about that):

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In other exciting news, I got a new job, still as a graphic designer, but at a design agency a little closer to my new home! I’ve always wanted to work at an agency so am super excited. People are always shocked to hear that I work full time on top of running my own bizz, while also balancing a social life… I wish I had the secret to doing it all to share with you. I guess my tips would be: plenty of caffeinated tea! And cat naps! And have lots of crafty friends so hangouts can double as “work” dates! Probably a bit of motivation and passion don’t hurt, either 😉

Anyway, after Heirlooms, I am taking July off of shows to prep for the August Art Crawl on James North in Hamilton, Fan Expo, Locke Street Festival, and Supercrawl! My most favourite shows of the year! WOO HOO!

Hope you guys are doing great! Happy early summer!

xo Lisa

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Spring is… not quite in the air. But tacos are!

March 19, 2013 at 5:22 pm · Filed under Other ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hi guys! Hope everyone had a fun and safe St. Patty’s day! 🙂 I was out of commission last week after Toronto ComiCON due to a stomach flu (it was terrible! I hope none of you get it!) so wasn’t able to get much work done. I suppose I needed a bit of a rest anyway, but could have done without the sickness part. Anyway, I recovered fairly quickly and have been back to work with lots of custom orders (bulk buttons, and portrait pillows – here’s the one I’m working on currently:)

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I decided to take April off of shows to make sure I stay on top of all this work, plus I have a ton of re-stocking to do from the con… annnnnd because of some other exciting news, but I don’t want to share just yet until it’s confirmed. My lips are sealed! At least until next time 😉

I mentioned in my last blog that I would share the podcast interview I had with Guys With Pencils, which you can have a listen to here. We talk about cats, mustaches, cons, and other fun stuff! It was a blast catching up with these guys, and their podcast is awesome… if you haven’t already, be sure to check ’em out! They’ve been featured in the top 3 spot of iTunes “New and Noteworthy” podcasts, and even if you don’t listen to my interview, they’re got an amazing assortment of talented animators, cartoonists, illustrators, etc. to chose from.

I guess I should also fill you in on Toronto ComiCON where I was on March 9 & 10. It was a pretty typical convention, full of many familiar faces and fantastic energy! Always a fun time! I tested out a new booth set up which allowed me for some “face space” since I’m usually hidden behind my epic display. I got a lot of compliments on this one, so I think I’ll stick with it for a little while longer:

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I also got a lot of compliments on how my outfits matched my branding, which I thought was subtle but was apparently super obvious! 🙂 I like it though. I’m going to get myself a ‘biskit patterned dress soon! Just you wait. I have also been keeping my eye out for a nerdbiskit green pencil skirt – if you see one be sure to let me know!

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I was lucky enough to have myself a lovely assistant on Saturday, thanks to Miss Jenny 🙂 It’s always wonderful to have a companion and someone to help set up, and find tea! ❤

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I took plenty of mustache photos, which can be seen in my facebook mustache fan album and acquired a few new catnip toy kitty fans, too! I sold out of catnip tacos, so will be busy stocking those up over the next few weeks.

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And my fleece tacos were a big hit, too! This was the first major show I’ve had them at, so I was pretty excited about how people were responding to them. I sold out of those too, so I guess taco making is my number 1 priority over the next month!

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My con highlight was when Ajay from InnerSPACE (via Space Channel) stopped by my booth and chose it as his favourite – mostly because of his love for tacos. Check out the video of him snuggling one of my fleece taco pillows here. You can see me lurking in the background (around 3:08)…

Next up on the show list is Art-O-Con in Burlington on Sunday, May 5th. It’ll be a new show for me this year, but will be filled with plenty of vendor pals so I’m sure it’ll be a good time. Hosted by my awesome pal Lara of Jaded Dragon Studios, who looks dashing in a mustache (below):

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Also, if anyone reading this knows someone with a shop down on James Street North in Hamilton that wouldn’t mind having me set up out front for the July & August Art Crawls, please get in touch with me! 🙂

One last thing before I go, if you haven’t already, head on over to Okay, Allison’s awesome blog to read a feature on yours truly, and also enter for a chance to win some mustache merch (made by me!)

Okay that’s it from me! I’m off to have tea with one of my favourite crafty ladies!

xoxoxo Lisa

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Sewing away the winter blahs…

February 28, 2013 at 8:15 pm · Filed under Other ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello lovelies! Hope everyone is keeping their spirits up and avoiding those winter blahs! I started my spring count down in January, so I’m ready for flowers and sunshine annnyyyyy day now…. even tomorrow would be great 🙂 But if not, I can stick it out a few more weeks, if I must.

I’ve been busy stocking up for shows! I actually kicked the craft shows off early this year, with Craftstock in Hamilton earlier this month (usually I don’t start until March). It was lots of fun, and is going to be a monthly event down on James Street North, so I’ll likely be there again in the near future. There’s a fun article about it here, featuring some quotes from yours truly!

Here was my booth set up:

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I was pretty excited to wear my new nerdbiskit skirt made by one of my fave crafty pals, Heather of Needlings.

After Craftstock, I was busy with a few podcast interviews, one with Steve Likoski from Australia (click here to listen) and one with Guys With Pencils in Toronto! I think I’m getting better at that sort of thing, (you know, talking to people… haha) and I’m honoured to have been selected as a guest! (I’ll post the Guys With Pencils podcast next time, it’s not ready just yet.)

I also appeared in Hamilton Magazine, which was pretty exciting!

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(click on image to enlarge and read article)
So much media action to kick off the year! I wonder what’s next?! I can’t wait to find out! I should stock up on mustache jokes just so I’m fully prepared!

Other than that, I’ve mostly been sewing tacos, both large (for people) and small (stuffed with catnip for kitties) and working on some new display ideas. I found these cute burger trays:

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and this empty bamboo tea box works wonderfully to hold my pocket mirrors:

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I just love when things work out perfectly 🙂

Other than that, I’ve had several crafting/work dates with pals, including the usual crafternoon with Heather of Needlings. She worked on owls and display stuff for the One Of A Kind show where she’ll be selling her goods (March 27-31 in Toronto), and I basically just ate butter tarts, drank tea, and played with Callie the wonder dog:

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So that’s about it! Oh, I also got Vine, and have been having a lot of fun making silly cat and taco videos! Follow me if you have it: @nerdbiskit. Here’s a sample for you (I promise they’ll get better in time): Taco talk.

Speaking of tacos, I better get back to stuffing more for Toronto ComiCON IN JUST ONE WEEK! I’ll be in Artist’s Alley at booth A43 so if you’re going to be there, come say hi! Super excited since last year was a blast!

Bye for now! xoxo

Lisa

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Kickin’ off 2013!

January 21, 2013 at 6:46 pm · Filed under Other ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hi guys! Happy New Year! (I can still say that until the end of this month, right?) Hope everyone had a lovely holiday season and all that fun stuff. Mine was nice and quiet as per usual 🙂 There were plenty of famjams and friendly visits, and I even took a bit of a break from crafting, although I still had plenty to do and restock from all of my holiday shows!

After New Year’s I got right back to work, of course! I started off with a few new button designs, “cats are my boyfriend” and Gangnam style (how could I resist). They will also be available as bottle opener keychains in my Etsy shop in the near future!

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And of course, Grumpy Cat! (He’s not on a button yet, but will be shortly):

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I also sewed plenty of mustaches, catnip kitty tacos, and a few new character tote bags as well.

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I think I’m right on track for my first show of the year, coming up in just 2 short weeks: Craftstock in Hamilton, ON on February 2nd! I’m pretty excited since shows don’t usually kick off until mid-March for me, so it’s nice to get started earlier this year!

I even had a special visitor come see me for a working afternoon this past weekend! The wonderful illustrator/comic artist Vicki Nerino. (You can read her guest blog interview here.) We did a whole lot of catching up, while also getting some things checked off our to do list! I was working on buttons for NYC Pride, while she doodled characters for some upcoming comic books for TCAF!

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It’s always nice to have some company while I work 🙂 My usual crafternooner, Miss Heather from Needlings, and I have taken up a new venture of exploring tea rooms! Well just one so far, but we plan to visit a whole bunch more, Tea Tour 2013! This first one, Taylor’s Tea Room, in Dundas was quite lovely. We also found a nice door to pose in front of on our way home!

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And look what that lovely lady made me, my very own nerdbiskit craft show skirt!!! I’m so excited to wear it at my next show! Eee!

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After Craftstock, I will be a vendor at Toroto ComiCON on March 9th & 10th! Super excited for that as usual 🙂

Well I better get back to work, there are custom button orders for NYCPride to complete!

xoxoxoxo Lisa

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2012 Wrap up!

December 17, 2012 at 8:26 pm · Filed under Other ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Holidays, my friends! What a busy season it’s been with custom gift requests, Etsy orders, and two back to back holiday shows! First up was the Holiday Maker’s Market on James North in Hamilton. Of course I was only a table away from the ever adorable Heather from Needlings, which makes any show extra awesome. We had a fun and festive afternoon – just look at those smiles!

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I only had a week to prepare and restock for the next holiday show, Crafternoon Delight, which was a new one added to my list this year! It was actually a pop-up shop in an old pharmacy that was gutted and decorated just for the day. Heather was there too, and plenty of other fun and talented vendors, making it a lot of fun! The ladies running it were amazing, and I was so happy to be part of it. What a lovely show to end the year!

Here was my set up for the day – the wrapping paper on the walls actually worked well with my display!

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And here is another picture of Heather and I, just smiling away as usual:
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I also worked on some bulk button orders, and some fun custom projects, including this mini plush storm trooper:

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After all my orders and shows were out of the way, I was finally able to get cracking on some new merch for next year! I finished some more tacos (big taco is a fleece pillow for people, little ones are catnip toys for kitties):

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and some new button designs, too!

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In other exciting news, my “Hot Chicks with Mustaches” mini wall calendar for 2013 was featured in the winter edition of Xalt magazine:

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And I have another feature coming up in Hamilton Magazine, which I am excited to see 😀

I also made a donation to Movember again this year, and thank you to all who supported my MoBerg mustache companion campaign to help me raise money. Each new like on my Facebook page equaled $1 towards my donation! To thank everyone, I held a giveaway for some mustache merch 🙂

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Overall, I have to honestly say, it’s been the best year of crafting yet! This was the first year of my rebrand as nerdbiskit, and I am thrilled with how it turned out! I hope next year is just as fun and awesome! I’ll be taking a short craft break over the holidays, but will be back at it ASAP in the new year to prepare for my first show of 2013 in February.

Hope you all have a great holiday and a happy new year!

xoxo Lisa

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Squirrels, Cats, Gnomes… & The Daily Dress Update

March 16, 2012 at 6:18 pm · Filed under Other ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

TGIF everyone! Fridays just never really get old do they?

This rascal had an awesome start to his Friday, caught him eating out of my discarded peanut butter jar this morning on my way out! I bet it was an incredible taste experience for the little guy! I mean he already loves nuts, but in the form of peanut butter… image his pure delight? HAPPY FRIDAY SQUIRREL FRIEND!

Another busy week for me… but aren’t they all? I finished up 600 buttons for NYC Pride and had lots of Etsy orders to ship out – plenty of bottle openers & pocket mirrors from the ol’ Etsy shop! My Ryan Gosling merch has been a big seller online recently – so if you’re a fan of that lovely man, be sure to check it out! I had a sick day on Wednesday, so I stayed home and ordered plenty of supplies to stock up my craft room! SO MUCH FELT is on its way from Taiwan (I have the best supplier over there) so there are many characters to be sewn for my totes once it arrives! I should post some of those on Etsy soon… okokok I promise after the next show that I will, since so many of you have been asking!

In other exciting news, The Daily Dress is almost all wrapped up! I have one dress saved for St. Patty’s tomorrow, and then I am buying a celebratory dress to finish it up on Sunday! “But Lisa, how do you protect all those fine dresses from evil thieving dress gnomes?” you might ask. Well, don’t worry, I do in fact have a system in place. Meet my 2 body guards, who alternate between day and night shifts of watching over the pile of dresses. They’re pretty intimidating, and so far no one has attempted to get too close… (well there was one person who managed to steal 3 of my dresses, but I owed her in exchange for her bottle opener helper services so the guards let it slide.) So don’t worry, the dresses are safe! And I will post the Daily Dress recap later this weekend 🙂

Greta, dress guard #1: her super power is the ability to be super comfortable any place, any time. (Though I am not sure how that helps fight off the dress gnomes…)

Rico, dress guard #2: this guy is smaller than the average cat and has a cute face, but don’t let it fool you – his claws expand to easily 6″ long are and constantly sharpened on my couch and the side of my bed. He also suffers “short man” syndrome, so he feels the need to constant bite your ankles to provoke a fight. Beware.

Anyway, I have a craft binge ahead tonight, St. Patty’s celebrations with some super cool ladies tomorrow evening, and dress shopping and a dinner date on Sunday with B – so stoked! Hopefully I get lots of mustaches sewn tonight, because I am completely sold out from the last show! I got 4 done last night, so, it’s slowly filling back up… except I need at least 50… SO MUCH TO SEW! Anyone want to be my assistant sewer? For free? I will give you tea and of course an unlimited supply of mustaches!

I also have a NEW SUPER EXCITING DISPLAY for the next show under way, but I can’t show you pictures yet… It just keeps getting bigger and better! WORLD TAKEOVER CONTINUES…

Can I just say, I AM LOVING THIS FANTASTIC WEATHER, might try to sneak in a quick bike ride around the ravine tonight before dinner and ‘stache sewing… off I go!

Have a Happy St. Patty’s everyone!!!
Xoxoxo Lisa

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My Kitty Fans & The Daily Dress

February 13, 2012 at 6:40 pm · Filed under Other ·Tagged , , , ,

Only 4 sleeps until the long weekend! Yep, these are the things I get excited about.

What else do I get excited about, you might ask? Well I also get excited about cats – which is why I make and sell catnip kitty toys as part of nerdbiskit’s merch. The thought of bringing joy into a kitty-cat’s heart just makes my day…. life even! *gentle tear*

Ok that’s a bit creepy, but I do LOVE when people buy my catnip toys, their kitties love it, and they send me action shots! Here are a few of my kitty fans:

Gary (above)

Oreo (above)

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My own kitty, Rico, eating from the catnip jar as I stuff toys.

This last kitty fan found me at Locke Street Festival, an outdoor street gig last fall. I had some extra catnip toys stored in a bin under my table, and this stray came out of nowhere and I found him sniffing and pawing at the bag they were in. Of course for all his efforts to sniff them out and brave the crowds, I gave him one, which occupied him briefly – but then he only wanted more! He kept jumping up on our table trying to get at the fresh toys on display. People kept walking by asking me, “is that your cat?” I know I’m a crazy cat lady, but not quite so insane that I would bring my cat with me to a show!

Anyway, it actually worked out in my favour as the best free advertising I could have ever asked for! It attracted a lot of attention, a bit of a “buzz” you might say. People were buying up cat toys like crazy, based on proof that it obviously worked – and well at that! I’m pretty proud to say I have the most potent catnip you can find – I have not yet heard of one cat that hasn’t gone nuts for a mustache, taco, donut, dagger, bloody bone or teabag. I also stuff them with a LOT of nip which probably helps. No skimping out on this end! It’s all about having a happy cat!

Well that’s enough crazy cat banter. Here’s The Daily Dress. Unfortunately I have no dresses with cat prints to wrap this all up in a neat little package. I’ll get one though, I promise.

Nothing fancy pants today. Just some floral.

Xoxoxo Lisa

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