What's purple and red, and black all over?

Before we start on this blog post, make a guess at what this is. Don't scroll down! If you do, none of your wishes will come true and bad luck will plague your family. Just kidding about all that, but try not to cheat. Okay, what do you think this is?

Got your answer? Okay.....so one day, like every day, I was walking Barney.

You're right, I don't walk him in a dress. So, one day I was walking Barney...

And it was a typical walk. Barney scouted out every squirrel in the neighborhood. He managed to check the yards where he has at one time or another seen a dog. He pooped.

He seriously considered eating the poop...

And as we were walking we saw a large dog out in its front yard. If I see a loose dog I try to steer Barney in the other direction, just because he is a puppy and still gets really excited about other dogs. But this one had on a leash, so we kept walking.

As we were walking by, this dog ran and lunged almost choking itself on its leash. Geeze, settle down dog. Barney was fairly calm...paying attention but not barking or running towards the dog. Then the dog lunged again.

And before I could blink.....

The dog broke its leash and came running towards us

I don't know how I ever had a thought cross my mind, I guess it was all in slow motion. I picked up Barney knowing if this dog (who outweighed Barney by about 70 lbs) attacked him, Barney would be in big trouble. So I grabbed him and turned my back towards the oncoming dog.

The dog ran up to us, and set its sights on my left upper thigh.



This dog BIT ME! Are you kidding? I was so stunned and startled I didn't know what to do. My leg felt like it was on fire, and the owners were running out to call the dog away. I started crying and feeling around to see if there was a huge chunk of leg missing.



I mean, I'd love my thighs to be smaller, but this was a radical way to go about it. Barney and I were actually walking to the vet, so I stumbled to their office and talked to the vet about it. They mentioned Rabies, and making sure the dog had all its shots current. Have you ever seen the movie Quarentine? Am I going to turn into some neck ripping rabies monster? I don't even have insurance!

I went back to talk to the owners after the vet appointment and settled everything. By that time I was calmed down and I had actually seen the bite in the mirror.

So, did you guess what the picture was correctly? If you said "I can spot a bruise from a dog bite from a mile away!" you were right! I ended up with a bruise about 5" in diameter, with a couple puncture marks and skin blacker than a crow. This is just about actual size.

Of course, this blog makes it slightly funny and it's supposed to. You have to try and laugh at the miserable things. But on a serious note, if you have a dog, please be a responsible owner. We can't all have perfectly behaved dogs, in fact we have a Yorkie that will try to bite your toes off. But we know that about him and try to keep him out of situations that he cannot handle. If you are not sure if your dog will attack someone, don't take the chance. You can't blame the dog for not being trained/having a bad life/being subject to abuse....or whatever its reasons are for behaving badly. I don't blame the dog for biting me, I blame the owners. So cowboy up and take responsibilty of your pets, and don't put them in situations where they cannot control their behavior.

Remember, knowing is half the battle!

*note: I did not sue these people, nor did I ask for the dog to be put down.

How I roll

I thought I would write a little bit about how I make my cards, I think anything handmade can be appreciated more when you see the process behind it (and the love).

I only use black fine tip Sharpies, and they don't last too long cause I like that new pointy tip. When I become filthy rich and famous, I will mention this in an interview with Anderson Cooper, and Sharpie will probably call me to do a commercial. I'll squeeze that in sometime between tea with the queen and my tour around the moon.

In an effort to be green, I do all my sketches on the back of my fiance's studying materials. He is an Actuary. This stuff seemss like the formula to time travel to me, and I need a nap just looking at it. But he is super smart and somehow understands this stuff. Don't know what an actuary is, don't worry I didn't either at first. They are an elite bunch and you don't hear too much about them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actuary

I come up with ideas from just about anywhere. Mostly, things that happen to/around me. Which reminds me, make a note, card about inking and smores. I get out my little sharpie and play around with ideas and try to come up with something cute. This particular idea came from an insurance commercial I saw. You can see the finished card here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/81453396/hand-drawn-card-just-married-on-recycled





I mess up a lot, that is it takes quite a few sketches for me to get it right. Lots of paper in the recycling bin. Somtimes I just never get it right, and I come to terms with the fact that not everything looks good in stick person form.

Some mess ups from the previous blog about being laid off.

Working on a "will you be my bridesmaid" card where I just couldn't get the hair right.

You can see the finished bridesmaid card here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/81446673/hand-drawn-card-will-you-be-my

This is where I do all my work, down in the basement!! Don't worry, it's not creepy. There is a full kitchen down there (weird choice by previous home owner) and I use it as a craft corner. It's not as cute as some of these craft-making spaced you see, but it works great and it allows me to not have to clean up if I don't feel like it.

this empty space used to have a stove, but my grandparents desperatley needed a new one, and refused to by one (children of the depression)...so we gave them this one. It was Tom's idea, cause he is so generous.

As you can see it gives me lots of storage space, and lots of room to work. (I don't use the dishwasher for any part of the card making process). So, after I get a sketch I like, I scan it and color it in photoshop. I tried coloring by hand with Prisma markers, but with orders of 50+ cards....that is unbelievably time consuming. So this works out great for Etsy. Once it is printed I take it down stairs and cut it to size. I HAVE to use a cutting tool....I cannot cut a straight line to save my life.

 Then they all get mounted on a heavy black card stock...

 Then trimmed again, so there is a nice clean black border. I am not a perfectionist by any means, but it works out good cause I can eye-ball things pretty well. Plus, perfect cards are for machines and I am not a machine. These are hand made and I think slight imperfections add to the charm. I mount the drawing on to a card that I get from Green Earth Supplies on Etsy. She is out of Colorado and does fabulous work and saves me an enormous amount of time.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/GreenEarthSupplies?ref=ss_profile

All scraps get tossed into this bag to be recycled....or until I can think of something productive to do with them.

And ta-da! The card is finished and ready to be photographed (if this is a first run) or sent out to a customer.

This is the packaging station, full of kraft wrapping paper, vintage fabric strips, twine, tape, thank you cards and envelopes. This is my favorite spot in the craft corner, because it means I am sharing my cards with someone!

 So, there you have it, a glimpse into the world of Briggle Sticks! It's not magical or fancy but I enjoy it and I get exctied about each and every sale. Thank you again for reading and check back soon for another cartoon....possible about hoarding. xo





True Blood

I have been reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. It wasn't until around book 3 that I realized these were the books that the HBO hit show True Blood is based on. I have seen about 9 minutes of one episode, but in comparing notes with friends it seems to be loosely based. Not too surprised about that. Since it is HBO and they want ratings, they are going to replace all the "boring" parts that have too complex of a plot, with sex.

Just in case you are not familar with the characters of these novels/HBO shows. Here is a quick reference to get you up to speed.

This is Sookie Stackhouse, the main character. She works at a bar called Merlottes. She is telepathic, which is why I gave her a big head. She doesn't really have a big head, in fact she seems really attractive in the book. She has a brother named Jason and a grandma. Her parents are dead. She refuses to date because she can't block out the thoughts of the men. You know, things like "I thought she would be smaller" "I wish this date were over" "She has great tits"

This is Sam. He owns Merlotte's, and is Sookie's boss. He is a shape shifter and for the most part turns into a Collie, which I have shown here. He is secertly in love with Sookie, and she can't read his mind cause he isn't human. He lives in a trailer behind the bar, and owns some rental properties in town....which he later offers to Sookie temporarily when her house burns down.

This is Bill. This is Sookie's neighbor, who lives just across the cemtary. He is also her first boyfriend and a vampire. He is really looking to become "mainstream" and settle down, which makes him awfully boring. He is also about 800 years old. She can't read his mind, which is why she was so happy to date him.

This is Eric, another vampire. Get used to all the men....they hang around Sookie like flies. Well, maybe more like mosquitos since they are vampires. Anyways, Eric is the owner of Fangtasia, a vampire bar and is also a Sheriff of a local vampire district. He is Bill's boss and he used to be a Viking. Apparently, he is gorgeous with a capital G. Pam, a girl who works at Fangtasia, is his 2nd in command.

This is Arlene, she also works at Merlotte's with Sookie. This is all in Louisianna by the way. She has huge red hair, and from what I can gather is sort of a hussy. She has a couple kids and in the first book its her husband who turns out to be the one killing everyone. Poor Arlene. I don't think she is actually fat at all, but in my head I picture her kind of sloppy and trashy. The open mouth gum chomping type.



This is Bob. Bob  is a cat, but first he was a human. Well, not just any human, a Wiccan. Oh, and a Jehovah's Witness. That is why he is black and white as a cat.....because he always wore black pants and a white shirt. He is the result of some careless witch experimenting. Cure is not yet found.

This is Claudine, and she is a fairy. She is looking to become an angel. Apparently fairies can become about a dozen things....angel, demon, gaurdians, elves, etc. She is Sookie's "fairy godmother" so to speak and protects her from time to time. She is a knock-out. She has a twin brother, Claude. She enjoys long walks on the beach and Sangria.

This is Alcide, he is a Werewolf. Picture Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. He is rough, rugged, and 100% man. He works construction....of course. If I had to pick a Sookie Stackhouse novel character to date, it would be him. Too bad he is in love with Debbie Pelt (turns into a fox) and she has some crazy spell over him. But eventually she is killed (by Sookie) and Alcide is left single. Hmmmm.....wonder how I can get his number?



This is Quinn, and he is a WereTiger. Meaning he turns into a Tiger (Bengal). Lots of turning into things going on around here. He is an Event Coordinator, and manages most of the supernatural beings events around these parts. He is tall, broad, bald and protective. He has some secrets he is keeping from Sookie, which I don't have the details on just yet.

This the the Queen of Louisianna and the King of Mississppi. In Vampire land they "rule" states and you have a king or a queen. Then they marry and form alliances. These two just married. They were both about 15 when made vampires, so even though they are about 500 years old, they look like kids. You don't mess with these two, they are ruthless and they have a lot of power. They look powerful don't they? Yeah, like their kingdom is a castle made of random boxes set up in the basement.

Real pictures

For those of you who are curious to see exactly what Barney puppy looks like, and the real life condition of our couch....here are a couple pictures.

Here is Barney Bumble Bee....our now 10 month old puppy.

awh, he looks so sweet and innocent. But he is really a couch eating monster.

And here is the current condition of our poor couch, as of 09-01-11

notice my nice patching job in the middle. He likes to rip that off too.

I mean, really, we look like we grabbed this out of a dumpster.

sigh.