The Final Countdown...

It's the end of the semester, and what have I done. Well, I know what I haven't done. I haven't written about tv shows much, but if you haven't yet... you need to watch Arrested Development. Come on.

Okay, now down to business. I know I've focused more on local things for this blog but since I've been talking more about crafts and vintage stuff, I thought I would share a few more great Etsy shops with you for this last class post. Not sure if I will continue the blog or not, since my track record with keeping up blogs has not been so great in the past. I hope, though, that I will keep crafting and finding new things that I can share here. Maybe you can do some holiday shopping. : )

First, I'd like to share a few artists from whom you can buy prints. I never thought of art as being very accessible to me before I discovered Etsy. There are all kinds of artists from whom you can buy original art or prints for not a lot of money. Not only are you able to support an artist, but you have a unique piece that can't be found on allposters.com! Here are a few of my favorites:
thisisalliknow has the most magical looking prints and original paintings for sale... I've saved a few of the images to use as backgrounds on my computer because I find them so hypnotic.
HideNSeek is another one of my favorites.  I have a copy of this print on my wall, and it's lovely and wintry in a nice way. She also uses her prints in jewelry, hand mirrors, and other items.
jessgonacha has delightful, colorful prints and other items.
SophieBlackall may be my all time favorite artist on Etsy... she bases many of her paintings and drawings off of "Missed Connections" from craigslist.com. The sweet and poetic
ones, not the creepy ones.
RetroWhale's paintings of movie characters (lots of Wes Anderson) and other random things are truly awesome.

Of course, Etsy also hosts a countless number of great jewelry and accessory designers:
LaraLewis, another one of my favorite Etsy sellers, sells vintage Estate style jewelry and has a huge selection, most of which is quite reasonably priced. (And when I say reasonably priced, I mean the price of something you'd buy at Target, not something that would be in a magazine's "just barely under $100" section).
Louloudo of Super Duper Things makes cute, every-day-wearable jewelry and accessories.
flightpathdesigns is cool. What else can I say? Awesome graphics put to use on belt buckles and necklaces.

I also love to find (maybe not to buy, but to be inspired by..) cool paper-craft sellers on Etsy.
Julianna Swaney of Oh My Cavalier  sells nice, seasonally-appropriate cards.
katygromball has a set of great, unique postcards.
LineaCarta's shop is chock-full of interesting cards, as well as other items like pencil cases.

Au revoir! Enjoy!

The Problem of Parking: Drury University parking regulations let students know... they don't matter.

A university within city limits having parking issues is not a unique situation; as a university grows within the city, the problem of space must affect some part of the lives of students and faculty.

In the case of Drury University, part of the parking issue lies in priority being given to boosters (i.e., sports fans who pay plenty of money to attend a series of games) rather than students (i.e., the makeup of the university itself). Now of course one can argue that the boosters pay for that priority parking; it is indeed included on the list of things that come with booster ticket packages.

Please, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that students might also pay a decent amount of money to attend Drury in the first place, and I feel that consistent access to a not-miles-away parking lot should be provided, given the hefty tuition and fees we pay.

If a lack of parking was the only problem, and the campus was simply packed out on game nights due to attendees being allowed to use those spaces, that would be one thing or maybe not… ask a night school student. Sure, it would be frustrating, but that’s life sometimes, and everyone could stamp their feet in protest as they walk to class from a farther away lot.

Unfortunately though, it’s not as simple as running out of space. It’s about locking students out of lots and forcing them to pay parking tickets if they didn’t get the memo to move their car in time.

The university’s tickets website (drurytickets.universitytickets.com) provides a colorful map of all the places that someone coming to a Drury event can park, leaving one small lot for commuter students. When I saw this I thought, “But wait! I take a night class! Those people will think they can park anywhere they want!” And that’s the problem – they can.

I know I’m not the first person to complain about Drury parking, but I think the university needs to hear, from many voices, that they are sending a negative message to the students whether they realize it or not, by saying that the university’s resources (the most basic of all, perhaps, being space for one to park) will not be given to the students first.

Don’t even get me started on the open space in front of the HPER parking lot that was recently turned into a “green space” that no one uses. They’re ejecting us from our very own places in favor of non-students; specifically, sports fans.

Let’s just say the whole situation doesn’t encourage my own school spirit. 

Only At Christmas Time

Well, here we are less than three weeks until the end of the semester, and what is on my mind? Christmas gifts of course! I pretty much have nothing to write about except crafts/gifts I've been making, because it's the only thing other than finishing up the semester that my brain has had space for. This may not be such an interesting post, but it's kind of fun for me to show  a few things I've gotten done in the past few weeks (other than homework). 

This first craft was something I decided to start doing at the beginning of the year and spent all summer flea-marketing seeking out proper found objects with which to adorn: decoupage boxes. I bought some plain wooden boxes from a hobby store for a couple dollars each (depending on shape and size) and used mod podge matte glue to attach pieces of old sheet music, then used hot glue to attach this interesting wooden picture onto the top. It's a pretty simple, relatively cheap craft and a good gift for female friends, my main craft demographic as of right now. 

This second project was something I replicated for a few different people, and it was also quite cheap to make. You can buy sturdy styrofoam wreath forms at craft stores and do pretty much anything you want to with them. I was inspired by Smile and Wave and especially this wreath from Anthropologie (priced at $148... mine may not be as perfect, but it was a heck of a lot more cheap, and fun to make!)

I basically just twisted sections of yarn around and hot glued on the backside of the wreath periodically, then sewed on a handmade felt piece. To finish I attached a strip of ribbon with twist pins to the back. 

Here's a close-up of my felt piece.. it is supposed to be a cardinal. I used some old fabric and a button to sew the layers of felt together. 

 This year I got inspired to wrap gifts up in really simple brown paper, adorned with yarn and doilies or these easy-to-make ribbons. I simply bought a 3-yard piece of muslin and cut the piece horizonally into 1 1/2- 2 inch strips, then used acrylic Christmas stamps to make simple ribbons for gifts. I'm trying to think of other things to do with these, as I've made about 7 3-yard chunks of ribbon and still have leftovers. 

Here's one last simple gift idea: button earrings. Most of these were buttons I bought especially to make into earrings, but one could easily make matches of buttons they already own. You just need a hot glue gun and earring posts and backings. I like to attach mine to cool papers or in small boxes I save from receiving jewelry, sometimes covering the lid in pretty paper. 

These are a few of the things I've finished so far, now I'm off to create more. Hope I haven't bored you to death. How's the Christmas planning going on your end? I love preparing for Christmas during the entire season... but I'm also one of those people who packs for trips months ahead.