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Man, I suck so bad.

For real...I missed Kevin Bacon Wednesday, I haven't posted here in forever, I don't even talk about anything crafty like I said I would...lame, lame, Lamey McLamerson. Anyway, check out this super awesome nerdy print that I bought for my bathroom which James is not happy about (he's not into nerd art - he's stupid like that. Not that it matters...I'm totally filling the bathroom with all science related art -it's amazing):



It's from Tiffany Ard. I already have her nerdy baby ABC's poster...I love it.

Also, I bought some nerdy cat toys for my cat...he's a celebri-cat and therefore not a nerd, but as long as he lives under my roof he'll abide by my rules and my rules say everyone has nerdy accessories:



It's a trilobite. It's from Corinna at The Frog Bag. First, she's awesome because she makes cat toys that will encourage my cat to pursue a career in science, instead of all of the pot smoking and partying with Paris Hilton that he does and second, she's awesome because she sent me my very own real-paper-and-not-online copy of the LA Times article and she didn't even know who I was! I asked and she said yes. If we lived in the same city and we were 70 years old, I bet we'd be like the Golden Girls and I'd totally thank her for being a friend.*

I'm in on the nerd fun, too. I've got these guys for sale in my shop:


I have glasses like this, only without the rhinestones. I love my nerdy glasses.


It's an earwig!!!

I also found this really cool old science bingo game today...I'm going to frame one of the cards and hang it in my bathroom with the rest of my nerdy art. Guess who hates that idea?

Guess who's doing it anyway :)

Hopefully I'll have pictures soon but no promises...this wedding planning stuff is kicking my butt.

*R.I.P. Bea Arthur...Dorothy was always my favorite.

I'm in the LA Times today!

I know I'm supposed to be all blase about this sort of thing and act really cool and I actually lived in LA for about a year which should make me even more relaxed and cool about this whole thing...but I'm not. I'm so unbelieveably flattered and honored and thrilled that I just danced around my house for a really, really long time. Anyway, the internet is going to devour this article in about a week so I'm saving the whole thing here so I can revisit it whenever I feel the need to dance. Unfortunately, I don't want to get sued by the LA Times just when we've started to become friends so I can't show it to you (I originally did have it here but eventually they're going to find it and want me to take it down so I'm just going to take it down now.)


Full article can be found here




Even if I don't sell one thing from this...I don't care. This is a HUGE honor. Huge. Gigantic. I'm freaking out. I have to go freak out now.

F.A.Q.

I know, you're mad...you came here expecting pictures of pretty things and instead I'm just going to answer a bunch of random questions about stuff I make. But you know, sometimes other people come here to get answers to questions about stuff I make and all they find is lots of Kevin Bacon stuff...there has to be some middle ground, ok? Anyway, some F.A.Q. and the super genius and mind blowing answers:

What's your online store address?

www.shopheylola.com ... it's on Etsy (I love Etsy!)

Where do you find all of your supplies? Like...you know...the beads and chains and disco dancing dragon buttons?

I'm a thrift store junkie. And an antique mall addict. And a garage sale stalker. If you've got old jewelry for sale and you live anywhere near me, I'll be there in 5 minutes.

Ok, but hold on...You claim to be all eco-friendly and environmentally concerned but you're probably driving around all of the time looking for stuff, choking everybody with your car fumes, right?

Ok, I lied. If you have old jewelry, I won't be there in 5 minutes. I try to do all of my scouting and shipping on one day of the week in an attempt to cut down all of the driving...so I'll be there on Wednesday.

I get that the pendants and chains are all kind of wired together, but some of those things that you put together look like they're glued. How is that environmentally friendly?

I knew you were going to ask me that! Ok...jeweler's glue is bad, everybody knows that. Unfortunately, eco-friendly glue isn't strong enough to hold things together...at least not any that I've tried. I keep looking, though. In the meantime, my extreme guilt for using jeweler's glue and for buying new earwires and clasps has led me to give a portion of my jewelry earnings to the World Wildlife Federation...er...Foundation...um...the WWF that's not involved with wrestling.

How much?

That's rude.

Not really...I mean, if you're giving a portion, don't you want your customers to know how much?

Right. Well, it's not a set amount. It's based on what I can afford. If I say 10% and then my refrigerator quits and I need a new refrigerator, I'm going to have to buy the refrigerator. But, you know...I'm shooting for 10%. I started donating in March and was able to do the 10%, so that's a great thing.


Ok, so I read that you used recycled packaging like cereal boxes and stuff...that's weird, right?

Not really. A cereal box is still a box and they actually travel pretty well.

But the box that I got from you was pink and had stamps and hearts and dancing monkeys all over it and I've never heard of dancing monkeys cereal.

Because I paint the boxes just for you! Awesome, right? Non-toxic paint and all of that, too.

Ok, but there was some shredded paper and a plastic bag and a jewelry box and some weird tissue paper and ribbons and thank you cards...how come you use all of that stuff? Shouldn't you just send it without all of that stuff and nonsense? Seems pretty wasteful.

I order the jewelry boxes from a company that swears up and down that they're recycled. The weird tissue paper is old sewing patterns, the ribbons are thrifted,the shredded paper is junk mail and old magazines, the plastic is used to protect the package and it's leftover from a local company and the thank you card is because I am SO glad that you shopped with me. I'm serious.

Come on...

No, for real. I'm always amazed when somebody buys something from me...like, I know I love it but you love it, too? That's probably the greatest compliment ever.

How come your stuff is all random and you don't have a series or a collection or a line? I saw a necklace that I loved once and then when I came back a day later there was nothing there that even looked like it.

I can't do it. I kind of look at each piece like I would a painting and it has it's own inspiration and it's own music and there's just not going to be anything like it because there shouldn't be...it's unique and individual, just like you.

You're totally making me blush.

Yay!

Ok, so one of your necklaces has a sparrow pendant and I KNOW I've seen one just like it at a local craft store. What gives?

I bought a bunch of supplies last year when I first came back to jewelry...then I realized I didn't want to use new supplies. I'm pretty sure that 95% of whatever I need is already out there...unfortunately, I had already bought all of that new stuff so I'm trying to make sure I use it all.

What's up with the gift tags in your store? How does paper tie into jewelry?

I use the cardboard box dividers from beverage deliveries to create my own jewelry tags...I love them. They turned out so great and I think the material is even better than recycled because it hasn't been re-processed at all. We get so much of this stuff that I figured I might as well put it to use.

Do you really believe in all of this environmental stuff or is it just a ploy to get more sales?

No...I'm really into it and I always want to be better at it. I'm always open to tips and suggestions because I know there are areas that I could improve.

So, were any of these real questions or were you just talking to yourself?

Totally talking to myself.

Cool.

Kevin Bacon Wednesday!

I know, I know...this is rapidly becoming "The Kevin Bacon Show" instead of "The Lola Show." It's just...I get distracted, you know? Anyway, for today's Kevin Bacon Wednesday I present this picture of Kevin Bacon:




And these pictures of my wedding bouquets...which I totally made by myself...which cost me a grand total of...um...I can't really remember but it was definitely less than $10...which Kevin Bacon would see if he decided to come to my wedding...which he is totally invited to...which is why my wedding bouquets are featured on Kevin Bacon Wednesday:











(I used sheets of music for the paper flowers ~ 50 cents for an entire book at a church thrift store...the dried flowers were 79 cents for a gigantic bag at the Salvation Army...the vintage millinery flowers and pink feathers were also 79 cents for a gigantic bag, also found at the Salvation Army...the pink fabric was left over from some jewelry displays I made...the lace was thrifted and I'm pretty sure it was 10 cents...the pink and green acrylic beads I've had forever...the wire that I used for the mini acrylic bead sprays that are mixed in with the flowers was actually some unused picture wire that I had left over from an art show...there are some mini tissue paper flowers mixed in there, too...I think I paid about $3 for a handful of those at the Goodwill...so, you know...less than ten bucks for one bridal bouquet and 8 bridesmaids bouquets)


And finally, this lovely interview by Nicole Burron for her brand new fashion blog. This also belongs in a Kevin Bacon Wednesday post because I'm willing to bet Nicole has seen a Kevin Bacon movie.

Everything always leads back to Kevin Bacon...always.

Kevin Bacon Wednesday

So...um...I found this today:




Yeah. Um....anyway, there's also this:



Which I now want to write on every hand dryer I ever see except I'm not really into vandalism...but if I were, that would totally be all over the place.




Wendi Winn got this cool bacon key fob that she stuffed with bacon bits so that her dog could always find her keys for her...now I'm waiting for her to post about how her dog found her keys and ate them all. Keys are delicious when they're flavored like bacon...mmmmm.


That video was super weird, right? I was going to look up some Kevin stuff but I just keep re-watching that video over and over and over again and I can't really focus on anything else except those weird dudes singing about bacon.