Christmas Gifts

Posted on January 3, 2013 by studiogatz

The holidays are over…thank goodness. I was in a mad rush to finish all my StudioGatz orders and still have time to make all my family presents. My favorite gift this year was a quilted cover buttoned wall calendar I made my little sister. She has a new office and needed some “decorations.”

Quilted Covered Button Calendar

This is my first time to quilt anything. My mother is an expert quilter (check out her quilt blog I Finally Have Time), so I tried to channel her spirit while making this. In fact, I got the idea from a Zakka craft book I bought her for Christmas.

I chose this project also because my little sister had helped me make covered button earrings to sell at my Christmas craft show. She is a covered button maniac and was whipping them out faster than you can say “covered buttons.”

Here it is in her office (and changed to January):

Calendar in Office (notice the picture of Gatsby!)

I haven’t decided yet if this will make it over to the StudioGatz Store, but thought it was still fun to share.

P.S. For those wondering what’s going on with my Esty Store, well… I have no excuse, but I’ll try to sound pitiful while explaining. I hate writing descriptions and being clever and tagging and everything that goes into making a great Etsy store item. BUT It’s a new year and with that come New Year’s resolutions…So Resolution #1: Post items in my store.

Gatsby Turns One!

Posted on May 3, 2012 by studiogatz

So it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to post. Since the store opened a few weeks ago, I’ve been busy creating new product, managing the website (I’m sooo not tech savvy) and just the regular life stuff (oh and my 9-5 job).

But there was reason to celebrate this week…Gatsby (the store’s namesake and my precious pooch) turned one on Tuesday!

It was raining out, so we invited over his best friend Monty for a play date. I wanted to get party hats, because, yes I am that crazy dog owner. However, my search was fruitless. So I quickly whipped up some of my own out of construction paper.

The Birthday Boy

Monty Didn’t Like His Hat!

DISCLAIMER: I didn’t spend much time on these hats (obviously). They do not reflect the products available on studiogatz.com. If you’re wondering why I didn’t spend more time and design a really great party hat, this next picture should answer your question:

Monty Stealing/Eating Gatsby’s Hat

Bad Hair Day

Posted on April 5, 2012 by studiogatz

We’ve all had them…bad hair days. But yesterday took the cake for me. Let me just explain with this picture:

On the left, my cute adorable, dopy, fluffy puppy (with his best bud Monty). On the right, what he returned looking like after what I can only guess was caused by tripping over a box of clippers.

Poor, poor Gatsby looks like a skinny foo-foo pup now. (I’m worried the other dogs at the playground will make fun of him.)

It turns out all that fun swimming he’s been doing caused major mats. And so alas, Gatz was shaved from his neck to the start of his tail (think poofy head–skinny body–poofy tail). I wasn’t totally convinced he was him when the groomer gave him to me, so after walking out the door, I immediately made him do a “high five” (his only trick) to prove that he was indeed Mr. Redford.

He Was. So for now he’s just going to have to deal with a bad hair ~~day~~ ~~month~~ summer.

How To: Change a Shower Head

Posted on March 29, 2012 by studiogatz

As you will soon find out, this is more a post as to how NOT to change your shower head. As I mentioned before, now that I own my own place, I’m trying to be handier (since you just can’t call the landlord anymore).

And well, I noticed my dog often came home from being out with the dog walker looking like this:

Notice the Muddy Paws

Although really, I can’t complain about the dog walker since this how he looks after a hike with me:

Notice the Muddier Paws

So this is all to say, my dog often needs a bath, which is a problem because I don’t have a bathtub and he no longer can fit in the sink.

SOLUTION: A Hand-Held Shower head!!

Easy right?!? I had changed a shower head in a previous apartment and thought it would simply just twist off… So here is my latest how-to…

STEP 1: Assemble your supplies.

Shower Head and Pliers

STEP 2: Try with all your might to twist off the old shower head.

Old Shower Head

STEP 3: Get really frustrated because the thing won’t move, throw the pliers down and make a Bloody Mary (because you are doing this in the morning and it would be socially frowned upon if you went straight to wine).

Try this recipe from Pinterest!

STEP 4: Knock on the strong, strapping, FBI agent’s door (the one guy that lives in the building). And ask to borrow his muscles.

Picture has been changed to protect the innocent.

STEP 5: Find out that he can’t budge it either.

STEP 6: Repeat step 3 (possibly with the muscle man…wish I had thought of that one).

STEP 7: Muscle Man redeems himself and shows up with CLR and a bigger wrench. Soaks shower head for an hour and it’s easily able to be removed with the bigger “manly-man” wrench.

STEP 8: Let muscle man install new shower head since he’s already on a roll. Bake cookies as a thank-you.

Ta-Da!

Gatsby got his first shower the next day:

Pitiful Wet Puppy

STEP 9: Get annoyed by constant dripping and call property manager who hires a plumber because some valve is broken.

(As I said this is really how not to install a shower head.)

Dog Days

Posted on March 22, 2012 by studiogatz

It’s spring time in New England — in March! Which if you live up here, is pretty much unheard of. Usually at this time of year I’m moaning about the banks of gray snow, the gray sky, and just the overall yuckiness.

But this year, I’ve already busted out the capris. Ya that’s right, capris! In March! With daffodils and crocuses and everything (outside, not on the capris). It’s turned me into a very optimistic person. And one that’s actually getting out and doing a little exercise.

Those past dreary days of yonder year are now the dogs days of Spring, which is a good thing! I’ll explain…with a picture…

Gatsby and Monty out on a hike.

If you’ll remember from a previous post, Monty is our neighbor and he and Gatsby are best buds. They are a couple of months apart and share the same dog walker, so they practically grew up together! Gatsby was even at one time smaller than Mr. Mont.

With the 70+ degree days, we’ve been getting out on hikes. Yeah exercise long before having to put on a bikini (me, not the dogs– that would just be silly… you know… cause they’re boys).

Here’s Gatsby taking a quick dip:

Handy How-To: Installing a Cable Cord

Posted on March 17, 2012 by studiogatz

I’m admittedly not a handy person, but I live alone and so need to do some basics. These might be easy for most people, but I figured there are others out there like me. My latest project was to replace my cable cord that was conveniently stapled along the baseboard. This was done when the cable was installed, very easily by the amazing Verizon Fios rep — he even helped me pick out paint colors! Talk about full service.

So why am I having to replace the cord? No, I didn’t move my TV. I came home one day from work and found that my puppy Gatsby had chewed on the baseboard, pulled out the cable (including some of the staples), and then chewed on the cable itself.

After checking his mouth for cuts, I looked to see if the cable was still working. Thankfully — for Gatsby — it did. So I covered the cord with a towel and proceeded over the next week to collect supplies.

Step 1: Assemble supplies.

OOOoops… I mean these supplies:

Cable Install Supplies
Shown here: hammer, needle-nose pliers, 50-ft. cable cord, and cable clips.

When I went to the hardware store I was looking for a staple gun and brought one of the plastic covered staples as an example of what I wanted. After talking to a few of the people there, I selected the cable clips that could be hammered in. (I had used a staple gun before — a whole other story — and really didn’t have enough hand strength to get the staples in correctly).

Step 2: Remove staples

Picture of the how the cord was installed by Verizon with plastic covered staples.

I used the needle nose pliers to pull out the staples.

Step 3: Wipe down baseboard.

There was a lot of dust collected under the cord, so I took the opportunity to clean everything with a damp cloth.

Step 4: Hammer down clips.

I started on one end, clipped on the cable clips and hammered them into the top of the baseboard. The direction on the box showed to hammer the cord to the side, but I wanted to cover the staple holes.* I found it easiest to pull the cord on the loose side while hammering the clip down from the side (that way you are less likely to hit the wall).

Helpful Hints

1. Drink the wine after you’re done using the hammer.

2. Repair any damages to the baseboard before you install the cord. I didn’t have the supplies to repair where Gatsby ate the baseboard, so didn’t do this. I will have to remove a few of the clips to do this in the future. Also, I didn’t fill in the staples holes. If I did this over again, I think just a little paint would cover them up.*

3. MAKE SURE THE CABLE CORD IS LONG ENOUGH! I had a cord leftover from a previous apartment and had planned to use it. Thankfully last minute I tested to see if it was long enough. I wasn’t. What I didn’t do was measure how long that cord was or what length I needed. I guesstimated it was 20-ft. long. I bought a 50-ft. cord. I originally had a 25-ft. cord in my cart, but was worried enough that it might not be long enough that I got the next size up. I figured it didn’t hurt to have the extra wound up behind my TV stand.

4. Be ready to make “other” repairs. I hit the wall a couple times and took off a bit of paint, so I need to touch that up.

I’m writing this post while watching the TV, which seems a bit clear now that the copper cord isn’t exposed!

UPDATE: At 8:31 am the next morning, I heard an interesting sound from the living room. I caught Gatsby in the act!!! He was going after the new cord – the little shit! I thankfully had bought a new bone that said it was for “powerful chewers” and it was bacon flavored–yummmmm. So I got that out and so far it’s distracted him. I sprayed the new cord down with Bitter Apple. Hopefully one of these days I can write a “How-To” for stopping your dog from chewing!

Bow-Wow-Wow

Posted on March 16, 2012 by studiogatz

I mentioned in my last post that I’m obsessed with my dog Gatsby. While that’s certainty that case, I really am in love with all dogs (although Gatsby’s the best by far!). One of my first projects on my new Silhouette CAMEO was to do a card of Gatsby’s best friend and our neighbor Monty.

Monty is an adorable french bulldog who has lots of wrinkles around his face. I decided to create dimension by creating multiple layers — one for each “wrinkle.” I then cut them all out, stacked them up and glued them together. Monty has a lot of variation in color on his coat, so I added some detail in colored pencils.

One of my friends at work saw a picture of the card and wanted one of her dog, Gus, to give to her fiance for Valentine’s Day. She’s a country music fan and wanted the card to say “I love you like my dog does.” That’s also why I used some old sheet music to create hearts.

Finally, came Bear a big ol’ lug of a chocolate lab. He loves to play on the beach, so I changed out the background and add a little glitter (who doesn’t love glitter!). I’ve posted the original pictures and the cards below. These pictures aren’t great at showing all the different layers, but it gives you the idea. If you’re interested in having one made of your dog, please email custom@studiogatz.com.

What’s in a Name…

Posted on March 14, 2012 by studiogatz

Why name my future boutique Studio Gatz ? Well, I first must admit I’m obsessed with my golden doodle puppy Gatsby and he is part of the reason for the name. Here he is looking very intelligent:

But he’s named after the book (for those who can’t remember American Lit — it’s F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby). And why do I like the book? Well besides being a classic, it’s set in the Roaring 20s and one thing you need to know about me is that I was born in the wrong decade. Also, I must say I think Gatsby looks a little like Robert Redford, you know, if I combed and parted his hair.

Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby

My crafts, as I mentioned, mix a little vintage into today’s designs, so what better way to show that than by modernizing Gatsby into Gatz.