Runs on Coffee and Cream

My first vendor show in years is on April 23rd. I'm so excited but also a little nervous. I always found vendor shows inspired me. I'd be overstimulated and exhausted by the end of the day, but I'd have so many ideas and plans in my head for my next projects and shows. 

I've been sewing at a slower pace than I used to but this is because of 1. kids and 2. avoiding burnout. It's working out though. I enjoy disappearing to my sewing room and creating. I'm also loving finding amazing fabric again. 

Anyone else a Gilmore Girls fan?

Hello May! Let's start this month on a fun and positive note...

1. I'm so addicted to Pokemon Y right now and I've found a new-to-me Pokemon to obsess over: Amaura! I grew up with the original Pokemon, Gen 1. I knew of the odd Pokemon from later generations but I didn't play the games, so I didn't know them well. Now, playing Pokemon Y for the first time, I'm finding so many new Pokemon to love. Amaura is the newest obsession and team member for me. As Adam has pointed out, Pokemon must meet a certain cute factor for me to put them on my team.


2. I've always been a huge fan of the t-shirt sites out there. TeeFury has been one that I've purchased from often. They released a new shirt recently that I'm crazy about. Ghosbusters x Golden Girls mash up? Yes please! Even Sophia's purse made it into the design!


3. Star Wars Day is coming up and unfortunately I'm too busy to bake up something Star Wars themed, but that doesn't mean I can't admire all the amazing Star Wars goodies showing up online. I really wish this cake had a source link attached to it on pinterest. For now, let's all admire this amazing Star Wars cake!


What fandoms are you into right now?
xo Jen

March is almost over and I couldn't be more excited for April. April means spring weather, Easter celebrations and Adam's birthday. All things I enjoy and it means I have a month of baking ahead of me!

Our last bit of snow that we got hit with while going for a walk downtown. We found a pretty cool wall mural hiding in an alleyway though.

My new favourite mug.

I finally pulled out my Tony Moly Pokemon makeup to use. The Jigglypuff colour suits my porcelain skin perfectly.

I knew I had to buy a bag as soon as I saw them in the Easter candy aisle: Carrot Cake Hershey Kisses! They're delicious with a cup of coffee.

Logan is enjoying the fresh air on one of the odd days I opened the windows in the house.

Seymore has been doing his best to find all the sunny spots in the house. I catch him almost daily lounging in a sunny area in the living room.

I started the month reading Bee and Puppycat.

What a great weekend! Toronto Comicon was this past weekend, which was my first convention of the year. It's always fun and this year I had Adam come with me so he was on the hunt for graphic novel deals for us and we can home with quite the pile.

My Table

The show started a little slow Friday and Saturday morning. I was feeling a little down until Saturday afternoon hit. I don't know if everyone spent extra time looking at everything before making purchases but I had a few hours Saturday afternoon where I couldn't sit down because it was non-stop customers at my table.

I'm SO excited for Power Rangers!

Artist Alley life isn't always the most glamorous when you're stuffed in like sardines.

By Sunday I was ready to nap under my table; I was running on little sleep, I had put in hours and hours of driving over the last 3 days, and the social interactions all weekend had me wanting to hide and rest. However, I left the show feeling inspired and motivated. I want to sew all the things, play all the games, read all the comics, and watch more anime.

My favourite purchase!! You can check out her Etsy shop here.

And the keychain is reversible! Yay for chubby Pokemon!

Needless to say, I haven't had much rest since I got home. I worked today and I'm back in tomorrow. Wednesday will be my day of rest. Or day of sleeping in, no makeup, and sweatpants. I can't wait!

xo Jen

With Toronto Comicon next weekend I've been spending any free time I have watching TV (while ironing finished sewing projects or filling cat toys) or squeezing in some Pokemon.

Pokemon Y

I haven't just been playing Pokemon Go lately. I picked up Pokemon Y a couple of weeks ago and I want to play it all the time! I'm doing everything I can to finish up my to-do lists quickly each day so I can snuggle on the couch with kitties and play some Pokemon. I have a feeling I'll be picking up some of the other Pokemon 3DS games because the addiction is strong.

Source

Source

Clockwise from top right:
1. Poke Ball Leggings
2. Snorlax Bean Bag Chair
3. Pokemon Tattoo Flash Duffel Bag
4. Pokemon Starters Dress
5. Pokemon As Cats Print

Have a happy #PokemonDay!

xo Jen

A while back I heard about the Tony Moly x Pokemon collection of skincare and makeup products being released. I had very little faith that I'd be able to find it here in Canada though.

Source

It's November and that means the countdown to Christmas is on! Like so many others, I've started my Christmas shopping. I try hard to get things done in November since December is always a blur and I hate squeezing in shopping during then. I'd rather enjoy what free time I have doing festive things.

So to go with the Christmas shopping flow, I have plans to get my Etsy shop 100% updated over the next week. I started with a batch of pouches this week.

I'll be photographing more items today and will be updating almost daily over the next week so keep an eye on my Etsy shop. And if you see a fabric or style you love but want to change something on it, send me an email and we can set up a custom order.

Happy shopping!
xo Jen

I love fandom recipes. I love recipes inspired by anything geek-related. Well this month I was able to explore that interest more and find so much inspiration thanks to IGGPPC. September was a food-themed month and I had the opportunity to interview two amazingly talented ladies. Their geeky creations have left me wanting to run to the kitchen to make all the food!

The first food blogger I interviewed was The Gluttonous Geek. I'm amazed by how she comes up with recipes from tv shows and movies. Her interpretations are perfect.

Orange is the New Black: Corn and Leek Quiche from The Gluttonous Geek

Through her blog I was also introduced to #PokeNOM. Earlier this year I had made Pokemon Starters Cupcakes for the 20th anniversary of Pokemon and I was up to the challenge of coming up with another Pokemon recipe. So I spent a busy couple of weeks trying to think of another Pokemon recipe I could make easily since September has flown by for me. Then I woke up one morning with the thought of doing another Starters-themed recipe: Candy Bark! You can see the post I wrote for IGGPPC here. The directions and ingredients are listed in the post.

Pokemon Starters Candy Bark I made and posted on IGGPPC

The second blogger I had the pleasure of interviewing was Pixelated Provisions. So not only are all her recipes inspired from video games, but her photographs have me wanting to up my game too!

Overwatch: Pass into the Sundae from Pixelated Provisions

You can find both the interviews on IGGPPC here and here.

Now that I'm  hungry from looking at so many food photos, I should be off to try out my next recipe!
xo Jen

Seriously, how is it August? It's bittersweet that Summer is half over. Summer has been so much fun this year but it'll be over before I know it. On the other hand, this means Autumn is around the corner which is easily my favourite season of them all!

Pokemon Go

One reason the last half of July flew by is because of the new app, Pokemon Go. We've been out for evening walks, made trips downtown, and spent time at the boardwalk catching Pokemon, fighting gyms, and stocking up on Poke balls. It's been incredibly fun, I'm getting lots of sunshine and my legs are a little sore from all the walking. But this game has made my days fly by. We race through our errands and chores so we can spend time walking around outside to find Pokemon.

Playing Pokemon in the car is interesting. You can find some really good Pokemon driving through different neighbourhoods, or you can end up with yet another Weedle on your knee.


I was hoping to catch so many Magikarp at the park but only one showed up flopping around on the pathway.


The one and only time I successfully beat a gym and left a Slowpoke to guard it.

Korean Face Masks

My skin has been better than ever this Summer. I'd like to think it's because of all the sunshine (which means lots of moisturizing sunscreen), lake water, and fresh air. But my weekly face masks might have something to do with it. I noticed my face getting a bit dried out at the beginning of Summer because of all the sunshine my skin was getting so I pulled out the few Korean face masks I had picked up this past Spring and decided to use one. Since then, I've used a couple of green tea face masks and a coconut gel one. And all of them have left my face brighter and more clear. So these have become my obsession and I'm so excited to hit up The Face Shop during my next visit to Hamilton.

My current face mask collection after receiving a couple of new ones for my birthday. I'm super excited to try the Egg Cream Mask and Panda Eye Patches.


What have you been loving lately?
xo Jen

I highly doubt I have to explain to anyone what Pokemon Go is. If so, just check out this post about the new Pokemon app. Since late Sunday night, when the game was officially released in Canada, I have gone on 4 walks in my neighbourhood to look for Pokemon. This game is seriously going to get me in shape at this rate considering it's only Wednesday.

To share my love for Pokemon and how much fun I'm having playing Pokemon Go, I rounded up my top favourite Pokemon t-shirt designs that have been popping up in my email inbox (thanks to TeeFury, RiptApparel, and TeeTurtle).


Clockwise from top right box:

1. Where's the Gym? by TeeTurtle
2. Certified Trainer by Oktobear
3. Tiny Turtle Trained by Huino
4. Gotta Fit Them All by DoOomcat
5. PikaPooh by Ste7en Lefcourt

Have you been playing Pokemon Go? Are you enjoying it? The servers have been a little unstable this week and my phone has the worst GPS signal apparently since my trainer is constantly running around the map, but overall we're having a fun time catching Pokemon!

xo Jen

It's been a while since I did any sewing or craft-related things. I needed to take a small break after getting ready for Toronto ComiCon last month to rest my hand and wrist. But a sunny day last week had me pulling out my camera to take pictures of my leftover stock for Etsy.

I updated my Etsy shop with some new pouches this past weekend and there's still more to add. So keep an eye on my shop.



My next convention won't be until the Summer so I'll be updating Etsy more regularly over the next couple of months. And if you're looking for a custom order, feel free to contact me! Not until the Fall will I be too busy to get any custom orders done.

xo Jen

Today is the 20th anniversary of Pokémon! How crazy is it that Pokémon has been around for 20 years and it's still going strong with awesome games and toys!?

I was a child of Pokémon. I grew up with it. I had two younger brothers who became obsessed with the card game and the Pokémon handheld games. As for myself, I loved the television show, anything to do with Squirtle, and the console games - Pokémon Snap, Stadium, and Puzzle League. To this day I will pull out Pokémon Snap from time to time to beat it in one sitting and I have a hard time beating Adam in any rounds of Pokémon Puzzle League.


To celebrate Pokémon Day, I made Pokémon starter cupcakes - water, fire, and grass.


The water ones are my favourite, which isn't just because of my love for Squirtle. I love how the little waves turned out!



These are some of our newest perler bead creations too - Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur. They're the perfect accessory for my cupcake photos.

How are you celebrating Pokémon Day?
xo Jen

Fan Expo Canada is less than a month away and I'm starting to freak out. Don't get me wrong, I already have a ton of stock made up for the show but I never feel like I have enough and I'll sew my butt off until a couple days before the show. It's my pattern.

I bought a bunch of new fabrics for this convention and some family members have been finding some awesome sheets for me to use as fabric too. I'm very excited and happy about these bags.






Now that I've stocked up on hobo bags, I'm moved onto extra large totes (beach bags!) and kitty kickers. I have something to work on every day this month to make sure I have the most stock possible!

So again, bear with me while I stress out and overwork myself this month!

xo Jen

A month or so before Christmas I came across an awesome giveaway through Facebook for a nerdy hand-painted Christmas ornament. The giveaway was through 8-bit Classics and it was for one of their ornaments. I instantly fell in love with their Etsy shop and just everything that they posted through their Facebook Fan Page. Their shop is filled with geeky pixel magnets, keychains, figures, jewelery and other accessories.

We ended up doing a trade just before Christmas and I received some amazing Mario and Luigi magnets from them: