A Zine!

So, this guy Roli wrote this guide one day while his students were doing standardized testing, and I got to read it and it was hilarious, so I said to him, "hey, this would make a great zine, can I make it a zine?" and he said "sure!" And this is the cover I made for it.

San Francisco Zine Fest, here we come!

My hands smell like coffee.

♥Ciara Kay

Look Over There!

----> I got to guest post over at the Snail Mailer's blog!!

Yay! She asked if I would do a tutorial about zines for her "Make it Monday" series, so I did! And the zine is about none other than David Bowie. ♥

So go look at that!

Also, I'll be posting a special coupon for my shop tomorrow which will be available for use on National Handwriting Day (Wednesday) only!! This blog is the only place the coupon code will be posted.

Also also, today I'll be listing my "full-sized" Valentines in the shop, so if you liked my designs but not the classroom Valentine-style, these are for you!

Dead Marsha out. ♥

Zine: The Care & Keeping of Pet Rats

I made a little zine a couple weeks ago for a swap I hosted over on swap-bot.com! I think I'll make this into a series of zines about some of my favorite "exotic" pets and sell them as a bundle... definitely going to do one about hermit crabs, maybe one about betta fish, and probably one about leopard geckos or bearded dragons. I miss my menagerie!!

"The Making Of"

The finished mini-zine!

Going out into the world!

I also carved a stamp of my logo out of an extra eraser we had around. It turned out pretty good!

Incoming Mail

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I've received quite a few letters & swaps since I took these photos... I'll post them in the next batch! ;)

Finally I'm an official member of the Letter Writer's Alliance!

Awesome bundle of goodies from The Snail Mailer!

I just sent out a ton of mail so I'll be posting about that next week!

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In Snail Mail News: January 23 is National Handwriting Day, February is LetterMo, and if you join the LEP before February 1 you get a discounted rate! So much is happening in the Mail Universe!

In Life of Ciara News: I'm still looking for a job! Still waiting on that second interview... on Monday I'm going to submit my resume to a few cafes & bakeries downtown to see if I can get some backup plans rolling. Some Good News: we have a couple of leads on a place to live. The Bad News: we can't move in until February... Being a vagabond is not as fun as you'd think... Though, being on permanent vacation is not so bad.

via

I've been holding out on announcing this because I wanted to be sure I was going to stick with it, so here goes... I'm joining a Roller Derby team! I've taken "Dead Marsha" as my moniker and 379 as my number... ten points to anyone who gets the reference (without having been told by me previously, cheaters!!). Anyway, derby is WAY fun and I am loving it so far! I'm already able to practice with the rest of the team (though I'm pretty slow at some of the footwork drills, and I'm not as in shape as the rest of them) and I can't wait to have a job and money so I can buy my own awesome (purple!) gear.

You can definitely expect to see some derby-themed stationery in the future of Scoutaroo Paper Co.

-- Dead Marsha

Happy New Year!

Hey! Quick post here with my 2013 Resolutions! I'll have the long-time promised mail/envies/photos of  the Feather Falls hike in a few days.

So, I made a zine for my resolutions this year (totally addicted to zine-making... in fact I started a new swap to satisfy my craving! Deadline is Jan 2 to join!!). Here's the full zine, and below is my list!

Read counter-clockwise from the top right!

♥ Make a Dress

♥ Have an Art Show

♥ Shop used/local/handmade Whenever Possible

♥ Read the Bible

♥ Read 13 Books

♥ Run Three 5K Races

♥ Lose Three Inches

♥ Adopt a Pet

♥ Join Big Brother, Big Sister

♥ Learn to Cook five Thai or Indian Dishes

♥ Make 100 Etsy Sales

♥ Visit Five "New" Local Attractions

♥ Collect the Rest of David Bowie's Albums

Last year I made a list of 20 things I would like to try for the New Year... I accomplished three things, haha. I learned to drive a stick shift, I made lots more art, and I went wine-tasting for my 21st birthday. All good things and it was still a good year, but I hope to check all of my resolutions off this year!

Tonight we're watching the Twilight Zone marathon and probably playing some games with a few friends before the midnight Times Square shindig. Should be a fun New Year's Eve!

Did you make any resolutions?

-- Ciara Kay

How I Spent My Holiday

Time to get things rolling here! First thing on my to-do list: get a day job and an apartment where I can set up shop... until that happens, I'll be sharing updates and doodles on a (semi) regular basis.

I will start with Christmas! After being on the road for almost three months, all those songs about being home for the holidays really started to ring true... We got home a week ago today and it's been so nice to see our family and friends back in Paradise, CA! My mom let me set up a little table for all my crafts (one of the first things I did upon arrival was dig up my craft supplies) and got straight to writing a bunch of letters and sending out a few copies of our Christmas Zine (definitely a new tradition!)

Inside: drawings of us, a map of where we traveled, and a note to friends & family!

I also received a few nice Christmas cards, but my camera is giving me grief so no pictures of those. =( Many thanks to The Snail Mailer, Brittany Ukulele, D in San Francisco, and of course family (you know who you are). I love Christmas letters & cards.

On Saturday we went down to the Bay Area to visit Jamie's family, and on Sunday I made some peanut butter balls and pie crust. I baked my first pie (pumpkin!) on Christmas Eve, which was enjoyed by all for Christmas dinner! I rescued a few peanut butter balls from being devoured and made a little gift bag for the postman:

Since funds were tight this year we got creative with our gift-giving. I made a few cards for our parents and siblings and then we made these cute little jars filled with the pure maple syrup that we got while we were in New Hampshire! They turned out super cute if I do say so myself... And the syrup is amazing too of course. I'll be making oatmeal pancakes this week!

Make Your Own!

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You'll need: food-safe jars, stickers, twine, Avery Kraft labels, a tag-shaped paper punch, a paper bag, and something sweet! 

Fill your jar before decorating! 

For the labels: Draw/design a sample label and scan or import into the appropriate Avery template and print! Punch out the gift tags from an old paper bag.

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Most of our time has been spent playing games, watching movies, baking, cooking, eating, and enjoying each other's company. Best way to spend a family holiday, I think. Tonight we are going to watch Ratatouille and enjoy some wine and hors d'oeuvres and have a dinner show! Definitely looking forward to that.

Up Next: I'll share some of my outgoing mail and a few other little projects I'm working on!

What memories did you make this Christmas?

-- Ciara Kay