December 18, 2020
After a quick trip to my folks’ house, where I scored a large quantity of their mid-century glass ornaments that had been in storage, my Christmas tree is officially done. And I can’t stop taking pictures of it. This one on top was my favorite when I was a kid. Read more…
December 5, 2020
Though I’ve pronounced the mermaid season over several times, I haven’t put my seashell stash away. After scoring the absolute perfect base for a full mermaid costume, I’m reinvigorated. Before that though, a wreath that will unfortunately not be able to hung as it’s way too much weight on a Read more…
October 30, 2020
The last two tops of this season’s Mermaid Craft Season would make 9 tops altogether. 3 have sold, as well as 3 from previous seasons. Though my stock of shells is still pretty larger from my massive Florida shell haul in 2019, I am thinking up another trip south for Read more…
August 29, 2020
Back in quarantine I’ve been finishing up a couple more mermaid tops… because mermaid season is coming to an end unceremoniously… without a parade, without its collective weirdness–the culmination of my crafting. So I decided I’d participate in Coney Island’s remote Mermaid Parade 2020, a Tail-a-thon. But It was unfortunately Read more…
July 16, 2020
I shelled so much last summer in Florida, that my crafting station is a bit overwhelming. I need to use a ton of shells.. and fast! So I started my first larger sized top in an effort to reach more mermaids. Using one of the many big Cockles I collected Read more…
July 8, 2020
Scoring some good mermaid raw materials at a thrift store in Ohio, I knew these shoes, which fit me like Cinderella, would be all for me! Because I have this thing for iridescence. Since my last mermaid shoes were a bit too clunky, I wanted to keep the delicate shape Read more…
June 6, 2020
As you may recall, I’ve made lots of holiday wreaths with my hot glue gun. But not my favorite holiday: Halloween. I began a craft stash for this purpose. These yucky limbs were lying about my apartment for months as I waited for fake cucarachas from China to arrive, subconsciously Read more…
June 4, 2020
…I’d have a top like this. A little piece of all parts of the sea… With the largest variety of shell types I’ve ever put onto one top, this is one of my new favorites. Do I say this every time? Pen shells from Florida’s sun coast, mussels and razor Read more…
May 30, 2020
Though it’s real far away, I am excited about the opportunity to join the vendors at MerMagic Con, the largest mermaid convention in the world. To offer a variety of price points at my booth, I’ll be making all kinds of accessories, along with the tops and dresses. Here is Read more…
April 27, 2020
I bought a slew of these ridiculous bras in bulk from eBay… in more common sizes… so I may keep on crafting mermaid tops during the quarantine. This one is a bit more mainstream than my usual top… more pretty… more for like a young gal. I used a combo Read more…
April 20, 2020
Updated: Even though our New York City Mayor canceled all June events, which includes my beloved Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade, I am a very productive mermaid crafter nonetheless. Because I will march… somewhere, I will march. Maybe in Greenport? With my Etsy Shop up and running and my Mermaid Instagram Read more…
April 4, 2020
I must be a mermaid I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living. – Anaïs Nin It was time to put my Florida shells to work… finally. These Pen Shells, and their iridescent interiors, were my favorite to find. I had a vision of the Read more…
February 13, 2020
How are we well into February already?! New Years seems like last week! Must time pass so swiftly? It has been a very busy 2020 thus far. Here are some outtakes. Freshly milked cashew milk from a colleague? Yes, ma’am! ICYMI, there is now a Saturn emoji on the iPhone. Read more…
November 16, 2019
Growing up as a female, I couldn’t help but notice that the males were always the ones lighting off the fireworks. I remember watching as a child as the cool teenage boys lit them off while the girls watched. As I grew older it always seemed to be the responsibility Read more…
July 31, 2019
My apartment is very long, with a narrow hallway to the bedrooms in the back which I sock-slide upon, Risky Business-style, often. If I am ever missing in action too long, I may have broken my neck because of this. But it is down this long hallway where I envisioned Read more…
July 20, 2019
With apartment storage limitations, the tub of the old toys I used to play with needed to get out of the square footage of my back bedroom and serve a more decorative purpose. With so many memories within, and sanitary and safety concerns with passing them onward to other youngins’, Read more…
July 19, 2019
I’m packing up the mermaid supplies for now, though I have already begun 2020’s costume brainstorm. So now, some reflections and inspirations to carry me out of mermaid season… I am happy to have sold two of my tops this season. Considering I only made 6 pieces, that is a Read more…
June 22, 2019
After months of crafting and preparation the Mermaid Parade was finally here! My first order of business was to finally decide upon a mermaid costume, from head to toe and in-between. And after I decided I wouldn’t wear a wig, I had some last minute hair crafts to make. And Read more…
June 15, 2019
This weekend I became a proper mermaid costume entrepreneur. Setting up a table on Coney Island’s boardwalk which, next week, will be inundated with mermaids and the crowds they bring, I got to pick the brain of interested parties, and others, as they strolled about on a gorgeous afternoon in Read more…
June 12, 2019
In the quest of shell turnover, more mermaid crafts! My goal is to use all that I have to make way for some serious shelling this summer. This top used a ton of my roly poly seashells, the main haul from the last trip to Sandy Hook. Prep for a Read more…
May 10, 2019
Ok, I can’t really wear more than one mermaid top on the big day… so I have listed a bunch of my mermaid crafts on Etsy. Also, I can use more discretionary funds and more space in the back room. So I am listing this at the price point in Read more…
April 28, 2019
Spring flies swiftly. It was already time to begin my mermaid crafts! My new mermaid top would be the highest priority. The best way to make a wonderful mermaid top is to start with a good bra. Using the lines of the bra you can make sure you have a Read more…
April 19, 2019
Mermaid Crafting starts… now! And I have so much to work with; I’m kind of overwhelmed by choice. So my step towards being a mermaid in June, a massive sort. Piles serve as mermaid to-do’s. 🧜♀️1 My first 2019 mermaid craft would be a top to sell. With so many Read more…
March 3, 2019
My mother has a March birthday and she’s a very proud Irish! (Which, yes, makes me Irish too, though I can’t handle a drink and my intense Sicilian blood from my Dad’s side barks the orders usually.) A fan of my hot glue gun wreaths, she requested a St. Patrick’s Read more…
February 8, 2019
No one gets more excited about Valentine’s Day than 7th graders I think. This I decided while offering my classroom to some of my last year’s students for lunch, where they wrote profound love quotes on my dry erase boards, so potent and new to their awareness. I tried not Read more…
January 25, 2019
Friday night crafting while watching old, sappy movies is kind of my new favorite past time. It is one of the many simple self-care rituals I have embraced. This time… another holiday wreath. A New Years wreath in a celebration of life, quantified. Like my Christmas wreath (and other wreaths Read more…
