The Cloisters!

Violent and sad, but most religious art is. Also, this is a tapestry! A crazy-huge-wall-sized tapestry! 

Here come some forgotten photos! Nik and I went up to the Cloisters way back in October (?!!), and had a nice walk around Fort Tryon park and in the Cloisters museum.  It's right up my alley with medieval art from the 9th-16th century Europe. I have a large fascination with religious and medieval art and basically anything with gold leaf on it makes my heart flutter. The Met is my favorite museum in NYC by far, but I hadn't made it up to their Cloisters branch yet. Plus, I timed it right, so we would be there when the leaves were changing. Leaf-peeping! It's so pretty there! Set in the scenic Fort Tryon park, along the Hudson River, it's a great day trip away from the city. I sounded like a guide-book just now. 

Terrible photo, but they keep the lights low to conserve all the tapestries.
Another wall-sized tapestry, and probably what the museum is most known for. Absolutely love them. Poor 'lil unicorn dude...

Cool braids.

Teeny little handwritten/illustrated books! These were only like 3-4 inches wide.

This looks totally typical until you note the weird thing he is stabbing...

Pretty courtyard

The outside!

View of the George Washington Bridge 

Fort Tryon Park

The arch!

Scenic overlook

Magnificent arch!

Shipping Deadlines & the Holiday Handmade Cavalcade!

Just wanted to make a quick note about shipping deadlines if you're looking to get something for a gift and receive it before Christmas:

Within the US: December 17th (sneaking up!)

International: December 5th (which is super-soon!)

I've spent this week working on a mural for an upcoming craft show coming up this weekend. Super-psyched about it! It's also my last show of the year, so I'm hoping to go out with a bang. It's put on by my local Etsy NY team, comprised of artists, designers, and crafters who all live in the greater NYC area and all have Etsy shops. It's a great group and I always have a good time working with them. I designed the flyer this year too! If you're in Brooklyn on Saturday or Sunday, do stop by and give me a high-five. :)

http://handmadecavalcade.com/

xo,

Michelle

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving friends! Here's to family and friends and cute and fuzzy kitties!

xoxo,
Michelle

It's time for my Annual Holiday Sale!

It's that time again! Every year I offer up a coupon code to kick off the holiday season in my shop and as a mega-thank you to everyone for your support all year long. Seriously, thank you! I opened up my shop almost FIVE YEARS ago (!!!), and I have come so far and learned so much and I couldn't have done it without you. 

So this Thursday-Sunday (11/22-11/25),

if you enter coupon code

MEGAFUN25

at checkout,  you will receive 25% off of your order! 

Offer is valid starting Thursday, November 22nd until Sunday, November 25th (midnight EST)

Thank you for all of your support! It means the world to me...

xoxo,

Michelle

Renegade Brooklyn Holiday Show!

I'm so psyched for the very first HOLIDAY Renegade craft show, here in Brooklyn, this coming weekend! Renegade is always a good time, and I'm really glad they are doing a holiday show here this year, since it's hard for me to swing a trip to Chicago for the fair there, this close to the holidays. If you are in the NYC area this weekend, I would love to meet you! Swing by Saturday or Sunday from 11-6pm!

xo,
Michelle

Holiday Cards!

Holy crap! Thanksgiving is next week here! And with that, the holiday season starts, whether we like it or not. I try not to think about xmas or the new year until at LEAST after Thanksgiving, but I know lots of people that are early-birds, so I've been rolling out all the holiday stuff in my shop. I have six new holiday cards this year, and I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with them. I have a few options to purchase bulk cards in the shop also, if you are sending them out to multiple friends/family.

Okay, let's get this Monday started!

p.s. I will be having a special sale on Thanksgiving, so make sure you are signed up for my mailing list so you are in the know!

VeganMOFO: Happy Halloween?

Happy Halloween? The hurricane definitely put a damper on Halloween this year, but we're trying to make the best of it. Nik and I carved our pumpkins before the storm and I think they look pretty good, yeah? It's crazy that another year of VeganMOFO is over and that it is freaking NOVEMBER tomorrow. Crazy-pants! Hope you have a good one!

xo,

Michelle

VeganMOFO: Post-Hurricane Sandy

East River is relatively back to normal today.

Hello! Checking in to say I'm okay. We were with the lucky few that didn't lose power and didn't suffer any damage to our property or to ourselves. We lost internet/cable, but that was no big deal in the grand scheme of things. It got a bit scary last night in the peak of the storm, with the wind and all the sirens and the smell of fire in the air. So many folks without power or shelter today. It was pretty heartbreaking to read the news last night and this morning... 

Nik and I took a walk around our neighborhood this afternoon, to survey the damage, and just to get out of the house for a bit. Our area did okay during the storm, save for some fallen trees and some construction zone flooding and lots of debris.  Some photos on our walk:

Tree in the local McCarren Park

See those big flood lights standing up? Now the one laying down...

Construction site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

This water is not supposed to be here...Construction zone right by the East River in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Vinnie's was open today, so I had a vegan eggplant parm slice.

VeganMOFO: Hurricane Sandy Muffins

Hello!  We're starting off this week with a good old-fashioned hurricane! Just kidding, there is nothing good about this. Hurricane Sandy is barreling towards the East Coast at this very moment, and NYC is shut down completely. Seriously, all the subways and busses, the New York Stock Exchange, Grand Central Station, airports, local businesses, everything. They're even shutting down the Holland and Battery tunnels this afternoon. President Obama declared a state of emergency. There was a mandatory evacuation of all Zone A residents, by the waterfronts, last night. I'm in Zone B, and Zone C technically starts across the street, so I think I'll be okay. I'm not sure I have ever seen the city this serious about a storm, and I have to admit it is making me a bit nervous. It's SUPER windy outside and we've seen a little rain. Parts of the city have already started to flood and Sandy hasn't even touched down yet. The big surge is supposed to happen this evening, during high tide (and it's a full moon too!) where a 6-11ft surge of water is expected. So yeah...nervous!

I weather-stress-baked last night and made some apple spice muffins and a loaf of Green Monster bread. Nik and I are just trying to keep busy working today and anxiously looking out the window. Hopefully we don't lose power... Stay safe East Coast friends!

VeganMOFO: Pub Cheddar with Chives

More kitchen experiments with Artisan Vegan Cheese! This book is so fun, seriously. I have been eyeing the Pub Cheddar with Chives for awhile, and finally took the plunge. For some reason, I had it in my head that this would be like a crock cheese (you know, like they used to make you sell in band, back in grade school, to raise money for new uniforms and whatnot? Did you have to do that too? They gave you a catalog of super-processed cheese logs, ew!)  Anyways, this was not a spreadable crock cheese that was bright orange, but instead was a very sliceable and tangy cheese dotted with bites of yummy chives.  This was SO good paired with pears or apples. Also pretty excellent cubed up and mixed into a salad. I was pretty into it.

VeganMOFO: Coconut French Toast Tester

Happy Monday! Lots to do this week, so I'm starting it off on a good note with another tester recipe for Isa's new book. Coconut French Toast for the win! I love french toast so hard, but I'm always way too lazy to make it. Something about dipping stuff in batter before noon usually turns me off. Turns out, this was a super-easy recipe, and I love me some coconut, so it was a definite winner. No recipe this time, but it's worth the wait until the book comes out! 

xoxo,

Michelle

VeganMOFO: Chai Spice Snickerdoodles!

Hooray for Friday! It's been a long week and I'm looking forward to a sunny Autumn weekend.  These Chai Spice Snickerdoodles are soo good. They are a tester recipe for Isa's new book coming out, and I love them so much that I have made them twice already. Nom nom nom.

Snickerdoodles might be my favorite cookie. I have very fond memories of my Mom making them for us as a kid. It's essential to get that perfect balance between a soft, chewy middle and crispy, crunchy exterior and edge. So good!

Recipe is up on her blog, so you can make them too!

2013 Calendar Time!

It's Calendar time! Three new calendars this year, one with all cats, one with all dogs, and one of my "regular" calendars that I make every year. Two sizes too. My main one is the usual 8"x10" and the Cat and Dog ones are smaller at 5"x8.5".  Super-psyched on these! Also, I feel like I have been working on these forevvvverrrrr, which I kinda have, because, um, 36 new illustrations! I'm really happy to be able to finally release them into the wild!  Calendars can be found in the shop here and allllll the new prints can be found here.

Kitties!:

And the pups!