A kiss to you, my friend

Non-negotiables

Handmade rainbow spray

These days, as previously mentioned, there has been a bit of drawing going on around here. Meanwhile, i've been excavating the corners of closets and garages to collect piles of scraps of unused fine and not as fine papers that date back to the late twentieth century. I've made it a personal mission to leave no piece of paper unrepurposed. There are even a few armfuls of unclaimed pieces of wood begging to become transformed in some manner. Soon these piles of papers will become piles of drawings calling into question their own destiny. Heavy, bros.

Sweet dreams, margot tannenbaum

And so begins the first full week of twenty thirteen. We've been undressing the tree of festivity and trying to pretend that our hearts aren't breaking inside. Sorry, olde gal, it's time to pull you limb from limb, stuff you into a box, and throw you into the garage until next year. When the time arrives, we'll have some friendly cutout head ornaments for your branches. Baby jane and i have been working tirelessly on them for about forty-five minutes. We know how much you enjoy the melodies of PEARL AND THE BEARD so we made an extra large one featuring their lovely faces.

See ya next year, you ole tannenbaum you.

The moon is in my eye

Sonic moons

Clothing the olde in neue-ness. Soon to be available for purchase at a coffee shoppe near some.

Portraits of people and things

Paper pile

There's a neue sheriff in town keeping an eye on the higgins. Keep it copacetic, y'all.

Coffee + Zimmy = Thank you

He has risen

Rejoice! This dude knows how to celebrate, but he's a bit too bombastic concerning his mastery of the stringless guitar for my taste.

It's alright, my man; bring the noise! He has risen, indeed!

Crucial, I think I wantcha

Ooooooh. So hott. Maybe we should print more and more and more and more and more of things gorgeous mamas. Oh yes, we mos def should. Rawr.

Ghetto scanner

Ask m'lady and she'll tell you; I'm not often quick to turn down an opportunity to take on tasks which i may or may not have the ability to follow through on. These are the times when years of training in the art of creative problem solving produce magnificent results. For instance, when i promise a friend's mother that i have the resources and capability to transfer photographic slides to digital image files for use in a presentation to be given by the end of the week, well sir, digital files she shall receive. Pay no mind to the fact that i've not once tested the transparent materials adapter unit which accompanies our secondhand scanner. After all, such an advanced piece of technology surely possesses nothing but the ability to produce results. And when it doesn't, we throw the ol' camera atop the tripod and set up a contraption which looks an awful lot like this...

I don't know what fancy-pants company is presently out there doing these types of transfers for top dollar, but we're about to put those suckas under ground.

Giddy Up, Episode One

Because we at the mustard room have too much time on our hands, we have ventured into the realm of writing a series of short stories for children and adults alike. After reading and rereading stacks of children's books over the the past few years, we were inspired to tell the story of our own Propellerhead through the medium of illustration and word. Our efforts have resulted in the first installment of Giddy Up, the tale of one lad's journey to find his long lost leggy friend, the noble Pickles.

Each copy of Giddy Up, Episode One features twenty two 5.5" x 8.5" pages of words and illustrations in glorious black and white. Pick up your copy right here if you're into it.

Found

Received this recently with the following note:

In the grand tradition of giving you stuff we find in our yard, expect to receive this disembodied head in the near future. We wondered if you knew which GI Joe he is. Note the scar. 

Love, 

The Moormans

Our contribution to shark week, and the captain of your heart

So, shark week is coming to a close and we didn’t want to miss the golden opportunity to contribute to the cause. Therefore, we at The Mustard Room submit this counterpoint to the bear’s convincing argument in the ongoing campaign of shark vs. bear. He’s quite the dapper gentleman. Be on the lookout for apparel sporting the likeness of this mustachioed fish of fury. To be honest, I was not aware that shark week was such a big deal. I have to side with my business partner/nemesis, hector on this one…

"Apparently, shark week is now globally recognized as a season of awareness and recognition of the many contributions of man's best fiend, the shark. Let's all raise a PBR to those cold-blooded toothy harbingers of doom! My, what a smooth, robust likeness of a fine Pilsner." -Hector Laveta, via Facebook

A fine pilsner, indeed, sir.

Now on to more pressing matters, namely that napkin on the left-hand side of my notebook dripping with the affections of a mob of young ladies. That's right, merely hours after our last post describing the self-inflicted loss of my beard, i was accosted by a group of teenage, at my place of employment no less, who handed me the following.

How a thirty-four-year-old dude like myself could be handed a note beginning with the words "Kid with the Hat" is beyond me. I especially like that they apparently had a discussion in which they all came to an agreement that i was a "dreamboat" before further deliberating on whether or not to disclose this information to me. Toward the end of the note things just get weird and ambiguous and all kinds of awkward. Regardless, i tipped my hat and thanked them for their kindness as they exited. Fortunately, i had my fellow Strange Brew associates there to help me laugh through this emotionally confusing encounter. My sincerest gratitude goes out once again to Ms. Chamberlain for keeping my ego in check during the remainder of the evening.

After sharing this story with Mama Jane, we laughed about how i should have asked these young ladies if they were interested in babysitting my two-year-old daughter while my wife and i went out to celebrate ten years of marriage. Ah, if should'ves and would'ves were nickels and dimes...

Perhaps now would be an appropriate opportunity to check in on the resurrection of the facial follicle force-field.

Hmm... Not much to report, but minimal progress is progress none the less. Remember, the fragile emotions of young ladies everywhere are at stake here.

Dell-ightful

Dell-ectable

Dell-icious

Shakes the stairs that stab the wall

In future times, records that could have been will look like this...

SCRAM! EP

Side A: Skyscraper, Tin Can Transmissions
Side B: Strong Enough, Between Dreams and a Broken Heart

(c) 2006 The Mustard Room

Kool and the gang

Here's something: Last friday was so completely rad that i've been unable to blog about anything due to soaking in the afterglow.

First, Baby Jane and i spent the morning riding in circles atop horsies and deer. Then, after checking in with our pals and the newest member of their clan, me and the Jane gals made the short hike home to rendezvous with some house guests for a night of pinning cloth and connecting dots. It started in the mind of Katie Bee who shared the dream of her creative endeavor with Mama Jane and myself months ago before trotting off across the globe. Recently, we regrouped and talks began to set the plan in motion. An evening of beers, sheers and bobbins turned into a junction of function and fashion. The night served as a catalyst for grand conversation with buds from all corners of life. Here's a rundown:

• non-profit investigation
• cool porters
• merry bobbins
• second hand slicing
• cozy neck splicing
• granola fever
• baby snuggling
• party favors

Today, we put pen to ink, we put paper to pen and tore the whole thing apart to put together again. Also, for some reason, i made cherry kool-aid.

Word.

Now how much

The sun's been hangin' out a bit longer each day. I think she just wants to be friends, but i think i oughta place it safe and take it slow for a while. Baby jane sure loves the company not to mention the extended rendezvous with the neighborhood swingset. Spring seeems to have become synonymous with purging the homestead of unnecessary attachments. It is a time for saying goodbye to those things which have alas become expendable. These are the moments when i am incredibly grateful for scanners...

Hmmm...

Let us now cleanse the pallet with another photo of baby jane with her sweet ride....

Besides all that, the recent purging and such has cleared some work space in the mustard room. Perhaps it is time to begin a new season of imagery for the renovation of forgotten wears. Here's a guy we've seen before who is finally being realized. Soon to be available for wearing and sharing. Possible title: "the hunter becomes the haunted." It totally sounded better in my clouded imagination.

p.s. Are we saving daylight or is daylight saving us?

People i tell you

Flipping haggard homes is in my immediate present and our possible future. Much of this is thanks to soul brother jackson numero uno. Not only that, but he's also got me creating fliers with a license to puzzle.

Holla?

That was that and this is the other...

Stay tuned, cos aye still got mo' t'sho ya.

Reissues, Part II

Reissues, Part I