I know I am guilty of putting birds on A LOT of things. Portlandia made a funny episode about this feathery trend to make all of us clever crafters feel stupid. Trust me, i've tried to stop it but this bird-thing cannot be helped! I have avian flu or something!
So I thought i'd share a collection of bird things i've made over the years. Enjoy!
NOTE: I didn't even bother with the owl stuff! I love owls more than regular birds!
Next trend: buffalos. Wait for it...
I joined Etsy on September 13, 2005. I had moments of a lot of listing and sold almost everything I ever listed. When I listed. Between doing shows and the length of time it used to take to manage listings and the shop, I just didn't bother much. It was on a whim Thanksgiving weekend that I decided to put a bag up that was popular at shows and well, it's snowballed a bit! I love it!
Each of these bags are handcrafted one at a time. They are not Zazzle or Cafe Press. Each bag gets it words cut out, applied by hand and hand ironed (yes, with a regular old hand iron and not one of those fancy heat presses). I have burns to prove it! They take time to make each one and I am making them to order right now. I may switch to screening them in big batches, but I also like the individual time I spend with each bag. Kind of weird?
Back to Etsy: So today I reached 100 sales. Funny, because it seems like I was there already, but I guess not! I've sold so much at shows, I lose track! But now that Etsy is so much easier to list and manage, I will be making and selling more on a super regular basis. I forgot how fun it was to make stuff, package it up and send it off out into the universe. I have orders going out all over the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, and Japan. How exciting is that??!
To celebrate, I am going to give two bags away. The first two people to comment will each get a free bag sent to them!
Also, are you following me on Pinterest? I love that place!
I have had crazy requests from friends and followers to finally once again have stuff in my Etsy shop and specifically this "I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie" tote bag. Here is the link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/86935349/i-like-big-books-and-i-cannot-lie-canvas
I can also send paypal invoices directly to you if you do not want to go thru Etsy. Let me know!
I have to admit that it's kind of fun to once again be getting notification of sales from all over! I have been focused on show sales and custom/personal orders, so Etsy hasn't been my priority for awhile. I was going to do a show on Dec 10, but now I am considering just putting everything online. Yes, part of my problem with online listing is the time it takes to get the photos and listings "just so". I got lucky with the above photo because most of my goods photo have been horrible the last few times I tried. I pinned some photo tips on my Pinterest, so maybe I should go look at those?
Happy Week!
Funny thing: I haven't done a show in Indiana since moving back here...until last night! Ladies Evening Out hosted a Posh Pre-Holiday shopping event last night at the Monon Center here in Carmel. I had DJed (did you know I also have a DJ business?) the last one and I thought i'd multi-task and sell at this one as well. I tell you, it's a lot easier to travel to an event 5 minutes down the road than it is to pack up and go all the way to South Florida!
It was a good chance to meet more local people and other local vendors. I met some really fun people last night and I look forward to doing more in the area. I am currently looking at a show in downtown Indy on December 10 (instead of going all the way to Sarasota....).
Oh...btw, my new Silhouette Cameo arrived!!! Early birthday present for me! I've been playing with it non-stop. As a matter of fact, everything i've been making lately uses either my Cameo or my SD. I'm crazy!
I made the error (again x 100 other times) of having an iced coffee this evening and now I am a bit wired after having such a slow day where I felt super tired. I am a bit behind in blogging (again x 100 other times) . Ahem...every day for the past three weeks, i've meant to blog about the great time I had at Stitch Rock in Delray Beach, Florida, but I just haven't eeked out the time between working, travel, more work and work, work, work.
I did finally host a Craft Night here in Carmel, Indiana at SoHo Cafe last week. Here are pictures of the Wrapped Wreath project I taught (photo above is my class sample):
I am taking November off to do nothing but craft and relax. Oh, and focus on taking my protein and vitamins like I should (i've been horrible and now I am paying for it...). And now I am going to try to go to sleep despite my caffeine buzz....:)
Update: I made this take home handout for my class. Not quite a tutorial, but it's something to get you going. Easy project! Download Wreath Handout
Life is like a bicycle -- in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving. -- Mark Twain
I am not so sure about that Mark or Sam...whatever your real name is. This summer, I kept moving nonstop and the result? Well, I feel a bit off balance. I am trying to get back to "normal" but i'll be back on the road at the end of this month headed to Florida to do Stitch Rock and see friends, family and kids (our two oldest live in Florida).
It is nice to know I have two weekends in a row without work or travel. I am not counting the hour drive to the Apple Orchard on Sunday as travel. I am 100% in the State of Indiana and that's okay with me! Farmers Market, Fountain Square Arts Festival, Oranje, Apples. Perfect!
The above pillow is a submission for Artique in Lawrence, IN. A bit different than my projects for Stitch Rock, but I have multiple creative personalities. :)
You know what? I'll do hyperlinks another day. I am too tired/lazy to do them right now. Just be amazed I wrote a blog entry this month, mmmkay?
I am finally at home...for a few days! I've been to Orlando to Michigan and back and soon i'll be off to Miami for our 22nd anniversary.
I am starting to prep for creative production for Stitch Rock and part of that prep is playing with my Silhouette SD to perfect certain skills. I am also collecting ideas for my projects and needed someplace to stick them other than the big piles on my desks! Soooo....I made this:
I've had this set of cork board squares for awhile now, but I didn't want to just stick them up on the wall plain (even if I was going to fill it up full of ideas!).
Along came my sexy Silhouette SD machine and TIME to play (finally!) and we have this very simple project.
VERY NONPROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1) Select text or image that can be easily cut out on freezer paper using the Silhouette SD or even an old fashioned Exacto Knife. Cut! I used vinyl cutting setting and mirrored my image in the SD Design software AND put the freezer paper shiny side UP when going thru the cutter on the carrier sheet.
note: I wish I thought of something more clever than "Big Ideas", but you get what you get...
Step 2) Iron freezer paper (shiny side down..duh) to cork board. Yes, it does work! I used the hottest heat setting since that is what it is always on and made sure steam was set off.
Step 3) Gently sponge brush or dry brush on acrylic paint. Don't goop it all up. I used Delta's Soy Paints. Let dry and peel off freezer paper. Voila!
note: The pink wasn't dark enough to show as dark as i'd like it, so I outlined with a Micron pen after it dried.
Step 4) Hang! (see first photo!)
I also did a camera on a t-shirt using this method, but I am contemplating stenciling or hand painting some straps. Photos when I have it all finished. I am waiting for some more supplies in the mail this week to start work on some plush dolls for Stitch Rock. Woohoo! Cant wait!
The day before I left on my adventures this weekend, I found a brand new Silhouette SD for sale on Craigslist. I've wanted one for months and months, yet I never got around to ordering one online and I never won any of the giveaways i've entered (boo!). Fortunately, Ashley of Simply Designing did win one AND after she also purchased one online. She decided to put one of them up on Craigslist and as fortune would have it, I saw it and pounced on it with a response! Even more amazing, we didn't live far from one another and I had that sucker in a short time. Instant gratification and faster than FedEx!
I set it up and played around with it just a little bit that night, but I had to get ready to go on my work + play trip (the Ohio/Asheville trip I mentioned in last post). So yesterday and today have been my real playtime. I am still working on the ideal solution for cutting fabric. I really do not want to rely on ordering their interfacing. I've had some luck using Pellon brand, but not 100% satisfied yet. It works great with paper though and my next project today will be making a freezer paper stencil for a new camera bag.
I'm also working on finding new projects to do at my events with kids. I added sewing Super Hero Cuffs to my program this past weekend and even though we only had a handful of kids, they loved it! Even 4.5 year olds can sew! My staff loved the cuffs too which really helps keep them interacting with the kids. Here is what i've found as possibilities so far today:
Tie Dye Baby Wipes at Make & Take
Paper Plate Frisbees at Make & Take
Caterpillar Pets at Make & Take
Spool People at The Craft Cow
Tons of Popsicle Craft Ideas! at The Crafty Cow
Formula 1 cars at Fem Manual (in Portuguese, but use google translator!)
I am trying to justify why I need an iPad and I think #1 is that i'd blog more! I am always on the go (literally going EVERYWHERE this summer!) and my MacBook isn't always convenient and my iPhone is too tiny to blog with (and it takes forever once I hit send). That decision shall remain up in the air for awhile though.
Speaking of on the go, I am off to manage a Yellow Ribbon children's program in Ohio this weekend. The event is a small fun one on Saturday, but I am headed to Cinci tomorrow to shop at Jungle Jim's and meet up with some friends who had the same surgery as I did. Of course, we are all meeting at BBQ place called Porky Capone's. Yum!
And since I cannot stop moving, I am headed south Saturday night to Asheville, NC again (see last post!) to go to The Big Crafty. Visit their website and check out those vendors -- I think this might be the largest indie craft show i've been to! My friend Stephanie of 75Rabbit will be there and I look forward to the inspiration as I start prepping for Stitch Rock in Delray Beach, FL on October 1. This will be my 4th Stitch Rock and I wish I didn't skip last year so I could say I have done them all! I miss my Crafty Florida friends though and this will be so much fun!
Sidenotes: I am over -85 pounds lost since Feb 9! And I am going to Italy & other countries in Europe at end of August! More on that stuff later...
xxoo
photo: early morning in an alley in downtown asheville, nc this past saturday
It's been a busy summer so far! I tell myself daily that I should update beanblossom's blog, but I am running around every weekend doing events from Michigan to North Carolina to Ohio to Chicagoland. I also had a trip to Miami thrown in since my last update! This week, I have two days of rest (ha!) before going up to Michigan for an event. Fun stuff!
On the creative front, I am supposed to be making more of those necklaces from my last post here. I have several ready to be pieced, I just need to finish my to do list today and get them done. The necklaces were so popular in Grand Rapids (MI) when I was there earlier this month, I am going to have a bunch in my bag ready to sell when people stop me and ask me about mine. I need to start bumping up the "make to sell" action this summer because I just bought a ticket to fly to Rome, Italy in late August for my little sister's wedding in Positano. After the wedding, i'll spend another week+ in Europe, flying back out of Amsterdam. :) Lots of do, see, eat, shop means I need $$$$$!
I am also looking for a pattern or inspiration for a knit wrap skirt. I have some jersey knit I want to use for performing in and also for my Euro-trip. I am still losing weight like crazy (yeah!), so buying pants that fit me now and not in a couple of weeks is a bad idea. An adjustable skirt = smart. I made those cotton ones in January but they are now too big even as wrap skirts (yeah #2!).
Okay...need coffee and then i'm hitting the sewing machine.
