November 25th, 2007
I’ve had this particular wall mobile by Little Green Frog as a favorite on Etsy for awhile now. Actually, I’m really surprised that no one has bought it yet. It’s one of those things I’d have to figure out a place to showcase it, though I have very little wall space left to hang it up. These are just pretty things to brighten up any dreary wall. I love hearing rain through the chimney and I love looking at these ingenious little wall hangings by Vancouver’s Little Green Frog.
It’s not easy being green
http://lgfrog.etsy.com
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November 25th, 2007
I’ll state right now that Charlie is one of my favorite people in the world and a good friend. She runs A Minor Thread out of her 1 BR apartment in her spare time. Now that I’ve disclosed that information, the purse that she gave me is my take everywhere with me purse. I talked about it in the Banjoflannel post a couple entries back. It fits a couple books, magazines, pens, business cards, a camera…everything you can think of. The reason I am posting about this particular purse is because it’s made with the vintage flower fabric that the applique on my purse was made with. So, if you want to be purse pals with me, now is the time. I can vouch that her totes hold up after time since I’ve carried my tote nearly every day since August of 2006. I’m still getting compliments on it left and right.
A Needle Pulling (A Minor) Thread
http://minorthread.etsy.com
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November 25th, 2007
It breaks my heart when artwork gets stolen. Susie Ghahremani (Boy Girl Party) had a bunch of her mini paintings stolen at a Giant Robot show last year. When I read in the description of the Story Time print that this original painting was stolen, it ticked me off. Darn you robbers of art. If I had the loot and had the painting not been stolen, I would have tried to buy the original from Portland’s very own Apak. I will settle for a print if anyone wants to get me one for Christmas. Apak has plenty of prints that whet my whistle, but this one is my favorite right before the card they made of neon pandas clinking frosty beer mugs together. That one is currently sold out, but hopefully for you they will repress that gem.
apak it up, apak it in:
http://apak.etsy.com
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November 5th, 2007
There is a song I really love by Push Kings called ‘Girl Who Only Loves Candy’. Well, this seller is all the way from Finland and all he eats is candy, candy. Well, let’s hope he has a good dentist. He certainly makes some cavity inducingly sweet items. I had his shop as a favorite for some time, but this is a new item featuring animals from Finland including a hedgehog. The craft world has some cute hedgehogs, but this may be the cutest one I have ever seen. Our hedgehog, Hoggle, is still cuter though. However, if you are looking for something to buy me, I will accept said totebag happily.
Finance a Finlandian:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5110862
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November 5th, 2007
Most anyone who knows me has probably noticed that I am not a bag lady. 99% of the time, I alternate between carrying two bags even though I have two brightly colored purses by Matt & Nat that I save for special occasions. One is a grey flannel tote with a flowery applique made by my pal Charlie (A Minor Thread) and the other is a dowdy camera bag for when I want my camera with me. I figured it was time to get another purse and when I saw this style by Diana of Banjoflannel, I fell…hard. There are elegant touches like the piping matching the lining, the sexy silver buttons, and the soft pleats on the front of the bag. I contacted Diana about a custom bag and she has been wonderful with communication and making sure I get exactly what I want. Unparalleled awesomeness.
Get a brand new bag:
http://banjoflannel.etsy.com
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November 5th, 2007
Essimar makes some of the most beautiful cards I have ever seen and, being a creator of paper goods myself, I have seen A TON of cards. I wonder how it is that Esther R. lives in Chicago and I have not seen her work until today, thanks to her tuli card being on the Etsy front page. I’m really at a loss for words. Each of the cards are little works of art. These are two of my favorite.
Express yourself artfully:
http://essimar.etsy.com
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October 23rd, 2007
Another one of my favorites from THE PACK LADY: Rummage & Craft Spectacular is R Blade Designs. Raiza hand carves these unique pieces and it’s amazing how much personality they have. They look even better in real life. She even hand made her display for her jewelry out of wood. I already know one person I am placing a special Christmas present order with R. Blade for. I bet you do too!
Wood is good:
http://rblade.etsy.com
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October 23rd, 2007
Us ladies from Ladyfest Chicago 2007 had been preparing for months for this past weekend. October 18th – 21st was the culmination of our efforts. My major contribution to Ladyfest Chicago 2007 was organizing the craft fair portion. I called it THE PACK LADY: Rummage & Craft Spectacular. Not only handmade items but records, clothing, and vintage goods were allowed to be sold. There was so much awesome present, but not a whole lot of customers made their way down to the AV-aerie Saturday. The turnout could have been better. We got a lot of press and nods on blogs, but the turnout could have been better. I think a lot of vendors made new friends and had a good time though. I know that I did.
I genuinely loved every vendor, but one of the standouts was Sunni of Bykes. She has such an eye for putting colors together. Not only does piece fabric together for quilted coasters and purses, but she hand dyes and spins her own yarn. It makes me wish I could actually knit or crochet.
Go fly a kite or ride a byke:
http://bykes.etsy.com
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October 12th, 2007
I love tiny things. I am fascinated by itty bitty foods. I love using the macro feature on my camera so I can see the minute details of the world. I love the miniature sculptures that Melissa Axelhoney makes. I just had to get one of these ghostees when I saw all of them lined up in a ghostly row. A couple years back a friend gave me a cat moshee, which is displayed on the shelves above Hoggle’s cage. Now that moshee will be joined by both a ghostee and a whale by Axelhoney. So sweet but still kind of sad. I love that stuff.
Get your boo on:
http://axelhoney.etsy.com
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October 4th, 2007
Well, I had a fantastic time at Crafty Bastards in DC last weekend. It was the most I’ve made at a fair so far. It’s really great seeing my stuff go into the hands of really nice people. Everything I make is stuff that I really like, so it’s kind of funny to see what the general populace likes. After taking SO MUCH time making those “sew rockin” band cards, I did not sell a one at CB. There were some bigger indie bands in there too, so I am at a loss. I think they may sell better online, but that will be a huge undertaking to photograph each one since I made over 100 different ones.
Something I have noticed that sells a lot at craft fairs is onesies and with a good friend being preggers, I jumped on the bandwagon. I made onesies with these previous designs but no words: artichoke, mixtape, and the boo ghost. Hoggle approves:
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September 24th, 2007
These new cards I’ve been working on are made with old band photos taken before I went digital. Most of the photos had some slight imperfection (the back of a head in a shot, not a great action shot, etc.), but they look great sewn onto a card. I’m still thinking of a good name for them, but as for now I’m calling them band photograph cards, because I’m not feeling clever right now. I’m rather feeling like a zombie, having made 78 of these babies. I had an entire under the bed storage box filled with (mostly) band photos I’d taken. I really like combining photographs with bits of fabric or rick rack. This is one of the most enjoyable crafts I’ve done thus far. I also made a rather cool pillow, but I haven’t stuffed it yet. I’m just gearing up for Crafty Bastards! Reba Rar Rar Press and I leave on Thursday morning for DC. Wednesday night is The Lucksmiths at Schuba’s. Things feel like they’re on the up and up.
Left to right: Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), Hayden, and Eric Axelson (Dismemberment Plan)
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September 22nd, 2007
I loves me a good moustache. Before hipsters started growing them because they were ironic, I still loved moustaches. At Renegade Craft Fair last weekend, I kept coming back to this since it’s such a fantastic idea. There was a company called Ladicakes in Chicago that made pillows shaped like their namesake’s moustache. The best was the Burt. That pillow was a big huggable thing. I just went to their former site and now it’s become some food blog. I think Ladicakes must have passed the torch to Sally England Design of Grand Rapids, Michigan, who makes this pillow with 4 interchangeable moustaches.
They’ll take you for a ride:
http://sallyenglanddesign.etsy.com
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September 17th, 2007
Stella Yoon makes sweet artwork that would not be wrongly called (he)artwork. She has cards featuring the same character trying to tow a gigantic Christmas tree, making a snow angel, and trying to eat snow. My favorite product that she was selling at her Renegade booth this weekend were her the hand-painted flour dough love convo pins. It’s a long name for a pretty simple, but very sweet product. The description of her company name pulled from her website perfectly summarizes her craft style: “Maeum is the Korean word for heart. There is a different word when referring to the physical heart and maeum’s usage is reserved for talking about the heart’s emotional state.” I ended up buying two of these, but I kind of want to keep them both for myself.
Take heart:
http://www.MyMaeum.com
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September 17th, 2007
The first day of Renegade Craft Fair (Chicago) was so excellent that on Sunday morning, I went to breakfast at Sweet Cakes (cupcakes are sort of sustenance) with friends staying with Zachary and me; Melissa of Dearest Inez/The Makery and her gf/bf friends Hillary of Beejeezus Zine and Will who runs Lebowski Fest. We saw them off to RCF and then I made 100 broccoli xmas cards in more traditional holiday colors. Also, I breathed some new life into a year old design. I used my cutie fanged ghost from the “you’re the best boo” cards and screened him onto tote bags to make trick or treat bags and onto shirts because they are cute as hell and remain one of my favorite creations. I’m pretty excited that I’ll have some stuff other than cards to sell at Crafty Bastards.
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September 13th, 2007
Great news! I just received word that Rhymes with Twee got into DEPART-ment which is October 5, 6, and 7th!
This calls for a celebratory cake! If you’re craving a delicious cake that will last a lot longer than the real thing, then perhaps this gorgeous linocut print will do the trick. I had another one of her prints marked as an Etsy favorite for awhile now, but this one really takes the cake (yeah, yeah, I know).
Procure a slice or a whole cake:
http://bettyturbo.etsy.com
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