craft show!

This weekend I secured myself a table at the annual Bonsor Christmas Craft Fair on Saturday, November 19th.  I did this craft fair 5 or 6 years ago with just my cards, and I was completely inexperienced.  I had put no thought into display and set up, and my packaging was minimal.  I can't wait to work on my table presentation this time around.

I'll be selling my greeting cards, as well as many of the items in my etsy shop:  felt hair clips, pacifier clips and toy leashes, some jewelery for mommas, baby blankets, nursing pads, crayon roll ups, embellished onesies, and a few other surprises.  I've also recently picked up my knitting needles and crochet hooks again, and will be doing baby and toddler hats as well.  Here's a little preview of something I whipped up last week:

I'm also looking at trying my hand at creating some crochet and knitted photo props for newborn photography (inspired by our family photo shoot last month).  Stay tuned, and I hope to see you on the 19th!

felt-y hair clip fun

I'm loving working on these beautiful little hair clips for girls.  If I cut the pieces out at night after the kiddies are asleep, I can hand sew them while I get a few minutes of down time during the day (which doesn't happen MUCH, but I can usually manage to sneak a few minutes here and there).

I bought a bunch of lovely prints yesterday to make some new crayon rolls... they'll be in my etsy shop once they are finished.

this one's for the boys...

I couldn't leave the boys out of the crayon roll up fun.  I found several super cute boy prints at Fabricana and here's my first boy-inspired roll.  This one (as well as the Strawberry Fields print) are available in my shop.  Cars and trucks print (as well as another precious print combo for girls) coming soon!

my first treasury!

I made my first treasury on etsy!  Click on over to have a look :)

Pinwheel treasury

make your own labels

When I started selling my handmade cards several years ago, I had a custom stamp made up with a logo and my email address on it.  This stamp still gets lots of use, although I'm starting to think the logo could use a re-vamp.  I had a custom return address stamp made up by tickled pink paper ink on etsy and love it (and love her aesthetic) so I'm thinking of getting her to do a new one for me.

Anyhow, now that I'm starting to make other things, I was trying to figure out a way to put my name on them.  I love the natural look of cotton twill tape, so I looked into having some personalized for me.  Yikes, expensive.  My good friend Mr. Google led me to this fabulous tutorial about making your own.  Luckily I realized we own a laser (NOT an inkjet) printer BEFORE I put the transfer paper in it, so off to Mom and Dad's I went to print there (and Mom made me a childhood favorite for lunch to boot - thanks Mom!)

They turned out really well!  I still need to try the 'parchment paper re-iron' trick to get rid of the bit of shininess, but alas, there is no parchment paper in this house, and I am MUCH too lazy (and pregnant) to go to the store JUST for that (although it's always a good excuse to buy more ice cream... hmmm....)

Felting Wool 101

After my doctor's appointment this afternoon - I'm in my 36th week - yikes - how did THAT happen - I wandered into the thrift store across the street.  I had heard some of my crafty friends talk about felting wool before, and my interest was piqued.  I only had time to check out the sweater section (mens and womens) and scored two 100% wool sweaters for 10 bucks.  I actually considered keeping one for myself, as it's 100% cashmere from Barney's and cost $5 (and like I'd EVAH be able to afford whatever that cost retail), but it's a turtleneck, and just not my style.  The other is a lovely brown wooly men's sweater.

My understanding of how to felt wool is basic - throw it in a hot wash with something abrasive like a tennis ball, and then dry on high heat.  I'm sure many people do this as an oopsie (or perhaps innocent hubbies trying to be helpful have accidentally felted their wives' cashmere) but I'm gonna chuck them in there on purpose (after a trip to scour my local SA around the corner as it's much bigger and I expect a better score).

What can you do with felted wool?  I plan on trying my hand at making some accessories - flowers for hair clips, hair bands, or necklaces.  With larger pieces you could do a little clutch bag, or even cute stuffy toys for baby - the possibilities are endless.

Some inspiration:

                                        Marang Studios

                                           Atomique47

                               felt food by homemade by jill