No, the rhinos. They look totally enamored with each other. They're my fave. Wait, where did K get her flip-flopping tendencies?
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Wild Jewelry
I'm posting over at Crafts Unleashed today to share what I'm calling "gilded animal bracelets". K's birthday party theme flip-flopping left me with a bag of zoo animal beads that I just couldn't let go unused. To make them more my style, I added a little gold. Grows them up a bit. Okay, maybe only a little bit. Maybe I'm still 6 on the inside.
I think they'd make fun (and super inexpensive) gifts. Especially the giraffes that look like they're whispering secrets in each others ears. And the lions nose-kissing. And the elephants dancing. Okay, I can't pick a favorite. I love them all.
No, the rhinos. They look totally enamored with each other. They're my fave. Wait, where did K get her flip-flopping tendencies?
No, the rhinos. They look totally enamored with each other. They're my fave. Wait, where did K get her flip-flopping tendencies?
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The "It's all about the fabric" Dress
I had no reason to make this dress, it's really just about the fabric. Here's what happened: I went to the fabric store looking for an ungodly amount of garish polyester for halloween costumes, but amidst all the petroleum based bolts, I discovered this:
A gorgeous pre-stitched one hundred percent cotton bolt of loveliness. It must've really been shouting my name loud, because it was really buried. It took two little Thai women standing on bolts to pull that sucker out. After all that work, I didn't feel like I could just buy a meter. I mean, really, it would just be rude.
Of course, given my immense originality, the first thing I thought when I saw it was: Little Girl Dress!! I actually don't know if I've ever thought of anything besides Little Girl Dress when looking at gorgeous fabric. It's a sickness. At least I have 3 of them to dress.
So, dress it was. It was supposed to be the simplest of simple frocks, but then I was all, "hey, why not use these stripes to their maximum capacity for cuteness?" So I chevroned up the bodice.
And then I was all, "add flutter sleeves!" and, "bubble skirt? Don't mind if I do!"
I'll just throw in an exposed zip AND a loop and button while I'm at it! (ok, that one was really just because my only zipper was too short and I was too lazy to cut apart my bodice to make it a scoop back)
And that's the story of how a simple dress that was only made to showcase this one-of-a-kind fabric got warped in my brain into something waaaay more difficult than it needed to be. Kinda like everything that goes through my brain, really.
Thankfully my daughter is around to remind me of the simpler pleasures in life.
Have any fabrics shouted your name recently?
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The Summit Of Awesome: All About It
So yesterday told you about FabLab DC, host of Hello Craft's Summit of Awesome.
FabLab is a meeting and collaboration space where makers can create just about anything. The Summit itself centered on crafty makers and sellers and resources to support them in doing that.
Organizers of a crafty maker event know that crafty makers like to try things. So there was this table of supplies for people to make whatever they liked-- and conveniently, there was duct tape to make duct tape bangles.
While talking to folks sitting near me before sessions started, I met the lovely Director of Marketing for Craftsy. We talked about Claudia Miller's class that I reviewed earlier this year and she said that Craftsy is launching an affiliate program for bloggers. I can think of about a dozen of our reader-bloggers that that could be great for.
There were a lot of sessions to choose from-- the hardest part of any good conference/summit. Choosing between two topics that are both relevant and presented by people you won't easily get another chance to hear.
I've already talked in the last post about the FabLab tour held during the morning Small Manufacturing session, where I was amazed by what the machinery can do and the fact that anyone is able to come in and use them after a quick training session.
I heard Stephen Fraser, co-founder of Spoonflower, speak about how the business began and has evolved and his thought that crafters are hackers. I also learned that the business is named for a flower that grows in his backyard.
When you're a Spoonflower owner going to the Summit of Awesome, what do you wear? Spoonflower toile, of course.
I heard Tina Seamonster speak about her experiences expanding from Etsy seller to wholesaler-- who knew knitting zombies were so popular? Tina said she didn't know either until she tried it. I love to hear crafters talk about how their businesses and crafts have evolved. You get a lot more candid input in person than online.
I heard from Outright-- a service I already use and love to track business income and expenses. I may have more to say about this one later, but what's best about it is that it pulls all of your data from Paypal. Sooo quick and easy-- and free!
Last up for the day was a session with Allison Lince-Bentley of Bits of Thread, a sewing studio in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of DC. She told the story of how she started with classes in a community center and slowly grew into a retail space -- now offering an amazing class list-- including a make-your-own dress form class!
In the middle of all of that, I met with Kate McKean, a literary agent based in NYC. I pitched a book idea that I've been mulling for a while. The good news/bad news is that she liked it! It's good news, because I love to hear that an idea could work! The bad news is... how could I make the time to make it happen? A good problem to have, I know. I'm still mulling.
At the end of the day, there was time for photographic evidence of the gathering.
I'm so glad my friend Megan suggested I go -- thank goodness for crafty friends, and gatherings of crafty people who share their experiences!
Relatedly, I've been thinking about a roundup of crafty business resources for a while now after realizing that I had a long list of them to share. One day soon!
Completely unrelated-- there are still a handful of spots in the swap-- it closes tonight so that the ordering and shipping can begin!
FabLab is a meeting and collaboration space where makers can create just about anything. The Summit itself centered on crafty makers and sellers and resources to support them in doing that.
Organizers of a crafty maker event know that crafty makers like to try things. So there was this table of supplies for people to make whatever they liked-- and conveniently, there was duct tape to make duct tape bangles.
While talking to folks sitting near me before sessions started, I met the lovely Director of Marketing for Craftsy. We talked about Claudia Miller's class that I reviewed earlier this year and she said that Craftsy is launching an affiliate program for bloggers. I can think of about a dozen of our reader-bloggers that that could be great for.
There were a lot of sessions to choose from-- the hardest part of any good conference/summit. Choosing between two topics that are both relevant and presented by people you won't easily get another chance to hear.
I've already talked in the last post about the FabLab tour held during the morning Small Manufacturing session, where I was amazed by what the machinery can do and the fact that anyone is able to come in and use them after a quick training session.
I heard Stephen Fraser, co-founder of Spoonflower, speak about how the business began and has evolved and his thought that crafters are hackers. I also learned that the business is named for a flower that grows in his backyard.
When you're a Spoonflower owner going to the Summit of Awesome, what do you wear? Spoonflower toile, of course.
I heard Tina Seamonster speak about her experiences expanding from Etsy seller to wholesaler-- who knew knitting zombies were so popular? Tina said she didn't know either until she tried it. I love to hear crafters talk about how their businesses and crafts have evolved. You get a lot more candid input in person than online.
I heard from Outright-- a service I already use and love to track business income and expenses. I may have more to say about this one later, but what's best about it is that it pulls all of your data from Paypal. Sooo quick and easy-- and free!
Last up for the day was a session with Allison Lince-Bentley of Bits of Thread, a sewing studio in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of DC. She told the story of how she started with classes in a community center and slowly grew into a retail space -- now offering an amazing class list-- including a make-your-own dress form class!
In the middle of all of that, I met with Kate McKean, a literary agent based in NYC. I pitched a book idea that I've been mulling for a while. The good news/bad news is that she liked it! It's good news, because I love to hear that an idea could work! The bad news is... how could I make the time to make it happen? A good problem to have, I know. I'm still mulling.
At the end of the day, there was time for photographic evidence of the gathering.
Relatedly, I've been thinking about a roundup of crafty business resources for a while now after realizing that I had a long list of them to share. One day soon!
Completely unrelated-- there are still a handful of spots in the swap-- it closes tonight so that the ordering and shipping can begin!
Monday, September 17, 2012
The Summit of Awesome: FabLab
Last weekend I was able to go to the Hello Craft Summit of Awesome. And it was... awesome. I only learned of it because a friend who is the director of nearby Fenton Street Market invited me. I'm so glad she did! Now that I've subscribed to Hello Craft I'll be able to invite myself to the next one.
The purpose of the gathering is to share business resources for crafters. Since I'd ventured into shop management in the last year, there was a lot to love about this get together. I have things to tell you about the Summit, but first I want to tell you about where it was held-- at DC's FabLab.
I had never heard of it-- and now I want every "maker" to hear about it. It started at MIT with a professor that thought he might have a few students who would like to study making things, and it's turned into a network of FabLabs around the world. (Here's a Ted Talk about it, though the less scientific part that I can understand starts at about 6 minutes in.) FabLab refers to "fabrication labratory"-- and it just happens to also be fab-ulous. Nerdy serendipity.
FabLab DC is within sight of the US Capital - but they're also found around the world -- including Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, NYC, San Diego and more exotic locales like Ghana and India. The FabLab offers tools that makers can use to start or build businesses, if they're into industry, or just make things for fun. The labs are connected via web conference, so you can see what the other labs around the world are doing-- and since a lot of the machinery is the same, you could ask for a file that another lab is working on and make it simultaneously where you are.
FabLab hosted the Summit of Awesome, so we got a quick tour of what can be done there. They have a vinyl cutter that's the professional version of a Silhouette-- of all of the tools, that's the machine that is most familiar to me.
One of the sample projects on hand was a silkscreen to which they'd applied outdoor vinyl to screen print. Why hadn't I thought of that?
They have a milling machine that cuts three dimensional objects out of wax. In this case, the wax is the dark purple object cut by the machine, the middle tan one is the rubber that was poured into the wax to create a reusable mold, and the white object was cast from the rubber mold. Wanting to make clay jewelry or custom soaps-- or chocolates? With food-grade materials, you could create a business out of that. Anyone can and is welcome to learn to use these machines.
Some FabLabs also have laser cutters. The guy presenting the machine said that you can use them to cut anything that can be burned or melted-- so that would include metal, plastic, paper, wood, leather, glass, fabric.... and he had this sample folder to show the 7,000 ways it can be used.
He demonstrated how this little chair model can be cut in just a minute or two and press-fit together.
The Baltimore FabLab is closer to me than the DC one, and to go in and use the lab all you have to do is take one 3-hour intro course. The intro course and materials require fees, but using the lab is free. I'm working on my pitch to get Jen to come with me for a crafty exploration field trip.
Seeing FabLab was well worth the trip into DC - but there was also the conference I went in for! More on that tomorrow.
The purpose of the gathering is to share business resources for crafters. Since I'd ventured into shop management in the last year, there was a lot to love about this get together. I have things to tell you about the Summit, but first I want to tell you about where it was held-- at DC's FabLab.
I had never heard of it-- and now I want every "maker" to hear about it. It started at MIT with a professor that thought he might have a few students who would like to study making things, and it's turned into a network of FabLabs around the world. (Here's a Ted Talk about it, though the less scientific part that I can understand starts at about 6 minutes in.) FabLab refers to "fabrication labratory"-- and it just happens to also be fab-ulous. Nerdy serendipity.
FabLab DC is within sight of the US Capital - but they're also found around the world -- including Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, NYC, San Diego and more exotic locales like Ghana and India. The FabLab offers tools that makers can use to start or build businesses, if they're into industry, or just make things for fun. The labs are connected via web conference, so you can see what the other labs around the world are doing-- and since a lot of the machinery is the same, you could ask for a file that another lab is working on and make it simultaneously where you are.
FabLab hosted the Summit of Awesome, so we got a quick tour of what can be done there. They have a vinyl cutter that's the professional version of a Silhouette-- of all of the tools, that's the machine that is most familiar to me.
One of the sample projects on hand was a silkscreen to which they'd applied outdoor vinyl to screen print. Why hadn't I thought of that?
They have a milling machine that cuts three dimensional objects out of wax. In this case, the wax is the dark purple object cut by the machine, the middle tan one is the rubber that was poured into the wax to create a reusable mold, and the white object was cast from the rubber mold. Wanting to make clay jewelry or custom soaps-- or chocolates? With food-grade materials, you could create a business out of that. Anyone can and is welcome to learn to use these machines.
Some FabLabs also have laser cutters. The guy presenting the machine said that you can use them to cut anything that can be burned or melted-- so that would include metal, plastic, paper, wood, leather, glass, fabric.... and he had this sample folder to show the 7,000 ways it can be used.
He demonstrated how this little chair model can be cut in just a minute or two and press-fit together.
The Baltimore FabLab is closer to me than the DC one, and to go in and use the lab all you have to do is take one 3-hour intro course. The intro course and materials require fees, but using the lab is free. I'm working on my pitch to get Jen to come with me for a crafty exploration field trip.
Seeing FabLab was well worth the trip into DC - but there was also the conference I went in for! More on that tomorrow.
Monday, September 10, 2012
As Seen In "Parenting" Magazine: Me. Sort of.
In my mailbox today:
Yes, there's a boob wars article and costume ideas, but that's not the part I'm most excited about.
On page 35-- those are I-know-where-it-goes Drawer Stickers! Parenting wrote to me in July asking for "one of every color, and can you get them here by Tuesday?" Ummm-- sure!
I really did my best not to hold my breath. There were a stream of e-mails back and forth, but I wasn't sure they'd actually be included until I got a message from a "fact checker" verifying the info for publication. Even if they hadn't made it in, the thought that they wanted to see them in the first place was totally flattering.
Now that it's a reality I'm going to make myself a big fat button to wear daily that says "as seen in Parenting magazine." The other moms at preschool won't get annoyed with that, will they?
And a special note for my own parents-- Hi Mom and Dad! Don't run out the door yet! This was in my mailbox because I have a subscription. I think you have to wait another week or two to find this on a newsstand.
Yes, there's a boob wars article and costume ideas, but that's not the part I'm most excited about.
On page 35-- those are I-know-where-it-goes Drawer Stickers! Parenting wrote to me in July asking for "one of every color, and can you get them here by Tuesday?" Ummm-- sure!
I really did my best not to hold my breath. There were a stream of e-mails back and forth, but I wasn't sure they'd actually be included until I got a message from a "fact checker" verifying the info for publication. Even if they hadn't made it in, the thought that they wanted to see them in the first place was totally flattering.
Now that it's a reality I'm going to make myself a big fat button to wear daily that says "as seen in Parenting magazine." The other moms at preschool won't get annoyed with that, will they?
And a special note for my own parents-- Hi Mom and Dad! Don't run out the door yet! This was in my mailbox because I have a subscription. I think you have to wait another week or two to find this on a newsstand.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Bangles that Don't Jangle
I love looking at, trying on and buying jewelry. I don't love wearing it. If it's scratchy or heavy or noisy I'll only wear it for really fancy gatherings, and there aren't that many of those in my life.
Something that fits a little better with my lifestyle -- little kids, casual clothes, on-the-go -- popped up recently.
My friend Lisa and her kids were over for a playdate. While the kids were playing, we sat down with a pile of duck and washi tapes. I had a plan for a necklace. As soon as we'd gotten seated, Lisa told me "I'm not really crafty, but my sister is." At just the moment the words were leaving her mouth she finished the fastest, cutest duck tape bracelet. (I'd like to meet her sister, too.) She added washi tape to hers that made it look beaded, but for now I'm into the simple bangle look. Looks like hammered metal to me.
These are pretty, light, flexible and totally silent. And if one of my girls runs off with them (as has happened at least half a dozen times already) it's no biggie. Perfect! Want to see the quick and easy tutorial? You'll find it at Crafts Unleashed.
What is Crafts Unleashed? It's the blog for Consumer Crafts. I wish I'd known about Consumer Crafts a few years ago-- when I lived over the ocean and there were no craft stores nearby. What I like about the site is that you can shop easily for all of the small craft supplies you can find a the big craft stores but are harder to find online. Even if you're lucky enough to live close to craftsupplypalooza, if you're like me and you walk into big craft stores and are immediately distracted and overwhelmed and forget why you came, you might like this store as a remedy to the overwhelm, too. Easier to take a break and come back, or at least have a list next to you as you shop.
I've joined the "Crafts Unleashed" Design Team-- which means that I'll post tutorials there a few times a month. Something new and fun and different. I'll post here to share whenever there's something new over there.
And in other new and fun and different news, today I'm off to the Hello Craft Summit where I'll meet up with a crafty friend and hear Stephen Fraser, co-founder of Spoonflower as the keynote speaker. New, fun, different, yes!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Spoonflower I Spy Swap: Round 3!
I've had a while to recover from Swaps 1 and 2. I'd be crazy to do it again, right? Well, yes. So I'm doing it again... a little differently.
Before I dive into the particulars...
Are you looking for I Spy inspiration?
Or are you wondering what people DO with all of these squares?
Check out this Pinterest I Spy board.
I've made some changes to the process that will hopefully result in a less time-consuming administrative effort and a smoother flow of swap sets out the door and into swappers hands. And again for Round 3, Spoonflower is offering swap participants 20% off of their order. Yay!
Folks who have swapped before will dig this one because they get a fresh set of fabric with only a one-yard investment.
Folks who are starting from scratch may choose to use these 56 to complete a project, or may choose to add Alloy, Eden or Alpha to the swap loot to create something larger.
Here's how the swap will work this time.
Join the swap by visiting the crafterhours store. There you'll find swap spots listed. There are 56 spots for this swap. When they disappear from the shop, the swap is full. Swap spots are $1. Shipping will be added - $3 for domestic and $9 for international. (You can take more than one spot if you like, the shipping cost for additional sets is $1/set.)
Join the Flickr group. It's free and easy peasy. I'm happy to answer questions if you're new to Flickr-ing.
Make your selection at Spoonflower. Just ONE YARD this round. You're selecting ONE yard of Kona quilting weight fabric (with swap discount, $14.40 + $3 shipping) for each spot you've purchased, and the image you add to the Flickr group should show the fabric at the 8" x 8" "Test Swatch" scale. More on that in this post.
Post your selection in the Flickr group and wait for approval. We're checking for duplicates within the swap or repeated subject matter. For example, one "owl" print in this swap. There are thousands of new prints that have been added since our last swap.
Once you see the approval, order your fabric ASAP. We'll e-mail the Spoonflower code to our list of participants. International swappers will ship to us and we'll cut for you to save shipping time.
Each participant cuts fifty-six 5"x5" squares of fabric and mails them to us. No SASE required because we you've already paid for shipping and provided your address at checkout.
We sort them and send them out so that each participant gets 56 different Spoonflower I Spy squares in return!
Your squares must be uploaded to Flickr by Saturday, September 15th and must be received by us by October 10th. They will be mailed out on or before October 17th.
The BIGGEST difference? My mom has volunteered to help sort and ship. She has a dedicated workspace that's pet and kid free and perfect for this. She's also the distribution center for all of the other things in the shop, and there wouldn't be a shop without her! If you're adding anything else from the shop, the shipping will combine. She's magic like that.
Questions? Shoot! I'll update this post if/as needed. The last swap filled in less than 36 hours, so if you're interested, I'd suggest thinking fast. Folks on our mailing list have already grabbed some spots-- they got a heads-up yesterday!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Reel Fun: A GIVEAWAY!
I've tried hard to remember whether I had a Viewmaster as a kid. I know I played with plenty of them, but I think it was always at other kids houses. I don't think I was neglected in the toy department, it just happens that I never had one myself, so when someone with Image 3D e-mailed us a few weeks ago and offered to let us make one (and give one away!) I think it was kid-me that answered "Yes! I'll try it!"
Image 3D allows you to choose a viewer (white, black, red, blue) and create your own reel for about $25 + shipping. The viewer will also work with Viewmaster reels. If you *have* 3D images, you can go crazy with those, but I'm not that fancy. I just chose 7 family photos from the last year. In the interest of fairness, I chose two group photos, two of each kid and one Roscoe, the older of our two beagles. Don't tell the younger beagle he didn't make the cut, mmmkay?
Uploading and arranging the photos was really simple. I also made a center label. The only problem I ran into isn't really worth mentioning because it was one of those things that only *I* would have a problem with. Since I'd labeled the reel with "I <3 Us" I tried to use that as the name of the reel on the site. Apparently, using something other than a number or letter in the name is a bad, bad plan. It wouldn't even let me re-open the file to edit it and I had to start over. In computer language I'd hurled a "your motherboard is so old that..." joke. I spent over an hour trying to avoid that and then it took all of two minutes to reassemble. Moral of the story: don't get so wrapped up in your own cleverness that you forget to read the "WARNING: only use letters and numbers in title" that is so clearly there.
The reel preview let's you advance just like you will when the viewer gets to you. I love a creative interface that is so detailed. (Hear that, computer? A compliment. Sorry about the motherboard joke.)
And now-- it's here! I think it only took about a week from order to arrival. I'm trying to decide whether my Grammy would think it's cute or just silly to send her one of these. (I love picturing her friends passing it around at the dinner table where she lives!) I chose the white version because I love clean and simple, but I expect that the girls will attack it with stickers sooner or later.
The finished disk is transparent in the middle rather than a paper label you'd find on an old school Viewmaster.
K was the first to check it out. (Also, the internet debut of her much shorter hair.)
While through the images, she said "so, these are like old memories?" Umm, yes. Last month is ancient history.
M took a turn checking it out too, asking questions about the photos.
I love when I can capture her reactions - so often I miss them as far as the camera goes. But this is her genuine "wow" face. I could eat it up.
I love our family reel, and now I want to add a few classic reels to our collection too. Are you ready to win one of your own? Leave a comment on this post. That's simple enough, yes? The winner will be selected on Monday morning and posted on our Facebook page.
If you'd like to find Image 3D online, you've got lots of options:
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