glittergoods

Queen Anne trunk show tomorrow (alternate title: up to my elbows in glitter)

Saturday's show has come together in a way that I'm really excited about.  The postcards say 20+ artists, but in the end I think we're at 30+, with a really great mix of goods.  Fairy skirts, amazing local clothes & jewelry from Petaline's designers, cool bags, my favorite local  soap, amazing cut paper work, so much other stuff.   Also:  word has it that the bake sale is going to be very brownie-heavy, which is, in my opinion, fantastic.  I love a good homemade brownie.

I've been experimenting with the wire inlay in my belt buckles, just to see if I could, not because I am obsessive about that loop pattern or anything, no way.  (Last night I went to a little free-motion quilting class at The Quilting Loft with my friend Kirsten, & the very first thing we did was loops, ha.  Well, only thing, the class sort of descended into a vortex of horrifying stitch tension & nobody with the right presser feet, so the whole thing got rescheduled.  But that makes the loops even more important, being the only thing.)

Since we're on the subject of loops, I'll mention that I'm bringing the whole batch of pillows with me to the show, along with a bunch of belts, a few rings, some dot necklaces, & of course a whole big whack of kid tees, crowns, & bracelets.

Oh, & these pouches.  Remember pouch-mania, way back before pillow madness?  They'll be there too.

Leftovers will go up on etsy, but wouldn't it be so much more fun to come to the show in person?  See you tomorrow!

weekend

I really should be sorting these out into their three-packs, but I do love how they look all piled up together.  (This is only about half the batch I'm making for show season.)

Ink & glitter swatches for a new client.

Yesterday we had an impromptu date (both kids at playdates, at other people's houses, at the same time) & though the search for a decent vegetarian sandwich in a Fremont restaurant was a big disappointing bust (I swear, if I were ever to open a restaurant it would be a vegetarian luncheonette), I was soothed by the discovery of these super excellent sticky notes at Burnt Sugar.  (I may have to go back & get the labels, too.)  I love these, though I feel like I should practice my penmanship before using them.

Today I put the red pillow together.  It started out as a design challenge to myself, but has ended up being one of my favorites thus far.  And not just because I put glitter snaps on the back.

That's right, glitter snaps.

One day, I'm going to figure out how to put glitter on EVERYTHING.  Watch out.

the wedding post

I spent much of the weekend eyeball-deep in the pictures I took at my sister's wedding, putting together slideshow cds & little photo albums to send off to various family members, & so I am finally ready to write about it (I say "finally" as if it were the longest-languishing event that I have not written about, ha).

The thing about making my sister's wedding is that it was like an excellent wedding do-over, with none of the pressure of making once-in-a-lifetime choices for myself, plus 8 years more design/craft experience on my part.  My sister is not like me in many ways, & one of them is that she's not particularly visual & doesn't really fuss about the tiny details & probably thought I was just nuts (or else I was intent on making HER nuts) during a lot of the planning process, but seeing her face when she walked into her pretty, simple, whimsical reception made all the work & the fuss & the nutsiness worth it. (And don't kid yourself:  those sweet simple handmade-but-polished weddings?  Plenty of work.)

Way back in the fall, we set the tone with the save the date card:  a little drawing, a little sparkle, a little lightheartedness.

The actual invitation was very simple in the midst of the other colorful, whimsical pieces.  I know I at least posted a picture of the invites back when I was working on them, but in case I didn't mention this at the time (I see I didn't), I would like to note that the gocco ink + Paper Source Luxe paper gave me complete fits with ink bleed as the cards dried.  In the end I think it was worth it, because the whole concept was beautiful textured cream paper with black ink = beautiful textured sparkly lacy ivory dress with black ribbon (as seen on my sister), & I love the variations that handprinting brings, but I ended up having to print way more than we needed to make up for the ones that were too blurry when dried (because there's variation & then there's variation).  It may have just been me, but still, word to the wise if you're looking at goccoing small clean-lined text onto textured paper.

She decided to have cupcakes instead of a cake, so I designed these to go on top.  The little paper airplane first showed up above, on the response cards, & since her husband is a pilot, it seemed appropriate to bring it back here & there.

I did not bake these (though I did end up bringing 3 dozen vegan cupcakes along to the reception, which possibly is a sign of that nutsiness I mentioned earlier), but I was very happy with the way the cupcake maker kept things homemade-looking.

The groom's cupcakes, made from a very particular recipe of my brother-in-law's late grandmother.  He was a little worried that they wouldn't be right because his grandmother never made cupcakes; I think, in the end, he was a little too busy being freshly married to notice any difference.

Favor, program, flag.  The program cover swiveled to the side on that little purple dot (tiny snap) to reveal the ceremony info printed on chartreuse card stock.  I really like the clean look of the snap, but when using those babies, give yourself enough time that you're not running all over town at the last minute looking for a tool that works without ruining that smooth little dot.  Ahem.  Anyway, I think that they came up with a genius idea for favors, which was to get cases of customized Jones Soda.  We went with the cream soda (the groom was a little disappointed that we didn't go with bright blue, but it didn't match) & tied a little favor tag around each one with ribbon in the various wedding colors.

One of my sister's friends spent a long time trying to get the bottles lined up just so.  Better her than me.

The escort cards have the name handwritten on the front, table number printed on the back.  I made the board from an acoustic ceiling tile:  cut it to size with a box knife, stapled linen-blend fabric & some ribbon around it, then hot-glued a piece of felt to the back to cover the staples.  I got the fabric on big sale at Joann, so I think all told I spent less than $10 on the board.  It won't hold up as well as -- I assume -- homosote would (ours was broken by the end of the weekend), but it will do the job for table cards & has a much more substantial look than something like foamcore.

I was pretty amused by the tissue paper pom pom blog mini-craze that happened a little while ago, since at the same time we were again considering making puffs for the wedding reception (having already been through at least one cycle of consider/reject/examine-the-budget before slinking back around to the idea).  I made a sample, & we got a lot more excited about it than we thought we would, plus, our budget loved the idea.  We followed Martha's directions, but our largest size came from a 20"x15" sheet of paper, & the smaller was approximately half that size -- the 20"x30" we tried just looked too sloppy -- & we curved the ends for a more floral look.

It was a lot of tissue paper trimming (my mom = tissue puff hero) & fluffing but we were delighted with the finished look -- though, to be fair, it's hard to go wrong when you're having a sweet little summertime wedding reception in a room with charming white ceiling beams, hm?

All in all, I think I showed enormous restraint, only putting glitter on the save the dates (&, really, just the tiniest speck) & on the table numbers.  You may recognize these as being near kin to my glitter letters, though I added floral wire to the bottom so they could stand up in the table arrangements.

The very beautiful arrangements by Anne Fordham, who came through with the exact right flowers for the event.

The lighting in my pictures could be better, I know, but really, the room looked terrific. 

They look like they liked it, don't they?  Happy wedding, little sister.

Friday WIP, also this mothering thing finally starts to pay off

I need to make a whole post about the excellent princess party we had last weekend, with special mention of the fantastic strawberry frosting I made, but I am still resting up from all that PINK.

Today I received my first ever ugly-beautiful glazed coil pot at my son's kindergarten mother's day "tea" (I put it in quotes because my daughter is incensed that we call it "tea" without actually serving actual tea.  She now refers to her tea as "the fake tea party we're having at my school for mother's day."), & even though yesterday I was rolling my eyes to my husband about it, oh good, here we go, today I could not love it more.

I especially love the tiny white bowl he made for me.

As for work in progress, I am finally coming to grips with the fact that I've got a show next weekend (Baz Biz at Maker Faire!), & so I've got quite a bit going on,

like a zillion bracelets to sew together. 

Oh, also, I finally decided to start up an etsy shop.  The idea (at the moment) is that it will be a place to put things that don't quite belong on my official website, plus I am increasingly impressed with the quality of work I'm finding on etsy, so I wanted to join in the fun!  It's pretty bare right now, but I did list a few crowns

& some bobby pin sets.

I am grateful that spring is here for many reasons, not least of which is that I can finally get some decent picture of my glitter again.

liberace could totally hang his coat on this

Yesterday I had a sitter over for the afternoon & instead of doing anything on any of my lists, I cut out one set of batting/backing for one shade & then spent the whole rest of the time painting & glittering a flower hook (that I originally bought for $1 at Michael's, on my semi-annual "I can leave the kids with the family for a few hours & there is gigantic Michael's within easy driving distance of my parents' house but not much else to do in this town" shopping spree; I prefer not to work out the exact economics of how much the hook ended up costing).  I had originally picked up the hooks with the idea of doing something felty & minimalist to them, so I'm a little bewildered by the final direction I ended up taking with this one (though, really, it's way less of a stretch for me than minimalism would be, also it became something of an excuse to try out coating resin (vs. the casting resin I use for jewelry), of which I am now an official fan).

I loved making it, though, it was very relaxing to just mess around with paints & inks & glitter with no particular goal in mind except for making it fancy  -- & clearly, I reached that goal & kept right on going.  I meant to have it mostly painted, with glitter accents, maybe some rhinestones, but then I couldn't find the rhinestones so more glitter, & then I went a little too far, & you know how it is:  sometimes the only thing to do mid-project when you go a little too far is to see whether a LOT too far will solve the problem.

Luckily, whatever I end up thinking of it, I can be pretty sure my daughter will not object to having it on her wall.  Today she went to a museum with her preschool class; on the way home we had the most excellent conversation about what would be in HER  (pink) museum:  princesses, my little ponies, sparkles, skirts, Nana, & a blue bowl of tangerines, clementines, & satsumas.

in which I am a minor contortionist

We actually had some sun today, which sent me scrambling to grab the camera & try to take a picture of my prototype glitter & resin belt buckle, which I happened to be wearing at the time.

Holding the camera out at arm's length while trying to angle your belt buckle into the precious square foot of unbroken sunlight falling into the many-shadowed front room & then also taking a reasonably focused picture of the buckle:  not so easy, but apparently quite funny.  Just ask my kid.

Taking this picture reminded me that I've got quite a few rings & necklaces that I need to photograph & get on the site, if the weather will cooperate.  I have a reasonably decent white-background setup that I use down in my studio for some items, but nothing beats the sun for getting sparkle on the glitter dot stuff.  I don't actually want it to be spring yet, there's this soup party I want to host & I'm thinking of maybe making some fancy valentines this year & I need to read the seed catalogs & I would also like some quality time with the sewing machine before I start getting antsy to do things outside, but I could stand a few hours of sunlight, at my convenience, pref. when the kids are both at school & I don't have anything else pressing going on.

This is the basket of cards that went out in the mail today.  I don't usually stop & photograph my orders because they are not interestingly one of a kind or etc, but yesterday I was irritatedly thinking to myself that despite all of my plans I have yet to make anything this year.  This counts, though, I made these.  I also have made:  two school lunches, a section of kitchen countertop (well, made it useful with sanding + oiling), a pan of chocolate cupcakes (not as perfect as the maple ones, so maybe my new oven is not in fact magical), another vet appointment for the six million dollar kitty, & serviceable knots in the wooden bead necklace & bracelet that my daughter strung all by herself.  I have sketches & swatches, plus a couple of plans to have coffee with friends, & also what I think is a really good idea for the next pincushion challenge.  Ok!

[If you haven't seen the kim family auction in action on ebay, please check it out.  It's full of beautiful work; I am deeply & particularly in love with these Sara Paloma bottles.]

never mind the cupcakes

And in my second post of the day, I'd like to point out that it's not all giggles & cupcakes around here, no!  I am nearly to the end of my big wholesale push, which means that I'm starting to focus on all the holiday shows I've got coming up (two shows next weekend, then one the first weekend of December & one a couple of weeks later) & thinking about things like display & show specials, etc.  Sometimes this phase is fun, sometimes it makes me want to tear my hair out (or bake 100 cupcakes instead of even thinking about glitter), but I've managed to come up with an idea or two.

As always, I am deeply satisfied by the supplies.

The plan for these is smaller versions of the glitter letters I did back in May.  They're four inches tall, small enough to be tree ornaments but large enough to look good hanging on a wall (though now that I've written that I'm suddenly imagining a wall covered in tiny glitter letters).

I'll have these at my holiday shows, & they'll also be over at Venue in a couple of weeks (locals, it's going to be worth stopping by the store sometime this season, since they're really encouraging the artists to bring new fun stuff in).  I'm also working on a couple of holiday shirt designs, but don't have one to show yet.

In between everything else, I've finalized the design for my sister's save the date cards & the paper for them just arrived.  I can't get over the envelope color, especially in a big stack like that (although ask me how far over it I am when I have to wear a dress that color come June, ok?).

back to school, 2.0

The first day of kindergarten was a success for all involved:  my boy was pale & quiet & big-eyed in the morning, but he determinedly sent me on my way, & after I picked him up he had a lot to say about three recesses & how he's going to start riding the bus home next week.  I feel this indescribable sense of relief, like, ok, whatever ridiculous parenting blunders we've made over the past five years, at least we managed to produce someone who had a good first day of kindergarten.  He's the school system's problem now!

The end of pre-first-day jitters has freed up a lot more creative energy around here, so of course I immediately turned to my new resin kit.  So far, I haven't done more than make a series of glittery lumps:

Which are cool because I made plastic, but otherwise pretty useless.  I think I love this stuff, though.  I have big plans.

In the meantime, there I was with a lump of glittery resin + a ring blank, so, why not?  My daughter is just green with envy.  (Any sources for kid-sized ring blanks would be much appreciated!)

countdown to sparkle party

Now that I've got a (very) little bit of a break between big deadlines, I'm pretty much vibrating at high craft frequency at all times, always thinking two projects ahead (I know you know what I'm talking about).  My daughter's third birthday party is on Saturday, & she has once again proved the excellence of her tiny self by requesting a sparkle party.  (I know I've mentioned this before, but typing out the words just thrills me:  sparkle party!  I italicize it when I say it out loud, too.)  She came up with the idea by herself, I swear, although it's not like there isn't any inspiration around here that might nudge her in that direction.

Yesterday I went up to the party supply store for plates & etc, & while I was there I got some of their big cardboard letters (well, 4", my kid has a long name).  I'd been out shopping earlier & seen a name banner made out of letters covered in vintage wallpaper & then strung on a ribbon, & while I was sort of admiring it (I love the idea, but would rather spend the $90 it would cost to put her name together on, say, a piece of actual original art (or pots of glitter!  or groceries!), also, though I really do like it, sweet pink floral vintage wallpaper isn't exactly my gig), it hit me that I could get my own letters & cover them with, wait for it, glitter.

You know how sometimes you try out an idea & it turns out better than you expected, maybe makes you wiggle a little with glee?  Yeah.  I painted the letters in shades of pink first (all the same red, mixed with varying amounts of white), then covered them with different colors of translucent pink glitter.  They are super-fantastic.  Now I just have to figure out how I want to string them -- because of the smallish size & the font I picked, I don't think I can drill stringing holes in them without breaking some of the more delicate letters, so I will probably glue them onto the ribbon (which brings up its own set of fun choices:  thin or thick?  Single or double?)  This will be up on the dining room wall for the party, then I'll hang it up in her bedroom.

Lest you think I am a sparkle party genius, I also managed to come up with the flip side of the crafting experience, which is when you try out an idea & not only was your vision flawed in a practical sort of way, but once you get it up & running you're not sure if it was really worth your time.

Here's the start of a garland that was definitely better on paper, but it's starting to grow on me, & I think that when I finish it & loop it around our light fixture with lots of balloons, it will have at least a hint of the ribbony-dotty-sparkly excellence I was hoping for.

Now I just have to make the party shirts & find a good recipe for chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting.

And also stop fantasizing about the pincushion I want to make once all this is over. 

yes, I'd rather be sewing

I'm a couple of days behind on the color fun, but here are white, black, and brown all showing up in a little Laura Zeck print on our dining room wall.  Her tiny etchings are fantastic.

The past few days have been all about...well, maybe not exactly prepping for the upcoming show, but certainly thinking about it.

I've been doing glittery kid shirts for a while now, & am finally going to roll out a few designs printed on adult shirts at the show, which means that a couple days ago this (appropriately color-themed) box arrived.  Yeah, that's a lot of shirts.

I've been kind of stuck on what designs to put on the adult shirts, but then last week I realized that I wanted to do a few craft-themed tees (particularly to take to the Maker's Faire/Baz Biz SF), & from there it was easy.

The new ink I was testing out was stinky & horrible to work with (although I actually personally like the worn-out look of a faded print,), so the art is good but I need to go back to my old ink for some nice crisp black prints.  I love the sparkly thread, though, & am also going to use it on some little sewing care + content gift cards.

(Can you tell that I'd rather be working on my next quilt?)

In sneaky crafty moments here & there, I've finished up my little knitted spokesmodel Kate (first knitting project in probably over a year, first knitted toy ever).  I think she'll be sweet on my table, particularly since I unpicked her head stitches & addressed the stuffing issue, so she's less pointy now (seriously, she was like the wooly little kitten star of Nosferatu). 

In retrospect, I think that I probably should have changed to smaller needles for the orange parts, which were Lamb's Pride Superwash instead of LP Worsted, & that one ear has a definite Max Schreckian quality, but she's done!

(Now, let us celebrate with a picture of the happiest cardboard box on earth.  I discovered this drawing when I was breaking down the shirt box for recycling.  The shirt factory is a place of joy?  My UPS guy is an artist in his other life?  Who knows?)