Swanki Hats GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!
.
Jeeeez, I gotta check Grosgrain more often! This time, Jenny and Wendy of Swanki Hats are offering a hat of the winner's choice from what's left of their very-fast-selling stock!
.
I sure as heck wouldn't mind a hat or two of theirs! Those are some swank hats :P I think my fave are the jeep-cap style ones with the pockets, or the distressed jeep caps (those are the flat-topped military looking ones).
.
April 30, 2009
Art Nest, Maker of Fine Pincushions!
Art Nest Pincushion RingGIVEAWAY!!!!
.
I have noooo idea how this woman finds the most awesome people to offer goodies to give away!
.
I was considering making a bracelet-pincushion, but this is WAAAAAY more practical, AND really damn adorable!
.
Maybe I'll just buy one :P
.
Art Nest Etsy Shop
.
.
I have noooo idea how this woman finds the most awesome people to offer goodies to give away!
.
I was considering making a bracelet-pincushion, but this is WAAAAAY more practical, AND really damn adorable!
.
Maybe I'll just buy one :P
.
Art Nest Etsy Shop
.
April 22, 2009
Some Thrifting/Crafting News
I went to Value Village awhile ago to satiate my need for new crafting goodies. I also happened to need another white tee for the Burdastyle JJ I'm making out of a Lakeport Honey Lager shirt (not enough fabric in one XL shirt :P). I got one, for 2.99! ARG, coulda gotten it cheaper at one of the other thrifts, but I like VV's crafting section. I started the shirt, but I need to check the fit before I attach sleeves and finish the bottom. Seeing as how it's been darn cold still, I haven't been too tempted to strip to my tank top to try it on.
.
.
In the crafting section were various goodies I *almost* bought. There were some baggies of quilting strips, but none of the fabrics really inspired me. There was also a quarter-metre of light blue cotton with silver stars, but it was 99 cents. That's the same price as a fat quarter at Fabricland, so not exactly a wicked deal. I did buy a couple awesome but slightly useless things :P I picked up a booklet from Coats & Clarke of crocheted sweater patterns (for men, women and kids!) from 1963. My fave out of the booklet is the "Popcorn" sweater. I also got a knitting pattern for a totally fab 50's sweater. I haven't crocheted in a while (and I suck at it), and I haven't knitted since I was a kid (and I sucked at it), so I'm not entirely sure WHY I bought them! At least they were somewhat cheap, being 99 cents each.
.
.
I also wanted to buy a sheet to make a wrap dress, something kinda 40's-ish. I did indeed find a nice purple flat sheet in really good shape. BUT! I had a crisis, and my common-sense failed me. I ended up spending almost 20 bucks that day because of what was in the sheets section. CHARACTER SHEETS!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!! So I bought a Ninja Turtles sheet that's pretty worn right in the middle but the edges are still good, a well-loved Star Wars sheet dated 1971, an absolutely IMMACULATE Strawberry Shortcake sheet (literally, it's still thick and crisp!), and TWO!!!! Rainbow Brite sheets that have very little wear. All of these are flat sheets.
.
.
Um, so ya... What the heck am I gonna do with these character sheets?!?! I'm getting a little old to be wearing say, a Rainbow Brite dress (I know, I know, 25 isn't OLD, I just feel damn old). I've been pondering for a while that I should sew goodies to sell on Etsy, but there's soooooo many people on there! The prospect is somewhat daunting. What with the insanity lately (boyfriend didn't get a paid placement, so we move in 5 weeks), getting a job for the summer only to move AGAIN for the fall seems kinda ridiculous. Not to mention that since I got fired from my bar-maid job in October, I haven't found another... Ugh... At least with selling online, my stuff goes where I go, and in theory, so does my income...
.
Would I have any degree of success selling purses made from bedsheets, for example? Almost every single one I saw was a TOTE BAG. I HATE tote bags! Not because I think tote bags themselves are bad/evil/ugly. No, no. I just think an empty or near-empty tote bag layered under a purse looks about as ridiculous as a sad clown. But the question remains: if I were to make purses (with useful pockets and a closure of some kind) out of bedsheets, would these appeal to the same people that would buy a sheet-tote? My stuff would obviously cost more, since it wouldn't be just some rectangles of fabric sewn together. Would that 17 year old girl in love with Rainbow Brite buy my $30 purse or the $10 tote?
.
I've seen some skirts and they seem to sell alright. Alot are made with a jersey waistband and some sheet attached as a ruffle, but that's not particularly attractive to me personally. The jersey acts wierd when it's attached to a woven. But if I did make skirts with a cased elastic waistband, would they be as desirable to my target market as these jersey-waisted skirts? I'm seeing a short straight skirt with a cased waistband and then a bottom ruffle. Not as scandalously short as the jersey-waistband ones, for sure. Might even be cool to use it as one tier of a hippie skirt (although it seems the boho bandwagon have mostly died of the plague, they're so quiet).
.
.
.
In the crafting section were various goodies I *almost* bought. There were some baggies of quilting strips, but none of the fabrics really inspired me. There was also a quarter-metre of light blue cotton with silver stars, but it was 99 cents. That's the same price as a fat quarter at Fabricland, so not exactly a wicked deal. I did buy a couple awesome but slightly useless things :P I picked up a booklet from Coats & Clarke of crocheted sweater patterns (for men, women and kids!) from 1963. My fave out of the booklet is the "Popcorn" sweater. I also got a knitting pattern for a totally fab 50's sweater. I haven't crocheted in a while (and I suck at it), and I haven't knitted since I was a kid (and I sucked at it), so I'm not entirely sure WHY I bought them! At least they were somewhat cheap, being 99 cents each.
.
.
I also wanted to buy a sheet to make a wrap dress, something kinda 40's-ish. I did indeed find a nice purple flat sheet in really good shape. BUT! I had a crisis, and my common-sense failed me. I ended up spending almost 20 bucks that day because of what was in the sheets section. CHARACTER SHEETS!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!! So I bought a Ninja Turtles sheet that's pretty worn right in the middle but the edges are still good, a well-loved Star Wars sheet dated 1971, an absolutely IMMACULATE Strawberry Shortcake sheet (literally, it's still thick and crisp!), and TWO!!!! Rainbow Brite sheets that have very little wear. All of these are flat sheets.
.
.
Um, so ya... What the heck am I gonna do with these character sheets?!?! I'm getting a little old to be wearing say, a Rainbow Brite dress (I know, I know, 25 isn't OLD, I just feel damn old). I've been pondering for a while that I should sew goodies to sell on Etsy, but there's soooooo many people on there! The prospect is somewhat daunting. What with the insanity lately (boyfriend didn't get a paid placement, so we move in 5 weeks), getting a job for the summer only to move AGAIN for the fall seems kinda ridiculous. Not to mention that since I got fired from my bar-maid job in October, I haven't found another... Ugh... At least with selling online, my stuff goes where I go, and in theory, so does my income...
.
Would I have any degree of success selling purses made from bedsheets, for example? Almost every single one I saw was a TOTE BAG. I HATE tote bags! Not because I think tote bags themselves are bad/evil/ugly. No, no. I just think an empty or near-empty tote bag layered under a purse looks about as ridiculous as a sad clown. But the question remains: if I were to make purses (with useful pockets and a closure of some kind) out of bedsheets, would these appeal to the same people that would buy a sheet-tote? My stuff would obviously cost more, since it wouldn't be just some rectangles of fabric sewn together. Would that 17 year old girl in love with Rainbow Brite buy my $30 purse or the $10 tote?
.
I've seen some skirts and they seem to sell alright. Alot are made with a jersey waistband and some sheet attached as a ruffle, but that's not particularly attractive to me personally. The jersey acts wierd when it's attached to a woven. But if I did make skirts with a cased elastic waistband, would they be as desirable to my target market as these jersey-waisted skirts? I'm seeing a short straight skirt with a cased waistband and then a bottom ruffle. Not as scandalously short as the jersey-waistband ones, for sure. Might even be cool to use it as one tier of a hippie skirt (although it seems the boho bandwagon have mostly died of the plague, they're so quiet).
.
Modified Buttercup Bags (and pouch)
I signed up for the March Birthday Swap on Craftster. You post a list of five crafted goodies you want, plus a list of supplies you want, plus a list of nifty extras you'd like. I think the budget was 20 bucks or something. I picked a girl in New Zealand who said she'd love a new day-purse that wasn't so huge as to eat her stuff and leave her digging for things all the time. I'd never made a purse before, but the Buttercup Bag by MadeByRae has been all over the net lately and I thought it would be a good pattern to start with.
I KNEW I'd have to do a trial run, because I always mess something up, and besides that I had some changes I wanted to make to the pattern. I added a bottom piece to make it 3-dimensional, plus the lining has the same top-piece as the outside. Gotta love messing up the pleating... I just ended up putting two pleats in the middle. AFTER the purse was done, I realized "aw nuts, the pleat marks are supposed to MEET!"
The purse itself is made from a quilting cotton leftover from making a corset a few years ago. It has a beige ground with pink cherries, white cherry blossoms and green leaves. The lining is the lightweight interfacing I had flatlined to the corset pieces for strength/stability. It's also got about 3 yards of vintage pink piping on it (I bought part of a late-sewer's trimmings stash), the very last of the beige cotton eyelet lace from the corset project, and a pink vintage button (from a different late-sewer's stash).
I KNEW I'd have to do a trial run, because I always mess something up, and besides that I had some changes I wanted to make to the pattern. I added a bottom piece to make it 3-dimensional, plus the lining has the same top-piece as the outside. Gotta love messing up the pleating... I just ended up putting two pleats in the middle. AFTER the purse was done, I realized "aw nuts, the pleat marks are supposed to MEET!"
The purse itself is made from a quilting cotton leftover from making a corset a few years ago. It has a beige ground with pink cherries, white cherry blossoms and green leaves. The lining is the lightweight interfacing I had flatlined to the corset pieces for strength/stability. It's also got about 3 yards of vintage pink piping on it (I bought part of a late-sewer's trimmings stash), the very last of the beige cotton eyelet lace from the corset project, and a pink vintage button (from a different late-sewer's stash).
*ALL PIX ARE CLICKABLE THUMBS! YAY!*
.
For the NZ girl, I basically made the exact same bag except with a 32 inch strap because she's pretty tall. I used a vintage cotton (looks 70s to me) that I got at a rummage sale with plant bits and geometric stuff (and some metallic print, too!), scrap brown twill, blue vintage piping, a brown/orange vintage button, and the lining is leftover from a cotton short kimono for my boyfriend to wear with his hakama (japanese pleated pants). I also interfaced the bottom piece of her bag, so it holds it's shape a bit better.
.
.
I'm pretty proud of myself :D Neither is perfect by any measure, but I think I did alright for my first ever purses. I'd like to give magnetic clasps a try, though, because buttonholes are notoriously difficult for me.
.
I also made a little matching pouch for the brown purse, but because the buttonhole on the purse killed my sewing machine (not permanently, I fixed it), it didn't make it in the package to New Zealand. Dunno what I'll do with it, other than send it to New Zealand :P It's inspired by the Buttercup Bag, drafted by me and made out of the same mats as the purse. It closes with hook-and-loop tape (velcro is a brand name :P like calling all facial-tissue kleenex, nyar).
.
.
April 14, 2009
Yay for Grosgrain giveaways!
Pleated Petal Tank ANTHROPOLIFICATION GIVEAWAY!!!!
Wow, I just love those people who have the patience to make a whole raft of teeny tiny flowers :P
There's a lady on craftster who made a shirt with cherry blossoms on it last year I believe. I'll post the link tomorrow or something.
No new posts lately because the only things I've gotten done are for a swap, and I'm not posting that stuff til my partner gets her package.
*EDIT*
I found the cherry blossom top!
.
.
Wow, I just love those people who have the patience to make a whole raft of teeny tiny flowers :P
There's a lady on craftster who made a shirt with cherry blossoms on it last year I believe. I'll post the link tomorrow or something.
No new posts lately because the only things I've gotten done are for a swap, and I'm not posting that stuff til my partner gets her package.
*EDIT*
I found the cherry blossom top!
.
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)