Faux Gold Dinos

Paper n stitch - you've done it again! Way to create the most drool-worthy DIYs I always want to go out and attempt! I'm sure the amazing imagery has something to do with it. Check out these rad gold dinos:


It's a simple concept (painting plastic dinosaurs gold) but has that "I'm the coolest person around" touch to it I can't help but love. The tutorial suggests making these into necklaces, but I think the display mantelpiece idea is extra charming. And it wouldn't have to stop at dinos - you could gold coat some ungulates too? Perhaps some antlered beasts to perk up the new apartment of jacob, sarah, and jacqui? OoOoo...I smell a house warming gift!

Friday Find: box of birds

This week's find is thanks to a tweet I got from another empire who was kind enough to include my microbe buttons on her brooch beautiful blog (link!). As soon as I saw the wide eyed cuteness of box of birds I instantly fell in love! Take a look at some of her goodies:


Oh my those are darling! I especially love the little red fox in the corner there. Plus they are made from one of my favourite mediums - felt! It really makes me want to get to cutting and embroidering!! It also reminds me how everything from the UK is just that much cooler. Seriously. I'm sure there are statistics to back this up...somewhere...

Security Envelope Tutorial

Being an avid card maker and pen pal, I often hold onto scraps of paper with interesting prints and pictures I think would be useful for future paper projects. Security envelopes (you know the ones bank statements come in that you can't see through?) are an excellent source for cute patterned paper and super accessible to most people with a bank account (or credit card, phone bill, tax payments, etc). Well "crafting a greener world" has another fun use for all those security envelopes - make them into business card carriers:


Cool! It encourages you using all those fancy stitches on your sewing machine you rarely use too! Not to mention the whole good for the environment bit! What a fantastic idea. I totally want to make one and next time someone asks me for my card (which, in all honestly, isn't very frequently), I can wow them with my crafty recycling skills too! Oh! Now to make this and wait for someone to ask for my card....this may take a while....

Percy and the sink

Percy is an odd cat. He likes to lure people in with his cute fluffy looks and big eyes and then hiss and attack them - and he also really likes to drink water straight from the tap. Don't get me wrong - he'll drink from the bowl once in a while (if it is fresh and recently cleaned) but most days I'll find him meowing in the bathtub trying to get someone to turn the tap on for him. It makes me wonder...do all cats do this? Is this some sort of ploy in their "you don't own my I own you" cat manual? Regardless, it is sort of an endearing quality for percy since he usually looks pretty cute right before and after getting a drink. Here's some cute percy photo proof:

Picture 1: Percy testing to see if the water pressure is suitable (must be a trickle but not too much or he'll get splashed). Note the kink in neck yoga move to reach the tap without stepping a pay into the sink.


Picture 2: Water pressure acceptable. Commence drinking. I took quite a few pictures to try to get one with his tongue out - it looks a lot grosser than it does in real life.


Picture 3: Om nom nom nom! Water was good!


Picture 4: Cuteness! Yes percy! You are adorable! Now I'll get our of your way before you bite me...


Clearly I spent way too much time today taking pictures of this cat. Oh well...I bet my mom loves this post...

Knit Bangles

No better way to combine your love for crafting and fashion than with your very own knit bracelet! Mags Kandis (author of Gifted: lovely little things to knit and crochet) was kind enough to make the pattern for these gems free of cost and available to download here!


Super cool! And once again reinforcing the fact that I really need to learn how to knit. For now I'll just swoon over the idea of these bangles and be satisfied with that for the time being...

Bobbin Organizer Tutorial

When I came across this tutorial from kim of the sassy crafter I knew exactly who to post it for. Mom - your sewing room is a disaster and even though this won't keep your seam rippers and scissors from getting lost, it will certainly organize your bobbins for your new sewing machine! And hey - it looks pretty cool too:


What a great idea to use vinyl tubing as an organizational device and it looks really simple (but potentially painful for accident prone people like myself - sharp blades don't agree with me)! And I figured if my mom could use this DIY there must be loads of others out there looking for some cleaning and organizing inspiration! It is a useful tool for any sewer really, organized or not. Now to look for some of that tubing...

Biz Baz Recap and Road Trip: Kelowna

Being sunday and all I usually fill in all my lovely blog readers on how my craft sales went from thursday's bizarre bazaar. Well...this week my sales officially reached an all time low! Oh dear! But not to worry, I didn't sell anything because my craft selling was canceled due to extremely awful rainy/thundery weather! So instead I went shopping with my sis downtown! Nothing like some shoe shopping to cheer up the day! Please note the atypical rainyness:


What fun! And since I'm in the mood of the photo recap, I thought I'd share some snapshots I took from my kelowna trip I took last week with fraser. No rain that day - just super awesome summery heat! Take a look:


I contemplated uploading each of those images separately and then explaining each one but I think the truncated montage deal is a little bit better. Highlights of the day included the wonderful relocation of my favourite kelowna destination (funktional!), some great strolls through the culture district (including rad koy pond), and a wonderful sunday brunch at the boho! It also lead to some sweet purchases I'm extra excited about:


Who can resist Canadian crafted accessories, porcelain kitty salt and pepper shakers, and some crafty business reading? Not me apparently! I'm super stoked about all of these buys making the trip that much more memorable. Thanks fraser! Oh and thanks les for the canceled biz baz rainy fun day! Hooray!!!

Percy vs Sparkle Pom Pom

Before I begin this tale (of photographic wonder) I'd like to inform you that this is, in fact, a recreation of a previous percy-pom pom event. Ironically, the recreated tale ended exactly as the original (not even planned as such) making my picture taking and story telling much easier than I had anticipated. Sweet deal! Let's commence:

Behold - the sparkly blue pom pom:


I bought this little guy at "urban source" a most fantastic crafting supply shop (on my road trip to vancouver back in may) because it was sitting in front of a sign that said, "cats love us!" I immediately thought it sounded like a great excuse (or any excuse really) to buy Percy a present from my travels! Little did I know this pom pom was destine to be the best 10 cents I'd ever spent.

After arriving home I unpacked my things and came upstairs to show off all my bargain buys, including the sparkle pom pom. I held the pom for Percy to see...


at which point he quickly snafoozed the sparkly gift and bolted in the opposite direction (please note the blue pom pom in his mouth - easily the cutest thing he has ever done - and the most difficult to photograph)


Hooray! Percy must have really appreciated my gift and I waited anxiously to see what he'd do next...


Oh pom pom! Don't be smug - percy is going to get you! Blurry pom pom action sequence!!!


After playing for a while Percy decided the best way to kill the pom pom was to glare at it...


..and then take it to the kitchen! (Note the adorable paw to mouth move - very smooth kitty!)


He then chased it around the linoleum for a while before knocking it directly into the kitchen floor vent (darn those six month kitchen renovations).


Seriously. Direct hit. Sparkle pom pom has won this round by escaping el gato diablo's furry claws for a more restful existence somewhere in the heating ducts of the house. But not to worry Percy...


I managed to find an entire bag of sparkle pom poms at wal-mart. The battle can continue...

Friday Find: Aylla

Lately I've been keeping my eyes peeled for cute clutches. Not necessarily to buy (I'm attempting to save money) but more as inspiration for a line of pouches I want to make to sell at craft shows (and so I can conveniently keep and use a few)! When I came across the great bags Aylla makes I fell in love! Take a look at a few of my favourites:


I love the little details (pleats, zipper pulls, etc) and amazing fabric she uses! If you've been a blog reader of mine for a while I'm sure you know how keen I am on linens! Her muted jewel tones are to die for (almost put an all too obvious pun in there...but resisted). The awesome staging and photos she takes also make her goods look fantastic! And (interestingly enough) when I went to check out her profile for further info it appears that she's favourited my love robot pocket mirror! Wow! Small world! What an honour! Now I just need to come up with bags as fantastic as the ones aylla makes...

Random Puppies!

No better way to break up the monotonous kate blog post formula with some random puppies!


Aren't they cute? My sis shared this pic with me says they are wauzers (half westie and half miniature Schnauzer) that her friends from Haida Gwaii have! Too bad they are all spoken for otherwise I think leslie and I would need to take an emergency ferry ride over to snag them up! Hope the fuzzy cuteness perked up your day! Hooray!

Wonderful Post!

Back in june I signed up for ulixis' third (my second) "art cards, originals, & editions" (aceo) exchange. I came up with a pointillism mushroom I sent off to my exchange partner in Hawaii and got to patiently wait to see what card I would get! What fun! Well mine finally arrived and I am thrilled to bits with the aceo rhonda agee made for me!!! Take a look:


Isn't it wonderful? It's called "Percy" and was inspired by el gato diablo himself! When rhonda found out I was her exchange partner she went onto by blog for some clue on things I'd like and fell in live with that evil orange kitty! How thoughtful! She even sent me a neat paper card the percy aceo fits into (with envelope) if I wanted to use it as a card! She filled me in on the meaning behind the card (percy blog posts) in a super pretty painted flower card she made as well!


What a successful aceo exchange that turned out to be! I couldn't dream of a more suiting or wonderful card to receive! Thanks rhonda!!

This has also got me considering running an art card exchange of my own one of these days! Any potential takers?

Pocket Mirror Brainstorm

My adventures in pocket mirrors continue as I send a plea to you (my most appreciated readers) in helping me brainstorm what designs I should chose for my mirror restock! Let us begin our thought process by a little recap of what mirrors I made and how they've been selling. When I first started out I decided to chose 5 (of what I thought would be most popular) designs to sell in my etsy shop and keep the rest (the other 20) to sell at craft shows (just like I explained in this blog post). Based on some facebook feedback, these are the 5 mirrors I put up for sale in my shop:


Sophisticat sold almost right away and I ended up taking the duplicate copy (from my 20 craft sale mirrors) of the glassware to sell as a reserved listing to a buyer who messaged me about a bulk order of magnets. Good old love robot has made it into a whack of robot themed treasuries as well! Cool! Still leaving 4 of the 5 for sale on etsy. Not too bad for a slow sale part of the year. As for the rest of the bunch - they've been quite the popular item at my craft sales and I've managed to sell quite a few (including foxie, wheelie love robot, einstein, sophisticat, and cowboy cat). I also sold t-rex to the ever lovely ArtTales after a twitter session on pocker mirror designs! Awesome! I'd imagine they'd sell even better at a bigger craft show with more traffic! They also conveniently put those ikea stacking tins to use that I got back in may. Double win!


So the question remains - what designs should I use for my mirror restocking? The mustache cats certainly seem to be a hit with the kiddos (and awesome adults) so that's a given - but what other designs would you like to see in 2.25" mirror form? I have a request for a morel mirror from a mushroom obsessed kamloopsian - but any other ideas out there? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to refer back to this etsy listing for reference of my wide set eye smile illustrated friends too. Bonus marks for the most lucrative design ideas! Yay!

Knitting Alligators

With leslie's baby on the way I am keeping my eyes peeled for cute baby/kid crafts! And here is one tutorial I was particularly taken by - mochimochi's knitted alligators!


Eeee! So cute! And since I still don't know how to knit (nor do I really have time right now) I thought I'd post this tutorial since there's no hope of me making them before the baby arrives! Hooray! And if baby gators aren't your thing, she's got loads of other cute knitted critter patterns available in her shop! Fun for everyone! Yay!

Bizarre Bazarre - vol. IV

My fourth week at the Bizarre Bazaar has come and gone and as promised (as always) I'm filling you in on how the day went! This week was the 40th anniversary of the Kamloops Arts Council and to celebrate we had loads of extra special biz baz festivities (i.e. bigger bands, more mini plays, extra seminars,etc) oh and cake! Woo hoo! This week I also got around to making a lovely attention grabbing (and awesome) pennant flag string for my tent! Due to time crunch I decided to make an easy one out of construction paper and string and voila - behold the glory of the pretty coloured flags:


I really like how it turned out and how easy it was! Nice and visible from the street entrance with a little pop of colour and following the sweet pennant flag trendy craft scene! It even matches the design of my "scientific culture" table sign. The ridiculous wind did seem to enjoy moving all the papers around so for next week I think I'll clear tape them into place (take that wind!!).

This week I also tried to stir up some felt flower brooch sales by sporting one myself:

Perfectly showcasing how awesome they look on cardigans and matching my cool breezy cottony tank/sweater/skirt outfit! Even though I thought this was a great idea I didn't manage to sell a single one and am wondering if the circle plate display thing could be improved somehow:


Any ideas? I'm sort of thinking they're just not tickling the fancy of the sort of customers the bizarre bazaar is drawing but who knows really? I'll have to give them a try at some bigger craft shows later in the year and see how they sell.

On to the highlights of the day (and photo montage time)! Some of my favourite things from this week include the gentle breeze (not epic destruction winds - I'll get to those in a bit) and the perfect 31 degree temperature, an awesome fashion show with BC made sustainable bamboo styles, the fantastic music of "just like that" (my dad would have loved this group), and a great visit from wendy - with cake! (I also appreciated the nice visits from fraser, jim, quinn, and lindsay - but there's no photographic evidence to share of those).


How lovely! Unfortunately the bigger crowds were more into the festivities than the craft shopping so I made a few measly sales (still greatly appreciated of course) and I spent the afternoon battling against the wild wind. It certainly made me appreciate the joys of the indoor craft show since I spent most of my time standing signs back up and holding onto my button cork board display (next week I'm clamping that baby to the table - great idea wendy!) and near the end of the day the wind sent my basket of plush microbes flying backwards and smashing the little white tea cup chlamydia was resting in (shown below with orange arrow):


Shucks! Worse things could have happened and the wind only really picked up for the last half of the day. Leaving my hands free for crafting all morning! Hooray! Successful love robot embroidery:


These little guys will soon be crafted into some more reusable coffee sleeves! Yay! This week I'm focusing on getting lots of crafting done to restock my table a bit and preparing for leslie's arrival! Leslie and I were also talking about making some scientific culture posters to spiff up the advertisement for the show which could be fun (and lucrative). We'll see!

So true...

I came across this and couldn't resist posting it:


Thanks internet for being there every morning when I get up, for letting do oodles of shopping in my pjs, and for being a constant source of inspiration and geekery! Yay!

Blog Advice

I stumbled across an article talking about "the top 10 secrets of a super blogger" (link) and what was the number one thing I got out of it? Apparently most people read blog updates before 9am. Oh my! And here I have been updating every day at 9! What am I doing? How tragic!!! In attempt to please my dearly loved readers I will now be posting at 7am for you! So if you like a late morning (much like me) not to worry - the blog posts will be hanging out for you to read at your pleasure or if you are an earlier riser they'll be there at 7 to greet you and your day! If anyone has any other bloggy requests of things they'd like to see I'm all ears!! Or eyes rather?

Friday Find: bookhou at home

This week's find was discovered by some lovely blog searching done by lindsay! After discovering the bad joint, cat loving, crafty goodness of resurrection fern, lindsay was linked to bookou at home then linked me to both (hooray!). I quickly read back in their archives and in the round about (and wonderful) way I decided that Bookou should be the find of the day! Bookou at home is a charming shop full of screen printed linens I simply adore. Sad news? Her etsy shop isn't actually stocked with any goods to purchase - but nonetheless here are some of her awesome sold orders:


Who can resist purses, pouches, and tea cozies? Certainly not me! I mean look at those muted neutrals! Mmm! But all is not lost, she still have goods for sale on her website, and even if they're not the totes I'm drooling over they will do for the time being. Luckily we still have bookhou's awesome blog to live vicariously through too! Hurrah!

Knit Robot Love

Even though this isn't my project (I still can't knit), I do feel slightly responsible for its creation. After all I did give my sister that issue of bust Danger Craft's ad was in and I did write a blog post about it! I'm sure that counts! Take a look at the adorable knit robot my sister made:


Rebecca Danger, you make some good patterns! Can't wait to see the rest of the knit creations I make...er...I mean leslie makes...

In other news...come visit me at the huge 40th anniversary Kamloops Arts Council Bizarre Bazaar today! I'm there selling my wares and soaking up the...shade? Hopefully you're in the area and able to go - and hey - there's cake! Double win!

Crepe DIYs

How about Orange does it again! A great list of crepe paper tutorials to share! Yay! I'm particularly fond of the crepe paper medallions:


Ooo! Or the pom pom inspired gift wrapping? You know I can't resist the pom:


Looks like I need to take a trip to the dollar store and get stocking up on crepe streamers! Enough so I can prepare myself for the surprise ball bbq I plan to have this summer too. What fun!

Front Page News!

Yesterday at 1am etsy time (sunday at 10pm my time) something wonderful occurred. Something I have been striving for since my shop beginnings back in october 2008 - one of my items made the front page of etsy! Sweet! The bad news? I was busy at work at the time of the posting and only found out about this fp glory long after the sightings. Rats! Such great news and I didn't even get to witness it! But all is not lost - my twitter pal Ele (minouette on etsy and fellow msoe member) was kind enough to link me to craft cult (a wonderful site that keeps screen shots of etsy's front pages in their archives)! Hooray! So if you're like me and missed my exciting moment - let's relive it right now:


Eeee! Oh woodland creature buttons! I'm so proud of you! And as a bonus the front page is not only elusive but also lucrative since I got home to 10 etsy sales! Woohoo! And that's not all...look what it did for shop visits:


Oh my! Totally the most exciting google analytics visit I've had all year! It also bumped up my etsy hearts from 877 to 907! Thank you to those 30 people who discovered my shop and loved it! I'm positively gleaming with excitement! I hope everyone is having such a great beginning of their week too! Yay!

My Cardboard Life

If you haven't discovered the awesomeness that is the webcomic joys of "my cardboard life" then now is the time! It is a great collection of brightly coloured papery cut outs forming some hilarious strips! Take a look at these three I randomly selected off the site:

1)

2)

3)

Oh how cute! If you're not sold on this sampling I certainly recommend checking them out yourself! Which is your favourite?

Bizarre Bazarre - vol. III

I've officially completed my third show at the bizarre bazaar and I'm here to share the lovely highlights with you! Hooray! After a two week hiatus I'm back in action and ready for the record heat and (potential) record sales. Here I am setting up and getting pumped for the lovely day:


What fun! I managed to snag my favourite shady spot too (ideal for the 40 degree weather and pale skin)! Set up was a breeze as I'm finally getting used to this craft show business and I'm still in love with how my table looks:


Nothing really changed on my table this week but I'm hoping to find some extra time before the big 40th anniversary biz baz next week to make my goods ultra awesome! Right now ideas of a pennant flag, a line of bags, and more popular product (chlamydia plush, coffee sleeve, pocket mirrors) are floating through my brain but my actual work schedule interferes quite a bit.

As for the show itself - it was the most successful one yet with loads of sales of buttons (that sign really seemed to work), magnets, pocket mirrors, plush, and post cards! Yay! I was worried the extreme heat would be too much for potential shoppers to handle but apparently not! And my jersey cotton (tshirt and skirt) outfit was great at keeping me from overheating! I also got the chance to wear my new foxy key ring I bought at the art gallery last week:


Other highlights of the day included the cutest old couple that planted themselves on the grass for the second live music act, the most wonderful garden view from my table, a hilarious Rumpelstiltskin abridged play, and a cup full of fabric ring productivity! Take a peek:


Sweet! I even got visits/help from fraser, jim, mom, and lindsay too! I'm hoping that next week the weather is still fantastic (but perhaps a little cooler - say 28?) and that the crafty success keeps getting better! Hope to see many more of you there! And if anyone has any ideas of what I should focus working on I'd love to hear about it!

Not enough pom poms

I'm not sure about you, but I feel like I've been sorely lacking on the pom pom posts these days! No better way to remedy that then this great tissue paper pom pom tutorial courtesy of smile and wave:


I love how they turned out and am especially fond of how they were just a cleaning procrastination product! I think they'd make great decorations for a party or perhaps a baby's room? What do you think?

Friday Find: Wooly Bison

Boy - do I ever enjoy a combination of recycled wool, super textured geeky prints, and purses! No wonder I quickly fell for the lovely eco-friendly creations of Seattle's Wooly Bison! Ooo! So many lovely choices! Here are a few I'm swooning over:


Those muted jewel tones are to die for! I either need to start saving (such craftsmanship comes with a hefty price tag) or start a search for great wool tweeds and herringbones for some homemade versions (frank undone worthy lindsay?). Any thoughts?