Brass Studs

Over my two year crafting/blogging hiatus I came up with some fun projects to keep my idle hands busy.  Now that I'm trying to come back into the crafting and selling world I figure it is about time to share one of my favourite new items I've added to my crafty arsenal - brass stud earrings: 

The sparrows and little crosses are totally my favourites (hence using them as my first image) but I have loads of other designs to chose from too. Here is a little selection of the smaller sized studs (although now that I've been making them and selling them consignment for a year or so I have expanded the line even further):

I ended up dividing the earrings into two groupings (smaller and larger) and made two sizes of packaging to differentiate them.  Here are a few of the larger (thus slightly more costly) studs:

Aren't they fun? As always, I enjoyed coming up with a new packaging idea for these and had to branch away from my standard recycled kraft cardstock (which is brown) and went with some classic white card to make the gold colour pop.  I then stamped on a pale blue/green pattern for a bit of interest and put the url to my etsy shop on the back so people can find me if they're interested in the other goodies I make!  

I will definitely have to take some updated pictures of my entire selection of brass studs once I whip up another batch but (as you may have noticed) I've been super busy lately crafting up a storm! Now the only kink I have left to work out is how in the world I will display these at my craft booth.  I suppose I could just lay them neatly on the table but there is certainly a fly away risk with how light they are and if I tried to lay the whole lot of them out my table surface would be monopolized with just the one item! Oh dear! 

What are your thoughts? Do you have a favourite pair? Any suggestions for future designs? 

Matte Clay & Satin Wood

Here it is folks - my favourite Sculpey project I've made over the last month! It took way longer than I expected (which seems to be a trend with all my crafts), let me use my favourite custom mixed paint colours, and let me stretch those creative juices by making interesting combinations of wood, clay, and colour. Check them out - lovingly handmade polymer clay bead (with a touch of wood) necklaces:

Aren't they just dreamy? I am super thrilled with how they turned out and am impressed with how they came together despite my complete lack of planning on what size and colour beads to make. I went with a matte finish on the clay and a satin finish on the wood beads for a bit of interest and contrast. I think it helps show the texture and imperfection of the clay to give it that one of a kind handmade and lovingly crafted look. Once again I turned to good old organic waxed cotton cord to string them and tied adjustable slide knots so you can easily adjust the length of the necklace. Here is a shot of the necklace I've been wearing non stop: 

I really like how you can dress it up or down and how it reminds me of the neat statement necklaces Lisa Congdon is always wearing (she's my internet artist hero - so obviously I want to be just like her).  Once again I went slightly overboard on the making and ended up with a whole collection of clay and wood necklaces that are all a little bit different:

I alternating the number of beads, the colours, and the proportion of clay to wood with each necklace I made and kept falling in love with each one when it was finished! I'm planning on shipping these beauties off to Funktional in Kelowna (minus the one I showed you that I've been wearing) but totally want to make more soon! I figure if I can make them thinner than 2 cm in an envelope they would be great to sell online too! (FYI: parcels over 2 cm in thickness cost an arm and a leg to ship from Canada and usually deter people from online buying from me). Yay!

So what are your thoughts? Do you have a favourite? Are you going out to buy a giant block of Sculpey clay so you can get making too?

Everything is coming up roses!

While my list of things I'd love to be working on continues to grow - I've been side tracked with a massive order of spring themed rose earrings! Luckily Heather has been around to help my give my poor arthritic hands and wrists a break and stamp and punch packaging for them! I'm loving the selection of bright cheery colours Chantal has picked out and will be sending them out today to her shop:

Yay! Now if only these monsoonal rains we've been having will stop and the sunshine will come out long enough for some actual roses to bloom! Hooray! Happy Wednesday! What have you been up to? Any big plans for spring? 

Some new tags

This summer I made some wooden acorn and mushroom necklaces to add to my table at craft shows.  They were super fun to whip up and I loved mixing up muted paint colours to make them all a little different. Take a peek:

Unfortunately their large size means they would cost an arm and a leg to ship and makes them less than ideal for my Etsy shop (darn that 2cm rule at Canada Post)! I figured since I had quite a few left over from the markets (and don't have any craft sales set up for the fall/winter), I could send some off as part of a consignment package at the Art Gallery!  Looks like it's time to make some packaging for these babies since they'd need a spot to put their barcode and price tag in the shop! Hooray for a new challenge! I decided to raid my packaging supplies and came up with this washi tape/bakers twine/recycled cardstock/url stamp concoction:

Well it certainly seems to do the trick and is quite similar to these tags (link) I made for some polymer clay pendants back in the spring.  I really like how the polka dots play up on the mushroom spots and how the floral on top ties it all in the nature theme of the necklaces! So perhaps I am over-thinking things a smidge, but after all packaging is all about the details.  Here's to hoping the necklaces do well this winter! What do you think of my new tags? Do you dabble in packaging? 

Even More Geometry

I love making crafts out of sculpy. It is easy to work with (once you warm it up with some handling), doesn't dry out, and once it's baked it is hard as a rock! It's a great canvas for painting on is oh so durable. Perfect! One of my fave projects I've ever made out of polymer clay was a few geometric pendants and rings I whipped up last April (link).  I wear mine all the time and after a solid year of consistent compliments I decided it was time to make some more:

They turned out to be less time consuming than I remembered (yipee!) and I decided to give them a two sided look by painting one side with neutrals and the other with bolder pops of colour! Here's another look:
 

I'm really happy with how they turned out and the next step was to come up with a little packaging for their new home in Funktional in Kelowna! I have been brainstorming a few new packaging ideas for a while now and whipped out some newly purchased supplies to make tags from! Just a paper punch, hole punch, washi tape, and custom url stamp later and we've got some simple tags that pack a punch:

Boy do I ever love coming up with labels! It is definitely a highlight of creating that's for sure! I'm also a huge fan of consignment selling and am always happy to offer new merch to spice up my store displays. Hooray! Just in case you haven't seen enough of these geometric polymer clay beauties, here's one more:

Fun! I am super happy with how they turned out and like how each one is unique in its own way. I love giving customers options and hope that each of these pendants will find loving new homes! What are your thoughts?

April Showers bring May Flower (earrings?)

Boy oh boy is time ever flying these days! I've spent the last few days frantically crafting up a storm in preparation for my trip to the interior this month so I can restock my consignment shops. It's a great opportunity for me to see how things are selling, touch base with the shop owners, and make a little extra money! I also decided with this round to keep a few pairs for myself. Usually I am all about producing and shipping things off but since the regulars at work always pay special attention (and comment) on the earrings I wear, I figured keeping some fresh pairs to show off would be a great idea for some extra crafty advertising. Here's the handful of special ones I couldn't part with:

 

It's quite the coral and minty teal cocktail of flowery goodness! April showers are supposed to bring May flowers right? So this year I figure flower earrings are just as good! Yay! Now I just need to remember to carry cards with me so every time a stranger compliments my ear adornment I can slip in some potential sales. Sounds like a solid plan right? 

I've also come to the realization that my craft time management scheduling needs to change. I always figure I can get more done in a limited amount of time and somehow seem to get sucked into a crafting time sucking vortex! Ah! Sure I figure in theory I can finish all those earrings in one day and package them up right? Nope - three days later I'm still working away and cursing myself for not being productive enough. Alas. At least I really enjoy all my crafting time and now that I'm realizing how time consuming each craft task is I will hopefully be better at properly estimating how long each step will take me. Funny how it has taken me a good three years to figure this out, but it did leave me wondering if I am the only one who is so lousy at crafting time management. So let's discuss! How do you plan out your projects? Are you an over or under time estimater? Any tips for better productivity? Are low crafting expectations the key to success?

Pendant Packaging

One of my favourite things about making crafts and selling them is coming up with packaging! This fall I got asked by a few of my consignment shops to give them a few different items so I figured I'd see how my glass pendant necklaces would do. I knew I'd have to come up with some sort of card to put them on since I wasn't about to send away my jewelry tree with them:


Sure it worked great on my craft show display, but if they were going to be sold in a shop they need to be able to stand alone and, of coarse, be linked to me with my url. Paper punch and brown paper to the rescue! Check out what I came up with:


I figured the doily punch I have is a little too fancy and detailed for the simplicity of my illustrations and I wanted a bit more pizazz than just rounded corners. Luckily it just so happens that I picked up a perfect corner and border punch set back in May in Oregon! Hooray! Then I just had to work out a little computer spacing and throw my website on the back:


Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Take a look at a few of the necklaces on their cards:


I think it does the packaging job well and am quite pleased with how they turned out! What do you think? Do you ever dabble in packaging?

Movember

Even though we're half-way through November, you may have noticed that it also means that we are half-way through Movember. Yup, the mustaches are back and whether you can grow one of not, loads of men from all over are keeping their razors away from their upper lip for the month in support of finding a cure for prostate cancer! The mustache trend has worked its way into the crafty scene over the last few years to and I joined in by making my own collection of handsewn felt mustaches on sticks - in six delightful shapes to chose from:


These were a great hit at my first craft show in Kelowna about a year ago and have been a fun addition to my craft booth ever since. I whipped up a whole whack o' 'staches in the last few weeks to make one heck of a bouquet:


Haha! Who needs flowers when you can have a vase full of mustaches instead? Since I'm not signed up for any shows here in Victoria I've shipped all my little felt friends up to Frock Clothing in Kelowna for some consignment selling (hooray!). So just in case you're incapable of growing your own facial hair in honour of prostate cancer - you can always pick up a nice detachable one on a stick! Just check out these cute ladies from last year's festivities:


Adorable! Happy Movember everyone! Do you know any men who are hilariously attempting any fun facial disasters?

Fabric Fun

I've been dying to make myself some fabric button earrings for years now, and this fall I finally got around to it! One afternoon Fraser took me fabric shopping and found a whole selection of cotton prints perfect for adorning the ears. The earrings were so much fun to make I decided to go all out and make a selection of button earrings for a few of my consignment shops to sell this xmas! Check out one of my favourite pairs:


OoO that green on green herringbone is neat! I decided to stick with the success of my doily punched earring cards much like the ones I use for my flower cabochon studs (link). I think the packaging does the job quite well and even gives me space to add my url:


What fun! I really wanted to go for great pattern , colour, and texture for the fabric button earrings and am totally in love with each and every one I made:


After sending all my stock to the Kamloops Art Gallery and Kelowna's Frock Clothing I only kept two pairs (the green herringbone and plaid tweed) but am finding they add a great touch to so many outfits! They're also pretty awesome for work to a little of my personality shine through my black and white dress code. Only time will tell if these are a hit in the shops...but what do you think? Which pair is your favourite?

The consignment season is upon us!

If you hadn't noticed in the shops around your town, the holiday season is quickly approaching. Halloween is over and we're a hop skip and a jump from xmas meaning the shops are all dolled up in white and red glittery holiday decorations. It also leads to the pre-xmas rush of shopping and lots of wonderful requests for more stock in my consignment shops! How lovely! My progression from etsy selling, to craft shows, to actual shops has been gradual but boy is it ever awesome! I especially like to hear when someone has seen (or even better bought) one of my items from a shop I sell at! Hooray! I was very happy to see my big box of illustrated goodies were joyously welcomed over at Plush on Main Street in Vancouver! Just check out the pic they put on their facebook page:


Isn't that sweet of Brigitte? I've been extra busy over the last month whipping up all sorts of consignment goodies and have sent fresh batches of product to Funktional, Frock, and the Kamloops Art Gallery! Yipee! Oh! And I am even working on some items I'm getting the lovely pleasure of selling at my favourite fibre arts store here in Victoria. Here's to a happy holiday season! How are your xmas preparations coming along?

My new model

This weekend I made a bunch of scarves to ship to Frock (an awesome shop in downtown Kelowna) as part of my consignment bundle. Fraser offered to model them for me:


Very becoming don't you think? I'm not sure about his take on how to model all 12 (admittedly quite feminine looking) scarves, but you do get to see some of their great texture:


I think I might need to keep one for myself (okay, I've already set it aside...who am I kidding with the "might"), and add a little homemade neutral toned circle scarf texture to some of my fall/winter outfits! Hooray! Another layering piece (that doubles as a neck warmer)! Yay! What do you think of them? Should Fraser start rethinking his career choices? Any suggestions for how much I should charge for the scarves?

Artisan's Market - vol IV

Yesterday was my fourth round at the Artisan's Square Market and boy was it ever a gorgeous day! I woke up to a beautiful cloud free sky and no crazy wind to battle! Hooray! The morning set up was especially speedy with all the practice I've had this year and Fraser (as always) was a wonderful help. I was back on the warm side of the square (it doesn't matter that it got to 32 C, I am always cold) which was another bonus. Check out this week's display:


Hurray! I've been busy this week working on my yarn themed illustrations so no new goods for the table, but good news on the consignment front! Funktional (a super awesome shop in downtown Kelowna) contacted me about getting even more cabochon studs! I figure I'll send them my left over stock once I'm done with my final market next week, making that my third re-stock for the earrings. Woo hoo! I love getting mystery cheques in the mail after a month of sales in stores. It is just wonderful! Oh, and while we're on the consignment end of things - have you checked out my shop tab on my blog? I added it in with the redesign and included lists of upcoming craft shows I'm doing and stores I sell in! Yay! Much easier to find me (either online, in person, or in a shop)!

As for the market, the sales were pretty good (not my best week for money making, but still worthwhile) and I got the pleasure of some lovely visits from some friends and family (thanks Quinn and Sarra)! Plus the whole lack of wind blowing over all my products thing makes the morning market all that much more enjoyable! I went back to the top of the clean laundry pile for today's outfit (all Joe fresh and insanely inexpensive) and sported some of my light blue rose earrings. You can't actually see them in any pictures I have from the morning, but my hair growing experiment seems to be going well - look how long it's getting:


I haven't had it cut all summer and it has grown at least 2 inches (my last cut had it shorter than chin length). I did make one hair appointment for some massive thinning about 6 weeks ago and trust me, that was one of the smartest decisions I've ever made! It has made growing out my thick mop much more pleasurable (and not super annoying where I give up and get it all chopped off). I'm hoping my progression into longer tresses works well with my upcoming move to the coast so my naturally wavy/curly/wild tresses can be set free a humid climate! It also gives me the wonderful excuse to pay extra close attention to all the cute hairstyle up-do tutorials on pinterest! Yay! Any tips for long thick hair styles I need to try?

I've also been paying extra special attention to gardens these days in preparation for my (hopefully fantastic) balcony garden I'm planning! Since our current rental turned out to be a weed nightmare I'm hoping the fresh start (and smaller size) of our new balcony pots will be a great change to start anew! Plus the humid mild joys of living in a coastal city will be like a whole new adventure in plants! One day I hope to develop a green thumb like the gardeners at Ghalardi Square - I mean look at the lushness behind my tent:


What a joy! I did get random orange pollen stains all over the back of my shirt and arm when I was taking the tent down with my dad (Fraser had plans for the day so my good ol' parents came to lend a hand). Any tips on pollen removal? I've scrubbed and scrubbed my arm but it appears to have stained my ultra pale skin. How odd - I didn't know flowers could do that! Note to future gardening Kate - stay clear of tiger lilies, especially while wearing white.

My final perk from the day was a nice little visit from my sis and baby Jean before they depart back to the bug infested north (see Leslie - one more reason to move closer to me). Jean is still adorable as ever and has discovered the joys of playing (i.e. smashing and flailing) on my ipad:


Looks like I've got one technology loving niece on my hands! Coincidentally I also now have an ipad covered in gooey mum mum cookie smears. I wonder how that happened?

All in all, even though the sales end of things was a little dismal this week I ended up having a wonderful time and got to enjoy another wonderful summer day! I'm hoping the nice weather sticks around for at least one more week so I can make it through my next (and last) market next week and then I'm packing my life away and off to Victoria! Eep! So much to do! What did you get up to this weekend?

Friday Find: New Years Eve!

Can you believe that 2010 is almost over? And what a year it has been! This may even be my first year to sort of stick to my new years resolutions too! Let's take a moment to look back on how they went!

Resolution #1 - blog everyday


Woo! Looks like I actually did it! And today being the last day of 2010 I'd say that resolution was a success! Biggest lesson I learned on blogging? It is really hard to come up with something to blog about every day! I am so pleased that I managed to pull this one off and although I'm not promising a post a day for 2011, I will try to keep blogging regularly into this upcoming year as well. I'm also super stoked to have build up a bigger fan base with a wonderful 123 followers! A big thank you to each and everyone of you out there taking time out of your precious days to read (and even comment) on my crafty ramblings! Hooray for you!

Resolution #2 - break into craft shows


I definitely focused on this goal and ended up doing a whole plethora of craft shows this year! I started out doing a small show in kelowna last may which stemmed into a summer full of bizarre bazaars and the ultra successful fabulous finds show (pictured above)! I had so much fun meeting customers and making sales and am so pleased to have started the craft sale side of selling! I'm hoping to continue on with this trend for next year and maybe even work in a few more consignment shops to keep a steady flow of money coming in! Woo!

Resolution #3 - banjo


Well...I think I'll give myself a half check for this one since I did manage to purchase a banjo (and such a pretty one at that) but haven't found time to really get into playing it. I did however see a whole slew of amazing banjo performances for added inspiration though! That counts right? Maybe 2011 will be better for my banjo success...

Now as far as my goals for 2011, here is what I am aiming for this year:

1) get my sketchbook project done! and posted! I've got 14 days left! Ack! (but at least I've started it now)

2) continuted craftiness! I'd love to work into a few new products, a fuller etsy shop, more craft shows and consignment and continued crafty success!

3) attempt to figure out the rest of my life (eep) and general good health choices cliche. I'm doubtful on this one...but I'd like to put it in there for good measure...

and

4) more pom poms! woohoo! (It just couldn't be a new year without a few poms...)

What do you think? Any of my resolutions actually manageable? How did your 2010 goals turn out? and what are you planning for 2011! Oh (and most importantly) what would you like to see from me to keep you reading my blog? *sigh* Farewell 2010! See you all next year!

Gallery success!

I am so pleased to be able to jump into the amazing world of selling my goods on consignment this year! After my goal-achieving break into craft shows this past spring I've been trying to come up with new ways to grow my business while still having a life and job outside of crafts and I think consignment is the answer! Nothing like dropping off some items and letting the cheques roll in! Woo! One of my most successful consignment spots this year has been the kamloops art gallery. In fact, I recently restocked their scientific culture goods with another shipment of illustrated awesomeness:



Hooray! Perfect for all your last minute xmas shopping needs! I've also jumped into a whopping 594 sales in my etsy shop (so close to 600!) and have sold out of lots of items! I think I'll focus on restocking and revamping the shop in the new year and maybe branch out into some more consignment stores too! What do you think? Any suggestions?

Kelowna Sales Update

It is so exciting for me to know that things I've lovingly handcrafted are for sale in the real world. Sure etsy sales still light up my life with emails that feel like virtual high fives of awesomeness (since people like my goods enough to shell out hard earned money for them), but stepping into the world of consignment is also quite thrilling. It sort of adds an element of mystery to selling since I don't actually know what is selling or to whom! Then at the end of the month I get a wonderful cheque in the mail tallying up the sales with very little effort on my part (after all, I just dropped stuff off!) What fun! It also allows me to have lovely moments with complete strangers I see wearing my stuff (which has happened to me now at work, at the post office, and downtown!) Woo!

It is also pretty awesome to see my items displayed in super cool shop and my trip to kelowna a while back gave me the opportunity to document it! Check out my table of goodies at the super rad shop "funktional":


Heck! Those bags, brooches, and earrings look quite at home in the back of chantel's shop! Oh! And I love the three tiered plate display thing. Such a good idea and a great opportunity to add some height and interest into their set up (I totally want to keep my eyes peeled for one for my next craft show)! And since they've been selling to well I ended up paying for my funktional xmas shopping with my revenues! Awesome!

And while I was in town I got to drop off another item I've been crafting away on all of last month - felt mustaches:


Yup! They were a huge hit at the fabulous finds craft show and kaela was dying to have them in her awesome shop over the holidays. They ended up taking me a little longer than I had hoped (mostly because I really wanted to make a ton of them so she'd have stock for a while) but I did it and my mustaches on sticks are now available at the super rad boutique "frock":


And hey! It's conveniently located right around the corner from funktional so next time you're in for some kate goods without the added shipping/waiting ordeal just pop on by! Kaela has informed me that they are selling like hotcakes too! Sweet! And if I wasn't sold on consigning to frock before, I certainly was after seeing all the doilies in her front window:


Perfect! It also really makes me want to open my own store in town here since kamloops is sorely lacking in the "completely awesome shop" front. *Sigh* maybe one day...for now I'll just focus on crafting...