29 Geek DIYs to Make Right Now

If you aren't familiar with Buzzfeed then clearly you don't get distracted by cool sounding links people share on facebook. If you are familiar then hopefully you have been entertained with their lovely lists of cute/geeky/random things much like this one (link):

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Geeky craft projects? I'm sold! And just in case you needed a further push to check this article out - look who made it as number 28 DIY:

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Yaaayyy! It's me! Well...not actually me...but the soot sprite pom poms I made years back that still live in the corners of my home! Oh I feel special! Happy thursday everyone! 

Holly Frolic

My pal Tara messaged me a while back about using my little cilliated bacillus drawing to spruce up her biology society holiday party tickets! I've been friends with Tara for years now and figure a little festive smiling support would be great for McMasters! Isn't he darling in a santa hat?

Yay! Thanks for sending me the finished product Tara! It has definitely got me in the holiday spirit and since my roommate Jim put up the xmas lights last night (which, by the way is totally out of character for grumpy Jim since he's usually a grinch), I am ready to get the festiveness under way! Perhaps I will even manage to get the majority of my holiday shopping done nice and early this year while I'm at it! Fraser and I are having a quiet xmas alone so I will have to be somewhat organized so those parcels are in the mail early enough! Hooray! How is your holiday planning coming along? Any exciting post-thanksgiving plans for my pals to the south? 

Avocado Love!

There's nothing quite like reading through my blog roll and seeing a picture of my very own creations! Lesley Jean from Yessiree Petunia (one of my favourite vintage etsy shops I gabbed about here) bought an avocado brooch from me a while back and was a dear to write a post featuring my shop on her blog (link)! She even included a snap shot of her sporting my handmade smiling pal and he couldn't look sharper on that mustard scarf:

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Oh Lesley - you've made my day! I am always so thrilled to hear about happy customers and am even more excited to see my craftiness in action! Thanks for the feature and great picture Lesley! You rock! 

foxy moment

One of my most favourite things about selling crafty things is when I get a chance to see them in action! Yesterday Carmila from the ponycat blog did a post about the fox pin I sent her as one of my "thanks for being a loyal reader" giveaway prize over the summer. Isn't that sweet of her? and boy oh boy I am absolutely in love with the charming pictures she took! Just check out that soft lighting, interesting angle, and (of course) totally cute pin:


OoOo and even a close up:


Thanks Carmila! It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy to see my little fox drawing and handmade pin in such a fashionable way! Looks like I need to whip out the camera and take more pictures to see how versatile I can show my items as! Neato! What do you think? How would you wear one of my buttons?

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...

Robot Love

Robots are awesome. I especially enjoy love robots (being robots designed for love as demonstrated by the little hearts they have on them) and as such have created a wide range of love robot products over the years including:

1) tea cozies

2) pocket mirrors/buttons/magnets


3) coffee sleeves


4) cell phone charms

and
5) art/postcards!


Yup - quite the number of love robots! I am also very fond of music and especially fond of the "robots need love too" music of dan mangan! So much so that I even gave him a set of my love robot buttons when I saw him last february!


and here he is wearing them!:


Okay...so I photoshopped the buttons in there...but a girl can dream right? But hey! I'm not the only one with this obsession! Three separate ladies who attended my craft show last weekend asked me if my love robot items were inspired by dan mangan's music and I got the lovely pleasure to tell each one of them about how dan owns his very own set of my robot buttons! Okay, I guess that doesn't make them as obsessed as me..since they didn't alter photographs of him or anything...but they did put the two together which I thought was pretty cool...

Anyways - long robot rambling aside, lindsay and I are headed down to vancouver today to see dan perform again! And at the vogue even (where we saw the most wonderful mumford and sons a few weeks ago)! Maybe he'll have the button on then for me to photograph! Okay, probably not but he does put on one heck of a good show! And to get you in the robot mood - check out dan's robots video:

Admittedly that is the first time I've actually seen that video...and it is...odd. Pretty heartwarming at the end though - and bonus - the battle robot team is actually members of the other vancouver band said the whale (who I saw in september)! Fun! Wish me luck at the dan show!

A Moment with Dan

As you recall, I recently attended the most fantastic aiden knight/dan mangan concert and at the end of the show gave a set of love robot buttons to my "robots need love too" idol dan! Well to make my life complete take a look at this shot of him:


That's right! Dan Mangan, a lime, and my buttons! A little hard to see you say? Here's a closer peek:


Okay - so I'm terrible at photoshop. But a girl can dream can't she? What a wonderful imaginary moment this has been! And since I'm making things up anyways - I think dan mangan should be my valentine this year!! *Swoon* Keep up the good work dan!

Moment #3

My most favourite thing about selling my crafted geeky items is when I see people enjoying them! Much like moment #1, and moment #2 - behold - moment # 3:


This is from the same wonderful buyer who provided the pic for moment #2 (Thanks again stelei!!). Seeing my button design enjoyment pretty much feels like the most epically amazing high five ever!! Wishing everyone a hand stingingly good thursday!

Moment #2

So etsy has this lovely "customer appreciation picture" option that people can use when they write feedback on their purchases. I've never really had any, besides some spamy 'you should buy stuff from my shop' ones, until today! One lovely buyer posted a picture of my dear old bacteriophage pin on her lab coat! Sweet!


I find it so incredibly awesome that people like my stuff enough to 1) purchase it and 2) display it for the world to see! And send me pictures! Even better! I really shouldn't be so shocked by these moments - especially since I've sold a gross of buttons sets (literally - I calculated it - 144!) but proof of my pinback button love is wonderful nonetheless. I think I should start giving discounts to people who send me pictures of them wearing my goods - just like threadless. But then again, I am all for the ego stroking, like, all the time....hmm....

Moment

I'm pretty sure it's the coolest feeling to see a complete stranger wearing some of your handcrafted goods. A few days ago I ran into a girl wearing my dear wheelie love robot friend button on her ultra trendy scarfy outfit. Yup. Pretty awesome indeed...