Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

But new colorful shirts are so delightful...

 

 I need to restock my "Old Fashioned" shirts, so I ordered a variety of colors and sizes - I can't wait to get printing!

 

Lindsay was just happy to have a new box to sleep in

 

The snow on Thursday made driving conditions pretty precarious, so I opted to take a vacation day and work on some stuff indoors rather than in the ditch (I hate driving in snow). I used the unplanned free time to start a project that's been rolling around my head for the last year - a step by step pattern for my fun and sassy wallet. I would have finished it on Thursday had my sewing machine decided not to take a vacation day of it's own.

 

The cover page of my new pattern

 The falling snow piqued Anderson's interest, that is, until food was invovled.

 

Yay - the tree is up!

There is very few things that cheer me up more when the days are short and the weather is icky than putting up the tree.

 

 

 

Speaking of things that cheer me up, yesterday I participated in the 8th Annual Craftacular in Madison, WI. As always I had a great time met some fun new people.

 

I never know what the big seller is going to be and yesterday it was the "Old Fashioned" (another thing that cheers me up) T-shirts. I had originally printed all the girl shirts on unisex, but due to popular demand, I printed some on a women's cut t-shirt and the old fashioned girls of Madison loved them.

 

 

 

Meow!

By the time I was finished stuffing and stitching these little cat toys, I was about ready to roll around on the ground and act silly myself. Okay, I am exagerating a little, but the organic catnip (from Natural Earth Oils) is really potent! I had to put them in their own container, otherwise all my stuff would end up smelling like catnip.

The cat toys are among the many items I will be selling at Handmade for the Holidays in Oshkosh on 11/17 which is put on by Michelle of Dainty Daisies. The show is only 2 weeks away... where did the time go!

Wristlets!

Yay! I wanted to get at least a few wristlets together to see what the final look would be, and I accomplished at least that much. I used a couple of found images that seemed condusive to a wristlet shape and printed them on the front side and then the back is a fun patterned fabric. This picture has an effect applied to it from rollip.com - the effects make everything look just a bit cooler (I think these wristlets are cool as is, but the effect turns them up to an 11).

Prints...Camera...Wristlet! (and cat toys)

It's always a treat when the items that you have been putting together in your brain com together in real life. I guess I would say it's half of a treat at this point as I have my current projects printed and have been doing lots-o-cutting, but I am still in the process of assembling.

What you are looking at in the photo above, besides my awesome franken-mug of coffee is the fronts of my new wristlets (cameras and larger stereos) and the fronts of my new kitty toys (lobsters, moonshine jugs and small stereos). The backs are going to be some funky coordinating material.

I was hoping to have one assembled by time I was ambitious enough to write this, but alas, I am more in the mood to type tonight than sew, so this is all I have to SHOW for now.

What?   Did somebody say "show"? Speaking of that, I have a couple of Holiday shows I am looking forward to. On Sat 11/17 there is the Handmade for the Holidays show in Oshkosh from 10-4 and then on 12/15 there is the Holiday Craftacular from 10-4 in Madison, WI.

MAUK RULZ!

I was trying to think of something fun for a goodie bag stuffer for the annual Summer Craftacular in Madison, WI tomorrow and then it came to me - decals - hmm... and how would my decals look?
Answer: self indulging of course ;)

I would like to thank my former employer for letting me use their "laser" to cut them out. How is it after 7 years of using a "laser" that  saying "laser" like Dr. Evil never gets old? (Thus the quotation marks)

The photos below are of a custom wristlet that I made for a friend as a wedding shower gift. She had a bunch of photos of her and her fiance posted on face book that were soooo cute that I was inspired to pick one and make her a wristlet.

Let's Here it for the Boys er.. or Guys!

As I had mentioned in an earlier post I bought a Yudu screenprinter and a large assortment of shirts and was working on a few shirt designs. I was happy to finally get my "Old Fashioned Guy" shirt printed. So far I have three designs and many more ideas "rolling around upstairs" (aka in my head).

In addition to getting the remainder of my shirts printed, I finally finished the batch of clothespin bags I started back in March (there are actually twice as many, but some are on consignment). My favorite part is turning them right-side-out and seeing how there faces and ears turned out - it's like they all have there own personality - and if you don't think I'm dorky enough for saying that, I also give each one a name on their price tags.

It was actually the Summer Craftacular that motivated me to get my stuff done. When I signed up it was months away and now it's only two weeks. It's a great show with a lot of talented people and if you happen to be in Madison, WI of 7/29, you really should stop in!

Everybody I know will be getting t-shirts...

because I bought a bunch of t-shirts so I could play with my Yudu screenprinter.

Here are a couple of my new designs:

A homage to Wisconsin's (or at least my) beverage of choice - I am going to make a few adjustments to the artwork then make the "guy" version

This is my "affirma-tee". The idea has been rolling around my head for some time and I was happy to finally do it. If you are wondering whey the message is backwards it's because I want the wearer to be reminded that they deserve more every time they look in the mirror (okay, I'm easily amused)

A fan of Mauk asked me to make her a new purse. Her parameters were owls, pockets and purple. It was a good excuse to come up with a new design - this one's called the Tracie POP! (POP is for plenty of pockets as there are 2 pockets on each side of the outside, 2 more divided pockets on the inside, plus there is a divider in the purse that is actually a zippered pocket).

Yudu not know how excited I am...

It has been more than a year since I laid my eyes on a Yudu screenprinting machine and trying to be practical, I have held off, knowing that I did not have the time for it. I told myself after New Year's, I would look into it and with great luck, I found one on Craigslist - yeah!

I have a couple of sewing projects to get done before I get too carried away, but not being able to leave my new toy alone, I had to at least play with it a little bit...

It's not bragging if it's true right ?

2.4.12 and 213

In only 2.5 weeks I will be vending at the Fifth Annual Valentine Craftacular in Madison, WI. I have done the summer one a couple of times and had a great time, so I am looking forward to this mid-winter treat.

The fun starts at 10am at on Feb 4 at the East Side Club in Madison and goes until 4pm. Stop by if you are in the area!

Speaking of vending, I have decided to rent my own little spot at Studio 213 on College Ave in Appleton. I set up shop this past weekend (once again, no camera). In terms of displaying my wares at shows, it is the smallest spot I have had to work with (no 10 x 10 booth there) and I had to get creative. I like the results and will hopefully have a few pictures in the next couple of weeks.

I've Decided to Share

Click here for a link to my dragonfly magnet pattern - enjoy!

It's Not Easy to Say Goodbye...

Okay, so maybe my title was a little dramatic. I was only referring to getting rid of stuff as one of my New Year's resolutions. I was able to finally throw away the gloves with holes in them (having one cold finger on a winter day is very annoying, but I suppose an optimist would say at least you have nine warm ones). I was able to put the gloves we don't use in the give away pile, but for some reason I am stumped on what to do with the pair-less gloves in the photo above. Maybe it's because I still can't believe the ending of Castaway (you know - with Tom Hanks and the Volleyball).

Another resolution I made is to turn my original designs into patterns. I started with something simpler - my dragonfly magnet that can also be turned into a broach.

I plan on moving onto my wallet, then a few purses and hopefully have time for a few more original designs.

Someone I am definitely keeping is my husband (of 9 years this spring). We rang in the New Year with a couple of friends while watching some live music. We made it all the way to 12:30 - boy how things have changed...

Here's to 2012!