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.

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!

Handmade for the Holidays!

Today I am vending at Handmade for the Holidays at Becket's located at 1 City Center in Oshkosh - I can't wait! Considering the fact that it starts in just under 4 hours - guess I don't have to wait very long.

Hope to see you there!

PS: I thought this was my last show for the year, but Jennifer Bellin, who hosts an annual open house (this year it's Dec 10) to promote her message business in Neenah has asked me back this year - more details to follow...

For the Birds

I have been saying that I am going to buy one of these birdhouses for the last year and I finally went and bought one on Saturday at the Downtown Appleton Farm Market. They are made by a father & son team who unfortunately do not have a web site, but believe me they had so many whimsical houses, that it was hard to make a decision. I only wish my house was this cute.

I have been meaning to make a gadget / phone pouch (substitute a cooler word than pouch and tell me what it is, because I don't know about "pouch", other than it is technically an accurate description). Anyway - here they are and I made sure that in addition to my little phone, they would fit an iPhone as well as the htc phones.

I was inspired to include the little strap by a friend of mine that told me that her phone fell out of her pocket while biking. Now she can just hang the "pouch" over her handlebars and no worries - in fact I even kept one for myself (a rare occurrence) and took my cell with me on my bike ride (an even more rare occurrence) and was pleased with how it was functional, yet not in the way.

Bag Lady

The past few weeks I have been working on some bags for my upcoming shows this summer.

A couple of Becky Bags (above)

The yet unnamed smaller version of the Lazy Day Tote (above)

The Beginning of Spring Marks the End of an Era

Okay, so maybe my title is a little dramatic, but after canceling my cell phone plan about 9 years ago, I decided to get a new one - so now I have caught up in technology to my 12 year old niece :)

I finished up a new batch of Heidis (see photos below) that I am really excited about. Last month I made a custom one that turned out really cute and since it is one of my more unique styles, I decided to do a small batch for my upcoming shows.

Na na na na na- Go Pack Go!

Am I a hardcore football fan?

Hmmmmm - okay - no

Do I like an excuse to cheer and make noise?

Hmmmmm - okay - yes (and while you can see me blowing the horn, what you cannot see is that I actually splurged and bought a Packers sweatshirt for the big game)

Hey - it's Wisconsin Baby - and when it's this cold you got to get your kicks where you can ha ha!

Shrimp, ham rolls and a meatball sandwhich - ahh the finer things in life :)

Thanks to this special request I got back into the creative groove (I was in a funk) and started a new batch of "Jenny Girls". I finished this one (very sharp if I do say so myself) to deliver as promised and I have a few more in the works that will be done by the end of the week.

And should all aquaintance be forgot...

It means you had a really fun New Year's Eve :)

We joined some friends last night to toast in the New Year. It was a lot of fun, especially with the help of local favorite band, Tate Rooper, who made it hard to stay in our seats.

Oh - and as much fun as we had, I was able remember all our aquaintances when we finally decided to go home.

Me and my wonderful husband (who puts us with my neurotic crafting compulsion)

2 of my favorites - margaritas and popcorn. They are part of the reason that I have a difficult time keeping those pesky resolutions.

Tate Rooper rocks in the New Year!

I finally treated myself to a new bag (see photos below). It is yet unnamed, but it's fun to have something new as I had been carrying around my previous bag for more than a year. Like they say, a shoemaker's son is never shod (has new shoes, but shod sounds cooler).

A New Design

A request for a bag gave me an excuse to try out a new design. It is not named, nor did I even give it a working title. I gave that responsibility to it's new owner as she is the first to receive this style of bag.

This little number measures 9" tall x 10" wide x 2" deep. It has about a 20" strap and a split pocket as well as a zippered pocket on the inside. It is kept closed with a magnetic snap at the top.

Speaking of getting things done, check out these samplings of mini wallets and wallets I finally finished up (a selection will be available in my Etsy shop)...

darn knit {anyway}

I would like to thank the fabulous ladies of darn knit {anyway} for featuring me in their "Meet the Artist" section on their website.

I recently sent them some new items including coffee sleeves, magnets and the cutest little hairpins. If you are in the Stillwater, MN area, stop in and take a look.

I am so there

Last week my husband and I made our way to Ann Arbor, MI for his cousin's wedding. We made a quick stop in Madison to drop some of my items off at Anthology located at 218 State Street. It is an adorable shop filled to the gills with a variety of handmade items from several artists, and I am pleased to be one of them.

Big Cat!

Yeah! I finished my custom order for a matching clothespin bag and laundry bag. I have never made anything that large before, so I was pretty happy with the end result. (Those are my husband's legs in the photos - mine aren't that hairy).

A few people have asked me if I ever have a hard time letting go of the things I make and I say, "no, when they buy my favorites I am happy to know there are other people out there with the same taste as me." But now as I am getting ready to put this order in a box and send it on it's way, I almost want to keep him.

Oh well - I need to get that box taped up so I can move on to my next order...

Dainty Daisies

This morning I dropped off some wallets & mini wallets at Dainty Daisies in Oshkosh (WI). If you are in that area you really must stop in and peruse this adorable little shop filled with handmade one of a kind items!

New Stuff

I've been sewing up a storm in the last few weeks trying to get some new stuff together for my show last Saturday (as well as upcoming shows).

A couple of my new clothespin bags, Vince (upper) and Dubs (lower)

Some new wristlets - once again I cut out forty, but I only assembled what I knew I could get done for last Saturday's show. I do plan on getting the rest done by the end of August...ish.

Two of the five "Double Flap Snap" bags that I finished a couple of weeks ago.