New Wallet

The other night the sorry excuse for a wallet I was using started to rip. )It was the little plastic sleeve my gym card goes into) I thought I would make a simple replacement using my mesh billboard material. Wallets i find are always too extreme for me or there is zippers or buttons or something getting in the way of me putting it in my pocket of opening it. So I made one that fits just me! And I sewed my gym card into the side so my card and ID flip out when I need it to. Genius!

I will be making some more wallets for renegade.

Making Deodorant!

Last night I tried again to make my own deodorant again and this time it was successful! I got the instructions from Instructables.com. This time I didn't try to make 1/2 as much which was y down fall last time. I used Sandalwood essential oils and it smells fantastic. Today is my first day trying it out and its holding up great. It also seems like it will last a lot longer than normal deodorant and I am at less of a risk for breast cancer and Alzheimer's, which is always good. I highly reccoment that how-to! If you make your own and have any questions please ask me!

This beat is SICK cross stitch.

This is a cross stitch I finished last night. Its Lady Gaga lyrics. Because they make for really good quotes. Working with the gold thread is crazy hard. It comes apart and breaks off. It gets a little messy but I must prevail! I have a lot of other projects that will requite this gold thread.

This gold frame is a pic from the internet but I have an order of used gold frames coming in to frame new work soon.

This particular piece will be available at the Renegade Craft Fair this summer, unless, of course someone wants to buy it before then.

Pillow Embroidery

The other night I watched Up in the Air and did a lot of embroidery. The movie was so, so, the sewing was sooo good! Here are some closeups for the new Alexander Henry pillows I'm working on.

Mesh Flowers

I am trying out some new things to vamp up the billboard bags. Last night I made this mesh flower that i can sew on to any of the bags. The mesh also lends itself to embroidery because its a grid like aida. So I am going to experiment more with sewing on the bags and making accessories for them. I took apart a studded belt and the inside of the flower is the stud from it.

Mesh Billboard Vinyl Tote Bag

I got some new materials to work with! Its billboard vinyl but its mesh. So the bags will be breathable. I immediately thought of making beach bags with this material and for me I need a new gym bag, so that will come soon. So here is the first mesh bag I made last night (although my model would like it to be called a "man satchel").
Its got a reinforced bottom so that no dirt can come through the mesh on the bottom of the bag and its of course got the cellphone pocket inside. This is my version of the classic L.L.Bean tote bag.

What I've been doing...

I have been working on this order for a while and I haven't been working on much else. After dropping 4 sock monkeys and 4 onesies off at the baby shower Saturday afternoon, I felt a huge sigh of relief. I came home and I finished body pillow cover project that I had been trying to finish for someone, feeling even more productive!

Then, Sunday I FINALLY fixed my Industrial Singer ON MY OWN thank you very much! And finished the birthday present for my Aunt Denny that I was making when my sewing machine broke. I made her a bottle carrying bag for wine bottles big and small and booze bottles! I will be making a lot more of these.

Then, I made another billboard bag with a sunset scene on it that I am testing out today (or maybe just keeping fomyself, we'll see.)

This weekend was SO PRODUCTIVE! Its like i got the block out of my way that has been stuck for a month. Yay! back to work!!

Did I show you these?

These are 2 pics of 7 count 'em 7! things I made out of one old sweater.

Mittens, wrist warmers, neck warmer, hat and scarf!

My awesome Aunt Denny gave me some old sweaters to play with and I tried to make as many things as I could without wasting any. After I did this for myself, I made a set for my friend for Christmas!

What I've been working on.

So being a little obsessed with Lady Gaga, I though I'd make some cross stitches of her lyrics. My favorite song now is Speechless, so here is a hint of the first steps of making Speechless lyrics be fabulous wall hangings!

Well wouldn'tcha know it!

Thanks Vicky Howell from Craft Corps for featuring me in her blog! I had no idea that I was in it until today when I was poking around the site.

CLICK THE CRAFT CORPS TAG FOR LINK TO MY POST!

Newest Sock Monkey

This little dude is going to one of my frequent buyers. It is for his niece. She wanted a purple and blue monkey but I found this pair of socks and we showed her the photo and she loved them. So here is the newest little monkey buddy.

Ugly Sweater Headband

A coworker of mine was attending an ugly sweater party and asked if I could help her make a headband. I realized that I had every color of yarn that was in her ugly sweater and had a great idea for a headband. So she went and bought a thick headband and I wrapped the headband in the different colors of the sweater and made a big poof on the side. I think it turned out FANTASTIC. It matched the sweater perfectly and if she doesn't win any awards for the ensemble I'll be pissed!

My Work Space

This past month at the Craft Magazine Blog they have been showcasing different artist's work spaces. This is something I have always been interested in. I love to see where people work and create and see all the little bobbles and trinkets that they have around them to inspire them.

For my inspiration, I have a poster from my favorite letterpress company Yee-Haw Industries that says "Keep on the sunny side." I also have notes from my grandmother and mother just to have their handwriting and little notes lying around. Also many little things like drawings, presents and pictures people have made me. On the side of the desk is all of my billboard vinyl that I use to make my recycled billboard bags.

The background on my desk is an old window I found in the trash outside of my house. I painted one pane of it with chalkboard paint and I use that to write down measurements or projects I'm working on. Its proven to be a very good thing for me since I lose my notebooks all the time.

We live in a ground floor apartment in Brooklyn, so I'm not lucky enough to have a dedicated crafting room. For 2 years I just had a pile of my stuff in the corner and would take over the kitchen table whenever I was working on something. Needless to say this did NOT work out for my boyfriend and I. It was a mess. So eventually I decided to make use of the fireplace in our kitchen and turn it into my sewing desk. I eventually built shelves above the washer and dryer (I know, they are unheard of in Brooklyn!) and made sure I organized it all so it made sense. All of us in the apartment are a lot happier and I am more organized.

UPDATE!

The pillows featured below just sold for $100 at Homebody Boutique. GO ME!

The Coolest Pillows I Ever Made!

Are finally done! These are so bad ass! They will be available at Homebody Boutique in 2 days to purchase. They are hand embroidered on Alexander Henry "No Guts, No Glory" fabric and I made tassels out of yarn for the corners. They are super plush. Im so glad these are done. I only have enough fabric to make one more set so if you want these better run and get them!

Purple Monkey with Rose

This is my newest commissioned Sock Monkey for A co-workers granddaughter. Shes got a white felt rose on her head. Shes very pretty.

Cross Stitching in the Magic Kingdom

So Dan and I went to Disney World with his family for Christmas. It was a lot different then when I was a kid. One difference is that I didn't have anxiety problems about walking around in the most ridiculous crowds I have ever been in when I was little. The second thing was that the rides are so much better than than I remember. Space Mountain is AWESOME! And having little kids with you changes EVERYTHING. We had Dan's niece and nephews with us and It made it so much more fun. Taking Sadie on rides (she just made the 44" mark) and wheeling the boys around in strollers and seeing how exited they got seeing everything was amazing.

Anyways.... back to crafting.... I was in the museum shop in Downtown Disney and I saw these crazy detailed awesome Mikey cross stitches in and I had to share them with you.

WWHHHAATTTTT ANOTHER MAG! Homebody Boutique and my stuff in it are in TIME OUT NEW YORK!!!!!

CHECK THIS OUTTTT!!!!!!!!

And there is 8 cout 'em 8 pictures to look at!!! WHAT THA WHAT!

Patty's Monkey

Another guest monkey maker came over this weekend. Patty wanted to make a tiny monkey so I gave her the smallest sock I had and she made one. It came out super super cute. its for her niece Molly (who the first tooth fairy pillow was for.)

Cat and Dog Fight

Gizmo effffed up his claw while slicing Pankcake's face this weekend. I thought I would share a picture. My roommate and I wrapped up his little paw and hes been nursing it all weekend.

SO MANY GUEST MONKEY MAKERS!!

This weekend because of all the snow, I had a surprise visit from my cousin Andrew and his girlfriend Crystal after their bus was canceled. After a long day seeing the sights, they came home and asked to make monkeys for his niece! Andrews came out strangely long and Crystal's came out just great. (Although I think every monkey is perfect.) Andrew was a whiz on the sewing machine, but he didn't get to finish his monkey on time so I make him a monkey finishing kit to take on the bus.

I hope that they had a great time. I did.

I needed new pillows

So I FINALLY made some new pillows for myself this weekend. I don't remember what this kind of fabric is called but I love it. My house is mix of wood and black and white and blue so these go really well with the rest of the living room. Its about time I had comfortable soft big pillows on my own couch!