Brooklyn Craft

Photos from Renegade

2011-06-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from this weekend. Saturday it was rainy and cold and nobody was prepared for that. The die hard fans came out though and keep us in good spirits. Sunday was another story! The park was super busy and we made a lot of sales. The sun was out and tons of friends came to visit. See you in a couple weeks at Hester Street Fair!!!

This super cute ity bity below grabbed two monkeys and couldn't decide which one to keep. In the end she chose the purple one.

Liz brought the girls, (Maura and Anna) and her dog Honey Pie to hang out both days!

Drowning In Monkey Bodies

2011-06-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

I had some help with the inventory from Kim and Liz this past week. Here is what it looks like behind me while I'm working. Its like having 50 monkeys on your back. Literally. Watching you... Waiting for you.... to give them arms to grab you and eyes to see you! Scary!

This is Kim making a beautiful hula outfit out of a Corona beer cardboard. How fancy! (she went to art school)

Renegade Fair Booth Change

2011-06-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

There has been a booth change. I am now at booth number 223. Something new things to look forward to is.... Liz is making some dope leather hip pouches. We will be modeling them at the fair. She is also making very very cute little pleated hand embroidered bibs. There will also be onesies and lots of fuzzy sockelphants and monkeys. See you this weekend!!

Another Happy Customer

2011-05-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

This is a baby blanket I crocheted from my friend Dayna's new baby Felix Damien. He is so precious. I love his little toes poking out of the blanket.

Our Booth at Renegade

2011-05-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

JUNE 11th People!!!!!! Come see us at The Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair!!!

RENEGADE BROOKLYN!!!!

2011-05-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Sorry I have not posted in a while. The winter was verrryyy sssloowww and there has only been a couple Etsy orders trickling in and presents for friends I have been crocheting, that I can't post because they are surprise gifts.

BUT!!!
Next month is the 7th annual Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair!! Time to get excited about fair season again!! Brooklyn Renegade is June 11 +12, 2011, from 11am – 7pm!!

I will be sharing a booth with Jill again from JDavis Studios. There is a lot to do so I better get to work!! More later....

Another Happy Customer

2011-05-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is Parker, my friend Matty No Times' baby girl. I got to meet her this weekend and bring some gifts. This is her with her new sockelphant. They have named it Wilbur, and her Mom Kristy says Parker loves him and talks to him.

Drawing fun at Etsy Labs!

2011-03-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

Monday afternoon, Liz and I took her two girls, Maura and Anna to the Esty Labs to a fun drawing "Make and Meet" with artist Carla Sonheim.
We practiced drawing with our non dominant hands and one line drawings. It was great day and we learned a lot from Carla. We came home with free pins and cool sketchbooks. Thanks Etsy!

More Happy Customers

2011-02-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

This is from my Aunt Denny. She got a whole bunch of sock monkeys for the little kids in her life. They loved them!! It looks like they might be wearing some hats that she made!

Another Happy Customer

2011-02-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of Bastian Riley Russo who was lucky enough to receive a burger onesie and a sockelphant! Adorable!

More and more and more treasuries that I'm in!

2011-02-14T12:00:00.001-08:00

Here is one from Oldylocks, featuring my whale bib!
And another whale bib in keetchie's shop.

Here is another one from glutenfreefromNYC, featuring my an adorable pink sock monkey of mine!
Thanks ladies!!!

OMFG! A coat for Oy!

2011-02-10T08:02:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gentleman, may I share with you the world's cutest dog, Oy of Brooklyn. This well behaved little buddy is my friend's Kim and Matt's dog.
During the last fair I did in December, Liz showed me how to make granny squares and we made 100 of them to make 2 little dog coats. One for Oy and one for Pancakes (pictures to come hopefully one day when patty gets less lazy!! Hint hint!)
So we followed this pattern (above) from this adorable sheet with all kind of rediculous looking dog coats on it. It took a really long time to make the two coats but they came out amazing and this little gent looks super in it!!

I MADE A HUGE BLANKET!

2011-02-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

What! Check me out! I bought 2-1lbs of yarn and went at it. I just crocheted it like it was one big granny square, alternating colors. It took me about a week and a half to finish it just working in the evenings after work and on the weekends. This is one of the bigger accomplishments I've made. I am currently working on another blanket that will be more in the style of the Rosanne afghan, but in more "me" colors; light blue, black and grey. Also, Gizmo is a big fan of the blanket. He helped me make it, then tested it out for me.

Another Scarf

2011-02-08T12:21:00.000-08:00

Here is a scarf I made out of two different colors of Alpaca yarn. It is extremely warm and very soft but i feel like I have Alpaca hair in my mouth all the time.

I Was Included in Four Etsy Treasuries. Thanks!!

2011-02-07T10:16:00.001-08:00

My burger bib in Spanglings treasury.
My Dino onesie in Wellwornpassorts's treasury. And my "Frak You" Cross stitch in Dollsville's and AkenoBoutique's treasuries. Thanks ladies!!

Another Happy Customer

2011-02-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

This is Owen. My friend Jill's nephew looking adorable in "The Big Cheese" onesie.

Knitted Lace Scarf

2011-01-13T12:36:00.000-08:00

I had to share this with you. Liz made this for my mom. Its GORGEOUS!!! Its a knitted lace scarf. Let me know if you want the pattern and I can get it from Liz.

Scarfs!

2011-01-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a blue scarf I made by following the pattern that Beck Blue J made up. I stumbled upon her blog the other day and its got lots of cool projects and photos. Its a simple double crochet pattern with a fringe. The pattern is below. Link here to her blog for the actual post.

R1: dc across all chain stitches, 200 dc

R2: chain 4 (counts as turning chain and chain 1), *1 dc, chain 1, skip one dc from previous row, 1 dc in next stitch. Repeat from * across all stitches.

R3-? You can make as many mesh rows as you like here, I made one scarf with 5, another with only 3: begin as R2 to last square, make the final dc in 2nd chain stitch over, leaving 3 chain stitches to act as last dc from previous row.

Last Row: chain 3, dc across all stitches, including the single chain stitches between dc.

Tie off, make fringe.

Hats!

2011-01-13T11:03:00.000-08:00

Here are three of the hats I made last week. The gray and red one for Andy, the blue and grey one for Shawn and the red and white one for Dan.

THIS WEEKEND!

2011-01-13T11:01:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone!

I will be at Artists&Fleas this weekend, Saturday January 15th. They have moved locations to North 7th between Kent and Wythe. See you there!

A Whole Bunch of Happy Customer Photos.

2011-01-06T11:16:00.001-08:00

I have received a lot of photos from people over the last couple weeks. Here are some. I especially love the Santa outfit purchased specifically for the Skeleton Monkey!

Fun with Crochet

2011-01-06T10:57:00.000-08:00

I started crocheting recently and I cant stop now. I was having problems making anything other than scarves for monkeys and then Liz showed me how to make granny squares for a top secret project we are working on and I improved. I made my self a couple wash clothes out of organic cotton that came out great, then tried to move on to other projects.
Then, this Christmas I was in Mystic, CT and Dan's mom helped me out by lending me some books and patterns and gave me a ton of yarn. She had a book that had been in the family called The Complete Guide to Needlework. GET THIS BOOK!!! Its got everything I have ever wanted to know about all my favorite needlework projects, every stitch under the sun and cool projects.

The pictures and directions on how to make everything are so easy to understand. I bought it from amazon for $6. It is probably the best and biggest resource book for all things needlepoint I have ever read. I worked out of the book all weekend, learning every stitch for crochet. I made a sampler and some hats and now I feel confident to tackle any pattern I want!

Our friend Drew (aka The Yeti) came to visit and go snowboarding with Dan and while they were out on the slopes I made a hat for him! Its my first one and I'm very proud. It only took me three tries. Haha. It has a pom pom and ear covers. Since then, I have made 3 more hats that are A LOT better. I made an "ugly hat" for my mom and a little hat for myself.

Big Social Holiday Market

2011-01-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from the week long holiday market. Thanks so much to everyone who came out and bought stuff or just came to support.
The food was amazing. I think I had 3 chicken busiuts from Pies'n'Thighs. I also had the best cupcake I ever had my whole life from Robecelli's Cupcakes.
It was a very fun time and we passed the time on the slow days knitting and crocheting.

Another Happy Customer!

2010-12-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is a friend of mine's niece who got one of my sockelphants as a gift. ADORABLE!!!!!

My new scarf

2010-12-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

I love skinny scarves and ones that are so long they loop around a couple times. I made this one over the weekend. Super easy just purled the whole thing. Its very warm. I'm getting more comfortable with knitting and I think I am ready to move on to some patterns!

Sparkly Glittery Scented Skull Soap!!!!

2010-12-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

I spent all day yesterday making these FANTASTIC soaps!!! They will be available for purchase at the Hester Street Indoor Market that you all will be coming to. Each soap set includes one big skull and three mini skulls. The scents are: peppermint, lavender, sandalwood and eucalyptus. The soap is made from a Shea butter base that I have used before here. The molds are from when we made Sugar Skulls in Maryland for my birthday weekend. My uncle bought them to make real sugar skulls and I have been trying to find other uses for them. The molds are A LOT more effective with the soap because you can see more detail in them than you could with the sugar. Maybe I'll make some chocolates next!!

3rd Ward Holiday Craft Fair

2010-12-02T11:49:00.000-08:00

I'm not in this this year but it would still be fun to go check out!! I'll be stopping by on Saturday! See you there!

Balls Deep in Felt

2010-12-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

I am trying my hardest to get enough inventory together for the Holiday Market in a couple weeks. The amount of stuff I have to make is more than I have ever made before. Its a little overwhelming but I feel very confident about it which is rare. We have two trash bags full of monkey and sockelphant bodies and last night I made all the felt cut outs for about 50 onesies. Woah. So tonight... more work.

Riddle me this Batman......

2010-12-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving, our friends Josh and Jules came over to play board games, sip aperatifs, and eat leftovers. Jules completely wowed me with this super intricate scarf that Josh's mom had made her. Around this time last year she was sporting another equally amazing scarf from Josh's mom too. I am the picture of jealously again! Check this thing out. It falls beautifully around your neck as the rows varying in length. It is such a cool idea. I have no idea how to make something like this but if any of you out there have any idea I would love to know!!

Another Happy Customer

2010-11-30T14:19:00.001-08:00

Here is a photo from Aileen, a happy customer who ordered Bosco!! He looks very hard at work. I love these! Keep 'em comin'!

THE BIG SOCIAL HOLIDAY MARKET!!!

2010-11-29T11:54:00.000-08:00

LLOOOOOOOK! They drew one of my monkeys into the flyer!!!!

This is what I have been getting ready for the past couple months. It is the Big Social Holiday Craft Fair. I will be there every day from 11-8 at the Open House Gallery in SOHO. Please come by and shop all the vendors you know and love (MEE!!) from the Hester Street Fair!!!

What: BIG SOCIAL HOLIDAY MARKET

When: December 17-23 11am-8pm Daily

Where: Open House Gallery 201 Mulberry Street (between Spring & Kenmare)

A Scarf

2010-11-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

So I kind of look like a homeless person in this very special scarf I made myself but its ok because it was sort of like a knitting "sampler" for me. I didn't drop one stitch and I was practicing my stitches and tension.
This weekend I went to a fancy yarn store and now I have some yarns to make some serious projects and maybe follow some sort of pattern. After the holiday market this December (details to come) I will have more time to sit around and knit instead of make monkeys.

Another Happy Customer

2010-11-29T11:25:00.000-08:00

This is Jill's niece Sadie, wearing a "big cheese" onesie she recently bought from me. CUTE!

Melangerie Trunk Show Tonight at Brooklyn Collective!

2010-11-19T10:32:00.000-08:00

Melangerie is having a trunk show tonight in Brooklyn. They make adorable tote bags and do AMAZING design for wedding and parties. A goody bag will be given out and inside there is a 10% off coupon to Brooklyn Craft among other vendors!! There will be door prizes and other fun things. Please join us tonight!!!!!

Here is the information:

Join us for our first ever trunk show and get a head start on your holiday shopping.

Our tote bags, prints, holiday cards, gift wrapping kits and more will be for sale at trunk-show exclusive prices. Plus, we will be offering custom watercoloring (by yours truly) on our new State-By-Celeb or State-By-Food Prints!

There will be holiday cheer to go around with drinks to swill, snacks to nibble, friends to mingle with, and awesome giveaways...

Win a pair of our new State-By Prints! RSVP to our trunk show the Facebook Event Page and be entered into the drawing (1 winner will be selected. 1 entry per RSVP. Drawing will be held at the trunk show at 8 PM, must be present to win)

Win a sweater tote filled with holiday goodies, including our Scratch & Sniff Holiday Cards, Holiday Sweater Gift Tags, and more! Make a purchase at our trunk show and be entered to win (2 winners will be selected. 1 entry per purchase. Drawing will be after the show and we will contact the winner to redeem prize)

A goody bag for all attendees loaded with exclusive holiday coupons from our fellow Brooklynpreneurs, including Paperfinger, Brooklyn Craft, Nine Cakes, Lion in the Sun and more.

Friday, November 19 · 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Brooklyn Collective
http://www.brooklyncollective.com

212 Columbia Street (btwn Union + Sackett)

Brooklyn, NY

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Santa Etsy Treasury

2010-11-17T15:29:00.001-08:00

Today I got a message from HolidayHooker on Etsy telling me that I was part of her Santa treasury. Check it out! There is my Santa Sock Monkey in the middle.

NEW!!! Finally There are More Sock Monkeys In My Etsy Shop!!!

2010-11-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

Scarves, hats and monkeys now available!!!!! CLICK HERE TO SHOP!!

I knit!? Im a knitter? Im knitting!

2010-11-16T10:38:00.000-08:00

The past couple days Liz and I have gone to Michaels 2 times. Naturally I had things I had to buy (like more soap base to make glitter sugar skulls!!!! WHAT?! I know! Wait for it....) but also I found myself wandering around in the yarn isle wishing that I knew how to make this scarf I wanted but can't find. So I was like "Screw It!! I'm finally going to tackle this stuff!" I have dabbled with knitting before but didn't stick with it. I think I made an ugly scarf. So I got some yarn that apparently Vanna White Made? And took it all home and Liz showed me what to do!! Im stoked. Here are my first feeble attempts!

TONIGHT!!! The Annual Prints Gone Wild Show!!

2010-11-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the annual Prints Gone wild show hosted by my friend Martin over at Cannonball Press. This is an event that I look forward to going to every year. I collect prints and this is where you get the best of the best. My favorite letterpress house is Yee Haw Industries. I love almost every thing they make and I have a ridiculous amount of their prints. They are all over my house and they make me very happy! Here are some photos of prints I have and 3 I'm hoping to purchase tonight! The first two below I bought and painted frames for them. They were perfect for the wall above Dan and my sides of the bed.

Please check out this show it is Friday Nov. 5 6-12pm and Saturday Nov. 6 12-6pm at 210 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg. Please check this show out. The good prints go quick so get there early.

Head Over to Homebody Boutique!

2010-11-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

Head over to Homebody Boutique to stock up on all your favorite Brooklyn Craft merch for the holidays!!! There are some of my fancy pillows in the window and monkeys, napkins, elephants, pot holders and more in stock!!!

Marth Stewart Show Visit

2010-11-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I took 7 other ladies with me to the Martha Stewart Show!! Our group name was "Ladies who make things other than babies". The episode we ended up going to was the "Bones Show". We couldn't have picked a better episode to be on! The whole set was decorated with bones and skeletons. Bones sticking out of the oven, filling the sink, and even ribs as blinds.
The special guest was Ryan Kwanten (mmmm) who plays Jason on True Blood. He made Osso Buco with Martha and it smelled friggin AMAZING!!

HERE is the link to the page on her site of the episode we attended.

The head crafter Kristin St. Clair was on the show teaching us how to make a rib cage shirt, which I promptly went home and made for Liz and I to wear at the Hester Street Fair on Saturday and the guys worse them to a party Saturday. HERE is instructions and downloads to make the shirts.

The Last Day of Hester Street Halloween Blowout!

2010-10-30T16:49:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the end of fair season for me (until the holiday fairs that I will tell you about when I know more). Conveniently, the last day of the Hester Street Fair is Halloween! Tomorrow at Hester Street will be a Halloween street party, fun for the whole fam kind of deal. The crazy kid bits will be happening from 3-7pm. I will be there from 11am-6pm selling sock monkeys that look like monkeys and pumpkins and skeletons and face painting. So come on down to the LES and get your Halloween on with me!

Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza

2010-10-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

A bunch of us went over to my friend Brad's last night and had a huge pumpkin carving party. We ate a ton pumpkin seeds and drank beers and watermelon spritzers (Megan carved the cool scary watermelon). Here are all our pumpkins. Kim was the one that carved the sweet dog pumpkin. Thats Oy her dog. So badass! Dan's is the lobster, Lesley's is the pentacle, mine is the Classic jack'o'lantern, Liz's is the moon with bat, Jamie's is the cat, Brad's is the scared up scary one and Bjorn's is the skull.

Cranksgiving 2010

2010-10-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

Here is the flier and picture from the photo shoot we did a week ago for the Cranksgiving Race.
We had a mock thanksgiving and it was incredible! Check out Nate Mumford's photography blog here. He was a great photographer!

About the Race:
"With over 120 racers, 2009 was the biggest Cranksgiving ever, and New York City's largest alleycat of the year. The race & the cause shows no sign of abating. Over the past two years, we've donated over $2000 in food to Saint Mary's soup kitchen on the Lower East Side. On top of that, two Nazareth Housing & Hudson Guild both each received over 100 jars of baby food each. And on top of THAT, over $2,300 was raised for City Harvest and $700 for the New York Bike Messenger Foundation."

Matchy Matchy

2010-10-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

So I got a little crazy with the blues lately. Here is some Jell-o shots that match my skirt that match my nails for a night on the town. Hot.

Matching Mommy Daughter Dresses!!

2010-10-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

Last year I made matching Mommy/Daughter dresses for my best friend Roxanne and her daughter (my goddaughter) Mabel. I made them using shirring and decided to wing the pattern. I used another one of my friends who was around the same size to fit the mommy size dress on. Thank god it worked!! They look amazing!
Roxanne came to visit this weekend and brought me some georgous photos of the two of them at the pumpkin patch wearing the dresses.

Happy Customer's Snack Sack

2010-10-13T10:37:00.001-07:00

Here is a photo from Kim showing us her snack sack in use!

Thanks Kim!

Hester Street Harvest Festival was so much fun!!

2010-10-11T18:02:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos from this weekend. I got two tents and one was for my normal stuff and one was for me to do face painting for the festival. Face painting turned out to be so much fun and I can't wait to do it again for Halloween weekend there.
My cousin Clarke came out to help with my booth and there was some doughnut eating competitions with doughnuts from Doughnut Planet. It was tied to a string and you had to eat the whole thing before anyone else, while it was bouncing and hitting you in the face.
The Bliss family kids have always been amazing at party games and shenanigans so of course Clarke and I both won our heats in the doughnut eating competion. We both won 2 bags of groceries from the green market.

Harvest Festival this Sunday

2010-10-09T12:33:00.001-07:00

This Sunday at Hester Street Fair!! The Harvest Festival! Come by I'll be face painting and selling sock monkeys that look like pumpkins!!

New Pumpkin Monkeys for Halloween

2010-10-07T15:18:00.000-07:00

Here is the pumpkin monkey I made today. He is a jack-o-lantern. I didn't mean to him to come out so creepy. Ill try and make the next one nicer looking. This guy will be for sale at the Hester Street Fair this Sunday, at their Harvest Festival.

My Uncles Pumpkins

2010-10-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

In Berlin, Maryland, my Uncle Ken makes these amazing pumpkins all though out October. People and businesses all around town special order them from him. This year I got my own! The bad-ass skull pumpkin is mine. He uses great care and craftiness to carve and paint theses great pumpkins.

Sugar Skulls!!

2010-10-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

For my 30th birthday Celebration a bunch of my friends and I went down to Ocean City, Maryland to go camping and go to the beach and eat crabs. At my uncles house on Saturday morning he had set up quite a treat for us... Sugar Skulls! We actually got to make real ones. He got the molds and then you make the skulls with meringue powder and sugar mix. Here is a website that explains it better. He made different color royal icing in baggies that we used to decorate them.
This is something I have always wanted to do. Here are the pics!

Harvest Festival this Sunday

2010-10-06T16:12:00.001-07:00

Hester Street Fair will be having a Harvest Festival this Sunday. I will be there face painting and selling my stuff! Come by and visit!

I MADE SOAP!

2010-09-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Liz and I took a field trip the the Staten Island Mall to get more hankies for snack sacks and we stopped by Micheal's Craft Store on the way back. I was walking down the isles looking for monkey parts when I arrived in the soap making isle. I spent about 20 minutes reading over every kid and tool and ingredient to find the easiest smelliest funnest way to make soap for me, a first timer. I wanted to make soap for real but the the Fight Club soap making way seemed a little too much for me.

I picked up a Life of the Party brand Shea Butter base tub that you cut up in to cubes and melt according to these directions I found online. A normal shaped mold, nothing with flowers or words or any other unnecessary crap.
I melted down the soap base in the microwave then started coming up with scents!! I think I want to be a perfumer now. Anyways these are the combos we came up with; Sandalwood/Oolong Tea, Lavender/Lavender Leaves, Vanilla/Salt, and Eucalyptus/Lavender.
We were trying to play with the scent and having a scrubby type of texture involved.

Anyways, here is the finished product! Now all I have to do is test them all out!

Another Happy Customer

2010-09-14T07:21:00.001-07:00

Michelle lives in Easthampton, Mass. She is the neice of a lovely lady named Carol Forget who also owns one of my skeleton monkeys she bought at Hester Street Fair one weekend. They sent along a quote; "I love my sock monkey!"

I love it!

Keep the photos coming!!

Hamburger Onesies are back!

2010-09-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

We have been cutting up the fixin's to make some more hamburger onesies! Come and get 'em!

BAM Bag Commission

2010-09-13T18:55:00.000-07:00

I met a woman at Smith Street Fun Day a couple months back and she saw my billboard bags. She told me she worked at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and had some extra billboard vinyl that she had collected from working there. She said she always wanted to do something with it and didn't know what. She liked my bags and asked if I might be interested in making some bags out of them. I thought this was a stellar idea and told her I was in.
This fabric was soooo much harder than the vinyl that I have been working with. I used my own straps and added some pockets like I do with my bags. The color of her vinyl was super bright and fun to work with. I made two bags and three wine totes. Luckily they came out great and she loved them!

Hester Street Video Staring Brooklyn Craft on Huffington Post!

2010-09-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the article over at Huffington Post about "hyper local shopping". They came and shot the video a couple weekends ago.

"During my stroll through the fair last weekend, SuChin pointed out Black truffle and Thai Chili macaroons from a recent culinary-school grad, lobster rolls from a lobster family from Maine, and Dickie-pants-turned-cat-toys from a Brooklyn crafter."

A Swell Review from Unwinnable.com

2010-09-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

A blogger from Unwinnable.com stopped by Homebody Boutique and walked away with one of my skeleton sock monkeys and wrote a great review about it HERE. He named him Glenn.

More Happy Customers

2010-09-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

This is Leo with his new monkey and Madeline with her new sockelphant.

VENDOR OF THE WEEK!

2010-09-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks Artists & Fleas! They made me vendor of the week. I had to embarrassingly answer questions about myself which makes me feel a little stupid. But I think its pretty cool. Anyways, this Saturday Liz will be manning the booth there while I'm away for the weekend. So.. HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND! Talk to you next week!

A New Bag For Halston!

2010-08-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

Halston over at The Importance of Being (a very entertaining blog) is a very amazing photographer and we did a trade. She took some great photos for me and I got to pay her with a recycled billboard bag. She seems very happy with it! Head over for her blog for some terrific wordsmithing and cool photos!

Liz Made Me a Ring

2010-08-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

So Liz made me a felt ring version of my celluloid ring that I wear every day. Check it out! She is so talented!

Artist and Flea Last Saturday

2010-08-31T10:01:00.001-07:00

This Saturday was my first day vending at Artists and Fleas. They are primarily a vintage clothing and jewelery market but I am hoping that continuing on there that more people will show up that need kids stuff and we can expand their customer base. Here are some photos of our fun day there and the bracelet I bought from Metal Taboo. I absolutely LOVE her stuff! I also bought a painting from Leroy's Place. She takes thrifted weird boring paintings and prints and draws in monsters! Check out their stuff!

PHOTO OF THE DAY ON MARKETS OF NEW YORK!

2010-08-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

Karen Seiger of Markets of New York has nominated yours truly as "Photo of the Day" on the Markets of New York website! Hooray! She stopped by a couple weeks ago and took some photos of my booth!
Her website is awesome and will lead you around the city to check out all the newest and old favorite markets and fairs in the city.

Brooklyn Craft at Aritist and Fleas in Williamsburg Saturday!

2010-08-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

"Supercool, superbadass Brooklyn Craft stakes out a claim in Williamsburg this weekend with their wicked and wild take on the afterlife according to socks (below, right). We love when we see something so full of attitude and moxie show up and think you’ll get a kick out of them, too." Saturday, Artist, Designer & Vintage Market, 12-8pm North 6th between Bedford and Berry!

http://artistsandfleas.com/2010/08/williamsburg-brooklyn-market-whats-new-from-who-august-28-29.html

ALSO THIS WEEKEND!!!
I will be at Hester Street Fair this Sunday 11-6!

Homebody Boutique & Brooklyn Craft in New York Magazine Again!

2010-08-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

Homebody Boutique is a Critic's Pick on the New York Magazine site!! Check it out here!

New Organization Bags at Homebody Boutique

2010-08-16T12:15:00.001-07:00

These bags are now available at Homebody Boutique in Park Slope. These are round nesting bins. They are also reversible with fabric on one side and vinyl on the other side. They are good for toys, clothes or even a trash bin. Or even take it outside and fill with ice for a portable cooler! They are very light weight and can be folded up to pack and store!

This weekend's Fair

2010-08-16T10:52:00.001-07:00

This last weekend at the Hester Street Fair was really fun! It was slow weekend but we made the best of it. I had 2 lobster rolls from Lukes Lobster, and we ate a bunch of ice cream from Phinizy and Phebe. Their maple bacon ice cream is TO DIE FOR!

I had the pleasure of meeting a couple who special ordered a skeleton monkey. They already had one and got another!! I love seeing people who love my stuff. Thanks again guys!!

New stuff at Hester Street This Weekend

2010-08-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend I will be at Hester Street Fair Saturday and Sunday. 10am-6pm.

I will have a more baby-centric selection this weekend. There are SUPER soft plushy elephants and onesies with vicious dinosaurs on them, little fishy onesies and "I'm new here onesies." And whatever I decide to make up tonight and this weekend sewing at the fair. Here are some sneak peaks!

Thanks Patty!

2010-08-10T12:50:00.001-07:00

My best friend made me these long anticipated wash clothes. One is for the sink and one is for my face! I'm so exited to use them. The yarn she used is uber soft on my face.

Big and Little Monkey Sets

2010-08-09T11:27:00.001-07:00

This set will be available this weekend at Hester Street Fair. There are 2 more sets to come. So adorable!

OMFG I made a Hippo

2010-08-09T11:24:00.001-07:00

Does this look like a hippo? I'm not sure I'm convinced. Maybe a bit more tweaking?

Brooklyn Craft Take Over at Homebody Boutique!

2010-08-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Kate of Homebody Boutique came over and cleaned me out of my monkey stash, new pillows, fabric organization bins and elephants. They are selling like hot cakes over in Park Slope! Get them while they are still there.

Hester Street Fair This Weekend

2010-08-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

Hester Street Fair was such a success this Saturday. It was packed and we sold a ton of stuff. It was the kind of day I wish every fair was like. I think I am starting to get a feel of what to make and sell for Hester Street.

Customer Photo

2010-08-02T08:31:00.001-07:00

This is at Hand of Doom Tattoo shop in Buffalo. He received a "Fuck You" cross stitch as a gift from Lesley. I think it looks great there.

Sock Monkey Sailing Adventure pt.3

2010-07-29T09:13:00.001-07:00

ailingYou might remember before that Dan's mom purchased a sock monkey and has since taken it sailing on their adventures. You can click here and here for her previous adventures.

Last Nights Etsy Lab

2010-07-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Last night Liz and I attended an Etsy Lab at the South Street Seaport. It was my first one. It was pretty cool because we got a bag of free stuff from Hancock fabrics and we got to sit and sew for a little while. Etsy provided all the tools and fabric we needed to make a little applique whale or anchor on some nautical themed fabric. I wish it had been longer because we had to take our unfinished projects home to finish. Here are some pics.

TONIGHT!!! Etsy Labs at South Side Seaport

2010-07-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight Liz and I are going to the South Side Seaport for an Etsy event!! Here are the details!!

If I only had a heart.....

2010-07-27T10:36:00.000-07:00

Here is "Bosco" with a little button heart. Hes available at craft fairs!!

Flowery Pillows

2010-07-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

These Pillows will be available at Homebody Boutique this Wednesday. They are hand embroidered. They are reminiscent of 70s Spring time to me.

Newest Circus Sockelphants

2010-07-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

Cat Toys and Baby Rattles

2010-07-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

From the excess of the shorts I made from pants for Johnny, we were able to make some super cute cat toys and adorable baby rattles. The cat toys have organic catnip in them and they are $5 each. Available cat toys include mice and ears with bell earrings. The baby rattles are $7 each and DO NOT contain cat nip.

I do realize how ridiculous this post sounds.

New!!! Snack Sacks & Sandwich Wraps!!

2010-07-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

This is my intern Liz!!! She is the best ever and I would like to share with you some of the amazing things she makes! She has come up with some brilliant lunch accessories. First there are Snack Sacks. These are little hankies with plastic lining from Ziploc bags that cinch closed with a ribbon and hold your grapes or nuts or any other finger foods. They are available at all of our craft fairs now.
The other thing that I'm most exited about are the Sandwich Wraps. I used mine for the first time today. They are the same shape and lined the same as the Snack Sacks but they are for your sandwich. It Velcros in the middle to keep your sandwich secure with out using a different bag every day. They are so easy to wash out. You just rinse them in the sink and set somewhere to dry.
They are $5 each. Please let us know if you would like to purchase some!

Another Cousin Visit!

2010-07-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

Last week my cousin Allison came to NYC for a visit. She came to town and immediately jumped in helping out Liz and I making monkeys. I gave her some jobs to do like organize bones and sew button eyes. After working we had a great time walking around the neighborhood and I took her to the thrift store near me called Atlantis Attic. We picked out a couple things and she picked out this dress that was very 70s with long sleeves and stifling neckline and a polyester bottom. She loved the print and I told her that with a little tailoring we could make that dress shine! I ripped off one of the sleeves right in the store and told her we were on to something. I also grabbed a cute belt that I thought we could incorporate to make it better still.
I cut the neckline to make it a scoop neck and cut off the sleeves to make it short sleeved. I think she was happy with the results. Here is the before and after!

July 4th

2010-07-06T07:35:00.001-07:00

We went up to Mystic, CT to go sailing on our boat for the 4th. We sailed out to flat Hammock which is in Fisher's Island Sound. We met up with Dan's parent's boat with his brother's family aboard and wanted to go swimming but there were too many Jelly Fish and Dan's brother got super bad stung trying to go clam digging. Dan ended up swimming ashore really fast and didn't get stung. The rest of us were too scared to try. We had a great day and all got nice sunburns being out in the sun all day. That night we went back to Dan's brother's house and we had a lobster feast! I love July 4th!

Sockelphant for VEVE Handmade

2010-07-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Mandy from VEVE's Handmade asked me to make her daughter a custom elephant and here it is! (And the outside cat was curious about her too.)

VeVe's Handmade soaps and bath salts are to die for! They smell amazing. My favorite scent is "Dancing Queen". She sells her stuff at Homebody Boutique and online. Please check it out.

Lavender Room Spray

2010-07-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

I found a recipe on Apartment Therapy for lavender room spray. I have always wanted to make my own room/linen spray. I don't know what took me so long! Here is the recipe.
I ordered some French lavender from ADKaraomatheray's Etsy Shop. It came in about 2 days!
I would go a little lighter on the vodka next time I make this. The spray smells amazing but it is a little boozy, which is fine because I'm sure my house smells a little boozy anyways.

Circus Socklephants

2010-06-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

These were quite a hit this weekend at the fairs I did. We sold a ton of monkeys and elephants, which leads me to think I should just stop making anything else and just stick to plus animals. One little girl even went and got her piggy bank to buy a monkey. So touching.

I did the Hester Street Fair on Saturday and then was supposed to do the Brooklyn Indie fair Sunday but ended up doing one better and got a chance to vend at the Smith Street Fun Day. Which was sooo much fun! Thanks to the store Mongo for kindly giving me some of their street space in front of their store to set up a table!!

Big Weekend of Fairs!!!

2010-06-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend you will be able to find me out and about in the city vending at craft fairs! On Sunday I will be at the Hester Street Fair on Essex and Hester street in the city from 10am-6pm.
On Sunday I will be at the Brooklyn Indie Craft Fair under the red and white striped tent on Smith and Union Street, Carroll Gardens,Brooklyn from 11am-6pm.

There will be more sock monkeys then ever and socklephants will be debuted. There will also be cross stiches and many items made from recycled billboard vinyl.

So please come by and visit!!

Cheesy Photos for Press Stuff

2010-06-23T16:13:00.001-07:00

I had Dan take some pictures of me in the backyard for some press stuff. I think you can see the embarrassment in my face. Liz came up with the idea for me picking monkeys out of the tree. Its pretty funny.

Other Tailoring Jobs

2010-06-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

I fixed the blown out ass of Dayna from DC's pants and made two pairs of finely hem's shorts from Johnny's pants. Three more shorts from pants to do this week. I think this is my new side job.
Turns out that shorts from Dickie's pants are a lot better then just just buying Dickie's shorts because Dickie's short are really baggy and the pants make nice straight legged shorts!

Fancy new digs for the Medic of the Gotham Girls Roller Derby

2010-06-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

My friend Johnny, aka "Ace Bondage" is the medic for the amazing Gotham Girls Roller Derby. He wanted a fancy new uniform and so the other day he dropped off a pair of Dickies and a long sleeved shirt at my doorstep looking for help.

This being my first time trying my hand at custom tailoring, I wasn’t sure how long it would take me or what the end results would be. Turns out, after two days of working straight, the results were pretty bad-ass! He wanted a short sleeved shirt with a red stripes down the sleeves and to
have it sport all of his patches. I also made pants with the same red stripe down the leg.
This project was some of the most fun I’ve had working lately! I will be doing his medic partner's outfit soon too so stay tuned. What a sharp dressed man!

More Happy Customers

2010-06-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

This is Amaya and Arianna with their new monkeys that they bought from my booth at the Renegade Craft Fair. Monkeys make great toys and companions for little kids. I'm glad they found homes. The argyle one is names "Bobby" now.

A Cat Toy on the Cheap

2010-06-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

Gizmo's favorite toy tried and true has always been the Cat Cigar (or Kitty Blunt as I like to call it). Its the only toy that he has ever really liked playing with. But why are they $7? That is ridiculous.
I had some extra denim lying around yesterday after making some quick shorts and thought I could make Gizmo's favorite cat toy for the price of the catnip I had in my house which was $2.00). I made 2 of them and still had cat nip left over.
Normally the whole things is stuffed with catnip but I thought that it would be a sturdier toy if it has something else stuffed in there too. That way I would save on catnip and I could still have a substantially big toy for him to play with. He likes to hold it with his front paws and bunny kick with the back ones.
Here's how I did it without stuffing the whole thing with cat nip. You will need denim scraps and bag of cat nip.

Cut a piece of denim out that is 7"h by 1.75"w and hem the 3 sides up.

Turn the tube inside out and pour some cat nip in. Then take some strips of denim and stuff them down in the tube. Make layers of catnip and denim till its full.

Then sew up the top of the toy and trim.

And Voila! You have a very cheap very popular cat toy for your little buddy!

A Sold Sock Monkey's Adventure Part.2

2010-06-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last year I sold this sock monkey to Dan's mom and it went on a little sailing adventure and I got pictures from all its travels. And this month I just received two more pictures of it out and about again.

Ladies and Gentleman... The Sockelphant!

2010-06-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

I recently got an "intern". It is the the biggest weight off my shoulders knowing I have someone to help me make things. She and I work during the day together and its been amazing!
Yesterday and today we worked out a pattern for this little guy! Here is the newest member of my plush family. He will be a constant figure sold along side the sock monkeys. I'm totally in love with this new little guy. This is the first one we have made but there will be more when we work out the kinks in the pattern.

Another Happy Customer!

2010-06-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

New Items available at Homebody Boutique!

2010-06-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

fancy pretty bags.
Quilted potholers.

Linen napkins. Sets of 4.
http://homebodyboutique.com/

Surviving Renegade

2010-06-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

Someone once said "Craftin' Ain't Easy," and let me tell you they must have been talking about this year's Renegade Craft Fair. I mean, I have been in some wind storms, but I don't think I've been quite so sure a tornado might touch down next to me at any moment. It's not the easiest task to focus on the fair when you're frantically trying to keep all your monkeys from blowing away.

Sure everything looks great right? Well, yes, Saturday was a fairly good day and I had a good time, but you see it was Sunday that was clearly out to get me. It was off the charts crazy. The day started out really well, and my display looked great! I started the morning thinking about what a better day it was going to be. I had embroidered and sewn a new flag for myself that I was going to display at my "shop" on Sunday. I had some friends coming to visit, and I thought maybe, just maybe, I was going to get to walk around the fair and do some shopping.

Then the wind started to pick up. We're not talking about a breeze people. I'm talking about gale force winds here. Looking around, my stomach sank. Vendors packing up to go home left and right, glass shattering in every direction, my booth mate's cards and necklaces scattered, and my monkeys, my bags, and all my hopes for good sales flying all over McCarren park.

Nothing was staying on the table, and even sand bags couldn't keep everything from trying to take flight. My booth mate eventually had to leave (with the tent) and so I stayed... till the rain came. I knew it was time to bail.

All in all it was quite an adventure though! I am looking forward to all the other craft fairs I am participating in this summer, which I'm sure will all come with their own crazy stories of what happened. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the pictures of my booth from both days. If you look closely you will notice the monkeys holding on for their dear little plush lives!

Pictures from Renegade Coming Soon!

2010-06-08T11:16:00.001-07:00

I will have many pictures from Renegade coming soon!