Archive for Works in Progress

Soooo… the Roots & Brew Festival in Temple wasn’t super awesome. Instead of harping on the negatives though, I want to share some positives!

Positive #1: I got to hang out with my new friend and crafty lady, Adrian Layne. Her Cuddlestar Baby stuff is SEW cute.

Positive #2: My Mom drove down from east Texas to help me, and it was great to have her support and love there. She is truly an inspiration to me, and what motivated me to become such a crafter in the first place!

Positive #3: I met a new, and uber awesome, friend named Jodi Hopper. She makes the most fun little Lego creations you ever did see. I hope to run into her again in the future!

Positive #4: I sold four things! Albeit very small… I sold some things. (stay positive, Shrie)

We also took my Mom to the Renegade Craft Fair here on Sunday. It’s the big daddy of Austin crafting, and BOY were there some awesome wares. I saw many of my crafty friends, like Robo Ruku, Abby Trys Again, Baby Bolt, Squid Ink Kollective, Craft Chi, Foamy Wader (all the way from Seattle!) and more. It was just filled to the brim with creative radness!

And lastly, but most importantly: I’m having a HUGE 35% OFF SALE on everything in my shop until it’s gone. I need to revamp, restart, reimagine, recreate my shop and my creations. I’m suffering from crafter’s lust after seeing so much amazingness at Renegade. I feel like if I want to be successful in what I’m doing I have to start exploring more, narrowing down more and planning more. I’m not putting pressure on myself, just giving myself the opportunity to excel.

So go there! SHOP! Buy! Pass this info on to your friends and family!

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Okay, the first show didn’t go so well. Not many people showed up, it was hot as HADES on the top floor of the coffee shop and well… it just kind of sucked. I chalked it up to my first time etc. and am ready to give it another go!

I’ll be vending the Roots & Brew Festival in Temple, Texas this Saturday the 21st. It’s a country and beer festival that starts around 2pm. Perhaps the people in the mostly conservative hour-away town of Temple won’t really “get” my stuff, as my ever-supportive (but skeptical) husband might say. But I’m going to give it a go anyway.

I created several new pieces for the show (and am still trying to finish two!) and I’m excited about how they look and where my style is heading. Won’t you PLEASE come to the show if you’re in the Central Texas area this weekend? And don’t forget to hit the monster-awesome Renegade Craft Fair in Austin this weekend! Many of my crafty friends will be selling their variously wonderful goods.

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I’ve been out of pocket, not blogging, away for a while if you will. As part of one of my jobs I blog on a thrice weekly basis on kitchen and bath design trends and products. While not the MOST exciting, it has zapped a lot of my creative blogging energy. That, coupled with life events and STILL trying to manage my two jobs, crafting, blogging, and my doggy and kitty children, I’ve been kind of out of whack!

I wanted to tell you about a couple of new items I’m slowly getting to posting up in my Etsy shop. I have a new line of Travel Tissue Packs and Travel Tea Wallets! I adore small sewing projects. The instant gratification and charming nature of these little items are what I crave in my crafting. They also tend to be fantastic inexpensive, and very useable, gifts.

I also have a new wee embroidery in the shop. If you like eating or cooking, this one’s for you! I’m working on getting posted a new embroidery that I just finished last night that I think is OH SO AWESOME. It has to do with something that rhymes with “Zortlandia” if you know what I mean.

And last but not least (don’t you despise that saying?! I used it anyway.), I want to share some photos I found while trying to populate one of those big family photo frame doo dads that hang on the wall. The quality is bad because I took pics of them with my phone, but you get the proverbial picture.

The top photos are two pics of my brother. I won’t go into details, but I miss having my brother around. I want him back, physically and emotionally. The second row of pics are of me as a baby and my Mom as a teen! I love it. Family is important y’all.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMMM!!!!! I heart you x a million.

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When we moved to Austin from Seattle, we moved into a smaller house by about 250 sq ft. Downsizing is AWESOME! But, the bad part of all that great downsizing is that I had to give up my craft space that occupied the third room of our house. Now, because we’re living in a strict two bedroom with no office or extra space, I no longer have a space to spread out and do my thang.

I don’t love that I don’t have that space anymore. It makes it hard for me to spend much time getting creative, because now my creative time also includes the setup and breakdown time of all my materials and crafting apparatus. But, I’m figuring it out as I go, sewing at the kitchen table and embroidering by lamplight in the living room.

My husband has been very supportive of my efforts to get involved in the Austin crafting scene, as I was pretty heavily involved in the Etsy team in Seattle. I just joined the Etsy Austin team, and we’re super busy with preparing for Etsy’s involvement in SXSW! There is gonna be a Wall of Wonder, a huge photo prop, some guerrilla marketing and much more! I can’t wait.

I also got invited to have a small booth at a little craft show that at Medici during SXSW. I still have never done a craft show, so I’m excited and nervous at the same time. Even if I sell one thing and give out cards, I think it’s worth it. Wish me luck, and come out to see me if you’re in Austin!

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Since moving down from Seattle to Austin, the gastro-nerd hubs of mine has wanted to take a mini field trip out to Elgin or Lockhart to taste some of that world famous BBQ some swear by. This weekend the craving hit hard and we high-tailed it to Lockhart early in the day to partake in some BBQ sampling.

Unfortunately, one of the three big BBQ landmarks in the little old town, Kreuz, was closed on Sundays (what BBQ joint isn’t open on Sundays? Blasphemy.), so we couldn’t eat there. We began our taste test with Black’s BBQ, a homey shack of a restaurant that serves buffet style sides, and your choice of protein from the guy standing behind the register in a meaty apron hacking away at different cuts on a heavy chopping block. The jalapeno cheese sausage was a bit bland and not even approaching spicy, and the brisket burnt ends had a good bark on them but had obviously been sitting out a bit too long. My husband had a monster rib, which turned out to be more about shock value and less about taste. The mac and cheese was appropriately gooey, and an unhealthy shade of yellow orange, but was pretty tasty.

Our second destination on our mini weekend BBQ field trip was to Smitty’s, which had more of a long saloon hall vibe with an impressive smoker in the back part of the building. You walk all the way to the back to order your meat, and you WILL NOT come out of that smoker room smelling of anything other than rich meaty smoke. You order your sides at the pay counter and saddle up to one of the long benches that span the room. The “hot ring” sausage we had was greasy but chock full of flavor. White bread was a perfect vehicle for the piping hot goodness. The fatty brisket that the hubs ordered had the fat cap cut off (boo!) and wasn’t really that impressive. My BBQin’ hubs’ brisket is better than both of the options we had today. Overall we preferred Smitty’s in just about every category.

Oh… AND I got a little wacky with some fabric scraps, hot glue and a pretty button and made something. I got inspired by a piece of patchwork wall art I saw while browsing Etsy and decided to wing it and try my own. In hindsight, perhaps I should have left it as just the sewn-together pieces of patchwork fabric, and not put on the rosettes or button. But perhaps not. Either way, it felt good to get crafty today after all the moving/job madness of the last few weeks!

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I haven’t felt like blogging. A crime? No. Unfortunate? Yes… especially when you’re trying to be all crafty and bloggy and make stuff and sell it, and get people to read about your life on the blog YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE UPDATING. Awesome.

So instead I’m just going to run through what’s been going on! I was a Price Is Right contestant for Halloween. I made my props at my job (sign shop) so it was fairly easy to put together, and not much is more comfy than jeans and a tshirt. Don’t ask what my husband is going as, I don’t know and he wears this every year. So.. yeah.

I’ve been gettin’ crafty lately (or trying to). I signed up for my first real craft show and I’m pretty nervous that I’m not going to have enough stuff, or GOOD enough stuff. I am, however, trudging on and doing what feels right. I love making pillows, and this new one in a gray menswear-type fabric is no exception. The picture doesn’t do it justice, and the felt strips look floppy. In person it’s pretty darn cute though. The backing fabric is a delicate Alexander Henry print that is really sweet.

Again, with the pillows. I appliqued these trees and the moon shapes on this fabric, which is a sturdy, slightly rough burlap like material. I’m not good at knowing exactly what fabrics I’m working with. DOH! (i’m sorry this pic is so blurry, product of a camera phone) I really like this creation though, and can’t wait to take real photos of it so I can list it in my Etsy shop!

I also made a pretty adorable new bag with an appliqued graphic and a pocket inside. The inside fabric is a supremely bright blue that I’m loving. Plushies aren’t for me, I don’t think. I royally screwed this one up.. it’s all misshapen but somehow still cute! And last, but not least… the disco cupcake wall art. Simple. Fun. Rad (i hope!?).

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I’ve mentioned it about a jillion times so far… but I FINALLY got to take some photos of some new items. My friend and aspiring burlesque performer, Kiara, graciously donated her body (and soul! bwahahahah….) for my crafting cause.

First up, Ahoy Anchor Necklace
I really love this pendant. It’s delicate, but sizeable, and I’m really enjoying the white color of it. Snazzy!

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Just a quick note to update all TWO of my readers about what’s going on in my Etsy storefront. I haven’t had much time to create lately, but have started a couple of experimental projects. I also recently finished a very handsome reinforced tote bag made out of vintage fabrics that will be going up shortly… I can’t wait to share it!

Also, I just curated a gorgeous “Splash of Summer Color” Etsy treasury… browse away! A few crafty friend’s products are featured, as well as some new finds. I feel like summer might be trying to slip away and I want to hold onto it just a bit longer! (more…)

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Whew! I have a lot going on ladies and gents. For starters, I joined a Swap-Bot.com swap and will be sending off my bunting garland to the lucky recipient on Monday. I’e really enjoyed my swaps in the past… a mixtape, a vintage thrift store find, a self-portrait swap. I nabbed this bunting garland swap because I just LURV making them. My tutorials have been featured on OffbeatBride.com and I even have a couple in my Etsy shop for sale. (more…)

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