As If i Needed Another Thing to Get Into

About a week and a half ago i taught myself how to crochet, and to be honest, i think i'm obsessed! I don't have any big plans for this at the moment, as i just wanted to make some simple bows to add as embellishments to my larger bags and to pin onto my own clothing.

I've been playing around with different sizes and shapes and really just want to make them in every color of the rainbow!

And speaking of crocheted bows, checkout out these adorable, custom made bow scarves that showed up in my mailbox today!



They were made by the lovely Mousseauchocolat. She has a few different styles, and i'm pretty sure she'll whip up any color combo you'd like, so take a sec and check out her shop!

Etsy Favorites: RED!

Red's my favorite color. So, in honor of this and Valentine's Day, which is fast approaching, here are some items i've picked straight from my Etsy Favorites.

-Lovers Gaze Teeny Tiny Valentines from PureVintageGold
-Sweater Pillow from Jenn3star
-Vintage Red & Black Patterned Jacket from VintageDarling***
-Wool Felt Special Edition Mixtape from Bravemoonman

-Kissing Booth Letterpress Poster from Rollandtumblepress
-Hand Knit Skinny Scarf w/Bows from Misshipchick
-Sweet Sweetheart Necklace from SoCharmed
-Summer Love Print from BabyFangs
***I'm constantly lusting after vintage on Etsy, so i'm always always always adding things to my favorites. A few days ago i realized that i actually own this jacket, but in black and white! I picked it up a few weeks ago at one of my favorite thrift stores, but hadn't noticed until after VintageDarling relisted it, so i saw it again and wondered why the pattern looked so familiar. Crazy!

Introducing! (Drum roll, Please...)

The ILIKEITTOOTOO Mini Shop at Mew Gallery!



It's part of the new Artist Co-op that's currently being set up at Mew, and i'm pretty excited about it. Ryan and I drove to the city on Wednesday which probably wasn't the best time to go, considering the crappy cold rainy weather and having to get to Philly by driving through Jersey. You know, because of that whole "I-95 Nightmare" thing that was happening. I'm crazy and obsessive, so it took me (what i would consider) an embarrassingly long time to put together, but it's the sort of thing i enjoy.

With this new arrangement, i have a lot more control over things, and my stuff is in its own clearly defined space which i think will be helpful in attempting to build a recognizable brand...at least within the store itself. I get to sell my vintage jewelry finds alongside my handmade stuff as well!

If you happen to be in the South Philly area (The Italian Market), you should totally stop by and then let me know what you think! If not, there are more pictures here, so sneak a peak!

*Ryan has his own shop as well, but i will be blogging about that later today!

P.S.- Happy Bunny Day!

ILIKEITTOOTOO & Philadelphia Citypaper!

Citypaper hearts my Keyboards!
www.citypaper.net/articles/2008/01/31/what-we-heart

---------------------------------------------------------------

Failed keyboard player? Yeah, silly story. When i was really little i took a keyboard class with all of these older people, and i sort of chickened out when we had to do the recital. At least that's what i remember!



(I also did the same thing when i took a dance class!)

Tapes & Tapes

So, before Thanksgiving, i stopped by everyone's favorite Swedish-based clothing store and while browsing the clearance racks, i stumbled upon a crazy cute cassette tape dress that was way too small for me. I bought it anyway so i could rip it to shreds and use the fabric to make new things. Here's a little peak at the first thing i've made so far:



Some totally crazy things happened so far this week, like snow and lots of unexpected Etsy sales (i probably just jinxed myself), so i'm hoping the rest of the week is good if not better. I'm going to be printing and sewing up lots of new keyboards in the next few days because i'm damn near out, which is an amazing thing to realize.

This Friday is the Philly Etsy Street Team Trunk Show at Mew Gallery, so i'm already stressing, but i've got some neat new things in the works.

Glitteriffic.

As a crafter, i get bored really easy. Plus i just like challenging myself and trying new things, just to see if i can do them. At one flea market i was a vendor at, a girl was browsing my table and asked if i was selling the earrings i had on. They were a pair of moderately sized, vintage glitter-encrusted button studs and they're one of my favorites...which says a lot because i have an excessive amount of jewelry.

Anyway, this week i tried to make my own, and luckily, i was successful!

Here are the results:



I also made some necklaces, which will soon be listed in The Shop! I can't wait to make more of these!

My Boyfriend= Weirdest Human Ever!

On Sunday, Ryan and i were vendors at the Mew Gallery Art Extravaganza in South Philly and it was a super fun time! I met a handful of awesome Etsy sellers and came away with a few things, but the most entertaining part of it was meeting Jay McCarroll from Season 1 of Project Runway! He was my favorite from that group, so it was super exciting and i had a few mini freakouts.



Anyway, after browsing and looking at everyones stuff, Jay deemed Ryan's Decorative Mix CD Robots "Best in Show" (!!!) and then called him "the weirdest human ever", which we both thought was pretty awesome.

And as mentioned, i came away with a few goodies. A custom black neckwarmer with super big button, a funny little scented crochet pumpkin from Yarnbeast.Etsy.com, a vintage pastel dot purse & vintage Batman shirt from Mxxnshine...



and the coolest earrings from ColleenCatherine.com!

Productivelittletootoo.

Yesterday (meaning Tuesday), i set out to make some new and simple mini tote bags and picked out 11 different fabrics- new, repurposed/recycled, and vintage- and started sewing like crazy. I don't really know how i arrived at 11, but with as much fabric as i have, i guess i had to stop somewhere.

Sooo, it's totally past 3am now and I'm finally done! I sort of made them with the Philly Etsy Street Team Autumn Handmade Market in mind, but i still haven't decided if i'm going to participate or not. I guess i also wanted to test out my productivity, though they were fairly simple and i don't usually like to make so many of the same style all at once...usually because i get bored, and/or distracted way too easily and end up with piles of pre-cut fabric that i have no interest in assembling.



Since i'm out of the woven labels that i usually order, and i just paid my business taxes -aka- SUCKAGE!, i made some new labels using my embroidery machine with different colors of thread and felt. I like the way they turned out, but it moves a little slow and is a bit time consuming to sit there and make sure the thread doesn't eff up here or there.



Anyway, it is now way past 3AM now and i should probably call it a night, but i just wanted everyone to know that i LOVE this vintage sweater from TheVintageZoo on Etsy:



...as if that wasn't obvious enough!

Post Office Woes & More New Fabric

So, my lovely friend Sam purchased my Little Blue Birds Pendant Necklace as well as my Sad Girl Swan Song Pendant Necklace and after over half a month, she still hasn't received them! I've sent things to customers in her area before, so i know it only takes like, 2 days or so. This is completely upsetting and is the first time this has happened to me, but i read about Post Office horror stories all the time, so i guess i shouldn't be surprised at all. Still though, these are things i can't remake and it's going to bug me just wondering where they are. Maybe they'll be sent back to me? Maybe i'm hoping for too much? Grrr!

On a happier note, here is more new fabric that has been arriving in my mailbox:















Also, I've reached over 200 photos in my Flickr account!

New Stuffs

Due to last weekends crazy crafty weekend, my inventory has been severely depleted! This is definitely a good thing, though, because now i'm motivated to make lots and lots of cute new things. I need to hit up the sewing machine soon and make more bags, because that's what i'm really lacking. I spent a few hours yesterday scouring the good old Eeb* for some really bright, obnoxious fabric and i can't wait 'til it all arrives in my mailbox! I also went out and got some new fabric the other day, and the woman who cut everything seemed sort of shocked (in a good way) and gave me a running commentary on my fabric choices. The word "funky" was used, and it's usually not a word i'd use to describe my own work. I guess it's appropriate, though, since i tend to make everything bright and bold and colorful, and i like crazy patterns. Anyway, here's my haul- check out the obnoxious neon purple/neon red printed corduroy, black and gold houndstooth, and neon green vinyl!




I also hit up the remnant bins, only to find that they had already been picked through. I did find a handful of usable bundles, but not nearly as much as when i went on a remnant raid a few months ago and left the store with over 50 remnants. I usually buy them when they're super on sale, and it's never really advertised, so i guess it's all about timing.

I'm just starting to get back into the swing of things, and i've just updated the shop with a few handmade pendant necklaces. I've been wanting to look for some new vintage beads and charms to add to these and luckily at the Lancaster PRFM, i caught up with Tara of Eames & Lola and Buttoncollective (who i met at the last PRFM). I looked through the various packs of vintage beads and findings she had to offer...all of which were sorted by color -aka- eye candy...and i had such a hard time deciding which pack to buy, but went with my trusty old pal, red.



This weekend is going to be awesome and includes things like Darjeeling Limited, local flea marketing, and Nada Surf. Nice!

P.S.- Here are my two new friends:



(They're big brooches!)

ILIKEITTOOTOO Handmade Goods- Now available at Mew Gallery in South Philly!

This past weekend Ryan and i were so crazy busy, that i didn't even have a second to update this here thing. Saturday was the Lancaster Punk Rock Flea Market and Sunday was the Mew Gallery Art Extravaganza and both were super fun, aside from me not getting enough sleep and it being so uncomfortably hot on Sunday.

This is just a mini-post of sorts, but i just wanted to mention that I'm now officially consigning my work! My work is actually in a store! During the Art Extravaganza, the girls from Mew each picked out a handful of stuff they wanted for their store, for a whopping total of 36 items! This is super exciting and hopefully my stuff will do okay, but for now i'm going to get some rest!

Back In The Saddle

After three weeks of not touching my sewing machine, i finally hopped back on yesterday! The last time i used it, i made these, but got frustrated and didn't feel like sewing anything anymore. I pile my scrap fabric collection onto a table and sort through everything for pieces that are large enough to be made into these mini pouches. They're really fun and easy to make, and hopefully i'll have another batch ready soon.



Also, here are more pendants that i just made. This grouping is my favorite, and i'm not sure whether to sell them as a set or seperately. Any suggestions?

After coming back from vacation, all i've been doing really is taking pictures of jewelry i made a while ago, and then listing them. Also, i just recently found out about the 1st Annual Reading, PA Punk Rock Flea Market which is on the 26th (ten days!), so i'm trying to figure out what i need to make before then.

Nothing really matters right now though because at 12:01, SUPERBAD is finally in theaters! And i'm so there. Unfortunately, i wasn't one of the gazillion people to see it for free, so i'll spend most of my day in anticipation while trying to get other things done. Hopefully all of the hype going around is true, but then again, i pretty much love anything Seth Rogen or Judd Apatow touch, the one exception being Talladega Nights which i really really hated.

This week i'm gearing up for the First Annual Lancaster Punk Rock Flea Market. It's not as long as the R5 PRFM, but i'm interested in seeing how big of a crowd will turn up. Hopefully, i'll actually get some sleep the night before the flea market- I tend to leave a lot of things to last minute and end up not getting ANY sleep. It's something i used to do all the time when i was in high school and college, but now that i'm a little bit older, i don't handle it as well as i used to.

When it comes to blogging, i've been a slacker. It's no longer second nature to me, as i've grown to want to keep personal things to myself, but i guess it can't hurt to write about the things i'm experiencing as i try to build a little business for myself.

Last month i was featured at Best Friends in Phoenixville. Very cute and stylish little boutique where i met some really nice people who were excited to see the product of my handiwork. I didn't do too bad in sales and almost everyone who walked in (i was situated right next to the entrance) bought something, so that was quite nice.

This is one of our new friends with her new ILIKEITTOOTOO bag:

She also bought a black keyboard clutch and used it for her Senior Prom!