A Late Entry into the New Year

It's 2009, can you believe it?! Okay, so it's been 2009 for almost an entire month now, but whatever. I sort of fell off the face of the blogosphere, and i don't really have an excuse for it. I'm a woman of few words, anyway. I have way too much stuff, so I've been spending a lot time purging my closets for stuff i no longer need. When i think i'm all done, i go back again and find more stuff, and i've been doing this since early December.

Until recently, i haven't stepped foot in a thrift store since August or September and vowed not to do so until i got rid of all of my unwanted stuff. If you check out my favorites on Etsy, you can see that most of it is all vintagey/thrifty stuff, so i was sort of torturing myself until i couldn't take it anymore. I'm trying to be more selective, though, and am trying my hardest to stay away from useless, albeit cutesy knick knacks that really serve no purpose.

I've also been working on stuff for myself, which is a rare occurrence. Mainly making and altering clothing and hitting up pattern sales to save and make in the future.

As mentioned in my last post, i completed some new screenprinted keyboards and boomboxes and they're now available in the shop. I also finished up a new batch of Baby Grand Piano Pouches, which can also be found on Etsy. There's one Baby Grand that i've yet to list, and it's made from a gray and white floral blazer that my mom used to wear in the 80's. To keep, or not to keep?

These and other items will be available next Sunday (Super Bowl Sunday!) at the R5 Punk Rock Flea Market @ The Electric Factory in Philadelphia. If you're in the area, you should stop by!

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.

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!)

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?

To quote The Boyfriend, "sKullz R keWl, LoLZ!!!1!"

So, my plans sort of got messed up yesterday and i didn't get to start work on the garage. I was online A LOT and kept checking the forums on Etsy, and actually started promoting my blog and such. I did step out to drop some packages off at the post office and took my mom to one of her favorite stores, which i usually cannot stand, and got these funny little folks:

"Stan the Strong Man"


"Sweet Tooth Ruth"


They're Halloween ornaments that i thought were just too cute and funny and they were super cheap, so now they're on my red shelf full of other cute, colorful, and obnoxious things.

On a productive note, I set out to Gocco-print some skull notecards (which i did a while back but the screen got effed up), but printed some for stickers instead. I used the same neon paper, AGAIN, and printed skulls with black ink, ran the skulls through the Xyron and then cut them out by hand.





There are 5 each of 6 colors, and right now i'm trying to figure out how to package and price them. Any suggestions?

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!