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!

Back in Action!

After all of the vacations and moving/reorganizing my workspace(it's done! yes!), i'm finally back in the swing of things.

Speaking of the new workspace, it turned out really well and i know where EVERY little thing is, which is unheard of for someone who usually just throws things in random bins and then can't find anything. Pictures coming soon.

I found some truly amazing metallic blue vinyl the other day, which inspired me to start making my vinyl keyboards again! Here's what i have available in the shop so far:

The ILITT-500 Keyboard Wallet
in Golden Yellow


Super Bright Neon Green


Metallic Blue


Cool Gray


I have a lot more colored vinyl and am always on the lookout for more, so check back to see if i have one in your favorite color!

Back in the Shop

Here are some bags that i've taken from my retail space at Mew and have relisted in the shop. Take a look!

Red Quilted Scribbles Tote
(I totally quilted this myself!)



Dangerously Dayglo
Sailboats Purse


Ruffle & Stripes Tote


Actually, the Red Quilted Scribbles Tote was already in the shop, i'm just in the process of retaking all of my bag photos. I'm liking how these are turning out!

Brand New Booms & Favoritest Flea Find

So, if it seems like i've fallen off the face of the internetz or more importantly, Etsy...i haven't. I'm just a delinquent bill payer. Fear not, because everything's fine and after almost an entire month of not being able to list anything new, i'm back in business!

Here are some fun new BoomBoxes i made during the break:

Pink & White Striped


Yellow Dot


Pretty Purple Floral


They made their debut yesterday at the Clark Park People's Flea Market in West Philly and are now available in the shop!

At the moment, i'm supposed to be saving money for my upcoming vacation. And while i was at the flea market to sell my crafty wares, vintage bags, and to unload some of my own personal items, it was hard for me NOT to look around and see what sort of amazing junk was for sale.



I browsed several times but managed to display a lot more self control than i usually would have and i left with a few pieces of jewelry and what has to be my most favorite flea market find ever- a vintage Earl Bernard figurine/mini desk organizer! And for a mere $2? Score!

A Brand New Bag & The Bracelets!

Soon to be listed on Etsy...and by soon i mean probably tomorrow...is this bag! It's made out of one of the coolest vintage fabrics i've ever found and it has abstract sailboats in amazing neon colors! I have a good amount of fabric left, so i hope to make one for myself, though i can honestly say that i never really take the time to do that.



While making it, i was watching Full House- Season 1 and came across one of my favorite episodes EVER, in which DJ & Kimmy form their own band called The Bracelets!

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!

Newish

Here's a new Purple Bow Bag that i made last night! The fabric is this crazy neon purple and neon red printed corduroy that's totally obnoxious, but in a good way. Unless of course you're one of those folks who is completely horrifed by dayglo colors...or color in general. (It's okay, i wear a lot of black). The picture below is of Emily, who i met back in April when i had a trunk show at Best Friends Boutique in Phoenixville, PA. As you can see, she purchased the green and purple leopard print Bow Bag.





Also, here are some new Keyboard Pouches i made using really thick vintage sheets with a large floral print, and a custom Boombox Pouch i made for Ryan. He picked out this boombox, a yellow zipper and matching lining, and the back is made out of bright green wool with a navy blue grid pattern.



There's not much else to report here for today. Tomorrow, Ryan and I will be heading over to our local Etsy Street Team meeting for the first time ever and going to see 30 Days of Night, which i am DYING to see. Woohoo!

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!

Lipstick Lies- Work In Progress

Early last month i posted about the Mailing List Book that i made using some paper i had lying around and the binding machine that my aunt gave me. Since then i've been wanting to make some journals using the same method, but this time i bought chipboard to use as the covers. I was having trouble coming with ideas of images to use, so on the fly i thought it would be fun to screenprint some lips onto the covers.

I'm sort of being stingy with my Gocco supplies right now, so i resorted to using a makeshift screen constructed of fine netting and a plastic embroidery hoop. I then used screen filler to block out any areas i didn't want printed, waited for it to dry, then added another layer of filler to make sure any pinholes were now blocked. I used screenprinting ink on some, acrylic paint on the others. After printing each color, i blotted the excess ink several times and then drew freehand over each area of ink to get that sort of off, misaligned look.



To fill up each book, i used tons of paper samples that i used to order for free back when i was a graphic design student and some colored copier and scrapbook paper- all of which were cut to size.

Here are some finished journals:



I'm happy with how they turned out and am already thinking of what images to use next!

Craftzomnia!

For a long time, i was debating whether or not to sell my pendants as is, or as a complete necklace. There was a thread on Etsy with the hypothetical situation of one seller purchasing another sellers handmade pendant, and then including it in their own finished product, or just slapping it on a chain and then selling it. At least that's what the gist of the discussion seemed to be. So, i decided to just bite the bullet and spent some of yesterday looking for chain for 35 pendants.

I worked from 8pm yesterday until 4:30am today, and oddly enough, i'm not yet sleepy! Although, if i keep this up throughout the week, i'll be sick by Friday...So, i will catch up on sleep in just a few minutes, but here's a little peak of a few more pendant necklaces:



(The bunny is one of my favorites!)

I also purchased a hinged shadowbox that i might use as a small display case, and it'll most likely be painted red, though i still have to figure out what my overall table layout will be and if i'm even going to end up using this or not.



I'll update soon with the finished presentation/packaging of these. Have any suggestions? I was thinking of displaying some in the shadow box by laying them out and then keeping the rest in their individual jewelry boxes, on little info/tent cards.

Out of the blue, i looked to see what was up with The Treasury and somehow nabbed an empty spot. Totally not front page worthy, but i like seeing some of the stuff i like all bunched together. Check it out here.

Thursday just wasn't my day for sewing. I was *trying* to put together some new keyboard pouches, but my sewing machine and zippers decided that they hated me. I literally screamed out of frustration and had to walk away or else i would've punched it in its proverbial face. I love sewing, but sometimes on an off day, things don't go how they're supposed to.

The Lancaster PRFM and the Mew Gallery Art Extravaganza are creeping up in just over a weeks time, and i'm already getting anxious about not having enough stuff. I always get like this, even though i tend to bring more than enough.

[umm, weird sidenote: my left contact lense totally just fell out! I'm sitting here typing with my eye shut, though i'm thinking i should probably stop]

I Hate Titles.

Wow, so i haven't blogged since Friday, and i don't even know where to begin! Not that anything exciting has really happened the past few days.

On Saturday, Ryan and I *attempted* to go to the Giant Flea Market & Craft Fair in Merchantville, NJ, but it started raining on the way down and when we got there, and we didn't even get out of the car to scope things out. I'm all for looking through peoples' junk, but not peoples' wet and possibly muddy junk. Someone even had a computer sitting out in the rain, uncovered!

Later on in the day, i went to several thrift stores and came away with some 80's deadstock jewelry (for myself), a new purse (which everyone seems to think is horrible), a book to rip up and make into new things, a Sha Na Na record (purchased strictly for the album cover), and this little lady:





I wanted to buy this as well, so i could clean her up and maybe even give her a makeover, but i somehow managed to hold back:



On Sunday, my mom and i got up early to go and buy some storage cabinets for our garage, because i still have a ton of books and art supplies taking up space. I also got a utility cart where i now keep some miscellaneous sewing items, the patterns i've drafted, and sewing projects that are just waiting to be put together. It's one of those red steel utility carts that are used in garages and it's as big as my desk, but i love it. Later on, my cousin had me help her pick out scrapbooking stuff at the craft store. Scrapbooking isn't really my thing, but it's always fun going shopping with someone elses money.

I have a lot more sewing to do before the flea market, namely my larger bags. I worked on these, which was an item i sold a few of on Etsy, and even had custom requests for. I was so in the zone that i actually forgot to sew in the velcro closures! Sooo, i have to go back, rip them open, put in the velcro and sew them back up. Yay! :/



Knocked Up came out on DVD today! I got the 2-Disc Collector's Edition, which came with a deck of playing cards! I don't even play card games, but really, i'm a sucker for anyone in the Apatow crew -especially Seth Rogen- so now i have my very own deck of Knocked Up/Seth Rogen playing cards. I've already watched some of the bonus material, and am trying so hard not to watch it all in one sitting.

My brother needed to go to the bookstore, and unfortunately for me, all of the new issues of the magazines i read came out. I blow lots of $$$ on these and a few others every month, but i'm thinking that maybe i should subscribe because it's way cheaper.

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?

My Favorite Things- Sept. 12

Here are three really awesome things i added to my favorites while browsing Etsy today:

1. SAPPLING Jewelry Display by SaraSchalliol


2. PIANO LAMB original vintage object wall art assemblage by Artsy.


3. The Nesting Dolls Hand-Painted Set by Elloh


*Please note that all photos and artwork are property of their respective owners.

Now Available at ILIKEITTOOTOO.COM !

First Attempt at First Friday

Last night, The Boyfriend and i went to First Friday in the city for the first time ever. We walked around and saw some art, but it was so hot out that we weren't there very long. My favorite work was by Ben Tour at the Lineage Gallery, and you can see some of it if by visiting here. There was an artist set up on the sidewalk who was selling these painted metal sculptures, and i loved them all! I had a hard time choosing and settled on this one, which is funny because it just happens to have my name on it.

*Edit- The girl below was made by a husband and wife team, Morton Art Emporium. I just found their Myspace page.



A few months ago, my aunt stopped by to drop off a binding machine that her company was getting rid of. So, the other night i ran to Staples and bought a pack of plastic binding combs, so i could fiddle around with this new gadget. I set out to make myself a small mailing list book that i could just put onto my table at shows and flea markets, because i usually just bring a few pieces of paper and then end up having no room to set them out.



For the cover, I used some neon ILIKEITTOOTOO printed paper over some spare watercolor paper i had lying around. To fill up the book, i used regular notebook paper and paper from a partially used journal that had blue, green, and yellow gridded pages. I then hand stamped each page with a magnetic letter stamp set.



Here's what it looks like now:



I can't wait until the next flea market so i can use it!