Swag - the constant struggle

It seems like every time I try to contribute swag to an event - I find myself stumped. Stumped because the idea of swag is a sample of your work. A sample that is cool enough to bring you added traffic to your booth or website... but not so cool that they don't feel they need to buy anything else from you. Something that's just a taste of what you do that leaves them wanting more.

Most of my work is one-of-a-kind and not usually under $10 because of the materials, time and effort that I put into each thing I make. But this past year, I've been challenging myself to design items that still hold their uniqueness that I love, but something that I can reproduce fairly easily (read - I've had to start making patterns). I now have a fairly good selection of items that I can remake, but that still remain different in the various materials and fabrics that I use. Mermaid Tails, Crowns, Indian Headdresses, Robin Hood Hats, Super Hero Capes, Super Hero Gloves - you get the picture (sorry for the lack of links - you can see everything in my store - or in the sold part of my store).

I'm slowly getting closer to things that are easy enough to reproduce that it's less of an investment to give them as swag. I started off giving fortune cookies - these were simple, but of course, like everything else I make, required a bit of handwork to make them look the way I wanted them to. Then I did masks for the St. Edward Show... they were super cute and lots of fun, but I was unable to attach a tag where it didn't get in the way and there were many steps involved in making them. Now, I have decided to make Super Hero Cuffs (like my gloves, minus the glove). They still require lots of steps and a little hand sewing - but they are fun to make, so right now, I'm okay with the extra work. I'm aiming for 15 of these for UCU. I wish I could do more, but I do know my limitations.

But here's the problem. I was intending on giving them as a set - because that's how I would normally make them... or should I just put them in as a single cuff? Or... should I put one in with a coupon for the second one available at my booth!! hahaha! A set of these cuffs would probably be sold at my booth for $7-$8... but it's the lowest thing I've come up with in a year.

Any suggestions? I've taken pictures of the cuffs on both me and my son (does the blogger rotating thing bother anyone else - or it just me. It seems like I have this probablem an aweful lot). I do have skinny wrists though - so they won't fit all adults. The button closure is elastic and does stretch slightly.

I'd love to hear some feedback... Thanks!

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Halloween sneak peek

So, just one more day - as my son reminds me - and it'll be Halloween! And I'm feeling pretty good this year as I have their costumes nearly complete. I gave a little sneak peek of Lyssie's on Monday... so here's a sneak peek of Robbie's. Any guesses of what they'll be???

Here's a hint - they are from the same "theme" which happens to be a video game. That's a pretty big hint! I'll be finishing an underskirt for Lyssie today and a hat for Robbie. Watch for pictures in the next few days!

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A Rainy Halloween

As the day nears - it's looking more and more like we will have another rainy Halloween. We have had several Halloweens in the rain - and we've braved the elements before for Trick-or-treating... but this year, a nice celebration indoors at school and a walk around the mall for trick-or-treating is sounding pretty good.

Here are a few fun rainy Halloween items I found on Etsy (click on the photo to go directly to the item).

A Bat Cup Sleeve by Batgirl93 (check out her shop - she has some really cool ones!)

A greeting card by Vaness

And I just loves these - a pair of "kick-butters" from GooseGrease. I really love these little peg people... I might have to get family sets and have the kids make our family. That would be so fun!

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Button Imprint Stamp Tutorial

Again, I have a ton of buttons. When the kids want to do a project - it often involves buttons. I love that we have a big bin of buttons... I would have loved to have had something similar when I was a kid. They love to just play in the bin of buttons, but I like when I can come up with different ways of using them (other than treasure that gets scattered around the house as this seems to be their go-to idea).

So, today, I thought I would try out an idea I had a long time ago to make play dough stamps with buttons and spools. The idea came back to me after reading about the stamps that Her Cup Overfloweth posted last week.

My idea was similar, but didn't involve paint and included wooden spools that I had been collecting. The ones I made with the kids today use the plastic spools that I have an abundance of. Those wood ones have been hard to come by, so I'm saving some special buttons and the old wood spools to make my own double sided stamps. Perhaps one day I'll get around to making those and posting them.

Since this was a spur of the moment project, I used what I had on hand. But, if you plan this out better than I did, I would recommend a commercial grade adhesive... and time for the adhesive to dry. I apologize again for the photos that are turned - I have reported the problem again to blogger in the hopes that there will be a resolution to this ubber frustrating bug (three of my seven photos were rotated by blogger!).

Materials:

• Thread spools
• Buttons with interesting patterns (I avoided buttons with holes because I didn't want to have to fish the clay out of the hole)
• Super Glue

Step 1 - Choose fun and interesting buttons and pair them with an appropriate size spool. I found that smaller spools work best for the smaller buttons so that you don't get the imprint of the side of the spool in the clay.

Step 2 - Apply super glue to the back of the button or to the spoke part of the spool - press in place and allow to dry.

** I didn't allow mine to dry much and I used everyday Super Glue - some of the buttons didn't hold as well as others. I did find though, that given the proper cure time... they worked just fine. The kids however were a bit harder on them when pulling off the clay, so I would recommend a commercial grade glue for that reason alone **

Step 3 - Have Fun! Use them to imprint in clay (we used FIMO) or use them as stamps (although we did buttons that were rounded and those probably wouldn't work as well). I think these would be fun to make dough ornaments with. We made pendants - using a tooth to make a hole.

Funny side note - I decided that I was going to cut the cook time of the clay in half and use my toaster oven (I've done it before with success). This time, I forgot to turn down the temperature and ended up over cooking them. Who knew that some colors of over cooked FIMO clay turns translucent as it liquefies. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get them off the wax paper so most of the pendants that the kids made ended up in the trash. I removed the pumpkins right away though and those came out great (my picture didn't)- even with a little brown on the edges... a happy accident.

Also - these don't work as well with homemade play dough (haven't tried it with store bought) because of the consistence of the dough... they tend to stick to the buttons more than leave an imprint. I'm sure covering the button with some type of finish would help - but it's a bit too much work for me and so I just accept that it doesn't really work. If you find a way to make them work with play dough - I'd love to hear it!

Another tip - when using the stiffer clay such as FIMO, it's best to press the stamp into the clay, then peel the clay from the button stamp rather than pulling the stamp from the clay. Does that make sense? I just found it to work better this way - the images remained crisper and the button stamps held together better.

I hope to help the kids make some of their presents using these stamps. There are just so many possibilties!

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Halloween is in the air

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year - especially here in Washington. The leaves turn bright oranges, reds and yellows, the rain comes and cleans the air and our family traditions begin.

When Robbie was younger, we used to make a scarecrow with his outgrown clothes from the previous year. It was a lot of fun, it was a family endeavor - and it was fun to see the scarecrows next to each other. We still have them all... but when we added Lyssie to the equation, it became more than we could do with two kids.

So that tradition went out the door - although last year we did at least take them to the Country Village so that they could make a scarecrow - this year, it doesn't look like any scarecrows are in our near future. But we still kept the Jack-o-lantern tradition that I remember from my childhood. My parent's rule used to be that if we could carry it out of the pumpkin patch, we could get it. Of course, I think pumpkins were much less then. Thankfully the kids like small manageable ones... for now.

This weekend the kids and their dad carved their two pumpkins. They drew the face - and this year they both helped carve it! Lyssie was excited to do a little cutting on her own. Those pumpkin cutters have to be one of the best inventions in a long time! I love those things... of course, they would be better with a larger handle as Kasey's hand was feeling the pain by the end of the carve-fest and he was only cutting two small pumpkins.

I have yet to get our classic picture of them next to their pumpkin... I really need to do that. I've been so busy sewing their costumes that most of the Halloween preparation has been done by my husband. Decorating with webs outside on the porch, making paper spiders, and carving the pumpkins has been about all we've been able to handle this year. I think I'll make some special Halloween cupcakes with them and call it a holiday!

Trick-or-treating this year will be limited to Robbie's Halloween party at school (they are also holding a book fair at the same time which I think is brilliant!) and then trick-or-treating around the neighborhood - or if it's wet and soggy, we'll go to Everett Mall. I did plan ahead a bit this time. Robbie has a super warm costume lined with fleece and I lined Lyssie's dress with fleece where it made sense. So hopefully, we can keep them warm this year without having to cover their costumes with a big ol' jacket.

A few finishing touches on the costumes left and I'll get some pictures posted. I can't do a sneak peak of Robbie's yet - but I'll try to get one in the next day or two.

(yes, I know Robbie's picture is askew - again, Blogger has it's own ideas of what direction pictures should face. This one looks a bit silly - and I like it).

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Muffin Tin Monday

Muffin Tin Monday has a new host - Her Cup Overfloweth (link can also be found on the right side of my blog under "Blogs I Read" - so, check out her blog for more muffin tins!

Here's this week. Robbie was sure to remind me after school that today is Muffin Tin Monday;

Bananas, yogurt, Triscuits with melted cheese, crackers and peanuts, steamed carrots and ramen noodles with kamaboko. I also used some of the new tiny forks and spoons that we bought this weekend at Daiso for their Bento Boxes. I purposely tried for more starches this time as it seems I tend to skimp on them when I'm trying to provide them a healthy lunch.

I am recovering from a weekend of Halloween preparation - I'll post some pictures of the great Jack-o-lanterns that the kids carved with their dad this weekend. He kept them occupied while I worked on their costumes. I finally made them stick with something on Thursday and I've been working at designing the costumes and finding all the materials all weekend. I can't tell you how tempted I am sometimes to just buy a costume - but really, I can't bring myself to do it. I had a great childhood full of handmade, comfortable costumes - I want my kids to have the same thing.

Here's a sneak peak at Lyssie's. Any guesses on what she's going to be? I did buy the white gloves. I know my limitations. I'm moving on to Robbie's costume next!

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And we have a winner!

Thank you to everyone who left comments, opinions and advice on my post about color. I'm still not sure what to do - but I think it's more because I'm really not sure how to go about doing prints. I am leaning toward offering some in both black and white and some of them will just be whatever I feel looks best. Ya, I'm terrible at making decisions.

But here's the what the winner of my little drawing will win! I've been drawing a lot of my "eyeball garden" pictures - they are just a lot of fun to draw. This one is remaining black and white and the winner will get the original! We did scan it though is it's possible you might see it again someday.

So, on to the drawing. I printed all the comments, cut them into strips, folded them and then my husband and daughter pulled a name!

She chose very carefully.
It's upside down - details, details, details!
And the winner is KATY!

Of course, Katy really likes color... and I'm sending her a black and white drawing :) Katy is also in the process of moving to Luxembourg! I really enjoy Katy's blog - you really should check it out!

So congratulations to Katy! Thanks for being my first winner and thank you to everyone who left me comments. I really do appreciate the input... and it's nice to know that people do read the blog :)

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Bento #3

Yesterday, Robbie's play date was cancelled... and he was a bit bummed. So when I was making their lunch, I decided to make a bento lunch and take the kids somewhere to have a picnic. They were excited about the lunch, but less enthusiastic about going somewhere. So, they took their lunch outside for a picnic on the deck. Who am I to rain on their parade?

Top : Butterfly jelly sandwich (I have vowed that the next bento lunch will not include a jelly sandwich - I'm getting tired of them if the kids aren't), Honey Roasted peanuts & Oriental trail mix.

Bottom: Carrots & grapes

Again, they ate just about everything - and Lyssie was instantly drawn to the carrots again. Go figure!

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Tanzania

Several months ago I had to cut up a Tanzania shirt because I needed a strip of the green color. But I loved the graphic (a bunch of animals printed in black) and wanted to be sure that the shirt didn't go to waste... it went into my scrap pile never to be seen again. But, today while the kids were playing in the scrap box, it resurfaced - and I got inspired.

Now, this isn't really a dress as I designed it on my dress form (3-4 years) but was looking at my daughter (she's in 18 mo - 2T right now) . The result is a top for a 3-4 year old as it isn't long enough to be a dress. And it's a little big on my daughter around the chest and arm holes. But I still love it and I think it would make a great top for a little girl. I've left many of the edges raw and I've zig-zag stitched around some of the edges to make them a little wavy. It's hard to see in the pictures, but the skirt is actually two layers. The bottom layer is the bottom of the shirt I used and the top layer (which ends about two inches above the bottom hem) has been zig-zag stitched to make a small ruffle. The band around the middle has raw edges on both sides and it's been stitched down the middle with a simple leaf stitch (I love my sewing machine!). I've embellished the band with three roses (made from the seams of the sleeves).

This dress/top was so much fun to make. I even made a pattern (gasp - that never happens!) - I'll just be sure to extend the length of the pattern a little more next time I want to make it a dress. But I really am happy about the look of the top.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet - list it in the store or save it for my daughter. So, it gets added to the pile of things I've made where I'm undecided. Perhaps you'll see in this in the store in the future - or maybe it'll show up in pictures on my daughter. You never know!

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Puppets

Yesterday the kid were bored (what's new - not like they don't have a million things to play with). So, I pulled out some cut outs that I bought at the dollar store a while back and some plastic rods I found at a garage sale and the kids made very simple puppets with just a little tape.

I pulled out my clothes rack that I use for craft shows, draped a tablecloth over it and they played for hours entertaining each other with their puppet shows. Just goes to show that it doesn't take a lot to help inspire a child's creativity.

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Free Gift!

Last week, I posted about my drawings and asked for some feedback. I'm getting some great ideas as well. Thank you to everyone who has participated! There are still two more days to give me your thoughts. Just read this blog entry and leave me a comment with what you think.

Here is the ACEO that I'll be giving to the winner of the drawing. This is one of my "eyeball garden" drawings. It measures 2.5 x 3.5 and it's an original pen and ink drawing.

I'll be selecting a random winner from all those that leave comments on that blog entry. I'll be selecting the winner Thursday night - so comments must be left before Thursday @ 8:00 pm. Please be sure your comment includes a way for me to contact you.

Thanks again to everyone who has participated! I've enjoyed reading every one's opinions - I'm starting to think that I need to do give aways more often!

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Soaking up the sun!

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Prehistoric Creatures

For Robbie's birthday, his best friend Nicolas gave him a prehistoric pet - a Triops. The only Triops we had heard of initially was the one from the They Might Be Giant song, Triops Has Three Eyes from their Here Come the 123's. Anyhow, it's not the same thing... at least in their video - they look much different.











We started out with several eggs. We (I) followed the strict directions to get these things to hatch... and we ended up with 3 for several weeks. Then the two larger ones - ate their sibling. This morning, I woke up to another one half eaten. I guess I wasn't feeding them enough - the directions do mention that they can become cannibalistic. Oops! So, I thought I'd snap a picture of Robbie's prehistoric creatures before this one perishes from my inability to feed them regularly.

I'm not so sure I'm fond of the Triops species... but I do highly recommend the Triops Has Three Eyes, They Might Be Giants song.

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Special Halloween Muffin Tin Monday

We've had three weeks to prepare for this one... but I still found myself making it up as I went along and trying to work with what we had. The kids really enjoyed this one though.

• Marshmallow ghosts (this is a big treat for them - I have a whole bag of marshmallows left from some popcorn balls we made last week and the kids have been drooling over them ever since).
• Macaroni and Cheese baked in a star shaped tin
• Eye Balls from grapes and raisins
• Pumpkin shaped muffin (corn bread muffin with a pretzel sticking out. I also added a drop of red food coloring to turn it orange - it's oranger in person)
• Peanut Butter spider
• Jack-O-Lantern sweet potato chips and fries.

I did most of the prep before Robbie got home from school so when he got home I just had to pop the mac n cheese into the oven to heat through. This was a lot of fun... but as I was making it, I came up with so many fun ideas had I prepared and gone grocery shopping. Oh well, not spending extra money is a bonus! So much fun - now hopefully the kids will be in the mood to settle on a costume for Halloween so I can get it made soon. I'm sure it will happen, but I don't want to be up the night before Halloween sewing their costumes.

** If you want to see more look here!

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So what do you do when you don't want to work?

You buy a crochet pattern and make yourself a scarf of course!

I bought this pattern just a few days ago... and I'm happy to say, it is now complete! I rarely make myself anything - but when I saw this pattern, I had to have it. I'm thankful that it was easy enough for a beginner like me. I have a feeling there will be a few people on my Christmas list that will be receiving a similar scarf :)

I have been planning my strategy for Urban Craft Uprising (note to my fellow vendors - we have to have our swag in by November 16th!)... and I've been slowly finishing the huge wholesale order that looms over my head. But progress is slow as yes, I'm still unmotivated to do much of anything. I'm hoping that a day with some creative friends on Saturday will cure me.

Remember - I'm doing a give-away for your feedback on my drawings. I'll be picking a winner on Thursday of next week - so you have a few days to leave your opinions in the comment section of the post. I'm getting some great feedback so far and I look forward to doing something with these drawings that are accumulating.

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Black and White or Color?

I am spending entirely too much time doing things that I shouldn't be doing... or rather, not enough time doing the things I should be doing. Yep, I'm still struggling with the whole motivation crutch...

Anyhow, I've been doing more drawing here and there. And I'm doing enough drawing that my husband is unable to get them all scanned before I start coloring them. I know, I should scan them first... but really, that requires way to much time. I guess I still feel like there are some that I'm not done with and rather than wait, I decide I need to just finish it. Good? Bad? At this point, I really don't care.

I'm also getting to the point where I think I might start trying to list a few of the originals on Etsy. You know, test the water a bit. I'll probably just start with the small drawings - the ACEOs. But my biggest question is... should I just leave them alone and leave them black and white... or is color better? I'd love to hear some feedback. Of course, I couldn't give an example of the same picture in black and white and color because the color ones I've done... weren't scanned in black and white. And the black and white ones that I have scanned have yet to be colored. I'm torn and so I'm looking for some feedback.

And I'm not sure how many people really read this blog - but I'm willing to offer an original ACEO to a random winner for leaving your feedback - do you prefer color or black and white? This may be really easy to win if I don't have a lot of readers :) I've never done a give-away before... but this seems like the perfect time. Which one will I be giving?... I don't know yet. It's a surprise (to all of us)!

So, leave me your opinion in the comments section of this blog post along with a way for me to contact you. I'll wait a week and then randomly draw a name. If I have international readers - I'll also send international because your feedback is just as important.

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Spider Webs

This morning, when we went to pick Robbie up from the bus, Lyssie and I noticed a large number of spider webs. Perhaps it's the time of year... or maybe it was the cool, brisk and foggy morning that made them even more visible... whatever it was, I couldn't help but admire these fabulous pieces of art. I'm not a huge fan of spiders - so I found the best part being that the majority of them were unoccupied. Most of the trees had somewhere between four to ten webs in various sizes. The work of several spiders? Or just a few?

Once Robbie got off the bus, the kids and I walked around the block and snapped a few pictures of them. The kids loved the hunt. Running ahead of me, searching the various trees and bushes for the best and biggest web they could find.

I found all the webs to be inspiring. I enjoyed looking at each one individually, admiring the patterns and artistry that made each one unique. They reminded me of the stitching in a quilt.

But I think my favorite part of each spider web we saw was the way that the dew clung to the near invisible strings of silk. I'm am in awe of nature... and it's nice to enjoy it with my kids. I'm logging this for future reference so that, when I have time, I can explore these patterns a little more in my crafts.

Fall is my favorite time of year in Washington. Although this year I'm having a hard time adjusting to the chill it brings, the colors that accompany fall makes it all worthwhile.

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Bento #2

The kids eat best when there is a large variety of foods and they are presented in a fun way. I think that's why Muffin Tin Mondays are such an event around this household. So, I've been wanting to do more bento lunches. We didn't go anywhere that required a packed lunch - but it was still fun to present their lunch in a fun way today. Also, I didn't have a lot of any one thing... so the portion size of these containers, is perfect.

I'm sure this one also looks similar to the first one I did because we always have the same foods in the fridge. I included Edamame (the kids and I bought this yesterday at Central Market - they love that market because they both get to push the mini carts around), Kamaboko (one of my favorite childhood foods) cut into acorns, steamed carrots. The other dish has jelly rolls (bread I rolled flat and smeared with jelly... then rolled it and sliced it) and grapes. I put one of the fun picks in for them to eat the grapes with since they love the little picks and I didn't use them for anything else.

I really need to figure out what foods they will eat that will work well in bento lunches. I'm sure if I use these ingredients again, they are going to get bored quickly. More research on the Internet!

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EtsyRAIN in Kenmore

This past weekend EtsyRAIN held their third craft show at Saint Edward State Park in Kemore. I am happy to report that it was a success! The location was beautiful, the room was spacious, and the wide variety of artists were a pleasure to be around. Our 50 swag bags were gone within the first 20 minutes and we had a good flow of traffic throughout the day. People are already talking about another one at this same location.



The bake sale was probably our biggest success. EtsyRAIN members generously donated baked goods to benefit VSA arts of Washington. And thanks to Kelly of TomatoTOMATO who ran the booth and the volunteers that helped during the show - we raised near $300 for a worthy cause. Go EtsyRAIN!

This was my first and only chance to try out the new grid wall system that I purchased. And while I had to use a table to help prop it all up (I'll normally be attached to a tent), I was pleased with the result. I was able to display far more merchandise in a much more pleasing way. I am still a bit torn on how "busy" the whole thing looks... but I'm not sure how to rectify that when everything I do is unique and most are one-of-a-kind. I have a month and half before the Urban Craft Uprising to figure it out.

After getting home and looking at the picture, I realize that you can see right through the display. I don't think this helps... so I'll be working on a solid background to see if that helps set the items off a little better.

All in all, we had a good show. If you are in the area - be sure to make our next one. They are truly events that shouldn't be missed!

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Muffin Tin Monday

I'm so glad that Halloween challenge was moved to next Monday. I almost didn't even do this one. I'm exhausted after the show yesterday. Saturday was spent preparing for the show (both my shop and at the venue getting things ready). But, the show seemed to be a success and now I can move on to finishing the wholesale order and getting ready for the Urban Craft Uprising.

Anyhow, Robbie of course asked for Muffin Tin Monday again on the way home from the bus... so here it is. Thrown together in about two minutes...

Rice, steamed carrots, breaded fish, shredded chicken mixed with sweet and sour sauce, teriyaki noodles, pumpkin spice muffin.

Once the kids are done eating, I'm off to spend some more time with my EtsyRAIN friends! I figure, a few hours to relax before I jump back in to sewing.

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The Alphabet

While I was completely prolonging all the things I needed to do to get ready for the Craft fair on Sunday, I was browsing some of my favorite websites. The Crafty Crow had this one about found alphabets and it reminded me of the poster we made for Robbie when he was younger.

I think he was about Lyssie's age now. He was completely obsessed with the alphabet among other things. He could sing the alphabet backwards, he could sign it... anything with letters completely grabbed his attention. His other favorite thing was to have pictures taken of himself. One day, he decided that we needed to merge these two loves... this is how his alphabet poster came about.

I admit that we had plans of printing it up for him and hanging on his wall when we moved into our new house (was being built at the time)... and it never happened. But I remember making it with him and it was a ton of fun.

I tried to do the found alphabet with him... but it was a bit to hard and it took so long that he (and I) eventually lost interest. Perhaps we'll try it again with Lyssie this time. Since he's older, it might go a little better.

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