Yep, I'm way up here in the frosty north. It's snowing. I have used, to varying degrees of success, 4-wheel drive several times today. And I'm wearing a tank top, because I live in Florida, dammit, and this is what we Floridians do. We dress inappropriately for cold weather.
We already knew this, of course. But a little validation is nice.
(Be sure to note Etsy, Craft Mafia and BuyHandmade.org mentions!)
Now, if only I actually worked out. :) But I just found Mixtape Vol. 2 from The Hood Internet, and it works equally well for strutting down the street on the way to a cafe with free wi-fi. Some of the tracks are a little forced--Montell Jordan & Arcade Fire? Ew--but others are totally inspired. Rick Ross + Wilco just made my whole day.
It's a gorgeous day here on the beach -- time to take my crafting out of the house and into some fresh air!
Long time, no blog. It's not my fault, I swear. There was Thanksgiving, and directly afterwards a death in the boyfriend's family which kept me far from home for an extra week. Then a press trip, then a craft fair (yes, that one up there), then home again to try to catch up... Seriously, I'm a treasure trove of valid excuses.
The good news is that I'm about to head back to Pennsylvania for the holidays on Sunday, meaning that I'll have next to nothing to do for a solid week except reading, writing, and crafting. I'm almost all caught up on day job deadlines, and I'm really looking forward to setting time aside for non-commercial crafting -- just making things for friends, family and myself without considering all the details of trying to sell them. I love sharing my creations with the Etsy world, but at the end of the day, I'm in it for creativity's sake, and a little business holiday will do both me and the store some good. :)
That's not to say I'm closing down the store, though! All the goodies in my shop will be coming with me to Pennsylvania (and then to Tucson, AZ, for a week with my dad and his family after Christmas), so keep those orders coming! The holidays have really picked up for me in terms of sales, which I fully attribute to the great karma I received for sending my Etsy favorites to anyone who asked me for gift ideas this year.
As for me, I fulfilled my Buy Handmade pledge by finding something independently designed and crafted for everyone on my list this year. Some of my gifts are from the town of Fes in Morocco, where 52 percent of the population is a professional craftsperson (I know!). And the rest were found last weekend at the Atomic Holiday Bazaar in Sarasota, FL, which I was lucky enough to be a part of. From Lollibomb to Dragonfly Crafts to Beanblossom, all my favorite crafters were there, and I found some new favorites too, like Lucas Bags. How can you resist an upholstered hippo?
I pretty much get that look on my face every time I look at my new hippo.
That's not Santa Claus ... it's a kitty monster in disguise!
Check out Santa Monster and all the rest of the goodies at http://ciaralovesyou.etsy.com .
That being said, it came up on my iPod completely unexpectedly the other day -- I thought I'd lost the track long ago -- and it's still just about the funniest, weirdest thing I've ever heard. Enjoy.
Check out this great Treasury by vivametal, featuring my newly relisted hairballs!
I love pet-themed treasuries, mostly because the things people come up with for their pets are always so unique and entertaining. I mean, fortune cookie catnip toys? Genius! Today I'll be doing my part to add to the creativity with holiday-themed additions to the Kitty Monster line. Exciting!
If you're interested in more pet-themed goodies, check out Etsy for Animals' shop -- there are plenty of items for pets, pet-themed pieces of art, and other creations by pet lovers in the group. And the best part -- all proceeds go to an animal charity. Hard to beat that.
Oh my, people. I'm a wreck. Every room of the apartment is trashed. Dishes are piling up in the sink. Laundry is overflowing from its basket. My desk is strewn with all manner of fabric and thread and yarn. I spent this morning doing all my writing from bed. And the Steelers lost to the Jets -- yes, those Jets -- yesterday. I am feeling more than a little bit undone.
But I am also feeling way behind on my crafting plans for this week, so instead of actually cleaning anything, I took a few moments to update my Myspace calendar with the shows I have coming up. Most importantly, Atomic Holiday Bazaar! This will be my first year participating in the bazaar, but I've heard from just about everyone who did it last year that it's an amazing event. And it should be, with all the members of the Hollywood Craft Mafia in attendance, as well as handmade superstars like Lollibomb, Fort Cloudy, BeanBlossom, PhBeads and more. I'm getting really giddy to see everyone again after Stitch, and even more excited to show off all the new clothing, accessories and cat toys I've been working on.
Most of which, um, are not yet finished. To that, then. There'll be plenty of time to clean after the holidays, right?
I was feeling all accomplished and crafty when I woke up this morning, until I got an email from my friend Cassie, alerting me to the vastly superior stylings of Mr. Crochet:
For my part, I finished another shrug last night. Because of the limited amount of Goa I had on hand, it ended up being a size x-small -- it's a bit snug on me, but would look perfect on someone a bit more petite.
It seems like forever since I've posted here, but it's not for lack of activity. The transition back to real life from Morocco was rocky, to put it mildly, but I'm back on track now! I attribute this mainly to the completion -- successful completion! -- of my first large-scale crocheted womenswear item: this lovely red shrug.
Everything, from the pattern to the stitch itself is of my own design (though I'm sure someone's come up with that particular open shell-stitch before me). This shrug uses my favorite yarn ever, Malabrigo, in a gorgeous Vermillon color. If I knew the folks at Malabrigo, I'd kiss each and every one of them. Soooo comfy. I'm working on a green version of this shrug was well, this time constructed out of a thick Goa cotton/acrylic. It has an almost felted or rough velvet feel to it -- definitely a new take.
Another reason I'm back on the craftwagon this week: the return of Project Runway! Last night's episode has me giddy in all the right ways for the upcoming season. And, um, am I alone in adoring Elisa? Girl is CRAZY, and we are going to get along quite well. Soon I'll be using words like "haiku" and "sssszzzzzzhhya" to describe my own designs. I trust you will all give me a little tough love a la Tim Gunn when that happens. Hee.
Also, have you seen Project Runway fantasy leagues at Fafarazzi.com? I think the crafty community needs to start its own. I'm just saying.
