carrie girl

craft saturday recap

this is the only picture of my table from craft saturday that didn't turn out blurry. i was in a rush, the lighting wasn't stellar, and my camera leaves much to be desired. if you put all of that together you get some pretty crappy pictures. overall the event was really good for meeting other crafters and getting some exposure, but for sales it wasn't that great.  it seems like people weren't really buying for themselves much, and if they were it was in the below $30 range (and in this economy i can't blame them.)

i really liked the mix of vendors at the show--no two tables were alike and everyone had some really creative and original items. i think one of my favorite parts of the day was just walking around and chatting with other crafters and checking out their items.  it was also really nice to meet danelle, the creator of craft saturday and designer of monster fashion. i've been a fan of her stuff and own several of her brooches, so it took all of my will power not to buy one of her cute iowa coin purses (but i just might cave in anyway.)

i learned a couple things from this experience. the first is that i should have accepted credit cards. i lost out on a few bigger purchases because  customers didn't have the cash. even though there was an atm in the building, people seemed to primarily want to use credit and debit cards for purchases over $20. i even had one person want to charge $7 thumbtacks, so next time i'll bring a manual credit card imprinter. i also learned that sometimes the best things to get out of a craft fair aren't monetary. just hearing the positive feedback and comments about my items were encouraging and meant a lot.  it is hard to put yourself out there and sit behind a table while people stand there basically judging your hard work and style, so when someone picks up a clutch or jewelry wallet and tells me that it is beautifully made or asks me how long i've been sewing it feels really wonderful.

all in all it was a great experience. i have plenty of inventory left over to list in the shop, so my next big project will be to take pictures and list it all (which is my least favorite part of the process.)

have a great week!

my quasi green thumb

i've been wanting to make a terrarium for some time now, and this weekend i finally got around to it. i'm not quite sure what plants are in there--the nice guy at the store assured me that they wouldn't get out of control, and that they wouldn't need a lot of water. so really, it is my kind of house plant. the plastic mushrooms are just a finishing touch. i thought about adding a couple plastic squirrels i had, or maybe an ice skater, but i think the mushrooms look right at home.

i also planted some parsley and basil in my eco-friendly green pots. these colorful guys are made from rice hulls and naturally decompose in landfills or into the earth. i'm always amazed at how expensive fresh herbs are at the store, and how easy they are to grow at home. last summer we had more basil than we could handle, but i almost think that it smells better than flowers, so i don't mind it at all.

a productive weekend

finished! now on to bigger bags and lots and lots of fabric covered buttons!

have a wonderful week!

slowly but surely

i've got nine clutches in the works...i lost one along the way due to the strap mishap, but i'm back on track, and i think nine is a good number. well...it has to be a good number because there is no way i'm cutting out another one of these. they're small, but require a million steps. putting them all together is my favorite part, so i feel like i'm in the home stretch with these.

now i'm going to take a moment to brag about my amazing partner.  ted's first published story came out yesterday in tin house--the magazine won't be out in stores until the 26th, but his story is up online now. i'm beaming.

as for next year we're still up in the air. we are kind of excited about the prospect of staying in iowa a third year--ted can finish his novel, i can keep saving money and we can both continue to enjoy the overall loveliness of living in iowa for one more year.  this has been an exciting time here (if you lean to the left!)--barack won the caucus and the gay marriage ban was lifted recently. even without the politics, iowa has been a really nice change of pace for us. i'll miss it if we move on from here, but i know that there are exciting times in store for us wherever we go.

ten songs for tuesday

MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

mary

on friday after work i went to the fabric store to pick up some interfacing for the clutches, and ended up walking out with tons of canvas and twill. because i picked out so many bolts of fabric, i spent quite a bit of time with mary, the lovely fabric cutter at hancock. it is inevitable that while you are getting your fabric cut you will be asked what you are making. normally i don't feel like chatting, but mary seemed to really be interested in my project and in between hearing about her two kids and love of hand-stitching christening gowns, i got some really good advice about sewing scallops. i told mary about the unfortunate puckering that was happening with my clutches, and asked if she had any advice.

she told me that when i get to a pucker prone area i should reduce my stitch length to 1, and trim the heck out of it to reduce the bulk as much as possible. she even drew out a little picture for me and then showed me a nifty way to clip around curves. 

i tried mary's advice this weekend, and to my great happiness the scallops are pucker-free.  i hope the next time i go to the fabric store, i get mary at the cutting counter so i can properly thank her for saving my scallops.

tiny bags and a winner

 

these little bags arrived in the mail this week, so even though i haven't sewn much at all i feel that by stamping my name onto the outside i have, in fact, been working on craft fair stuff (i'm rationalizing, i realize that, but it makes me feel better about having done next to nothing this week.)

 

and for the flower loom giveaway, the random number generator has spoken and lucky commenter number 11, danelle, is the winner. thanks to the rest for taking the time to leave a comment--it was neat to see some new names, and check out your blogs and flickr pages! have a fabulous and sunny weekend!!

help!

i need your opinion...with straps or clutch? the straps didn't quite work out the way i wanted them to on the navy purse, so i gave them another shot with this one. about 5 minutes ago i ended up cutting them off in a fit of frustration (that ever happen to you?) the shape of this one isn't quite right either, but i'm thinking that for the craft fair i might just make these scalloped clutches.  i'd really love your thoughts on clutch vs. straps...

i'm calling it a night!

all quiet on the sewing front

i've done absolutely no sewing in the month of april. it isn't like the weather outside has been too nice to stay in (in fact it has been downright nasty out) it's just that i have not felt motivated at all.  this funk couldn't have come at a worse time either with two and a half weeks left until craft saturday. our plans for next year are totally up in the air, which i think is part of the reason i'm in a holding pattern of watching tivo-ed jeopardy and property virgins instead of working in the craft room. hopefully tonight i can open a bottle of wine and dive into the piles of project that are cut and awaiting me.

flower loom giveaway

i was catching up on some blog reading today when i stumbled upon the oh-so-lovely cathy of california's martha stewart appearance where they make straw flowers together.  i remembered that i had a flower loom hiding somewhere in my craft room, and a couple studio twelve how-to books that i've never used. i thought that in the spirit of spring cleaning and since sharing is nice, i'd have a little giveaway. so, just leave me a comment and i'll draw a random winner at midnight on thursday, april 9th.

tonight i'm going to see one of my very favorite bands, the fruit bats.  i found them back in college and really fell in love. when ted and i lived in brooklyn we probably went to 2-3 shows a month, but since moving to iowa i've probably seen 2-3 shows total (the best being dan deacon--if you watch the you tube video of this song, just imagine that but in a dark club with a glowing green skull. it was amazing. my neck was sore for about a week after that.) and while i do love a crazy show like dan deacon's every once in awhile, the fruit bats are a bit more my speed.

enjoy your thursday!