Crafting...Or Something Like That

Extra, Extra!! Newsletter Now Available!

2011-10-30T06:50:00.001-07:00

I've decided to create a newsletter for my crafty interests :) I really wanted to combine my love of writing and crafting, and I think that my very own newsletter is a great place to start! Each month's newsletter will have a tutorial on a cool crafty project, an artist\crafter profile, shop updates, and much, much more! Reply to this or email me at sugarshoxcrafts@live.com if you'd like to receive my monthly newsletter or be a feautured artist! I'll also be offering discounts and coupon codes on each newsletter, as well!

Oct\Nov Newsletter Tutorial: Fringed Fleece Blankets

2011-10-21T13:14:00.001-07:00

Here is the first tutorial for our first newsletter! Each newsletter's tutorial will be posted on my blog.

Some call them fringe blankets, some call them knot blankets and some others call them plain old fleece blankets. Ever wondered how to make one? I developed this tutorial from my own special "recipe" of creating the blankets. I was a bit frustrated by having to ask for measurements at the fabric counter each time I would go to make these.

Measurements from these instructions will make a baby or cat-sized blanket. The blanket that is shown in the tutorial was made for my son-to-be. Larger blankets for adults or dogs are made in exactly the same way--just replace the baby measurements with the measurements listed at the end of the tutorial. Happy crafting!

1. Get two pieces of fleece that are about 1.25 yards in length.

2. Place the first piece of fleece FACE DOWN on your work surface. Place the second piece of fleece on top of the first piece with the design facing UP towards you. Line up the edges as best as you can.

3. Cut off any borders or rough edges from fleece. Cut edges so that top and bottom are somewhat even.

4. Measure a 3" square on each of the four corners of the fleece.

5. Measure 3" in from the edge of the fleece, and draw a line with crayon or marker at the 3" mark. Draw the line all the way down the side of the fleece.

6. To make the fleece fringe strips, measure 1" in from the side of the corner square. Mark with crayon. Repeat this all the way down the side of the fleece until you've reached the next corner's square.

7. Cut fleece up to the 3" line you drew in Step 5. Repeat this cut for all the lines you made in Step 6, all the way down the side until you reach the next corner's square.

8. Tie top fringe piece to bottom fringe piece using a DOUBLE KNOT. Double knotting is very important as it makes sure the fringe will not untie eventually with use. Repeat this step all the way down the side of the fleece for all the fleece strips.

9. Repeat steps 5-8 for all 3 remaining sides.

10. You're done, and you now have a warm & cuddly blanket! Unfortunately, these kind of blankets aren't really that photo-op friendly :(

MEASUREMENTS FOR ADULT\LARGE DOG BLANKETS:
-Use a 2.5-yard length of fleece for each side. (Step 1)
-Cut 4" corner squares on all four corners. (Step 4)
-Cut 4" into sides for the cut "baseline". (Step 5)
-Cut 1" wide fleece strips for fringe. (Step 6)

UPDATE: Walmart's Craft Department

2011-06-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

Better than bacon and eggs TOGETHER! The full service craft department in my Walmart will stay!

The full service fabrics and crafts department in my Walmart store (Niagara Falls Boulevard in Amherst, NY) will STAY!!! A "source" I talked to there said that Walmart listened to its customers and decided to keep the department after lots and lots of people called Corporate's customer service to complain.

The department will also be in the new store that will be built to replace this current store too, the source told me.

This is really surprising to me because mostly all the craft departments in the stores in my area have closed or were consolidated into a limited selection and pre-cut fabrics (at one of them--the Supercenter in Niagara Falls--I can't even find colored zippers because of the limited selection). Also, very rarely do I ever hear about a big company (especially as big as Walmart is) actually listening to their customers. Wow! I really have a lot of goodwill towards Walmart now!

It's really a good thing because in my area there just aren't a lot of places you can buy fabric at, and even less if you don't have a lot of money to fork over for the fabric. You've got JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby and a couple independent stores. Hobby Lobby's prices are very high and so are the independents--as much as I want to shop the independent stores, I don't have $15 for one yard of fabric. That leaves just JoAnn's and Walmart as your budget-friendly options, and with JoAnn's you have to use a coupon to get the best prices too.

Have any WM craft departments around you stayed full-service?

Lessons Learned From My First Craft Show

2011-05-27T16:49:00.001-07:00

This spring, I had the honor to display my work in the Artist's Alley of a big fantasy and video game convention at a university in my city. I made about 30 Nintendo cartridge purses for my table in both large and small sizes. I also handsewed about 10 vinyl recycled Ramen noodle wallets.

I had LOTS of people looking and complimenting, but had NO sales for the entire show. Pretty frustrating, eh? Especially when you consider that I spent almost every spare second I had for a month preparing (and about $300 in materials too). Craft show veterans say that every show is a mixed bag--some you get tons of sales, others you don't get any--but I was frustrated over this for quite some time. Luckily I had many online customers to boost my confidence afterward :)

Anyhow, I've learned from this show. Here's what I've learned (and you can too!):

1. Keep smiling no matter what at your table. Nothing's selling and you're frustrated and bored. The last thing you want to do is smile--not so fast Jethro! You never know who the next sale might come from. Plus you must also be a good sport for the image of your business as a whole. You want people to take your card or flyer and remember to visit you after the show. If you're a Grumpy Gus, customers can perceive you as having an attitude and definately WON'T come back then. I put my big girl panties on and smiled and spoke with good humor the whole time. I waited till me and my gear were safely in the car--and then I bawled my eyes out.

2. During the show, pay attention to what seemed to grab the customers' interest.
If nothing at all, this is what I love craft shows for--instant critiquing and market research--even a no sale show like mine came out with some good data to use for next time. For example, I learned that a certain line of vinyl bags that I make are not really in demand, so I will put them much lower on the priority list for making and/or possibly stop making them. This helps me to focus my creating on things that actually have a chance to sell :)

3. Sit down with a notebook and record your observations of the show you attended.
This is probably the best thing you can do after any show. Sit down and write out what happened at the show. It will help you mentally organize and can help you think of ways to improve for the next show or even your business in general. Make a chart showing what sold or had a lot of interest in, and also what didn't sell and what people didn't really seem interested in. This can help you find items that you can focus less on so that you can work more on items that have more of a chance of bringing you success in the future. Not too many people took your promo flyers or postcards? Note that too and you can save yourself some money on those things if you do a show later on by not buying them again. If you haven't run out of these things, do put them on your next table--never waste!

4. Have at least one low price point item.
Don't sell yourself short at your table--but don't price yourself out of people's leagues either. People from many different financial situations are probably coming to your show, so cater to everyone's budget by having at least one lower priced item--around $5. Figure out an item you can sell for that price that requires minimal labor and materials. This is one of the things I did wrong at my table. My lowest priced item was $20. At this particular show, many of the vendors around me were selling things around $5-$10, so I was beat out on that aspect. People would come on over to my table, marvel at my bags, and put them down. They thought my items were too expensive. I'm still working on that super low price item--I think it may a small wallet of some kind that I can sew up with my machine--minimal labor, minimal time to make the item, but still at a good price for the customer...EVERYBODY wins :)By all means, again, do NOT sell yourself short! Don't mark down your regular stuff to bargain basement prices--you'll just lose the labor and material investment you put in.

These are a few things that I'm going to think about before and after every show, shoud I decide to do more. At this point I may not, because I missed my son too much :) I did have a fun time schmoozing with my fellow crafters though. As disappointing as the show was sales-wise for me, at least this guy was around:

Mystery Meat Monday Recipe 1: Peanut Butter Creamy Pie

2011-03-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

Our first recipe is Peanut Butter Creamy Pie from a recipe book called "Centennial Cook Book", which was put together by Cheektowaga (NY) Community Baptist Church. It appears to be from 1994. Well, not exactly vintage but it certainly smelled vintage--nice and musty. I guess that's what happens when books spend an unspoken amount of years in the very back of a used bookstore. Here's the book:

The pie certainly wasn't musty. It was amazing!! It had a very rich, smooth peanut buttery taste. This taste contrasted very nicely with the graham cracker crust as well. The filling was also of a pleasingly thick consistency. The best part of this pie besides the taste is that it required very simple, easy to find and cheap ingredients!! It called for cream cheese, peanut butter, vanilla flavoring, milk, powdered sugar, Cook Whip and the graham cracker pie crust. I had a lot of the ingredients already on hand, so all I had to really buy was the cream cheese, Cool Whip, and pie crust. Great deal!

Below is the making process...

Mixing the cream cheese and peanut butter. My measuring cup did not like the peanut butter one bit--it cracked right down the side.

Mixing the rest of the ingredients with the peanut butter and cream cheese. Might I say, that peanut butter and cream cheese together is the ultimate sit on the couch and eat treat--it's much better than ice cream.

Here are all the ingredients mixed together. I don't have a hand mixer at this time, so I had to mix it myself. It was a very thick batter so I ended up with very sore arms!

Spooning the very thick filling into the pie crust. I tried to pour it, but it was too thick to move. It also didn't want to come off the spoon, so I had to take big spoonfuls at once.

Got all the filling in, nice and evenly distributed throughout the crust. Swirled around the pie a few times with my spoon to make it look pretty.

I then put it in the refrigerator for about 4 or 5 hours (that's all my husband and I could stand waiting for it--we are total peanut butter nuts), and it came out gelled pretty solid. The color got a tiny bit darker too.

Ready to serve! I gave myself this special awesome cheese plate that I never get to use otherwise. Be careful when cutting it because the crust is very brittle. This is an awesome recipe to make for work parties or kids birthdays. It's easy to take places, and very quick to make! My pie took me about 15 to 20 minutes to make.

Mystery Meat Monday Retro Recipe Weekly Feature!

2011-03-09T06:55:00.000-08:00

Introducing my Mystery Meat Monday Retro Recipe feature! I've got a huge collection of retro homemade cookbooks (the kind with the spiral binding that a lot of churches and organizations put together), and I will be cooking one recipe a week and publishing my results here on my blog! I've also always thought that those kind of cookbooks were like little time capsules and that we're missing out on a lot of tasty food by those recipes still being covered in dust.

My features will have plenty of pictures on the cooking process and a review of how each one tasted when it came out. These reviews will be honest not always flowery and congratulatory :)

Also be warned: I'm going to be choosing some off-the-wall recipes for my feature. Not ALL of them will be out of the ordinary, but many of them will be--what fun is it to keep making the same old thing time after time?

We'll start gently with a homemade take on peanut butter pie for the first week.

Now...ignore the "Monday" part...the recipes are all made on Mondays, but my little guy Cameron (he's almost a year old) doesn't like Mommy on the computer, so I have to find a half hour to steal and post. I will be posting one recipe & review a week, though, guaranteed.

A creamy and easy-to-make peanut butter pie will posted later today!

Making a Smart Business Card!

2011-02-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

Sick of boring templates? I was too and thought it was time for a change from my Microsoft Publisher template-created business card. Ordering business cards was out of the question (I don't need to PAY for boring templates--especially the prices some of those companies want), but I still loved the smart and clean look of the business cards that a company called "Moo" makes. I also wanted to show off my products in the template. I futzed around with a few ideas and also happened to be posting my Etsy Mini on another website. A light bulb went off, and thus, my business cards were born!

Believe it or not, this uses Microsoft Word and the simple cut and paste function. Here's what you do:

1. Make an Etsy Mini by going to the "Your Etsy" section of Etsy. Make sure you have a few items featured in your shop (starred) to do this.

2. Make an Etsy Mini with the following specs:
A. Use items from your shop.
B. Use thumbnail pictures.
B. Make the Mini have 3 columns and one row.

3. Highlight the Etsy Mini that the system generates. Include the pictures and also where it says "Etsy" and your username right underneath the pictures.

4. Open up Microsoft Word (I use Word 2003), right-click and paste the mini into the blank Word document.

5. Erase all the text underneath the pictures, if there is anything there (it will say your item's description, your username, and price). There may not be anything underneath the pics, so if not, just skip this step.

6. In the pasted document, erase where it says Etsy, and type in your business name. Use an attractive but professional font and color--I used Cooper Black in a soft purple.

7. Now erase the next line (it will say your username) and type in your name. Format this text all nice like we did in step 6.

8. Type in the addresses to your shop, studio, Facebook...whatever site it is that you want to get seen. Format this to be the same font as the other lines.

9. Type in a description of what you do or a tagline about your business, if you like. I typed in what I sell, "recycled wallets, jewelry, & home decor".

10. Highlight the whole thing (pictures and text), right click and choose "copy", and paste this underneath the original so you have about 4 cards per sheet.

11. Save your document and print using some nice heavy cardstock! Cut neatly down the sides and between the cards. A guillotine cutter would be a great help in doing this (too bad I can never find mine).
*****Keep in mind, your document is a Word document and not a photo, so if you want to post your card online for some reason, you'll need to scan a card first and use the image of that scan.

This card also gives you the flexibility to change up the items on your card--just go back to Etsy and feature some new items in your shop and follow these steps again. I love making my cards this way. I've been making them this way since September and they really don't seem to take too much time or printer ink (and I have the ink hog kind of printers too--no fanciness here :)). If you want to save on ink, you can always print the text in black instead of color, but the color is one of the things that draws your eye into these cards, in my opinion.

Happy crafting!!

Just Say NO to Etsy Forum Reorganization!

2011-01-20T14:33:00.000-08:00

I wasnt pleased to find out today that Etsy's forum reorganization plan is to continue. Important forums for critiques and techniques & materials are about to be shut down & converted to teams instead. This means in order to either get or give info you have to make a commitment to a team. I am part of many great teams but I dont think people should be required to do this simply to get information. It sounds like only exclusive people are allowed to get or give info which ruins objective speech in my opinion. Yes it's Etsy's site and they can do what they want with it, its just that actions like this ruin the free thinking advice that a lot of us on there like to use Etsy for.

Give It Up for Working Moms!!

2010-08-08T01:14:00.000-07:00

I really think that working moms deserve a lot more credit than they are given. I, personally, am a working mom--I work full-time at an insurance company Monday through Fridays. My son is now 3 months old, and over that time and also during my pregnancy, I'm starting to sense that working moms are being penalized for having a job to have to go to, especially if you work the 9 to 5 shift. Very few doctors offices are open late or on Saturdays, many baby stores and boutiques are only open till 6 and only open a couple hours on Saturdays, most "Mommy and Me"-type classes and playgroups are only during weekday mornings or afternoons, and people just generally look down on women who just plain have obligations outside the home. That last one in particular is confusing because my logic thinks that with the economy being the way it is, this would be more commonly understood.

Working women need to be recognized for the awesome job they're doing in taking on two jobs--an occupation and motherhood. They need to be recognized for taking the initiative to get up every morning and to have to deal with being apart from their child so they can earn an income and bring their families the gift of financial security. Working also takes a huge emotional toll.

This is not to say that I look down on stay at home moms. I don't; I have a lot of respect for stay at home moms, because SAHM motherhood can be even harder than working when you get to the motherhood part of it. On my leave, I was pretty much a SAHM and it took an incredible amount of mental strength. I also didn't write this because I am a working mom and wanted pity, it's just that working is a huge, selfless sacrifice and it's time that every woman who does this gets a salute.

RIP Fabric Section @ Walmart Part II

2010-08-04T21:52:00.001-07:00

Apparently the company had been in talks to get rid of their craft department for a couple years now. This at least dates back to 2008--at that time I found out through a purse group I belonged to on Yahoo that craft departments were disappearing at the other members' stores little by little. At that time, Walmart was saying they were getting rid of the craft department so they could replace it with a "Celebrations" department, which was supposed to be an expanded selection of party garbage (Ooops, I mean GOODS). I haven't really seen any of these departments in the stores I go to, seems like nowadays, they're just chucking the craft department to just get rid of it instead of replacing it with something else. The Super Center in Clarence, NY spontaneously kicked out its craft department just to leave an empty corner of the store where the staff just piles random boxes to be placed on shelves.

I talk to the ladies at my Walmart's craft department pretty often. The company is now moving towards having a small craft department with precut fabrics. Precut fabrics may not neccessarily be such a bad thing (especially if they keep the $5 bolt test program like they have now), but the way I've seen some of the precut stuff they have already there (again, not including the $5 bolts), we'll be paying a heck of a lot more than what we pay now, for the same fabric. One precut yard of some unlicensed graphic fabric ran for around $9. At that point, you're better off just going to either JoAnn's or even your local higher markup fabric store.

I'm tempted to go on a rant about how Walmart is becoming more and more useless of a store as the years go on, but I won't do this, though this is true in my area. I will say, though, that keeping the craft department would fit real good into their "Save Money, Live Better" motto they're promoting. What better way to save money than to make your own stuff?

RIP: Fabric Section @ Wal-Mart

2010-07-26T23:09:00.000-07:00

Today I was at Wal-Mart for more zippers and stabilizer fabric for my clutches, and the fabric section was just a really sad sight. Yes, this was a different store than I usually go to as I was in a different section of town, but what I saw was a crafting graveyard. In case you don't know, Wal-Mart is eliminating most of its craft departments, so huge changes in the fabric sections are showing up in pretty much every store.

The huge fabric selection that this particular store used to have (I used to work there about five years ago) was reduced to one aisle crammed with bolts of unloved, expensive fabric. The real pathetic thing was that I saw Christmas fabric mixed in there, and usually when you see Christmas fabric you know it's a fire sale. No interfacing, no felt bolts, no plain colors...

The current store I go to is one of only two Wal-Marts in the area where the craft section is actually stocked and maintained. The company is also making more and more moves towards pre-cut fabric--OK if it's going to be as great of a price as their $5 bolts, I'm all for it, but that's probably just temporary so customers will get used to the precut fabrics idea. Then what happens, though, when you just need a tiny bit for a project? Another great thing about Wal-Mart is that they sell fabric remnants at great prices too.

It's getting to the point where there is only one fabric store left in my entire area--JoAnn's Fabric. There's also a couple quilting stores that sell fabric, but at $10 a yard for regular cotton fabric, that's prohibitively expensive. I love JoAnn's, but it's really not that great of a place to get fabrics from if you don't have the 40% off coupon, especially if its for business. I'm probably going to start looking for online suppliers...I've already found one for my jewelry on Etsy. I'm tired of the driving anyways :)

Dusting Off the Old Tapes...

2010-04-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

Does anyone remember cassette tapes? You know, those square boxy-like things that had music on both sides? You could record your favorite song on the radio with em? I found myself dusting off a small stack I had last week when I was bored and wanted to see what I could successfully scan with my new scanner. I ended up doing that, and realized that those tapes had all sorts of funky designs on em. Even better was blowing up the image to the size of a sheet of paper, and playing with the image settings and such. The result? Check it out!!

So now I get to carry my wallet stuff in a giant tape!! I'm so excited. It's even got 4 pockets! I'll be making more of these in different sizes and with different shapes. A much smaller sized card wallet is in the works. Check it out at my shop;
http://www.etsy.com/listing/45186547/80s-grafitti-cassette-tape-clutch

Fringed Fleece Blanket Tutorial

2010-03-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

Some call them fringe blankets, some call them knot blankets and some others call them plain old fleece blankets. Ever wondered how to make one? I developed this tutorial from my own special "recipe" of creating the blankets. I was a bit frustrated by having to ask for measurements at the fabric counter each time I would go to make these.

Measurements from these instructions will make a baby or cat-sized blanket. The blanket that is shown in the tutorial was made for my son-to-be. Larger blankets for adults or dogs are made in exactly the same way--just replace the baby measurements with the measurements listed at the end of the tutorial. Happy crafting!

1. Get two pieces of fleece that are about 1.25 yards in length.

2. Place the first piece of fleece FACE DOWN on your work surface. Place the second piece of fleece on top of the first piece with the design facing UP towards you. Line up the edges as best as you can.

3. Cut off any borders or rough edges from fleece. Cut edges so that top and bottom are somewhat even.

4. Measure a 3" square on each of the four corners of the fleece.

5. Measure 3" in from the edge of the fleece, and draw a line with crayon or marker at the 3" mark. Draw the line all the way down the side of the fleece.

6. To make the fleece fringe strips, measure 1" in from the side of the corner square. Mark with crayon. Repeat this all the way down the side of the fleece until you've reached the next corner's square.

7. Cut fleece up to the 3" line you drew in Step 5. Repeat this cut for all the lines you made in Step 6, all the way down the side until you reach the next corner's square.

8. Tie top fringe piece to bottom fringe piece using a DOUBLE KNOT. Double knotting is very important as it makes sure the fringe will not untie eventually with use. Repeat this step all the way down the side of the fleece for all the fleece strips.

9. Repeat steps 5-8 for all 3 remaining sides.

10. You're done, and you now have a warm & cuddly blanket! Unfortunately, these kind of blankets aren't really that photo-op friendly :(

MEASUREMENTS FOR ADULT\LARGE DOG BLANKETS:

-Use a 2.5-yard length of fleece for each side. (Step 1)
-Cut 4" corner squares on all four corners. (Step 4)
-Cut 4" into sides for the cut "baseline". (Step 5)
-Cut 1" wide fleece strips for fringe. (Step 6)

Blanket Drive for the SPCA!

2010-03-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

My cat Otto (you'll remember him as the little darling who stole my donut pillow I made back over the summer) spent a little while in the stray kennel of the Niagara County SPCA a couple years ago before I got him. When I picked him up, I was really impressed with this particular shelter and occassionally checked in with it every so often online from then on. Now I can't adopt another animal because I belong to Otto and he doesn't like other animals much, but thought I could still support the shelter somehow. Then it popped into my head that a great way to support the Niagara County SPCA would be to make small blankets for the animals there.

This facility is a very loving place for homeless cats and dogs, but I thought that the animals probably miss being the comfort of living in a home and being a part of a family. I am hoping these blankets bring the animals a bit of that comfort in their cages. This drive is also being sponsored by my fellow teammates on the Etsy EGG Team (http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6466001).

If you'd like to donate a crafted or gently used (no torn or ragged blankets, please), drop me an email at sugarshoxcrafts@live.com

Thanks!

Handmade Baby Shower...still looking for features!

2010-03-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd bring this up a bit..

I'll be doing a feature article for the Indie Smiles blog on handmade baby products. I'm looking for some sellers of these products to feature in the article. Basically it will be like a buying guide of sorts to all handmade baby items. I think it would be really helpful to parents and soon to be parents--with handmade, you actually know exactly what materials your baby stuff is made from. This is really important, especially now with all the stuff you've been hearing about seemingly harmless toys and products having lead, cadmium, and all sorts of dangerous chemicals in them.

Comment or email me at sugarshoxcrafts@live.com if you would like to be featured!

Etsy Spotlight: Celticcatphotos' Birthday Cat Greeting\Note Card

2010-03-01T19:30:00.000-08:00

Move over Morris; this week’s Etsy Spotlight pick shows that cats aren’t just meant to be seen in cat food commercials—not when they can imitate humans so closely.

Instead of burying his face in a bowl of mush or hard brown shapes, a short-haired orange and white tabby cat named Hamlet takes his first whiffs and samples of birthday cake. This tender moment was captured by Etsy seller Cathy Gangwer (“Celticcatphotos”), and is sold in her shop (http://www.celticcatphotos.etsy.com) as the Birthday Cat Greeting Note Card. (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32143605)

Taken on Hamlet’s first birthday, the image perfectly personifies an animal’s life. It shows an animal acting completely human in the context of the mostly- human situation of a birthday party...

Check out the full article at Indie Smiles!
http://www.indiesmiles.com/meow-ing-out-the-candles/

Etsy Spotlight: Creative Kiwi's Crochet Baby Flower Booties

2010-02-19T16:54:00.000-08:00

Check out my new feature on these adorable Mary Jane-styled baby booties at Indie Smiles!

http://www.indiesmiles.com/etsy-spotlight-creative-kiwis/

Here's a preview:

Going all-natural has never been so adorable!

Containing no synthetic materials with hard-to-pronounce names, Etsy seller Donna Barnard’s (“CreativeKiwi”) Crochet Baby Flower Booties Mary Janes are a great way to keep Baby’s feet warm and safe.

The booties are simply styled to look and fit similar to an adult’s Mary Jane-type shoe. They are light pink and have a one-button closure on the side. They are also very feminine, with an oversized, eye-catching white flower on top of the shoe, which was crocheted “in the round.” The booties will fit a 3 to 6-month-old baby girl.

Stitched using 100 percent cotton yarn, Donna said she is very selective with the materials that are used in making her booties, and only uses cotton or bamboo yarn on them.

“Cotton breathes and is not harsh on babies’ skin,” she said. “The yarn I use is a fine, smooth fiber made from beech trees and then spun with cotton. Babies are so precious, so why not wrap them in comfort? It’s just my way of keeping baby natural.”

Donna also likes to make each pair of these booties unique in some small way.

Attn: All Etsy, Artfire, Folksy, 1000 Markets Baby Product Sellers!!

2010-02-13T00:17:00.000-08:00

I'll be doing a feature article for the Indie Smiles blog on handmade baby products. I'm looking for some sellers of these products to feature in the article. Basically it will be like a buying guide of sorts to all handmade baby items. I think it would be really helpful to parents and soon to be parents--with handmade, you actually know exactly what materials your baby stuff is made from. This is really important, especially now with all the stuff you've been hearing about seemingly harmless toys and products having lead, cadmium, and all sorts of dangerous chemicals in them.

Comment or email me at sugarshoxcrafts@live.com if you would like to be featured!

Etsy Spotlight: Here Comes the Sun Fingerless Gloves by theemptynest

2010-02-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

A love for all things fabric and a classic Beatles song “come together” to create the perfect antidote for those cold and gloomy winter days in this edition of the Etsy Spotlight.

Inspired by “Here Comes the Sun” from The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album, and a few random sweater pieces, theemptynest’s (real name: Janet Metzger) Here Comes the Sun Fingerless Gloves are an all-in-one cozy glove and arm warmer.

Check out the full article at IndieSmiles.com:
http://www.indiesmiles.com/here-comes-the-sun/

Made My First Ad!

2010-01-26T20:14:00.001-08:00

I figure that I should have an ad ready in case I see some promo spots, sooo....tonight I sat down with an old friend named GIMP (aka the cheapskate's version of Photoshop) and made a simple ad all by myself. I'm so excited!! I'm so lame!! Here is the little ad I made:

BTW, I also know why GIMP is the cheapskate's version of Photoshop--using it is like trying to learn a foreign language! You really need a book or some kind of GOOD online tutorial to actually be able to do anything with it. Some people just get stuck trying to open a picture to start with!

Cameron

2010-01-23T12:42:00.000-08:00

He is officially named Cameron Majewski!! Still deciding on a middle name, though.

Boy Names...

2009-12-08T08:05:00.001-08:00

Now that I know I'm having a boy, I've got to think up some boy names. The key for me is to find some boy names that aren't really common but not too far out there either. It's not as easy for me as picking out girl names...

Here are some boy names I've thought of so far:

Cameron*
Cameron Martin
Cameron Christopher
Hayden*
Lucas Christopher*
Alexander*
Cameron Andrew*
Logan

* means hubby likes it too!

I'll be updating names as they are thought of...

UPDATE-1/21: Looks like Cameron Andrew is in the lead so far!

IT'S A BOY!!!

2009-12-05T01:12:00.000-08:00

Pictures coming tomorrow!!

Found out today at my ultrasound I'm having a boy!! That, like this pregnancy itself, was another surprise because I thought in my "woman's intuition" that I was having a girl. The ultrasound technician even guessed at my 13 week exam that it might be a girl because of what she saw on the underside. Guess my little guy's "parts" didn't make themselves known until after that! I saw my husband's face when they said "boy" and it was like he won the Lotto-it lit right up into a big smile; I'll never forget it. He was convinced we were having a girl too, but really wanted a boy, secretly. You know a lot of guys how they want their boy LOL...

Now that I know what it is, it really does feel strange to say my son, and "he" when I refer to the baby. Seems like I tend to automatically say "the baby" or "it" when I refer to it. There I go again.

I'm really glad that I found out the gender before I gave birth--I wouldn't have been prepared if I didn't. I was so ready to have a girl because I convinced myself so good, and when I thought of the baby after it was born I'd automatically picture it being a girl. I didn't have any boy names except for two picked out compared to the huge list of girls names I had too. I wouldn't have wanted the baby to go unnamed either after it was born too.

I'm a little sad though, that this is my last ultrasound until I give birth unless there is something wrong. Of course I don't want anything to be wrong to have to have another u/s, but I'll miss seeing the baby. At least I know inside that if anything was to go wrong, that I'd probably know by now. That's giving me a lot of peace of mind.

BTW, I took the penny test 3 weeks ago and it said boy, along with all the other old wives tales and the Chinese charts. Me being a natural skeptic, I thought they were all phooey. My penny is still stuck to the wall.

PS-My ultrasound technician said that the Intelligender test (urine test to determine gender) only has an 80% rate of correctness. She asked me if I took one, and said A LOT of the girls who come into the office come expecting their Intelligender result and find out just the opposite--some food for thought, especially considering that test is twice the price of an ultrasound copay.

Pick of the Week: Crossword Puzzle Cards from MyGrandpasPen

2009-12-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

Never underestimate the power of a funny idea. That “funny idea” may just turn into something great. That’s how the idea came about for this week’s Pick of the Week.

Etsy seller MyGrandpasPen’s Crossword Christmas and Birthday Cards are this week’s Pick of the Week. Jeanine (AKA MyGrandpasPen) said that the inspiration for the cards was that “funny” idea that ended up growing and growing.

“It was one of those funny ideas that popped into my head and evolved from there,” she said.

The Crossword Christmas and Birthday Cards feature a recycled crossword puzzle as their main attraction, along with a collage of differently-styled and well-coordinated graphics in their greeting. Stamped designs adorn the squares within the puzzle, as well--Christmas tree and present designs for the holiday cards and a birthday cake design for the birthday cards.

The crossword puzzles that are on the cards are the real deal, too. Jeanine said they come from her very own puzzle books.

“I love crossword puzzles and you would think I would finish all the puzzles in a book, but I usually don’t,” she said. “The puzzles are recycled from puzzle books I own. I have some puzzle scrapbook paper too, but it just doesn’t feel the same,”

The cards have blank insides for custom messages, and are available at MyGrandpasPen’s Etsy shop at http://mygrandpaspen.etsy.com. The Crossword Christmas Cards ship in a set of six cards (custom amounts are also available).

MyGrandpasPen AKA, Jeanine, hails from Calgary in Alberta, Canada, and has been selling on Etsy since June of 2008. Her Etsy moniker and shop name came from childhood memories of her grandfather.

“My Grandpa would always give us a pen at Christmas, and that along with all the other craft supplies that were around really inspired me to create and play with my imagination,” Jeanine said.

She also has an Artfire studio (http://mygrandpaspen.artfire.com), and said she loves crafting because she loves the process of creating. Her favorite kinds of crafts are scrapbooking and sewing.

“I really enjoy the process,” she said. “I was an engineer (electrical\computer engineering), so it’s great to do something completely different,”

Her 13-year-old daughter Taylor is also a big influence on her crafting.

“She is such a help—if I tell her an idea, she’ll give me so many different ways to take it even further,” Jeanine said.

MyGrandpasPen’s future plans include taking her love of scrapbooking even further. She would like to start designing her own embellishments with her die cutting machine, among other ideas that are “on the back burner just waiting for the right day to try them.”

Crossword Christmas Cards: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16934910

Crossword Happy Birthday Card:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24941526

MyGrandpasPen’s Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MyGrandpasPen

Coming Soon: Pick of the Week Etsy feature!

2009-12-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

Beginning this week, I'm starting a weekly feature that will spotlight a unique item that everyone just has to see from an Etsy seller! It will be called "Pick of the Week," and is a spotlight of not only that particular item, but the seller themselves. As a fellow Etsy seller myself, I know that being seen out of the millions of people on Etsy can be hard and I know I've always appreciated help on promoting from other Etsy sellers when they've extended that opportunity to me.

I'll also be promoting this feature on the Etsy forums and other craft websites (so far I'm thinking Cut Out and Keep, and any national or international site with promotion boards--other ideas on where I can submit are ALWAYS appreciated!). I really want to get this out there to as many people as I can because these items deserve to be seen!

This week's feature will feature Holiday and Birthday Crossword Puzzle cards from Etsy seller MyGrandpasPen (http://mygrandpaspen.etsy.com).

If YOU would like to be featured, give me a holler!

The Ultimate Craft Project: Week 17

2009-11-20T16:25:00.001-08:00

Technically, I'm on the last day of week 16, but I'll count this as week 17 because that's where I'll be by the time people read this LOL.

The big news this week is that I'm getting bigger. MUCH, MUCH bigger! I've gained about 11 lbs so far, which I guess isn't too bad (better not be, I'm watching my weight like a hawk!), but my stomach is really sticking out there. It's huger than it was when I was 97 lbs heavier! Never would I have thought this about getting bigger, but it's actually kind of cute to see how my new belly has a curve to the protrusion. The belly also helps me keep my mind at ease too to let me know there's still something in there! My last ultrasound was about 4 weeks ago, but everything should be OK because I went to the doctor one week ago and we heard a good, strong heartbeat.

I find out the gender of the baby at my next ultrasound on December 4th. At least Thanksgiving and the holidays are helping the time pass faster because I'm getting on the impatient side! I really want to know what the baby is. I was actually tempted to buy this test called Intelligender--I spent WAY too much time on the pregnancy boards at the time so don't blame me for the hysteria lol. This is a pee test thats basically the same as a regular pregnancy test only it tells you if you're having a boy or a girl. You can get it over the counter at Target or any of the drug stores. The problem is, the test is $40! That's twice my copay for an ultrasound!! I don't know if I want to spend all that money because I just can't wait a second. Don't worry, I won't be doing that now that I've got Christmas shopping to think about!

Posted are some 13 week pics of the baby!

Black Friday sale in my shop!!

2009-11-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

On Black Friday weekend (Nov. 27-30), I will be offering a free tree ornament from my upcoming X-Mas Goodies ornament collection with any purchase. The ornament's shipping is also free! Please specify your choice in the "message to seller" box at checkout. Don't miss out on this chance to sweeten up your X-Mas tree!

Anyone have theirs up yet or will be putting thiers up soon? I'll probably start working on it next weekend. Christmas trees are nice to put up on the early side because they're so pretty and you can only have them up for a couple months out of the year.

The Ultimate Craft Project!

2009-10-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

I crafted up a baby! I'm 11 weeks pregnant today. OK, ignore that post I made back in July about being all weepy cause I got a negative test. Actually, look at that post again--because that day that I got the negative result was actually the first week I was pregnant according to my due date. I ovulated two weeks later and success! Back then I thought it was going to take way longer to get pregnant because I just got off birth control the previous month and I heard it can take a while to get off the pill entirely. Apparently, I underestimated how efficient my body is! Turns out the egg fertilized around the second week of August--so I was barely off the pill for a little over a month when it happened. Boy am I surprised! Surprised, but very happy at the same time! I even took 11 home tests over the next few weeks to confirm in addition to the blood test and the doctor's tests, because I just couldn't believe it.

But the tiredness is killing me, though! It's getting harder and harder to work on craft projects because I'm always falling asleep at night. And it's not just at night that I'm tired--I'm dead tired all day. Seeing as how I'm almost done with the first trimester, hopefully this will go away soon. It's such a pain! I barely have the energy to photograph and list for my shop in the same day--and that's just for one item. Ugh..not only that but by now I've gained around 5 lbs despite all the exercise and staying away from fast food that I've been doing..but at least not too much morning sickness!!

Will post first ultrasound pictures (9 weeks) soon!

Just Listed! Choco Donut Earrings

2009-08-06T21:16:00.001-07:00

Just listed in my Etsy shop; tasty chocolate-frosted donut earrings! Makes me SO want the real thing! I decided to make these because I just really wanted a pair of earrings with minature donuts. I really like how they bob and move really freely--wonder if thats because of the O-shape...Anyhow, I'll also be making and offering more kinds of donut earrings-a plain one (w no frosting, as my salute to Krispy Kreme--RIP Krispy Kreme around here), one with just the chocolate ring, and some "creme-filled" ones. I'm no stranger to donut-making; I made a huge body pillow for me in the shape of a creme-filled donut. My cat also has laid claim to it, see below.. He won't let it go either!

Just Listed; TV Dinner Earrings

2009-08-02T08:13:00.001-07:00

New listing in my Etsy shop!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28682270

I was really excited to list these; well, not that I'm not excited to list my other stuff, but these were somehow different. I'm just learning how to work with polymer clay and thought, "what don't I see that I would like to see in the world of fake food", and I thought of TV dinners. I've always liked how they come all compartmentalized in that little tray and how they always seem to taste like plastic. Plus, I have this really cool TV dinner notepad at work that I write some of my memos on. I sat down with a scrap of paper and a pen and sketched out how the earrings were going to look. I molded the clay from there, punched a hole for attaching and baked em. I was kind of surprised at how easy it was to cook compared to flour/salt dough that I've used before. I also learned one thing from making the originals (everything in my shop is made new upon ordering) that Sculpey III sucks! Way too brittle...I had to remake these a couple times because of that. Still fun though!

A Bit Disappointed...

2009-08-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling shaky and dizzy when I do certain things lately like driving and even exercising, so I told my family about it and they're all like "You're probably pregnant". I had a hard time believing at first, but then I started to notice some of the symptoms and think that maybe they had a point.

Not to mention that I'm really excited to get pregnant at this point and time, and got off my birth control about a month and a half ago so I could do that. So yesterday I finally gave in and bought a test; just a dollar store test--I did have something that looked like a period so I didn't want to spend $8 just for a negative result. I took the test this morning and it came out negative. I'm disappointed, but I probably really shouldn't be seeing as how I only got off BC a short time ago AND had a period a week ago. Stupid, stupid, stupid me to think I was pregnant. Well, back to the drawing board and trying to drown out that baby-wantin' feeling with some crafting...

My Etsy Shop!

2009-07-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

Not sure how to publish my Etsy Mini on here; taking a shot...

Looking For A Sewing Machine...

2009-07-26T00:43:00.000-07:00

Well, my sewing machine is dead. That means I'm going to need a new one. Frankly, I'm not that enthusiased to have another one, but in order to make my pillows and stuffies it's a necessity. I didn' t like my old sewing machine much in the first place--it kept jamming and never really sewed correctly no matter how hard I tried to fix it.

Anyhow, I'm looking for either an industrial-strength machine or an older sewing machine (one that has all metal parts inside of it). I'll really take anything right now except a brand new machine--I was told I would have to spend $600 on a quality new one, so I don't want to waste the money on a new one. If you know where I can get one, let me know. I'm willing to buy one you may not be using as well!