added more to the etsy

Once again I am overcome by that nagging feeling that Christmas is so close and my etsy shop is still bare. There are buyers out there who appreciate unique handmade things. I hope. My endeavors continue. The saddest part is that all of these items have been created over a month ago and I am just now getting them photographed and posted. Creative and lazy are traits that tend to cancel each other out. I did get some quality time with decent lighting on Tuesday.





I did have a little motivator to crack to whip.

christmas efforts

I really have to get my etsy shop going. I think my biggest problem is my lack of new items. I also make a lot of things (like purses) that are common and get buried in the searches. Here is the first of my efforts to fill up my shop for Christmas. Guitar straps for those hard to shop for punkers in your life. That reminds me... I need to pick out some fabric for a special guitar strap for Mr. S.

chicago vaca

We spent our anniversary in Chicago. Five years ago honeymooned there, but didn't see much because we were very young and broke. This time was much more organized and very fun. We spent a lot of time at the usual touristy hotspots like the Field museum and the aquarium. We shopped our brains out and we ate so much Chicago pizza. Love Chicago.

I finally got through my last show of the season.

I have been making for about three weeks straight. No time for pics or posting. The Strange Folk Fest really busted my inventory.... so not complaining. Anyway the pressure has been on for the big O'Fallon High School craft fair. I went ahead and started making my items in fours. It is much easier to cut several of the same pattern instead of doing them one at a time. I know I know. They are not one of a kind anymore. In my defense, all of the prints are different. They are all still very special. I realize my booth looks rather cramped. The booths were small this time around. The rule is the more merch you have displayed, the more merch you can sell.

Zipper purses with shoulder straps...

Brocade drawstring bags...

little aprons

Funky little aprons!


I really wish I had someone little to model these. They were a special request from Brittany for her nieces. I have much love for my bias tape foot. I really need to use it more.

Lebanon Fall Festival

Here's the old booth at the Lebanon Festival. Strange Folk kind of cleaned me out, but I still did better here than the last two years. The next event is at the O'Fallon High School on November 1 and 2nd. When I finish that one, I don't know of any more this year. I'm sure Christmas crafting will keep me busy whether I'm making gifts for my family or commissioned work for people I know. I really wish I had the attention span to get those guitar straps on etsy. Maybe tomorrow... Columbus day is a bankers holiday.

ohhhh I love my Strange Folk

I have never unloaded so much inventory in all of my life. The Strange Folk Festival was totally worth the loss of a weekend. The weather was amazing, the vendors were friendly, and the customers were spending money. I couldn't ask for anything more. Here are a couple of shots of my booth.

Fabric came today!

A box of really freakin sweet fabric showed up at my door today! I already made a guitar strap out of my new shipment.
I finally got some pics of the tote I finished this weekend. I am still on this scrap busting kick. This kind of crazy patchwork takes a lot of time. I just might keep this one for my knitting stuff.

gearing up for the strange folk fest

Here are a couple of sea themed wristlets I stitched in efforts to make more fun things for the Strange Folk festival. I figure you can't go wrong with a wristlet. They are so handy, great for gifting, and are typically a little cheaper than investing in a whole new bag.

I also made a major purchase at equilter.com last night. I have been drooling over their fabric for years. Last night I just did it. I sucked it up and paid for it. Here are a couple of pieces I am really excited about...


I'm hoping to make some awesome guitar straps out of these.

such a lazy blogger

I'm averaging about one post a month these days. What a crappy deal. I do have some stuff keeping glued to the real world instead the internet one. I have a craft festival coming up at the end of next month. http://www.strangefolkfestival.com. I am beginning to cram for that one. My new fall product is going to be guitar straps. I'm waiting on the postman to bring me supplies for those.

I must have lost my mind, because I have changed my diet completely. I am now a (gulp) vegetarian. I have not had any meat (or anything else unhealthy) in the last four weeks. I was hoping to lose some weight along with this. I'm down about 8 pounds, but not as drastic as I had hoped for. I guess it is true that you have to exercise to lose weight. Today I made veggie pizza with whole wheat crust. I must be nuts. It was really pretty good.

Here is a big fat bunch of stuff I made (mostly finished up today).

I actually finished some stuff.

Here are a couple I finished up today.
This one totally hates me. I wanted it to be sharper and boxier. I do have some ideas for next time though. The whole construction of the thing has to be different.

I didn't take any pics of the sides because that is what I hated the most. On the bright side, it does have this great wide opening up top.

The second one is more my style. It was a good baby and did not give any grief.