Handmade Arcade!

Please come visit me this weekend at Pittsburgh's own amazing indie craft fair, Handmade Arcade. It's held every year at Construction Junction. This year there will be over 100 vendors including a few people selling food and snacks.

Here's a list of the demos:

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10

11:15am - 12:00pm “Beaded Beads” Carrie Nardini, I Made It!

12:00pm - 1:00pm Book Binding Ian Short, Artists Image Resource

1:30pm - 2:30pm Yarn Dying Stacey Wettstein, Knit One

3:00pm - 4:30pm Illustrated Storytelling and Drawing Workshop For Children Joe Wos, sponsored by the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

4:45pm - 7:00pm Copper Bracelets & Olive Oil Soap Adina DeRoy & Adriane Pacella, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11

11:15am - 12:00pm “Beaded Beads” Carrie Nardini, I Made It!

12:00pm - 1:00pm Book Binding Ian Short, Artists Image Resource

1:15pm- 2:15pm Glass Bead Blowing Kim Hergert, Sweetgrass Beads

2:30pm – 5:00pm Copper Bracelets & Olive Oil Soap Adina DeRoy & Adriane Pacella, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts

**Plus screenprinting make 'n take with Artists Image Resource AND create**

**Zipper pull with Pat Catan's.**

And get this: A free crafty swag bag to the first 100 visitors each day.

I've got a great spot right in the middle across from my friend Emily of DisCARDS. I'm really looking forward to this. It's so nice to go to an event that's pretty close to home in a town I know like the back of my hand. I get to stay with a good friend, take care of errands on Friday evening, and head home with an easy drive on Sunday. Yay!

There are directions on the website. Hours are from 11 - 7 on Saturday and from 11 - 5 on Sunday AND, it's about a mile from Trader Joe's so you can stock up on your Double Dark coffee beans on your way home.

Good news and bad news...

I was cleaning up my blog links earlier today and accidentally deleted the whole page element! Terrible news.

So luckily I had a window open with my blog that had the original list so I quickly cut and pasted the column into Word which (hooray!!) pasted the imbedded links as well.

It's going to take me hours to get the thing formatted again so I will not be doing that today. Blog links: Coming Soon.

That's Koko signing frown from this website.

Softies Central -- Go Vote!

Obviously, I'm not a finalist in the Let it Snow! Category but that bunny up there by my new friend over at Etsy is! Astulbee is going to be at the Bust Craftacular in Dec. with me.

Check out the finalists and do some voting over at the Softies Central blog.

Buy Handmade!

I took the Handmade Pledge this year and so should you! It doesn't mean that you have to buy ONLY handmade items but it means that you're making an effort. I'm about halfway finished with my holiday shopping and most of it has been off Etsy. I'm so glad these guys got together and organized this online event. It's really cool.

I'll be selling my stuff at two major shows in the upcoming weeks (Handmade Arcade and the Bust Craftacular, links to left). I always buy stuff at these types of events, even though I'm always rushing to see all the stuff from the other vendors. I love Etsy but it's really cool to meet the makers in person sometimes too.

Softies Central Holiday Softie Awards

I mustered up the courage to enter this year's Holiday Softie Awards sponsored by the amazing folks over at Softies Central. I've mentioned this blog before. They feature plush -- all day, almost everyday, on their blog.

I don't remember how I found out about them -- just clicking links, I think. Every year they have cool contest categories so I entered this bean into the Let It Snow category.

You can view all the entries in the flickr pool and more pics of my bean here. There's some really really really great stuff so I'm not expecting to win but it sure would be cool to get a mention, huh?

The front of the bean is the same amazingly soft faux fur that makes my yetis. The back is some super soft fleece that I picked up just for this. As always, he has a little Lemon Cadet label on the back. The rules for the category specify that the item had to be mostly white but you could use some color for accent. My favorite holiday colors are white and silver and metallic blue so when I saw the category, this is what came to mind. You know I gotta sport my Jewish heritage every now and then.

In a week, they will be announcing the top 5 in each category and I'll let you know when you can vote.

I'll post the winners as soon as I hear. And I'm sure you'll hear my shouts of joy if I'm one of them!

Wow!

Today I reached a huge milestone: 3,500 hits to the blog. Thanks so much for reading! What's really cool, is that the little number way down there on the left sidebar shows how many visits I've had. That means people are actually spending some time here.

I've had over 6,000 page views. Those are the quickies. I'd rather keep track of the real deal and 3,500 means a lot to me.

Above is a picture of the Dunleary Pier in Ireland. I went there on a visit to Dublin with a friend when I was a Freshman in college. I took a picture of this huge white rock on the side of the pier and said, "I'm going to tell everyone that this is the famous rock at Dunleary Pier." You know, 'cause once you're home, all your photos tend to look the same to the people you show them to and what harm would it really do.

When I was searching Google for an image of a milestone, I remembered that. Thanks to the people over at Reclaim the Sea for letting me use this awesome image that has absolutely nothing to do with my now over 3,500 page views nor does it depict that rock I once took a picture of. But I think that somehow it might give you some insight into where my designs come from...

What I want for Christmas... a holiday gift guide

clearly so........original aceo by Tim's Sally.


Every Christmas, my family demands to know what I want under the tree or in my stocking (Yes. I'm 33. Yes. We still do stockings. And I hope we do stockings until I'm 66). So instead of making a boring list of links to items on Etsy, I thought I'd create a little gift guide of sorts. These are some awesome things I have found and I think they would make excellent gifts. And if you're my mom, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, or husband (who bought my Christmas presents from Etsy last year ON Christmas day), you can take this post as a major hint hint.

An Etsy shopping tip: If someone sends you a link to something they want and it says it has been SOLD, just look in the shop. Many artists and crafters make multiple copies of their pieces or have something very similar. If there's nothing listed, feel free to send a convo. Most Etsy sellers are super nice and are more than happy to accomodate requests -- as long as you give them plenty of time before the holiday.

Above is a little ACEO by a shop I ran across the other day in the Time Machine 2. She has some amazing little items in her shop and they are very well priced. I also like Now Can I print and this larger original Onlooking guide although I love the idea of hanging tiny little works of art around my studio as inspiration.

Yeti shadow puppet by Owly Shadow Puppets.
As you may know, I'm obsessed with yetis. What better to give a yeti lover than a shadow puppet that she can play with in the evening hours to her hearts content. Imagine large looming yetis all over the walls... Heaven.


division by 2 by cori d, another great shop I recently discovered.


Zanzibar Girfkin by the talented odkins.
See my post on the Yeti Loves Seamonster blog for more on this craziness.


one of these from nectar.
I am a big fan of handmade jewelry. Nectar is a great shop. My favorite of this bunch for color and style is the middle one. But you couldn't give someone a fabulous necklace without matching earrings, could you? Well, of course you could but if you wanted to give a set, then go with either style of dot earrings in a matching color.


metropolitan earrings by siren jewels.
Cute huh? Hip and retro without being too pretentious.


Round but Square ... Sterling Silver Earrings by Lunasa Designs.
These are nice for the person who likes geometric shapes but pines for the organic as well.


poppy earrings by nikole sarvay designs.
Nikole is new to Etsy but no newcomer to jewelry making. This earrings rock my world. I love red. I love coral (as long as it's sustainably harvested).


Simplicity Pendant from Block Party Press.
Isn't this just lovely? They have such nice things. Their items are all made from polymer clay so they won't weigh you down or break up your pocketbook like precious metals do.


yuzu soap by you stink soap.
I bought some of this shortly after joining Etsy. It's amazing. Really amazing. You must try it. We are out and have been jonesing for more.


squall jointed paper doll set by Wool & Water.
What words do I have for these paper dolls that they aren't already speaking themselves? If I got these, I would either cut them out and assemble them right away to hang next to the wolf I already have hanging from my studio shelf OR love them love them love them so much that I couldn't bear to chop them up.


Chairry. I want a Chairry doll from Pee Wee Herman's Playhouse. It may seem ridiculous but I do. I don't care if it's used. I don't need it to be in a box. I just want the doll. And I don't want him to be dirty. My chair from Blue's Clues is lonely. Sometimes on eBay you can get them cheap if someone has called it "Chairy" instead of "Chairry."


Craft Magazine is amazing. Perhaps you'd like to renew a loved one's subscription. $34.95 (I think -- it may be cheaper to renew).


And a gift certificate from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble is always a good gift -- especially if the person in your life needs some sort of business/craft book and can't decide which one is best. I prefer Border's but there isn't one near us.

I desperately need a new pair of fabric scissors.


I should have gotten a scarlet spoon rest from Fiestaland for my birthday this year but we've been so busy we didn't take our annual trip up there. They are available here or order one from Elder Beerman.

This list has gotten longer than expected and I will probably add items to it as Christmas draws nearer. When I was in Jr. High, one Christmas I remember making an elaborate collage of all the things I wanted using pictures I cut out of magazines. Yes. It did contain a picture of a Caboodles. I won't lie. A blog is a little more time consuming but not as messy.