My new friend : the sewing machine

I spent some time on the sewing machine last week and I think that I can now say I know how to sew! i'm no expert, but I did use it without cursing which was fun! Maybe sometime soon I can try out a pattern from this amazing site called Burda Style I made some new badges! Earlier last year, I hand-sewed some similar ones and I have enjoyed wearing them on jackets and purses. They've received a lot of attention, mostly from guys asking me what I did to win that award! To create the badges, I heat pressed my image onto a light canvas, chose a fabric piece (from my recycled upholestry samples) to match each image, and then a ribbon or zipper to match each as well. Here's a peak at a few badges now available in the shop! Thanks to sweet Jena also for already giving the badges some love on the oh so fun modish blog!

Coraline Premiere

We had the opportunity to experience the premiere of Coraline last Thursday. It was a beautifully, magical and amazing evening! The movie was so happy and sweet and i thought Coraline was so adorable. I've included some pictures below from the night. All of the handmade sets from the movie were on display at the after party as well as the creative minds behind the characters. They were there with their work stations which was incredible to see as well. 72 seconds of film per week...i cannot imagine - and it's in 3d! very admirable work!

Snail Mail for Charity

I sent in a handmade valentine for Fred Flare's Snail Mail for Charity and it's up for sale now! 100% of the proceeds will benefit Elder Craftsmen. There was also a coaster included inside! Send some sweet thoughts (& a coaster) to someone you love! There's a very similar card available in my shop

Organizing the portfolio : Hangtags

I've been spending some time lately working on gathering and shooting past design projects for my portfolio. It's in need of an update and I think I might be in need of some more projects to occupy my time during the slow months. Yesterday I shot hangtags and labels that I designed during my time working at Fossil. I remember these being some of my favorite projects to work on because we were able to run wild with materials, processes, and techniques - a designer's dream! Hangtags created for various denim fits. Materials used : T-shirt fabric, felt, canvas.Type was embroidered and printed. Handbag hangtags designed & illustrated. The tag on the left is embossed leather. Left : Hangtag for winter down-filled jackets. Canvas was the material used - artwork was printed onto canvas & the bottom canvas was also tea-stained. Right: Extra button hangtag. Artwork was printed onto vellum and sides were embroidered to create an envelope to hold the extra button for each garment. These hangtags were created to go along with the different fitting pants in store. Printed canvas and a light tea stain. Top: Hangtag created for garment dyed items. Canvas was printed and embroidered. Bottom: Extra button hangtag. Artwork was printed onto vellum and sides were embroidered to create an envelope to hold the extra button for each garment.

Reflecting

I've been spending the day looking back thru disks of past design projects. I'm in the process of putting my design portfolio together. I found this and couldn't resist posting immediately - it's kind of emabarassing! This must have been something that i sent out to people in the very very beginning a little over 4 years ago. This little business has come a long way! The past week has been full of sunshine and happiness

Poppytalk Handmade : Love Transforms

Valentine's Day isn't too far away! This month I'm participating in Poppytalk Handmade's LOVE TRANSFORMS virtual market. The site is filled with some of the most beautiful and creative handmade products and i'm so happy to be a part of it I'll be posting new items throughout the month, including cards and new magnet sets. Visit my table!

2009 : a new year

Happy New Year! I'm struggling to get myself out of holiday mode, but I'm almost there! I just couldn't stay away from writing any longer. I have things to share! The problematic thing for me is that the end of my year goes some thing like this - thanksgiving - holiday madness - holiday fun with friends and family - new years - my birthday week and then my finally my birthday! i think that my new year's beginning truly begins the day after my birthday every year. That will be friday this year! I've been spending the week trying to ease into the year. A photo that kim took of brian & I on the eve of this new year. We went to a really fun black & white party hosted by corporatepig I love my brian! Yesterday, I worked on some coffee label designs for my mom Today, I spent a good part of the day rearranging our dining room to make room for a 1st floor workspace. I thought i could use the light that the window facing south could give me ;) I'll share pictures of that soon. I certainly hope that it's been a fun filled new year for you! Happy 2009!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

We're still enjoying the snow here. It seems to make things extra festive while we're preparing our gifts for friends and family and thinking about packing to fly back to texas for the week. As I write, it looks like a blizzard outside and it brings a smile to my face. I think I'll try and talk my sweet brian into an adventure outdoors! Here are a few of our holiday I'd like to share. I wish you the happiest christmas ever filled with many moments of joy!

snow, shows & shopping!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas! and it's only 10 days away. it really snuck up on me this year. i returned home safely from chicago and all of it's cold and snow. of course i met many talented people (like my booth neighbor Miss Allison) at the renegade show. i got some holiday shopping and trading done. and i stayed with the nicest friends of friends who made me feel so welcome. it was a fun and successful weekend! Here's what my booth looked like. The first picture was the scene that we saw when we walked out the door to leave for Crafty Wonderland on Sunday morning. The roads today were still dangerous from the snow we got yesterday, so I had Brian sharing the day at home with me which was nice. I think the kitties enjoyed having him here too. I've been posting my remaining stock in my etsy shop all day and I'll continue to do that for the rest of the week. I'm also offering **free priority shipping and gift wrapping** on all regular priced items now thru this friday, december 19th! Here's a sampling of some of the goods.

Renegade Craft Fair

You can find me here at the Renegeade Holiday Sale in Chicago this weekend! I'll flying to the east and into very chilly weather. It's been nice and not so cold here in Portland lately, so I'm interested to see what 20 degrees feels like with the snow showers which are expected. yikes! I'm all stocked up though and ready to sell. There are going to be 149 other people selling their wares, i only wish i was going to have more to shop. I'll be surrounded by many talented peeps so i'm sure there will be plenty of shopping only steps away! Super excited!

Octopi Treasury

Thanks Owliday Inn! Get your octopus print in my etsy shop!

I am thankful

As Thanksgiving nears, I think of the many things in my world that i have to be thankful for. My mother, who sends the most thoughtful packages that arrive at least every other month. they are basically like care packages you would get at camp! Yesterday we received Grandma Hannah'a Banana Bread. My husband, who cooks us nice meals to enjoy together - a change from the cheese + crackers + fruit that i usually eat when he isn't around. I'm also thankful to have his hands helping me out with the business this week. I'm thankful for family and friends we have in our lives that are surrounded by and also connected with thanks to cell phones, text messages, facebook, emails, myspace, flickr, blogging, and...did i miss anything? I'm thankful to be so busy that I have to remind myself to breathe! And I am thankful for my health as a couple of people near and dear are constantly in my thoughts as they are trying to heal. And I'm thankful for our 2 kitties, fattie + blackie, that just want to cuddle, eat + sleep. It's a beautiful life and there is so much to be thankful for. Below are a few pieces i've created this week to help promote the Secret Society Sale which is this coming Sunday, November 30. There will be 35 local artists participating and each will be donating 10% of their profits to the Oregon Food Bank, because no one should be hungry. Did you know that Oregon is the 3rd hungriest state in the nation? Check out the site for the full details.

Packaging Projects

This week, I've been working on packaging for a new product that my friend, Chef Bronwen, of Flavour Pals, is working on. I'll be posting about that tomorrow, but I wanted to share with you some of the packaging that I created for my mom and step-dad's company, Coffee City USA a few years ago. The first is a pillow box containing 4 different types of coffee. Each comes with a card attached that you can use to write a message. You can purchase them on their site. At one point, Hallmark carried one of the designs. Mom and Ray LOVE to collect coffee tins! So I wasn't surprised when they asked me to design a line of coffee tins to sell with their coffee inside. We also spotted 3 of the tins in a magazine once, being used as props on a shelf! I'll try to locate that to post. It was surprising and exciting to see even though no credit was given. Hallmark also carried one of the designs too.

New at Handmade Julz

There are 6 new pieces of art for you to choose from on the site!