Fp!

Major Shop Update!

Check it out here.

Wow, it's been a whirlwind!

New Items:

Here's a peak of the new line of items I am in the process of working on. I love these bows so much! Made of linen and wool felt, these bow brooches satisfy my need to assert my girlishness and incorporate sewing my new found love of screen printing! They have a pin in the back, but these can also looped through a headband or attached to a pony tail with ribbon. These lovelies should be available in le shoppe sometime next week.

Shop News:

My little shop has been getting a little bit of recognition recently, and it makes my heart pitter patter with pride and appreciation. Firstly, a couple of weeks ago, I was featured on the blog of Found Paper Co. It was such a lovely experience and Xenia was the sweetest!

Also, she so kindly informed me that I was featured in the back to school gift guide! Phew! I can't tell you how excited I was!

Then, shortly after, I received a message from a fellow etsian who was interested in carrying a few of my items in her brand new b&m, called Bento, to be located in Pennsylvania. I am currently working on the order and can't wait to ship them off to their new home.

Finally, I am going to participate in Poppytalk Handmade's School Day's market which will run from August 17th through September 18th.

With all this excitement, it seems that my blog has been a little neglected. I promise to do better in the future :)

It's the small things.

I love handmade for a number of reasons. When I purchase handmade at craft fairs and online, I have an immense appreciation for the time and thought that goes into the concept and making of each item. Above all, however, I love the details. I have a collection of notes, ribbons, millinery flowers, lace, thank you's, and other miscellaneous items that were lovingly placed in packages I have received. As a result, I have been putting a lot of thought into the packaging of my items.

I have a ton of card blanks that I've never gotten around to embellishing. I put these to use by sewing up two sides of each folded card to create a little pouch, which I have hand stamped. These are perfect to hold small treasures, such as my screen printed pouches.

Silhouette, originally uploaded by whimsyandink.

I am also pretty excited for my new fabric labels. I am going to pin these on to all of my sewn handbags, clutches, and zippered pouches.

This is how the label will look on the finished product:

With all of the time and energy I've spent on these modifications to my packaging, I have not yet had the chance to sew my new designs. I am going to a Jet concert on Friday with some very dear friends, but I plan on spending the rest of the weekend working on beefing up my stock. Christmas will be here before we know it and I would love for nothing more than to do my first craft show before then.

Oh happy surprise!

One of my favorite features on Etsy is the treasury. It's pretty amazing to see other artists, crafters and creative types celebrate their peers' work by curating beautiful, cohesive collections
of items. I was honored to stumble upon this stunning treasury created by Brown Pigeon which includes my lovely little rosettes in sunshine. Thank you, thank you!

I am excited for the upcoming week. I had to work this weekend but spent much time scribbling design ideas in my journal for upcoming sewn projects. I don't want to give too much away just yet, but they will feature a hand illustrated silhouette of a very famous little lady. I'll be sure to share pictures of my progress!

Adventures in screen printing.

I've been in a major crafting slump recently. It seems that all I can bring myself to do is sit down in a nest of fabric heaps and slowly rummage through everything, piece by piece. I decided that today, instead of following my usual m.o., I would attempt something that I've always wanted to do.

Overall, it was a huge success! I was most worried about over or under exposing my screen, but the image was beautifully burned in to the screens. I made quite a few (expensive...moleskine!) blunders but am pretty happy with my work.

What I've learned from my mistakes:

• Make sure the screen is completely dry before laying it over a new item. This is the hardest part for me because I tend to get super excited and anxious to give it another run.
• DO NOT lay something over ink that has not yet dried. This should seem like a no-brainer, but it is easy to do.
• The screen must be perfectly flat over the surface you are trying to print. Otherwise the screen might shift, resulting in a blurry image.

I can't wait for some future attempts. I sense a long night of playing around in photoshop ahead of me :)

P.S. The items pictured above can be purchased in le shoppe.