Valentine's Day - Show Some Love

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since my last blog post. So much has happened since then. I last updated about my craft show prep...well, when Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast it changed those plans. The craft show was moved to March 2nd so I have been thankfully given a few extra months (since the hurricane anyway) for me to prep. With just over a month left to prepare I'm feeling the heat but I'm confident I can do it! :)

Also around the corner is Valentines Day. I was never too into it as a kid and I've never really had a Valentine, but now that I'm older I find myself falling in love with this holiday. It allows me to step out of my comfort zone when making jewelry. I'll be the first to admit that pink is not a color I wear and I think sometimes that bit of predjudice for the color leaks over into my creativity. But for Valentine's Day I can go nuts.

It's not just me though. I've found a bunch of nice items on Etsy that I just love. :)

I used to stay away from pink colored things like this when I was younger, but these sweet pretzel treats are just too good to pass up now. Check out TheSugarForest for these and more goodies.

I'm such a sucker for bath and body products. I covet the stuff in any color, shape, or form. These blue soap hearts are so pretty and there is plenty more where these come from at Bmbyx. And if blue isn't your thing why not check out the bubble bath, body lotion, and heart soap gift set? CarriesBerries carries that and a variety of items just like it.

 

Of course being a handmade fanatic I love handmade cards. There is nothing better than seeing such beautiful creations I once thought could only be found at a store offering mass produced things. These are some really adorable and creative designs. The kitty one is my favorite.

If you'd like to see more check out KidCardDesigns for more like the butterfly card. Love that robot? Sentimentsbydesign has many more gorgeous creations like it. And for my personal favorite, check out AnnKayGreetingCards for more.

I would love to see any V-Day creations you guys have made or have found across Etsy or Artfire. :) My shop also has some V-Day items, here are just a few:

 

And last just a bit of news. I fell down our basement stairs yesterday. It was so not fun. ): I am thankfully alright and nothing seems broken. I am able to walk on the leg I injured and am now just tending to some minor scrapes and a very swollen foot/leg. Hopefully there won't be any hospital trips in my near future. I also found out yesterday (just before I fell down the stairs) that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has hiked up their shipping prices again, effective starting today. I sincerely apologize for all the inconvenience this will cause to my International shoppers/fans. International rates have just about doubled. So again, I do apologize for the inconvenience this will cause. I am going to be looking into seeing whether or not UPS or Fedex offers anything cheaper but I'm not sure that they do.

Anyway, have a great Sunday night! :)

~ Remmie

Craft Show Prep

Things are starting to get rather busy as the days are just flying by, counting down towards the day of the craft show! Believe it or not I am still trying to acquire some supplies for the show.

I'm still working on the shop and it's definitely tough trying to get things listed on Etsy while thinking ahead for what I will need come November 3rd. One of the things I have been stressing over is prepping one of my mannequins. I was lucky enough to acquire a full torso with head and realistic face through a Haunter (Halloween) friend. She came to me bald and has some minor damage plus paint peeling. My dilemma has been agonizing over whether I want to tackle trying to re-paint her. I'm just too in love with her current face and know that I can't make an exact re-painted copy of it (since every artist's style is different).

Instead, I opted to try and find a wig that could cover the paint peeling on her forehead and just a few weeks ago I found the perfect one. It shipped from China and I was worried it wouldn't arrive, but it just got here two days ago.

With all the rain we've had I had I wasn't able to get outside to take pictures of her until today.

My biggest concern is covering up her breasts. The person who owned her before me painted on nipples so I can't leave her naked. She also, sadly, did not come with arms or legs, so I have had a hard time locating a shirt for her to cover the holes in her arm sockets.

I'm definitely very happy with how she is coming along. I've seen many mannequins that don't have nearly as nice a face as this one does. A lot of the ones I have seen have that dopey/droopy eyed face coupled with an elongated facial structure that makes them look less realistic. Sadly, though, she still has no name.

In regards to shirts I found this awesome shop on Etsy called Couth Clothing. I've been talking with the shop owner, Daniel, and she's been a pleasure to work with. I've already picked out this shirt and this sheer top. Please go check out Daniel's Etsy shop, I assure you that you won't be disappointed! I'm also super excited to be show casing another Etsy artisan's work in my craft show display to help me in promoting my jewelry and accessories.

In other news please be aware that come November 3rd I will be putting my shops on Vacation. So if you have had your eye on any items in the shop don't hesitate! Whatever sells at the show will be removed from both my Etsy and Artfire shops before I make them active again. Only my Vintage sewing patterns and other Vintage items will remain unaffected. Any jewelry items, accessories, or other handmade items of mine will be subject to removal if I sell them at the show.

Well, I'm off back to work. Have a great Friday everyone, TGIF! :D

~ Remmie

TGIF! :D

Happy Friday everyone! It's been a long week for me and as Fall approaches so does the impending date of my very first craft show. While exciting I am so nervous. There is so much that I still need to do, items that need to be made, and supplies that need to be purchased.

I have had to contend with juggling my day job with working on the shop and things have gotten pushed aside. I'll definitely need to do more now on the days I have off and the time I have before I need to head to work at the day job so I can get things ready. Wish me luck!

What are you preparing for this fall? Are you doing any craft shows? Please comment on this post and let me know! I love hearing from others whether or not you follow my blog. :)

And to kick off this weekend with a bang I'm going to be offering 15% off everything in the shop, both sewing patterns AND jewelry! Use the coupon code SWEETSEPT when you check out to get the discount. The same code applies to both my Artfire and Etsy shops. The code will expire Monday night at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard time. Don't miss it!

Now I'm off to clean up my work space so I can get to listing some new pieces. :)

TGIF!

~ Remmie