New Year, New Ideas, New Endeavors

I am hoping that having these next two weeks off will help me get my business ready for the new year. I have to admit I don't like having this much time off. I become lazy, sleep in late, and postpone chores. Bad Lauren. This time I have a few household goals to complete that make me shiver, and quite a few business goals to achieve. My main goal is to completely revise my Etsy store and advertise/promote the hell out of my shop online! I am also considering taking on one of those ridiculous 365 days projects. Instead of taking and posting a new photo each day, I want to try and complete a new embroidery project everyday. Crazy right? I sure think so, but it could be done! Here are a few snippets of some sachets that I am currently working on.

Life? What Life?

A really interesting article came out yesterday in the New York Times about crafting and making a business out of it. For the past couple weeks I have been coming home from working and immediately going to what I call my Craft corner and slaving away until 12am-1am in the morning. Taking a break? Not possible. Dinner? Where are the take out menus? Lunch break? Break out the embroidery and start stitching!! I realized after reading this article that this lifestyle wouldn't change if I did decide to quit my day job and just craft for a living. The ladies mentioned in this article all work super hard and although 13 hour days sounds insane, I can't help but think how exciting it is to be able to run and manage your own business. It is definitely not easy, but knowing how much someone loves something you made with your hands makes it all worth it sometimes. You can find the article HERE

Tis the Season!!

I have two holiday craft fairs coming up this month. The first one is this Saturday at the California College of the Arts from 11am-3pm. I'll be sharing a table with my lovely friend, Alison Yates. She is an awesome artist and will have some delightful silhouette cards for you to peruse and purchase. Check out more of her work HERE The next event I'll be at is the following Saturday, December 12th at the Root Division Gallery in San Francisco. The Under 100 'H' sale where every item is under $100. For info about the gallery and the event go HERE I'm thrilled about both of these events as they will be a mix of arts and crafts. So come out and score some great one of a kind presents this weekend or next!!

PLAID/BLACK Friday!!

Don't forget to shop at your local and independent businesses this season!! Here in the Bay Area we have Plaid Friday happening today. Show your indie/local businesses some love by wearing some plaid while you shop. Shop for new bow ties necklaces and other accessories at Pretty Penny. Or check out some great stocking stuffers at my online store. We are in the Holiday spirit and am offering FREE SHIPPING til December 18th on all orders, complimentary GIFT WRAPPING, and the option to send your gift directly to your recipient(s) through me for FREE! So what are you waiting for? Go check out the SHOP!!

Holiday Hit List

I have never been one to shop for presents at big chain stores. Okay, occasionally I may seek out a must have gift at one of those awful overpopulated stores but in general I try to shop local. This year I am on a mission to buy only from independent business and handmade vendors. And you should too!! Not only is it fun to shop this way but you are guaranteed to find one of a kind items that your family/friend is going to love. Yes, you may end up spending a little more money but remember that money is going towards people like me who need it to fund future amazing products for you!! For you folks who are in the Bay Area/California region, here is a list of events you should check out: Bazaar Bizarre I applied for this event but didn't get in :(. I am still hoping to check it out on Sunday. Jenny Hart, the embroidery goddess,will be there hosting a workshop. I hope to have a chance to meet and thank her for all of her hardwork and inspiration. SF Renegade Holiday Fair The spring Renegade Craft Fair was the first large craft event I had been and I was so inspired, impressed, and overwhelmed (in a good way)! I'm sure this holiday event won't disappoint. We'll see if I can hold back the temptation to shop for myself (Yeah Right!). SFMOMA Holidaze A weekly event put on by the SF MOMA Artists Gallery that started last week. Should be good!! L.A. Area: Bust Holiday Craftacular I was going to participate in this event but alas, I couldn't make the trek down to L.A. Silverlake Craft Market. I plan on making a trip to L.A. sometime in the spring to take part in this event. Sounds like a lot of fun.

Spotlight: 3 Girls and a Goat

I have a new little obsession with acorns and leaves this fall. Which is why I might have to hire this woman to make some business tags for me. I love how delicate, unique and simple her cards are. But what really won me over was the textured paper. Whenever I see stuff like this, I'm reminded about how great it would be to learn how to make my own paper from scratch. I would love to start up my own little paper accessory but I've got no time to do such a thing. Luckily there are people like 3 Girls and a Goat out there to make great stuff for me! Is it weird that I would want this as wall paper? Remember fall is a time for layers.Really diggin' the flora/fauna theme. I love people who sew paper.

Leather accessories

I love working with leather. I love working with recycled leather scraps even more!! The nice thing about leather is you don't have to worry about the material fringing and losing its shape. So much fun! I plan on making more of these leather leaf necklaces. Little pins and hair accessories.

New bow ties for you!

One of my hottest items at the SF Indie Mart were my bow tie necklaces. People loved them along with my bow pins and barretts. So now I am stocking up for the holiday season. We've got polka dots, which are always a big hit, calico floral, and a blue floral speckled fabric that has little deers on it (click on the image to get a better view).

New Embroideries

I am so excited to be starting my pin-up girl embroidery series. I'll be selling these lovely naked ladies as magnets and mini pillows as well. This one is no bigger than your thumb! And for the holiday/fall season I've got these lovely acorn sachets. Scented with cinnamon and other holiday spices, they are sure to remind you of pies and other holiday treats! Isn't the stitch on the top of the acorn lovely? Lastly, my indian girl received a little make-over. She is now a soft suede vanilla sachet with hints of lavender. She's so purty that I almost can't part with her!!

Indie Mart: Success!!

I am so happy to have had a chance to participate in the Indie Mart! I also want to thank everyone who stopped by my booth. And I really hope all of you new Crooked Sister customers enjoy your new goodies!! I know a lot of you folks enjoyed my fabric bows in the many different forms they came in and wanted to let you know that more of these bowtie goodies will be available in my etsy store soon! Including those bow tie necklaces you all seemed to love. My sister was nice enough to lend a helping hand on Sunday and with my new display. I got plenty of compliments on my new display and felt like it really brought together my new items. Unfortunately I was too busy to go around to take photos of the rest of the event, but I did grab a few shabby photos of my display before my goodies started to disappear.

Wedding goodies

I recently made some flower accessories for my friend Lea's wedding attire. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see them in action since Lea's wedding took a slight turn for the worst. About 20 minutes before the ceremony her fiance and 3 other members of the wedding party got into a serious car accident. Luckily everyone was okay and survived, but the wedding ceremony and reception were sort of in shambles. Lea and her husband John did end up getting married the same night at Highland Hospital. Their officiant was also in the accident and at the hospital so he was able to certify their marriage while on a morphine drip. They had about 30 doctors as witnesses and someone recorded it for them. Video below. Congratulations you too!!

November Indie Mart!

Okay, I'll admit I'm sort of failing this blogging thing. :( All I have to say is, it is extremely hard to balance craftmaking with a full time job. Kudos to all those ladies out there who have the energy to pull off two fulltime jobs. I am assuming you never sleep. On another note, I will be at the Indie Mart this Sunday in San Francisco. Lots of new goodies, including leaf earrings and a DIY hand turkey embroidery card. Stop on by and say hi. There will be tons of other vendors, live music, drinks, and good ole' fashion fun.

More goodies

These lovely flowers are now available on Etsy.

New Goodies . . .

Headbands out of recycled leather, soft floral patterns, fall inspired jewelry, and leaves, leaves, leaves!! Thanks to Alison for modeling!

Suede leaf embroidered earrings

New hair fan design in warm colors.

I'll admit I've always been hesitant about wearing headbands with bangs, but Alison shows us that you can really pull it off! Sort of reminiscent of those flapper headbands, except modernized.

Online Goodies/ Craft Spotlight

I'll be delighting you with some of my latest goodies soon, but while you wait, here are a few of my favorite weekly things: PaperNecklace by Hila Rawet Karni Paper Crave: I discovered the beautiful necklace above and the goodies below on Paper Crave. I recommend perusing this blog whenever you are having a bad day cuz it is sure to cheer you up. I don't know how this woman discovers all of these amazing goodies, but I am happy that someone has the ability to hunt these people down and share them with us. Parasol Craft Magazine: I actually discovered this downloadable zine via Paper Crave (of course!). View some great eye candy and discover new amazing crafty trinkets and such for only $2.50!! This amazing woman actually lives in the Bay Area. I hope to meet her someday. Crafter Spotlight: Realia Kelly Ball from Realia is a creative force to be reckoned with! This lady makes the most delicate jewelry and personal journals. She is also is an amazing printmaker and creates handmade books out of unlikely material, like metal and wood. I love how these can be worn casually or for a fancier occasion like a wedding.How could you not want to scribble all of your little secrets in this delicate little book?Kelly's delicate attention to detail really comes out in her jewelry design. Who doesn't want to unlock someone's secrets? Here you could crack a wooden book open and read personal little stories about these"people" next to their hand-drawn portraits.