Thank You crafters!

Just wanted to say a quick thanks to all the folks who came out to Craft Bar last night at the Museum. I had a great time showing people how to make their own card and was delighted to chat with some of you. I hope you all had a great time!

I'll be posting my online tutorial for the "You Are Awesome!" card tomorrow and DIY tutorial packets for cardmaking will be available in my shop on Monday.

And I'll be in the Lower Haight at Underground SF tonight selling some goodies at the $5 Art Party too! Whew! Busy week.

The weekend was full of long dog walks and a trip to SF Renegade Handmade. I told myself that I would have a little budget saved for this event the next time it rolled around, but alas I adopted a dog and all my pretty little pennies went to him a couple weeks ago. As usual, there were LOTS of items to peruse.

Here are a few photos from the event. But what you should really do is go over to one of my fave blogs, I go by Katie, and check out her Amazing photos of the event. She took the time take some portraits of some of the participating artists and they are quite good! I regret not getting one of these paper mobiles from Mystic Mobiles.
Can't wait for them to have a website I can order from! I was extremely impressed by this felt card catalogue made by Kelso Doesn't Dance.
Super cool! I was speechless when I found these embroidered dolls by Hillery Rebeka Sproatt.
The one above was double sided with different designs on each side. Going on my wish list. Adorable handmade Elephant by Flock Home. that belongs in someone's nursery. I kept my eyes open for unique display ideas and I really like how this vendor draped this antique paper (not sure what kind of paper it is?) on her table.
She also used wooden embroidery hoops with simply embroidered accented fabric to place her earrings on. Very clever!

SF Etsy Trunk Show

I spent this last Saturday at the Artist Xchange Gallery in SF vending at the SF Etsy Sampler Trunk show. This event was organized by our fabulous local SF Etsy team, and it turned out great!

All the vendors from the show were active members of the SF Etsy team and it was a real delight to meet some of them. Participating in events like this is really my favorite part of being a lady with a crafty business. I love seeing what other people are making, chatting with them about business, getting feedback! So a BIG KUDOS to Kendra Renee for organizing the event and Jen Johnson, who is the most awesome team leader eva'! Photos below!

The day started off kind of rough. I don't own a car but I do participate in a carshare program which allows me to check out cars. Except that morning the car battery was dead in the car I checked out, and the traffic to SF was horrible. But I made it despite the delays! I shared a table with Eve and Rick from Monkey & Seal. They were awesome table buddies! On the other side of me was Alana from Etta & Billie with her oh-so-wonderfully fragrant soaps and lotion. It smelt great all day! I have a thing for mustaches and was delighted to find these mustache panties by
Christiana of Mahoohoo. Super Cute! I'm always delighted when I run into Nina from Gooseberry Press at events. Her city prints are great. I just about wanted to buy everything from Katherine J Lee, including that
adorable red striped clutch!

I'm loving how Heather from Heathered took these old vintage ads and made them into little card holders.

These photos only reveal a portion of all the amazing goodies available that day. To see more, go HERE.

Tomorrow!!

I am so thrilled to be apart of SF Etsy Street Team's first trunk show! The SF Etsy Sampler will be taking place tomorrow in SF at the Artist XChange gallery. There are 20 amazing SF/East Bay Etsy sellers participating in the event and I'm really excited to be meeting them.

You can check out who will be selling tomorrow over at the SF Etsy Blog. But here is a little sampler of some of the goodies you might see tomorrow.

Kendra Renee is the brainchild behind this event and she also happens to make some of the most amazing sterling silver jewelry you have ever seen!Need to stock up on some bath&body supplies? Well, lucky for you Etta & Billie will be there selling the handmade soaps!Show some love for your favorite city by picking up one of GooseberryPrints city inspired greeting cards or prints. Summer is here which means it is the perfect time to decorate your hair with some purty flowers. I love the color combo and little yellow french knots on this flower hair clip by Dorothy Designs.

Events!!

Summer is upon us which means that it is time for lots of fun crafty outdoor events! I currently have two on my schedule for this month and it is sure keeping me busy.

For some reason I have such a hard time deciding what to make/stock up on for an event. I'm always thinking, "Should I make more of this? Will people buy this item?" I'm definitely a little behind in making new stock for my event this weekend, but alas that's what happens when you are juggling a full time job and creative business.

If you are in the neighborhood for either events, be sure to stop by and say hi!

Busy time

Lots of business schtuff going on this week. I'm busy prepping for the April Antics Craft Sale at Knit-One-One in Berkeley(3360 Adeline Street, Berkeley) this Easter Weekend. If you are in the area, come by and check it out. It's Saturday, April 3rd 10am-4pm. I'd love to see some friendly faces.

I also dropped off lots of new items at my favorite clothing store, Pretty Penny. Stop by and check out my new brooches, moustache necklaces, and a few nautical inspired jewelry items. So many wonderful goodies at this store.

Look at the variety you have to choose from!

One of a kind necklace only available Pretty Penny. Wish I could find more of that tassle stuff!

How about a pair of dangling moustache earrings? Also at Pretty Penny!

Just a few announcements. I want to encourage fellow Etsy sellers to check out this new blog site. Looks like a great resource.Top Etsy Shopis an easy, interactive way for Etsy sellers to share tips and ideas. Also, the group features five (5) Etsy shops each month. Your Etsy shop could be featured for April!

Featured Top Etsy Shops enjoy increased traffic to their shop and a link to their shop on the Top Etsy Shops website for the entire month of April.My first Spring craft fair is coming up next week! I'll be at Knit-One-One Studio next Saturday, April 3rd from 10am-4pm selling some lovely spring goodies. Located only a few blocks from the Ashby Bart station and it is right next to an amazing pastry shop as well. Find out more info 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!!

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.

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.

Urban Stitch Recap

It's hard to believe that it is almost Thursday! Work has been insanely busy and I haven't really had a chance to recuperate from all the crafting I did last week for Urban Stitch. Here are a few photos (thanks Chris!) of the event on Sunday. I had a good time and was thrilled, as usual, to meet other fantastic local designers. Lisa from Daveylady was stationed across the way from me and she had such great products. My favorite items were her one of a kind handbags. I love carpet bags so the temptation to buy one of her amazing upholstery clutch handbags was overwhelming. They were so soft and so well crafted. Just another item to put on my wish list. You can check out her website here here

Also be sure to check out my Etsy store next Monday. A lot of amazing new items will be available, including some adorable leather headbands!

Etsy Store is Officially Open!

My Etsy Store has officially launched!! Check it out Here I only have a few items posted and but I will be posting new items through out the week. I have finally admitted getting the store packed with goodies is going to be a little slow going. But that's okay! I am also offering free shipping until the end of August to help celebrate the opening of my store.

And I already sold my first item on Saturday night!! This lovely fabric hair shell now belongs to a lady in San Diego. I really hope she enjoys it. I came up with this design last week and am actually planning on making more of them in a variety of colors and sizes. I think they are going to be a big hit (hopefully).

I am also officially participating in Urban Stitch this coming Sunday! It will be my first craft show in SF!

I am a little nervous but I think it is going to turn out to be a great experience. If you are in the area, stop by and say hi. They are charging a $5 admission fee, but I will be giving two complimentary tickets away to the first two people who email me this week!! I am also really digging the fliers they made!

New creations

I finally got my hands on a good camera and a few models! My etsy store is taking more time to launch than I thought. But while you are waiting here are a few images from my photoshoot of some super cute items that I just made!

Special thanks to Luz and Alison for modeling!!

I also found out today that I got accepted into a craft event called Urban Stitch taking place in SF later this month. I am so excited!