Getting “real” hang tags printed has been in the back of my mind for a week or so now but I’ve been too busy to design and get them printed. So instead, I just took some business cards I made a while back to promote my shop, crocheted a flower, sewed a vintage button on (I got a box of them from the Long Beach Antique Market for $6! Bargain) and, voila! Not only is it a hang tag, but it’s also a key chain. (Raise the roof).
Ok, I should probably get out of my pajamas now. 
This DIY costume is a little more Sandra Lee than Martha Stewart in that it’s semi-homemade. I’ve been a little obsessed with Hello Kitty lately… wait… LIES… I’ve been obsessed with Hello Kitty ever since the day my mom pushed my stroller into the Sanrio store at the Montebello Mall in the 1980s. Recently I’ve embraced my obsession, in what some would call a semi-obnoxious way. Halloween definitely gave me an excuse to exploit my love for this timeless icon. read more »
I remember having a heated conversation one time (or one too many times) with an anti-currency, anti-government… sort of anti-order in general, friend of mine. (I’m getting a migraine just thinking about our conversations). Anyway, our little chat was centered around the concept of currency. I argued that even if the U.S. dollar was diminished, citizens would quickly establish a new form of currency in order to exchange goods and services. He disagreed and claimed that currency was entirely unnecessary – that civilization could function without any sort of exchange. I don’t know about that. I think those living in his Utopian “civilization” would have to be very open and trusting, maybe like Burning Man-goers. But I don’t think that way of living could last very long. People would start coming down from their happy drugs and bogarting the town’s supply of chicken nuggets and NOT sharing. I know I would.
That being said, I don’t think a civilization could run smoothly solely on a bartering system, but I DO think that a mixture of the two can work. So, we come back to reality. In the world of Etsy, bartering is very much a possibility AND totally awesome.
Pascalle Ballard (aka fabricalchemist) contacted me on Etsy and wanted to exchange something from her shop for a pair of custom red slippers (seen above). I didn’t see anything in her shop that went with the decor in my room, so I asked her if I could possibly request a custom illustration… and she said yes!
The Wasp Duchess, by Pascalle Ballard (5.5″ x 8″)
And OH MY GOD it came out amazing. I can’t wait to frame it. I asked her to draw something Gothic Lolita inspired, using yellow and a dash of lace and what she created was even cooler than I had imagined. The result is this amazing piece. What a wonderful way to collect art! Be sure to check out her shop for her many unique and beautiful pieces.
One of my favorite crafty people, the oh-so-talented Twinkie Chan, will be at Booksmith in San Francisco on Tuesday, November 9th at 7:30pm to talk about her new book Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies.
Here’s a fun video featuring Twinkie making one of her scrumptious cupcake scarves. So cute! I can’t wait to pick up her book and start making yummy things.
Happy Columbus Day! To those of you who get to spend today away from work, can I get a ‘HELL YEAH’! To those of you who did not get the day off, my heart cries for you. Not really. But in good news, you still have time to enter for the chance to win a pair of my Orange and Beige Little House slippers in the Warm Toes Giveaway over at I Go By Katie. Check it out!
