jamtart baby

since i am on a pillow kick, i LOVE these pillows by jamtart baby. they are absolutely adorable!

in my backyard

in my backyard makes really gorgeous things. i especially love the hand painted pins (since i am currently obsessed with brooches) and her scarves. so pretty!

she also makes "patches and pins, pendants and scarves, magnets and gocco prints, and other lovely things, all handmade in a little old cottage with a big garden in New Zealand."

sounds lovely!

a little hut

i stumbled across the blog of a little hut this afternoon, and instantly bookmarked it.

i love the cut paper illustrations that are for sale in her shop. they have really great, clean lines and simple colors that marvelously show off the intricate work. fabulous!






i also love this idea for a gift tag. i have long wrapped gifts in craft paper, and i think this idea is better than using a plain old ribbon.

cute, don't you think?

quilted cozies

i have not yet tried my hand at quilting. a blanket just seems so daunting. but perhaps i could try something small...

like vintage songbird's adorable quilted items. she has a quilted coaster, quilted pot holder and a quilted ice cream cozy (you need one of those, ep!) so cute!

yet another new project

i told you had the craft ADHD. now you'll have to believe me. after making a laptop bag and an iPod case to fill a couple of orders, i designed another laptop bag. you like?

i had those felt balls lying around for ages. i had to use them. i think they're cute!

after all those projects, i thought it would be fun to try something new. something totally new.

ahh!! a pattern!! i'm gonna say it: patterns suck. i totally lack the patience and discipline for such a thing, but i decided to give it a try. and, for the most part, it worked! i had a few issues with the sleeves, but i more or less figured it out. maybe it was because, after i cut the fabric from the pattern, i didn't bother to look at the pattern again, nor to imprint on the fabric the fold and seam lines. oh well.

this lovely, soft jersey wrap sweater will fit an 18 month-old. if i want to make a larger size, i will have to buy a new pattern, as i sort of destroyed this one. oops!

handmade holidays

i went to the home depot a few weeks ago, and was shocked, nay, dismayed, to see a very large holiday display up in the garden section. it was mid-october. yuck.

while annoying, the reminder of the encroaching holidays is good impetus for us crafters, who balk at the idea of dueling with mall shoppers, and prefer instead to give gifts of the homemade variety. (i think my family is getting a wee bit tired of homemade gifts, but too bad.) these take a little time to prepare, you know.

so i'm sending a big thank you to the folks over at sew, momma, sew! who have, on their blog, decided to turn november into handmade holidays month. each day, they bring you a new project, complete with tutorials! how cool. (in case anyone out there doesn't sew, but you like some of the things on the list, email me about comissioning work!)

inspiration boards

happy birthday to me! i am 26 (ouch!) today. by the way, working on your birthday kind of sucks. but mr. m gave me some lovely gifts this morning (thank you my love!), and we're going to o-town for dinner with the family tonight, so the day will turn out lovely!

i have been meaning to make myself an inspiration board. i bought some cork squares that i want to put up over my craft area in the office, but i've been waiting until i painted the room to actually assemble the board.

i have not painted that room yet. sigh.

until i get my own board up, i can visit the blog of another crafty lady who talks with crafters about their own inspiration boards. the blog was born from a flickr group.

check it out. it's pretty inspiring!

keep your laptop warm this winter!

so rather than clean my disgustingly messy and disorganized house yesterday, mr. m watched football while i started a new crafty project. i had been mulling over said project for the last couple of weeks, and was suddenly hit with the urge to make it.

after i figured out the measurements, it was surprisingly easy. the pattern may look familiar, if you've seen my iPod cozies...

it's a laptop cozy! made from felt, (my favorite!) this cozy is double layered for extra protection. the outer layer is a nice soft grey, and the inner a fuzzy moss green. the flower is machine appliqued, with a button closure. i may pop this guy (or future cozies) up on etsy, if anyone is interested... would make a great christmas gifts (mom- for the sisters who have new laptops and who we know don't read this blog!).

this one (essentially a functional prototype) fits a 12 inch powerbook. i can make other sizes.

it's double stitched for added durability!

i wanted to make the liner pink, but i didn't have enough of one piece to make it. the next one will! i love pink.

new on etsy

i've got three new things on my etsy site. i love the cupcake, don't you? there'll be an ice cream cone soon...




oh, and if you haven't checked it out yet, be sure to visit trunkt and fill out a wishlist. it's free, and if your wishlist is randomly selected, you could win a $500 shopping spree! all you have to do is register and waste an hour browsing all the cool stuff on their site! oh, and be a saint and add one of my things to your list!

i've been trunkt!

i'm so excited! i applied to be a member of trunkt, a super cool site that touts itself as "the buyers guide to art and design entrepreneurs." it features portfolios of really fabulous artists and designers, and links you to their stores.

i applied on a whim, thinking i would never be accepted. but, lo and behold, i returned from lunch to find an acceptance letter in my email inbox!

hooray!

it's a really cool site to browse, and allows sellers to pull together showcases of their favorite things from around the site. i made one. check it out!

yellow canoe

i just added this seller to my etsy favorites list. i've dabbled a bit in block printing, so i totally love the style of these handbound books and wall hangings. book binding is something else i'd like to try, but haven't bothered with yet. my list of things to try is so long...

anyway, check out yellow canoe's work. love it!

yummy yarn

it's starting to get cold here in nebraska, and as my dear friend ms. b reminded me, it's cozy hat time! (i need to make you another one ms. b, give me a week).

i've often thought it would be really cool if i knew how to spin my own yarn, but that sounds awfully complicated, so i'll just have to be satisfied by purchasing lovely handspun yarns.

some of my favorites come from natasha of luxe. gorgeous yarns! i want them all!

poppytalk handmade

poppytalk handmade is a fabulous online market that features creative designers. here's how they describe their site:

"Poppytalk Handmade is a monthly online street market to showcase, buy and sell handmade goods of emerging design talent from around the world."

each designer is featured on the front page, and has their own little online booth within the shop. i'm loving the work of annie and olive

and beehive kitchenware- cutest measuring spoons i've ever seen!

and the jewelry of megan auman. lovely!

ok, so i love it all. go browse!

bookhou designs

there are some gorgeous things over at bookhou designs. i especially love the hand printed bags.

PataPri

i am loving these tea towels by PataPri. the prints are gorgeous- so bright and colorful. wouldn't they make great aprons? hmm... i may have to purchase some...

each design is an original, and hand silkscreened by the artist. check out her blog, too!

shim & sons

shim & sons has added some things to her shop. lovely, aren't they? (i recognize some of that fabric!)

buy handmade (and not just from me)

i stumbled across this link on etsy's homepage.

the site encourages people to spend their holiday dollars on handmade items.

i think it is a fabulous idea, as a crafter myself and a lover of things handmade. here's the organization's reasoning for buying handmade:

"Buying handmade is better for people, better for the environment, and better for giving truly special and well-crafted gifts. The ascendancy of chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us all dressing, furnishing, and decorating alike. The connection between producer and consumer has been lost. Buying handmade helps them reconnect.
We encourage all consumers to be aware of the social and environmental implications of their purchases."

you can sign your name, promising to buy handmade, and read why other people have decided to join the revolution!

i signed up. did you?

jonathan adler

i have seen jonathan adler all over the blogosphere, and, thanks to a tip from my mom, i decided it was my turn to sing his praises. he has such a great mix of products, all really unique and interesting.

i was drawn to this gorgeous rug, because i am about to paint the office in my house a lovely warm grey. it would match perfectly, and the yellow would tie the room to the living room and dining room.


sorry the picture is so small, but the larger version was a flash piece i couldn't steal off his site. i guess you'll just have to check out the website!

orange lola

good day to you!

if you're like me and love to entertain (or better yet, have friends who do), the holiday season just around the corner is something you look forward to each year.

now, i have always been of the mindset that showing up at someone's house with the prescribed dish and a bottle of vino is enough to fill my guestly duties. but i think there are some out there who actually bring gifts for the party hostess.

weird.

if you fall into that category (tell me, i will invite you over and make you dinner. i have something brewing in my crockpot as i type!), i have found a couple of cute hostess gifts for you.

orange lola is an adorable online shop. they have all kinds of products. browse their site. it's fun!

one of the lines they carry is modern-twist. so cute! here's what they have to say about modern-twist:

"Modern-twist is a collaboration between Kat Nouri and an extremely talented group of independent designers (mostly from the San Francisco Bay Area) who share a passion for clean, minimalist design. The products are interesting to the touch, playful to the eye, and versatile in use. Drawing on the diverse culture of the San Francisco area, some of the designs have been inspired by traditional objects. With a background in U.S. manufacturing, Nouri strives to manufacture Modern-twist products responsibly. U.S. and overseas manufacturers that produce Modern-twist products share our values in respecting the environment, workers and consumers. Modern-twist donates one percent of profits to OnePercentForThePlanet.org."

pretty cool, eh?

the cute products i found for you are new to their line. i am loving the nature trend, and i hope it is not on it's way out anytime soon. these coasters, paired with matching wine tags/napkin rings would just be the perfect hostess gift, don't you think? pair it with a bottle of wine, and you'll be a hit!

IKEA monday!!

sorry for the absence, my faithful blog readers (mom, that's you!)

i had a couple of days off, and as yet do not have the internet at home. but all that changes, starting tuesday.

hello digital cable and internet! i think i may even be getting a dvr thingy. whoohoo!

now i'll be able to blog from home! (so i might be currently be doing all my blogging from work. what can i say? i have a lot of down time.)


as this blog title implicates, i'll be adding a new feature to my blog, a little something called IKEA monday!

i'll be hitting ikea's website each monday to bring you a couple of cool products to brighten your monday, and start your week off right.

i myself am an ikea lover. i'm sure i would be an addict if the nearest one weren't hundreds of miles away in minneapolis.

unfortunately (but i think fortunately for me and my checkbook) ikea does not sell most of it's product through it's website, nor does it ship much. maybe that's how they keep their prices so low...

anywho, i like to check out their stuff mostly for inspiration, except for their fabrics, which i love to buy!

so, shall we begin?

mr. m and i visited the ikea in phoenix the last time we were there. needless to say, i LOVED it! i bought at least $100 worth of fabric.

here's a new one i am drooling over. wouldn't it make awesome tote bags?we also paid extra careful attention to coffee tables and dining room chairs, as we are in need of both those things.

here's the dining chair we both liked, and thought we could afford.

except mr. m wanted to get it in orange.

here's another chair i would love to have if i were to splurge.

pretty, isn't it?

now, i know this blog says it is for things handmade, and i know that ikea's stuff comes out of a factory. here's my rationale for having an ikea monday. ikea has great design. and it's a great source of inspiration for affordable design. and you can buy fabric there, which in turn can be used to make things. tada! back to handmade. knew i could do it.

and, if you want to make your own ikea-type stuff, be sure to visit ikea hacker's blog. there they show you how to make all sorts of ikea products into other neat things. it's super cool! be sure to check out their hack for ikea's swedish meatball recipie. trust me, the meatballs at ikea are yummy!