Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Crafting Hiatus....Kinda.
Greetings!
Lately I've been in a bit of a crafting slump, and really I'm not a fan of that at all. I always put a lot of time and effort into the things I do, and I very much enjoy putting together swap packages, selling things on Etsy, and making things for friends. I always profit from these endeavors as well, so it's definitely taken a lot of time for me to come to this rather difficult decision. I've taken a bit of a hiatus from crafting with a deadline. So, for now, there will be no more swaps.. they tend to cost me A LOT of money, and while I enjoy getting things as much as sending them, I feel like lately, I'm not as happy with the process.
A few weeks ago I came upon a situation I didn't truly think I'd ever come across in my little crafting adventure, but it happened, and it's what's spurred this hiatus. I was contacted by a lovely lady who ordered one of my chevron necklaces at the same time I was struggling to get a swap package done, and also dealing with a lot of stress at work. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. All I wanted was to say no to this lady, but she'd already paid for it, and she was so excited to purchase more than one of my necklaces. I struggled through it, but I was able to finish both the swap package, the necklaces, and able to defeat my work nightmare. I put my shop on vacation as soon as I filled her order though, for fear that I might get another one. Yeah.... FEAR that someone might want to buy something from me. What?? But it's true! I didn't realize how much work this little business of mine was going to be! I'm so grateful that my friends and coworkers have loved my items, and I'm so happy I've been able to sell several of my items online. So, given my burned out feelings, I thought both a mental and physical vacation from doing ANYTHING craft related with a deadline would be SO worth it.
It's been about two weeks, and while it's been nice, I've gone a little stir crazy, ha ha. So, I've completed 4 or so projects, and also got around to tailoring my pants. Nothing major, just some little stuff to keep me occupied, and absolutely nothing with any sort of deadline. I made a cute hat for my friend Taylor with yarn she bought last winter, and I came up with a new bow pattern, which has made me rethink a lot of things about my shop as it is now. I'm going to redo basically everything in the shop, and make it more me, rather than just for the customers I thought I wanted. These bows are pretty awesome, though, and I actually sold one today, ha ha. Anyway, here's some pictures. Updates soon!
Lately I've been in a bit of a crafting slump, and really I'm not a fan of that at all. I always put a lot of time and effort into the things I do, and I very much enjoy putting together swap packages, selling things on Etsy, and making things for friends. I always profit from these endeavors as well, so it's definitely taken a lot of time for me to come to this rather difficult decision. I've taken a bit of a hiatus from crafting with a deadline. So, for now, there will be no more swaps.. they tend to cost me A LOT of money, and while I enjoy getting things as much as sending them, I feel like lately, I'm not as happy with the process.
A few weeks ago I came upon a situation I didn't truly think I'd ever come across in my little crafting adventure, but it happened, and it's what's spurred this hiatus. I was contacted by a lovely lady who ordered one of my chevron necklaces at the same time I was struggling to get a swap package done, and also dealing with a lot of stress at work. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. All I wanted was to say no to this lady, but she'd already paid for it, and she was so excited to purchase more than one of my necklaces. I struggled through it, but I was able to finish both the swap package, the necklaces, and able to defeat my work nightmare. I put my shop on vacation as soon as I filled her order though, for fear that I might get another one. Yeah.... FEAR that someone might want to buy something from me. What?? But it's true! I didn't realize how much work this little business of mine was going to be! I'm so grateful that my friends and coworkers have loved my items, and I'm so happy I've been able to sell several of my items online. So, given my burned out feelings, I thought both a mental and physical vacation from doing ANYTHING craft related with a deadline would be SO worth it.
It's been about two weeks, and while it's been nice, I've gone a little stir crazy, ha ha. So, I've completed 4 or so projects, and also got around to tailoring my pants. Nothing major, just some little stuff to keep me occupied, and absolutely nothing with any sort of deadline. I made a cute hat for my friend Taylor with yarn she bought last winter, and I came up with a new bow pattern, which has made me rethink a lot of things about my shop as it is now. I'm going to redo basically everything in the shop, and make it more me, rather than just for the customers I thought I wanted. These bows are pretty awesome, though, and I actually sold one today, ha ha. Anyway, here's some pictures. Updates soon!
Monday, July 8, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
I Don't Even Know...
I wasn't sure what to put as a title there, so I went with my general response to the feeling I am experiencing right now. "I don't even know..."
In general, I'm frustrated with a lot of things right now, and I was really hoping it wouldn't do as it unfortunately has... it's killed my crafting motivation :(
Of course this happens when I'm actually on a deadline of sorts for this swap, too. Dammit. I'm so close to being done with this project I can feel it but the last sixty some odd rows are just a struggle. I managed to get all of TWO done last night. The night before I got like five... bleh. I mean, they grow each time, so they take longer every single time, which makes it really obnoxious now... I'm up to like, 195 stitches per row, with a metric fuck ton of yarn overs, knit two together's, slip slip knits, and other lacy crap that I am currently not a fan of because it makes me a big ol grump. I'm realllyyyyy hoping I can get some solid work done on Saturday and tonight because I really don't want to stay up all Saturday night knitting and wake up and knit all day Sunday either... I was really hoping to have an actual day off and sleep in and do NOTHING and maybe have a date or something with a cute boy but this is not looking good. /End rant.
In general, I'm frustrated with a lot of things right now, and I was really hoping it wouldn't do as it unfortunately has... it's killed my crafting motivation :(
Of course this happens when I'm actually on a deadline of sorts for this swap, too. Dammit. I'm so close to being done with this project I can feel it but the last sixty some odd rows are just a struggle. I managed to get all of TWO done last night. The night before I got like five... bleh. I mean, they grow each time, so they take longer every single time, which makes it really obnoxious now... I'm up to like, 195 stitches per row, with a metric fuck ton of yarn overs, knit two together's, slip slip knits, and other lacy crap that I am currently not a fan of because it makes me a big ol grump. I'm realllyyyyy hoping I can get some solid work done on Saturday and tonight because I really don't want to stay up all Saturday night knitting and wake up and knit all day Sunday either... I was really hoping to have an actual day off and sleep in and do NOTHING and maybe have a date or something with a cute boy but this is not looking good. /End rant.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Keeping Busy!
Woops, it's been awhile! Sorry bout that, kiddos. I've been kinda busy with things here lately, and haven't had much crafty going on because I've been working on the same project for quite some time. But, now that I've made some significant progress, and have come up with a couple new projects, I'm ready to share!!
Here's the progress on the Bat Shawl I've been working on for over a month, maybe two now? I haven't gotten as much done as I wanted... I was really hoping it'd be closer to done now, but, I'm doing really well the last two weeks. I got 14 rows done last night, which took like almost 2.5 hours!! I am going for another serious knit session tonight pending some social events. Either way, I'm hoping to have the bulk of the shawl done by the weekend and then doing the edging over the weekend in one or two sessions and then washing/blocking and plenty of photo taking and then feeling quite accomplished and then never knitting a shawl again hahaha.
It's laying out really nicely, and you can see the bat motif pretty clearly, so I don't think too much blocking will be necessary, but I feel like the edging will be far more complicated.
Another project I've completed as of last night, a sort of "in between" project to break up the monotony of me repeating "knit three, yarn over, knit two together, knit.... crap, I missed one FUUUUUU," or just purling like 200 stitches while watching tv, I made another piece to my super hero swap package I'm nothing but super excited about ooh my goshhhh. Are you ready? .....
Wolverine clock!!!! So that was a tutorial I kinda just fell across and was like, I MUST MAKE THIS. Here's the linky. Gosh, it turned out sooo welll. I didn't use the cork in the original tutorial, but I used a pre-cut wooden face I found at A.C. Moore for like $4. There were some smaller ones with the hole already drilled in it, but I wanted the biiig one to get all the comic book goodness on there. A few coats of tacky glue, some finicky comic book pages, glitter sealer, a date with my Dremel and several coats of paint sealer later, this beauty came about and man, I am just so happy. The clock parts were like $7 and I had a coupon, so the total project cost me under ten bucks with the inclusion of purchasing the comics. I was thinking I could use some of the National Geographic magazines I've been hoarding for the past couple of years to make a sweet as dino one or something for myself, and maybe look into making a couple more. I'd make a few changes... I'd cut the comic pages down a little more to create a thick black line simulating a panel around all the edges and to prevent some peeling. I gave it plenty of coats of an exterior paint sealer, so I can't imagine it'll come up, but it'd definitely be a cleaner application and risk less butchering of the comic page when I'm doing finishing with the Dremel. I ended up having to repair the two bottom panels with some savvy pencil and sharpie work, but thankfully I got skills like that. :)
Here's the progress on the Bat Shawl I've been working on for over a month, maybe two now? I haven't gotten as much done as I wanted... I was really hoping it'd be closer to done now, but, I'm doing really well the last two weeks. I got 14 rows done last night, which took like almost 2.5 hours!! I am going for another serious knit session tonight pending some social events. Either way, I'm hoping to have the bulk of the shawl done by the weekend and then doing the edging over the weekend in one or two sessions and then washing/blocking and plenty of photo taking and then feeling quite accomplished and then never knitting a shawl again hahaha.
Another project I've completed as of last night, a sort of "in between" project to break up the monotony of me repeating "knit three, yarn over, knit two together, knit.... crap, I missed one FUUUUUU," or just purling like 200 stitches while watching tv, I made another piece to my super hero swap package I'm nothing but super excited about ooh my goshhhh. Are you ready? .....
Wolverine clock!!!! So that was a tutorial I kinda just fell across and was like, I MUST MAKE THIS. Here's the linky. Gosh, it turned out sooo welll. I didn't use the cork in the original tutorial, but I used a pre-cut wooden face I found at A.C. Moore for like $4. There were some smaller ones with the hole already drilled in it, but I wanted the biiig one to get all the comic book goodness on there. A few coats of tacky glue, some finicky comic book pages, glitter sealer, a date with my Dremel and several coats of paint sealer later, this beauty came about and man, I am just so happy. The clock parts were like $7 and I had a coupon, so the total project cost me under ten bucks with the inclusion of purchasing the comics. I was thinking I could use some of the National Geographic magazines I've been hoarding for the past couple of years to make a sweet as dino one or something for myself, and maybe look into making a couple more. I'd make a few changes... I'd cut the comic pages down a little more to create a thick black line simulating a panel around all the edges and to prevent some peeling. I gave it plenty of coats of an exterior paint sealer, so I can't imagine it'll come up, but it'd definitely be a cleaner application and risk less butchering of the comic page when I'm doing finishing with the Dremel. I ended up having to repair the two bottom panels with some savvy pencil and sharpie work, but thankfully I got skills like that. :)
Friday, May 24, 2013
Questionable Crafting Series, Excuses, and More!
Woops. It's been awhile, sorry!! But, I'm back, and really happy about it. My schedule at work has been hella wonky, and it's gotten HOT outside! Today is pretty decent, though! It's windy now, but my lovely bike ride home was nice and sunny and breezy and nearly perfect.
Anyway, yesterday's random craft project prompted a pretty awesome idea that I think I'm going to go with because why not? Hahah. I try to work on a "big craft project" every week/month and on a mostly weekly basis, I try to complete one or two small projects that only take a couple hours at most. Yesterday I had one that was quite.... well, questionable, as it were. :) So that prompted the idea about other random crafts I've done and how I don't necessarily display/talk about them as much as I do my other projects, but I thought it'd be kinda fun. So, here goes!
Questionable Crafting
First Installment
My roommate is a drag queen. It's a "questionable" lifestyle to some (and honestly, me included, but, not for reasons you may think) but it makes him happy, so I'm in support. There's a big craft element to what he does... he has to take an idea for a concept and make it into a "look," complete with hair, make up, jewelry, clothing and accessories. Some of them are over the top. Actually, most of them are, but hey, that's what makes it fun. So basically he comes up with a concept, sets it to music, makes a costume, gets into a persona and parades around a stage lip synching to a pop song and collecting dollar bills from strangers in a night club. So... growing up how I did, I'm very unfamiliar with this concept, but, living in the city has definitely brought a lot of things about that culture to light for me, and it's been an interesting experience to say the least. Last night, a more well known drag queen, dubbing herself, Alaska Thunderfuck was making an appearance/doing a show at a local night club here in town, and of course my roommate got himself tickets. I did not attend this event but I have been to similar events with him, but I did decide to do a little project for him to take with him, and give to her, mostly because it turned out really funny.
The drag queens do their own make up, make their own costumes, choreograph their own routines, purchase all the materials to put on their show, and most times, especially for amateurs, the clubs don't pay them. They depend on and appreciate the tips given to them from the crowd (think strippers, only a little different...) Mostly given out are single dollar bills, sometimes larger amounts. I've always wondered how a stripper or someone who works in the same sort of scenario reacts when given a dollar coin, such as the Sacajawea dollar coin? I know as a server, they're mildly annoying, but easy to cash in... I can imagine they're hard to hold if you're parading around in stilettos and a wig, though... But, nevertheless, I felt that Sacajawea could use a bit of a makeover, and with nothing more than a couple sharpies, some old nail polish and a right liberal dash of glitter, we get the fully "dragged out" coin perfect for a gift, right? Here's a photo, sorry it's a little meh... It's the only one I could really get of it, but, it says "TRASHY BITCH" over Sacajawea's terrible makeup and baby carrier, and on the back, it's colored in all pink and says "THUNDER FUCK" in black with a streaky looking finish and coated in glitter polish and then coated again in a clear varnish for some durability. My roommate gifted it to her during a meet-and-greet after the show, and we're hoping for a twitpic of it or something of some appreciation of it :)
Anyway, yesterday's random craft project prompted a pretty awesome idea that I think I'm going to go with because why not? Hahah. I try to work on a "big craft project" every week/month and on a mostly weekly basis, I try to complete one or two small projects that only take a couple hours at most. Yesterday I had one that was quite.... well, questionable, as it were. :) So that prompted the idea about other random crafts I've done and how I don't necessarily display/talk about them as much as I do my other projects, but I thought it'd be kinda fun. So, here goes!
Questionable Crafting
First Installment
My roommate is a drag queen. It's a "questionable" lifestyle to some (and honestly, me included, but, not for reasons you may think) but it makes him happy, so I'm in support. There's a big craft element to what he does... he has to take an idea for a concept and make it into a "look," complete with hair, make up, jewelry, clothing and accessories. Some of them are over the top. Actually, most of them are, but hey, that's what makes it fun. So basically he comes up with a concept, sets it to music, makes a costume, gets into a persona and parades around a stage lip synching to a pop song and collecting dollar bills from strangers in a night club. So... growing up how I did, I'm very unfamiliar with this concept, but, living in the city has definitely brought a lot of things about that culture to light for me, and it's been an interesting experience to say the least. Last night, a more well known drag queen, dubbing herself, Alaska Thunderfuck was making an appearance/doing a show at a local night club here in town, and of course my roommate got himself tickets. I did not attend this event but I have been to similar events with him, but I did decide to do a little project for him to take with him, and give to her, mostly because it turned out really funny.
The drag queens do their own make up, make their own costumes, choreograph their own routines, purchase all the materials to put on their show, and most times, especially for amateurs, the clubs don't pay them. They depend on and appreciate the tips given to them from the crowd (think strippers, only a little different...) Mostly given out are single dollar bills, sometimes larger amounts. I've always wondered how a stripper or someone who works in the same sort of scenario reacts when given a dollar coin, such as the Sacajawea dollar coin? I know as a server, they're mildly annoying, but easy to cash in... I can imagine they're hard to hold if you're parading around in stilettos and a wig, though... But, nevertheless, I felt that Sacajawea could use a bit of a makeover, and with nothing more than a couple sharpies, some old nail polish and a right liberal dash of glitter, we get the fully "dragged out" coin perfect for a gift, right? Here's a photo, sorry it's a little meh... It's the only one I could really get of it, but, it says "TRASHY BITCH" over Sacajawea's terrible makeup and baby carrier, and on the back, it's colored in all pink and says "THUNDER FUCK" in black with a streaky looking finish and coated in glitter polish and then coated again in a clear varnish for some durability. My roommate gifted it to her during a meet-and-greet after the show, and we're hoping for a twitpic of it or something of some appreciation of it :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)