Yours truly, Brooklyn

Summer hiatus coming to a close

2009-08-03T09:20:00.001-07:00

Apologies for my noticeable silence the past couple months. What started as some mild lamp-making/Etsy fatigue turned into a full blown case of "I'm Taking the Summer Off, damn it!"

Well, I'm back baby! And I've got something new, exciting and totally different (from lamps) up my sleeve! Look for some changes to this site too...

The {NewNew} POPs up at 93 Nevins

2009-06-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

Yours truly is pleased to be taking part in this weekend's Atlantic Art Walk as a member of everyone's favorite craft consortium, The {NewNew}.

Along with other craftspeople specializing in the use of reclaimed and other environmentally-friendly materials, I'll be selling my wares at a unique pop-up market @ 93 Nevins Street - a formerly derelict building recently reclaimed with the idea to be as green as possible.

I'll have an *exclusive selection of lamps available for purchase (*four only), so get 'em before their gone!

Art Walk is a free, self-guided tour of open artist studios, area exhibitions, and public art projects. Local merchants will be hosting a range of artwork and events. The {NewNew} pop-up shop will be open both days - this Saturday & Sunday only - and patrons are invited to shop from a variety of eco-conscious goods including silk screened apparel, fine art drawings and prints, handmade ceramics, paper goods, plush toys, jewelry and housewares.

Craft fair splurges

2009-05-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

You never know what you'll find at craft fair, and as prone as I am to a handmade indulgence, this GORGEOUS bag that I picked up today (@ the Hearts and Crafts Affair) takes the cake!

As lovely as the pictured navy blue is, I opted for a beautiful, goes with everything, shade of tobacco, and I LOVE it! I've been in the market for a super classy - and classic - style leather day bag for some time now, and while this was a splurge, it was also an investment. And as luck may have it, somewhat of a bargain. Apparently the work of the Magnes Sisters retails for several hundred at the swankiest of swank boutiques and department stores, however I was able to snag it at wholesale - yay!

Handmade Health & Beauty

2009-04-30T07:41:00.000-07:00

During my current hiatus from crafting anything intended to generate an income, I’ve been enjoying an array of other projects. And inspired by a recent (and terrifying) episode of Frontline, DIY and its intrinsic eco-consciousness has crept into my beauty regimen.

Let me be upfront with you, concerning my complexion, I am infected with the same craziness as an anorexic with concern to her weight. Since middle school I’ve been horrified by the appearance of blemishes, and I’ve attacked them with everything possible, including frequent bare-knuckle (or in this case, fingernail) bouts.

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally starting to realize that the thing to do is to make nice with my skin. That, coupled with the fact that all of the lotions and potions that most of us slather on each day do nothing but go down the drain and pollute the Earth, has me on a mission to go more au naturale.

Once upon a time, someone mentioned to me honey as a viable facial cleanser. Too attached to sulfates, I was afraid to let go of my commercial cleanser, but did incorporate honey as a mask. Well I've finally mustered the courage to ditch the cleanser and really give honey a go.

I had also heard of folks using straight up olive oil to moisturize (and even to cleanse). Why not give it a whirl? Surprisingly and a bit counter intuitively, it made my face appear less oily by day’s end. I also read up on shea butter, and was intrigued by all the goodness it has offer. So this week I’ve been using that as my moisturizer.

I think there’s something to this au naturale business. My face isn’t perfect, but perhaps improved overall. It’s actually feeling dry though, which seems odd.

Next up, the oil cleansing method. I’ve heard wonderful things about it, and given that I no longer feel so attached to using a “cleanser,” I’m ready to see what all the fuss is about.

From drab to fab

2009-03-30T16:12:00.000-07:00

When it comes to making jewelry, much of my energy is spent re-imagining and re-working previous efforts. That said, I am so happy with my most recently reincarnated piece, pictured here.

Formerly, each of the three gemstones had been the centerpiece of its own totally blah pair of earrings. All of which had been collecting dust in my re-do pile. And like a slap to the noggin, it finally dawned on me that grouped together, their mix of colors and shapes works really nicely together!

I got (new) skills

2009-03-29T10:26:00.001-07:00

I recently (yesterday) spent a lovely afternoon at the home/studio of Caja Jewelry's Andrea and Juan, learning the basics of metal sawing and piercing. I was also joined by fellow student and {NewNew} member Lydia of Smallest Friend.

I can say with absolute certainty that Andrea and Juan have no cause to fear me as a future business competitor, however I was pretty darn pleased with the finished pieces that I came away with.

I was convinced that the below - my pièce de résistance - would look cool with a chain just going through the loop of the "i," but actually it doesn't hang so well that way. So now I'm looking forward to drilling a hole in it without the aid of real jeweler's tools.

And the work of someone with real skills, all available from Caja Jewelry:

Craft fair season is in the air...

2009-03-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

I'll remind you as the date gets closer, but get excited for peak craft fair season with the {NewNew} York Etsy Street Team's Spring Handmade Cavalcade? Put a spring in your step and buy something fun for yourself gosh darn it!

Event Details...
Date: May 9 & 10 (Saturday & Sunday)
Time: 10 am - 4 pm
Location: The Bell House, Brooklyn (149 7th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues). Click here for directions.

How to: Melt & Pour Soap Wedding Favors

2009-03-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

The first of what I hope will be many more video how-to's. Here I'm joined by Michelle of Dirty Loves Clean, who had some great ideas for using melt and pour soap to make some simple, easy and elegant wedding favors.

This how-to was created by me and Michelle as members of The {NewNew} York Etsy Street Team.

Crochet is my new BFF

2009-03-04T16:10:00.000-08:00

I've been talking the talk about learning to crochet fo-ever. I'm finally walking the walk. While my mom was in town this weekend, I found a simple hat pattern that seemed like a great learn-by-doing project. It only required a couple of basic stitches - single crochet and a puff stitch. After learning these, I was anxious to dive right in.

It was a bit of a tag team effort, swapping off every few rows. And since my mom can work a crochet hook way faster than me, she definitely ended up doing more of the work, but that way we were able to get it all done before she had to leave.

I'm ready to try my hands at another hat before I forget everything and have to learn how to do a chain stitch for about the fourth time.

I was aiming for sassy, but I think I missed the mark. Looks a little pissed off, no?

I'm back, baby!

2009-02-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

Well, looks like I'm back in charge of my own destiny once again. No dream job will be handed to me on a silver platter, and that suits me just fine.

I have sorely neglected my crafting on account of all this Best Job brouhaha over the past several weeks, but watch out, because I'm back and feeling super motivated. I mean, if I can put that much effort into a pipe dream, surely I can be doing more in pursuit of real goals.

Huzzah!

Destined for greatness?

2009-02-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

This, my 30th year, is the year that great things are supposed to happen, at least that’s what they told me.

So when I learned of an intriguing opportunity being made available by Tourism Queensland, I naturally decided to go whole hog, full force and put all my eggs in this one basket. I mean, isn’t it obvious that THIS is the great thing I’m destined to experience.

As if you aren't already getting your fill of me, Yours truly on this or my other, completely self-involved blog - ilana turns 30 - you can now follow my efforts to land The Best Job in the World on my newest blog at www.pickme-pickme.com.

Keep your fingers crossed...

I resolve to buy majority handmade and vintage

2009-02-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

I'm not quite ready to go cold turkey on my Old Navy/Target/Forever 21 habit. But I am making a concerted effort to keep it to a minimum, and put more of my hard earned money toward supporting handmade, and staying green by shopping vintage.

And to that aim, I discovered the absolutely cutest, somewhat new (since October) vintage store right here in good ol' Greenpoint - Old Hollywood.

I needed another clutch like I need a hole in the head, but I just couldn't resist.

And as a side note, every time I step into one of these super cute new boutiques, it makes me absolutely ache for the day when I can open my own. No, Yours truly hasn't abandoned her goals completely, don't fret now my dearies.

Something altogether new

2009-01-25T16:05:00.000-08:00

I've been scheming on a new design for quite some time, with the idea of doing something with teacups. Why teacups? Who knows. Because they're cute, I suppose.

The clever folks at Domestic Construction beat me to the punch a bit with their Ted lights, which are fabulous, especially the clusters. I like to think I had a similar idea (or was at least on my way to one) before seeing their wares at last summer's Renegade, and since they seemed to be doing such a nice job with it, I set about to do something different.

Ta-da...

And besides which, I think my choice of fabrics and pairings have somewhat come to define my work, so it's only fitting that this design is a continuation along that path.

Update:Yay! The lamp you see above was recently purchased by a lovely woman in Oklahoma (at least I'm assuming she's lovely, seeing as how I assume that of all my customers:). Better get to work on more tea cup lamps!

A couple of things around the house

2009-01-24T15:56:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to make it a point to focus more of my crafting on things that I get to enjoy. So without further ado...

Now that Dylan and I finally have a real kitchen table, I wanted to doll it up a bit. I finally ditched our dollar store utensil caddy and voila!

I just happened to have a couple of canisters laying around that were made from cutting the tops off of wine bottles, and since I had yet to really do anything with them, things worked out rather nicely. I might make another - smaller - one from a beer bottle at some point - could be a useful addition. And to help keep things tidy, I placed everything on a super cute vintage serving tray. I'd also like to call attention to my amazing sugar bowl from Antonisse Ceramics.

Ever the organizer, I decided that it was time to do something now that we're up to 3 remotes. I had the thought of throwing something simple together with all the extra fabric I have around, but I don't have that kind of time. And besides, this worked out way better. I bought an inexpensive bedside caddy, which has a long flap designed to go underneath a mattress to keep it in place. I simply added a few grommets to said flap, used ribbon to secure it to the arm rail of our futon, and presto-chango, the remotes (and magazines and all sorts of other things) are out of the way, yet right where you need them.

Handmade Holidays

2009-01-03T15:01:00.001-08:00

I always strive for at least a portion of my gifts to be handmade. Here are just a couple of the items I made for the loved ones this year.

H&M has great basics - tee's, hoodies, etc. - they are cheap, fit nicely, and perfect for embellishing. I bought this gray t-shirt on spec for my BF, not entirely sure what to do with it. I was simultaneously pondering what to do with a recently purchased vintage player piano scroll when divine inspiration struck. I used just a small portion of the scroll as a t-shirt stencil (in other words, there are a lot more t-shirts where this one cam from)!

And as for my dad, I figured his inherently 'whimsical' sense of style made him an ideal candidate for some self-referential irony.

And for mom, I went with the handiwork of another - this lovely top from KimmChi. I also included some earrings and a necklace that I made, which coincidentally coordinate quite nicely with the top (individually however, not together).

Oh, and for my brother, I discovered the most hilarious Etsy seller ever, and got this!

My new favorite thing

2008-12-07T16:39:00.000-08:00

Super cool bottle found by my mother, and some vintage fabric purchased from Modish Vintage.

The adjacent dresser - not really visible in this image - has been in need of re-finishing for quite some time, and this new lamp has finally helped me decide on a direction. Too bad it will have to wait until milder weather (the need for open windows and all...).

Bauble-icious

2008-11-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

Tangentially to the Great Re-Decorate of '08, I finally completed my custom jewelry box, made from IKEA's famed FIRA mini-chest. The FIRA collection is perhaps my favorite, and the most versatile of IKEA's small storage solution offerings.

I stained the exterior with my all-time favorite Minwax Wood Finish - Red Oak - and lined each drawer in a floral print that couldn't have matched my dresser any better if I had tried (and I swear I didn't, I bought this fabric on spec, with lampshades in mind). The drawer bottoms are lined with felt in a super bright fuchsia.

Love it! Now I have plenty of room for all the great necklaces I've been accumulating. FYI - I am so over earrings; it's all about adorning the decolletage (haha...or lack thereof in my case).

And here's a tip: glue sticks! Glue sticks are my new favorite crafting supply. Perhaps not quite as secure or permanent as spray adhesive, but so much easier and less of a hassle to use (plus, I can use it indoors).

The Great ReDecorate of '08

2008-11-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

I am redecorating my life! And by my life, I mean my apartment. And by my apartment, I mean my living room.

The inspiration? This lamp, my latest sidewalk rescue project!

I am horrible at remembering to take before pictures, but lucky for me, it was from Ikea (just imagine it with a busted shade and looking like its previous owner didn't clean the house all that often).

Now as far as the Great ReDecorate of '08 is concerned, everything hinged on finding just the right fabric for a new lampshade, and I was absolutely thrilled when I found this one from Lindylou Fabrics. And FYI, Etsy is becoming one of my favorite venues for supplies.

The fabric has tons of colors - including everything I needed, plus everything that was missing from my life. And it has already inspired even more great Etsy purchases. Updates to come...

What's been keeping me so busy

2008-10-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

while not a "craft" project, per se, I now present my latest creative endeavor...

A question for the ages

2008-10-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

Is a blog about the fact that I haven't blogged in way too long worth blogging about?

Oh, blog it!

Crafty Marketing

2008-09-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, you've gotta take a break from making THINGS, in order to make SALES!

I have been super slack on putting together the most essential of marketing tools, namely business cards. But in preparation for the upcoming Atlantic Antic, I figured it was about darn time. The jury is still out on whether or not craft fairs are the best venue for me, but even if they don't result in a lot of same-day sales, you never know what future sales may be lurking around the corner. That said, it's sort of ridiculous that it's taken me until now to put together a proper business card.

However, most of Saturday afternoon was actually spent designing a postcard. The postcard is so much more fun! By its very nature it allows for some actual messaging, and the opportunity to get a little more creative. But the business card is still an essential. Why? Because it fits in a pocket.

My philosophy as far as business cards are concerned is that the design should be clean and simple, and not distract from their primary purpose as a quick reference tool. Therefore, I kept it pretty straight forward (plus I was a bit burned out after spending so much time on the postcard...)

Been feeling a bit pigeon-holed...

2008-08-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

The 'ol Etsy sales have been a little slow lately, which frankly, is a.o.k. with me. It's coincided quite nicely with a (hopefully temporary) lull in my enthusiasm, plus given me the time to get to some other craft projects.

When I first learned of the freezer paper method of stenciling, I was hankering to give it a go. Well, I am pretty sure it's been on my to-do list for well over a year now, but FINALLY, here it is: my first ever, original stenciled piece.

I wanted to keep it simple - I don't know how people do the really intricate stuff, clearly they are way more skilled with an x-acto - so I went with this lovely pigeon silhouette. Despite being the rats of the bird family, they're still pretty cute I think. And as you can see, I couldn't help myself from embellishing it just a bit with that one little rhinestone.

I'm pretty happy with how it came out. There are a few teensy, tiny places where the edges could be a bit sharper, but other than that the only real problem is that it got a little messed up during the final step of heat-setting the paint with the iron. The tutorial I was following suggested placing a clean piece of freezer paper over the dried image during this step, which in the future I wouldn't repeat. Granted I was a little antsy with letting the paint fully dry, which probably exacerbated the problem, but the piece of freezer paper left a bunch of blotchy, waxy residue over it. Even after touching it up afterward, it still appears a bit blotchy. Oh well, lesson learned. Should have used the tutorial linked to above ;)

Where's your Olympic spirit?

2008-08-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

I was browsing through Etsy, really hoping to find some cool Olympics inspired stuff, and I gotta tell ya, I was wanting more. I can't believe no one has stenciled Phelps' goofy, beautiful grin on a t-shirt yet? Maybe everyone is just too busy being glued to the around-the-clock coverage (like me) to post new items.

Here's what I did find (click on image to view Etsy listing):

A little cutesy for me, but I have to give it props seeing as how swimming is THE sport to watch (and the fact that I was a swimmer):

The beauty of sport:

Classic iconography:

Instantly classic iconography:

The coziest way of all to show your Olympic spirit:

Crafting a real vacation

2008-07-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

Like a typical overworked American, most of my vacation days get all gobbled up by family obligations, which are decidedly not "vacation," and the occasional long weekend, which is just too fleeting to count.

So I have been eagerly anticipating my first ever "staycation" (a full week off from work, minimal travel beyond the city limits) which will officially commence at 2:45pm this Saturday (I am volunteering for the NYC triathlon Saturday morning in order to secure a spot for next year's race, thus the delayed start time). But here's the thing, in order to properly vacation, I think it might be necessary to put the crafting on hold as well. What!?

Can anyone else relate? I have become so accustomed to spending all my spare time tinkering with lamps and the like, that I've plumb forgot how to veg out and spend a lazy Sunday afternoon watching 10 Things I Hate about You for the 20th time because it's once again the Sunday Matinee on channel 11.

Maybe I'll allow myself just a couple of those little projects that keep getting put off, or limit myself to just one afternoon of work on the ol' Etsy shop. But I fear that may be a slippery slope...

I need to take a break, but when it comes to crafting, I just can't break the habit!

Craft my Cube

2008-07-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Turns out my day job cubicle - blerg... yes, I work in a cubicle... - is the perfect place for displaying and making use of some of my most crafty possessions. Plus, the craftiness of it all really helps alleviate that certain sterile something that accompanies the much maligned 'cube.'

The crafting of my cube is still a work in progress, but here's a sneak peak. Oh, and just in case anyone from the DIY network is out there, I smell a new show idea...feel free to contact me...

1. This one is actually a bit silly. I like to keep hand sanitizer on my desk, but I don't like the sterile (there's that word again...) look of a big 'ol dispenser of Purell just sitting there. After toying with the idea of knitting a Purell dispenser cozy, I realized that the much simpler solution was to just get a nice soap dispenser. I stole an idea straight from the pages of the now defunct Adorn magazine, and 'adorned' this simple one from Target with Hambly Screen Prints rub-on's.

2. OOOOOH...This one is my favorite!!! I just got it! It's a moss terrarium courtesy of Made By Mavis. Perfect for bringing something a little green - and more importantly, low maintenance - into the workplace. And it is so cute (especially with the teeny tiny turtle figurine I added)! Check out the close-up down below.

3. Ok, so it's not handmade, but I bought this little coin bank from Pearl River Mart because it was cute, cheap, and just plain irresistible. I figured it would be good for saving the change whenever I treat myself to some Dunkin' Donuts or Dr. Pepper, but surprisingly, I've been really good about keeping those daytime treats to a minimum (yay me!).

4. The very first lamp made by Yours truly. Naturally it has a few minor flaws being the prototype and all, but that's what makes it special and all mine.

5. Who's that browsing Etsy at work? Tisk, tisk.

Oh, and how could I forget about the non-sanctioned tacks I crafted (yes, tacks are supposed to be uniform throughout the office, although I don't think anyone's enforcing that)? Just some self-adhesive, decorative paper over a clothespin, and a couple of ordinary tacks glued to the back. Much better...