vote for me!

I don't usually do this this, but... Can you vote for me? See that little heart to the left of my shop name? Click it!

paper n stitch holds a most votes contest with each cycle. Each click of the little heart on the left side of my shop will bring my votes up. I can win a cash prize and also a spot in the next exhibit! The contest runs until Friday, August 14 before the exhibition closes.

a special thank you!

I've been wanting to do something special to thank my email blog subscribers for awhile. I also have been wanting to show my twitter followers a little love too. Thank you all for listening (well, reading)!

What better way to kick off my paper n stitch shop opening by offering a
20% discount on all items in my pns shop for the first week July 13 - July 19.

I've never done anything like this, so I'm super excited!!!

I'd love to give you 20% off and have you along! You can sign up under the SUBSCRIBE column to the left or follow me on twitter.

If you are already signed up: checkout will be via Etsy.
1. Retweet this blog post via the retweet button at the bottom of the post.
2. Put your username or email address in the notes to seller (so I know it's you)
2. I will send you a revised invoice with the adjusted price.
3. Feel free to email me if you have questions.

Cheers!

-Crystal

paper n stitch!

Hey, so I'm going to be in paper n stitch's upcoming exhibition! It will be running from Monday, July 13 through Sunday, August 16. Paper N Stitch "is an online exhibition space that was created to promote talented artists, designers, makers selling handmade goods, and independent boutiques. The exhibition space is curated monthly and showcases the best of the best on an international level." Find out more here.

Needless to say, I was flattered when I got the email yesterday from Brittni informing me that I was selected to be a part of the next exhibit. I am super excited, I started to add products to the shop last night - I feel like I'm getting ready for a craft show.

I found out about paper n stitch via twitter and fell in love with the look and feel of the site immediately. All of the shops have such beautiful offerings, I will be in such great company!

I've been contemplating doing a few specials/promos for a bit and I think now is the time to kick em off. With the extra exposure I will hopefully be gaining in the coming weeks, I decided it would be opportune to do something special each week. So stay tuned to see what coming. New ish, discounts and free gifts kinda stuff. Yep.

So on Monday don't forget to

SHOP WILL BE LIVE STARTING 7.13.09

Thx.

Cupcake Fashion!

Cupcakes are always fun. Whether you're baking them, decorating them or eating them. Let that feeling of cupcake whimsy spill over into your wardrobe! How enjoyable would it be to pair this up with your super serious business suit at your next big meeting or to sweeten up a pair of jeans and white tank top?

This one is in yummy shades of chocolate and creamy mocha with pink (of course!) and a touch of blue. But, I can't wait to make more in lots of other luscious flavors (colors) because I must admit I was a bit restrained with the palette for this one. I wanted to go crazy with color, but also wanted to keep it simple and pretty at the same time. So much fun to be had with coloring these babies up! No holding back on my next one - I think I'm going to for lots of color a la my patchwork pillows.

Be my inspiration. What are your favorite cupcake flavors?

Recent Craft Shows :: My thoughts and reflections

Craft shows. What shall I say. Where do I begin with this post. Hmm.....

Well, I just got done doing 3 in a row, 2 outside and 1 inside. Always different, always a challenge. I, unlike many other crafters, don't have a specific booth set up. Yet. Let just say, my display is a work in progress. I am a big fan of process, so it doesn't bother me too much. I keep the elements I like and that work, but switch things up with each show as the need to display different sorts of product arises and as I add more pieces to my collection of display items. This past Christmas my husband gave me a half-form mannequin! It was exciting to use it for the first time and I tried a few different things with it already.

Prime example of my changery was at Arts in the Park, a rainy weekend show. I had 2 different set-ups on both days. The more sunny day, I had more of an open feel with the tables spread apart, customers were able to go to different areas of "my shop" to see different product. I had a table with just graphic tees, one was on the half-form with neckties displayed around the neck. But I chose to simplify things a bit on Sunday (the rain was a catalyst). I pushed all the tables together in a line and had everything right in the middle of the tent. I think I actually liked that better and may do that more. I went crazy and tied my oblong scarves around the body form and it was not bad, I may do that again too. Displaying my scarves has always been particularly challenging, so a new thing I've been trying out (before the mannequin thing on Sunday) is tying them on my rolling rack (on crazy Sunday I hung the ties from it). Previously I had been using a very lightweight wooden drying rack for display, and I'm not quite sure which I like better yet. The drying rack is always being knocked over or the wind blows it over, but I think you could see more of the scarf design from afar.

This is my second rainy show and this time I was better prepared. I bought 2 clear shower curtains to use as walls for my tent in case of rain. The first day it rained a little, so the 2 were sufficient, but I stocked up the next day with 6 more as the weather was promised to be rainy and stormy all day. I put the shower curtains up with wooden clothespins overlapping them at the corners and also leaving an opening at the front of my booth for entry. I used 6 to do this, so I still had 2 additional curtains in case it got really bad and had to completely enclose myself in my clear tent pod as I like to call it. It was so nice and cozy after I got them all up. I had plenty of light from all 3 sides (I had one white wall up at the back) and didn't get wet at all. I would highly recommend getting the clear shower curtains if you do outdoor shows - I think I may even use them sometimes if it's not rainy. They provide a bit of privacy/separation, but you don't feel secluded in a cave-like way.

I was even thinking maybe I could use the clear walls as a display of sorts for those pesky scarves....

I took some pics of my set-up as usual, but didn't think to get pics of the tent from the outside with the clear curtains up. Duh! But you can kind of see them in the background of the photo.

If you want to see more pics of some of the set-ups at the other craft shows go here.

D.I.Y iron-on fabric transfers!

I debuted something new at Spring Bada-Bing and Fool For Art - D.I.Y. iron fabric transfers! They were received quite well and I was offering $1 mini transfer packs all weekend, so people could try them out. I also made over 80 mini-transfer packs to include in the swag bags. Man, I love to fold those little shirts, origami was one of my favorite things as a kid. Anyways, these are great to customize tee shirts or any cotton fabric. Check out the first batch - skull multi-packs here.

Watch for new designs to hit the shop in the coming days...

If you are local or will be in Richmond this weekend for Arts In the Park you can get your get a free mini transfer pack by signing up for my newsletter here.

Upcoming Shows!

Spring is here and it's time for shows! I've got three coming up:

No. 1 :: Fool For Art | April 18 from 10a-5p
No. 2 :: Spring Bada-Bing | April 19 from 11a-4p
No. 3 :: Arts in the Park | May 2 11a-6p
+ May 3 11a-5p

With Fool For Art first up, Spring Bada-Bing the next day and Arts in the Park a just a few short weeks later, it's going to be whirlwind busy around here for the coming weeks. I'll be making lots of stuff because not only do I need to build my inventory for the shows, I've got 3 large orders to fulfill. I also have to make some goodies for the Spring-Bada Bing swag bags - which I'm really excited about by the way. I've been thinking about doing something a bit different and let's just say these will be an introduction.