A New Year. It's Already Been Brought.

It's cool when you get to be one of the first people in the world to celebrate a holiday. It is particularly fun on New Year's Eve. This year I enjoyed stepping into the new year six hours ahead of most people I know.  Doubling my pleasure was having my morning coffee and receiving messages from a few people who were apres party partying. Even though my holiday was over I still had the excitement knowing that my friends and family were in the thick of it.

I had a holiday split this New Year's Eve. First I went to a party at a girlfriend's house, but I left by 11:30. I welcomed in the New Year with my neighbors. From their top floor balcony you can watch a spectacular firework display to mark the slide of Germany into 2013.

Let's start with the house party first. It was a theme party; and for this I was grateful. I like getting dressed up for parties, but I also enjoy not taking myself too seriously. The theme of the party was Pho Glam. Party goers translated this into understanding that we would all come dressed in our most desperately unappealing (and cheap) attempts at New Year's semi-formal wear.

I have been developing a desire to purchase a top hat for some weeks now. I have been looking in thrift stores, at Christmas markets, and on websites. I had never quite found anything to jump out at me. I was browsing Etsy recently and saw a mini top hat on a headband; made by a crafter who used a cereal box as her base. She then covered the cereal box with fabric and accessories. That is when the light bulb went off. I decided to make my own hat for the Pho Glam Party. I wanted my hat to be festive, cute, obviously handmade, and a little silly. Here's how I did it.

If you're gonna copy me you'll need a small sour cream container (preferably not fat free) and a larger plastic lid. (I used a 32 oz. ricotta cheese container.) You will also need black duct tape and decorative accessories. Oh, and a string and needle to be able to tie the hat to your headband.

The Party was a blast. My absolute favorite part of the party was when a new guest would enter and we'd all stare to see what she was wearing...and it wasn't considered rude because it was (like) a costume...and we'd all whistle and cat call. My second favorite part of the party was drinking champagne, well sparkling wine. It is such a treat; especially in Germany. You can get a stinkin' good bottle for $3.00. After all of the guests were present we voted to see who's outfit was the best. I gotta tell you; credit went where credit was due. I don't know my friend found this dress, but it rocked. I was pretty jealous. It looked exactly like something my Malibu Barbie could have worn, and she had the eyelashes to match.

The rest of us Runner's Up looked pretty fun too.

As this first party was just heating up I was donning my jacket in preparation for my next celebratory activity; fireworks with Katharina and Ludwig. My house sits on a bit of a hill and we can see the town of Ansbach below. At exactly midnight it is a German tradition that (almost) every single person light off as many fireworks as they possibly can, for as long as they can. The noise and light and heat are said to ward off evil spirits and bad ju-ju from 2013. My fellow guardians of the new year did a fabulous job last night. I was standing on the balcony in complete awe. I have never seen a firework display so amazing. They were everywhere. It was beautiful, and it went on for almost ten minutes. Prior to New Year's Eve fireworks are for sale everywhere; and everyone is buying them by the trunk load. Even in witnessing this, I could never have imagined the site I would behold at midnight...too cool. The most endearing part about it to me is that, essentially, this is something that the community gets together and puts on themselves. It is not part of the city government's budget, or some professional ordeal involving a license and money and parking and rules. In Germany people are just doing it for themselves. I am really excited for next New Year's Eve already.

A Frank Shirt and a Robot Mousepad

I hope you enjoyed my recent painting. I'll be starting a new one next week. Here's the photo.

I'm still loving my Tom Selleck Portrait idea. Should I work from this photo?

or maybe I should work from this sweet tattoo I found.

In other personal project news, I made a Frank shirt for my mom. Her birthday is next week. She'll be fifty! (I can't believe it. She is growing up too fast.) I sent her a couple of other goodies with the shirt; most of which I can not name do to shipping restrictions. (Let's hope no one from USPS is reading this.) 

As I wrote last week, making my Frank shirt was a pain in the butt. I didn't think this simple project could get more annoying, but it did. With my mom's I had trouble getting the photo to stick on the shirt. 

The transfer paper is trickier than the directions imply. I think the print still looks cool, though in a grungie way. Because of my issues with the picture I made sure I kept the iron on the name part longer. Guess what happened. I burned it. So then I put a patch around it so it wasn't so obvious. 

What do you think? Let see what my mom has to say when she gets it. I hope she doesn't read this first.

In my last bit of handmade news; I'm really excited because my new mousepad finally arrived. 

I feel like my desk is complete.

I ordered the mousepad from Craftie Robot on Etsy. It was way cooler than the online pictures. I think this happens a lot on Etsy. The most difficult thing for us sellers is creating pictures that do our work justice. If you are someone who has never shopped on Etsy, shame on you. It has so much to offer. You won't be disappointed. How could you be? You get handmade, quality items, they ship to APO's, and you get to support little guys. Oh, you can also get really obscure vintage items too. If you need help shopping Etsy you can sign up for their shopping emails; it's on the lower left side of the homepage. They are really fun to browse; and you might be surprised to learn what the website offers.

Crochet a Coral Reef

This is an absolutely amazing project that marries science and craft. It makes me proud to be a creative woman. It renews my interest in math. It also makes me wish I could crochet.



If you would like to get involved you can. Here's how:

http://www.handmadespark.com/blog/how-to-make-crochet-coral-reefs-hyperbolic-crochet-by-handmade-spark-member-jenny-hoople/

I've Got Six Words

Here's me in a nutshell.

Have you heard that story about Hemmingway? Someone challenged him to write a story only using six words. His reply was, "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Rumor has it many called it his best work.

Recently on Etsy I read a helpful tutorial. The author challenged Etsy Sellers to do the same for their self/business. I was really turned on by this challenge. Thinking about it and working up to it has been tough. It's been almost two weeks since I took the challenge and I'm having difficulties figuring out what I want to say with six words.

What I am about to share with you is the list of ideas I have composed. I'm a bit embarassed about it. But I feel the need to share as a rite of passage. (so to speak) I read the list yesterday to my husband and some of them flat out made me laugh while reading them. He laughed at some too, and tried to make me nix a few immediately. Here is the list though, unedited. I don't mind if you laugh too. (or roll your eyes at me)

Dedicated Artist That Lets People In

Creator In And Of the World

At Work Artist That Won’t Rest

Artist focused on Creating the Unique

Explorer with Art in My Heart

Inventive Artist in Love with Energy

Limitless Girl in Love with Craft

I Spend All Day With Creativity

I Take Action and Color It

I Found Myself in Art Theory

Honest Artist Living in Limitless Possibility

Humorous Tattooed Artist with Traditional Tendencies

A Clever Artist Not Against Fashion

Born to Travel Create and Share

Artist Interested in Variety of Style

Funky Girl at Peace with Individuality

Please Enjoy With or Without Sun

Romantic Traveler Attracted to Creative Outlets

Without sharing creativity I would die

Hopelessly Devoted to Creating and Sharing

Colorful Artist with an Outward Focus

Artist with Personality Still Under Construction
Visual Artist Without Flair for Words

It isn't easy to describe yourself without feeling like your tooting your horn. I read what I've thought up and I'm like, "Oh man, my head is so far up my...."

I'd like to leave this open for you to develope an opinion. Leave a comment on your favorite, and least favorite. If you play this game with yourself I'd like to know too.

Send me an email and I can post the results: sarah@floridascarf.com

If you have a blog leave a link in the comments to your post.

LATER!

Florida Skirt: A Tutorial

When you are a creative personality it can be hard to stick to one craft. I pride myself in how focused I have been lately. In order to release some holiday stress I decided to let myself branch out. Using my same materials and tools I created a new fashion accessory.

Just in time for the "tail end" of winter.............................The mini scarf for your mid-section!

I turned this project into an 8-step venture, but you can complete it in two.



MATERIALS: You must have a sweater and scissors.
                        You may also want to have fabric for lining, pins, needle and thread, buttons, and cord.
                         It is suggested to use a sewing machine, but you can be fully content without one.

STEP 1: Get a sweater you want to cut up.
              This can be accomplished in your own closet if need be.

STEP 2: Cut off the body of the sweater.
              The bottom edge of the sweater will be the top (waist) of your skirt. If you are crafty you'll want to save the other parts for future endeavors.
         *You can be done here if you'd like. Just pull it on over whatever pants/skirt you already have on and it's an extra layer of warmth. You can weave a ribbon through the upper portion in order to cinch and tie it.

If not continue on,

STEP 3: Cut the length up one side.

If you want your skirt to have a lining proceed to STEP 4, if not skip to STEP 6.



STEP 4: Get a lining for your skirt and cut it in the same size as the sweater layer.

              Material to line the skirt can come from anywhere. To keep it simple I stole some fabric from an old slip. It would also be savvy to use an old t-shirt. Anything that won't fray is ideal. ( you don't have to hem the bottom.) For added warmth line it with sweatshirt fabric.

STEP 5: With the "Right sides" of the fabrics facing in, pin the lining to the sweater at the top, left side, and right side. Now sew around these three sides.

              After sewing, remove the pins and turn "right side" out. If your sweater is a bit thick you might have to do a few hand stitches to hold the seam in place.

STEP 6: Get some supplies to hold the skirt together.

              *If you want to be done here get some safety pins or broaches and pin the skirt around you.

If not continue on,

STEP 7: You'll need scissors, a needle, thread, cord, and buttons. Sew the buttons on one side and loops on the other. 

              I used a row of five buttons to fasten my skirt closed. You could have as little as two. Also, I did two rows of buttons so I'd have size options. You'll cut 5 strips of cord at 10" long. Make a loop out of each cord with a knot at the end. Use the knot to sew the loop securely to the skirt. These loops should be placed evenly down the length of one side of the skirt. On the other side you will sew your buttons. Be sure you are placing the buttons down in correlation to where the loops will catch them from the other side.

STEP 8: Try your skirt on for size.
           

      (Of course you can always continue on and add anything else you'd want to adorn this piece, but I'm done)

I think I look pretty good, and you will too.

STAY WARM!.......................... and Cool.

Bazaar-O World

I have a 10' x 10' space. There is a red line of tape that marks the entrance. No one has crossed it to enter my booth. It's 6:45 pm. This holiday shopping bazaar opened at 5:30. I'm wondering who the heck even starts their holiday shopping before Halloween. Being here was such a mistake. I never should have spent all that money to do this. No one likes my stuff. I'm going to have three more days of standing here, like this, looking stupid with my handmade neck warmers. It's Alabama. What was I thinking?

Oh..oh..Someone just stepped over my red line. False alarm. She continued walking. She probably just lost her footing. Could ideas get any worse than me thinking to come here? My booth is supposed to be in a good spot. I'm right across from the hometown candy company. They've been doing this show for 20 years. People love them. I'm also next to a guy giving out margarita samples. Everyone is flipping for the stuff. Maybe between the two I'm canceled out. I'm thinking margarita....with wine? What ever happened to good, old fashioned tequila? Arbor Mist is not my style. Tequila is. Tequila and handmade scarves. No one here understands me.

It's 6:55. Two people just crossed my line. "You must be real smart to think of an idea like this."
No purchase was made.

I bet people would buy them if I had them made in China rather than doing it myself. They don't understand...

"Ooh, what is this?".....
"Rocket Science. Keep moving."

7:10. I finally had a nice conversation about my product. Still not one sale. The candy booth has a line around the corner.

Next year I'm going to paint tiger eyes on scraps of wood and sell them.

7:28. They're playing jingle bells. Wow. Christmas music already. And the place is decorated up like Whooville. Normally I like Christmas music. Really, I usually love everything about the holiday. But when I'm at a craft show not selling anything I turn into the grinch.

7:45. And just like that, the wind changed, started coming out of the east. I made $100 from one person on one sale. She was so excited about what I do. There are people here that understand me.

This is an excerpt from a journal I started at a recent holiday shopping bazzar. I did it because I was bored, and defeated, from not having immediate action in my booth. This is as far as I got with the entry because after that I was busy for the next three days. I'm continuing the entry here. When I go to shows to sell my product I turn the event into such an emotional rollercoaster. I can't be the only one who does this. For that reason I wanted to share these thoughts in case anyone else feels alone.

Making stuff is the easy part. Putting yourself out there for the scrutiny of the general public is a whole different ball game. Going to this show was a tremendous learning experience for me. I was so disheartened in the beginning. By the end however, I had sold a ton of product, learned about my new customer base in Alabama, got a few offers to sell in stores, got some great tips, drew in funds for donations, met a lot of great people, and recieved more compliments than I knew what to do with.

The moral of the story here is don't kill it before it even has a chance to get good. Take risks. Make yourself nervous, but don't sike yourself out.

Because my first night had such a fabulous turn around I maintained a great attitude, even when bull started hitting the fan....my shoe broke, I ran out of wrapping, ran out of receipts, found out I was responsible for 10% sales tax, ran out of change, drank too much water and had to pee but couldn't leave because I was by myself.

Now that it is all over, I would definitely do it again. I encourage you to do the same. It's like bootcamp. See what you're made of.

Busy Making Friends

I would like to start by saying I can't believe it's Friday. Again. Already? Wow, time flies when you're busy making new friends. Mind you, all of these "new friends" I've never met face-to-face and probably never will. This is the power of social media. When one starts a small crafting business they must be equally as crafty about advertising and promotion. And in the past couple of months I feel like there has been a boom in networking and blogging and tweeting...etc. in order to successfully market. I'm sure it's been like this for a while and I'm just late. It is amazing to me how many people there are, out there, that are just like me. They are great artists trying to make a living and help others do the same thing.

Recently I have joined two new Etsy Teams. Members of the teams work together to try and promote each other. I'm using this morning to shout them out.

                                      
                                         The first is a team with a simple concept: promotion.
This team is worldwide so there is a lot of diversity in who you meet and what they make. Here is an example of one of my favorites.

 dominicanlounge.etsy.com.

 They have larimar and dominican amber, all very reasonably priced. The color in this particular piece is gorgeous.

The next team I recently became a member of is the HomeFront Street Team. This team is a bit more exclusive. It is still worldwide, but you must be the spouse of a uniformed serviceman. I think this group is great because there are so many military families trying to make it work.

I just joined this team last night and I've had five welcome notes and emails. These girls know the real meaning of support. I'm really excited to be a part of this community. I hope I actually meet another member that lives at Ft. Rucker. Then we could have craft parties. Anyway, here is a member I'd like to promote:

                                                       smokeymountainscents.etsy.com

This is definitely soap I'd accidentally eat, even in the shower, especially if I'd accidentally taken my coffe in there with me too. Supporting these crafters is especially important. They have very interesting circumstances they work under.

In addition to the Teams, I've also been working on scoring a "buddy" on Etsy. This is just an individual you work with. The goal here is to give/recieve support and encouragement on marketing and productivity through the holidays. Here she is.

                                                                 sofisticata.etsy.com

This is Hir. She makes elegant adornments and accessories. Sometimes it just isn't enough to put on your Manolo's. You have to make them even more chic. I've really been having "a thing" for peacock feathers lately too. Anyway, Hir is fabulous and her fashion is fabulous. check her out.

                                        Last, but not least, me. Here's what I've been up to lately.
This is a new scarf. It has great print and texture combos. The color palette gives it a lot of richness too. The sweater material is Italian New Wool, so it's really warm. The backing is a fun Giraffe print velboa. There is an accent of vintage tiki trim, my favorite part. You can't not love retro tiki.

That's all for now. Have a great weekend!