Handmade Wedding: Custom Wedding Dress FINAL PICTURES.

So, For those who have been watching the progression of this custom wedding dress, here are the Final pictures (which also means that if you are tired of looking at it you will be glad to know that it is finished! ) You can see the original sketch for this dress here:



http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MbslqFmDhaI/SzBTt6KYdOI/AAAAAAAAAvk/Sy5CXewNwLg/s1600-h/TarasDress1.jpg



This project ran so smoothly I can hardly believe it is over... I keep thinking I MUST HAVE MISSED SOMETHING- but at this point it really just needs to fit, and most minor changes I would expect the customer to have done locally by a tailor, and we used a muslin fitting garment so I expect the fit to be pretty good.



This dress is Designed By me, the patterns are made by me and it is entirely sewn by me as well, including some beautiful hand sewn details. This is a finished project that I am very proud of. I knew I could do it of course, but sometimes you have to DO something to convince your knowledge of your capabilities to overcome your insecurities.





I was also commissioned by the same person to make this birdcage veil and facinator:

The facinator which can be worn without the veil

The veil, which can be worn without the facinator too, of course.

The dress is very versatile and has four pieces, a bolero, a top which is fully boned, an underskirt with alencon lace details, and an over skirt with an inner tie up system that adjusts the length of the skirt (and then several pin on flowers)

That means it can be worn like this:

(this is the alencon lace underskirt)

Or like this:

(this is the over skirt when it is all the way down)

(This is the back, it has a very small train)

A few detail shots:

(The bottom of the dress worn as it is intended)

(this is to show the detail of the pleating on the bolero)

And this is how it is meant to be worn:


I took these pictures in old town in Albuquerque, New Mexico

We got a lot of comments about how beautiful the dress is, which means a lot to me, because they see a LOT of dresses as it is a very popular place to get married and get wedding pictures taken, so the shop owners there see a LOT of dresses.

I should have taken some business cards :)

For future reference... (you know, like market research...but less organized and targeted)

I have a question for YOU...

How much would you pay for this handmade custom designed wedding dress?

What about the veil and Facinator?

Consider it a guessing game. I will tell you in a few days how much I charged for this dress, as long as it is known that I will never ever make a dress like this for that price again ;)

that is...unless, I just feel like designing, or you are my good friend, or....

I really loved making this dress because the customer had some ideas but she really let me design it myself, and that is important to me, but I know I underpaid myself by a pretty long shot.

Thanks!

Xoxo,

Erica

PS- if anyone is interested in a custom wedding dress, veil or facinator, feel free to contact me either by email: ericahvoges@yahoo.com or by convo in etsy http://acrylicandsteel.etsy.com/

EtsyBloggers Blog Carnival

I hope everyone had an excellent weekend! Mine was ok, but unexpectedly cut short when I was called in to work today.

I am on an etsy street team, etsy bloggers. I am participating in a blog Carnival hosted by FoxyGKnits. This is my first one, so I hope I do it correctly!

Here are a few Beautiful items from her store:




You may click on the picture to go to either listing in her store.

These are the themes:
1) February 14th is Valentine's Day. What is your best childhood memory of Valentine's Day or What childhood tradition do you now carry out with your children.
2) February is Heart Health Month. What is your best heart healthy recipe. What do you do to stay heart healthy. How do you promote heart health?

This is a difficult choice because I do many things that keep my heart healthy, but valentines day sounds like more fun... the only problem is that I don't really remember much from my childhood. I remember that my mom would give my brothers and I valentines, but that is hardly an exciting memory and Autumn is too young to be given a box of chocolates :)

(my own sketch of a heart)

I think I will go with heart health.

There are a lot of things you can do to improve your heart health, and fortunately they are things that are good for your whole body, they will not only help keep your heart healthy, which is especially important if heart disease runs in your family as it does mine.

No real surprise, one very important thing that everyone can do to have a healthy heart is QUIT smoking, or never start. I can not say this is something I do well. I smoked before autumn was born and I quit during my pregnancy. I do not really smoke anymore, or I am not addicted any more so I have no real excuse to do it. Every now and then I will smoke. It is a very bad habit, it is bad for me, and I do not want my daughter to grow up thinking it is OK.

Another thing that is very good for your heart is Aerobic exercise. Exercise is where I am a viking :)

I was on a short mandatory break from exercise last week after having my gall bladder removed, and oh boy am I glad to be back in action. My routine is still restricted for a little while, but this is what it usually looks like:

Sunday: roller derby practice (1/2 hour of off skates circuit training, 2 hours skating) and I usually bike to and from practice (about 12 mi round trip)

Monday: off or very light workout

Tuesday: Bike to and from work (7mi round trip) Roller derby practice (2 hours skating)

Wednesday: Bike to and from work, Roller Derby Scrimmage

Thursday: Bike to and From work, Roller derby practice (2 hours skating)

Friday: Bike to and from work, climbing at the rock gym (about 2 hours)

Saturday: Roller derby practice (2 hours skating) , usually bike to that one (only about 8 mi)

I also really enjoy hiking, which I don't have time for right now and a few other random activities. When I was young I never considered myself to be athletic, and spent most of my life somewhat sedentary. I became active when I started playing roller derby and after that I discovered many other activities I really enjoy! Before I had Autumn I considered myself to be highly athletic and in very good shape. I highly recommend roller derby to anyone who is looking for a fun sport to get fit and meet awesome women! (or like me, you could meet your husband ;) )

This is very possibly much more than many people are willing to do, but exercise really is important in so many ways! Walking for 30 min to 1 hour a day at a pace that causes you to perspire and increases your heart rate is enough to strengthen your heart, help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight and make you feel wonderful! For so many people the hard part is motivation, so work out with a friend so that you are encouraging each other and making each other accountable. Plus, it is more fun to walk, bike, run or even go to a gym with friend.

Finally a healthy diet high in lean proteins and fiber and low in fat will do wonders for your health. In our family we make sure all meals include a starch/grain, a protein, and a meat, usually lean. Whole grains are great too, for example, you can use whole grains pasta instead of regular pasta.

For example, for dinner tonight we are having baked chicken, rice and a really yummy veggie mix we got at trader Joe's. Fill half your plate with veggies 1/4 with meat and 1/4 your starch. If you need help making your portions smaller it helps sometimes to use smaller plates. You can make this meal even healthier by using brown rice or a whole grain mixture (trader Joe's also has a few of these) Also, though my husband is not a fan of it, we try to have one vegetarian meal a week. It is also good to mix things up, don't eat the same thing all of the time. I don't eat pork so we have fish one meal a week, chicken 2-3 meals a week, vegetarian protein like beans once a week and lean beef once a week. Be careful with soy, some of it actually keeps your body from absorbing protein, and you also need more vitamin D if you are eating soy. Look for soy products that are "whole soy". It is just as important to eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and grains. Good soy products are a great way to lower cholesterol which is great for your heart! I also just read today that eating family dinners is a great way to reduce chances of child obesity (which leads to adult obesity).

(this is my favorite vegetarian meal: portobello mushrooms, onion and garlic sauteed in olive oil with a little liquid smoke and soy sauce, mix in whole grain pene, black beans and fresh broccoli. This meal would be vegan EXCEPT that I garnish it with Parmesan cheese)

Breakfast is a great way to get a good dose of fiber. A really delicious cereal that Adam and I recently discovered is Kashi Island Vanilla shredded wheat. It has 24% of your daily fiber and if it is paired with skim milk it is a very low fat meal. Adding a piece of fruit will make it complete.

I think lunch can be challenging for working people. The best way to combat the temptation of really unhealthy fast food is to bring your own lunch. You totally have time to do that, especially if you are already making lunch for your kids (packing a healthy lunch for your children is an excellent way to help them learn nutrition) it is pretty easy to make yourself a lunch too. You will also save some money, and who cant use a little extra money these days. Good options for lunch would be: a sandwich on whole grain bread with veggies (hold the mayo, it is packed with fat and cholesterol) and some yogurt. Also, if you want a hot lunch Healthy Choice makes these really wonderful, balanced, low calorie meals that are very filling, though they could use a little less sodium.

These are all pretty basic things that will make your whole body healthier, including your heart. These are guidelines that I follow and have been for the past 4+ years. I was not raised with these habits, I had to learn them myself (with some help from my husband) , but am much happier and healthier now that I do. You would think I would be thin, but I guess that is why I am going to the DR regularly.

here are some other ways to reduce your risk of heart disease(from healthy-heart-guide.com):

Lowering Your Risks
Specific Ways to Promote a Healthy Heart
Cholesterol Ratio
CRP Blood Test
Diet For Lowering Cholesterol
Homocysteine and Heart Disease
LDL Cholesterol Heart Disease
Lowering Triglycerides
Natural Blood Thinners

For more great info on heart health here are some links:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000

http://www.webmd.com/heart/default.htm

http://www.health-heart.org/

http://www.healthy-heart-guide.com/

Kreativ Blogger Award

T over at Poppy's Place PDX gave us a Kreativ Blogger Award!

Thank you so much! Teresa has Four etsy stores!

Poppy Place
Poppy Place showcases her Photography and paintings, Here is one of my favorite items from that store:

"Autumnal Swirl" is only $15.oo! You can get to the listing by clicking on the picture.

Vintage T sells vintage items like this:

Design T is stocked with clothing items, I love this scarf:

PhotosByChipperfield has even more beautiful Photography:


Click on any of the photo's to go to the listing.

So To start off I am supposed to tell you all 7 Things you may not know about me. I found this hard because while there are many things you all do not know about me, The first things that came to mind were not things that I would want to share on a blog that is related to my etsy store. I didn't realize that I had these skeletons in my closet, and was taken aback by it. It is not that these things are secrets, I would have no problem sharing them with friends, and I do consider many of my readers to be friends, but I would not want them associated with my business, even if it is really just a hobby.

so, here are 7 things that you may not know about me, that I don't mind being associated with Acrylic and Steel

1. I am afraid of heights.

In spite of this, I rock climb, which was very challenging the first time. I also do not like rock climbing outdoors. I also love hiking and have crossed the Knife's Edge on Angels Landing in Zion National park - which is absolutely stunning.

(Adam and I- or our feet- Over the ledge at Angels Langing in Zion)

2. I like my refrigerated food room temperature and my hot food room temperature.
It is kind of silly. It is especially true with cheese. I will microwave cheese for a few seconds before eating it. I will also cook food and put it in the freezer for a few minutes when it is done, to cool down.

3. My husband is 10 years older than me. I am turning 27 This year and he is turning 37. Interestingly, his mother and her late husband and his father and his (in Adam's words) "wife like person" have a 10 year age difference as well. It is not something I really think about often, though we joke about it sometimes, and it does do him the service of looking younger while doing me the disservice of looking older almost anywhere we go together.


4. I have never watched star wars in its entirety. Just not interested.

5.I am afraid of failure. So afraid of failure and rejection that it is paralyzing. I know, that if you never even try, you have already failed... but somehow the idea of being told I am not good enough or smart enough, or whatever is far worse than never succeeding.

6. I have three Brothers, a younger brother, an older brother and an older half brother. My brother Nick sometimes feels like the adhesive glue that keeps us all together. He is very good at organizing gatherings and making sure we all see each other from time to time.

7. I actually LIKE doing customer service jobs. It is kind of like acting. I am very shy, quiet and reserved and somehow if I am working in a customer service atmosphere a completely different side of me comes out. I mean, I cant say I am especially social with my co-workers but I LOVE helping customers.

Bonus thing: since my husband takes care of this blog too I am going to share a tidbit about him too... he has never eaten a twinkie. Ever.

So, now for 7 blogs that I would like to bestow this award upon...

This is hard because there are so many wonderful blogs, www.christiecottage.blogspot.com , www.cabinandcub.blogspot.com and www.studiomme.blogspot.com and of course www.poppyplacepdx.blogspot.com are personal favorite blogs of mine. I go out of my way to visit their blogs even if they don't pop up in google reader or I am not reminded of them by a comment on my blog. I love their blogs, and from what I can tell they are all really wonderful people as well. I am going to try to dig a little deeper into my reading list though, for bloggers that you may not already read.

1. The Little Owl A cute sweet blog.
2. Dirsken Dabbles A blog about life and art... and her art is very lovely
3. Icky Dog Creations Awesomeness. Oh, and my husband likes the name.
4. That Crafty Fish Cute blog about life and crafting.
5. The Rebirth of Fresh Awesome fashion blog, specializing in vintage fashion.
6. Fashion Me Fabuous I can tell these writers must be younger than me because a lot of their fashion entries I just don't GET, and sometimes I don't love what they love, but I always LOVE reading their blog.
7. Absolutely Smallwell, you have probably read her blog, but I couldn't help it.Geeky. Cute. Funny. Well written. I love it.

Here are the Rules to Pay it Forward (If you want to participate):

1. Copy/paste the Kreativ Blogger Award picture onto your blog

2. Thank the person who awarded it to you and post a link to her/his blog

3. Write 7 things about yourself we might not know

4. Choose 7 other bloggers to award

5. Link to them

6. Notify your 7 bloggers of their awards

SO guys... have a great weekend. I may pop in. If you see this post before I tell you, sorry, but I am off to a friends art opening.

Oh no....

At home I started a lengthy blog post, planning to finish it here at work if it got slow... I just signed in to work on it and... it is gone! There is no record of it in my drafts.

Yikes.

I left it open on my browser at home. I hope it is still up when I get back!

From American Science and Surplus

American Science and Surplus is a wonderful catalogue that we get at home. It is printed on newsprint and has no photographs, only drawn pictures like the ones you would see in an old sears catalogue.

It was hard for me to pick up and look through it the first time I saw it, but after I started I was hooked. Their item descriptions are pure entertainment, every single one of them! They also sell a huge variety of very strange but interesting things, many that I think can be very useful.

You can visit their online catalogue at http://www.sciplus.com/

Here are a few of their item descriptions from their online catalogue:






White Gloves

For running white glove tests. These are closer to a cream color, and are unused UK military surplus liner gloves for N-B-C suits, but they're nicely made, and would be quite useful as emergency opera-wear if you're in white tie but left your gloves in the Bentley. The men's Lg are labeled 8 to 8-1/2, and will be either 9-1/2" or 13" long (our choice) from fingertip to end of glove. These are also very nice painters/craft gloves for folks allergic to latex. Package of (3) pairs.






Write Like A Pirate

WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD-Small Parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.
Put a little aaaaarrrgh in your signature, me bucko. Our each is a package of (3) resin ballpoint pens, 6-1/2" long with assorted, and very detailed, pirate/skull heads on the top. Very Buccaneers-of-the-Caribbean-ish. Good for everyday use, but essential for drawing treasure maps.

There are so many entertaining items to share, this may just become a regular installment on my blog.

Vogue Collections is Awesome.

Hi all! I am very excited that I received a blog award from T over at www.poppyplacepdx.blogspot.com because I just adore her! I am very grateful that I have had a chance to get to know her through her blog. She is sweet and caring, and has taken the time to send me thoughtful personal e-mails during times when I really needed it. I am very glad to know her, even just through the blogosphere, and am so honored to have received a blog award from her.

That is all I will be saying about the blog award for today, I will be thinking hard about 7 things you may not know about me and also deciding who to give the award to myself and writing a full post on this later this week. It is hard for me to pick because I follow so many wonderful blogs :)

hmmm...

What else?

I am feeling pretty well, very tired usually, but in very little pain.

Also, Just in case any designers, or fashion lovers are not aware of it's existence one of the most wonderful fashion references available in media form is by far Vogue Collections. It is a $35.00 magazine, which is an excellent price for what it is. Vogue Collections is a periodical that comes out twice a year (fall/winter and Spring/Summer), has very few ads, and is basically just pages and pages of runway collections from top designers in Paris, London, Milan, and New York. I wait for it to come out every season, and everywhere I have ever gone I have been told "I have never heard of that magazine" or "we don't sell that" and usually a few weeks later I see a stack of them in their fashion section. It is an amazing tool for inspiration, laughs (it is amazing what gets sent down runways), and I think as time passes they will be an exemplary historical fashion reference as well.

As I said, This is a magazine well worth the money for any designer, or fashion fanatic! It will absorb many heart stopping, studious hours of "oh, that's cute" "I hate that" "I almost like that" "no, honey, most people CAN'T actually afford ANY of this" "the draping on this is phenomenal" Etc.

Of course if you are me, you will probably say " I could do that better" embarrassingly often for someone who is making no attempts at this time to be a full time designer.

Thank goodness for netflix instant play!

Since I have been recovering from surgery I have spent a great deal of time resting. We don't have a TV so I have been very glad to have netflix.

I have watched the following movies recently(and they are still available on instant play):



I thought This movie was really adorable. Even Adam thought it was totally cute and better than he had expected. I can see it coming across as slightly sappy for some but I highly recommend this fantastical light romance. You probably know the premise, but if you don't, it is about a girl who is cursed with a pig nose and has to over come this and accept herself to live happily ever after.



I loved this movie, it was a little sad, as the main character never really allowed herself to be happy. She was played by Gene Tierney who was really just a stunning woman. The movie was about a woman who lost her husband and decided to leave her controlling in-laws and take care of herself. She finds a beautiful seaside house that she can afford, but it comes with the ghost of a sea captain.



This is surely one of my all time favorite movies. I loved this movie when I was a little girl and I was so excited when it was available to watch instantly that I watched it right away. I did not like the remake very much. As much as I like Johnny Depp, Gene Wilder was an amazing Willy Wonka. I also love Tim Burton, that is, I love Tim Burton WHEN I love Tim Burton, but I did not love his remake of this movie.

and at that, I will leave you with a favorite quote:
"If god had intended us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates"-Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder)

Home sweet home!

I got back from the hospital late last night and am very tired and sore but I am feeling much better than yesterday. I spent about 10 days very sick, unable to hold down any food, and in a lot of pain before my sweet husband convinced me to go to the doctor. I have had problems with ulcers in the past and so I thought that I was just having problems with them again since the pain was in about the same area and was very similar.

On Tuesday I went in to urgent care. I went to an excellent facility called MD Urgent Care where everyone was very friendly and they saw me only a few minutes after we arrived. The Doctor then prescribed me some medication and scheduled an ultrasound for Thursday to look at my Gall Bladder.

On Thursday my ultrasound was over at about 10:45 and at about 1:00 I got a call from the Doctor about the ultrasound, which I was told not to expect until next Tuesday. I had several Very large gall stones, and it also appeared that my gall bladder was very infected so the doctor had me go in to the hospital that night. I ate a bowl of soup at about 2pm on Thursday or they would have operated that night, but they operated at about 10am Friday instead.




I was supposed to come home this morning instead of last night, but my baby was not allowed in to the hospital so they let me go early since everything went well.

I will probably not be able to play in the tournament at the end of February, but that is ok I guess.

I hope everyone is well, and thank you to those who sent me well wishes, it was greatly appreciated!

Xoxo
-Erica

Alone...

Erica is in the hospital waiting for surgery to have her gall bladder removed. And I am home alone with Autumn. Not that Autumn isn't cute, but I'm happier when Erica is at home.

It has been quite a week here.

I've been doing aerial surveys for big game on the res. No, I don't hunt, never have, probably never will, but it is part of my job.



We've been flying in a nice little helicopter, which, if you haven't done it, is remarkably tiring, even if you don't get air sick.



The plan was to cover about 500,000 acres in 5 days. And then it snowed. So, today was postponed. And then Erica went into the hospital, and an BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) man that the Natural Resources Program works with a lot died of cancer. So I will probably end up working this weekend too.



Sigh.

Oh...I posted some knife stuff over on Hangedmandesigns too.

Erica's surgery should be pretty minor, a couple little holes in the tummy, some R&R, and she should be able to skate in the tournament up near Seattle next month.

She's hard core.

And I love her.

Giveaway!

I am sponsoring a giveaway on http://www.christiecottage.blogspot.com/! to enter follow this link to her blog: Win it Wednesday



I am giving away this bones red roller skate bearing necklace. It is reversible. I used these bearings in my roller derby skates.

We can also make custom versions of these. I have two of them and I wear one or the other almost every day! I love them!

Please visit www.christiecottage.blogspot.com to enter her giveaway and win this awesome item!

Please also visit her store http://christiecottage.etsy.com


Also, I finally went to the DR to talk about my stomach. I have been in a lot of pain every time I eat and throwing up about once a day. I thought it was ulcers because I have had problems with them in the past and it feels very similar. The Dr. I saw yesterday is leaning towards gall bladder stones. I will have an ultrasound tomorrow morning to look for those. He also gave me a prescription for Prilosec for the ulcers and another one for if it is my gall bladder. The one for the gall stones I take with every meal to prevent pain, and so far it has really worked! I have been on a very low fat diet, but I have to cut back even more until we find out if it is gall stones.

Other than that I am doing very well, Autumn is adorable, as always and Adam is wonderful, as always!

Have a good day!

Xoxo
-Erica

THANK YOU Jacki!

Jacki over at christiecottage.etsy.com featured our store acrylicandsteel.etsy.com on her two for Tuesday blog post!

You can see the post by going to her blog http://www.christiecottage.blogspot.com/





I love this cuff from her store, and it is on sale now for only $8.50! Click on the picture to go to the listing.

I am also on ChristieCottage's BNS thread and I have made some wonderful friends over there! If you are thinking about joining a BNS thread, which I highly recommend, I would suggest starting on ChristiCottage's thread.

BNS stands for Buy and Sell, there are also buy and replace threads. I love them because they are a great way to meet people and network. It is like being part of a community of people that support and promote each other. I have been less active in them the ones I am on since the holidays, so i need to drop in soon and chat :)

The Twinkie Cup

Autumn Admires the Trophy

This Saturday, in celebration of our friend John's ( Johnny Rocketpants in the derby world) 30th birthday we joined him at an indoor race track for a very fun party.

This is how Rocketpants explained the event:
To celebrate my 30 years of greatness, I require a competition of epic proportions. Hence I must insist on reviving one of the greatest challenges ever conceived -- The Twinkie Cup. A battle pitting friends against friends in tiny cars, hurling down the concrete at moderately quick speeds with the victor given the most glorious trophy in all of motorsports -- an oversized Margarita glass full of golden sponge cake with creamy filling.

We will race from 8 - 10 pm, with the winner determined by their top 3 lap speeds. As well, a twist will be implemented to spice up the competition. Those participating may dress in Smokey & the Bandit attire with their ensemble deducting their total time.

In this competition, you can deduct time in the following ways:
1. Having mustache: -3 sec
2. Wearing Bandit attire (pearl-snap shirt & boots): -6 sec
3. Wearing Smokey attire (police uniform): -12 sec
4. Wearing Sally Field attire (wedding dress): -24 sec


Adam and I Prepared for the party by making fake mustaches

We had a great time on Saturday night! I did not race this time because I was watching Autumn. I didn't race last time either... I don't know why...

Adam and I wearing our fake mustaches. Mine is pink :)

Adam Raced and got about 4th place.

Bill won the Twinkie Cup this year, Thanks to his beautiful wedding dress.

I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of Rocketpants! He looked awesome in his fake stache, cowboy hat, mother of pearl snap shirt and boots.

In other news I have been very sick for the past week. I have had really awful stomach pain and throwing up daily. Last week I had a cold on top of that. When I Was going to FIDM I had some really bad ulcer attacks, and they acted exactly like this, so I am assuming that is the problem. I am taking some medication that should make it feel better soon and I am also eating really mild foods like oatmeal... but I really want a pickle, damnit! I would also love to eat pasta with tomato sauce or even an orange.


Also, I have created the inner ties in the wedding dress I am finnishing up so it looks MUCH better now. All I have left is the viel, which I plan to make this afternoon. Sorry if you are tired of looking at this silly dress, expect to see it one more time after the final pictures are taken :)

Busy with Custom Orders!

I have been sparse lately, partially for reasons that I can't explain, and mostly because we are busy with several custom orders, and I am very busy with roller derby. I am skating 4+ days a week again, which is fun, but I also spend a lot of time planning the 2 practices that I run, researching teams and drills and doing other things behind the scenes. We have also started climbing every Friday again.

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Michigan:


Adam and Autumn looking into a koi pond

A nice picture of the two of us

Autumn looking gleefully into the donation box as though at 14 months she already knows the power and importance of money in this world.


Also, last Saturday I died my hair black. I like it.

So, these are our custom orders:




Yesterday I finished these adorable Martial Arts Kiddos. There are 12 of them, 6 boys and 6 girls. I tried to make a good multicultural mix. I think they are cute but am a little worried that they are fragile.


Adam also recently finished this awesome kitchen chopper. I really love it and am encouraging him to make more. He does have a few kitchen knives on the bench though, including a stainless steel one. I cant wait to see how they turn out. I will be shipping this one very soon.


Then there is the wedding dress I am working on. All I have left to do is cut the stray strings, and make the veil. I also decided today when I put this dress on the form to take pictures that I wanted to add some strings to tie up the skirt from the inside to make the raised skirt a little easier to accomplish and also create a more even billowy drape. I will take some nicer pictures when the dress is done.

I also am feeling a little sick. Bleh. It's a tired achy flue-ish cold.

Also, I have had several people ask me for cards that they can hand out.... so I guess I need to design some new cards, eh?

Take care for now, folks.

XO -Erica

Kateigaho

Fall 2009 Kateigaho Internation Edition

My dad gave me a copy of this magazine for Christmas – If you have any interest in sushi, knives, the fall, tea, pottery…or just japan in general, check it out. He bought it for me due to the knife aspect.

As a knife guy, Japanese swords have always been the pinnacle of the craft. I hadn’t really thought too much about what happened to the swordsmiths and technology after swords weren’t quite as necessary. Yes there are certainly a few who still make high quality katana. But what about the rest?

The answer is apparently kitchen knives.

The same excessive detail that went into crafting a katana now goes into a wide variety of special purpose kitchen knives, some specific to particular types of fish. Who knew?

Just like for swords, they use a combination of hard and soft steel, but unlike swords and unlike western kitchen knives, the majority of them are single ground (like a chisel). Apparently this allows finer slices, preventing damage to the meat of the fish.

And just like for the swords, the bladesmith gets the blade to its rough shape and then its up to the polisher to finish it up.

A little obsessive for my taste, but interesting none the less.

So check it out for something a little different.

A NEW YEAR PART ONE: Looking back

I feel like this year should really begin with the birth of Autumn, even though technically she was born in November of 2008.

Autumn, Minutes old

Autumn Ringia was born, November 14Th 2008 via Cesarean at about 8:00 am after 17 hours of labor. the Cesarean was necessary because she was not positioned correctly.

uncle Nick, Aunt Erica and little Autumn (about 4 weeks old)

I learned a lot this year from Autumn. Most importantly I learned that things don't turn out as planned SURPRISINGLY often, especially as a parent. Some of my plans, failed due to perseverance, and possibly exhaustion-like using cloth diapers. Others failed because not everyone can do them-like breastfeeding- which was a long, determined, exhausting experience that left me feeling heartbroken, useless and defeated. I still have never had the energy to record my thoughts and emotions regarding breastfeeding, but may soon.

Captain Furious ( Autumn 4 weeks old)

8 weeks after Autumn was born I started skating with Rose City Rollers in Portland. It was nice to get out, and get a lot of exercise.

silhouettes of roller girls

I Decided not to return to work because daycare cost almost as much as I would get paid, but It was hard on me to spend all day at home with a baby-as wonderful as she is- and skating didn't help with that. Adam was traveling a lot for that job and it was depressing.


Autumn and I at the rose garden in Portland

In February I opened our etsy store. I had no goals or expectations and found the community to be an addicting and welcomed reprieve from my life as a stay at home mother, wife and derby girl. I was also surprised that things sold without a huge amount of effort from me.

Arm warmers were out top seller in our etsy store this year

I can't remember much about March or April. I found myself too stressed out by skating with Rose City to really want to stick around, and at some point I quit because I couldn't attend many practices and I didn't want to subject myself to unnecessary stress when I felt like I was already at my wits end at home with a baby, and often left alone during the work week while Adam was doing surveys in other states.


Autumn and Daddy

In may Adam and I moved back to Albuquerque! I am so happy to be back home. I started skating with duke city derby again which makes me very happy! I also started working for my dad which really helped me break up my day and feel more productive and less trapped. I get to take Autumn to work with me so it works out very well, and the extra money is very nice. Adam did NOT have a job when we left Portland, but before we moved in to a house he had secured a position as Natural Resources Manager for the pueblo of Laguna! Everything seemed to come together so smoothly. I am sure my mother would say " it was meant to be".

Adam seems to enjoy his job, and I enjoy working part time for my dad. It is very nice that autumn gets to see my dad so often, I think it is good for both of them, and it is nice for me to get out of the house.

Autumn Thinks that dinner looks good!

At the end of last year's travel season Duke City Derby lost Kamikaze Kim, which has been very difficult for me and many other skaters. Kim moved to Seattle, and I am sure they are very happy to have her. Kim is an amazing skater and an amazing person, and I miss her very much. She had changed a little in the year that I was in Portland- but then I suppose, so had I- and some major changes had happened in her life that would surely effect anyone.

At the end of the season Killer Queen and I were elected as the new travel team captains. We have some very big (even though they were actually really small) shoes to fill as Kim's predecessors. I think that in some ways we are doing pretty well, but a lot of people are very sad that Kim is gone and seem to be taking it out on us, and the rest of the team. We may lose some very good skaters, which would be disappointing. A few other skaters have also really stepped up, and been very helpful, and I am very thankful to them.

Adam and I

Our First Christmas on etsy was very lucrative. I did not have any real sales goals when we opened our shop but I was really surprised by how many sales we did make, and how little effort it took. YES, it is a lot of work, but without doing craft shows, art shows, or promoting ourselves locally we were able to make enough sales to buy ALL of our Christmas presents with pay pal money from etsy sales.

I guess that leaves us about where we are now, Many things unresolved as is always the case in a new year, and a few things changed forever, so completely that It is hard to remember what life was like before.



Autumn at the Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor Michigan

Finishing touches

Given that I feel like I never have enough time to work on my knives, it appears that I have actually gotten quite a bit done. I also received some knife related gifts this holiday season, including some wood for handles, and a magazine about Japanese chef's knives. I didn't learn a whole lot about the Japanese knives, but it was an interesting article anyway.

Anyway, this post is about the visual change from relatively raw blades, to finished products. On the next forging session maybe I'll take the idea a little farther, from raw metal to finished product.

But I digress...

At the end of November I posted this picture:

Since then I have finished 4 of these, as well as forging an additional custom knife, and two custom letter openers.

Many of my knives change shape quite a bit during the creative process – for a dramatic example, look back at the November 30^th post on Kitchen knives.

Of the knives above, starting at the left: The big Kukri styled chopper is still languishing unfinished on a shelf; the heat stained santuku styled knife (third from left) was finished as seen below, and sold!

The hunter (second from the left) changed shape and became hidden tang, and is at the far right in the picture below; the big and small daggers are waiting for me to acquire a little patience and are unfinished; the scalpel (top) is finished and in the middle of the picture below.

The knife on the left in the picture below is the custom kitchen chopper that I made for a friends mother.

And finally the knife all the way on the right changed shape a little, was finished and given to my dad for Christmas.

I know some of these pics aren’t new, but it seems relevant to have them all in the same place for this post.

That’s all for now folks. I’ll probably be posting the official specs and maybe some better pictures of individual knives over at hangedmandesigns.

HI, From Michigan

Hello, today is our last day in Michigan!
I have to admit, I can not wait to go home.

It seems like we have been very busy, though I am having a hard time really pin pointing anything we have done...

We went to the local botanical gardens, which is run by the University of Michigan, and is small but very beautiful.

Adam and I spent one afternoon walking around in down town Anne Arbor, which we enjoyed in spite of the frigid temperatures.

We went to the mall with Adam's mom to return an item, and spent a little time walking around the mall. Victoria's Secret is having their semi- annual sale, so I indulged in some items for myself, some new underwear and some heavenly lotion and perfume as well as a few make-up items.

For me the highlight has surely been visiting the riverside skating arena, which is the nicest skating rink I have had the opportunity to skate in. The Oaks park rink in Portland is also very nice, but the staff does not let you skate even remotely fast, and that is annoying. Adam's parents were nice enough to babysit that night so we got to skate together which is rare. We had a great time and even ran into a few Detroit roller girls and some of their newbies. I probably should have tried to attend one of their practices since I brought all of my gear but it felt like our stay flew by.

Then of course we have spent a lot of time with Adam's family.

Happy new year, all. I have so much more to say... hopefully I get around to it in the new year!

I feel so SPOILED

Thought I would start by mentioning that Adam wrote a VERY good blog about knives that he posted on his Hanged Man Designs blog. You can read it HERE.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Mine was better than I could have ever imagined, and left me feeling giddy and a little spoiled. I got to spend Christmas eve with my Dad, husband, step-mom and daughter. We had a lovely meal and my dad got me a new bicycle....



not just any bike... THE BIKE. I didn't really tell him what I wanted, and he got me THE EXACT bike I wanted. It is an adorable pink Townie Electra cruiser. I saw it about 2 years ago before I knew I was pregnant with Autumn and I kind of fell in love. It is the bike that got me interested in biking (that and the fact that I HATE driving) . It is so undeniably ME. I am so excited! Adam and I and a friend of ours went for a 20 mile round trip ride on Saturday, before I hooked Autumns trailer up- Adam Towed her on my old bike, a hand me down with some very noticeable issues, but quite functional. I went for about a 14 mile ride on Monday towing Autumn, and that trip has a huge incline for a large portion of it. And of course I have been riding it to work. I LOVE IT.

On Christmas day I spent the morning with Autumn and Adam and we went to visit extended family in the afternoon. We had another very nice meal and enjoyed the company of relatives.

I received some money in the mail from my mom and so we decided that I could use it to buy screen printing supplies... somehow... even though my husband and I both know I do NOT need another hobby...

We were planning on getting a yudu setup because it looks soooo EASY, but we found photoez and they have a complete starter kit with ink for about $100. The main difference is that there isn't really a light box, but in Albuquerque we have lots of direct sunlight, so that should not be a problem! I will post a product review after I get it. Here is their website... http://ezscreenprint.com/



It looks even EASIER than yudu! The screens are basically reusable paper!

so I have spent a lot of time doodling and trying to come up with ideas for things to print, but I am leaving for Michigan early Thursday, so I probably will not get to try it until I get home. I have a few sketches already and some old sketches, then I also want to do a few roller derby related Screens too, oh, and probably at least one sugar skull. I probably should have ordered extra photoez screen papers with my order... I am sure these will go a little too fast. It means now that my fashion studio is pretty complete! I just need to get my old surger working, or sell it on CL and get a domestic one that is easier to use.

Hope yours was as merry and bright. This may have been the best Christmas I have ever had... and I was starting to think I was getting too old for Christmas.

And the winner is....

Hi! I picked the winner op my whale hand warmers at random ( from a hat to be precise, since it seemed to be the least original and easiest way to do it.)

And the winner is.... LAURA! I will be sending you an email to get your address :) I hope you love your new hand warmers.

Laura has her own blog as well, so please pay her a visit at theforgottenbrush.blogspot.com. She is also an artist, like me :)

Her etsy store is www.etsy.com/shop/laurart


This piece is "Speckles 'n Shapes" by Laura and you can get to her listing of it by clicking on the picture.



I love prints, and I really love this print "Brushes" by Laura. It is made from a wood block. You can go to this listing by clicking on the picture as well :)

Laura is also an animal enthusiast and 10% of her profits go to charity.

I hope everyone's holidays were as wonderful as mine, i will tell you more about them soon, I don't want to make this post to lengthy to be interesting :)

Also, I added the hamster widget. Isn't he cute? you can feed him.

I will Start a new next Monday.

Brown Paper Packages tied up with String

So, I have not quite made it to the end of my first year selling on etsy. It has been an incredible, wonderful learning experience and I have met some really great people, and purchased some AWESOME items.

One thing that I have found to be an invaluable lesson, that has also managed to save me quite a bit of money over time, is HOW TO SHIP USPS, and that you can ship FROM HOME through paypal. That is pretty awesome.

I know I am sure there are other things I should know about shipping that I have not learned yet, but I really think USPS offers a truly superior service. It is VERY inexpensive, and packages seem to arrive at their destination much faster than with other shipping services, which surprised me the most! I also didn't figure out until a few months ago that we could ship things directly through Paypal! How wonderful! Next to each payment you will receive that has cleared there will be a Little button you can click that says "Print shipping label". All you need to do is weigh your items on a very accurate scale (make sure that you include the label (or an extra sheet of paper) and all of the packaging materials in the measurement. I use a kitchen scale that I bought specifically for this purpose because it was less expensive and could handle a heavier item than the postal scales. You also need to make sure both your address and the recipients addresses are correct. Make sure you read the definitions of things like "large" package before you choose it, it will save you money.

It is also easier, and MUCH less expensive-obviously- if you buy envelopes in groups of 10 or so from stores instead of buying them one at a time at the post office. I don't have a Costco or Sam's club membership but I bet they have great shipping supplies there. Also, if you want to ship directly through USPS from home you can bypass paypal by going to usps.com. I use paypal because I don't keep any credit (or even atm cards) in my possession, so the only money I usually have access to if my husband isn't around is our paypal account. (and of course cash, but the computer doesn't recognize that).

One tip for usps ONLY use flat rate boxes to ship very heavy items, and find out your shipping rate through USPS first class mail before going with the flat rate box. I have not had a situation arise yet where I didn't save a few dollars by packaging and shipping first class mail or parcel post. I received a package recently from an etsian that weighed less than 2 oz and was in a $5.95 flat rate box. I was kinda sad because I knew she would have saved a few dollars if she had shipped first class. The items, by the way, were remarkable. I will share them with you all later.
I also got another AMAZING product that was shipped UPS. It seemed like it took forever to get to me, and I am sure it cost more to ship it too.

If you are worried about tracking and such, if you ship through USPS, or paypal you can track your packages online, AND you can even buy signature confirmation on your packages!

I always thought USPS was cheap, but not a very good service. My experiences through etsy has taught me that while USPS is very inexpensive, they also offer an exemplary service.

I can't believe it is Christmas eve already! December came and went so fast! Our first Christmas on etsy has really been a blast! Happy Holidays, Everyone.

Updates on a dress I am working on...

Well, first of all, I am giving away a pair of cute hand warmers! You can enter my giveaway HERE .


I have been doing a custom order for a wedding dress and I have reached a point where I am finally willing to share the progress. This has been an extremely fun project, and I liked having an excuse to spend $70 a yard on lace (even if the laces I wanted the most were all over $100 a yard) . I am only getting about $100 for this dress after materials, But I am so glad to have the opportunity just to MAKE it. I couldn't afford to make it if someone were not paying for the materials.


Just as a reminder, here is the Fashion Sketch of the dress.


This is the top and the underskirt. The top is not pinned on tight to the form. The form is only about a size 2 so the dress is a little bigger than that. The lace is all hand sewn on. I still need to hem the skirt, put the zipper in and cut off the extra netting on the lace.


This is the dress with the top sewn pinned on tighter and the over skirt on as well. The over skirt still needs all of the pleating done and I need to put the zipper in.



The top is fully boned and lined and has these buttons all the way up the back. I need to put some pleats at the top of the corset and then it will be finished.


This is the dress with the over skirt pinned up as it is intended to be. It looks pretty good to me so far!

I also still need to make the veil and the bolero. There is still a lot of work to do, but I am very pleased with the progress I have made.



Also... speaking of weddings.... Adam and I got our wedding rings finally, after being married tor almost 2 years. We got them from http://bendthefish.etsy.com . Mine is very elegant and has a tiny little diamond !I love it!

Where is my Christmas Cheer?

PLEASE ENTER MY GIVEAWAY! ---pretty please--- with a cherry on top, and whipped cream, and sprinkles... It is my very first one, and if I feel like this one is worthwhile I will have more.

you can find it here




So I am not sure why, but I just am not as excited and thrilled by Christmas this year as I am most years. I LOVE Christmas! I love Christmas music, and lights, and trees... and I love buying presents for people, and I don't even mind braving the mall this time of year- even though THIS year I was able to buy ALL of our presents from etsy, and some things for myself as well. Partially I wonder if I am just to busy between Etsy, Autumn, Roller Derby, Working for my dad...

Usually I play Christmas music constantly as soon as it seems reasonable- I think usually Thanksgiving is acceptably the beginning of Christmas festivities- but this year we STILL have not put up our tree! We haven't even decided on a theme (last year it was "new baby" and the year before that was "pirate"). It will go up tomorrow because I need to start wrapping presents and if the tree isn't up I will not have any place to put them.

I also love snow.

And I love the peppermint brownies from Starbucks (but I am on a diet right now that does not allow them). I love Turkey.

I love the traditions of Christmas.

I love the false joy that comes from pretty packages, excellent marketing, and obscene commercialism. I mean, I am a true hypocrite as I am not a religious or even spiritual person and I celebrate this holiday so voraciously.

But, for everyone, whichever religion you follow-or don't- HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

Enjoy the season, it only comes once a year, and pretty soon we all have to turn that Christmas music off.

An Update

As I have mentioned before I have been having several medical issues since Autumns birth. The one that bothers me most is the complete inability to lose the weight I gained while I was pregnant.

I gained 100 lbs, and have only lost 40 lbs, making me 60 lbs over my pre pregnancy weight. After I got the results for my blood work and everything was normal I was very disappointed-as I have mentioned before I have never wanted to find out that I WAS SICK more than I did then, because either way I FEEL sick. I reduced calorie intake again pretty drastically. I was expecting SOME progress when I went to the doctor for my follow up appointment, but I was not so lucky. I weighed ONE POUND less than I did at my last appointment. That is CRAZY- I cut somewhere between 300-500 calories out of my daily intake! That includes not eating anything that has more than 5g of fat or any red meat or pork.

The doctor has put in a referral for an endocrinologist so hopefully going to see a specialist will shine some light on the subject. I know that something is wrong. I keep convincing myself that maybe if I do this or that it will make a difference, but I have made HUGE changes in my lifestyle and diet- which were both already healthy- and I have not any weight since my 6 week check up wiht my gyno.


Fortunately I have the most amazing daughter to show for it, and a very supportive husband.

REMEMBER TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY!!! (scroll down)

My First GIVE AWAY and also a TUTORIAL: How to Make Hand Warmers

So, arm warmers are a pretty big seller in my store. I use old wool sweaters and I felt them by washing them and drying them. This creates a dense fabric with edges that do not fray, even when unfinished.



There is a limited amount of sweater that is usable for arm warmers, so I also like making purses, pouches, wallets, baby hats, baby shoes, and anything else I can think of with the remaining felt scraps.

I have a HUGE collection now, though many of the sweaters I have in my stash still have parts that are good for making arm warmers.

I also received a custom order for a pair of hand warmers this weekend, which seemed like an excellent opportunity to use some of the smaller scraps that I have.

So, to start out you will need some felt scraps from a wool sweater. If you need to make them, wash and dry a sweater on high heat a few times.



Trace your hand on a piece of paper to make the pattern, then add seam allowance. I used 1/4 of an inch. Draw a straight line with a 90 degree angle on either side across where your knuckles will be and also where your wrist will be. Draw a curve from the top of the thumb to the bottom. Then cut out your pattern.


Then pin your pattern to your fabric. You will need a total of 4 pieces. if your fabric is doubled just cut the pattern out twice. If it is not- for example I did not have enough of this black sweater to double it- then cut 2 with your pattern face up and then cut 2 with your pattern face down.


It is not necessary to put an applique on your hand warmers, but I think it looks way more awesome :). If you ARE going to put the applique on the easiest time to sew it on is BEFORE you sew up the sides of your hand warmers, but I usually do it after wards because I think that placement of the applique is easier after the hand warmers are sewn. I often wish I had done it BEFORE sewing up the sides when I am working on ARM warmers and my hands are cramping up, but since there is better access into the hand warmers it makes little difference when the applique is sewn on. This applique was made from my own original drawing of a heart, Iron-On transfer paper and recycled poly felt.


Sew up the sides with a regular stitch. Try them on and make sure you like how they fit. I made these smaller because they are really stretchy and they felt better that way. When you are happy with the fit zigzag stitch over your original stitches (make sure that you back stitch at the beginning and end of your seams so that they do not unravel) and cut off the excess fabric.




This is what the custom pair looked like when I was finished. Pretty awesome.

I shipped them out this morning. :)


SOOOO... I am pretty sure I said GIVEAWAY:

I have been meaning to have one of these for a while now, and have actually created my own arsenal of great AcrylicandSteel.etsy.com Items to give away. In Lu of the tutorial just given I decided to make a pair of hand warmers to give away.

one reader will receive these cute blue whale arm warmers . The felt on these is VERY dense making them a little tighter than the other pair I made using the same pattern, but they will stretch as far as you make them. I think a young girl... or even a teenage girl would just love these. I am 26 and I love them!




To enter:

1 entry- Follow my blog
3 entries- Go to AcrylicandSteel.etsy.com and post a link in the comments to your favorite item
10 entries- purchase ANYTHING from my store during the duration of this giveaway or ANYTHING from any of my friends at the christie cottage's buy and sell thread (There is a new one daily today's is http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6377432&page=26), the Booty buy and Sell Thread http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6363199or The Crazy buy and replace thread http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6377598&page=29. (12/14/09-12/28/09)

Please post a comment for each of the above ways to enter and provide your etsy shop url in the comment as well, or some other way to contact you if you win. If you make a purchase from any of these stores please also leave the transaction ID in the post.

A winner will be picked December 28, 2009. I will also Feature the winner's store on my blog, unless the winner does not have an etsy store or requests that I do not feature their store.

Adam finished the kitchen knife he was working on, and it is really beautiful! The base is so simple but so pretty!



Adam and I worked together on this piece. It is a custom order. A very nice and fun guy ordered it for his best friend, The Bomb Dylan, who skates for Prison City Derby Dames.

I love making things for everyone but as a a derby girl, it is especially fun to make things for other derby girls, refs and fans. It did not turn out quite as well as we had hoped, we tried 6 times and used three different bearings... of course the one we went with was the first one. I guess that should be no real surprise :) What I really love about this necklace is that it has the skaters name in it- and I love that because I never would have thought to do that! I guess that one of the many why custom orders can be so much fun!



I also had several items to list this morning! I only finished listing the two letter openers. They were a custom order for another etsy seller http://BDOODLES.etsy.com Adam made those, obviously. This was fun because Adam works mostly in wood so he got to have bun and get creative with antlers. It is also fun because the antlers were provided by the bdoodles and they are meaningful to the people she is giving the letter openers to. It feels good to make these kinds of gifts, just like it feels good to give and recieve them. I need to go list those 6 bearing necklaces! Two of them were salvaged from issues we had with the custom order, and then the others were made because we saw some perfect pre cut inserts when we went to the jewelry store to get the silver for the letter opener in the picture.

Great Gifts, and why customer service is SO important

Between Autumns birthday and Christmas I have made quite a few purchases on etsy. I would like to start sharing them with you, one shop at a time.

Adams birthday in august I had an unfortunate experience. I purchased a few items and the items from one of the sellers never came. After trying to contact them several times I finally got a convo a few days after Adams birthday that the items had shipped. The next day I went to leave feedback for the wonderful items I received from two other sellers and I noticed that I had no place to leave feedback! The seller had cancelled my order! I contacted etsy right away and got my money back from the seller... but I was REALLY UNHAPPY with that transaction. These orders for Adams birthday were the first I had ever made on etsy, and if this order had been the only one I would not be likely to buy anything off of etsy again. Obviously everyone on etsy gets to run thier shop pretty much as they like, as long as it meets the general guidelines that etsy sets forth- and the transaction described clearly does not-but how you run your store is a reflection of the ENTIRE etsy community- besides, most things in life are more fun when you do them with a smile on your face. I DO NOT RECOMMEND purchasing anything from happyfamily.etsy.com especially if you have any interest in receiving your items in a timely manner.

I HAD AN EXCELLENT EXPERIENCE at the other two stores I ordered from, and I loved http://elementalshop.etsy.com so much that I will probably return to them for some Christmas shopping.

This is what I ordered for Adam:






I ordered it in natural. This shirt is awesome. I don't screen print- though I want to learn- but I am pretty sure the printing was very good quality. They also use special water based eco-friendly ink, and it is wonderful. It is softer than other ink, but we have had the shirt since August- and Adam wears it A LOT-but there is no fading or deterioration of the print. They use organic cotton American Apparel t-shirts. They are SOOOO Soft. That matters even to a wife, as I would rather cuddle with Adam when he is wearing a soft shirt than a thick scratchy one! From what I can tell they are not currently offering THIS shirt, but they are offering many other great designs!

Here are a few of their current designs:






I LOVE THIS SHOP, and highly recommend them for your holiday purchases- especially since it can be so hard to shop for men on etsy, making it hard to do a handmade Christmas, and they have some really fantastic shirts. I am sure they have something for almost everyone.

ok then,

Have a fun Saturday.

-Erica

Manly Soap

Amber? Vanilla? Sandalwood? Currants? These are some pretty typical scents for masculine targeted soaps. But in my opinion they just don’t hack it. Now Pine Tar - that is a manly smell! I just received some Pine Tar and Goat Milk soap from http://www.etsy.com/shop/hillsidebathandbody and it is some excellent stuff!

Throw some pumice or coffee grounds or ground up avocado bits in there and you should be able to scrub off whatever got stuck on you while working in the shop.

If you want a more complex smell, toss in some peppermint, tea tree oil, black pepper, or maybe juniper or black walnut. I had some juniper soap that I just loved, but finally ran out of that. There is just something special about a soap that comes in BLACK. Anyway, none of this sweet or fruit or vanilla stuff. If you are a musk fan that might work too but I am definitely not.

I haven’t seen any burned metal, axle grease, or horse sweat soaps yet, but that would be about the only way to get a more masculine soap than Pine Tar.

Anyway, that is my opinion.

Adam

A new kitchen knife

I finally finished up the kitchen knife that I was working on. It looks a little different than I planned at the beginning, but that is the way it goes some times. So without further ado...introducing LS1, my first Santuku inspired slicer/carver.

If you are into recycled goods, the steel for this came from the leaf-spring of an old jeep or dodge truck. It is most likely 1086 or 1095 steel, similar to what I've used on past knives.

Erica gave me the wood for the handle last year, it is Tulipwood, and very pretty in my opinion. The Corby rivets are brass.

The whole thing is about 12 1/2 inches long with a blade of 5 1/4 inches.

I think it turned out pretty well.

Enjoy.

Adam

Tip for non-paying customers

HI ! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Mine was pretty good.

Our store did very well on Friday and Sunday. On Sunday we actually had a record day of 6 sales, but two of those appear to be non-paying customers and after a few days of contacting them I think I will be canceling those two orders. Those are always sad. One of my Items was my most hearted item, and I think it would have sold over the busy weekend if it hadnt been for the non-payment.

I have learned a trick for non-paying customers that has worked every time until recently. Many customers do no know how paypal and etsy work, and some customers just *expect* to be invoiced. If you send them a polite convo, and email and a paypal invoice you will usually recieve payment within a day or so.

This week I think I will be doing a givaway. I may have decided on an item to give away already, or I may pick multiple items to give away. I will put it up sometime this week.

Also, for a future tutorial I am thinking about doing a tutorial on how to make a kimono style robe. Is that something that interests you all?

Ok, take care for now.

XOxo
-erica

Kitchen Knives

OK, I promised some pictures of the things that I was working on in the garage, and since projects are always ongoing, I thought that I would post a variety - but then I wrote too much, so if you want to see more visit hangedmandesigns.

As I mentioned in an earlier post I am working on about seven knives right now, four are getting pretty close, and one is almost done.

We’ll talk about that one and its friend.

The original idea was to make a Santuku style kitchen knife. The only steel big enough was a piece of heavy duty Jeep leaf spring that my neighbor two or three houses ago gave to me. So it started as a big thick curved bar of steel.

I thought I should make a little paring knife to go with it, and I still had a piece of O-1 round stock to work with for that one.

With a lot of fire and hammering and a little cleaning up on the belt grinder they made it to this stage.

And then this stage.

And then this stage, ready to quench.

So I quenched, and then things went wrong. I’d hammered and ground the blade to thin on the big knife, and something was a little off on the other. As a result I had a curved paring knife, and a wavy edged Santuku. After some heat on the spine of the paring knife, apparently not enough, I snapped it in half. The big knife took some grinding, and another quench, and isn’t quite the intimidating cleaver that it was before.

The Santuku is the third from the left (it still needed straightening), the paring knife is now a scalpel (top right, next to the dagger).

Now the Santuku carving knife is polished all shiny, and stamped, and has a pretty tulipwood handle, with brass pins. After it is finished, I’ll post a couple more pictures.

And I think that is long enough for now.

Holiday Season Kickoff!

I hope everyone enjoyed their thanksgiving, and I hope that those who decide to brave the retailers this weekend come out of the event unscathed!

Adam and I spent thanksgiving a few hours south of Albuquerque, in Las Cruses. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner prepared by Nick and his wife, and had a great time with them, and also my dad and his wife.


If you are not so into the crowds at the mall this time of year, you can buy more meaningful gifts this year on etsy.

Many stores are having sales this weekend. Here is ours:

HUGE BLACK FRIDAY/CYBER MONDAY SALE November 27, 2009- November 30, 2009
Free Worldwide Shipping! (on all orders)
Store wide discounts already taken, some up to 50%!
ACEO's marked down to $7.50 (25% discount)
$5 coupon Toward a future purchase WITH ALL ORDERS PLACED DURING THE SALE :)

These are our current treasuries! Please check them out while they last!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=77283
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=96909

We sell Art, Hand Forged Knives (great gifts for men), Arm Warmers, Baby Items and much much more !
_______________-Happy Holidays-__________________

ALSO, ONLY FOR BLOG READERS WE ARE OFFERING AN ADDITIONAL 15% off! Use promo code "blog" in a convo or in message to seller. This offer is only good for a weekend.

Also, I would love to see everyone else's sales for the weekend! If you are having a sale please post it in the comments, along with a link to your store! I would love to check it out, and I still have some holiday shopping to do.

Our other blogs.

Hi! Adam posted an awesome new post on his -gasp- *other* blog. The link is www.hangedmandesigns.blogspot.com

I have another blog too... it always makes me sad when people only go to that one and don't come to this one, that I spend so much time and energy on.

But.... since you are already here, you can check it out if you want: www.ericasart.blogspot.com but this is the blog I really love.

Autumns Birthday Party was sooooo much fun!

I probably should have written this a week ago, but... I didn't.

Autumns birthday was a lot of fun! There was a point when I was worried that if anyone else arrived they would not fit in our house. There was plenty of food, but not too much- which is good- because the food was all so fattening that I didn't want those leftovers in the house!



This is Autumn and grandpa Howard opening a present.

Autumn in captivity while we prepared the house for guests!


Botulism and Bar Fight being silly for Autumn's Amusement.


Autumn opening her VERY FIRST present! Yes, it was wrapped in a Victoria's Secret bag... gotta love derby girls!


mmmm.... cupcake...


Face.


oooooh... cupcake sooooooo good.... that is why Autumn has that forlorn look on her face... she knew she could not have her cupcake and eat it too.

Autumn in the morning on her BDAY.



Autumn driving her first car... the Pooh-mobile :)

The party started at about two and autumn went to bed about seven thirty. My friend Francis (who happens to be Mexican) asked when he was on his way "So is this like just a birthday party or a crazy mexican birthday party that goes on for five hours after the birthday girl has gone to bed? "

Yes. It was one of those.

Autumn recieved lots of wonderful preasents. Her toy stash tripled I think.

Thank you to everyone who came! We had an excellent time!

News from the garage

Happy Monday everyone,

Erica gives me a hard time every once and a while about not writing blogs, and for posting them to hangedmandesigns when I do. So here's a relatively long one - at least for me.

Hopefully I will manage to attach some pictures to this one soon, cuz just text is kinda dull. Sorry.

Both the forge and the new lathe are up and running, despite a few hiccups. I'm definately still in the experimental stage on the lathe, especially considering that it was a really cheap one, and I'm using pretty cheap tools as well (my set of 8 cost about 45 dollars, and a quality single tool can frequently cost more than that), hopefully I have some mad sharpening skills :) Sharpness does make a difference, but metal and shape do too, trust me, I make knives.

Anyway, after turning a couple of legs for my daughters table - pictures to come - and the outside of a vase from a 4x4 i ran into some hollowing problems, and balance issues. After solving some of those (and throwing a couple pieces of wood around the room at high speed), I thought I would try something more interesting. I have a couple pieces of saltcedar root, and I threw one on, and roughed out the outside, then since that was working pretty well I put on a piece of purpleheart. Mostly because I've never really liked it, but also because I had a big enough piece to do something with. I even roughed out the circular shape in respect for it being a harder wood - and to reduce waste, since I may someday use some for a knife handle. It turns out that purpleheart is really hard. And I managed to catch the edge of my skew blade a couple times, and jam the faceplate onto the lathe. I've now managed to get it back off, and even have a solution to prevent it from happening again, but it was definitely a pain. I'll move back to the saltcedar tonight, and maybe do a little more sharpening first.

The forge on the other hand, is working pretty well. It heats up pretty fast, and seems a lot more even than my last one, but not quite as hot. The ceramic insulation keeps the heat in very nicely though, and I'll take the consistency. I tried melting some of my scrap together, and its not hot enough for that though. Oh well. Someday I'll get a gas forge. On the plus side, I now have about 7 knives that need cleaning up, and handles, but have gone through the heat treating phase! Which brings me to my next thought....daggers.

Why do I keep making daggers? Sure, I've only finished two, but now I have two more. And every time they are a pain in the ass. trying to get all the grinds to line up by hand on a primitive, 4x36 belt sander is extremely challenging. Nonetheless, I have two new daggers, in O1 tool steel and file steel (maybe W2?) that are ready to work on now. I'm thinking of using the lathe for their handles, since symmetry is more important with daggers. Sigh.

If you are curious, the other five that I'm working on are: a big Kukri (probably my biggest blade yet) and a santoku style kitchen knife (Both from a heavy duty jeep spring), a nice drop point hunter from one of my last chunks of 1095 steel, a scalpel/carving knife (O1), a straight point made from an old file.

I'll write a little more another day about an old (1942) boyscout knife that I cleaned up a little.

OK, back to work everyone!

I Was Featured on another blog!

Way awesome!

You can see my Purple Octopus Print In a lovely collection of purple items! ALSO... the print sold so it has been relisted.

Here is the blog link:

http://allthingstangled.blogspot.com/

allthingstangled also has an etsy store! http://allthingstangled.etsy.com/

I love this sweater from her store :)

If you click on the picture it will take you to the listing in her store.

Have you seen these?

I have not gone to see a movie in quite a while, but there are two I am very interested in... so interested in that I can't really believe I have not seen them yet.

No great surprise, I really want to see Whip It.

No surprise, because Whip It is a roller derby movie. AWESOME. It was released when I was in Denver for Regionals. I also like Drew Barrymore so I am interested in checking out her directing debut.

...also no surprise, I want to see Coco Before Chanel.

I am pretty excited about this one. Admittedly, I have always preferred Dior (when it was Christian Dior) to Chanel (when it was Coco Chanel) but they were both amazing designers and I like them both, no matter HOW fundamentally different they were. Chanel did so much for women, from being a Fashion designer in what-amazingly-is STILL a men's industry to liberating women's bodies with her designs.

Have you seen either of these movies ?? What did you think?

Also, I wanted to talk etsy for just one second.

Have you ever ALMOST purchased something and then decided not to because you thought the shipping was ridiculous? That has happened to me while shopping for Christmas presents lately. I am still tweaking my shipping here and there, and as a new seller my charges were a bit too high. I still find listings sometimes that have high shipping, and I hope I didn't lose customers over the shipping charges. The funny thing is, if the item cost a dollar fifty more, and the shipping cost a dollar fifty less I would have purchased it. I don't know if that makes sense, but that is how it is. How do you feel about this? Also, this seller has a TON of sales... so I may be wrong. Maybe most people would rather pay the extra in shipping. What do you think? Just things I have started to think about when I list items.

PRODUCT REVIEW: New Prismacolor markers!

To start off I will say, I LOVE PRISMACOLOR.




A LOT. I always have a full set of pencils, and as you can tell, I have HUNDREDS of markers.

Prismacolor colored pencils are very waxy making them superior to any others because they color more evenly and are easier to blend. Prismacolor markers are amazing because they can be mixed and blended in a way that is unmatched by any other brand. A few years ago I purchased some new watercolors and I specifically remembering looking for prismacolor watercolor paint because I really trust prismacolor for fine art and illustration supplies. At the time, and to my disappointment I was unable to find them. I just searched online and learned that they DO sell them. (Note to self: add prismacolor watercolor set to my Christmas list) I also have looked for the chalk that the Savannah College of Art and Design uses for its annual sidewalk art fair in Forsyth park. When I lived out there I would participate by saying that I was interested in going to SCAD---which was true, but I could hardly afford to go there, especially after my time at FIDM. I have never seen such vivid colors in sidewalk chalk. They may be a really large version of a soft pastel. I am not sure.

SO, my love for prismacolor runs deep, and I was very excited when I was contacted to review their new line of markers. Prismacolor® Premier Fine, Brush & Chisel Tip Illustration Markers


At first glance these really looked like Michron pens, and ARE similar.

I decided to try them on two different types of paper. I started with a standard sketch paper, and I liked them. I was not in love, but they were nice. They sketch evenly, which is always important. The precision tip markers wrote well. The chisel tip, which is similar to a calligraphy pen allowed me to change the width of my line with a slight pivot of the tip. The brush tip really truly lovely even on sketch paper, which absorbs the ink faster than marker paper which I tried next. When I was working with them on sketch paper, I was not SURE that I would make the switch from Michron pens, as they were similar.

When I tried these pens on marker paper, it was very very clear that the people at prismacolor REALLY know what they are doing.

The precision tip pens write so smoothly without bleeding... and I was amazed when I was sketching these flats (those are the technical illustrations in the sketch above) that they dried quickly enough that I did not have to worry about smudging them when I moved on to the next line. EVERY TIME I go over my flats with a michron pen I smudge at least one line. If you can not buy an entire set I definitely think the 08 03 005 and the brush tips are MUST haves.

When I touched that brush tip pen to the paper it was LOVE. They are so free and fun to use, they actually made my heart jump the first time I used them. I loved being able to change the width of the line by simply applying more pressure to the pen. They are a great way to add a little whimsy to your illustrations!

The chisel tip is not really my thing. I will probably replace the black when the one I have is used dry, but I do not enjoy drawing in this way. I think many people will find themselves loving either the brush tip or the chisel tip, depending on how they like to draw. I do not dislike this pen by any fault of the pen- it does exactly as it says it does by making it easy to change the thickness of your line with a slight twist of the tip, but I draw in a looser manner, and do not have the discipline or skill to properly work with this pen. I think people who draw in a tight controlled manner, or with a lighter hand than I do will really enjoy this pen.

ALL of these markers have amazingly vibrant colors that seem to pop off the page and come to life! I highly recommend these pens, as well as every other Prismacolor product I have used as an artist and fashion designer.



Below you can read more information about these markers. The below information was provided by Prismacolor.



Prismacolor® Premier Fine, Brush & Chisel Tip Illustration Markers Bring Art to Life
Prismacolor gives artists more tools to help bring their creativity to life. Art students and professors, fashion and interior designers, graphic designers and sequential art illustrators will celebrate Prismacolor’s Premier Illustration markers’ exceptional quality and vibrant colors.

• Fine – Premier Fine tip marker is ideal for creating crisp lines and detail work, such as quick sketching, outlining and adding texture
• Brush - Premier Brush tip marker combines the control, flexibility and signature detail of a paint brush with the unique qualities of vibrant ink to create thick, thin or varied lines
• Chisel - Premier Chisel features a tip style that allows for varying line and stroke widths
• Color - All tip styles of the Premier Illustration markers are available in black, red, blue, green, orange, purple, brown and sepia
• Nontoxic, Lightfast, Acid Free, Archival Quality - Maintain vibrant color over time and prevent artwork from deteriorating over time due to the effects of aging
• No Bleed Through - Results may vary based on paper characteristics
• Buy – Prismacolor Premier markers are available at most art stores and national retailers including Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Dick Blick, Office Depot and A.C. Moore
• Price - Suggested retail price ranges from under $3 for a single marker to about $20 for an 8-count set

Go to www.prismacolor.com or contact Niky Roberts for more information:nrroberts@webershandwick.com, 314-552-6721

Friday Update

Hi!

It is Friday again, and I am so EXCITED for the upcoming weekend! My lovely daughter is turning 1 on Saturday! We are having a party, probably a fairly small party because it seems like no one is in town. I spent last night making 4 different types of cupcakes. We will have "funfetti" cupcakes, chocolate fudge cupcakes with chocolate frosting, yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting and marble cupcakes. I also made 2 pans of chicken enchiladas and one pan of cheese enchiladas, a pan of rice and a pan of mac n cheese which are in the freezer until Saturday. We will also have black beans, fried popcorn chicken, brown sugar veggies, salad, guacamole, salsa, chips... and we will pick up some soda and beer tomorrow. Since we are a derby household it will probably be PBR.

Last weekend I ran my first munecas practice as co-captain/captain, and I would say it went really well. People seemed to feel like it was a good practice, and for the first time in a long time I was sore after practice, and I think that is mostly due to the awesome off skates things Muffin showed us.

WFTDA (woman's flat track derby association) nationals are this weekend. They will surely be on at autumns party and we will be watching games after practice on Sunday.

In other news... I have been itching for some AWESOME, unique, beautiful fabric. I have scoured etsy and the web, but I just am not sure what I want, and am still really spoiled from my time in LA. It is hard for me to spend a lot of money on fabric after being able to buy it wholesale in the fashion district.

Also, early next week I will be sharing a product review of some new prismacolor markers that I was lucky enough to get some samples of. I will also be featuring etsy stores next week that I bought autumn birthday gifts from.

Have a great weekend everyone :)

xoxo

-Erica

While they last...

check out these treasuries :)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=93655

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=93687

My new Sewing machine---is AWESOME---

I am sick again. It seems like I am always sick. I keep getting this cold that starts with a heinous ear ache, moves on to my throat and lungs and ends with me hacking out some lovely lung butter.

SO, I haven't put up a post about my new sewing machine yet. Probably because I am too busy sewing to take the time to write anything about it.

This is my machine:


And you may read more about it here. It is nothing fancy, but I love it.

It is SOOOO much nicer than my old machine, which I now know was in much worse shape than I thought it was in. I have made several really silly comments since I got it like "WOW, The pressure foot pulls the fabric STRAIGHT through!"

This sewing machine is computerized and has an automatic button stitch. It also has---GASP--- a zipper foot. It is amazing how much easier it is to sew a zipper with a zipper foot!

I lost my zipper foot on my old machine several moves (across state lines) ago and since it took me a long time to even realize how important it is to IRON while sewing, I didn't think it was that major to sew zippers with a regular sewing machine foot.

---I actually on the deans list at FIDM in spite of ignorance about sewing machines. I was always able to produce a decent outcome. Now I know how hard I was making things---

Any given item takes a fraction of the time to sew on my new machine vs. my old machine, and even the fancy stitches are easy to use.

I am so glad I finally replaced my machine. Another thing I have said several times since I got this new machine is "Adam, you know all of those times you said we could replace my sewing machine? I should have taken you up on that offer much sooner. "

I probably should not encourage this:



Or this:



and most definitely not this:



BUT SHE IS SOOOOO CUTE I CAN'T HELP IT! (and yes that is a girl even though she is wearing blue) I guess I should stop wondering how she became so spoiled!


Also, Adam finally got the Lathe he ordered, and he is very excited about that.


And I made this dress for Autumns birthday. It also has matching bloomers. I am selling them in my store, too.

Happy Friday everyone!

Well, it is Friday again, which is wonderful. These weekends come and go so fast now.

It seems like a good day for an update.

First off, after about a year of being deficient in the skating rink department the rink formerly known as Roller King is being re-opened as Roller Skate World. Albuquerque has A HUGE bingo facility. To not have a roller rink would truly be a travesty. The newly renovated roller rink is having its grand opening tonight, and Duke City Derby is planning to be highly visible and out in force tonight! I can't wait. Part of the reason I started playing roller derby is because I really LOVE to roller skate.

Also, I got the blood tests back from the doctor and everything a came back normal! It is devastating. I know that I am working harder than ever before to lose this extra baby weight and I find it impossible to believe that there is not something wrong that is causing me to retain this weight. Unfortunately this means whatever is wrong is not an easy find, or fix. In the mean time I can't really exercise more than I am during the actual derby season (we are having our off season right now) so I will have to reduce my caloric intake again, which seems ridiculous to me because we have a very healthy diet, but is the only thing I can think to do. I will also start recording my meals again. I have a follow-up appointment with the doctor in December.

I am thinking about joining weight watchers and I am also thinking about starting a fitness blog.

TUTORIAL: How to turn a baby shirt in to a dress!

I am finally getting around to typing up this tutorial! I think it is a great one, it is oh so easy AND it will help you get more mileage out of your baby clothes.

As My baby gets older, and bigger it seems lime many of her little onesies and other outfits are not getting too tight, just too short. Making my favorite baby body suits into dresses is a great way to end up with some ADORABLE outfits and save some money!


start by cutting the bottom off of your body suit. If you want more of a baby doll style dress cut it off higher, and if you want a longer torso cut it lower. This is a body suit that I bought from the dollar store and put a computer print out iron-on transfer on. Autumn wore it many times and now it is not long enough.



Find a fabric that you like and determine how long you want the dress to be. add 1 1/2" . 1" seam allowance at the bottom and 1/2" seam allowance at the top. I eyeballed mine, and you can do it that way too. When the fabric is folded in half use the entire width of the fabric (or half-width, technically) cut the fold of the fabric off. Sew up each side of the fabric, those are your side seams. Press the side seams open, and iron and sew your hem (this should take 1" off the bottom of the dress of your skirt.)

***TIP*** if you don't have many options for local fabric shopping and don't want to wait for something to be shipped to you, you are probably going to Jo-Anne's. If this is true, check for coupons, there are usually coupons available online if you do a google search, or you may be able to find them in your Sunday paper.


Next, sew a basting stitch over the top of the skirt of the dress (turn your straight stitch up to 5) and pull one thread to create the sirring for the skirt. If you pull the thread that comes from the spool, not from the bobbin, or the string on the top of your fabric when you are sewing, it will be easier to slide the shirring down the skirt. Either way, pull the same thread until the shirring is adequate or you will break your thread.




match the side seam of your skirt and the top and distribute the shirring evenly.


Use a Zig Zag stitch and a medium stitch width to attach the skirt to the top.


Iron the little dress and voila! You just up cycled that onesie your baby outgrew!

I used the bottom part of the onesie and some extra fabric to make this matching headband. If you make an empire style dress you can also put elastic in the top of the bottom half of the baby body suit to make a matching diaper cover.

I am really happy with the results of this dress, and the possibilities for variations are endless!



We went out to a few places that afternoon and we got SO many compliments. Besides, she is at the age where she grows up, not out, so I think as she gets too tall it will make a cute baby doll top!

Also, this project took hardly any time, which is great. I made it before I replaced my night mare of a sewing machine and the whole thing, including cutting and making the headband took less than an hour.

Hope you enjoy, and have an excuse to make one. You can always make one out of a new onesie and monogram it our use some steam-a-seam to put a cute animal on it. That would be a really fun hand-made baby shower gift!

Costumes and preview for CAUSTIC THREADS !

Halloween was fun, and stressful. We had two parties to go to, and relatively little time... and after a while the costumes can get a little uncomfortable.



Adam was the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland


I was Little Bo Peep... and am very happy with how my costume turned out. I started it at about 1:00 on Halloween and had it completed in time to go out- that required making 5 pieces from scratch! ( I also make my own patterns) I DID get a new sewing machine. More on that later.


and Autumn was my adorable little lamb!


also, I am going to start another etsy store called Caustic Threads. I already have the shop, but it is empty and there has been no activity in it yet. This is going to be one of my first items. This picture kinda sucks but it is a t-shirt that has been altered into a small halter top and it has a crow and heart fabric applique.

I have a lot more work to do before I get it up and running, but here is a little sneak peak :)

I am also going to start moving some of my Acrylic and Steel merchandise over there, things like purses.

Ok sewing machine, you win!

I have wanted a new sewing machine for a long time, but had mostly accepted its shortcomings as quirks and was a little too stubborn to get a new one.



I got my sewing machine when I was living in LA attending FIDM... that would be about 8 years ago now. It was a gift from my dad, and a very necessary one. How ever would I have been able to pull off so many sewing all-nighters without my sewing machine? The sewing rooms had a pretty wide range of hours, but I assure you they were not open 24 hours. More importantly, the Cafe was only open until about 6:00 if my memory serves me correctly and as a student I was fueled by caffeine and nicotine, so I am sure I would have died.



Random tangent: one of my instructors told me once that drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes were what she missed most about quitting smoking. Now that I don't smoke any more I understand, completely.



there are a few visible reasons to purchase a new sewing machine.







I have to use a pony tail holder to keep my thread on the machine.







That thing comes off, and pretty much never stays on.











There is something wrong with the bobbin threader and it will not stay in the position it needs to to be wound by the machine so it has to be at least partially manually wound.







It has also been through enough moves that it is missing some very important parts, like its zipper foot.



I have been able to deal with all of these things, as long as the machine still worked but clearly it is time to retire this old machine. More and more frequently it does not stitch properly, it usually does not stitch fast enough and ocasionally it does not stitch at all! I was going to wait until Christmas, but I don't think I can do that.



A friend once told me "When want turns to need, you will do it." How true was that. Of course he was referring to an ab workout, but whatever. (by the way, with all of the ab workouts I have been willing to do, a have never felt the need to punish myself with this particular workout-but I digress-)



So, machine old friend, I thank you for many years of excellent service, but I am afraid I will have to let you go. I am sorry, but in today's economy a severance package is unrealistic.



:)



But now I have to decide what I want, and how much I can spend. Which brand? most people swear by Brother sewing machines. I am not sure I care as long as it meets my basic needs. I also have not decided if I will buy a brand new one, or if I will look for a better new one.



Oh... I have a great new how-to to share with you all! Maybe tomorrow.

OOOooops!

Well, first of all, Acrylic and Steel has an item in a gift guide! That, by the way, is awesome and has nothing to do with the title of this post.

Please Visit Jewels of Saraswati! Her Blog is http://jewelsofsaraswati.blogspot.com/ and she is featuring my skull light switch plate cover. Her store is http://jewelsofsaraswati.etsy.com.

This is my favorite item from her store :



If you click on the picture it will take you to the listing in her store.

So what is the oops about???? Well I did some printing last night. I make linoleum blocks sometimes along with my fifteen thousand other hobbies.


I decided to reprint this block to make invitations for Autumns first birthday.


That turned out pretty well. I think I printed about 20 of these, ant that is likely more than we need since most people will probably get an email invite.

I also did a first print of our Christmas card for this year.


I LOVE how the cardinal turned out. Too Bad the N is backwards in "seasons".

Anyway, I will probably just remove the words and keep the block as just the cardinal. I am a little bummed, because one little line is all it took to ruin the block.

My Husband is Awesome.

As many of my followers know, my husband and I run an etsy store together called Acrylic and Steel.

Adam posts on here occasionally. Not important. What is important, at least to me, is that Adam is amazing.

I am already lucky enough to spend everyday with this wonderful man and then for no reason he surprises me by making an amazing dinner and getting me flowers. He said the cashier asked him if he was in trouble :)


Adam cooking. :) He is an EXCELLENT chef!

Drinking wine and lauguing at me for having to take these pictures. Those are the flowers. Fall mums.

Dinner was delicious! Steak sauteed with portabello mushrooms and onions, REAL mashed potatoes and fire roasted veggies. The veggies are an excellent mix from Trader Joes. Gotta love that place.

Last but not least, I had an epiphany last night! My laundry room is the PERFECT place to take pictures for my etsy store. It gets ton of natural light, AND The top of the dryier is a great place to get those stark white backgrounds that are so popular and seem to be favord by etsy admin.

And now I am addicted..

I bought some make-up on etsy from PoshWashSoap... and I think I'm Addicted. I bought
pale Bronze, Sparkling Merlot, and Black Diamond eye shadow and I love them all. they are all great basics to have in your make-up box. The Light bronze is a peachy color that just adds some light shimmer for days that I dont want to look too made up. The Black diamond creats some super hot smokey eyes and the Sparkling Merlot looks great with brown shades.

I recieved a coupon in my package and now I am trying to put together a christmas order.

These items are packaged beautifully and look SO professional. It is also an incredible value! An eyeshadow is only $2.95 a pot and she is usually running sale.

I tried to get you all some good pictures of how it looks on, but it is hard to capture the Luxe shimmer of these lovely shadows.

TUTUtorial! No Sewing required!

As I promised, I will be sharing my tutu making experience. I made a white TUTU for Duke City Derby's good VS evil bout. Our team won, by the way.

So, one of the most important things I have learned in life is that ALMOST everything is easier than it looks. The same is true with tutus.


You will need a few things. Ribbon or string, and Tulle. For ease I purchased rolls of Tulle that were not very wide. They sold it in many different colors at Micheal's in the wedding favor department. If you purchase it by the yard you can cut it so that it is 2"-12" wide. The narrower the strips the more ethereal and whimsical the outcome will be (see the tutu I made for Autumn) I used 12" strips for my tutu.

Measure your waist and add enough to the ribbon to tie the ends. I then folded the ribbon to make sure my tutu was centered and marked the waist measurement so I knew how many "knots" to make.

Decide how long you want the tutu to be and double that. Add about two inches (it will be dissolved in knotting and fluff) cut several strips of tulle that are that long.



I then tied the ribbon taught between two sturdy objects ( a bed and a playpen in my case) because I thought it made it easier.

This is the meat of making a tutu. this knot right here. To make it fold a strip of tulle in half and hold the loop up to the ribbon. Then bring the tails of the tulle around the ribbon and through the loop.



And repeat.


....and repeat

.... and repeat until you have filled the waist measurement. Then untie it from the objects that are holding the ribbon taught and tie it around your waist! Voila! An easy no sew tutu!


And just in time to make that fairy or princess costume for Halloween!



AND I used scraps (I trimmed the bottom of the tutu to make it more even) to make a tutu for Autumn.


If you like to sew you can make a variation where the string that you tie the knots around is just longer than the waist measurement and then sew the ribbon on top for a more finished looking waist.

Also, notice that in Autumns Tutu there are other colors, you can do this by alternating colors of tulle.

Planning a first....

Autumns first birthday is in about a month! I am planning a party but I have never done this before! I would love suggestions!

Also, I am interested in buying gifts and party supplies but just searching on etsy is like an abyss, so any suggestions there would be highly apreciated!

Also, she is a very big, TALL baby.

Oh! last night was exciting! She WALKED! She has taken a few steps here and there many times, but last night she walked about 12 feet! She was trying to chase a cat!