Sorry I've been gone!

Hello Lovlies! (if anyone's still reading this after all the neglect I've been showing it of late)

Hope you are all well. As I said last time big things have been going on in my neck of the woods. And now I can tell you about a few of them. First off, and the biggest of my big things, I've been working on a craft kit!
I did all the writing and the amazing cross stitch artist Kristina Kizzee designed all the patterns and stitched all the samples. It's super fun and funny (if I do say so myself) and I can't wait for it to come out in the Spring. I'll let you know more about the release date and where you can find it as soon as I know all the details. But until then, dig that awesome cover!

In addition to the book (yea!) I've been getting ready for the holidays. I'm happy to tell you about the craft fairs I'm doing for the season. The first is Crafty Wonderland in Portland, OR on December 13th. It's my first time in Portland and I can't wait. Apparently, according to my friend Sarah, it's full of some of my favorite things - bikes, boys, and beer (better than those sodding girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes anyday!). I also get to spend time with the lovely Susan Beal and sell my wares to a new and lovely crowd. If you're in the area, come by and say "hi!" I'd love to meet you.

Not in the Pacific Northwest? Perhaps you'll be in San Francisco the following weekend of December 19th and 20th. If you are in "the City" that weekend, you should come by and visit me at the first Renegade Holiday Craft Fair San Francisco. Unable to make either show, no worries! You can visit the Etsy shop! I've already added a bunch of Christmas items to the store and more will be added for your holiday shopping pleasure very soon.

The logs are also doing quite well and can be found in kit form at www.modcloth.com and The Curiosity Shoppe (though currently only in their brick and mortar store in San Francisco) and in pillow form at www.chopshop.com. You can also still buy them from me personally in my Etsy shop. Everyone loves a log after all!

In non-Boyfriend news, I've been making a quilt for a friend in need. A quilt that keeps hitting massive roadblocks along the way including having part of it eaten by my dog! I started in July and I'm still working away. I hope to be done really soon so that I can send it and all my love to her from so far away.

Then there's my Halloween costume. Here's a taste:

and
I'm gonna be a zombie cat lady. Thanks to the book (yea!) I think I've got zombies (and zombie cats) on the brain!

Okay, back to work. Must sew and work on a few more things I can't quite talk about just yet. Love to all who are still around, thanks for sticking by me!

Hearts and puppies,
erika

The logs have taken over my life!

Sorry it's been forever since I've posted a proper post to this blog. With the move and the new job over at Craft Stylish I'm afraid that I've let the boyfriend blog slip to the back of my mind. Well. . . NO MORE! Here I am! And I'm ready to post my brains out!

Things have been crazy busy here. As you can see by the title, the logs have taken over. . .

All I do these days is make logs. And I'm kinda growing to hate them a bit. I know. . . I know. . . they're cute, and as an objective outside observer I love them to bits and pieces but I'm just so sick and tired of making them! I feel like a rockstar who's not allowed to play any song other than her hit. I am Skynard. . . the logs are my Freebird.

I know I should just shut the hell up. The logs are making me money, paying my bills. If you look at the sold items in my Etsy shop you'll see it's almost all logs all the time! And that doesn't even include all the shop orders and inquiries. It's great to have such a popular item and, if I was having them made and not making them all myself, I'd be dancing round town. But I can't figure out how to mass produce them and keep the quality up. And even if I could I can't AFFORD to have them made! I've tried to figure out if I could replace the hand stitching with machine work, but I'm afraid they'll end up looking just kinda blah and boring. What do you think? Does the hand stitching make the log pillow?

Ultimately the most soul crushing aspect of my current situation is that I've not had the chance to actually design anything new in ages. I've turned into a one woman factory instead of an artist. I got into this gig to design and create not to make more logs than the fellas on Axe Men.

AND whenever I DO design something new it goes right on over to CraftStylish. . . and STILL some of those ideas are log inspired. . .

I've got logs on the brain!!!

I'm just so scared that this is all I have. . . that I'm becoming a one trick pony. . . that I'm becoming (have already become?) the Log Lady. . . sigh. . .

Well, I'd better go. . . I have more logs to sew. . .
On the plus side, my Mom has started to help with the sewing which will, hopefully help a lot!

Log Hearts and Log Puppies,
Log erika

Real Simple? More like Real Awesome!

Hello!

Man, oh man, have I been busy! This Craft Stylish thing is great but there's so much to do and then the shop and commissions and Christmas shows. . . my head, it spins. . . and then I got a sudden mysterious rush in the shop.

Didn't know what was going on, wondered if it had to do with my new Craft Stylish job, but then had a think on that and decided against it. Figured it was just coincidence but then Sarah hipped me to the sidebar on Decor8. . . there I was! Well the birch logs. . . but still. . .Then I looked at the posts and there was a mention of a post on Real Simple's blog about favorite Etsy shops, and there I was again! Well. . . the logs again. . . but YEA! Right?

Anyway, that explains the rush from all parts of the world. Nice!

Well, I'd best get back to sewing those logs.

Hearts and puppies!
erika

Catching up. . .

So to catch up with the list from a few weeks back. . . first. . .

I bought a bike! OH! And I got a haircut!

And I've been riding it!

Woohoo!

Though I must admit that riding it in my current physical shape puts a medley of Queen's Bicycle Races and Fat Bottomed Girls in my head. Hopefully that won't be the case for too long!

Second. . . Screenprint birch logs! Check 'em out!


Third! The most wonderfully wacky, strange thing I've ever found in a thrift store. Found at one of the many lovely Goodwill stores in my town.

It's just a ceramic unicorn head. . . what's so strange about that?
Well. . . how about this

THERE'S A SCARY SANTA ON THE OTHER SIDE!!!
What's more. . . he's not just painted on there, he's part of the mold! And then the artist who painted Santa added a whole level of creepy to the odd. Here's a close up. . .

He looks like he's been on a 2 week meth binge! And what's with that pink thing on the bottom, which isn't made better by the fact that he's apparently squatting. . . poor Santa. . .
OH!

There were 4 of them. . . I love thrifting!

Finally. . . Robots!

and Doctor Who monsters!

If you want to learn how to make them, check out my Crafty TARDIS post!

That's all for the catching up. . . Next post. . . Maker Faire!

Hearts and puppies,
erika

I'm a screenprinting superstar!

Well not yet. . . but I'm on my way thanks to the lovely Hannah of Made with Love by Hannah. We had an amazingly fun and informative day yesterday, she taught me so much!

I met Hannah at the also lovely Jenny Ryan's crafty ladies party a couple of months back and we had talked in passing about screenprinting all the things that I've been handpainting in my product line. She was shocked that I painted all those logs and woodgrain. . . she's not the only one. What can I say, I'm a bit looney. . . Anyway. . . she screenprints a lot of her fabrics and she offered th hook me up with some of her old tools she no longer uses. So nice! Then we started talking and she offered to show me what to do.

I learned sooooo much yesterday AND I printed 22 logs in the time it would have taken to paint 2. AWESOME! And she gave me so much, not only info and tips (such super tips!), but supplies to help me get started. It was like Christmas but more fun and with more adorable knick-knacks and yummy sandwiches. Definitely one of my top craft days ever!

Mom has offered me the workbench in the garage as my printing area and I can't wait to get started! Robots and woodgrain are dancing around in my head! Yippy!

Now I have to order all my supplies!

Hearts and puppies,
erika

Craft a day - 27, 28, 29 AAANNNNNNDDDD 30!!!!!

Woo HOO! It's over! I did it!!!

I haven't posted for the last 4 days but I have crafted my tush off!

First, Tuesday:

It's a log deconstructed, on paper. Why you ask. . . well, the logs are going into mass production! Well. . . sort of. . . The lovely Hannah from Made with Love by Hannah is gonna teach me to screenprint! This is the pattern I sent her and she's gonna burn the screens. So exciting!

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I went pillow CRAZY! I went thrifting on Monday in preparation for something I'm really excited about but that I can't yet discuss (ooohhh mystery!) and found a ton of great fabric. One of the fabrics was this fab floral barkcloth ($4 for 2 yards!) and I made 2 fun bunny pillows out of it. Then today I made a pillow that has been sitting in my head for a while and it turned out just how I imagined, which is always nice. Here they are, pillows a plenty!


And finally, the whole kit and kaboodle! A month's worth of crafting, sans 1 thank you note, 1 hostess gift, and 9 logs, all resting quite comfy-like on my lovely daybed!

Impressive!

Most of these beauties will end up in my Etsy shop. Tomorrow I take pictures and then I start listing away!

Thanks so much for following me on this crazy little journey with me. I may just do it again in the near future. It was super hard but it did get me working and sometimes that push is the one thing you really need to create some lovely, lovely crafty goodness.

Hearts and puppies,
erika

Craft a day - Episode 5

I fully intended on making a new bag, had the pieces cut out last night and everything, and let me tell you. . . if it works out it will be FIERCE! Anyway. . . that was the plan, but I ended up a bit sidetracked by a big log order and had to get to work. So, as you can guess. . . today's craft. . . logs!

A finished log:


And the beauty shot:


And more logs waiting to be sewn and stuffed (once the paint dries):


Logs!

Hearts and puppies,
erika