Saturday, December 20, 2008
yay! new fabric!
I just got some new fabric - eek! Isn't it the cutest! I'm going to be able to make some REALLY cute accessories with this batch! I can't wait! :D
Thursday, December 18, 2008
it's going to be a white christmas, me thinks
The latest "long-term" forecast from The Weather Network web site (which I check more often that I will admit)...looks like we're going to be getting a lot of snow in the next few days here in Toronto (to add to the 7 cm we had yesterday), so unless there's a freak warm spell, I think we're definitely going to have a white Christmas this year.
I love white, fluffy snow. I DON'T love going to work in the snow, especially when it's not white and fluffy, but wet, grey, slushy, icy, sleety and messy. In other words, how snow looks in Toronto about 5 minutes after the snowfall. :(
I know that most crafters would be taking advantage of the weather and cozy-ing up at home to work on their craft projects, or do a little baking, but since I have don't have any days off except weekends, Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, all I have to look forward to right now is the long commute in the snow. Yuck.
I love white, fluffy snow. I DON'T love going to work in the snow, especially when it's not white and fluffy, but wet, grey, slushy, icy, sleety and messy. In other words, how snow looks in Toronto about 5 minutes after the snowfall. :(
I know that most crafters would be taking advantage of the weather and cozy-ing up at home to work on their craft projects, or do a little baking, but since I have don't have any days off except weekends, Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, all I have to look forward to right now is the long commute in the snow. Yuck.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
my lonely mitten
I hate the cubicle life. And my cubicle is GREY, so it's extra gloomy. I guess I shouldn't complain since I have a bank of windows to stare out of, but still...
In a desperate bid to embed some holiday cheer into my drab little cubicle, I hung up this adorable little mitten that I got from a co-worker. She gave me a Starbucks coffee card and this is their gift card "holder". So much cuter than a regular envelope. I may have to go buy another gift card for myself just so that I have a pair! LOL!
In a desperate bid to embed some holiday cheer into my drab little cubicle, I hung up this adorable little mitten that I got from a co-worker. She gave me a Starbucks coffee card and this is their gift card "holder". So much cuter than a regular envelope. I may have to go buy another gift card for myself just so that I have a pair! LOL!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
re-discovering the crafty life
When I started out this little blog, the idea was to promote my new Etsy Shop, pandacub, and to share some of the other great crafty things I've discovered on Etsy.
But the more time I spent on Etsy, and the more wonderfully talented people I met, I realized that I wanted to share more than just "Etsy-ness". I wanted to share other fun things that were happening in my life. As my sister and husband often complain, I change hobbies every month or so and although I've tried to get better at sticking to one hobby for longer periods of time, I'm enjoying re-discovering all these fun crafts!
I'm still loving my little fabric buttons, but something I've ALWAYS wanted to do was make my own buttons. The pin kind with fun sayings and cute graphics. When I first started thinking of ideas for my Etsy shop, I had wanted to do buttons, but the button machine is uber-expensive and I just couldn't justify it, so I looked into other areas.
Now, my mind has been wandering back to button machines again and trying to figure out how I could finance one of my own... ;)
But the more time I spent on Etsy, and the more wonderfully talented people I met, I realized that I wanted to share more than just "Etsy-ness". I wanted to share other fun things that were happening in my life. As my sister and husband often complain, I change hobbies every month or so and although I've tried to get better at sticking to one hobby for longer periods of time, I'm enjoying re-discovering all these fun crafts!
I'm still loving my little fabric buttons, but something I've ALWAYS wanted to do was make my own buttons. The pin kind with fun sayings and cute graphics. When I first started thinking of ideas for my Etsy shop, I had wanted to do buttons, but the button machine is uber-expensive and I just couldn't justify it, so I looked into other areas.
Now, my mind has been wandering back to button machines again and trying to figure out how I could finance one of my own... ;)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
in the cafe spotlight: lluviadesigns
Featured Etsian: lluviadesigns
Shop link: lluviadesigns.etsy.com
FLORECITA ROCKERA necklace (by lluviadesigns)
Give us the basics:
My name is Jenn George Burt, but I'm better known as JennGee to other lluviadesigns (lluvia means rain in spanish), i'm in west covina, california, but no one has ever heard of it, so i say i'm in l.a. (i grew up in l.a. and still miss it very much!). i make what i call "unwearable" jewelry. by the time i feel it's complete, it's usually huge and way out of hand.
What’s your favourite smell?
cilantro and wet clay
How long have you been doing your craft?
i've been making jewelry for over 20 years.
Who/What inspires you in your craft?
i look at magazines, strands of beads, my garden, and other etsians, or course for inspiration. most of the time i just have to peruse through my large bead collection and the beads alone inspire me.
HIBISCUS repurposed necklace (by lluviadesigns)
What do you like least about your craft?
i hate selling the stuff. i hate waiting for new beads to arrive at my doorstep.
What’s a normal day for you?
i get up around 6:30 am, have coffee, check email, make a to-do list (i'm very disorganized), take a hike or walk with my dog, do "house" stuff, make some jewelry, list some stuff on etsy. right now i have the luxury of only working part time and being able to take 3 hour walks with my dog and make jewelry all day in my pajamas if i want to.
What advice would you give Etsy sellers just starting out?
list a lot of stuff, like always try to have A LOT of items in your shop, advertise outside of etsy, spend time in the forums getting to know the AWESOME people you're sharing this space with. i've met some great people both online and in person through etsy.
How do you discover new things on Etsy?
i pounce! i love pouncing and pounce every day, just to see what and who is new.
red bamboo CORAL freeform sticks (by lluviadesigns)
Shop link: lluviadesigns.etsy.com
Give us the basics:
My name is Jenn George Burt, but I'm better known as JennGee to other lluviadesigns (lluvia means rain in spanish), i'm in west covina, california, but no one has ever heard of it, so i say i'm in l.a. (i grew up in l.a. and still miss it very much!). i make what i call "unwearable" jewelry. by the time i feel it's complete, it's usually huge and way out of hand.
What’s your favourite smell?
cilantro and wet clay
How long have you been doing your craft?
i've been making jewelry for over 20 years.
Who/What inspires you in your craft?
i look at magazines, strands of beads, my garden, and other etsians, or course for inspiration. most of the time i just have to peruse through my large bead collection and the beads alone inspire me.
What do you like least about your craft?
i hate selling the stuff. i hate waiting for new beads to arrive at my doorstep.
What’s a normal day for you?
i get up around 6:30 am, have coffee, check email, make a to-do list (i'm very disorganized), take a hike or walk with my dog, do "house" stuff, make some jewelry, list some stuff on etsy. right now i have the luxury of only working part time and being able to take 3 hour walks with my dog and make jewelry all day in my pajamas if i want to.
What advice would you give Etsy sellers just starting out?
list a lot of stuff, like always try to have A LOT of items in your shop, advertise outside of etsy, spend time in the forums getting to know the AWESOME people you're sharing this space with. i've met some great people both online and in person through etsy.
How do you discover new things on Etsy?
i pounce! i love pouncing and pounce every day, just to see what and who is new.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
restocking....
I had a great time at the Holiday Trunk Show and sold quite a bit of my accessories.
The most popular item of the day HAD to be my Robot magnets. I made these cute magnets especially for the show, but I ran out of buttons so I could only bring a limited number of sets with me. Well, they were snapped up quite quickly and I think I was out of them within the first hour of the show.
So I'm definitely going to be making lots of these and stocking my Etsy shop - watch for them soon!
Also, I went a little crazy today and bought 10 fabric prints. I restocked some of the robot fabric, but also bought lots of adorable new prints, including honeybees, sailor boys, owls and daschunds. I can't wait to start creating new buttons!
Of course, that means I need to re-stock on blank buttons. It seems I'm ALWAYS running out of blank buttons!
The most popular item of the day HAD to be my Robot magnets. I made these cute magnets especially for the show, but I ran out of buttons so I could only bring a limited number of sets with me. Well, they were snapped up quite quickly and I think I was out of them within the first hour of the show.
So I'm definitely going to be making lots of these and stocking my Etsy shop - watch for them soon!
Also, I went a little crazy today and bought 10 fabric prints. I restocked some of the robot fabric, but also bought lots of adorable new prints, including honeybees, sailor boys, owls and daschunds. I can't wait to start creating new buttons!
Of course, that means I need to re-stock on blank buttons. It seems I'm ALWAYS running out of blank buttons!
Monday, December 8, 2008
the holiday trunk show at the workroom
As you all may know (since I've talked about nothing else on this blog lately), I took part in my first ever Trunk Show yesterday! It was held at "the workroom", a lovely fabric/supply shop that also holds craft classes and rents space/machines by the hour - a great little hub of craftiness in Toronto!
I had less than 2 weeks to prepare for the show, so I was definitely busy! I created new packaging for my products (which I love so much, I'll be using this method permanently from now on), prepped an old, beat-up case, printed business cards, etc, etc. Check out my display, all set up!
And yes, I was drooling at all the pretty fabric the workroom had for sale (you can see some of it in the background of my display!)
I wasn't the only one preparing for the show! My amazing sister, Suziesaurus, came along to support me and handmade me this beautiful mini "apron" - it had pockets for a pen, my phone, a little notepad and all my change!
It was busy from open to close and I not only had a fun day, I met lots of other great local crafters, including the talents behind Karissa Cove, Operation Sock Monkey, Dear Sukie, pupa pupa, lines by davis and many others (which you'll probably see show up on this blog sooner or later. )
Special thanks again to Karyn from the workroom, for giving me this amazing opportunity to sell in-person for the first time and to meet such a wonderful and supportive group of people!
images: all images taken by and belong to Suziesaurus
I had less than 2 weeks to prepare for the show, so I was definitely busy! I created new packaging for my products (which I love so much, I'll be using this method permanently from now on), prepped an old, beat-up case, printed business cards, etc, etc. Check out my display, all set up!
And yes, I was drooling at all the pretty fabric the workroom had for sale (you can see some of it in the background of my display!)
I wasn't the only one preparing for the show! My amazing sister, Suziesaurus, came along to support me and handmade me this beautiful mini "apron" - it had pockets for a pen, my phone, a little notepad and all my change!
It was busy from open to close and I not only had a fun day, I met lots of other great local crafters, including the talents behind Karissa Cove, Operation Sock Monkey, Dear Sukie, pupa pupa, lines by davis and many others (which you'll probably see show up on this blog sooner or later. )
Special thanks again to Karyn from the workroom, for giving me this amazing opportunity to sell in-person for the first time and to meet such a wonderful and supportive group of people!
images: all images taken by and belong to Suziesaurus
the paper place chiyogami giveaway
I have a bit of an obsession when it comes to fabric, and sometimes that obsession teeters into the "paper" section as well. There are some ultra gorgeous paper prints out there and as always, the Japanese are way ahead of the curve. Beautiful Chiyogami papers inspire even the most un-crafty people to dream of great excuses to buy the papers.
Well, what if you could WIN your own supply? The awesom shop, The Paper Place, is running The Great Chiyogami Giveaway! From now until December 31, 2008 you have the chance to win a sheet of EVERY SINGLE Chiyogami pattern then sell - that's 637 patterns in all (that's almost $2000 CAD in cool paper!) How's THAT for inspiration?
I'm definitely entering! Click to The Paper Place for your own chance at this amazing prize!
Friday, December 5, 2008
busy little pandacub...
I've been remiss about posting on the blog this past week, but it's because I've been super busy trying to get ready for the Holiday Trunk Show at the workroom! As I mentioned, it's my first time selling in person, I'm not only nervous and anxious and excited, I'm also woefully unprepared and have been running around buying receipt books, a little calculator, labels, making up business cards, price signs, etc, whew!
So, if you're in Toronto, please come by and say hi (see my previous post for all the details) as I would love to meet you!
So, if you're in Toronto, please come by and say hi (see my previous post for all the details) as I would love to meet you!
Monday, December 1, 2008
pandacub's first show!
I'm so excited! As mentioned in a previous post, I'll be "peddling my wares" at the workroom's Holiday Trunk Show. If you live in the Toronto area, or happen to be there on the right date, I'd love to meet you! There will be some free snacks, great vendors selling lovely handmade items, lots of crafty people having a fun time, and did I mention free snacks??! :D
Check out this flickr page for all the info, including a list of vendors and photos of the pretty things you can buy. I've already spotted a few things to get for myself - I can't wait!
http://flickr.com/photos/theworkroom/sets/72157610132688481/
Click on the flyer to get a larger version that you can actually read! LOL
It's going to be my first time selling "in-person" so I'm both excited and nervous. Those butterflies are starting to swarm in my tummy! I've been a busy little panda, putting together packages and getting other business-related things together (receipts, business cards, change, etc).
Hope to see you all there!
Check out this flickr page for all the info, including a list of vendors and photos of the pretty things you can buy. I've already spotted a few things to get for myself - I can't wait!
http://flickr.com/photos/theworkroom/sets/72157610132688481/
It's going to be my first time selling "in-person" so I'm both excited and nervous. Those butterflies are starting to swarm in my tummy! I've been a busy little panda, putting together packages and getting other business-related things together (receipts, business cards, change, etc).
Hope to see you all there!
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