Celebration!

The wedding has finally come and gone! We had a fabulous time and I am so happy to be married to my best friend. I will be posting some pictures in the next couple days of finished projects from the wedding and reception! Gotta love a good crafty wedding!

Guest Blog Series: Elizabeth of Thoughts from an Evil Overlord

This is the first post in a series that will feature other bloggers. First is Elizabeth writer of Thoughts from an Evil Overlord. Please check out her blog if you enjoy this post! 

Last winter, I finished and hung some artwork in my bedroom, which I had been talking about for only a year! I bought this condo 18 months ago, and had big plans which were cut short by the insecurity of being on a medical leave and possibly needing my savings for living instead of all the fun home upgrades I had planned. So nothing big has been done. I don't consider my bedroom a decorating priority in the way many people do. I live alone, so my entire house is a sanctuary. I don't need a special one just for sleeping. But a bunch of my RMS friends "bullied" me into at least doing a few things, including putting up curtains and some art. I didn't even have curtains, just cheap white mini blinds. I'm pathetic, but I don't care. The rooms people see look great!

I got the idea for some really cheap inexpensive art that would make a large impact from my friend AnNicole at Our Suburban Cottage. She had shared this photo with a decorating group when we were discussing alternatives to doing a wall of plates. "I can do that!" I thought, "I even have tons of fabric and a few embroidery hoops I could use!" I'm not going to give you the timeline on how much I talked about the project. Suffice it to say it's been more than a year since I first saw the inspiration picture!

Cheap balsa wood embroidery hoops at A.C. Moore cost me around $12.00 for 13 hoops! Can you believe it?! I already had all the fabric I could possibly use. My mom and I picked out all the fabric we thought might work and threw it on the quilt. Anything that didn't blend in we removed, and then we went through what was left, choosing our favorites, which were about 15 different colors and patterns.

My niece came over and we put fabrics in different size hoops, planning to use 2 of the same fabric at least twice, and finishing with an odd number of hoops. Once we were happy with the sizes we had chosen for the different patterns, she started laying them out on the floor in a horizontal oval. It took a while to get the different sizes and colors and their relationship to each other the way we liked. 

Once it was acceptable, we moved things out of perfect alignment to be more random and took a picture. This all sounds simple, but it took us several hours of switching fabrics out of different size hoops and taking lots of pictures before we were happy with this arrangement. I love using a camera to see things, it gives it a whole different perspective! The hoops were shiny new balsa wood. I used some acrylic paint very raw-creamy looking, so I used some acrylic paints I had around to dry brush the outer hoops in a mixture of gold, green and burnt sienna, aging them up.

My friend Mary graciously hung them for me. No one wants the girl with balance problems (me) standing on a mattress when there is no one else in the house. She didn't even mind that her whole back was in the picture, not that she should. What confidence! We used sticky-tack to hang the hoops, so they can easily be repositioned, and no holes were made in the wall. 

Ta Da! I think it looks great! We ended up hanging 11 hoops with 9 different fabrics. It made a huge impact for less than $12.00! I love the feeling of getting something done! the hoops have been up since February and made it through a humid summer without popping off the wall, which sometimes happens here in Massachusetts. The walls get "sweaty" and the sticky tack  can fall if it's holding something too heavy.

I hope this inspires you to try something a little different. You don't have to be an artist to make some artwork!

New Items Posted!

I finally finished my purses! My purses have been one of my forgotten projects. I finished added the last touches to two of them yesterday and today they have been added to my shop.



They are both made form the same pattern concept. I say concept because I have a serious problem following patterns. I usually end up with a great final project but a lot of times the space in between start and finish is a head ache. So I have stopped using patterns for directions but more inspiration.



These two purses are made in a simple two piece concept; one is the strap, the other the body. Inside is lined with fabric usually from the scrap section of the fabric store( I hate wasted fabric).

I will hopefully have more of these purses in my shop in the coming months. Now I can cross off finishing these purses from my forgotten projects list.

Forgotten Projects Part 3

Today I went upstairs to my desk and couldn't find it! It was hidden under a pile of papers and ( for lack of a better word) crap. Since I have been out of school I have not spent an extensive amount of time at my desk. I do a great deal of my Etsy work from our laptop on the couch in front of the television after work. The only time I really spend time on my upstairs computer is on my days off, half of which I have other events planned and don't get to clean my office like I should.

As a part of this Forgotten Projects series I want re-organize my projects. Through my initial search of unfinished project I realized that my storage/ closet is a complete mess. I do not take care of it on a daily basis like I should.

So, today's topic will focus in on what is preventing me from keeping my projects, yarn and business organized.

1. I never put things away. I have a real problem of taking a box of yarn out, taking the skein that I need and then not replacing the box to where it belongs. I do the same thing with my clothes, my makeup and a variety of other things. I need to work on taking the time to return things to their rightful place before the clutter gets out of hand.

2. The stack of to be filed. I often do not file my important papers right away like I should. They pile up and up on my desk until I am forced to do something about it. I need to work on filing items as soon as I can. It only takes a couple more seconds to do so in the first place instead of an hour to do so later.

3. Growing tired of a project. Everyone will get tired of certain projects. I get frustrated with projects quite often and I tend to just roll them in a ball and trow them in the corner. I need to figure out a way to label, organize and keep projects so I can easily come back to them.

4. Using my Calendar. I have never been able to use a planner or a calendar to save my life. Every school year I would buy one and start out wonderfully, writing all my assignments an test dates. Then half way through the month I give up. My boyfriend gave me his old palm pilot a couple years back. I used it a lot at first. Now it just sits on my desk. I don't think Ive touched it since I graduated. I just now found Google calendar and I am try to use it as much as I can.

These are my top four reasons for my being so unorganized. I am sure there are more but these are the ones I am going to start working on. By my next post I hope to have my Google project calendar up and running so you can follow my progress on each project.

The Forgotten Projects

All crafters have them. Those projects that for some reason or another they have "forgotten" to finish. The excuses lists from not having the right supplies to just being tired of that particular project.

I am extremely guilty. I have quite a few projects that have been put on the back burner. The other day I was looking at all the unfinished items and realized that these items were not only for myself or to sell on my site but there were items I had promised to people. That is horrible.

One Example: I promised my grandmother a purse about a year ago and have yet to finish it. My excuses range from not having time to not liking the yarn I choose to the skeins not matching. This is my grandmother for goodness sakes! The more I think about it the worse I feel.

What I am going to do about these forgotten projects?:

I have decided to make a list of what the projects are, who they are for and list them in order of importance. My next day off is Friday. By then I hope to gone through all my projects and organize them. I will be making a list and as a way to keep on top of these projects I will be posting that list here, on my blog, on Friday.

I hope by involving my readers in this process that I can help other crafters organize there projects. Following my process may teach you something of what to do or what not to do. Please feel free to leave some comments about how I am doing and suggestions to help me through each step.

Free Crochet Patterns

Some crocheters who are well aware of free pattern sites may already know of Crochet Pattern Central. For those that are not aware, it is a complete free site that houses a wide variety of crochet patterns. There are several categories to choose from. Some of the patterns are quite traditional but if you are looking for the basics it is a great resource.

I use it for all the simple item requests I get. Right now I am using it to find a belt pattern for my boy friend. It is great for beginners to find patterns to learn by. I suggest that if you do not want to pay for your patterns try this site first.

It can be hard to search at times. It has links to other sites where the free patterns reside. There are not very many pictures. With a little bit of time you can find quite a bit of fun stuff and its free.

Happy Crocheting!

Three Pages

In one of the helpful forum post I read that three pages is the magic number for jewelry shops. I figured if it helps them it could help me. So I have been trying to add all my inventory to my shop and fill three pages worth.

It is a lot harder than I expected. I guess I did not realize that there were soooo many item that could fit onto one page. Yesterday I finally listed enough to start the third page. Amazingly enough I had enough merchandise already made from when I sold at the gift shop.

I still have a few more items to add, including some purses. By the time I get those items listed I should be sufficiently set for a while. That will leave me time to make more merchandise and do more marketing.( Which I really need to do!)

Have a Wonderful Day!

Selling my Photography as Supplies

Recently I asked for some critiques through the forums of my A. Nieman Photography shop. Someone brought up the fact that some of my statements in my shop policies were unclear. They also poised the question, what if an etsy seller would like to use my art work in theirs.

Here's the answer: I would love to have some use my photographs in their own art work etc. The only thing I ask is that there is full disclosure on where they purchased the photograph. By this I mean that I am given credit within the listing, stating that the artwork used in the item was taken by myself.

I don't think that that is too much to ask. A link to my shop would be appreciated. I would also love to work with the seller and promote them here on my blog. I feel that if they would like to use my photos that it is not only a way for them to promote my shop but for me to promote them. It would be a thank you for their purchase and honesty.

I'm going to start adding the tag of supply to my digital photos for this reason. I think it should give me more exposure and maybe help spark sellers imaginations for the use of my art. My aim is to become a great resource for crafters!

Here are some of my latest additions:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11840912



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11758830



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11531360

Thank you and Have a Nice Day!!!

I'm Back!!

I'm finally back to etsy and my crafting ways! I originally was going to try to keep up with all my etsy stuff part time while I finished school but that did not work. School went crazy and I was bogged down with work to do.

So now I am finally done with school and am a graduate of The Ohio State University with a Bachelors of Science in Textiles and Clothing with a concentration in Residential Design! It feels sooooo good to be done! Now I have to find a job!

I've already started looking but in the mean time I am working on my etsy like crazy. I totally fell off the face of the etsy earth and am now realizing how much of a mess I have created. But don't worry I am cleaning it up and getting back on track. Its soo much easier when you are not doing homework or papers or studying for tests every day!

Along with graduating I just moved! I'm still in Ohio just a little further north in Copley and small township of Akron! It is wonderful!

This past weekend I found a new gift shoppe that just opened and is accepting vendors. I emailed them and hopefully something comes of that. It would be an ideal part time job!

I also have applied to a couple of interior design firms but not many are hiring right now which is not a good thing for my career. I'm trying to be optimistic though.

I am currently working on some Halloween decor items and some projects that I need to finish for myself and my mom. I made my self this purse a while back from a pattern I designed myself. My mom is helping line it and so I decided to make her one too as a thank you. I should have pictures when they are done!

Well thats all for now. I have to finish laundry and get some crocheting done!

Its great to be back!!

Student knits her own Ferrari

I thought this was cool so i'm passing it on to you!

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1879263.html

May is Coming!

Hello everyone,

Its been a while since I've posted and I wanted to bring you up to date on some of the things I've been working on. right now I have several projects that i am working on. One is an extra large blanket for my friend jay. It's inspired by an extra large blanket that I made a long time ago( actually it was my first blanket ever!). It sits on out round chair in our living room and everyone uses it to curl up with. Jay was sooo in love with it he wanted one of his own! His is black and red to match his masculine bachelor pad!

The pictures I have included are of the inspiration(black and white) and the new blanket in progress. When it is finished I will definitely post a picture for everyone to see!

Also I am working on putting items together for an Etsy seller who is doing some craft fairs and will sell my stuff on consignment. Its the first time I am doing this so hopefully it works out. I'm so glad she is offering this because I definitely don't have time to do fairs.

I hope to post the work to show everyone before I ship it off!

If you like anything that I post here, I do take custom order. Please send me an email and I will work with you through every single step! aniemancrochet@gmail.com

CrochetArt

As I was researching crochet patterns one day, I can across someone who made these interesting shapes from geometric patterns. I wanted to try it myself but that pattern that wqas given had lots of math in it( not my best subject). So I decided to play around and try it myself.

I started with a circle and the rest is history. As I started to play around I feel in love with the pattern it created. Above is the finished work. It really is a piece of art.

I find design and art as a release and an escape form the everyday. I hope to create more pieces and have a full line of CrochetArt.

Please check out my shop to see more details.

Also please leave me comments on what you think; comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome!

Here's a article if you would like to know more: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20061223/bob10.asp