I experienced my first holiday craft bazaar this past Saturday and thought I’d share a few pictures. It went well, I didn’t sell much, only a few things, but received a lot of very encouraging feed back. And in these early stages of infancy I will take everything I can get. I went home excited about what I’m doing and not discouraged, and I really couldn’t have asked for any more.
And it’s true.
You really don’t ever know what’s going to happen, and chances are if you don’t step out and take a few risks, most likely nothing. That has been my lesson these past few weeks. From making a simple comment on a tweet, I was given the opportunity to be a guest blogger for American Craft Magazine on a series called “Why I make”. Writing this post is not only giving me some exposure that is always desired when you are trying to create your own career. But also gave me the chance to share a bit about why I feel making is so important. (Not to mention it turned into mini therapy session!)
So here is a link to the post, I hope you enjoy it, and be sure to check out some of the other artists. It’s a great and inspiring series, well worth exploring.
To prevent myself from experiencing the week after Arts Walk doldrums, I decided I would catch up on some unfinished projects that were being neglected while working on my printing. This is one of them and I am very happy to say it is completed!!
I have admired these capiz chandeliers for some time now, but they have always fallen out of my price range. Until a few months ago I ran across instructions to DIY your own, out of WAX PAPER!!! Ha, this was right up my alley! The most difficult thing about this project is time, other than that it couldn’t be more simple and incredibly economical! Who doesn’t love that!
All you need to get started is two to three rolls of wax paper, an iron, sewing machine, white thread, and a lamp shade frame, easily found at a thrift store. A circle cutter or punch is a good idea to have too. First thing is to prepare the lamp shade frame, by removing the fabric, then adding and additional piece of wire in the center so you will end up with three tiers to hang the strands from. You can spray paint the frame white but I don’t think it is necessary. Next start tearing the wax paper into sheets all about the same length, then iron three piece together. Just like you did when you were a kid, minus the crayon shavings. Once that is finished, determine what size circles you want to use and start cutting. I didn’t count how many I circles I used but it was a lot! For this project it is better to too many than not enough.(I sewed the extras together to make a garland, very pretty). When the cutting is done you can start sewing the circles together, just measure on your frame how long you want it to be. I used the ends of the thread to tie the strand onto the frame, you can also thread a needle tie them on that way. I my customized my chandelier from the original tutorial, but I think it works great for my space. And I am very satisfied:)
Trixy
I set a goal for myself a few months ago, and I can now finally share with you all what I have been working on. Along with my love of felt and design, I have a great passion for print making. I learned block printing and silk screening in high school, and then went on to study it a bit more in college. The skill has come in handy on a number of occasions, wedding invitations, christmas cards, etc. But I hadn’t thought of doing anything with it seriously until now.
As much as I have always known that I want a creative career, I have driven myself crazy with what that should look like. My idea for printing on textile came from a few different places. One being my frustration with finding fabrics that I really like, that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Two, falling in love with Marimekko fabric designs and realizing there is so much more to explore and do. And most importantly is wanting to create something useful and beautiful right here in the place that I live.
To explain that last sentence I’ll go back a bit. I recently watched a PBS series called Craft in America. One episode told the story of the Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood in Oregon state. What so profoundly struck me about this place is that is was built during the Great Depression as part of the work program. And it was built by skilled craftsmen and artist. The lamps, rugs, relief carvings on the walls, were all done by hand, and beautifully. When I here stories about that time period I always picture everything dark and grey. No color and no life. Yet there was life and beautiful things were being created, for generations to enjoy. Not to mention that people were being put to work!!
So that is what I am trying to do with my printing. I want to make a career for myself, by doing something I love and by creating something beautiful that brings a positive light into this dreary world. I have currently made a few table runners, but I am planning on expanding and making pillows, bags, maybe printing a few T-shirts. I am also more than happy to do custom work! For tonight I will share my pictures from arts walk, and later this week I will have things ready to sell. If you are interested now, just drop me an email!
Trixy:)
One of my missions is to create things that are not only beautiful but truly useful. So it obviously feels very good to get positive feed back from the people who have purchased my product.
“My trixwithay sleeve is a perfect match for my iPad. It’s almost like my iPad fell in love with your sleeve!” Laura
http://www.lovelyunion.com Tupelo, Mi.
“I am the proud owner of a beautiful Iphone case! Thank YOU!!”
Connie, Middelburg Netherlands
So thank you to all my happy customers! I’m honored to create things for you!