photo by tina seamonster

I am ignoring the mess that is my living room. The overturned haunted house. The carrots on the floor. The cell phone at my feet that needs to be charged. I am in the clutches of new ideas. Of making things new. New things. And this is the best feeling. The very best way to make.

I have recently found myself in a rut of sorts, making the same thing over and over to fill orders. I know I shouldn’t complain about this. Anyone who makes things wishes for the time when more than friends will want what they make. It is awesome and special and spectacular. But it is also easy to get stuck in the cycle, the filling of orders, the manufacturing, if even on this small scale. And I have been stuck. Sticky stuck.

I think we forget how much courage making something new takes. For me, it is less about inspiration and more about being able to push aside the easy, the accepted, the popular. Then there is the fear of making mistakes and wasting materials. I used to live in fear of wasting materials! No more, I tell myself. Gocco screens are not precious! Expensive, but not precious.

So I make a space in my stock corner for the one-of-a-kinds. The bold experiments that might fall flat or be spectacular. The special new creatures that will take forever to find a home. And I think about it all day long. Working out my plans for the new. And each night when my little window for creating comes along, I am thrilled with what I find. I am giddy and unstuck.

Tina Seamonster blogs her life and craft at http://www.ilikeseamonsters.com. She thinks you are rad.

I <heart> Denver, Colorado. I just returned from a week-long snowboarding trip in the Colorado Mountains and was lucky enough to have at least one full day to explore the city of Denver. With its too cute boutiques to the old skool record stores and vintage shops with their familiar mildewey smell, Denver was overflowing with shopping awesomeness.

I explored a bunch of indie mom n’ pop shops that sold every from handmade aprons, to bags and accessories made by locals, and got to experience the cleanest and biggest Goodwill store I’ve ever seen. My day-long shopping journey took me from Colfax Ave. to the hip Highland area. Although I fell in love again and again with every place I went to, here are just a few of my favorites…

Starlet was the way-too-cute boutique that definitley brought out the girly-girl in me.

The fluffy decor and colorful yummy displays were really cool, and it had a nice selection of handmade items like bags, jewerly and wall decorations. The owner was a sweet lady who fit perfectly in her sweet store.

Even the store mascot Oliver was too-cute in his fleece coat.

This place is located in Highland on the main shopping/eating drag. With great prices on everything (I paid only 11 bucks(!) for an eco-friendly hand printed bag, and $3 for apple lip gloss in an apple-shaped container)… this place is great for present shopping.

The other two shops worth mentioning are owned by Matthew Brown and Jaime Jennings. The Fancy Tiger stores are a boutique and a craft store (located across the street from each other near Broadway and 1st). These two places are the epitome of good shopping for indie crafters and people who like unique finds.

I talked a bit with Matt at The Fancy Tiger Clothing store, and found out that about 40% of the items in the store were local, which totally rocks! This place has hip clothing, accessories, hand knits, and necklaces made from old typewritter letters… just to name a few items.

After eyeballing some of their thick knit scarves (above), which will be on my X-mas list (Scott, I hope you’re reading this), I made my way over to the Fancy Tiger Craft store. This place is a crafters’ dream…

tons of yarn, giant balls of wool, cutesy fabric, craft how-to kits, rubber and tree limbed-shapped buttons, stamps, books, and a classroom where you can learn to felt, sew, bookbind and more.

Fancy Tiger is an impressive indie feat, and I was blown away by the selection and thoughfulness that Matt and Jenny put into the stores. Both stores are welcoming and unpretentious, and the owners both know their stuff and support the Denver crafting community. They threw their first holiday craft market this past December, and are looking to do more this year. I might just have to go back to Denver within the year to check it out… Fancy Tiger Road Trip anyone?

If you’ve traveled the crafty road and can share you’re favorite spots to shop and hang in other cities, please let us know in the comment section!

I am always excited to see crafty businesses get smart with marketing. Below is a short video featuring Chickenpants by Absolutely Small:

Not only is the video super cute, but it shows off the product in a fresh and interesting way. Makes me want to pick up a few plushies and make my own video to post to YouTube.

In the Absolutely Small shop, you will also find limited edition prints of Chickenpants dolls in funny situations. Here is one called To The Moon:

So if you don’t know what to do with a Chickenpants of your own, you can just pick up the print for $10. Absolutely Small is run by Claire Chambers. In her shop profile she writes:

“Every one should have the option to have original art in their homes- it shouldn’t be the exclusive domain of the wealthy. If I can get people to smile or laugh at what I’ve created, then I’ve succeeded.”

Congrats, Claire! You have totally succeeded.

Tina Seamonster blogs her life and craft at http://www.ilikeseamonsters.com. She thinks you are rad.

The Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia is now accepting vendor applications. This year’s show will have 50 more vendors than last year and a new venue!

Who: 150 artists
What: Affordable, unique, and high quality art and crafts
When: Saturday, May 31st from 11-7pm & Sunday, June 1st from 11-5pm
Where: Penn’s Landing Great Plaza - on Columbus Boulevard between Walnut Street and Market Street

The application deadline is April 8th and accepted vendors will be notified of acceptance by Saturday, April 12th. You can either apply online or mail your application to them (see instructions). The booth fee is $150 and includes a 10’ x 10’ space, 2 chairs, and a 6’ long table. The event is held outside.

For more information, check out the Art Star web site. You can also read my report from last year’s Art Star to learn more about last year’s show.

The 2008 Takoma Park Street Festival is accepting applications for craft vendors. The festival is Sunday, October 5, 2008, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fee is $125 per 10 x 10 ft. space.

The festival allocate spaces to eligible participants based on the order applications are received, taking into account, however, the need to offer an appropriate mix of participant/vendor types and items sold. The festival is usually filled by June. The application can be downloaded from the web site, here.

The Takoma Park Street Festival is entering its 25th year as a multi-cultural music and crafts festival in downtown Old Takoma. Check out their web site for more information.

Post in the comments if you have done this show in the past and what you think of this local opportunity.

If you are currently a seller on Etsy.com or are thinking about setting up shop, you will be interested in their new Cooperative Advertising Program.

For me, I have always been afraid to buy my own ads in national magazines because the price just seems too high for such a small space to show off my work. So Etsy is trying to help sellers out by securing advertisements in magazines like Bust, CRAFT and Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion. Here are some important points from their announcement:

• Etsy will purchase ad space in various magazines, cover half of the cost, and design the ads.
• Etsy Sellers are able to purchase spots in the ad at the discounted rate.
• You will get to display your shop name, an image of one item, its price, and its category.
• The limit is one spot per seller, per advertisement.

The first opportunity for a space in the Bust ad sold out in 6 seconds! The next ad will appear in the May issue of CRAFT and is on sale on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 3:00pm EST. 36 spots will be available to sellers at a price of $50 each.

My advice if you do plan to buy a space is to make sure you pick a spot in the right magazine and that you put your best photo forward. You wouldn’t want to pay $50 for a spot and send a bad photograph of the wrong item for that publication’s demographic. So, do some research and know your customers!

Upcoming opportunities are:

– Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion, spots go on sale: Monday, March 3rd, 2008, 30 Spots at $75 each

– Venus Zine, spots go on sale: Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Visit the Storque article for more information on this program (including where to go to buy a spot!).

Oh course, this is only for people who currently have an Etsy shop, so what are you waiting for?

Tina Seamonster blogs her life and craft at http://www.ilikeseamonsters.com. She thinks you are rad.

Each week we feature an advertiser from the Crafty Bastards Classifieds. This week the honor goes to…

Three Muses!

This week’s Craftiest Bastard features amazing, large scale airbrush paintings from talented local artist Glen Brown. Each painting is acrylic on masonite, 24×48″, and is ready to hang.

Brown is a member of Three Muses — a collective of artists, founded by Monique Phillips and Robin Hudspeth. The collective is based in the Washington, DC area. Each artist brings different talents and a unique perspective to the collective, while supporting and inspiring the others.

Contact to schedule a viewing, or check out the Three Muses Etsy Shop! Abstract, portrait, photography, and more!

Shop the Crafty Classifieds for goodies like this and more!

Make stuff? Place a Crafty Bastards ad, it’s FREE!

A rad show alert for anyone near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, this weekend. Crafty Bastards alumni, Heidi Kenney, Jenny Harada, and Spooky Daddy will all be showing their work this Saturday February 9th at emmaus, located at 49 York St in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Three of the east coast’s most amazing plush artists all in one place! Heidi has some cool sneak peaks up on her blog already and you can check out Spooky Daddy’s Flickr stream, too. For anyone who makes or loves plush as art, I highly recommend you check out the work of these three.

Each week we feature an advertiser from the Crafty Bastards Classifieds. This week the honor goes to…

Novelty Kitten!

Novelty Kitten has everything you never knew you needed. New! Cross-stitch designs! Spokeskitten Patsy says, “Go to www.noveltykitten.com today! Meow!” We have new stuff in our Etsy shop too!

Shop the Crafty Classifieds for goodies like this and more!

Make stuff? Place a Crafty Bastards ad, it’s FREE!

Each week we feature an advertiser from the Crafty Bastards Classifieds. This week the honor goes to…

Peacock Blue Design Studio!


Peacock Blue Design Studio creates accessories for individuals who want to be noticed! Their hats, hair accessories, headpieces and wigs are outrageous yet elegant works of wearable art. Everything is exclusively designed and individually made by hand to guarantee that each piece is as unique as the person wearing it.

You can browse more of their colorful collection at www.peacock-blue.com.

TAKE NOTE: Peacock Blue Design Studio will be at Crafts & Kisses (Valentine Craft Fair) in Washington DC on Sunday, February 3rd! This event runs from 12 noon to 5pm at the Josephine Butler Parks Center, located at 2437 Fifteenth Street, NW, Washington DC. See the blog posting about Crafts & Kisses.

Shop the Crafty Classifieds for goodies like this and more!

Make stuff? Place a Crafty Bastards ad, it’s FREE!