Etsy vs the World: Wishbones

Not unlike every other quirky creative female, in my free time I enjoy clicking through various online stores that attempt to mass-produce one-of-a-kind, hipster-approved items (ex. lace-covered anything, cameras with plastic lenses, punny office supplies, and INFINITE iterations of bird-in-a-cage jewelry).

Odd thing is, since I've started spending more time on Etsy, I've found that Etsy not only offers higher quality versions of products advertised in hipster stores - but they're often less expensive, actually one of a kind, & (honestly) so much cooler.

This realization has led me to start a new segment on sunnysidenotes called Etsy vs the World, in which I'll feature an advertised mass-produced item and use it as "inspiration" to find similarly-themed (but far superior!) Etsy items.

For the first post of Etsy vs the World, I give you: Wishbones!

It all starts with this (tiny!), $35 "metal" wishbone necklace from ModCloth.com...

...and ends with these three gorgeous Etsy finds!


1. See Those Wishbones Tee - organic cotton tee by KittenInTheEngine
2. One for You, One for Me - interactive postcard by Threefold
3. Big Wish - life-size brass-cast wishbone necklace by soradesigns


Happy shopping. :)

Cork Vases Tutorial

A fabulous tutorial has been floating around the craftier side of the internet recently.

I think it's a brilliant idea - I can't see how you could bring any more elegance to old soup tins. Cork has a nice texture all on its own - the fact that it doubles as a mini-gallery space is a bonus.

It could also be a clever way to store sewing pins & embroidery needles in your craft space...

Uncanny Cork Vases & Containers Tutorial via paper n stitch

Phonetographer

A couple snaps I took while waiting to be whisked away to a patio.

taken with Cross Process for iPhone
(it's rad - download it pronto).

Goodies: Mrs. Bear Wallpaper

Today I had a day off from work & spent the morning doodling in Photoshop. The result: a downloadable desktop just for you.

It features a lovely lady bear, underscored by a nifty quote.

Mrs. Bear comes in two resolutions. Click on the one that suits your needs best to see the full-size image.

1650 x 1050


1600 x 1200

Art Without Science

And Etsy knows it.

From huggable chlorophyll to estrogen pendants, these finds are sure to please any mad scientist.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Moo!

My Moo cards finally came in!

I'm so happy with how they turned out. The paper is smooth & thick, and the print quality is fantastic. Now all I have to do is find 50 people willing to take 'em!

I sincerely hope Moo will consider partnering with Etsy again (such a power couple).
'Til then, here's what's in my business card arsenal:

Mothers Day Poster Project

I'm smack dab in the middle of two weeks of job training, and (to my dismay!) I've had very little time to dedicate to my Etsy store, my blog, and artsy stuff in general. Things will settle down once my training is over – but in the meantime, I'm so happy Mother's Day gave me an opportunity to get back to the drawing table!

Just yesterday, I got my hands on the BBC documentary series "Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin". My mama had watched (& loved) it on television when it first came out 20 years ago, and I first heard about it recently through a podcast – so I figured Mother's Day was the perfect opportunity to cash in a lazy Sunday and watch a few episodes.

I decided to make a gift to go along with the traveling theme.

The process started by taking a peek at the iconic poster for Michael Todd's 1956 film version:

Next came an idea & a sketchbook:

I decided to put a Ukrainian spin on the classic movie poster. I wrote out the title in Ukrainian, replaced the dapper British voyager with a dashing Kozak, and substituted the tiny Eiffel tower and Big Ben with a Ukrainian monastery/national landmark. Here's the final result, which was propped up against some pretty posies on Mother's Day morning:

Aaaand a quick close-up:

Aaaand the ticket that accompanied it:

Happy Mother's Day.

May the Fourth be with You

Happy Star Wars day, friends!

(I must confess, I already celebrated by buying a print on Etsy...)

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Pack Set of 3 Stickers from hellowars
R2D2 Vinyl Laptop Decal from walkingdeadpromotion
Darth Vader Portrait Plate from BeatUpCreations
Chewbacca Calavera Gocco Serigraph from MisNopalesArt

Miss Matryoshka & Fancy That

I added two new items to the SunnysideAvenue store this afternoon!

Both items are part of a new style I'm exploring. Until recently, the only embroidery I had experience with was cross stitch. I'm finding hand-embroidery a lot more liberating - for starters, I don't have to follow any patterns! All of my designs are taken from sketches of mine, and I'm able to make changes to them while stitching.

Can't wait to make more!

Tweet Tweet

Hooray! Sunnysidenotes now has a home on Twitter, and I couldn't be more excited about it!


Follow me for art, craft, & design links that I *just* can't blog about fast enough, as well as blog & Etsy store updates. I'm especially looking forward to connecting with other Etsy sellers in the Twitterverse!

While on the subject, I want to share a tip about personalizing your own Twitter page. The default backgrounds are clean & adorable, but if you're looking for some customization (and you're even remotely familiar with Photoshop), I recommend downloading a template.

This was my first time using a template, and I found it made the whole process a breeze. It allowed me to drop in the colours & text I wanted without having to worry about any dimensions or divisions.

If you want to start from the ground up, Manifest Creative has a great, bare-bones template ready for download. All the safe zones are marked so that your important info stays visible.

The template I used was from Fabrice at Boinblog - but I did end up tweaking the dimensions of the "header" at the top of the page.

Try it out for yourself!

Satin Poppies

This past week has been a jumble of resumés, decisions, and interviews for me... so when I finally came across some craft time, I decided to be a little selfish and make something for myself.

It all started when I came across this Etsy listing for a poppy necklace:

from seller NoPlainTs

I was SMITTEN. I have always loved poppies, but this listing made me fall in love with bib necklaces for the first time. Eager to try something new, I did some research and tried to recreate the poppy necklace for myself.

First I went to the fabric store and chose out some satin in a navy colour. I was tempted by the higher quality satins, but figured that since this was an experimental project I should play it safe (financially speaking). I went with a thinner/cheaper satin (it ended up being a breeze to work with, anyway!).

Next, I cut the satin into little rounds/petals:


The next step involved singeing the petals so that the satin wouldn't fray. I held the petals close to a candle flame (not IN the candle flame) until the edge started melting (note that this only works with synthetic fabrics - natural fibers will burn!). I singed the edges unevenly, causing the fabric to pucker and look more "flower-y" than the petals in my photo inspiration.

Next, I assembled the petals into flowers and fastened them with a seed bead:


To create the necklace, I made a "bib" out of ribbon and felt, and then sewed the satin flowers to it. The final result (pardon the myspace'd photo... nicer pics to come!):



I'm ecstatic with how my poppy necklace turned out, but be warned: this project takes A LOT OF WORK. To achieve the fullness I wanted, I needed to cut and singe just under 100 fabric petals. The sewing also needed to be done completely by hand in order to stay "invisible".

I have so much love for this necklace! It looks elegant when matched with similar hues, and bold when worn with contrasting colours. It creates a sort of faux collar look for tees, for tanktops, and under cardigans.

I'm thinking I want a red one next... :)