Friday Picks: Ninja

In honor of my brother's 25th birthday, I give you my favorite Ninja picks. :)

a. Small but Deadly ninja piglet, moopigs
b. I Am A Ninja Tee, steppie
c. Ninja Throwing Star Earrings, Hapa
d. Kool Kid Leg Warmers, Mama Runs With Scissors
e. Amigurumi Ninja, Needle Noodles

Breakfast: Day 1 of Who-Knows-How-Many

I rarely eat breakfast --which is weird considering I'm a fitness instructor, and I prescribe that regime. So I figured I would start with eggs. Then I might venture into more fancy things like bagels, muffins, and things. :)

Day 1: Spinach Fried Eggs

Click image for more details on my flickr.

Pug Ring from Plastique*

I requested Jen, owner and artist behind Plastique* to make Hubert into a cute acrylic ring and earring set (which I will add the findings to later). She did an AMAZING job. Way better than expected!

Check out this awesome packaging!

You can see that his ears and tail are etched. Aren't they so cute?!

To avoid being that lady that has a Hubert-Everything, I stopped at a ring and earrings. But I was really tempted to make a diamond-studded pendant, knit a Pug Christmas sweater, and even have a portrait painted of Hubert. Just kidding. Please stop me if I ever do that. I'm serious.

Now lined in Red

This bag finally sold! So I made another one with the same flower design, same cream leather, but with antique brass hardware throughout, added a magnetic clap to close, and lined it with red brushed cotton canvas.

I even tried to replicate the original image. Darned close!

You can get yours now!

Fridays Picks: Vintage Camera

I love vintage, and I love cameras.
What better way to start my Friday Picks with vintage cameras?

a. Vintage Original Diana Camera, Kitsch 'n Kaboodle
b. Vintage Camera Tee, Box Kitty Apparel
c. Camera Gang. 6 Oldies, DomestiKate
d. Shutterbug Camera Necklace, Monica E. Jewelry
e. Marcia Brady's Kodak Instamatic 704, Thrifty Lucy

What's His is Hers #1

I needed a shirt to wear on a boat. Something white...khakis...and/or light blue. Something light. Summery. Cotton. Girly.

Then I thought, "Oh! I can transform a button down to a shirred summer shirt!"

I browsed my brother's closet (because honestly, all his button downs match EXACTLY that description, except recently when Express Men had a ridiculous sale, but that's besides the point) and everything he had I've seen him wear in the past months, so I didn't bother asking.

Then I asked The Boy, and fortunately, he found something that he'd only worn thrice and won't be wearing too often in the future. Woo! I didn't think he knew the extent to what I was going to do with it, so I made sure he knew that I was going to take scissors to his precious Nautica shirt. And that the transformations would be irreversible. He agreed!

Thus, the start of my Mens-to-Womens-Clothing Transformation Series. :)

I guess technically this is the second Mens-to-Womens-Clothing Transformation, but I bought the first shirt to transform. Here's the first one, if you're interested.

Coming Soon: Eightfold

For over a year, I've been making very simple and chic bags, which has been very satisfying and exciting. But the other side of my personality has been itching to show. For the past three weeks, I've been dreaming up a second line that describes the other side to my style -- free-spirited and bohemian.

So here it is. Eightfold. Originally home to one-of-a-kind recycled clothing, but now will house fringes and braids. Silks and leathers. Textures and rough edges. Lots of metal. And where each piece is very labor intensive.

Cleaning House

As I was cleaning and organizing my room/studio, I thought about some really great advice from my good friend Dane about web presence...keep it updated, otherwise, keep it clean. I took a break from physical cleaning and did some digital cleaning, plus added various methods of stalking.

Click image to go to my website.

p.s. I made those buttons. Look pretty legit, huh? Feel free to use these for your website!

Never-Made-it-to-the-Shop Hip Pockets

I found a box of items I made in the winter and never got around to photographing due to my finals that semester.

So they're listed at a wicked discount -- 50% off!!
You can find them in the CLEARANCE section of the shop.

Tips for Success: Photo Retakes

Selling online is difficult, especially if you're selling expensive items, like a leather bag. There's so much in a purse. The feel, the weight, the shape. We love to try things on, so slinging a big leather bag over our shoulders and taking a quick glance in the mirror is the way that we usually shop.

How can we online sellers provide that similar experience to a potential client?

Photographs. Lots of them.

Here are some easy tips taking great photos:

1. Use natural light. No light we can afford can match the brightness of the sun. Find a spot outside or in your studio with lots of natural light flooding through and stage your product photography there. In my old studio, I didn't have a lot of windows, so I used 3 really bright flood lights and it still required LOTS of photo editing to get the colors just right, and I still ended up getting some feedback about the color not matching the product description images. This situation has not come up at all since I moved to my new place which has a big window next to my work bench. It's great! Very minimal (if ANY) photo editing needed before the pictures make it to the shop.

2. Model your product. I buy a lot of jewelry online, and as much as I love numbers to show the dimensions of the item, the thing I look for most is a model of the product, whether it's on a human ear, mannequin ear, or on the edge of a coffee mug. Photographing a product on a well-known source for dimensions allows a potential customer see the actual proportion of the product.

3. Sell the stage. Set the mood. You walk into IKEA and what do you see? A simple couch on sale. But it's not just a couch in the middle of a blank room, it's a couch in the middle of a beautifully (and strategically decorated) living room. Handbags sell the same way. And so do lots of accessories. Model your product in an outfit that matches the product, because afterall, you're not just selling the product, you're selling the whole package.

Here's an example of how I changed my photography setting and had this bag go from no hearts, no treasuries, and very few views to 100+ hearts, 3200+ views, and 4 Front Pages!



Now if only this bag would sell... ;)

Have any other ideas that I missed? Got a success story about one of your products?? Share them in the comments! We're all always trying to find ways to improve our sales, so please feel free to provide lots of feedback. :)

Now with Antique Brass Hardware

All clutches available with antique brass hardware! Just specify in the "Message to Seller"!

The newest addition - Clutch in Fuchsia with antique brass hardware

Cherries & Strawberries

Maybe you can stash some in your red clutch?

The Shirred Shirt

I was running out of clothes to wear downtown, so I thought I would try my hand on making a shirred shirt. I followed Threadbanger's tutorial on How to Make a Shirred Summer Dress.

Here's my abridged version of the tutorial:


1. Cut two (2) pieces of fabric with the dimensions BUST x LENGTH. Length being from your armpit to wherever you want your shirt/dress to end.

2. Pin pieces right sides facing together along the LENGTH side and sew.

3. Finish your seams.

4. Make a hem on the top and bottom of your piece, pin, and sew.


5. Load your bobbin with elastic thread/cording (stretching the elastic all the way so that you get a nice tight shirring effect). Load your sewing machine with regular thread. Continue until you reach the desired amount of shirring. I spaced mine about 0.5" apart and had to reload my bobbin every 3 rounds.

6. Place your piece around you/mannequin/model right side facing in and pin to fit. Sew and finish your seams.

DONE!


Pair this with a distressed skirt, feathery earrings and you're set! :)