crafting for yourself

I feel like it's been a long time since I've crafted something for myself. Something that is completely non-business related, where there isn't a thought anywhere in my head saying "you could totally sell these!!"

As some of you savvy readers may know, I worked at a crochet/knitting/craft magazine(s) before moving to Austin. Because of this, I have an enormous yarn stash. It has been nearly quartered along the way, passing yarn off to friends, donating yarn, etc.



Last night I unpacked my yarn bin and re-coordinated by color, picked out projects for different yarn and even started crocheting. Unfortunately, the project I am choosing to take on required me to buy EVEN MORE yarn so that I can finish it.

What am I making? Oh, just a crocheted blanket in the form of the Texas flag. Stay tuned.

PS - five new flask safes up in the shop!

half day

Yesterday was a busy day at Pommes Frites HQ. Lots of packages going out.

After that Tom and I stopped by Central Market and got Mexican cokes, chicken salad & petits pains, all for under $7.



Followed by a walk in Austin's own "Central Park".



It was only a half day off (I had to work at night), but its always nice to make the most of it.

(still) feels like the first time

Every time I make a sale, I still get as excited as if it were my first. I immediately text Tom (if he's not sitting next to me) and spill the beans. I've never been good as holding exciting news in. Since each of my books are OOAK (which I just learned is the abbreviation of one-of-a-kind, I'm slow to that game) they are all super personal. I mean, I've spent at least two hours glueing, sanding, carving, glueing & messing around with each of these books. And when someone buys it, it's an rush of "they like me!"

Anyway, I was lucky enough to catch Pommes Frites on the front page today, and within 30 mins I had 30 new hearts and two sales. But I gotta tell ya, even though I knew what to expect, it still felt like the first time.



So to all my Pommes Frites fans & shoppers: thank you, you rock!! Thank you for the exciting end of June.

Etsy Finds: alyssaaettinger's porcelain replicas

Today's Etsy Finds come to you from Brooklyn, NY. I'm completely enamored with alyssa aettinger's porcelain replicas of old milk bottles, mason jars & knit-covered vases.



mason jar lanterns


milk bottles


So pretty! I wish I could afford to buy a whole lot of the lanterns and string them up in my backyard.

Find more porcelain beauties, like textured coasters & tumblers, in her shop.

weather was hot; business... not so much

Yesterday I had a booth at the bi-monthly Austin Handmade Market and did not sell a thing. Ok, I did sell four things: one TX ornament and three 1" pins. And I gave away three pins. You do the math.

Yep, it sure was a bust for me, but I guess that's the way craft fairs go. Either I'm crazy, running around & selling out of items or it's so slow that I don't even make my coffee money back.

And this Handmade Market took place in front of Once Over Coffee (which is right next to brick-and-mortar Austin Handmade), down on S 1st, so I definitely did not make my coffee money back.

Low foot traffic and sales were probably due to the fact that it was 101 degrees. In the shade. Under my tent. Where I still got a sunburn despite being (as I said) under my tent in the shade!




I did get to experiment with a few new add-ons to my craft fair set up, namely in the form of a "sale cart" and these DIY'ed chalkboard frames to display my magnets & pins.

I got these two matching frames on sale at Hobby Lobby and then bought two pieces of sheet metal that I scored/cut to fit inside the frames. I spray painted the sheet metal with chalkboard paint and fit it inside the frame, finishing with basic hot glue gun-ing.





I had to magnetize the back of the pin frame (so they wouldn't blow away in the wind) and stuck about 100 ceramic magnets to back of the sheet metal. The magnets worked! and a slightly classier display than my previous piece of burlap scrap fabric.

Now I just gotta work on my chalkboard handwriting.

Flask Safes on Etsy Weddings!

Many thanks to the Etsy Wedding blog for featuring me on their latest post as a great groomsmen/bridesmaid/general wedding gift! Check out the post here, and be sure to bookmark the Etsy Wedding blog for great finds!

that's what I like about TX: grocery store finds

At the HEB the other night (for you non-Austin readers, that's our local grocery chain), we noticed some very interesting charcoal & firestarter.

oh yeah, that's the Official Dallas Cowboys Brand Charcoal! AND Firestarter! Seriously, if you use these items while grilling the entire team will miraculously appear in the flames of your grill and offer life-changing advice about weight training and how to score a mega babe like Jessica Simpson.

And if you act now, it's on SALE!!!!

Speaking of random sale items, we also found this sweet "Musselman" Apple Sauce nearby.



What better way to get teenage boys to eat their apple sauce than to offer it up with side of muscles? (a side of "mussels", however, is not as appetizing).


If you're in Austin, catch me and my books, pin & magnets this weekend at the Austin Handmade Market! Saturday, June 27 from noon - 6 pm. (2009 South First St)