These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things....

Inspired by the Holiday Music that I was listening to all weekend, I came up with a short & sweet list of a few of my favorite "Must Have" crafty supplies...

can't live without them...



SHARPIES!! - I am a total Sharpophile. I love them, I use them everyday. They come in different colors, sizes, & are SUPER permanent. You will never get Sharpie off of anything. I also use Sharpies when I draw. It's something I started in college, but instead of using expensive ink pens for illustration, I just use a fine-tip Sharpie. We use Sharpies at my work everyday too. Nothing marks your measurements on styrofoam, than a Sharpie.



HOT GLUE!! - Okay, this is a new one. Through all my years, I used lots of different kinds of glue. I've done epoxy, professional strength super glue, rubber cement, contact cement, wood glue, foam glue, Elmer's glue, spray mount... but... There's something quick & easy & cheap about good-old Hot Glue. I used to think that hot glue was too "artsy craftsy" and that there had to be a better, more expensive, fancier, alternative. But Hot Glue is great! It dries fast, forms a strong bond, doesn't break down in water (which is mainly why I started using it more cause the expensive "foam glue" that I was using to glue the upholstery foam, would melt when I tried to felt over it). Don't look down your nose at the Hot Glue!!!






WONDER-UNDER - This is a new one too! When I started making my (re)GIFT BAGS, I would cut out the shapes, then glue all the edges down with fabric glue. It was messy & took a long time. Then I found the greatness that is Wonder-Under. Wonder-Under is an iron-on fabric adhesive that is double sided so that you can join 2 pieces of fabric together without sewing or gluing. It's pretty strong too. Also it have a paper back, so usually I iron on a side to a piece of felt, draw on the design onto the paper, cut it out, then iron it onto the other piece of felt. VERY EASY!! I'm also planning to use it on part of my booth display, it involves attaching felt to cardboard (I've tested it & it totally works, to rip the felt off, the cardboard tears!)

Just a Late Night Reminder...

1 WEEK TO GO!!
If you are in the Los Angeles Area, don't forget to come & visit me at the UNIQUE LOS ANGELES show!

December 5 & 6 - California Market Center - 11am-6pm - $10

**** PLUS **** Shepard Fairey's Studio No.1 has partnered with UNIQUE LA (omg)! Every attendee will get a free cotton tote bag featuring artwork exclusive to UNIQUE LA. That makes it a collectible. Soooo cool...

SoCal Spites Me...

Got up this morning, and SoCal has decided to kick me while I'm down. It rained a little last night (just a bit, enough to dampen everything). That's what's great about living somewhere where it rains, maybe 3 days a year, you don't really think about it. I had some felt stuff "drying" outside... well...

CURSE YOU SoCal... CURSE YOU!!

Oh, well.
Back to work...

I am a Victim....

Yes... I too am a victim of the "Black Friday" Craze. I got up extra early (which was insane cause I usually get up at 6am, but today I got up at like 5:15 AM) and I headed out to get the "Early Bird... Door Buster" specials. Actually I just went to Jo-Ann's cause I had a coupon for 20% off your purchase. So I think I pretty much got almost everything I need to the final push!!

1 WEEK TO GO...
7 DAYS LEFT...

OH MY...

Had a great Thanksgiving. We had an awesome time at Lance's cousin's house. They have a 1 month old baby, so that was fun to see the littlest baby ever! SO CUTE! Like a little doll that just kinda looks around and wiggles.

Got alot to finish around here, but things are all 3/4 the way done, so it should start to go fast now. I have some new SUSHI GIFT SETS that I'm listing in my shop right now!!

NEW DESIGN, NEW LOWER PRICE!

Sushi Gift Set w/ Plastic Container & Wood Chopsticks - $15.00!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I always loved this little picture, it makes me smile. I've never been a real big Thanksgiving person. Usually I don't have family to spend it with, so end up with friends or at home with take-out. But this year we are going to Lance's cousin's house, so should be fun. I can't stay all day (still got lots to do)!!!!!

Etsy sent out one of their newsletters it was titled

"Getting Ready for Cyber Monday"

OMG... Black Friday... Cyber Monday...

It's just too much for me now. Well, I can get some new items photographed this weekend in prep for the BIG DAY!! But I still have so much to do for the show. Only 9 days till I set up, I'm never going to get everything done! I like how I never do anything half-way, so of course I had to get the 10' x 10' booth to sell at, instead of a (cheaper) table. But I figured that If I was going to jump in, I might as well try & make a giant splash.




Speaking of Black Friday, I just got my After-Thanksgiving Ad from Jo-Ann Fabrics. Just to tell you that they have a pretty good sale going on for the weekend. I'm excited cause I've been putting off getting more felt fabric, and lucky me, it's on sale for $1.99 a yard!! Usually it's $4.99 a yard, so now I have a reason to head out with all the crazies at the "A$$ Crack of Dawn" on Friday morning. That in theory should be about my last push for stuff to buy.

Well, I wish you all a HAPPY, RESTFUL, FUN THANKSGIVING!
I will try too!

Business & Marketing Tips!

I was very impressed with the vendor meeting I went to on Saturday for Unique Los Angeles. It was super fun & it got me thinking alot about marketing & business type stuff. It focused on trying to get people to think about your products & "Brand". They had some fun questions to get you thinking....

• What Age are your customers? What's your demographic?
• What magazines do your customers read & what do they look like?
  
• If your business were a celebrity, who would it be?
• What are 5 things you want your customers to know about you?
• What are your selling strengths & weaknesses?

We also talked about creative & interesting ideas for how to design & decorate your booth, and cool ways to display signage. I spent the rest of the afternoon coming up with some neat ideas for displays & coming up with a layout for transforming my booth into more of an environment. There was A WHOLE of information they jammed into 2 hours, but I am super glad that I went. Also met a couple super nice fellow vendors. I'm excited, but still stressed & nervous.


★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

And also today, I will be listing these new sculptures!!! I made them with my typical foam-wet felted- needle felted- airbrushed technique. I'm happy with how they turned out & could really add a hand-made touch to your table centerpiece or Christmas decor!!!


































So here are a few Felted Logs!! I'm planning on using them in a display in my booth (which included a fireplace!). I want to make a flame setup & help them look all on fire!! I made a few of them & they look neat all stack up!

Fun & Funky (re)GIFT BAGS!!

So I promised a special Saturday post, didn't I? Well, here are a few more new (re)GIFT BAGS for your viewing pleasure!


















Cute & funny! We've got a Skull & Crossbones bag for your favorite pirate! A Pin-Up Mudflap Girl for that sexy gal! And a Handicap (meant totally as a gag gift) for maybe your aging mother, or a "special friend"!

Going to the vendor meeting today, PLUS since we are downtown we are stopping by J-Town (Japanese shopping area). Gonna get some decorating stuff for my both & probably some lunch & MOCHI!! I LOVE MOCHI!

HAHA! New LayOut!!

So it's kinda obnoxious, but just changed my layout to be a bit more "Holiday-ish". Don't know if I like it, but trying to get into the spirit of things, it might change soon, depends on how I feel about it tomorrow. But enjoy for now!!

Day of the Dyed

So spent yesterday dying wool, it was fun, yet hectic. It's great cause now I have all my supplies to finish up pretty much everything that I want to sell at the Unique L.A. Show. There's wool hanging there for fun X-Mas stuff, more sushi, & super awesome Needle-Felting kits that I will be putting together. All the colored wool was dyed with my trusty Kool-Aid method, but I did try my hand at my first Acid Dyed Wool. It was a bit more involved than the Kool-Aid, but the greys & black could only be done that way. One Acid dye bath dyed a TON of wool, so that was cool.



And here is a BRAND NEW PRODUCT that I just listed in my shop! They are sushi shaped refrigerator magnets!! YEA!! They have a little "fake grass" accent & a super-strong ceramic magnet both securely hot glued to the back!! They are now listed in my shop for ONLY $5.00!! I'm still trying my best to stream-line my production to help get my prices a little lower without selling myself short. I've perfected some techniques, so I feel that I can lower my sushi prices a bit!





























I have several other things that I got to photograph yesterday, so I might have a special Saturday post with more new products!! Plus I have a few things that I will be finishing up today.







Wish me luck tomorrow, I have a vendor meeting with the Unique L.A. people in the morning. They will have all sorts of helpful info PLUS a special seminar about marketing & selling in the slow economy. Should be fun! They email said "Free Drinks" and I got really excited, cause I'm always up for an open bar...

but...

Then Lance pointed out that the meeting was at 11 AM, so they probably WOULDN'T have an open bar, but just coffee & juice. I'm dumb...

Even StarBucks Knows....

... How awesome & cool felt is! I haven't got to personally check this out (been locked away in my crafty dungeon) but Lance's Cousin texted me these picts from Starbucks the other day. Felt is all the rage this season I guess! Just remember when you go into Starbucks to buy your Pumpkin Spice Latte (my personal favorite of the year) that MY FELTED ITEMS are hand-made here in Sunny Southern California, and not in a sweat shop or by giant robots (that eventually will grow AI & take over the world - Terminator Style) in China!!


























I am planning on finally taking some picts today, I know I lied about listing new items everyday! It always seems that my Felty Eyes are way bigger than my Felting Hands. I've got a few things to photo today & lots of stuff almost done!! And with ONLY 2 WEEKS LEFT, I don't have time to be lazing about! Well, I'm off to work... and maybe play video games a little...

UNIQUE L.A. DECEMBER 5 & 6!

So I just realized that I never made an official announcement about FeltedChicken being a vendor at the Unique Los Angeles Show!! If you live in or around the L.A. area, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE come by the show & do your Christmas or Hannukah shopping and support Hand-Made Artists!!

When: December 5&6,
11am - 6pm both days
Where: California Market Center
(110 East 9th Street - Map It)
Cost: $10, with partial proceeds going to the local non-profit 826LA! Entry gets you an exclusive-to-the-show limited edition tote bag, a free drink ticket, unlimited re-entry for both days, and access to our great lineup of free workshops. (children 12 and under are free)


I've been working really hard the past 3 weeks getting ready. I'm just waiting on my last couple of supplies (i.e. I'm out of white wool which makes it really hard to finish alot of my projects). I'm hoping to have a ROCK'N booth, selling sushi & (re)GIFT BAGS & Needle Felting Kits!! Plus my mom is coming into town to help me out for the weekend!!! YEA!!!

I'm still working hard, finishing up some stuff, starting some others, got some more (re)GIFT BAGS & sushi to photograph, got some things that I would like to start... etc... Been working 10 hour days, been ordering pizza every night, drinking too much boxed wine... etc...

So PLEASE be sure to come by the show & see all my hard work!!

Thanx!!

Hello Kitty!!

I feel like my brain is running 100 mph right now, I worked all weekend, but we did get out on Friday night for a Super-Fun time. We went to an art show that was celebrating the 35th anniversary of HELLO KITTY. It was awesome! Since it was Friday the 13th, it was officially "Goth Night", so there were lots of people dressed up. The line to get in to the show went down & around the block, but we totally had the hook-up & got to go in the back door!! There were paintings & drawings & sculpture by a ton of pop-culture artists & toy designers. I really wanted to buy a print from "Angry Woebots", but it was like $150, and I'm poor again, so no. Here are a couple of picts from our night out!!









































*The last picture is of the print I wanted to buy, so awesome, if you've never seen Angry Woebot, he's awesome!!!

I also got some new bags done yesterday & started to get some of my supplies in the mail! I got some new sushi containers, so I can put some BRAND NEW SUSHI DESIGNS sets together. Very exciting! I guess things are slooooowly coming together. Still got lots to do!!

Featured Today on Cuteable.com!!

Just a quick note: My Snowman (re)GIFT BAG was featured on an awesome blog today! Cuteable.com's Flickr Friday the site is fun & features all sorts of Hand-Made & DIY Artists. They provide an awesome service to any crafter that wants some more exposure!

Be sure to check it out & Thanx Cuteable!

More (re)GIFT'N!!

So here are a few more bags that I am listing in my shop today!! I also have, like 4 other projects that I'm working on. It's just really easy to finish up the bags, and not so fast & easy to finish up the needle felted type pieces. I'm also waiting on some fun stuff in the mail (I ordered sooo much stuff a couple days ago) so with these new supplies I will have some new stuff to post next week. I think give me another week & I'll be on a listing roll. Got some sushi coming up... some stuff with Christmas lights... some wood-ish stuff... and some kits... very exciting!!!

So gotta go GET TO IT!

NEW (re)GIFT BAGS ARE HERE!!!

So I know my blogging is way more ambitious than my actions, but here they are!!!

Here are 4 new X-Mas (re)GIFT BAG designs that will be listed in my shop today. I will also reveal 3 more tomorrow!!!














































































So there they are!!! I'm even lowering the price (just a tad) cause I have my new machine & they are taking a lot less time to make!!! YEA!!!

RIP Old Brother™

So all of that work I wanted to finish up to post in my shop this past weekend was kinda put on hold because my trusty, loyal Sewing Machine died on Saturday. My mom got me my first Brother Sewing Machine almost 10 years ago. It's been a good friend, but it was time to up-grade. So finally yesterday I got out & bought myself a brand new Singer. It's a dream, I sewed like 5 hours yesterday & I forgot how fast & easy sew could be with a nice new machine!!



This is my new machine. With it's help, I finished up a ton of (re)GIFT BAGS yesterday!! So today I will finally get to take some picts, so I can start to list some of my newer pieces!! Tomorrow I will be unveiling some super-awesome X-Mas themed stuff that will be for sale in my shop!! I'm also up-date & stream-lining all of my previous designs, so I can offer things for a bit cheaper!! Gotta get those sales rolling again!





And this weekend was not a total wash, I did finish up a lot of sushi!! Again I am stream-lining the process, so I will be able to offer more sushi... cheaper!!! I also have a ton of foam that is all cut & ready for some felt, but I do have to clean my kitchen up & do the dishes before I can get rolling on those...

I have some REALLY cute stuff in the works, & still feel overwhelmed, but am starting to feel a little better with actually finishing things. I'm going to need to get some boxes soon, Start packing things up so they are ready to go!!!!

TOMORROW: NEW STUFF!!!!

I am a Machine...

My days & nights... my house... are all being taken over with Craftiness! I am trying to make up for lost time and am working hard on getting ready for my first Craft Show. I kinda feel like I'm running in place cause I'm starting all sorts of projects, and haven't finished any yet. But hopefully I will get a few things finished up & photo'd this weekend so I can start listing X-Mas friendly items in my shop. There is alot of prep work that I have to do to get the ball rolling with my felted sculptures, so here are some fun picts of my quickly expanding crafty work...






Sheets & sheets & sheets of white pre-felt drying on my home-made clothes lines. I just tied some twine up between the bars on my windows out back. Usually I just stack 'em up and let them air dry, but I figured I would be making so many that a couple of nice dry-lines would come in handy!













Stacks of cut foam waiting to be wet-felted with the pre-felt. I have a ton of great ideas & am excited to get to felting!! There is some logs & sushi & other stuff hiding in the stack just waiting to be made!!









A bag full of felted sushi waiting to be finished. They are like little blank canvases ready for some color!! They look so sad being all white sitting in their festive bag.

So I WILL BE SUPER PRODUCTIVE this weekend & I WILL have pictures of new products on Monday!! YEA!!!




**Also just wanted to mention that I am deeply saddened & moved by the tragedy yesterday in Texas. Everyone needs to send their thoughts & prayers to the families of those fallen soldiers. It's amazing how it only takes one irrational person to destroy so many lives. It's a sad day....