Please vote for me

Most of you know that I sell my t-shirts, quilts, and baby items on Etsy as http://www.kristabdesigns.etsy.com. I received an e-mail the other night from Jon from Certifiedtaxcoach.com who wanted to know if I wanted to be included in the contest they are planning on having. They are an accounting group who were looking for 10 unique tax or accounting related items. My “tax deduction” bib is going to be included. The item with the most votes will have the item listed for sale on their site.

So if you get a chance later next week, please vote for me.

The craft shows are coming!

The temperature is coming down- thank goodness! For those of us in the Phoenix, AZ area, that means temps are now down to only two digits!

It also means that the Briar Patch Marketplace craft shows have started, and I’m behind the eight-ball once again!

I’ve expanded my products to include t-shirts and lots of bling! I continue on with my bibs and small quilts. I got a heat press in June and can now do screen print transfers for team events, sports, etc.I’ve been having fun with the press, although there’s been learning moments-like the lightweight distressed little black tee with a beautiful cross on it. I must have heated it a smidgen too long because the glue went thru the front of the shirt and on to the back. As I was separating the front from the back, I found I had a really distressed look- the glue had ripped holes in the back! Oh well, now I have an opportunity to embroider something on the back of the shirt to cover up the holes! And I can’t have the iron on if the heat press is on because the circuit breaker goes.

Here’s the link to the listing of the Briar Patch shows.
http://briarpatchmarketplace.com/upcoming-events/

Please come see me if you’re local. Note- I may not make the 9/17 show, it’s AZ quilt shop week.

FYI- I’m Janice of Krista B Designs. You can also see my products on etsy at kristabdesigns.etsy.com.

So much fabric, so little time

Well, I finished up the last of the Memorial Day fabric sales today (Tuesday). Good news- I found that the underlining that I already had could face the back on an embroidery design on a child’s shirt-which is adorable by the way- an appliqued heart with wings on a pink tshirt. So I got sashing fabric for the monsters I’m embroidering on green dot fabric. The sashing is navy blue with yellow fist bones. The binding will be green with yellow and blue dots. Sounds unusual, but it will look great when done. I’ll post pictures. Both the flying heart and the monsters are from Anita Good-designs (Sugar and Spice and Lil Monsters respectively).

My cheap purchase was a stencil of a circular quilting pattern. Will be tracing that onto a black tshirt and using varigated thread and lots of glitter from Art Glitter Institute in Cottonwood AZ (http://www.artglitter.com/. Should look fantastico, maybe add a Laurel Burch cat or horse on the bottom left hand side. Photos to follow.

Now for the rest. I got a pack of 25 batik fat quarters named Autumn Leaves. Going to use a pattern called “Fight North” room Mountainpeek Creations, http://www.mountainpeekcreations.com/. It’s a panel in the middle with large flying geese around it, then an wide border. A picture is on the home page of her website. Going to use a Japanese print for the center. Then I also have a Laurel Burch print (several as a matter of fact) to use with geese made out her coordinating fabrics. This pattern will be great for any fabric you can’t bear to cut up!

The last little stuff I got was all-purpose inks for fantast/x made by Tsukineko. I just thought it would be great for glitter or stencil shading. Have any of you used it at all? If so, please let me know.

So many projects, so little time!

Talk to you soon,
Janice

Confessions of a Fabricholic

Several months ago, in January, when we were all making New Year’s resolutions, I foolishly said I was going to cut back on my fabric and embroidery purchases. Although I’ve bought bits and pieces, the Memorial Day sales, brought me to ruin! The sale was 25% off of everything except for sewing machines. I went overboard! The good news is that I saved over $100 at that one store. Of course I’m not counting the sales at Joanns, the glitter at Art Glitter Institute that was on sale for 50% off, or the larger purchase I had to make (minimum was $100) so that I could buy a $14 rhinestone headband for my niece’s graduation. The other good news is that my grand-daughter is also graduating high school so she’ll also get a headband- since I had to buy a minimum of three. To get to over $100, I ordered an assortment of rhinestone necklaces, so I have a head start for the fall craft shows.

Speaking of quilting, I started another Diamond quilt. Decided to get rid of some beige fabric, so cut it all into 8.5 inch squares. Had enough for 60 squares which will make two quilts. Drew a line down the middle, another line two inches from that. You just have to sew and flip six million 1.5 inch strips, leaving beige in the middle. Square the blocks, lay them out, add a border and you’re done! I’m almost done with the squares, thank goodness!

Also did some work on my embroidery machine. The very cutest purple and pink heart with wings, with a white ribbon with “Angel” on a hot pink t-shirt. Should have it up on Etsy in the next few days. Also stitched a towel with one of the designs from Balboa. That was my big purchase at the end of last year. Turned out nice, very good digitizing.

Back to my day job tomorrow morning. Finished with the month’s work last Monday. One more day of boredom before the new month starts. Can’t wait!

Snow in the Superstititions!

Well, it’s April 9, well into spring. In fact, the Phoenix area hit a record 100 degrees this past week. Now we have snow! Not in the city itself of course, but in the Superstition Mountains about 45 miles east outside Apache Junction, the little hamlet where I live. It’s been raining for about twelve hours now, a rarity in itself, and the mountain tops are covered in fog for the most part. However, the snow shows through.  We’re at about 1800 feet altitude, and I estimate the sprinkling of snow comes down to about 3,000 feet or so.

What a great day to stitch and sew!

Almost back to creativity!

My husband and I packed up the rest of the Mom’s apartment and took all of it to the storage place. Mom’s in a group home, doing well, but still needs oxygen. We don’t know why since her lungs are clear. However, my sister will be coming out later this month to ask many, many questions of the Doctors. So hopefully, with the apartment done, Mom will make a full recovery and I will have to move her- again. Such is life.

I’ve been relatively good with my New Year’s resolution of using the stuff I have, rather than buying new fabric. While my spending for fabric is way down, I’ve discovered stamping and zantangles.  My goal for the stamping is to use the stamps as my starting point for making decorated t-shirts, embellishing with embroidery and glitter. Of course my shirts are going to be better than anything that Laurel Burch ever designed! Same contemporary feel with a southwestern twist. I went to the local stamp show, trying to find glitter, and poof, down goes the balance in the checking account.

Check out these:

Book- Glitz It with Glitter by Elaline Waldschmitt. I’m doing the horse design now.

Glitter-artglitterinstitute.com. They are having a sale now.

Stamp store-Frenzy Stamper where I took the zentangle class

Zentangles.com- a way of doing abstract drawings that are very addictive. I color mine in.

Terry Medaris stamps- out of Tucson. I’ve fallen in love with his stamps

Wholesale apparral blanks-McCrearysTees

Life is getting back to normal

I haven’t been doing much creating, quilting, and absolutely no embroidery since my last post on January 29. The next day we had to take my Mom to the hospital with what turned out to be double pnuemonia, and other complications. The good news is that she just joined a very nice group home near us. We hope it will only be for a couple of months or so. Then she can go back to her old place. She still needs oxygen, but she can walk a little  without the walker or the wheelchair. Progress!

I had been working on photos and instructions for a variation of my Scrappy  Diamonds quilt, part of which is my banner for the blog. My variation has diamonds in two sizes, which gives the quilt more movement. I hope to get that posted within the next week.

Janice

Trying to control my spending

Last February I went to an Anita Goodesign seminar that was held in Phoenix. It was great, and as is typical for me,  I spent a lot of money! But, I figured, I could pay for it over time with no interest, which is what I did.

So in two weeks, I’m going to it again. Since I’ve stated that one of my goals is to use what I already have, I’m getting ready for the battle of trying to control my spending.

I’ve cataloged my embroidery packs and other electronic media that I couldn’t live without. There are 148 items on the list! This doesn’t include any packs or designs that I’ve bought online. I am out of control!

I remember buying the Kalidoscope Kreater. What I don’t remember is buying the three other companion disks of frame frenzy, quilters polygons, and making projects volumes #1. The store must have been out of any other volumes, or I’m sure I would have bought those too. I have the HP Quilt Label maker program, which would probably be easier and quicker than creating designs and stitching them out. I remember making some labels in the program, but don’t remember ever printing them out on to fabric. I just got some fabric sheets, so that may be a possibility, since I’ve promised to post my labels as I get them done.

So it’s time to set some goals. I must make ABSOLUTELY sure that I bring my list with me to the seminar as my first defense against overspending. Second, I must be able to get interest free payments. I still have six payments to go on my commercial embroidery machine, so I think I am safe from buying the 10 needle machine. Third, try not to sign up for the Anita Goodesign diamond club (get designs each month for prepaid price) since I’ve haven’t done many this year. I can always stock up when the local shop has sales. Lastly, I must NOT go to the Phoenix Craft and Sewing Festival today, or all is lost!

It’s time to finish up those smocks that I forgot to add the ties to. Also plan to take more photos and post them to the Etsy shop this weekend.

Have fun everyone. Talk to you soon,

Janice

Interesting websites, and always ask!

For all of you who love Laurel Burch fabric, purses, and accessories, I planned on placing a link on my blog so that you could click right to the first website I list below.  Of course, since I also had other things to do tonight, I could not get the link to work. After all, why spend time creating and actually finishing a project when you can just spend all night on the computer? I created the link, but it does not show. Any help is appreciated.

So…here it is. http://www.addictedtocrafts.com. They are currently having a sale on Laurel Burch bags. Another site that usually has Laurel Burch on sale, generally 20% off, is http://www.softexpressions.com. I have a lot of her fabric, including some panels. Maybe I’ll do a giveaway once I decide on which fabrics. So let me know your thoughts on this.

Progress is slower than I had hoped for. Sunday I finished up three reversible child smocks including wavy stitching and velcro. I then went back to finish the one from the previous week that  only needed to have the velcro stitched on. As I picked up the smock, I noticed the two ties. Did I put the ties on the other three I had just finished? Of course not-totally forgot. No wonder they got done so quickly!

So I found some left over binding that I could use for two of them. The third one was a problem. An adorable hot pink with with doggy bones, it is a very special shade of pink. Nothing matched. No more of that fabric. I had gotten it at 40% off from a local Bernina shop between Christmas and New Years. No problem, I’d just take the smock with me to work, then go to the quilt shop and see if they had any left. I left the smock on the kitchen island. Have I mentioned that forgetfulness runs in my family?

I finally get to the quilt shop-no more fabric on bolt, or anywhere at all, the saleslady says. No fat quarters left either. Do you have any in the back-could you check? None in the back. Only a fat quarter of a coordinating print in pink and black which I can’t use. So I find some textured pink which looks like it might match, but with my luck, it would be off just enough to not do. Are you sure there’s not any more anyplace? No, sorry the saleslady says. I gave up… But wait, there’s more! I’m ready to pay for the black/pink fat quarter and 1/2 yard of the pink solid when she says, “Oh look what I found in the remnant bucket!” There it was, enough to make two 20 inch ties and a pocket to put on another smock! And-she only charged me 50 cents for it. It must be my lucky day!

Check out those websites at your leisure and let me know if you find something good!

Janice

Hand crafted versus store bought

I went to a baby shower today. My friend and her husband are expecting their first child in just a few weeks. With about two dozen people in attendance, she got a lot of very nice things. And since she will be having another shower in two weeks, the baby will probably have so many clothes, that she won’t be able to wear them all before she outgrows them.

As big bag after big bag was being opened, I started feeling that my hand-made gifts would really disappoint her. She got several dozen onesies, minkee blankets, socks, mittens, a baby bouncer, and more.

I gave her a 36×48 quilt with pink princess blocks alternating with pink blocks with dots, two handmade pink heart bibs, and an embroidered bib with “baby diva” in pink. In addition, I included a little scrapbook that one of my fellow crafters had made. She said she really liked everything, but internally I feel like I didn’t do enough because I didn’t “buy” something.

How do you feel about getting or giving hand crafted gifts versus store bought?

I don’t know if there’s enough of us sewing or crafting now. I went to two Joann’s after the shower and they all have so much open space in them, which is quite a change from just a few years ago.

Let me know. I’m off to stitch out some designs from Urban Threads. For those you machine embroider, bunnycup embroidery has some cute Valentine designs.

Janice