Mama Squirrel

Etsy Craft Party At Stitch Cleveland

There are MANY things I love about teaching, but sitting through meetings is not one of them.   So, after my first "teacher day" of the new school year,  I was extra excited to attend the Etsy Craft Party at Stitch Cleveland last  Friday.  I was hoping to meet some fellow crafters and learn more about how to launch a successful craft business.  I was not disappointed.  

I knew it would be an amazing evening when I walked through the door and was greeted by this sign:

Prior to the gathering, Heidi and Megan went through their stash and offered everything they didn't need to good homes.  For free.  Since I made the decision to teach part time this year I've had to really cut back on buying pretty much everything (more on that later) but I can afford free.  Beautiful fabric remnants, sample projects, buttons, trims and even craft kits were up for grabs for all of the party guests.

Guests ranged from people like me, someone who is  interested in launching a craft business but hasn't  made her move, to established entrepreneurs.  Megan and Heidi were very candid and helpful in sharing strategies they've used to develop their business.  Megan warned us against the dangers of accepting too much noncreative work and stressed the importance of scheduling time to explore our own creativity, which really resonated with me.   Here is a  picture of Megan sharing her wisdom with us:  

I was  excited to meet Jenny of Craft Test Dummies and hear her speak about how she has developed her blog over the past four years.   Craft Test Dummies is a site that reviews craft books and products.  Jenny is able to tactfully and articulately review all sorts of craft items in a way that makes her accessible to both the craft product manufacturers and at-home crafters.  She is a crafter through and through.  Seriously, she has business cards with rounded edges so she can store them in her card cases made from repurposed Altoids tins--this girl walks the walk!  In addition to giving us practical strategies, Jenny shared some of the "defining moments" in her crafting life, like the one project that caused her readership to skyrocket and how it happened.  Here she is talking to the group about her experiences.  

I came away from this event with a lot to think about.  I'm inspired, but I also know that before I get too carried away I need a business plan, both short and long term goals and a mission statement. 

If you're local and you've never been to Stitch Cleveland on Detroit Road in Lakewood, you really should check it out.  The mother-daughter team of Heidi and Megan have worked hard to cultivate a small business that is welcoming, inspiring and educational.  Their creativity is evident the moment you walk in and look at their displays.  

 

I have dozens of old, empty wooden spools in my craft room.  The necklace on this mannequin made me want to go home and start making jewelry with them.

If you've always wanted to learn to sew, call Stitch Cleveland and make an appointment for a private lesson with Megan or Heidi.  They can teach you to use your own machine or  give you a lesson on  one of the machines in the shop.  If you are an expert sewist, you can sign up for a class to learn a new technique, or simply stop buy Stitch to pick up some of their amazing fabric and browse their selection of craft books.  Feast your eyes on this deliciousness by Amy Butler:

...and this is just one of several shelves.  We're on the edge of a dreary, gray winter here in the CLE.  Shouldn't we all stock up on yards of beautiful, saturated color?

Zerolandfill '12: More From the Third Harvest

I'm a hypocrite.  I raised an eyebrow when I heard that Mockingjay, the third book in Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games Trilogy" was going to be developed into two movies that would be released one year apart.  One book = TWO movies?  REALLY?  Seems excessive.

...and then I stretched my last two harvest experiences into two posts each.  Other than this blog, I'm not even a published author.  Talk about delusions of grandeur...

At the beginning of ZL's third harvest last Friday, I had some time to do a little shopping.  My main goal was to find upholstery fabric to replenish my stash for sewing class at BAYarts.  Loose swatches with finished edges are great for making small pouches.  In addition to the swatches, I also found two identical, larger samples of this print:

I still need to experiment, but there are some naked windows here at Casa de Costello in need of cheerful curtains.

I also browsed through the carpet and found this pretty piece:

This, like the one I found last week, would make a nice "hippie bag" or Ipad case.  

I'm pretty choosy about wallpaper, but this reminded me of the endpapers of old books so I thought it could be used in a future bookmaking endeavor:

 That's all.  It was a really rewarding summer at Zerolandfill.  It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it.  I found some great materials to craft with throughout the winter, and ZL provided hundreds of others with materials and inspiration as well.   

Zerolandfill '12: The Third Harvest

 At the third ZL harvest of the season the ZL Gallery was at its best.   The diversity of projects was truly impressive.   Jan, a Lakewood art teacher,  made all of the pieces on this display board ( AND the board itself) from ZL materials.  In addition to the pouches and the book, the small purple and green object on the left is a wrist cuff.  I believe the item directly below it is a belt.

ZL receives quite a few decorative trim samples.  When checking them in, I'm always drawn to the bright colors, beads and fringe, Although I am enamored with this eye candy, I've never taken any home with me.  What would I do with it?  What can anyone do with 50 different two inch samples of fringe--all featuring dramatically different colors?  

Jan used samples of fringe and upholstery trim to make the accessories displayed on this board (pictured below).  They are decorative belts meant to be worn while belly dancing.    When I asked, Jan said that these  belts would cost $100 if she bought them, but she is able to make them for free with ZL materials, a needle and thread.  

The most adorable object in the ZL Gallery this season was this little turtle made by Nikki, an art teacher who will begin a new teaching adventure in Columbus this fall.  Not only did Nikki use ZL upholstery fabric for the outside of this project, it is stuffed with ZL scraps as well.  Here she is with her creation.

This little guy is both sweet AND functional as a pin cushion.  Just lift his shell to reveal the pins.

The ZL Lab was  a busy place at yesterday's harvest.  Throughout the majority of our shift Laura had a steady stream of harvesters interested in watching her demonstrate different ways to use ZL materials.  

At one point I looked over and she had such a large crowd I thought she was putting on a magic show.  When I asked her about it, she said people were most interested in seeing how different tile and laminate materials could be used for printmaking.   As you can see here, these ZL Lab samples were used in several demonstrations this season.

  Since yesterday was exclusively a harvest (pollination is over for the season) the rest of the volunteers and I spent the better part of the afternoon tidying up and working with the carpet samples.  Most of the carpet samples donated to ZL arrive in cardboard books.  The carpet that is not picked up by harvesters at the end of the final harvest on the 24th will need to be recycled.  The carboard books will be recycled too, but cardboard is recycled by one company while carpet is recycled somewhere else. So, armed with pliers, several volunteers and I spent  half the afternoon separating the carpet from the cardboard.  Here are three smiling volunteers making a dent in the towers of cardboard carpet books.   

 If you have any need for small pieces of carpet, stop by the final ZL harvest of the season this Friday from 12-3 and help yourself.  If you are a pet lover of the feline persuasion (yes, pun intended) you can definitely find enough carpet samples to make a spectacular cat castle .  Or find some small colorful samples with a rubber backing and take home a ready-made set of coasters.  These are waiting for  anyone who wants them:

There is still quite a lot of stone, tile and brick.  All of this will be available at noon on Friday:

Once again, the FINAL harvest of the season is Friday August 24th from 12-3.  Since that is my first day of school I will not see you there, but if you go I would love to hear about your experience.  

Zerolandfill '12: A Friendly Reminder

...and, if you check it out, I know you will too.

What's that?  You would like to attend a harvest, but you don't know when the next one will happen?  Well, funny you should ask.  The next harvest is 

You say you're free tomorrow (yup, tomorrow is Friday) afternoon, but you don't know where to go?

In case you're not sure how to get there,  here are the directions:  Take I-480 to Broadway Ave. exit in Garfield Hts. Go north (right) on Broadway 3 blocks. E 131st is at first light, turn right. The driveway is at flashing light at the top of the hill, turn left. You're there! It is very close to 480.

There will be tile...and a plethora of other materials too.

Hope to see you there!

Zerolandfill '12: More From the Second Harvest

In my last post I wrote about what went on at the August 10th harvest and a little bit about what to expect at the third harvest of the season on the 17th, but I didn't tell you about my own treasures from this Friday.  Between this summer and last I've attended a total of  four ZL pollinations.  During that time  I've processed a lot of materials, many of which look very similar.  This Friday reminded me that variety and surprise can come when I least expect it.

Now that Little Tiger and I are both growing out our bangs, Casa de Costello is in serious need of some headbands.  During one of my late nights trolling Etsy and Pinterest I was smitten by some headbands with stars on them.  I've been wondering how I could make my own.  On Friday I found the perfect star material when this fell into my hands:

The cards, especially the gold-colored ones, sparkle more in real life than they do in this picture.  The material is not quite as thick as I would like so, to prevent the star points from curling up after more than one wearing, I think I'll need to layer the glittery stuff on top of something slightly more sturdy.  

At this point in the season I feel like I've seen almost every fabric and wallpaper pattern in existence, but when I found this in the wallcovering section of the harvest area, I couldn't resist.

I've never seen anything like these before.  I can't figure out what they're samples of--wallcovering for the changing room near the swimming pool on a cruise ship?  I took these two pieces because I could make books with them, but Laura thought they were interesting so I gave them to her.  Laura has the best work ethic of anyone I know.  I like to think I'm a hard worker, but I've been known to be distracted by shiny things.  Laura works so hard when we're at ZL she rarely gives herself time to browse.  When she does, it's always to find materials for her students--never herself.   I'm sure she'll use these samples to create something amazing. 

This was another sample that interested me.  I can't help wondering how popular this was when it was being sold as wallpaper.  How lucrative can it be (no pun in---no...wait...I'm intending it) to sell wall covering that triggers a phobia for a significant portion of the population?  I'm a little leery of bees, but I have something in mind for this.

I'm not usually interested in carpet samples, but yesterday ZL received a whole bag full of these:

  

The bag was full of six or eight beautifully woven rug samples that were the size of table runners.  I  really loved the blues and purples in this piece, but I didn't know what to do with it.  It is awfully small for a rug and it only has fringe on one side.  While me and some fellow volunteers were puzzling over what we could do with something like this, Laura had a brilliant idea.  Folded into an envelope with a strap it will make the perfect "hippie bag."  It will be like the fabric envelopes I make with the kids at BAYarts, only bigger.  

All I need to do now is decide what to use for the strap.  Any suggestions?

While organizing the tile section of the harvest area, I found more of the small leaves I've been collecting from ZL throughout the summer.  This definitely needs some work, but here is my first baby step toward designing my table:

Then I found a small box of vinyl tile and tried this out too: 

They are two very different looks and both would need something to help with spacing and filling in the gaps.  Any suggestions?

Zerolandfill '12: Second Harvest

This was the scene at Zerolandfill when we arrived yesterday:

Joining Laura and I in our ZL carpool  was my friend and local artist Brandi Woodward.  Brandi makes up one half of the crafting duo known as The Lovely Wrecks.  If the name sounds familiar, it might be because you've seen her work in area craft shows or read about her in Cleveland magazine.  You can check out The Lovely Wrecks' Etsy shop here.  Her owl pellet necklaces are especially amazing.  Brandi was an enthusiastic volunteer who was ready and willing to jump into the fray.  I warned her that, depending on how many donations we received, it could be three hours of crazy hard work, but she was game.  She said that, since she benefitted from ZL in the past, she wanted to give back by donating her time, which is awesome.

If any of you feel the same way and would like to help out at one of the remaining harvests this season (August 17th and 24th) send an email to [email protected]  

Even though hundreds of pounds of materials were harvested at  the first harvest of the summer, many were donated that day as well.  One of the first things Brandi and I did when we arrived at ZL yesterday was work with other volunteers to weigh and sort the materials that arrived later on the afternoon of the 27th and put them in the harvest area.  

While we were working on that, Laura was hanging up  new signage at the ZL Gallery and ZL Lab.  The gallery and the lab have received a lot of attention from harvesters this season.  If you want more details about the ZL Gallery and Lab you can read about them here.  Both serve as  examples of how my amazing friend uses her creativity to make her corner of the world a better place.  I love that she made her signs from ZL harvest materials.  

 At the harvest on the 27th, it was difficult for some harvesters to see the difference between the materials available for harvest and those that still needed to be processed.  The folks at IDA solved that problem this week by fencing off an area that served as the processing station for new donations.  Here I am in what I referred to as my "pen":

My smile is 100% sincere.  I was pleased to have a clearly marked area in which to sort and weigh all incoming doantions.  The other volunteers and I were able to work very efficiently and there was no question about which items were available for harvest.

Although the crowd at noon was smaller than it was two weeks ago (I blame the rain), more people arrived throughout the harvest and I think Friday's overall number of harvesters was higher than the harvest on the 27th .  

The word got out about the donation of 480 binders from American Greetings and several were taken for use at school or in home offices.  Robin Neorr of The T Shirt Diaries picked up several binders for use with her local branch of Early Childhood PTA.  Here she is giving me two thumb's up:

Here is a close up of the binders from American Greetings in case you want to know what they look like:

In addition to dozens of binders from American Greetings, we also have all of these:

If you're all set for school and have already organized your home office you could pick up half a dozen and make this sweet dollhouse.  If the children in your life are mostly little boys, you could take the same basic idea from the dollhouse tutorial and adapt it to army guys or superheroes.  The possibilities are as limitless as your imagination.

For the first half of Friday's harvest we did not receive any donations so the other volunteers and I kept busy by organizing the harvest area and helping harvesters choose materials and carry them out to their cars.  At about one thirty a steady stream of donations began.  We processed all we could, but we didn't get through everything.  All of this is waiting for us next Friday:

Don't let the plain plastic bags and cardboard boxes fool you.  They are full of carpet squares (including floral and animal print), fabric and tile.  Here's a sneak preview of what has already been weighed and sorted and will be available to you at noon on Friday August 17th:

Foam core and mat board (which I've never seen before at ZL):

Fabric books galore:

This picture I took on my way out the door yesterday does not look that different from the one I took on the way in.  Although some of the specific items have changed, there is an exciting array of materials for you to search through.

The final two harvests of the season are on August 17th and August 24th from 12-3.  Zerolandfill Cleveland is located at  4750 East 131st Street in Garfield Heights.  Although this may seem like it is on the other side of the moon to my friends out in the western suburbs, it is really not that far and definitely worth the trip.  For best results, arrive a few minutes before noon so you can be one of the first people through the door.  Yesterday was the final pollination of the season so ZL Cleveland will not be receiving any new materials until 2013.  Don't miss out!

Rings

No medals  here, but as we've watched the Olympics for the past few nights, I've been working on some rings of my own.

 

The Night I Ate Crow For Dinner

We were sitting on the patio at an area restaurant. We  just ordered our food and both girls were working on activity books.  Shortly after the beverages arrived, The Milk Belly Princess spilled some lemonade on her dress.  She was concerned, but I told her not to worry about it; it was only a few drops, it was a hot day and the sun would dry it quickly.  

The Mister and I were busy watching a small group of younger patrons smoking just  on the other side of the patio fence.  While the patio itself was non-smoking, that rule did not apply to the restaurant's parking lot and half a dozen twentysomethings were lighting up fifteen feet away from us.  

I glared at them and thought evil thoughts.  Are they going to do that the whole time we're here?  Who do they think they are?  How dare they  ruin my family dinner with their disgusting habit? 

"Stupid.  They're stupid."  I muttered as The Mister and I both shook our heads in disgust.

I say  this as an ex-smoker, someone who started in high school out of boredom and endured several seasons of  smelly clothing, lessened energy and subpar health before I forced myself to stop.  If, when my daughters get a little older and go through the "Did-you-ever-smoke-or-drink-or-do-drugs-or-run-away-from-home-and-join-a-traveling-circus-as-The-Bearded-Lady-because-we-know-how-often-you-get-your-eyebrows-done-and-your-lip-waxed-and-you-could-definitely-pull-it-off  Phase" I will answer the smoking portion of that question in the affirmative...and admit that it was stupid.

All of a sudden The Milk Belly Princess was screaming like I've never heard her scream before.  Her chair was rocking from side to side as she  kicked her legs, flapped her arms and shreiked.  As I leapt up to see what was wrong, I saw a bee fly out from under her dress.  She'd been stung.

Neither of my daughters have ever been stung by bees.  In addition to being in pain, I think  part of her reaction was out of fear.  One minute she was working through mazes enjoying some lemonade and the next she was being stabbed in the thigh.  What was happening?

I ran into the restaurant and asked the bartender for a bag of ice.  As I passed a couple dining on the patio I shouted, "She's been stung by a bee!  She's a good girl!  She's been stung!"

Did you see what I did there?  How I judged and wrote off a whole group of people based on one superficial trait and then, not five minutes later freaked out at the thought of anyone thinking my daughter was "bad" for screaming?  The irony of the juxtaposition of my snap judgement of the smokers with the fear of me and my child being judged harshly by others is not lost on me.  ...but thank you for noticing.

The staff at the restaurant was very attentive.  Within a minute we had a giant bag full of ice.  As The Mister and I examined The Milk Belly Princess' rapidly swelling knee, one of the young men who'd been smoking by the fence approached us.  

"Is it a bee sting?"  he asked.  

When I said it was  he said, "Garlic, I swear to God, rub a clove of garlic on the sting.  It works." and then he walked away.

Our server brought us a clove of garlic from the kitchen.  The Mister put it on The Milk Belly Princess' knee  and it worked like magic.  Almost immediatelty she stopped crying and the swelling started to go down.  

Someone I'd written off not ten minutes earlier as stupid saved the day with his knowledge of how to treat bee stings.  He helped my little girl in a way that never would have occurred to me.

The food arrived.  I usually love this particular restaurant's Buffalo Chicken Salad, but on that particular night it tasted a lot like crow.  

Afterword:  Since the garlic worked like a charm, The Milk Belly Princess was her usual, playful self by the time we arrived at home.  Little Tiger wanted to do something nice for her little sister so she offered to give her a "makeover."   Here she is about two hours post-sting showing off her new "pin curls" courtesy of Little Tiger:

 

Mama's Report Card

Little Tiger took it upon herself to make me a report card.  She came up with the  subjects and grades all by herself.  Here it is:

She's accustomed to writing in pencil and the marker she was using gave her some trouble.  In case you're having trouble reading, here is a translation for you in good ol' Arial font:

Love: A++++

Sewing: A+

Waking Up: C ? 

Art: A+

Bike Riding: F

Cleaning Up: A

Fun: A+

I guess I need to start riding my bike.

Rainbow Sewn By Little Hands

Little Tiger has moved beyond shelf-liner embroidery, but she made me this beautiful souvenir to remember her brief stop there last summer.  I found this at the bottom of her unfinished work box.  I'm not sure if it was there by mistake or if there was initially a plan to add more to the piece, but I love it just the way it is.