Let's Review

Hello again!  I know I already posted a blog today but I thought of a new idea so I'm posting twice!  :-)  A lot has happened this month and I've been so busy that I haven't really been able to enjoy it.  I thought it might be nice to look back at the month before heading into another crazy month. 

Getting Organized

My schedule has been pretty full since I started Dreaming in Craft .  My little blog has been very neglected.  I decided set a blog schedule.  So far I love it.  What do you guys think?  Is there anything else you would like to see?  I love suggestions.

Seen on Other Blogs
 I was a sponsor on Punk Projects again this month.  I really love Katie's blog. She is so sweet and supportive.  I also participated in a blog party over at My Mismatched Life and gave away a fabric button jewelry set.  :-)
 

 

I got some amazing news this month!  My fish bowl embroidery hoop is going to be in the first issue of Crafted Magazine!

Markets

I attended two markets with my Dreaming in Craft goodies in May!

Projects

I completed three brand new projects this month.

Shadow Box

Felt Pins

Magnetic Picture Frame Display

In Your Eyes

I introduced a new collaborative photography project.  I will be posting the first theme tomorrow!

Wow!  It really was a busy month!  I'm pretty happy with these little accomplishments.  It feels good to be blogging again and I'm so happy to see some new people reading.  I really appreciate all of your support.  :-)

I'm thinking about posting a month in review every month.  It's nice to see everything together in one place.  I decided to take June off from markets to work on new project ideas so I should have lots of fun things to share with you in June!  I'm also going to spend some time trying to think of fun ways for you guys to join in the fun.  Maybe a contest?  Or a giveaway?  Not sure yet.  You'll just have to stay tuned!

Did you do anything you were really proud of in May?

Treasury - Mustache Mania

Yesterday I asked for treasury theme suggestions and mustaches were requested.  This was an easy treasury for me to make because some of my favorite Etsy shops have items with mustaches!

This is Mustache Mania.

Click the item to go to the listing on Etsy.

Mustachasaurus Silv... grrfeisty $15.00	Mr. Moustache - Han... bubblyshnooks $14.50	Moustache iPhone Co... yummypocket $22.00	French Cat Felt Bro... scientificcult... $15.00
Pink French Macaron... bittersweetz $14.99	Incognito Bot lubu $13.00	Scrabble Tile Cuff ... AmeliaBeth $20.00	Mustache Ring Isette $9.00
Cupcake Cuties - Bl... CHELSYBEAR $6.00	Mustache Pacifier 0... zieak $10.00	The ORIGINAL-The Mr... pertyfultings $9.50	Yellow Kitty Mustac... amyjoshandmade $15.00
Mustache Necklace -... MustacheGlass $12.99	I LOVE MUSTACHE Lad... theboldbanana $14.00	Pastel Multi Color ... lovegracejoy $29.50	Colorful Personalit... FunnySideofLif... $54.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

It was fun to included some of my favorites in this treasury.  I bought the Mustachasaurus necklace from Grrfeisty at Renegade Craft Fair last weekend. 

Mr. Moustache from Bubbly Shnooks has been one of my favorites for a long time. 

I had to include the cute felt brooch from Kate over at Scientific Culture.  She's so talented! 

Did you see the cuff links from Amelia Beth?  I have the ring!  It's perfect for those days when you need a disguise.  :-)

I wrote a whole post about Lubu after I saw Incogneto Bot.  He's the cutest!

I bought some heart earrings from Isette last week at Renegade Craft Fair but I almost picked this mustache.  It was hard to pick!

Be sure to check back tomorrow.  I'll be posting the first In Your Eyes theme!  I'm so excited.  I hope you guys will play along.  :-)

Music Monday - Suzanna Choffel

Good morning.  I hope you are all enjoying a day off today.  I am so glad I didn't have to go to work.  I'm exhausted from being out in the heat all day yesterday at the SoCo Pop-Up Shops.  I tried to let myself sleep in but it looks like 8:00 is my new sleep in limit.  So sad.  ;-)

Today is Music Monday.  I have actually shared this Austin artist with you before but in honor of her new record (Steady Eye, Shaky Bow) being released last week I have another song for you.  I can't wait to head over to Waterloo Records and get it.  I love everything I've heard so far.

Suzanna Choffel - Hey Mister

I'll be back tomorrow with an Etsy treasury.  Are there any treasuries you would like to see?  I'd be happy to make one.  I love suggestions.  :-)

Make it Work

I will be at the SoCo Pop-Up shops market on South Congress by the food trailers in Austin today.  If you're in the area stop by and say hi!

Remember my new felt pins?

I'm taking them with me to the market today so I needed a way to display them on the table.  First I was going to just take a cute plate and set them on there but then I remembered that outdoor markets are tricky because of the wind.  I usually end up taping things down to the table so I'm not chasing them all day.  I bought a "metal" picture frame at Walmart for really cheap and planned to print out my business logo for the frame and then attach the pins around the edge.  Then I figured out why the frame was only $4!  It wasn't metal!  Not magnetic at all!

I knew there was a way to turn a frame into a magnetic board so I hit the internet to figure out what kind of metal I would need to buy to put in the frame.  I found this simple tutorial on Daisy Craft and she used a piece of sheet metal and cut it down to size.

I decided to change it up and cover the metal with fabric instead of paper.  It just seemed more like me.  I love fabric!

I didn't cut the fabric at all.  It's just folded to the back and taped down.  That way I can change out the fabric anytime I want and still use it for other projects!

Here's the finished product!

 

What do you think?  Have you made any displays for your crafts?  I would love to hear about what you made.

Broken :( (Update at the bottom)

Hello everyone.  I don't know if it's just me but I seem to be having a lot of Blogger problems recently.  Yesterday my followers section disappeared and today the comments section isn't working.  I haven't changed anything on my blog so I'm not really sure what's going on.   If any of you know how to fix this I would appreciate some help.  I tried to post a question on the Blogger forum and it won't let me and they won't answer my questions on Twitter.  You can email me at dreamingincraft@gmail.com if you have any suggestions or if you have any comments to my posts until I figure it out.  :(

I thought about changing the comments section to Disqus because I've seen some of you using it.  If you use please comment...I mean email me. ;-)  I would like to know what you think about it and how to set it up on my blog.  Hopefully I won't have any more problems if I switch.

I could really use a hug right now...or a cup of coffee.  Or both!
 

 

{source} 

p.s.  I've gotten a few comments on facebook and twitter from people who like the photo project idea so it looks like I'm going to be posting a theme on June 1st!  YAY!!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE:  I was able to get my comments to work by changing the comment section to a pop up window instead of having it embedded below the post.  Thank you to Alex from Creating Trouble for the suggestion.  Just thought I would share the info in case any of you have this issue.

Getting to Know You

I have an idea for a fun collaborative project to do here on my blog.  I want to get your opinion and see if you would be interested in joining me. 

I have really been missing taking pictures lately so I wanted to come up with a fun new way to incorporate photography back into my blog.  I thought it might be fun to think of a different theme every month and have you guys take pictures of how you interpret that theme.  It can be very literal or you can go totally crazy and abstract with it.  You could submit a photograph as is or you can have fun playing with editing and do whatever you want.  There aren't really any rules.  It's all about having fun!  The project will be called In Your Eyes.

I have seen people do variations of this on their blog before and I loved it.  I thought it would be fun to get my blog readers involved and I would get to take lots of pictures again.

Don't worry if you don't have a fancy camera.  I use a little Canon Powershot SD1200 camera and my iPhone.  This project is more about working together creatively and getting to know each other.  :-)

Here's how it will work...

1. On the first day of the month I will post the theme for that month with some of my own pictures.
2. At the end of the month I will post the pictures you send to me in a blog post.
3. I will also upload the pictures into a group on Flickr and have a button on the blog so you can go there anytime to see all of the pictures.  

What do you think?  Does this sound like something you would be interested in participating in?

 

{The Bright Side Studio}

Creativity

The second post I ever wrote for this blog was about a TED talk given by Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity.  This talk has been such a great source of inspiration for me in times when I need it most.  Any time I feel less than creative and start wonder why I spend hours and hours every day working on craft projects and blog posts and business stuff I watch this talk and remember.  It's what I'm supposed to do.  I can't not do this because it's in me.  It may be hard and tiring work and most of it will probably go unnoticed but it's all worth it for those little moments where everything comes together and the inspiration is there and I can't do anything else but create.  That's why I spend hours and hours making things and working on my computer and going to markets...  :-)

I know it's kind of a long video but it is well worth the time.

I was reminded of this talk today when Etsy Austin posted a video from KLRU where they interviewed artists at Renegade Craft Fair last weekend.  They were all asked how they got started and what advice they had for new artists.  It was interesting to see that almost all of them had the same answer.  They said to learn as much as you can about what you want to do and don't give up. Great advice!

What inspires you?  Is there anything you do when you aren't feeling very creative to get that inspiration back?

I'll be back tomorrow with a new project idea for the blog.  Be sure to check back because I need your feedback to help me decide if it's going to happen.  

Hint: it's a group project that we can all do together!  :-)

Crafted

I got some great news this weekend.  Dom from Crafted is going to start a craft magazine later this year and she selected my fish bowl embroidery hoop to be included in the first one! 

I am so excited!  It will be included in the kids section along with some other really great shops.  You can read the post about it here.  Being featured in the kid section makes me very happy.  I love that my crafts are kid friendly.  :-)

Dom is posting updates on her blog about the magazine so be sure to head over there and follow her so you can get it when it's finished.  I can't wait!

City Swatch (Let's Try This Again)

A few of you may have seen a post I wrote a couple weeks ago about CitySwatch but it was tragically lost when Blogger went down.  It wasn't really an important post or anything but I felt that my blog was incomplete without it.  I'm sure that sounds silly.  Even though today is my "off" day on the blog I decided I would just write a little post about this fun app...again.

CitySwatch is an iPhone app designed by Art Alliance of Austin.  The concept is very simple.  Take pictures of things you see around Austin.  The fun part comes when you get to name the color!

Then you share your picture in the Art Makes a City gallery. 

This is my favorite picture in the gallery

{source}

Doesn't it sound like fun?  I can't wait to have a little time to wander around Austin and take lots of pictures.  I miss taking pictures.  It's hard to with such a busy schedule these days.  But with this app, I'm definitely going to have to make time soon. 

I almost forgot to tell you guys the best part about this app!  It's free!!!  If you live in Austin and have an iPhone you NEED to get this app!  It's a great excuse to enjoy the beautiful city.

Treasury - Cup of Jo

Hello.  It's time for another Etsy treasury.  Today's treasury is all about one of my favorite things...COFEE!!!

Happy Coffee Mug Ne... marymaryhandma... $35.00	Postcup(TM) baileydoesntba... $52.00	Aqua Coffee Coaster thechristmasco... $5.00	Coffee Time - Retro... lauraamiss $65.00
Espresso and Ebony ... Luminology $18.00	London A-Z chess co... StillLifefurni... $300.00	Mid Century Teacup ... mostazaseed $48.00	Wave - Mint on Dark... klaar $10.00
YOURE the CREAM in ... YeeHaw $13.00	Nerd Emoticon Coffe... MouthyMitts $16.00	A cup of coffee, st... Evrydiki $40.00	Chocolate Espresso ... lollidreams $13.50
Handcrafted Madrone... houseofchilder... $510.00	Cup of coffee penda... Fingerprince $39.00	Everybody should be... Gayana $15.00	Moustache Soup or c... LennyMud $18.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

It looks like I'm not the only coffee lover on Etsy!

Have you made any fun Etsy treasuries lately?  I'd love to see them.  Just leave a link in the comments if you have one to share.  If you don't, feel free to leave a comment with any treasury requests you have.  I really love making them.  :-)

Music Monday - Dire Straits

Good morning.  How was your weekend?  Mine was kind of rough.  I was feeling a little down about things so I spent all of Saturday kind of moping around the house getting nothing done.  After some encouraging words from friends I got up on Sunday and went to church.  Then I had lunch with my mom and we went shopping at Renegade Craft Fair and I felt much better.  :-) 

In order to keep the good mood going into Monday I chose one of my favorite songs to share with you today for Music Monday.  It's Romeo & Juliet by Dire Straits.  I had never seen this video until today.  Interesting?

What are you listening to today?

Renegade Craft Fair

Today I went to Renegade Craft Fair in Austin.  I've been waiting for this for...well, since I went last year!  It was huge!  I had a hard time not going crazy and buying tons of stuff.  I took a lot of cards from people so I would remember them when I want to do some more shopping.  There were so many talented people there!  I thought it would be less busy on Sunday.  I was wrong!

Here is what I came home with.

I had to have something from My Paper Crane.  It's no secret that I LOVE her plushies!  I got this cute little strawberry.

I found these little heart earrings from Isette.

Next up I got these awesome brooches from This Creative Life.  I knew I was going to buy some of these before I went.  I hadn't seen all the designs before today.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to collect them all.  I have to have the little flower brooch, too!  I probably should have just bought them all while I was there.  Oh well.  Now I have something to look forward to.  :-)

My Mustachasaurus necklace from Grrfeisty was one of the things I knew I was going to buy before I went to the show today.  I love it!

I'm very happy with everything I bought.  It was so nice to meet people and see their work in person.  I'm such a nerdy fan!  :-)