Last Thursday - April

I'll be vending at Last Thursday tonight. Setting up around 4 or 5 and there all night till 10 or so. Planning to set up near 20th and Alberta.

Stop on by to check out my new Mushroom Toadstool! I just finished the first prototype last night. More to come as soon as I acquire better hand tools and more wood.

New Mushroom Blog

So I needed a place to store my mushroom obsession. I've made a blog of it.. great suggestion T. Now I will never have time for anything else! ahhH!!

Mushroomy Goodness - mushroomgoodness.blogspot.com

I LOVE mushrooms.. oh yesh.

Oh and if you love Jello as much as T. you should check out her blog here: joysofjello.blogspot.com

Mushroom Lamps

available from Brando here.
AWESOMENESS!!

They run on four AA batteries
Priced at $12 each.

I must have all three.
I think I'm a little mushroom obsessed right now.

Mushroom custom order

Hey everyone! Check out the final mushrooms I finished off last night. They are going to head out the door this week to one lucky little 7 year old. I will be making more for the Saturday Market and my shop this week. (hopefully.. ahh!)

I'm still working on a smaller version that will be cheaper and faster to make. I am dedicating my tuesday night to knocking out the kinks in that pattern.


I also completed this little guy. Izzy the robot! Or is he Iggy.. I can't remember. He was a gift for Jonathon from work and now resides on top of the cutter in the back of the office. They tried to cut his head off yesterday! I left him and came back to find his head inside of the cutter ready to be executed. He was saved through.. by my shrieks of terror. haha. I still think they have it out for him.

Well off to work for me. Time to get to my "day" job.

Mushroom Research

I'm working on a mushroom plushie design for a custom order. Also this will be available in my shop and fairs in the near future. I'm looking for more inspiration and also technique on how they get that mushroom top sewn to the bottom.

Look at what I came across in the process. Mushroom goodness for all of you!


Link: www.shopkawaii.com





By DebbieDoesCakes: link

By BloodBunny: link

By LittleSparrowNest: link

Happy Saturday

I spent the day sprawled out on the floor watching some delightful much missed tv and punching out tons of buttons. I came up with 6 new designs that I am very proud of. The cheese wedge and mushroom were inspired by my friend Erin. She will get some free buttons out of that deal for sure. I also brought in some designs from my paintings and sketches.

The best part of the day was the kitty that kept my company. Little Silvy was so cute and VERY interested in what I was doing. Sometimes she would just come up and stare at my board full of button pieces. She was particularly fascinated with the pins. I kept telling her NO! as she tried to EAT them. Crazy cat! The pin part is very sharp and would be the same thing as chowing down on a thumbtack. She sat very close to the table and stared down at the pins almost touching them.. just watching. And the minute I turned my back she kept sneaking in a paw just to have me catch her out of the corner of my eye and scream at her from across the room. She also enjoyed trying to curl up in my lap when I was in the middle of cutting out the circles. Cute fuzzy, purring warm kitty was totally awesome today. She was a good audience, a very good listener and let me watch whatever I wanted on tv all day long. (Southpark.. hehe)

I did try and go to a few yard sales but they ended up being really REALLY lame and I got tired of driving around following retarded signs. So I will continue my search for recycled goods elsewhere. Tomorrow the plan is to make some softies and screenprint some shirts.

Right now I'm delirious. I think I made around 400 buttons. I can't believe my little button case holds all those buttons.

Custom 1 inch buttons

Custom button packages now available in my etsy shop. Order your own custom one inch buttons. I am doing the custom artwork part for free right now so it's a good deal. Great for marketing your etsy shop or just showing off your artwork.

I have a really nifty little button punch and a ton of button supplies. I've been wanting to do this for a while and glad that I can finally offer this to my friends and customers!

Support Local Printers

As a small business I try and support other local small businesses and keep the spending local. It's a way to support your city and keep large corporations from taking over. So I get my printing done through this company, NW Media. They print my stickers, postcards, business cards, artwork prints and now my coloring books. They come with a high recommendation from me for high quality printing and very friendly customer service. They go above and beyond for their customers.


They offer competitive pricing on posters, postcards, flyers, stickers and business cards. Their main business is printing and producing record labels for large and small CD runs. So if you know a local musician that is looking to print their first CD Album send them to NW Media! They also do full designs from your sketches, ideas and photos.

I this economy it's time to really pay attention to how we spend our funds and with who. I joined the 3/50 project which is trying to remind people to support their local economy and the brick and mortar stores in their town.

I'm trying to focus my business so I am supporting my local stores and even with supplies making sure that they are from American businesses and not shipped from overseas. One small step at a time!

There is also the movement to shop handmade, to recycle, to make things from recycled materials. I'm trying to focus on that as well with my business. New projects are in the works for this summer! It's time to try and be more aware of how you run your business, who you give your business to and how you can support the hard working people around you.

If you need some great printing.. go to NW Media (www.nwmedia.com).
Personally recommended by me, Mary Kelly and lolly-tots.

Thanks!

Our Little Garden

So last year my housemate planted tomatoes and it started out all fun and everything then the tomatoes EXPLODED! They grew everywhere and took over our yard and by the second month we were so over tomatoes but they kept growing and ripening and finally we ended up with a knotted, viney, messy tomato wad that used to be a garden. So don't plant three tomato plants close to each other.. or that will happen to you!

This year I think it's going to happen again. The housemate went crazy and planted a ton of things in this little lot. I added some extra strawberry plants that T. gave me and some Dill on the corner. I HAD to take a photo to document the "before" of this garden. There is so much in there you can't see. So much broccoli, lettuce, peas, seeds of unknown variety. I can't even remember what she said she planted. It's going to be so fun to see what happens. I hope we get to harvest a good amount of veggies this year.

The strawberries are already blooming!

I have plans for additional planters on the side of the house where I am going to try and grown tomatoes again and some zucchini. They will have LOTS of room to grow over there and not drown out the rest of the garden.

I wonder what this is going to look like next month. We shall see! It's a garden adventure. :)

Screenprinting new shirts

Now that I'm doing the market full time I've been running out of shirts faster and faster. Every week now I'll be printing up new batches to sell. So if you want a specific color combo please let me know. I now have yellow and green onesies as well as the regular blue, pink and white. I'm working on getting together an American apparel batch but those will be a bit more pricey and the sizing is different. I'll keep you all posted though.


I really need to update my etsy shop and my website. I'm sorry it's getting ignored and I want to have more things available online but I'm only one person and I do work another job so I'm doing the best I can. I'm going to try and make some updates this week so hopefully things will be available to those who can't make it to see me in person. But the best deals and the best options are available if you just come see me!

I just love seeing them all lined up like this and ready to go. Yeah more onesies on the way!

happy crafting
- Mary

New Buttons!

My button supply has been getting low over the last few months so I am working on replenishing my supply. But this is a new year and I'm getting tired of my designs. I'm retiring a few and working on some new ideas.

Do any of you my dear readers have any ideas or suggestions for new one inch button designs? I'm always looking for more input and a good idea taken will get you free buttons in return!

Check out the delicious colors.. mmm.. see the empty spots ready for new buttons?

I always make this face when cutting circles. It's aggravating.. hehe

Come see me in person to view the new designs! I'm at the Market every Sunday and now Saturdays as well. I'm also at Last Thursday. I can do custom work as well and working on adding that to my shop. So if you have an idea and want a few buttons please send me a little note and I can make it happen for you.

I make your dreams come truuuuuuuue. Well I can try at least. haha

Hello Sunshine!

It was a sunny, beautiful day at the market today. I was there for my first Saturday EVER and I actually got a spot and wasn't turned away! My hard work and showing up on Sundays in the rain and cold have really paid off. I am going to try and do full weekends from now on, weather and scheduling permitting.

I was so encouraged, inspired and warmed by this weekend. I am retiring my hats officially for the season and have a few exciting projects lined up for this spring and summer. I'll be writing on my progress soon! I am also going to make some matching chef hats and aprons to sell as a set. Two lucky little girls took home my aprons this weekend. If any of my customers ever want to send in photos I am ALWAYS looking for more photos to add to my site and blog. So please send them over!!

I am so thankful today for the sunshine, warmth and my creative job. I love making people smile and thanks for everyone that made my day so bright and wonderful. Sometimes I need someone to cheer me up too. The elvis singing scooter guy really brought a ray of sunshine to my day. He sang two songs for me! Oh the people you see at the Market.. I never know what to expect!

Here's hoping for more great weather!
Thanks to everyone that came down to see me.

Now off to sew and print! So much to do!

New Coloring Book Printed!

I am so proud to announce that we have successfully printed the first version of my coloring book. I stayed up long hours this week trying to knock out the final illustrations for this. Now this is only the easter prototype version. I am adding more pages this weekend and going for a full print run of a 100 for my spring book. This first version will be available at the Saturday Market this Sunday. I'm also handing out easter eggs and free coloring sheets to all the kiddies. So stop on by and check them out in person!

I'm looking for feedback if I need to change anything, or add anything. What do you guys think?





I am so blown away to see myself in print. I've been illustrating for quite a few years but hardly do I ever see these pieces in print, let alone a full bound book that is going into the hands of the children of Portland. It's a dream come true.. every day I reach closer and closer to the goals I have set up for myself. I am so happy that I have such awesome people helping me along the way and lots of great feedback from my customers, friends and colleagues. It's a joy to be able to share my artwork with the world.

I can't wait to start the next one! The next book with be Dinosaurs and Robots. I guess I better get sketching right?

Thanks to my co-workers over at NW Media for working with me on this project. We have a great printer, high quality printing and a very helpful staff. I hope to be printing all my coloring books through them. They also print my stickers! Check them out if you ever need something printed by an awesome local printer. NW Media ROCKS.

New Coloring Book coming

I'm working hard on finishing up my coloring book I'll be printing for spring. So I'm a few weeks behind! Sheesh.. I am going to try and finish up at least most of it before next weekend. If you come by and see me at the Saturday Market I'll have easter eggs and coloring sheets to hand out for FREE!

check out my new bunny design for this year. It's coming to a t-shirt near you this spring!

I've been tracing illustrations in illustrator for hours. So off to bed with me.

Lisa Hannigan - Lille Video

It's popping up everywhere. The handmade revolution is spreading to even the music industry. If you haven't seen this video by Lisa Hannigan than you definitely need to take a moment to watch it here.



I love all her artwork and graphics on her cd album. Super crafty and imaginative. Makes you want to make a popup book right?


Craftmagazine even had a little write up about her album artwork.

Puppet Love

Check out this puppet with a puppet by moxie.



Could this be my future?

Toadstool Pincushion Pattern

Check this out guys!

Now you have your weekend project. Post pictures NOW! do it!
I know you want to..

Check out the free pattern and instructions here by little house by the sea

TOADSTOOL PINCUSHIONS!! what could be better?

Happy Tea

This is dedicated to Theresa! Happy Tea Time.

What do you eat with your tea?

Leslie Hall - Photos

So I found out they have a flickr photo album for Leslie Hall's concert photos! Now you can see some better shots of her awesome costumes. sweet!

New Hats at the market

I have a new selection of hats I made last week. I was sporting the new Panda hat myself. I got a bunch of more supplies to make more hats this month. I've got a bit crazy with the fun of finding new patterns and fabrics. I don't know when I can sleep again! ahh!

I'll keep you all updated. I'm trying to add these to my etsy shop and website so they can be ordered online. For now it's all in person. So stop on by the Saturday market.. on Sunday.. and check them out in person!