New Stuff!

    I've been working on some stuff and slowly but surely filling up my shop again.  I am also making a ton of catnip pillows for The Companion Animal Foundation, one of our local animal rescues.  The money made from the catnip pillows goes right  back to the Foundation so they can help care for homeless animals in our area.  I hope to get back to helping to clean and care for the animals again soon.  Maybe when kitten hits again.  It feels good to help. 

     Right now, my focus is on some smaller card wallets that should be finished up and listed later in the week.  I can't say enough how thankful I am for my little shop and all the wonderful people who look at and buy my work, it has been a life saver for me!  I really feel this today because our financial situation sucks right now, and will probably keep sucking for a while to come.  With one of us out of work, and myself stretched beyond reason with a couple of part time jobs, and lots of sewing, on top of caring for my kids, it has been ridiculously hard.  But thanks to all the people who have bought my work, we are scooting by! Right now,  I can feed and house my family, and that feels wonderful!  So thanks to all of you out there who take the time to look, and to those who buy handmade, you do a lot for us little artsy peoples, and you are so very AWESOME!

With love,

Nicael

Working on the Inside.....

The pennies are placed where the stamps will go

The stamps are done!

My first carved stamp!

All done?

Sometime last year I started contemplating having my lining fabrics printed with my own designs.  Then, I started remembering how much fun I had in high school with printing and painting on fabric.  So, I dragged out some plain white cotton from the stash that I collected from my mom a while back and started playing.  My first attempts were pretty gross.  Not much was happening except for mud.  I tried washes and dry brush and spray bottle painting and I was not impressed with any of it.  So I gave up and just kept collecting random pieces of cotton for my collection.  Then, I thought I would give fabric stamping a try.   So off I went to our local art store and got myself some fabric dye and blank stamps for the carvin'  and I finally got results I like!  This one is green with black hearts, and multicolored dots.  I think it's a mighty fine start, and a nice break from sitting at the sewing table too!

Just Messin' Around

So, I have bags and bags full of small scraps of leather and suede that have been waiting patiently for me to think of some exciting way of using them all up.  I think I've made a start.  I decided that I could not make it through the weekend without giving this new design a try.  I think it's a good start.  I love the colors!  This one is now up for grabs.  I'm thinking that I will be making a few more of these in various colors and sizes, some with snaps, others with buttons,  all kinds of cool new stuff!   Thanks for looking:)

So, I Missed April Too......

It's been a bit busy over here and I just realized that I haven't posted anything since late March.  Oops!  Well, today I have some new things to share and hope to have more ready to share soon.  I am busily working on leathery things and helping the kids make it through these last few weeks of school.  Then the madness really begins!  I will be hangin' here with the kiddos this summer trying to find new and exciting ways of entertaining them and trying to fit in lots of designing and sewing in between.  Wish me luck!

Checkbook Covers!

I managed to get a few checkbook covers done this weekend for Funk Shui in Eureka.  I am running out of leather super fast these days which is making me play with color a lot more than usual, but I think I came up with some interesting combinations here.  Now that these are done, I have a couple of custom orders to finish along with a huge pile of pouches!  I'm gonna be sewing for a very long time!

That is good. 

Wallets, Wallets, and More Wallets

I'm trying my darndest to get lots of stuff sewn up this week for the coming holidays and so far, it's going pretty well.  I have decided not to stress too much and just enjoy!  I am coming up with some crazy color schemes and designs.  The billfolds above are two of my favorite color combinations for the moment,  Last year I had a thing for red, grey, and black, and purple, grey, and black.  Now it's these!  They are both looking for new homes and are available with FREE SHIPPING from my Etsy shop

Panic Time!

I just realized that the holiday season is upon us.  Time to PANIC!  I guess that will happen when crazy stuff comes up within your family, and that is all you get to concentrate on for a few days.  Now that it is all past, I get to concentrate on making some stuff!.............in a hurry!   I got three wallets done and listed in my Etsy shop yesterday, and today is all about a HUGE stack of billfolds that will be going to Funk Shui in Eureka.  I decided to not do any craft fairs this year just so I could concentrate on filling up my Etsy shop and keeping it that way.  I'm crossing my fingers that I can keep this energy going!  It feels good to be productive!  I wish my poor sewing machine agreed:)

Along with sewing, the kids and I have been making things for the holidays, mostly from what we collect outside.  Lots of leaf collages, stars out of sticks and twigs, etc.  It has been so nice to deliberately go out for walks in hopes of finding treasures to work with.  I hope to have some pics of our creations soon, I just realized how badly I have neglected putting up photos from the last few months.  We have been busy little happy bees and plan to stay that way. 

Purple, Blue, Black, and Yellow

Many moons ago, my dear friend Kathy, who sends me lots of leather and suede in the most glorious colors and textures ever, sent me a HUGE school bus yellow leather trench coat.  I have made a few things with the leather but hadn't really found a good match for it in my designs.  Now I think I finally have!  These two are now available in my Etsy shop. I am hoping to add what I can to this years collection of goodies.  Thanks for looking!

Necklaces!!!!!

New upcycled necklace in copper and brass with amethyst and moonstone drops

Peridot and Iolite are the accents on this one, which happens to be one of my favorite combos of the moment:)

 Happy November to you all!  I'm still sewing and hammering and all that so my posts are pretty infrequent as of late.  I hope to share some pics of my show at Funk Shui and some birthday an Halloween pics too!  Be back soon!

New Stuff and Stuff

I am finishing up wallets left and right here and thought I would go ahead and list one today!  So here we go!  This one in red, rust, purple, and brown is now all set for it's new home in my Etsy shop.  It has been really busy the last few days but fun and busy which is my favorite.  A little bit of sewing, a visit to the pumpkin patch, helping in Ed's classroom, the school carnival, and getting ready for the very many birthdays that October brings us, not to mention Halloween!  Luckily, the kids both have their costumes already.  Just a little bit of fussing and fixing and all will be done for the big day!  I for see many fun times ahead. Happy October!

New Things to Share!

With the kids both in school now, I am finally getting a few minutes here and there to sew.  I've been down with some crazy sinus troubles since mid August so I am happy to be back to the sewing machine and making stuff.  I finished up these babies and they are all ready to go! 

Both kids are in school now!  Ed is officially in T-K  which is Transitional Kindergarten (for the the kiddos that aren't quite old enough for regular ol' Kindergarten)  She LOVES it!  Ciaran is with the same teacher for 2nd grade and LOVES it too:)  Now, my quest is getting myself making cool stuff on a regular basis as well as hopefully working as a substitute here and there.  It's all an adventure:)

Pink Owls!

I've been busy with making lots of pink owls over the last couple of weeks.  Lots of pink suede and bright colors with the added fun of owl faces.  It's nice to work out of my usual comfort zone once in a while.  All of these are heading to their new home in Australia soon so now it's back to making pouches and billfolds for the next few weeks.

The End of First Grade!

Ciaran and I collaborated on a "Thank You" present for his teacher.  He drew a beautiful butterfly which I transferred to a piece of red leather.  I burnt in the design and then painted in the colors.  It turned out beautifully!  Ciaran autographed the inside cover and we sent it off today to his teacher for a last day of school present.  We hope she likes it!  Other than that, I have been making owl themed custom orders and have cut out a few more pouches to be sewn when my custom orders are all done.  I am looking forward to a Summer of LOTS of outdoor adventures with the kids, hopefully, they will let me have a few moments here and there to create and sew.  I have a whole pile of leathery goodness that wants to show itself off in completed form.  I hope they get to do that soon.  Happy Summer Vacation!

Grey, Green, Purple, Blue, Lavender, Brown, and more GREY!

I am working on a new wallet pouch thingy and I came up with some combinations of colors that I really like.  They are weird, but I like them.  I've got some pale green, grey, purple, and bright blue, I think I may have puked with this one a couple of years ago, and the picture doesn't make it look very interesting, but it really is!  (To me anyways)  The second is a sort of dusty teal with more grey, lavender, and dark brown, and I love it!  I made a custom wallet in the same colors for someone just  few weeks ago and was not completely sure if the colors would work, but they did and I really like it now.  So much that I am making a few things for my shop with this same color scheme.  It's fun to play!  I am still loving red, grey and black, and grey, violet, and black too!  So you will probably see a few more of those combos coming up shortly.  I never thought I would like grey suede so much! 

Free Shipping!

I forgot to mention in my Christmas post that I am offering free shipping for the next few weeks.  You can check out all of the leathery goodness in my Etsy shop that I'm offering AND, I am still listing new things!  I have a few more wallets and pouches to post and some new cuffs as well.  My goal for 2013 was to work hard and I plan on carrying that over into 2014.  I am on a good productive roll right now, and I hope to keep it that way.  Wish me luck:)

New Things and Happy December!

Some newness for today:)  Now available in my Etsy shop.  The Trinidad Indie Holiday Craft Fair was a blast!  It was great to see lots of lovely faces and extra lovely craftiness.  I am so glad I got to be a part of it all.  I look forward to next time for sure!  So now, I am off to finish up the last of the coin pouches I have cut out for 2013 so I can have them ready for the "Not Too Late" Craft Fair in Arcata on the 21st.  Nice and busy, as always, and thats' how I like it:)  Have a great day!

Winding Down......

The leathery sewing frenzy is winding down now, just a few assorted wallets to get done this week.  Stuff I can do in the evenings after my two little turkeys retire for the evening.  Little bits of thread clipping and side finishing and that's it!  Then I am all ready for Saturday at the Trinidad Indie Craft Fair!  I am so excited to be going!  It's a great fair  and a wonderful benefit for the Trinidad Library.  It will be so nice to have lots of leathery stuff to share:)  Before then though, there are children to entertain, turkey dinners and thankfulness to be had, and a visit to Oldtown Eureka, so that's what is going on this week, I certainly hope you all enjoy your week!

I'm makin' lots of stuff!

It's been busy around here the last few weeks.  I managed to make it through Edolie's birthday AND Halloween without pulling all of my hair out.  I also managed to finish up a stack of 23 billfolds and am furiously sewing through a pile of coin pouches to be done in the next day or so.  Fun times!  I am desperately trying to get a lot done and listed in my shop to reach my goal of at least 50 items in my shop and a few extra for my upcoming show at the end of the month.  I'm crossing my fingers it will all come together:)  I decided to show off the first three billfolds that I finished up for my Etsy shop.  Now I'm off to do a little bit of cleaning before I hit the sewing machine again.

A Very LONG Week

I actually managed to get a couple of wallets done in between birthday party madness!  So yeah, we made it through without too many dents or scratches from back to back birthday celebrations and now it's on to sewing my little heart out.  I just got a little nervous when I went to organize my wallet projects, I have A LOT cut out and ready to go, I just want to get back to it and I'm crossing my fingers for very little interruption.  Not very likely, but at least I'm tryin'.  If I don't accomplish my goal at all, at least I got the two above done right:)  Positivity, that's what matters!

What's New

Edolie's drawings are starting to show figures, this one is of her, Ciaran, and Me as princesses.  I made the dresses:)

My ever growing air plant collection.  I started with one and now have a whole window full!

So, school has started, Ciaran is pretty happy in first grade.  He loves to read, he loves his teacher, and his two new buddies.  He even loves the class pet, a tarantula named Nell.  That makes my heart happy.  Ed and I are enjoying our time at home in the mornings and out and about.  She is now my super fun shopping, errand running companion.  When we are at home she is pretty content just drawing, painting, or playing with play dough.  We do take breaks for tea parties and fashion shows though, and occasionally a walk out to visit her scarecrow friend on the bottoms.  Other than family life, I am working my butt off to get some leathery stuff made for my shop and hopefully a couple of shows for the holidays.  I am also trying my hand at needle felting, and sewing some new clothes for myself.  I found a stash of fabric I've had for years and I am intent on using it up!  Also,  I need new clothes since it seems that one crazy effect of a bad gallbladder is some weight loss!  Not sure about the health of having a super restricted diet, but it feels good to be a couple of pounds lighter.  I don't really have my nice glass of beer or cider in the evening anymore so I've kind of gone haywire with my projects.  I can't say I'm at all unhappy about it though.  Feels nice to be creative, it really helps in every aspect of my life and I can't complain at all.  The only thing that's hard is that I just plain don't have enough room to work and keep this place tidy, I'm just a messy square I guess:)  I am off to cut out the last few wallets before gluing, sewing, etc. commence!  Wish me luck!