Monday Again…

This past weekend was a big one! We rushed towards Edmonton and camped in the car half way, driving the rest of the way on Friday. The plan was to spend the day (we had heard that it was a 3 hour wait) in the passport office and then drive home that afternoon. Lucky for us, we only waited 45 minutes in total. Once our paperwork went through, a HUGE burden was lifted off of my shoulders. SIGH OF RELIEF!

Now we can just enjoy the rest of the planning for our trip to England (and Paris!).

Sights to see:

• Stonehenge
• Castles (of course!)
• Tower of London
• British Museum
• Eiffel Tower
• Arch De Triumph

I’m really looking forward to all these sites, but also, just spending time with the family and relaxing at my Granddads farm is going to be a treat. There’s french doors leading onto a small stone deck and I can’t wait to sit there with a cup of tea and look out into the fields. It’s sad that Granddad won’t be there, and I’m sure it will be an emotional adjustment for me, but it’ll be nice to be back.

And my bookstore. Sigh. MY BOOKSTORE! My heart literally starts to beat faster when I think about it!

Ok. Stop daydreaming. Back to real life.

This weekend was very productive! I had an Arbonne party on Saturday afternoon which went great! One girl booked a party in a town five hours away so I’ll be going there this weekend. Totally out of my comfort zone, but I’m still excited!

Then sunday I filled my afternoon with Gocco’ing, which I’ll be sharing later and updating the shop with asap.

Happy Monday!

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Goccoing

I accomplished a couple of my goals last night, I cut out several Kj Bags (with new pocket designs!) and then worked on my Gocco printing. I haven’t done Gocco for a while so it was really exciting getting back into it! I was so bummed when I wasted two bulbs (they’re only good for one time) by loading the screen and blue filter wrong. Dang it!

I bundled the finished cards into groups of six and I’ll be selling them at the Farmers Market this weekend. I’m not sure if this is something I’ll continue doing, but it’s just a fun project I wanted to try out. I’d like to screen-print some paper for this type of thing eventually, but that won’t be for a little while. I think it’ll end up being more affordable though.

I think I’m going to price the cards at $10.00 for each set. That makes it only $1.67 per card, which I think is a huge deal for something handmade. You can’t buy generic cards for that much!

                              

                             

                                      

                              

                              

Fabrics

                          

Looks like I have more projects to work on! I received the Amy Butler fabric and some Gocco bulbs in the mail this morning (: YAY!! I’ve been wanting to try out some more stuff with my Gocco but haven’t had any bulbs! I can’t wait to do up some cards to sell at the Farmers Market this weekend! And that fabric…doesn’t it just leave you speechless?? It’s so beautiful I can’t stop staring at it!

Did I tell you I went on a fabric shopping spree this weekend? Well, I did. I thought there was still a huge sale at Fabric Land so I traveled two hours to go to one…and it turned out the sale was over. But being the bargain shopper I am, I still managed to stay within my budget and find some great fabrics. These fabrics were still on sale, but just not the amazing 50-70% off that I was hoping for.

I’ll be making these fabrics into bags starting tonight (no matter how tired I am!) and selling them at the Farmers Market this weekend! I can’t wait!!

                           

                          

Quick News

So I just found out that the business I’m working for owns a whole set of screenprinting contraptions! A drying machine, a four section press thingy, screens, paints, and a heat transfer station! YAY!! Guess who’ll be using this stuff soon! Me. And for free! How much better can it get?

Soon you’ll be seeing Kj Bags with funky images…so rad.

Screen Printing

I’ve always wanted to try screen printing my own images onto fabric, I’ve heard of other Etsy sellers that do this not only to fabric, but also to paper. Wouldn’t it be SO COOL to have your own art work on your product? With my bags, I have to feature another persons work on the fabric…I just sew it together. I just think it’d be so cool to say “This is my bag, and yes, this is my fabric too!”.

I know what you’re thinking “Another project Kj??”. Yep, they just don’t stop!

I was reading another blog where the author had hand painted the art on t-shirts…hand painted, no screens. She really inspired me to try it (which I have yet to do) but also reminded me about screen-printing.

The more I read about the process of screenprinting, the more I see how easy it is! At first, I was a bit overwhelmed with the steps you need to take to make a screen and imprint your image on it. But now, I think it’s something I want (aka: need) to try out. Etsy has a great video on how the process works, and I just stumbled across this How-To article that helped a bit too. Oh, and this Etsy video too!

I’ll be searching for a frame and the proper mesh…I’ll slowly build up my screen-printing supplies, I think. Boy, it’s sure good I’m selling my bags at the Farmers Market now, otherwise I’d be broke!

Have you ever heard of ThreadBanger? I found them through their videos on YouTube. It’s a great site for easy ways to decorate or new projects to start on (yeah, just what I need). They have great videos, forums, links and GREAT contests (the last one was for a Janome {!} sewing machine), if you’re a crafter, visiting this site is a m.u.s.t.

Now that word just looks wrong.

Learning Something New

                        

I think one of my downfalls is my love for learning a new craft. It’s a good thing because it stretches my mind and makes my crafting know-how go a bit further, but it also ends up costing a bunch of money. Like when I wanted to learn the Gocco Printer, or now, when I’d like to try out the button maker. Little projects I’ve tried like crocheting, don’t cost much and are UBER fun (uber is a word you just have to start useing, it’s the new “awesome” or “super” or “neato” to those addicted to Anchor Man). I try to find more projects like these, ones that won’t break the bank, but sometimes you just need to splurge and try something really big.

There’s a new video in the Storque today that you might want to check out if you’re looking for a new and affordable craft. It’s all about embroidery and learning the Running Stitch. Becca is a great teacher and has very clear instructions. Make sure you take a peek and learn about your new addiction!

I was busy sewing last night, a Kj Bag (this is the name I’ve stuck with for the big bags I’m making) out of the load of fabric I bought a couple of weekends ago. So far it looks amazing…if I may say so. I have a serious lust for the material I used…the colors are so amazing! I’ll post pictures this evening of the finished product and the steps I took to get there, make sure you come take a peek!