Stuff You Make or Sell (GWJer Arts & Crafts)

Well, I've picked up some new yarn. Gonna give that dice bag a go as a Christmas gift for my brother. Glad I've got lots of time to experiment and make mistakes.

Mimble wrote:

Do you have a site you sell them on? They would make nice gifts for people with less sensitive skin than mine.

No, not anymore. I just hit a weird point in the business where I had to either expand or shut it down because it was more work and product than I could do from the house. I had venture capital lined up, was looking at factory locations, planned to hire a dozen people...and then the markets crashed, and VC disappeared overnight. I got stuck with thousands of bars of soap when other retailers crashed, or stores closed, or orders were cancelled after they were already in production.

I donated vast amounts to women's shelters, homeless shelters, red cross, etc, kept 30 or 40 pounds; and have only just now started to run out, which is why I was thinking about making more.

So, y'all have etsy shops? What do you think of them? Running a full ecommerce site was a lot more work and expense than I'd planned the first time around...how's the etsy experience from the backend?

Etsy is super turnkey. If you put it together with something like Stitch, you're pretty much set. They're even doing direct credit card processing now, so you don't have to route everything through Paypal.

I dig it. If I were going to set up my own shop I would probably use Shopify, but for now Etsy is more than capable of doing the job, plus it has a built-in market.

Rainsmercy wrote:

I think I would like a mostly blue, so maybe just a blue one then with black/white beads if possible?

So, like this one?

IMAGE(http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss332/Mimble75/Crafty%20Things/Rainsmercy_bag.jpg)

PM me your mailing details, and I'll get this in mail for you

duckideva wrote:

So, y'all have etsy shops? What do you think of them? Running a full ecommerce site was a lot more work and expense than I'd planned the first time around...how's the etsy experience from the backend?

I don't have one, I've never managed to make and keep enough stuff that I could have a shop full of things. I keep giving them away to friends as gifts and they've made excellent, "I've only met you once, but you invited me to your house for dinner." gifts (along with a decent bottle of wine, too).

I'd love to hear from someone who does run an Etsy shop - is it difficult? Is it really time consuming? Can I use something besides PayPal (which I loathe, so I'd like to offer more than one way to pay)?

Also, those sushi scarves look cool.

IMAGE(http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/318935_10151286179875729_1998138482_n.jpg)

Working on my son's halloween costume right now..

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lego...

Mimble wrote:
Rainsmercy wrote:

I think I would like a mostly blue, so maybe just a blue one then with black/white beads if possible?

So, like this one?

IMAGE(http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss332/Mimble75/Crafty%20Things/Rainsmercy_bag.jpg)

PM me your mailing details, and I'll get this in mail for you

Sweet! I best be getting the umbrella "holder" done for ya;0)

Rainsmercy wrote:

Sweet! I best be getting the umbrella "holder" done for ya;0)

no rush at all - but I figured you'd want to see the final product.

Send your info when you're ready, and I'll pop it in the mail!

weswilson wrote:

IMAGE(http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/318935_10151286179875729_1998138482_n.jpg)

Working on my son's halloween costume right now..

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lego...

That is AWESOME. Post some photos when you're done, I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Mimble wrote:
weswilson wrote:

IMAGE(http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/318935_10151286179875729_1998138482_n.jpg)

Working on my son's halloween costume right now..

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lego...

That is AWESOME. Post some photos when you're done, I can't wait to see how it turns out!

QFT I want pictures! I had all sorts of groovy ideas for costumes this year; but Boy wanted a store-bought Iron Man costume. I'm sort of crushed.

IMAGE(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QxNaVnSqSHc/UJF423WpV5I/AAAAAAAAK-Y/pje5HYJdC0c/s647/IMAG1392.jpg)

Woot! got it done before halloween!

Awesome!

That looks really great

Your son must be excited!

IMAGE(http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/546821_10151288024775729_1598470916_n.jpg)

Doctor Jones and Junior...

IMAGE(http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/680521_10151288022245729_1441944733_o.jpg)

Me and both the wee ones.

Pure. unadulterated. AWESOME!

I made an actual holiday swap thread for folks who are still interested in doing this

These aren't really things I make for sale, but I ironed my neglected cross-stitch projects today in the hopes that I can get some finished

IMAGE(https://o.twimg.com/1/proxy.jpg?t=FQQVBhhbaHR0cHM6Ly9wYXRoYWthY2RuLWEuYWthbWFpaGQubmV0L3Bob3RvczIvYWRlNmU1M2UtZGE5Mi00M2FlLWI0M2QtNjcwZWZlZTY0MzkzL29yaWdpbmFsLmpwZxQEFgASAA&s=d2qw0Nqs-A_yP8zmqc6a8VABujZdpENa0IhAKbbxAS0)

clover wrote:

These aren't really things I make for sale, but I ironed my neglected cross-stitch projects today in the hopes that I can get some finished

IMAGE(https://o.twimg.com/1/proxy.jpg?t=FQQVBhhbaHR0cHM6Ly9wYXRoYWthY2RuLWEuYWthbWFpaGQubmV0L3Bob3RvczIvYWRlNmU1M2UtZGE5Mi00M2FlLWI0M2QtNjcwZWZlZTY0MzkzL29yaWdpbmFsLmpwZxQEFgASAA&s=d2qw0Nqs-A_yP8zmqc6a8VABujZdpENa0IhAKbbxAS0)

:O holy cow!!

Those look fantastic even half-done! When you get those done, I hope you'll post more pictures so I can see!

I attempted a couple of crocheted dice bags, or as I am going to be calling them, Bags of Holding. The first one was a little wonky, but I learned a lot of what not to do and how I could make it better. The second one is much nicer, although I'm still working out the kinks and adjusting the pattern and size.

IMAGE(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/squigherder/91E20145-1866-487F-84D3-D5E5A7956E93-365-0000002709ED12CF.jpg)

That's a pic of the second one that I was happier with. I tarted it up with some beads, too.

My plan is to make several up before the holidays and put little gifts inside them for people. A present within a present.

Strewth wrote:

I attempted a couple of crocheted dice bags, or as I am going to be calling them, Bags of Holding. The first one was a little wonky, but I learned a lot of what not to do and how I could make it better. The second one is much nicer, although I'm still working out the kinks and adjusting the pattern and size.

IMAGE(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/squigherder/91E20145-1866-487F-84D3-D5E5A7956E93-365-0000002709ED12CF.jpg)

That's a pic of the second one that I was happier with. I tarted it up with some beads, too.

My plan is to make several up before the holidays and put little gifts inside them for people. A present within a present.

I like the bag - and the tarty little beads too! What sort of wool and beads did you use? I've been using pony beads as finding anything else that isn't covered in fake "bling" is impossible here.

Pony beads looked like the best bet, so that's what I grabbed to use. I don't really know my yarns, just been picking it up as I go along without anyone to really teach me other than when I started with a couple basic lessons on crocheting. Worsted weight? Medium? 4? I've just found what works and have gone with it. I tend to go more by feel and what looks like it would work than anything else when choosing my crafting components.

Edit to add:

Here's a pic of the third bag. Used a 4.25 hook instead of a 5.5. Made for what looks like a tighter... stitch? Weave? Knit?

Multicoloured yarn of blue, green, purple and fuschia. The weird thing is that once I started off the base and on the rounds to build up the sides, the colours all lined up to the top, even through the dc holes. Worked out well, I like this one.

IMAGE(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/squigherder/61F858AF-8B11-484D-B531-4E7019F2712A-575-000000520FF31F1D.jpg)

The multi-coloured wool always turns out so neat looking - and that one looks especially good! I can't seem to find any of the pony beads like the ones you have here - I can generally only find clear and ones with sparkles in them, or glow-in-the-dark ones.

Maybe we need to do a bead swap! The Michaels Store here doesn't seem to carry a great selection.

I've been using worsted weight medium 4 (lots of the Bernat Super Saver yarn - that work great) and a 4.5 hook for a tighter stitch. The Vanna yarn also works pretty well, as does the Loops & Threads "Impeccable" line.

IMAGE(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/squigherder/B8A974EA-015F-4821-AE6C-F923E0D47500-575-0000006BB99C6A9F.jpg)

And the last one on the left I did up tonight. Same hook and yarn as the middle one, I just left out the last round of increases, so it was a round of 30 instead of 42. It's a nice little one, but won't hold much.

I got my beads at Michaels, and they had a whole rack of them. I picked up a mixed bag of colours, as well as one of metallics, but they had all kinds. Bags of one solid colour, a bag of black, white and clear, pastels, lots of choice. I grabbed the mixed bags because I'm not using them for any other projects at the moment.

For a reference of some sort, I was able to fit my Cthulhu from the other page inside that middle bag to fill it out a bit for the picture.

I'd say prints fall under the banner of "Arts & Crafts." That's pretty neat and I may have to order one for my niece. You're the second person I know that's got stuff listed on Etsy.

I've been motivated to support people I know with their creations lately, hoping to get unique gifts instead of mass produced commercialism.

I should really get started on my Christmas list and figure out what I need to get for people and what I've already gotten.

bombsfall wrote:

awesome posters with glowy bits

Those are really cool - and I *do* have a wall that needs filling. Bookmarked to show Kepheus and tell him that this is on my Christmas list.

Well, that seals the deal.

Just made my first ever pair of crocheted slippers (for a friend):

IMAGE(http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss332/Mimble75/Crafty%20Things/slippers.jpg)

Super easy pattern, too!

I dabble in lots of things. Can make a decent scarf and am adept at making cards. Took up bobbin lace as part of a historical recreation project. Not very good at it. Need to practice more.

Those slippers are adorable! I have never had much luck with textile art. My scarves become pyramids, my crochet chains look like a spider on acid did them. Sad.

duckideva wrote:

Those slippers are adorable! I have never had much luck with textile art. My scarves become pyramids, my crochet chains look like a spider on acid did them. Sad.

My first crochet project looked like rats had been chewing it, if that makes you feel better. It took me some time to work up to slippers that people could wear.

I tried making soap once. I learned a few things from that experience:

1) I am not to be trusted with lye.
2) Lye burns hurt.
3) Lye is good at cleaning counters and floors.
4) My soap will burn your skin right off your face.

I now buy my soap at craft fairs; made by people who have a talent for crafting it.

.