Not just a hooker: a whiz with fabric paint

I blogged recently about getting inspiration from fashion magazines; Today, I was truly inspired to do an exact duplicate of something I saw in Elle magazine's May edition. This is one of those times when I put my dearly loved crochet hook down and tried my hand at another craft. I think it’s important for any crafter to deviate from their primary creative outlet, and do something fun and different.

So …back to the picture in Elle. I saw this pair of jeans from Bloomingdale’s for $248. They had a fabulous gold star design to

elevate this jean from regular to fabulous with a few sparkles.  But that price tag is so far above what I’ve ever paid for a pair of jeans, it was laughable. So, I did what any crafter would do and hit the supply store. I got some glittery gold fabric paint, a star stencil and a stencil sponge. Then I hit a retail store for a pair of skinny, dark-wash jeans. About an hour of careful stenciling later and the jeans are looking every bit as fabulous as the pair from Bloomingdales. I can’t WAIT until they dry and I can stencil the backside ….and then, of course, head out on the town in my new gold-star rip-off jeans!

Finding Inspiration

My latest guilty pleasure is spending an hour in the bookstore looking at magazines. It’s the cheapest (free) and best way to get inspiration for new ideas. I’ll look at knitting magazines, craft magazines, fashion magazines, even women’s journal publications. It’s not always a literal translation; I look at color, what’s hot on the runway, what patterns are in, i.e. polka-dots, plaid and stripes.

My latest inspiration is a turban I saw in a fashion magazine. I added turbans to the ScarfCity line last year, but this picture gave me an idea on how to spice up the pattern I created for that item.  I went shopping today at a high-end boutique …well, window shopping anyway. Amongst the $300-$500 jeans, shoes and clothes I found a bevy of inspiring ideas, including using an old pair of jeans and adding some leather …irrr, pleather to make CHAPS!          

Inspiration can come from anywhere, as long as you keep your mind open to new ideas and push yourself to create them.

Getting organized in the off season

Last year was a beast. It was the first year I worked full time and still kept a grueling pace of selling at craft fairs. In the months of November and December I went non-stop. I was out of gas and near dead by Christmas. The really painful part was not being fully stocked for many craft fairs. It’s a craft show nightmare to have an empty table at the end of the day. Shoppers NEVER buy when they feel they are getting the picked over merchandise.

It’s April and I am “at it” already. I’m building my stock at a moderate pace. I’m determined to hit this holiday craft season with enough merchandise to last the entire season. Here’s my tried and true method of pushing myself to accomplish this goal.

1.       Set quotas, stick to them and reward yourself when you do. I set my quota somewhere between the rabbit and hare. I don’t want to kill myself but I want to get everything done in time.

2.       Start with you best-selling items and work your way to the fun, creative stage. I like to add a few new items each year, but I know I need to start with proven items.

3.       Bulk up your supplies before you start. If you have make constant trips to the craft store during production mode, you will waste a lot of time.

Don’t forget to be inspired…