Crafted - Booth makeover Part 1 the Plan

So the finishing post is in sight and there's still soooo much to be done. My lists are getting out of control and I'm a bit grumpy due to stress. I have foregone the surfing for sewing and I don't know how much longer I can abstain. Here's the booth that I will be sharing with Silver Blue Glass or Tomoko as she's known.

Testing whether cloud will stay up.

We have a fabulous original wall which quite rightly we are not allowed to paint but can still attach things to like decals so here I randomly cut a cloud and I quite liked the effect.

$5 bench

I picked up a matching pair of benches for $5 each ! they were splintered and pretty unloved so they were sanded, cleaned and waxed back to loveliness and did I mention they fold flat. It was the folding flat that sold me on it but look how beautifully it matches the wall (and electrics) like it was meant to be.

View from the Booth lovely lovely light

We can see right down to the demo area and you can see us so we're going to make sure we catch your interest.

Here's my very bright painted green shelves

So here's my plan for my half, I had a very loose plan but then I came to the conclusion that I needed an actual plan so here it is. Those green lines are shelves and those white shapes are all going to be painted or decals. The drawing is exactly that I'll just do a freehand with a paint pen/ brush. Due to the markings on the plywood there's going to have to be some strategic placement to cover them up. So give or take a shelf here and there, the walls seem low so maybe less shelving is more. Lots of chartreuse and white and wood. The beauty of the decals is that they will just peel off when I get bored.

Countdown to Crafted 17 days to go

It's been frantic and of course the weather has been divine making it doubly difficult to be tethered to my sewing machine. I have escaped and found a few new treasures.

Not so miniature rocking chair

Some wooly finds

Fabulous print

Plain wood birdhouse - Before

Fabric covered birdhouse- After

Cardboard letter - Before

Same letter with Yarn - After

And the making continues.. more bears, purses, owls etc are slowly being formed for their new home @crafted only 17 days away !!! Must get back so much to do still.

Crafted - Not long now

Gearing up for CRAFTED in a month and a half (holy cow) and a couple of new stores is exciting but quite tiring. As with any business, time management is essential. I love making my softies but from time to time I REALLY get the urge to work on a new project. These are my current top 6 that I want to make/do:

• Wooly bow ties
• Wooly whale
• Panda
• Yarn/Fabric letters(update halfway there!)
• Yarn wrapped power cords
• Re-do vintage suitcase

Some of you may remember that I bought a to do book a while back and I still use it. I like checking things off and it also clearly shows things I'm not so keen on doing. Last week I put the sewing on hold and worked on some new cards which I'd had the idea for and hadn't gotten round to doing. It's quite satisfying to do something that has a relatively quick turnaround.

As if there weren't enough things to get me off track I signed up for a crochet class in the Summer, my gran used to be a whiz with the crochet needle, as with the sewing I never really took the time to learn from her so I'm hoping that I have the crochet gene and will be able to at least make some coasters or something.

 Here are some recent additions, note my current obsession with the color green.

Classic owl with napping eyes.

New stockist of Desiree B. in Seal Beach

 Hapa Collective

Here's a card stand that got the green treatment.

Cardboard Letters

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It only took a couple of episodes of Downton Abbey to get all the letters done, it'll take a few more for the yarn wrapping.

 I saw these cute bird houses and thought I want to do something with them in my Crafted display.

Analog// and other News

It's been two weeks since my last blog. Oops, I got busy, ( engrossed in Hunger Games and Catching Fire books )had a few personal disasters and business triumphs but more importantly I cooked a ham. Yes you read right a ham, don't know why it took me so long but it caught my eye in the grocery store and to be honest I thought I would end up using it for soup. I didn't really do much a bit of seasoning, followed cooking instructions and then with half an hour to go poured a lot of organic honey over it. It was delicious and I fully recommend it. However, it was a rather large ham for two people so like the turkey leftovers it has been creatively eaten. I did make a canellini bean soup with ham, croissant with ham and melted cheese, muffin with fried egg and ham, ham omelette....to name but a few. I also froze some when I realized that there was no way I was going to get through it without having a ham overdose.

What a dream I had

Anyway back to other news, so I landed another store yeay but I've had to ramp my production to well faster than before and I've done three events including the Artwalk at the OC Mart which was a lot of fun due to meeting lots of nice people including: Carlos of What a dream I had, Rachel from The Painted Hollow and the lovely folk from Analog//

The Analog// Store at the OC Mart

The Painted Hollow

Still haven't got round to making Panda yet and I now have some blue felted wool which is demanding to be made into a whale. I have added another blanket to my collection and acquired two more miniature chairs. Oh, I also have a couple of new cards. People responded well to Birdy Harry which was a long time coming. That's it for now time for some more ham !

The Good, the bad and the Ugly

Hello all, well it's been a rollercoaster mixed week of emotions, there have been definite highs and definite low points. I found out that a renter had stolen artwork and almost all my furniture, depressing. I tried to come up with a list of more depressing things that could be stolen to make myself feel better No 1. My dogs, if someone took them that would be heartbreaking and after that it became about things and while you can take objects, you can't take memories so that's what I'm taking away from this experience. It's unfortunate that people can't respect other people's belongings but I'm staying positive. There's still a chance (slim)that they may be returned.
The high's this week have been meeting up with old friends who moved up to Colorado, celebrating 6 year's of marriage and if that wasn't enough, a very big bit of news that I don't want to reveal just yet but it's very exciting for the Desiree B. brand.

This little ray of sunshine came to visit and was rewarded with his own bear.

I love a bit of wool plaid, vintage and Ralph Lauren no less.

Always look on the bright side of life.

More high's I found THE most fabulous plaid skirts while thrifting, couldn't believe my luck. Can't wait to use them in a project. Been working on a Mother's Day Card, I know in the UK it's already happened but not so this side of the pond. I've signed on for another Last Saturday's at SEED and a Cinco De Mayo at OC Mart. Two very good reasons why I should deinstall bejewelled from my Ipad, so distracting I've even written a motivational message to myself on a chalk board but since I just spent 10 mins looking for a bloomin' hole puncher and still haven't found it, it's not quite having the galvanising effect... Back to work.

Green Bliss Cafe

Slowly but surely my little tribe of furry buddies is growing. This week saw a switch from the norm when I had to make a card holding display. Thankfully I had a few wise pearls of wisdom in the carpintery department from the soon to be cover artist of sculpture magazine Andre Woodward. For a few hours work it turned out OK I think. It cost 68 cents to make because it was all scrap wood and that's what I paid for a wooden ruler which holds up the middle row. What made this a relatively simple task was the Ridgid jobmax tool I used. I don't like big power tools, they scare me but this little thing is safe and accurate. I sound like an infomercial but I was really impressed so much so that I bought my own. It's going to be so handy for making art panels and cutting random bits of wood.

I started work on a new Panda design which I will hopefully get a chance to work on this week. There's a batch of penguins though that need to be sewn so maybe not... All the official paperwork got sent for CRAFTED if you are a crafter looking to take the next step you should apply. I'm convinced it's going to be awesome.

I did some exercise first time since I got over the flu, I don't count riding my bike to work because it's not very far. Cardio tennis was the name of the class and it was pretty exhausting, one thing I learned from 3 days of sore muscles, stretching is important. Any how here are some pics from the newly opened Green Bliss Cafe in Fullerton a new outlet for the Desiree B. line owned by the lovely Rita Ho who has a fabulous eye for detail and decor. It's a beautiful space with delicious treats and coffees. I really love the furniture, as you can tell from the photos below.

Green Bliss Cafe

I love this sign made from licence plates.

There I am.

I want this chandelier.

View from the Courtyard

Love this table.

PS Looks like this flu bug is back again, so frustrating !

Visiting Crafted and other News.

I'm happy to report that all are healthy in the household right now and things have been progressing quite nicely on the work front. Once again there is a small tribe of wooly softies growing and they are really soft. I stumbled upon a wool blanket and it has made the most divine bears and owls. I will be heartbroken when its all used up. My husband forced me to clear up in the craft room which was probably a good thing all things considered. I bought this huge rolling rack made of steel (impulse purchase but in my mind I will have a loft style home and it will be filled with books, art and stuff) which had been taking up too much room in the garage and generally making his life a misery, or so it would seem. So I have now accomodated said rack in the craft room, in between two chairs that will one day be re-upholstered in a lovely neutral linen. I've had them at least three years, one of those impulse purchases! I'm starting to see how so many furniture items end up curbside, so difficult to get rid of them. I'm beginning to see that I need a bigger space to create in, or a mini elf that comes in and tidies. I always did love the story about the shoe elves, if only they really existed.

Giant rolling rack

New Home of CRAFTED

Those of you who keep up with the blog, (bless you all) will know that I've been accepted at CRAFTED a new development in San Pedro. Sunday was Open House and I couldn't wait to see the space for myself. The light is amazing and the building has so much character with lots of exposed beams. I love the repetitive linear patterns that run through the space as well as the touches of primary reds and yellows. I'm even more excited and I'm off to sew some more bears.