Month: December 2019

year in review.

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If toes gross you out, look away. This is my pedicure year in review! These feet have traveled to crafty events all over, and in between adventures I pamper myself with monthly pedicures at Bisou Nail Lounge. My nail lady (aka toe surgeon) works at Bisou so I’m there every 3-5 weeks for my toe check up. I usually get the chocolate spa pedicure (comes with a chocolate sugar scrub, chocolate mask, and chocolate lotion massage!), and on occasion get the red wine pedicure. They also have green tea and CBD pedicure options, and I always get nail art! January January highlights: Hubby and I renewed our passports! Palm Springs adventures continue Weaving new shapes February February highlights: Helped decorate a retirement party Popped up shop at Bella Vita in Oakland Learned how to make macrame feathers March March highlights: Gwen in Vegas International Women’s Day at Zynga – my first company pop-up! Designed a window display for Mischief Launched my weaving loom tools! April April highlights: Took the whole month off from work! Taught …

good stuff.

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Hi. I worked on some stuff for FtF fans! Baby Pennants. My usual baby pennant pack got an upgrade (bigger flags!). I created these A’s theme monthly photo session pennants for my coworker’s new babe. Lucky 13. These pennants were a special request from one of my weaving students. She wanted to surprise her daughter and daughter’s friend with pennants for their 13th birthday. They picked them up at my SF Etsy Indie Holiday Emporium booth. She prepped a sort of scavenger hunt activity where they received gifts at certain booths. How cute! SPP. Hubby’s tennis bros needed some FtF bling. “SPP” stands for San Pablo Park, their home court. “Fight!” is one of the sayings their teammate says during competitive matches. The next season doesn’t start until April but we ready! Luca. My friend ordered a baby pennant pack and name pennant to gift to a friend. The color palette is everything. Plant Daddy, Yaaas Queen. Such fun custom wall hangings! I like when people ask me at shows if I have a certain …

family crafts.

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This year for Christmas Craft Camp, we decorated tiny trees and painted watercolor wreaths! Mini Tree Decorating. I recycled an activity from last year because I hadn’t yet shared it with my fam: mini brush bottle tree decorating! It’s the most adorable-ist. For this craft you will need: mini brush bottle trees beads beading wire or cord (I find wire works best) sewing needles felt or fabric (for a tree skirt) additional (optional) embellishments: sequins, bells, confetti The full “how I did it” on my previous mini tree post. Watercolor Wreaths. And since I’ve been wanting to practice my watercolor more : watercolor wreaths! For this project your will need: watercolors watercolor paper water brushes pencil paper cutter (optional) picture frame (optional) circle template – can use a bowl or cup (optional) If framing, cut watercolor paper down to appropriate size for your frame. Draw a circle in pencil. For this step you can trace a circular bowl or cup. Begin painting leaves using light shades. Work your way around the wreath with one type …

pomander.

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The crafty ladies got together for one last crafty lady night for the year. This time it was extra extra with a botanical craft led by Angel, a potluck, and handmade gift exchange at our friend An Li’s studio space. I set up the table with winter greenery and a macrame garland I made with a Modern Macrame pattern. Then Angel arrived with all the supplies for the botanical craft and I went to town with dotting the tablescape with height and color. We made pomanders that night so we had a table full of smelling good spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves) and citrus. I couldn’t stop taking photos! Before we started with snacks and crafts, and while waiting for additional guests to arrive, An Li gave us a studio tour. She has a studio for her screen printed apparel and a space for her ceramic making, and she shares the space with a few artists. Snacks! For snacks we had 80% cookies, a Korean fruit salad, ricotta that was basically cheesecake, chips, …so …

winter wreath.

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Happy first day of winter! To celebrate, I’m sharing a winter wreath I created in Haia Sophia’s most recent wreath workshop at Rare Bird. Haia reviewed materials and basic wreath construction. We used 12-inch metal hoops, 24 gauge floral wire, and an assortment of foliage – some fresh and some dried. It was a pokey class so we wore gardening gloves. It was so fun working with all the materials – acacia, fir, straw flowers, pinecones, …; it smelled so fresh in the classroom. Haia helped me create my dream giant wreath! It might be a little too big for my front door, but I love it! Thank you to our winter wreath guide Haia of Canopy Floral – check out her amazing work! Do you adorn your home with winter wreaths? Share your favorite door decor below!

sj made – again!

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This year at the SJ Made Holiday Faire was my fourth time in attendance, and I realized I have been a part of the event since it’s inception. Very cool. I was assigned the same booth as last year – front and center! This time I brought lots of workshop samples including weavings and I co-hosted a coloring station with my booth neighbor / craft friend Rebecca of Oodlebadoodle. She also brought Awreatha for her final performance. Rebecca printed off some coloring pages from our SF Etsy team coloring book, including the one of my face. In this rendition, I am so extra. This year was the biggest year yet for the holiday show with almost (or maybe over!) 300 vendors. We took up nearly the entire hall space. There were also lots of activities and community groups offering interactive experiences. On Sunday, the local kitten adoption group brought kittens for 15-minute play sessions. I made sure to get a glimpse before the show started. Per usual, there is so much to see. The hall …

hoop, hoop, hoop. merry christmas!

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Work holiday party time! I set up an embroidery hoop ornament station for the occasion. It’s a super easy craft, but looks polished in the embroidery hoop! For work events I’m always looking for activities that don’t require hot glue or much equipment, that are self explanatory, and that people can make in 10-15 minutes. This one was perfect! Here are some co-worker creations: You can make your own! For this craft you will need: Embroidery hoops, 3-5 inches in diameter Yarn Cord or twine Glue dots (I used permanent Glue Dots) Green card stock Red pompoms Mini brush bottle trees Other assorted decorations like mini reindeer and bells Scissors (for paper and fabric) Separate the hoop. Measure out pieces of yarn to fit over the inner hoop. Attach the outer hoop. Tighten the hoop as you pull the yarn taut. Trim excess yarn. Next, attach leaves, mini trees, and other decor with Glue Dots. You can also hang bells or other ornaments onto your hoop. More ideas: wrap the inner hoop with twine or …

cinnamon.

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Cinnamon crafts for the holi-yays! I was inspired to create himmeli with cinnamon sticks for Christmas so I ordered a bunch from San Francisco Herb company. They turned out pretty good and smell great! They require cinnamon sticks that are tubes and not all of the sticks were tubes, so I had lots of extra sticks. What to do? More crafts, of course! Himmeli plus additional ideas below. Himmeli. I usually make himmeli with paper straws; cinnamon sticks are much more festive for the Christmas season. You will need: 12 cinnamon sticks (that are tubes) Nylon cord or similar non-stretchy cord (the length of 15 sticks, plus an additional 1 foot) Craft needles Fabric scissors Bells or other decor (optional) String on 3 cinnamon sticks, leaving a short tail on one end (at least 3 inches). Tie a knot to form a triangle. Add 2 more sticks to form a second triangle; tie a knot. Continue to add two sticks at a time until you have 1 stick left; string on last stick. Bring the …

felted necklace.

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I had leftover felt pompoms from my Awreatha project so I decided to make pompom necklaces for gifting! This is a fun and easy DIY to add to your holiday make list. You will need: felt pompoms (I used 1″ poms) beading wire (at least double the length of your felt pom pom row) sewing needle chain (at least 20″ per project so it fits over people’s heads without needing a clasp opening) crimp beads (2 per project) wire cutters scissors crimping pliers Line up your felt pompom design. Measure out two pompom design lengths of beading wire. Begin threading your pompoms, leaving even tails on both ends. Cut 20-24 inches of coordinating chain. Thread bead wire through a crimp bead, through the last chain link, then back through the crimp bead. Crimp the crimp bead to secure the wire. Sew the bead wire tail through the first pompom then trim. For the other side, thread bead wire through crimp bead, through other end chain link (make sure the chain isn’t tangled), then back through …

awreatha.

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I participated in the annual SF Etsy Indie Holiday Emporium in a big way! Not only did I have a booth to sell all my Feed the Fish co felt goodies, I also created a 4.5ish-foot felt flower wreath for the photobooth centerpiece! Her name is Awreatha (had to). Here’s my show recap plus the Awreatha creation story! The show. The SF Etsy Indie Holiday Emporium is always held over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Since I’ve been participating for a few years now, it always feels like a craft fam reunion! It’s an all volunteer-run event, mostly put on by these two above (snapped this shot because it looked like they were going to report on something real important!). The show is free to attend but if you get special VIP shopping hour tickets you also get swag bags filled with fun Etsy stuff! (The maker oath design is by my friend Angie of Bobo Design Studio!) And in addition to shopping small, there are activity stations for all. This year there was face painting, …