Clutches, Scarves & Wallets...Oh, My!

New stuff I've been making lately (well, finished a couple of weeks ago, anyway):
Earth friendly spring clutches handmade from repurposed & vintage materials

Yellow Clutch made from repurposed georgette ribbon (Darn Good Yarn, Inc), vintage art deco button, vintage cotton fabric lining, hand crocheted, hand stitched Available Samsstuff Etsy

Pink Silk Clutch: Repurpose pulled silk yarn (Darn Good Yarn, Inc.), vintage cloth button, vintage cotton fabric lining, hand crocheted, hand stitched Available samsstuff Etsy

Some cute little wallets

Teal Blue Wallet: Locally sourced Alpaca yarn, repurposed silk ribbon (Darn Good Yarn, Inc), vintage flower button, cotton fabric lining, hand crocheted, hand stitched Available samsstuff Etsy

Mint, Chocolate & White Wallet: US grown cotton yarn, vintage button, cotton fabric lining, hand crocheted, hand stitched Available soon

Some fun skinny scarves

Radiant Orchid Skinny Scarf: 100% wool yarn, vintage lace, hand crocheted, hand stitched Available Samsstuff Etsy

Plus, a bracelet or two

Snake Bracelet: Repurposed silk chiffon fabric (Darn Good Yarn, Inc), metallic teal embroidery thread, snake toggle clasp, hand crocheted Available Samsstuff Etsy

Can't wait to get back to making things (My wrist is recovering from surgery)...
How about you, have you been making things lately or discovered any great vintage finds? These are great ways to get ready for Earth Day (April 22, since 1970) & celebrate every day...SAM

Today I Made...

Today, I made...a great big, giant (about the size of a soccer ball) ball of pretty flowery 'yarn:'

It takes a bit of time, but it's a lot of fun & pretty simple to do. I used a pretty, buttery yellow, flannel sheet, cut/torn into strips along the grain (these vary in size, but a 1.5" width seems to be a good average). The strips were then sewn together (this can be right sides facing together or all strips facing the same way) with a 1/4 to 1/3" seam. Strips can also be knotted together, which will create an even more rustic look to the yarn. This is rolled into a ball & viola, a giant ball of yarn. Done this way, the yarn can be crocheted or knitted using large needles/hooks made for bulky yarn or arm knitted/crochet, if you want to try a fun, new fad...
Now, what should I make with my pretty, new yarn? A little rug, maybe? A bag or tote? SAM
How about you? Did you make anything today? Have you ever tried making your own yarn (beads, etc.)? I'd love to hear about it!

Fun Summer Stuff...

Some of the new things I've been making lately :)

Hand Crocheted Skinny Festival Scarves in Silk. I've made different colors & used two different types of silk ribbon. This one is silk sari ribbon, made from remnants of the garment industry that are pieced together by women in India & Nepal, repurposing materials that would otherwise be lost & providing employment for the women of the area. This is black & I've made two other silk sari scarves, one in an ombre red ribbon & one in an ombre lavender ribbon.  Available samsstuff Etsy

This is one of the Silk Chiffon Skinny Scarves, in an orange color. Also made from remnants of the garment industry. These can be wrapped in lots of different ways, made great Hippie Style or Double Wrapped Belts & dramatic head wraps. I like to think of them as free-form necklaces & accessories. These are in an number of different colors, a retro pink, a turquoise or sky blue, a great retro chartreuse green & could be made in others not mentioned... Available samsstuff Etsy

Envelope: Hand embroidered, image from a vintage cookbook, vintage lace & seam binding, hand stamped lips

Front of envelope showing the floral print paper & another lip stamp (made for a Swap Bot Swap)

Two new bracelets: one hand embroidered (hand spun thread from dragonflylotus designs) & metallic look swavorski crystals, the other hand crocheted alpaca/silk yarn (from Firwood Farm Alpacas in Fife, WA Belle & Bella, to be exact) in a great retro blueish green shade & faceted gemstone beads. Available soon samsstuff etsy

How about you? What have you been busy creating lately? SAM

Sweet Newness...

Sweet new stuff, well sort of...The crochet work on these was actually finished quite a while back & the rest, finished recently. As always or virtually always, there are new components & vintage, re-purposed pieces that fit together to make the whole work, new oldness, old newness, something old, something new...

Hand crocheted cuff in tangerine color 100% cotton yarn, vintage lace in beige, teal  green embroidery, silk sari ribbon & button closure Available samsstuff Etsy

Lucy style hand crocheted headband in tangerine 100% cotton yarn,  vintage 60's sheet fabric in bright orange, yellow & olive, hand stitched Available samsstuff Etsy

Braided leather bracelet with mask charms & hand stitched gun metal grey crystal beads Available soon.

Hand crocheted wallet, also in tangerine 100% cotton yarn, silk sari ribbon & vintage button closure, modern dotted swiss lining, hand stitched available samsstuff Etsy

I hope you enjoyed my 'new' stuff. What have you been working on? Have any old projects waiting around to be finished? I'd love to see your projects, new or old...SAM

Shiny Newness :)

Lately I've been trying to get back to the balance that all us Librans strive for. (I'm  not sure about the accuracy or reliability of the whole astrology thing, but a little balance never hurt anything, right?) & have been making some new things, trying to preserve bits of the past that aren't up to their former glory & deserve to be admired once again & for the future, their beauty preserved for others to see:

This is part of a vintage napkin made into a little wall hanging. The napkin had little  dark spots, that I was unable to wash out & so was really unusable for its original purpose. I cut about a fourth of it off & hand sewed it (not easy to do on a circular frame, but it gives everything a sweet gathered effect & a bit of movement) onto a steel hoop that was in a bag of vintage embroidery hoops. This was just a little too plain, though it framed the piece nicely & looked better than just putting the whole thing (spots & all) into a frame, so I added the fleur des lis pendant & a black seed bead, that gave a bit of French country charm to the piece & highlighted (without taking away from) the wonderful yellow & black embroidery & the beautiful crochet trim quite nicely. For hanging purposes & to go with the yellow & black scheme, I hand stitched on a lovely bit of black velvet ribbon. I could add something around the edge, but I think it would detract from the embroidery & emphasize the frame, rather than the fabric. I think it would be great among a display of photos, paintings &/or little embroideries...

Key Fob: I picked up this great chartreuse green with dark red dots fabric awhile back at the local  Goodwill, not really knowing what I'd do with it (I still have plenty left. Maybe a nice summer top?) & this mini key fob project came up. The D-ring is from the 70's (not sure what it originally came from, possibly a belt...). The buttons are from a couple of old blouses that are no longer wearable & the lace was in a bag of vintage trims & craft stuff, also from Goodwill. I like how the top became gathered & a bit more girly when I put the fabric through the D-ring. The lace & the side are machine stitched & then everything was hand stitched together. I added a few cross stitches in red to just add to the girly appeal. It contrasts nicely with the fabric. The key ring is new.

Wrap Bracelet: Hand crocheted in pink alpaca & silk/mohair (chartreuse). Antique keyhole (architectural salvage), vintage crystal beads (architectural salvage) & vintage carved bone beads (from an old bracelet)  Available samsstuff Etsy

More nerdy envelopes (so fun): Vintage Band book pages. These are a little more difficult to come by & the pages are of a different type of paper than those of the math book. Available shellseye Etsy

It helps to be able to create something new, even when all is not right with the world, even when they are only appreciated by you & even when spring still seems to be avoiding us, for now anyway. How about you? have you been creating anything new? Has spring arrived where you are? Is it distracting you with its shiny newness? SAM

News & Other Ramblings

Hi again :) How's everyone doing? Any new news or projects to share?

So, one of the things I decided recently was to create more of a collection or cohesive design for the products in each of my shops & since I've decided to do this, I've added a sale section (to samsstuff Etsy, so far), to sell some of the things that no longer fit or are not currently part of the collection I'm working on. So far, I've added some of my headband designs to the section:

Red Hummingbird Headband. Sale Section

I still have some headbands, like my "Lucy" design & the "Punk Princess" & I still have a custom option, so I'm not retiring all the designs, just concentrating more on other lines & the ones I have ready to ship from the Sale section, will be 25% off!

Speaking of new news, I thought I'd show you a couple of new items I've been adding to the Statement Jewelry category:

Wrap Bracelet with vintage military & shell buttons, hand crocheted in soft alpaca wool & silver thread, in a great deep emerald green Now available

Sequined Crochet Cuff Bracelet: Hand crocheted in a coral/peach recycled cotton yarn, with antique green sequins & vintage glittery silver color button closure. Now Available

Beachy Cuff Bracelet: Hand crocheted in hemp string, silver plated stars, bone tyre disk beads, snap closure Available

Vintage will remain in both shops (it's just too much fun scouring the area for vintage finds, to use in my creations/to pass on to happy, new homes...), so the "True Stories & Tall Tales" will remain, just as a more cohesive collection, with new stories to take the spotlight. Hurray for sales & new tales! SAM

Challenges...

Life has been full of challenges lately, small & large. It's always great, when the challenge is over & we can feel a sense of relief or even better, accomplishment...

Handmade 'Book' Postcard made for a Swap-Bot challenge: Pieces of a vintage (1975) Algebra  textbook, cardboard re-purposed (for a second time) from an envelope, sent in a previous swap, hand stitching, velum style paper scrap & a little, hand drawn border. This had to be taped over (with clear packing tape) for mailing.

Fabric Scrap Earrings for a 'What can you make with fabric scraps' challenge on Swap-bot: Fabric re-purposed from a vintage (but un-wearable) Esprit blouse, mother of pearl chips, green glass, silver plated sun/moons, clear glass.

Custom order camera bag: Cotton yarn in a buttery yellow, hand embroidered button on vintage fabric, vintage lace, hand stitched

Lined in an organic, floral fabric. There was a custom laptop cover, as well.  Custom listings for both  available, samsstuff Etsy

Custom Laptop Cover

Sometimes, making it through the smaller challenges makes going through the larger ones a bit easier, giving us a sense of accomplishment, boosting our self esteem...The beauty is in the details & the small stuff can have as much value as the big. I hope you're enjoying the small stuff as much as I am. SAM

Winter Ice

So, yesterday, it started to snow & we woke up with a layer off snow & ice everywhere, most of which seems to have stuck around throughout the day. I didn't go outside, but I think I was a bit inspired by all the snow & ice to create something new, from something (or several somethings) old. I had some beautiful vintage crystals, like the sparkles in the snow that shine in the snow, that I picked up at Earthwise Architectural Salvage. It's a wonderful place filled with rescued remnants of old buildings of all types. You never know what you'll find there, from hardware & windows to doors & dishware, anything really that might have been left behind by previous owners, like these pretty little crystals that I started with. I also had a spool of vintage silver string that I discovered in a bag of supplies purchased at a local Goodwill. I crocheted the silver string together with some super soft, ice blue yarn that I had in my stash, for a bit of icy sparkle throughout the bracelet, in several different stitches, to create extra depth, texture & a bit of delicate laciness:

One of the crystals was from an old chandelier, I'm not sure about the round beads

It can be worn as a wrap bracelet, a lariat style necklace or a hair wrap

small round crystals & the soft yarns create a pretty contrast of textures

"Winter Ice" worn as a bracelet.

I've created several of these lately though, each one with vintage, salvaged, repurposed elements.
What have you been inspired by lately? SAM

My New Hat

So, lately I've had a lot of time for making things. I just had my knee operated on & can't get around. Yesterday, I decided to make a hat. I don't have a winter hat & I've seen all the cozy, fun ones about, so I thought, why not try? This one is pretty simple, just one piece, gathered at the top & a little border around the bottom.  I didn't use a pattern, just made it up as I went. This one is organic cotton in "Macadamia," kind of a warm, dark off white or very light beige.  I love the softness & it seems like it'll be plenty warm. The color is perfect for just about any outfit. I think I'll add some beads to the tie (Here it's simply tied with a bow.) If I make another (& I think I will) I'll make it just a little 'taller' & slightly bigger. It's just a little snug, though it'll probably stretch & I don't want to end up with it being too big...

What about you? Have you made anything new, recently?

 

Free Stuff, Sort of...

"Night" cuff by samsstuff 

Today, I thought I'd talk about free stuff & who doesn't love free stuff, right? This post is a little different, though than the giveaway posts that I've done recently. Those were about entering/ putting together giveaways, for those who like to win fun, new stuff & those that want to promote the new stuff that they make, services they offer or the stuff that others make. This is about trading stuff, as a way to try out new products, experimenting with new product lines, advertising what you make & as a way to get new stuff that others make, are trying out as new product lines & advertising, so it's a win, win situation, without the stress of wondering whether or not you'll win some contest, out of the hundreds that have entered. The catch, of course, is that you must trade something to get something, so it's not truly free. Why do it, then?

Well, first it's a great way to get feedback on that new item/product line you're making, a way to gauge the reactions of the public, before actually listing. Second, it helps you get the word out about your product. You trade it to someone who can actually see, touch & use your items, not just look at them on a computer screen or worse, on a tiny phone screen. They can tell you about their experience & they can tell others that they know, helping you get the word out! You can tell whether your line will work or not. If there are any flaws, you have a chance to fix them, before releasing your products to the public.

You get to help out others, who are trying out their products & working on improvement or gauging public reaction. And the best part: it's fun to get things, it's like your birthday or Christmas, you get little surprises in the mail :) You never know exactly what you might find!

So, how do you get started? You can sometimes find blogs organizing trades. You can start a blog trade, yourself or you can check out some of the sites out there. One of the biggest is Swap Bot where you can sign up for all kinds of swaps & groups (not all craft related, so if you just want to trade quotes or postcards, for fun, you can do that too) or you can put together a swap of your own, which could be a good way to get some 'link love?'  I've been in about 10 swaps now & I think I've learned a lot, about my items, the items that others are making, plus of course, it's been fun. Maybe I'll start a swap of my own, I haven't tried that yet...

Here's my newest creation,  made for the Twinkle, Twinkle jewelry swap on Swap Bot. It's hand crocheted & hand embroidered. The removable moon button is by sharkskeepmoving on Etsy. The thread I used is hand spun thread by Dragonflylotus Designs (my winnings from a Unanimous Craft giveaway). Also included: a milky glass star, silver plated stars & an abalone shell star button

I've been making a bunch of cuffs lately. This one takes those a bit further, adding embellishments & embroidery, like the headbands I have been making. I wanted to try something new & was inspired by the twinkle/star theme of the swap.

This shows the mismatched two button closure

Try it! It could be fun & it's a great way to learn something at the same time :)  SAM

Made by You Mondays & Show Us Your Business Wednesday

New wallet/card holder/makeup bag...

The front

& the back.
















Pretty Baby:

Hand crocheted
Fully lined in a pale yellow, sheer, sparkle fabric
Trimmed with vintage ruffle trim
Yellow buttons from Italy that have metallic flakes throughout
Hand triple stitched, for extra strength
Washable

I hope you like it! I made a similar one, in a raspberry pink color.

Stop by & check out some of the other Made by You Monday entries:




The How & Why of It...

So, today, as part of the "Show Us Your Business" meme on The Society of Socialpreneurs, I thought I'd give you a little intro to my shops & why I decided to open them. I love to create & I love making things. I constantly have ideas rattling around in my head that I need to make utilize in some way or lose them forever. It doesn't really help to write them down, I generally forget to go back to them & sometimes, when I do, I've forgotten what I meant when I wrote it down & if I use the idea at all, it becomes something totally different from the original concept. So, I create because I love to, I pretty much need to, it's who I am. Different ideas require different techniques & materials, so I create in different mediums. All of the ideas are tied together, in style, because they all come from me. That's the why & how of why I make what I do.
I have two shops, currently: samsstuff on Etsy, where I sell vintage & one of a kind (often with vintage components) jewelry, accessories & clothing & samsstuff on ArtFire, where I sell one of a kind & vintage household items, art & photography. The Etsy items can also be found on ArtFire. I sell my handmade items because I want to share them & pass their stories on (also, because they gather & multiply, if I let them :) I sell the vintage items to share a little piece of their history. I love vintage & hate to see pieces tossed aside if I can make them into something useful & beautiful again, give them a new statement & story that compliments the original piece. And that's the how & why of my shops. Well, some of it anyway...SAM