KaBoogie Two Shoes

Curing Affluenza

2011-09-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

We're not wealthy. Maybe by world standards, I think most Americans are, compared to, say, Haiti or Bangladesh. But we don't want for much, and therefore consider ourselves blessed.

Even so, every year when the idea of Christmas comes creeping into that dark crevice that grows and expands by the week, nagging and taunting me to GET MOVING, I cringe inside. Here it comes. The STUFF. The move-out-the-old-stuff and make-room-for-new-stuff tango I think we all do from Halloween until after Christmas when we finally figure out where to put more STUFF.

I'm tired of it. Christmas is a lovely time for my family. We celebrate the joy of the holiday as it was meant to be, being Catholic, and cherishing the true meaning of it. But still, over the years, the STUFF has become more than I can bear. You see, we have 6 kids. Six awesome, smart, rambunctious, goofy, normal, happy kids. Did I mention they all have the most gorgeous ginger heads you have ever seen? It makes me want to buy them MORE STUFF. And it's going to change. And so, I've laid down the gauntlet.

I posed it to my husband, who's eyes grew larger by the second, and I could see the "how are the kids going to react to this" look in his eye. It, being my plan. This year, the money we would spend on presents for them, and each other, would go to a charity, and we would all decide as a family where it would go. No, it's not ground breaking, but for us, it kind of is. We give as much as we can to others, but this would be bigger. A well for a village. A cow for a family. A lot of food for our local food pantry. Something. Anything but more stuff. I felt sure they would see the good and be all for it. They did not disappoint. So far.

Son #1...in the true form of a leader, nodded, and said, "sure." I expected that. It's the kind of kid he is, and at 17, doesn't ask for much. Daughter, child #2....same thing. No hesitation from child #3 or 4. Perfect. I have not raised them as indulged people, they earn money, and have to buy their own amusements. They don't have cell phones, and have bought most of their own electronics.

I have not approached the 7 or 4 year old yet. Ok, I'm a little intimidated (small children can be SCARY!!). My plan included buying a family game for Christmas Eve, and one video game for them on Christmas morning. I'm considering little stocking stuffers, just for giggles, little goofy things. I'll need strength to resist overbuying! I think they are going to survive, I really do. In the end, perhaps on Christmas Day, when the reality of it hits the young ones, I won't be the most popular mom on the planet, but this lesson is for the long haul. Curing affluenza.

This 'n That

2011-05-17T22:46:00.001-07:00

I have an addiction. I am a night owl. I love the quiet of the wee hours, the solitude, the funny noises of the coyotes, the dogs that bark at them, the rain on the roof when the house is silent. I love the late night visits by wandering sleepy ones who forget there is a bathroom upstairs or just...can't...sleep. I get most of my creative impulses right about now.

So I have a custom order for these Victorian boots. They are so sweet. I have been battling with mock ups and getting increasingly frustrated. I am determined to get them right, so I put them down for a few days. Back at them tomorrow! Spring Fling is quickly approaching, so I need to clear the docket to give it the attention it deserves. But I will give my customer a lovely pair of these in pink first.

Liv has amazed me once again with another of her delectable projects, raspberry chocolate eclairs, for her grandmother's birthday. I am so very proud of her energy, growing skill, and joy with which she attacks each and every recipe. She is not afraid to take risks, use her imagination, and just chuck it and do it again if it's not right. I've seen such a growth in maturity in this, and I see it spill over into all she does. She may get frustrated, but she keeps at it, and produces yumminess that rivals even the seasoned pros. I wish her so much success in whatever she chooses, I just love her so much! I am looking forward to watching this process in each of my children, watching them find their way with maturity and confidence. They may change their direction as many times as I can imagine, but I will support them every step of the way!!

From There to Here

2011-03-02T22:50:00.000-08:00

I have a rule in my house. You can do any sport you want, as long as it's karate. Yea, I can hear you all now...WOW, wacko! Kind of extreme, huh? Well, no. Not really. Here's why.

I spent a year of my youth being bullied. I mean, picked out of the crowd, harassed, name called, and physically assaulted at one point. OH, you say, you're fulfilling a lifelong vow to make sure your kids can beat up a bully. Well, no. Not really. But as my parents had no clue how to help me, and never alerted the school or the idiot's parents, I was left to deal.

Fast forward 25 years. I'd since decided to homeschool, for a myriad of reasons. My firstborn, donning the shock of red hair sure to serve as a beacon for kids of the stupid and shallow variety, was enrolled at 4 in karate. Determined that he was never going to be left on his own to deal with whatever came at him, I would make sure he had the tools and confidence to handle himself in the face of any threat.

This was when I discovered something crucial which I will bring full circle soon.

I'd been bodybuilding and powerlifting for 7 or 8 years, and people seemed to assume that I could defend myself, and I had a confidence that I could at least do some damage. Anyone with legs as strong as mine surely was not going to let anyone hurt me without getting my licks in. It must've shown in my demeanor. Little guy syndrome, let's call it. No one really knew if I could take care of myself, I just acted like I could.

But in my son, it was something different. He was not cocky like me, he was quietly confident. As he grew stronger, and I added myself and child #2 to the mix, who also grew in strength and skill, I realized that what karate gave us was far more important than the ability to turn the tables on the bad guy. It was more than the physical strength, and good health it gave us.

It made us bully proof. It took away the fear of "what if". There is a confidence, a calm sense of well being you get when you're not worried someone might push you down, grab you, hit you, call you a name, or try to intimidate you. I know this sounds harsh, but once you've been punched in the face, or kicked in the head, well, then you know what it feels like (my daughter pointed this out to me). Problem solved. Nothing in life will present you with a fear that you can't handle it with the right set of skills. So I added child #3, 4 and 5, until #6 ages a bit (we've all started a new style together..."tang soo"!!).

Now to bring it full circle. Jay Sevron, radio talk show guy, was reacting to the MA bullying law. How it would "help", whether it would help. Wanted to know our questions, thoughts. So of course, since I always have an opinion, I called, rather bemused about the whole thing. Imagine, a law banning bullying. How's that law thing working on the murder problem?

I said, Jay, a law will not stop bullies. I said, every child in America should be given self defense lessons in grade school. Karate as gym class instead of wasting time with volleyball, or whatever they do these days. He pretty much scoffed at the idea, and this is where he departed from his usual ideals and totally threw me off of my mental balance beam. He said "Why should the onus be on the victim to DO something about it (paraphrased)?" To which I replied...if you take the victim away, there can be no bully (of course he talked over me and heard nothing I said). He has his preformed opinion. I went on to say, look, cops, laws, courts, can do nothing to prevent crime, and you know this. But give a kid CONFIDENCE, and bullies can't scare or intimidate them. Again, he had me muted while he went on. An actual debate would have been nice. Imagine, kids in shape AND confident, for shame!

This blew my mind. Jay is not usually this much of a pansy. I mean, we are a Christian family. We do no harm. We love our neighbors, and treat everyone as a friend. But conversely, we will fear no man. THAT was the vow I took when I grew up. We have the ability NOT to fight. Because fear of all things is the enemy, and usually is your worst enemy. It's not that the victim has to be the one to DO something, Jay, it's that the victim won't HAVE to do anything.

He didn't get it. And that's too bad. Someday I may begin a campaign to get self defense taught in all grade schools. In the mean time, perhaps you can bully proof your kids too!

KaBoogie on Zibbet!

2010-08-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

I've decided to give another venue a go. Yea, yea, I've done this before. Like many Etsy sellers, I get that feeling like it may be a good fit, if I give it enough time, and put a good effort in at promoting it.

So I'm starting with my winter boots, and wholesale moccasins. There's obviously a growing desire out there for quality handcrafted items, and although each major category is filled with lovely goods for all, when you feel you've found a niche, it's best to get it right out there and be seen by as many potential customers as possible!

I read a plethora of wonderful articles daily on marketing your shop, riding the social networking wave, linking, linking, linking, and all I can think is, hey! I can do that! I'm diving into this with both feet, 2 arms and hopefully, my head screwed on straight, so when I saw Zibbet recently, it just appealed to me as a new and growing venue.

I'll be listing winter items, mostly boots, there for a while, as the winter rush seems to be coming a bit early this year, so look for many new KaBoogie items there soon!

Monogrammed Baby Shoes, and...PIE!

2010-07-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

I love custom work. I think I've said this about 300 times. I love when I can give a customer exactly what they want, and throw in a little challenge for me. This week it's not just a monogram, it's the whole 3 letter initials!

As I was chugging along I realized, wow, these letters are teeny. And I think I'm going blind. One stitch, two stitches...many done by manually turning the wheel because I have no idea where the needle will land, and it cannot ever land outside the applique! This is leather, it has no forgiveness.

When I'm finished sewing the letters on (they are spray mounted in place, no way I'd ever be able to hold them!), I always glue the thread ends down in the back. I don't ever want the threads to come up in the front.

Just a little KaBoogie tip I thought I'd share. One of those little things we do to go the extra mile as crafters, to give our customers the very best we can produce!

And in other news...
My 13 year old daughter made this most awesome lemon meringue pie tonight! It's her second one this week, and it came out even more beautiful than the first! When she brought me a nice warm piece, I discovered HER idea of going that extra step to give her very best. She added fresh cut lemon thyme to the lemon filling! It gave the pie such a nice gourmet flavor!

Isn't she great?

You can find the listing for custom monogrammed leather baby shoes here.

Homeschooling With a Business, Do I Still "Got" It?

2010-07-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

July. It's July. I haven't started getting my books together to start homeschooling again. I'm still trying to make sure my oldest gets the math curriculum he needs in his school (he opted to stay in the school). We're trying to have as much fun as possible, there's 6 different camps being attended, and September is coming fast.

Am I procrastinating? I need to get my head back into educating my kids in less than 2 months. I'm SO happy to have them home, but in my year off I've gotten a bit lazy. I also worry that the kids will have a hard time reacclimating themselves to being self motivated.

So the question arises; how does a mom, who is determined to provide the best education her kids can get, structure the day so that the kids make the best use of their time, chores and household issues are attended to, and mom can get some work done and help contribute to the household?

It used to be that I'd let the day unfold on it's own. I'd require work to get done as early in the day as possible, but didn't set time limits, or keep a strict schedule. But that can't work with my etsy shop, which gets very busy during fall to winter.

Does strict scheduling work for you? Or does letting the kids work at things in their own time get the job done? I think I forgot how this is done! How do you work it all in?

KaBoogie Giveaway!

2010-06-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

Spring is nuts. I can't believe the flurry of activity we blew through. Seems like I was lazing through winter and BAMMO. School activities, craft show fundraiser, wholesale orders, and finally, SPRING FLING!

I love making Spring Fling decorations. 70+ homeschooled kids look forward to this, not knowing what they're going to walk into. This year we gave them the 50's, complete with drive-in movie screen. I LOVE making props. This one was my favorite:

Next year, who knows?...

Oh! and by the way! If I haven't plastered it enough on facebook...Check out RockerByeBaby for details on how to win a pair of eco-friendly, soft soled KaBoogie moccasins!

Silly Family Things

2010-03-31T06:40:00.000-07:00

We have this game we like to play. Well, it's not even a game, it's a big joke. Started with my oldest daughter wanting to play "the color game". Would've been fun if we ever actually got to play it, but the joke was even funnier. Goes like this:

Everyone picks a color, and announces it. Then you go around the table and everyone has like 2 seconds to point at someone and say their color. You hesitate or get it wrong and you're out.

But hubby decided to make the game more interseting one night.

Daughter..."Let's play the color game!"

All chime in..."I'm red, I'm chartreuse, I'm BUTTERSCOTCH (see, the harder the color...you get it)".

Now we have 8 colors to remember. Except now everyone decides to change, and we've descended into the stupidest color contest.

Hubby "Let's play the superhero game!"

All chime in with their superhero..."I'm RUBBERMAN!", "I'm DIAPERMAN!"...and on and on, louder and louder, laughing and arguing.

Daughter...."Oh, C'mon, let's just play the color game!!", as face gets redder and redder.

Hubby...."Let's play the favorite vegetable game!" Now I have to cover my ears.

Chaos, mayhem, foolishness ensue, game never actually gets played.

Family fun time at Red Squadron, hehe.

Then there's the "sentence game". This one can actually be pretty funny. We like to play speed rounds with just two people. Basically, one person starts a sentence, and the next person says the next word. You have absolutely no control over what turn the sentence takes, and it can get pretty bizarre. Like this:

"Twelve....soups....can....run....nine....cars....over....instead....of....camels....freaking...out...swimming...backwards...alone."

But put a 6, 8, 11 and 3 year old with a 13, 15, and two adults, and you have absolute and utter nonsense (if you didn't think that one was silly). Especially when one child decides to say the same word over and over....like this:

"Floods....can.....bark.....STUPID.....walls.....into......garbage......mouths.......because......STUPID.....crabs....ate.....mom."

Dinnertime fun.

Artisan Pizza?

2010-03-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

I have no idea what aartisan pizza means, but I must save about $1000 a year on pizza. We LOVE our pizza. It's a welcome relief on Friday night. But not for the usual reasons. See, we hate take-out pizza. We can't eat it anymore.

Nothing annoyed me more than making my own pizza dough, so once I realized my bread machine made incredible dough, I never again minded rolling out my own. I mix whole wheat with unbleached white in about a 3:1 ratio (mostly white). We have our favorites, including BBQ chicken (BBQ sauce instead of tomato sauce) with cheddar, onions, red peppers, shrooms and mozz; meatball, and my personal favorite, terriyaki tenderloin pizza. Oh, yea. We use leftover beef tenderloin we get at BJ's, with pesto, onions, roma tomato, and mushrooms. Mushrooms are a staple on all of our pizzas.

I throw one half plain half pepperoni for the little ones. One by one, my kids are moving their tastes up a notch to try the more exotic flavors. Two down, four to go!

This is my famous (at least in my family lol) BBQ chicken, with red peppers, onions, mushrooms, cheddar and mozz. For a REALLY incredible treat, lay basil leaves under the sauce. Learned that little treat from a good friend. In the summer, my roma tomatoes go on every pizza.
So even if you have no bread machine, it's well worth it to try some unusual flavors on your pie. Let the kids put their own together! Make personal pies. Enjoy!

A Hearty Snack

2010-03-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

After deciding to make some small changes in our food choices, I decided to test them out on a baking project.

The changes are incremental, but I think necessary for me to feel better about what I feed my family. I got some non GMO (non genetically modified), organic unbleached flour and some of the same type in whole wheat. I mixed them in about a 3/4 - 1/4 ratio so I could use it pretty much for everything.

I also switched our processed sugar, which I only used for baking, to unrefined evaporated cane juice. It's not a huge change, but in a big family, small changes are workable.

I made pizza dough last night and the kids loved it, so that's a no brainer. Didn't taste much different. Since they're used to the organic whole wheat bread I've been buying, and we've never bought white bread anyway, I figured as much.

Today I made zucchini bread with some of the zillion bags of shredded zucchini I froze last summer. Frozen zucchini drains a lot of it's moisture when you defrost it, so 2 cups turned into one. I added a cup of shredded carrots to make up the difference. Then I halved the sugar asked for. I'm daring like that.

They looked kind of crusty coming out, so I feared they might be dry. Wrong! They were YUM! I had to stop the kids from gobbling them like cheap grocery store Oreo knock offs! The carrots lent a sweetness even my 8 yr old sugar fiend said was good.

Ahhhh, sweet success! Next, I try my hand at the food co-op. Do they sell air tight bins for 50 lb bags of organic non GMO flour?

Custom Work

2010-02-23T05:07:00.000-08:00

I love a challenge. I love when a customer has a vision, and just needs someone to make it real. Ok, it does take some of the pressure off of me as a designer, but it presents new challenges. Is my sense of proportion, color and layout going to fulfill her vision? Am I going to spend all this time working on it just to find out it's not anything like what they wanted?

Some designers & artists loath the idea that what they create may not be at all what the customer wanted. This is always a possibility. I've found, however, that after so many years designing, whether it be logos, furniture or a sign, that your confidence level does come through in your work. Customers come to you because they like what you do, and WANT that "look" that says it's yours. Otherwise, they wouldn't come to you!

There's always going to be that one time when your vision doesn't match your customer's. That's when we as artists must be willing to go that extra mile, it's the nature of custom work. I've had to remake items, and it's those times when I realize perhaps I wasn't listening to exactly what they were really saying. Sometimes they relay a detail that gives me a clue as to what they really mean.

Sometimes, though, they aren't really sure, and it's up to me to know what will look best. It's a collaboration of ideas and communication. One thing I've learned over my years as a designer, is that effective communication is crucial to serve your customers in the best way possible.

Perhaps it isn't exactly what they had in mind. Perhaps it's even better! Perhaps you'll have to redo a job. It's ok. It's the challenge of taking a vision and making it real that builds that confidence and makes you a better designer. Often, it's your job as a designer to let the customer know that certain aspects of their vision won't work in reality, and with just this adjustment or that, it will work.

Sometimes their vision won't work at all, then the onus is on you as the professional to communicate why and offer up a better alternative. Either way, it's a good experience builder to improve your communication skills, your problem solving skills, and your creative skills.

So don't shrink away from a challenge if you know it's something you can handle. And know when to tactfully say "this won't work". You're the professional. You will both walk away with something you wanted, or even something you needed. Risks are important to building a business, they can and do provide learning experience and a chance at greater success!

Have a custom horror story? What have you learned from it? Or tell us a success story when you knew what needed to be done, and it all worked beautifully!

Soft Comfort for Any Hair!

2010-02-10T13:17:00.000-08:00

I've been having a blast making these headbands! They're a new venture for me, and have been selling well locally. A lovely friend at the Lost Spool does my embroidery for me, and I can't stop making them!

My customers rave about how comfortable they are to wear, while growing out bangs, or just for a quick and easy do. I find myself going the "easy do" route often!

KaBoogie Babies!

2010-01-27T11:07:00.000-08:00

A few of my boogie babies. I live for this! Many customers send me pics of their little ones in their boogie shoes, I've got a big folder of them, some have given me permission to use them, so here they are....ta-da!!

This little guy needed some black leather ankle boots, stat! Seeing how adorably his little birthday outfit came out, I'm glad I put a rush on this one!

This was my first pair of boots, for a special custom order. Her mom wanted them just a little higher than my ankle boot. I was thrilled at how well they came out!

A friend brought this little darling over one day and I just had to put these on her! Maryjanes are just so classicly sweet...

A customer at a craft show, I'd swear she brought this baby dressed JUST for these boots. One of my more exquisite designs, made from an eyelet skirt. Rare find, gorgeous boots!

Always on the lookout for more boogie baby shots, if your baby is sporting KaBoogies, I'd love to see a shot!

Train Them Up Well Already!

2010-01-06T07:46:00.000-08:00

So.

You're running around your house behind your kids, picking up stray socks, vacuuming, clearing dishes, wiping counters, putting silverware away, folding laundry, bla, bla, bla. Those pampered little princes/princesses are toiling away on Facebook, having a pattern block war on their bedroom floor, or watching iCarly for the 400th time this week.

Not you? Good. Move ahead 2 spaces.

No, just kidding. I know we've all done this at one time, wondering why it's US doing all the work. The answer is simple. Because kids don't have the first clue how to do chores. They must be taught. I did a little experiment with my 5 year old today to see just how much she could handle. Now, she's been trained up to do many things, so you'd have to start simply. But I think you get the idea. Seriously, if you think your kids cannot do anything, it's because you haven't taught them how.

I gave her the vacuum cleaner, an Oreck, not too heavy. Told her to do the best she could in the dining room, moving the chairs for her. She got about 1/3 of the way through, said it was too hard, I believe her lol. She does know how to work.

This needs to start when they are around 2. They must learn to pick up. They need to be shown over and over, ohhh, until they're about 18. Then you can send them and their junk packing if you want. (Disclaimer: your standards will never be met, it's "kid" clean, as my bf told me, get over it or toil away alone). So here's my list, certainly not exhaustive, of things kids CAN handle, from about age 2, to start them getting used to the idea of chores. Be aware that at age 2, you have to take their hand, put it on the item to pick up, move them to where it goes, shake the hand til it drops LOL. Repeat for each item. They'll get it.

2-3 yr. olds :
Can sweep with a small broom, toy or one from the Dollar Store.
Give a basket they can carry when full, show them how to pick up toys and put them in. Afterwards show them how to put them where they belong. Small steps, one thing at a time.
Have a low drawer of plastic ware that they use, cups, plates, bowls. Have them empty those things from the dishwasher into their drawer. If you have to actually hold the item in their hand, walk them to the drawer and put it in, so be it, just be calm and firm. Usually they love this chore though, my 3 yr old does.
This is a good age to let them learn to cut things. Play dough and a plastic knife, graduating to butter knife and a hot dog. This is such a great skill for a child to learn, to be careful with cutting! Anything a 3+ yr old can cut with a butter knife is invaluable experience.
Teach them to put small piles of clothes in their drawers. This is the start toward the day they will actually bring the piles from the laundry room! You’ll probably start by sorting and laying piles on their beds. My 5 yr old sorts, carries up and puts hers away herself, as do the older kids.
3-5 yr. olds

Put their dishes in the sink, as long as they're plastic, anyway.
Clean up into basket and put away. If a room is particularly messy, give them 1 type of toy at a time to put away.
Feeding animals.
Watering animals.
Watering plants.
Sweeping/vacuuming with a small enough vac, and no, it won't be done very well.

Vacuuming stairs.
Putting laundry away.
Using a vinegar and water solution and a small squirt bottle they can clean tables, counters, sliding doors…anything you can think of. Cabinet and drawer fronts, chairs, things that get cruddy and we hate cleaning lol. A chamois type micro fiber cloth works very well, or a sock on their hand. Make them step back and look at their work when they’re done so they can see where to “fix”.

These are just some ideas, I'm sure you can come up with plenty, I'd love to hear more of your ideas. At this point it's plenty of work for mom, but worth doing. Kids need and WANT to feel like contributing members of the house. They appreciate the praise, and feeling like they matter. I tell mine often that I cannot run this house well without their help. We're a team!

Next time I'll get into chores and responsibilities I think older kids can handle.

Fix Your Facebook!

2009-10-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

This is copied from a facebook post in my status updates!

To restore old Facebook look. Look to the left menu on the home tab and click on MORE. Then drag STATUS UPDATES to the top. After dragging to top, click on it. That becomes your default and it is like before. Pass it on.

That's it!

A New Venture

2009-10-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

I met a lovely woman, the mother of one of my kid's schoolmates. She is a seamstress, like me, but she makes costumes for LARP, ren faires and CSA. She commissioned me to create some belt pouches to take with her this weekend to a LARP event. I gave her the outside rectangles to embroider, and WOW! The possibilities! They all use my typical recycled leather. I am excited because these use the heavier leather I am not able to make shoes from. They can be custom ordered in several colors, choices of images, or plain. Enjoy!

This butterfly mask she gave my daughter as a gift. See, I told you she was a lovely woman! These pouches can be direct ordered through me. Jo Jo is sporting a mask I had already, bought 20+ yrs ago, I may remake this one in leather. I will be working on a line of animal masks once the busy Christmas season is over.

A Little Etsy Love!

2009-10-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

I love my customers. I do! No, REALLY. Not just because they buy shoes from me. But because I get to hear from them after they get their shoes. Their reactions give me more satisfaction than getting paid.
Sometimes they send pictures, which makes me feel like they value what I do so much more, to take the time to come bad, leave feedback AND take a picture during their busy lives.
Here's some of the feedback that gives me such joy:

"As I held these little shoes in my hand I could just imagine sliding them softly onto little feet. As a mom of four I would have loved to have these when my children were little! Soft yet protective of little feet. A perfect shoe for little feet!"

"Totally AWESOME!!! so well made, cute and comfortable fit, great styling, my daughter just LOVES them!! they have growing room without being bulky, they are soft inside and out, and just what I hoped for!! thanks so much for offering such wonderful moccasins at an affordable price!! fast turnaround, fast shipping, well packaged, great communication, just everything perfect! thanks so much!!"

"Oh my goodness, I LOVE THESE BOOTS! They are the cutest, most well-made, most comfortable boots! My 2-year-old, who hates wearing shoes, won't take them off. I can't say enough positive things about your work. I will be back for more the *second* she outgrows these. Thank you so much!"

This is what makes a place like Etsy so wonderful to sell on. Without the feedback, I'm just another anonymous seller, and they're just anonymous customers. I've developed friendships with my customers, gotten to see their children, and have used their ideas to make KaBoogie shoes an even better product.

So thank you so much for every kind word, it makes doing what I love SO worthwhile!

Update on consignment issue

2009-09-20T08:33:00.001-07:00

I've been finally contacted by the owner of the shop I sent my shoes to. It seems she left the return of the consignors merchandise to another, who may or may not have been thorough in returning said merchandise.

Without going into detailed personal information, she apologized for the inconvenience, and said the box had never been delivered, and is probably sitting at her post office, since their mailbox does not accommodate large packages, and they never got a delivery notice. I told her it's on her to go to her P.O. and find my shoes. I will also call and ask why they have not been returned. I'll not accept either one putting the issue off on the other. But for now, I am placing my happy thoughts on the matter until I can resolve it.

The store is closed, and many of the other consignors have gotten their merchandise back. Great, lol.

The lessons here are plenty. Many are mine to learn. But store owners, hear me now. COMMUNICATE with your vendors. Do not ignore your responsibilities because you're in a mess personally. We can sympathize, and understand personal trouble. What we cannot abide by is ignoring us because someone else was supposed to handle it. It's your store, your responsibility.

I'll update as I find out where the heck my shoes are.

Is This What You Get for Trusting?

2009-09-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

I am so disgusted. I am so hurt. And now I'm getting mightily angry.

Back in August I was contacted by a Lisa Belcher from SeaGreen Treasures in Myrtle Beach. She asked me if I wanted to consign in her recycled gift shop. I googled her, saw her biz page as a real estate agent in Myrtle Beach, saw her lovely website http://seagreentreasures.com/, and had a lovely phone conversation with her. I loved her business model and the fact that she gave art classes, even free ones to kids who brought in recycled materials to use in class. Heck, she even posted pics of my shoes on her front page!

I worked all week on a shipment of shoes and boots to sell in her shop.

I emailed and convoed her on etsy to tell her the shoes were coming, bla bla bla. Heard nothing back, but stupidly, since I was enamored with this lovely business concept, I sent the shoes. This was on August 26. After I returned from the post office, I got this convo. Mind you, I called her 4 times that week, and she even called my house once, and did not leave a message:

by kiwibeach
profile shop contact
I've had some significant personal issues arise and am going to focus on my off-site recycled art classes (my original passion) vs. the retail store. Therefore, I will be returning all consignment merchandise to their respective designers through this week. Please do not send us any additional shipments.I apologize for any inconvenience and/or hardship this imposes and I regret that my I will unable to successfully carry out my business plan. Thanks in advance for your understanding!26 August 2009 3:31pm EDT

ALL she had to do was write "return to sender" on the box and drop it at the P.O.

Ok, so I can understand people have a crisis, and their plans change. But NO contact since, and no merchandise returned. I have contacted a few of the other sellers on her site, and am hearing similar stories, no contact, and no merch returned. If there was a sincere emergency, or crisis, should she not have had someone communicate with us?

I am out 10 pairs of shoes and boots. I am trying to trust in the better nature of my fellow humans.

My box was delivered on August 29th. It is now September 20th. It took 3 days for my merch to get there. I believe my next move is the Myrtle Beach Police, the state attorney general, and perhaps the real estate organization she is associated with. If anyone has personal experience with this woman, I'd love an email. I hate to call her out, but she is leaving me no choice.

Anyone in the Myrtle Beach area want to pay her a visit and get my shoes back? lol! I'll give you a free pair of boogie shoes!

And to Lisa Belcher of Seagreen Treasures...whatever your problems are, this is so wrong. I will inform Etsy of your practices. You need to communicate with your vendors, NOW. I truly hope you are not ill, nor experiencing some horrific trauma. But barring that, GIVE ME MY SHOES BACK. It's called stealing.

Recycled Leather Mask Tutorial

2009-09-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

I bought this funky mask, made from some synthetic leathery product, about 20 years ago. I've used it as a mad cow ("moo, dammit") with white tee & pants with spots tacked on, or with street clothes on lazy Halloweens when I had to have something. It occurred to me, since it's trashed, to make another, and that there are limitless possibilities of design here. So I've recreated it. You can use any design you can google, get inspiration from, or come up with on your own. You are free to copy mine, just not for sale, of course.

Please let me know if these instructions are confusing, this is my first tutorial!

I'd say this is an intermediate job, leather sewing experience helps because of it's stretchiness, or heck, even use a mini glue gun for the smallest beads possible. I worked on this over 2 days. Read through all instructions first! This is a grown up mask, but for a kid you can trace a kid's size plastic mask!

**I highly recommend a teflon presser foot when sewing leather, which STICKS to metal ones. If you have paper tape that may help by taping the bottom of your metal presser foot. TEST it first. Also, a size 11 or 14 machine needle is fine for garment weight leather, a leather needle makes too large a hole, leather does not forgive holes, it's best to sew once, twice if you can hit the same holes the second time. I've developed a knack for being able to use the same holes.

All seams are exposed., except where the snout meets the face. It's stuffed slightly to give it stiffness. I used llama roving, you can use cotton balls, synthetic batting, geez, even scrap rag strips. Whatever you can stuff inside, you won't be machine washing it if you use leather.

Which brings me to materials. I used scraps of garment weight leather from skirts, jackets. I imagine even fabric would be fine, it's a mask, not a ball gown (you can pre-seam the edges to prevent fraying). The original mask used felt as horns, ear trim and whiskers. Some ideas...moleskin, vinyl, mix and match. Faux suede, denim, even recycled plastic wrappers, think outside the box! Anything you can sew or glue. Make a trash mask!

Here's my old mask, has seen better days.

You will need: face color; horn, ear trim, nostril and whisker color; eye band color. I used cream, red and black leather. If you are picky like me, have the matching thread on hand. 14" elastic will hold the mask on your face...

I roughly sketched the outside shape of the face and snout. (You can make a pattern by measuring your face from ear to ear, then close to the top of your forehead down to about the bottom of your mouth.) Then I cut the face and snout separately. I retraced the snout and made a mark at the point where the face and snout meet on each side. I added an additional width of about 1/4" on the top half of the snout on the sides (not on the top of the snout) above those marks (you'll see a point where the pattern juts out at the top half, this will be the point where you sew one snout piece to the top half of each face piece.

I drew & cut two vertical 1/4" V's for darts at the top, to give the snout some "pop-out" dimension. See picture below. You can see where the top half of the snout is wider than the space it fits in.

I then traced the horns and ears, adding an additional 1/4" at the ends where they meet the face, so you can tuck them into the two face pieces (you will cut 2 of all pieces, 4 for the ears and snout).

Don't forget **trace the 2 "whiskers" and the additional trim pieces at the bottom 1/3rd of the ears for the second ear color**.

Out of the first color, cut 2 face pieces (flip to draw the second one on these, trust me, both sides are rarely the same). Don't cut the eye holes out yet!!

2 snout pieces (flip as well)

4 ear pieces (draw 2, flip, draw 2)

Out of the second color, cut 4 horns; draw 2, flip draw 2. I used the original mask to guide in freehand drawing them, on the back of the leather, you can make your mistakes drawing before you cut. Be careful when you draw on the whiskers, the back will show. Cut inside the line.

Cut 2 whiskers, (draw, flip, draw).

Cut 2 trim pieces for the ears (draw, flip, draw).

Cut two nostrils, I free hand drew them on the leather.

I traced the eye holes from the original mask, made the holes slightly bigger, or for your purposes, measure your face from outside one eye to the outside of the other. Then I freehand drew the rest. This will be a trial and error, you could use your sunglasses laid over the ovals you draw to make sure the holes will fit your eyes. Once you cut this pattern part you can lay it over your eyes to fit. Better to screw it up on paper first, so don't hesitate to do it twice. I redesigned the flairs slightly, this is the creative part.

I always have a hard time drawing on black leather, I used a white colored pencil, you can use a fabric pencil, gel pen, whatever you find makes a sharp line.

Cutting this ended up being easiest with embroidery scissors, the knife made it drag.

Remember, it's your mask, leather in out leather out, make it your own!

Here's all the pieces cut and laid out how they will look. I actually sewed the whiskers suede side out, because they droop and flip over, so on the finished mask the leather shows.

I sewed the eye piece on first. I ALWAYS glue stick or spray mount (LIGHTLY) the leather on leather when I sew it, it's slippy and you can't pin it. I keep a medium-large box handy for spraying in. 1/16" seam allowance is fine on leather or non fraying material.

Sew the nostrils on one piece of the snout. It's upside down in the pic, so look before you sew! the wide part of the nostril is on top. Fold the leather at the darts you cut, right sides in. Seam close, 1/16th" is fine for leather or any non fraying material.

Sew two horn pieces to two back pieces, seams out, right sides out.

Sew a TRIM to each front of TWO ear pieces, then sew a front ear piece to each back piece, right sides out.

Stuff the horns and ears lightly and tack them shut with a long stitch.

Now it gets a bit tricky. I stopped and took the night off lol.

Line up the front snout piece (with the nostrils) right sides together, at the bottom of the face and the point where you made the snout wider. Leather is both hard because it is slippy, so go slow, and easy because you can stretch and manipulate it as it goes through.

I actually started about 1/2" above the point where the two pieces meet. This is so I can put the whiskers in later without wrestling the pieces to the ground in a WWF style smack down. About where the tip of my finger is in the pic above. Sew slowwwwwly around the snout, you have to constantly readjust by lifting the presser foot and turning slightly. Have faith, it'll be round when you're done.

Now, slide a whisker in one side, with right sides of whisker and snout together like the pic above. I cheated and put a TEENY line of superglue at the very end of the whiskers, held in place and let it dry on each side. Finish the seams of the snout. When you sew leather or vinyl, you can stretch one side to make it line up. If you have an overlap at the end, fudge it, really, it's a mask and it won't show, mine didn't line up perfectly when it was done, I ended up trimming the mask where it met the snout. *shrugs*

Now do the other side of the snout, and then repeat for the back face and snout piece. You won't have to worry about the whiskers so go from end to end, looking forward constantly to make sure the other end will line up.

Ok, here's where you get to put the front to the back.

Mark the point where you want the ears to go (mark top and bottom of the ear) on the very edge of the back face piece so your ears will be even (keep referring to the pic for position). I am pretty advanced, so I don't use points of reference like on patterns, but always keep my eyes forward to see if I'm going to line up later.

NOW is the time to cut your elastic, wrap a piece around the back of your head to the front of your ears, stretch some, and cut. You will slide one end behind each ear piece as you sew the pieces together, about halfway down the height of the ear. Or you can superglue the elastic to the BACK face piece about 1/4" in, on the first side, right in (I did this).

Start at the corner where the snout meets the face. DON'T sew the bottom half of the snout shut yet. When you get near your ear mark slide one ear in about 1/4". You CAN cheat and superglue the ears onto the front of the mask. You can do this with the horns too! I did.

When you get to the other ear, you can slide the other end of the elastic behind that ear (about halfway down the ear as well).

Stuff a piece of roving up top above the eyes after you get around the top to make stuffing easier later.

Sew around the eye holes after you sew the top half, before you stuff the rest of the face.

Once you've sewn from snout to snout, you can stuff the rest of the mask, not too much. I put very little between the eyes. Sew it shut!

NOW cut the eye holes. Make a starter hole with a knife or rotary cutter. Then carefully trim around using the eye piece as a guide.

This pic shows both masks, As you can see, my method is kind of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants. For an experienced seamstress, not an unusual method. Had I had more time and knowledge of PDF I would have provided a pattern, my apologies!

If any of my instructions are unclear PLEASE email me at ka_boogie@sbcglobal.net and I'll be happy to walk you through it. This is my first real tutorial so I hope it's clear and well layed out. Thanks for reading, would love to see any that are done!

Have a ball!

The Big Day

2009-09-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. A zillion moms have sent their kids off to their first day of school, new lunch box in hand, big boys and girls off and away from home for the first time. In first grade or kindergarten. It's just weird when the kid having their first day is 15. or 12, or 10, or 7. Since I've never done that scene, I get to do it now times 4. I told the high school teacher I felt like a big dork because I'm almost teary watching a kid who looks like a grown up sitting at his work table and I'm jealous because she gets to spend the day with him and I don't.

I remember when a (former) friend, who was sending her 5 year old off to kindergarten, was all weepy and told me so in an email. I wrote back that I felt for her, but I was keeping mine home so I could enjoy the time with him and educate him myself. She wrote back asking me why I was so "disenfranchised" with the idea of institutional schooling. Well, stupid me took the obvious bait and sent the laundry list of reasons why I was going to homeschool.

Bad idea. I got back a scathing condemnation of why secluding my kids was bad for them (if she only knew how full our social calendar was!). She said I should go live in a commune, that I thought I was smarter than teachers and everyone else on the planet (well, ya, lol! KIDDING) After my indignation passed, I laughed and realized that nothing I could say to her would make her understand the joy of seeing your child develop his or her intellect with your guidance and care.

Eleven years later, I am still so happy to have had the privilege of sharing my children's education. And am still blessed to continue this with my youngest two. This year will be a challenge for all of us on different levels, and whether they decide to stay in their little school or come home is completely up to them. It's the joy of freedom in education that homeschoolers defend so vehemently.

On a lighter note, my lovely 12 year old decided to make little apple pies for her and her siblings for their lunch. They rocked! She has spent many an hour in the kitchen experimenting with food and learning SO much from it. I imagine this is something she will miss, so I will encourage her to continue it in her free time, since this school does not send homework home. Yay!

ArtisanCam

2009-09-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

I was just shown this site by a lovely Etsy person http://posa75.etsy.com/ and I went in and got lost! There are very cool art activities my kids went crazy playing with. Here's the first "level" I played around with, it's block printing. http://www.artisancam.org.uk/pages/activities/zone/ but the comic maker is a MUST! http://www.artisancam.org.uk/flashapps/superactioncomicmaker/comicmaker.php

From there, you click on the bottom of the page, it says "if you like this activity click here"... then you get a huge page full of incredible virtual art activities kids (and you!) can play around with. It's the "activity zone" http://www.artisancam.org.uk/pages/activities/zone/ You can even create your own Roy Lichtenstein painting, create and send a card to someone, I love this!

From her (Mari, the woman who sent me this link) blog... "I wandered over to this fun British non-profit called ArtisanCam which has an extensive array of online activities - including making a Kew Gardens poster. You can try your hand at designing jewelry, creating a comic, screenprinting an image, sewing a duvet cover, etc. etc.! All of them are online applications that are lots of creative fun for kids (and designers like me, I got stuck for some time actually). Only drawback is you can't always print your results. But there are online "galleries" to visit instead!"

Visit her AWESOME blog, she's a designer; toys, patterns, illustrations and more! http://www.smallforbig.blogspot.com/ plus her website, which is a gallery of her incredible design work, is a must see! http://maririchardsdesign.com/

Such a talent, truly inspiring! Go play around on ArtisanCam, withuot without the kids! And don't forget to visit SmallForBig!

Maylee's Garden

2009-08-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

I am always thrilled to help promote a great craftsperson, especially when I am so familiar with their product. But when a friendship blooms as I do business with someone, it makes it all the more enjoyable to get to know them even better, and let others know what a gem I found!
I met Libby Goldsmith through ArtFire and Etsy, now we're FaceBook friends and we often trade products, as the fit just works. I LOVE her laundry and body soaps and she loves my KaBoogie shoes!

How about you tell us a bit about yourself, how did you come to your craft?
Hi! My name is Libby, I have three children, two boys and a girl ages 16, 11, and 22 months...yes that is a long time between the last two LOL. My daughter was a home water birth and the most glorious experience of my life. It was as perfect as a birth can possibly be. The highlight of my life for sure. I live in Louisville Kentucky with my husband of 7 years who is originally from Malaysia. I used to work in the nursing field before I became disabled with Fibromyalgia and Arthritis. I met my husband at a nursing home I worked at. We been together ever since. I am a *(http://www.handmadenews.org/columnist/index.php?aid=1156) columnist in the Marketing Department for Handmadenews.org and I am the leader of the Bluegrass Etsy Street Team. (http://www.kentuckyhandmade.com)

I received your laundry soap in a trade, and was so blown away by the incredible scent in my whole bathroom when I opened my washing machine! The basil and cloves is my favorite so far, how do you come up with these awesome combinations?
A lot of times, I open up the essential oil bottles, and put a couple of them together and sniff. If I like it it goes in the soap, if not I figure out what I can put with it to make it good...I get a lot of my custom blends this way.

What sets your product apart from your competition?

Good question! A few things that sets me apart is the amount of time I take with my soap, my line of "pure" soaps scented with essential oils, and the recipe I have formulated. My soapmaking process is the hot process method which means I cook all the lye out of the soap so a bar of soap I made this morning is ready to use tonight. My recipe has a lot of more expensive oils in it that have moisturizing properties. I also add unrefined shea butter to the soap as I am hand mixing in the scent. So the shea stays intact and is not damaged by heat, the scent is also not changed from the heat either. The way I make my soap it ends up being like play-doh. This is how I am able to get the cool spiral soap. I roll it up like a jelly roll! My laundry soap is very good stuff as you know. What sets me apart from the competition in this area is the amount of fragrances I have available in laundry soap.

How long have you been making soaps and sewing your lovely skirts?

I started sewing in 2005, and discovered I could make clothing REALLY well. When I saw how impressed my mother was with my skill, I thought I may be on to something here! I started selling my handmade clothes for plus size women on Ebay and then went to Etsy in 2006. I have had a lot of fun sewing for my friends and customers. I truly enjoy making plus size ladies feel beautiful because they ARE! I started making soap as a hobby in 2006, and after so many rave reviews from friends, opened up Maylee's Garden on Etsy in May 2008. I got into making soap at first for the thrill of playing with a caustic substance, and the desire to make a pure and safe bath soap for my family. After reading about all the chemicals in commercial bath soap I got a little scared. This site is a great reference to look up all stuff in your bath soap http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com I wanted a safe alternative for us. I really never dreamed it would end up being a nice little business for me. I just wanted to save some money and avoid skin cancer! I feel blessed to have been making these products before Maylee was born. She has always used my good soap made with love. I always used the lavender essential oil scented soap on her for her bath. Put her right to sleep every time.

What are your major promotional avenues?

I love to promote through StumbleUpon a lot recently. I have seen a lot of success from my efforts there, and I continue to use it every day to help promote everything I do. I also twitter and facebook is fun too, I can be found on Plurk daily as well. I have also read up a lot on SEO. Its VERY important for sellers to know whats up with this and how it works. I think really hard about titles and tags or keywords, and the first few sentences of a listing description. This is what google picks up...if your selling on Artfire that is...not to slam Etsy but you guys know the deal with them and SEO LOL Do you feel they are effective? Yep! I have google analytics proving Stumbleupon is doing good as far as hits on my blog and my Marketing articles. I use the "stats" feature on Artfire to see that twitter and facebook is working. The SEO strategy is working well. I get most of my Artfire traffic from Google, that's what I want to see!

How similar to the soap making process is the process for making your laundry soap?

They are one and the same. The only difference is with the laundry soap I don't add shea butter to the soap and I don't scent it till it is ordered,That way the scent is stronger, and you will actually smell it in your laundry since its freshly prepared when I ship your order. 7. What websites do you sell on? http://www.mayleesgarden.etsy.com http://www.mayleesgarden.artfire.com Etsy and Artfire. I am loving my Artfire Studio. ALL my stock is listed on Artfire where my Etsy shop has mostly laundry soap listings as that is what sells the most over there.

What is the difference between "essential oils" and "fragrance oils"?

Great question and I am sooo glad you asked! Essential oils are the pure extracts from the plant itself, they are also quite pricey in regards to fragrance oils which are man made. One note about essential oils is any soap containing fragrance oils should be used with caution if your pregnant cause some oils could cause a miscarriage, same with herbs. Do your homework and find out which herbs and oils are a no-no in pregnancy and avoid those.For the rest of us they are safe and pure with no weird chemicals since they come from nature. Fragrance oils are made in a lab with scent chemicals. Some of these oils can contain "bad" things just like in commercial bath and body products. Lately there have been a lot of suppliers selling Pthalate free oils, and that is all I buy for my soaps. Pthalates are bad news so are parabens. There are neither of these in my soaps. However I do not know the full composition of the fragrance oils so I cant say they are 100% safe and pure and still be able to sleep well at night. In my opinion the health risk of a handmade soap with a fragrance oil is a LOT less than a commercial soap containing them. Some people also have allergies to the fragrance oils too. So that's something to consider before making your purchase from a handmade soap seller. I carry fragrance oil scented soaps because I love all the fun scents that you just cant get with essential oils. I use them on my baby as well. But each person is different. As a buyer you make the call on that issue. Should people with sensitive skin or other issues choose one over the other? If you have sensitive skin I would recommend trying an essential oil scented soap first. I have had family members with terribly sensitive skin use my fragrance oil scented soaps with NO problems at all. I always feel like sensitive skin is just sensitive to the massive amounts of harmful chemicals in commercial soaps. If it says its natural and its sitting on a shelf in your local big box store, trust me its NOT natural one bit! Read labels!

Explain why your soaps are safe for septic systems, and powdered laundry detergents aren't?

No surfactants, nothing weird in it to throw off the chemical balance a septic system requires to stay in working order. Soap is pretty natural, so it has no effect on local rivers and streams. The PH of soap is also fairly neutral and close to our skin's PH, so its easy on your skin and the environment too. Fish don't grow legs if they are exposed to soap (smiles). Commercial laundry soaps are generally Ok for septic systems, but not for the environment. There are so many different components to a commercial laundry soap, there are fabric brighteners, chemicals to break down dirt and oils, chemicals to make bubbles, plus a lot of laundry detergent is made from petrol and petrol is something that should'nt be dumped into rivers and streams. You don't want oil in your water supply for sure.

Do you sell in retail stores as well as online?

As of now, no. However this may change in the future!

Any advice for successful online selling?

Make your shop look professional, take awesome pictures of your products, write a good description for your item, study SEO and what it means for you, and choose your tags and keywords well. Promoting is a big part of it too. If your a new shop I would recommend spending an hour a day promoting yourself, getting active in Etsy or Artfire forums and just getting your name "out there" Once you are established and have a good customer base, you wont have to promote so hard. Maybe an hour a week will be good. Its hard work at first but it is so worth it when you can kick back and watch the sales roll in and spend more time on what really matters, crafting!

Two things...

2009-08-26T17:43:00.001-07:00

If you haven't seen it on twitter, check out this KaBoogie shoe giveaway going on now!

http://www.becoming-mom.net/2009/08/26/kaboogie-leather-baby-shoes-giveaway/

AND...come read my guest post on http://4babyandmom.blogspot.com where I bare my soul on juggling and surfing. While raising 6 kids, I decided to reveal my super secret mom type advice!

Winding Down

2009-08-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

Jeepers crows, man, summer fell on top of the cold, ugly spring like a big, sweaty, drooling St. Bernard, and just as soon it'll be bounding off to smother someone else. Meanwhile, it seems like there's a mad rush to fit in our quota of amusements before their first year in school starts. Oh, yes, this is PROOF that homeschoolers definitely have it made. When they're talking about the "freedom" associated with it, this is one reason why!

If you have kids in a large age range, you know how hard it is to amuse them all in the same places. The little kids can amuse themselves almost anywhere, as long as there's water or sand. This place we went to, Breezy Picnic Water Slides, in Douglas, MA seems to suit all of our needs. Hubby took a well deserved day off, and since #1 son was at encampment and we didn't have to secure a friend for him to stomp around with, it was an easy day.

The entire park is fenced in. It's not a large park, so you can pretty much relax, there's only one gate out. Finding your wandering 5 yr old is short work, especially since they can find you just as easily. There's plenty of picnic tables, the large grassy area is mostly under the shade of many large shade trees, and you can actually see most of the park from your table. Super family fun.
Some complain that it's an over priced park. You be the judge. It's $17 for a water slide bracelet, $6 or 7 for a park pass (no slides). I priced up Water Country, and it's $33 or so to get in. So, if you're a parent dragging around a 2 year old who can only play in the short waterscapes, you still pay. Breezy Picnic has only 3 slides, but the wait isn't nearly as long as one of those large park tube rides. Just sayin...

What I like the most, is that it's an old timey-feeling park without the strip mined landscape, you can sit under a tree, the crowds are actually bearable, and though the price seems steep, compared to the 1 1/2 hr away-double-the-price alternative, it's doable. The one huge problem with this park. If you fall at the top of your first slide ride, and dislocate your shoulder, having to leave the park, don't even bother asking for a pass to get in another time. Not even if there's a hurricane. Not ever. They're completely inflexible!

I'm sure you're all wrapping up summer activities, rejoicing in the coming of school. I'm mixed about it. I want my kids to have this school experience they wanted. I want to spend more time with my two youngest, and I want to give my KaBoogie biz more focused attention. However, I think this adjustment period will be harder on me than on them! Enjoy the rest of your summer!

How Much is Too Much?

2009-08-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

Etsy, Artfire, 1000 Markets, SilkFair, IndiePublic....I'm getting dizzy. Twitter, Facebook, Flickr...all the places (plus SO many more) we can sell or promote our craft. Do we help ourselves by using as many of them as we can or does this hurt, taking away from time best utilized elsewhere?

I'd love to hear of your most efficient combinations of promotional sites, social networking sites, and sales venues. So far I think I am doing too much promoting in too many places, having to maintain pages on so many sites that I forget to update some of them! What's your winning combo? Where do you best spend your precious time promoting? I'd love to know!

New at KaBoogie

2009-08-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

I've been cranking out boogie shoes for my next show, it's the Milford Oyster Festival in Milford, CT on August 15th. If anyone from the area is looking for a fun art festival/cultural festival to go to, this one's been around for over 30 years. http://www.milfordoysterfestival.org/index.html Come visit KaBoogie and have some fun!

These are some of the items I've been working on during all the rainy days we've been having. Seems like summer has finally come to CT, so I hope to see some of my CT etsy friends!

This first pair isn't listed yet, but will be in my etsy shop soon...

Doctor Mom

2009-07-31T06:38:00.000-07:00

I kept my 5 year old home from VBS the other day, her cough didn't sound so good, and I didn't want to be "the bad mom" for sending her off to infect the planet. I brought out my arsenal of natural remedies for "whatever" infects them, boosting all 6 kid's immune systems with my collection of:
colloidal silver
vitamin C in a 500 mg chewable (this would be taken up to 3-4000 mg when sick)
elderberry/zinc lozenges
vitamin D (helps reduce congestion)

The 5 yr old had what was shaping up to be a nasty chest cold, and the 7 yr old was starting to cough. At the first signs, All 6 kids get the regiment. Several times daily. I don't have a set dosage pattern, it comes with experience I guess. And no, their skin won't turn blue from a few days of silver ingestion.

I've been treating illness this way for about 14 years, no matter the illness. In the unlikely even of an ear ache (we've never had a bacterial ear infection, but a few ear aches) They get the "garlic torpedo". This is some crushed garlic infused into warm olive oil and twisted into a cotton "torpedo" that gets stuffed into their ear and held with a hot wet compress. This is just in case it IS bacterial, as garlic will kill just about anything! I've only had to resort to Motrin and/or steroid drops once (in 14 yrs, mind you), for a particularly lengthy ear ache that doc assured me was not deserving of antibiotics, which I would probably not use anyway. I have given anti-biotics once, to two kids with asymptomatic undiagnosed strep that was causing tics in my 10 yr old. The young doc at the walk in clinic insisted they didn't have it, and my old country doc did. Guess who was right?

They tend to get two yearly illnesses; either a tummy bug or a cold. I expect this, it's normal. Their immune systems are set up for this. I don't give Motrin for fevers, instead I put them in a tub as hot as they can tolerate, to draw out the fever and let it do it's work. I am a firm believer in not suppressing minor illness (note the disclaimer, you wouldn't do it this way for chronic problems, and PLEASE see your doc when in doubt).

With the threat of H1N1 looming on the horizon, I think homeschooling is such a blessing. With my oldest 4 going to a small school this year (28 students), they will have an easier time coping with any outbreaks, and I will pull them out if it gets ugly, this regimen should serve me just as well. Certainly has so far! At the threat of illness, one needs to limit severely, all dairy and sugars. The dairy increases mucous production, and the sugar feeds the beast.

By the way, my 5 year old? after 4 days, her cough is practically non-existent. The immune system is an incredible machine, I try to work WITH it, not against it. Any special remedies you can't live without? Love to hear them!

Incredible Artisan, Part II

2009-07-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd give a few more images of Ron Lussier's stained glass work.

The first is another shot of the large screen, with wisteria and the little boat. The other was a large single piece of rainbow glass, the most beautiful piece of glass I'd ever seen! He painstakingly cut it into pieces and leaded it, while preserving the flow of color, so it still looked like one piece of glass. Incredible! The middle piece is his studio sign, it's one piece, hanging on the back of his barn door....a shot of his workplace (above) also.

Enjoy!

Incredible Artisan

2009-07-28T17:58:00.001-07:00

After a long successful career owning a large sign company in central New England, Ron Lussier retired and set his sights on a field well suited to his particular talents. He took a stained glass class. Interestingly enough, those same skills that served him so well, skills like knifing, pattern making, masking and design, proved to be more than enough to turn his beginner class into a tutorial for the rest of the class on pattern making.

A hobby turned into quite an impressive body of work. Some from existing patterns, some just became.

An actual coloring book page, colored by a child, and turned into quite a piece of work.

Part of a 4 panel screen that to this day blows me away! He not only creates the glass pieces, he builds the frames.

This has to be my favorite. I absolutely love the intense color and mod design. It's a refreshing break from the usual traditional stained glass work I've seen. Someday I hope to see this one in a gallery. Or perhaps it'll make a nice birthday present for some deserving and loving daughter. Whaddaya think, dad? Er, I mean, Ron?

These pieces are available for sale. Comment for contact info and additional images.

Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!!

2009-07-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

Seriously! I rejected the 10-10-10 chemical fertilizer this year in favor of a bag of Cock-a-doodle-doo, chicken poo!

Granted, the whole garden is 5 yrs old and most of the plants are divided from old stock. So I'd expect it to be pretty robust. Plus, we've had more rain this year than I ever remember. Having a lot of funky rust and fungi issues. Also, the Japanese Beetles are outrageous! We've kind of let them go, the kids make games out of collecting and squishing them.

But I do believe this chicken poo works like a charm! My gardens are pretty much a mess, and even after 4 hours of weeding yesterday, I had to resort to round-up for the low stubborn weeds, pulling the 4 ft tall ones myself. Would that flower varieties would learn to stay where I put them! But nooooooo, they have to go wandering around, making a big pizza pie of color. Some desperately need rescuing from the onslaught of black eyed susans & baptesia, some just look silly hidden between gobs of yarrow.

Enjoy a walk through the garden. Tomorrow, back to boogie shoes!

For the Love of Chai

2009-07-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

The Tao of Chai

I am a chai freak. Chai latte, to be exact. The combination of spices apparently has some emotional/mental effect on me.

Making homemade chai is such a comforting process, and for me, worth all the time and effort involved. So I'm going to walk you through it, since most of the time I give a quick synopsis and recipe, leaving out details you must figure out as you make it. This is not a huge problem, it's not science, it's cooking, so enjoy!

There are expenses involved, some of which you can fudge. I use a mortar & pestle, french press, a strainer and a large pot. You could use a crock pot, then stain it into another pot, but you want to get all the goop out. I also keep a press pot cozy made of recycled wool on my press pot, of course, available in my etsy shop :-) so we can keep it warm while we sip. I'm giving a recipe for 1-2 cups, so double or triple it to make more. It's a matter of flavor, and as you make it you will see what ingredients you'd like more or less of. So here's the ingredients you'll need:
1 cup whole milk (you can use cream, it's really heavy though)
1 cup water
1 tea bag or enough loose tea for a cup (I empty out the tea loose into the pot). My friend who gave me the recipe uses only Tetley British blend, but she's a tea perfectionist. I'd say she's right, but it's not mandatory.
A cinnamon stick or a tsp of cinnamon
4-6 cloves
a pinch of allspice
4-6 cardamom pods
4-6 white peppercorns
4-6 black peppercorns
(you may want to start with 3 of each of the pepper, I like mine spicy, and it WILL be spicy with more pepper)
sugar or honey to taste (I use a T or 2 of sugar, I have a sweet tooth, you can add more later)
1 T grated ginger, or maybe a tsp of ginger juice. If you use dry ginger, perhaps start with a tsp and you can add more next time. I love it gingery.
Grind the whole spices in your mortar & pestle, or if you don't have one, put a tea towel over them and pound them a bit.

Here's the thing. I never make one cup. If I'm going to take the time to make it, I make a pot with 4 cups each of water & milk, then save the rest. Some recipes say to put it all in, adding the milk last, I just put everything in and simmer for about 1/2 hr. The key is to boil off most of the water. This makes a heck of a strong cup of tea, so be warned if you're going to drink it late.

I strongly advise watching it for boiling over, it can. I also advise standing over it and inhaling the immensely YUMMY aroma. This is almost the best part.

I then strain or scoop out as much of the gunk as I can before I put it in my press pot. It's pretty gunky. Press it through, then give a little taste for sweetness. Pour a cuppa, and ooooooohhhhhhhh. Enjoy! If I forgot anything, my apologies, ask me any questions you like. Share it with a friend! My best friend put all the dry ingredients in a jar for me as a gift once, it was so good! Every batch will come out a little different, but once you get the hang of it you won't even need to measure.

Have some for me!

What I've been working on...

2009-06-29T06:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've been very busy! Even with the shows I've done in the last two weeks, I've stocked up on some new designs, I hope you like them! Usually, as I design on a whim, these would be one-of-a-kind (OOAK in Etsy speak) but as always, am happy to make any custom design you'd like! This skull wristlet is getting listed today, was thought up during our homeschool group Dungeons & Dragons game. A little inspiration never hurts!

This design was one I used on a tote, then a messenger bag, I like the bold graphic look of it without being too "frou frou". And of course, black is my fav, goes with anything.

I made these for my mom to give to a nice friend from church, but she ended up going with fuchsia mocs. I always like spreading out my mocs across the world, they're my own design, and I'm very eager to see LOTS of babies wearing them! This shoe is so sweet and traditional. Reclaimed leather, as always. Super soft and supple!

This is the last of my etched leather, I was able to make several pairs of shoes from it, and a wristlet. It's so very soft and pretty, neutral and mod! Listing these today also!

The Craft Show Conundrum

2009-06-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I am constantly torn about craft shows. You may do this every year, stress over which shows to do, whether to do them at all, and at the end of the show, whether to ever do them again.

I really enjoy the show itself. However, as any of you who've done them know, the countless hours spent in preparation usually means you've been working for free. You have not only the time in creating, but the travel, set up, hours at the show, plus however long it took to secure your equipment and create displays. I must admit I've tried my hardest to display on the cheap, feeling clever at my use of pegboard sprayed silver to hang my shoes. This lets them all be seen, keeps them from blowing off the shelves I made from reclaimed wood, and helps weigh down my insufficient canopy.

Is it a great set up? Heck no, it pales in comparison to those who've spend 10 years building their booth up. I have, though, come up with some cute decor to offset the spartan displays I have. Again, cheaply. It'll do, for now. But if I intend to continue craft shows as local promotion (it's not JUST to sell shoes I've realized, since several came who remember me from last year), I am going to have to invest countless more hours creating a booth that looks like a store.

I left this weekend's show feeling somewhat like I really needed to decide if the craft show circuit is the best way to spend my time, to sell the most product. It's probably the biggest decision a crafter who wants get their "branded" product out there faces. I see clearly that it can be done, why else would these long timers continue, with their professional setups, high end products and name recognition, keep doing it?

There's no guarantee that any show, no matter how successful in the past, won't get rained out, or suffer some other sort of situation where the crowds just don't show up. I was told if I want to make the big sales, I need to do the big shows. Therein lies the problem. That next step. Stay a hobby crafter on Etsy or move up to push into the wholesale market? Do the affordable shows with moderate attendance or move up to the big time, $200-500 fee shows with 30,000+ attendance?

Have you thought about it? What's your next move?

An aside: The winner of the Birthday Giveaway, who correctly guessed first which child was me (bottom row, left), was morganstreet.

My Birthday Blog

2009-06-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

I have to write a birthday blog, right?

Some enlightened musings where I impart wisdom to my younger friends and join my older and wiser friends in reminiscing on life and it's lessons.

Nahhhhhh! Just want to give a little shout out to my ma & pa, and say thanks for the years! And just to give everyone a little chuckle, here's a pic of me 18 years ago, then one of me in first grade. One free recycled leather zipper pouch of your color choosing to the first one who can guess which child I am. For those of you who already know (and I know who you are!) no tattling!

Hint...I was not much different then. So to qualify, you have to follow my blog, and my facebook fan page at http://facebook.com/kaboogie and the first to guess wins! Color is based on availability.

Spring Fling '09

2009-06-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

Spring fling, our homeschool prom, is tomorrow. It's been weeks in preparation. Kids & moms enjoying the process of bringing our 60's theme to life. Without the opiates. The coordinators have meetings months in advance, and we implement their ideas on a shoestring budget. Last year was a misery of 97 degree heat outside and a 100+ degree building inside. This basement church hall is just delightful, spaceous and well appointed. A joy to work in. Toward the end of the day, this is how it was coming along.

Tomorrow night is going to be a dream for the 11+ year olds. The guys, for the most part, will barely notice their surroundings, being too busy hanging with their buds. The ladies, however, are well aware of the fanfare, as we all know, it's all about the dress! More pics to come...

Friday's Musings

2009-06-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

Although the weather isn't an impressive summer mix of heat, sun, and the sticky film that envelops us the minute we venture out, it's been just enough rain & sun to urge the green up from it's secret hiding place. So today I thought I'd share a little of what's going on in my garden. Funny how all of the first flowers in my garden are purple. My mom always said the bigger the bloom the quicker they fade, so catching the foxglove is one of the highlights of spring, if the rain doesn't mangle them first. The pink Weigiela was a "moving home" gift from my parents, grows so fast it's a great way to make a huge impact. Reminds me of the person who's impacted my life in the greatest way.

Honestly, most of my plants came from my mother's garden. I consider this the kind of heirlooms one should treasure the most, because not only do you receive part of your family's past, you can spread it all over without losing anything. These yellow Iris's are such a treat amongst the purple Baptesia towering in the back, and the Veronica (bought in honor of my 5th child) I have to go out and look at them every day.

The obelisk in the background was a special request for my birthday several years ago. It's builder is my father, whom I consider to be the most talented human I know. It's not just talent, it's a cleverness, ingenuity and motivation I've never seen in another. Yes, there are others like him, just not quite as wonderful :-) and not that are so giving of their time. I have been truly blessed by parents who love me like no others. In the foreground are Siberian Iris's my sister graciously donated to my one time barren patch of gravel. Later on her Black Eyed Susans will make me smile well into fall. The silvery swatch is the young Silver King Artemesia my lovely mom has now given to 4 of my gardens around the country. Talk about sowing!

So this is my garden. But it's not mine. It belongs to my husband, who built and buried the fences all across, pieces of wood from his father's deck. His father, who in this an many other manners will always be here with us. Who made my husband the incredible man he is today. He (my husband of course) put in the lightposts to always guide our way home. A former friend of mom's, who sent her unwieldy rambling roses to me, since they overtook her plot, reminds us of friendships and their fragility. My best friend, who's blanket of sweet pink creeping flowers reminds me of a good base for friendship. How we must treasure and tend them lest they be lost. The stones in the path, a rich part of New England's history and how they once labored to rid their fields so they could live and eat.

Yes, this is my garden. It's not huge, it's not the most beautiful I've seen. For me, however, it's a reminder of where I come from. The wonderful people without whom this would not be, nor would I. I can ignore it, like them, and it will wither, like our relationships. Or I can give it my love and attention, like they've given me, treat it well, and it, like them, will grace my life with beauty and richness.

The World is Our School

2009-05-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

Nothing I have ever done in my life has ever come close to the joys of spending my days learning with my children. The day my first was born, I knew I couldn't leave them to the care of another. Before he was 3, I knew I would homeschool him. The reasons are myriad, you've heard them all; faith, freedom, fun. As in any journey, the road twists and turns. We've moved, we've traded one style for another. We've grown from one student to 4, plus two in the wings. We've had the privilege to befriend some of the most wonderful people that could've crossed our path. I've always been determined to follow homeschooling as a lifestyle. Comfortable with routine and structure, we've favored a more traditional approach to educating, using the classical method. It suited our lifestyle, and made the academic part of homeschooling go more smoothly.

As the years have turned into a decade, I've come to understand many things about the homeschool lifestyle in general and about myself. There is no superior way to educate your children at home. Your style of "school" HAS to fit your family. You can lose the dogma of institutional schooling in the attempt to not saddle your children with the baggage that entails, but you may come to find that in your family one way works better for you. As the parents, you will have to figure it out.

Our family has decided, parents and children together, to let the kiddos attend a very small Christian school next year. I am pleased with their philosophy, as it fits well with allowing children to learn at their own pace, does not label with "grades", and follows the classical approach. If all schools were run this way, ours would be the best in the world, as they used to be. Surely we will hit some bumps in the road, and after this year I may well bring them back home.

I am also of the heart that I need a year to tend to my 2 youngest, who seems to always get the tail end of my attention, and work at my craft. My family is my first passion, but as a designer I am driven to work at creating. So, some may say I am "choosing" one over the other, some may say I am "giving up". I believe I have done this long enough to know when to recognize that I may be a little burnt out and need the year to regroup. From my children's attitudes, though, I see that they find this an exciting new adventure, and are looking forward to trying something new. This, I realize, is what education is about. So with prayerful anticipation, we take the next turn.

Some Pillow Talk...

2009-05-23T13:16:00.001-07:00

Today I am featuring Preethi, from PillowTalks, an exotic glimpse into Indian art:

I am an independent crafter and have been crafting since the age of 7. I love creative arts and enjoy transforming the regular and mundane into beautiful works of art. I firmly believe that art knows no boundaries and has no limits; it spans distances, minds and imaginations. That said; I do not restrict myself to any one form of crafting or using a single medium. So I paint, sew, sculpt, craft - using paper, canvas, fabric, clay, wood - anything I can lay my hands on! I draw inspiration from a variety of things, foremost being culture & nature. I am from India and the country offers us a humongous amount of exposure to art & craft and needless to say that we are well fed on a diet of culture & mythology; an integral part of our life here.

I love the opportunity to meet & see the works of artists all over the globe. At the same time I love the opportunity I have in showcasing the artform I practice here. I love to give others in the world a glimpse of the people & life here through my art works. I look forward to the day when art around the world would be freely accessible to everybody. I believe that every beautiful piece indulges in some intimate conversation before one decides to buy it. Hence, the name pillow talks …

Most of my art pieces resonate the Indian culture & mythology. Of these items shown; one is an intricate form of Indian art which depicts tales from Indian mythology, bright & colourful. Second is banyan leaf painting, I dry the leaf and then paint on it..I prefer painting people from various religions & caste in India in their traditional attire. It’s a very painstaking process to get it right...

Visit PillowTalks' Etsy shop!

Of chicks and things...

2009-05-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

A collection of fun I had this week. I finished my niece's dress just in time for her to get it home last night so as not to be harried today with errands. Her hair and such isn't done, but she's still a gorgeous chick! She'll knock 'em dead.

Somehow school has been slid to the back burner this week as Spring Fling looms in the corner and the prom dress issue has come & gone. It goes like that, your kids become appendages as you run from fire to fire, showing them what you hope is grace under pressure. They need to know that life sometimes takes over, hair cuts, food pantry deliveries, the garden needs straw, etc. I've noticed lately their ability to make the best of close quarters has been greatly aided by the invention of Nintendo DS's that can connect to each other and 3 kids (the ones who fight the most I might add) can all play the same game, together! They actually DO interact, and have fun! Love those things.

I pulled out my pattern folder this week, so my designs wouldn't get stale, and revived my little chicks who had been given a debut but never got to stay out of the dressing room. I think they're just funky and fun enough that girls OR boys can wear them. Birds are enjoying the design spotlight lately, so I think mine fit right in.

Speaking of birds enjoying the spotlight. I stay home for 2 days, and these birds build a nest right on my tire. I was so glad they didn't lay eggs. But geez, it makes you think. Am I that lame that I stay home long enough for birds nests and cob webs to be constructed? Maybe that's good. Save gas, slow down, keep it simple, bla bla bla. But if this is how fast and efficient birds work, I do believe we should clean house and let birds run our government.

WHY do we do these things?

2009-05-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

I am not a candy maker. There, I said it. I can bake, I can sew, paint, build, garden, cook, break boards with my hands, but I can not make candy. How often do we try these things we know we cannot do, just to see the same bungling efforts end in the same ugly result?

I see these gorgeous confections in the stores of my etsy friends, on the shelves in retail land, and I know why they can do it and I cannot. It's because I don't have the candy gene. There, I said it. I'm missing a link of DNA. I need a support group.

Truffles. Anonymous. Yea.

The wondrous wafting odor of cream, butter, corn syrup and oh, probably a bit too much kahlua and amaretto looked great going into the fridge. It just never got hard. Not even enough to roll without dredging our hands in cocoa/powdered sugar. So we finagled these blobs back into the fridge, melted the chocolate, and tried to cover up our shortcomings with a lovely drizzle over the top.

So, you see, that didn't go so well either. Luckily I do not possess the ego gene. So I'm sharing this hilarious mess with you. Thankfully, I did manage to make something I am a little better at! I got a little tipsy eating just a few of them. Yuck.

Buying Baby Shoes

2009-05-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, seems like a no brainer, right? Wrong!

I can't tell you how many one-shoed babies I've seen out there pointing at their naked foot while mom nonchalantly pushes them miles away from the poor castaway shoe, possibly never to be seen again.

Here are a few observations I've made once I started making baby shoes over a year ago.

1. People buy shoes WAY too big for their babies. I know, I've done it too. Let's do a little experiment. Moms, go put a pair of your hubby's shoes on and walk around. What do you have to do? Right! Curl your toes to hang on so your shoe doesn't fall off. Yes, they're tied tight, but that feeling while your foot slides around the shoe is that you have to hang on. This is not good for new walker's feet. This is reason #1 why hand made shoes rock. Whether I, or someone else, makes them, you can request the shoes be made to fit your child. Plus a little room to grow. Infant feet really don't grow that fast. You can also request them wider, or more narrow. A crafter should have no problem with this. Most of us have so many in stock and the rest we list as custom.

2. It's hard sometimes when every shoe we buy seems to be different in length. Make sure your seller lists the length of the shoe. Baby's foot + 3/8 of an inch is a good length. The problems with buying shoes sight unseen on line when the actual length isn't listed is fairly obvious.

3. Hard soled shoes. The old info about stiff hard soles and ankle support has long been debunked and can actually damage the growth pattern of little feet. The new wisdom says that until a baby walks, there is no need for shoes. Since we cannot go barefoot all of the time, soft soled shoes are the least constrictive, and there's plenty to choose from. Of course, I sell baby shoes, but I wholeheartedly agree with this concept. A great article about hard soled shoes .

4. Back to the lost shoe issue. This also points back to the hard soled shoe argument. they just don't stay on. Elastic ankles are such a wonderful invention! They should gently hug, but not bind, cutting off circulation. It's a hard balance to attain, since every baby's ankles are different, and some babies have chunky monkey ankles. My most satisfied customer comes back over and over because I make her son's shoes EXACTLY to the shape of his foot. He has very chunky ankles, an adorable little muffin, but most shoes bite into his ankles. This is the other benefit to a custom crafted shoe.

Even as children reach toddlerdom, I see more and more parents opt for soft soles to continue to allow their child's foot to develop in the most natural manner. I hope as time goes on we will see less and less adult foot issues. As any chiropractor would tell you, we change our natural posture to compensate for poor structural development. When I am at home, I generally wear my own soft soled mocs, unless I am working in the garden or on a concrete surface.

I hope this article was helpful to you!

Today's Musings

2009-05-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

So, today I went to a baby shower. My 5 year old wanted to know why we were going to give someone's baby a shower, she should have a bath. Got to love 5 year olds.
This little baby was born quite premature, weighed in a a whopping 2 lbs. I had made her some preemie shoes that are still huge, will be for quite some time. Here's the gift I gave her.

Of course, at now 3 lbs, she won't wear it until most likely next year. I've never met the mom, she is my sister in law's new daughter in law. I cannot imagine what they've been through, and what is yet to come, I only hope this child escapes any long term issues related with that level of prematurity. Parenting is hard enough, isn't it? For all of you struggling and sacrificing to take care of special babies and children, I take my hat off to you.

I Want Comfort & Quality!

2009-05-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

I bought this on etsy last week. I cannot wait to get it! Doesn't it look comfy? http://wildewear.etsy.com and I'll let you know how wonderful it is when I get it!

18-24 Month Reclaimed Suede Mocs

2009-05-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25069034

Spring Fling & Lesson Learned

2009-05-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

So, with the Spring Fling mere weeks away, we toil to transform a church hall into a 60's psychedelic romp. My garage is full of decor we've cut and are painting. The teens and one very busy mom have cut a gazillion circles for beaded curtains, there's one very secret photo backdrop for goofy hippie pics, a big, a yellow submarine and a Magical Mystery Tour bus on the way. The huge pile of Boogie Mocs are awaiting their cobbler to finish up for a June show. So here's what we have thus far.

The other project, and the point of this post, is alterations on a prom dress for my niece. It's gorgeous, but it's satin, and anyone who's sewn with satin understands this. Satin is a nightmare to sew. The bra cups need to be taken up and tucked into the beaded band. The back dips WAY below where it should and has to be taken in also. The hem is asymmetrical, and about 2 feet too long, and the straps had to be taken up. The catch: with the exception of the hem, it all has to be done by hand, since the beaded sections cannot go through the machine. ACK!

Since my niece is super small, this 00 is huge on her (I know I know!). She was told the alterations would cost about $100 by a professional seamstress. Since I am somewhat of a professional, I was aghast at the cost, and agreed to make the alterations. I mean, how DARE someone charge that much! Then I began to rip the seams, cut and resew the straps back in between the lining and the outer dress. The beads all fell off, so I had to glue them back on, then resew the straps in. 2 hours. Then I had to rip the seam on the beaded band in the middle, futz with the three layers of padding, lining and satin, cut it down, slippery as it all is, and hand sew the layers back together. 3 hours. Mind you, I still have to hem the slip and the dress, plus take the back apart, cut and resew by hand.

Ok, here's the gist. $100 isn't really all that outrageous, considering the work on an almost $300 dress. As a crafter I should have known this. How often do we undervalue not only ourselves, but our peers in the art/craft world? The designer world? The manual labor world even? I know from years of being an artist that one's work is worth what people will pay for it. Now I also know that sometimes we don't stop and consider how much thought/work actually goes INTO what seems simple to those who have never done it. So I hope to make this dress perfect for my niece, who I love and would do anything for (almost haha), and next time I see a price for a handmade item, sewn, knitted, woven, or otherwise, I'll remember that if I want people to value MY work, I really have to value theirs! Happy crafting!

Yay! I finally did it!

2009-05-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

I guess it's official. Here I am, among the multitudes of bloggers, excited at achieving this status, yet pondering my ability to interest anyone in what I have to say.

I'll be showing my creations, of course, and featuring many wonderful crafters and artists from etsy and elsewhere. But first, here's what's going on in KaBoogie land.

On the home front, there's homeschool to finish up for the year, and we're easing into dropping one subject at a time as the kids finish up each book. You homeschoolers know this one. There's this inate need to....finish....each....book. Well, us anal types anyway. I am focusing mostly on my freshman in HS, since I feel strongly that he needs transcripts, I am dotting all my i's, so to speak.

Our teen group, consisting of 11-18 yr olds, is having their Spring Fling. It's a magical night for them, of course. Last year we had an asian theme, transforming a dingy Elks Club into a gorgeous Japanese inspired dinner dance. This year it's "Yellow Submarine". We're concocting giant submarines, Beetles (the car), hippie cutouts for pictures, and a Magical Mystery Tour bus. Dozens of smilies, peace signs, and flowers. The moms are doing the big ticket items, as usual, they get difficult, and the kids are helping wherever possible, because we try to keep some of it a secret from them. I'll be posting pics of our progress.

On the Etsy front, I'm still diligently trying to promote myself in the best possible ways. It's really hard not to waste time with free advertising that doesn't yield results. I'm waiting for my lead test results on some suede samples I sent a while back, I am sure she's VERY busy. Until then, I wait. I want to be CPSIA compliant, and for now this is the best I can do. I've got a large wholesale order coming, a show in June (same time as the dance, YAY!), and another two in the fall. I am also trying to streamline my stock, and find out what REALLY sells. It's a fascinating process with all of the tools we have available!

So this is where I'm at. All of you with kids know the busy life of mom. It's a fulfilling life, one I wouldn't trade for a large manufacturing business making assembly line shoes. A word about my business model next time. I'm curious as to other's models, and how they stick to them. SO much to say after all!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned!