Sold! New Fabric Sculpture Necklaces

I was pleased as punch when three of my new, totally original fabric sculpture necklaces sold last week. Each one is hand-sewn, backed with sturdy fabric, and strung on 100% sterling silver chain. There are still some left in my Etsy shop, and I'll be debuting these in person at the upcoming Urban Street Bazaar in Dallas on October 2nd and 3rd. Come and get 'em!

Weekend Thrift Finds

In search of a little retail therapy, Ian and I hit the aisles of a few local thrift stores this past Saturday and Sunday. Along with great indie businesses and restaurants, Oak Cliff has a lot to offer by way of thrift shopping, and I scored some awesome finds over the weekend. Don't be jealous.

This poster stopped me dead in my tracks. There is so much weirdness going on here, I don't even know where to begin (click image for a larger view). Illustrated by Lionel Kalish, I'm sure this 3M ad campaign from the 60's has a message, but I don't know what it is.

A flirty little French revolution girl plays with a toy and looks all sweet and cute.

Ian's gotta have his frogs and turtles. Seriously, it's like an obsession.

Why yes, this is a brand new Fossil bag!

Ahoy matey! This nautical print will look even better once I paint the frame red.

Give the little Dutch girl a kiss already.

I couldn't resist the perfectly plump little basket flower thingies.

A $13 solid oak mirror. Who could resist? (Hi Oliver!) Last but not least, these new shoes are perfect for the librarian look!

"I'd Rather Be Thrifting" poster by http://www.blogger.com/www.ashleyg.etsy.com.

Tefi Loves: humbleBea

Oh. My. God. These are just about the cutest little twee mushrooms I've ever seen in my life. And she uses handsewn fabric yo-yos to make them! Gotta love that. I also adore her little gnomes and tiny people. This stuff is just so cute it hurts. Check out her Etsy shop: http://www.blogger.com/www.humblebea.etsy.com

My First Custom Yoyo Necklace

I was honored to be chosen by Rebecca to create a custom fabric sculpture necklace for her wedding dress rehearsal and party. She was a pleasure to work with throughout the creative process.

As an artist-person, it is a dream when the client respects my work and provides positive feedback as I work to create something I can only hope she'll love. And she did! *wipes brow* Yay!

Thanks for such a wonderful experience, Rebecca! I hope you love your necklace and new hubs for years to come.

Tefi Loves: Trying to be happy a lot of the time

Gorgeous and lovely, isn't it?

Art print by Sarah McNeil - $22

http://www.sarahmcneil.etsy.com/


And how can you deny the utter adorable-ness of her porcelain pendants?

Weekend Projects

Here's a little photo gallery of the tons of things I've been working on these past few weekends, namely fabric sculpture necklaces and brooches - using mainly Echino linen fabric from Japan. Lovely! I've made tons of fabric sculpture necklaces, hair clips and brooches bursting with color and texture. These are a stack ready for the finishing touches. Lots in my Etsy shop; new designs on the way! http://www.tefi.etsy.com/ Here's a stack of fabric from my friend Cheyne of Cut Out and Collect. She's always been kind enough to save me her scraps for my projects. Her shop: http://www.cutoutandcollect.etsy.com/ And here's another view of that beautiful stack of fabric. (Did you catch Ian in the other shot?) My weapon of choice when making fabric tags to go on the backs of my brooches and necklaces - Grandma's pinking shears. I use a custom-made stamp and permanent ink on durable linen for my fabric tags. A bird out of the cage - I love it! Wish they all were cage-free... Cheyne taught me to heat-set the ink, even if it is permanent. Even though I've tested them and the ink does not run, I advise my customers not to get their piece wet if they can help it. And here's the finished product! Stamped, heat set, and cut with pinking shears. Visit my Etsy shop today to see the items I've listed so far. So many more to come!

New Fabric Designs On the Way

I've been furiously hand sewing a ton of new yoyos out of Japanese Echino linen fabric. Soon they will become beautiful brooches, necklaces and other pretty things. I plan to debut them both online in my Etsy shop soon, and in person at upcoming local craft shows (including the 2010 Jingle Bash - the show I organize). Big thanks to my friend, Cheyne of Cut Out and Collect, who gave me some awesome scraps and got me started using Echino fabric!

Hmm...What to do with stale bread?

[a blog entry I wrote in honor of the staleness of my blog of late; reposted from the Etsy Dallas/Handmade Bash blog]

Dearest readers - My how our blog has gotten stale! It's like that piece of Wonder bread at the back of your pantry that everyone forgot about.... Our only excuse is that we have been up to our eyeballs in Jingle Bash applications, planning, etc. etc. (This show is going to ROCK!) So, with our focus back on our blog, I thought it'd be fun to ask my fellow teamies: What do you do with stale bread? Here's what they said:

Margaret, Three Yellow Starfish

"We use stale bread to make bread crumbs. And in Poland, we give it to babies who are teething. Under strict parental supervision of course!"

Maggie, maggie may i

"Watch my husband eat it. Seriously, that man will eat anything! He says as long as it smells good it's okay. And apparently stale bread does not smell bad. Neither did the sour cream that was way past its expiration date. And yes, I know the fastest way to get to the hospital just in case."

Alicia, La Alicia

"My fave thing to do with stale bread is feed it to the birds and ducks while I watch them."

Silla, silla soup

"Whiskey sauce bread pudding. Dunno what we're eating for dinner tonight, but I gots me an idea for dessert!" CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

And my answer:
"Why not use it in drywall? Go green! (Right? No?)"

posted by Stephanie of tefi