teapot surprises

Yep.  I'm a swapper.  I love to do those cool mail swaps where you have some kind of a challenge and then get a random partner to send to?  Well, if you've never done it, go to swapbot.com and sign up.  Its free and super fun.
The last swap I did was supposed to be for a cup of tea and a letter.  You get 2 partners to which you send 2 teas/packaged beverages and a letter.  as long as you follow those rules, your good. However, I LOVE getting fun mail and extra special things and I honestly believe that you get what you receive, so I try to make mine special.

What I did was, I drew a teapot freehand onto a piece of paper and then cut out each section that I want to applique   Like this:

Then, you pick your fabric and iron it on to stabilizer--the thicker the stabilizer, the better, especially when you have tiny swirls and corners to stitch around. 

Then, you trace each piece out onto the stabilizer side of the material and cut it all out.  For interest, use coordinating colors, but different fabrics for each piece.  

I then take a piece of felt and tightly zigzag all the way around the piece, making sure to leave an opening at the top so you can put things into your teapot. 

You end up with a little something like this.  You want to trim the felt edges of the teapot for a nice finished look.  I added a pocket in the front too, to put my letter in for my partner.

And here it is!  all packed up and ready to go!  It was very easy and the pot only took about an hour extra to put together.  A little effort and my partners have a super special surprise.

I also offer little things like this in my Etsy shop all pre-made for the swapper.  Not everyone is crafty, but everyone loves special just-because surprises.  That little something extra will make someone.s day.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/104776939/vintage-1960s-fabric-coffee-gift-set

Because I'm on the subject of surprises, Look what I GOT TODAY!!!!

vintage fabric love

I have been having such a blast with these vintage fabrics my mom gave me.  Each one has a story.  There is this blue polka dot that came from a dress that was made for my sisters to wear, but they both refused because it was SO OLD :)
A scrap of mom's out-dancing shirt and vest set, a square of hot pants, a charm from that pink prom dress my sister's shared...

I'm having to work at it, but I am managing to make coffee sleeves out of the scraps for gifting.  I just added 2 more beauties to my shop:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/uniqueeuphoria

Take some time today and pick out a little "just because" gift for you or a friend.

Swapbot section on uniqueeuphoria

As you know , I love, love, love me some swapbot.  I have been working on a section of my shop, just for swapbot users looking for fun little extras to send to their partners.  Not everyone is crafty and not everyone has time to be crafty.  I am really hoping I can offer a little something to the swapbot site.
Today I focused on making some treat envelopes.  Made from vintage fabric and felt, I sew these all by hand in the shape of a little mug.  You can then stuff this with little goodies like a letter and some tea, honey sticks, coffee, sweeteners, chocolates, hot chocolate packs, pencils, pens, chap stick, whatever you want to fill it with for your partner.  Lets say you are to send a friend a beverage and a nice long letter.  This would have plenty of room for your letter and beverage and possibly a stir stick/peppermint/bookmaker/etc.  See?  Just one more little something to make your letter than much more special.  So, here is the new additions to the swapbot section.  Along with the treat mugs, I also made coffee sleeves with vintage fabric and managed to list a couple of zipper pulls/purse charms.  any of these would be a welcome extra for your partner.

New item and a couple of new friends

It has been debilitating hot.  I know, I know.  Wisconsin polar bear girl has no idea what summer hot is.  Well folks, my cankles know what hot is.  This is it :)

I jumped on the steampunk bandwagon this week and managed to score a pretty kick-ass octopus pendant.  I just listed the final product today in the store: https://www.etsy.com/listing/103558111/octopus-shell-and-pearl-necklace-and

I'm happy enough with it for my first try.  I kind of got the look I wanted, but luckily, it was a 2 for 1 sale on big damn octopus pendants.  Muahahaha

I also want to mention some new friends of mine that I have recently met in Swapbot.  First, is Jenifer, who has an etsy shop located here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/soloflair.  Her style is very alternative with a little darkness and a light peppering of steampunkary.   She features handmade gauges and accessories, which I love.  There really is so little in the way of gauge and extreme ear wear.  Shes even been very sweet in answering some of my questions about the rules and supplies allowed to make jewelry like hers.  I am all about a crafter willing to share information :)  One of my favorites from Soloflair:

Oh man....you killed my sister! Heh...so great...I can see these as Christmas presents.  Perfect for my  silly family...

Okay, the next shop I want to show you is that of  Suzanne from House of Plush http://www.etsy.com/shop/houseofplush

Here its all about cute and kawaii.  Don't let the cuteness fool you.  It looks all hugs in smiles in plush-land, until I ran into this: 

Which made me laugh out loud.  One of my favorite items in her shop right now.  I really love vulgarity expressed in cross stitch...It just makes me giggle.   

She also features stuffies and plushies  for the little ones, personalized onsies, brilliant softie toy sets, cutie broaches and pins, and of course, her kick ass and unique embroidery.  Personally, my mom would love tea towels with brains on them.  They would totally go with her scull pincushion I got her for her birthday last year...Second only to the hedgehog with a retractable tape measure that you pull out of his butt.  Brilliant. 

Make sure to check these ladies out.  They are both very sweet and very talented.  Christmas will be here before you know it!!!  We need to support handmade.  Nowhere else can you find such an awesome variety  of original and quirky items.  If you don't usually shop handmade, I highly suggest it.  Check these girls out, check me out and discover some awesome. 

Paper wasp art natural pendant

I just wanted to share real quick a little something I discovered today.  I really wanted to make an original, never-been-seen-before kind of necklace and after digging through some supplies, I think I managed something  neat-o.  I found this huge wasp nest.  You know, the kind of hive thing that you see hanging from trees?  One of these:

 Photo from http://securitypest.com (thank you!)

Anyway, I took that little awesome thing (obviously abandoned as they usually are in the late fall/early winter) and had it sitting on a shelf for a while wondering what to do with it.  Today, I moved it and a little bit of the "paper" fell off.  I had one of those keepsake pendant kits and mounted a bit of the paper into the pendant.  From that, I got this little number: 

Super pretty right?  But that's not all!  While this screams earrings, I had this cool bead I have been just aching to use in a pendant situation.  So, with some general fanageling, I now have this final product: 

I love it!  It turned out so awesome.  I hung it from a simple gray leather thong to continue with the natural bohemian look.  I almost don't want to sell it...sigh, but alas, I am poor and mama needs a new bra ASAP. So, If you love this, and feel sorry for my unsupported bosoms, please visit my Etsy and make this little guy yours.  It wants to be on you.  

Well, It took some time, but I have an awesome product going into my etsy today.  I made crochet stitch markers just a little more ergonomic and easy to use by utilizing the traditional lobster claw, only at a scale much bigger than what is usually used.  It seems even when I use the small lobster claws, I not only have trouble getting them placed on my work, but getting them off as well.  The bigger size should remedy that situation and should be a little easier for stiff and arthritic hands as well.   I had to special order the lobster claws, but I'm thinking they will be well worth the added expense.  So, here they are.  I am showing you how much larger these are than the traditional clasp so you can see the difference.  They will come in a set of 5, but because these claws are so much more expensive than the regular ones, I have had to price them accordingly.  I am hoping the ease of use and convenience will be worth the extra.

Swapbot section of my Etsy store is OPEN

The Swapbot section of my Etsy is open for business!  So far I have earrings:

And coffee sleeves 'n cup cozies:

Washcloths and scrubbies:

I'm working on some wood burned swap cards and postcards (these take a while and are some work)

and lots more little fun do dads to come.  Everything is free shipping.  Come in and take a peek?

New section in my etsy store

Real quick, its been a really, really long day.

I opened  a section of my etsy shop dedicated to handmade, affordable things for snail-mail swappers!  Fabric postcards, tea bag cozies, stitch markers, etc.  New things will be added every day and I am offering free shipping for everyone everywhere!

I'm pretty excited about this and as a swapper myself, I have always gotten good reviews on the items when I sent them to my partners and I think it would be nice for the not-so-crafty swappers to add in something really special sometimes.

Now, some of you are probably asking, what is a snail-mail swapper?  It's really fun and SO awesome.  Write letters and send treats to people all over the world.  It is very safe and strictly monitored, but is an excellent venue for paying it forward and random acts of kindness, which I LOVE doing!  I have written to lonely people, sad people, happy people, stressed out people.  I've been told that their day was going so badly and they came home to a big pile of bills and bad news except for a pretty little package filled with tiny little gifts just for them.  It makes their day and I want to spread the word and get everyone involved.

So, here is the link to the swapbot blog where you can read all about the process and the fun:  

http://blog.swap-bot.com/ 

From there, you can read about the process and get a link to the actual site where you can set up a free account.  Add me to your relationships and maybe I can set up a swap with you!  My profile on Swapbot is here:

http://www.swap-bot.com/user:uniqueutopia

Okay!  I am done!  So tired!  See you on the fun side and thank you for hanging out with me!

the bracelet

Winter is almost over.  THANK GOD!
This is the season when I am most heavily into swapbot.  I have noticed a trend over the years that from about January through March I am swapping like mad.  It truly gets me through the darkest days of winter. 
Since we moved, my welder and kiln are sitting unused.  The new place doesn't have the wiring capabilities that the old place had (there is actually fuses in the garage), so I'm stuck doing inside stuff.  I haven't done a lot with beading and I got a swap partner this time that said in her profile that bracelets are her thing...and purple...and butterflies. So, I thought I would try my hand at some jewelry making.

Sorry about the fuzziness.  I tried outside and inside pictures and they both came out that way, but you get the general idea.  The clasp is sterling silver magnetic, acrylic coated beading wire, crimp beads, spacers, 2 glass butterflies and a variety of purple glass beads in various shapes. The end caps were from something...but they worked well here.

To be honest, I really don't make very much jewelry, but I enjoy it.  Maybe it's because it seems like everyone makes it.  I think there are more jewelry artisans on Etsy than any other artist.  I just don't see the market in it.  Makes for a nice gift though huh?

Pimp my table

I signed up for this swap in which the participants had to sew 2 placemats and 2 napkins to "pimp" your partner's table. I'm not really sure why I signed up since I have never made a placemat or napkin in my life, but I did. There were a few links at the end of the swap description with how-tos on how to make placemats, but they were all quilted. Unfortunately, unless the quilt is actually a quilt, the look is not my thing and the whole process of quilting makes my eyes cross.

I was on my own.

So, I took 2 matching fat quarters and guestimated how big a placemat should be and backed them both with some fabric stabilizer, then I took some pinkish flower fabric (my partner's only hint as to what she likes on her profile is that her favorite color is pink) and proceeded to applique some hearts here and there. I had some white fabric that is like dress shirt material and used that as a backing, sewed right sides together, fliped everything right side out and topstitched. I then had some flour sack material I thought would make good napkins and cut out a couple of decent sized sqaures, hemmed the edges and used the scraps from the placemat material to applique hearts onto those. It wasn't that hard! I think they came out kind of cute and are much busier than any placemats in a store...hope she likes them :)