The Small Object

I'd wager most of you are probably familiar with The Small Object created and owned by Sarah Neuburger. Our neighbor shop Nancy carries a lot of her stationary, rubber stamps and stickers, and every time I go in there I want to buy all of it. Her website is also incredible! Everything I see from her is well designed and well thought out. If it's possible to master the business of craft, I'm fairly sure she's done it. Which is why I was really excited to see that she started making FAQ posts on her blog. They're great! So far, there is a post on where to buy fabric, another on craft fairs and another on power tools. I suggest taking a peek! She even links to old advice she's given.

They're all labeled under 'business,' and you can read them in a row here.

My Craftivity

In a few days My Craftivity will be launched into the world. But you are invited to join now. It looks like another great resource and community builder. Brought to you by f+w publishing. Register now!

Good Packaging goes a long way

I think you are all fantastic. I have really enjoyed all the people I have met and been able to work with in any shape or form. I have been really astonished by how many plush folks are out there and to think I have any part in this makes me feel really happy.

I have talked about the importance in packaging in various interviews. I thought I would do a post here on how really good packaging can really complete a piece of work. It can be simple to elaborate but customers really draw to that sort of thing and often times relate more to a piece.

For instance, you can be really elaborate like Robyn Fabsits. I just came across her latest piece, this amazing robot. The box is amazing and makes me love this guy even more.



Personally, I am not that good at art so this is way beyond my comprehension. But there are tons of other ways to make a super cute tags.

Here are some ideas:

1) Shrinky Dink tags for your printer!

2) Bisbee Stitches makes awesome tags that seem fairly cheap to make. His partner draws a picture of the plush he made and then there is a story on the other side. Since I sell these, I often find that customers really draw to a particular one because they might identify with the story or the name of the piece.

3) If you own or can find a Gocco machine, you can make some really nice, inexpensive tags or notecards.

4) Moo Cards are awesome and fairly inexpensive. A lot of Plush You! participants last year had these as tags. AND it's super easy to use! OH AND...You could get sticker books!!

5) There is a really great tutorial on how to make your own rubber stamps here

If anyone else wants to add to the list, feel free. I just thought I would offer some ideas.

Yoga Blocks are amazing.

This weekend I was on a crafting frenzy. I am going to have a booth at next months Punk Rock Flea Market in Seattle...if anyone has gone, I would love to hear more about it. Anyways, I have an article in the next issue of Craft on Crafting Hazards. I was not able to mention how much relief these yoga blocks have brought me so I thought I would do so here. I have suffered from thoracic outlet for years and after a lot of cutting, bending over and hand sewing, my muscles get super tight. My hands and arms fall asleep a lot and my neck is really sore. Ever since I wrote the article I have been trying to retrain myself to take more breaks and use other tools I have learned. These blocks have helped me more than anything! The best part is that if you only take the time to use the blocks and do no other stretching, it really only takes about 10 minutes. The other night I could feel my body getting super tense so I put these puppies along my spine for a few mintues before I went to bed. Needless to say I woke up feeling great and almost shocked that I hadn't woken up in the middle of the night with sleepy arms.

You can purchase them here not to mention many other places. I would ask someone how to use them to ensure you are using them properly.

Wee Cherokee

I got stuck reading Wee Cherokee's blog today. There is some very inspiring posts and super cute stuff.