January is Over & the Five One Six Shop is Live!

January has been a month of full speed ahead for me.  I've been working my butt off on the blog, the shops, connections, etc & I'm so excited to have a lot of things accomplished this month.  Half of me wants to be thankful that January is over but the other half of me knows I have to keep the momentum going!  The biggest goal this month was to get the Five One Six shop open.  

I was struggling with finding somewhere to photograph, a good way to stage pictures, & procrastination.  We are having a bit of success with all of our shops so I was focusing on keeping that up & sort of let the Five One Six shop fall off.  But since I wanted to get it open before the end of the month I busted my butt this week to get it up & running.  Below you'll find the start of an awesome collection:

In the coming month I can't wait to get wall art, knitwear, and more notions like notebooks & supplies added!  I love making physical things...designing is fun but actual things are my thing.  So this store is an outlet for all of that.  It runs on Storenvy which is really different from Etsy.  I've been getting used to the shipping classes & the listing process but back in the summer I had a grand time learning the platform for coding my own store.  Pretty neat!  Here in the near future I want to do a little simple run down of using Storenvy.  It's probably been done somewhere, but there are a lot of things that are different that an Etsian would need to be familiar with.

Well now I'm off to eat a late lunch & dream of the weekend when the flooring is finally installed!  Happy Thursday!

Connect on Twitter // Follow on Pinterest // Peep me at Hello Cotton

I majored in Crafts

I have a BFA in Crafts.  I am not lying, under this I studied jewelry making, stained glass, wood working, & ceramics.  I chose to concentrate in ceramics.  So, the long & short of it is I have a BFA in ceramics.  Our art department was very small leading to only one ceramics professor, one jewelry & stained glass professor, & one wood working professor who also taught graphic design.  Meaning there wasn't enough faculty to make all of those their own department.  Graphic design students had 3 professors, Crafts had 3 (sharing one with graphic design), Print & Paper had 2, and Art History had 1 + an adjunct, Photography had 2 (one shared with graphic design).  We were tiny.  Which made for a well rounded artist.

Being an art major was the best decision of my life.  I got to explore being creative, finding my voice, and most importantly I got to create.  Every day I was surrounded by ridiculously awesome print makers, graphic designers, paper makers, etc.  It was amazing.  I haven't even begun to learn the things I wanted to learn once I graduated.  It was like falling into the rabbit hole. 

I am excited to be taking a ceramics class at the community center where I live.  In college I focused on hand building & sucked at wheel throwing.  At one point, I believe I did throw (against a wall) a piece of clay.  (Don't tell any one.)

My parents' hated that I changed my major. At first I changed it to graphic design, because I wanted to do something creative that could pay the bills.  Then I sat in front of a computer all class with nothing tangible at the end & decided that I'd learned enough about Illustrator & it was time to get to making.  Changing my major to focus on ceramics meant I wanted to do something creative & I'd learn to pay the bills.  

Right now, I am not actively making & selling ceramic works because I feel I am not as qualified as I'd like to be, especially in the throwing department.  I have a new found love for thrown pottery & am excited to be able to develop my skills. I am getting there.  Hopefully with in the next few months I'll be taking another grand leap of faith & start to offer some pottery up to the masses.

The point of this post is to prove to you that I'm not making it up!  I now offer my Senior Show in May of 2011

So there you have it.  I made garden gnomes that look like gang members.  I made them to be funny.  I made them to explore the deeper issue of how we confront societal issues& how we are more similar to our fellow man than we are different.

View my artist website, statement, & other works here.

Fan Fridays: I Can Hear the Bells!

No, this isn't a post about Hairspray the musical

(though this reminds me, I need to buy some hairspray....)

This is a Wedding Inspiration post!

My best friend's wedding draws closer & as we unpack our new home 

(me, her &+1 for the groom!)

I've realized that we have two very different tastes.  

While I do love the things she picks out, I have realized that she is a very muted & earth tone, matchy-matchy type of person where as I love to mix pattern & color.

I feel our home will need to be a healthy mix of the two....I know it will look awesome in the end.

But her wedding is totally different from an idea I have for mine

(which is in no way in the making right now)

Her wedding has inspired me to look at wedding things!

here here here here

 here here here here

Inspiration from handmade weddings, 500 Days of Summer, spring picnics, 

Summer Gardens, Vintage sheets, print & pattern, and other lovely things!

What would your perfect wedding look like?

Have you already thrown your perfect wedding?

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!

Wedding Plans Part 2

Here comes the bride! 

My room mate wanted to make her own garter - one to throw & one to keep - so we headed down to Joann's Fabric & picked up some lace, blue ribbon, and little charms.

Then when we got home, Katie had a huge surprise.

Her grandmothers old sewing machine!!!

Beautiful!

After a few experiments, we got it all together!

It was a fun time! We also made the wrist elastics for the corsages. Woo Hoo!!

Wedding Plans! 

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!

Wedding Plans Part 1

So I came home the other day to a coffee table riddled with boutonnieres & corsages.

My room mate was busy making things for her wedding:

Then the next day we started making the her bouquet & my bouquet

- yay maid of honor title!! - 

The corsages are the sweetest things!

Our bouquets are gorgeous!

We are using her mornings off to the fullest extent!

I am so glad this is a handmade wedding.  So great!

Now I have to get started on my other friend's Head piece! 

woo hoo weddings!!!

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!

Hooray for Handmade

Etsy is hosting a holiday bootcamp this holiday season.  I am definitely taking part in it, even though I jumped in a bit late.  I've already taken the pledge! Read about it here.

I am slowly adding some more & more cool things to my shop!  I just added some really cool pins/buttons/brooches/boutonnieres!  Woo hoo!

Red Rose

Goldenrod 

Gray & Yellow

I made these because I was inspired by the idea of a vintage & handmade wedding.  Aren't these perfect for an indie wedding? I definitely think so.  They would look perfect pinned on your man & grooms men during & after the wedding.  Also, since I am sure the groomsmen will never wear a floral brooch again encourage them to pass them onto their sisters, wives, girlfriends, mothers, etc.  Perfect reuse of these little gems. 

These brooches are also perfect for holiday gatherings & dinner parties.  They'd look great not only on your man but pinned onto your party dress or little cardigan.  Have a headband or winter hat that needs a little something? Great way to add a handmade touch to your warm weather clothes.

Don't forget to celebrate a handmade holiday this year & pop by With Love, Crochet.

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!

Etsy Update: Handmade Holiday

Celebrate a handmade holiday this year with With Love, Crochet.

There are some cute hats, jewelry, & art in my shop.  I'd love it if one of my items sat under your tree for the holidays!

Here's the newest item:

Red & Green Hand Spun Tissue Paper Yarn!

This stuff is super neat & super strong!  Next week on Cross My Hooks Hooray for a Handmade Holiday video tutorial series you can learn how to use this as a gift bow!

PS. Don't forget to check out the link parties in the Side Bar or click here!

Fan Fridays: Handmade Bunting

I am in love with bunting! I don't have a party to host, but man am I gonna come up with an occasion soon.

1. are these amazing tissue paper pom decorations from Tiny Prints blog

2. A fun handmade bunting from strips of crepe paper & brown paper on twine at The Natural Wedding Company

3. Another handmade bunting in different colors & shapes from Tiny Prints as well

4. Square bunting made from tissue paper & a great tutorial over at Tutus & Turtles

5. Finally, flower shaped bunting from Lolalina blog

I really want to use tissue paper, old magazines, newspaper, music sheets & postcards.  I think those would be a super cute idea!! 

Do you have any bunting you use during parties or for everyday decoration??

Thinking About Home: The Kitchen

I have two more weeks of work, then vacation time & then finally what I have been waiting for: back to the grind of School!  I am switching apartments this year & really think its time for new dish ware.

I have always had a love affair with dishes & cups.  I love collecting them & offering my friends a refreshing drink when they come over to my pad.  These pint sized jelly jars turned barware are making me drool. The customizable etching is an ultimate plus, now they can match any home decor!!

you can find these beauties in East Mesa Design's etsy shop here

What is your favorite part of the kitchen? I'd love to know!