Ridiculously Awesome

Your Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2011-10-10T18:01:00.005-04:00

I've recently found this awesome necklace by Etsy seller jamiespinello made out of circles of oxidized copper called "Barnacle Bunches."

These necklaces are made to order, which makes each one unique! Plus they are made from reclaimed copper which makes them even more special! Each circle is formed and hammered by hand, and then set into groups. I love how the circles are all different colors! Truly ridiculously awesome.

Mini Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2011-04-04T14:05:00.002-04:00

I have such a major jones for Mystery Science Theater. I stumbled across this ridiculously awesome seller and these earrings after her storm trooper cufflinks were recommended to me on my Etsy activity page.

These "Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot" earrings were made by Etsy seller The Clay Collection, who makes all sorts of pop culture favorites as well as mini food (which is always popular with yours truly) out of clay. They're incredibly detailed, and she has so many items in her shop, I feel like I've barely scraped the awesome surface.

For any of you who appreciate 80s and 90s pop culture in even the slightest should check out her shop. I think I got lost in there today!

She also has the option to upgrade to sterling silver, which is always nice. These are definitely going on my Etsy wish list!

Miniature Hat and Scarf Pattern for Sock Yarn

2011-02-12T15:30:00.010-05:00

This is the first pattern I've written up and made available online, which I think is pretty ridiculously awesome. For those of you on Ravelry it's available through the site if you want to post your own pictures if your teeny hat and scarf! Just search for Miniature Hat and Scarf.

This super quick project was designed for a teeny little 4.5" tall artist's model, but the sizing is pretty close to 1/12th size if you are looking for something in that size range. I will be designing many more things for Jaunty Little Wooden Man in the future, so stay tuned!

**Pattern notes:**

Gauge isn't too important for this project, as long as you like the the way the fabric comes out! This is perfect for using up those little bits of sock yarn because you only need a yard or two! The best way to change the size while keeping the pattern the same would be adjusting the weight of yarn and needle size, although with the scarf it's very easy to add or subtract stitches or rows to get the size you want.

If anyone has any tips for making miniature pompoms for this hat I would love to hear from you!

PATTERN:

Finished Measurements:
Hat: about 1.5 inches or 38mm circumference and about 7/8 inch or 22mm tall
Scarf: about 4.5 inches or 114mm long and about 3/8 inch or 9mm wide

Materials:
2-3 yards fingering weight yarn (I used Misti Alpaca Hand Painted Sock in the Miriam colorway)
Size 0 double pointed needles (You will need 4 needles)
Darning needle
Stitch marker (if desired)

Gauge:
35 stitches over 4 inches (10cm)

Abbreviations:
K = knit
P = purl
St(s) = stitch(es)
Dpn(s) = double pointed needle(s)
Rnd = round
Rep = repeat
K2tog = knit two stitches together (one stitch decreased)

Hat:
Loosely cast on (or use a stretchier cast on method such as long tail) 16 stitches and divide onto 3 dpns. I had mine with 5 sts on the first 2 needles and 6 on the last. Join to work in the round, being careful not to twist. Place stitch marker to indicate beginning of round if desired.

Row 1: K to end of rnd
Row 2: P to end of rnd
Knit 5 rounds

Decreases: (You may have to shift sts around your dpns in order to work the k2togs)
Row 1: *K2, k2tog, rep from * to end of rnd - 12 sts at end of rnd
Row 2: K to end of rnd
Row 3: *K1, k2tog, rep from * to end of rnd - 8 sts at end of rnd

Cut yarn, leaving a 4-5 inch tail. Using your darning needle, thread yarn through remaining stitches twice to secure, removing from needles as you go. Pull tail up tight. Weave in ends.

Scarf:
Work back and forth on two of your dpns. Cast on 40 sts.

Row 1: *k1, p1, rep from * to end of rnd

Repeat row 1 twice more. Bind off loosely, and weave in ends.

And voila! A tiny little hat and scarf set! If you want your own Jaunty Little Wooden Man, I've found some on Amazon, click here to see!

Ridiculously Awesome Secret Sale (Shhh!)

2010-07-12T20:31:00.004-04:00

Yes, that's right. I'm having a secret sale in both of my Etsy shops this weekend! I'll only be promoting it in this blog and on my twitter page.

Simply type "Secret Sale 2010" into the "comments to the seller" section when you check out, and 15% of what you paid for that purchase will be refunded to you via Paypal after you've paid (minus the cost of shipping)

The sale will ONLY be from 12:00 am EST Friday July 16 until midnight on Sunday July 18. I'm advertising early to get the ball rolling, but the sale will be this weekend only! Feel free to purchase before then, but the sale won't apply!

Plus, I'll be updating both shops with new items during this week and also during the weekend, and I'll be posting more ridiculously awesome items posts!

You can visit my Etsy shops through the links below:

VanessaMichelle (knit and crochet items and yarn)
TuttiFruttiDesign (cutesy and vintage inspired jewelry)

I'll update the blog a couple more times this week with reminders about the secret sale, so don't forget, it's this weekend only!

Mini Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2010-01-20T19:06:00.004-05:00

Sadly I haven't had time to do the daily Ridiculously Awesome posts since I started my new job, but here's a itty bitty taste of some of the ridiculous awesomeness that is the Etsy handmade market!

Check it out... it's a "one of a kind" Baby Raccoon by SteviT!

Made out of 100% alpaca fiber and it's jointed. Be sure to visit the listing page so you can see the other adorable pictures. This is certainly one raccoon that won't be eating out of your garbage!

So Not Ridiculously Awesome

2009-10-16T11:16:00.002-04:00

Hey Kids!

I know I mentioned a post or two ago about how I had no internet. Well, I still don't have any internet, and I haven't for several weeks now. Boooooo. I might have it by next week, but there won't be regular updates until I do actually have it.

I look forward to future ridiculously awesome... ness.
Cheers!
Vanessa

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-09-14T17:48:00.007-04:00

So I just got a kitten. Woooo! I'll have to make a post about him with pictures when I get them up onto Flickr. But the point of mentioning that is that he loves to play with his toys, which made me want to go searching Etsy for some of the most ridiculously awesome cat toys, and I found a lot of winners! I'll post a few entries over the next few days with the results of my epic Etsy search.

First up on the list are these adorable "Stuffed Rat Toys" from scrivenerferret's shop, which is full of toys for ferrets and cats. Rats are near and dear to my heart because I used to have two as pets (may they rest in peace - I seem to be moving up the food chain in pets aren't I?).

It may be a little morbid giving one to my cat to play with after having rats as pets in the past, but these are so cute who could resist? And these are made with anti-pill fleece, and you can get them with rattle, squeakers or bells for ultimate kitty playtime fun! But I'm not sure whether the eye x's are because they're dead, drunk or have x-ray vision (I prefer the third option)

Also highly adorable is scrivenerferret's "Scrumptious Steak Fleece Toy!"

2009-08-26T17:33:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone!

I will have very limited internet access for the next few days. I will not be posting new Ridiculously Awesome updates so I can use my very limited internet time to focus on the Etsy shops. If you are still bidding on Project Wonderful, it will take some extra time to get your ad approved. See you all in a few days with some new Ridiculously Awesome items!

Vanessa

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-08-24T20:59:00.003-04:00

I kid you not when I say that I actually searched for "ridiculous" when looking for today's ridiculously awesome item. Needless to say, that search led me to this "hot mess" as described by the creator, polygnome.

"I Didn't Know When to Stop" is a one of a kind wristlet clutch embellished to the extreme. It's got a lot on it but it's still very cohesive and all the components work very well together. And it's all sectioned off on the inside for credit cards and cash and whatnot!

And if you like this one, you'll also love its sister clutch!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-08-23T20:04:00.006-04:00

I think it's the whole "back to school" deal that's got me looking at sweaters on Etsy these days. But hey, it's never too early to start your fall shopping! And since I'm a sucker for sweaters and anything gray, this cashmere sweater by movieboyproductions was an easy choice.

This "Asymmetrical Mosaic Couture Cashmere Sweater" is one of many sweaters in the shop handmade from different pieces of cashmere. They have interesting style lines, hand embroidered details, and lots of movement. Movie Boy has sweaters in lots of different colors and styles. Each one is detailed and one of a kind, meaning you're getting a very unique, ridiculously awesome piece!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-08-21T22:03:00.003-04:00

Get out your tiny pencil for today's super adorable item! It's a tiny book from the Etsy shop of RuthBleakley who carries many hand bound books and works of art in her shop.

Now I know pretty much nada about book binding, but I can imagine that trying to put together something so tiny when you're used to working in much larger sizes is quite the task! Plus the goldfish in "Two Fish Talking" are so fun!

Ruth's accordian books, also found in her shop are so well done, as well as her pocket journals, like this Kyoto-Higashiyama one. Definitely worth a look around the shop!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-08-20T20:05:00.003-04:00

So I moved to Brooklyn a few weeks ago (woo!) Which was pretty hectic, hence the lack of updating. But in celebration of me now living in the Big Apple I am posting a ridiculously awesome item inspired by Brooklyn, that is also made by a Brooklyn artist!

And that artist is resurface. She does ridiculously awesome things like printing photographs onto lampshades. This one, called "HI-LIGHT Pendant Lamp" features some of Brooklyn urban graffiti, as does many of her other lamps. And trust me, you can never run out of inspiration when it comes to graffiti in New York.

Resurface has successfully turned seemingly grungy Brooklyn graffiti into an urban-chic lampshade. And there are many, many other ridiculously awesome shades where this one came from!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-07-12T12:20:00.005-04:00

Oh, just a quick note before I start. If you're reading this because you're considering bidding on one of my ad boxes for Project Wonderful, please note that I am out of town and do not have very frequent computer access, so it may take some time to approve your ad, so please be patient!

Anyways, on with the ridiculously awesomeness! Today's comes to you from sparklerama, who's been making these "Micro Mini Tiny Kitties" for quite some time now. I chose this one because I love tabby/tiger kitties. This one is white with black stripes and green eyes. He measures a little over an inch tall, and has an adorable white yarn tail.

Sparklerama seems to have expanded since the success of the tiny kitties! She also has Micro Bunnies, and also Micro Birdies as well!

Ridiculously Awesome Updates!

2009-07-09T19:53:00.003-04:00

So I know I dropped off the face of the earth for a while. Basically, my computer broke, and I randomly decided to move to NYC, which will be happening in a couple weeks (hopefully). In the meantime I am busy busy and also out of town, but will try to get updates in here ASAP! Sadly though, the Etsy shops will have to be closed down for the time being until I get my affairs in order and get all set up in Brooklyn, then my Etsy shops (TuttiFruttiDesign and VanessaMichelle) will be back up and even better than ever!!

In the meantime, I found this adorable ridiculously awesome website created by the I Can Has Cheezburger peeps that seems to have been overlooked. But it's right up my alley.

It's called Epicute: The Cute Food Blog. It a online blog that features both really cute fake food and also real food made to look really cute. Like Macaroon Madness shown in the pic. Sorry about the awkward tiny size, it's so hard to post pics from that site! Guess that just means you'll have to go browse it yourself! :D

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-17T14:08:00.006-04:00

Yesterday on Etsy, this thread got me looking for bacon-themed items. And in the process I found these "BLT Earrings" created by the miniature-foodist fairchildart.

BLTs are fantastic. Sadly, I will never have one again considering I went vegetarian a couple months ago. There's vegetarian bacon, but it just doesn't measure up. In any case, these earrings are certainly not made out of meat (I hope...) so that makes me feel a lot better.

And they do look very realistic, much like the other handcrafted food jewelry in fairchild's shop. I mean, come on, she had to have used real brie for this "Soft Cheese and Crackers." And check out these "Cinnamon Bun Earrings."

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-16T13:36:00.003-04:00

This piece has been around Etsy for a while now. I found it way back in my favorites, and I'm surprised it hasn't sold. Not only is this eco-friendly "Brand Identity Wearable Art Tags and Labels Jacket" created by undoneclothing totally awesome and wearable, but it would also make a fantastic art piece.

It was created from thousands of labels rescued from clothing, and done with a quilting stitch overtop that brings everything together. You'll definitely have to click the link above to go to the listing and see close up pics of this jacket.

Undone's shop is filled with fabulous whatnots that utilize unusual materials to create clothing and accessories like this pink tape measure coin purse.

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-15T13:52:00.003-04:00

Today's eco-friendly ridiculously awesome item comes to you from implexus. She offers yarn made from t-shirts in several colors in her shop.

This "Dusty Fuschia T-shirt Yarn" is 20 yards of continuously cut 50/50 poly cotton fabric that makes excellent yarn. And it's a jersey, so it's stretchy. It's a very easy and cost-effective way to stay green! Or, you know, Dusty Fuschia. But implexus does have green-colored green yarn!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-13T19:39:00.003-04:00

I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of spaghetti. I don't know why, it's just not my favorite pasta shape. But, it does look quite enticing in cake form, a la this spaghetti cake from the Baton Rouge bakery of cakesofgrace.

The meatballs are a fun touch. (Yay vegetarian meatballs!) And the sauce looks delicious. I can't help but wonder what the cake flavor is below all that fondant and icing... chocolate? Red velvet? And can I get the cake with alfredo and mushrooms?

In any case, it would make a really fun birthday cake, or perhaps a wedding cake if you will. So would this "Crawfish Boil Cake."

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-12T12:39:00.003-04:00

You can find all sorts of fantastic things on Etsy. Like handspun yarn! And nothing is more fun than the crazy novelty art yarn you find there, made up of all different kinds of fibers and textures. What I like even more than that is well photographed art yarn - like this yarn from LushMommy's shop.

This "Gypsy" yarn is a single ply yarn containing thread, fabric, wool, alpaca, glitz and so much more! Lush collected fibers and whatnots from lots of different Etsy sellers. And you can also buy crazy novelty batts or roving, with lots of different bits already mixed together you can spin from.

Novelty yarn is typically better for small, fun projects like neckwarmers, hats, clutches, or maybe even some mittens! Usually you can get enough of the same novelty yarn to do something like, a sweater, but you could collected different skeins of art yarn and make a crazy awesome sweater!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-11T12:47:00.003-04:00

"TP is to be rolled over the top for a reason." It's true. Don't let me catch you with "underneath rolled" toilet paper!

I found LiciaBeads shop because she has been one of my PW advertisers! (How sweet is free advertising?) And I thought these beadwoven toilet paper charms were adorable. This one comes in the form of a pendant, but you can also get them on a necklace, or as earrings!

And you could be rebellious, and wear your tp charm the wrong way.... but don't let Licia see you! Remember, it's rolled over the top for a reason.

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-10T20:40:00.004-04:00

This very summer appropriate ridiculously awesome item is from UtopiaArmoury. And yes... it is a chainmail bikini top.

I know. It looks really heavy and uncomfortable - but it only weighs a half pound, and is made out of aluminum and rubber. And it's swim friendly! You can pair it with a matching bikini bottom and you're good to go!

Definitely a modern twist to the traditional super heavy metal links normally used for things like these. And blue and silver is a great color combination for this summer.

Fashion Bonus Track

2009-06-09T13:54:00.002-04:00

This fashion bonus track was designed by Australian student designer Carlos Bouman. He's been published in many online news articles recently because this ridiculously awesome eco-friendly dress won him the People's Choice Award at the DesignTech Powerhouse Museum student work exhibition.

The goal was to create a gown that was very haute couture, while still being eco conscious by using normal everyday items to create the dress.

It's hard to tell at first, but this dress is actually made from dishcloths, bedsheets, and mosquito netting. Carlos literally collected the dishcloths from friends and family members, so they're certainly not new and unused. The dishcloths were hand dyed (along with the other materials) and gathered and pleated to create texture. Folded and pleated bedsheets form the base of the dress, while the mosquite netting serves as a tulle substitute to give the dress volume.

Oh, and the bottom of the dress also unzips off to reveal a little cocktail dress. Click on the article link to see a picture of it!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-08T21:02:00.002-04:00

Today's dose comes to you from heavensentcrafts. Her shop is full of notebooks - and not just made out of floppies, but also game boards, book covers and playing cards. I personally like the Monopoly ones.

This Turquoise Floppy Disk Notebook is great because it makes use of all those floppy disks that most of us don't use anymore, and that would otherwise go to waste. Plus, it's a pretty color. It's got a great metal binding, and is filled with white paper. So don't buy a new notebook when you can go to heavensent's shop and get all kinds of recycled notebook wonderfulness!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-06T23:35:00.003-04:00

Today's daily dose comes to you from the very appropriately named imadeyouabeard. She gives girls (and some guys) everywhere the ability to have a beard. And you can get them in fun colors and styles, too!

One of my very favoritist things about her shop, other from the fact that she makes beards, is the fact that she's the model for her beards! This particular beard is called "Recluse Beard." It's made from cream colored wool roving. Some of her other beards involve yarn or felt, but this one will really make you look like an experienced fisherman.

Wear one to the office, to the park, to the grocery store. Wear one while walking your dog - they're appropriate virtually anywhere!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-04T23:42:00.003-04:00

First off, to any men reading this, I apologize, womanly things like this may be awkward for you. But keep reading, it'll be fantastic.

I'll be the first to admit that I love plushes. I often go searching for them for this series, but when I found VulvaLoveLovely's shop, I knew I hit the ridiculously awesome jackpot. And well, I bet you can guess what kind of things are in her shop. She actually sells an array of wonderful items, but this one is one of my favorites.

Well... it's true. "My Uterus is a Super Nerd." This uteral plushie is made of flannel, sports sexy glasses and carries her books with her wherever she goes! But seriously though, how cute are these? Your uterus could also be a superhero if you so wanted!

Also a notable item from Vulva's shop, which was in the running alongside the nerdy uterus for this post is "Utera Maxima," a giant uterus plush!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-03T22:43:00.003-04:00

Today's ridiculously awesome item is from perrinspage's Etsy shop.

"Persephone's Bike" is a one of a kind piece created from a rescued bicycle. It's all done up with paper and found objects. You totally need to click on the link and look at the other pictures in the listing for some awesome closeups. I love the wheels, and all the little parts to them.

Oh, and it's definitely meant to be sculptural only and not ridden! Although I'm not sure how you'd ride it anyways with no seat or pedals! Perrin says it's been living in a gallery for a month, and it's now looking for a permanent home.

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-06-02T13:57:00.003-04:00

Today's item comes to you from creamtart's apparel and accessories shop.

This "Infinite Dress" is unique because you can transform in into many different looks. Yeah that's right, all those dresses in the picture were done with the same garment! In different colors of course.

I've been trying to figure out how it's done... and since it's a one size fits all sort of deal, it must be a skirt base with long panels of fabric that you can wrap around in certain ways to achieve multiple looks. It's a very fun, multi-occasion piece. And you can choose whichever color you want!

The dress comes with a CD that has an instructional video on how to wrap the dress to get the different looks. I think if I attempted this without a video I would just end up with a haphazard toga dress held together with safety pins. Definitely a cool idea for a garment!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-31T11:56:00.003-04:00

I really do have ridiculous ways of finding my ridiculous items. I know that for today's item I didn't go searching for giant chess sets... I didn't even know they were on Etsy! I literally searched for "giant" under the handmade category because I know that many times the coolest things are either oversized or undersized versions of the original item. Well that is definitely true in this case!

Very appropriately named, largechess is the maker of this item. This set is the largest of his chess sets, at two feet tall. The "World's First Giant Medieval Themed Outdoor Chess Set" is indeed what it says - the world's only giant chess set with a medieval theme! It's based off of King Arthur and the Legend of Excalibur. And I know I've seen regular chess sets made giant, but never one like this! Largechess says he spent over a year creating the original sculptures for this set. And because this is a custom order, they can be made in colors to match your home or garden! The pieces are durable, lightweight, and definitely ridiculously awesome!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-29T23:28:00.006-04:00

Whoa wait, what? Actual robots? On Etsy? Who knew? I didn't. At least not until about five minutes ago. This awesome (and very teeny) robot comes to you from MiddleCreekMerchants. And it looks like this husand and wife team creates just about anything!

This particular guy is a solar powered sun seeking robot. It has a tiny solar panel and will actually follow the sun. And it moves fast too, at one inch per second. And since it's solar, it requires no batteries - bonus! It teeny tiny! Not much bigger than a quarter, and it was made from computer and phone parts! I went to their website ( http://www.robots.stonepile.org/ - the one listed in the picture) to watch the video. Pretty cool stuff! Middle also has different tiny robots listed in their shop, including one that makes noise, and one that looks like a caterpillar!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-28T21:28:00.003-04:00

Ok ok, I'll admit it. I stole this from the front page. But hey you have to admit, the FP has some pretty ridiculously awesome items. Like these cute little stud earrings from Joannarutter!

"Tiny Fox and Forest Studs" are made by hand by Joanna out of sterling silver. I love that the two earrings are different, as is the case with many of Joanna's earrings, including those with tiny squirrels and birds. In fact, Joanna has a whole shop full of beautifully handcrafted jewelry. I personally like all of the little birds - they would go great with a Nimbus necklace!

Fashion Bonus Track

2009-05-27T12:11:00.003-04:00

I'm going to be mixing in some of my awesome fashion finds from now on, in addition to the Ridiculously Awesome series. How exciting is that? And if you think the items I've found on Etsy are ridiculously awesome, then you'll love designer Hussein Chalayan. He's most known for mixing technology with fashion. He makes clothes that light up, and clothes that literally move and transform themselves. I don't know how he does it, but it's truly ridiculously awesome. And not only are they technologically amazing, they're beautiful as well, and really well designed. Here's a video of his Spring and Summer collection from 2007. The beginning two minutes or so is his ready to wear collection. If you want to skip ahead to the really wild stuff, start the video at 1:50.

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-26T18:30:00.004-04:00

I've always greatly enjoyed staceyrebecca's store full of fun little finger puppets, and now she seems to have even more up in her shop than ever! She also seems to be having an awesome sale on adorable toilet paper finger puppets!

This "Toilet Paper Party Finger Puppet" is made out of felt and, well, looks pretty friendly to me. But if toilet paper doesn't suit your fancy, there are man other choices in Stacey's shop. Would you prefer a Microwave of DOOM? Or maybe an Angry Pizza?

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-23T19:54:00.002-04:00

Today's dose of awesomeness comes to you from danielbombardier. Daniel designs sweet wall decals for the Wall+Ternatives graphic design company, like this one!

This Cassette Tape wall decal is huge at 2x3 feet. Retro and detailed, it even says "Mixed Tape" on the label. These wall decals are great because they don't damage the walls while they're up. They come off cleanly, with nothing left the behind. The only downside is once they're off of your wall, you can't use them again.

There is literally and endless supply of ridiculously awesome wall decals on Etsy, so I'll save the rest for other posts ;)

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-22T21:07:00.005-04:00

I was looking for some sweet sculptural pieces for today, and when I saw "Flo the fabric donkey" from the lovely peeps at prettyscruffy, I thought 'Hey, that's a pretty sweet fabric donkey.' And then I saw the words "Lifesize Sculpture" in the listing... and almost died.

Bryony and Abi are the peeps behind prettyscruffy, and this fabulous lifesize fabric donkey. I was able to get the whole story from them on how Flo came about. She was made in literally FOUR DAYS as a last minute decision right before an event. Flo was made with fabrics scraps collected through the years (I like how individual motifs were cut out from the fabric and sewed on as appliques) and then stuffed with newspaper, magazines, and plastic grocery bags. I imagine there's gotta be some kind of armature in there as well to make her stand up on her own, either that or the legs are stuffed really, really tightly to make them stiff enough to hold up the weight of the rest of the donkey.

And all that work really paid off! Flo will be shown at local school exhibition soon, and is also travelling to London to be shown! I also got a few extra behind-the-scenes pictures from Bryony and Abi of the making of Flo... but for whatever reason they just started showing up as big stupid sad faces instead of the actual photos... if anyone knows how to fix this please let me know! Until I figure it out I'm just removing them from this post. Hopefully they'll be back up later!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-21T22:23:00.004-04:00

There are a lot of lovely handmade Etsy items awesome enough to go up on this series... but then there's that one little detail that just pushes that item over the edge and makes it ridiculously awesome. And for EdieBrown's felted toaster, the built in LED lighting really pushed it over the edge into ridiculously awesome zone.

Then again, just being a felted toaster is pretty ridiculously awesome as it is. I mean come on, it comes with its own slice of what looks to me like cinnamon raisin bread! (Made out of felted wool of course) I imagine it would be a fun substitute for a low light lamp, or candles.

And if you're looking for a different felted household item, there's also an iron in Edie's shop as well! I can only hope that she will go on to make more felted household items, and hopefully more involving LED lights!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-19T23:22:00.004-04:00

Today's dose comes to you from michaelarras. I love these circle tables he sells in his shop, and this one is super fun because it's bright green!

Called "Yellow Green Table," it consists of several circular and oblong pieces of wood connected together in a single unit. It's handmade, one of a kind, and guarenteed to be a unique addition to your living room!

Michael has a few other similar tables in his shop, in different shapes and finishes, including a fun more rectangular table in orange! But all of his furniture is very clean and modern while still being statement pieces.

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-17T16:45:00.003-04:00

I was having quite a time finding something I really liked for today's post... that is, until I came across homedog's Etsy shop. I cannot get over how ridiculously awesome and hilarious their pet houses are.

This one, as you might have already guessed is modelled after the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. It's called "The Cathedral of Notre Dog," and looks so much like the original it's amazing! Ok, I'm pretty sure the red fire hydrants aren't actually outside the cathedral in Paris, but a dog's gotta feel at home right? You really do need to click on the listing, and look at the other pictures for the full 360 effect - it looks good from all angles!

This would be great for small dogs and cats - but can you even imagine how epically awesome this would be build for say, a St. Bernard?!? Oh, and of course there are replicas of other famous buildings scaled down for your pet, like The Pantheon, and The Continental Library!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-16T19:10:00.003-04:00

Today's daily dose comes to you from knitting extraordinaire elf518. Elf makes highly detailed fairisle patttern into sweaters, clutches, neckwarmers, and hats. And they're all hand knit, too!

This sweater, called "Robot Pixel Mash-up Fair Isle Sweater" is custom made for you in your size when you order. The design is crazy awesome, and the black and white combination makes the pattern stand out a lot. It's handknit by elf, and the gauge is fine enough to allow to a lot of detail within the design.

I particularly like the blue and red combination, and the puff sleeves in another sweater of hers called "Red and Blue Handknit Robot Sweater." Really, how can you go wrong with robots and sweaters all in one?

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-15T16:51:00.004-04:00

Today's ridiculously awesome item comes to you from harlequinfeltworks. She makes her floral inspired scarves using a wet felting techique called "nuno" felting, which is really fun because you felt on top of silk chiffon to create this fun effect.

This scarf is called "Minimal Rose." I like it because the colors are more neutral, and the gradation is a really cool effect. The base is a hand dyed silk chiffon scarf, with a merino/silk blend felted into it. Merino is really soft and comfortable, and isn't itchy like domestic wool can be.

You can wear is wrapped around as shown in the picture, or you can let it hang down (check out her shop banner for examples of ways to wear the scarves).

And if you aren't a fan of this color combination, there are other colorways in her shop, including combinations of reds, pink, oranges, grays and white. Definitely cool designs, and great scarves!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-14T21:54:00.002-04:00

I've had valhallabrooklyn on my ridiculously awesome list for a while now! She's been a featured seller on Etsy, and had a "Quit Your Day Job" interview as well. She has a lot of wonderful new bags, wallets and cases out for summer!

This "Okinawa Leather Bag in Turquoise" is a great example of valhalla's work. Everything of hers is very detailed and well made, with lots of pockets inside andout to hold all of your valuables. And all her bag are always lined with fun fabrics! This particular bag is a bright, fun turquoise shade, with fun zipper pulls, a removable long strap and lined with a printed blue and white fabric.

Her bags are a splurge for a lot of us, but if you're looking for something more in your price range, check out her wallets and camera cases, made in a striped pattern with different shades of leather. The leather isn't vegan friendly, but for all others, the leather will guarentee that these bags will last you a long time, and leather always gets better with age!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-13T16:49:00.002-04:00

Today's item was just too fun not to post! The perfect item to wear during the summer months, this fun corset dress comes to you from Mariquez.

This "Cocktail Candy Multicolor Flower Barbie Corset and Skirt Dress" is actually a corset and a skirt inspired by Barbie and all things candy colored. The airbrushing makes the colors unique, and the faux flower embellishments are just perfect! It would make a daring choice for a tea party, or you could even display it on a dress form.

I think it should also be noted that Mariquez is a very young (but talented!) designer, and her shop is just full of colorful, detailed and unique items, like pendants, and millefiori cuffs!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-09T21:09:00.003-04:00

It's day 7 of cupcake week, so this is the very last cupcake post I'm doing for a while... I think I've fulfilled my year's requirement for cupcakes. It's turning all of my ads into cupcake ads!

The last cupcake-related item is a sweet one and it comes to you from TwinkieChan. I've been seeing these cupcake scarves pop up around Etsy, but I know Twinkie's the best. And they are just too fun, a deliciousy awesome way to wear a scarf. And the cherries and pom pom sprinkles are just too much! And do you seeeee the sleeve on her right arm? It's totally cute, you might have to search through sold items to find it. But anyways, there are only two cupcake scarves in her shop right now, but she's sold many more in different color, and she's also sold TOAST scarves (I know, right?!)

I thought this would be the perfect wa to end my week-long cupcake extravaganza. But I have some other sweet items planned for the next few days, but in the meantime, just bask in the ridiculous awesomeness of this scarf!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-09T17:00:00.002-04:00

And here is part one of today's epic cupcake finale!

It comes to you from whimsicalcollections. I saw this listing for the first time today, and it took me about 2 seconds to decide whether or not to put it up here. It absolutely had to go up because:
A. It's adorable.
B. It's unique. How often do you see a cupcake chandelier?

This "Whimsical Cupcake Nursery or Playroom Chandelier" is one of many crazy cool and unique chandeliers, that would make a great conversation piece, and the different options in themes means that you have lots of choices in terms of style and colors. This one is fun because each arm is different, and the bows on the lampshades make it extra adorable. It was so fun to look through their shop, and the teacup and bunny chandeliers are a couple of my favorites.

Don't forget to stop by later to see part 8 of my week long cupcake extravaganza! I don't know about you, but I almost never want to see a cupcake again... almost ;)

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculouly Awesome

2009-05-08T23:38:00.005-04:00

Woo, we're really starting to come into the finish here on the epic cupcake week! I do have to play catchup though, and do the last two cupcake days in one tomorrow since I skipped a day. I had my last final due today for my last semester of college, and had graduation events going on today, and the big commencement ceremony tomorrow!

But I'm back on track (yay!). And and with an awesome item none the less. It comes to you from ZombifiedCreations. Who has the most adorable zombie cupcake pincushions ever. Yes, you heard me right! Sounds like an odd combination, but I've had this guy in my radar for a few days now, and come on - there's no such thing as too many pincushions.

Zombi The Evil Cupcake Pincushion is the size of a normal edible cupcake, but has crazy amounts of awesome that a regular cupcake could never possess, no matter how hard it tries. My favorite part is the contrast between the pretty teal flowery lace and the "crazy eyes" made out of what I think is a combination of buttons, nuts and washers. Crazy cupcake eyes are lethal, because you never know whether he's looking at you or not... *shifty eyes*

And the ultimate best part? At these prices, they're a steal! Seriously, if nobody buys them soon I might be acquiring a small army of Evil Zombi Cupcakes. Which might be dangerous. So if you don't hear from me for a few days... send out a search party! And tell them to stay clear of the cupcakes; something nobody wants to hear!

And stay tuned for tomorrow, the ultimate cupcake day! After that I'll of course be going back to posting a wide variety of items :D

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-06T18:29:00.002-04:00

If you've been following along, you'll know that today is day 4 of cupcake awesomeness! And today's daily dose is cream filled!

These little cupcake earrings come to you from roscata. Her shop full of handmade tiny food is right up my alley! She incorporates her tiny food into magnets, jewelry, and cell phone charms.

And these cupcakes are famous! Any self respecting person recognizes that signature white squiggly line of frosting. And these "Hostess Style Chocolate Cupcake Earrings" are small and subtle, for those of you who don't want accessories that scream "I'm wearing cupcakes!" to the entire world.

And I spotted many other wonderful little treats in roscata's shop like adorable snowcone charms, sushi magnets, and the bacon and egg necklace is to die for! Oh the list goes on. Makes you want you want some individually wrapped snack cakes, doesn't it?

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-05T21:00:00.004-04:00

Welcome to Day 3 of cupcake awesomeness! Today will teach us that not all cupcakes can be fun and happy. Some are pitiful. And discouraged. Like "Sheldon the Pitiful Discouraged Cupcake Brooch."

Sheldon comes to you from "Bittersweeets," one of my very favorite Etsy shops. She makes handsewn felt food with adorable little faces and "bitter" personalities. Her shop includes foods from avocados and peapods to pancakes and cookies. You can get them as brooches or magnets. And now she offers pin back button with photos of her bitter sweets.

And I couldn't resist including Sheldon's story from Bittersweeet's Etsy listing, it was so funny and explains why Sheldon is so bitter...

"He is feeling upset because after countless hours spent constructing a diorama of the pyramids made of popsicle sticks, he tripped and fell on top of it, shattering into a million wooden shards. He is saddened not only for the tiny pharaohs who now be homeless, but also because he glued his fingers together making it. Not to mention he had to consume exactly 329 fudgsicles in the process. And fudgesicles make his teeth hurt." -Bittersweeets.

So please, adopt Sheldon. And help him successfully build pyramids out of popsicle sticks. Or card houses if you will. It'll make him feel a lot less bitter :D

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-04T21:20:00.008-04:00

I wasn't planning on it until now, but I hereby declare this week CUPCAKE WEEK on my blog! Everyday through Saturday will be a new ridiculously awesome cupcake item from Etsy!

Today I though I'd continue the fun with some real cupcakes! I'm very excited to have found a vegan cupcake shop on Etsy that I never knew existed!

These "Chocolate Covered Strawberry Vegan Cupcakes" come straight to you from thecupcakemint. I think I may have actually gasped outloud when I saw these, they look so delicious, and the photo looks so great. I definitely appreciate thecupcakemint's fine photography skills, as they make her cupcakes look even more delectable. Chocolate cake... strawberry buttercream frosting... the chocolate drizzle is ganache... and there's even sprinkles and candy on top!

There's lots more cupcake selection in thecupcakemint's shop, and I even saw some listings for cookies and cinnamon rolls as well! All 100% dairy free. And they're not just for vegans! They'd totally be worth a try for vegetarians and omnivores as well!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-05-03T22:15:00.008-04:00

I'm in a cupcake sort of mood today. And because of that, I couldn't help but give you a double dose of cupcake deliciousness!

Your first item comes to you from LilyBaySoap. Her cupcake soaps are enough to make your mouth water! (Although I would not recommend eating them...).

In this listing for Cupcake Soaps, you can buy a dozen of them! There are also listings for smaller quantities, and individual cupcake soaps if you don't want two of them. They're available in five scent/colors, and because you're getting 12 in this listing, you can choose to have them all in your bathroom for an epic display of cupcake awesomeness, or you can give them away to your fellow cupcake loving friends!

I've never met a cupcake I didn't like. And apparently the same goes for... robots?

Your second dose of ridiculously awesome comes to you from heartsandlaserbeams. Her robots and cupcakes prints from her original artwork are pretty much the most ridiculously awesome Etsy items I have seen. Ever. Not that that will put and end to this series - there is more ridiculously awesome out there!

Anyways... this print, called "Robots Heart Cupcakes" is so adorable. The one robot holding its cupcake up high with pride, while the little one in the background is clearly excited about the whole thing.

Heartsandlaserbeams' "Robots They're Just Like Us" series is hilarious. It proves that robots really are just like people, as it shows robots doing normal everyday things, like recycling, walking their dogs, buying shoes and... drinking too much? Hearts also has prints featuring other food with human personalities. Quirky and funny... definitely worth a look!

Twitter and Advertising

2009-05-03T12:55:00.004-04:00

First of all, I apologize for the sporadic updating. I know that the whole "Daily Dose" thing has been kind of a lie the past few weeks, but bear with me while I attempt to graduate (NEXT WEEKEND! WOOO!). I'm currently looking for something really super sweet for a Ridiculously Awesome post this evening.

Second of all, I would like to invite all of you to follow me on Twitter! I'm at http://twitter.com/vanessamichelle. And yes I do follow back. I especially love to follow Etsians on Twitter as well. Makes me feel more at home over there!

Third of all, I'm hoping to get approved for Project Wonderful ads in the next few weeks, and get those up here once I get through this whole school thing and can devote all the time I want to awesome posts! If you're interested in advertising on PW, keep me in mind! I'm planning on having the ads in that awkward white space up there ^ where my "featured item" is. I really don't like that space, and I don't have much to put up there. Hence the "awkwardness." I tried going through the HTML to find a way to get rid of it. And I could, but it didn't move my blog posts up so I just left it there. Anyways, PW says for a blog they would like you to have at least 30 quality posts so they can accurately evaulate your site. With this one I'll be at 15, but in a couple weeks I should be good to go :D

Off to make french toast and look for more riciduously awesome items for the upcoming week!

<3
Vanessa

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-04-27T22:26:00.006-04:00

Today's dose of Ridiculously Awesome comes to you from andrada. Whenever I'm searching Etsy for ridiculously awesome items, I always know right away when I see the perfect item. It's like love at first sight. And when I saw "Amoeba Configurations," I knew right away it was going up here.

This acrylic and mixed media art installation makes a unique and colorful addition to any home interior. Definitely the kind of thing I would put up in mine.

The twelve 10x8" squares are versatile - there are multiple ways to hang them, and you can arrange the colored canvases however you like to suit your taste.

Andrada has a whole shop full of wonderful paintings! It's like Candyland for art lovers - certainly worth a look.

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-04-26T20:14:00.007-04:00

Today's ridiculously awesome item comes straight to you from Interrobang. I actually found this cute tote while looking for something else entirely, but the fact that this, and many other items in Interrobang's shop are made from upcycled seatbelts was enough to make me post this today.

Interrobang has a variety of seatbelt-made items in her Etsy shop, including many shapes and sizes of bags and purses, wallets, and laptop sleeves.

This particular item is the "Upcycled Seatbelt Tote." This is the large size, and there is also a small size listed in her shop. Using the seatbelts is a great way to be eco-friendly, and the color and texture of the belts make for interesting items. Plus seatbelt material is so durable, it'll last you forever! Particularly useful with the laptop cases - I don't think your laptop could feel any safer than it would in one of her "Laptop Armor" sleeves. Plus they're custom made for your laptop's size, so they're guarenteed to fit! These bags are a great way to look sharp and stay "green!"

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-04-25T19:22:00.002-04:00

Today's Ridiculously Awesome item comes to you from bluecitrusart. She takes photos using the "Through The Viewfinder" technique, which means you use two cameras to get one photo, but it produces a great effect!

This photo is one of my favorites. It's called "Fuzzy Pink" The fuzzy nature of the picture itself works great for the fuzzy texture of the plant, and it has a very vintage feel to it.

Another great "Through The Viewfinder" photographer is ScarletBeautiful2. Both of these sellers offer their photos in an 8x8" size, so you could buy multiple prints from both of these sellers and make a great photography series on your wall.

Definitely a fabulous photography technique that, if you are not familier with, checking out the photography in both of these shops would be a fun little adventure :D

Hiatus Update

2009-04-24T10:40:00.007-04:00

WOW.

It's been a while. I hope to get back to the Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome shortly, but here's a quick update of my life lately, and reasons for my blogging break.

I'm a college senior, therefore I have an unimaginable amount of work. During the last two months I have been preparing for, showing at, and modelling in three fashion shows, the most recent this past weekend. Watch Project Runway? I did a version of it at Michigan State, and GUESS WHO was judging? Andrae Gonzalo from Season 2 of the real show (picture on the left). I'm on the left in my pink feather dress. This collection was inspired by The Breakfast Club. For the final show everyone randomly drew a movie to use as inspiration, and TBC was what I got! I just got the collection done a couple weeks early and used it for Project Runway as well. It was fabulously fun, plus having a famous fashion designer critique your work is invaluable.

In between The Breakfast Club shows I had a small senior show with a collection for Express that I've been working on for class. And now I only have a couple weeks left and then I'm done! And then I just have to look for a job. :P

I've also gotten back to posting new items after a long hiatus from that as well. The fashion shows just took up so much of my time! I have many new tiny food items in my tuttifruttidesign shop and and posting many new cowls, neckwarmers, and chain scarves in my vanessamichelle shop.

I will say that in spite of all this I have been itching to post more Ridiculously Awesome items! I'll post one tomorrow to get it going :D

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-03-07T20:24:00.006-05:00

<---- Look how adorable this is! It's a tiny handmade chair! Stands at only three inches tall, and made by urbangipsy. It's called "Chair In Bloom." It's made with glass, vintage lace and paper, a little hummingbird and brass leaf, and hand painted metal soldered together to form a tiny collage chair! And... it even comes with its own tiny room!

I just discovered this yesterday, and urbangipsy has more chairs like this, in different themes (definitely check them out in her store!), and they all come with their own little room as well!

They are all one of kind, yet very affordable. And they're small enough that they'll fit into any space (or into a dollhouse if that's where you want to put them)

A very unique, ridiculously awesome find!

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-03-06T23:26:00.006-05:00

The moment I saw this dress I knew it had to go in here. It's just too awesome not to. Toolgrrl has many art dresses like this one, which have been featured in museums and galleries, and now they're for sale on Etsy!

Called "Scapular Art Dress," the design is built over a vintage slip. All of her art dress are anatomically inspired. She appliques fabric in anatomical designs that make you look like you're wearing your insides on your outside.

This one is called "scapular" because of the spacula appliques on the back. This dress is more skeletal based, while the other dresses have different anatomical themes, like the lungs, or the circulatory system.

Each one is totally unique, and whether you plan on wearing it (it is totally wearable, which is a lot to be said for art dresses in general) or displaying it, you'll be getting a totally awesome, one of a kind piece. Definitely check out all the dresses in Toolgrrl's shop.

Also, sorry for the wonky layout, the way blogger inserts multiple pictures into the blog window makes the text self-adjust in a crazy way, and there's no way you can adjust it. And then of course blogger does some funky things to your spacing after you publish it, and it ends up looking nothing like how you typed it! (Anyone know what I'm talking about?) I'm still trying to figure out how I can get around it.

I have MORE ridiculously awesome items from Etsy lined up for the next couple days! ♥

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-03-05T15:12:00.003-05:00

I love Steampunk and industrial inspired pieces. I even have watch parts and hands that I like to use in jewelry I make. But this... this just... completely blows my mind.

Your ridiculously awesome item for today comes to you from Klewism, and it's called "Ball Bearing Transfiguration" The amount of time that must have gone into this piece is just amazing. My favorite part the use of lots of different materials, and the intricate way they're put together. You really need to look closely to figure out what's even in it! Klewism uses lots of unique things like an embroidery needle, an earring, screw, a belt buckle, lots of chain and wire wrapping, and so much more beyond that. The only downside for me is that it looks like it would be heavy. But it would be so worth to wear it even for just a few hours.

Klewism has a very distinct style seen in the rest of her pieces as well (I strongly urge you to check out the rest of her shop!). A good mix of all kinds of different things in different colors and materials, wire wrapped together into a one of a kind piece that you'll have forever.

Your Daily Dose of Ridiculously Awesome

2009-03-04T22:35:00.003-05:00

I've decided I'm going to try to do the whole "Ridiculously Awesome" thing everyday now, because it's so much fun to have daily awesomeness!

Today's seller is so Ridiculously Awesome, I couldn't decide between two of them, so I'm posting both! Today's items come from diffractionfiber. I was looking for awesome felt food items to post when I came across a pillow set that is right up my alley!

They're called the "Blue Plate Special Pillow Set" You get a bacon pillow, a sunny side up egg pillow (my favorite one of the bunch) and a toast pillow. And they're made of Eco-Felt which is made from recycled bottles, so you'll also be helping the environmen as well as making your couch look delicious!

On that same note, I couldn't help but post this other completely adorable pillow set called "Made For Each Other Pillow Set" One slice of bread has peanut butter, and the other has grape jelly on it! This set is made with the same Eco-Felt that the breakfast set is made with. They just look so soft and squishy and fun! And make sure you check out the cherry pie pillow too! Diffractionfiber is a fairly new seller, but with tasty looking pillows like me, she can't stay undiscovered for too long!

Don't forget to check back for tomorrow's daily does of awesomeness!

Today's Ridiculously Awesome Item

2009-03-02T15:48:00.005-05:00

I've decided I'm going to post a "ridiculously awesome" item a few times a week. No, these items are not necessarily ridiculous... they're just ridiculously awesome!

Today's item comes to you from vintagerenaissance. I don't even remember how I originally found it, but I remembered that I had this in my favorites when I went to go write this post.

Called The Tea Set Lamp, this seller makes lamps using vintage dishes. And you can have them painted in pretty much whatever color you like! The dishes have nice detail without being too crazy, and the way they're stacked is so cool.

Definitely a unique piece that you could put a fun lampshade on and have it be the focus of that room.

Also, their Vintage Suitcase Pet Beds are so unique, and the kitten in the pictures is adorable. This seller has a knack for giving vintage wares different functions.

Ooooh and I have so many more ridiculously awesome items to post later this week!

Having an Eco Friendly Shop

2009-03-01T16:40:00.000-05:00

In today's day and age, being "green" has become more than just a trend. While it is hip to be green, it can do a lot to help save our planet, and help save you money. As Etsy shop owners there are many helpful tricks and tips we can employ to help us stay eco friendly. And reusing is a big part of this! This post is particularaly geared toward jewelry, since jewelry is what I focus on when creating.

SUPPLIES:

*Believe it or not, garage sales can be a great way to stock up on cheap supplies. I typically go through online and classified ads looking for garage, yard and estate sales with mentions of craft or sewing supplies. I got about 30-35 new and vintage zippers from a lady at a garage sale once, along with all kinds of other sewing supplies (tracing paper, fabric, lace ribbon, thread) for about $6-7 TOTAL. (Also telling her that I was a college student in need of supplies got me a great deal!)

*Search for "destash" under supplies on Etsy. Buying supplies that other Etsians aren't using sure beats buying them new! And you'll get a better deal on buying a destash item than buying that same item new.

*Also look on Ebay for good prices on other artist's destash supplies and vintage items. You'd be surprised what you can find on that site!

*Take apart vintage jewelry and reuse the beads and findings. You'll get some unique supplies for your piece, and in reworking and upcycling old jewelry, you're saving it from sitting in someone's jewelry box, old and unused.

*For YARN: Save your leftover fiber scraps, bits of yarn and thread, and felted bits, and card them into an art batt! It will make for interesting and unique yarn.

STORAGE:

*Save food containers like jars, coffee cans, yogurt and sour cream containers, etc. Rinse them out and use them for storing beads, ribbons, office supplies and any other small items you can think of. Don't throw away what you could recycle or reuse!

*Ask friends and family if they have any storage containers they aren't using anymore that they could give or sell cheap to you before buying new.

PACKAGING:

*Especially with packaging jewelry, not everything you use has to be new. Reusing the boxes you receive jewelry and other small items in can save you money in the long run.

*I often like to tie boxes with ribbon - reuse ribbon that was once used for other things. Better yet, take fabric you aren't going to use or buy vintage fabric instead of new fabric and cut it up into strips with pinking shears (so the edges won't fray) and use this for ribbon instead!

*Use recycled or tree free paper to print receipts, labels, business cards and whatnot. I not print all receipts and yarn labels with tree free cigar paper (made with tobacco) that I got from Eco Paper. Also, their banana, mango and lemon paper all look intriguing! Their mango paper is shown on the right.

SHIPPING:

*Reuse shipping boxes and padded envelopes as often as you can! If things I receive are in good condition, I often put them away for use later.

*Save bubble wrap, packing peanuts if you use those, and tissue paper if you receive them in good condition.

*Using boxes and bubble mailers made out of recycled paper (or making them yourself) is another way to stay green when you ship.

~~~

I hope these tips and tricks will help you out when you create! It's always better to reuse or recycle something instead of throwing it out whenever possible.

Have tips of your own? Share them in the comments!

Blog Layouts and Handpsun Yarn

2009-02-27T12:23:00.001-05:00

I've been perusing all the layout templates and whatnots on here, but can't really seem to find anything I really love. Then there's the issue of theme... I want something where I can use my TuttiFrutti colors from my Etsy shop, but I don't want to leave the VanessaMichelle shop unloved and out of the loop. I think I'll need to make my own background in Photoshop or whatever and just do everything myself. Also I don't feel like my current layout takes up a lot of space width-wise. I feel like it should take up the entire page...

Anyways, I'm really excited about all the handspun yarn I've been doing! Someone I know just told me about a hole in the wall yarn and weaving shop I've never known about really, really close to where I live. She knows the owner and says they might be interested in selling my yarn in their shop. I just don't really have a lot of yarn... the majority of what I've spun is up on Etsy and I can't afford to buy any more wool until I sell some stuff. It's just a vicious loop, but I'll have to go to this little shop and at least check it out.

Here is some of my favorite yarns I've done so far... I absolutely love getting crazy batts and scrappy batts with all sorts of different things in them. I would love to have a carder to I can make them myself and save money, but until then I'm happy supporting other Etsians!

"Cirque" Yarn. The fiber comes from CatsMeowPresents

"Amelia" yarn. Fiber from sdspin

"Candy Floss" yarn. Fiber from mandalinn

"Gray and Violet Lace Spun" yarn. Spun with thin strips of lace!

"Crayon Box" yarn. So fun and happy!

I'm Back!

2009-02-26T18:20:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, I haven't updated in like... forever. So... updates!

I'm a senior in Apparel and Textile Design graduating in May (woo!)
I'm probably going to move to Chicago anytme between May and August (hopefully!)

My first Etsy site http://vanessamichelle.etsy.com is being updated more often. And I have new items like vintage supplies and handspun yarn! More of these to come.

My newer Etsy site http://tuttifruttidesign.etsy.com is constantly evolving. I have many new items up that I am very excited about.

I'm moving all the jewelry from vanessamichelle to tuttifrutti. TFD will be for jewelry and a few homeware items, and VM will be all handspun and hand dyed yarn, vintage supplies, destash items, felted items, sewn pouches (still working on these) knit items and feathered hair accessories.

And of course I always take custom orders!

I would like to start reviewing other Etsy sites that I love, possibly one a week. Hopefully I can get on this soon and do more on Etsy and with my blog in between all of my homework and my THREE fashion shows that I'm currently preparing for (phew!)

<3
Vanessa

A Few of My Favoristist Things

2008-03-19T19:12:00.000-04:00

I thought it would be a good idea to talk about my favorite and least favorite items in both of my shops, and talk about what makes the good ones good and the bad ones bad.

My fav from my VanessaMichelle shop:

This is definitely my favorite. It's called "Art Nouveau Button Ring"
Link here:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9680762

This is my favorite because I love the buttons I used - I love the patterns on them, and I love the mix of shell and metal. It think it's wonderful! The only *bad* part is that the metal buttong is slightly turned weird, but really it's not that big of a deal. I almost sold this one to someone, but her metal allergies held her back.

I have a couple other button rings that have a sorta... vintagy flair. But I'll admit I've been spending like, no time on VanessaMichelle since I've been trying to promote TuttiFruttiDesign (And have been pretty successful at this)

Ok and, the pictures on this one are like, amazingly clear. I love them! I wish every picture could look as crisp as this one does.

My least fav from VanessaMichelle:

Called "Turquoise Ring Double Earrings"
Link here:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6237023

These just get a big "...Eh." I used to like them more, but now they just look cheap compared to everything else I've been working on (hence the low price I suppose). And I'm pretty sure that's not even real turquoise...

I do like the pictures I took for this one though... that's probably something that's keeping these earrings up on Etsy when really I should be taking them down. Eh.

I've been trying to rotate out all the "crap" from VanessaMichelle, and rotate in better things that I care more about, and weed out everything that doesn't match my style anymore and that are not selling anyways. There are still a few items to delete, but I don't want to leave my shop with too little in it. But then again, it's better to have a few really good things, and a lot of mediocre things, right?

Ok well this took longer than expected, so I'll leave the critique of TuttiFruttiDesign for another blog post :D

Happy blogging Etsians!

First Post?

2008-03-17T17:34:00.000-04:00

BLOGGING.
Because I need something else to do... ha

If you're wondering who I am, I run

http://vanessamichelle.etsy.com
AND
http://tuttifruttidesign.etsy.com

So I suppose this blog will be dedicated to Etsy, crafting, arting, and everything else that has to do with my work.

I'll probably also post pics of work, work in progress, and I'll even mention a fellow Etsyian from time to time!

Now I just have to figure out how to actually make this interesting..