Showing posts with label green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Sales still thrill me...

Yesterday I made a pair of baby shoes out of this really great green fabric with a leaf print on it:



I sold 3 pairs of shoes in the last 24 hours! You would think after selling more than 200 items, I wouldn't be happy but not thrilled. I am THRILLED by each and every sale. It's such a great feeling to make an item by hand and actually have someone be so interested in it that they are willing to pay for it.

I'm hunting for some gender neutral and "boy" fabric, as I'm continuously being asked for shoes for baby boys. So stay tuned!

<3 Always,
--Taina

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

New Shoes!

I'm on a roll with the new shoe pattern!

My migraine is completely gone and I couldn't be happier!

I've got a kids showcase date on Etsy for the 13th and want to load up my shop w/ lots of stuff. I'm SO GLAD I get out of work @ 5pm. I'll be home by 6pm, make apple butter and sew more booties. w00t!

Here's the lastest pair:


(Click photo for more info)

I can't wait to make more! I just ordered some organic cotton/bamboo fabric from CatyLouQuilts and hope to get my hands on some polartec fleece (it's recycled) to make organic baby shoes.

I can't think about my fulltime job because my mind is clouded with visions of handmade things dancing in my head.

<3 Always,
--Taina

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Preserving Nature...

Good morning!

It's 11:00am and my head hurts but I'm determined to work through it. I've been up since 8:30, excited about the idea of making strawberry preserves.

My two books I special ordered on "putting up" came in! Today is Saturday, and the best part of Saturday is getting up and heading to my local Farmer's Market. It's open from 8-3pm and is a block long with stands on both sides of the street.


(This is Becky)


(This is Dorian)

My new roommates Dorian and Becky (D&B) went with me last week and fell in love. They won't be attending the market today due to cat-sitting for a friend, so I have a nice list of items to purchase for them. The pressure is on!

The best part of the Farmer's Market? Organic, local strawberries! I'm going to purchase 2 quarts for the preserves recipe and 1 quart for family. I don't know if D&B want strawberries, I should text them on my way out.

The strawberry preserves recipe calls for:

2 quarts whole berries, capped and quartered.
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 pack pectin
1/2 tbsp butter
7 cups sugar

It should make 7-8 half-pint jars.

If I can get everything organic, I will be thrilled!

The coolest part? I have all this left-over strawberry fabric that I can make cute little jar "hats" out of.



So today's plan?

0. Pharmacy for headache relief
1. Farmer's Market
2. Home to drop off produce.
3. Downtown to Zabars for canning supplies
4. Copy Center to color-copy some photos for coasters
5. Maxila & Mandible to look at butterflies
6. Home to make coasters for my mom's birthday (Monday).
7. Off to a birthday dinner w/ the family for my mom.

<3 Always,
--Taina

Friday, February 15, 2008

Deep Sigh...

So many exciting things happened today! While waiting in the Dr's office, I thought I'd have enough time to post again via cellphone, but no such luck.



First, I don't have emphysema! My lungs seem fine, it may just be my allergy induced asthma. My doc wants me to monitor my breathing and heart with and without the inhaler while I'm in Capoeira class, which I hope to start up again next month. But lots of tests were done and things are looking up! I got my 2nd HPV vaccine, my right arm is still sore, 7 hours later. Because I have this dull ache in my upper arm, I decided to treat myself to something fun today.

I went on a search for heavy-duty fusible interfacing for the incredibly large makeup bag custom order I am supposed to be making which proved harder than expected for a city that has it's very own fabric district.

I finally went to Mood Fabrics which was featured on this last season of Project Runway. I called ahead to see if they had heavy-duty fusible interfacing and the very friendly girl who answered the phone said yes. Well, lo & behold, they did NOT have the interfacing I needed. le sigh.

I did find some super cute blue lining fabric as well as a really cool floral print on a white background. I bought a yard of each and while standing in line to pay, I impulsively bought a few more spools of thread. $30 later and I was out the door continuing my search for fusible interfacing.

I walked over to 38th St. in search of this fabric store an employee recommended, didn't find it, but found this great trimmings/zipper/webbing/snaps/buttons store. Okay, I could have just called it "notions." They didn't have white interfacing, but did have black, which will be fine since the bag is B&W. I also bought 4 magnetic snaps because I want to expand my sewing line and add clutches. I'm super stoked!

After fabric/interfacing shopping, I went to Home Depot as I'd gotten a gift card for redeeming my credit card points.



In my attempt at becoming more "green", I have been looking for CFL's (Compact Florescent Lightbulbs) for the remaining light fixture that has not been switched over to energy saving bulbs. This is because it's the living room and on a dimmer switch. Not many people realize that a dimmer switch saves no electricity on normal CFL's, they have to be the dimmable kind. Home Depot doesn't carry anything past the equiv. of 15 Watt. That stinks because I need 60 or 75 for my livingroom. Since I had a card burning in my pocket, I decided to pick up some more eco-friendly cleaners by Method. I bought hand soap and dish soap since my roommate and I are quickly running out. I also bought my mom the tub/tile cleaner since she couldn't find it at Target.

I love the eco-friendly cleaners because a) they are biodegradeable/reuseable/compostible and b) I have horrific allergies to run-of-the-mill household cleaners. The eco friendly ones are also comparable in price, if not cheaper. I can breathe easy cleaning and knowing I'm leaving less of a footprint on the earth.

Because I still had money left on my card and was on a "green" kick, I decided it was time to finally buy a big bag of soil. I was a key-carrying member of my Community Garden until my keys were stolen. Since it's Winter, it's quite hard to find a time when the president of the garden is there to get a new copy. I would normally just go pick up some compost for free. I bought soil, seeds and biodegradeable seedling pots made from plants.

I came home and repotted my aloe plant, inhaled the gorgeous scent of my paperwhites that are in bloom in my kitchen and planted my remaining bulbs as well as organic tomato, oregano and sweet basil seeds. We'll see if anything grows. Photos will be posted tomorrow, as it's dark.

<3 Always,
--Taina

Sunday, January 27, 2008

cold day...

Sundays are especially hard for me to work at my FT job. It's been pretty dead, European tourist season has come to a halt, and because of the recession here in the states, we have fewer visitors than usual.

Sundays are also hard for me to go to work because a) the trains are all sorts of wonky on weekends with trackwork and b) So many people are off on Sundays. Cold Sundays are especially hard to get out of bed and go to work, even though I love what I do and all of my coworkers.

Today was a cold Sunday, but I was still pretty productive. I did four loads of laundry this morning and once I finally got photoshop to recognize my camera was plugged into a USB port, it was time for me to head to work. At work, I went through the low sales report and priced a ton of kids books at 50% off. It was good, but after the project was done, veeeerrryyyyy sllllloooowwww.

I just got home and now I am finally listing item number 9 for January!


(Click the photo for more info/pics.)

Somehow, every item I make out of this fabric, I happen to cut bird heads/bodies for one side and bird bodies/butts for the other. I like to consider it front and back. lol. I actually have this fabric in a few different color schemes, I should pull it out and cut it. It's such fun, peaceful fabric. =)

I'm preheating the oven to heat up my left over baked ziti from last night, then I will plop down in front of my sewing machine and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and sew my little heart out.

I will list item #10 before bed.

<3 Always!
Taina