I've returned!!

Happy September, folks!

I took my shop out of Vacation mode and almost immediately began selling items again! August was a decent month, especially because I'd been on hiatus for a few weeks and August is usually quite slow for most sellers on Etsy.



I also submitted a handful of photos to CraftGawker and three of the 6 were chosen for the site! So exciting! It is making me want to take better photos of my work.





My cherry tomato plants on one of my bedroom windows are ridiculous! I planted them in a window box and a couple months ago and they've practically taken over the window.


The plants have tons of flowers, but the fruit are slow-growing. I was hoping to be able to can cherry tomato salsa for winter, so as soon as any of the fruit is ripe, I pick them and freeze them. I've got two green cherry tomatoes growing to quite the decent size on one of my plants and a bunch of tiny little babies (1mm or so) throughout both plants.



I went to see "Julie & Julia" at the AMC @ Lincoln Center last night and realized I really need to keep up with my blog and following the blogs I love. I think it'd be fun to do a DIY tutorial every two weeks. I've been meaning to etch some glassware as gifts, so that will be the first one. Coming soon...

<3 Always,
--Taina

ahhh handmade!

I was really hoping to have a week of vacation to make things for my shop in June, but my worker's comp trumped that. It's amazing how this works...I was stuck at home and depressed, not even being able to sit for any decent length of time because of the swelling of my left foot and I was too down to make things. Which is really quite dumb because the thing that makes me feel best and really myself is when I am being productive and creating...What a terrible downward spiral those 2.5 weeks were!

Towards the end of the last week, just before returning to work, I made these two pairs of baby shoes:(Click photos for more info!)


Pink woodgrain! One of my fave fabric patterns.




But I'm back! And I have no plans other than a few work and education-related after-work activities and some serious yoga classes to attend in the next two weeks. I have a decent-sized custom order, 8 cupcake makeup bags for my boss's bridal party gift totes. I want to get them done even though she won't need them until early September. I ordered the fabric, so hopefully I will have them finished in a week's time or so. That will be nice, one more thing out of the way. My retro aprons are never going to be finished!

I have a week's vacation set up for the first week of August, going to a family reunion of my dad's side of the family. It should be a BLAST, I'm trying to decide if there's enough room in the car for my sewing machine. It would be nice to get some stuff done. I will have to close up shop for that week, which is a little scary, as August tends to do pretty well. I may just announce delayed shipments instead.

In other handmade news?

I made a pair of pretty sweet (if I do say so myself!) coasters for a friend who has become quite dear to me quite quickly as a thank you for keeping me sane through mid-contract negotiations. I used out-of-print Loteria fabric on ceramic tiles, modgepodged the fabric cut to fit, then polyurethaned them so they are completely waterproof. I'd never tried polyurethane-ing fabric before, and it seemed to work pretty well. I paired that with a bottle of Maker's Mark and now when I come over, my friend shows me he has them every time, which makes me smile to no end.

I made a 0-3 month dress and a 3-6month dress for the new babies in my dear friends' lives. My buddy Greg who works in Security at MoMA just had a beautiful baby girl named Paayton Grace. I can't wait until her tiny chubby body fits the 0-3 dress, give it a week or two and I should have photos! For Tamsin, a co-shop steward, I made a 3-6 month dress because she's got maternity leave for 4 months and I thought she'd be able to get some use out of a larger size. Tamsin gave birth to a very healthy Flora Zoe on June 22nd. I know she will send me photos when the dress fits, but that will be in quite some time.

Well, time to go back the fulltime job that pays the bills...lunchtime is over! Photos to come soon!

<3 Always,
--Taina

March Madness!

...but not in the basketball sense...in my handmade life!

I've sold 9 items in the last week, 7 in 24 hrs, and 2 last night. I'm THRILLED that sales have picked up, and can only hope to keep the momentum going.



A coworker in another dept. in the Museum saw my shop on my Facebook profile and bought a couple items from me for his sister's 25th birthday. He's from Texas and mentioned that they both have a thing for sugar skulls. After selling him the two things he was interested in, I went home and checked out how much fabric I had left in the two sugar skull colorways I use and made more things for my shop. It felt like the minute I listed them, they sold! Such a great feeling! So I made more and listed them!


(click photos for more info!)

A few years ago, I started the tradition of making a birthday gift by hand for my Aunt Gailey. She's my knitting and sewing aunt, and we have a really great relationship. Her birthday was 03/08, and I knew what I wanted to make her.

My grandmother Esther (father's mother) passed away from Emphysema many many years ago. I was a wee child, the age of 7 when she died. Esther was a depression-era lady. She took buttons off of shirts that were too worn to wear so she could put them on other things. She canned, she sewed, she darned socks. She was a crafty lady, in all sense of the word.

When my grandfather Steve died in 2000, all of the grandparents' items were divided up over the 5 children and their grandchildren. I asked for this poster that used to be in Grandma Esther's little room that said "Sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits." I absolutely love it because it's so odd but so great!

Well, I thought how perfect it would be to cross-stitch my own version of this poster for my Aunt Gailey's birthday this year. So I did! I hadn't embroidered anything in soooo long. It took me weeks, but this was the final product, framed:



Well, in the time it took to write this post, I sold my 300th item!!! Yayyy! I did a happy dance to Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" and now it's time to get back to work!

<3 Always,
--Taina

Too busy!

I've been super busy with work and haven't actually had time to finish my first apron. I was hoping to finish it before I left to meet with some friends, but it isn't happening. So hopefully tonight and I will list it tomorrow.

In other news, I've sold 5 items so far this month. This means sales are picking up! I'm super excited about this! I just need to keep the momentum going.

I need to pre-wash all the fabric I received recently from FabricWorm so I can get cracking on some super adorable and very girly things.



I also was asked to custom make a dress for my boss's niece's 2 year birthday in May. We picked out the fabric (see above) and I sketched out a design I think would be super cute and my boss agreed.

I want to make it with a cute empire waist sash. I think it will be adorable and cant' wait for the fabric to get to me!

Okay, gotta get ready to head out. Later, bloggers!

<3 Always,
--Taina

Spring things!

Even though I'm a Winter baby, I have found myself tired of slush and the terrible drops in temperature this year. I decided to buy some new fabrics for items for Spring and chose these from FabricWorm:



I am especially excited by the 2nd, 3rd and 5th prints in that stack.

And I also bought these:



I think the woodgrain is super cute. I can't wait to make lots of makeup bags and coin purses and things out of these fabrics!

Be on the lookout! Lots of new things coming in the next week or two! I also made two new pillows, one I am listing in my shop tonight, the other I am photographing tomorrow and listing before work if possible.

Oh, as for things I have purchased? I'm an Etsy addict recently! I bought two vintage things from JollyPollyPickins.

The first is a vintage owl coffee container and matching mug for my old roommates Dorian & Becky who just got engaged, so it's their engagement/housewarming gift.



The second was an impulse buy. It's a vintage Circus container that spins! I thought it would make a cute spot for candy or something on my coffee table in my livingroom. It reminds me of this circus train toy set I had when I was a child.



I can't wait until they come! I thought I'd buy some nice coffee to put into the coffee container for D&B.

<3 Always,
--Taina

Lazy Saturday...

I had all of these things I planned on doing today and got nearly none of them done! I did spend some time on my computer and got some stuff done there.

I finally updated my Flickr account to where I want it to be! I created an account years ago and all the photos were terrible and it just wasn't fun, so I revamped it, deleted all the really old photos, created sets of self-portraits and things I've made for Etsy...added myself to some groups, found a few contacts...Yay! I'd been putting off fixing it up for a while.

I also sat at my sewing machine and made a pair of baby shoes for My shop:


(Click photo for more info)

And now I'm going to clean my apartment, order a veggie burger and make some more stuff.

<3 Always,
--Taina

Febrrrruary!

The good thing about it being incredibly cold this month is that it is only the 6th and I've already made a few things for my shop. It's too cold to stay out, my apartment is nice and warm, which makes it quite a nice environment for creating things.

I made a few pairs of baby shoes and a throw pillow. I listed the throw-pillow yesterday and it already sold! I love when that happens!


Birds and Blossoms pillow.

And I made my first pair of organic baby shoes:


The outer fabric is 60% organic cotton and 40% organic bamboo, and SO SOFT! =) I love it! I plan on making other things with the fabric.

The same day, I made these sea turtle baby shoes which I think are totally sweet:


And today I made these cute baby shoes as I am trying to create more gender-neutral baby items:



Tomorrow I plan on listing at least one new makeup bag and coin purse, and possibly a throw pillow, so stay tuned!

<3 Always,
--Taina

January 3/10 and 4/10

I've been cutting tons of fabric recently and finally sat down at my sewing machine late last night to stitch fabric pieces together. I told myself I could watch "Baby Mama" only if I sewed the entire time I watched it. I have had "Baby Mama" from Netflix for more than two months and still hadn't seen it!

So while watching it, I made two pairs of baby shoes:

The pair above is definitely one of my favorites I've made so far. I think they are just darling!



(As always click the photos for more info!)

And right now? I have FIFTY items in my shop! I don't know if I've ever had 50 items in my shop before. I have another showcase date coming up in a couple weeks, so hopefully I will sell some of these items!

So today I hope to sew a couple more pieces. First? I have to go to the Post Office. I now have two penpals and I feel like I'm slacking! I already missed the drop-off time for my corner blue mailbox and I should probably drop off my netflix dvds. eeps!

<3 Always,
--Taina

Oh...so...DIY!

About a month ago, one of my friends made two of our co-workers terrariums as "thank you" gifts and a week later, Etsy.com featured a seller who makes and sells moss terrariums in really great small jars.

Now those of you who know me know that I am terrible at keeping plants alive. I've successfully kept two hearty cherry tomato plants, three bamboo plants and one aloe plant from dying. Everything else? Has had a terribly short life.

I love greenery, I volunteer at my local community garden, enjoy nature and live by the only primordial forest in all of Manhattan. I would love to be able to have some well-kept plants in my apartment, things that do not need to be tended to frequently.

I looked up books on terrariums on Amazon and found one that comes out on my birthday! I thought it was a sign.

I was originally supposed to go to a "Bon Voyage Bush!" party tonight but my kidneys are acting up again, giving me some pain in my lower back, so I decided to go to The Plant Shed and pick up some soil, gravel, charcoal and small plants. I already have a few empty jars at home.

So I'm off to start my afternoon project! I will take photos and give detailed instructions in the next blog entry!

<3 Always,
--Taina

January 2/10 complete!

Hello Blog! I felt like giving you a little love today.

A couple posts ago, I posted two fabrics I'd ordered from CatyLouQuilts. Well, I made two new makeup bags from the fabrics a couple days ago and finally had a chance to photograph and list them in my shop! Here are the photos:





(As always, click photos for more info!)

I really love the "Quilt Pirates" fabric, it's so fun! The button eyes, stitched nose and mouth and scissor "crossbones"! The aqua color is pretty, too.

I'm off to try to make 3/10 now.

<3 Always,
--Taina

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!

So I have no idea if anyone is interested in my New Year's Resolutions, but they go a little something like this:

1. Make at least 10 new items per month for Etsy.
2. Exercise at LEAST 15 mins every day until my birthday (Feb. 24th)
3. No candy for the entire month of January.
4. Buy more things that are handmade and less sweatshop items.
5. Re-apply to grad school.

I think that's pretty much it. I am not good at keeping resolutions for very long, so I figured a month or two and if I want to go longer, great, if not, Jan or Feb is not a daunting completion date. =)

So far the candy thing has worked out really well...except I forgot and ate a cadbury cream egg. eeps! So I will go through Feb. 1st to make up for it. lol.

As for 10 new items each month? I've made two so far and will list them tomorrow but hope to make at least one more tonight.

And the buying more things that are handmade? That isn't hard. Etsy is full of amazing, gorgeous, fun things. I just bought two more hair accessories from VieModerne

Want to see? I am SO excited!


I had been eyeing the one above for a while now, but VieModerne went on vacation, so the minute I got the alert saying she was back from vacation mode, I knew I had to snag it!

And of course, combined shipping is a GREAT reason to buy than one item from a shop, so I bought this one as well:



It takes VieModerne about a week to make items, as they are all made to order, so I hope to get them in two weeks. I am thrilled!

My handmade penpal Nadine sent me this awesome headband a la CoCoBoudoir that I continuously get compliments on:


(Click the above photo for a better photo of the headband)

People at work constantly ask me who made it and where they can get one. Last Friday, MoMA had 22,000 visitors to the Museum. Talk about great advertising! I wish sellers would send me business cards!

There are two guys at work who make fun of me for the "Waldorf orchid" pictured above, One is bald and the other has a very close shave. I told them they are jealous, they've nicknamed me "flower girl". =) Not so bad!

I'm off to sew more!

<3 Always,
--Taina

Le sigh...

I have not blogged in a few weeks! eeps! I have a blog coming up about Operation Santa, I sponsored 6 letters, 8 kids in total. I still have to scan in a couple of the letters for the entry, so it will have to wait.

I bought a few things on Etsy this week. First, two half yards of fabric from CatyLouQuilts:


Turquoise Quilt Pirates


Sky Blue Cupcakes

I think they will make super cute make-up bags/pencil cases and maybe even a pair of shoes.

I also have had my eye on this ring for quite some time and finally bought it:


I can't wait until it arrives!

Christmas was gooood. I made my mother a drawing of her as a little girl letting a dove fly free. My dad got a refurbed GPS from me and I gave my brother clothes. I'd wanted it to be more of a handmade x-mas but my shop's sales picked up a bit, work picked up a ton between union work and my job, and I just had no real time to sit down and make things for my family. The handknit striped tie on size 1 knitting needles for my dad may NEVER get finished! Maybe I will give it to him for my birthday.

My dad got really into "Hobbit Birthday"'s. When a hobbit has a birthday, he celebrates by giving gifts to others. I like the idea of that, and it gives me two more months to finish his tie!

I missed the Bust Craftacular here in NYC, which I was very disappointed by. I was super sick and depressed because of being sick so I skipped it. The good news? My roommates went and bought me blue fabric with turtles on it that will make some super cute baby shoes. I hope to make a pair tonight!

Also, I'm really into this whole burlesque idea. I've been pondering it for quite some time, years, really. I think it would be fun to do the silly performances, not the really serious ones. I also think it would be great for boosting confidence levels.

I haven't been feeling so great about myself recently. I stopped working out, I'm eating tons of junk...and because of it, I'm feeling sluggish. So starting tomorrow? No candy for a month! and starting tonight? exercising every day for at least 15 mins until my birthday, on Feb. 24th. Yesh. That's the plan. And maybe burlesque classes... =) How awesome would it be if all of my burlesque type stuff was handmade? I think it would be pretty sweeeet.

Time to go cut some fabric and sew! Later Gators!

<3 Always,
--Taina

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

New baby shoes!

Hooray! I sold a pair of dragonfly baby shoes and made another pair. I also just listed these really fun and colorful yellow shoes:


(Click photo for more info)

I cut the fabric for 3 more pairs of shoes and another pillow last night. I plan on sewing another pair of shoes tonight and the pillow tomorrow morning. I have a Showcase date on Etsy starting at midnight EST tonight. I hope it generates some good views and maybe even a few sales!

<3 Always,
--Taina

One behind...

Well, I'm one behind as for listing one item each day. I neglected to list something yesterday. eeps! That means I have to make two items tonight for my shop.


(Click photo for more info)

I made a pillow on Sunday night and just listed it today. It's made with a new print I purchased about a month ago. I think it's a really great print, both colorful and subtle, the contrast of the flowers on a white background reminds me of Winter. I may make a couple of these for my couch.

I love making envelope-backed pillows because the covers are so easy to remove and wash.

Okay, off to sew!

<3 Always,
--Taina

Doctors Without Borders

I try to pick a different organization each month to donate 15% of my Etsy Shop's gross sales to.

This past Friday I met a Sudanese refugee named Wassie. He is incredible, soft-spoken, strong, a survivor. Upon meeting him and listening to his story, I decided that December (in connection with World AIDS Day) should be donated to Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres.

I have donated a couple months to DWB/MSF in the last 12 months but really felt it was necessary to end the year on this note. The Fistula Foundation was a close second, so perhaps in January. I worry that something so blatant might be off-putting to potential buyers.

In case you are wondering what Doctors Without Borders has done in Sudan, here's the link: MSF in Sudan.

I wear an AIDS Awareness ribbon every Dec. 1st. I have lost quite a few family friends due to HIV/AIDS and would love a cure but would settle for economical treatments worldwide. DWB/MSF has done quite a bit of work in countries where many have been suffering from AIDS with no cost-effective treatment. To read more about it click here:


So December in Taina.etsy.com will be dedicated to Doctors Without Borders. Tell everyone you know! =)

<3 Always,
--Taina

Heart To Heart

I just threw down ::gasp!:: $110 for a portable GPS system for my dad for Christmas. It's all he wants, he expected to buy himself one and I had to tell him to trust me and not buy one for himself, which sucks because I really really wanted it to be a surprise. I'm hoping he forgets over the next month or at least feigns shock.

If you know my dad, please please don't say anything to him! Pretty please? I bought him the Magellan 3250, refurbished from TigerDirect.com. It was $89.99 plus a $17.99 extended warranty and $1.99 shipping. Egads! I always question myself repeatedly when I spend that kind of money on something. Looks like I will be eating whatever is in my cupboards until I get paid on Thursday.

I bet you are wondering what this post has to do with "My Handmade Life". I am getting there... =)

I just listed my new item for today, not a minute too soon, as there's only 5 mins left of "today".


(Click photo for more info!)

The fabric I used is called "Heart To Heart" which I thought was a great name and fun colorful pattern for baby shoes. My hope is that I can post at least an item a day through December, hopefully generate more sales and be able to sponsor more underpriviledged children through "Operation Santa" this year. Last year I sponsored 8 letters from children and parents, 11 children in total and it felt AMAZING. I really hope to sponsor 12 children's letters this year.

So many of these kids write just asking for a winter coat or new shoes because their single parent has no money for them. It's heartbreaking but heartwarming to know I can help. Last year I had a letter from a single unemployed father who couldn't afford warm clothes for his 3 young daughters. It was fun buying coats, gloves, scarves and toys for them and knowing I was making a difference.

So here's to hoping I sell more items! Tomorrow before work I hope to finish a pillow out of new fabric, photograph it and list it.

<3 Always,
--Taina

Finally catching up...

I've been SUCH a slacker with making new items for my Etsy shop. I finally listed a new pair of shoes today:


(Click photo for more info)

My hope is to make something new every day to list. I'm going to make a pair of heart shoes next.

I find I'm much more productive in the mornings than the evenings. I think it may be because of the instant gratification of being able to photograph and list the item immediately instead of making an item at night and waiting until morning to list it.

In other news? I just bought a notecard and postcard from Charliemotel.etsy.com and fell in love w/ one of her illustrations:



If I sell at least one item this week, I will buy it. Here's to hoping!

<3 Always,
--Taina

Hooray for sales!

Now that I'm listing something new everyday, sales are picking up a bit! I sold 3 items this week, not too shabby for the economy being as awful as it is currently. I sold two pairs of baby shoes (one custom order). and couldn't be more thrilled!

Here's my latest pair of baby shoes, I <3 the dragonflies!


(as always, click the photo for more details!)

I'm currently making origami boxes for them out of thick square baby-themed scrapbooking paper, to make them as adorable as possible when I ship them this afternoon. I just think they'd be perfect with shoe boxes to match.

On the list of things to do today?
1. photograph latest baby shoes.
2. make one more pair of baby shoes and photograph them.
3. make origami shoe boxes.
4. package up items to be shipped.
5. Go to the Post Office.
6. Take an hour nap?
7. exercise with new Pilates ball & dvd.
8. Meet up w/ Bette this evening

<3 Always,
--Taina

Back to the Drawing Board

Hello everyone!

I've been neglecting "My Handmade Life" and for that, I apologize. It took a while for my roommates to get settled to the point where I felt comfortable sewing while they are home, and I was spending lots of my free time promoting our new president-elecct before election day. But I'm back! With lots of patterns floating around in my brain.

First? I went to Pennsylvania this past weekend to celebrate my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. I don't have photos yet, I will post some when they are e-mailed to me. I had a chance to go to Joann's with my cousin's wife April on our last day there and took it! I wish there was a Joanns Fabrics in NYC! I bought SO MUCH STUFF! So be on the look-out for new fabric prints in my shop in upcoming weeks!

Here's a photo of one of my latest makeup bags in the new fabric:


(Click photo for more info)


Second? I won 2nd place for my photo in the Lomography contest I posted about a couple months ago! Yay! I won a Pop 9 camera, I hope I receive it today! Again, photo to be posted soon. It's early in the morning. =P

Third? I'm going to be making sewn baby booties and retro aprons finally! I couldn't be more thrilled about these two. I'm all about the retro aprons, since I've always wanted to make one for myself.

So that's it. I'm off to sleep for another 30 mins before work.

<3 Always,
--Taina