bubbledog blog

3D chihuahuas

 

Just in time for my last two craft shows, I had this new 3D Chihuahuas t-shirt printed about a week and a half ago. It is now available in my etsy shop in both womens and unisex sizes. It's printed in two colors on a poppy colored American Apparel tee which is like a dark orange (almost kind of like a blood orange). 

art star 2012

The 2012 Art Star Craft Bazaar was this past weekend and it was a great success.  The weather was just amazing and it was so nice to be out next to the waterfront amongst all the crafty people.  I got to see a few vendors that I have gotten to know, some returning customers from past years, and some friends that I hadn't seen in a while.  It was like a mini vacation, but one where I spend the whole vacation under a ten foot by ten foot tent!

Speaking of my tent, here is a pic of my booth.  This was the first show that I brought the big wire shelf on the left and the stand-alone card rack that is just next to it.  This picture was taken on Saturday and I was able to rearrange the racks and table to make some layout improvements on Sunday.  You may also notice the shirts hanging in mid-air on the right... I hung them from my tent and I thought this was a brilliant move on my part.  Well... all day, the shirts would all fall to one side of the pole and it would get ridiculously lopsided where you couldn't even look through the giant clump of tees... some customers seemed annoyed by this.  Ok... I admit... It may not have been my best idea to date ;)

Anyway, it was great show and I am looking forward to my next stop which is the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival this coming Saturday!

craft shows in the merry month of may

I'll be peddling my wares at two crafts shows in May both in Philadelphia.  If you live in the area, check them out and stop by and say hello!

ART STAR CRAFT BAZAAR
May 12th & 13th from 11 AM to 6 PM

TRENTON AVENUE ARTS FESTIVAL
May 19th from 12 PM to 6 PM

what's the new owl?

The Spoonflower Fabric Contest this week is "What's the new owl?"  As you may have noticed on etsy or spoonflower, there is no shortage of owl designs... I have contributed to the owl epidemic myself ;)   So in order to honor some more animals, the only rule for this contest was "NO OWLS!"     

I entered my  "Band O' Pandas" design into the contest. If you like it, please help me out by going to the contest page, finding my design, and voting on it! To vote, just click on the design (it will get a green border around it) and then work your way to the last page of designs to submit your vote - you can vote for more than one design too!  Here's a close up of the pandas in action:

tea towels

Zazzle is now offering print on demand tea towels that are printed by Zazzle and then cut and sewn by American Mojo (a company that helps create maufacturing jobs for mothers in need).  I tried printing a towel with a design I made that is inspired by and old sheet of stickers from the 1980s.  I was so pleased when the towel arrived yesterday... the print quality is outstanding and the craftmanship is really solid.  The towel itself is a high quality (nice and thick) and is bigger than I thought measuring 16" by 24".  I can't wait to design another one!

diy rainbow tote bag

This rainbow tote bag was made for a Spoonflower fabric design contest which was to create a cut and sew bag pattern using one yard of fabric. I had it printed on kona cotton (though I might recommend using the cotton canvas twill instead) and made the bag to make sure that everything worked out alright. The bag is approximately 12" wide by 14" tall and fully lined.   It has two rainbow straps and one interior pocket.

Please help me out with a vote at the cut and sew bag pattern contest. You just go through the five pages of entries and click on the designs you like (hopefully mine will be one of them) and then submit your entry on the last page (be careful... you have to click submit, review your votes, and then click submit again).

I do not plan on constructing these bags and selling them, but you can buy the design and make it yourself for as little as $18 depending on the fabric you choose to print it on.

new cat designs

I just finished these new cat note card designs.  The actual note card set includes six flat notes (two of each design), six envelope stickers, and six white envelopes.  I've named the designs: Cat and Nine Tales, Kitty Can Scratch, and Making Cat Calls.  I am thinking I might print one of the designs as a t-shirt... either the dj kitty or the cat on the phone, but I can't decide which one to do.  Any suggestions?

hamsters of the wild west

Lately, I've been working on a few different projects with my hamster character... I just can't seem to curb the desire to continue to modify him!  My latest permutation is this wild west scene with a cowboy, barkeep, and dance hall girl hamster.   If you like to color, you can Download Hamsters of the wild west coloring sheet and color it in yourself!

a hamster for all seasons

I just added this new set of hamster pinback buttons to my etsy shop.  They are inspired by the illustrations that I have made for my blog and website over the last year.  Each set includes hamsters for winter, spring, summer, and fall as well as some special buttons for various holidays.

indie shopping this holiday season

Yesterday was the Indiemade Craft Market in Allentown, PA... see above for awkwardly angled picture of my table.  I had a great time at the event and was kind of wiped out of a few items by the time the show was over.  This is the fourth year I have done that show and each year the business gets to be a little better.  Even better than that, each year that I go, I get to know some of the other vendors and customers a little more... so, it was kind of like a party where I also happened to be selling stuff! 

Many of my customers were commenting on how they are trying to buy as many gifts as they could from independent/small businesses this year... which is awesome!  If you are trying to avoid the malls and the mass produced stuff too, here is a list of some of the great vendors I got to hang out with yesterday.  You might check them out and see what they have to offer.  I have listed them alphabetically, but put an asterik (*) next to the vendors that have online shops that are currently open with items ready to be purchased:

*Anniepod Press - Diane makes beautiful etchings and linocut prints. 
Buttercup Jewelry - Danielle had a large assortment of great pendant necklaces in both glass and resin.
Crinoline - Jamie makes really cool felt creations... the owls are adorable!
Cute As A Button - Mandy makes really cute hair bows in tons of different colors and patterns.
Dandelion's Handsome Sigh - You will find some beautiful little handmade books here, but you need to check out the stuffed paramecium!
*Geekboy Press - Everyone knows someone that would like something from this pop culture inspired shop.
*Miss Podolsky - Esther makes a variety of crocheted items as well as some really cool paper accessories.
*Stitching In Socks - Stephanie makes a variety of vibrantly colored and beautifully sewn creations.
*Tadpole Creations - Renee has tons of cute appliqued items for kids and babies. I love the Matryoshka dolls!
*The Earth Purse - Christine has an amazing website with all of her beautifully handsewn products.