Indie-Pendant Business - Bear's Paw Fabrics

I found Bear's Paw Fabrics in a search for the biggest purchase I've made since buying my car. I walked into the shop excited, albeit a little nauseous, but Pat quickly calmed my rickety nerves.

I am not an impulse buyer and I can talk myself out of damn near anything (unless it has sugar on it). And I will admit to you, that I typically research a big purchase for weeks... first online, and then in person, before even considering laying out the money for it. My search for the perfect serger was no exception.

What led me into Bear's Paw Fabrics was their Bernina stock. The shop is a Bernina of America dealer and they carry it all.. sewing machines, embroidery machines, sergers, coverstitch machines. And while they must be a quilter's dream, what with their huge selection of printed fabrics and beautiful batiks, I bet the incredible wealth of knowledge that each of the shopkeepers hold is just as important to their customers.

I spent 1 1/2 hours at the shop on my first visit. I called my mom. "Mama, they're really nice here, it's a local shop, they'll give me classes and make sure I'll know how to use it and I think it's a really good price." And she agreed, it sounded good. "Berninas are good machines, too," she said.

So I bought two. Yeah, I did!

Favorite Handmade Possession: Zetta

My favorite handmade item was given to me by my boyfriend on my 21st birthday. We celebrated by spending the day at I Made This!, a paint-your-own pottery studio in downtown Frederick, where I made a heart-shaped jewelry box. Completely unbeknownst to me, he’d bought this handmade flying heart necklace as my gift weeks before—so by pure coincidence, it ended up matching the jewelry box perfectly! Now I wear it almost every day.

The pendant is molded from PMC, a mixture of fine silver and organic binders that, when fired, leaves only solid silver behind. I wish I could remember the name of the designer--I know that the necklace was bought through Shanalogic, but the designer has since stopped selling there (which is too bad, because I remember her/him having a lot of great PMC pieces). The initials “J.K.” have been signed on the back, which is the only clue I have to go on—if anyone recognizes it, I’d love to know!

written by Zetta

Favorite Shop: Jill Rosenwald

As I gaze at the work of Jill Rosenwald, I see sheer perfection. Her work is playful, but chic.


Bee Bowl in Fade Pattern

So perfectly proportioned and with restraint, yet somehow her designs remain carefree. I adore her crisp forms, bold graphics, and cheerful color palette.


Mini Bowl in Pelmet Design

I originally heard of her through my friend Shawna, of Pink Kiss Pottery, another artist whose work I deeply admire. Now I want to be a potter!


Swag Pattern Bowl

In the meantime, I would be quite content to fill one of Jill’s lovely bowls with fresh fruit. And happily gaze at it every morning.

Written by Monica of Sugar Paperie

Random Baltimore Photo

For more information, please click on the image.

Ridiculously Simple Shortbread

(photo by gnuf)

At a recent BEST get-together, Tara of Tarabu brought the most amazing shortbread cookies. I asked her for the recipe and here you have it!

Ridiculously Simple Shortbread Cookie Recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 teaspoon salt (totally optional, I usually forget it)

1 tsp TrueLemon (crystallized lemon juice, yum, optional)

Tools:

A mixer (hand or stand)

a sieve

a large glass or metal mixing bowl

a rolling pin

oven mitt and cookie sheets or jelly roll pans

a sharp knife

a fork

spatula

The process:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Cream the butter and sugar really well. In the words of Devo, Whip it Good. Get a good bit of air into the mix.

Then sift the flour (and salt and powdered lemon, if using) in a little at a time. It will be a little coarse at the beginning, just keep mixing and it will come together.

When thourougly mixed, dump out onto a well-floured clean surface. Gently roll out to about 1/2 inch thick, in as close to a rectangle as you can manage. This is a very soft dough, so you just need to push the rolling pin across the surface, rather than push down on the dough. If you do not have a rolling pin, you can just pat it into shape with your hands.

Cut into sticks approx 1/2 inch wide by 2 inch long. Prick a row in the top with tines of a fork.

Transfer sticks to ungreased baking sheets, approx 1/2 inch apart. Load into oven and immediately turn temp down to 275 degrees Farenheit. Bake for 25-30 minutes (check after 20 if your oven is not too reliable), remove when they are a very pale golden.

Cool on wire racks.

Makes approx 3.5 dozen. Enjoy with a cup of tea.

I am sorry I do not have a photo of the finished cookies, but I have eaten them all.

Happy Birthday, Jen!

aka yummyandcompany.

Friday Finds - The Bunny Trail

There's something about bunnies... for me, all year round, I think that nothing gets much cuter than a fuzzy, floppy eared bunny. And now it's officially bunny season! Here are some of my current favorites...

Ok, I admit I don't know if these guys are bunnies or something from Fraggle Rock, but I LOVE them! Little mopsy bunny by Zygopsyche.

These little bunny soaps are made from goat's milk, and are way too cute to use. By KcSoapsNmore.

These gift tags are so sweet you might not even need a gift with them! By KileyKoala.

Every basket needs a bunny, and I'd love to find this one in mine. By Danielleorama.

Put this in my basket, too! Grown-up bunny necklace by imogeneANDannie.

Happy Bunny Day, everyone! Have a great weekend!

Twenty Things: Zetta

Twenty things you didn't know about Sam of Zetta.
1. I love thunderstorms.
2. If I wasn’t pursuing a creative career, I think I’d like to fly helicopters for a living.
3. My secret dream is to move to New Zealand and raise sheep.
4. I have the short term memory span of a goldfish. I carry a little moleskine notebook with me everywhere to keep my thoughts in, since they certainly aren’t going to stay in my head.
5. When out in public, my significant other and I often get mistaken for siblings. It can lead to some really funny or awkward situations, depending on how you want to look at it.
6. I’m completely uninterested in sports, except for soccer. I can’t wait for the World Cup to come around again!
7. I am seriously pigeon-toed.
8. I sleep a lot—eight hours a night minimal, ten hours ideally. But I hate sleeping in past 8am. It makes me feel like I’ve missed out on something.
9. I have incredibly vivid dreams, and they’re often the inspiration for my writing and art work.
10. I hate romantic comedies, but I love action movies. The more explosions, the better.
11. On a related note, Bruce Willis is my favorite actor, and has been since I saw Die Hard on TV at the age of six.
12. If I had to choose one word to describe myself it would probably be: distracted.
13. Chainmaille is my “detox” craft. It’s what I do when I’m stressed, angry or suffering some kind of artist’s block. I think it’s very relaxing.
14. Sushi is my food of choice. Other than that, I’m not a big fan of meat.
15. I’m kind of a geek. During my freshman year of college I beat an entire fraternity in their own Halo 2 tournament. It won me a ‘party animal’ t-shirt and a Hooters calendar. I’m sure my mom is proud.
16. I’m a big fan of game shows, especially the really colorful, outrageous ones. The Price is Right is my favorite.
17. I dislocated both of my knees when I was in elementary school. Now that I’m older, I can feel changes in the weather through them.
18. Owls freak me out.
19. I love children’s literature, and have read way more of it than I have ‘adult’ novels. It makes me sad every time I see one turned into a movie.
20. I also enjoy reading quantum physics books. I won’t pretend that I completely understand the subject, but I think it’s interesting.


Would you like to be featured? Email your twenty things (keep it clean, please!) to baltimoreetsy (at) gmail (dot) com. Be sure to include your photo, name and URL.

My Favorite Handmade Possession

As a mother, I cherish all of the handmade things that my kids have given me over the years. I am always amazed at what they come up with and their creativity is so inspiring. My youngest is definitely an artist, and he creates something new and amazing every day. I literally have boxes and boxes of all his creations and he's only 6 (I just hate to throw any of them away). My most favorite thing that he made me was a diamond ring. I started my Etsy shop when he was 4 and he wasn't in school yet, so we spent a lot of time creating with clay. He must have seen me making my jewelry and decided he would make some too. He made quite a few pendants, but one day he presented me with the diamond ring. He had designed it himself and it is actually wearable. No amount of real carats could replace that priceless clay ring.

Don't Forget to Register for the Summit of Awesome!

Update from Hello Craft:

The Summit of Awesome is shaping up quite nicely and it is looking to be a craft-packed weekend of, dare I say - Awesome? Have you heard? Space is limited so you might want to register now!

So what do you get with your registration? Well, your registration at the Summit of Awesome gets you a one way ticket to propel you and your craft to the next level. It is a great mix of learning and crafting from discussions to hands on, with a little something for everyone.

Early arrivals can take advantage of the time and take a tour of the MidCity Business District, one of D.C.’s vibrant neighborhoods and coolest indie shops. Early arrivals will also have a blast at the Hello Craft Welcome party. Mix and mingle with the founders of Hello Craft, speakers from the weekend and get to know your fellow attendees.

Craftnotes:
Of course you won’t want to miss these talks with -

• Maria Thomas, Etsy.com CEO
• Jenny Hart - Sublime Stitching

Demos/Workshops:
Learn a new technique or make something awesome with guidance from our amazing speakers.

• Fun with Duct Tape with Kristina Bilonick
• Simple Mold Making with Adam Maron - Pearson Maron
• FIber Demo with Jamie Chan and Blas Herrera - Urban Fauna Studio
• Embroidery Demo with Jenny Hart - Sublime Stitching
• How to Photograph your Work with Sherry - Dandelion Blu
• Sew a Felt Broach with Beth Baldwin - Tiger Flight
• Make a Snow Globe with Esti Gerson
• Plate Breaking Demo with Juliet Ames - The Broken Plate
• Sewing Demo with DC Threads
• Make a Small Book with Esti Gerson
• Screen Printing Demo with Christy Petterson

Learning Sessions:
The main part of the weekend is to learn and grow your crafty endeavors. And what better way then to learn from the people in the know?

• Crafting a Green Craft with Jamie Chan and Blas Herrera - Urban Fauna Studio, Liz Grotyohann and Jeff Fein-Worton - Cosa Verde, Becky Streipe - Glue and Glitter
• What’s a Social Network and How to use it for Good with Danielle Maveal - Etsy Success & Virtual Labs, Tina Seamonster
• Craft Fair Booth Set up and Displays with Caitlin Phillips - Rebound Designs, Shauna and Stephen - Something’s Hiding In Here
• Event Sponsorship with Craftland
• Am I a Business? How and when to form a business for your crafty endeavors with Cynthia Gayton and Paige Totaro - Volunteer Lawyer for the Arts
• Street Teams. Why you should connect and collaborate with Jen Menkhaus and Megan Van Wagoner - B.E.S.T.
• Branding and Identity with Jeffrey Everett - El Jefe Design
• Developing a Product Line. Deciding what to make and sell with Ali Dryer - Pistol-Designs, Rebecca Juliette - This Chickadee
• Navigating the Art world with Craft with Joetta Maue, Quincy Pearson, Sean Hennessey, Jaime Zollars
  
• Selling in a Brick and Mortar with Urban Fauna Studios, Craftland
• Consumption and Sustainability. How DIY will Save the World with Sara Cotner - $2000 Wedding, Autumn Wiggins - Upcycle Exchange
• Selling Successfully Online with Danielle Maveal- Etsy Success & Virtual Labs, Liz Grotyohann and Jeff Fein-Worton - Cosa Verde
• Tax Implications of Starting a Business with Michael Kreps and Paige Totaro - Volunteer Lawyer for the Arts
• Organizing a Craft Fair with Al Hoff, Jessica Manack - Handmade Arcade, Christy Petterson - Indie Craft Experience
• Going out on a Limb with Jeffery Everett - El Jefe Design, Kasey and Kelly Evick - Biggs & Featherbelle
• The Ins and Outs of Trade Shows with Rania Hassan - goshdarnknit, Sean Hennessey, Rhonda and Elijah Wyman - Figs and Ginger
• Copyright and Tradmarks, How to protect yourself and your work with Megan Gray
• Customer Service. Crafting with a Smile with Caitlin Phillips - Rebound Designs, Rebecca Juliette - This Chickadee

Handmade Nation
You’ll also have access to a screening of the D.C. premier of Handmade Nation, Faith Levine’s long awaited film documenting the indie craft community.

Make Something Awesome Craft Area:
All weekend long, stop by the Make Something Awesome Craft Area and well, make something awesome. Have some down time between panels? Feel like decompressing? Socializing? This is the place to do it. Supplies and tutorials will help you on your way to making something awesome. Plus you can record your story for a future episode of the Hello Craft Podcast!

Handmade White Elephant
You might be familiar with this fun and sometimes funny holiday game. Well, be prepared to swap and trade your handmade goods at this fast and fun crafty version of this old favorite.

Phew! That’s a lot of awesome for one tiny weekend. Check back here for updates and additions as we introduce our amazing speakers to you over the next couple of weeks.