Saturday, July 28, 2012

Summer So Far

Oh, hai Interwebz! I have returned with splendid tales of offline adventures!Stardust Stitches Logo


The most exciting bit of news: I launched a second business last week! The new biz is Stardust Stitches, and it's lots of handmade little lovelies to help you have a more relaxed and serene life. Slippers/house shoes, rice therapy pillows, sachets, lap/receiving blankets, etc.


 


Stardust Stitches "Laura" slipper with Peter Pan collar
Why let your neck have all the fun? Now your feet can have Peter Pan collars too!



Check out the Etsy shop or the Facebook page for all the goodies. I might be crazy, what with Plushroom Soup, the day job, the 5 pets, the farm plan, and trying to have a social life too. But I'm super excited about the new biz!


 


 


Crabtree Studio reversible dresses
Amy's reversible dresses


 


I'm also excited to announce that Amy, my BFF and favorite crafty partner in crime has revamped and relaunched Crabtree Studio. She's making utterly AMAZEBALLS heriloom-quality childrens clothing, so if you've got a little munchkin in your life, you should check out her stuff.


 


Crabtree Studio and Stardust Stitches, Summer 2012 No Coast Craft-o-Rama
Lookin' snazzy before the show.


 


Last Sunday, we shared a booth at the innaugural Summer No Coast Craft-o-Rama in Silverwood Park (reunited and it feels so good. . . .). But holy hell, people, was it HOT. And STICKY. I felt like I was standing in a swamp all day. I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my entire life. But the park was gorgeous, the crowds were pretty steady, and we got lots of positive feedback about our work. I even made a few more sales than I had expected for both a first-time show and the first event for Stardust.


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I didn't have much of a chance to check out all the other vendors, but our neighbors Oh Dier were really sweet and lovely people. And they make highly-covetable, beautiful objects to prettify your home. I think this sign in red would make a perfect addition to our reading room.


 


Oh Dier Read sign
image © Oh Dier



They also had one that said "Library," but I can't find an image of it. Tough to choose which I'd want more, but I better decide before Winter No Coast!


 


In other news, I started a new day job in mid-June. I've once again picked up the red pen after my brief erroneous stint in IT. I'm VERY relieved to not be part of that madness anymore and am loving the new job so far.


 


Cal in the field
My MIL's dog, Cal, helps us assess the north pasture.



The farm dream is also going strong. My local NRCS rep came out to the farm in June to help me assess the pastures and develop a rotational grazing plan for my future critters. Turns out I have abundant and species-diverse (if a bit overgrown) pastures, including awesome native prairie.


 


Sadly, all this activity has left little room for plush making. But I do have lots of fun ideas and the Plush You! 2012 deadline is starting to loom, so expect to see some fun stuff soon.


Also expect to see some changes around the blog in the next few months. I haven't entirely worked out what it will look like, but I know I want one cohesive space where I can write about Plushroom Soup, Stardust Stitches, and the soon-to-be-named farm. I'm toying with lumping them all under one blog called Farm Sewn (see what I did there? See? Yes, I'm a dork.). I know many of you run several businesses. Any advice for juggling their web prescences gracefully?