Mills College Holiday Craft Fair 2010

Last Thursday I participated in the annual Mills College Holiday Craft Fair. The day was great! It started out a little cold (great for hat sales), I got to sit next to my dear friend, former boss, knitter extraordinaire Fatima, and introduce a whole bunch of people to the magical world of whoopie pies. Take a look at what I brought and let me tell you how I did.

I brought...

Knitted goodies: festive cable beanies, slouchy berets, neckwarmers of all sorts, and wrist warmers. Also some crochet and felt pins (lower right corner).

Felt Christmas ornaments (on Etsy soon)

that I displayed on a purple Christmas tree.
Nice touch, I think.

And catnip buddies (of course).




I think I did pretty well. But next time I won't bring as many vanilla whoopie pies.*

*didn't sell a single one!

Buddies Galore

Check out these super cute catnip buddies!

I actually made these catnip buddies a while ago, but I've been staggering their release--which is a polite, albeit half-truth way of saying that I made them ages ago and then fell off the crafting and Etsy wagon for a while and now I'm using them as filler between real-time posts. Every blogger does it (at one time or another); it happens.

Posts about my current craft projects are just around the corner. I've actually been crafting quite a bit (I'm preparing for a craft faire!!!) and I've finally gotten around to taking photos of my yarn crafts. Stay tuned.

Trick or Treat Indeed

Halloween is just around the corner and so I felt that some spooky catnip buddies were in order. I realize that I may be a little late in presenting these--especially in Etsy marketing terms--but I had fun making them...and pulling off a flash mob/drive by style photo shoot in the pumpkin display at Whole Foods.

Mr. Jack o Lantern is on Etsy right now. Here's a little close-up for your viewing pleasure.

This cute ghastly ghoul will be on BoutiqueAliciaMarie soon.

Brand New Buddies!

I woke up this morning to a symphony of chirps filtering through my bedroom window. As this was highly unusual, I went outside to check it out. And here is what I found: three charming little birdies. Aren't they cute? I sure think so.

I'll be adding these catnip buddies to my Etsy shop over the next week.

P.S. I have a feeling that more buddies might be arriving sometime in the near future, so stay tuned!

Cheeseburgers and Ravioli

I have more catnip buddies! Take a look and tell me what you think.

Cheeseburger Buddy

I had a lot of fun doing this one. I was just sitting on the couch watching a television show that was probably turning my brain to mush and trying to think of a new design that would appeal to kitties and humans alike. And then it hit me: CHEESEBURGERS! How is that I hadn't thought of this before? At any rate, I quickly got to work and two hours later I was holding a Cheeseburger catnip buddy.

Each ingredient is hand cut (freehand, too) and sewn in place with matching embroidery thread. And it even has sesame seeds!

Catnip Buddy Ravioli

These little catnip filled "raviolis" are the product of procrastination and sheer panic. About two weeks ago I committed to a craft fair at the last minute. I set a catnip buddy production schedule that I promptly slacked off on, which left me with only three catnip toys by the morning of the event. After getting my things together and frosting the cupcakes that I had made for the Craft Market, I sat down and took out my catnip buddy making supplies. I wanted a pattern that I could complete quickly so I turned to my first cat toy design.

I dropped the tether and focused on the pillow. Sticking to one color of embroidery thread for all the stitches saved me some time and I found myself with just enough time to make one more. Except I didn't just want to make another rectangular one. Then a little light bulb went off in my head and I skipped into the kitchen to grad a jar lid. I used this as a stencil for the second pillow and chose a star motif because I wanted something classic, sporty and cute.

The circular shape of the blue buddy inspired me to name them both as raviolis, which I decided was much more interesting than calling them just plain catnip toys.

Catnip and Philosophy

Freddy, our friends' cat, who stays with us occasionally.
He REALLY like the nip and was one of my feline inspirations for making these little buddies.

The wet weather and an unplanned, minor knitting injury have prompted me to start making catnip buddies again. I stopped by a pet store on my way home from work last week and picked up some more catnip. And I have to admit that I've developed a discerning nose for this kitty treat. I never thought that the odor of catnip would vary between different brands, but apparently it does. I had been using Cosmic Catnip but I didn't like that it contained a lot of twigs and although fragrant, was not particularly potent. (But it was free, so I can't really complain.) So this time around I went back to the VIP Premium Catnip that I've used before: its made up of small leaves and has a super strong, almost spicy catnip scent.

Wow...I didn't think that I'd ever wind up developing a preference for catnip, not to mention discuss it on a blog post. Enough catnip talk, lets get to the buddies.

Yellow Canary

Same design as my Cardinal Birdie, but in yellow.

Goldfish

Hanging out with his cracker snack counterparts.

Two Tone Heart

Too late for Valentine's Day, but any day can be a
good day to give your kitten a heart full of catnip.

All will be on my Etsy soon, or if sold out, will be available through special order.

Holiday Crafting

The holiday season is upon us. Although I've been working to start and finish hand-knit items for my family and friends, I've also been experimenting with my felt creations. I'm quite proud of my latest work.

Last year I bought a giant rawhide bone for my mom's dog and made a catnip pouch for our cat, Oscar. I'm pretty sure that it was the first time that he had encountered catnip, and he couldn't quite decide whether or not he liked it. He had a curious and somewhat distressed, but interested, look on his face when he took his first whiff of the green stuff. He even played with the pouch a little bit, but never got so excited as to pursue it when it fell out of reach.

But I've kept on making catnip toys (mostly because I still have catnip left over), but also because I enjoy the process. I'm also driven by a little economical incentive: I just know that there are others out there who--like me--give their pets a little gift for Christmas. I hope to help fill a niche with these holiday catnip buddies:

The Gingerbread Man Catnip Buddy

(I just put him up for sale on Etsy)

And in trying to be fair and equal opportunistic, I also made a catnip buddy for those who celebrate Hanukkah:

Star of David Catnip Pouch

(on Etsy as well)

I've also been busy experimenting with combining embroidered felt pillows with magnets. The holidays have presented me with a perfect opportunity to play with shapes, colors and themes. So far I've made two sets:

(on Etsy soon)

Each set presented its own minor roadblocks. I wanted to maintain a balance of color and variety of motifs in both. But I have to admit that the Hanukkah set was the most difficult. I had a hard time thinking of more than 3 motifs that would be both representation of the holiday and aesthetically pleasing. I'm happy with what I came up with.

Right now I'm working on making Christmas stockings for the apartment (finished product pics of those to come!). I'm also toying with the idea of making Christmas felt tree ornaments--one of which I already have nearly complete. Lots of projects. Lots of projects...