Sticker Making Fun

My new Silhouette SD die cutting machine got here this weekend, and it works just as advertised. I love this thing! It can cut out any .bmp file and any TrueType font you happen to have on your computer. No stupid, expensive cartridges to buy, and it'll cut without being on the computer if you save your image to an sd card then load it up before you go wherever it is you're going.

I made this yarn zombie sticker tonight in about ten minutes. It took a little tweaking to get it to cut out correctly because the first font I picked had too many small sections, but once I got it going it was no problem to cut out as many as I wanted one after another. The only complaint I have about the vinyl is that it will peel up on really thin sections if you don't get it rubbed down FIRMLY when you're applying the sticker.

They're saying that iron-on heat transfer material will be available in March. I can't wait to make some spiffy t-shirts and things with that. It'll be great for one or two of a design when burning a screen and dragging out the ink etc. would be too big a deal to bother with.

So, if you've been thinking of getting yourself a die cutter this is the one to get. YAY!

Fuzzy Sample Scarf of Doom!

Man, this thing was fast even doing other stuff at the same time. It's a sample scarf to show off two new yarns at the shop, and it looks much better in person because it has sparkles that the iphone camera can't capture. 

1 strand of Universal's "Star Light", plus one of Plymouth's KAOS series "Mystify", then use US11 needles and do one repeat of Feather & Fan stitch over and over till you run out of yarn. The end.

Skully Bracelet

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I finally finished this bracelet last week that started out as a necklace a long time ago. I need to get back to the beading before I forget how to close up the jump rings without a gap. haha

Am I Nuts?

I just purchased a Silhouette SD Die Cutter from Overstock.com at a really good price. I rationalized it by saying if I make and sell 60 6-inch vinyl stickers at $5 each It'll pay for itself. That's perfectly reasonable, right? (On second thought, I may be asking the wrong people about this. haha) I chose this machine over the others available because it can use fonts already in my computer and it'll let me design my own shapes instead of always needing expensive cartridges. Those cartridges and stuff are what has kept me from getting a die cutter in the past. I don't scrapbook, but I've wanted one for stickers and stencil creation.

This is part of my scheme to make a bunch of things to sell at the Arkansas Fiber Arts Extravaganza this year. I've been a vendor there two years in a row, and packing store inventory to up the mountain is kind of a pain in the rear. Last year my best selling items were more gift things and do-dads than yarn or fiber, so this year I'm thinking my booth will be almost all gifts and do-dads.

I want to make a bunch of yarn bowls, stoneware buttons and pendants, one inch pins, resin pendants, have some travel mugs (which I buy from a place), some screen printed bags, the stickers, Addi Turbo knitting needles, ball winders, swifts, and a few high end knitting bags like Jordana Paige and Namaste. I can pack all that stuff up the night before so it's ready to go as soon as the shop closes on Friday, get to the location pretty early, and have plenty of time to relax in the cabin with my friends instead of spending the evening running around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to get the booth set up before they kick us out of the show space at 9PM to lock up. I'm thinking if I work on making things all year I should have enough come the first week of December, and it'll make Craft or Bust more interesting since I'll be working on a variety of things all year.

Craft or Bust Week 4

This is a late, photoless update because I'm lame like that. During Week 4 again all I did was knit on things every day and add more unfinished projects to my Ravelry counter over there.

I guess I also did more research on the resin jewelry. I read enough to know that I won't be doing that until the weather is nice enough that I can mix it and pour it outside because it is super crazy stinky and full of chemicals that will singe off your nose hair. haha

Other crafts you'll eventually see me do are
Pottery - still waiting on a new outlet for the kiln in the garage.
Sewing - I have a new craft area I'm wanting to get set up and the sewing machine plus a place to cut things out will be a big part of that. I'm not particularly good at sewing, but I have a new-ish machine and I want to learn.
Weaving - I have no excuse for this one. I own two floor looms and two rigid heddle looms. They all work and everything.
Screen Printing - I have a Yudu machine, which is just a big exposure unit/dryer and frame to pull prints on all in one. I like it a lot, but haven't used it much. I need to print some shirts and bags for the yarn store, so I'll document that.
Yarn & Fiber Dyeing - I do this pretty regularly for the shop when I run out of handpainted roving and/or I feel like making some sock yarn. I can document that too. I'm currently out of roving.
Beading Jewelry - I have the stuff to make some necklaces just sitting there at the house doing nothing in a tackle box.
Block Printing - I have the stuff for this at home in a box too.
Painting - I have at least two canvases and some acrylic paint out in the garage. I had plans for it, but never got around to using it.
Needle Felting - I do this once in a while. It's very stress-relieving because the way you do it is to wad up wool then stab it over and over with special needles. I like the stabby stabby aspect.
Nuno Felting - There are supplies for this in the basement at the shop. I have the scarves dyed already, I just need to felt the wool on there and jazz them up a bit.

So now I've talked the talk. I'll try to do a less boring job of walking the crafty walk around here. There ya go.