Design by Night

I love getting catalogs in the mail, for me they are a poor man’s magazine. One of my favorite things it so sign up for catalogs from expensive stores, pick out an outfit or an item and try to find a cheaper version somewhere else to recreate the look.

Recently I got a catalog from Fossil. One of the photos showed a girl wearing a simple cardigan sweater and a cluster of oversize flower pins. All in all, the pins were not that expensive individually but if you wanted to wear the in a cluster of three it would cost you around $45, plus they weren’t even handmade! After looking at the catalog several times I decided to take a trip to the fabric store and see if I could come up with an alternative that I could make for less money.

For less than $10, I made three pins…making this project great for gift giving!

What you will need to make one large (approximately 4.5”) pin:
1/8 of a yard of 30” wool felt
Straight pins
Scissors
2.8 cm pin back
Sewing needle
Thread in matching color of wool
Ruler or m…

Here is a list of upcoming shows:

Dec. 3rd
Trunk Show
6-9 p.m.
Kiss’n Make-up
827 W. 36th Street
Balto., MD 21211

Dec. 4th
Holiday Fair
Kiss’n Make-up booth
1 a.m. - 4 p.m.
5204 Roland Avenue
Balto., MD 21210

Dec. 5th
Merry Mart
Creative Alliance
11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The Patterson
3134 Eastern Ave.
Balto., MD 21224

Don't forget about the meet-n-greet party on MICA campus this Friday, November 19, from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. ET. Food, drink, music and a craft activity will be included in the festivities taking place in Brown Center’s Leidy Atrium, 1301. W. Mount Royal Ave.

Come meet Vanessa and Morgan from Etsy and members of the Baltimore Etsy Street Team. There will be a raffle full of goodies from BEST artists, MICA, and Etsy, so get there early! And don't forget to bring your business cards!

Please RSVP by calling 410-225-2219 or e-mailing spcs@mica.edu. We can’t wait to see you at the party! For directions, please visit: www.mica.edu

Originally posted on Baltimore Etsy Street Team blog.

Come visit me and Jill Popowich Designs at the DC Craft Mafia's Holiday Heist.

When: Sunday, November 21

Time: 10 AM - 5 PM

Where: The Soundry
316 Dominion Road
Vienna, VA 22180

Come visit me this weekend at the The Junior League Décor Galore. An all day shopping event on Saturday, November 13th from 9am to 5pm featuring “gifts for you and the home” inlcuding jewelry, gifts, accessories, children's clothing, housewares and more!

Location: 1830 York Road Timonium
(former location of Scan near Starbucks, Chipotle & Quiznos)

All proceeds from the event will help the Junior League of Baltimore continue our service in the Baltimore community (99 years so far!).

Another day in paradise to me is when I can craft instead of doing my normal 9-5 job. Thanks to a big hearted boss and the opportunity to donate a tree to Carroll Hospice's Festival of Trees it has been paradise in the office (at least for a few hours each week).

Our beach themed tree is coming along great. It is amazing what can be done with a group of crafty people, shells, some hot glue and lots of glitter. Here are some of the cute ornaments we have made.




These crafty signs were hand painted by Erin, a graphic designer at Devaney & Associates. She used inexpensive pre-cut signs from the craft store as the base. The designs were done on her computer and then she printed and traced them onto the signs to hand paint. Then she added little touches, like the rafia and seashells, to finish off these beachy signs.

A beach theme wouldn't be complete without flip flops! We searched high and low for inexpensive flip flop ornaments but everything was $10 or more. So we ordered these…

For the past several years my work, Devaney & Associates, has donated a fully decorated tree to Carroll Hospice’s Festival of Trees. Each year we democratically pick a theme and then carry this theme out in Christmas tree form. After a very close race, this year's theme is a beach tree.

Not only do we get to do a good deed, we often find ourselves creating great crafts (with the added bonus of crafting during work hours). So as our agency develops these beachy ornaments I thought I would share some of the how-to’s with my few (but loyal) readers. So fix yourself a pina colada, turn on that sun lamp and get ready to craft.

The first ornament is a real tree diva…a glittery starfish.



What you will need:
12” of 20 guage wire (we used copper)
4” (or so) starfish
Wire cutter
Glitter (we used Martha Stewart’s Crystal Course Glitter)
White Craft Glue (we used Modge Podge)
Inexpensive paint brush (to apply glue)
2 to 3 medium sized glass beads

Generously brush glue on to one side of the starfish…