hands. shop. vanishings.

a) i would like to thank handmodel.ca for supplying me with some kick-ass photos.
b) store news! i have a new slick shop via big cartel. check it out.
c) as you have probably noticed, i have been quite absent lately. there is lots of work and family stuff to deal with at the moment. i hope to be back in the new year (and hopefully a bit more relaxed).

charmed.

fall is in the air, it is a bone-chilling 23 degrees celsius and the leaves would be turning and falling if it didn't feel like nuclear summer outside. that can only mean one thing - hallowe'en is right around the corner! i can hardly contain myself. for me, hallowe'en is the absolute best holiday of the year - it's all witchy and tricky and theatrical. so imagine my delight when i connected with sandi falconer this year over the city of craft design job and, in so doing, discovered a comrade in charms (you can see what i mean over on the city of craft website).

this set was created as an extension of our mutual love of all things superstitious. sandi selected five charms - a crystal, a rabbit's foot, two arrows, a wishbone and a watchful eye. not only will these charms protect you and keep you lucky but they also provide a comely set of accessories that you can wear to your next spiral dance or dark alley.

the charms sets are available in the etsy shop now and in person at all upcoming events. look for them in discerning independent shops near you sooner or later.

it's alive!

photo by cortney heimerl

after all the hard work (and no small amount of picky photography by cortney), edition #001 of the awards for nothing project is now up and for sale in the printshop forever shop. i owe cortney a big debt of gratitude for figuring out how to release this huge edition. also, for being so articulate and complimentary in her release post about the project. thank you also to faythe and aaron for hosting our real-world awards launch, for documenting and for posting about it. also, big thanks to lish for posting on the craft: blog.

now, go and browse it up, buds!

postal growth.

the last shop update also saw this masonite version of the mini postal boards added. it's very much the same as the plywood version only a little more rigid and with no charming grain. i only have a couple left after the madness of the trunk show so feel free to scoop one up if you want one. i will be doing more up soon but, to be honest, this is not a very money-making project so i have to keep bumping it for other things. i love to spend hours in the workroom crocheting, do not get me wrong, but this has been a very swamped month so far and we're only nine days in!

i have also added these little postal prices cheat sheets to each order. don't worry, if you got one of the earliest postal boards, you also got the cheat sheet. i just didn't tell you in advance.

new buttons for a new decade.

i stayed up last, deep into the wee hours to finally slug through some images and etsy listings. above and below and the two newest button sets, florals by alec thibodeau and botanical magic by matt "matty 8080" cipov. they are both in the etsy shop now.

also new to the shop are these darling pins by missy kulik. entitled 'craft pals', they were made on my last tour. i guess i never got around to photographing them while travelling from place to place. they are also available online at shana logic, so i guess i was not in much of a rush. they really did belong in my little shop, too. and now they are there!

measures and weights.

postal board update: these new plywood cuties are all ready for the love and rummage trunk show and are up in the etsy shop. go to! i made a very limited quantity. after the trunk show i will list a few masonite versions, too. huzzah!

the way way north.

mittens by sarah mcneil

today i spent a mid-mania lunch watching a documentary about the arctic. it made me profoundly sad. i felt full of awe, as well, of the landscape and the people who fit into it. in an act of comfort and indulgence, i trolled around etsy for other works that gave me this same feeling. here they are.

none sense.

photo by reverend aitor

the sweetie pie press is proud to announce that we now accept payment for our goods and services in noney.

be your own brass.

hey world. guess what? now that i am finally caught up on some administrative things (it's a long story that involves timing and family trauma) the security envelope project has finally been able to grow into a long-awaited second phase. please behold the do-it-yourself security envelope installation kit. here at the sweetie pie press, we aim to make your weird decorating impulses easier to achieve through carefully mapped out (and easy to install) projects.

taking its inspiration from the trials and tribulations of doing this (like this), the idea for these smaller scale at-home installations came from the notion that even installation-based projects should be easy and accessible (in some instances, at any rate). at this smaller size, it was easy to refine the installation process and make it less gruelling, too.

want to see some picture of what i am talking about? here:

you can look at the whole process (27 minutes in total) here.

so, i know what you are thinking. how do i get my hands on one of these amazing kits? well, there are currently two ways: 1) this first triangular kits should appear in my etsy shop in a matter of hours 2) i will give you one of these first kits just for leaving a comment here (well, i will give one to one of you). you have until friday at midnight to leave a comment, friends and lurkers. after that, i will devise a means of making a random selection and one lucky soul will get an easy-peasy installation kit! (since these are so brand new, photographs of your finished installation would also be nice). please be sure to include your email address if it is not on your blogger profile.

i miss you.

a love letter to the sun - i spent part of this snowy day making new secret message envelopes for the world.

they are up in the etsy shop now.

work begets work.

today, jesjit came over on a collection of businesses. 1) we are finding ways to make free drawings and city of craft work together. 2) he dropped off a roll of prints covered in circles so that i can make a second run his very popular $$ button sets.

it always feels both thrilling and horrifying to cut into the posters he drops off. i can ease my anxieties by reminding myself that these are all ripped, water damaged and/or overstock that we are able to give new life through buttons. also, the resulting sets look extremely bad-ass.

in related news, they did some stock shuffling over at renegade handmade and sent back some of their overstock. included was one remaining set from jesjit's first run with me. it's the only set from that 2007 run that i know of, so i put it up in the etsy shop. enjoy!

graphing sales.

tonight, aitor got serious about organizing the trampoline hall merch table (my post at the show when i am not away). oh, ephemeral pursuits, why do you woo us so?

a point in every direction.

...is the same as no point at all.

serena came over this afternoon and helped earn her new hat (which she has already earned) by doing some modelling. look at all the ways you can wear your elf hats! two ways. don't they looks better on heads?

thank you, serena, for being my lovely model.

serena actually came over the interview me and aitor for her indie artist blog residency at broken pencil. we were chatting about all citizens, small places, travelling the continent and walking into books. the article should go live sometime tonight.

listed.

neck warmer version 2, #5 now listed on etsy.

2010 has made me take a much less flowery and much more mathematical approach to naming my crochet goods.

or.gan.ize.

deep thoughts.

as the nights get longer and colder, we are happy to be introducing two new commissioned artist button sets from the mysterious depths of both sea and forest.

they are the murky progeny of milwaukee-based artist, and craft show pal, matt "matty 8080" cipov. matt is a prolific artist, an incredibly astute illustrator and a meticulous cutter-outer. his healthy use of office supplies, paper stocks and rubber stamps doesn't hurt his esteem in our book, either.

the images for these buttons come from a reportedly "ill-fated" art show matty had in seattle called 'creatures of the deep', although details are hard to come by. mystery! for the sweetie pie press, matt agreed to divide his illustrations into two distinct sylvan and marine sets (respectively) - just to make sure we were all adequately scared of specific depths.

having worked for years on boats, i find the shark particularly terrifying, although the owl does tap into all the formative twin peaks viewing i did in my youth. those things are not what they seem!

get ready to shock your friends senseless with these specters of the (mostly) natural world.

both sets are now listed in the etsy shop. enjoy!

tending shop / keeping house.

i have been trying to clean up around the house. it's a daunting task when your home is also your place of work. i am also exceptionally bad at containing my creative work to my office. it's everywhere. we haven't had an operational kitchen table in months (but thank you for the loaned paper cutter, leah. it lives there now).

in all the manic tidying (which is barely perceptible), i also managed to document a few new things and get them listed in my etsy shop. secret message envelopes, neck warmers...and more is on the way.

in the world of online commerce, i should also mention a few more updates. the souvenir shop has decided to restructure their operations and has pared away many of the works they were selling online (including mine). after a year of operation, they have decided to focus on other projects (like the amazing penny smash, one would assume). i wish them all the best. those folks at motherbrand are always up to interesting new design-based things and i look forward to hearing about all the fantastic new undertaking they dream up. the confusion corner buttons will now be available through my etsy shop and, as always, at out of the blue in winnipeg.

but as one door closes, another opens. although i am very late in announcing the opening of their online storefront, renegade handmade has launched the much-anticipated cyber version of their popular chicago shop. my available button sets can be found here. it's not a bad place to pick some up, either, as sue's collection of indie craft stuff is unparalleled; one could fill a shopping cart there pretty quickly. i have always been particularly impressed by renegade handmade's collection of art and prints. it's a pretty singular grouping of artists. congratulations on the new site, sue! it looks wonderful.