Felted Technology Cozies

Before we went on our Florida vacation (many thanks to our family in beachy locations :) Dell bought me an iPod!

We don't even have cell phones, so this little-bit-of-a-technological-miracle-clad-in-orange kinda blew my mind. And my first instinct was to protect it. So I crocheted a little pouch from worsted wool and felted it in the sink. I made it big enough to also hold the recharge cord and even fashioned a little pouch on the front for the earbuds.


I have done lots of felting from wool roving, both wet and needle felting. And I have done a lot of crochet. I have even felted from my crocheted items, making coasters we love using around the house and which I hope someday to add to my shop. But I always felted the knit and crochet stuff in the washing machine before. I didn't have time for that days before our big trip so I donned my lovely yellow rubber gloves and tried wet felting my cozy in the sink. It worked!

The following isn't meant necessarily as a detailed tutorial, but as an overview of my process.

First I found some worsted weight merino yarn in my vast stash:

Then I crocheted it into a pouch (see below for very basic recipe). This one is for an iPhone type of object. I'm not doing mathematically accurate measurements, I really just like to eyeball stuff. For me that's more relaxed and fun.

After I completed the crocheting, I took it over to the sink, got it wet with hot water, poured a little dish soap on it, and started scrubbing:




You can really rough it up, I smashed it all around into itself, occasionally put a little more hot water on it, or soap if needed, and sometimes pulled it flat to see if it was felting OK and/or becoming a weird shape by accident.

After it had felted as much as I wanted it to, I rinsed it well and sort of blocked it by laying it flat, pulled into the shape I wanted it to keep when dry. I put the pouch on a sunny windowsill, usually they are dry by the next day.

I have a HUGE vintage button collection and I like to go through it, picking out buttons for these little pouches.

Here's one I made for my digital point and shoot camera, the button is Bakelite:

Here is my very basic recipe for making a pouch that could hold a digital camera, adjust as necessary for your specific 21st century marvels:

1) I use a G crochet hook and worsted wool (not super wash!)

2) I chain about 18-20 then turn and single crochet (into the front loop only) back and forth for about 12 rows more or less.

3) When it looks wide enough (I'm allowing for felting shrinkage of about...25%? I have no idea :) I slip stitch the pouch closed down the side and single crochet the pouch closed along the bottom.

4) Then I cut the yarn and work in loose ends, these will disappear into the fabric of the pouch when you felt it which I LOVE!

5) I start the button loop by attaching the yarn at the top opening of the pouch somewhere a ways in from the edge (1/2 inch maybe?) your call, and chain about 10, attach it where it looks most symmetrical to where I began and single crochet along the chain back to the beginning of the loop, fasten off, weave in ends.

6) Felt as above, 7) block and allow to dry then 8) attach button of choice!

You could also add more buttons for adornment, embroider, sew on beads, and/or needle felt designs onto the pouch. Let me know if you make these too and what yours look like!

Craft Show Display

It's show season again! Along with thinking about producing as many items as I can to fill my table and what exactly those items should be, I'm also thinking about display.

My craft show displays have always been organic and inexpensive, whatever I had around that worked for now. Over time they have been augmented by things I've found for free or at thrift shops. I also found some great items at Bed Bath and Beyond and Target. I got my fab card spinner randomly from a shop that was going out of business.

Here's how my full tent display came out at the Sheep Shearing festival in April, thanks to Candace's generous help and impeccable eye!


Here's my half-space table from Andover Crafts in the park on May 9th:


This past weekend I vended at the SOWA Artwalk in Boston's South End. It was a crazy set up of first come first served spaces in two empty office buildings. The space was generously donated and our table fee was $0, so we were all determined to make the situation work!


I snagged a space in a larger room with some natural light. The fluorescent light above me was not functioning and the first day my space was a little dark.


On Sunday I brought a lamp and that made a huge difference. I sold many more of the items under the light! I also rearranged the left side of the display.


My theme, in as much as I have one, has mostly been trending toward displays that look like they should hold food. I think this is appealing and goes with some of my food-like products, cupcake anyone?


But it's not consistent across my table, I do like the way things pull together at my shows, and I get a good response from shoppers, but there is a part of me that wishes I could have a Martha Stewart set designer come in and tell me what I should do! Because I believe, like photos in online shops, displays at craft shows can affect sales.

Though I don't think I'm living up to my full display potential yet, I'm on that path, I'll get there soon!

Making my own hang tags

When I started selling in consignment shops I needed to add individual hang tags to my pieces for branding and as a place to put pricing stickers. Most shops won't want a tag with your web address on it, so I just put "made in lowell by Liz Smith". I started by cutting some Moo cards in half and rounding the corners, those looked fantastic but wow that was going to get expensive fast.


I don't mind a ton of laborious cutting and clipping (OCD heaven!) so I designed a group of 11 hang tags using my product photos and arranged it to fit on an Overnight Prints postcard. I chose Overnight Prints because I wanted the matte finish they offer, sort of trying to replicate the Moo card look. When the box of 100 cards arrived I cut the tags apart, used a corner punch to round their corners, punched a hole and strung them with vintage crochet thread.

While I am overall very pleased with the results, here are the things I would do differently next time:


1) Design to the edge of the postcard, do a full bleed. I designed my card with the images floating inside a large white area and while this wasn't a problem for me, Overnight Prints lil printer bot caught it and emailed me TWICE to tell me my order was on hold because I didn't do a proper bleed on my card and it was coming up as an error in their system. I don't want to give the lil bot a heart attack and I don't want my order delayed again so next time I will make sure my image goes past the edge of the card.

2) Size my tags differently. The best corner rounder I have found is made by Fiskars but your tags have to be at least 1 ½ inches to reach the corner punch part and still leave you something to hold onto. My tags were about ¼ inch too short. *sigh* I cannot be thwarted so I rigged up a lightly sticky strip of paper to extend my reach so all was not lost, but wow, was that a pain.

3) Another note on size: When I took my items to one of my consignment shops, I saw my carefully placed text and image obscured by a pricing sticker that is standard size for a lot of POS systems, ½” x 1 ¾”. My tags weren't long enough for the whole sticker to go on the back so the shop owner had no choice but to wrap the price tag around to the front of my tag ruining its aesthetic. I really should have thought of this when I designed my tag shape, but now I know!


Now that I have tried making my own hang tags using an outsourced printing company, I have more ideas for things like earring cards and other packaging. Please feel free to tell me your experiences with this kind of DIY packaging project!

Why have an Etsy shop?

Artists without Etsy shops are often surprised to hear that mine doesn't make a ton of sales.

So I know people, lets call them my friends, who do really well on Etsy. They make regular sales, spend a little time each day getting those transaction emails, wrangling bubble mailers, going to the post office, sending their sweet handmade pretties to far off locations. Me? Not so much. Yes, of course I've had some sales in my Etsy shop, and believe me, each one is a winning-scratch-ticket thrill! But I don't really do the kind of volume that would take my biz anything past a hobby. Luckily I do well in my studio and at craft shows or I would get really discouraged.

Crafters, pretty much all who open an Etsy shop I'm guessing, get excited at the possibility of selling from home. It's a very attractive idea! No storefront to rent out, no business loan to apply for, working in your pajamas. Right? Though Etsy's trademarked tag line is "Your place to buy & sell all things handmade", I think they should amend that to read "Your place to buy & TRY to sell all things handmade". That would bring a lot of expectations down to earth.

Luckily, (or not) I had tried an online business in the past and my bubble was already well burst by the time I found Etsy in November of 2006. Still I had hopes. Over the years my product has evolved, my photography has improved and I have made reliable, if slow, sales each year. But that momentum I dreamed of, the one that everyone talks about as inevitable that I thought would come from having over 1,400 shop hearts UPDATE November 2010: now 2844 hearts and surprisingly regular front page exposure? That just isn't happening. Honestly I don't know why not.

So why am I still running an Etsy shop? Because it does take a lot of time and attention to keep a shop appearing vital, so if I'm not making great sales why am I spending that time? Because sales are not the only thing I'm getting from Etsy. I almost can't believe what I get from Etsy, it's mind-blowing. I will make a list (not in chronological order and not comprehensive) and show you:

1) I made a friend right away, a like-minded soul with an Etsy shop who put me in a treasury that made it to the front page (way back when they would last all day!) and now she is writing a craft book and she interviewed me and maybe I will be in it! UPDATE November 2010: I'm totally in that wildly successful book!

2) Speaking of craft books, I am already in one! The author found me on Etsy and asked me to submit items, she put a dozen of my artworks in there! How cool is that? I can go to Barnes and Noble and there it is on the shelf. Nice :) UPDATE November 2010: I have also been in two magazines and on the Martha Stewart TV show!

3) A local craft show offered free trial spots to Etsy sellers, I took one and met by chance someone who is now my very good friend! Meeting her changed my life and my business for the better in innumerable ways. Amazing luck. And Etsy.

4) I have 3 consignment opportunities in the works all because I was found on Etsy. I didn't have to nervously approach galleries and cringe against the sting of rejection, I was pre-approved! And I didn't even know I was applying. My online application is my Etsy shop and it's up 24 hours. UPDATE November 2010: I am now in 5 shops!

5) I have been pre-juried into high-end craft shows I didn't even know about that ended up being very successful for me and which led to other opportunities, wholesale orders and friendships.

6) I found adjunct online communities that make me feel part of a whole world of like-minded crafters. Like Flickr for instance, and now Twitter. These are my office mates, this is where I have my watercooler chats and keep in touch with the world. Literally the world. If I ever travel to England, for example, I have a half dozen women to meet up with that already seem like sisters to me!

7) As far as my products go, I have definitely been influenced by the Etsy, new-craft revolution aesthetic and I love where that's taken me creatively. Being on Etsy has also caused me to improve my photography and packaging, I've stepped up my game.

8) People find my shop and blog about me and my products which is always incredibly cool and great exposure.

So, though most days I feel like a needle in a haystack on Etsy, every once in a while one of my items miraculously makes it to the front page or someone sends me a friendly convo, I get a heart or a complete stranger randomly presses the Buy button and sends some money into my PayPal account and happiness into my heart. I do admit to having the gambler's addiction to unpredictable results, that's the nature of retail, but the benefits I really glean are regular and satisfying and go beyond just dollars.

What I'm Working On Now

Needle felted Sleepy Sheep:


Tiny poly clay sheep:


Tags for items going in shops:


Mom's cards!

What I'm Working On

Lately I've been snapping pictures of my workspace. I am in such a high state of production that I haven't been able to take time to blog! But I can show you in pictures what's happening in my studio:

Making the polymer clay designs that go on my egg ornaments:


Here are baked and sanded eggs waiting on varnish. Meanwhile I'm bagging sets of beads. I make them from the clay leftover from making the eggs:


Here I am choosing vintage buttons and sewing pinbacks on flowers and nests:


Sorry for the tilt angle! Only way I could get it all in :)

Buying Handmade Soap On Etsy

I know a lot of crafters do what I did for many years. In my twenties and early thirties I found myself infinitely fascinated by dozens of crafting media. I find I am the kind of person who can pick up new crafting methods fairly quickly. Knowing this, I would get excited, inspired, obsessive and collect all the materials and how-to books to learn a new craft. The craft might or might not take, however.


Polymer Clay has stayed with me for twenty years! Felting is a relatively new passion (a few years now) but it seems to have staying power, I'm doing it every day without any end in sight for my enjoyment of it.

At various other points I thought I would love to quilt, make lampwork beads, learn ceramics, do metalwork and enameling, make soap and candles from scratch, etc. I was just going through some old books stored at my parents' house and they tell the tale of what didn't stick. In some cases I did do some part of the craft for a little while. For instance, I did make little patchwork backpacks using vintage fabrics in the early nineties. I did make my own patterns for quilts but never actually made the quilts. I bought all the candle making molds, wicks and wax I would need, plus an old aluminum double boiler, but the candles never got made.

I made some lampwork beads on the back porch of my aunt's house in Indiana (I love being related to cool artists!) and was thoroughly fascinated and blown away by the amazingness of it, but that was also the point at which I realized that fire and pressurized tanks of flammable gas scare the crap out of me!

I found in my pile of books (soon to be donated to the Friends of Western Avenue Studios Booksale April 4th, 12-5) three pertaining to soap making. I remember I had gotten as far as finding out I would need beef tallow from the butcher, caustic lye, careful measurements and eye protection and that was the end of that adventure. (I know you can also make soap with vegetable oils and not animal fats, which most Etsy soapers do and that those oils are expensive!!)


I did subsequently get the supplies to make my own melt and pour soaps and that was perfect for me as a hobbyist. With melt and pour, you buy a pre-made glycerin soap base that can be cut into chunks which you then melt in the microwave, add scent, color and maybe ground almonds or the like and pour it into molds and let it set up. Instant soap! The soaps are only as good as the bases you buy, the colorants and oils you add etc. I went for nicer bases but they still weren't anything I would ever have considered selling. They are good handsoaps and I made some cute guest soaps as stocking stuffers.

The point is, at some point you figure out what you are going to do as an artist and what you are going to leave to others for whom it is a true passion. As I catch up on 40, it becomes clearer and clearer what I will not be devoting learning time to and one of those skills is cold or hot process soap making.

Luckily, it turns out that Etsy is loaded with tons of amazing soapers! I can see that most soapers are NOT hobbyists. It takes skill, patience, immense amounts of knowledge and a certain understanding of chemistry. If you read the Etsy forums when soapers start talking, you can see that they are all extremely professional and dedicated to quality and education. It's very exciting for someone like me to witness! These soapers know their stuff and they want you to know it too, because what's sold out there as commercial soap apparently includes all kinds of nasty ingredients that dry out your skin while the carefully crafted soaps made by dedicated artisans contain super high quality ingredients that are safe and skin loving!

So my new hobby is soap buying on Etsy :) We use these soaps in the shower every day. I have tried three sellers so far and have been extremely pleased with all of them. I started back in the fall so the scents I bought were more suited to cozy winter days. As spring approaches I am looking through gorgeous listings seeking a perfect new fresh scent.

What do I look for in a handmade soap? Actually, I am chemically sensitive. But my sensitivity is very selective. Some scents are no problem for me and some give me an instant headache and bright red cheeks. Essential oils are oils from natural sources like plants. Fragrance oils are synthetic. I can tolerate some of both somehow, which you wouldn't think, but not all scents. I seem to be OK with food smells like almond, cinnamon, chocolate, pumpkin and coffee. I can also tolerate some flower smells. This can make it tricky to select soaps online, but I figure if I accidentally choose something I can't use it makes a gorgeous gift!

So first I look for scent. Actually, that's a lie, first I look for gorgeous product photos. What difference do photos make? None to the quality of the soap of course, but I want an experience when I shop for soaps online. I expect to pay between $4.50 and $8.00 a bar for handmade soaps and as such, I want my shopping experience to be spa-like. I want to enter a virtual shop and be calmed or energized or dazzled by gorgeous, lush product shots. I want the soap shop to sell me the whole experience! Plus it gives me more confidence in their professionalism if the shop is super sharp looking.

After that I need scent descriptions, I want to know what actually goes into the scent and then tell me what does that smell like? Get all poetic on my ass if need be :) Tell me what kind of person enjoys this scent.

Also, I like a price break on shipping. I will usually buy at least three soaps from a seller, two for me and something manly for the husband.

The first shop I bought from was BLSoaps. She offered a coffee scented soap called Kahlua Cream Shea Butter Soap that caught my eye, I added Wisdom facial soap and then Overdrive for the husband. The Kahlua Cream soap smelled delicious! Like bathing with a dessert, it had caramel overtones. It was smooth and creamy feeling too with great lather. The Wisdom soap has a great scent I can't quite describe, herbal and warm without smelling like medicine. I'm still using it exclusively to wash my face. The husband went through the Overdrive quickly, he uses soap much quicker than I do. He liked it a lot and I LOVED the smell, very manly but not overpowering. I would buy all three again.

Photos courtesy of BLSoaps

The second Etsy seller was BathArtisanSoaps. Still on a search for the perfect coffee scented soap made without coffee grounds (surprisingly hard to find!!) I bought Bean Juice and for the man, Blue Rush Spa Salt Bar. Bean Juice was a handsome, generous chunk of smooth soap, cured nice and hard, it lasted a long time. It had a great coffee dessert smell, very satisfying. The Blue Rush was a salt bar which creates a smooth, creamy lather, the salt is not exfoliating, it's not meant to be. The scent was sophisticated and masculine, I loved the way it smelled and so did Dell. The seller was very gracious and had great communication skills. Would buy both of those again!

Photos courtesy of BathArtisanSoaps

The third shop was SouthernVTSoap. I guess I was hungry when I was shopping because I bought Almond Cafe Mocha, Pumpkin Spice, and Chocolate Bliss! All three smell delicious and look gorgeous. I went through the Almond one first, hard not to take a bite out of these soaps, they smell like real food. I'm using the Pumpkin spice one now, I was worried it would smell too strong like a Yankee Candle, but it doesn't, it's subtle and warm, perfect. I'm saving the Chocolate one for next fall I think. I recommend this seller too!

Photos courtesy of southernvtsoap

I have been very happy with all my soap purchases so far. I'm glad these artisans took the time to perfect a craft I am smart enough to know I don't have the passion to master. My only problem now is deciding which soaps to buy next, too many great choices!!