:: inspiration [ week six ] ::

♥ inspiration [ week six ] ♥
♥ beautiful, handprinted wallpapers (via)
♥ lyell’s gorgeous autumn collection
♥ the funky “obsessive consumption” blog
♥ beautiful and inspiring scenes, places & people
♥ immersed in reading about klimt & his works


I was quite surprise and delighted by the response to that little peak at the Farmer’s Daughter dress that I posted yesterday evening!! I’m so glad you all like the design idea! As I mentioned in my previous post, it needs a bit of tweaking here and there, but overall I’m quite happy with the easy-wear, cute vibe its got going. Here are the promised full length pictures:


I love the shade of “pea soup green” that the knit is. Its a color I’ve fallen in love with--and is quite a departure from my usual pink, black and red color choices. I bought a BCBG top last autumn in this exact shade, and have managed to add several more pieces in similar hues since then...


I’m contemplating making up one or two (possibly in different sizes--time to dust off my pattern grading skills!!) and putting them up for sale in the shop, or possibly finding a local consignment venue. I’ve been told time and time again, since I interned with a pattern designer/custom dressmaker years ago that I really need to try selling my designs (even my boyfriend has jumped on the bandwagon of haranguing me to sell my stuff!). I suppose the root of my procrastination is the fear that people are just being nice, and that they won’t really buy anything I make. Ho-hum. I suppose there is only one way to find out... but yet it is intimidating!! Perhaps after reading through Craft Inc. I’ll change my tune. (Said tome is earmarked for pursuing on the flight... after my homework reading is tucked away!)


So have a lovely weekend, everyone & don’t forget the shoppe special going on this weekend! Oh, and I promise I’ll announce the gift tag give-away winner this weekend as well!

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey [ email me ]

:: feelin' green + shoppe special! ::

Dear readers, I think I must be certifiably insane. What normal, level-headed person would take on a new sewing project just days before she’s set to fly across the country? With visions of taking that new frock with her, no less?

Yep, I “wasted” a couple of hours (I’m sure I could have used to some other, more practical task) sewing late yesterday evening and this morning. Like most first trials of a design, it needs a couple tweaks, but overall I’m pretty happy with it! Its got that 1960s a-line shift thing going on, with a little bit of whimsy with the lace. Just what I was looking for. I made it sleeveless because a.) its still hot outside (and I am headed for southern California, anyway...), and b.) it can be layered over a leotard/tight top during the cooler months (or better yet, paired with a cute cardigan!). Sorry that the only picture I have is just the bodice; I’ll post a full length shot tomorrow when I’ve got a little better light!

As this weekend is Labor Day here in the US, I’m offering a special good Friday (8/31) through Monday (8/3). All US shipping is FREE and international shipping is half price! Just put the code “LBRDYSHPSPCL” in the “comments” section during the Etsy checkout, and don’t pay until I’ve sent you the new invoice. So, this is your chance to scoop up anything you’ve been eyeing in the shoppe and not pay shipping!

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey [ email me ]

:: new days & hurried thoughts ::

Whew! This week has been a blur of frenzied activity; getting ready for my trip this weekend, figuring out how to juggle school, buying school supplies... Generally running around like a very harried Casey!


However, amidst this, I managed to eke out some time this morning to work on a project I’ve been dying to do for several weeks. I bought some lovely pea-green knit material a couple weeks ago, and have been concocting up a plan for making a cute frock. Yesterday evening I draped the bodice pattern (because flat pattern drafting + bodices + Casey = lots of frustration. So I drape everything instead to save what little sanity I’ve got left! lol). This morning I refined the pattern on paper, and used Jenny’s amazing Peter Pan Collar tutorial to draft a collar (‘cause every girl needs a little twee in her wardrobe!). I cut it out this afternoon, but I doubt I’ll have time to start sewing before I go away; if nothing else I’ve got a zillion things to do (like, um, start to pack!). lol. How come I always end up biting off more than I can chew every August?!


I updated the shoppe this evening with some lovely vintage pieces, a adorable children’s pj pattern, the collage journal I shared last week, and a new bracelet. Fun!! So go check ‘em out and get ‘em while they’re hot! lol.

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey [ email me ]

:: on a summer’s day ::

(My apologies that I don’t have anything other than photos for this post... this week is turning out to be a tight squeeze time-wise; I’ll have a “real” post hopefully tomorrow...)

my business is finally “official”...


an Alice moment...


prepping for my photography class...


a gift from my sweetheart.

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey [ email me ]

:: inspiration [ week five ] ::

a day late... ooops!

♥ inspiration [ week five ] ♥
♥ beautiful pillow made from scraps
♥ pricing your crafts
♥ a great use for odd-shaped lace scraps!
♥ overcoming creativity-block
♥ make your own bubble mailers!
♥ wonderfully decadent garments & accessories
♥ sewn button loops tutorial

My first two classes of the semester have been so inspiring and yet so overwhelming! The first was printmaking on Wednesday, and I’m so excited about it! Just the variety of effects and styles you can explore with printing is what is appealing to me. We need to have a study/sketch by next week to transfer onto a zinc plate, so I’m wracking my brain to come up with some (brilliant?!) idea. I’m thinking of possibly doing a study of an antique corset in my collection; if nothing else the lines and seams lend themselves very well to some interesting design.

The class I’m honestly the most overwhelmed and yet bouncing off the walls about is my photography 101 class! The teacher is really awesome; he’s a professional photographer and is basically telling us to just get the technical aspects of photography down and the artistry will follow. My kind of learning! The class is entirely film photography and only black and white. Oooh--I’m quite eager to work with the black and white film techniques since I love photography that is devoid of color; it almost forces the viewer to pay more attention to emotion, value and structure. I have lots of ideas floating through my head of subject matter to focus on shooting throughout the semester; I think I’m going to try and focus mostly on the concept of decay and death (mostly through artifacts and buildings). This should be fun since Autumn is right around the corner!

I just ordered this book that caught my eye on the Not Martha blog. It seems like just the thing since I’ve opened the shoppe and am in dire need of pointers on how to run a successful craft-based business in the modern marketplace (a.k.a. the internet). Hopefully it’ll get here before I fly out to California and keep me company on the long flight! I promise a review after I finish it; I’m a bit of an amateur expert on craft business books; I’ve read just about every one I can get my hands on since I was 10. lol.

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey [ email me ]

p.s. I’m off for a very, very short weekend with the boy, so I will return around Tuesday with new posts! Have a lovely weekend, all!

:: of school, and glue, and papery-things ::

Voila! After a couple hours of cutting, contemplating, rearranging, gluing (and even a couple photo messages to the boy showing him), now I have a notebook that I can’t possibly miss, or get confused with someone else’s! The trick will be hoping that no one decides to swipe it in the course of the semester... lol. I’ll be making a couple of these and putting them in the shoppe in a week or two; they’re the perfect thing for using to add some pizazz to your school notes! (And frankly, much prettier than the regular, boring notebooks!)




cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey [ email me ]

p.s. Just wanted to let everyone know that all the vintage patterns in the Curiosity Shoppe now ship free to US residents!!

p.p.s. Don’t forget to enter in the gift tag drawing before Friday!!

:: end of summer & a giveaway! ::

Time for another Elegant Musings giveaway! After wracking my brain as to what to do for a giveaway, especially after the wildly popular vintage paper packets drawing, I decided to have a drawing for a small set of handmade tags! I make these to use with my vintage jewelry sold in the shoppe, and thought that they’d make great gift tags (or whatever!) as well.

If you’d like to be entered for a chance to win a set of six handmade gift tags, featuring vintage papers and ribbon embellishments, please leave a comment in this post with your name (or screen name if you prefer). I’ll do a drawing of one name August 27th, and will post the winner’s name here. They will have 48 hours to email me and let me know their contact information and I’ll drop the package in the mail! So, comment away and good luck!


Tomorrow is when my summer officially ends. The school year promises to start off right though, with my printmaking class being the first!! I’m so excited because its with my favorite teacher and is a class that I’ve been dying to take for over a year. This is the first semester I haven’t run out a week before and loaded up on gobs of back to school supplies, mostly because I don’t feel the need to (after four semesters at college, it just isn’t that big of a deal!). But I do need a notebook to keep random notes in; usually a plain, spiral-bound notebook suffices. This year though, I bought a classic composition book (for $0.25!) and am decoupaging all kinds of vintage paper, words and images on the cover to make it more “me”.

*sigh* The end of summer is always so bittersweet... Anyone else heading back to the hallways of learning soon??

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey [ email me ]

:: of lightboxes, photos & treasuries ::

It seems like I’m spending every free moment with my new business, trying to invest as much time as I can into making it better; tweaking, refining, rethinking. I’m not complaining at all--I literally thrive on this kind of busyness and the need to really dedicate myself to something like this! Its been so much fun to write listings, analyze why (or not) I’ve sold things, rethink portions of my business strategy... Even my dad is really pleased to see how serious I am about making this work and approaching it as a serious business and not just something I play at!

One of the things that has irked me, is the inability to get really good photographs on cloudy days. It ruins everything when I’ve got stuff to photograph, but the sun is -playing hide-and-seek! So today I finally looked into how to make a light box, something that I’m sure will become quite handy as autumn approaches and the days get a certain gloom about them. While I was looking for tutorials, one of the biggest problems was finding light boxes that were big enough, since my merchandise ranges in size from very small (pins) to largish (plush, handbags...). I finally stumbled across this tutorial on constructing a light box out of 20” x 30” foam board, which is more like the size I need (it’ll be a pain in the butt to store, but oh well!). So while on a shopping trip for new glasses (my 4-year-old Vera Wang frames are biting the dust, despite the fact that I wear contacts 99% of the time), I stopped at Wal-Mart and picked up the supplies.



Here is a quick, test shot of an item, taken inside the light box! I even found a place in the basement on an old table I can leave it set up, with my tripod in place! That makes it so much easier to just go shoot items as I’ve got a few spare minutes here and there (and means less mess spread about the house as I chase sunbeams in various rooms--or outside-- to shoot photos in!). Yay! I love making my life easier. lol.

I’m gearing up for a mini-update tonight with a few items I’ve not listed the likes of before... lets just say they’re perfect for the California-girl in each of us (or maybe it just seems that way since two weeks from now I’ll be in California and have it on the brain!! lol)! Update will be at the usual time: between 6:30pm and 7pm Eastern time.


I hope everyone had a lovely weekend; I got to enjoy some refreshingly cool temperatures (after the scorching 100+ degree heat of a couple weeks ago!) this weekend, caught up with my family and my Bloglines feed, and managed to get sucked into the wonderful world of Indiepublic! *sigh* The internet is such a wonderful, wonderful place. hehe.

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey [ email me ]

p.s. Guess what?! Harold the Whale was featured in an Etsy Treasury! I’m so excited!!

:: inspiration [ week four ] ::

Sometimes I feel like a little hamster on one of those round, runner-things that you put in cages for them to run off excess energy on! Only, I don’t have tons of excess energy (or brain power, for that matter! lol) at the moment! So much to do and accomplish, so little time! So in an effort to make my life a teeny-tiny bit more streamlined, I’m going to be doing the inspiration posts once-a-week again, instead of trying (and not always doing) to include a list in every post. This is only a sampling of what is catching my eye during the week--my del.icio.us has lots more!

♥ inspiration [ week four ] ♥
♥ kimono-inspired hoodie!
♥ make stickers from just about anything
♥ free bookmaking manual
♥ miss gala’s tips on how to start a blog
♥ one-in-ten auction starting tomorrow!
♥ beautiful knits from the uk
♥ indiepublic: a cool new networking site! (and visit me here!!)

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey [ email me ]

p.s. I’m headed off to Califorinia in a couple weeks with the boy, and I’m looking for cheap, fun things to do in and around San Diego. I was out there last summer, but we did a lot more driving, and this time the boy and I will either have to rent a car or take public transportation to get around. So, suggestions about what to do (besides hang out on the beach and surf, which we’ll be doing a lot of!) are welcome!!

:: meanderings ::

Sometimes it amazes me how quickly time flies by now. My mother used to tell me when I was growing up that I should enjoy the feeling of long hours and not having any obligations, because that would change as an adult. Now at twenty-two, I’m very much the busy gal who can’t find enough hours in the day!! I finally broke down a few weeks ago and purchased a utilitarian planner to try and keep track of all my schedules (school, work, weekends the boy has off...), my to-do lists and random things that pop into my head. Except I can’t help but feel that this planner is just too... boring! Functionally, it works; aesthetically it doesn’t. I suppose that is the ultimate sign of a picky/artsy personality when they start critiquing how the most mundane items in life are too visually boring (heck, I even am picky about how boring toilet tissue holders are! lol).

So, in a fit of creative problem-solving (or madness? I’m starting to wonder if the two don’t go hand-in-hand), I came up with the idea of either covering a binder or a couple pieces of sturdy board and making a “cover” for the boring planner! I was thinking of decoupaging items/images onto the covers that say something about me and my interests. Problem is, I’m not sure what decoupage glue/adhesive to use and how to seal the covers so that they don’t melt! Anyone have any handy-dandy tips or pointers? I’m a bit lost here! lol.

Oh, and btw: the shop has been updated!! (As of 7pm Eastern time.) I’ve still got some more things to put online, but I’ll probably wait to add those on Monday. A nice bunch of patterns and few pieces of vintage. I’m working on narrowing some of my vintage clothing into specific “fall-appropriate collections” to upload in batches. To make it a bit more cohesive and, well, boutique-y. lol.

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey

:: sixty feet under ::

wow. this weekend was utterly amazing--even despite the fact that I am exhausted! diving is so much more fun in open water than in a pool (where we trained)--I really had no idea how much fun it was going to be! we had planned on diving saturday and sunday, but the saturday dive was cancelled due to rough seas, so I still don’t have my dive certification (I need two more dives to get that). but despite that little hiccup, sunday was a blast! we went to a dive site that was about ten miles offshore and is situated over a tugboat wreck. I was really, really nervous about this dive because I didn’t want to do anything foolish sixty feet under and have to make an emergency ascent (which carry a huge level of risk because you can get decompression sickness if you surface too quickly). thankfully though, I did fine and had a blast doing it!

it was interesting being in the water--the sensation of descending and still being able to breath comfortably and take some time to look into the murky shadows as we followed the anchor line down. I think the most jolting event was when we hit the thermocline; where the water suddenly went from very warm to cool as we started to hit some serious depth. I was so busy concentrating on my breathing (we call it “yoga breathing” which is a method to regulate how much air you take in) that when we hit the wreck, I didn’t even notice it coming--it suddenly loomed out up out of the murk and was there! we went down twice, and got to see all kinds of cool marine life; swam among a school of fish, saw lots of starfish, peered into portholes and I kept a (hopeful!) eye out for sharks (which I was told aren’t as common off of virginia beach; we have to go a bit further south to see those in open water). by the time we weighed anchor and headed back for shore, I was very tired and fell asleep for most of the trip back on the top deck. lol. of course, this resulted in getting sunburned; my nose is a very distinct shade of red!!

thank you all for your kind support throughout the first week of my shop’s opening! I was really quite blown away with the number of sales I had in this period--so thank you all tons. I’ve got more goodies going online tomorrow (approximately 7pm eastern time)--including some more vintage clothes! so keep your eyes open for clothes, vintage needlecraft books, patterns and jewelry. lots and lots of fun stuff!

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey

p.s. I realize this photo has nothing to do with diving at all! however, it was the only one I took over the weekend (besides furniture pictures--we're shopping for stuff for his apartment)!

:: walk away from the computer... ::

I admit it, I sat there for about fifteen minutes after I uploaded everything to the shoppe and just stared. watched the view numbers go up, marvelling at the power of the internet--people (complete strangers!!) were looking at my stuff. that thought is a bit intimidating and overwhelming all at once! so, rather than while away my night hitting the refresh button again and again (obsessive? yes! lol)--I had lots of other things to do--I tore myself away.

I spent my time packing a bunch of half-finished whale bodies and little pieces that need to be turned and attached. I’m taking them all with me when I go down to the boy’s this weekend, though I highly doubt I’ll get any work done because we’re spending the majority of our time open-water scuba diving. gosh, I’m nervous; diving in a pool is one thing, being out in the open water is quite another. I’m not nervous about any critters that we may encounter (after all, virginia beach has been known to have its fair share of bull sharks...), but rather that I’ll goof and do something stupid. ah well. hopefully not, right?

anyway, I won’t be blogging until I get back (probably Tuesday), but I will be replying to comments, emails and checking up on etsy while I’m down there! have a lovely weekend, all!!

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey

:: its official!!! ::

today is the day! my etsy store is now live and ready for business!! take a peek at what I’ve got up and let me know what you think; I’ll be adding lots more in the coming weeks. thank you all for your wonderful comments and support throughout this process; its really kept me going even when I wanted to chicken out.

without further ado: the elegant musings curiosity shoppe.

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey

p.s. curious to know exactly what types of things I’ll be adding to the shoppe in the coming weeks? I’ve got a huge stock of vintage clothing and will be prepping that for the autumn collection to go online around the middle of september. more handmade goods (bracelets, plush, etc.), tons of vintage fabric, knitting books and vintage fabric! great things are coming!!

:: influences ::

hopefully you are tucked away in some nice, cool spot right now while reading this... it got up to 100° today (highly unusual for washington, dc--even in august!!), so the air conditioning has been a must!

thank you for all the whale-stuffie love!! I was just blown away by all the sweet responses he got... you all are too, too kind!! :) as you can see, I’m busy making a couple other whales, two of which will probably go to the shoppe eventually!

speaking of the shoppe... the launch is tomorrow!! I’m getting lots of butterflies in my stomach over this; its so exciting for me to finally be taking that step I’ve thought about for so long. in a lot of ways its quite intimidating, but I’m glad to finally be doing it. now I’m just busy finishing up a few photographs and listings (my document editor program has been my constant friend this past week!), and gathering up little goodies to include in packages (the really fun part of being an online seller, imho!). so far I’ve bought an assortment of little sugary goodies to include with orders, designed thank-you cards, and am thinking seriously of ordering custom buttons to include in later orders. fun, fun, fun!!


I was thinking a bit more about my previous post where I mentioned one of my chief stuffie-making influences is Tasha Tudor, and all the other things that have played a part into my aesthetic and creative development through the years. so many things: alice in wonderland, laura ashley decorating books from the 1980s, antique clothes, the wizard of oz series, beatrix potter illustrations, summer afternoons building forts, learning to draft my own patterns when I was very young, monthly trips to the craft store on saturday morning with my dad, the decemberists (and a great deal of the music I listen to!!), the color fairy series... many, many things! I just didn’t realize until recently how much of my childhood experience and what I was exposed to (or not) allowed me to blossom in the areas that I am most inclined towards naturally. so, I’m curious: what are some things that have influenced your aesthetic development? tell me!

cheers & creativity,
    ♥ casey

p.s. its not too late to sign up for the shoppe update list!! if you sign up be 10pm (eastern time) this evening, you’ll be in time to get the first email with a super-secret offer for subscribers only! so hurry, and sign up!

inspiration
♥ cutest clock ever!
♥ a colorful + fun pincushion

:: a whale of a tale ::

well, for all my going on about how I hadn’t bought anything at work yet, today was the day I finally broke that record! after I got off this afternoon I bought a couple of things including fiber fill for my most recent foray into stuffie making. meet chesterfield:

he’s the newest addition to my stuffies. at the risk of sounding like the biggest ego-maniac (eeek!!), I think he turned out really cute! but perhaps that is just proud-maker-affection... anyways, I promised to make my sister one, and want to make one for my friend S. at work (she makes stuffie whales too; perhaps we’ll have a whale swap?), but I think after that I shall make a couple for the shoppe. I have a bunch of vintage wool lengths that I want to felt a bit, so perhaps those will be the perfect materials to use.


I really love making stuffies; they’re something quick and easy I can draft and whip up. I think this fascination stems from my love of children’s book illustrations and Tasha Tudor (who is well documented for her love of making small critters). but then again, maybe I’m just a bit odd to still love stuffed animals at my age. after all, when the boy heard about what I was making, he thought it was a bit odd... cute, but odd. lol.


cheers & creativity,
     casey

inspiration
:: typewriter crafted of felt
:: lisa's etsy store

:: its a twitching kind of sensation ::

I love my job at a fabric store. and I’m not being sarcastic!

no, this post isn’t to gloat over all the fabric I get at a discount or squirrel away from unsuspecting shoppers. actually, come to think of it: I haven’t spent any money at my new job yet!! *giggle* I’ve been practicing a lot of restraint since the boy and I are going to visit his cousin in California next month and I have to save up and pay for my plane ticket... but I won’t say it hasn’t been tempting!!

the biggest advantage of working in a fabric store is the creative environment. just being around customers and staff who are really passionate about being creative! of course, not everyone is... in fact the large majority aren’t; but even just having one customer a day who is really excited about a project and wants to bounce ideas around is worth it! because goodness knows there is nothing more that I love than brainstorming. its just way too much fun. and the fact that I can talk to people who “get it”--the need to be creative and express yourself through various mediums is just amazing. like yesterday my coworker S. and I were talking about sewing and all the projects customers had been telling us about lately. S. turned to me and said she found it really frustrating to work behind the cutting counter that day because she wanted to sew so badly that she was twitching! I mean, how cute is that?


so, today I worked my tush off at work and am now home sipping on my well-earned cup of tea, contemplating plans for my evening. I think it calls for some serious creative time, because all the ideas that are racing around in my head are making me twitch.

cheers & creativity,
     casey

p.s. the shoppe is almost ready for it’s debut! and boy, am I excited ‘cause I’ve been working almost every free moment I’ve got on getting everything ready. keep abreast of the latest and greatest (and get updates on subscriber-only specials) via the mailing list. the store opening has been moved up a day (only because I ended up having to work Tuesday) to 08.09.2007. be prepared for the onslaught of vintage goodness!!

p.p.s. thank you for your comments about the polar bear stuffie!! he is making himself quite at home in my room and is being more than helpful with preparing a tutorial on how to make your own polar bear!

inspiration!
:: poetic midwestern beauty
:: how to draft a peter pan collar

:: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ::

today has been one of those unusually productive days in which I managed to get a million-and-one-things done, to the amazement of my to-do list! from the mundane (“pay bills”) to fun (“go thrifting”); just about everything is crossed off. this reminds me of the satisfied feeling I always get during the school semester when I get everything on my homework list done.


thrifting, sad to say, was only so-so in the clothing department. however, I did score a significant amount of fabric (see above, which is only about half of what I hauled away today) for crafting, stuffies and *coughcough*quilting*cough* (on my wish list of things to learn, after the boy’s mom offered to teach me how and loan me some of her equipment). so yay! I also purchased a few vintage patterns, most of which are to sell but a few I’m keeping for myself. I’m in love with that Halston pattern right now; the cape is just so yummy. not that I need to make a cape, because I’ve got a perfectly good vintage Yves Saint Laurent one sitting in my collection!


also, more preparations for the shoppe!! I’m getting so excited about the launch next week; and I’m sure I’m in no way prepared enough, but I can only be so ready before it becomes insane to wait any longer (I think I reached that point about six months ago! lol!). oh, and for those interested: I set up a email update list for the curiosity shoppe. be sure to sign up if you’d like to receive shoppe update notification and the occasional subscriber-only special!

last, but not least, my little polar bear was finished today:

(isn’t he cute?!)

inspiration
:: scrimshaw bangles
:: junk trees
:: yes press

:: preparing ::

the dog-days of summer are here; you can just feel the heat when you look outside of the comfy, air-conditioned house. I love summertime, I just hate the humidity that pervades virginia (even going to the boy’s apartment by the beach doesn’t offer any relief from the oppressive humidity!). not to mention the innumerable bugs who have thought that making me dinner would be nice (ick!). but otherwise, I love summer: the sunshine, the warmth (no worries about me getting cold as I usually do!), the days that just scream for long car drives, ice cream, festivals and day trips. its hard to believe that the fall semester starts in just a few short weeks...

anyway, I’ve been playing catch-up big time with my blog feeds; somehow when I was gone for an extended weekend with the boy a couple weeks back, I managed to have a ton of blogs pile up on my feeder and I hadn’t been able to fully catch back up until now. lots to read. even more to be inspired by. and finding out that my lovely, inspiring friend Anna has moved from live journal to her new “blog digs”. she has such a lovely aesthetic sense; go check her new home out!

much busyness is going on in these parts; my etsy shop is set to launch next tuesday. also in the pipeline: working on some stuffed critters and developing patterns for free download in conjunction with those. I really have been wracking my brain on how to give back to the creative blog community that has so inspired me in the past year, and sharing my ideas and patterns is the best way I’ve come up with. so keep your eyes peeled for these little critters making their debut.

inspiration
:: daily design eye-candy
:: inspiration from old art
:: free sewing patterns