Back to School UPCYCLE

Who isn't tired of spending hundreds of dollars for new school supplies every year?

This year, rather than grumble about the waste of destroyed supplies from the year before, or try and figure out just what my kid is going to do with 7 gluesticks, I've decided to get a little creative.

Gone are the scribbles and scratches of so and so loves so and so true love 4 EVA, because last year's binders got a bit of a makeover. I also managed to get my hands on some old training binders with a company logo imprinted on the vinyl, so I've added those to my arsenal of brand new AWESOME binders.

BEFORE:




AFTER:

Friday's feature you ask?

My internet connection has been down more than up since Thursday!!! Friday's feature has been postponed for an indeterminate amount of time. I'm making this announcement short and sweet just in case I go down again :(

The Spiderbite Boutique - This Friday's featured Etsy Seller

Sarah Jane is the genius behind the Nightmare Snatcher. These are adorable fuzzy hand bound monster books to write away your nightmares, and I want one! Maybe 10, I don't know which one to choose! I might have to get one for every kid I know this Christmas :) Here's what Sara Jane wants us to know about herself and her brilliant creations!

"Hello! I am Sarah Jane, a recent graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. I paint and draw, but my passion is books. Many consider me to be a bibliomaniac and I do boast quite a collection, at least enough that I have run out of shelf space.

I created the Nightmare Snatchers, handmade journals for recording your nightmares and fears. They are a combination dream journal and dream catcher with a twist. You have only to recite the spell found at the front of the book, record your woes on their aged tea-stained pages, then mark your page with their long tail and your faithful friend the Nightmare Snatcher will eat your fears away! For fears are a Nightmare Snatcher's natural food source."

"The world can be a scary place, full of nightly noises, menacing monsters, and dreadful dreams. But not every monster wants to scare and terrify. With the help of magical spell and an appetite for troubles, a monster can be your dearest friend."

I'm called a Nightmare Snatcher
And a daymare catcher too.
I snatch up all the frightening things
And keep them far from you.

Scary dreams and scary thoughts
And things you dread to see;
Terrors real or make-believe
Give them all to me.

Write them down and draw them out
I'll help you face the fear.
Then close me up, I'll snatch them tight
And keep them trapped in here.

The original (tm) Mood Buttons - The next generation is born!

Why make people guess what mood you're in? Warn them in advance with these cool mood buttons. Kids love them too! Teach your kids how to vocalize their feelings and gauge their moods by letting them choose a button to wear. Sick of people asking if you're okay? Tired of people thinking you're mad at them when you're just a little cranky?

More buttons are hitting the shop every day! Here's the list with the new additions. How do you feel today?



They come on a single full colour storage card up to 18 buttons - individual packaging is available too! Just contact me through my Etsy shop if you want a special order or wholesale request!

Friday Featured Etsy AWESOMNESS

Well, it's not technically Friday, but Friday sucked big time so I'm okay with that. My head's still quite a bit fuzzy recovering from this weekend's cold but I really don't want to delay this any longer than I had to. Sorry Jen!

Jen Kirsch, Juror2 on Etsy, screen prints her own very cool designs on her ironing board! Never underestimate the resourcefulness of fabulous Etsy Artists. You'll find all kinds of kick ass t-shirts in Jen's shop, like
'ninjas vs pirates', 'attack of the warm fuzzies' and my personal favorite 'how are you feeling today?' (a design inspired by the same posters that inspired my mood buttons. I'll leave the floor to Jen's amazing story about how she took her art to the next level & is doing what she loves to do full time.

I'm a chef. That's my *real* job. I went to the Culinary Academy and everything. While I was taking classes there, I doodled on all my notebooks during class lectures. On day one of my Chefs came by and said "Hey... that SuperChef drawing is cool. I'd totally wear that if it was on a T-shirt."

His statement got me to thinking about how that would be possible. I surfed online, cringed at the price of all that fancy machinery, and ultimately bought a video on Craigslist on "How to Silkscreen." I watched it several times and when I thought I had the basic principles down, I improvised.
I made my own screens with wood from Home Depot.
I stretched the silk with duct dape and held it on with super glue.
I wrapped T-shirts around the end of my ironing board and used rubber bands to hold the slack underneath.
I figured out how to apply photo emulsion, burn screens and make my images show up properly through a two week period of trial and error.
And eventually, my Chef bought a T-shirt for $16.
Then some of my classmates asked about it and they bought shirts too. I decided to try my luck at the flea market and that wasn't too shabby! I squeezed shirt making into every spare moment I had between my culinary externship and part-time job. After two years of that, I took 3 months off for the summer to try and sell shirts full time.
I've never turned back.
I was fully self-employed and able to pay my bills making T-shirts at the age of 25. Life is friggin awesome.

Diversifying~

I'm an art supply junkie. I went out and got some new watercolors & some good watercolor paper, plus some fun blank watercolor postcards & greeting cards to paint. I'm not sure if I should be 'printing' the cards, or if there's a market for hand painted watercolor greeting cards and post cards, but I'll probably do a bit of both.

I've got some new watercolor paintings & the whole shop has been updated with a slew of original ACEO's and a few paintings.

Featured Artist - bigpinkcurlers

My apologies for the weeks I missed showing off Etsy talent. The good news is the Friday Featured Esty Artist is finally back to showcase another wonderful Etsy Artist! Bigpinkcurlers is a self taught graphic artist / photographer living in philadelphia. She takes some fabulous 'in your face' pictures of monster toys and dolls! I first noticed bigpinkcurlers when I came face to face with this crazy monster while scrolling through Etsy's Time Machine one day and I had to have one! No buyers remorse here, my pink monster is even better in the flesh 'so to speak'. The colour is vivid & somehow soft at the same time. I think I can relate to this monster's crazy & stressed out expression some days.

Here's what bigpinkcurlers told us about her background and inspiration:

Inspiration? Well…tons of different things in this life.. I just love observing life and seeing the art in everything around. I grew up in the Adirondack Mountains in NY and as a little I would explore in the woods for hours…..looking around, imagining being in another time or land, creating sculptures form mud, leaves, sticks, etc... I remember coming home from my adventures; my mom would walk me to straight to the bathtub. I am 34 years old now, and I am still that little kid…placing dolls in weird corners of the earth. I would say that my childhood has influenced all my art work… since we lived out in the country, my parents and my toys were my best friends and still are! I my toys are such good models, so cooperative.

My favorite medium is photography. All types, but I focus more on experimental photography and alternative processing. The photos I sell right now on Etsy are cross-processed. Cross-processing entails developing slide film in non-compatible chemistry which makes the colors go haywire. Works well with vibrant colors and forest greens…hence my backyard as the back drop. I also like working with polaroid transfers and xerox transfers, which I hope to have on Etsy soon. I also love to paint, draw, make jewelry, and glue random stuff together….Drinking coffee, eating dessert, staying up late and getting lost in my ‘art room’ is the best feeling ever!!

I haven’t had any real formal training, although I had the best art teacher in the world in High School…'Mr. P'. He taught me everything I know today, unlocked the artist in me and brought it to the canvas. I am in school now for a certification in Digital Media/Graphic Design at Moore College of Art & Design. Being in this environment and working with the professors there has also tremendously added to my ideas and new visions.
You can see more of my photos on flickr. I update pretty often and have a whole slew more to go up soon.

And, Moore College,great art school: www.moore.edu

Thanks bigpinkcurlers! Check out her shop on etsy, the announcement promises a plethora of new monsters. I can't wait!