Today's Featured Artist - Annie's Cupboard

Today's featured artist is Sherry Marrero of Annie's Cupboards.

Tell us a little about you?

My name is Sherry and I live in Sunny South Florida with my husband and 2 sons. I am a foodie. I love food. I also love fashion and adore crafting. I am a big time thrifty girl and will stalk my local thrift shops looking for vintage goods to decorate my house with or use in my crafts. I collect certain Pyrex dishes and handmade aprons.

How long have you been in business?

 I have been selling for almost 7 years.

How did you get started?

I started feeling really crafty in my early 20's and would spend hours bejeweling and working with sequins on shirts for my friends and to sell. After the 80's ended I started to make clothing for babies because I was a new mom. I took a sewing class to help me learn the workings of a sewing machine that was offered at my local high school. I then started making Halloween Costumes for my kids and my friends kids. I then moved to adult costumes. I then quit costumes and started making dolls in 2004. It was the best thing I have ever done. I was truly happy making rag dolls that looked as if they were vintage. I love vintage. I then just continued my sewing love and it takes me to new places of creativity every day.

What is involved in making your craft?

I sew a bunch on my sewing machine. I sew dolls, aprons, dresses, bags, purses. I also make doll houses out of crafty little things I can find. So I am painting. I also love to repurpose items. So I will take a vintage pillowcase and make it into a shirt or a bag. I am very crafty with a few baby jars. I love turning trash into treasure.

What is your favorite thing to make?

Currently? Oh dear. Doll Houses at the moment.

Do you have set hours to work?

I treat my crafting like a job. I start at 9am. I finish at 4pm. However I have been known to work the late shift and pull a few weekend shifts too. I can't shut it off sometimes. I  love to craft and seeing how there is just me making everything, I don't mind when I get a little overtime in.

What are your future plans for your business?

There are many goals and plans that I have for my business. I would love to write a book and actually get it published. I would love to have an Annies Cupboard's doll in every single state across America and then work my way around the country.

What does handcrafting mean to you?

 Handcrafted to me means someone who took the time to love something so much to make it with their hands and experience the process and put all of their focus and time and love into what they made.

Where do you sell your crafts at?

I am currently selling my crafts at local indie craft shows and online. 
My upcoming craft show is this Oct. 2, 2010 at Stitch Rock in Delray Beach, Fl. 
On Etsy:      http://www.etsy.com/shop/anniescupboards 
My Webstie:  http://www.anniescupboards.com.

Handmade Spotlight - Let's Sew!

Lets Sew!

  Curated By: ewenmeprintab...

ArtFire.com

Check out all these sewing patterns we found on ArtFire.com. You can get a closer look at them by clicking the button above.

Thanks for visiting!
Deena Davis
www.byyourhands.com

Rag Quilting Tutorial --- Part Four

Welcome to part four of my rag quilting tutorial.   Today I want to give you some figures so that you can decide what size quilt you would like to make.

 You may find you would like to continue on and make a bed size quilt because these larger blocks make the quilting go a lot faster.    The finished large blocks should measure 19 1/2 inches.   When the blocks are sewn together they will measure 18 inches.

Small Lap quilt will take 2 blocks across and 3 blocks down   =   36 inches x 54 inches

Large Lap quilt will take 3 blocks across and 4 blocks down  =    54 inches x 72 inches

Twin Bed quilt will take 4 blocks across and 5 blocks down   =     72 inches x 90 inches

Full Bed quilt  will take 5 blocks across and 5 blocks down    =     90 inches x 90 inches

Queen Bed quilt  will take 5 blocks across and 6 blocks down  =    90 inches x 108 inches

King Bed quilt will take 6 blocks across and 6 blocks down   =    108 inches x 108 inches

From approximately one yard of flannel you can cut the backings for two of the large blocks.   You might be able to get a few more squares from continuous yardage.    I have been cutting the backing pieces out as time permits but I don't have all of them cut out so I can't give exact yardages. 

I was only able to finish one more block this week.

I pinned it together with the first block.  Then sewed them together in a 3/4 inch seam. 

And here is the finished section.

I hope to have a finshed lap quilt size to show you next week.    If you have been following along and have a finished lap quilt done,  we would love to see it.    Just email me through our contact form at the top of the blog and let me know.  

Thanks for visiting today,   Bette

10 Tips To Keep the Crafter More Organized

Are you an organized crafter? Whether the answer is yes or no, maybe these 10 organizational tips will help you along your crafty way.

1. Store small objects, such as buttons, eyelets and beads in small clear containers, you can see what's in them at a glance.

2. Keep all your "like" objects in one place... scissors in one drawer, punches on a shelf, thread in one box. When you need a specific item, you'll know where to look.

3. Use stacking paper mache boxes to store items in. You can decorate them to match your decor and the things inside stay hidden and the space is less cluttered.

4. Make a "kit". If you are working on a project, find a box and put all your items for the project in it. When you're ready to work on it, everything will be there.

5. Are you a painter? Store paint with like colors together.

6. Avoid sewing malfunctions by taking a few practice stitches on a scrap of the fabric you'll be sewing.

7. Keep a threaded needle in your pin cushion. If you are ever in a hurry to sew on an emergency button, you'll thank yourself for doing it.

8. Do you have a lot of crafting to do tomorrow? Plan ahead and prepare a meal for dinner in the crockpot.

9. Using glue? Keep a tub of baby wipes or a damp washcloth handy to wipe off your fingers.

10. Put it away! When you're finished with tools and supplies, put them back where they belong, that way you'll be able to find it next time you need it.

Now it's your turn, leave us a comment with your favorite crafty tip. We'd love to hear from you.

Thank you for joining us!

Deena Davis

www.byyourhands.blogspot.com

Selling Online --- Part Two

Today we're featuring part 2 of our Selling Online series and we're going to talk about selling on ArtFire.com

ArtFire.com is the home of many handmade sellers from around the globe. Sellers can sell handmade, vintage items or supplies. It's fairly simple to set up a studio and start selling on ArtFire. They have two options. Their Basic Account and a Pro or verified seller accounts.

A basic account is FREE! Yes, FREE!! You can list an unlimited amount of items. A Pro account is $15.95 per month but has a lot more features than the Basic account. You can compare the two accounts here. 

Unlike etsy, there is no individual listing fee for each item. If you are a pro seller, you simply pay a monthly fee of $15.95/month or if you are a basic seller, you pay NOTHING. Now, keep in mind, you will need a PayPal account and they charge a fee for every transaction. You also have the option of  using Google Checkout and Amazon for collecting payments on ArtFire.com

ArtFire.com has quite a few help guides for any question you may have about selling and setting up your shop. You can find them here. 

The forums on ArtFire are a great place to find answers and most members are happy and eager to help answer your questions.

Do you have questions concerning setting up an account? You can find the answers here. 

The key to successful selling online with any venue is promotion. Once you set up your shop, be sure to promote it. You can find many places online to promote your shop for nearly no cost and some that are paid. We will cover promoting your shop in another post in this series.

Thanks for joining us!

Deena Davis

www.byyourhands.com