Small Business Saturday 2012

In honor of Small Business Saturday, I thought I would post some of my favorite businesses to support, like I did last year.

Last year I focused on Louisville businesses only, but this year I thought I would share some of my favorite online shops, too.

If you've never heard of Etsy, you're missing out on a vibrant community of crafters and artists who are able to launch their own small businesses with Etsy's easy to use store front platform. I have found a number of amazing small businesses to support through this website.

Some of my favorite etsy small businesses include:

Kin Ship Press: A Louisville owned and operated business specializing in screenprinted home goods and apparel. They have some of the cutest stuff, but I especially love the Custom Name mugs.

Imagination Kids: a shop offering handmade, eco-friendly wooden toys, is one of the best finds on Etsy. Although I haven't had a chance to buy any of their toys yet, I am saving up for the time when the people around me start to have kids! This will be the first shop I buy from! Less than 2 hours from Louisville, in Greenwood, Indiana, I would consider this a local gem too! I know J would love the shark toy if we had a little one!

Ryan Conner's Originial Cat Folk Art: A funny, whimsical shop full of hilarious cat art. I bought the skeleton cat for J last Halloween, and love the glitter Santa cats Ryan is offering this year.

My Paper Crane: One of the most successful small businesses I know of, Heidi Kenney's shop My Paper Crane is filled with colorful handmade plush with personality. From her signature pizza slices and donuts, to cute seasonal gifts, her handmade items are delightful. I love her whimsical Snow White and the Seven Dwarves cross-stitching pattern.

The Black Apple: Another Cinderella story of the handmade world, The Black Apple offers beautiful illustrations and unique dolls. Emily Martin, the shop owner, is an amazingly talented artist, and she has become more successful each year with an appearance on Martha Stewart and published children's book. I love the recipe cards she illustrated and listed in her shop! I have some, but can't bear the thought of actually writing on them and messing them up!

What are your favorite independent and small businesses? Leave a comment on this post. I'd love to check out your favorites!

Christmas Countdown

It seems weird to be posting about Christmas right after my last post, which was about Halloween, but I did a photo shoot today with the handmade Christmas stockings that I created to sell in my Etsy shop! My good friend loaned me the use of her beautiful home and mantelpiece for the photos. She is so sweet. You can check out all the stockings that I created at Craft E Magee on Etsy!

Craftoween

I hope everyone had a super fun Halloween holiday! The inspiration for our sweet treats came from pinterest. We made little (Oreo) owl and topsy-turvy witch cupcakes. They were as yummy as they were cute! 

Octobergram

Do you use Instagram? I love this photo app and use it a lot. You can find me @craftemagee! Here are some of the winners from October.

Halloween Costumes for less than $30

This year, the Magee family decided to dress up as characters from the board game Clue! Our group costume was pulled together with a few cheap and easy accessories. Here is a rundown for you!

Mrs. Peacock

The wealthy widow of the group, Mrs. Peacock needs shades of blue and purple to pull off her look.
Shirt: $17.99, Target
Pants: Already owned
Eyelashes: $4.00, Target
Earrings & Headband: Already owned
Polish: $7.04, Target
Total: $29.03

Professor Plum

The intellectual of the group, Professor Plum needs a scholarly look.
Glasses (fake): $5.00, Target
Purple tie: $19.99, Target
Black button-up shirt and slacks(not pictured): Already owned
Total: $24.99

Ms. White

The maid from the manor, Ms. White should play the part.
Duster: $9.99, Target
Lace gloves: $5.99, Target
White flower hair clip: $3.00, Walgreens
Apron (not pictured): Borrowed
White shirt and black pants(not pictured): Already owned
Total: $18.98

Mr. Green

The petty thief of the group, Mr. Green likes anything the color of money.
Green Polo shirt: $14.99, Target
Hat: Already owned (a newsboy cap would've been a good choice, too!)
Slacks: Already owned
Total: $14.99

Ms. Scarlet & Colonel Mustard

The fair maiden dresses to match her name, and the old Colonel does the same.
Ms. Scarlet
Red gloves: $5.99, Target
Red bow headband: $5.00, Target
Dress & Shrug: Already owned
Red lipstick: $7.99
Total: $18.98

Colonel Mustard
White button up shirt and slacks: Already owned
Mustard tie: $19.99, Target
Beard & Mustache: Already owned
Hint: A monocle or a pipe would've been excellent accessories, but we couldn't find any on short notice!
Total: $19.99

Weapons: Free! Thanks to J's artistry, we carried around water-colored weapons made from cardboard.

So, in the game of Clue, whodunnit?

Professor Plum with the revolver? Mrs. Peacock with the rope? Mr. Green with the lead pipe? Ms. White with the candlestick? Ms. Scarlet with the knife? Or Colonel Mustard with the wrench?

We may never know, but it was fun to play the part!




Happy Halloween!

Printable Halloween Cards

It's getting to be that time of year: my favorite holiday is around the corner... Halloween! I knew that I wanted to make a printable to celebrate. I enjoy crafting witch dolls so much, that I knew I had to use them as the inspiration for this printable card.    Lucky for you, this is a printable 2 for 1 (and both are free to download)! Either download the color version, or the black and white card, perfect for a kiddo with some crayons or markers. Enjoy! Printable Halloween Card Color Your Own Halloween Card     

I actually made something from pinterest!

I love pinterest!

The only two things I would love more about pinterest are:
a.) If I had invented it.
b.) If I had more time to make things I pinned on it!

That being said, I actually did make something I pinned! It's a small step toward organizing my craft room, but I'm excited! I saw this pin several months ago and thought, "I could do that! And I need to do that!" My ribbon rolls were chaos! I already had one of the plastic bins, and was using it for my chaotic acrylic paint supply (more on that later).

 
I didn't have dowel rods, so at first I used chopsticks, but they weren't really long enough.
 
I randomly had some bare plastic stems from the fake flowers I used on the KY Derby hats. They worked great! If I just pull the ribbon through the holes, easy-peasy (& organized) ribbon storage!