orange you glad

vintage teacup from little eye on etsy

It’s February, which means the only thing sustaining any of us until the first 50 degree evening brings us a downpour to wash all the road salt away is pretty much junk food, our favorite tv shows streaming, and bright pops of color almost constantly.

Even though the fresh, white snow is beautiful (and will continue to get taller and taller and still beautiful after the coming three-day Nor’Easter we’re supposed to get, it’s still white.  So white.  So endlessly white.

I’ve been knitting with bright colors on my needles (most recently:  turquoise and orange) and listing brightly colored objects in the Etsy shop to keep my eyes open.  They’ve put me in charge of revamping the kitchen at work at possibly the most daring time of year for me, colorwise.  I think I’m using Stefanie Hiebert’s retro living room as my color inspiration.  Lunch break won’t know what hit it!

ladies size 7.5 tan/navy gumshoe from little eye on etsy

Want Want Want: Baffin Sweat

Baffin Shawl Collar Sweatshirt from Rogues Gallery

Comfy, cotton, casual layer from Rogues Gallery and ON SALE.  Big time.  This seems like it’s just about the right thing to spend 2012 in.  Happy New Year everyone!

Want Want Want: Maine Rope Mats

Uh HELL YES for wiping my feet!

I moved to Maine when I was 2, yes 2, wee little years old.  For the die-hards, that means that I’m still ‘from away‘ and that the locale previous to the coast off the Casco Bay area was the San Francisco Bay area is even more offensive.  But to me it makes no difference since I don’t remember those beautiful, sunny, avocado-tree laden hills of the California coastline.  Mmm free avocados…  All I remember is growing up in the manic depressive, muggy and humid then snowy and blisteringly cold, climate up here: Down East.

When my aunt and her brood moved to Maine they were even more enthusiastic about adopting the state than we were:  within years her eldest son was a lobsterman off the waters of Isle au Haut.  So I use that cred every now and again to convince non-believers of my truly rural status despite my urban origins.

Even more cred to my cred would be if I had one of these awesome, recycled Maine Rope Mats from Cox Pond in South Berwick, ME.  As you know, I’ve got a weak spot for ‘things made from other things.’  I also hate throwing away bottle caps, cardboard boxes and really anything that could be used for something other than clogging up land fills and chomping up energy at the recycling facility before its time.  That’s why I double-love these mats.  Check ’em out here!

Lobstercentric Home Decor that isn't cheesy...

 

Super Sunday

Socks for Sale!

Yes!  I finally took the pictures I wanted of my favorite new thing to make:  socks!  The above foot warmers are made with 100% Peruvian wool and are SUPER warm.  Don’t worry about sweaty feet, though, because the wool will wick away moisture while keeping your toes warm.  The ankle-high sock is $29, and the high top sock is $34.  Each pair is made to order, and if you have any special requests I am happy to try and accommodate.  Please specify shoe size (or foot length, from back of heel to tip of big toe) for perfect fit (or, if you’re not sure, ‘small’ ‘medium’ or ‘large’).  These will be going up in my Etsy shop before the weekend is up so come check it out!

Delicious Treats Only Take 30 Minutes

I’m excited, because tonight we’re going to Brian and Tara’s house for a fire.  Because I love fire so much, it doubles the fun of hanging out with friends.  I am going to bring my camera and do weird things with it!  I made the brownies above for the event, and because Brian and Tara are in a band called the Rattlesnakes this concoction is now called ‘Rattlesnacks’ in my mind cookbook.  All you really do is add Reese’s peanut butter chips to brownie mix, but sh, don’t tell.  I did these while I was simultaneously making chicken salad/chicken broth – so with a total of maybe one hour in the kitchen I managed to make lunch, a food staple and dessert in one sitting.  Plus I got to wear one of my vintage aprons so… totally worth it.

Lots of bottle caps

Lots of bottle cap work yesterday, today and tomorrow.  See how each of those has a little jump ring in them?  Well.  Each jump ring must have a hole made for it.  Then the hole needs to be sealed after the ring is put in.  Le sigh…

More Socks on the Way

Started this pair to fill the monotony between bottle cap batches.  A typical day goes like this:  come home from work (7am-4pm), throw stuff on a chair, sit on the couch, turn on the Cosmos, lean over bottle caps, every hour take a stretching, sitting up, dry time break and knit.  Eat dinner at some point, bottle caps, knit, repeat.

If you haven’t seen that applications are open for The Big Chill this December 3rd, then you should click on this to download your application now!

I must be manic today.

The Big Chill

Well, I’ve been up to it again!  Applications for The Big Chill arts, crafts and vintage sale are now up at The Big Thaw website.  Is that confusing?  I just didn’t want to make a whole new site to re-name the winter fair.  It will be held on Saturday, December 3rd from 10am-4pm (9-5 for vendor set up, break down, etc.) at Mayo Street Arts Center at 10 Mayo St. in Portland, ME.  Applications are $45 for upstairs spaces and $35 for downstairs spaces – and spots are limited!  So send in your applications!  🙂

Peaches in the Summertime, Apples in the Fall

If I can't have the one I love, I won't have none at all

That’s the boyfriend, about two years ago, picking apples with me at Apple Acres in South Hiram, ME.  We went again, today and apropos to those “Shady Grove” lyrics, there was a bluegrass festival happening at the orchard, and the apple festival in Cornish, ME.

And it was annoying!

The more I’ve come to know myself, the more I love solitude in places that should be solitary (apple orchards, mountains, beaches) and I love streets teeming with people where they should be (cities, lines at city hall, grocery store deli counters).  So, our day trip west to the rolling hills of Hiram turned in to more of an epic walk from a satellite parking lot, a mad dash to get our apples, and a disappointing wait for apple pie in a line that snaked around the gift shop.

15 lbs. of Apples!

Enter:  good news.

The apples we bought (15 lbs give or take) were a LOT cheaper than we were anticipating – so that was good!  And we had a really excellent drive around route 160 through the hills and along the Saco river, which you really can’t shake a stick at.  And I managed to get some awesome shots of apples before my camera’s battery died:

Dangler

Bumper Crop: Everything was pick-able

Cortlands!

 

So now, a few hours later (ohh, just 11:40pm) I have an apple pie in the oven and still, an enormous bag full of apples for various sauce, butter, crisp, salad, sandwich and more purposes.  So despite the crowds and the mad dash for apples we’ve got this year’s supply in hand and have officially begun the ‘summer winding down’ process.  Although it was warm enough today for the beach, I’m already unpacking and folding my autumn sweaters for these excellent, crisp days that are coming our way.

Recycling Clothes at Its Finest

Click to View Listing from Hand Me Down Designs, $35

You know that really awesome piece of clothing that you can’t live without but then you start… expanding… then it’s a little too small.  Then it gets a stain.  Now there’s a hole in the zipper.  Oh, darn it – now your favorite skirt is a weird, swiss-cheese sausage casing that you try to wriggle in to once a week with no luck.

I finally parted with my favorite red corduroy skirt, and I’m glad I did.  I donated it to Malaika of Hand Me Down Designs and she made a fantastic Fall bag out of it (see picture above).  The skirt was cut on the bias and I love that that shows in the body of the skirt, with the contrast of having it run vertically up the strap.  Great browns were added – it’s so cool to see my favorite skirt renewed and possibly someone new’s favorite bag!

Great job, Malaika – keep up the good work!

If you’re interested in donating your weird, swiss-cheese sausage casing clothes (or just ones you’re tired of) to Malaika to give them a new life shoot me a note and I will get you her contact information, or you can convo her on Etsy.  Making old in to new is a sense of satisfaction only topped by the fact she gives you a coupon for a $5 credit to her shop when you donate a bag of clothes!

Just Listed

Chicken Barrette, $6 from littleeyedesigns on Etsy

‘Ello!  If you haven’t peeked in to my Etsy shop lately (click there), you’ll be blown away at all the new items.  I’ve been hemming and hawing about new listings and I realized that when you sell tiny, little specialty objects it really is a numbers game:  the more I pack in there, the more chance there will be someone who connects with the artwork featured in the bottle cap!  Many new listings still to come, but I especially like that chicken barrette.

I’m also offering FREE SHIPPING on any order over $10, all you need to do is enter “ISPENT10” (all caps, no spaces) at checkout and the shipping charge will be removed.  That’s neat!

http://littleeyedesigns.etsy.com

FREE SHIPPING from Little Eye on Etsy

Click Here for Shopping with Free Shipping!

Hey duders — guess what!  If you spend $10 or more on any order in my Etsy shop you can get free shipping by entering “ISPENT10” at checkout.  All one word, all caps.

Music to My Ears… and My Hair.

OK, I’m going to try my hand at being a nice lady to my Etsy shop again.  I fell in to a lull this summer when sales were slumping and the beach was getting warmer and warmer.  But now that the Picnic busy-ness is over, I’m on top of my wholesale order (yet again) and the only real ‘extra’ project I have going on is knitting socks it seems like a pretty good time to start taking pictures again.

Non-sequitur:  I am in need of someone with size 7 feet who would like to trade modeling socks for… a pair of hand knit socks.  I’d need your toes for modeling by mid-September and then I’d have a pair of socks (in your choice of color and calf-length!) ready for you by the beginning of October.

Ok, but now to make sense of this post title:  I experimented with making post earrings with bottle caps before Picnic — this is not something I would wear (I like little posts, big hoops, or super dangly ones) but I’ve noticed a lot of people walking around with the chunky, ‘clip-on’ style earrings so thought I’d give it a go.  It did pretty well!  I sold three pairs at Picnic which was half of my experiment stock.  Here are two listings that will be music to your ears (and hair):

A Pirate Looks Under Starboard - Click on the Image to see listing.

Bass Clef Hair Clip - Click on image for listing.