Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween all you gouhls and gals.  I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween.  In fact I can't wait stop seeing my blog roll FILLED with pumpkin crafts - seriously blogland, we really need to talk about this problem!  Like for real...you gotta cool it with the "September 1st, OMG! Pumpkins!!!" Ok rant over.  

So here's my ONE and ONLY pumpkin post this fall.  These are the pumpkins that I carved last year.  I'll be carving some today but for now, enjoy these.

This is the Wicked Playbill.  
It's hard to 'get it' with out it being lit....

Lurch  "You raaaaaang"

ALL LIT UP

I am so proud of this Jolly Roger that I carved last year.  
I'm sorry but it is So freakin' awesome!


Here's the "Wicked" in the dark

And here are all three!  I'm not sure how I'm 
going to top these, but I'll do my best.

Monday, October 28, 2013

When One Door Closes....

You know, you hear people say that, "When one door closes, another one opens".  There's also the idea that if you ask for something, put your thoughts out to the Universe, that they will be answered.  Boy howdy! 
Did the Universe just give me a big slap in the face.

OK, so a little back story before we get to the exciting stuff.  This fall I lost a whole day of teaching dance - 5 hours of work/week.  I went from expecting a work week of over 20 hours to a week less than 20 hours.  It was a tough blow and I wasn't sure how I was going to handle it, especially financially.  But I found the silver lining - having Tuesdays off meant I had a whole day to crochet and prepare for the Crafty Affaire Christmas Market.  

And then I got an email.  An acquaintance of mine liked my Facebook page and saw the boot cuffs I'd been working on.  She owns a shoe store in Edmonton Alberta. She asked me if I could make some boot cuffs for her to sell in her store.  And maybe some scarves....I jumped at the chance!  So I got working.  Then yesterday my yoga studio posted on Facebook they were looking for someone to teach a knitting class.  I answered back that I don't knit, but I'd be happy to teach a crochet class, and well one thing led to another..

So I'm happy to announce that starting in November you will be able to purchase West Coast Leslie Designs crocheted apparel at Modern Sole in Edmonton Alberta and Vayusha Yoga in South Surrey BC!  I want to thank Lauren and Candi for their support and partnership as I move forward with my business.

Also for anyone who is local, Vayusha Yoga will be offering a Community Crochet Class starting on Sunday November 3rd-December 1st, taught by yours truly.  You can register through the yoga studio and I'd love to see you there!

Friday, October 11, 2013

I Love Yarn

Ok well that's obvious, right!  
But did you know October 11th is I Love Yarn Day?!?! 
Yeah, I know, me neither.
I mean it might only be a US thing, but hey, I love me some yarn!

And man have I been busy! Making SO many yarn creations.  What about you?  I know when fall hits that's usually when I start curling up with my hooks and some yarn, not to mention a cup of tea, and get going on my crochet.  Yesterday, I finished a pair of booties, and today I plan on working through some of my (ever growing) stash.


Here are some of my favourite, and recent, yarn 
posts from some great blogs!  Show 'em some yarn love!


And have a very happy "I Love Yarn" Day!
I know I will.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

HangTags

As I get closer and closer to my upcoming Christmas Craft Fair, I'm getting all the little things in order.  One of said "little things" was to make handmade, branded hang tags for my apparel.  I wanted these tags to identify my brand, give information about the product and the price, and of course look pretty.  


This past week I ordered 1000, yes you read right 1000, hang tags from Staples.  Why?  Because Staples only carries the size of hang tag I wanted online and in batches of 1000....I guess I'll be making all my christmas gift tags this year too!  I'm still waiting for them to arrive.  But I had some I had purchased from the Container Store (omg....I won't go into how much I love that place) and wanted to try out some designs to see what would look best.  
I knew I wanted to incorporate the silhouette I have on my blog header since I love it and it's vintage and ties my products to my blog.  A while back I purchased these stamps for this exact purpose. 

The one on the right is the closest to what I have on my blog header, and YES it drives me a little batty because it's not oriented the same way....I will survive. I knew I wanted to make my tags memorable and standout, so of course embossing was the only option...man I love embossing.

So I stamped, I drew, I wrote, I tested, I burned 
off some fingerprints and here's what I ended up with

The silhouette is stamped in Red Rocket Gold Ink and I used clear embossing powder over top.  The words are hand printed by yours truly in 2 sharpie colours.  The back will have the info about the apparel.  It's not as pretty.

Now to make 1000 more when the other tags arrive....
Dragonfly Designs



Wednesday, October 2, 2013

My Online Store

I've been busy.  
I'm working on a proper business website (I'm slow...), 
I've been crocheting,



I set up my Square account, and created an online store! Phew! So I wanted to share with all my readers that my creations are up, and online, and ready for you to purchase.  

Or if, you don't see anything you like, you can always message me for a custom order. I will be adding more inventory as I make it.  The above pictured boot cuffs will be online shortly!  I promise :)

A big thank you to my readers, and my Mum & sister Jill who have been so supportive and helpful as I dive into this endeavour!