Search results (tags) for: "recycling"

Etsy Finds Decor: Relaxed Simplicity

2009-12-27T10:12:00-05:00

This weekend’s Get the Look: Decor is inspired by the Dutch home of Ingrid, the designer behind Wool & Wood Stool. Her home is filled with her own beautiful handmade creations, which complement her simple rustic furniture and decor. Her collections of pottery, yarn, family photos and postcards are thoughtfully displayed, adding character to the natural minimalist aesthetic.

Visit Ingrid on Flickr to view more photos of her sweet and simple home or visit the Wood & Wool Stool blog, and be sure to check out the Etsy Finds below for creative decorating ideas that will add a touch of natural simplicity to the place you call home.

Crochet 'granny' cushion cover

By EmmaLamb, $85.

Antique Lace Crochet Coverlet

From SalvagedFibers, $98.

Per Lutken Holmegaard Heart Vase

From JohnnacCal, $30.

Grandma Garland

By royalsisters, $20.

Vintage Blue Dyed Textile Spools

From NewDominionBlues, $15.

Blue Metal Magazine Rack

From susantique, $29.95.

Barnwood FRAME 8x10

By ParadiseHillDesigns, $30.

Crocheted Vintage Pillow

By robinsnesttd, $20.

Large-scale Wood Assemblage

By dolangeiman, $3800.

Geometric Distressed Side Chair

By summerland, $75.

Large Cyprus Lamp

From Hindsvik, $85.

8x10 Colored Barnwood frame

By 2DogsWoodWorking, $26.

Coin Bud Vase

By tannerglass, $60.

Primitive Washboard Cabinet

By mymagbean13, $40.

Primitive Cobbler's Bench

By brandmojointeriors, $220.

4 Tin Hearts & Stars Cookie Cutters

From retrovertigo, $16.

Barbican Platter

By EstherCoombs, $75.

Recycled pine night stand

By barnwood4u, $150.

Black and Tan 2

By RusticsReborn, $55.

Blue and White Floral Plate

From CherishedFinds, $13.

vintage wall sconce

From dkgeneralstore, $35.

Farmhouse Jelly Cupboard

By VintageUpButterCup, $79.99.

Antique Wizard Deluxe Fan

From TheLovelys, $64.50.

Driftwood Chalk Board 8 x 10

By blackeyedsusan, $45.

Wall Shelf in old Mustard Paint

By AppelJar, $68.50.

Vintage Quaker Lace Bedspread

By catnapcottage, $75.

rustic folk art wooden horse

From ImSoVintage, $22.

Pillow with antique crochet

By vintagedesignstudio, $65.

Vintage Bottle filled to the brim

From solsticehome, $14.

Denim Blue Box Shelf

By OldNewAgain, $32.

Rustic Dovetail Cubby

By abodewell, $75.

Antique Framed Chalkboard

By RowansRoom, $95.

Horseshoe Swing

By oakandrope, $225.

Olive Wood Plant Id Markers

By figandfern, $19.95.

Country Folding Quilt Rack

By ShakaStudios, $106.

License plate roof birdhouse

By barnwood4u, $20.

Rustic Wooden Vase

By wrenwoods, $14.95.

Khaki Kanoe Baby Hammock

By studioleroux, $290.

Milk Glass Canisters With Wood Tops

From ModAndPop, $50.

Rustic Lamp

By AaronKllc, $140.

Wool blanket with crochet edge

By namolio, $95.

Vintage Carpenter's Folding Rule

From bluebell, $10.

Photo of Daisies in rustic frame

By sharonaugustyniak, $35.

Recycled Cottage Style Bench

By TRUECONNECTION, $110.

Vintage Heart Cake Tin

By BenefitJewels, $11.50.

Love plate made to order

By Ninainvorm, $60.

Shabby Pair Grey Nightstands

By royaloakcottage, $350.

Resting within...8x8 photograph

By provincijalka, $18.

We're having an imaginary New Year's Eve party and you're all invited! Where? In this fabulous Swedish home, featured on CasaSugar. Last week we asked you to nominate your picks, and now you can vote on which items get featured on CasaSugar.

Looking for more styles and interiors? Check out our video series, There's No Place Like Here, where creative types show us their unique spaces — infused with their aesthetic and filled with the treasures they collect. Get involved and show us your amazing space in this Flickr pool.

Check out other Get the Look: Home Decor Editions.

A Cozy Home Gift Guide | Housewares Category | Vintage Housewares

Need a daily fix of Etsy Finds? Sign up for the Etsy Finds e-mail! Conveniently delivered to your inbox!

Come Craft With The Uniform Project & Megan Nicolay of Generation T

2009-12-22T15:31:00-05:00

UPDATE: We had such a fun time last night! Thank you to all who brought your questions to the Q&A in the Virtual Labs, and thanks to Sheena and Eliza for their very interesting A's. Today, Sheena is wearing the free-form, radical, catatonic kitten from outer space T-shirt she made last night, under Megan's tutelage. More photos from last night are posted on our Flickr stream.

[The following was originally posted on December 17, 2009.]

Why stay in and craft all by your lonesome? Come join us for a used clothing reinvention and swap with The Uniform Project and Megan Nicolay of Generation T — whether you're in Brooklyn or anywhere in the world. Stop by for our weekly Craft Night in our online multi-user chat room, the Virtual Labs, for a live online demo at 5 p.m. ET, or in person at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn anytime between 4-8 p.m. at 55 Washington Street, Suite 512 in Brooklyn, New York. (Click here to see what time 5 p.m. ET is in your hometown.) Craft Night is a time to make things, sharpen your craft skills, and connect with fellow crafters.

Have you ever done a 365 day challenge? What's your New Year's resolution? How about starting with giving old clothes new lives! This week, on Monday, December 21, visit the Etsy Labs and the Virtual Labs for a used clothing swap and clothing reinvention project.

The Uniform Project will talk about the 365 day challenge they're pursuing to raise money and awareness about disadvantaged school children. Sheena (see at left in the stylish bob) is wearing one little black dress for an entire year and documenting her inventive outfit customization methods with handmade and vintage accessories. Eliza (pictured on the left) designed the frock, which has turned out to be infinitely adaptable. Read our full interview with the Uniform Project here.

This Monday we'll roll up the sleeves of our used t-shirts and make a project too. Megan Nicolay (pictured below), author of Generation T, will be at Craft Night to demo a no-sew project for turning your old t-shirts into something new and fresh. We're inviting everyone who comes to bring some used clothing you'd like to swap with other attendees, cut up and reinvent with Megan, or if you don't have any clothes that fit the bill, Threadless will be sending us a box of misprinted t-shirts ready for reinvention.

If you are attending Craft Night virtually this week and would like to reconstruct a t-shirt with us along with us, be sure to bring along a t-shirt and a pair of scissors.

Here's a sampling of Megan's no-sew projects:

Upcoming Events at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn:

12/28/09 through 1/18/10: Craft Night Hiatus (No Craft Nights at the Etsy Labs during this time.)

1/25: Stenciling with Ed Roth of Stencil 101
2/1: Matchbox Valentines with Rachel Johnson of Swap-bot

2/8: Heatpress printing with Dari of papismami

Looking for further fashion inspiration? Try these links:

Accessorize This: The Uniform Project | Handmade Portraits: Built by Wendy

Will we see you Monday, ready to reconstruct your old clothing? Let us know in the comments below.

Accessorize This: The Uniform Project

2009-12-15T14:15:00-05:00

Wearing the same dress every day for a year is unimaginable for most of us. But Sheena, along with her collaborator Eliza, of the Uniform Project took up that self-imposed challenge and made a "little black dress" — the launching pad for a full year of fashion improvisation. What resulted is an inspiring collection of creative reuse and outside-the-box accessorizing. It's not just about clothing and consumption — the Uniform Project raises our expectations for fashion ingenuity and in creating this spectacle, raises money and awareness for underserved kids who need funds for school uniforms.

Read on for the interview we did with Sheena Matheiken and Eliza Starbuck. Please join us on December 21, 2009 from 4 - 8 p.m. at Etsy Labs and the Virtual Labs for a special Craft Night and used clothing swap. The Uniform Project will be there, and Megan Nicolay, author of Generation T, will demo a quick and easy project for transforming your old T-shirts into fresh accessories.

How did you get the original idea for the project? What cause are you supporting?
SHEENA: The notion of wearing the same dress for a year isn't necessarily a new concept, many artists have done this before. The works of Andrea Zittel and Alex Martin come to mind. For me, it was about giving myself a fun creative challenge, and also making something of consequence, something that people could engage and participate in. When I discovered Akanksha and the wonderful work they are doing for children living in Indian slums who cannot afford an education, it just made sense to make it a fundraiser. Every year Akanksha spends $360 on the education of each child in the slums that they can support. The number correlated so well to my 365 day model that I decided to set aside a dollar every day as I post the daily picture of me in uniform. This way I would have just enough to sponsor one child by the end of the project. With this as an example, we hoped that people will follow suit and make donations to the cause through our website. That's how it all began.

Sheena has seven copies of the dress, does she have the days of the week sewn into them?
ELIZA: That would have been a cute feature. I spent 4 months making the dress, and we just barely made our May 1 kick-off deadline. We were running to the tailor the night before to get the button holes put into the first dress for her to wear. By the time we got all the buttons sewn on, we were pretty much through with the sewing. Plus, my embroidery is a bit rusty.

How does this project fit in with handmade movement and reuse we associate with vintage?
ELIZA: When Sheena first approached me with the Uniform Project idea, I was hesitant because I had sort of vowed to not make “new” items ever again. I was recovering from working in the fashion industry. But after she explained her idea I got really excited at the prospect of promoting the wearing and reusing of vintage (a personal love for both of us) and how it would encourage people to refashion and hand craft things to wear. The stigma attached to the reuse and handmade culture is that it is frumpy or uninteresting, so we really wanted to challenge that notion and prove that sustainability is not only stylish but if done with some care and creativity, can even reach couture caliber. The overwhelming response and support we've received from the reuse and handmade community via accessory donations and blog shout-outs, I think, is a testament to this.

Have you seen other people interpreting the project and doing their own spin on it?
ELIZA: There have been a couple folks that were inspired to take on the UP Challenge and blog or write about it. There were a couple news reporters in the UK and Canada that took it on to see if they could do it for a week in the office. One of our favorite supporters, a blogger named CAG Reinvented, went so far as to challenge us to a LBD duel! It was all a win-win for us as she helped us raise more funds for Akanksha through her blog.

How is the project going global?
SHEENA: The blogs and social networks picked up our project within days after our site launch, and we've had incredible followership from all over the globe. Seven months into the project, we've received over 1.5 million site hits and we've raised over $40,000 in donations (that's over 100 children in school). We're also bombarded with emails from people who want to donate accessories to the project, and the comments section of the daily posts are thriving with colorful debates around sustainability, fashion and philanthropy. The best part is that the site is now becoming a great global platform for sustainable designers and hand-crafters to showcase their work by donating accessories to the project. It's a win-win for everyone!

In addition, we've also had supporters throw us fundraiser parties in their own hometowns. One such event happened in Galway, Ireland, which we were lucky enough to attend. This year the Uniform Project has also been to Austria, England, Scotland, and our most exciting trip is coming up in January when Sheena will be traveling to India to visit the Akanksha centers.

Any tips for folks who have an inventive project that supports a good cause? How did you initially get the word out?
SHEENA: If you feel you have an inventive idea, the initial thing is to think good and hard about what you really want to do and say. Put some serious effort into it, be skeptical of your own ideas and force yourself to refine and refine, so they can be as strong as possible. You really need to play devil’s advocate against yourself. Because, trust us, the web world will be itching to do that for you later. Also, the success of an idea depends on the strength of your execution. And if it’s for a good cause, you have to believe in the cause 100%, and then you owe it to that cause to do the absolute best job possible. And lastly, (and this is perhaps the most important element): follow through. Every day.

And put your heart into it, work really really hard — all those cliches are true. Personally, I feel like I'm always a bit naive about the magnitude and potential of something when I conceive it. I just get carried away because I'm having so much fun coming up with it. So that's the key element, having fun. If you're having fun, you won't feel so daunted and you won't let skepticism creep in, and you'll take that leap.

As for getting the word out, embrace the web. If you're not web savvy, the first step is to not be intimidated by it, and recognize its unprecedented ability to build loyal networks and communities that can spread a message faster than any traditional media. And then get the right people to help you.

After the 365 days, what is up next?
ELIZA: Sheena will probably wake up with the question, "What on earth am I going to wear today?!" We've actually got some great ideas in the works for next year, starting with putting our dress into market.

Any plans to make the dress for others or licensing the pattern?
ELIZA: Absolutely. We've gotten such an overwhelming wave of requests for the 365 day dress, that we couldn't walk away from the opportunity to encourage others to take on the UP model and mission. We’re currently looking into manufacturing the dress, finding the right organic fabric and an affordable manufacturer who aligns with our sustainability mission. There are so many variables involved in creating something responsibly, and we are taking our time to ask the right questions and do the necessary research. We like the idea of sharing the pattern too, which has also repeatedly been requested by the home sewing set. We tend to agree, the most sustainable method is making it at home.

Where does Sheena get her fashion inspiration?
SHEENA: Inspiration comes from everywhere — the web, a song in my head, the streets of New York. I like to keep things spontaneous and try not to plan ahead. The waking hours will usually inspire something depending on my state of mind and the typically unpredictable New York weather. I also have collected vintage and pre-owned one-off items for years now. Having them at my disposal allows me to improvise and randomly throw things together. My best ensembles have been a product of spontaneity and serendipity. But there's also been some great thematic days that were pre-planned and labor intensive. I handmade the costume for the Mermaid Parade on June 20, which was very much a Gareth Pugh inspiration. A lot of sketching and research went into that. And then there was the wedding attire, on June 14, for which Eliza custom crafted a dramatic, tiered silk collar. Then there was Halloween, for which we used all the packaging material lying around from all our accessory donors and hand-crafted the flowers that turned me into the evil sea sprite in the garden.

Which blogs, magazines, etc. serve as inspiration?
SHEENA: My day job is in the interactive field, so I practically live on the web. There is a lot that seeps into me subconsciously from the web. I used to tune in to see what some of my favorite fashionistas are up to — Susie Bubble, Style Rookie and blogs like Lookbook, Sartorialist, etc. But lately, juggling two full-time jobs has taken its toll on all the cyber slacking.

What clothing does Sheena miss the most?
SHEENA: There's really nothing in my wardrobe that I haven't been able to wear with the uniform if I get creative with it. Pants, blouses, sweaters, skirts, even other dresses have all come into play despite my wearing my uniform dress. I think this is a great testament to the versatility of Eliza's brilliant LBD.

Are you thinking about any New Year's resolutions? Have you ever done a 365 day challenge? Tell us in the comments below!

Don't forget to join Sheena, Eliza and Megan for Craft Night December 21. Look for details on Thursday's Craft Night post. If you want to donate to the Uniform Project's cause or donate eco-friendly handmade or vintage accessories, please see their website.

How-Tuesday: Sweater Computer Cozy From Refashioned Bags

2009-12-15T10:46:00-05:00

When it comes to tech possessions, we all have to try a little harder to express our individuality. I carry around my computer, phone, and mp3 player, self-conscious of the fact that I am merely one in a sea of identical metallic cubes. I may not be able to customize my electronics quite the way I like, but boundless opportunity arises in their accessories. Why spend money on some uninspired plastic case made in a factory halfway across the world, when you can create your own upcycled masterpiece? This week's How-Tuesday comes from Faith and Justina Blakeney's Refashioned Bags, teaching us how to turn a sweater that's past its prime into a laptop's fuzzy best friend.

Purchase Refashioned Bags from Amazon or an independent bookseller

Recycling and reappopriating everyday items into designer accessories is fun, cheap, easy, and oh-so-eco!

But have no fear; you need not be a seamstress or a metalsmith to make it happen. This book, like recycling, is for everybody. With just a few basic tools and a spare afternoon, you'll be making everyday bags, utility bags, totes and shoppers, clutches, and other small bags for special occasions.

So it's time to get creative, clean out the closets, and discover what hidden treasures lie within. Your wardrobe, your wallet, and your planet will thank you.

We all have mini fashion disasters — buttons falling off of coats, stains, and worst of all, shrinking that fave old sweater in the wash. At the Compai Compound, we have learned to see these mishaps as windows of opportunity. So the next time your favorite wool sweater ends up in the wash, don't use it to clean your bathroom floor — hook your computer up with a new winter wardrobe!

Quick Tip: Make sure the sweater is made of at least 80 percent animal fiber (wool, alpaca, cashmere — you know, the good stuff), or it won't felt. Then machine wash your sweater in hot water and dry it on hot in the dryer.

You'll Need
1 old wool sweater
3 yards (2.7m) yarn
1 zipper, about 20" (51cm) long
Pins

Dimensions
16" x 10" (32cm x 25.5cm)

1. Wash your wool sweater on hot so that it shrinks and "felts." Dry your sweater.

2. If your sweater has a zipper or buttons that open the sweater in front, cut them off. If it does not, cut the front of the sweater open anyway.

3. Cut the sleeves of the sweater off.

4. Stitch both armholes closed.

5. As shown, fold the sweater on its side so that one of the stitched armholes lies center-front. Place your laptop computer onto the sweater. Mark the length of the computer with pins on the sweater. Cut the collar and the bottom off of the sweater so that the remaining piece is 1/2" (13mm) longer than the computer on each side.

6. Sew the top edges of the bag together with a clean finish.

7. Pin the zipper onto the open edge of the case, wrapping it around the open corner of the sweater. Stitch the zipper into place and then whipstitch any remaining openings closed if the zipper doesn't reach the bottom corner of the case.

8. The pom-poms on our design were originally part of the sweater that we used, but if you'd like to add pom-poms to your design, wrap the yarn in a figure 8 around your index finger and thumb, in small loops, about 70 times. Pull the looped figure 8 off your fingers, then wrap the yarn around the center of those loops several times, tie a knot. Cut the loops open and throw the pom-pom in the dryer. When the dry cycle is complete, tie the pom-pom to the hole in the zipper pull.

Thanks to Faith & Justina Blakeney and the good folks at Potter Craft for sharing this project with us. For more upcycling inspiration, check out Refashioned Bags.

More How-Tuesday Posts | Supplies Category | The Do-It-Yourselfer Gift Guide

Quit Your Day Job: jill2day

2009-12-14T14:10:00-05:00

Jill of jill2day spent many years in corporate design departments until the economy's downturn left her unemployed. She took her career change as a motivating opportunity to start her Etsy shop, learn more about the ins-and-outs of e-commerce and begin supporting herself through her artistic voice. She's now successfully making her living through her Etsy business, loves making her own schedule, and if she could go back in time, she would have advised herself to do it sooner. Keep reading to find out how Jill uses customer service as one of her best marketing tools.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
I can’t remember not making things. One of my prize possessions is a clay dog that I made in 2nd grade and I can remember making things even before that. I can honestly say I would not have graduated from high school if it weren’t for my art classes — and the fabulous teachers I had. They taught me that making things was of value.

Tell us about your previous working situation.
Ironically I left art school and entered the corporate world. I remember working as a bank teller and seeing an ad agency come in to pitch an idea. It was then that I realized that there were people who were actually making a living coming up with ideas and creating things. I went back to school for graphic design and spent the next many years in corporate and agency design departments. I also taught graphic design for a while. I liked the problem solving and customer service parts of these jobs almost as much as the creative part. However, the longer I was in the corporate environment the more I started to get the “been there done that” feeling during meetings.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
My day job quit me before I started selling on Etsy! I am one of the “recently unemployed” from this economic craziness. I spent a while looking for another position, but really wanted to see if the fiber art that I had been doing for myself could be a full-time endeavor — or at least keep me occupied until the economy picked up again. I also really wanted to increase my knowledge of the world of online commerce and advertising.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time?
Yes. I bought a serger! I found one that I could buy on a no-interest one-year loan. My goal was to just make enough to pay this off before the one year ended and interest kicked in. I had my own B+M graphic design firm years ago, so I already knew about record-keeping, etc.

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?

First and foremost: Join Etsy and use all the tools available to you. It was a great sort of “start-up franchise.” I read all the info on starting up, joined in the Forums, and generally just decided to focus, focus, focus.
Secondly: Customer service. My background included a lot of both vendor and customer relationships, so I have just applied lessons learned previously to my Etsy shop. I always keep in mind that repeat customers are gold — and fun. So I really am trying to build relationships and listen to my customers' ideas — not just sell them stuff! Consequently I am doing many custom items. I love to do these, because they are often for people who have had a hard time finding their size in “fun” clothes before, so they are so excited to have these items made, and we have so much fun planning the garment. They come up with some great ideas to challenge me!

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
So far so good. I have had success with the Showcases, Weekend Deals and renewing (a reasonable amount!). I will be in my first show in a couple weeks, and also am participating in the Etsy Pavilion at the Chicago One of a Kind Show — so ask me that question again in a month! I don’t tweet, and my Facebook is purely for family and connecting with friends: no business.

Walk us through your typical workday.

I stumble downstairs and take the dog out — but first I turn on the computer so that when I come in it is all set to check in with my “positive thread” buddies in the Forums. (Hey, look guys: I'm in an article!)
After my husband goes to work, I spend some more time on Etsy: check Convos, Forums, renew, etc.
At 9 I turn off the computer (usually) and I head off to the studio (getting dressed first is optional).
Then it is sewing until lunch.
During lunch it is another check on my shop, Convos, Forums, etc.
The afternoon is either photo time, post office time (I love going to my small town post office with a load of boxes), or back to the studio to plan, cut apart my found sweaters and adding the parts to my stash, or make “sweater bundles” — bundling together all the various parts for each sweater, or sew.
Once a week I go material shopping and once a week I do some bookkeeping.
I usually emerge from the studio when my husband gets home, and run another Convo and blog check while he is checking his computer.
I resume hand sewing while watching the TV, but usually don‘t go back to the studio in the evening, as I am spoiled by the daytime daylight!

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
I love making my own schedule. In the corporate world I had to react to all the deadlines imposed on me. But on Etsy I can prioritize and pace myself to my life much better. I am also loving the solitude and the community! (And my local NPR station.) I have this quiet, productive life that is intermittently enhanced by my fellow Etsians and customers through their Convos and emails. It is so lovely to have these interactions, but because they are electronic they are so much easier to manage than the people popping into your cube or office all the time…and I do not miss meetings!

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
No back-up and, because I am new to this production mode, and am generally a complete optimist, judging how long things will take. I have occasionally bitten off a bit more than I should chew.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?

Myself: I would have done this earlier!

Others: Decide why you are here. If you want to make a living, then you have opened up a business and you must approach it as such — 100% x 24/7. If you are here to subsidize your hobby, great, but don’t expect to have the same results as those who are full-time businesses.

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?
Well, I have the money to pay off my serger, but have already decided I might need a commercial serger next year! Beyond that, I want to keep coming up with new designs and products that my customers will love to wear, and that will enable me to keep enjoying what I am doing. I will probably do more shows. Technically, I would love to get better at SEO and maybe open my own site as a hub for my blog, Etsy, shows, etc. Who knows, maybe I will even learn to tweet!

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
A big thank you to Etsy and my fellow Etsy sellers and buyers, and to my husband and friends. I am sure that this year of unemployment would have been very tough without all of you. In losing my job I have found out that Richie Havens was right when he said, “Backwards is not necessarily a negative direction!”

Thanks to Jill for sharing her story. You can see some of Jill's beautiful work in the Related Items. Check out previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.

Come Craft Plush Toys With Wendy Gardner at Etsy Labs

2009-12-10T15:30:00-05:00

Why stay in and craft all by your lonesome? Come join us for a teddy bear workshop with Wendy from Scary Stories — whether you're in Brooklyn or anywhere in the world. Stop by for our weekly Craft Night in our online multi-user chat room, the Virtual Labs, for a live online demo at 5 p.m. ET, or in person at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn anytime between 4-8 p.m. at 55 Washington Street, Suite 512 in Brooklyn, New York. (Click here to see what time 5 p.m. ET is in your hometown.) Craft Night is a time to make things, sharpen your craft skills, and connect with fellow crafters.

This week, on Monday, December 14, Wendy Gardner will show you how to turn any old shirt into an adorable teddy bear for a great holiday gift idea. There's no better way to clear out those closets and gain a handmade gift in the process! So, pinch a nice cotton button-down from the closet of your husband/boyfriend/grandpa and come on down to the Etsy Labs for some fluffy stuffy fun!

Wendy Gardner is the founder of Scary Stories Inc., and she loves dogs, cats, chickens, and pets of all kinds. An artist originally from Toronto, Canada, Wendy began her career as a painter. She studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design and moved to New York City to work as an illustrator. She soon fell in love with a pug named Ivan and formed her company, Scary Stories Inc., and began selling Dig Ivan Dig and other characters in her line of unique plush toys, all playfully scary with angry eyes and growling teeth. The toys are sold in boutiques, design stores, gifts shops, and museums throughout the world. Her work can also be found in her Etsy shop, HappySugar.

If you are attending Craft Night virtually this week and would like to create teddy bears along with us, you'll need to gather the following supplies:

Mens' shirts
Sewing machine
Thread
Pins
Embroidery thread
Embroidery needles
Buttons
Teddy bear byes (snap in)
Stuffing (poly fiberfill)
Holiday adornments such as bells or little Santa hats
Blue, red, green, or silver fabric
Sequins
Ribbon
Glitter trimmings

Upcoming Events at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn:

12/21: TBA
12/28/09 through 1/18/10: Craft Night Hiatus (No Craft Nights at the Etsy Labs during this time.)

Looking for further crafting inspiration?

Make a Donkey Stuffie | How-Tuesday Projects | The Do-It-Yourselfer Gift Guide

Will we see you next week? Let us know in the comments below.

Etsy Finds: Gifts for the Eco-Minded

2009-11-21T10:50:00-05:00

Feel good about the gifts you share this holiday season by giving sustainable, environmentally friendly keepsakes. One of the many talents Etsy artisans possess is the vision to create meaningful, clever, and fresh designs from unexpected materials. Each of the gift ideas below has been upcycled from reclaimed, recycled or vintage materials and would make a memorable gift for your loved ones. Shop Etsy's Environmentally Friendly Gift Guide for more creative gift ideas with an eco-twist.

For the Home

Recycled Turntable Clock

By pixelthis, $124.

Search results (tags) for: "recycling"

Etsy Finds Decor: Relaxed Simplicity

Come Craft With The Uniform Project & Megan Nicolay of Generation T

Accessorize This: The Uniform Project

How-Tuesday: Sweater Computer Cozy From Refashioned Bags

Quit Your Day Job: jill2day

Come Craft Plush Toys With Wendy Gardner at Etsy Labs

Etsy Finds: Gifts for the Eco-Minded

For the Home

On-the-Go

All the Details

Guest Curator: Altered Couture

Quit Your Day Job: bodhicitta

Quilting for Peace: Stitch Your Own Shopping Bag

Seller How-To: Pretty as a Package

Guest Curator: Wardrobe Refashion

The Collectors: Vintage Super 8 Cameras

Process: Beach Glass Jewelry with Wildpen

Etsy Finds Decor: Sustainable Homes

Etsy Finds Vintage: Reduce, Reuse, Reinvent

Vintage Fabric and Crochet

Vintage Drawers and Boxes

Vintage Letters, Numbers and Signage

Vintage Jars and Baskets

Vintage Toolboxes and Luggage

Unorthodox Display

You Tell Me!

Etsy Finds: Everybody Wants to Save the World

Reuse

Get Down with Upcycling

Animal Alternatives

Spread the Word

Handmade Portraits: Birdhouseaccents

Upcycle This with Reclaimed Home

TakeOffYourClothes Wins Leonard Lopate's T-Shirt Design Contest

Etsy Finds: Eco-Friendly Wedding Favors

Etsy Finds: Fashion Resurrection

Etsy Finds: Home, Sweet Home

Earth Tones: Metal Jewelry with a Conscience

News from the Etsy Labs: 4/20 Craft Night with Betz White

Guest Curator: Eco Chic with Style at Home's Laurie Grassi

Etsy Finds: Good Wood

Guest Curator: Kelly Rand of Crafting a Green World

Etsy Finds: It's Easy Being Green

Process: Tin Toys by Loran Scruggs