holy moly!!! fabric insanity!

There's a local fabric shop here in San Jose, right down the street from the San Jose Flea Market, which I would like to add is another excellent place to go for crafty goodness. 
The fabric shop is called  Fabrics R us... and oh my goodness, you have no idea how awesome this place can be. Not until I started sewing and really getting into it, that I realize what a haven this place  actually is. Yes, it doesn't have the cute little prints like Joann's or Hancocks. But they have tons and tons of other fabrics, all kinds of silks, dupioni silks, polyesters, cotton blends, fleeces, sequenced fabrics, sari fabric...... the list goes on and on. It's definitely worth the trip, and if you take your time to sort through everything you'll come out on top because the prices are excellent as well. I can't wait to go again. I think I'm gonna make some curtains some time soon. 


Check out their reviews on yelp too:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fabrics-r-us-san-jose

The specific review that hits the nail on the head is a review by a yelper Marlyn A.. So if you go on yelp and check it out, look for her review. 

Don't expect superduper excellent customer service, you basically need to know what you want because they're not going to cater to you all day. 
 
Here are some pics from my little visit...

The selection is so large that there are a few more shops in this strip mall.

You can always ask for help to get pointed in the right direction.

Tons of notions to sort through, including buttons, lace collars, fasteners.

oo! look at that rosey 3d magenta, now image that in several assorted colors! fun stuff!

A sequenced mermaid's dream! isles and isles!

upholstery fabrics can be found here too!

Ton & Tons of threads and ribbons... 

I also love the fact that they tear the fabric from right off the bolt. There's just something primal and not to mention SEXY about that sound of that awesome ripping of cloth. 

Just thinking about it, I need to go again. oh man... I NEED to go again. 

eeeee! i have goosebumps.  

Happy Halloween!!! 
shen 

Weapon of choice..Staple gun!

So although it wasn't the downpour I was hoping for (down in the south bay at least,) I decided to finally tackle a project I've been preparing for a couple weeks now.  It took me a couple weeks only because I was a tad hesitant on how to go about it. 

Well armed with a staple gun, I went for it. 
Reupholstering the old office chair in the art studio to be more...uh..... FUN!  

#1, 5, 6 Before pics
#2 are the tools needed 

• heavy fabric (my specific project took 1 1/2 yards, but I bought more because I'm making matching throw pillows at a later time)
• hammer
• screw driver or drill to disassemble chair 
• a small & medium wood chisels
• heavy duty staple gun & staples
• fabric scissors
• A tube of strongstik DAP glue.

#3, 4 & 9 are pics of disassembling the chair. In my case,I took the back off the chair, and unscrewed the bottom (seat part) off the part that has all the adjustment levers. Then I took the arms off the chair. Taking all these pieces apart is well worth it, your fabric will fit around the sections nicely, and neatly. Lastly, using the chisels I used them to pry the backing off the back of the chair. 


#11 & 12 are the seat of the chair. I took off the staples from the bottom liner & since it was in good condition I reused it (if you need to replace yours you should. Although you will rarely see this area, it just gives it a nice finished look). I then stapled the fabric around  (#10) then put the liner back on & stapled that in place to cover the first round of staples. 
Here's a closer look:

first row of staples

turn your work over as you make your way around & smooth out the wrinkles.

With Liner, put a nicer neater row of staples to finish it off. (#8)

# 7, 14, 15 & 17 are all pictures of stapling the fabric into place.

#15 also shows the straight nails that get hammered back into the other back piece. However, I found this part really tricky & ended up using the StrongStik DAP glue which worked out great! If it doesn't work out for your chair use upholstery nails. 

#13 &16 show the finished pieces of the back of the chair together & completed.

#18, 19 & 20 are pics of the finished project. 

Here are some photos of it in natural sunlight...

baby got back!

 
This took me from around 11:30 to 3 in the afternoon including assembling.  Overall, I'm pretty happy how it turned out. 

More pics later, as I press forward to get the art studio finished & decorated. 

Let me know if you need some clarification, I know this isn't exactly the best explanation.  I was in a hurry to crank out this entry before the end of the night.
shen

A crafty weekend...

So I took  a few days off because I had some online traffic school to finish up.  Thinking I wasn't going to meet the deadline, I took Thursday and Friday off to do it, and just so I had a nice long weekend, I added monday to it. It is now sunday.  I was able to complete the traffic course Wednesday night.
As I watch the Giants vs. Phillies game 2, I am typing out this entry.
I've had a pretty productive weekend considering it started on Thursday. Thursday, being a short day, and I have to get the kids early, I only managed to mail out some orders, and go to Joann's for some fabric therapy. I even had a chance to go to  SJ Japantown, and get some nommy sushi! 
 I was able to re-stuffed my owl pillow.

Made from a few scraps & a favorite sweater from h-school.

It was looking pretty sad and flattened out, painted some frames that will go into the studio and made some clips, and a headband for the etsy shop. And started my dia de los muertos (day of the dead) wreath. The wreath project has me pretty excited. Especially since I'm planning to take the kiddos to a weekend full of the holiday's festivals. One festival is even located in a large cemetery. In attempts to expose them to their Hispanic heritage, I'll be doing more research these next two weeks leading up to Halloween and this special holiday. It was cool seeing the kiddos' interest in a display  at a local store, so now I'm trying to learn more. However, I can't wait until the wreath is done, and I can show you all how it came out.


I attempted to get another printing of the sriracha shirts started last weekend which turned out to be a big fail, and it continued again into this weekend with no luck. I'm going to do a last attempted tomorrow, and then I dunno what I'm going to do. The capillary film is just not picking up the details in the roster part, and it's frustrating the crap out of me. Especially since it seems to be a really popular item, I really want to get the print down and get some shirts cranked out. 


My friday off turned out to be pretty uneventful, as I was busy doing some accounting type things, and not much else. At night I was able to crank out a few hair clips again, work on my wreath, and start on a sewing project, and continued the project on to Saturday afternoon. Saturday night, I worked on a quick project for the studio. A container (old large broth can) wrapped with yarn. Sam decided on the design, and I followed. 

just a hint of color showing through.

Sam's idea.. wish i had orange yarn though.

Sunday, today, was set aside for paintballing, but it finally rained, and we weren't able to play. I worked on my wreath again, and tried out another print with the sriracha print with a big F.A.I.L again...  It's got me really frustrated, but like I said I'm trying out a couple more times this week to see if some of my theories may have contributed to the failure.
I'm still really hopeful.


Tomorrow, Monday, still a day off, I'm hitting up the fabric store again, because I have coupons to use and a shopping list. Stay tuned here and on the etsy shop... I'll be posting up pics of the finished projects soon. 


Hope you are all having a nice weekend too!  What crafty-ness where you up to?




shen

Swirly wall goes bye bye!

So remember the blog from way back... Where I painted my wall with this crazy swirly swirl... I even made a how-to video of it... 

Well, I got tired of looking at it! You don't even understand, it made me feel like the house was chaotic. So I HAD to changed it. Thank goodness.

It was one of my TO-DO's for the summer, and it was completed.

I'm still working on what I want displayed but over-all I'm relieved that I don't have to look at that swirl on my wall anymore.

The swirly madness.

The dining room is almost done, I'm still trying to find the perfect mirror to go opposite this wall, and a nice "buffet" table to go right under it, but with the purchase of my awesome dining table, the swirl just wasn't cutting it anymore.

I had to cover up the swirls first in case a 2nd or 3rd coat was needed.

Lowe's Valspar Eggshell finish in Tawny. Totally perfect.

First Shelf with two tikis  hand-carved from Hawaii.

2nd shelf. The boys putting it up.

3rd & DONE!

I've always wanted to use these IKEA wall ledges.

Really inexpensive, RIBBA picture ledges. 

Taken tonight as I finished up this entry.

I  can display some of my most coveted shells & souvenirs from the beach & beach-side trips. 

But! This just reminds me that I really need to get in gear and put some pictures up. Most of the picture frames I have in the house are blank!



shen

Another Upcycle Project...

The first step is to admit that I have a problem.. Well,I am an addict. I'm addicted to fabric! I love fabric. I can stay at the fabric store for hours and hours. Touching, feeling, and looking and looking with no particular project in mind. I could easily blow all my money at one time. I've gotten better though. I've learned to take pictures with my phone and walk away.  Don't believe me...
Here's proof... I really do stand in the fabric store and snap away, at times I get weird looks from the ladies there, but you know what... bleh! I don't care! This makes me happy.

However, before I learned this money saving habit, I still accumulated quite a stash of cute prints... What did I decide to do with it??? Well I had these old beat up  magazine holders hanging around. Never had the heart to throw them away. I don't know why they were cheap as all heck at IKEA but they stayed around for a while. It's possible, now that I think of it, I had them back at our old condo too. Sheesh!

Anyways, here they are before...

 

 

And with some spray on adhesive, and some of my favorite fabric prints. Careful wrapping & cutting. And.... 

Cute right?

 Now in my Art studio?.....

See my mushroom ironing board? I have a matching magazine box :D

So I thought this is a great way for any fabric obsession to show off some of the stash.

To give them a finished look put felt pieces at the bottom.  

Would you buy these if I sold these on etsy? 

I hope that the photo taking of fabric tip helps you too. Keep the pic files in their own folder, and you can always refer back to them when you find a project to do.

Happy Crafting! 

shen

Whistle while you work...

Before I started posting up items in the shop, I tried to make sure I had everything in place. Shop policies, appearances, etc.... All the paranoia built up in me, and trust me, the Friday before I started posting I was extremely nervous, and freaking out. But now that's its up and running, I'm proud to say, I only had to wait one day to sell my very first item. I feel accomplished. So with that being said, here is an entry I had prepared a few weeks leading up to the Grand Opening.... 

I flip flopped on a few banners, and  finally picked THEE one. 

The lil parasols from my dad's bday...

 The cupcake measuring tape...

Then finally, the "monster eye" beads...

I settled on the "eyes" because they were fun! But with all the practice I've been getting with photoshop, I know I can easily switch it up now & again.

I've made my invoice doc, and it's ready to go.
I've been taking online training classes thanks to the Small Business Bureau. Call me crazy, but I just want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly, and legally. 


shen

GRAND OPENING!

I had no idea how much work & time I was going to spend today on my online "Grand Opening", but I did it!

The shop is open!!!! 

Girly Spazms on Etsy

Some of the items are there, and I'm not even halfway done. I'll get more up tomorrow, hopefully. On top of going on a 20 mile bike ride this morning (thank you Google maps), I'm pretty beat. So it's time to relax, and unwind. Lots of errands to run tomorrow, a few custom orders have come in already, and Sam has a costume she wants me to make. I just thought I'd put up an entry to commemorate this awesome occasion. 

Stop by & check out the shop. I'll be adding more now, as I finish items instead of doing a ton all at once. 

I also wanted to take the time to Thank everyone of my friends & family for their support & encouraging words. You've all been awesome, and I'm totally appreciative to all of you.

Gnight for now! 

shen