Christmas Is Going to the Dogs

This was basically the best wintry holiday I've had in a long time. To sum up my obnoxious levels of holiday cheer & fun see below for a series of pictures of myself and my boyfriend's dog, a lovable but huge Old English Sheepdog.

This is how I spent Christmas morning, getting mucho love from the dog. And for an extra dose of holiday cheer at the bottom of post: a video of the dog opening her Christmas present.





























































Bonus video:

Maganda Design at Handmade Mart's Holiday Shop-N-Stroll

Yesterday I trudged out into the rain (that later turned to snow) for Handmade Mart's Holiday Shop-N-Stroll with Emily & Susan of imoM. By the end I couldn't feel my fingers really well but it was worth it. I made a few sales I wouldn't have otherwise, got some nice comments on the feathers I'd been collecting for a while and was offered a few consignment opportunities. Here are some pictures I managed to take despite the loss of feeling of my hands.

beautiful feather headpieces:












more booth set-up, lots of magnet sets:












Suz of imoM:












imoM setup:

afternoon tea

I was invited to afternoon tea -- my first since moving to D.C. This means I am making friends here plus it means a morning of stressing on what to wear. After ripping through my closet I made a decision. Nothing too TOO fancy, but still appropriate.













Grey sheath dress thrifted.
White lace slip thrifted.
Purse special discount from the owner of Porch in Boston.
Shoes Steve Madden.
Flower pin originally a bridesmaid hairpiece from a friend's wedding this summer.
Orange cape thrifted (below).













And a little present (a magnet set upcycled from a silk scarf) for the wonderful hostess:

Maganda Design Q&A on Handmade Mart

Check out the Maganda Design vendor Q&A on the Handmade Mart site: http://handmademart.blogspot.com/2009/11/vendor-q-with-maganda-design.html

I love holiday sales

While looking over my Twitter feed and sipping Sunday coffee I saw a wonderful update from Craft:













Whoa, 35% off plus FREE shipping and handling? Family, IRL friends and internerd friends this is fantastic. (Plus a cheap way to pick up presents for ME and others on your holiday shopping list)

There are more than a few books I'd love to add to my collection from Chronicle:

The Hand Book of Artistic Printing

Hot Type

Reprodepot Pattern Book: Folk (to add to my other floral book)

More Things Like This

one of my favorite shirts

While cleaning up in preparation for the big move I came across one of my favorite shirts. I thought I'd share it with you. It's a little bit of happiness captured on a tiny canvas of cotton and it makes me smile every time I wear it. Honestly who doesn't love a lobster that knits?

Dressing Up the New Gadget

D.J. and I recently got iPhones and I feel like we're both attached at hip to them. I think it's a normal obsession, but I just stumbled upon an amazing collection of wallpaper to dress up my new gadget. It's the Desktop Wallpaper Project via Kitsune Noir.

This is my new iPhone wallpaper and I'm positive I'll change it again in a few days:















How many times can you change the wallpaper without wondering you have an unhealthy obsession?

Maganda Design at Handmade Mart on Dec. 5

If you live in the District please mark your calendars now and plan on visiting Maganda Design at Handmade Mart's Holiday Shop-N-Stroll. It's taking place on December 5 in downtown Silver Spring, MD from 10 am to 3 pm.

I'll be sharing a booth with Susan & Emily of imoM and I guarantee it will be a fun time.

new craft hardware: graphic punch

After tallying up my total earned from Crafty Bastards, I have purchased a graphic punch:











My hands (and blisters on my hands cutting out a million tiny circles) are really excited.

Maganda Design at Crafty Bastards

I'm proud to say my first Crafty Bastards was a smashing success! It was awesome to interact with shoppers face to face and I had a great time sharing a booth with Susan and Emily.

I want to thank everyone that stopped by my booth. Photos from yesterday are below:









My crafting partner in crime for the day (as well as real life partner):












Not even halfway through the show I completely sold out of my feather headpieces.












magnet sets!









chainlink knit necklaces:









shoppers:












scarflette display:












more shopping at Maganda Design booth:












more display set-up:

Crafty Bastards Preview

Crafty Bastards is right around the corner. This is my first time at Crafty and I'm nervous and excited. I've been busy at work and will probably be crafting until the night before.

I wanted to share a preview of what I'll have at this year's fair. If you like what you see, please vote for me as Craftiest Bastard here.

All photos were taken by my friend Rachel Carrier who is an amazing photographer. Please visit more of her work at her flickr.

a bit of luck for you

With Crafty Bastards quickly approaching, I've been working on a special edition of pinback button/magnet sets using found 4-leaf clovers.













My little sister graciously devoted time this weekend to help find them in Cape May, NJ.












Then I sent them through a special process of pressing and then sealing them before they were pressed with my trusty button maker.

labor day weekend thrifting finds

There are two stellar thrift stores I visit on a weekly basis in suburban Maryland. There's the Unique chain (which absolutely rocks if you don't mind digging through piles of junk to find something good) and there's Wagging Tales. The latter is where we went on Saturday and I call it my ol' lady shop cause it is where I stock up on crafting supplies, kitchen ware and other ol' lady necessities.

I scored some cheap finds including...

Record for $1 featuring Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne & Sarah Vaughan:









Glass jars for $2 each:









Tool boxes to hold my random crafting junk $3 each:









Lots of wool yarn for under $10 for the lot of it:









And speaking of wool yarn, it's absolutely perfect for my latest venture with felting and jewelry I am preparing for Crafty Bastards :)