LizzyHouse

my own little lamp

Amidst all my unpacking and reorganizing, I was overcome with a desire to redo a lamp of mine. I got it from my sister a couple of years ago, because she lent it to me... or left it in a move, and it just started traveling with me.

It never really fit in, and that was fine for a time. No longer! No more fake patina! No more random floral that had had something spilled on it 7 years ago (when it wasn't in my possession). On a whim I did decide to save the beads though... so in the middle of organizing my work space, I stopped and fixed up my little lamp.

The best part was that I was lucky enough to have some of the crazy awesome Ruby Star Rising View Finder print from the beautiful and amazing Melody Miller right on hand! So I pulled out my paints, and I made a teal to match the teal view finder disc.

while the paint dried before another coat, I carefully seam ripped the outside fabric off of the shade. There was a liner shade that I didn't want to deal with so I was pretty careful.

Most of my job became pulling up hot glue, which in my mind gave me permission to use hot glue also. A favorite of mine!

After I disassembled everything, I used the fabric as a template and cut out my view finders. Sewed them together, shimmied it onto the shade, and did a little decorating with trims that I could find... in all the chaos. I do think it was strange though that a glue gun and a whole bunch of glue sticks were just hanging around...

The project went super fast (3hours max), the lamp is super cute, it now fits in my space, it reminds me of Melody to see her fabric every day, and it didn't cost a thing!

 

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

discount code problem

We had some discount code issues, so I am extending the discount for the e-book. Enter the code cybermonday2010. The code will expire on the 1st of December!

Thanks so much peeps!

i'm back and cybermonday?

I was beside myself when my Marble Champ quilt from way back when Red Letter Day came out, came home to me. When you do a quilt for a line, it is usually on tour till the fabric isn't technically for sale anymore... although, I did hear whisperings of the fact there Andover still has some skus of Red Letter Day, if that means anything to any shops...

Anyway. I am moved. My place is very sweet, and very drafty. I am still getting set up, and I feel like I won't really be back on my feet until everything is in its place. I will post more pictures, and even a little video when everything is the way it should be!

Also, is this cybermonday thing new? I don't know if I have ever heard of it. But don't worry! I'm playing along with it.

If you have been waiting, for some strange reason, to dive into the world of Textile Design for the Quilting Industry, then today is your very lucky day. Today and TODAY ONLY you can receive 20% off my ebook by entering the discount code, cybermonday. If you already have a copy, this would make a great gift to someone who is interested in the industry but is confused about how to go about things. I think you can give it as a gift just by entering their email instead of yours! Or just email me, and we will work it out.

so click here, and use this discount code (cybermonday) for a whopping 20% off.

and as if that wasn't enough. FOR ONE DAY ONLY! enter the same discount code here and also receive 20% off your entire order!

so go here, and use the discount code (cybermonday) for a crazy 20% off.

we'll call this my post-moving special.

thank you all for your kind moving wishes! I'll be back with more soon!

lizzy

All the luck I can get.

I'm moving tomorrow.

And I feel myself dragging my feet.

I am sad to leave my Mom alone {cry cry cry}

I am sad to leave my pets {cry cry cry}...

but I am happy to be getting it together.

For those of you whom I haven't spoken with in the past week, here is the shocker... I'm moving to Salt Lake City, Utah.

I have to tell you, this was never really my plan. I thought I would move to Salt Lake when I graduated... for about a week. Then I went down there and was like NO WAY. I've been a hater, and then I was trying to work out going to Chicago, and I just feel like if it was where I was supposed to be, I would already be there... because I make things happen. I was going to go to Chicago so I could go to Grad School, but with the way my life is changing all around me on a very regular basis... I couldn't commit myself to it fully, dissapear from you peeps for two years, and so on.

So Utah... I have a little sister there. I have lots of friends there. I can just sort of live my 25 year old life kind of like a 25 year old. The prospect of that is exciting to me. Plus a little of my heart will always be in goofy Rexburg, Idaho. So it's nice to be on that side of the mountains.

Go ahead and laugh if you must. This is me eating all my words.

I found a place, hope it isn't a scam, because I gave that dude my social for a background check, and I'll be leaving tomorrow with my Dad. So, newish life starts Monday.

thank you all for loving me and supporting me, wherever it is that I am in the world

wish me luck,

Lizzy

trending topic.

have you peeps noticed that I am posting everyday? I'm trying to be a better blogger. I also thought I would lighten things up around here. I don't want to be a downer with my truth bombs.

Anyway... any one who knows me, knows that every month or so...(used to be more frequent) I'm in love with a new dude. And for some reason I never thought that I had a type. Seriously, and for some reason this video, yesterday, put all the pieces together for me.

I have liked Chromeo since their first album, because they would play "Needy Girl" on one of the Gap cds when I worked there. I for some reason never looked them up. So I am watching this video, and mildly freaking out. LOVE DAVE 1.

But here is where all the type stuff comes in... I was looking at him, and I realized he literally looks like everyone else that I have ever been mildly obsessed with. I'm always in love with the same guy.

The proof:

and the man it all began with:

so as it turns out, I have a very clear type. Tall, Dark, and Leggy.

this christmas...

Today for some reason I felt a little hit over the head with Christmas... like it's here, are you kidding me. SO I have an idea. Maybe it's too strange... or too difficult... or too late! or too whatever...

I decided that I don't want to spend any money this Christmas. I have been a major consumer this year, and I don't want to be that girl. I can't afford to be that girl! The future can't afford for me to be that girl.

So here is what I propose. I am not going to spend any money this Christmas, save it be for shipping, and shipping alone.

I am going to make presents.

I am going to trade for presents. (I have art/ books/ supplies/ fabric for tradesies)

I will wrap presents in fabric (this one KILLS ME. I LOVE wrapping paper)

I will be generous without contributing to any big box stores... And if someone needs candy, I'll just go ahead and make it. I do have a candy thermometer afterall.

So. This is just what I am going to sincerely try doing. You don't have to do this... maybe you can implement parts of this into your Christmas/ Hanukah/ Holiday gift giving.

I am calling this my "sincerety Christmas 2010", because I can't get everyone an ipad. So whatever you do: save when you can, trade when you can, buy handmade when you can, and always be generous.

If you want to play/make/trade along, then take one of the buttons. I will use the Christmas one, but I didn't want anyone to feel left out so I made a Christmas, Hanukkah, and generic Holiday one. Let me know what you think. I think we could get some pretty good trades going...

   

Addition: I have created a flickr group for you to post what you have and what you are looking for. I think that will make the trading more effective.

Cake Party.

This year for Cake Party, Jana of Izzy&Ivy was my target. Unfortunately in wild preparation for Market, and a strange need to volunteer to dress every member of a cast of Les Mis, Jana was very busy pre-market, so busy that when she needed a place to put a glass-headed pin, she chose her mouth. The rest is history.

I love Yo Gabba Gabba, and as you all well know, I don't have any children. But the dudes who created, and write the show are from the AquaBats... and we were pretty much obsessed growing up. I always liked joke songs... Pizza Day, anyone?

Well, I had seen this video and the imagery was so strong, and that pin was so swallowed I couldn't help myself.

Julie posted all of Jana's reaction shots here.

photos from Marisa's iphone!

Someone has a pic of just the Pin, who is saying, "I don't belong here". In the voice of the Green Beans. High pitched and sad.

I might make a cake party flickr pool for peeps to start adding all their Cake Party photos. This will be our 3rd party. So there should be a good amount of photos, from the ages, and also from our growing number of attendees.

Thanks again to everyone who donated! We had a great turn out of almost 40 peeps! Let's keep the dream alive in SLC. I'll start looking for the baker...

The dramatic underbelly of Market.

I thought I would post this, not to discourage anyone, but just to kind of shine a little light on the reality of the work we all do. As people start posting all their beautiful pictures of their good times, I want you to try and keep it in perspective. The whole thing is glamorous, but not so glamorous.

When people talk about market, you think, Sample Spree, new fabric, Cake party, famous peeps, and free stuff. You see the pictures of people smiling, and meeting people they have long time chatted with online... Maybe if you really think about it, or follow the tweets of the people who have booths you might get a small glimpse of the stress and hours of labor that go into planning, setting up, and paying for a booth. Sometimes you hear about quilts being made instantaniously with fabric that has literally just arrived from overseas two hours ago to be displayed in 28 minutes. Only to find out that it has been folded and essentially hidden in a booth.

queue sleep deprived tears.....now.

What people don't see or really hear about is the stress, the sickness, the drama, the competition, the straight up weirdness that happens in this little convention center bubble that we all live in for 5 days twice a year. Maybe this is the way that all trade shows are. All I know is this industry, so I don't have much to compare it to yet.

How about preparing for a schoolhouse only to find out that they haven't put YOUR name in the program, so no one really knows that you are giving it, unless you are within the sound of their retweet, or my shouting to get people into the room.

A quilt sent off to a quilter only to be seen again in a schoolhouse and you find that there is a good two inches missing from around the perimeter of your quilt a with new sashing you had nothing to do with and a binding as thick as the Mississippi delta... completely destroying what it is you did.

cry cry cry

One thing that I really noticed this year, was a lot of dire energy. Lots of people really laying it on the line. Winner takes it all sort of feelings. Which can make for intense energy and situations. A lot of designers looking for fabric homes, a lot of designers with fabric homes looking for support and validation.

I had someone tell me off at a friends booth, because they assumed the worst of me, never even having met me before... I had never met them either. It was one of those people being condescending to me because I was young.

I cried through most of my cake party any time any one said anything to me even remotely sentimental because I was so tired.

The whole thing is just so extreme. Your nerves are already shot so when something goes wrong it's extreme, and when something goes right it's extreme. It's like you get your highest highs, and your lowest lows all at the same time. And that's not me taking it overly seriously, it's just the way that it goes. The longer I am in it, the longer it is easilly compareable to a very dramatic family reunion.

But on the flip side of the drama and weirdness is the greatness. Your friends, your peeps, shops and manufacturers supporting you. Spending times with your friends, meeting new peeps, eating cake, late late night late chats, and really seeing your path start to lay out in front of you. There are victories to be had all around. There are oportunities that you can only pay for by being present. There is a lot of good that happens. I had a lot of good things happen this market.

I want to say how grateful I am, and how proud I am of all of the people who have purchased my e-book, How to Enter the World of Textile Design. It takes a lot of time and courage, to actually take the steps that you all took to go to market this time. I spoke to several creative directors and there were more artists at market shopping for manufacturers than EVER before. What used to be 8-15 is now around 60. Because of your efforts and your strong front, manufacturers will have more choice, and maybe that means that we as consumers will have better choices too. So thank you for being strong, and working hard to make these things a reality. Maybe you can now attest that there isn't anything easy or simple about being a fabric designer, it's a lot of work. And maybe now you know better and can share that you really need to love doing it to stick it out. Also, if you have just gotten the book, or haven't made it to market yet... don't be discouraged. Everything is a choice, and it's up to you to decide what and when is best for you.

So there you have it. A little more of the truth for you.

Do you like hearing this? or would you rather everything was still rosey colored and quilty dream like? What are your thoughts or experiences?

love to all of you,

Lizzy