Shop Indie: Nanopod

I am completely in love with the artwork of Tosca Hidalg y Teran of Nanopod Hybrid Studio. This Toronto artist makes jewelry and sculpture based on items normally found in science fiction novels and anatomy textbooks, and the results are stunning. All of her work is strange and beautiful, like it comes from some alien landscape or a biology lab of the future. You can check out her work at her Etsy shop, or you can visit her website at http://www.nanopod.tv.

 

Artist of the Week: Scott Jackson

One of my favorite places to find desktop wallpaper is Pixelgirl Presents. I’ve gone to the site for years for wallpaper, icons and other cute imagery, and one artist that always catches my eye is Scott Jackson, aka iamscotty. Scott is a designer and illustrator from England, and he focuses mainly on vector artwork made in Adobe Illustrator. Images of a remote and popcorn-wielding Ganesh and Buddha on a lotus flower are interspersed with aliens, bears and surfer dudes, and all have clean lines, bright colors and completely adorable characterizations. You can find the desktop wallpaper he has designed here, and you can see his entire portfolio on his website. Prints of Bird In Hand, Boat Girl and Pilk are also available here.

 

DIY Monday: Pottery Barn-inspired starburst mirror

As any one of my friends can tell you, I’m pretty thrifty. I’ve never met a garage sale I didn’t like, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I love walking through the dollar store looking for things to craft with. The DIY website Dollar Store Crafts has tons of low-cost and cute craft ideas, but what I really love is the High Concept section where it shows you how to make high-style art for cheap. I found this tutorial for a retro mirrored wall hanging inspired by a $450 Pottery Barn piece. It’s pretty impressive and costs under $10 to make.

 

FREEBIE: 3-D Glasses Cross-Stitch pattern!

Check out my new pattern and let me know what you think! You can also get it HERE!

 

Project of Doom: Cross Stitch Kits!

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted a Project of Doom, I need to keep up!

I’ve made it abundantly clear that I absolutely hate factory-made cross-stitch patterns, so I thought I’d try my hand at making some up for myself! The Craftease Etsy shop will soon be selling DIY Cross-stitch kits, complete with fabric, DMC thread, a needle, and even a vintage hoop for hanging. All of the patterns are designed by yours truly and will feature such weird and wonderful things such as 3-D glasses (pictured), cute zombie animals, meat and organs, just to name a few. All of the patterns are super-simple and can be customized with your own colors. I’m even going to put together a few X-stitch alphabets to give your finished piece a personalized touch. If you’re feeling lazy, I’ll also be selling the finished cross-stitched pieces so you can display all of the cute without doing any of the work.  Be on the lookout for my kits in the next few weeks!

 

UPDATE: New jewelry in the shop!

I’ve been slowly but surely updating my shop with new jewelry over the last few weeks, with much more to come in the next month. I’m trying to clear out some inventory to make room for some brand new craft projects that are in the works, as well as some AMAZING vintage finds, but I need your help.  I just listed a ton of new bracelets and necklaces to go along with my Back To School Extravaganza Sale. From now until November 15th, buy 1 item and get the 2nd one absolutely FREE. If you spend $10 in the shop, get FREE shipping for everything you buy! Look cute for back to school and save money!

 

DON’T FORGET: MNArtists.org Field Day!

Just a reminder that the MNArtists.org Field Day is happening TODAY at the Walker Sculpture Garden. There’s events going on all day and a performance by Solid Gold starting at 8:30. Food, music, a cash bar, art, crafts, games, FUN! Stop by the info booth in the Bazinet Lobby from 6PM to 8PM and get a free Craftease sticker!

 

Shop Indie: SOFT

Emily from Heartsexplode has started a new Etsy shop called SOFT (Sewing Only For Tattoos). She’s making adorable bags for a good cause: to get herself some much-needed ink. All of the money she makes is going into a special tattoo fund, not to be touched until the day she can afford to get the tattoos she so desperately wants. Go check her stuff out and buy a bag or two – they’re hand-stitched and made with only the prettiest fabric around.

 

REMINDER: MNArtists Field Day

Just a little reminder for anyone in the Minneapolis area on Thursday, August 27th: mnartists.org is having their annual Field Day at the Walker Arts Center Sculpture Garden. Come for food, kids activities, a screenprinting workshop, Greenspace Games and much, much more. As a special added bonus, local indie rock band Solid Gold is playing at 8:30 in the Greenspace behind the museum. The entire event is free (though you will have to pay for parking, food and beverages if that’s your thing). Come out and see me in  the Bazinet lobby, get a sticker and see what your local art community is up to!

 

Update: New Boxes in the shop!

It’s been a busy day over here at Craftease. I just got done listing a ton of cute new painted boxes in the shop, and you should probably go check them out. There’s all different colors and sizes, hearts and stars, and all are hand-painted with acrylic paint and made to be ultra durable. Custom boxes are also available!