Awesome Fabric from South Africa

moo is for cow

2010-05-05T19:48:00.003+02:00

I had to share with you my latest creation. I was given a square to be made into a quilt for a friend who is expecting shortly (themed black, white and red) and came up with this cow (the ears stick out, the fabric is furry and the bow can be tied). It's a very sweet idea for a baby shower and it will be interesting to see the end product. If my mom was around she would have been impressed I'm sure (she always organised her fellow teachers to sew activity books for the babies born to their colleagues).

Throwing away stuff

2009-12-14T09:30:00.003+02:00

Yesterday I got that sinking feeling when I realised I had given away or thrown away two things I desparately needed for my DIY project. It was one I had been talking about for ages - turning my laptop (bought 2nd hand in 2000) into a digital photo frame... The lifehacker post Most popular DIY projects of 2009 had once again gotten me inspired. I started cleaning up (uninstalling all the programs I wouldn't require) and then when it came to transferring the programs I had downloaded it all hit me: I had thrown away the dialup modem attachments, given away the only USB stick drive I had installed on the laptop (it's running Windows 98 which requires USB drivers), and thrown away those good old stiffy disks (3 1/2" floppies). Arrrggghhhhhhhhhh.

City living is eco

2009-11-30T09:48:00.003+02:00

I've been helping out the caretaker in our apartment building. He digs through the rubbish looking for cardboard and glass, and finally the body corporate has asked everyone to separate those and he will collect. Unfortunately this is purely a cost driven exercise for this bloke, so he isn't interested in anything else of limited value, but I was thinking of starting a compost heap (a friend of mine is organising a worm one in her block). This got me to thinking how it's so much easier to co-operate when you live in close quarters... city living can be eco sometimes. All we need is lift sharing or car sharing and then we're sorted. Hmmm..

Fabrics from Uganda

2009-11-13T15:03:00.003+02:00

I had a work conference in Entebbe, Uganda this week which was great. I got to meet some people I have been working long distance with for the past month or so, and of course I managed to sneak in some fabric shopping in Kampala one afternoon!! See photo of my catch(es)

Summer time... hats!

2009-11-06T11:15:00.003+02:00

The other day I mentioned making a sun hat for my little girl. It's summer here now, so having some protection is essential.

I know the current style is to make a tutorial with photos, but sometimes I find a sketch is clearer, so this is my first experiment.

Baby sunhat pattern ages 6 months to 2 years

By the way the photos is taken by a friend of mine who used the application poladroid to get the retro feel. Love it!

Renting toys vs buying

2009-11-06T07:19:00.002+02:00

So I have been thinking about my earlier blog post where I wrote about a toy renting service. Some comments from friends and pondering lead me to conclude that it's not worthwhile for us. We don't buy our dear one many toys (after looking at a friend's facebook photo of her child's bedroom this was really obvious) and the ones we do buy have been a great success after we research carefully online (using the reviews on Amazon for example). My friend who was using the service said it was only until her child's first birthday when he would get lots of toys (we experienced the same). So if you're already spending R1200 on toys, then this service is for you, otherwise buying second hand, borrowing, swapping or making few careful purchases will be cheaper.

Halloween

2009-11-02T09:59:00.003+02:00

Halloween is not a big thing in South Africa - it's very alternate, so it's not surprising that this year we carved our first pumpkin. I also made pumpkin pie for the second time (it was delicious) - using a very traditional recipe. I didn't even need a tin of pumpkin - just used the stuff we carved out and boiled it for an hour or two. We had a braai for our friends who were visiting us from Ireland and enjoyed the great weather we are having. Now I can't bear to part with this dear pumpkin who is sitting on our veranda....

Tutorial: Ikea cushions

2009-10-26T09:56:00.008+02:00

I finished the second (and last) Lillberg chair cushions on Sunday night. I made a mistake with the measuring of the patchwork on the bottom cushion and ended up with it vertically instead of horizontally like the others, but I think it looks quite nice. I also sewed these cushions with a 2cm seam allowance around the square edges so they are nice and snug and look much better than the first set.

I also took some photos while I was making them so I could create a photo tutorial.

What you need to make the set of cushions:
4 metres of fabric around 80/90cm wide.
2 x 90cm zip
1000m cotton thread

Cut out the following pieces for the bottom cushion:
2 x back/zip pieces - 90cm by 11cm
2 x side pieces - 61cm by 17.5cm
1 x front piece - 64cm by 17.5cm
2 x top and bottom pieces - 64cm by 74cm

Cut out the following pieces for the top cushion:
2 x back/zip pieces - 90cm by 11cm
2 x side pieces - 40cm by 17.5cm
1 x front piece - 64cm by 17.5cm
2 x top and bottom pieces - 64cm by 52cm

How to

1) Sew the zip on using the two zip/back pieces, effectively joining the pieces together.

First pin a 2cm seam along the longest on both pieces

Then pin a piece onto the zip - using the same pins you used to pin the seam. Make sure that you overlap the folded edge at least to the center of the zip.

Put the zip foot on your sewing machine and sew with the foot as close to the center of the zip as possible. Continue until one piece is sewn onto the zip.
To sew around the zip pull, I open the zip about 5cm, sew along about 4cm, then lift up the foot (with the needle in the fabric of course) and close the zip.

Repeat with the second zip/back piece

2) Sew the two side pieces (right sides together) onto the zip piece - using a 1.5cm seam allowance. Note: If the completed zip piece is too wide (wider than 17.5cm) then trim it using the side pieces as a guide.3) Sew the front piece onto the the two side pieces (also using a 1.5cm seam allowance) - so all the pieces are joined up into a circle/tube. Make sure you don't get a twist!

4) Pin the tube onto the top and bottom pieces, right sides together.

Start with the front piece because it is the only piece that matches the width of the cushion cover, then continue around the tube until you have pinned it around the top rectangle piece.

Sew along the rectangle, this time using a 2cm seam allowance (unless you want to top stitch or stitch in a cord).
To make the corners nice, sew up to 2cm away from the edge, lift up the foot - with the needle in the fabric, turn the fabric 90 degrees left, fold fabric underneath neatly and so it is out of the needle's new path (as much as possible anyway)

Repeat the same for the bottom cushion piece. It's a good idea to open the zip a few cm so you can turn the cushion the right way when you are done.

5) Optional: do a top stitch around the edge of the top and bottom pieces - you can also pin in a cord and sew the cord into the edge for a professional finish. Use the zip foot.

Dummy update

2009-10-23T10:41:00.000+02:00

So the bye-bye binky story made it seem really simple - just poke-poke and snip-snip - end of story. Oh dear. The holes made one dummy really undesirable, but the other (our favourite) didn't seem to make a difference). When I cut the top off, it was all hell broke loose. Admittedly I did this just before bedtime, but we had hysterically crying for over 45 mins until I cracked and gave her the dummy I had been hiding in my handbag. Shame, poor noodle. Perhaps it is not so bad if she only has it for sleeping....

Nabaztag in South Africa

2009-10-22T10:35:00.000+02:00

A timely blog post from Elle Decoration on the Nabaztag (they are about four years too late, lol) reminded me I need to get my nabaztag (diggitybugs) out of the box in the garage and connect him to my wifi network I recently installed. At first he wouldn't connect which made me sad, but I changed the wifi channel to 11 and all was well. I changed the location to Cape Town and now I get the sunny weather flashes all day long. I had to take off my gmail notifier (he used to read out my email subject lines) because I didn't think the nanny would appreciate it :)

Renting toys

2009-10-21T17:26:00.004+02:00

As they say it - "tired of spending a small fortune on toys for your pride and joy only for them to be discarded to the bottom of the toybox" - then take a look at Rent-a-toy. They also do "holiday packs" and parties. The smallest subscription is R100 a month (for a box of toys with a retail value of at least R600), so I'm not sure if this is a good investment - any ideas on how to calculate that?

Shwe-shwe + ikea lillberg chair

2009-10-19T10:22:00.000+02:00

I finally finished my first patchwork and made two sets of cushions for one of our Ikea Lillberg chairs. I had made one before - click for the blog post with a pattern for the bottom cushion.

The patchwork pattern I choose was fairly easy technically (just sew strips of rectangles together) but selecting which pieces go where is something that either you have a knack for, or comes after years of experience.

I am not that pleased with the results (although it looks pretty good in the photo I must confess). The cushions are a little baggy - I plan to re-do the seams with a 2cm allowance. And I don't like the patchwork arrangement - any tips are welcome. I'll post a pattern once I've done the second chair.

Incidentally, if you want a shwe-shwe charm pack, they are for sale in African cotton's Etsy shop.

Sewing is fun, sometimes

2009-10-16T10:14:00.000+02:00

I like to sew, but I am not sure exactly why. I don't enjoy the mechanics of it (if I can avoid a zip or buttonhole, collar or lining I will) and I think it is the end product that makes me pleased. Nothing better than making something unique and special, or saving yourself money by fixing or making something yourself.

However, there is one part that I absolutely detest - cutting out. It always takes longer than you expect, and sometimes longer than the sewing itself. Unfortunately this is the part you normally start with, so it means a lot of my projects take a while to get off the ground. I recently got a new blade for my rotary cutter (thanks Helen) and it has made such a difference - cutting out is a lot quicker - now all I need to worry about is buying enough fabric!

Biodegradable is not always good

2009-10-15T09:51:00.004+02:00

Biodegradable plastics sound good for the environment, right? You've heard how many years plastics hang around for in the landfills ... Technically yes, but only if you keep them out of your rubbish bins and plastic recycling because if these biodegradable plastics are mixed with regular plastic recycling they can ruin the integrity of the recycled products (i.e. the products would be weakened). This in turn will cause people to move away from recycled plastic products, which is not good for the recycling industry. Not only that but landfills 'mummify' our trash, so degrading takes centuries, not years.

So, what can we do about it - not too sure (avoid Tiger Brands bread or bury the bags in your garden?). This press release from SAPRO on biodegradable plastics isn't written for the layman. Their conclusion seems to be unsure and instead suggest reduction of packaging is a better way to go (I agree).

Resolutions

2009-10-12T14:25:00.003+02:00

I've finally come to my senses, and will not be checking email on the weekend, well at least trying not to. I've always had a suspicion that being on facebook at 9pm on Friday or Saturday nights was desperately uncool, but now I am committed to going offline in my free time. I decided that I don't get many emails anyway, and actually turning on the computer and checking is a waste of my time.

And on a similar note, I will only be checking my craft and sewing blog reader sporadically -> an interesting blog post on The Simple Dollar about mirror neurons (sorry they are almost always interesting) alerted me to the fact that reading craft blogs actually reduces the amount of sewing I actually do. So true!

So now I am going to say goodbye and finishing sewing a sun hat for the little girl.

Dummy, pacifier, binky - what ever you call it

2009-10-08T21:19:00.004+02:00

I just discovered the American for dummy is binky - love it! I'm researching how to get rid of the baby's, and after a lot of hard searching, I came across this site with a seemingly foolproof method of weaning bubs off their dummy. Some parents are lucky and it's as easy as just taking it away because they aren't that interested or the dinosaur stole it, but I know my little tiger...
What I like about the method is that it promises to be painless as possible and works subtly (if I can avoid giggling that is). Basically you prick a few holes in the top on day 1+2, then start cutting the top off until it's a stub - and hopefully before that stage they lose interest because the suck is gone. The PDF is worth a read - I like the author's tone and also because he references my first-3-month bible (baby bliss/the happiest baby on the block).

What do you consider to be rich

2009-10-07T08:54:00.000+02:00

How much money does a person have to have before you consider them rich?
- Kelly

There’s no set dollar amount.

For me, a person is rich if they can wake up each morning and do whatever they want to do. It might be some kind of work or it might not, but the person has the freedom to choose between work and play and define entirely for themselves what work is and what play is.

That, to me, is what it means to be rich. It doesn’t mean a huge number of investments or a fleet of expensive cars. It just means freedom.

Best advice ever from The Simple Dollar

Cloth napkins - rich or poor?

2009-10-06T20:49:00.002+02:00

I always thought cloth napkins were something rather snooty and came out with your best crockery and the silver, so I was surprised to read on my favourite frugalista blog (the simple dollar) a comment that said people thought cloth napkins were cheap. Weird. Anyway, I love mine - especially because they are kind to the environment. They are burgandy and were a wedding present. Cloth napkins are easy to sew.

Scary chemicals

2009-10-06T14:22:00.002+02:00

Have you ever taken a look at the ingredients on the back of your sunscreen, perfume, or moisturiser? If not, please do, and prepare to have a shock. Just because you aren't ingesting it doesn't mean it doesn't enter your system and can cause harm. Eeek. I must admit I'm terrified of my Mitchum antiperspirant, but the one I was using in Europe just doesn't cut the mustard here in ZA.

Here are some articles on a blog called the Good Human, which explain about some scary chemicals:

aspartamine, for kids??

2009-09-28T10:59:00.002+02:00

A comment from bridget b on my last post and this article on bbc health about sensitivitity to aspartame gave me fodder for a small rant - what the hell are we feeding our kids??? How can people think chemicals are better than the real deal (in this case sugar). If someone is gaining weight because they drink too much coke, why not drink less rather than add potentially carcinogenic chemicals to their body (aka coke light/zero/whathaveyou)? Just a thought - take it or leave it. Our latest buzz is full cream rather than low fat (heard the process to get milk products to low fat reduces the goodness), and the difference in fat content is only 1.5% - 3%.

National Braai day

2009-09-26T11:10:00.000+02:00

A great idea of how to spend your heritage day, but yet again I missed it due to illness. Next year, or perhaps all summer long :) The braai (BBQ) is one of the few traditions shared by just about all South Africans ... we love our boerrie (boerewors) roll.
Instead I celebrated Heritage day by going to a Ladysmith Black Mambazo concert at the ICC (actually there were loads of other Southern African bands and one West african desert blues band but they were the highlight). They decorated the stage with meters and meters of African wax prints and skirt panels. Made me want to go shopping the next day for my next major project. Watch this space...

Preservatives, a rant,

2009-09-22T16:29:00.003+02:00

I've been a fan of reading labels on things I buy from the store for a while (triggered by my convinction that artificial sweeteners gave me migraines) but since my husband is in on the vibe (he's a fan of Michael Pollen, author of In Defense of Food and the Omnivore's Dilemma) it's been open season.

Since we got back to South Africa I have been shocked by how impossible it is to get some foods without additives at Pick 'n Pay. For example, all yoghurts, except Bulgarian a friend told me, have pimaricin, which destroys all the good bacterial cultures that make yoghurts so great. Our cream cheese also had it in, so I have now resorted to buying all our dairy produce at Woolies.

Another thing that shocked me was the fact fruit juices called "Real Juice" seem to resemble a chemistry lesson rather than squashed fruit. Even our beloved Ceres has something called "Nature identical flavourant" - something that is chemically identical to the real deal, but is created in a lab ... no wonder their new Mango juice tastes so good! Pure Joy juice has a label with no suspicious ingredients, but dear hubby said it didn't taste as good - you just can't win against those flavourants.

So the question is - is this a South African thang, or was it just that the labels were in Dutch before?

Sewing tip of the year

2009-09-22T09:07:00.000+02:00

I have to credit my sources and say I discovered this hack after my husband book his new jeans to be shortened at the tailor. I always find the chore a mission - I never have the right thread and getting the length right is a pain. When he got them back he discovered the neat professional trick - they kept the original seam and simply overlocked a fold off ... just above the stitching..

Today I finally was fed up with my turn-ups (somehow I always find the only jeans in stock are 34" long - instead of 32"). I made sure the folds were the right length and the same size the whole way around, then stitched as close to the original seam as possible. I didn't overlock to cut the extra off and discovered that this allows you two styles 1) I simply folded the cuff into the inside. You could also overlock along the same line, but this way you get both a turnup and the right length jean (pant).

We need more green books

2009-09-20T18:01:00.003+02:00

I couldn't help myself, I took a deep breath, let go of the organisation obsessive within and did it. Yes, I re-arranged my books by colours and realised we have a shortage of green books. Next week (al la Nick Hornsby) I'll be doing it by number of pages ;)

Over the rainbow

2009-09-19T10:53:00.003+02:00

I have now arranged the books on my bookshelf. Being a rational creature of logic, the system is loosely dewey decimal but what I would really like is to break free and go colour way. Doesn't the rainbow bookshelf look beautiful? Here are some more rainbow bookshelves on flckr.

High on craft

2009-09-18T09:50:00.006+02:00

Well it's been a busy few weeks I can tell you. This time moving country seemed to be a smooth transfer, but it all eventually caught up with me.

The bookshelves were long awaited, and seemed to be victim to one unfortunate circumstance after the next (from the truck driver driving under a low handing wall, to the carpenter getting a divorce), but here they are... I am really happy to report we are now officially box free.

Then the birthday party was a great success, and mommy-me managed to bake and decorate her first birthday cake. I must admit to cheating and using a cake mix, but hey. To make the cat, I used a guide from the Betty Crocker site, which made it 1-2-3 easy.

Finally, I have been eco crafting - I re-used formula milk powder tins as storage containers. They are plain tin, so to indicate what's inside and make them look nice, I simply cut open some paper packaging, cut to size and glued it on. Hmm, not 100% sure if it's exactly the look I was after (my original idea was paper printed with a fake look at what's inside, like so), but it'll do for now.

tshirt magic

2009-08-29T11:34:00.003+02:00

I'm in love with smocking, and finding re-uses for old clothes, so when I saw this tshirt made into a toddler's dress on my craftzine facebook friend, I was wowed.

to make yourself

2009-08-24T14:10:00.002+02:00

100 things you can make yourself, a title that jumped out at me from my daily newsletter, The Everyday Cheapskate (too much sneaky product placement for me to recommend this newsletter, but I like to credit my source anyway). From ice-cream, to socks to an entire house, it's inspiring.

Clara's song

2009-08-24T13:57:00.002+02:00

It's the baby's first birthday coming up soon (when does she stop being a baby I wonder). Anyway, I'm busy compiling a photo album book for her (will post more about that later) and scanned in the cover art of her personal cd, which I thought I would share. Dad bought her her own song (at age 1 week or so) and with the cd art it came to a mere $15. A bargain. I just checked out the website and it seems the service is no longer offered (it seemed like slave labour) because the artist is working on the new Computerization album.

hot! hot! hot!

2009-08-14T14:15:00.003+02:00

I feel strange saying "hot sack" but really have no idea what to call these marvellous things. So easy to make. Put in the microwave for 2-3 mins and lie down and relax while your aches and pains are eased.

Buy some long grain rice.
Optional: collect some dried herbs
Find 2 rectangular scraps of fabric
Sew all but 1 side of the rectangle closed right sides together and then turn inside out.
Sew a couple lines (I did three) down the breadth - but stop about 5 cms away from the edge on the one side - this makes pockets in the bag so the rice doesn't bunch.
Fill with rice, turn the raw edges of the fabric in (on the open side) and top stitch across to close the sack.

A question

2009-08-12T21:07:00.002+02:00

Monday was a public holiday here in South Africa and I went off to a baby shower. I had diligently made some denim shoes and a cute baby sheet (with a cartoon frog print) - unfortunately I forgot to take photos.

Anyway, I was super curious to know how my presents would go down... I am acutely aware of making stuff that looks homemade (it reminds me of the hideous tracksuits my dear mom used to make us), so I didn't know how my stuff would shape up to expensive shop bought items.

But before I could gauge a true reaction, a well meaning friend blurted out it was all handmade.... boom ... then the conversation was all about how clever I was (if only they knew I don't over challenge myself sewing wise).

My question is, how do you separate the wow-you-made-it factor from the wow-it-is-cool?

Throw out vs buying

2009-08-03T20:34:00.004+02:00

A lot of my eco friendliness comes from my frugalista nature. For instance, we are buying formula milk for baby and every week we use up a metal container. At the same time we are stocking our cupboards and don't have containers to store flour, pasta, etc. Two and Two makes three, so I am using the left over formula tins for storage. It's not as handy as our old glass jars (left behind) because you can't see what's happening inside so my brain has been festering...
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I just washed a yoghurt tub which looked handy, and then I saw this sweet idea for making yoghurt luggage tags (on my igoogle 'craft' page of course).
A lot has been happening in my life at the moment (negotiating buying and selling a car, putting a cheeky offer in on an awesome house with a salt water swimming pool - we were too cheap/poor unfortunately, and organising an extension on baby's tourist visa. Oh don't forget about first week back at the office). Whew! See you on the other side...

Keeping up with all your favourite blogs

2009-07-31T06:56:00.005+02:00

How do you keep up with all your favourite read blogs? I use IGoogle as my home page. If you would like to set yourself up, read on....

Once you have signed in (if you already have a google account), it is really simple to add content. Click on the "Add Stuff" link on the right (underneath the usual google search bar). There you can search through all the typical "gadgets", like weather, clocks, or email viewers.

Once you've got the standard start page up and running, now go to your favourite blog. To find the "subscribe" link is sometimes quite challenging in amongst the flashy pictures and text, so I do a find (ctrl button + f) and search for the word "feed" or "subscribe". Click on the link, select google (usually by clicking on another button) then on the "Add to Google" page, click on the "Add to Google homepage" button. Your igoogle page then loads up and you should see your new blog feed in the top left position.

Now, if you're adventurous, you can decorate and arrange your homepage , by dragging the gadget (blocks) around, adding tabs when you have too many on one page, and using themes to add some colour.

If you like this post and want more, please leave a comment :)

Is it lame to copy Conrad Botes?

2009-07-29T07:30:00.001+02:00

Just how cool is Conrad Botes' kid's room? Ok well the chair doesn't look too comfy, but the mural on the wall is fun and funky. Not only is he a succesful artist (we own a print called Pink Burden) but his wife is apparently a stylist. Anyway, my question is, is it cool to today copy him - he has published one of the stencils. [via Craftzine + Elle Decoration South Africa)

Edited 19 September 2009

Last day of freedom

2009-07-27T17:04:00.002+02:00

Tomorrow I start my 3 day a week job, so it's my last day of freedom (and almost over).

Today I did two exciting things - set up my Bernina funlock 004 (which I inherited from my mom) and went to the Long Street Baths for a quick swim with baby C.

Threading the overlocker was not as hectic as I remembered (the diagram on the inside of the machine was pretty helpful as well as knowing the numbers mean the order in which they must be threaded.

Something else

2009-07-25T15:53:00.002+02:00

How I fixed it (or figured out how it works)

2009-07-23T09:24:00.000+02:00

So the other day I couldn't resist buying two Priddy books for Baby C - Alien Al and Dizzy Dragon - they were on special at Exclusive Books for R15 a piece. When I got home later I realised why they were marked down so drastically - the sound on the last page didn't always play and for a few days it didn't work at all.

I asked my friend Google for the answer, but found nothing, only disgruntled reviews on Amazon. This seemed like a challenge for inspector Dagmar....

Having a closer look at the mechanism gave me some clues - instead of like those cheap musical cards, it didn't work on a trigger switch built into the spine, but if you look closely there is a little sensor peeping out a tiny hole, which looked like a LED light. I fiddled around and made sure the sensor was positioned nicely in the center of the hole. That didn't work.

Thinking a bit more (which hurt a bit I might add) I deducted that the sensor probably works on the amount of light - so when the sensor finds light it realises the page is open and plays. So, continuing with that line of reasoning, I opened the book somewhere where there was plenty of light (next to the window or next to a bright lamp) instead of the dim bedroom where I usually read Baby her books, and Bingo! It works! Every time. Until the battery runs out that is...

You have to click on this link

2009-07-22T11:17:00.000+02:00

I would love to put up a photo of these great no-sew sock toys, but they are copyrighted, so you must just click on the link. They have bears, goldfish, snails, bunnies, dolls, basically more than you could have imagined was made out of a sock (or two). All you need are elastics, socks, stuffing, glue and a black marker pen.

Now with photo

2009-07-21T08:54:00.002+02:00

postage spreadsheet

2009-07-20T22:04:00.002+02:00

I've made my South African postage cost comparison spreadsheet (prices correct for today), available to everyone (via Google docs - no login required). It's still a work in progress, so let me know if you have anything to add, or if you see some mistakes. Thanks

50 buttons!

2009-07-20T10:49:00.002+02:00

Today I am sewing the final touches onto the lovenest chair for baby C. I have to attach buttons onto the cushion. The original had 50 but I forgot to count both sides and only bought 25 - dope! I also did my usual trick and bought half a meter too little fabric (aaarrrggghh), so had to put a join on the back.

I wish I had a photo to share of me, in my pjamas, top stitching the piping, but try picture me standing hunched over at the sewing machine with a huge round cushion (diameter 1.32m, radius 4.4m) resting on the table and the adjacent couch.

I'll post a picture when it is done.

What to do when you have lots of cardboard

2009-07-17T13:17:00.000+02:00

FoldSchool... i'm all over it when my boxes arrive from NL... cute kids furniture folded from cardboard. This is the rocker pictured left, their most advanced project.
It got me inspired, so I googled and found some more free guides:

plenty on instructables
a cute cat scratching pad
designer cardboard/foldable chairs, some with instructions

Update on postage

2009-07-17T10:12:00.006+02:00

Two days ago I wrote about postage costs from south africa and about the "large letter" category that I thought could make things cheaper. I got a comment from someone who said that customs wouldn't allow non-documents though. I checked myself at the post office yesterday and it is correct - the name "large letter" is apparently there for a reason - documents only. It seems some post office workers allow you to send small parcels as letters, but it's probably not worth the risk if customs will hold up your post.

I also have one other post secret to share with you. EMS - expediated mail service - a international courier service from the post office which, depending on weight could work out to be a better option (tariff calculator).

Another correction on my previous post. PostNet Global Mail is the best option if your items are around 50 grams, and you want to post them like a parcel (not in a plain envelope).

weight	EMS (USA)	PN (USA)	PO small parcel	large parcel (USA)	large parcel (EU)
1	250	0.403	23.3	112.6	139.6
50	250	20.15	23.3	112.6	139.6
100	250	40.3	23.3	112.6	139.6
250	250	100.75	69.9	145.8	160.9
500	250	201.5	116.5	179	182.2
751	310	302.653	186.4	228.8	214.15
1001	370	403.403	256.3	278.6	246.1
1250	370	503.75	302.9	311.8	267.4
1500	370	604.5	349.5	345	288.7
1751	430	705.653	419.4	394.8	320.65
2001	490	806.403	489.3	444.6	352.6
1250	490	503.75	302.9	311.8	267.4
1500	490	604.5	349.5	345	288.7
2751	550	1108.65	652.4	560.8	427.15
3001	610	1209.4	722.3	610.6	459.1

(as before - weight in grams and money in Rands.)

Interesting stuff - If you have any experiences or advice, please do post a comment

Make baby stuff!

2009-07-16T09:53:00.000+02:00

Just found this great site to make baby stuff which said if you can operate a sewing maching, you can make wooden toys... hurrah - that gives me hope..

Postage from South Africa, your cheapest options

2009-07-15T11:56:00.000+02:00

Postage from South Africa always seems astronomically high, and it's tough to try compete with US based Etsy sellers. On top of that the people behind the counter at the South Africa Post Office (SAPO) don't offer advice on how to lower your costs.

My first revelation was that if you use an envelope sized 353 x 250 mm with a maximum thickness of 30mm and are posting something weighing up to 300g - it will only cost R30.65, but make sure they use the 'large letter' category. (This is in comparison to R23.30 per 100g (or part there of) for a small parcel - a saving of R39.25!)

My latest revelation was that PostNet could be cheaper - their Global Mail product uses DHL to the border, and then local postal services to your customer. Their pricing is also per gram (not per 100g) which made me suspect they would work out cheaper, but after creating a quick Excel sheet, I found out not:

weight	SAPO	PN (UK)	PN (USA)	PN (EU)	PN (Else)
300	30.65	118.2	120.9	122.4	132.6
350	93.2	137.9	141.05	142.8	154.7
400	93.2	157.6	161.2	163.2	176.8
450	116.5	177.3	181.35	183.6	198.9
500	116.5	197	201.5	204	221
550	139.8	216.7	221.65	224.4	243.1
600	139.8	236.4	241.8	244.8	265.2
650	163.1	256.1	261.95	265.2	287.3
700	163.1	275.8	282.1	285.6	309.4
750	186.4	295.5	302.25	306	331.5
800	186.4	315.2	322.4	326.4	353.6
850	209.7	334.9	342.55	346.8	375.7
900	209.7	354.6	362.7	367.2	397.8
950	233	374.3	382.85	387.6	419.9
1000	233	394	403	408	442

Note: weight in grams, prices in rands (ZAR).

The real question now is, will your customer think you are weird if you send lots of small 300g parcels? It is undoubtably the cheapest, but I guess more separate pieces means more chance of them getting lost. Hmmmm

They've got their facebook presence

2009-07-14T08:12:00.001+02:00

Two companies that I think have made a worthwhile Facebook presence - Wired magazine (my favourite internet/tech read) and Craft Magazine. They post relevant and regular notes, which I enjoy reading. Coincidentally, these are two magazine's (as opposed to my fan clubs for Flights of the Concord or Marmite, or Starbright girl jewelery, or the fabulous shop Mooi).

The note that inspired me to make this post - the circles quilt, pictured left.

tie your kanga

2009-07-13T10:25:00.001+02:00

If you've ever wondered (like me) how to wear kangas, this website will reveal all (including this elegant dress tied with two).

Shwe-shwe gift cards

2009-07-12T11:23:00.000+02:00

How great are these shwe shwe gift cards (available on Etsy) from JacciR? She also has other stationary.

Bookshelves, which would you choose?

2009-07-11T08:29:00.003+02:00

Our boxes are arriving at the end of the month, and we will have hundreds of books and records (eek). In the spirit of being prepared, I am thinking of getting some free standing bookshelves made. Which would you choose?

zany

separate boxes

square

My sewing nook

2009-07-10T11:41:00.000+02:00

As per usual, it takes me a while to stop procrastinating and get things set up. The boxes from Durbs have been mostly unpacked and organised, I bought fabric and supplies last week...
The soccer ball challenge got me inspired, now let's see what is next

What is a truncated icosahedron?

2009-07-09T13:26:00.005+02:00

Emme guessed correctly - a soccer ball, or otherwise known as a football. I will give Brendan half points for saying a hat - half way through it sat on his head and had a nice Davy Crocket tail.
My first edition is almost full sized, so next time my hexagons and pentagons will be halved (it is meant to be a baby toy in celebration of 2010 world cup being held in South Africa).

Truncated Isoahedron curtesty of Wolfram, developers of the newest, most exciting computational search engine - Wolfram Alpha. (sorry for the geek-out)

Guess what I am sewing today?

2009-07-08T12:01:00.002+02:00

Advice from the Etsy forums

2009-07-05T14:13:00.003+02:00

From the Etsy success newsletter (which I blogged about before) - 20 questions your buyers are asking - advice on how to make those item descriptions perfect.

Serging ahead

2009-06-30T09:25:00.002+02:00

Sew Mama Sew has a timely and informative blog post about sergers (also known as overlockers). I have quite a bit of experience with my mom's overlocker (which arrived the other day) but I must admit to using it vanilla - always scared of messing with any settings. Hopefully I am more adventurous now, and this article gave me a taste of what is possible.

Commemorative Cloths

2009-06-29T09:18:00.000+02:00

I first saw this fabric in a shop off Green market square (Cape Town) even before Obama was elected President of the USA (that's how excited us Africans were). This piece from Shine Shine, mixes African tradition (cloth featuring political and religious figures) and high fashion and I love the bright colours.

Source: Elle Decoration SA

Where are the quality 2nd hand stores in cape town?

2009-06-26T14:37:00.003+02:00

The crafting a green world blog had a blog today chocked full with ideas on what to do with second hand goodies. Get it here - thrift store crafting: what to buy, what to make.
On that note - where are the 2nd hand clothing stores in cape town (not vintage or carefully selected)?

Kiradesignn

2009-06-25T10:36:00.000+02:00

My friend Kiradesignn has started her etsy shop selling bags. She makes cute handbags from interesting fabrics, fabric combinations, and cute applications. This bag is made from some awesome south african fabric which has a ginko flower print.

T-shirt wedding

2009-06-24T10:48:00.000+02:00

Sounds crazy, a wedding dress made out of a tshirt, but it looks pretty amazing. Old t-shirts are cool! Get the tutorial by Donna and Lauren Kroiz on Craftzine - as always, inspiring.

African fashion

2009-06-23T11:31:00.000+02:00

I’ve been living in a box and missed the African fashion week until now. Take a look at these pictures on the BBC site - Aren’t the prints fantastic? I really think the designers have made some incredible creations - let's get exporting...

Interview

2009-06-22T10:09:00.001+02:00

It's all coming together for me - a new couch, and now an interview with an NGO (on thursday). Imagine, making a difference. The company use cellphones (mobiles) to strengthen the HIV sector - from sending out educational messages to helping monitoring patients on ARV. I see a great need and use in the community. Yay. wish me luck. It's a part time position.

Your name here (a tech post)

2009-06-20T14:03:00.002+02:00

,I don't have my own vanity URL, but my husband (and his siblings do). After the missions of getting his set up, I thought I would post about it to hopefully save someone else the hassles of endless support emails (which is a pity - had they read my question they could have helped me quite easily).

The domain in question was first registered at verio. Great service (with free hosting and free email forwarding) but I wouldn't recommend it for the only reason they don't connect well with blogger (you have to hard-code IP addresses for the CNames instead of ghs.google.com - which meant that his site often took long to load especially in South Africa)

So, I had the domain transferred to godaddy. Once it was transferred, I tried to follow the blogger instructions and that is where it all fell apart. In the domain manager
I expected to find a link for "Total DNS control" under "Total DNS". Instead I got a message "(Not hosted here)". Confusing because the site is hosted at blogger. The solution I found was to

Click on "Change" under "Nameservers".
Then select "I want to park or forward my domains" and click "Ok".

Once you have done that, wait for an hour (or more) and then log into your blogger account.

Click on "Settings" for the blog in question.
Click on "Publish" and "Custom domain".
If you haven't already bought your domain, enter the domain you want in the box and click "Check availability".
If you have, click on "Advanced settings" and enter your domain. Enter the stupid capitca and click "Save settings".

Good luck.

New couch

2009-06-19T21:01:00.003+02:00

So finally, the new couch. It's big and super comfy and requires some pillows (yay, a great craft project!!). I'm sitting on it right now.

Best news of all, I found new fabric shops, in the store underneath the place I got the couch. The couch, I found on gumtree. Score.
I really wanted this art deco leather couch, but it was a lot more money but most of all I didn't know how Mittens (the cat) would treat it. She is having a huge transition in her life - like other cats that try come into the house - eek (I first for her poor thing). The garden is fabulous though (thanks Bridget for finding it xxx).

To advertise, blog frequently (every day)

2009-06-16T08:44:00.002+02:00

My personal online marketing guru has been proved right once again. Since I haven't been posting frequently, google robots do not search and rank my blog as often as before. So, previously I would make a post and it would almost instantly be searchable, my last blog post took 8 days to index.

I know the #1 blogging rule is never to make excuses about not posting, but perhaps my friends would be interested to know. I am desperately seeking a couch (on gumtree), looking for a job (3 days a week in the city bowl), looking after a sick baby (B has gone back to work).

My experiences on gumtree have made me chuckle a few times. South Africans, in general, are not very internet savy - some of the adverts are real gems. A good few people put their own name where you should put the product description (does no one preview their work?) - Mrs Wendy Smith is on offer for a mere R450. Then you have the classic all capital letters, no photos (with a request to send via mms) or photos taken on a mobile phone so very blurry up close.

old biscuits in cape town

2009-06-09T14:06:00.002+02:00

Whoohoo. I'm back online in Cape Town, South Africa - the internet cafe was really a drag. Last Saturday we were at the Old Biscuit Mill, in Woodstock, stuffing ourselves with foodie goodies (unfortunately no oysters this time around, but I had some delicious macadamia nut and chocolate biscuits). I love this market because of the unique stuff for sale - no cheap plastic stuff here. My friend Silvia has a fun range of babies clothes called Petite pois and next to her in the kids section, was ScrapsKissKiss (I blogged about before).

Starting a craft business? Read this,,,

2009-05-30T18:58:00.000+02:00

Looks like a useful book for crafty people wanting to start a creative business. One of my favourite blogs, the Simple Dollar, did a review of Craft INC. His summary in short? A good book if you have a passion for some hobby and wish to make money doing it.

Yet another strangely relevant topic on a blog about personal finance - advice always arrives at the right moment for me (and that's why this is a regular read for me).

Embroidery is cool

2009-05-29T09:54:00.000+02:00

I wrote about embloggering a while back, and it seems embroidery is firmly on it's way to becoming cool (I also read an article recently about how the kids are onto cross stitch - there was a funny example of a kid who stitched "whatever" ha ha ha). nerdgirljuile is doing some twitter embroidery, and for those of you who know photoshop and aren't interested in a needle and thread, download yourself some embroidery fonts.

Attention to detail

2009-05-28T11:35:00.000+02:00

I love buying stuff from Etsy - there is often something extra thrown in and the sellers generally have spent some time on the small details, which makes it perfect for present buying (especially when your friends are posting distance away).

These are the things I have appreciated
- something small and free (stuff from the shop, magnet)
- business card (to keep in touch)
- Etsy receipt (just printed out from the site)
- nice packaging (recyclable envelope, paper tissue, handmade jewelry bags)
- personal note

I must admit that I didn't spend much time on making the parcel but I almost always sent something small along.

Strapped for ca$h?

2009-05-25T09:30:00.003+02:00

Isn't this belt fabulous, it looks almost bling - do you know what it's made out of? Well soda can tops - you know the things that you inveriably pull off. Collect 112 of them and you can have a 35"/88cm long belt. Get the tutorial here on CraftBits. What a creative project from 24/7ARTSY. I want one!!!

Scraps

2009-05-23T20:41:00.000+02:00

I can't wait to get to Cape Town. It seems there are a few like-minded people around - like scrapskisskiss who makes boys clothing from scraps. Doesn't sound that appealing, but it's not the kind of scraps you use for rags - it's something for us eco friendly folk. Anyway, what got me interested was her mention of the Waldorf market. - definitely going to check that one out.
ps: She has an etsy shop, but it seems rather empty (perhaps the market went well?)

Your shop is so popular

2009-05-21T13:00:00.001+02:00

If your shop is so popular you can't keep track of all the treasuries, gift guides, then these two sites are for you:
craftopolis - find out if you are in any treasuries or gift guides
featsy - find out if your product has been featured

Bibs for bigger people

2009-05-20T09:43:00.003+02:00

For someone who is very interested in origami I have to sheepishly admit that I don't know many napkin folds. I am not the cook in the house (perhaps that was my excuse) but my new year's resolution is to make a nice table for the delicious food that graces it.
So this year I have learnt one fold - the rose (click here to see how). It's wonderfully easy - especially if you remember the fortune teller (salt cellar) fold from your youth.

buttons

2009-05-19T08:45:00.005+02:00

After losing a button on baby C's jersey I thought - why are there never spares of the buttons that actually fall off? I religiously store all the spares, but I can't remember an occasion I got to use one.

The ouma who looks after baby C gave me some large wooden buttons from her box. It made think of my mom's button box (which probably contains buttons from her mom, and perhaps more). As a kid the jumble of colours, shapes and textures kept me busy while my mom sewed (and before I was old enough to get involved). The ouma told me she cuts off the buttons before she throws out any clothes, which is a simple yet brilliant idea - most button collections are short on collections of the same.

Origami inspires

2009-05-16T08:01:00.000+02:00

Now I have no sewing machine, I am thinking of other ways to keep my hands busy (besides typing). Since origami is an old passion (I blogged about that before), I have been thinking of that a lot lately and just need to get inspired. So,
Browsing through the origami listings in Etsy, I came across so many different ways people were inspired. From fabric to silver, outrageously expensive to how is that profitable, and mostly very personal. Here goes

I love that you're my friend, a peace crane + postcard sent to your friend
silver origami dog earrings, I wonder if she uses a sheet...
paper napkins prefolded peacocks, perfect for weddings.
origami vinyl wall decals, I will have to have these
fabric flower brooch, not too fond of the fabric, but the idea is great
bonsai it's exquisite. Just perfect for 1 year wedding anniversary presents
money rose made from $100 bill - insane (but she sells a $5 one too)
crane mobile - this one is also insane, but wonderful, worth every penny (but you could even make it yourself)
set of 100 stars - last but not least and a good deal (see picture)

International First Love Day

2009-05-15T09:30:00.000+02:00

Today is the first International First Love Day created by Bridget McNulty in celebration of her book launch in the USA. I blogged about her the other day.

This is a photo of me and maybe not my first love but the best. We are in a tulip field near Leiden, the Netherlands circa 2005.

New stuff

2009-05-14T08:54:00.003+02:00

AfricanCotton has listed a lovely set of 8 shweshwe skirt panels in brown, so if you have been waiting to make my strapless dress/skirt, here we go...

no-name-brand-kitty

2009-05-14T08:49:00.000+02:00

While I figure out what to blog about next, here is another blog I wrote when we got Mittens. I couldn't decide on a name, so I started the blog so friends and family could vote. Enjoy.

Optimise your Etsy shop

2009-05-13T08:33:00.002+02:00

I have subscribed for the Etsy Success newsletter and today I read an interesting article by stellaloella about optimising your Etsy shop for searching. If the acronym SEO means nothing to you, the article tells you how to help people find your site when they search in Google (or another search engine such as Yahoo) and how to control the summary text they see in the search results.

The highlights

choose your shop title wisely - this is part of the heading when your shop appears in a search result
the first 1-2 sentences in your shop announcement is the search result summary, so it's best to start off with a description of what you sell (use lots of important keywords)
your shop sections are now also important keywords used to help direct people to your shop (and of course item tags).

Minty mittens

2009-05-11T13:38:00.004+02:00

This is Mittens (also known as Minty), our cat who will be soon going on an international, inter-continental flight. She gets to fly direct, us humans must fly via London (for some reason Europeans go to Cape Town in the winter - I still haven't figured out that one. June, July and August are the worst months to go so south....) because direct was miles more expensive for us.

ps: the blue in the background is of an old shwe shwe quilt from africancotton. It is made from Nelson Mandela skirt panels.

Another blog about t-shirts

2009-05-10T09:18:00.003+02:00

Llike everyone who shops 2nd hand, I have a large collection of misfit clothes bought for the fabric or colours. This means I am always on the lookout for re-use inspiration. Here is a tutorial for shabby t-shirt to chic from LindaEve, who blogs on the Eco Etsy Street Team. (Yay a new eco blog to follow).

Reblogged from Craftzine.

Treasury about rain

2009-05-10T08:52:00.003+02:00

The sun is shining here, but my Etsy 'umbrella' wax print fabric has been featured in a treasury about rain. Thanks magnolija

The sad news is that my sewing machine was packed yesterday, so no action for me for at least 6 weeks, I think realistically probably 9. I must admit it was a relief to get our stuff finally shipped - now I can focus on the important stuff, like getting Mittens (our cat) back home and renting out our apartment.

Fabric necklace

2009-05-08T08:52:00.001+02:00

When I saw this fabric necklace pattern online I knew I had to make it. Very cool and so simple. I did mine a little differently, but in hindsight, I should have sewn the fabric into a tube first to avoid the problem of raw edges and the beads peeking out the fabric.

Here are two othes tutorials:
fabric ball from Cut & Keep (great when you don't have beads)
fabric scrap necklace from craftgossip (this one is great, but you need long scraps)

What you need for my necklaces
string or thin wire for the necklace
large beads (I used 9 beads about 1.5cm/0.60" radius)
fabric scrap (mine were about 40cm/15.7" x 15cm/5.9")
necklace clasp
thread
scissors
needle

Step 1
Attach clasp to one side of string or wire

Step 1.5 (If I did it again)
Sew fabric, right sides together, into a tube and turn right side out.

Step 2
Fold one end of fabric around the string or wire (if you did step 1.5 then you would thread the string/wire into the fabric tube), fold and sew neatly so that there are no raw edges.

Step 3
Thread first bead onto string or wire, into fabric.

Step 4
Gather fabric around the bead and tie a piece of thread around so the bead is held in place.

Step 5
Repeat steps 3 & 4 until all beads have been threaded

Done

Etsy success PDF book

2009-05-07T15:45:00.004+02:00

Thanks to the Modish Biz Tips blog, here is a free Etsy PDF book "Secrets of savy Etsy Sellers" compiled by On the Dot Creations. I learnt something - when selling clothes, take photos of side and back views.

Pricing on Etsy

2009-05-07T11:02:00.000+02:00

The art of pricing is always tough thing to get right. If you are priced too low people will think your stuff is inferior (this is the internet where people can't touch and feel) and if you are too high that is obviously an immediate turn-off.

Shipping can also be something that stops people buying, but they do understand if you are honest about how much it costs (packaging and shipping costs) and tell them why you are charging more than the shop next door (FedEx, special packaging, etc).

This is how I do it.

First work out your costs - include materials and then your time (e.g. going to the shops, listing the item, photographing) and don't forget about Etsy and Paypal fees.

Then search for similar items and see what they are selling for - remember to look and see if the shop has actually made any sales at that price.

Think about whether you would like to be on the cheap side and make more sales or rather be higher priced, better quality with fewer sales.

If you would prefer bulk sales, then offer a bulk discount and write that in your shop announcement.

Finally, I always say start high because you can always decrease your prices. Experiment - some people say .99c is a bad idea, while others say it works well for them.

Have fun!

Resources
Etsy fee calculator
Chris Parry's spreadsheet on pricing

Market independence

2009-05-05T17:57:00.003+02:00

Today was the market. (May 5th independence day in the Netherlands). I have been blogging a while about it and sewing things for a while, but today was finally D-day (sorry no pun intended). It's actually a rommel (junk) market, but my friend Kim (who had a stand last year) thought handmade things would sell too. She was right ... after the early morning bargain hunters had left.

Her Amy Butler stash and dash bags sold fabulously. She really has a lot of taste when it comes to mix and match (I am jealous). My bags did ok (perhaps African prints are not everyone's taste) even though they were very modestly priced (4 euros). Very few people looked at the fabric necklaces :(I assume I am ahead of fashion) and the neck scarves didn't do too well either.

The movers arrive on Friday, so we of course had a fair bit of rommel to add to the equation, which resulted in us making a decent days wage. Yay

My boxy pouch with a twist

2009-05-04T09:51:00.003+02:00

Baby C loves this fabric + I had made a quick drawstring bag out of it for her dummies. This morning I sewed it into a boxy pouch, which I blogged about before. Today I filled it with a finished wipes packet - fun because it makes a loud crinkly noise. I reused the drawstring to make a scruffy handle for this bag which doubles up as something to chew on (especially the knot).

I made the bag with one piece of fabric and was surprised at how big it turns out (I took the sides in on this bag because it was initially too large for dummies (the full piece was about the size of an A4 piece of paper).

Dutch Venice?

2009-05-02T22:58:00.005+02:00

Giethoorn, the Dutch Venice, that's where we went today. A cheesy description, but somehow it really works. We all ate pancakes and travelled a touristic route in our own wooden boat along the canals in this charming Dutch city. I loved the wooden bridges and lawns onto the canals. Lots of 'gezellig' places. I enjoyed my day and even managed to get some stuff done for the market tonight (May 5th, tuesday - will blog some more tomorrow or monday).

Testing the Etsy API

2009-05-01T10:11:00.022+02:00

[removed script due to complaints of going over my quota (from etsy)]

I found the Etsy API the other day and had some time to fiddle ... this is a stupid script that loads my favourite shops and looks at the featured items of their favs (well only a selection otherwise we'd be here all day).

Do you all have any suggestions for cool scripts I could write?

South African are also creative and online

2009-04-30T21:15:00.007+02:00

If you're living in South Africa and want to open an Etsy shop, there are a couple extra hurdles. South Africans can't open PayPal accounts and receive money (unless they have overseas bank accounts). So enter Setcom and 2CheckOut...

I haven't used Setcom, and 2Checkout is ok. Because Etsy isn't integrated with these payment solutions, only PayPal, you as a seller will have to generate links to direct people to sites where they can pay.

2Checkout has a "create invoice" page to send an email to your buyer, but you must first create your product and be careful with the weight, so that the shipping works out the same as on Etsy. There is a complicated weight set-up process, but once you have worked out your postage costs you should be fine. The other option (instead of the weight/shipping price table) is to just include the price of the weight into the Product in 2Checkout. The fees are ok - 5.5% + $0.49 per transaction (including shipping), $49 setup fee (obviously more expensive than PayPal, which is 3.9% + $0.30) but they do allow your customers to pay with their credit cards directly, and they don't need to sign-up. Downside: 2Checkout will only pay you in batches of $300 or $600, and you will probably get charged by your bank for an international deposit (Absa charges around R100 I believe).

I don't have personal experience with Setcom .. all I know at the moment is that other South Africans use it, like skinnylaminx, and are very successful. By looking at their site it seems like it is an alternative PayPal (so potential customers must sign-up) but the fees are quite high - 4.9% + R2.50 and then on withdrawal too - R8 (because I bet there are very few places you could use the cash, unlike PayPal).

I really think South Africa have stuff to offer the world, especially handmade stuff sold from the person who made it (a rare treat), so I hope other creative and crafty people are able to open their own stores despite all the extra complications. Actually I know they are - it's going to explode soon looking at the number of shops that have popped up since I started selling. A previous post on ZA Etsy shops.

Use the Etsy shop local flash app to browse active shops in your area (or in South Africa, Durban, Johannesburg, or Cape Town)

If you are starting a new shop, you might be interested in my experiences with promotion on Etsy, advice from buyers to sellers, or browse my other posts about Etsy.

Craft yourself stylish

2009-04-28T19:26:00.003+02:00

I am a sucker for ideas on how to re-use things we usually throw in the bin, so this CD spindle light appeals to me. It's from Kaytet on CraftStylish.

Here are some other super creative ideas from this great craft site:
wall art with vintage fabrics
wall paper decorations (definitely one for the new house)
mosaic with old plastic
baby toy with crinkly plastic (i love the re-use of nappy wipe packets)

this one is for girls only

2009-04-27T15:24:00.003+02:00

I finally converted Granny's pink felt ring into a headband for baby C using the hem of an old t-shirt. It looks okay (the felt flower is definitely the best part) she likes to chew it, but will leave it on her head.

After I was done, I realised I should have used the entire length of the t-shirt hem and made myself a flower out of the left overs on the one side, using a tutorial I blogged about in the past.

ikea + shwe shwe = awesome

2009-04-26T11:20:00.010+02:00

This is my latest creation. On request of my friend Dave, I made a cushion cover for his Lillberg chair out of Madiba range shweshwe. I wouldn't say it is a total Ikea hack - for me this is something you can do if you've got a sewing machine, can sew, and the patience to measure 3 times over at least.

To save you the trouble, I have made my plan open source.
I am going to be making some for myself and am still deciding which fabrics... what would you do?

This is what you need
At least 100m length of cotton thread
1 x 90cm zip (35.4")
fabric, 90cm (35.4") wide, about 2m/78.7" long (3.5m and I got 4 cushion covers)

These are the pieces (2cm/0.8" allowance)

To put it together, follow these simple steps
1) Sew the zip on using the two zip/back pieces, effectively joining the pieces together.
2) Sew the two sides pieces (right sides together) onto the zip piece.
3) Sew the front part onto the other three pieces making a tube.
4) Pin the tube onto the top and bottom pieces, right sides together (sew inside out and remember to leave the zip a good bit open so you can turn it right ways in the end)
5) Turn right way and do a top stitch around the edge of the top and bottom pieces.

If you want to make the top cushion (which I will in the near future when we arrive in CT) note that it is smaller (obviously the same width, but at least 17 cm/6.7" shorter. I am not 100% sure).

Quilters, get your shwe shwe charm pack here!

2009-04-25T11:42:00.002+02:00

Want to make yourself a shwe shwe quilt but don't have enough different pieces? AfricanCotton to the rescue - she has a charm pack (in indigo) for sale.

Dreadlock shower cap

2009-04-24T08:28:00.006+02:00

My brother has a full set of dreadlocks and asked me one day if I could sew him a shower cap that could fit him (it's amazing that it's impossible to buy one). I pondered a while, wondering where I would find the right fabric.

It just happened around about the same time that I had read the Dutch book Cool baby, where they make kids rain ponchos out of old umbrellas, and my visiting mother in law's umbrella gave up. Two and Two, and here we have the dreads shower cap.

To make it, I removed the metal skeleton of the umbrella, cut a circle out the middle of the umbrella and hemmed an elastic in the edge.

Unfortunately the design is not yet perfected. I think, because it is shaped like a beret, it drips water down his back. Next time I get my hands on an umbrella begging for new life I'll give it another go. Next time I think I'll also cut a circle out the middle of the cap to get rid of the point.

Etsy Seller workbook

2009-04-23T16:08:00.001+02:00

It's a simple but sweet Google spreadsheet - the Etsy seller workbook. I could have done with keeping better records - than stashing my receipts in a cardboard box and not knowing what went with what.

It was the first time I used Google spreadsheet so it took me a bit to get used to something other than Excel. First thing you want to create your own copy, so click on File then "Create a copy". I called mine 'Etsy-sellerworkbook-diggitydugs'. Don't worry about where it is saved (somewhere in the cloud).

Now you can get to business - widen the columns on the 'Instruction' page. Always read the how-to:) To get to the instruction page (known as a sheet) use the links at the bottom of the site.

I would imagine that the non-US user would find the following sheets useful:

etsy sales - download your sales data and copy and paste into this sheet (well part of it - the other part I find really useful to keep track of the actual postage and any tracking numbers - these you will have to fill in manually).
etsy expenses - luckily you don't need to enter this by hand - simply download it from "Your Etsy bill" - go to the specific month and then right at the bottom of that page is a link to download your bill as a CSV file to copy and paste
other expenses - a very useful page to track how much you spend on raw materials. You need to enter these manually.

Thanks to earthskyfirewater.etsy.com.

Shweshwe poppis

2009-04-22T11:04:00.005+02:00

These very cute dolls are made from shwe shwe. They are based on the drawings of children from the Zola creche in Soweto (run by a NGO), and handmade by their mothers and grandmothers. Isn't that create? They are available for sale in the African Toy shop (I love this shop except sometimes the toys aren't really for kids).
ps: poppis are dolls in Afrikaans.

Damn, why did I throw away those old t-shirts

2009-04-21T14:57:00.003+02:00

Last Sunday I went through my stash of old clothes waiting to be upcycled and threw away ruthlessly (decided I wouldn't carry them back during the move) and today I come across a great how-to for converting an old t-shirt into a baby romper. What's always stopped me from attempting this project is the fact I don't have a press-stud machine, but this pattern uses velcro. Dope, why didn't I think of that first.

Squarebags from African Cotton

2009-04-20T11:22:00.003+02:00

African Cotton has some new things in her shop. The squarebag, a cute boxy pouch, comes in all the shwe shwe colours and a shwe shwe baby quilt or mat (shades of indigo). I was surprised to see a bag in the post from her on the same day she listed it. It's perfect for small things in your purse.

Burdastyle

2009-04-19T14:23:00.001+02:00

I've known about Burdastyle for a while - it's a tight community who share patterns and blog about their sewing. As they put it "open source style" - that byline appeals to my geeky nature. I browsed their pattern library on friday (my mommy-at-home day) and was thrilled to find loads of free and very reasonably priced patterns. I love the way everyone makes them and uploads their photos - so inspirational!

I am bookmarking

envelope clutch, the origami in me says yes
urban hammock (for the new garden) I would love a knitted one, but can't be bothered to diy
frilly shirt called JJ (love this, but I am too scared to attempt)
toddlers dress called Vivienne (love the names also)
mock tux bib

South African book, Strange Nervous Laughter

2009-04-18T10:09:00.003+02:00

My sister in law, Bridget McNulty, has written a novel, Strange Nervous Laughter, which is soon to be published in the States (12th May). The novel is based in Durban and revolves around some pretty zany characters which I found to be quite charming in their own weird ways (especially Harry who was toned down in the final edit much to my disappointment).

I think Bridget is really talented and will be our next famous South African (after Nelson Mandela and Charlize Theron). Well done, and enjoy the book launch trip in the USA. As part of the book launch, she has started a flikr group with pictures of Durban, which you might enjoy.

Sorry, another Etsy related post

2009-04-17T11:00:00.003+02:00

Handmade Marketing, a blog I recently came across, has lots of tips for people who sell handmade.. Subscribe to their feed here.

I found the post about How to Read [a] Google Analytics Report quite interesting and informative. I have set up analytics on this blog and my etsy shop and it's interesting (and kinda addictive) to watch the numbers roll by.

Lucky for me I have an in-house online marketing expert to explain bounce rate (how long people are on your site), visitor loyality (how often the same people return). I also find the referring sites (sites linking to you) interesting, and have discovered some new websites that way. When I was experimenting with listing at different times I used the numbers to figure out which were more effective.

Take note - the data is updated once a day, so don't check too frequently.