Visit the Etsy Link Party at Bella Casa one last time for some great after party deals from my shop and the other participating Giveaway shops.

My special offer for Bella Casa readers: From January 31 to February 7th, if you check the winner post, there will be a code you can enter in the message to seller. The first person to use the code will receive this pouch (or another one from my stock) free with any purchase. After that, free shipping (in the US) on any order until Feb 7th with the code.

What a HUGE and wonderful surprise. My Lone Heroine bag just sold to a lucky lady in texas. Thanks for making my Friday!

Carried Away Team Members Solsisters and Tropical Crush Bags are both featured in this gorgeous turquoise treasury from lisalani. Thanks for picking us to include in such good company!

This was created from a free pattern (Caron One Pound CN0942) I picked up at Joann's. It was supposed to be an afgan. I just made the first ten rows from 3 colors (2 varigated and one solid) of this luscious Lion Suede yarn. It's ridiculously soft! This little dark purple picot pyramids pop out of the scarf when you wrap it round your neck and make extra texture. It's quite long and wraps a few times. Now I want to make one for my boyfriend in manly colors. Aside from learning how to make a picot stitch, it was super easy ... just double crochets and I finished the whole thing in about a week.

I'm part of the Etsy Link Party giveaway over at Bella Casa. I've gotten over 50 hits to my etsy shop and piles of useful feedback in the contest entry comments on my post. I'm giving away a $10 gift certificate to my shop. If you're a regular visitor to my blog, I'd sure love to see you win it and I'd really like to hear which bag you like the best. Please wander on over and make you voice heard :)

By far, the Nori bag has gotten the most notice. Hopefully, sister Norah ( it's namesake) willnot allow this to go to her head.



Some of the other fun things you could apply your $10 giftcertificate towards:

As you all know, I have been re-branding my sister's website OverallBeauty.com in a leisurely manner. Lesiurely, as she doesn't have a ton of cash, so I fit things in as she can afford to pay for them. This week, she gets new business cards. This is the same eye image that is on her banner. I enhanced the green and made the eye almost jump off the card. It's a very affordable stock image from dreamstime.com, but the price of an image has little to do with how effective it can be when used correctly.

Making your card into a coupon can be very effective viral marketing - i.e a coupon code someplace on the card that drives traffic back to your business or your website. In her case, it's a $2 off coupon for first time buyers. These go in every order she sends out, which will hopefully encourage her existing happy customers to become silent sales people for her by referring friends to the site. It should also drive new traffic as she hands out cards to people she meets. Notice it's on your first purchase, not return visits. She wants to focus on building new customers, because she already has good retention of her current customers. In times like these, personal beauty items are one of the last luxuries to get slashed from households. Her product lines are much more reasonably priced than say major department store brands but a bit more expensive than say the corner drug store lines, so a $2 off offer is large enough to get attention but not so much that she will lose money.

My friend Brenda asked me to make up some simple business cards for her husband, who is a medical biller. This is not a very exciting profession and I wasn't thinking the resulting cards would be wonders of design, but then I remembered the new 3D layers in Photoshop CS4. I saw a tutorial over on NAPP from Corey Barker on making 3d backgrounds (NAPP is member only, but you can see Colin Smith's great tutorial here) and adapted the technique to turn these very boring forms into a fun art elements for his cards. Although this is certainly not the most stunning of designs, notice how it is clear and easy to read. Information is grouped into logical blocks and the 3D adds a little zip.

I'm not quite sure Thanatos belongs in a treasury meant to wake you up and turn on the heat, but thanks go to my great friend Debbie from Santiam Designs for including me in her gorgeous treasury! wait I get it now, duh! it's the fire!

I'm doing a trade with blog friend Shiney Adornments. I'm getting these gorgeous Artisan Handmade Sterling Silver Hoops - Earrings with Carnelian stone beads in of course, my favorite color ORANGE and she asked for a custom made hip pouch - in this style with these kinds of fabrics. She is also going to get a small "personal items" pouch to match the bag. Apparently she had to say "OB" to herself a few times before she figured out what I was asking about the size of the pouch "Do you use OB or applicator?" This will probably make her cross, but it's so funny I have to share!

I made this hip pouch slightly bigger and did a double pocket on the front. I also gave it a matching cloth handle as I didn't have any cord around. Both sides are quilted in random square-ish designs.

Although this is not a good picture of my side of the trade, what do you all think? Fair trade on both sides?

A heartfelt congratulations to Neil Gaiman on his win this week of the highest honor in children's literature, the Newbery Award. That prestigious honor has long directed readers to the very best books and The Graveyard Book is truly deserving of it. My 10-year old daughter adored the book, which we have in audio form as I love to listen to Neil read his own work. She actually wanted to stay in the car to hear the end AFTER an 8 hour drive home from New Mexico!

And while we're on the subject, have you heard about Coraline? This film adaptation of Neil's first book for children is made by Henry Selick, the genius director of The Nightmare Before Christmas. EVERY single bit of the set and characters are handmade. In fact, it is the first ever handmade movie shot in 3D. Can you tell we're very excited over here? Check out this making of featurette on the minature knitting and skeleton making. More videos and trailers here.

Carried Away Team Members are giving away items as part of Bella Casa's Etsy Link Party next week January 26th through 30th. It's easy to enter to win some lovely handmade items from a number of etsy sellers.

TM's who are giving stuff away:

Krystal of Solsisters - $10 gift certificate

Alice of Puddle People - $20 gift certificate

Patricia of Kooky Handbags - $10 gift certificate

Amy from SewArtsy - Hair Clip Caddy

Fellow graphic designer and Carried Away TM Marrissa of Perry Art Studios spent some time living in Malawi, Southern Africa and gained a huge horde of wax print African textiles as well as a deep appreciation for the women of Africa, whose spirit seems to infuse her work with light and strength.

"I started collecting Chitenje fabrics at these markets (in Malawai). Chitenje is the traditional wrap-around skirt that women wear for their everyday activities like cooking, collecting water, chopping fire wood, and cultivating the land. Fabric is sold in two lengths, one piece is worn as a skirt and the other is wrapped around the head, a sign of modesty that women can choose to practice."

Today, Marissa divides her time between painting (her other love) and making up new bag designs. She makes the first 50 of each design herself, which she test markets through platforms like her etsy shop and her website. If the design goes over well, she then directs a larger production run through a sewing shop in Colorado with the help of friends in Africa, who find and import the fabrics.

Marissa has an uplifting vision for the changes her bags could make in the lives of African women.

"I am committed to supporting community development at the grassroots level in South-East Africa. Through collaboration with Sambah Naturals, sales of Dsenyo purses help build schools and wells in Zambia. When selling through other outlets, Dsenyo is dedicated to developing several projects in Malawi: a community library and computer center called Ungueru, providing sports equipment for the Malawi Northern Region Women’s Soccer League, and resources for the Ekwendeni Youth AIDS Center with the Presbyterian Church.

I have big dreams for the company in the next three years. I plan to move production to Africa in order to give more to the people who inspired me. By having the purses produced in South-East Africa the company will be creating much needed, reliable jobs for women who will spend the money to send their kids to school and rise out of poverty. Dsenyo will adhere to Fair Trade pracitces and plans to be certified after demonstrating our equitable treatment of workers, supporting the economy by sourcing our materials locally, etc.

Helping build viable businesses in developing economies is one of the best things you can do to empower people to move out of poverty and diseases like HIV/AIDS. By using your consumer purchasing power to support businesses like Dsenyo, you are electing to let the people of these countries build their own future."

Visit her blog to see what else this driven designer is up to. How she finds time to make bags with all of her art showings is beyond me, but I've always been drawn to people with vision. Glad to have you on the team Marissa!

Remember how much fun I had last November designing the directionals for the Vegas Valley Book Festival as part of a cooperative branding effort by the Las Vegas AIGA Chapter Advisory Board? Meeting my favorite author Neil Gaiman (who was the opening keynote) was the icing on the cake on an overall great experience and I am so looking forward to this year.

Well, it looks like I made a bit of an impression. I just got invited by Richard Hooker from City of Las Vegas Cultural Affairs to sit on the planning committee for the 2009 Festival. I think they are going to go with my theme idea for this year " The Love Affair with the Many Lives of Words: Romance in the Pages." Not just sappy, pulp, Harlequin-type romance or silly chick-lit, but the great tragic tales of unrequitted love and star-crossed lovers such as Tristan and Isolde, myths and legends from every culture and of course many works by Shakespeare as well as stories of the things people do or do not do for love, and the awesome power of the love of country or ideals over self-preservation. You could almost say that love is at the bottom of all things in our lives. No wonder it has been present in our writings since we first learned to make marks on cave walls.

I am just bursting with fun things that can be included in the festival (inviting Shakespeare in the Park actors to perform selected scenes in the open air Centennial Plaza perhaps) and oh! the wellspring of great images that theme conjures! Red roses made of magazine pages and Juliet on the balcony clothed in a gown made from the printed word.

What does the possible theme bring to your mind?

Right before the New Year, I helped my sister fix up her website. If you have a look at stage 1 below, it was a LOT of text. We'd already done a little something about her old graphics and reorganized some of the navigation links, but still not a warm welcome you'd want to give shoppers. The little blurbs were in random order and peppered with keywords. While this was GREAT for search engines, for humans it was an unappealing swamp of words.

I know it's a little late, but these glowing gems from from Idyll Hands are my birthday gift to myself. I've had several small sales in my etsy shop lately, just 30 cents shy of the total for these. I think that search engine submit/keyword black magic my sister executed for my site is having some positive effects!

Anyway, I've been admiring the copper and orange version of this necklace for sometime, but decided on the blue because of it's stunning contrast. I also have a lot of orange jewels but no lapis blue. The big circle is recycled from a car part of some kind, which I also think is cool.

The little earrings were on sale at such a good deal, only $6.50 that I threw them in, too.

My sister Kim (from Overallbeauty.com) sent over this link to a great article on Bloomberg about the upcoming CPSIA law. If you haven't taken a few minutes to tell President Obama how you feel about the law or join the fight, please do.

A little history (excerpted from the Bloomberg article):

21 Million Toys

Mattel recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys in 2007. Many were found to have dangerous levels of lead, which is toxic if ingested by children and can cause brain damage and learning problems.

Congress responded last July by approving legislation expanding an existing ban on lead in paint to all products for children age 12 and younger, from toys to jewelry to vinyl bibs. The measure, which passed the Senate by 89-3 and the House by 424-1, increases fines on violators to as much as $15 million, and requires outside testing to prove products are safe.

Major companies, facing a public backlash, clamped down on suppliers even before the lawmakers acted. Toymakers boosted spending on safety testing to more than $600 million last year, more than double that in 2007, according to the Toy Industry Association.

Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, told toy vendors last March to meet lead-testing guidelines based on “where we thought the law would go,” said Sarah Thorn, director for international trade at the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company.

On this historic and deeply emotional day, design was in the forefront as countless shots of this poster were shown on TV and all over the 'net. Iconic in their elegance, illustrator and graphic designer Shepard Fairey's (creator of the equally iconic Obey Giant imagery) Obama posters have become THE IMAGE that will define this feeling of hope and cooperation that is overtaking America as we destroy barriers and unite again to awaken the "quite force of progress" and return to an "era of responsibility" with the swearing in of our 44th President.

______________
From obeygiant.com (Shepard's website):
Shepard Fairey’s red, white, and blue “Hope” illustration, replicated on thousands of t-shirts, signs and buttons during the 2008 campaign, was one of the most identifiable symbols of Barack Obama’s historic run for the White House. Just yesterday, the Smithsonian announced that Fairey’s original work will become a permanent part of the Smithsonian’s collection and be displayed in the National Portrait Gallery by Inauguration Day.
______________

Shepard became interested in Obama in 2004, long before the nation took notice, and volunteered his skill to design the HOPE and PROGRESS posters that in large part carried Obama's message to the masses. With these donated designs, Shepard captured the strong emotion of Obama's call for hope and gave America permission to believe in the message of change brought by a then unknown Senator from Illinois. In turn, these images have carried a man of mixed race, who just 60 years ago wouldn't have been able to step foot in the White House except as a domestic worker, to the highest office in the land and inscribed his face and his message permanently into the collective memory of America.

There is no greater success in design than the creation of a strong reaction. In terms of reactionary force, I think you will all agree with me, weather you like Obama or not, these images have nuclear-like power.
_________________________________________________________________



The posters are not the only example of powerful design unveiled today. At exactly 12:01PM, whitehouse.gov got quite a face lift as the old static web site from the Bush Presidency was replaced by a fresh and lively design reflecting Obama's promise to make government more transparent and accessible. (Although I tried to discover the firm or creative behind the site, I couldn't dig it up. Does anyone know who did it?)

The new design features a continued embrace of technology that Obama used so effectively during his campaign. The first blog post lays it all out.

_________________________

From the Briefing Room Blog on Whitehouse.gov:
Welcome to the new WhiteHouse.gov. I'm Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House and one of the people who will be contributing to the blog.

A short time ago, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and his new administration officially came to life. One of the first changes is the White House's new website, which will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.

Millions of Americans have powered President Obama's journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country's future. WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration's efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement.

Just like your new government, WhiteHouse.gov and the rest of the Administration's online programs will put citizens first. Our initial new media efforts will center around three priorities:

Communication -- Americans are eager for information about the state of the economy, national security and a host of other issues. This site will feature timely and in-depth content meant to keep everyone up-to-date and educated. Check out the briefing room, keep tabs on the blog (RSS feed) and take a moment to sign up for e-mail updates from the President and his administration so you can be sure to know about major announcements and decisions.

Transparency -- President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history, and WhiteHouse.gov will play a major role in delivering on that promise. The President's executive orders and proclamations will be published for everyone to review, and that’s just the beginning of our efforts to provide a window for all Americans into the business of the government. You can also learn about some of the senior leadership in the new administration and about the President’s policy priorities.

Participation -- President Obama started his career as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, where he saw firsthand what people can do when they come together for a common cause. Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the internet will play an important role in that. One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.

We'd also like to hear from you -- what sort of things would you find valuable from WhiteHouse.gov? If you have an idea, use this form to let us know. Like the transition website and the campaign's before that, this online community will continue to be a work in progress as we develop new features and content for you. So thanks in advance for your patience and for your feedback.

Later today, we’ll put up the video and the full text of President Obama’s Inaugural Address. There will also be slideshows of the Inaugural events, the Obamas’ move into the White House, and President Obama’s first days in office.
________________________________________________________________

The power of effective design is indeed the power to change hearts and move nations. It is also the power to create unity and make people feel part of something.

Congratulations, Shepard, on a masterful work. And whomever did the redesign on Whitehouse.gov, congratulations to you as well on an engaging site that perfectly conveys, and most importantly, begins to deliver upon Obama's promise to make government BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE once again.

Further reading:
A commentary on the design of the a previous version of the site (cira 2006) from Andy Rutledge.
Shepard Fairy, wikipedia
WhiteHouse.gov versions from during the Clinton Administration

A bit back I wrote a post on a new law that will go into effect in February. It's designed to protect children from exposure to lead and phthalates. In theory, a wonderful and commendable idea. However, in practice, the testing requirements necessary to comply with this poorly written law will skyrocket the price of this $18.50 handmade tutu to $3,378.50!

Yes, I said, $3,378.50. NO, THAT IS NOT A TYPO.

from the listing:
Yes you read it right that IS the cost for this tutu.
With the new law that will go into effect Feb. 10, 2009, the CPSIA will require that each store selling products for children under the age of 12 test each product in our shops for lead. Each component will cost $70 and this tutu has eight components -two rolls of tulle each needing to be tested, two different ribbons, one type of thread, elastic band, silk flower, and an alligator clip making the charge $560. Add in the additional $350 per component for phthalates testing and that adds another $2800 making this tutu that original cost $18.50 to the grand total of $3,378.50!!! So, with the purchase of this listing you will get your custom designed tutu-remember this price covers only TWO colors of tulle, which will be tested to the law's standards and shipped out with the proof of testing packaged neatly inside the box:)
For more info please read http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/cpsia-deadline-for-changeorg-vote-cnn-article-3247/
CLICK TO HELP US RAISE AWARENESS
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=34334
__________________________________________________________________

Please help keep handmade items available for our children. See more of the impact of this law in this etsy thread and the new CPSIA forum. Also, please take a minute to tell Obama that you want this law ammended RIGHT NOW.

But it's not just Handmade that will suffer.
If this law goes into effect, it will have devasting economic consequences and put hundreds of thousands of small businesses into bankruptcy because they will no longer be able to sell children's products and will have to dispose of perfectly safe standing inventory as "hazardous waste". Guess what? That also includes every children's book at your local library and your kid's school. It includes no choice but bankruptcy for folks like my friend Kim, who produces a small clothing line called Moonfly. A mom who just wanted to make attractive, made in the USA clothes for kids. It includes charities who rely on second hand sales of children's goods through thrift stores to make ends meets. It includes every art supply in your child's classroom. ANYTHING made for kids under 12 has to comply. If you sell it after February, you can be charged with a felony.

What will happen to all of these things? Our landfills can't handle that much "waste"!

Wander on over to Bella Casa's blog to be part of the Etsy Link Party from January 26-30th. It's simple to play and FREE advertising for your shop! During the party, I'm donating a $10 gift certificate to my etsy store as one of Bella's handmade giveaways.

I was recently given a special award, by my great team mate(x2) Ceejay Bags. Ceejay has been a great member of Carried Away: the Etsy Bag makers team and has certainly made a splash with Pluggers United.

The Sisterhood award is inspired by the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and was created by Diana to be given to your best bloggy girlfriend(s).
You give them the award to thank them for their special friendship.

And now for my pick...

I'm sending this along to April of April's Originals, whose tireless work managing our group's NING page and contributing to our team blog and twitter feed makes us a much better team.

This week I'd like to introduce you to Theresa of TiLT Creations. Besides being a member of Carried Away: The Etsy Bag Makers Team, Theresa is also a member of Pluggers United with me. I've picked Theresa because she knows how to do something I don't: inset zippers as shown on her Ocean Stripe Rochelle bag. So Theresa, consider this your "official beg" to post a tutorial on how to do this :) I also like the asymetrical flap on this bag. Great colors and a good design overall.

From her profile:
I am a stay at home mom with two boys, ages 3 and 13. I have a passion for creating, whether it be sewing or painting or drawing or needlework.

Theresa's links:
TiLT on Artfire
TiLT Blog
TiLT on Etsy
TiLT Treasures

Here's the finished Viola handbag and Violetta cosmetic pouch from my flip and sew patchwork tutorial.

For my daughter's 11th birthday on Saturday, we're having a sleepover with 10 girls. To entertain them, we're going to have a paper doll fashion show, featuring dolls whose fashions are made from various kinds of paper. The kids trace stencils of outfits onto scrap book and paper rescued from my many paper sample books and get to decorate the clothes.

So anyway, my sisters says ... "hey make a stage for the show". So I'm hunting around the house for a box.. and I see this pizza box in the recycling bin that already has a big half oval cut out of the front.. and with the aid of staples and hot glue plus some scrap fabric and beads... we have a stage for the fashion DIVAS! The bottom of the box is the base of the stage. The curtain is the former top of the box, with the existing enlarged cut out as the stage entrance.

Silly, I know, but a D.I.Y. mom that's broke has gotta make do!