Weekly Fixx: a roundup & wrapup of the week - February 27th edition

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  • Jen Corace exhibit at Art Star
  • Jen Corace
    Clementine
    February 28 - April 12th
    Opening Reception -Saturday, February 28, from 5-9 pm

  • New look for indiecraftshows.com. Indie craft show season is going to be getting under way again, stay informed!
  • Modern Economy Specials from one of my favorite jewelry designers, Freshie & Zero. Beth is offering deals on select styles biweekly. Is yuor favorite on sale this week?
  • The Happily Handmade Giveaway is back after a two year hiatus. This is a big indie giveaway folks…I mean big. Sign-up to be notified up when the giveaway launches and stay tuned to the website for details on how to participate if you are an indie seller.
  • Samantha Hahn designed a tee for shirt.woot. It’s called Camera Eyes and is available here. If you are not familiar with shirt.woot, this post will explain it all.
  • Megan Auman’s 2-year anniversary on Etsy is today.  Today and tomorrow (the 28th) everything in her shop will be 20% off. No special coupons necessary.
  • New look for indiecraftshows.com. Indie craft show season is going to be getting under way again, stay informed!

Small storage basket from Megan Auman.
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Indie plants? Yup, I’m planning my own indie Victory Garden!

Mr. Indie Fixx and I are are planning our own little Victory Garden this year. Nothing big, just some tomatoes, spinach, squash, peppers and herbs. Just some of the stuff we eat a lot of in the summer. We’ve never really done this before, so this is new territory for us, but we have been talking about this for several years now and this year it just makes sense.

Are you a long-time gardener or newbies like us and have decided to help reduce your food bills this growing season? Whatever the case may be, please share your thoughts about gardening in general, gardening during a recession, tips, tricks, what you are planning on growing or whatever you feel like sharing. I’m really interested in hearing how many of you are planning on starting a garden as a result of these uncertain times.

Since now is the time to start thinking about seeds, I thought I’d share some Etsy sellers who sell both seeds, cuttings and plants. Right now, most are just offering seeds, but in the upcoming weeks I’m sure they will be offering more plants and cuttings as well.

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Heirloom Rutger Tomato Organic Seeds from Green Thing ~~~~~ Early Jalapeno Pepper Seeds from The End Peace

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Organic Heirloom Dill Seeds from Green Thing ~~~~~ Buttercrunch lettuce seeds from FluffnFlowers

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Forsythia Plant from FluffnFlowers ~~~~~Organic Heirloom Sweet Green Bell Pepper Seeds from Smoky Mist Gardens

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Spearmint Plant from ShellBerry ~~~~~ Liatris Bulbs from Deb Roninson’s Shop

Sneak peak and call for submissions

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It’s not too late to apply for the A Greener Day Galleria for you crafty makers and sellers out there (and the indie shops that sell their work).  The deadline is actually this Saturday, February 28th. I am looking for shops with either spring or green  inspired goods to reflect the upcoming spring season as well as Earth Day, Easter & St. Patrick’s Day. The A Greener Day Galleria will run from March 5th - April 22nd and the cost to participate is $50.

I’ve had so many amazing applications so far and I am so super excited to be putting this Galleria together.

Email to apply or for more info.

Also, here’s a sneak peek of the new spring banner!

I made this…for you!

Look what I made and I made it for you!  You can download a larger version to print out if you like and please feel free to share it.

Download Home=Love!

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Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx with Yasmine Surovec of A Print A Day

Yasmine Surovec runs the blog A Print A Day, which is one of my favorite blogs, and she just opened her own Shoppe recently as well. I just love Yasmine’s free weekly downloads that she shares on her blog and often print them out for myself, like this Weekly Menu Planner.

In the Shoppe, you will find digital kits and other digital goodies you can use for your web and print craftiness. I just purchased Yasmine’s collaberation kit with Samantha Hahn and I have my eye on the Wildflower and Wood Kit to make some pretty collage art for my office.

Yasmine is also going to be submitting some work for Free Your Soul: the free art project in the upcoming months. In the meantime, I interviewed her for Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx.

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1. What’s the name of your business, what do create and sell and how did you get your start?

I run A Print A DayBlog & the A Print A Day Shoppe, which is a digital, printable and prints shop. I never really thought of having an actual shop prior to the start of this one. I started my blog as a creative exercise more than anything else. And I wanted to share my work as I went along and realized that I actually had a market for my digital work as people were always inquiring if I sold the things I designed.

I also work as an accessories and print & pattern designer in the Bay Area.

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2. What’s better….all the money you could want or all the free time you need?

Free time. My dream is to own several acres in the middle of nowhere and own a second hand Airstream trailer. With all that free time, I’d love to learn how to live off the land, grow my own food, draw and whatnot–I am a girl with simple needs and wants. Money always comes when you are doing something you love and are very passionate about.

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3. What are your inspirations in your art and in life?

Some of my inspirations are my mom & dad, as my mom is an animator and interior designer, and my dad is an architect. They taught me the basics of what I know and how to discipline myself. I also draw inspiration from my husband, who is a sculptor, and is very passionate about art and everyday form. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by very creative and passionate people. I’ve also had the opportunity to live in a lot of places such as the Philippines, Nigeria, Malaysia, the Netherlands and several states here in the US. Traveling, experiencing different cultures and meeting so many people has taught me so much about life.

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4. What three things can’t you live without?

•My external hard drive. My entire career is neatly organized in little folders in that little black box.
•Paper: scrap, new, old, any surface I can draw or doodle on.
•Laptop: this goes with me everywhere

I’d also say husband, family and pets, but I don’t know if they count as “things” :)

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5. What blogs and mags do you read and what shops do you shop at?

I read a lot of blogs though more than 75% of them are political, local news, literature and comics blogs. Design blogs-wise, I have Maquette, Creature Comforts, Decor8, Whipup, Craftzine, Rafe’s Can I Tell You, Etsy Storque, I love Typography and so on–I have way too many blogs in my reader.Magazine-wise I read Craft, Readymade, Giant Robot, Wizard, Amelia’s Magazine, Cutie (Japanese), Heavy Metal and a lot of little obscure local ‘zines.

I shop at flea markets, antique fairs, craft and thrift stores 75% of the time. 100% of all my kitchen utensils, pots, pans, shelves, couches, lighting, etc are vintage or handmade.

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6. What does indie mean to you? You can give a literal definition, choose to be a little esoteric or a combination of both. ;)

Indie to me is small-scale, sometimes local, and human. It is an establishment that actually equally cares not only about its products, about itself, but also about those it interacts with–its customers and its environment.

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7. What are you reading, watching and listening to?

I’m listening to Mazzy Star, Sergio Mendes, NIN, Tupac, MIA, Hawaiian ukelele, the Smiths and a number of random ones in my player.

I watch No Reservations, Bizarre Foods, Carnivale and Jericho (on DVD) and PBS’ Frontline.
I’m reading Watchmen, Best American Comics 2008 and All That the Rain Promises and More (a wonderful book about mushrooms).

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Some of my recent purchases, share some of yours!

I thought I’d share some of my recent Etsy purchases with you. Some are things I’ve featured and some are things I forgot to tell you about.

Share some of your recent handmade purchases with me, I’d love to use some in a post. Just leave a comment below.

1. Tiny Golden Honeyed Dots Necklace from Elizabeth Rosas Jewelry ~~~ 2. Three Bar Soap Selection from Seattle Sundries  ~~~ 3. Heart Necklace and Doll from HELICOPTERstudios  ~~~ 4. Tiny Puffy Heart Stud Earrings in Gold Vermeil from Michelle Chang Jewelry  ~~~ 5. Set 2 Bookmarks from Creative Thursday ~~~ 6. Koala Reaching Out Ltd Edition Print from Oz Bushfire Appeal

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