SwissCake

Exclamation Notes!

2012-01-31T15:03:00.000-08:00

Having fun with dry erase note boards today! I have one on my desk that I like to keep updated with inspirational quotes, like . . .

- It's Mustache Monday!!!
- You are loved!
- Keep motivated!
- Grab life by the horns!

Exclamation points are a requirement for these note frames!

Idea: Find a gold dry erase marker for gold stars!

Blank note boards


With notes

Magnet added to back to hold marker

SwissCake is on Pinterest

2012-01-16T23:48:00.000-08:00

Oh, wow! Pinterest!

Pinning craft ideas is the best ever! I can link to the how-tos and what-nots. And I can share my goods and ideas on there, too. It's one of those win-win situtations.

You'll find me here!

Blue Rug

2012-01-16T23:30:00.000-08:00

I'm planning my next rag rug. This one's for my Aunt Rose, whose direction was "blue".

Inspired by the stripes on this fabric, I chose Ts that complement the blue fabric.

Just for Fun

2012-01-16T23:08:00.000-08:00

I've had several people joke about having onesies big enough for adults. It's one of those sitting around drunk with your friends kind of a joke thing. Well, I found adult onesies online and spruced them up to make them even funnier. These were special orders. I have one for sale on etsy, size Large.


Inspired by those stick figure families on the back of cars		(one dude, two chicks)

Mustache = Easy

Pop Culture Week: Cheezburger Wednesday

2012-01-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

Today I had an interview with Cheezburger Network, of I Can Has Cheezburger and LOLcats fame. It was supposed to be Bacon Wednesday, but I realized I was not at all inspired by bacon. So, for today, the interview must suffice for Pop Culture Week.

Pop Culture Week: Pirate Tuesday

2012-01-12T15:19:00.001-08:00

Lots o' baby stuff made today with handmade stencil, hand cut and machine-sewn applique.

Baby Bib

Burp Cloth

Baby Onesie

Pop Culture Week: Mustache Monday

2012-01-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

This week begins with Mustache Monday!
Made a onesie with matching card.
Now on Etsy.

mustache applique onesie with no-fold card (blank white on back)

mustache logo

All that glitters is glitter

2012-01-07T17:57:00.000-08:00

Love adding glitter to matchboxes!

Heart Collection

Here are some more matchboxes

A Weaving We Will Go (completion)

2012-01-03T23:10:00.000-08:00

Rug has been completed!

(Post 1 of 2 can be found here)

Here is it in its new home! Emily and Duncan both seem pleased!

Fabric cut into 1 inch wide strips

Strips sewn together (so the rug may be vacuumed or laundered without much wear)

Initial Design

Completed Rug (with fat fringe)

Weaving notes
TABBY 34, 12

DESIGN-Summer/Winter
(right)
1 Black alt 3 + 4
1 Green alt 4 + 3
(left)
2 Black alt 3 + 4
2 Green alt 4 + 3

FINISHED SIZE
34" X 111"+

Sweet Decor

2011-12-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

Saw some sugar cane at the market today. Had to buy it!

Decorating with Sugar Cane

Embroidery Lesson #1

2011-12-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

When I wanted to learn about some embroidery, I went to the one and only place--Sublime Stitching!
Using the satin stitch, I recreated Xavier Lopez Jr's artwork in phase II of the Holy Cow series.

The trickiest part was how much stabilizer to use. For the onesie I had to use 3 layers! For the polo shirts 2 seemed to do the trick--one on the top and one on the bottom. I then used iron-on adhesive to cover the back of the embroidery with soft jersey knit.

Final Product


Close-up

Improvements: How to get the backing to be invisible behind the embroidery.

Holy Cow

2011-11-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

I present to you a collaboration between SwissCake and Xavier Lopez Jr! Xavier saw my monster onesies and asked if I wanted to try creating something from his paintings. I chose Ferdinand!

Ferdinand the Bull by Xavier Lopez Jr.

Applique from fleece, jersey and cotton thread

I created 4 onesies for the first round. 3 are 12 mos long-sleeve and one is 6-9 mos short-sleeve. These will be available at Echo Echo Gallery on November 11 and throughout the month.

I even created a tag for the cutie-pies! Get 'em while they're hot!

Becoming Lucy

2011-11-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

Thinking of what to be for Halloween, I got the idea to be the girl from the Miller High Life bottle.

I've always loved that little devil. So, as I searched for all the pieces for the costume, I was also painting a backdrop! Thanks to Caudled Milk, we got a moon and some stars.

Then came the challenge of what version to be. Lucy, as she seems to be called, has had several different looks and costumes. Using iron-on adhesive, I added ribbons to the top and skirt. I lucked out with red glitter heart foam stickers for the sash, and topped it all off with an amazing Miller High Life promotional bottle sign!

Candle Corn

2011-10-23T17:05:00.000-07:00

Got this gem of an idea from my friend, Karen.

Jar
Candy Corn
Tea Light
Twine

And voila!

Label It

2011-10-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

I'm getting ready for my 16th annual costume party. Unbelievable how long it's been since I bought beer at 12:01am for my first party!

I have lots o' trick-or-treat pails, so I want my guests to know they can help themselves. I made these cute labels

from a kid's label set I got at the dollar store.

Is This Seat Taken?

2011-08-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

Reupholstering project on a free chair I got from work.

Before After

This project wasn't done by SwissCake but by her mother!

A Weaving We Will Go

2011-08-27T17:54:00.000-07:00


Wound the Warp (144 threads, 4.5 yds each) 3 hours

Sleyed the Reed (4 threads per inch)
2 hours

Threaded the Shafts (1424, 1323)
1 hour


Finished Tying Up, Began Weaving 1 hour (Replaced 2 broken threads: 20 minutes)

Find post 2 of 2 here

Maiden Voyage

2011-07-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

Took my newly acquired Consew on its maiden voyage today! She's 1-day old and has already made a new bag.

Materials: Puma vinyl banner, cotton thread
Improvements:
Design. This vinyl got to' up when I flipped it right side out.
Thread. Going to see the guys at the industrial sewing machine store

Consew, the industrial sewing machine, came home with me yesterday, thanks to some strong-muscled friends of mine! She's a real beaut and has some crazy threading preferences, so I've taken lots o' pictures of the threading pattern.

Monsters -Summer edition

2011-05-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

Finally! I made some more Monsters!

These are headed to Titzy's.

horrible pic, but you get the idea

St. Dames

2011-05-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

St. Dames is a vegetarian restaurant in Rainier Valley, owned by my friends Amy and Sarah. The whole place is decked out in religious kitsch, and they're often asked who St. Dames is. One day I said she was the patron saint of Vegetarian Lesbians. This got a little traction in their review by The Stranger. Then I got the idea to put it on a shirt. Thanks to photoshop and Quick Fuse iron-on stuff, the dream became reality.

B is for Basil

2011-05-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

If anyone ever asked me to create an Edward Gorey onesie for a baby, it would probably look something like this.

The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey

Shreddin' with Peter Frampton

2011-05-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

My task was to do something with this record cover. I went elementary-style and used bits of paper and 2 1/2 glue sticks.

This and many more Frampton Comes Alive! albums are on display through June at the Elysian on Capitol Hill.


In Process


Complete

Making Pillows for The Young Evils

2011-03-01T20:41:00.000-08:00

I got a call that my friends needed some crafty things to sell at a Pre-SXSW bazaar at the Crocodile. After some brainstorming with Krispijn Larrison (merchandising, window display, video director and photographer extraordinaire), we came up with some ideas. Things like dolls, broken heart pillows, magnets, record ornaments, etc.

What we finally decided upon were these cuties!

Krispijn was awesome at photo-journaling our crafting journey. Here are a few of those pictures. The rest can be found on his super fun flickr photostream: Thank You For Shopping.

Fabric: felt
Flowers: cut out from beautiful 70s fabric, reminiscent of Mackenzie's dresses
I used embroidery floss for both the writing and to sew up the rest of the pillow post-stuffing.

Photos by Krispijn Larrison
You can follow him on Twitter or on his blog, Adventures in Procrastination.

Not Intended for Resale

2011-02-18T00:05:00.000-08:00

Nothing like getting some fabric you're super stoked about and seeing "Copyright protected" "Not Intendend for..." and then the fabric gets cut off.

I'm not saying designers should get screwed out of the right of their designs, but seriously, have you ever gotten fabric from the craft store that you COULDN'T use for crafts?

Seriously!

Well, despite all this I made a really cute onesie with a stuffed robot.

And here it is without the stuffed robot in the pocket.

Flag Garland

2011-01-25T21:53:00.000-08:00

So, a while back when I was in Columbus, I made these Pride Flags for say, your kitchen. Well, in Seattle there's not much call for such things and I've been trying to come up with a way to repurpose them. I have a few ideas, and here's the first -- in action --

red/blue/green/yellow/red/owl-themed.

With bells on, of course...

Fun with Paper #2837924

2011-01-25T21:46:00.000-08:00

I love me some paper crafts! And when I found these flowers online, I knew I had to make 'em!

Here's my version

And I made a couple for fun, giving the smaller one a little character.

Here's what inspired me from KL Wedding Designs

and here's the How-To from Zakka Life.

Is that a Boom Box pillow? Why yes, it is!

2011-01-25T21:26:00.000-08:00

Drea just got this tiny pillow, and of course, it needed a pillowcase. Looking through my fabric, I found my Step Up 3 in 3D T-shirt. Sadly I had to cut off the Twitter #BFABB, because it was too scratchy. But we both know it's there in spirit.

Totally seen the movie, btw, and it's rad.

More Cards

2011-01-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd make Mom an assortment of greeting cards (and make some for me, too). Using stickers that Mom got me and ones I found at the "dollar" store, here's what we got:

Lots o' Easter cards.

A Painting We Will Go

2011-01-16T21:48:00.000-08:00

I needed a backdrop for a party. Didn't really matter what it was, as long as it was done well. I called up Krispijn to seek advice and ideas. I had an idea for pyramids, but that was about it. He suggested we get together to see what could happen. Voila!

Everyone seemed to love it at the party! Here was our inspiration:

Fun with Cards

2011-01-02T14:41:00.000-08:00

Needed to make some Thank You cards and what nots. Lower right are my new stickers!

They're not dolls! They're poppets!

2010-12-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

It all started with pin-head, or whatever his name was. I loved a painting by Caudled Milk that had an Edward Gorey feel to it. I got it and then joked that I should make a doll to match. Well, I did. Here he is below. Caudled Milk painted the clothes.

Then there was a sketch on a napkin that I tackled. Here's the form that I made to match the drawing.

Then came the 5x5 show. Four poppets less than 4" high each. We decided on a sailor, prisoner, dancer and fat kid. This time the poppets would be afixed to the canvas. The show was tonight at 619. And we'd already sold one before I left. Here they are:

My absolute favorite is the little fat kid, who actually turned out to be Rudolf, the Rude Boy or Johnny Too Bad--depending upon who you ask.

Above: SwissCaked Below: Caudled

These are for sale for $125 each. If you are interested, let me know, and I'll get you in touch the bookie.

Take that!

2010-10-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

Did I tell you I finished the rug that's been sitting on the loom for about a ~~year~~ few months? If you look closely, you can see I used a few stripes of red in the warp (the fringe).

It's a summer/winter weave, which basically means it's reversible. I chose to do a different pattern on the back, as seen here.

Wallets have found a home

2010-09-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

After Caudled Milk wrapped them in swaddling clothing, it looks like the wallets are headed to a retail location! More details coming soon.

UPDATE: The wallets are now for sale at The Sneakery!

just for fun, I bought an ad today

2010-09-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

I only have like 10 things for sale on etsy, but what the hey.

SwissCake is going to Michigan!

2010-08-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

The following Monsters are headed to the Great Lake region to be sold on consignment at Titzy's:

Fingers crossed they sell out by Xmas!

More Lanterns - ghost & owl

2010-08-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

Oh, look! It's coming together!

2010-08-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

The variegated red is working very well.

10 hours into the weaving project.

Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

2010-07-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

Caudled Milk needed some curtains for his kitchen. We decided green would be lovely in the mostly white kitchen. So off I went to the fabric store. Once inside I seemed to have forgotten what the color green looked like.

I found so many amazing fabrics that I would've looked amazing in a kitchen, but in the end, through several phone pictures, we agreed on this lovely green and white damask-like pattern. The somewhat geometric shape made cutting and sewing straight lines a breeze.

Genius

2010-06-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

http://blog.craftzine.com/PaperFlowersDIY.jpg

What are you gonna do with that old banner?

2010-06-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

Make it into a tote!

And now for some shredding

2010-06-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

Starting to slice up shirts for the rug.

Dino-Crackers

2010-05-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

Mom gave me a Dinosaur bread cutter for Easter. Wondering what on earth to use it on, I got a brilliant idea. As Drea decided to make crackers, I snuck in and cut out some dinosaurs! Awfully cute and delicious to eat!

Jar Lanterns

2010-04-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

With some strips of tissue paper, some cut-out circles and a whole lot of mod-podge, I ended up with this beautiful lantern. Next I add wire and beads, so it can hang in a tree in the backyard.

Monsters make me Hungry

2010-03-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

Monster Onesie for my girlfriend's nephew/niece. Not born yet, so we're going with neutral things. Drea had already picked out monster shoes, so we went with a monster onesie to complement. Made from felt, old T-shirt and accented with cutouts from a patterned fabric. At first it looked like a TV, so I added horns. I'm sure Mom & Dad'll love it!

Match Boxes

2010-01-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

Tonight I gussied up some matchboxes. Here's a key to the hidden messages:
17 = shots in a 750ml bottle of tequila
1872 = year of the first Arbor Day (last Friday in April)
191 = height of the world's largest spruce tree (in feet)
375 = number of members in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir when they hit Billboard's Top 40 with "Battle Hymn of the Republic" in 1959
138 = loudest confirmed siren, which was produced by Chrysler Air Raid Siren (measured in decibels)

Phase 2 of threading

2010-01-26T18:36:00.000-08:00

Back side of the loom is now complete! It's threaded in a summer/winter weave (1323, 1424)

Up to 6 hours into the project. (for all those, who always ask how long it takes)

Time to Weave

2010-01-12T20:40:00.001-08:00

I decided to get off my lazy ass and do a weaving project. The final design is a summer/winter weave made from black & red Tshirts. I think I have a million black shirts sitting in trash bags in the basement (thanks to all those people who didn't want the promo shirts at Easy Street). The reds will be varied, which is a little tricky - have you ever noticed how many shades of red there are? But luckily Goodwill organized by color, so it makes it easier to assess. Anyway, after measuring out the string New Years weekend, I finished the first step in threading last night. More threading to go, believe you me -- just ask Calkonian Design. In the end the rug will be in front of the hobbit door that leads to the balcony.

ps I'm obviously not threading tonight - I had to blog instead!

Miniature Efficiency Apartment

2010-01-12T20:31:00.001-08:00

Time to get back into the mini-efficiency apartment. I was determined to make a decorative (not functional) table lamp, and this is what I came up with. Not bad for the first time, I'd say. I used beads, ribbon and the top of a cough syrup bottle.

Drea got adventurous with the balsa (sp?) wood and made a divider for the kitchen. It's behind the bench she made from wooden sticks -- it looks like it came from Ikea! Talented girl.

So here's the apartment so far. Next step is the kitchen and the appliances. And I might just weave a rug for the living room, but don't hold your breath.

Turning a Floppy Disk into Star Trek Enterprise - Yep, I'm a geek

2009-12-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

So I'm cleaning out my desk and find a bunch of floppies. Not wanting to fill the landfill, I take it apart to see what I can use. Thanks to the interweb, I found instructions for making Star Trek Enterprise. Here's my version of the thing.

So now the question is, "What the hell do I do with this?"

Cardboard Chandelier

2009-12-06T14:49:00.001-08:00

Totally inspired by Martha Stewart but refusing to use her template, I made my own chandelier for Halloween. At first it was silver and really made no impression at all. Then after consulting with Caudled Milk, we went for black with painted candles.

For Xmas I've added a silver snowflake garland. Just lovely. I do believe it's a year-round fixture now.

Materials: cardboard, box cutter, paint

Vacation mode on etsy removes the images

2009-11-21T10:24:00.000-08:00

Huh. I just noticed that when I put my etsy page on vacation mode it removed all the pretty pictures from my blog posts. Oh, well.

purses, tie skirts & flags now added to SwissCake.etsy.com

2009-08-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

CD & DVD Wraps added to SwissCake store

2009-07-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

Etsy
Buy Handmade
swisscake

Sock Quilt - a what?!?

2009-06-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

I go through socks like a kid in a chocolate factory. I hate throwing them away, so I had an idea -- why not make a quilt from the top part of the socks? Well, here's the beginning of it. It's about the size of a baby blanket now, but give it a year and it might be done. Some of my favorite socks from The Sneakery are slowly making their colorful way into the quilt.

SwissCake is finally on Etsy!

2009-06-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

Etsy
Buy Handmade
swisscake

From "too long" to "just right"

2009-06-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite shirts needed an update. It was too long and boring and needed some new life. Thanks to my "Generation T 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt" book, I was able to make a transformation. Using pattern #8, an old Tshirt and some ribbon, I was able to cinch up the sides. My sewing machine and a safety pin (to thread the ribbon) were also quite helpful.

Champagne Chairs

2009-05-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

Drea and I heard a story where her grandmother used to make miniature chairs out of champagne cages. Well, having an obsession with French 75s, I have quite a bit of champagne cages lying around. So, here are my first attempts at chairs and a love seat.

The chairs are on the terrace of a miniature efficiency apartment (in progress).

Um, is that an Atari coaster, or are you just happy to see me?

2009-02-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

My friend, Caudled Milk, suggested I make some Atari themed things. I won't give specifics, just in case I end up doing it. But to get me started, I made these little coasters of Circus and Breakout, with scores and levels included.

It's done and it's STILL scarf season!

2009-02-15T16:22:00.000-08:00

I started this scarf a couple of months ago on my gingundo loom. I made the pattern super simple, so I could finish it quickly. Oh, well, it's done now.

The black cotton twine was on a 1 2 pattern and the gray dyed fabric strip on 3 4. Then I added strips of the gray into the finishing knots, which make it look like it was the warp.

Love it!

Gladiolus not in season?

2009-02-15T16:14:00.000-08:00

There were no Gladiolus at Pike Place Market, so...
I made my own!

A little tape, tissue paper and a few clippings from the front yard, and voila!

Art in the Interim

2009-02-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

Up on Capitol Hill there were lots o' empty store fronts where a new Light Rail office is going in. Someone had the bright idea to fill those with art in the interim. My favorite was this room filled with varying circles. As you walked up to it they started to fall into place...

Happy Collage's Day

2009-02-15T13:07:00.001-08:00

When it comes to cuttin' and pastin' I don't know if anyone enjoys it as much as myself. Well, perhaps Caudled Milk. Here's a card I made for my dad's birthday a couple years ago.
And I don't stop at paper! Bring on the fabrics, too.

Onesies of a Kind

2009-02-15T12:58:00.000-08:00

I love making functional items, but with my ADD I don't usually make more than 1 of anything. If there are 2 similar items, look closely -- there's something different somewhere. And what's been super fun is making these cuties for my friends and family with new arrivals.

With the dinosaurs, I was able to match the onesie to these Mix Maxter socks I bought at The Sneakery. If you have a special request, I'd love the challenge!

Farewell to the Ranch

2009-02-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

In August 2008 our home, we affectionately called The Ranch, was completely bull dozed. Before that happened, we took the stove and the mirror above the fireplace. What we found was quite touching...
Who are Ken and Lisa and what did they name their baby? Where are they now? We may never know, but I took this picture as a momento.

Creativity of Others

2009-02-15T12:40:00.000-08:00

I also love seeing other people's costumes. 2 of my favorite designers are David Calkins and, collectively, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

What a difference a costume makes

2009-02-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

Over the years I've had so much fun making costumes! Between Halloween and Dyke Queen numbers, I've really been able to expand my costume-making horizons! Here we've got The New Jan Brady. Dress is made from pillow cases, true Brady-style! When I made this Spider Web skirt, I had no idea I'd get to use it for another costume -- my Helen Bonham Carter-inspired Victorian goth number. (And yes, that is my wedding dress.)

Last year we hosted the 8.8.8 Mud Wrestling party! What to wear, what to wear? How about shredding up a cheap sparkly dress from the thrift store? good times!
Now somewhere is my Queen of Diamonds costume, but lord knows where.

Makin' Rugs for Carpet Lovers

2009-02-15T10:23:00.000-08:00

In 2006 I was tired of looking at an empty loom and made a plan: make some rugs out of old Tshirts. Sarah & Amy had bought a house and the sawdust had finally settled (even if for just a little while), so of course they needed a kitchen rug! Digging through my old Tshirt bag, I found Sarah's old Zatz A Better Bagel shirts -- perfect! The result was this black rug with multi-color chenille-y squares. The weird white stripe was added by David Calkins - it's tissues. You know, for when they might be sitting on the floor and need one.

With warp still left on the loom, I made a small kitchen rug for my lady, Drea. I knew I wanted vibrant colors, so I went to the thrift store and found these blue, yellow and greens. However, I couldn't find the right red. Well, on my way home one day, I saw a bright red shirt in the middle of MLK. I washed it, cut it up and what a fine rug it made! I made sure to leave the tag in the weaving for washing instructions. Here's the rug on display at The Sneakery.