An imaginary boy on the moon

I've a mini IG sale in the works so i thought to give a little backstory to these few 

scarves up for grabs.

Back in 2001, i began a series of love letters written to no one in particular at first. 

Around the same time i had read for the first time The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Soon after followed a gorgeous novella of short letters by Canadian musician Hawksley Workman called Hawksley Burns for Isadora. 

These were major influences in the first handful of letters and i eventually conjured up an imaginary boy who lived on the moon. His name was simple and admittedly stemming from a favourite Smashing Pumpkins song, Spaceboy. 

Despite these letters being such a giant window into my silly heart, i always wanted to put these out into the world. My highschool librarian even let me sell little photocopied zines on her counter for a quarter.

With his name a whole universe was created. We wrote messages on moonbeams and used stars to signal to each other. My over sized heart bled and grew slowly like the twinkling birth of a galaxy over years and many notebooks. 

In my final year of textiles in between a quilt project, i was able to squeeze in a small batch of naturally dyed and silkscreened infinity scarves using these hundreds of letters. Out of the 30 or so of cotton lawn and cotton gauze, i've still another nine left so i thought with the relaunch of this funny little craft life, why not start with a heart tickler.

Keep an eye out on IG to snag one!

S♥V

Etsy shop is live!

re-launch day is here!

It's been a bit of a slow-go at setting everything up to re-launch this funny little craft life, but i'm happy to announce: wait no more nopes!

Head over to etsy shop and check out the wolf pup dolls and portraits up for adoption. Between making more shop stock and getting in touch with some consignment shops, i'll slowly update shop items.

I've some new ideas i've brewed up throughout the year that i'm so excited to get working on and can only hope they'll light up your true hearts as much as they did mine.

S♥V

Oh hi

certainly has been quiet around here hasn't it. how about a quickie update:

My final semester of graphic design swallowed me whole, leaving this wee blog to collect digital dust. Months after graduating, a move to the west coast changed my focus. For the last couple years i settled in, made friends and got to know the beautiful city of Vancouver.  At the end of last year, i scored a contract with a small digital textile printing company as in-house designer and assistant until they unfortunately had to shut their studio doors. And now, i launched into a graphic and textile freelance designer gig and also cannot ignore the loud call of craft i hear in my heart.

What does this mean for the ol' hearts and crafts shop? Slowly, i'm revving up to relaunch the etsy shop and will be making up little pitch packages to drop off to all the lovely shops i'm finding here in Vancouver.
It took a little time to establish a little bit of a following in Toronto and the GTA and am excited to get my name heard out here.
I've a few mini sales and a giveaway in the works so stay in touch via my instagram and keep your eyes peeled for more wolves, upcycled vintage goodies and of course toasty things to warm your hearts!

S♥V

hearts & crafts in Hamilton

you know, i don't think i mentioned that some of my handmade goodies are currently sold at Shine studio in Hamilton 'cause i am a dingdong. 

Shine has a great collection of curated gift ideas, arts and jewelry if you're in the hunt for something a little different. take a peek for yourself at 3 Colbourne Street, Hamilton.

handmade card wallets made with reclaimed fabric and vintage linen interiors with snap closure 

just a handful of patchwork fold over zipper pouches with cotton muslin interiors

and just five wolf cub dolls all waiting for homes with little true hearts to watch over. cotton fleece and polkadotted, these cuties are made from an original pattern with all new cotton materials right down to the cotton stuffing

internally yours,
sister valentine

graphic design studenthood

going into my third month of this new graphic design life and it's looking mighty good!

within the first week of school my eyes opened up to the hidden graphic design in everyday life, by week three i knew what applications were used to make animated banners and the very simple things that make up adverts, posters and symbols everyone else just walks by. 

the end of this first term is not for another couple of months and i'm already looking forward to term two where we get introduced to typography, a class that is 90% of it drawn by hand, be still my heart!

thankfully too, there is a good balance between computer heavy work and a little more hands on work which you can see in this mini photo dump so go on, get to it.

my ideas doodling office is extra comfy

taking in some inspiration from the old world

when you study what you love, it doesn't feel like homework

completely hand cut via exacto knife and glues on shimmery paper, inspired by the victorian era

found some great package design with a nod to vintage design

everything starts with pen on paper and in this case, a bit of graphite too

watercolors, pen and cut papers, a ram's portrait inspired by the mod design of the fifties

i'm grateful that i am able to do even a little crafting on the side of this schooling and i'll admit that i can literally feel my brain stretch when i switch into craft mode. 

over the xmas holidays, i had to whip off a few new xmas stockings in my house and an always supportive friend liked them enough for her own home. she was the second wolf-pup adopter ever and so with her new handmade stockings, i sent along a little thank you for being a true heart to my craft life.

this teeny crochet vest with rabbit pockets just about popped my heart

but then it melted into a puddle when she sent me her little one and her wolf-pup in its new clothing

internally yours,

sister valentine

oh hey hallo hi

first, many merci's to all the true hearts who made 2014 a pretty exciting year for my petite craftlife. i'm always humbled by all the support that gets thrown my way. truly, from the top of my heart, merci.

second, now that the holiday madness is over, onto a bit of real life.

i don't think i mentioned it via this blog that in january i begin a one year intensive course in graphic design and multimedia at the toronto film school. 

no that's right, after two years out of a six  consecutive year spell of being in college, i am back at it to navigate this funny little craftlife to a slightly different direction than even i expected. 

after going through what turned out to be the wrong programin 2006, i switched to crafts and design and i found what made my bum ticker light up with almost a constant creativity, heeps of art, and making with my hands. deciding that is what i should follow was one of the best decisions i've made in my life and in a lot of ways has saved my life. for what felt like a lifetime, i had zero drive to do anything with myself. 

since then, i am forever trying to build a creative world around that funny muscle hanging in my chest.

tomorrow is my first day of this new chapter in my life and i'm anxious... in a pretty good kind of nervous and a good kind of excited way. 

so what does this mean for the hearts and crafts? probably no sales in the city, though i will be (finally) getting on a bit of an etsy shop update in the next few weeks. you can expect more handmade to order listings and a dash of ready to ship ones.

i'll of course be sharing any projects i'll be working on during this year and all the heart pops (and farts) along the way. 

stick around if you're into that. 

internally yours, 

sister valentine

Corktown Holiday Market

tonight is the night! i've lots of new goodies for you true hearts and if you haven't been seeing them via twitter or IG then you'll just have to come out yourself to see, doors open at 7pm.

there will be just so much goodness happening tonight, my heart is kind of maybe racing as i write this. 

donate gently used clothing or perishable foods for thise in need, stay for the treats and drinks while you shop through local artists, makers and vintage collectors. 

come forget them big box corporations, buy handmade this holiday season and support local! 

karma said she likes when that happens.

internally yours,

sister valentine 

a couple holiday sales!

i'm way mega happy to announce i'll be at two little holiday markets in the toronto area in december so you could pick up some handmade goodies and support some local makers and artists this x-mas, that's a sure way to gain a few more points with a certain miss karma!

on friday december 5th, get an extra little point for bringing a food or gift donation for the Younge Street Mission Food Bank and Toy Drive for them true hearts in need.

the second holiday sale is a more intimate and small one on saturday december 13th held at 1610 gerrard st. E. there will be both handmade goodies and treats to partake in!

i'll be bringing most of my shop stock including a new stock of envelope snap wallets (these fit both iphone 4's and 5's!) and new crewel embroidery pin designs i've been working on.

hope to see you at the sales!

internally yours,

sister valentine

another instagram mini sale

starting tomorrow, head over to my instagram profile and check out the new mini sale happening!

in no time the hats were sold out in the last sale which is perfection to getting rid of some old stock, i thought i'd do it again before it was too close to december. 

i'll have only six handmade and one of a kind tote bags made with reclaimed or recycled material. i'll be posting one a day for you true hearts to snag by just commenting 'sold' and emailing me for a shipping address and paypal bill (though we can swing an e-transfer too!) 

these mini sales really are fun that i'm so tempted to start it tonight...but i won't this time.

see you on IG!

internally yours,

sister valentine

envelope snap wallet production

after the Etsy made in canada sale, i was left with three envelope snap wallets!
they've always been a personal favorite and at craft sales. the original pattern was fitted perfectly to use as a iphone 4/4s or ipod case but with the new iphone 5/5c being slightly longer, i had to adjust the pattern slightly for this new batch of snap wallets to fit both phone sizes.

after cutting the linen, i then pre mordant it to have the dye color stay put. in this case when i say dye color, i mean coffee.

when they're still wet, i brush on the coffee just along the edges and where they'll be folded giving it a great old parchment paper look when dried. they don't look like much when wet so the next morning when i piled them all up, it was pretty great to see.

it's kind of funny how just a few stitches can bring much more life to a piece. it tickles my heart some  how the vintage look of the dyed linen looks with the machine embroidered line work of the stamp and postal stamp waves.

since i designed these to be used as iphone cases, i sandwich a light cotton batting padding to each wallet to keep your devices a little safer from dings and falls. i usually would have used different fabrics to the inside separating flap to make each its own but this time i rooted for only a select fabrics to help make easier choices.

i also designed some new stamp designs to make these a little more unisex.
as in all my small batch productions, i maybe already found a favourite!

i'm down to the last few stamps left to hand embroider and then it's on to sewing these together. they'll be put on my etsy along with a couple of other new items in time for xmas shopping.

internally yours,
sister valentine

Etsy Made In Canada pop up sale

Oh goodness thank you everyone who came out to say hello and support handmade! 

there was barely time to eat during the day but i managed to run on trailmix, water and happy faces throughout the day. it was so great to hear such sweet comments at my table and make a couple new creative friends like my table neighbours Paper and Light, Minouette and a little further down the line Your Hearts Haven.

it was so neat to be part of this country wide event and the etsy teams and organizers did such a fantastic job with the space. there were points of total gridlock in the walkways but everyone looked excited and wide eyed to check out all 100+ vendors. now onto some shots taken throughout the day!

who put those wolves there?

first wolf portrait to be adopted! all dapper and officially was named "Hubert"

friendly wolf pup stuffies. toddler quote: the long arms are easy to hold onto! 

hard decisions were made with these naturally dyed canvas book/tablet sleeves. "now i won't look ghetto with my ziplocked books on the train" 

more of these naturally dyed linen envelope snap wallets to be made!

at one point i realized i may not have brought enough business cards, by closing time i had one left!

pack up time, shame i missed out on saying hello to all the other vendors.

i did manage to make a trade with Your Heart's Haven and cozied up in one of her greyhound infinity scarves, thanks katie!

after a sale i always get home with a sort of stunned feeling of wanting to knock out new ideas in a single day and needing to rest my feets and brains for the next production mode.

there are a few things brewing up in the next few months but i don't want to give it away...yet.

i will be taking some new product shots for an little etsy shop update so keep your eyes peeled and perk them ears up for that news.

internally yours,

sister valentine

etsy pop up rev up

i meant to post this little photo dump before today's sale but i haven't a clue where the time went. 

tomorrow come take a peek for shots from the sale! 

made up a few new fingerless hobogloves for these chilly nights we've been having.

i just love scrappy messy nests from production spells!

some lucky ducks will get some handmade goodies in a swag bag for the first 50 through the door! 

i just had to share this goodness, a little true heart having an ikea adventure with her wolf pup stuffie! 

if you need me i'll be in the wolf den with my feets kicked up.

internally yours,

sister valentines 

Indie Arts Night Market

thanks to everyone who stopped by and to the wonderful other vendors that were there!

there was a good steady flow of people but i did manage to sneak away for a bit and met some great creative people. unfortunately my phone fell to the fate of obsolete design and had completely died the day of the sale leaving me unable to share all the goodness that was happening.

luckily my little point and shoot digital camera saved the night so here are some shots, off you go!

i just had to take home this lovely handmade pyramid from Acorn Studio, keep my 'darwin' stones from Chile dust free and pretty.

i also had a privilege to do a trade with The Otter Potter for this gorgeous hand-sculpted clay brooch.

for the next little while i'll be spinning off more wolf-moon hats and hobo gloves for the Etsy Pop-up  sale in september to keep your true hearts warmer this fall.

internally yours,

sister valentine