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 

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

instagram mini sale!

while i was packing away my left over stock from the etsy made in canada sale, i came across a few crochet hats i had made what feels like forever ago.

i do this thing where i don't like to hang onto old stock for too long and so your true hearts win with an instagram mini sale! 

throughout the next few weeks i'll be posting a photo of the hat that is up for grabs and all you have to do is send me an email with your mailing address from an email to recieve a paypal bill, first come first serve. yups, way easy to get your hands on one of these brain cozies for 10$ each!
first one goes up tonight!

internally yours,

sister valentines

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

a wee announcement

i am so happy to announce that i'll be part of the first Made in Canada Etsy Pop-Up happening september 27th!

i graduated from a three year textiles program in 2012 and during that time i was still just playing around with ideas, motifs and projects to find what not only made my old bum ticker happy but also grow into my own voice as a maker. 

i am quite proud with the work i've knocked out these last two years and can see that found voice come through in my work which feels pretty neat. 

also really neat, checking out the lookbook they put together.

i'll be selling more toasty gear for this sale so think hobo gloves, wolf-moon knit hats and scarves.

internally yours,

sister valentine

production mode photo dump pt.3

with days away from the Indie Arts Market, here is the last photo dump for your true eyes.

i had enough time to knock out four new wolf portraits, a personal favourite item. they tug hard on my heartstrings with how so much life is given to those little faces with just a little collar or set of glasses.

you know what to do.

found a touch of a lovely burnt gold suede

hearts pops at every stage

for scale, each portrait is mounted in a thrifted 5x7 picture frame so each is one of a kind

deciding the gentlemen and ladies

this gentlemen are too hip to quit

lady monocle for a touch of class

based the suede one on the Maned Wolf of south america, its color is similar to a fox

waiting on their frames and names

i did a little inventory and planned out my table display but you'll have to come out and see for yourself!

even had a pinch of time to sneak in a little gift to my mounbound self

tomorrow i'll be announcing a little bit of good craftlife news so tune in then and come adopt a wolf thursday!

interally yours,

sister valentine

production mode photo dump pt:2

yet another photodump! which you may see more of, i'm beginning to be a fan. 

i used to always want to write longer posts but sometimes you just can't beat a good ol' picture show.

now go on, git to it!

hand sewn little ears, these are my two favourites. miss pinky there has already been adopted!

not even the entire litter, craftlife satisfaction is what that is

  

i just love packaging these cutie pups up for adoption, them quiet little ears!

i gave a couple pups blue eyes and it won't be the last, oh my heart

finally got to use my handcarved moon stamp on the pup's care tags

individually hand written, when english begins to not look like english

leave no scrap behind. 

dipped into my scraps jar for a new batch of scrappy bracelets

each has a button closure with a vintage or reclaimed button,

these measure about an inch wide and 8" long for a loose fit

found a few favourites, some just always stand out

just so you don't forget, hand stamped cotton canvas backing.

i'll have just one more photo dump and a little announcement so peek back on here soontimes!

internally yours,

sister valentine