It's been so busy lately with finals, my shop, craft fair and setting up for the holidays! Finals went very well for me so I'm so glad that's over! As for what's new in my shop? I have Limited Edition Pins like the snowman above only here during the winter... there's still other little ones I want to make so far I have a Gingerbread man and a Rudolph that was snatched up pretty quickly >_< . Since these have an extra touch of details like the snowman above has the black hat that's detachable because of a snap on button I decided to make only a few so snatch them up while you can.
Looking back at my shop it's been almost a year and I've completed my goal of 50 sales by the end of this year. This makes me so proud that I stuck by and continue to work and work fixing and constantly creating new things for my shop. Remember guys in life always keep moving, keep working and keep growing =)
Until next time... Happy Holidays =)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Mail Adventure
I am so in love with my new business cards from Overnightprints.com. The quality is awesome, the colors are great and they always have these special promotions also they ship quick and they're usually prompt in customer service. But boy was it an ordeal to get them. Let's just say UPS doesn't like my building. I've had to chase down UPS trucks to get my sister's computer and laptop before. 
I'm back tracking a bit but a few weeks ago I did the Bowery Bazaar. It's a cool new craft show space that has a very unique aesthetic and the coordinator was really nice! They always have new vendors all the time and it's right next to St. Mark's Place... a super cool area of restaurants of all sorts! That's where I saw the cool shop Astali. Her shop is full of grungy yet delicate jewelry. We decided to trade one of her awesome bullet shell bracelets for a few of my pins. I was so happy! Though as usual she had to take a good inch or two of links out to fit it to my wrist. She said my wrists was the smallest she's seen on an adult...
To show you guys here's a ruler measuring my wrist. Yep it's about 2 inches in width and 4.75 inches all around. That's why it's so so hard for me to find those really cool bangles as you just can't take links out of them. There's a lot of things that look so cool but simply doesn't come small enough. That's what makes shopping handmade comes in handy... the people are so nice and they size it to fit. Though I do get the usual... "are you sure size 2.5 ring is what you want? It's really small." or the "wow you're so tiny". I laugh about it because I'm very happy to finally find jewelry I love that I can wear =)
BTW Catch me at the Hello Zen Holiday Craft Fair on Broadway in NYC!
Until next time... stay toasty!
I'm back tracking a bit but a few weeks ago I did the Bowery Bazaar. It's a cool new craft show space that has a very unique aesthetic and the coordinator was really nice! They always have new vendors all the time and it's right next to St. Mark's Place... a super cool area of restaurants of all sorts! That's where I saw the cool shop Astali. Her shop is full of grungy yet delicate jewelry. We decided to trade one of her awesome bullet shell bracelets for a few of my pins. I was so happy! Though as usual she had to take a good inch or two of links out to fit it to my wrist. She said my wrists was the smallest she's seen on an adult...
To show you guys here's a ruler measuring my wrist. Yep it's about 2 inches in width and 4.75 inches all around. That's why it's so so hard for me to find those really cool bangles as you just can't take links out of them. There's a lot of things that look so cool but simply doesn't come small enough. That's what makes shopping handmade comes in handy... the people are so nice and they size it to fit. Though I do get the usual... "are you sure size 2.5 ring is what you want? It's really small." or the "wow you're so tiny". I laugh about it because I'm very happy to finally find jewelry I love that I can wear =)BTW Catch me at the Hello Zen Holiday Craft Fair on Broadway in NYC!
Until next time... stay toasty!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Little Fish in a Big Ocean
Ever felt like a little fish in a big pond? When it comes to life it seems like that most of the time to me... but the key is to find your own little niche in the vast ocean. For example I have experimented and refined my own techniques and items to create a certain style that is mine mostly cute kawaii with a dash of odd daydreams. My new favorite is the little goldfish I made above. I was so surprised it turned out so cute! I also have more to photograph.
For all you shop owners here's a great series of videos on how to find your niche =)
Finding Your Niche with DiffractionFiber
Shop Makeover Series: Broaden Your Target Audience with Tiered Product Lines
Seller How-To: Finding Your Etsy Niche
The Etsy Seller Handbook: All Our How-To's About Selling
The NewNewTeam Handmade Cavalcade was a huge success! Although I was only a volunteer there was a great vibe and there were tons of traffic. I helped with decorating and brought enough Dunkin Doughnuts Coffee and Munchkins for everyone. Though it was quite a haul to carry all that stuff myself.... I think it was like 20 lbs of coffee. It was all worth it to see people happy. Pictures would be up shortly on Flickr I hope!
This Saturday December 12th I'll be selling at the Village Zendo Craft Fair right in NYC on the shopping street of Broadway. This was actually the first craft fair I ever did and it was fantastic! So When I heard that they are doing it again I jumped on the chance to do it! It's actually a whole weekend thing but I have to attend my boyfriend's graduation on Sunday. Congrats to him! So come by if you can and they make some awesome cookies!
Until next time I hope everyone is having a great December! =D
For all you shop owners here's a great series of videos on how to find your niche =)
Finding Your Niche with DiffractionFiber
Shop Makeover Series: Broaden Your Target Audience with Tiered Product Lines
Seller How-To: Finding Your Etsy Niche
The Etsy Seller Handbook: All Our How-To's About Selling
The NewNewTeam Handmade Cavalcade was a huge success! Although I was only a volunteer there was a great vibe and there were tons of traffic. I helped with decorating and brought enough Dunkin Doughnuts Coffee and Munchkins for everyone. Though it was quite a haul to carry all that stuff myself.... I think it was like 20 lbs of coffee. It was all worth it to see people happy. Pictures would be up shortly on Flickr I hope!
This Saturday December 12th I'll be selling at the Village Zendo Craft Fair right in NYC on the shopping street of Broadway. This was actually the first craft fair I ever did and it was fantastic! So When I heard that they are doing it again I jumped on the chance to do it! It's actually a whole weekend thing but I have to attend my boyfriend's graduation on Sunday. Congrats to him! So come by if you can and they make some awesome cookies!
Until next time I hope everyone is having a great December! =D
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Ice Ice Birdy
Okay so I make these little tiny felt pins in my shop LiPeony and one thing I love and hate about it, is making tiny tiny details. For example in the last craft fair someone asked if I had a penguin pin. I sadly said no... though this is not the first time someone asked me if I had one. So I decided to hunker down and make one. I even jazzed the photos up by making a sort of snowy scene for him.
Here's an upclose of Mister Penguin. Before it got to my shop my bf saw it and looooooooved it. I knew he had a thing for penguins even though he's a manly man... dude has a soft spot for puppies and penguins... so I gave it to him. I've yet to make another... as per request by the wonderful Pili I put up the photos so peeps can see. If I decide to get unlazy I will make more!Until next time... puppies and penguins... you know you can't resist
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Silhouette and Shadows
I had this crazy idea one day and went on a frenzy drawing up silhouettes and worked on them in Photoshop. These take so much more longer then my usual art but I really love how they retain the whimsy and playfulness of my Chibi Girl series but also allows me to create art that expands to other styles. Of course as always I doubted my work but after asking people, people really loved it and within two days of posting the above "FireFly Girl" Print it sold. SO I'm so happy. I still have a lot of unfinished drawings to do.
On another note BIM event went great! I made back my table fee and then some. Though it was raining on and off so that may have deterred people from shopping. I had a lot of complements about my work and I found out that people would pay extra for matted and framed prints. I'm definitely going to do that more often.
This one above is my newest work called "Little Composer." I got this idea from one of my favorite composers Joe Hisaishi. Actually for the few classical performances I've seen live and on the computer I love how the conductor just really let's it rip... bopping their heads, their batons their whole body shows how in tune they are to the music. I've been so slow with the updates because I've been microblogging on twitter. You can follow me here... http://twitter.com/LiPeony.
Until next time... don't stop dancing to your own beat. =)
On another note BIM event went great! I made back my table fee and then some. Though it was raining on and off so that may have deterred people from shopping. I had a lot of complements about my work and I found out that people would pay extra for matted and framed prints. I'm definitely going to do that more often.
This one above is my newest work called "Little Composer." I got this idea from one of my favorite composers Joe Hisaishi. Actually for the few classical performances I've seen live and on the computer I love how the conductor just really let's it rip... bopping their heads, their batons their whole body shows how in tune they are to the music. I've been so slow with the updates because I've been microblogging on twitter. You can follow me here... http://twitter.com/LiPeony.
Until next time... don't stop dancing to your own beat. =)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
ACEO and Crafting Jitters
I just made my first ACEOs which are Art Cards Edition or Originals. Which is basically 2.5" x 3.5" little cards of art. This is the first time I made them and I think they turned out great! I also started taking pictures of my art against a wooden box I got from Kate's Paperie which is a pretty high end little paper, stationary, semi crafting store. Though the prices are a bit steep the collection of paper they have is wonderful! Rolls and rolls of colors, patterns and texture. Actually going inside the store and the website reminds me a lot of the Etsy aesthetic.
I've been making prints for the craft fair this Saturday and I'm very nervous. I got my wonderful sister to help again. =D . I also got some new displays and this time I'm going to try to aim to look more "neat" my other ones were kind of packed and messy due to all the little origami dolls I had. Well... we'll see! This November has been so packed... 10 page report which actually isn't much... it's the 25 papers I have to read for research, also need a new computer too... leaning towards a laptop create more space for my craftiness, midterm and my usual work, class and volunteer work. By Friday it'll be aaaaaaaaaaaall done! Woot! If you're in New York City on Saturday stop by BIM and mention my blog or twitter and pick up a little freebie =D.
I've been making prints for the craft fair this Saturday and I'm very nervous. I got my wonderful sister to help again. =D . I also got some new displays and this time I'm going to try to aim to look more "neat" my other ones were kind of packed and messy due to all the little origami dolls I had. Well... we'll see! This November has been so packed... 10 page report which actually isn't much... it's the 25 papers I have to read for research, also need a new computer too... leaning towards a laptop create more space for my craftiness, midterm and my usual work, class and volunteer work. By Friday it'll be aaaaaaaaaaaall done! Woot! If you're in New York City on Saturday stop by BIM and mention my blog or twitter and pick up a little freebie =D.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Brr Chilly! Hot Soup!
Brr! It's November and it's getting chilly... it's times like these that I savor the many many different soups my mom boils up. Growing up there was hardly a day that goes by that I don't drink some weird concoction of soup that my grandma or mom makes. Now I'm sure everyone has heard of Hot and Sour Soup or Won ton Soup or Shark Fin soup but there are so many soup recipes that are passed down from family to family and shared among friends. Each one is made for a specific ailment. In fact there's a soup for every ailment. Though it's hard to near impossible to really find any Chinese restaurant that serves these homemade soups as there are far too many and their textures and tastes range from sweet "papaya and fish soup" to the bitterest soup consisting of an herb that makes my tongue want to run away from my mouth.
But there is one soup I love that's great for the winter it's sort of like the Chinese version of beef stew. It's called Oxtail Soup. Basically oxtail bones/meat, carrots, potatoes and tomatoes boiled. The meat is tender and falls right off the bone, the carrots and potatoes are soft but slightly favored by the beef soup base that has the pinch of sour and acidity from the tomatoes. My mom would make it in a huge earthen clay pot we have at home.
Li Family Oxtail Soup
1 large carrot (more if you like carrots/less if you don't like'em)
3 large potatoes (more if you like potatoes/less if you don't)
1 large tomato (adds a nice acidic sour taste but if you don't like it, don't add too much)
1 whole ox tail (usually the butcher will cut into large chunks)
4 quarts of water
Chop the vegetables into large chunks. Bring the water to a boil and put all the ingredients inside. Boil for 1 - 1.5 hours depend on how soft you want the vegetables to be (My mom does 2 hours and everything is very soft but not mushy) The great thing about this recipe is that you can add any substitute for the vegetables though this is the traditional one I have at home. It makes a great soup over rice or just by itself a awesome hot steamy meal. According to my mom it promotes the circulatory system... but who knows? It just tastes awesome to me.
Until next time... stay warm!
But there is one soup I love that's great for the winter it's sort of like the Chinese version of beef stew. It's called Oxtail Soup. Basically oxtail bones/meat, carrots, potatoes and tomatoes boiled. The meat is tender and falls right off the bone, the carrots and potatoes are soft but slightly favored by the beef soup base that has the pinch of sour and acidity from the tomatoes. My mom would make it in a huge earthen clay pot we have at home.
Li Family Oxtail Soup
1 large carrot (more if you like carrots/less if you don't like'em)
3 large potatoes (more if you like potatoes/less if you don't)
1 large tomato (adds a nice acidic sour taste but if you don't like it, don't add too much)
1 whole ox tail (usually the butcher will cut into large chunks)
4 quarts of water
Chop the vegetables into large chunks. Bring the water to a boil and put all the ingredients inside. Boil for 1 - 1.5 hours depend on how soft you want the vegetables to be (My mom does 2 hours and everything is very soft but not mushy) The great thing about this recipe is that you can add any substitute for the vegetables though this is the traditional one I have at home. It makes a great soup over rice or just by itself a awesome hot steamy meal. According to my mom it promotes the circulatory system... but who knows? It just tastes awesome to me.
Until next time... stay warm!
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