Alice in Wonderland

I have been a devoted Alice in Wonderland fan ever since my grandmother handed little-girl me two tattered, yellowed copies of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. After diving headfirst into the crazy adventures of the books, I spent hours staring in mirrors, kittah at my feet, wishing for something extraordinary to happen. Nothing ever did, but I still feel pangs whenever I glimpse a white rabbit scamper past. I can vividly recall my favorite moments from the books: painting the white roses red, the knitting sheep in a drifting canoe, the Jabberwocky poem, the tiger lilies, a river of tears. I was inspired to make an Alice in Wonderland ink drawing, which I sprinkled with images from the books and then turned into a wallet.

Needless to say, I nearly died after hearing about the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland remake. Tim Burton is one of the most amazing modern artists and his work is IMPECCABLE. I know he'll do Alice justice. Personally, I hated the original Disney version of the book. It was crass, trying too hard to be funny, and visually unappealing. I was never a fan. The books, however, paint a magical world of fantasy and adventure which has been represented for years by various artists but never brought successfully to life in a film. What I've seen of Burton's movie thus far gives me excited chills. I can't wait until it comes out (3/05/2010)! For anyone who's ever quoted The Jabberwocky from heart... this movie, and the wallet I was inspired to create... they are for us.

Long time no post

Hello all! Gosh, I've really been slacking off about posting here. Amazingly I've been managing to keep pretty busy despite having personal issues (remember about a month ago, I posted that my boyfriend of 3 years broke up with me? I'm moving on! I even have new mancandy to help with that *wink*) And I've come up with some awesome new stuff I want to share with you!
First is those wallets I've been talking about forever. They're finally listed and available for purchase on the site! More new wallet designs are coming soon, I'm planning on really expanding my wallet section and doing a lot more custom work.

Next I want to share some new packaging I made last night! I've been seeing bag toppers all over and always wondered "wow how do they make those?" Then - DUH - it hit me like a ton of bricks. They just print out a design on nice paper and fold it in half! Durrr, that's not hard! So I whipped up a design and made some for myself.
I can't beleive how proffesional they make my orders look! I can't wait to get some more earring orders now (I had a bunch of supplies to send out that I put them on, but I think the earring packaged are prettier!) You can even see the freebie I put into each order in that pic ;) Well, that's all for now! I'll update again soon!

Update From My Life

I had my orientation for Indiana University yesterday (I'm transferring in as a sophmore.) I was going to get a business degree, but it would mean cramming in a zillion required classes this year (no, I'm serious, it would be almost impossible. Their business school is very good and very cutthroat.) So my declared major is now Apparel Merchandising! I know, it's not very common, but it's hella useful for my chosen career path, provided that stays the same for the next 2 years or so. Anyway, I'll be minoring in business, so I'll still get tons of nerdy business skills. So I get to take classes in fashion design and accounting. Can we say, perfect?

In other news, I've been secretly working on totally new line of wallets! I've designed them and started to laminate them and cut them out, but haven't sewed any up yet, so I can't show you :( but I will show you this awesome secret preview!

Oooooh. No copyright infringement here, guys, it's all original :)

COMING SOON IN LIA'S LIFE:
1. New hostess job at Olive Garden!
2. Craft fair this weekend! 2 days! Lots of kids! $75 that I must make to break even. Yikes. I'm going to have to do a ton of sewing this weekend so I at least have some more expensive items. I hope some of the people at this fair like hot topic shirts.
3. I have 3976763 consignment orders to go out in the next few weeks. Hopefully I can at least make some money that way, b/c this summer is going SO badly.
Stay tuned!

Wallet Contest!

I'm trying something new. My Harry Potter Wallets are being discontinued because, apparently, people at Warner Bros have nothing to do but hunt down innocent crafters and yell at them (bitter? me? Never!). So, there will be no more copyright infringement. From now on I'll be making my own unique wallet designs, using my computer graphics-making skills and quotes and such. Which is where you come in! I need quotes! I've already got some ideas, but I'm planning on making a vast catologue of pop culture referencing wallets! My contest:

1. Submit a quote in this post from a movie, TV show, song lyric, book/series, poem, etc. Tell me where it's from in case the fact that I live under a rock prevents me from getting it.
2. Leave me your email address, or choose the box in the comments that says "send me email replies."
3. If I like your quote and make a wallet with it, I'll sell you a wallet for $10, which is the wholesale price (normally $15, which will probably be going up soon). I understand that not everyone will WANT a paper/tape wallet, though, which is why this is optional.
4. The best quote ever that I love gets a Free Wallet using their quote!
5. Submit as many as you want. GO!

Proffesional Photography

Last week I sent in these jewelry items to an awesome DIY seller who's going to include my jewelry in her clothing photoshoot! Her photoshoots are always AMAZING so I'm SO excited that she's doing this basically for free (she's keeping one of the pairs of earrings.) I'll reveal everything when I get the photos back!

I apologize for not updating recently, I'm currently going through some personal stuff with the boyfriend and this is just not my weekend. On the bright side, I've managed to distract myself by watching reality TV and lord of the rings while making lots of wallets.... now I just need to sew them up!

BITCH pic!

Ohmygod... best customer pic ever:

Thanks so much, Buttonhead! You rule!
PS you can get your own bitch wallet right here.

My Mildly Political Wallets Part I

So, after getting another custom wholesale order for my wallets today, and having sold something like over 100 since I created them, I think it's high time to explain my mildly political wallets to those of you out in blogworldland (yes, I made up that word, could you tell?)

First, we have my BITCH wallets. These wallets are made out of glossy copies of BITCH magazine covers. The magazine is a third wave feminist mag focusing specifically on pop culture: hence why, right underneath the word BITCH, are the words "feminist response to pop culture. I came up with the idea to make this wallet last year, when whilst admiring the huge, blatant word BITCH in giant letters, I thought how wonderful it would be to offend people with my third wave feminism every time I participated in consumer culture. So, I got out some clunky clear duct tape (definetly the wrong tape to use, I've switched since then) and covered the whole cover in tape, completely without thinking it out first. I ended up with a flimsy little trainwreck that kept popping open. So I stuck it underneath my sewing machine, which helped. Super proud of my creation, I showed it to my boyfriend (who is, amazingly, still my boyfriend.)
"What do you think?" I asked excitedly.
"It's .... okay," he said, ever the honest critic.
"How much would you pay for it?"
"Maybe $5." Ouch. He was right though, the thing wasn't very high quality.
So, I listed it. And it sold- right away! Not only did it sell, but I got 3 convos asking me if I could PLEASE, PLEASE make another wallet! I was shocked. My crappy wallet ... was popular?? I convo'd back affirming that I could make another one, but I'd have to charge more since I'd used up my only magazine copy, and I'd need to buy another one.
Since then, I've sold several hundred BITCH wallets, and the price and quality have continued to grow (currently $15 retail, $10 wholesale). My boyfriend is astounded by their popularity and maintains that he still wouldn't pay much for any wallet - it's the ATTITUDE of the wallet, I keep telling him, not the FUNCTIONALITY! I also got 3 months of relative fame when BITCH published a letter I wrote them about my wallets - including my url! Myself, I'm just happy to be spreading the word of feminism, advertising my favorite magazine, and shocking cashiers all over the world.