Crafty Underdog this weekend!

I have been busy preparing for this weekend's Crafty Underdog show here in Portland. If you're local, drop by and see me and all the other super talented crafters and artists...

A sad time

I will be heading to Phoenix tonight for a few days. My father-in-law passed away last night after several months of illness and struggle. It's a very difficult time for our family, so keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

leather and lace for spring

leather and lace for spring by kathy-welsh featuring mid calf leather boots

Scoop neck dress
$55 - romwe.com

MuuBaa genuine leather jacket
£399 - the-dressingroom.com

Ariat mid calf leather boots
$200 - sheplers.com

Cole Haan tote handbag
$29,800 - colehaan.com

Ring
$15 - patinastores.com

pink flower scarf

In addition to making hats, and since it's still winter in Portland (it snowed two days this week!), I've continued to crochet. I combined two things I make (a headband and a neck warmer) to create this flowery neck warmer. And I've needed it! I'll be putting this up on etsy at some point, not sure if I should put it up now since spring (and even summer in the Northeast) have arrived, so folks aren't thinking much about warm things like neck wraps.

new hats

I had an unexpected day off this past Thursday and decided to take a trip to my local thrift store just down the street. I saw a hat there that I really liked, the price was right, so I took it home. I  had a fabric flower pin I had just finished making and decided to add it to my new hat. They looked great together!

I wore my hat to work the next day and had several people compliment it, and a seed was born. I did some informal market research among friends and family the past few days and got lots of excitement regarding making the hats. So I visited a few thrift stores on Saturday and got busy embellishing my findings. I'm pretty happy with the results so far and will share more over the next week.

The weather in Portland is perfect for hats right now. We had rain, snow, hail and sun all just today...sheesh!

Sunday morning

It's been awhile

Here I am again, if anyone is left reading this! I don't know what happens, time just slips by and then it's a month and a half or two months since my last post. Anyway, here's a little of what I've been working on. I've been making a few fabric flower necklaces. I take a strip of fabric, do a running stitch to pleat it then sew it together and add a vintage button and some jewelry components. They're fun and kind of addictive.

I did a craft show a few weeks back called the Crafty Underdog. It wasn't the greatest sales wise, but I made some good contacts and have ideas of some directions I'd like to go in. A big focus coming up will be on my altered jackets. I have several lighter ones for spring that I'm excited to get to. I've just discovered Pinterest, so I'm exploring that as well.

So much happening

Howdy folks! It's been awhile and yet it seems like yesterday. It's been a busy time for me. Traveling at Christmas, then getting back and settling into life at home. My father-in-law is very ill, so a lot of time has been spent on the phone, giving as much support as I can from so far away.

I've been crafting as well, and have a few things to show you. I'll stick to one project per post. My first project I'd like to share is this necklace I made using Industrial Chic components from Michael's. I learned how to string and knot beads together on beading thread a few months back and have been so excited to add that element to my pieces. I call this necklace "Excavation".

 Some glass Czech beads that I knotted together to form a chain...