shastablasta wraps presents well

Pop-up shop sneak peak

Wed, 08 May 2013 08:25:51 -0700

Here are some in progress images of a few of my wares I’ll be selling this Friday and Saturday at Arch. Pop-up shop details are at the bottom of this post.

I’ll have some of my other cat crafts including cat balls (that’s not a typo). I’ll be debuting a new cat balls color and I’ll have my newly printed greeting card that doubles as a cat toy.

I’m really excited about a big letterpress printing I just completed related to the mystery boxes up above. I’m going to save the big reveal for a later blog post but in the meantime you can see my finished product at the pop-up. I’ll admit this project is a bit risqué. What can I say… I’m hoping sex sells.

Reception and pop-up: Friday, May 10, 5pm-7pm, wine, cheese etc.
All day pop-up and wrapping demo: Saturday, May 11, 12pm-5pm
Location: Arch Drafting Supply, 99 Missouri St (@17th st) San Francisco, CA 94107

Here’s the event page on facebook.

Shastablasta Pop-up shop @ Arch

Thu, 02 May 2013 08:06:54 -0700

I’ve been furiously making for the last couple months because I’m going to be selling my creations in May at Arch! I’m really excited to have this opportunity. I’ll be selling some new letterpress projects and I’ll be providing tips for gift wrapping. If you have a mothers day gift I can wrap it pretty for you. We’ll also have supplies for you to make gift tags for your upcoming wrapping needs.

The Basics
Reception and pop-up: May 10, 5pm-7pm, wine, cheese etc.
All day pop-up and wrapping demo: May 11, 12pm-5pm
Location: Arch Drafting Supply, 99 Missouri St (@17th st) San Francisco, CA 94107

Arch was one of the first stores I discovered when I moved to San Francisco over eight years ago. They were two blocks from my work and I toiled away many a lunch time break coveting everything in the store. I won’t get into how many paychecks I’ve spent there. I can not say enough nice things about Arch but I’m going to try right now.

Arch is the perfect creative store. If you’ve never been I’ll give you a quick run down. On one half of the store they have architecture, art, design and crafting supplies. I have been inspired countless times to make something just by happening on a tool or material on “the left half of the store”. ”The right half” has it’s own set of magic. If you’ve ever received a gift from me it’s very possible I bought it at Arch. Arch is one of my secret gift giving weapons. The gift side has something for anyone. There’s jewelry, soap, books, gag gifts and things you never knew existed. Somehow it all works. There’s always a seasonal table. I’ve found easter decorations I didn’t know I needed… and many, many, christmas ornaments. Most memorable was a glass whale, and the next year I bought a narwhale to make a matching set. In addition to all that, everyone who works there is really nice and knowledgable. AND there’s alway parking on the street or in their parking lot. For years I actually didn’t even realize they had a parking lot.

If you’ve never been to Arch I hope you come and discover what a unique place it is. I’m happy to be adding to the experience for one weekend.

Catnip sequel

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:39:02 -0700

This grumpy card is a sequel to my catnip holiday card. I’ve had some success selling the holiday card and wanted to create a card for all seasons.

Why is the cat grumpy? I’m guessing that my cat would be grumpy if he had to wear a clown nose. Your cat won’t be grumpy after you pull off the nose which is a catnip filled wool ball.

This was one of my smoothest printing projects. Usually when I print I’ve forgotten an important detail and need to jerry-rig something to accommodate my error. It made the process go quicker by choosing colors that didn’t need to be mixed. I used them straight from the ink tube. I printed slightly over 100 cards using 3 colors, 4 plates plus creasing for the fold. This added up to over 500 impressions. Something so simple can add up to a lot of work but I’m very pleased.

I’m selling this card on Etsy and will have it at an upcoming local pop-up.

Purple gradient

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:53:03 -0700

Before ombre was the word du-jour I was happy to call gradual color shift a gradient. In an effort to try and give gradient some lime light I will be sprinkling it throughout this post.

Inspired by my new roll of rainbow gradient washi tape I decided to go on a hunt for purple gradients amongst my giftwrap supplies.

I really lucked out with my theme when I found a card in my stationary stash with a purple gradient fish. The card was silk screened but it reminds me of the split fountain letterpress printing technique.

Why purple? This was all wrapped and gifted to a gal who loves purple and now hopefully purple gradients.

Crown of peeps

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:26:39 -0700

It’s peeps season and I’m just about ready for Easter. Card stock + hot glue + peeps + paper flower embellishment = crown of peeps. I have to give credit to my roommate for suggesting I make a peep crown. I was trying to think of how I could top my peep hawk from a couple years ago.

California poppy for a california girl

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:41:00 -0700

I did some experimenting with paper flowers over the weekend. I used one on this quick wrap for a birthday present. Yes, I’m counting envelopes as wrapping paper. They can be the perfect container for flat gifts.

After the birthday girl opened a gift with pretty paper she handed me the wrinkled wrap and said “go make something with this”. This is what I made.

Hiatus

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:01:14 -0800

You may have notice that I haven’t posted anything to my blog lately. Unlike my cat I have not been lazying around. I’m still making things which includes crafting a new home for my blog. It’s just taking a bit longer than I planned. I hope to be blogging again in the very near future.

Surprise it's a baby shower

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:44:00 -0800

I went to a baby shower on Saturday with last minute gifts. My Invite got lost in the (e)mail so I had to whip up and wrap something quick. Old Pentagram/Studio Hinrichs calendars are still one of my favorite things to wrap kids gifts with.

Reflections on NYC, literally

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:04:34 -0800

Today I published an article on Felt & Wire about my experience at the 2012 Scotch Most Gifted Wrapper contest. I am very thankful for the support I had from the Felt & Wire crew and for the opportunity to share my experience. Kim Rogala and Pam Williams first told me about the contest and encouraged me to enter. Alyson Kuhn shared her own past (2010) contest experiences which helped me feel ready for the battle of the wrap.

Thank you also to the bounty of friends who were rooting for me on Facebook, Twitter, and in my text messages and email. If anyone loves to wrap I highly recommend entering the contest.

After the contest my weekend was filled with window shopping, real shopping and a lot of eating real good food.

Below I bring you a little of the NYC holiday spirit with some decked out Christmas windows.

Saks 5th Avenue

I love snow globes!

Bergdorf Goodman

There was a multitude of interesting shopping experiences besides the windows. My darkest shopping experience ever was at the one-day Neiman Marcus/Target pop-up that I stumbled upon on 5th Ave. The carpet was black and the overall lighting very dark with the products being featured with golden spot lighting in museum style vignettes. What did I buy? Wrapping paper of course, from Rodarte.

The shopping experience at the Etsy pop-up shop in Soho was full of entertainment (free wine! short talks and an oxford style design debate followed by DJing from Pat Mahoney) and the friendliest people. Having recently started selling on Etsy I greatly appreciated the meta experience and talking to Etsy employees. I also walked away with a couple letterpress giveaways of this do it yourself giftbox.

Couldn’t help but take a snapshot of some wrapping at Kiosk another fun Soho store.

Ornament Exchange + Holiday Fair

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 08:41:36 -0800

These are some of the final ornaments I made for the exchange I wrote about last month. I’ve been giving these away almost as fast as I’ve been making them. I took these pictures shortly before packing these guys up for the mail.

My inspiration was to create a dimensional version of some holiday masking tape experiments I made last year.

The ornament exchange was good motivation to create an ornament that could do triple duty for the exchange, to be given as gifts and to be sold. I participated in the San Francisco Center for the Book Holiday Fair this year where I sold some of my wares including the ornaments which proved to be a hit.

Thanks Dan Grindle for the Holiday Fair images.

Make-shift Christmas tree complete with star

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:00:00 -0800

This years tree is courtesy of some manzanita branches from my parents yard. My roommate is very allergic to Christmas trees so I got creative. This little tree can’t fit all my ornaments but it was the perfect low stress solution for my decorating this year.

The colorful star is from a Christmas trip to Mexico two years ago.

POSTSCRIPT:

After I returned from Christmas I discovered my make-shift tree had taken a crash. Was it my cat? Was there a minor earthquake while I was away? I’ll never know.

Luckily my mom wrapped a gift for me in a box topped with an extra sparkly bottle brush xmas tree. It saved my little arrangement so my living room can stay festive into the new year.

Crude craft: Cat Balls

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 08:00:38 -0800

That’s right, I said cat balls.

Last year I started experimenting with needle felting. One of the first items I created was a wool and catnip toy. I ended up creating a Christmas card to feature the toy.

During my prototyping process I gave some friends my experiments. I’d used some wool I’d had on hand which wasn’t the most pretty of colors. The joke was made “Are you giving me a cat’s ball? Did your cat throw this up?” The crudeness of the jokes have lingered with me and I decided to see it through to fruition. So yes, now I am a seller of cat balls. Imitation cat balls.

Craft pen pals

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 10:09:12 -0800

A few years ago I participated in an ornament exchange organized by Blu Penny. It’s sort of pen pals for the holidays. I’m a sucker for buying new ornaments each year so it’s exciting to get them in the mail.

I’m joining the exchange again this year and there’s still room if you’d like some motivation for holiday crafting. Sign up by November 25th! I suggest joining with friends so you can exchange with your group of local crafters as well as your new pen pals. It’s a good way to quickly grow your handmade ornament collection.

We’ll see what I come up with this year but in the meantime these are my ornaments from when I participated in 2009. These gingerbread men were made with the re-use of brown paper bags. They were a good excuse to bring out my PrismaColor pens and sewing machine. They were finished off with some stuffing, bakers twine and embroidery floss.

These guys were the re-use of trader joes holiday bags. The snowman is my favorite.

NYC here I come! Gift wrap finalist!

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 07:59:00 -0800

I’m excited to announce that I am a finalist in the 2012 Scotch Most Gifted Wrapper contest. I will be competing in New York City’s Celsius at Bryant Park for $10,000 on November 30th.

I will be one of 8 contestants competing in 3 elimination rounds of competition. In past years contestants have had to wrap pianos, gum ball machines, in-line skates, snow sleds, and backyard playground sets. It’s safe to say that I will not be wrapping a box in this competition.

The application process this year involved creating a (wrap) video that needed to demonstrate wrapping enthusiasm, show gifts I’ve wrapped and include a wrapping tip.

These are some gifts from my video demonstrating one of my tips. TIP: One wrapping paper can be used for many occasions.

Green gifts galore

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 09:41:56 -0800

Close friends of mine got married at the end of October. One of the ways I was able to participate in their wedding was to wrap all the gifts they gave their parents and bridal party. The prominent color for the wedding was green so I scoured San Francisco for green wrap as well as used some Christmas wrap I already had. In all I wrapped about 26 gifts using 7 types of paper.

Congratulations Terri and Dan! AKA: Derri Grindano.

Only I can prevent forest fires

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 09:16:31 -0700

The secrets out. With this years Halloween costume I have to admit I love Smokey the Bear. As an adult I’ve stalked him in parades to take pictures and now I’ve crafted my own bear suit. I was pretty much born with the obsession. My parents met fighting forest fires so I knew who Smokey the Bear was before Mickey Mouse.

Only you can prevent city fires. And OH, I, don’t know why this door says Ohio.

Details from the costume: Paper mâché shovel (the “wooden” handle is a wrapping paper tube). The belt buckle is made from hand cut paper letters and spray paint. The jacket I sewed and is the first thing I’ve ever made with sleeves.

To stay authentic I like to incorporate my purse into my costumes. This year I’ve created a fire pouch from felt.

My Yosemite cap was the true inspiration for my costume. Purchased on a trip this spring I wanted to make sure I’d be able to repurpose my $10 souvenir. The ranger cap is meant for children so apparently I have a head the size of a 3 year old.

Lastly my favorite part is the mask and ears I sculpted with needle felting.

Comparing noses with other creatures from the city forest.

Fun fact; Smokey the Bear walks around shirtless. Bear hug anyone?

Thanks Jen, Chanda, Uriah, Sara for my multiple photo shoots and photo direction.

Polka-dot pumpkin lantern

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:15:00 -0700

I had some fall fun carving a pumpkin. The polka-dot pumpkin on the right is mine. Turns out a pumpkin carved on all sides doesn’t stay lit well in this windy city. Doh!

I dyed at the Etsy Craft Bar

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 08:13:15 -0700

This past Thursday I attended an Etsy Craft Bar event at the Museum of Craft and Folk. We learned about natural dye techniques and dyed some silk samples with Coreopsis flower.

Because we only had one type of flower I improvised and used my glass of wine as a second dye. Wine is natural right?

There was some sad news at the event. The Museum will be closing permanently after their current exhibit and Thursday’s event was the last Craft Bar hosted by them.

Drunk cat craft

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 08:31:47 -0700

This post is brought to you by my tipsy friends. I received a coloring book for my birthday and as a result I am now a strong advocate for drinking and crafting.

These last two are my sober colorings. I’d forgotten how relaxing coloring can be, especially coloring while laying in a patch of sun.

Colorist credits kept anonymous to protect the innocent and also because I don’t know who to thank for these beautiful creations.

Juxtaposition

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:50:46 -0700

Gift for a bachelorette.

Gift wrap, Sappi promotion by Studio Hinrichs
Postcard topper, Andy Warhol