How To: Card Hander Outer

Are you exhausted from handing out business cards all day? I'll bet you are. Charlie came up with this clever contraption that will do the work for you.

Step 1: Find something really cute to present your business cards. It can be a mannequin, stuffed animal or a name card holder.

Step 2: Try to include product placement on the Card Hander Outer.

Step 3: Keep the Card Hander Outer fully loaded. Please do not mess this up. Nothing looks lazier than someone who is too lazy to hand out their own business cards and is too lazy to reload the Card Hander Outer.

Brooklyn Flea: Buy It, Wear It

Today's Buy It, Wear It shopper is Steven. He traveled all the way from Manhattan to check out the Brooklyn Flea.

He picked out the Lorry Track Jacket in Brown and Light Blue to compliment his purple pants. Steven's fashion is practical yet groundbreaking. He chose to tough out the breezy day by layering and is not afraid to mix colors.

Brookly Flea: Buy It, Wear It

Ooh, we can't resist seeing someone in our clothing. Nothing excites us more than seeing someone walking out of our shop wearing our designs.

Today's Buy It, Wear It shopper is Chelsea. She looks so preppy in our cherry preppy print scoop neck puffy sleeve shirt. Here's to you Chelsea!

Craftstravaganza: Buy It, Wear It

Craftstravaganza: Buy It, Wear It

Craftstravaganza: Buy It, Wear It

Craftstravaganza: Buy It, Wear It

Craftstravaganza: Buy It, Wear It

Craftstravaganza: Buy It, Wear It

Craftstravaganza: Buy It, Wear It

Child Labor Expose

While we were vending at this year's St. Paul's Craftstravaganza, I noticed something. I saw a cute, little, short person behind a table. It turns out it was a kid. Shalom is a 9 year old who makes letterpress cards and notebooks, and sells them along side her mother, Krista from Papered Together.

This was no refrigerator art, folks. This was wedding invitation quality artwork. This kid had way better business cards than we did.

I blame Gossip Girl for all of the pressure we put on our kids to get into Ivy League schools. I was going to give the little girl a coloring book while she was waiting for sales, but she probably would have upcycled it into postcards or a calendar.

Customer Appreciation Pictures

We absolutely LOVE it when people include a customer appreciation picture with our Etsy feedback. Usually, we get pictures of super cute kids wearing our clothing. We finally received one from an adult and we went nuts.

We would like to present Dennis wearing our Mini shirt sitting on his Mini looking super cool! Thank you jkalea. You made our day.

Charlie and Stitch N' Bitch Star on Fox 9

You can see Charlie's legs and and favorite craft apron by GoMonkeyDesign behind the camera guy. He is waiting for the interview with the knitting world biggest star author of "Stitch N' Bitch" Debbie Stoller to wrap so he can get his turn.

You must watch this interview from the No Coast Craft-O-Rama!

Thank you CritterBee for providing the picture and the YouTube footage. We love you.

Find Us at The Pajama Squid

We are so excited to announce the opening a super cute children's boutique in Maryland called The Pajama Squid. They carry our British Flashcard toddler collection and totes and our American Prep Whale line.

If you live in the area or are visiting, you must stop by.

Etsy Front Page

And the treasury made the front page. Thank you Frog and Thistle!

Double Whammy! Etsy Treasury

We are mentioned in two Etsy treasuries at the same time. Thank you for thinking of us!

Nipplegate 2008

We had a modeling session last weekend. I made the poor girl stand next to an open window on a frigidly cold day. The lighting was good, but not without consequence.

I went to the Etsy Forums to find out how to fix the problem and people got right to the point:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5511660&page=30

Whale Here It Is

Here are our first couple of attempts at applique. We're still working it out. Hopefully, whale be able to add them to our shop soon.

Who Wore It Better?

Results:

Votes so far: 40 (Poll closed)
Charlie: 38 (95% )
Manny (the mannequin): 0 (0%)
It's too close to call: 2 (5%)

Our Men's clothes have been unfairly modeled by women mannequins, a hanger or just folded. I have been trying to get Charlie to model some new prints for months. He is either too tired after work or he can't be bothered to shave.

I ordered a Gap mannequin off eBay to model the men's clothes. We named him Manny. In the name of tabloid journalism, we have created a blog segment called "Who Wore It Better?". It is a faceoff between Charlie and Manny. Somehow, this has motivated Charlie to resume modeling.

Custom Made Easter Bunny Boy

We are very careful about the number of plushies we bring into the house. They seem to multiply quickly. We started a tradition to buy one very sentimental bunny plushie each Easter. This year we will be welcoming Elliot into our family.

We found him at http://www.PillowMonsters.etsy.com. Well, we saw his sister and Nichol from Pillow Monsters not only made me her brother, but she let me have some input on his genetic makeup.

Then, she even told me his background:
Elliot loves peeps. He wants to be a sculptor when he grows up, and he would like for his medium to be peeps! He likes sculpting peeps because they are really squishy and you don't even need glue, and they are edible. He likes to make very interesting things and then give them to his very best friends as a present. Easter is his favorite holiday. He's not sure but he think the Easter Bunny may live in a hole in his backyard, he spotted him one time on a very sunny day and he was sure it smiled and winked at him.

Where else can you find a doll that special?

DIY Light Box

If you land a partnership or wholesale account with an online shop, they may ask you to retake your photos using a white background.

Our time has come and we would like to introduce our newest creation:

The Light Box

Step One: Send your husband to buy foam board.
Step Two: Chat on forums until he comes back.
Step Three: Let your husband tape the corners together so the box will stand on its own.
Step Four: Clamp a light onto the foam board. You can use a gel to soften the light.
Step Five: Start snapping pictures.

Materials: Foam Board, Tape, Light with Clamp, Extension Cord, Light Bulb, Clothes Pins and a Gel.

New York City Skyline From Our Street

Usually, we don't stand in the middle of the street taking pictures. Today, a parade went past our block. The streets were blocked off. It gave us a clear shot of the New York City skyline at the bottom of the hill.

This is a very busy street which resembled 28 Days Later for a moment.

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Little Shop of Horrors

We just received a huge shipment of mannequins the other day. Charlie is such a busybot. The other night I heard him rustling through boxes and he spent the night in the hallway creating something that looks like a cross between "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Dead Silence". Imagine what this looks like in the middle of the night with the lights out.

Plans for 2008

Our first products ever were our Preppy Print shirts. We only stumbled upon the British Flashcards after a couple of fairs.

With Spring and Summer just around the corner, we decided to bring back the Prep.

Here is what you can expect:

• Preppy Prints
• Polos
• Biggie Monograms
• Superhero Monograms
• European Microcars
• and more British Flashcards

We look forward to introducing our new designs.

Charlie and Sarah

European Microcar- The Peel Trident

The Peel Trident Microcar is a car of the past with looks of the future. Its design allows its driver fuel efficiency. You could go for miles in this looker.

If you want to see this bubble car in action, watch these videos:

http://microcarmuseum.com/video/peel-trident.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07ub5rBdrE4