Red Marionette

Atomic Holiday Bazaar 2009

2009-12-17T10:49:00.003-05:00

Atomic Holiday Bazaar this year was a blast!
I had a table space at the Saturday evening show and a booth space at the Sunday show. Here is Mr. RedMarionette in the booth space and I am standing at the table space. LOTS of color.

We got to vend next to our good friends ElleBelleOnEtsy and had a wonderful time spent with them.
It was great to see all of the new goodies people had out this year compared to last year. We have some creative ladies here!

Perpetual Pickles had some wonderful canned pickles that were Sweet hot and Garlic Dill. The Crafty Hag was on our other side and she always has amazing stuff. Go check out her cute little yeti's!

It was such a fun experience pushing myself to get all of the products done, maintaining the stock for the show and Etsy. I learned a lot about myself, my marketing, my capabilities and many other things.

I had a wonderful customer purchase my owl centerpiece. Goodbye Mr. Owl. I shall have to make a counterpart for any shows I may do next year! He certainly catches attention. Maybe a bat again instead of an owl.

More photos can be found on my flickr site here: Red Marionette Atomic
Go take a gander!

Once again I'd like to thank everyone for their support this year! Its been a very tough year for a lot of people. Keep your chin up, make do and mend and if you are going to buy, buy handmade! Merry Christmas!

Red Marionette in Action!

2009-12-17T00:38:00.003-05:00

What a lovely bunch of photos!
I love seeing the items in use!
A walrus tree! The Red Marionette tree skirt! The Ned the Moose stocking and the multitude of critters on the tree!
I wanted to share my appreciation to all of my customers, family and friends for the support and love you all have shown throughout this year. I am truly blessed!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Last Minute Shoppers! Free Shipping on all Domestic Orders!

2009-12-15T14:17:00.002-05:00

Hi all!

I am running a last minute Free Shipping on all Domestic Orders sale at www.redmarionette.com! Tree Skirts and Wreaths go Priority mail.

The sale goes through 8am on Friday!

Money will be refunded after check out!

I will be keeping my shop open through the Holiday week although our last post office run is 12/18 (This Friday) and the next one is 12/28 (when we get back from our Holiday Trip)

I promise a blog post will come soon regarding the shows last weekend! :)

Merry Christmas!

Hello World! Its Christmas Time!

2009-12-08T16:58:00.003-05:00

I know I have been remiss in my blogging duties. I apologize.

Christmas has been full swing in Red Marionette world, the studio is all populated with felt critters, tubs of little faces staring out at me in stacks as tall as my shoulder. Glitter has migrated fully into the land of the kitchen space, the bedroom space and now on to the cat.

What a joyful season!

We have done little REAL decorating at Red Marionette headquarters. The palm trees outside the house got a twinkly light makeover on Thanksgiving due to Mr. Red Marionette and his father. That is as far as we got. I am in a slight grump about that as I was hoping to have space to put up my Christmas tree but no such luck this year. No time. I hope the festive Christmas-joo-joo forgives me!

I am substituting my home decorating with my Craft show booth decorating. At Atomic Holiday Bazaar this coming weekend I will be setting up a little vignette. A cardboard fireplace, a chair draped with tree skirts and nestled amongst stuffed animals and pocket peepers. Stockings will be hung with care. Wreaths will be displayed......A tree decorated with my ornaments. The whole setup will be my version of Holiday decorating. I promise photos early next week of this event.

Please support Handmade this Holiday season!

Come get some goodies from my store before I unlist them all for the show this weekend, too!

www.redmarionette.com

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Want to meet me?

2009-12-01T11:20:00.002-05:00

I know the title sounds kinda creepy and stalker-ish.
Hehe!
This year I will be doing two large shows. You can come meet me in person!

This coming weekend I will be here:

Handmade Holiday Bazaar this Saturday at Fiberologie, 411 15th Ave N. in St. Petersburg from 10 AM - 4 PM : FREE GOODIE BAG TO FIRST 25 GUESTS! So come early, get a prize AND the best selection of groovey handmade gifts from many local artists! Hope to see you all there!

The weekend of the 12th and 13th I will be in Sarasota, FL at the Municipal Auditorium:

This year Atomic Holiday Bazaar introduces a Saturday Night Show on December 12, 2009, 5:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m., 18 and Over with a $7 Admission. Atomic Holiday Bazaar's first Saturday evening craft show will present 40 crafters who infuse their dark hearted creations with splashes of punk, dabs of rock and jabs of general tuffness. The evening's entertainment includes burlesque performances by Moxie Le Femme and live music raining down upon the crowd like a foamy draft beer with rockabilly-punk rock by The Redliners, The Dead Popes and Viva Le Vox. Cosimo's Brick Oven. will be on hand selling small bites, beer and wine. Two fashion shows produced by Doll Face, Inc., will showcase vintage clothing from Silly Rabbit Vintage and Vintage Stew in addition to a second fashion show featuring rock-a-licious costume design by Joanna Coblentz of Doll Face, Inc., and Adrien Lucas of Tuff Betty Bags. If you keep your ticket stub from Saturday night and wish to return on Sunday to shop with even more vendors, with your Sat. night ticket stub, admission is only $3.

Atomic Holiday Bazaar celebrates its fourth Sunday show on December 13, 2009, Noon- 6 p.m., All Ages Show, $5 Admission, Children 12 and under get in free. Atomic Holiday Bazaar's Sunday craft show features over 80 crafters who create amusing handmade DIY crafts. Holiday shopping offerings include handbags, t-shirts, jewelry, body products, home décor, baby items, plushies, a smidge of art and even canned goods. This is not your granny's craft show! Free cotton totes will be handed out by the Bradentucky Bomber roller derby team to the first 100 adults through the door. Atomic totes are a local collectible and this year totes have been screened by locals Clothesline; the totes are filled with swag ala' Atomic style with special offers from our vendors, zines, buttons, samples and more.

Thankful

2009-11-27T14:08:00.004-05:00

We had a wonderful non-traditional Thanksgiving yesterday.
I dont care much for Turkey, never have really. This year I decided I had a hankering for fish. Pilgrims had fish, right?
So a call was placed to my father in law who is a fisherman as a hobby and we asked them if they would like to visit us for Thanksgiving to have a fish fry.
The next day I am still stuffed full of corn pudding, fish, coleslaw and seasoned potatoes, and I am thankful.
I do stop often and give thanks for the things we have. We lead a fairly simple life. Living on one income for the better part of a year has changed a lot in our lives.
I am working. Mr. RedMarionette is unemployed right now. Yet we are so thankful for our health, our family and friends, the additional income we have received from being able to sell on Etsy.
Life is an uphill battle for a lot of people right now and I think things are changing for the better. The life of excess that many of us have lived with for so long is slipping away. And in my opinion, I think that purifies our lives. It weeds out the unnecessary. The unessential. Shows us what really makes our lives fulfilling. Small things and simple things and who you are, not what you have.
Not the huge honkin SUV or the Diamonds or the fancy meals.
Family. Health. Hobbies and Happiness.
The ones you love are the ones that will be around forever.
Not the large Escalade that you purchased.
Not the bottle of fancy wine.
Not the designer purse.
You. You are the one that matters.
Be thankful, Be loving, and Be yourself.
Happy Thanksgiving.

My secret to mass production...

2009-11-20T07:35:00.002-05:00

What we occasionally refer to around here as Critical Mass.
I have had several people ask me how I make the output that I do. The sheer quantity of products that are produced this time of the year and throughout the year.
I have two key words for you all.
Assembly Line.
I use Assembly line style production for everything I make.
Cut out all of the bodies.
Cut out all of the faces, feet, ears, tails.
Stitch all of the faces.
Stitch all of the tails.
Stitch around the outside and puff with stuffing.

Thats done in batches as well. Batching the product so you dont have to change thread color as often also saves time! You dont have to switch mental gears to adjust to another design. You pick one animal and go. I try to work in batches of at least 5.
Occasionally ill only finish one or two if I sit down and dont have much time. But I am one or two further along.

These are some of the tips I find help me out a lot!
I have learned my lesson this year though, I will be starting Holiday production in Feburary of next year. No more scrambling for me. I was totally unprepared for this rush of sales in November as last year (2008) I only had 30 something sales for the whole month. It has been a wonderful surprise, but I hate to admit I wasnt ready. It wont happen again.
Hope these tips help with your production this Holiday season!

Tis the season...

2009-11-19T07:11:00.002-05:00

Tis the season for swollen and stiff fingers from so much cutting out.
Tis the season for less sleep than the body needs and relying on coffee and sugar to keep me going.
Tis the season wonderful family gathers around.
Tis the season my Husband has to pretend he lives alone a lot.
Tis the season the weather changes to something cooler so I feel more in the mood to sew.
Tis the season that is my busiest season.

Thank you to all of you out there who support what I do. Thank you to my Husband and family as I know this is a difficult time of the year with me pretending to be a hurricane and leave a wake of felt destruction across the house.
Thank you.

And now...
Atomic Holiday Bazaar Interviewed me and it ended up on Creative Loafing! Ka-POW!
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/the941/2009/11/18/atomic-holiday-bazaar-interviews-red-marionette/
Cut and paste the link into your web browser or click HERE

Etsy Voter - Holiday Decor

2009-11-17T21:36:00.003-05:00

My Green Christmas Wreath is included in the Etsy voter this week!
It is a vote put out to the Etsy community for them to vote for their favorite Holiday Decor!

I am so pleased and thankful for the exposure that these Wreaths are getting. I am excited since they are a new item in my line this year!

I am in full blown Red Marionette production to keep up with my Holiday sales. I have blown my goals for this year out of the water already!

I would love for you all to go take a look at the Etsy voter and cast your vote for your favorite Holiday Decor item. It doesnt have to be my item, but I would love it if you would support the Handmade Community and Etsy!
Please cut and paste this link into your web browser and log in to Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=79

Thanks a million!

Grandma doesnt have internet - Sneak Peek!

2009-11-14T20:08:00.003-05:00

It is a good thing my Grandma doesnt have the internet!
I wanted to make her a wreath this year for Christmas and since I had been making Holiday Wreaths I asked my Dad what colors she might like. He said she already had a Christmas wreath she just bought.
Hmm.
"Well does she have a spring one?"
Nope. Good. Im on it!
So finding spring flowers in November, Ladies and Gentlemen, isnt the easiest task. But I think I succeeded!
Here is the Bunny wreath I made for her for Springtime.

Multi-colored pom poms are hiding all around in the foliage and flowers like little puffy easter eggs. I had a lot of fun making this one.

Perhaps if the response is good I will consider making Spring ones for sale. Just dont tell Grandma you got to see it before she did! :)

Features galore! Weee!

2009-11-13T19:24:00.003-05:00

I received notice today that I was featured on two blogs.
Weeee!
Check them out!

http://goodlifeforless.blogspot.com/

http://foundhandmade.com/news/
Scroll down to the second block of stockings! Phillip in his pocket peeper is there!

Thanks so much everyone!

My head...its still visible above the water, right?

2009-11-12T19:28:00.001-05:00

Im alive!
My blogging has taken a regrettable turn south due to the lack of time to post fun and interesting things that I know you all are waiting anxiously to hear! heh.
Right?
I just wanted you to know I think I am keeping my head above water so far! I am having awesome sales thanks to Etsy and the features I am having. (Thanks Etsy!)
I am prepping for my Holiday shows and still working 40 hours a week. Mr. RedMarionette is being a doll and helping out with wrapping the wreaths, dinner and other necessities around the house.
So I am stopping in to say Hi and then flitting right back out!
Have a wonderful day everyone!

MyShoppingConnection.com

2009-11-11T12:08:00.003-05:00

My Funky Christmas wreath has been featured on MyShoppingConnection.com!

http://www.myshoppingconnection.com/articles/celebrations/holiday-wreaths.php

You can follow this link to see it!

Thank you all for the support of Handmade goodies!

It made me smile...

2009-11-10T09:21:00.002-05:00

Today I was stuck in some serious traffic on the way to work. Ticked that I will be late to work from going 2 miles in half an hour.
I look behind me with my rear view mirror and see an elderly couple in their car.
The wife says something and they both giggle manically.
It made me smile.
Giggling old people.

Tee hee!

Good Morning World.

Shopping

2009-11-09T22:42:00.003-05:00

I am doin a bit of shopping. Things that are kinda long overdue... I wasnt super productive tonight for Red Marionette so I figured I would be productive in personal stuff.

We found out quite a while ago that Mr. RedMarionette is allergic to his tungsten wedding band so I just recently purchased a stainless steel hypoallergenic surgical grade ring from this seller: Divine3Designs

I cant wait to get it and I know he will be excited to be able to wear a wedding band everyday. :)

I am also looking for a pair of Red, blue or black fingerless gloves. My hands get chilly from working so much on hand sewing (especially when Mr. RedMarionette loves to have the windows open and the 60 degree breeze coming in) id love to be able to keep my hands warm and not have them stiffen up. Any suggestions? Id love to shop from an etsy person, not sure if I need little ones that stop at my wrist or ones that go all the way up my forearm a bit. Id love to see listings if you all have suggestions!
Thanks much and happy shopping to us all!

8 Layers of Fluffy Felt Horror

2009-11-07T19:16:00.003-05:00

I realized tonight that I have a tired little sewing machine. It has served me well but I have discovered its limit.
Its a singer sewing machine I picked up at a rummage sale for $20.00
That in itself makes me very happy. An unwanted item from someone became an extremely useful tool for me.
I am guessing it is about 15 to 20 years old. Metal. Heavy. Durable.

For the tree skirts I am making this season, I have four layers of felt across the front for the snowbanks, base and front. When that is stitched and turned in to topstitch, it becomes 8 amazing fluffy layers of horror for my machine.
It cannot maintain the pressure on the presser foot with that many layers (the foot that holds down the fabric) so it knots up the thread into horrible rats nests that I have to rip out.
I have managed to finish 5 skirts. The last two today have had a lot of extra work put in to them ripping back out and then trying to get a good seam.....
Tonight it let me know it is done.
Rats nests galore so I called it quits.....for now.

I have a backup coming from Mr. Red Marionettes family that is an OLD heavy duty gear driven sewing machine. (Thank you Grandma!) I get it. In three weeks.
Until then I will do everything up to that last little top stitching.
So dont fret! Production doesnt stop, I will have more soon!

Atomic Holiday Bazaar interview!

2009-11-06T15:36:00.003-05:00

http://atomicholidaybazaar.blogspot.com/2009/11/red-marionette-interview-for-atomic.html

TA DA! You can cut and paste the link into your web browser or follow the link here: Red Marionette Interview

I am super excited and honored to have Adrien write up a little doodad about me!
Heck yeah!
It is also being featured on Creative Loafings blog here:
http://www.sarasotaspeaks.com/node/52778
Creative loafing is a regional publication which covers various areas in the US for the do-it-yourself and artsy scene.

On another note my beautiful purple wreath sold last night. It is going to a wonderful home and Mr. Red Marionette is starting on yarn wrapping another one today. :)

Productivity and exciting times!
Happy Friday!

Somebody likes me!

2009-11-05T21:30:00.003-05:00

I was on the front page again!

The item had over 1000 views in the half hour it was on the front page!

It is the green wreath in the top right corner!

The odd thing was it was under an Etsy search term "Swedish"

Am I missing something and swedish includes green items? :)

I am ever grateful to the support from friends, family, bloggy stalkers and everyone that loves Etsy.

Thank you all again and have a wonderful evening!

Party Owl

2009-11-04T07:36:00.004-05:00

Last night we had a printing party. When I say we I mean Mr. Red Marionette and I.
This is the new card I am releasing this week.
I am having a lonesome cutting party today to cut out all of the cards and later in the week I will even embellish some of my holiday ones with a tiny splash of glitter in a few of the snowy areas.

They can be seen here without glitter:
Phillip
Bobby Joe, Bobby Ray and Bobby Steve
Ned

I am excited to be releasing these and particularly excited to be sending some to family who have never seen these before. It has been cooler weather here as well so it definitely is getting me in the mood for the Holiday rush!

Coffee and Sleep

2009-11-03T07:37:00.002-05:00

I have discovered that coffee and sleep are the two most important things I have to have when doing a TON of crafting. The season has officially launched and I am getting a little less sleep and having a little more coffee. The ratio will eventually slope further as the season goes on.

Let the games begin! :)

Happy Halloween and a feature!

2009-10-31T13:05:00.005-04:00

Ive been Featured on DIY Addicted
You can click on the text or cut and paste this into your browser:
http://diyaddicted.blogspot.com/2009/10/friday-featured-artist-red-marionette.html

She has picked some awesome product photos and it is a nice feature! Check it out and comment!

Also, Happy Halloween to those of you who celebrate it! I am making a rice krispie treat graveyard this year.
The base is a rice krispie treat just how its made on the box. I toasted coconut and added green food coloring. I crushed up oreos for the dirt. I iced vienna finger cookies for the headstones and the skull and bones is a sweet tart halloween candy.
Its quick and fun to make!

Stay busy and have a wonderful day!

Well, would you look at that?!

2009-10-29T21:40:00.004-04:00

I was on the front page of Etsy this morning for the first time! It was up for over 30 minutes! 7am Eastern time!
Hooray!

I found out because www.statsy.org emailed me letting me know! Its a nifty feature they have on there.

My tree skirt is dead center in the second row down.
I snapped a screen shot and didnt know how else to get a shot of it.

YAY!
Hope this is the beginning of good things to come!

Tree Skirt Stack

2009-10-26T21:24:00.002-04:00

This is the stack of ten tree skirts I am working on tonight. Totally unassembled and about to get the little critters matched to them tonight. These are the 36" diameter ones. I am only making two large ones as of right now. Just too darn big.
Thanksgiving is creeping up rather quickly and that is the last weekend I will have anything major to work on. Mr. RedMarionettes parents are coming in to town so I will have to clean up my messes. :)

Short post for tonight, but a sneak peek cell phone photo for you all!
Nighty night!

Weekend update.

2009-10-25T22:35:00.003-04:00

Time sure does fly!
I got a ton of work done on Friday Night and Saturday but today was weekend chore day and not a lot was accomplished. Paying bills, laundry, crockpot calico beans, grocery shopping, cleaning... Yeah.

Friday night I created a pink and lime wreath called Funky Christmas and it can be found here: Funky Christmas
I also made a Red and Green traditional colored wreath called Christmastown and the one you see further below called Woodland Christmas.

I felt it was very productive. I did have one of the Christmastown wreaths purchased early Saturday morning so a second one was made and listed tonight. Yay!

Saturday I spent making more owls and critters for wreaths as well as the multicolor "discs" you see on the wreaths. It does take a bit of time to sew them.

I also cut out ten new tree skirts. They are the 3' diameter size. I am excited about finishing them up as I have some new color combinations I am using...just let me say Yellow felt!
I also sewed 8 new stockings. I wanted to do a pirate theme one last year and never got around to it but yesterday I finally did! Its a black stocking with pirate pattern fabric for the cuff and white pom poms! Exactly what little boys would like!
I feel like my Holiday rush in my store has already begun which is a wonderful feeling. I seem to keep more motivated when I have sales, but who doesnt?
I am getting more and more excited as time ticks closer to the Handmade Holiday Bazaar and the Atomic Holiday Bazaar.
I love setting up the tent and displaying my critters in a little environment. The fun circuslike tent I have really makes all of the colors pop. Here are some photos from last year: Red Marionette Booth

Exciting times! Have a good Sunday Night all!

Mom

2009-10-23T07:35:00.002-04:00

I had a good talk with my mother last night.
She is the sweetest, kindest person in the world. Gentle and caring...
She gave me the kick in the pants that I needed.

She is visiting Florida to help out on my December 3rd show. This will be the first Craft show this mother /daughter duo has gotten to do in many years of my mother doing shows and my few years of doing shows. I am super excited.
We were discussing deadlines (like said shows) and I was telling her the quantity I had sold last year, and the quantity I had sold on Etsy as well.
Well it was clear to her I need to get the lead out. So she let me know.
Mr. RedMarionette has begun wielding the drum and whip to get me going, too (at my request). Now is crunch time. I have 5 weekends before family comes to visit for Thanksgiving. Then I have a show the weekend after that... AND Atomic Holiday Bazaar the weekend after that.
Alright, Mom. Ill listen to you. Ill work faster and harder and stay on task.
Sometimes even when you are 29... Moms still need to whip you in to shape. :)