Treasury Love

Just wanted to share some Etsy treasury love for Third Street this month.


Eye See You by TessieTextile




Remember Red by InStitchesCo



The Better to See You With by Fabgabs

Thanks everyone!

Blanche

Growing up many of us had someone like an older cousin or a neighbor that we held in great esteem. Someone you looked up to with little kid admiration and love.

In our world, this person was our Aunt Blanche. Blanche is our mother's youngest sister and when Sonia and I were young girls she came over from Newfoundland to live with our family.

Blanche was just a young woman then - pretty, stylish, smart, fun (much as she remains to this day, of course). She had boyfriends, wore makeup, and chewed gum. When I was little, amongst my many imaginings I believed that grown-ups would eventually grow down to my size. I used to make Blanche promise that when she grew down to my size that she would let me wear all her awesome clothes. I had a particular fancy for a pair of burgundy pajamas she was fond of wearing.

And Blanche was our very own - she loved us, played with us, and took care of us. Blanche has a great laugh and always laughed a lot. I remember she used to hide in doorways in the hall and j ump out to scare us all the time and then she'd hug us while we all laughed. She played games with us and let us sit with her during grown up card games to help play her hand. She took us for walks and berry picking and played with us in the snow.

She listened to cool music like the Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, and Nazareth and she took us to do awesome things like rollerskating and to the theatre to see movies. Plus she could sing really well and knew the words to all the songs Dad liked to play on guitar. Whenever Dad would play Sing Me Back Home I remember I would cry. It's a sad song. Blanche would always dance slowly with me up in her arms during this song. It's amazing how something so small can mean so much and stay with you for so long.

Plus she was a friend and a support for Mom and Dad, something that I can now recognize for its true value. She helped take care of us and helped with the housework so everyone had more time to do fun things together.

Recently, while taking inventory of our dolls for the upcoming Fall craft season, Sonia and I decided that many of the dolls we have in our Big Sister collection were worthy of separate distinction on account of their advanced sense of style. And what better way to signify this beauty than to honor these special dolls with the name that exemplifies class in our eyes? Hence the Blanche Collection was created. 

Blanche Dolls have more defined faces and wear detailed attire and accessories. The are sophisticated and fun and ready to take on the world!

And in honor of the new collection, we have listed these two all new Blanche Dolls in the Third Street Corner Store on Etsy.

Pop by the shop for a closer look at these sweeties. 

Oh yeah, we make dolls!

We're gearing up to get back to our sewing machines, and start making dolls again.  Our "little" hiatus has somehow turned in to a six month sewing strike, sponsored by Farmers ice cream and homemade chai lattes.  I hope I remember how to use the iron.

 

In anticipation of this grand event, I took out all of our ready made little cuties for a Third Street Class Photo.

If you are interested in any of our dolls or would like to place a customer order please send us an email or message us on facebook.  We are also in the process of listing our dolls in our etsy shop and maybe just maybe we'll be at a market this summer.  We'll keep you posted ~ Sonia

Hand Embroidered Onsies

Here's a sneak peek at a few things that are in the works for this weekend's Christmas Craft Village. 

Pictures of individual onsies are available on the Third Street Facebook Fan Page, which you can access from the right hand sidebar.  While you're there, check out the link to the Christmas Craft Village Event page where you can confirm yourself as "attending" for a chance to win a free pass to the show.   

More pictures to come as the week progresses.

Also, the TSH etsy shop will be on vacation starting Wednesday, November 10th to help us prepare for the upcoming show.  W're hoping to have the shop back up and running by the following Wednesday.

Stay tuned!

This Little Piggy Went to Market

Andrea and I are excited to annouce that Third St. will have a table at the Alderney Landing Farmers Market on the Dartmouth Waterfront this Saturday (October 16th) from 8am to 1pm.  Please come and check us out, see our Dollies in person!

We'll be posting other fall show dates soon.  Can't make it to a show?  Check out our conrner store!

Santa's Halloween Costume

My four year old daughter has an amazing imagination and an inquisitive mind that never fails to fascinate.  The other day she asked her father what Santa Claus was going to dress up as for Halloween.  This just cracked me up!

As mentioned before, we've started making Halloween dolls.  And yes, they are actually dolls dressed up for Halloween - not just our usual dolls lying about in random stages of dismemberment displayed in ketchup.   Because that's just gross.  Who would even think of such a thing?  You my friend, have problems.

Anyway ... I've completed the finishing touches on one of the dolls.  He's a sort of ghoulish combination between our dolls and our Modern Monsters.  He will hereby be known as :

Monster Boyfriend of and Ill-Equipped Seamstress

The witches we've done are still being fitted in their hats, so I'll wait until they're fully completed before posting them here.

The Boyfriend monster and the witches will be listed in our shop upon completion!

How Can You Feel Blue When There is Tea to Enjoy?

Yes, another treasury. 

I can't help it - I'm hooked!! 

Leave me alone, I have tea to drink...

Tea makes me feel warm and at home. Little girl me having tea with father and grandmother, student me learning to rely on tea, nurse me finding comfort in tea during long and stressful shifts. Mommy me enjoying tea party delights with her 4 year old daughter, who pretends to like tea - much as little girl me used to - just to humor Mommy me. Crafter me has even been known to use tea (in less than conventional ways because yes, I do drink tea as I craft).

New Inspiration

Summer is winding down and my life is filled with the joys of my new daughter.  This weekend we celebrate her baptism and her first birthday.  (pictures to follow)

Andrea and I are in full swing at Third Street, amping up production and getting ready for the Holiday season.  We celebrated our forth sale in our Etsy store and received another order for 3 dolls.  It feels great to be getting "back on track", as I've been saying I needed to do for a while now. 

This fall we are creating some Halloween themed dolls.  They are at the embroidery phase, so watch for them in the coming weeks. Inspired by my trip to China, we've begun working on a new collection of dolls that will be available later this fall, Chinese New Year Dolls. These little lovelies will be wearing traditional inspired Chinese gowns, dressed and ready for a party!

Why I Don't Like Water Slides

"When I'm on them I feel like everyone is watching me."

Not my words, but those of fellow Etsian Amy, of The Peach Tree.

We wanted to send out a special thank you to Amy for featuring our Cloth Doll with Cat Eye Glasses in her Why I Don't Like Water Slides treasury.  This is an awesome analogy treasury made up of watching eyes a la etsy-esque voyeurism. 

I love it!!

Pop by and go clickety-click to help a girl out. Sorry, forgot I was speaking 'Andrea.' What I mean is go to the treasury and click on all the listings to boost our number of views - you may find something that you love and wee little Etsy shop owners may make it to the front page. And yes, that would mean another blog post telling you all about that, too.

Don't pretend you don't like hearing from me....

And, yes.  I love you, too. 

Even though you probably won't do that clickety-click thing I wanted you to do so much.  I'm just that kind of girl ... XOXO

A Doll for Every Doll

Check out this sweet Etsy doll treasury by CinnamonSweeties, featuring two Third Street cloth dolls. 

It is such an honor to be featured alongside so many sweet dolls!!

And for your comedic pleasure, be sure to read The Halifax Broad's recount of her recent Toyota customer service phone call.   I think it'd be... interesting... to be the driver of that cab.

Replicate one-of-a-kind handmade doll?? More of a variation of an old favorite, really.

Elegant rag doll?

Indeed!

This doll is especially charming with her wide and friendly smile,

her big blue eyes and her rusty red shoes.

This would be the third doll we've made using this awesome floral print for a dress. 

We loved this cotton fabric for its tea-stained vintage feel - it makes for such a classic dress.

So ... follow the link above to visit the Third Street Corner Store for a peek at our newest Third Street cloth doll.

Feeling a little Out-of-Focus

I've been a little distant as of late. 
Sorry. 

Here's what I've been doing, though:

• Attended the second HRM Artisans group meeting (email me for information) 
• Started a Facebook page for Third Street Handcrafters.  (Join now so you can get even sicker of us than you already are - see right sidebar for info my little eager beavers!) 
• Discovered Craftopolis and Etsy Hacks thanks to the gracious sharing of information from the HRM Artisan group members in the last July meeting
• Researching Etsy SEO and selling success tips.  Found this blog post particularly helpful
• Listing new dolls in the Third Street Corner Store
• Revising the Third Street Corner Store and experimenting with item renewal
• Listing dolls in the Third Street Corner Store
• Thinking about fall and Christmas craft fairs
• Considering new charitable endeavors
• Finishing up this quilt (and more here) for a special little someone
• Finished Voices in Time by Hugh MacLennan (read this if you love HMac like me!), which I wrote about here and have promised to revisit again upon completion for your continued literary education - a la Andrea
• Started Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris, which I will tell you more about as I delve deeper in the upcoming days

So you see, I've been busy.  Plus I was temporarily abandoned by my generally ever-present sister/partner who ultimately added to my distractions by bringing home my sweet new niece, Aster. 

How can a girl blog under these circumstances?

Newest Cloth Doll Listed in the Third Street Corner Store on Etsy.

My Sweetest and I recently did a photo shoot with the newest cloth dolls from Third Street.

This doll was just listed today.

If you get a chance to stop by, she'd be delighted to show you around the shop and introduce you to all her friends.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Sonia and family are back from China, and we all finally got to meet the adorable Aster.  

We had a great weekend!

I'm sure we'll all be treated to some travel stories and pictures in the days to come.

Or, maybe in the weeks to come. 

Bear with her folks: she's a new mom.

Did you hear me? 

Let me say it again.

Sonia's a mommy!

Yippee Yahoo!!!

Congratulations!!

Paradoxical Spring Slow Down

I'm very pleased to say that I've been experiencing a rather content and comfortable Spring.  After the busy couple of weeks (months?) we've had with spring craft shows, it's been nice to have a bit of a slow down.  We worked very hard since December to build up our inventory of dolls, toddler and baby bibs, binkies,  and tag balls and it's great to be able to slow it down a bit.  Sonia and I both work well under pressure but I must say, now that a little inventory pressure has lifted, I've felt the creative juices flowing anew.  The last two dolls I embroidered were so fun and challenging, I think largely due to the fact that I was free to work as the creative mood struck.   

Now that the shows are done we've been focusing our time and energy on our etsy shop, the Third Street Corner Store.  We currently have about half of our completed dolls listed.  This is the optimistic way of grading our progress.  We still have half of our completed dolls to list, all our baby/toddler bibs, binkies, and balls.  This is a lot of work!!  I've been chipping away at this process the last little bit and plan to make it more of a priority in the upcoming weeks. 

And I am happy to say that it's not for naught - since opening shop we've sold two dolls via etsy and attracted the attention of Love, Me Boutique's charming owner Chara who approached us a mere week after we opened shop wanting to sell our dolls in her Downtown Halifax store.  We made our first delivery a few days ago, so wish us luck! 

For more information on Love, Me please click on the button I've placed at the top of the page for a visit to the shop's great blog.  And if you are looking to purchase something unique and handmade in Canada, swing by the shop - you won't be disappointed.  Original artwork, glassware and pottery, clothing and accessories, children's section - they have everything.

But all work aside, I've been slowing down.  I actually had a long drawn-out bath the other night.  And instead of shaving my legs or dodging dinkies, I actually read.  A book!  My favorite book The Watch that Ends the Night by Canadian author Hugh MacLennan which I've been slowly savoring for about the tenth time.  Yes, seriously - I like to read good books multiple times.  I first read this book when I was 16 and actually wrote a paper on it for my 10th grade English class (I wonder if I still have that...)  I loved it so much that before I had children I used to read this book about once a year.  That's why My Sweetest bought me a new copy of the book for Christmas - I had warn out my second-hand hard cover copy.  This might actually be the first time I've read the book since my children came along, and my daughter is 4 - so when I say 'savor' I really mean it!  

The book takes place in Depression era Montreal in the years preceding and leading up to the second world war.  The story begins in then present day (~1950) spanning much of Canada and Europe, and weaves through the lives of the three main characters.  I will not say anymore - for now.  Having the obsessive personality that I do, I have been flagging some of my most favorite passages to share with you all once I've finished.  If you are interested in reading it, The Watch that Ends the Night (and other titles by MacLennan) is presently available for purchase in our Reader's Cafe which you can access by clicking the button located on our right sidebar. 

Read it - I know you'll love it.. You know, if you like that sort of thing...  Then we could discuss it!  If you like that sort of thing, too...

How is your spring going? 

What have you been doing to slow down? 

What have you been doing for you?

Big Sister Dolls

A while back Sonia and I picked up this really luxurious olive green crushed velvety fabric at Atlantic Fabrics (for an awesome price, I might add).  We didn't really know what we wanted to use it for, but we couldn't leave without it.

When we were preparing for our spring shows we decided this fabric would make great skirts and dresses for our dolls.  I thought I'd share a few of the dolls we've since created.

Both dolls belong to our Big Sister Collection:

Big Sisters are very sophisticated.  They love to read, ride bikes and help Mom and Dad around the house. Great friends for big-kid girls (aged 3 and up), these special cuties love to tell stories, dance, and drink tea. Plus, they are especially great at keeping secrets and picking out their own clothes.

Turns out the green fabric was awesome for embroidery.  We had the doll in the green dress completed for a long while but I was eager to do some embroidery accents for her dress.  Yesterday I finally got my inspiration...

 

What do you think?  She's so beautiful - I couldn't put her into the storage box with the other dolls!  She's been sitting on top of my entertainment centre since she was finished and I can't take my eyes off of her.  The flowers really pop against the green and the effect of the three colours used for the petals is quite pleasing - especially when viewed from a short distance.

The first doll has been listed in our shop and the second doll will be listed once I'm finished admiring her.  We have several Big Sister dolls listed in the shop - the concept of the dolls 'dressing themselves' offers up so much freedom and creativity - they are very fun to make!

Thanks for stopping by!

We are linking to:

Blue Cricket Design: Show and Tell

Life as Lori: Get your Craft On
Tatertots and Jello: Weekend Wrap Up

 

Swing by these great blogs to see what other great crafters have been up to this week!

Third Street Corner Store

We continue to list items in our shop - it's so much work!!! I see people who have over 1000 items listed and I have no idea how these sellers can do this!! We're trying to compile some listing guidelines for each of our doll collections to ensure that all of the pertinent details are captured - in addition to the fun little stories we like to include with the dolls. 

Then there's the pictures! 

We have about twenty more dolls to list, plus a ton of soft play balls, bibs, and binkies. 

I'm thinking of giving up sleeping.

Or breathing.

If you list your items in an online shop - you know what I'm talking about. 

Here's what we have so far ...

Crafters Blast

This year's Halifax Crafters Spring Fling has come and gone and for those of you who didn't make it out, I've put together a few pictures from the show to delight your eager beaver eyes.

Plus, I've included links to many of the talented crafters so that instead of subjecting you to my gushing descriptions of wordless art - you can paruse at your liesure. 

Aren't you lucky? 

About the parusing part, not the fact that you don't have to listen to me.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking...

Enjoy!

Philip Doucette Studio

Colleen MacIsaac ~Little Foible

Kristen Bassett ~ Banana Bottoms

Rhonda Miller ~ My Handbound Books

Lee Meszaros ~ Merit Badges

Shibang Designs

~ View from above ~

Kat Frick Miller

Sonia Harrod and Andrea Cottrell ~ Third Street Handcrafters

Ahem... in case you didn't notice - this is us.

The show was spectacular. 

There were so many talented crafters in attendence it was nearly overwhelming!

And I actually broke down and shopped the show - something I usually try not to do because I don't want to spend all of my money before I even have a chance to make it!  Or something like that.  I'm also very indecisive (wait - am I?) especially given the fact that everything is always so nice that I want one of everything!

Also present and greatly enjoyed by yours truly:

Cotton Candy Cupcakes

Double Happiness

LouLouBell

Kyla Francis

Anne Pryde Pottery

Roisin Fagen ~ Bespoke Uprising

Melissa Wyness ~ Thread of Mine

Elinor Crosby ~ UberWench

Isabelle Pineau ~ An Oddity or Two

Hello Daylight

Susan Timmons ~ The Silver Hook

White Raven Ink

Pam Onecia Johnston ~ Onecia

Hillary Webb

Kelly Day and Karyn Haag ~ Wildish

Salina Purnhagen ~ Sali Design

Five Surprises

Orphanage Clothing Company

Plus numerous other talented crafters whose cards slipped through my fingers. 

Yes - indecisive AND clumsy. 

What a gem.

Alexandria Doll and a Sneak Peak

I wanted to take a moment to introduce everyone to a very special little doll.

This little doll was made for Sonia's niece, Alexandria who is turning 11 years old today!!

 

 

The dolly has hand embroidered burgundy glasses that look just like Alexandria's.

And a button-y nose.

 

Alexandria has beautiful curly brown hair, so we employed a tad bit of doodle stitching to add so pink swirling accents. 

 

Very fun!!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, yeah.... 

Did someone say sneak peak ??

Well, if you insist...

 

Here are a few of the dolls we're planning to display at the upcoming Spring Fling.

 

 

These are just a few of the dolls we've made especially for our upcoming spring shows.

If you're planning on attending the show next weekend (see above link), swing by the table early to meet all of the girls and boys. 

They may not stick around for long...

Anyone who is not able to make it,
we'll be listing any remaining dolls in our etsy shop once things are back to normal.

 

And by normal, I mean when we've successfully expelled all of the lint and loose thread that we've inhaled in the midst of our mad-woman preparations.

I'm linking to:

We're busy preparing for the Halifax Crafters Spring Fling but of course, I'm still scouring the web in my "free" time. 

Something I've just discovered...

We know that everyone has a creative side. But not everyone is able to showcase their work to the world. That's where we come in. Based in Toronto, ON, iCraft.ca exists to connect artists, designers and craftspeople to those who appreciate their work. All creators of unique, one-of-a-kind items, can take advantage of the powerful marketing services offered.

Visitors to the site can browse collections, and have the ability to contact creators directly with questions or requests. Creators have the option of showcasing their ready-made merchandise online, and accept requests for custom orders or commissioned work.
A wealth of content intended to inspire and educate is offered to our Community Members - articles, regularly updated message boards, online classes and much more. Community Members are encouraged to submit original articles, photographs and event announcements to the site, and connect with other local and international Members.
Your passion and creativity is what drives us. And we believe in the power and influence of community. That's why we are here. Express who you are, and share it with the world.  (Overview taken from here)  

I'm thinking of checking this out after we're through with the show.

Anyone have any input?  Insights?  Experiences?

Please, do share!

Third Street Modern Monsters Online Debut Party

We've mentioned our monsters before but I realized that we haven't shown many of them. So I thought it was about time I made some introductions.  You know, so we can all mingle awkwardly amongst ourselves, having already forgotten one another's names while enjoying a caviar garnished appetizer.  Oh yeah, on Third Street, we go big on snacks.  

Understand that this is a special event.  Our monsters tend to hang out exclusively on Third Street where they enjoy the limitless wonders of the imaginary world that Sonia and I are working so hard to create.  A lively place, where the weather is always sunny and a balmy 28 degrees, and swimming trunks are only required while biking. Their only real excursions (well, prior to Ludwig's adoption into the home of Walter and Katharine/aka anonymous, where Freed secretly visits him in the early morning hours) have been to a few craft shows where Sonia and I have shown our work.  Modern Monsters are very loyal and supportive friends.

So without further ado I present :

The Third Street Modern Monsters

Freed

Freed is a smooth talking disco hero who doesn't dance.  Trust us, it's a long story and he's still a little sore on the subject. 

He pulls his look off so well we think he's actually undercover. Cops love to disguise themselves as circa 1970s pimps, you know. Narc, perhaps?

Freed will soon be taking up residence (until he sells, that is!) in our shop.  As soon as Sonia sends me that information that I requested.  Like a month ago.  Sheesh!

Ludwig

Ludwig is a monster who strives on a daily basis to overcome 'monster' stereotypes. He is polite, has good manners, and a day job. He wants a Blackberry for Christmas to complete his corporate image. Ludwig lives with his friends Walter and Katharine and acts as their administrative assistant.  He's hoping to save enough money to pay for braces to correct is monster esque overbite.

Lulu

Lulu was our first girl monster, made following an excursion to Atlantic Fabrics that resulted in our acquisition of alternate stuffing materials and a great deal of disorientation on my part (as the above link details).  This Modern Monster is all flowers and frills, an irresistible feature in the eyes of many little girls, including my princess/monster/ninja adoring 3 year old daughter.

Iziabella Annalee

How adorable is she?? 

I mean seriously?

Sonia and I veered on our fabric choices for this little girl leading to her evolution into a monster of the most darling proportions.  Izzy's stay with us was very short - she was snapped up at our Vervain Fair in September in a heartbeat by my friend Claudia who was gifting her to a friend's daughter living in Switzerland. 

I never get tired of talking about that, I feel excited about this and justifiably entitled to some bragging rights.  Claudia was hoping to offer me some pictures of the little girl playing with her monster, but that did not come to fruition, much to mine and Claudia's dismay.   

Well, that's all for today, my most beloved readers.  While we do have a few more Modern Monsters hanging around her somewhere, their debut will have to wait for another awkward party.  The cheese on the snack tray is beginning to turn and all of our quests have run out of things to say about the weather.  Plus, someone's deodorant is not responding (as advertised) to their body's malodorous response to social pressures.  It's only an online party, sheesh!

So stuff some appies into your bag and skedaddle.    

Thanks for coming!

I'm linking to:

A Few of my Favorite Things link party