Business Cards

When I can afford to make my own business cards, I'm going with this:

GoFundMe page is complete!

Just finished creating my GoFundMe page. Now it's really ready to go live, and I can focus on writing you status updates.

Go have a look:

GoFundMe.com/DeniseDoesCouture

ALSO!

If you're on Stumble Upon please like my GoFundMe page. It will get more exposure this way. Thanks guys!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2mScBL/gofundme.com/DeniseDoesCouture?ref_src=fb&fb_action_ids=10206128636067307&fb_action_types=stumbleupon%3Ashare&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B754952154628320%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22stumbleupon%3Ashare%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Thank you :)

Quick update to see if my entries are getting automatically shared to my Google+

Greater Los Angeles Area Heatwave

As you may or may not be aware of, the greater Los Angeles area has been the victim of a series of heatwaves. Yesterday it was over 100 degrees! 

Lately I've been going through my fabrics and combing through my closet for clothing to tear apart for fabric to make new creations with. I've sewn a lot of nice fabric fashion scarves, made black lace short shorts, and most recently, last night actually, using a kid's Lady Bug Halloween costume that was donated to me by an acquaintance, this large handfan:

This was made by deconstructing the lady bug wings from the Halloween costume and hand sewing the areas I wanted to secure together. It's not done yet but it should be soon. I'm still brainstorming how to make a handle for it. There are a variety of ways I can make the handle, but I don't want to ruin the overall aesthetic. It needs to not only match and/or complement the current design, but it needs to be functional as well. As for the rest of the lady bug Halloween costume, I will be making a scarf using the red velvet lady bug fabric! 

In any case, I have a large handfan to keep me cool for the hot day ahead. Take that, heatwave! 

GoFundMe App

I got the GoFundMe App for my phone, and have created a GoFundMe Campaign for my small business, DeniseDoesCouture. Here's a link:

http://m.gofund.me/denisedoescouture

I assume that's a mobile link for the app, but if you're on a desktop, I don't see why it won't re-direct you.

Anyone have any experience with this app? How do you like it?

New Painting in my Etsy shop!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/248174663/fuchsia-magenta-purple-pink-white

It's an abstract painting; acrylic on canvas in fuchsia, with differing shades of pink, purple, and white with glitter and great texture. 

I am selling the original painting, as I do with all my paintings so far. I do not sell prints of my paintings at this time. 

Here are some photos that aren't so great. 

I feel like my paintings would sell a lot better at an art show where people could see them with their own eyes. I'm looking into craft fairs in the Southern California area so I can apply to be a vendor and begin doing the craft show circuit. I have a lot of inventory that wouldn't translate well onto my Etsy shop because it's not worth shipping because of pricing issues, or it's just too difficult to photograph, or because it's better presented in person. I would also be able to sell items from my shop and accept cash, or credit cards with my Etsy credit card reader, and it would give me an opportunity to meet with people and hand out business cards for my online store. I may even get some craft show regulars! 

I feel like there is reluctance within the local crafting community to share information about craft fairs. Hopefully I can get some leads from Google. There's just so much information to sift through!

Custom Print Clothing

I'm researching how to make custom printed t-shirts, because I want to make tank tops with cool quotes and sayings for the gym, for daily living, and for my Etsy shop. I was inspired by a Buzzfeed article about tank tops that will inspire you to go to the gym. 

I love tank tops, especially in the Fall and Winter, they are so fun to layer under cardigan sweaters (and I'm a little obsessed with cardigans)

Here's a great wikihow on how to do this. I like method 4 and 5 the most, and my first attempt will be with using bleach to draw a design onto a tank top. I'll do a simple heart and see how it works for me. The bleach is my favorite method right now because it's simple, straightforward, you don't need many supplies, and the results are permanent. I also love white one black. 

I'm not sure if I have any bleach right now but as soon as I gather all my supplies I'll take some photos and share my results.

Here's a link to the wikihow article I just read:

http://m.wikihow.com/Design-Your-Own-T-Shirt