The First Six Granny Squares for my Blanket.

This one is six rounds of pink and one each green and blue. 

I am in the process of making like 60 of these granny squares to make one huge blanket. I've given myself a one year timeline. Between school, work-study, and a job, I hope to make this by next winter. I'll post up new designs every month and keep you all updated on the progress. I think I will use white to attach them all together. All granny squares are 8 (eight) rounds each.

This design is one round for each color. I kept the colors in order; Blue; Green; Pink.

This design is one pink, then green, four blue, one pink and the last one green

This one is similar to the design above. One green, five pink, one green and the last one blue. I usually cut of the strings at the end of completing my projects, which is why you see them there. 

Two green, two blue, two pink, one green, one blue.

Four pink, three blue, one green.

Black and Gray Granny Square

This is an example of a black and gray Granny Square scarf thats is in the midst of being made for my sister. I am going to make like 10 of these and then attach them together to form the scarf.

DIY Leopard Nails

Final (successful) attempt at Leopard Print Nails

So a Friend of mine showcased her Leopard print nails on FB and immediately sparked my interest to try it myself! The above pic is probably my 10th attempt at trying to get the right look. (Below are pics of a few of the lack luster attempts and the pics that inspired it all)

Here is a basic DIY mini lesson. (Try youtube for videos on how to do it. I basically watched a bunch, saw what my friend did and mixed it all up)

Choose your base coat. Paint your nails the desired color and let that dry.

Next, choose the color you want the spots to be, a contrasting base coat will give the best effect (in the pic above this step is where I chose the teal). I used a small THIN (painting) brush to make small ovals all over the nail. (I tried those thin nail art brushes -the ones they usually use at nails salons to make nail designs- and found those to be a bit difficult, the brush on those is very long and it usually made a HUGE oval- see pics all the way at the bottom). My friend used a push pin, and some folks online even suggested toothpicks. Make ovals on your nail, randomly. Make sure they are not to close together.

Next, take the same tool you made the ovals with and (I used black, my friend used a dark purple or you can use any color as long as it is darker than the two you just used) outline your ovals. This does not have to be perfect, infact the less perfect you are the better it will look. I actually found using my left hand (I am a righty) made for a better look, my hand was shaking from how careful I was trying to be and it helped get that imperfect leopard look.

Finally, after your nails have dried, coat them with clear polish. It is important to let your nails dry before you coat them with the clear polish because your design could smudge, and that won't be fun. :-/

Viola! Cute show stopping leopard print nails. (If you are wondering where I got my glitter nail (base) color, its by Sinful Colors the color "Queen of Beauty" Here in Brooklyn, NY I find them at my local Rite Aid's for $1.99. TOTAL bargain and WORTH it.

Cute Little Crochet Mini Purse. or Bag. whichever you prefer.

Many moons ago my aunt taught me to crochet- She does the very fine work- you know the beautiful artwork that turns into tablecloths and doillies? Yeah. She taught me while on a trip here to NY from PR and after she left I just kinda stopped. Years later, while working at a Camp- I picked it up again and was taught by an awesome 11yr old. (She is quite the lil' crafter and is the kind of young girl that Sellz Cute Things hopes to open a summer camp or afterschool program for!...but that's another topic, another blog post)

Close Up of Heart on Mini Purse (see below for link to tutorial)

So I became addicted to the world of crocheting. (I tried the whole knitting thing and for the life of me I can't do it- the lil' 11yr old did not know how to knit either- that's something I need to find a class for) I bought books, tons of yarn, tons of hooks, canvased the web, and even taught my mom and my lil' sis. There were two projects I wanted to conquer in the work of crochet.  Slippers! and little coin purses! I've attempted many slippers, usually only able to make one funny looking one- so thats a work in progress. But I am better at making little coin purses/wallets/bags...I'm not quite sure what the proper name for these lil' gems are.

Here is the second finished one I made! (Here is the First) This one is tiny. Finished it is about 3 inches or so tall. I wanted something small that would fit a few dollars, an ID and possibly a metro card. (and maybe some lip gloss or a lipstick)

Creative Display Ideas I encountered at the Flea.

Ok Ready for me to "Toot"
"TooooooT"! 

I am tooting my own horn with this simple, easy, inexpensive quick way to display your jewelry.

I used cardstock, some tape and a marker to make these (oh! and the scissor) Fold the paper in half. Then fold the two outer folds to the center scored line. Join the two smaller folds you just made together to form a triangle, tape together and you have the basic shape for your display. Depending on the size of the necklace use your scissors to make two slits on top so the chain (or earrings) can hang form them. (uummm...yes I know sounds confusing, if you want a tutorial email me or comment me and I promise I will make one!)

I used my markers to make these- My printer has no ink. But to make them cleaner looking use your computer to make great designs. 

This vendor used a bird cage to display the earrings he had for sale! How great and creative is that? My phone's storage was full and the quality isnt the best in this picture, but trust me it looked GREAT and really stood out.

This gentleman, Nunzi, used an old silverware case to display his vintage jewelry! How great is this! The top of the case has small loops that are perfect to hang earrings in or if you make pencils or pens, or some other skinny stick thing you could just place them right in there.The dividers in the bottom half of the case is perfect for bracelets, rings, or necklaces! You would even display your bracelets on the upper half, rings nicely snug in the middle and the necklaces on the bottom half! And it is all lined with soft material so it won't scratch your stuff! I totally loved this idea.

Simply "Pearl"fect Bracelet.

I used three Hot Pink Faux Pearls, two a smaller size than the middle pearl. I then used gold seed beeds to complete the look.

Second and (probably) Last experience selling at this particular Flea.

Part Duex - Dos - Two - of my Flea Experience.

Summed up- this particular scene is not for me. The simple truth to the matter is that MOST (not all- MOST) of the customers are there for a FLEA MARKET they aren't ready for authentic handmade goodies and sure as heck arent ready to appreciate, value or understand the effort put into hand crafted goods and why they cost what they do. They want $1-$4 items and will try to haggle the price like crazy! Partially my fault- I mean when I hear Flea Market I think- YES! Cheap Vintage Broken Used Things!! I love going to the Flea with my dad on Sundays in Queens, its the perfect place to find great cheap finds! But I gave it a go anyways, hoped for the best and in the end I don't regret a thing! I will also frequent this flea market in the future hunting for more good buys!

My Display for my second time selling at this Flea.

I did not make enough money to cover the expenses of paying for my table, travel expenses or food for the full two day event. I did however get TONS Of advice from fellow friendly vendors! Which was super awesome and totally made the experience worth while! I also got a bit more creative at this Flea, with my jewelry displays, items I sold and how I packed/traveled with things. (Another thing I also did differently- spend money shopping from other vendors! YIKES! But I found tons of AMAZING antique jewelry pieces I just could not pass up!- one butterfly Brooch was turned into the most beautiful necklace- I'll post pics in the next few days)

We are featured on another Blog!

Bailey from Betty + Bailey let me know they showcased Josielovesit's treasury in their blog and used our "Did you say Juicy" necklace on their blog post!

Score!

Thanks! XoXo Glitter and Hugs.

Finally! The post about my First experience selling at a Flea.

Whew!

Happy New Year Everyone! Hope it's been a smooth first week for everyone. Here in Brooklyn, NY As you can tell from my pics in previous posts and this lil video I made, that we have been bombarded with snow and will get more this weekend! I am lucky enough to be off from college and (not so lucky) to not have a job so I wasn't as impacted as the rest of NYC.

In November and December of 2010 I was a vendor at a local flea market. I found out about the opportunity through a family friend. I had been thinking about becoming a vendor at a craft show and you remember I had applied to the Brooklyn Renegade Fair and then got rejected....Tear. So I jumped at the chance to finally try to make one of my desires come true. I was informed of it, I think that Wednesday or Thursday and got the yes like that Friday, so I literally had like one full day to get ready for something I had never done before (It took place on Sunday). Here are some pics of my setup- I got lucky when I found that CUTE Vintage Flower Tablecloth. (Picture descriptions are below the pictures)

The table is quite small, because I had to bring it myself. Total pain in the behind. (But since I signed up late, paid the day of and they had overbooked....I kinda was on my own.) I was still excited and eager to see how my first Flea would go. I tried to put all my handmade items on the right side (your left) of the table and all my retail items on the left side (your right side). Towards the beginning of the day I had all my retail jewelry in plastic but I felt it cheapened the look of my table so I later took them out. As you can see Sequinatti is there displaying some feather headbands.