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It was really interesting going to a big NY fair like this year’s BUST Craftacular Holiday. For one it was pouring like crazy and when I got there the line was wrapped around the building to the other side of the block! Of course I slept in, but the line moved fast and it was fun chatting it up Girl in Gotham Designs. :)

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There was a ton to see! Two levels of wonderful, crafty goodness including Amy Sedaris doing a book signing on the 2nd floor. Her book Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People looked pretty hilarious.

Here’s a list of my handpicked artists from the New York 2010 event. Enjoy because there’s a ton of cool stuff in there! :)

kg + ab - Ceramics handmade in Brooklyn

Corky Mansfield - Good clean humor to the world through tees and funky characters

Brooklyn Brine Co - Hand packed organic produce paired with simple ingredients and “damn fine pickles” in Brooklyn, NY

Twig. - Moss terrarium and other small wolds

Gramkin Paper Studio - Personalized stationery, invitations, announcements and other paper goods and gifts

Return to Me - Customizable necklaces, wristcuffs and t-shirts

Maybe You Should Die - Sweet declarations of hatred and ill will in the form of paper goods, apparel, plushes and Mean Bags™

Dea + Bean - Unique wedding invitations and paper goods the old-fashioned way

Made With Awesome - Original, off-the-wall slogans and cool tee designs

Beacon Bookmarks - Handcrafted Wooden Bookmarks from the Hudson Valley

McBitterson’s Tasteless Wares - Dedicated to spreading peace and joy to all the peoples of the world through adorable, affordable, hand-crafted goods

Grovius - Cute animal illustrations on wood

Twinko - Infant and toddler line of  organic tees, onesies, and accessories with cute graphics

Gnome Enterprises - Mens + Womens + Kids Tees | Handprinted in BKLYN NYC

My Secret Music Box - Musical jewellery and pocket-sized enchantment

Shara Porter - Hand printed fine found objects

Las Delicias Patisserie - Boutique Gourmet Bakery

Herban Lifestyle - Hand crafted natural and organic bath and body products

webbedware - Textile jewelry and accessories handmade by Courtney Webb

Tharp - Illustrator and obsessive dreamer

Mochimochi Land - Original knitting and cross-stitch patterns

Not Just Tea - Boutique specialty tea company specializing  in new tea blends

Amigurumi Kingdom - a place where cupcake bears rule and little creatures are glued to their ipods (literally)…

Caseybot - Plush, hats and friends

My Zoetrope - Painting, patterns, doodles and more

Rag Trader - Vintage  jewelery reborn

Bubbledog - a cute-opia of t-shirts, accessories, & stationery

De*Nada - Accessories line, specializing in handmade knits for women and men

Dirty Ass Soaps - Almost edible vegan food and video game soaps

SPIRITelemental - Live in joy and be free terrariums and illustrations

Isabel Roxas - Books, tees, paper goods and art prints with very nice illustrations

Ashley Buchanan - Jewelry and metals

Fernworks - Jewelry encasing a real found object or painted scene in resin

Bacon Neckwear - Handmade, Custom and Wedding Neckties Bowties Necklaces

Torch Song Metal - Metal adornments by Emily Postula and Ashley Harris

Brooklyn Charm - Custom designed jewelry and supplies in Williamsburg, NY

Erica Weiner - locally made, affordable vintage-inspired jewelry, designed with a sense of humor

Les Enfants Sauvages - It is is all about texture, shapes and colours

Grand Marie - Fine silver earrings molded from antique buttons

Yummy & Company - Handmade jewelry and wedding gifts

Smoke & Daggers.com - Weapon inspired jewelry

Max Steiner Design - Original and unique jewelry designs

Glittery Blue - Vintage made new jewelry

Rock Love Jewelry - Handmade sterling silver jewelry with the alternative edge

By Natalia - Geometric inspired jewelry pieces with an architectural aesthetic

AMH Design - Contemporary needlepoint

Molting Yeti - Super fun knits

New York Couture - One of a kind clothing straight from New York

Im Your Present - Handmade clothing & accessories


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My friend, who recently had a baby boy, created this “Woodland Creature” themed nursery with cute handmade toys, pillows, blankets and illustrations. It’s adorable! You can really tell how much love went into each item and Felix Mars Sock Monkey is no exception. These are only a few of pics so check out the complete nursery set on Sara’s flickr. :)

Felix and friends

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It’s been about two years since I made Shayla, Juan and Paul. In 2007 I had a full-time job, I did freelance design work and contributed to a startup I helped co-found with my boyfriend Toby called Musicmobs. In the end Toby sold Musicmobs to Last.fm and we moved to London! That was great, but before all that happened I felt extremely burned out. I craved a way to express myself creatively without being in front of the computer 24/7.

One day a friend gave me a postcard that showed how to make a sock monkey. I didn’t gravitate towards it immediately but I did start thinking more about sock monkeys and how they were made. My curiosity and desire to put my hands to work got me started on my whole sock monkey adventure! In fact, this is the sock monkey tutorial I used. Once Shayla, Juan and Paul were finished I thought they were missing something so I decided knit them sweaters.

Now that I’ve been building my sock monkey army I thought it would be fun to go back and update one of the very first monkeys. Shayla’s original sweater was what started it all, but it was definitely rough around edges. I thought since she was one of the first that she needed a nice new sweater. I think she likes her new clothes. :)

Shayla Mars Sock Monkey (Then)

Shayla Mars Sock Monkey (Now)

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Isabelle is my first “monkey” sock monkey! I made her from a pair of socks with little colorful monkey heads. I followed the monkey theme and put a monkey head on the front of her cream hoodie, which I added matching monkey ears! I also made her a cream flatcap. It kind of changes her personality a bit when she wears it.  It’s like she’s a Gemini. :)

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I’m currently working on a sock monkey made from a pair of socks sent to me earlier this month. They completely rock! They come with hearts and skulls in a berry and sky blue argyle print!

This sock monkey called for spooky with it’s freakishly long limbs plus I loved the idea of incorporating some kitty features so I made several sweater designs with this in mind…

The pirate kitty sweater with pink and blue stripped sleeves was a good match! These animal sweaters or as I like to call them, cosplay hoodies, are really fun to make! I think a bunny, bear or doggy eared hoodie would be cute as well. :)

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Lately I’ve been doing a lot of minimizing for the move. I think we’ve gotten rid of 10 bags of clothes! As I cleared out my craft bins I found two sock monkeys I made during my early stages of sock monkey design! At the time I thought it would be neat to use pin back buttons for the eyes because they could have different expressions and could possibly be interchangeable. Sounded cool, but later I considered the safety and practical issues behind using the buttons and never adopted the idea.

My prototype sock monkeys Lily and Herman come with the button eyes though. They also make a cute couple! Lily and Herman sock monkeys are for sale on Etsy, but please note that they are NOT child safe. :(

If you’re looking for custom buttons, I ordered mine from Button Storm. I just sent them my file and voila, I had 50 1″ custom buttons. :)

Button eye designs

Lily and Herman prototype sock monkeys

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On my sixth week of being a Twitter and I’ve gained 390 @maribelmade followers.  Yay!

I’ve made a lot of new friends in the past five weeks and I thank all these new friends for the yummy content they feed me on a regular basis. In turn, I present some of the most interesting content be it handcrafted, artisan made, finely instructed or uniquely designed works in a weekly blog post I call Maribel Made Twit Finds.  I hope you enjoy the goodies. :)

This week’s Twit Finds:

  1. Corsages and boutonnieres by Laurie Cinotto of La La Laurie - These are so pretty! (via @crowandcanary)
  2. Extra Wide Cool and Warm Neck Cowl by Emma Charles Photo Plus on Etsy - For your puppy! This little guy looks adorable. Makes me want a puppy even more if it can wear these fashions. (via @Etsy)
  3. Steampunk Ring by Catherinette Rings on Etsy - Stunning piece of jewelery. (via @SteampunkRings)
  4. How to Make an Apple-Print Tote Bag by Kayte Terry of CraftStylish - This looks like so much fun. I like the idea of stamping with organic or found objects. Makes things even more interesting. :) (via @CraftStylish)
  5. “Junior Space Commander” Letterpress Print by Candykiller - Slightly bizarre and imaginative characters by artist Brian Taylor. Very very nice works! (via @tommmykane)
  6. Hibiscus Wrist Purse by Kathleen Dustin - Exquisite evening bags become wearable art. Magnificent! (via @papercrave)

See you again next week!

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