Hearts on Fire

It's no secret that I love tattoo art, especially Americana and Japanese work. I'm partial to sparrows, well-drawn women and pin-ups (emphasis on well-drawn because I've seen plenty of ugly/poorly drawn ones), sugar skulls, pirate ships, flowers, and sacred hearts. My inclination towards the last one might be tied to the fact that it's one of the only things I can/like to draw freehand. Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I figured this would be the perfect time to showcase some great tattoo art-inspired heart pieces on Etsy.

Sweetheart Sacred Heart and Bird Necklace by artallnight on Etsy, $26.00

Artallnight has been one of my top favorites on Etsy for a very long time. Her pieces are sweet and well-drawn, and the shop is always stocked to fit varying tattoo tastes.

Winged Heart with Eye Valentine (Set of 6) by illustratedink on Etsy, $7.00

Without a doubt, this is one of my absolute favorite Austin artists and local Etsy shop. Illustratedink's work is part Dia de los Muertos, part vintage carnival, and all good taste.

Tin Sacred Heart Mexican Wall Art multicolored by TheVirginRose on Etsy, $27.00

I am in love with the color mix for this piece. Though the tin hearts in this shop are my favorite, there's a multitude of colorful and sometimes glittery (be still, my heart) Mexican home decor pieces that look like they were straight from Austin's shop, The Turquoise Door.














The French Couple print set by ohashleylove on Etsy, $20.00

I love that this print set is a couple, especially because it's so perfect for Valentine's Day. I'm really digging on the matryoshka craft trend right now too. This shop offers up very classic Sailor Jerry-esque tattoo (the color palette used is spot-on) art prints and sweet knit pieces (the bows are my favorite!!).

Sacred Heart embroidery hoop fabric art by Moxiedoll on Etsy, $50.00

The blue fabric background with this piece is very striking and provides a great contrast for the silver and gold thread used. Every embroidered item in this shop is delightfully nostalgically geeky chic and vintage-inspired (think view-finders, telescopes, and classic poloaroid) and would make the perfect playful touch to any home.

New Tattoo Rose and Heart Locket with Skeleton Key Necklace by wickedminky, $22.00

It was love at first site when I saw this piece. The necklace combines several of my favorite tattoo art motifs- roses, hearts, diamonds, and a key/padlock pair- so, that might be why. Wickedminky's shop is filled with classic tattoo art as well as newer styles, and the greens and blues used are really rich and eye-catching.

If you're still looking for a great way to personalize Valentine's for you or somebody else, any of these finds would fit the bill. Are there any of your favorite tattoo art pieces or Etsy shops that I missed?

Action Jackson out.

Good Will Bunting

So, I know that I'm a little late to the party on this trend, but I have recently fallen in love with bunting (i.e. flag groupings/banners traditionally used for decoration). I'm hosting a Valentine's craft party in a few weeks and am dead set on that being the craft of interest, regardless of how practical it is/isn't to expect a group of gals to finish a whole banner in a few hours.

While searching on Etsy for bunting to feature here, I was delightfully surprised to find out that the trendy niche aesthetic isn't limited to just home decorating. The flags can adorn wedding cakes, greeting cards, wall hangings, yourself, or anything you can stamp! As for the home hanging assortment, there are a variety of styles ranging from shabby chic to kitschy cute to classically playful.

Wooden Bunting Flag Necklace-Candy Stripes and Yellow by lucie0ellen on Etsy, $21.00

I kid you not, one of my first thoughts before finding this necklace was, "someone needs to make bunting flag jewelry." She also makes customized name necklaces too adorable for words.

Declare Your Love - Boy Version - 8x10 Archival Print by rosydesignsonline on Etsy, $19.00

Recently Etsy's featured seller, this shop's cards and prints are a mix of heartwarming mementos and Warhol-esque pop and suit any occasion- Valentine's, Halloween, New Baby, and even Gay Weddings.

Bunting Hand Carved Stamp by doodlebugdesign on Etsy, $8.00

Just about every stamp in this shop makes me smile. I think the pastry icing bag and cupcake stamp set was made just for me. The macaron and robot love stamps are my other favorites.


Original Cake Bunting Fawn by KikiLaRu on Etsy, $24.00

This shop specializes in cake bunting and diy kits for any holiday or style. The sweet decor (no pun intended) adds a really personalized feel and would make all Apartment Therapy fans drool.


Fancy Square Banner Embroidery Applique Design Pattern by BigDreamsEmbroidery on Etsy, $4.95

I love the kitschy retro feel of this design. The color and fabric combo is very yummy too. This shop features great machine embroidery applique design patterns to help you get a start on diy bunting. There's a babushka doll in the shop that's to die for!

Happy Birthday Burlap Banner with Fleur de Lis on Etsy by funkyshique on Etsy, $22.00

Funkyshique's shop features all things burlap home decor. I love the shabby chic/simple elegance aesthetic of the work and think the photos and banners would be regulars on thisisglamorous.com.

Recycled Map Bunting Notecards (Set of 3) by saratops on Etsy, $9.00

This shop specializes in journals, stickers, tags, and notecards that incorporate recycled materials such as maps, flash cards, library cards, and even security tags. The recycled map pieces, like this one as well as the Military Flying journal are totally rad and would make me feel much cooler than I am carrying them around or sending them as gifts. :)

Check back later when I add more fun bunting-inspired pieces!

Action Jackson out.

Pinups and Pastries

I'm currently still in the planning stages for Austin Fashion Week, however, I'm thrilled to share some exciting developments for the event I'll be hosting with JR Salon. I'll post a Facebook event very very soon, but in the meantime here's the basics:

What: Pinups and Pastries Austin Fashion Week Event
Where: JR Salon (4800 Burnet Rd.)
When: Sunday, August 15th 5-8pm
Why: There's free cupcakes and cocktails in it for you if you come. If that's not enough incentive, I promise to make some fabulous jewelry/eye candy that'll make it worth your while. For the event, the salon will primp a few models ala Bettie Page to showcase their fierce (yes, I just said fierce) hair styling and mad makeup artist skills. To round out the look, these lovelies will be donning corsets and some rockin DGAJ jewelry.

So what about that exciting news, you say?

Kuhmillion Lingerie and The Cupcake Bar will be sponsoring our event to make it an especially stellar night.
Kuhmillion is an Austin-based lingerie company that is part classy, part retro and sells their satin and lace at prices even yours truly could afford. And that's saying something. Even if Vargas pinups aren't your thing, the variety in styles is vast enough to suit any taste. Our models will be sporting some fabulous pin-up stockings from the Kuhmillion boutique so you can see in person just how great their wares are. In the meantime, check them out here.
For those of you who've been living under a rock in Austin for the past few years, The Cupcake Bar is a cupcakes only catering service that combines unconventional flavors with even more unconventional toppings (nerds, gumballs, pop rocks, pixie sticks just to name a few) that are custom-made to your specs (hence the "Bar" part of the name) to make something that is not only insanely delicious but also super fun. If you want to see what I mean, check them out here.

The salon and I are brainstorming party favor ideas in the form of raffles and goodie bags; believe me when I say I'll keep you updated on this. All the same, hope to see as many of you there as possible!

Action Jackson out.

Currently Listening: The Island by Le Tigre

Cupcakeacolypse

I know I've already gushed about this a few times now, and I promise this will be the last...unless, you know, I take some killer pictures tonight. Anyway, if you can make it out, The Cupcake Bar is hosting The FUN Trifecta Event tonight at House Wine. Here are the details:

Date: Today! March 24, 2010
Time: 4:30-7:30 p.m.
Where: House Wine (408 Josephine St)
What: There will be shopping, cupcakes, wine, and door prizes!
RSVP: Facebook Event

This event is going off without a hitch rain or shine, and I promise we'll keep all attendees dry! I've even specially made a couple of mirrored laser cut acrylic cupcake necklaces (complete with Swarovski crystal sprinkles, of course!). Hope to see you all there!

Action Jackson out.

Craft by CraftWest

So, remember in October when I said there were two times/events during the year when Austin exploded into a zoo of people? Well, that was when ACL was going on, for a mere weekend I might add. For anyone who doesn't live in Austin or anyone who inhabits the underside of a rock, we're currently in the middle of SXSW, a ten-day long festival that makes ACL look like the chicken feed of festival crowds...okay, maybe that's too exaggerated because ACL was crazy crowded. But, you get the picture.

I'm still up in the air as to whether I'll be catching any shows for SXSW 2010, but I will definitely be out among the crowds keepin it crafty. To kick things off, I'll be at St. Vincent de Paul tonight from 6-10pm with some of the lovely ladies of Etsy Austin and The WonderCraft. Though I'll only be on SoCo tonight, The WC gals will be there today through Saturday 5-10pm. We'll be making buttons and other fun crafts for you to take home as well as selling goods made by all artists featured in The WonderCraft boutique.

Tomorrow, I will be at the Standard Recording's FREE day party at the Dirty Dog Bar (505 E. 6th St) from 12-6pm. A few of the EA gals and I will be keepin it crafty and keepin it classy with a make and take SXSW Scrapbook/Ticket Stub Keeper. I think this will be especially fun for the out of towners. However, even if you're local, it should prove to be a good time. I mean, come on. There's a band called Dr. Manhattan- it pulls at my geek heart strings like my cat does at my curtain. And did I mention it's free?

So, that's just a peek at what I'll be doing during my mini-vacay...and maybe I'll just happen to stop by the American Apparel Flea Market. Maybe. And, speaking of deals...I've got a few freebies to share with y'all.

First, Indiana Adams of Adored Austin is giving away an Etsy Austin swag bag, which includes a cameo made by yours truly. The bag is from the New Media Fashion Brunch from last Friday, an Austin bloggers' brunch and boutique crawl, for which Etsy Austin (and yt) donated several swag bags for the lovely lady bloggers. So, check out her blog for a chance to win. Hurry! The contest closes March 25th.

The other freebie for the day is a Groupon! For everyone unfamiliar, groupons (at least all the ones I've seen) are Austin-based coupons that are basically 50% off. Today, Pangaea, one of the lovely local Austin boutiques that sells DGAJ, has a coupon where you can buy $50 worth of their clothing, jewelry, etc. for $25. Check it out soon if you're interested because it will be gone as of 11pm tomorrow night!

Hope to see some of y'all this weekend!

Action Jackson out.

Still Keepin Warm and Stayin Crafty!

Hello fellow hibernators!

I hope everyone's staying out of the cold and is keeping warm and toasty! I spent part of last night distributing flyers for tomorrow night's Grand Opening of The Wondercraft, and that short time in the dank cold was enough to convince me to stay in tonight! In addition to the feather clips featured yesterday, I made these simple lil bling studs for their goody bags available to the first 25 attendees.

Another way I'm keeping warm is by making new jewelry for the lovely local Austin boutiques. Just took a batch over to Parts and Labour on Monday. These rockin pieces will be available through mid-April. Just be sure to stop by if you see something you like before SXSW because there's no telling if they'll be there after the big rush. One of the newbies I took over are the Secret Garden Earrings which incorporate art deco fans, vintage white rose cabs, and light rose Swarovski crystals. At first, I didn't know how I'd be able to use the fans, but if I may say so myself, I think the earrings turned out pretty well!

In the next edition of Keep Warm, Stay Crafty, I'll show y'all some further creative uses for paper Valentine's doilies once you're done using them as coasters/table dust collectors for the month of love. However, in the meantime, I'll leave you with a teaser picture of what you can expect to find in your goody bags tomorrow night!

Action Jackson out!

Currently Listening: Source Tags & Codes-...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, various interviews of Jello Biafra