fresh from the Makery: because Androids need a little pick-me-up, too!

My recent move forced me to take a much-needed break from all things involving felt and thread.  But after the dust had started to settle and my "day job" Etsy shop had been re-opened, I still wasn't in the mood for the pressure of custom orders.  Instead, with some recently purchased patterned felt burning a hole in the proverbial crafty pocket, I got to work on eight limited edition Android phone cases, six of which I listed in the shop this morning (trying to finally get back on track with this whole "fresh on Mondays" idea...we'll see how long it lasts).  I just couldn't wait to finish the other two but plan to add those later this week. 

Unlike the custom listings, these phone cases are already made and ready to ship, "prêt-à-porter," if you will.  They measure 3 1/4 by 5 1/2 inches and will fit most Android phones (even the iPhone...and yes, I have made an Android phone cozy for an iPhone user).  Unfortunately, they won't fit the insanely long Droid X, which is almost 1/2 inch too long, but that's what the custom listings are for, here and here.  Without further delay, here are the first six, beginning with a tiger stripe/purple/black combo:

Next we have your classic camo:

Followed by a tie dye cozy that reminds me of the "big stick" cherry pineapple Popsicles:

In addition to classic camo, we have a blue version:

...and a pink one:

And last but not least, a blue/green version of the tie dye material used above:

Stay tuned for the other two later this week!

Rubik's Cube Giveaway!

Okay, one more thing before I head out for a bang trim and then I swear I'm going to devote the rest of the day to packing!

As a yet-to-contribute member of the 360PR MomSquad (most of their surveys and such address families with kids older than mine) I recently had the opportunity to participate in their new educational initiative, You CAN Do the Rubik's Cube.  Even though my son is too young to even attempt solving this thing, the program played on my childhood nostalgia (spending my formative years with an older brother and a bunch of male cousins in a not so great neighborhood of Reno, NV, the way I remember "solving" the cube was primarily by rearranging the stickers) so I jumped at the opportunity to get one of the kits pictured above and below.

Inside you'll find a Rubik's cube, a solution guide, as well as instructions for making your very own Rubik's Cube cake!  Throw a "block" party! Get it?

I passed my kit along to my niece and nephew but there's still one kit up for grabs and I thought, what a great opportunity for a little giveaway?  To tie the kit into the crafty nature of this blog (and nostalgic nature of this particular post), I also wanted to share an image from Neal's childhood, a mere four-hour drive away from my Reno stomping grounds at the time in the central valley of California (perhaps we crossed preschooler paths at Denio's?)  One year for Halloween, Neal's Mom made his brother Ryan a Rubik's Cube costume:

How freakin' cute is that?! (And how rad is that orange carpet, eh?)  I have a few ideas of my own as far as translating Rubik's cubey goodness into felt and thread but sadly won't have the time to make any of that happen for a couple of weeks, after the dust settles from yet another family move.  In the meantime, what crafty, cubey ideas would you like to share in an effort to win the Rubik's Cube kit up for grabs?

Post your ideas and/or links in the comments section and a winner will be selected at random on Monday, August 16th!

What's black and white and hot pink all over?

My new Android phone cozy, that's what!

Finally! I got myself a smart phone and of course it was an Android phone (the Samsung Galaxy to be exact):

And of course I had to make my phone a cozy straight away and of course I went with the "droidette" logo:

And of course it's hot pink:

Well, the droidette is hot pink, as is the lining.  And the backdrop for these images. Too much?

I swear I'm not 13.  I have had an awful lot of coffee, though. In my packing procrastination, I'm getting all sorts of other stuff done.  But this is important.  I couldn't let my brand new phone go floating around in my purse, unprotected by eco-felt, any longer.

So far I'm very pleased with my Samsung Galaxy, although to be fair I'm upgrading from a Razor so it didn't take much to impress me.  But even Neal, who's holding out until he's eligible to upgrade his now old-school G1 in another month or so, seems to like it.  In fact, he can't seem to keep his hands off it. Maybe this girly case will keep him away.

Yep, that's my baby.  Oh yeah, and there's a picture of my kid on it, too.

fresh from the Makery: a wicked phone cozy

You can only buy someone a Sephora gift card for so many holidays.  Which is why, when the birthday of my sister-in-law was fast approaching (and then came and went just as quickly), I got the idea to combine two things I believe to be mildly over-rated - Wicked, the musical, haven't seen it and while I agree that the soundtrack is catchy, I could not for the life of me get into that book; and the new iPhone (sorry, Kelly, no offense intended; y'all know I'm an Android gal) - into a gift I hope she'll enjoy until the next iPhone comes out or Wicked ends its run on Broadway, whichever comes first.  Here's what I came up with:

I kept the design relatively simple, focusing on Elphaba and cutting Glinda out altogether (and yes, I had to check the Wikipedia page for that important info).  I limited my palette to the green, black, and red found in the design, primarily using green and black felt and thread for the case, face, hat, and hair, and accenting the design with embroidered red lips.

The red is also used for the interior lining.  I love saving the best color of the three for the part seen least. It's a bit Dracula-esque from this angle, don't you think?

I used my new Samsung Galaxy to photograph the end result as it's similar in size to the new iPhone (but far superior in capabilities, but that's neither here nor there, now is it?).

The black felt continues around the back:

I sure hope she likes it (and doesn't wish I'd sent her another Sephora gift card, after all)! This baby won't be going in the shop because I'm pretty sure it would be copyright infringement if I actually made any money from it. Just a one-of-a-kind kind of thing I thought I'd share here! Next up: my very own phone cozy. 'Bout time, right? I still have a couple more orders from the Mashable backlog to send out first.  Oh yeah, and move. Again. Sigh.