Crafty Things | Emily Steffen . Wisconsin and Minnesota wedding photographer . Textile Artist

February 7, 2012 : Crafty Things, My life

Brownie + Holga…renewed inspiration! :)

Last weekend I was in sunny Palm Springs surrounded my 20 fabulous ladies at the Heather Ross Sewing workshop (if you missed the post about it, check it out here!) My favorite part about workshops and meeting new creative people is the energy and inspiration I always have when I leave…I feel refreshed, renewed and I tend to have an extended vision as a creative person! :) It is quite rewarding knowing that I put time and energy into something that will have such a positive impact on my designs and my balance in life! :)

I have to give props to Annabel and Alessandra….a conversation that we had on Saturday by the pool is what sparked these new designs! :) You see, I am the kind of person that get’s bored easily so the idea came about to start making these plush cameras more elaborate and more custom! That night, I started sketching and raced through about 500 ideas that were spinning in my head and out popped these two lovely plushies when I came home! :) I’ve used vintage napkins (from a local antique store), wool felt and they are 100%, totally handmade and custom! :) I also got inspired by Anna Maria Horner while at the workshop and all of her recent hand-sewing…her embroidery and stitching is just GORGEOUS so I just had to include some of my own techniques on these little guys! :) I hope you LOVE them!

I will be selling these on Etsy! FULLY custom order-able, so the sky is the limit as to what colors, style, and embellishments! Contact me if you’d like more information! :)But for now, here are the first 2 of the MANY ideas that have come to fruition! The old-school Kodak Brownie and the ever-so-popular Holga!

(SO take THAT Nikon, with your brand new D800 announcement today…..people will be forgoing their pre-orders and coming to buy a new custom camera that will be WAY cuter! :) Ok..just kidding…..I may have my very own pre-order in for a new D800 myself! :)

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February 1, 2012 : Crafty Things, My life

Relaxation meets inspiration :: Heather Ross Sewing workshop! :)

As I sat on the plane yesterday on my way home, I just took a deep breathe and felt full (and not because my belly is perpetually growing with a little one in it)! :) I felt full. Full of joy. Full of imagination. Full of warmth. Full of creativity. And SO full with vision! :) And it’s all due to this fabulous weekend behind a sewing machine and a few yards of fabric!

I spent the weekend with 20 other FABULOUS ladies at the ever-so-hipster Ace Hotel in Palm Springs at Heather Ross’s sewing workshop! The weekend was magical! Full of tasty food, bolts of fabric, the sound of sewing machines and amazingly creative women! :) I was nearly in Heaven! (No…..really…….hearing giggles and 20 sewing machines racing through projects as you look outside to warm, fresh air and the view of palm trees and mountains….HEAVEN! :)

I didn’t really know what was in store for the weekend. Call it pregnancy brain or call it “Emily being un-prepared again” but I just packed my suitcase full of fabric and ideas and off I went. (And I think we all admittedly traded some clothing choices in our suitcase for the chance to be able to pack a few more yards of fabric without going over the weight limit! :) GUILTY! :) Among the talent were, of course, Ms. Heather (and her adorable family) who gives the best hugs in the world and radiates joy every second of the day, Anna Maria who helped me translate a quilt idea into reality (and made me fall more in love with needlework and stitching….and I’m kinda secretly loving EVERY SINGLE design that her talented self puts out every season! :), Denyse who left me star-struck, and Gretchen who makes me want to be as cute as her while sporting those beautiful 1950′s dresses! :) Every one of these ladies OOZES creativity and it was such an honor to chat, share and dream together this weekend!

It was an amazing weekend overall! I was challenged, encouraged and so so so inspired this weekend by not only the instructors, but the other talented attendees. Annabel and Alessandra encouraged me to dream just a bit bigger with my plush cameras (and I’ve already made a few ideas come to fruition this afternoon….thanks ladies! :) Deborah shared her incredible business with me, Jane’s creativity is just freaking incredible, Clover gave me SO SO SO many Mommy tips which I loved, Tara challenged me with balance in my life (go girl!), and Kathy and Caroline opened their amazing Canadian hearts to me about their lives and their journeys (love you ladies)! :)

I’m telling ya, this weekend was just stinking amazing! :) I can’t wait to share the projects as they get completed…and as new ones begin as I keep dreaming about my handmade vision! :)

And my favorite photo EVER from the workshop….Anna Maria and I with the quilt that she inspired and helped me make! :) YAY!

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December 21, 2011 : Announcements, Crafty Things, Published!

Meet the hedgehogs + a book feature and giveaway! YAY!

Last June (as in June of 2010) I was perusing the site of Crafty Planet and saw that there was a call for entries for their next book…they needed projects made out of one yard of fabric to feature of their upcoming book which was a sequel to One Yard Wonders (A book which I had lovingly made most of the projects in and was proudly displayed in my sewing room downstairs)! :) I knew that I just had to come up with something to try and see if my first ever pattern could be published in a book. So, later that night I sat down at my sewing machine and started cutting, sewing, cutting, sewing, ripping out and sewing some more. Out came the Bartholomew Bookends! :) WOO!

I quickly submitted the patterns and photos to Trish and Becca at Crafty Planet! And much to my surprise, they were going to be featured in the next book, coming out November of 2011! :) WAHOO! I did a happy dance around my kitchen and then proceeded to call my husband babbling with excitement (followed by a celebratory bowl of ice cream of course! :)

SO, now comes November of 2011 and look what appears at my doorstep; FABRIC BY FABRIC ONE YARD WONDERS! TAA DAAAAA! I have to say, that this book has some fabulous projects for the kids, your kitchen, yourself and your friends. It is CHALK FULL of idea for gifts and working at your sewing machine on a lazy December afternoon! :)

OH–and the best part, I am able to give away one copy of FABRIC BY FABRIC ONE YARD WONDERS (and you’ll also receive a few other goodies from my little collection of plush toys)! Isn’t that amazing!? And I just love to hear about handmade gifts that people give and since it’s the Christmas season, I would love to hear about anything handmade that you have received that just LOVED for Christmas! :) So, leave a comment below and tell me why you would just die to have the book or what your favorite handmade gift was! I’ll use random.org to select a winner on Monday December 26th (that should give you all enough time right?! :)

So, get on it, start dreaming about all the one-yard projects you can make and leave a comment below! :) Merry Christmas everyone! :)

Oh yes, and one more AWESOME thing, check out the blog tour of the other contributors! They also have giveaways and other fun things to say about the book, so be sure to follow the links as the blog tour continues! :) YAY!

12.21 Craftzine
12.21 Neuroses Galore
12.21 Emily Steffen – YAY!
12.22 Jenna Lou Loves You
12.23 Spincushion
12.27 One Inch World
12.28 Sew Sew Etc.
12.29 While Tangerine Dreams
12.30 Studio Cherie

UPDATE – WINNER IS CHOSEN FROM RANDOM.ORG as #4, Ms. Laura Jansen! :) I’ll be emailing you soon Laura to get you the book! :) YAY!!!! Thanks to everyone for their comments and awesome ideas on handmade gifts! :)

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My name is Emily and I am an artist; WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER by day and FABRIC ARTIST by night. Here, you can follow my creative journey and perpetually see what I'm up to! I try to infuse joy in everything I do; from sewing to knitting and photography! You’ll generally see a giant smile on my face because I am overjoyed about living the life where the dreams that I once doodled about are coming true! I'm a midwestern girl that loves people, my sewing machine, our two pugs Edward and Gweneth and every flavor of ice cream (you can even bribe me with it at times! :)

I'd love to hear from you, so feel free to contact me at any time! :)