May 28, 2010

Woo Hoo- We're in our First Boutique!

Hannah and I took a basket full of totes, handbags, and cosmetic bags to a local boutique today and the owner bought all of them!  We were looking around earlier in the week at some different stores and boutiques in the greater St. Louis area that would be a good match for FlyChicks goods.  Just after we walked into the fourth or fifth one, CHA, the owner commented that she liked my purse (of course I carry a FlyChicks original!)  I then showed her Hannah's purse too and she loved that as well; I told her that Hannah makes them.  She asked if we sold them and the rest is history!

Hannah was busy sewing all week (that is, when she wasn't bartending or running after her 2 year old, Jack) and I did what I could (I threw my back out not once, but twice in five days!) with branding and tagging and researching, while mostly laying down on a heating pad.  Hannah made some really cute totes and another handbag- everything she makes, I want to keep!  Unfortunately, the good pics are on Hannah's camera and I only got cell phone pics of the goodies before we took them off.  If I waited until Hannah sent me the pics, we might be waiting until next summer, so I'm just going to share my phone pics!







Sorry, that last one is a bit blurry.
But... YEA!!!  We're really excited and looking forward to working with the owner, Sarah.  CHA is a super cute store and we think we are a great fit with them!

Don't forget, we do custom orders, so if you see a style or a certain print that you like, just leave us a message and we can get started on it!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend:)

May 25, 2010

Fingers Crossed!

Don't wanna jinx it, so I'm not going to go into too much detail, but a local boutique here in St. Louis is interested in buying a bunch of our stuff!  We are really excited and will be working our butts off this week getting all our stuff together (and making new stuff!) to bring to the owner of the boutique.  If all goes well on Friday, I'll post more about it!

So for some randomness, I am going to post some pics of random things... Just a few things we're working on:



awesome new purse Hannah made with inside pockets


another new purse


decoupaged light switch plate


checkbook cover and matching key fob- we are going to be GIVING THIS AWAY!!!
Yup- giveaway details coming soon.  Hint: if you become a Follower of our blog, you will get an extra entry:)
Once we hit 10 followers, I will make the post for the giveaway!

Come back soon for the Giveaway and another tutorial...

May 22, 2010

Cancer Survivorship Walk

Hannah and I (and our other sister and one of our new step-sisters) did a Cancer Survivorship Walk this morning in Creve Coeur Park in honor and celebration of our mom, who was recently diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer (she's a non-smoker).  Most of our morning was spent preparing for and walking the walk, and this afternoon, we recovered by relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather in our older sister's backyard.  We raised a lot of money for a great local organization, the St. Louis Wellness Community; they offer free programs for those diagnosed with Cancer.  They offer a wide range of support groups and activities and we thought this would be a good opportunity to show support to our momma.  (They are still taking donations- our team name is "Mary's Merries" if you want to give!)

We didn't get a whole lot of pictures, and we accidentally left my camera in the car, but here are a few pics of us from an iPhone:





After three chemo treaments, our mom's tumor shrunk by 50%; we're hoping that the last three treatments will knock that sucker out!  We love you, momma:)

And oh yeah, Hannah and I look like dorks in that last pic because we started late and were the VERY LAST people on the trail!



May 20, 2010

Dollar Store Goodness

In an earlier post, I embarrassed Hannah by showing her messy workspace in a "before" pic.  But I redeemed myself by showing how greatly organized she got that space after a trip to the Dollar Store.  While finding different things to use in her studio, I, of course, found things that I just had to have too!  One of those being these cute little jars:




and I bought these bread tins to put things in (not dough!); they could be organizational, right?



and these dishtowels are almost too cute to use!  almost


and the sweetest find of all:

JUST KIDDING!  Okay,
Although I did live in Indianapolis, IN for 12 years, I never got the "bug" for racing.  I actually kinda' hate it, but I pride myself on being open-minded enough to support people with differing tastes.  Having said that- I plan on using this Dale Jr. piggy bank for an upcoming tutorial.   I promise to make it pretty!  Come back to see the new and improved piggy bank next week...

May 19, 2010

More Bags from the Studios of FlyChicks

Hannah is catching up on all of her purse orders, so look out for handbags coming soon to our shop.  If you haven't been over there yet, there are some great cosmetic bags and cute key fobs made with fun prints just in time for summer.  Here's a little peek at what we've been working on (but sorry, these bags are already sold!):


inside view- we provide lined and zippered interior pockets!


Okay, so the purses are already spoken for, but we have most of these goodies for sale in our shop!
Summer is coming soon; don't you want to look stylish?  Pop your sunscreen in one of these cosmetic bags and throw in your purse on the way to the pool or the beach...

Silver Leaf Tutorial!

So I've had this old frame sitting around my apartment for over a year now and I've known what I wanted to do with it for about just as long.  I'm glad, however, that I waited so long because now I actually got to document the fun process of silver leafing!  If you have ever wanted to try your hand at leafing but thought you wouldn't be able to pull it off, this is the tutorial for you.  I've broken it down into easy steps that will help you silver, gold, or copper leaf that object you have lying around the house that needs a little something special. 

1. Sand and prime (any old acrylic or latex primer will do) your object.  I actually primed my frame a while ago, so I don't have a pic of me doing that.  It is a wood frame, I'm not sure I've leafed anything other than wood objects, but as long as you prime your piece first, I don't see there being a problem.

2. Gather your materials:



-silver leaf
-metal leaf adhesive size
-metal leaf sealer
-artist brush (I used a 1", but it depends on what size your object is)
-chip brush
-cheesecloth
-object you want to cover with metal leaf
(you can get most of these materials at a Michael's or Hobby Lobby type craft store)

3.  Take your artist brush and begin to brush the adhesive size (this is kind of like glue) onto your object
 Use even strokes and try to gently brush out any bubbles that inevitably happen.  Make sure you   cover your object as evenly as possible.


don't worry if this takes a while, you are going to let the adhesive size "sit" until it becomes tacky but not all the way dry

4.  After you let it dry for 45 minutes to an hour, you can start applying the leaf.

Your silver leaf will most likely come in a little orange booklet once you get it out of the plastic packaging,  Technically, you're not supposed to use your fingers to handle the leaf (I think it has something to do with the oils on your fingertips or something) but I usually end up using mine at some point. 

But, you can take the leaf straight from the booklet and apply it to your object without touching it if you are careful (see pic)!


also, try not to touch the object directly; the "finger oils" can disrupt the sticking ability of the adhesive size as well


okay, right about now, it looks like tinfoil and you're probably like, "Hey, I could have just glued some tinfoil to my object!"    But wait... the magic happens in the next step>

5.  Take your chip brush and very gently (again, try not to let the brush touch the un-leafed parts of your object) touch it to the leaf with slow strokes. 



It should be noted that silver leaf is very delicate and thin; when it tears, you can use the stuff that is falling off to fill any cracks that happened to not get leafed
Also, keep a vacuum cleaner handy.  Use the tube attachment to catch all the little tiny pieces that float away:)



6.  Continue applying the silver leaf all over your object.  And like I mentioned earlier, when excess falls off, you can use that to fill in spots that got missed.  Also, continue to gently press the leaf to the object with the chip brush as you work your way around. 

It's nice if you are working with a partner who can hold the vacuum or work the brush, but it is possible with just one person.  However, silver leafing and documenting it with a camera was a somewhat difficult process, so please forgive my pics:)



Hang in there- almost done!

7.  Look over your object and see if there are any spots that you missed.  The adhesive may still be active, so you can try pressing more leaf over the area (I actually ran out of silver leaf near the end; I got together as many "scraps" to try to fill in the holes and cracks, but definitely missed some).  Once it is covered, take your cheesecloth out.  Unroll about 2 feet and cut.  You can fold it up into about the size of your hand or just bunch it up like I did. 



8. Again, keep your vac handy!  Take your cheesecloth and gently yet firmly rub your leafed object; this gets rid of all the extra tiny pieces that didn't fully adhere.  You can just keep your vacuum tube right under wherever you are rubbing so that the pieces just get sucked up.  Remember- keep your finger tips off the silver as much as you can:)


It's starting to get really pretty now! Just one more step!

9.  I haven't decided yet whether I am going to go get more silver leaf and try to go back and cover the spots that I missed because of running out of leaf.  So because of that, I, myself, haven't done the final step in the process (and thus no pics). 

 But it is easy- just take your artist brush (make sure you washed it really well after using it for the adhesive with warm water and soap) and dip it in the Metal Leaf Sealer.  Evenly coat your leafed object with the sealer using gentle strokes.  Try not to get any puddles or gloppy areas (is gloppy a word?).



I'm kind of diggin' the crackled, unfinished look my frame has going on so I might just slap some sealer (gently, of course!) on and call it done.  Any preferences?  I'd love to know- leave a comment.

10. Congratulations- you are now a master metal leafer!  Didn't think you could do it, did you?  Now the possibilities are endless; you will be eyeing objects all over the house that could use a little something extra special:)

Email me and attach a pic of an object you leafed- we'd love to see it!

May 18, 2010

FlyChicks Stamp

Just a tiny little part of what we got accomplished yesterday!








just a little something I'm playing around with...

Giveaway details and TWO tutorials coming soon!




May 17, 2010

Live Concerts Are So Much Fun

The reason this post is a little late in coming is... well, simply put, I'm older now and live concerts can really take it out of you!  But- Hannah and I had so much fun Friday night at a short but super fun concert by the LA based band, Ozomatli.  If you haven't heard them, I highly suggest you check them out here.  They have anywhere from 7-10 band members on any given night, come from diverse backgrounds, and though they defy labeling, you could say that they are an energetic fusion of hip-hop, salsa, and funk.  Hannah has loved them for years and introduced me to them.  Of course, I only had my cell phone, so the pics I did get aren't the best quality, but I still want to share them with you! (I'll spare you the videos:))


the set list (I know, I'm a dork)






the instruments and stage before they came out



the band!

So, again, Hannah and I are a bit older now and spent most of Saturday recovering (actually, Hannah had to work part of the day!).  I don't think I've danced like that in years- and I am NOT a dancer.  I usually stand back at live shows (I dated a great guy in a band for a year) and enjoy from a distance.  But you just couldn't help dancing at this show.  From the first song to the last, I was movin'!  Thanks, Ozomatli!  And thanks, Blueberry Hill for hosting on short notice:)

Back to work tomorrow~