Red Marionette - Behind the Scenes Video!

This is the long time in coming video that Kyle and I have been working on. It explains the process behind Red Marionette. It shows that all art, no matter what the outcome is, all starts in a similar manner. Please watch and comment and most of all, enjoy and have fun!

(I can embed it below but with the blog layout its tiny! :) Please follow the YouTube link to check it out!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UytoQWa5Le0

Good Morning Wreath

I just finished this wreath. Literally a few minutes ago and long enough to edit the photos to post here. I call this my Good Morning Wreath.
It reminds me of coffee - heavy on the cream, maybe a little chocolate drizzle on the top. A snuggly blanket and a good book. A chilly nip in the air that makes you want to snuggle in by a fire to read.

This wreath will be up in my Etsy shop soon! But for now, Good Night so I can have a Good Morning!
HERE it is for sale in my Etsy Store!

Monster Stocking Progress

These are the Monster Stockings I finished up last night. They had been sitting waiting for the final stitching for months! MONTHS. Being that it is so close to Halloween and also Christmas, I figured I would get back to the goodies that combine the two. Monsters and Stockings!

I have several designs you all have already seen. The striped horned one. The round ears with uncontrollable tongue.

And of course the ones already listed in my shop HERE - Kyle the Flame Monster, Conrad the Spikey Monster and Parker the Pooty Monster
There is one design that I made for a friend last year and never introduced it in to the shop. I fully intend to bring it out for sale this year! The Swamp Monster!

Sally the Swamp Monster prototype on my worktable!


I still have a TON of them in the works. I have the Horned Monster coming in Red and White, Teal and Blue (From the first photo!), Green on Green and Purple, Just like Sally the Swamp Monster.
I also have Spikey Monsters, Swamp Monsters and the Tongue monsters in other colors to finish up as well! So keep an eye out for these little guys in the next few months!

Kind of by Accident and Very Much on Purpose!

I have been screaming it from the mountains so if you have been out of earshot I will tell you now. The Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas Magazine released yesterday and my Pocket Peeper Stockings are included in it!
Even though it was completely a shock to have been found on Etsy by a powerhouse of a magazine such as Better Homes and Gardens, I suppose I have been working towards something like this for a while...on accident. Here are a couple of tips that I think helped them find me.

Renewing your product on a regular basis. No one wants to go through 80 pages of the item for which they are searching Etsy. Renewing your items on a regular basis will keep your items at the top of the search. I keep my Holiday items in my shop year round and I am sure that helped them find my work when they were searching for Stockings in April!

Tagging. Tagging correctly helps people better find your items. Remember not to include potential uses like "Stocking Stuffer" That is a misuse of tagging in the Terms of Use for Etsy. Use keywords like colors included in the item. The pattern of the fabric. The season. Many of these terms will better assist people in finding your items.

I cannot stress photographs enough. Good clear photos from several angles helps everyone see your items better. I chose to stick with straightforward photos, normally you dont find a lot of artistic photography in my shop. I want to keep it straight forward so you can tell what you are looking at. The colors are true to the item (on my computer as different monitors display different colors, but dont get me started on that). If you are in poor lighting you can find internet tutorials on how to make your own lightbox for cheap.

I hope this helps you all a lot. I have experienced a lot of trial and error over the years with this and I really am blessed to have had this opportunity. Without Etsy this wouldnt have happened! Thank you Etsy and Thank you Better Homes and Gardens!

Better Homes and Gardens! Ta DA!!

Click on these to see larger images if you wish!

My Pocket Peeper Stockings are in this years Special Interest Publication of Betters Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas!
My father in law found this at his local grocery store tonight! It isnt even in any of our Florida stores yet! (I know, I had Kyle drive all over creation while I finished up my day job!) So my Dad was nice enough to scan them in for me so I could stop hyperventilating long enough to see it!

I think they photographed beautifully! They did an awesome job with the paper chain and all of the goodies around them!
Nancy, Randolph and Phillip are Stars!

And to top it all off, today is my Birthday so Happy Freakin' Birthday to me! Wow! I couldnt have asked for a better day!

The Sizzix Experiment

The Sizzix Experiment.
If you have seen my shop you know how much felt I cut out in various shapes. If you have not see my shop, I cut out a LOT of felt.
It has always been the bane of my creative process to cut out all of the felt shapes, not to mention how hard it is on the hands.

Over the years a couple of people have suggested that I look in to the cutting machines line the Cricut or the Sizzix. I have read many articles on how these machines dont cut felt or it does, but it has been extremely mixed results.
The cost has been a deterrent for me until recently I found a Sizzix Original on ebay with a bunch of dies for insane cheap.
I received it today in the mail and so of course I dove in and decided to try it!
It came with some dies (technical term for the cookie cutter part that cuts through paper, material, etc) that I wont ever use like a Santa, a cube, buckles, a ladybug and a bumble bee. It also came with a flower die and alphabet dies that I use in my examples here. The large dies are about the size of an old Nintendo game. The small dies are about the size of the old gameboy cartridges. They all fit in this machine but the cutting board it comes with is about 5"x6.5". So not a powerhouse for high output production.

I read the instructions and since it is a pull handle machine I figured it out pretty quickly. I grabbed felt that was closest to my location and it happened to be pink which doesnt photograph super well but its there, I promise. I cut the felt to size for the die and using the flower design proceeded with crossed fingers to test the machine.
I dont recommend keeping fingers crossed while operating - it is hard to push whilst fingers entwined.
You can hear a little crunch while it pushes through the felt. I was expecting to see a frayed mess when I slid the die and cutting board out.


SCORE! No fraying! No weird stringiness - it is precisely cut!
I use the Eco-Friendly felt that is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles and it is one of the hardest to get clean edges on so I was ecstatic!
Now, these dies are fresh so after 100 presses who knows how it will cut, only time will tell.

I highly recommend something like this if you have a need for basic shapes or even intricate cuts. Sizzix has many types of dies to choose from, just make sure they are the "Original" version. It cuts beautifully! Mystery solved!

I was so happy I spelled my name!

Atomic Holiday Bazaar!

Hello out there!

Its getting to be that time again to showcase the show I am attending in December! The Atomic Holiday Bazaar is on December 11th and 12th at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium in Sarasota, FL
If you are local or even want a little road trip this show is definitely worth it! I will be vending two sessions of the show. During the day on December 11th and then the edgier evening show that evening! They will have live music, a burlesque show and much more!
This is their poster from last year. It is not your grandmas craft show! If you are looking for unique, edgier, hip and fun goodies this Holiday season this is the place to be! Be sure you stop by and say Hi!
Check out the website with a vendor list, performance information and much more! www.atomicholidaybazaar.com

Autumn Harvest Wreath - Work in progress

Here it is! A very rough work in progress photo of the newest addition to the wreath selection in my store. It still has a ways to go before finished, but this is the basic layout with the dots and critters. Sheldon and Bob are the owls.
(excuse the messy work area around it)
I wanted to take a photo and study it because sometimes looking at something in a photograph you notice things you wouldnt otherwise see. This will not have any glitter on it. My Mom is slowly making me realize that not everything needs to be punchy in the color department and although fun, a lot of people prefer decor that does not make your eyes bleed or look like a candy factory exploded. :) So here is my tribute to the crisp fall weather and the beautiful colors it produces.

Blunt and a little harsh, but no truer words were spoken!

http://thisishandmade.tumblr.com/

Follow this link by cutting and pasting into your Internet browser or click HERE

The next time someone complains about how much your handmade goods cost, send them to this site. It is a blunt explanation on how our processes take time, are tedious and yet no truer words were spoken.

It is art, it is time, it is a little bit of us that we put in to our items.

To give the site its due diligence, watch a couple of the videos... it will truly give you a greater appreciation for what beauty the handmade community can create!

Red rover, red rover send Kyle right over!

Thread Fine Art Photography found on Etsy (HERE)







I am converting my husband slowly. Muahahha! Kyle (Mr. Red Marionette) grew up in a crafting and sewing household just like I did. So his mother tells me he is no stranger to the artistic tendencies I have of spreading out and project A.D.D. where I cant focus on one thing more at a time.
With the busy season coming up and Kyle happens to have free time with his unemployment he has acquiesced to help with sewing. He isnt as excited about it as I am, obviously. However, he realizes there is a need to be filled with him helping out with Machine Stitching on Stockings. I am excited to see what he can do with this aspect of the business. He has helped out with many other things over the 2+ years Red Marionette has been around. Post office trips, packaging, quality control, design assistance... he has had his hands in a lot of aspects of it since the beginning. I can barely contain my excitement but I will go easy on him, I promise. :)

The long weekend has produced....

WALL ART! Weee! These goodies are already being posted in the shop and the rest are on their way in to it this week! I had a great productive weekend and I hope you all did as well! This week I am focusing on making more ornaments now that the flux of Wall Art is complete. (Lets be honest, there is more wall art to complete, but I have to get on to other things!)
Lots to do this month and it is already slipping away! I feel the beginning of the seasons change in my bones. And being in Florida that must mean I am REALLY ready for it to be Autumn. I started working on two brand new wreath designs and they are more Autumn inspired.
I cannot wait to finish them and share with you all!
I will give you a hint, one of them is inspired by coffee and cream and a good book with a snuggly throw blanket.
The other is inspired by the crisp morning air, pumpkins and crunchy leaves.
Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Labor Day!

I thought I would see what you are all up to for your Monday off! Many of us have Labor Day as a holiday if we have a day job - so how will you be spending your day?

I intend to spend mine creating a video of the process of Red Marionette that by Mid October you all will get to see! Oh, and sewing. I have about 12 new wall arts I hope to finish assembling and photograph tomorrow!

So, how are you spending your day?

Wall Art - Work in Progress!

These are the new wall art pieces I am working on today!

I have many more but these are just what I grabbed to snap with the cell phone.
I love the little bear in the fall leaves! I am so excited to introduce more of the autumn colors in to the shop!

What are you all working on today and for the Holiday weekend?

September and Me!

Happy September everyone!

I realize that I felt change should be happening today. I remembered what it was like when I was school age and coming up on this time of the year. I always liked September because it was my birthday month but also signaled starting new adventures in school or in the changes of the season. I always felt more connected to the season of autumn than the others.

We have had a lot of changes going on at the Red Marionette Household and I realized that like a new school year I should probably introduce myself and tell you some little known things about me for all of the new readers!

I am Kelli. I am the instigator in the phenom known as Red Marionette. (Wow, that sounds really professional when said like that!)

I love action movies but cower at zombie related things. I work as a fine arts teacher at a local Computer Animation school. I love sculpting, painting and obviously, fiber arts. I do have a husband and his name is Kyle. I have an obsession with coffee and handmade soap (my addiction supplier is HERE) but mixing the two isn’t appealing to me.

We live in Orlando, Florida where there are two seasons. Hot and chilly.

For those of you who have been following us on a regular basis here is another little update!

Fire Truck on Etsy (HERE)

Kyle, Also known as Mr. Red Marionette, has graduated from EMT and Fire academy!! He is officially a firefighter! Now, to find a job for his firefighting skills. He had top marks in his class and had the highest score on his EMT final that the school has ever recorded. Look out world! My husband is ready to save some people!

(And on our plane right back from Vegas he did just that for a fellow flier!)

We could use some good luck right now from the Universe and the powers that be to help him find a job. He has been out of work for a year and a half now and he is ready to jump in and help people. He has applied to the Orange County Fire Department and we are anxiously keeping our fingers crossed that we hear something back. A lot of people are just like us are out of work and struggling but we are remaining hopeful and positive that this works out.

Together Kyle and Kelli make up the mighty forces that complete Red Marionette! (Queue theme music! Dun DAAA Dun dun dun DAAA!)

We are gearing up for the Holiday season and it looks like a glitter monster has pooped all over the dining room table. Some giant yarn monster trimmed its hair in the studio and someone with a serious fabric addiction needs an intervention.

Autumn Photo on Etsy (HERE)

I am excited that in month of September there is a lot going on! The Better Homes and Gardens edition that some of my products SHOULD be in will come out to the general public. (When I say should I mean should. There is always the chance my stuff was cut in editing. A horrible thought, I know! Ack!)

I turn 30. Lets just skip over this one and not talk about it much. I find avoidance much easier than dealing with the issues.

September officially kicks off the Holiday Season for Red Marionette which means new products will be released in to the shop. If you don’t know where my shop is you have two options to get to it. One is www.redmarionette.com and the other is http://www.etsy.com/shop/RedMarionette

If you have made it this far through the post, and I know it is a long one, I have a treat for you.

It isn’t Halloween candy or caramel covered apples. Oooo Caramel Apples. Oh man. Ack! Distracted!

Candy Apple on Etsy (HERE)

Treats. Yes…. for you. Since you have read through my ramblings I offer you readers free shipping on everything in my shop through Friday the 3^rd of September. A little Thank you to all of you for being my bloggy friends! When you purchase be sure to put in the Message to Seller my little gift to you of Free Shipping and I will refund ALL of your shipping costs.

Thank you for reading my Blog and Happy September to you!