Sponsor Spotlight: Midnight Snack

We are so proud to tell you all that Midnight Snack, a longtime sponsor of Etsy Dallas, is again returning to support this year's Etsy Dallas JingleBash! Just looking at Christina's offerings is making me really, really hungry. If you haven't seen her items, you're about to understand!

Christina (most unfortunately!) will not be selling at this year's bash, as she will be roaming around, making sure everything is going smoothly. If you see her, make sure and say hello! She does a great deal for Etsy Dallas, and we sure do appreciate her!

You can follow her current adventures on Facebook. And make sure to come to the Southside Events Center at Gilley's Dallas on November 21st from 11 am to 6 pm for the Jingle Bash!

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We will be posting artist previews and other information on our blog, Facebook page, and Instagram account, so make sure you're following us for up-to-the-date information. We will be using the hashtags #etsydallas and #2015JingleBash for all event posts, so  follow along!

We can't wait to see you on November 21st!

Sponsor Spotlight: Midnight Snack

We are so proud to tell you all that Midnight Snack, a longtime sponsor of Etsy Dallas, is again returning to support this year's Etsy Dallas Spring Bash! Just looking at Christina's offerings is making me really, really hungry. If you haven't seen her items, you're about to understand!

Christina (most unfortunately!) will not be selling at this year's bash, as she will be roaming around, making sure everything is going smoothly. If you see her, make sure and say hello! She does a great deal for Etsy Dallas, and we sure do appreciate her!

Isn't this Bacon Plush absolutely hilarious? Even as a vegetarian, I would LOVE one! 

And as a longtime lover of all things carby, I'm seriously crushing on this Baked Potato Plush.

You can follow her current adventures on Facebook and Twitter. And make sure to come to the Southside Events Center at Gilley's Dallas on May 2nd from 11 am to 6 pm for the Spring Bash! Bring a reusable shopping tote to haul all of your goodies home!

We will be posting artist previews and other information on our blog, Facebook page, and Instagram account, so make sure you're following us for up-to-the-date information. We will be using the hashtags #etsydallas and #2015springbash for all event posts, so check us out!

We can't wait to see you on May 2nd!

Sponsor Spotlight: Midnight Snack

We are so happy to have Midnight Snack as a sponsor for the 2014 Jingle Bash. Christina's mouthwatering pieces will bring a smile to your face. And they might make you a little hungry too.

Although you won't find Midnight Snack goodies at this bash, you may meet Christina at the bash. Say hello! The plushes from Midnight Snack are works of art so we know you're going to love browsing Christina's shop. You can also enjoy a little Midnight Snack on Facebook and Twitter.

Sponsor Spotlight: Midnight Snack

It's snack time! Don't worry. Midnight Snack has you covered. Snuggle up with some yummy pancakes or a juicy steak. 

We are thrilled to have Christina as a sponsor for the Spring Bash. (We are also hungry from browsing her shop. Ice cream, anyone?) Seriously, her handmade plushes are works of art.

Christina's shop is stocked with whimsical plushes and pillows perfect for your favorite foodie. All items are handmade to order. Which is your favorite Midnight Snack? 

Sponsor Spotlight: Midnight Snack

We are pumped to have one of our very own Etsy Dallas leaders as a sponsor of the Spring Bash this year: Christina Wezwick from Midnight Snack! Christina’s shop is chock full of awesome food dedicated plushes and pillows. Here is one of our favorites...

(It’s a steak pillow, y'all!)

We got Christina to tell us a bit about her involvement with and personal connection to Etsy Dallas:

I have been involved with Etsy Dallas since 2008. I feel that Etsy Dallas gives local artists and business people a place to belong. It can be really hard to get support and advice when you are starting your business, even when you are selling online with Etsy, where there is a big community. It's nice to have a group of local people who all have a common interest that you can rely on. I feel that the time I devote to Etsy Dallas is helping support the local business community, the arts and crafts community, and Dallas as a whole.

I hope that my crafting brings a bit of whimsy and the unexpected to people's lives. I hope that what I make inspires others, including other crafters, around me.

I think that the Etsy Dallas team has a really unique thing going on that most other business groups don't have. We are all about supporting each other's businesses and bringing something unique to the community. We are a family!

Weekend Guide: December 15 + 16

Making the Holidays

Date: Saturday, Dec. 15th

Time: 2-3pm

Location: Bookmarks Library inside NorthPark Center, Dallas

More Info: Bookmarks blog

Participating Etsy Dallas Members: Jenni20 Designs, Midnight Snack, Regal Cottage, Paper Beats Rock, Ferrochie, Miamaria Design

 Dowdy Studio & Napkin Art Studio Party 

Date: Saturday, Dec 15th
Time: 4-9pm
Location: 10025 Garland Rd, Dallas
More Info: Dowdy Studio blog
Participating Etsy Dallas Members: Dowdy Studio, Napkin Art Studio 


And...be sure to enter our giveaway, the Jammie Bash!

Etsy Dallas Pillow Talk

This past weekend, Dallas teased us with the first cold weather spurt it has seen in quite some time. After a million days of a million degree heat, the colder it gets, the more we all want to snuggle up with our loved ones by a cozy fireplace in a giant pillow and blanket palette.  Here to prepare you with the perfect cold weather pillow pile is me, Pamela Dowdy from Dowdy Studio.

We know a thing or two about pillows, as we create some for our shop too. Plus we have quite a collection of our own that are always great couch companions, fort builders and of course, house-maker-prettiers.

First, I want to make sure you are super excited:

Are you thrilled now? K, good

Now get ready for some unconventional pillow talk.

I've secretly stalked all the Etsy Dallas pillow maker members to find the best for your fireplace pillow palette collections. After all my pillow peepings, here's what I have for you:

Local Honey's Texas pillow reminds me of that one winter we had a couple years back where the Texas had strange white fluffy stuff all over it, and my cat was like "WTF, is this?!?! And why so fun to lick??"

BUTTER's Drop it Like it's Hot Pillow is totally talking about misplacing your body mass to the floor by the fireplace. Pass me the hot cocoa, but don't drop that, because it is hot.   

 Midnight Snack's Toast Pillow will butter up any pillow party situation. It's possible it will also make you hungry. So you should probably go ahead and get the matching bacon one too. 

 To add a full bucket of cuteness to this pillow palette party, grab one of these Owl Pillows from Regal Cottage. If you're sitting solo at your pillow party, add this guy as your plus one. He's a good cuddler, listener and his eyes are so dreamy, you'll be forgetting all about the chili weather outside in no time.

For you trekkies, who are like "Why make pillow palette when I can have Star-Trek marathon on the couch!?!" Set phasers to pillow mode and have Scotty join you....er well, his pillow formation of himself. And before I reveal too much about my Star Trek knowledge, go where no pillow party has gone before with Yellow Bug Boutique's Star Trek themed pillows.

Here's our Dowdy Studio contribution to the pillow party, Viking Wood Beard. Unlike the cute owl above, this pillow viking is more likely to steal your firewood, booze and take off in his giant wooden ship to pillage more pillow parties. We apologize for his behavior, but I guess that's what you get when you invite an unruly viking over for a quiet relaxing evening by the fireplace. What were you thinking?


Have a favorite pillow from the Etsy Dallas artists above? Let us know. Want to tell us how you enjoy the cold days inside? Tell us!

Shop more pillows and all the Etsy Dallas member's shops here.

Happy pillow party!
-Pamela

Big Ideas for Little Ones-Yellow and Gray

One of the hottest trends when designing nurseries for boys, girls or delivery surprises is the color combination of sunny yellow and cool, neutral gray. Etsy Dallas members present eight creative ways you can liven up a baby’s space so it is ready for sleepy, cloudy days or the bright, Texas sunshine.

1. Linocut poster – 12 x 16 – Dream Big Penguin

Honeycomb Print Shop

Your little one will be dreaming of North Pole adventures thanks to this sweet penguin with an inspirational message we can all appreciate. Each print is hand inked, so the colors may be varied, but will all fall in the gray, marigold, black and cream families.

2. Here Comes the Sun 5x5 Fine Art Photography Print for the Home

Pamplemousse1983

Scrabble letters spell out the title of George Harrison’s Beatles classic “Here Comes the Sun” on a cheerful yellow background dotted with white, and you can’t help but sing along. This original photo is printed professionally on archival paper to frame on your walls.

3. Monogrammed Hanging Hoop

estieMade

Available in gray or honey, these personalized monograms can celebrate your new favorite name with modern vintage style. The 8-inch hoop can be used in the baby’s room or later in your study or office.

4. Hello Day - 8.5x11 Print

Dowdy Studio

Whether baby slept through the night or kept you up, you can still greet your day in style with this cheerful “Hello Day” print.  Each print is carefully made by the husband and wife team at Dowdy Studio from start to finish and is digitally printed on heavy weight matte photo quality paper.

5. Cheese Pillow

Midnight Snack

There’s nothing cheesy about the way this adds a little yellow and gray to a nursery! You and your little mouse can read books or play on the floor with this 18-inch square pillow. Its backside has a funky, navy blue, khaki and green circle and square pattern as well.

6. YeeHaw Kitty – 5x7 Print

Dowdy Studio

“Yeeeee haw!” This pen and ink illustration is the perfect addition to a room for a young Texan. The whimsical design with fine details like a bandana print and lines in the kitty’s straw hat is printed digitally on heavy weight matte photo quality paper.

7. Hooked on a Feeling… Screen Printed Pillow

Butter Design Lab

While you’re falling in love with the new bundle of joy rocking in your arms, your back will appreciate the soft support of this 18” x 18” screen-printed pillow. Metallic gold letters in gray suiting on one side – cool plaid on the other.

8. Retro – 11x14 Giclee Print

3dot4

This print packs a punch with bold gold and black, along with red and white accents. Your little one will enjoy counting the circles and numbers with you down the road, too.

9. Cloud Nine Pillow

Local Honey

Your new main squeeze will have you feeling like you’re living on cloud nine – so why not throw in a pillow to shout it out? Toss this 12” x 16” bit of handcrafted fluff on your rocking chair so you always remember this feeling. The back is made of collected fabric scraps, so you can make a special request to match the rest of your nursery.

Posted by Meredith from Meredesigns

Shop Feature: Midnight Snack

Are you hungry? Have an appetite for awesome? 

If so, meet Midnight Snack. 

Christina and I had booths next to each other at the Jingle Bash last November, and believe me, I wouldn't have wanted to be next to anyone else on that crazy busy day.  She is so fun to hang out with!

I recently sat down with Christina (okay, so there might have been sitting on both ends, but we weren't actually sitting next to each other--oh, the joys of the internet) and asked her a few questions.

I hope you have as much fun with this Q&A as I did!

Jenni: Ok, so it looks like you've been a part of Etsy Dallas for, well, maybe forever.  Wanna share anything about that?

Christina: I've been in Etsy Dallas since 2008 and I'm so proud of how much the team has grown. 

Jenni: Is there a secret to balancing a 9-5, a successful indie biz, being on the Etsy Dallas Leadership Team, oh and being a wife to a cutie hubs (more on him to follow)?

Christina: If there is a secret to doing it all well, then I'm not quite sure I've found it yet.  For me, it's best to create for Midnight Snack right when the ideas pop into my head.  If I try to schedule time to create, I often don't feel inspired.  I need to create when I want a project created so badly that I can't stop thinking about it. 

Jenni: Why food? I'm guessing it has to do with the huge smiles you see on peoples' faces when they see your stuff.  (Believe me, next door to this lady at the Bash, nothing but smiles for miles around!)   But seriously, did you just wake up one day and think: a bacon plushie pillow would be genius! (And reader, it is!)

Christina: I make food plushes for a couple of different reasons.  I think everyone loves food, and it's one of those weird things that in real life is not very cute, but as soon as you make it soft and cuddly it's adorable. 

(Christina, cont.) I also love how you can really get the essence of a lot of different foods by putting together a few shapes.  My most popular plushes tend to be the ones with the least complicated patterns. 

And speaking of cute: Christina and her husband have known each other since middle school! 

Meet Christina this Saturday at the Spring Bash--she's more than just awesome plushes.  Check out her jewelry and clothing designs, too.  (Sadly, she won't be my booth neighbor this year, but I can guarantee all those around her will be smiling!) 

See you on Cinco de Mayo!
Jenni of Jenni20 Designs

Don't Miss This: Sit Down to Stand Up for Kids

You definitely don't want to miss out on this! Thursday night, Etsy Dallas is throwing a shindig for charity! We invite you to come party with us, and help raise money for a great cause. Sit Down to Stand Up for Kids: Little Chairs for a Big Cause is Etsy Dallas' first ever charity-spotlight event benefiting Dallas Children's Advocacy Center (DCAC), a non-profit agency serving abused children in Dallas County. 


During this event, guests will have a chance to bid in a silent auction, and maybe, if you're lucky, you can take one of these handmade, uniquely decorated small chairs home.  

See What You Can See by K8Made

Each chair has been transformed by a member of the Etsy Dallas team in their own unique style, using a myriad of materials and techniques. 

Eggs Over Easy Chair by Midnight Snack

Whatever your style, you are sure to find something that will amaze and delight you. 

Adventure Awaits by maggie may i

While browsing these, and many more, creatively designed and decorated chairs, enjoy free food, drinks, music and great company. Admission is free, but voluntary charitable donations will be accepted at the door. All proceeds benefit the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center (DCAC). 

If you like, you can RSVP on the Facebook page for this event. An RSVP is appreciated, but not required.  See you there! 

More Treats to Beat the Heat

1. It's a Hoot Apron by miamaria

2. English Garden Pearl Necklace by Tefi

3. Mini Bowls by Karmacrochet

4. Sweetest Matryoshka Dolls by RegalCottage

5. Mini Donut Ornament or Keychain by Midnightsnack

6. Organic Baby Onesie by thepapernestco

7. Peaceful 8x10 Print by themiscellany

8. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You Cards by ohlouisedesigns

9. Green Glasses Passport Cover by Jenni20

It seems the heat is here to stay for awhile, so Anna from For the Love of Joy found us some more cool picks to help us beat the heat. Enjoy!

Category Spotlight: Home Goods

It's official: Etsy Dallas is chock-full of local talent! Take a look at our members in the Home Goods category, and you'll see what I mean:

Ferrochie
A new member to Etsy Dallas, David of Ferrochie uses the craft of woodworking to create gorgeous chandeliers, candle holders and accents like large chess pieces. Pawn to queen four!

Weapons of choice: wood lathe, scroll saw

Online: http://www.blogger.com/www.ferrochie.com

And catch David selling his woodwork creations at local Scottish and gaelic festivals in the north Texas area.

Jane Joss
Sisters-in-law Alyssa and Joslyn craft gorgeous fabric leaf bundles and bouquets that put any Michael's silk floral arrangement to shame. Their look is fresh and inviting with a sharp attention to detail in every stitched leaf.

Weapons of choice: sewing machine, pinking shears

Online:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/janejoss




laura davis/design lab
Furniture designer by day, embroidery maven by night! Laura uses vintage fabric and objects to create gorgeously fresh home decor like pillows, lamps and cake stands. You're going to want to clear a spot on your couch for this pillow.

Weapons of choice: bandsaw, staple gun, sewing machine

Online: http://www.blogger.com/www.lbd340.etsy.com



Midnight Snack
If embroidered pillows made with vintage linens aren't your thing, how about a big juicy T-bone to rest your head on? If meat's not your thing, how about a huge donut? Yum.

Weapon of choice: upholstery needle + thread

Online: http://www.blogger.com/www.midnightsnack.etsy.com.


One-Up Designs
Spruce up your walls - not with paint, not with paper - with a vinyl decal from One Up! The man behind the scenes, one James Partch, uses modern style to create a solution to boring surfaces everywhere - walls, laptops, even your face. Stick one up!

Weapon of choice: Illustrator

Online: http://www.blogger.com/www.oneupdesigns.etsy.com.


Check out a couple of pottery artists in our group - Both Hands Studio and Rimrock View Studio - who also make some gorgeous home decor. They will be featured in a separate "Pottery" category spotlight next month!

written by Stephanie Hindall, a.k.a. tefi

Etsy Dallas Weekend Guide: Oct 1-4

October Market
The St. Thomas Aquinas Mothers' Association's October Market is a gift show with vendors presenting a unique and wide variety of gift items. Stop on by to see clothing from Harrilu, letterpress designs from Color Box Designs and Letterpress, fun accessories and clothing from Midnight Snack and adorable children’s clothing and accessories form Three Yellow Starfish. In addition to all of the fabulous shopping. All proceeds from the Market benefit the St. Thomas Aquinas Mothers' Association and the charities it supports. Founded in 1961, the St. Thomas Aquinas Mothers' Association (STAMA) is a Catholic organization whose purpose is to aid parents in providing a Catholic home atmosphere for pre-school children.

Date: Saturday, Oct 3rd
Time: 10am-6pm
Location: St. Thomas Aquinas in Lakewood
More info: click here




24th Annual Art & Crafts Spectacular
This Saturday, Our own very lovely Alicia Colina-Ashby, will be at the 24th Annual Art & Crafts Spectacular selling her amazing paper pouches, bags and accessories. This is an outdoor and indoor show, so be sure not to miss all the artists.

Date: Saturday,Oct 3rd
Ttime: 9am-4pm
Location: Woodhaven Presbyterian Church
Cost: FREE
More info: click here



Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits Music Festival will have awesome music, food, arts and much much more. The SoCo Art Market features art, crafts items, and cool merchandise from Austin’s creative community. Tara to the T will be there selling her handmade accessories and her new fashion line.

Date: Oct 2 - 4, 2009
Location: Zilker Park, Austin, TX
More info: click here

Member Spotlight: Midnight Snack

This week's Etsy Dallas Member Spotlight is on Midnight Snack, your source for handmade pillows, clothing & accessories.

Christina is the creative brain & talent behind the scenes. She has lived in the Dallas area all of her life and has created for as long as she can remember. She made her first "craft tower" when she was just 5 years old. It was full of glitter, popsicle sticks, fuzzy pom poms, and all the fun kids' craft supplies. Wow, Christina....crafty & organized...we are impressed!

In college, Christina used crafting as a way to de-stress and take her mind off of school. Hmm, when I was in college, I could have really used her "Hands off My Chocolate" plush to avoid the "freshman 10"!!

She really started to enjoy making hand made gifts around this time. Christina and her husband have been a part of the handmade movement for a while. They have exchanged handmade gifts with each other ever since they started dating - even when most of her friends thought it was weird. Yeah, Christina we know...y'all were hip before your friends even knew it!

Christina likes to surround herself with creative people whenever she can. It really helps her understand her own process by witnessing how others work out their own craft. Her husband is creative and artistic, and they help each other constantly with projects and bounce ideas off of each other. Christina says, "It is fantastic to have someone around who constantly pushes you to perfect your ideas."

Midnight Snack was started out of a desperate need for a dog bed to keep Christina's chihuahua, Stanley, away from her nice sofa pillows. She made him a giant steak shaped fleece floor pillow and he loved it. That sparked her interest in making plushes and since Stanley didn't need an abundance of beds she started putting her other creations online, marking the beginning of Midnight Snack.

The business has since evolved into hand sewn, appliqued clothing and accessories, and most recently into decoupaged jewelry. Sewing is Christina's true love. "I'll always feel most satisfied after making a new plush creation!" Well Christina, this "Piece of Cake" plush couldn't satisfy my sweet tooth more!!

Christina will be at the Spring Bash on May 16th and hopes you'll stop on by the Midnight Snack table and see her amazing creations.

Posted by Randi Deckard/DallasDesigningDiva