Craft Shows, Foam Swords & Poo Themed Baby Shoes

It feels like I blinked and October is nearly over despite there being so much I still want to do. It's always a busy month around here with Halloween, fall activities, full-time homeschool and my oldest kid's birthday, but this year we threw a craft show into the mix, which meant even more madness, so instead of working on new projects & tutorials, this is what I was working on:

My husband has been doing foam-smithing projects as a hobby  and decided to take it public at a themed craft/cosplay/comic con show this past weekend.  He'd never done a show or sold his creations before so yours truly was in charge of all the show planning, gathering gear, sign making, display and, being a crafter, making a few last minute additions to fill up his booth space.  Last week I shared the trials & tribulations of making his shop sign with glitter vinyl.

He got a lot of positive feedback on his helmets & swords though, enough that in the show's downtime he set up his first ever Etsy shop, Cockroach Villain's Battle Emporium!  

It's named after a toy my middle son calls Cockroach Villain (no idea why since it doesn't resemble a cockroach at all as you can see from the logo), but the shop's got items like these in it:

He makes and sculpts everything out of EVA foam and hand paints all the details so they're realistic, but totally soft and safe.  Good for costumes, cosplay, props and adults or kids.  

Our own kids have heavily test it all for play-ability.  

For my contribution I made some Halloween-y floral hair clips & headbands and some soft soled baby shoes in some comic-con friendly themed prints.

I've added the baby shoes I had left to my Etsy shop, The Green Hedgehog.  



They're all made from custom run cotton knit fabric & coordinating fleece lining for some special little footwear for the smallest of feet.

Let me tell you, craft shows are WORK!  Add up all the lead up work, time at the show and driving out of state 2 days in a row, it was exhausting.  It had been a while since I'd done one, but honestly, I'll be good if I never do another.  This particular event was free so there were a lot more people looking for a chance to wear their costumes in public than actually shopping, which was a shame for the vendors.  There's just so much prep and miscellaneous expense and time involved I don't know how people do this kind of thing regularly when it's such a gamble people will even buy your stuff.   

How about you - Do you do craft shows?  Just attend them? Love or Hate? 

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Big Big News: I'm Designing Some Shoes!!

I've got some creative news I'm super excited to share - I'm going to be designing some shoes!!  Last month I shared a few posts telling about the LUV Footwear Open Call Contest and showed my own shoe design entries.  Guess what happened?  I won!  Two of my designs have been chosen to be made into LUV Dream Flats that will be sold worldwide. It's just been announced on the LUV Footwear Facebook page (I found out a few days ago, but was sworn to secrecy until the big reveal).  To say I'm honored & thrilled is an understatement.

These are my winning designs that will become real shoes you'll be able to buy & wear:

My LUV Gummy Bear Dream Flat....

and my jaunty, nautical themed, "Ahoy" stripe:

The "Ahoy!" sailing-style shoe was inspired by my 5 Minute Nautical Clutch tutorial.  I cannot wait to wear them together and be able to proudly say I designed them both.

I want to say a big thank you to those of you that voted for my designs in the public Facebook voting portion.  My two and two others from talented designer, Elisia Morgani, were chosen from a combination of Facebook votes, LUV Ambassador votes, and staff selection.  

I'll keep you up to date on when these babies are finalized and become available for purchase.  I'm really looking forward to working with the LUV product development team to create them.  I'll even get to see my name on the packaging & featured on the LUV Footwear site.  It's a real dream come true for this designer! 

And in the meantime, you can use my discount code CBLUV20 if you want to save 20% off the regular price of any of the current shoes available at LUV Footwear.  Woohoo for fun shoes:)

LUV Open Call Design Contest & A LUV Footwear Giveaway for You!

Ever wanted to be a designer?  See your designs on an actual product?  Here comes your chance to realize your own designs at the LUV Dream Flat Open Call Design Competition. Plus, I've got a bonus giveaway for a pair of LUV shoes right here at Sew Can Do!  Just keep reading... 

Here's the info: Back in December, I shared that the Little Miss & I had become Brand Ambassadors for LUV Footwear.  LUV Footwear makes fun & fabulous slip-on fabric shoes, called Dream Flats, for toddlers, girls and women.

 

As Brand Ambassadors we share our love of LUV shoes and spread the word about this fabulous footwear.  LUV Dream Flats are super comfortable, washable and great for just about every activity because they are light, but supportive.  They've become our go-to shoes while crafting, exercising, dressing up, playing outside...you get the idea.  

Us wearing some LUV

And besides feeling great, they also add a splash of extra style with their colorful designs: 

Me in my Poppy Purple LUVs

Now I'm sharing some big news with you: The LUV Open Call Designer Contest has begun!   

What does this mean?  Would-be designers can submit their very own design ideas for new Dream Flats.  Several talented entrants will offered the opportunity to commercialize their designs into new LUV Footwear styles sold worldwide, be featured on corresponding packaging and spotlighted on the LUV website. Seeing your own design made into a shoe - and everyone will know - how cool is that?!?



How It Works: The Open Call process is simple; just upload your own design or photo for the outer & sole, choose a trim color, fill in the entry form and submit!  No fancy skills or graphic programs are required, so it's easy for anyone with a creative eye to give it a go. I've already entered a few ideas myself:)

You can submit multiple designs through May 5th, 2014.  LUV Footwear will post entries on their social media to be voted on by fans, as well as by the Ambassadors & LUV Team. Four contest winners will be chosen & announced in late May.   Click HERE to go submit your creative shoe design now!

 Winning designs from the 2013 Open Call

Now how about a chance to win a pair of LUV Dream Flats?

One of my roles as a Brand Ambassador is to do Random Acts of LUV and gift FREE shoes to people who inspire me.   Since so many of you inspire me with your creativity, I'm giving away a pair of Dream Flats to one lucky Sew Can Do reader!

The winner can pick a pair from any current LUV
 toddler, girl or women's styles!  

Here are just a few of the fun footwear choices:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you want to get some LUV DreamFlats right now, 

you can use my code, CBLUV20, 

for a 20% off discount on any LUV Footwear purchase.  

It's a shoe lover's dream come true! 

You can find out more Open Call details & entry info at LUV Footwear and on Facebook, Pinterest & Twitter.

I was not financially compensated for this post.  I am a brand ambassador for LUV Footwear.  I share LUV with the community and they share great shoes with me & those I know.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For my complete disclosure policy, click here. 

Tutorial Time: Duck Fabric® Tape Shoe Makeover

This post brought to you by Duck Brand. All opinions are 100% mine.

Today's project is one I'm very excited about because it's also a chance to share a new product I now love: Duck Fabric® Tape.  I was intrigued when I first heard about this new item from Duck Brand Craft Tapes. Fabric that's really a tape? It sounded magical!

Here's the 411 on it: It's a bit different than regular Duck® Tape since it's actually soft cotton fabric.  This means it behaves like fabric in being soft and smooth, but has a built-in grip adhesive on the back so it can function like a traditional tape to adhere to just about anything.  It also comes paper backed so you can plan things out before you peel.  

It sounded totally up my street, so you can imagine my excitement when I was asked to by Duck Brand® to come up with a craft using it.  This tape allows you to add fabric texture to just about anything - home decor, toys, cards, you name it.  You can even write on it!  It's as cool as it sounds.  I had a lot of ideas in mind, but this one really jumped out at me - Duck Fabric® Tape Shoes!  

Turn a boring or ugly pair of shoes into a custom design without messy glues, wrinkled fabric or complicated steps thanks to this special tape.  It's easy - here's how:

Materials:

- Duck Fabric® Crafting Tape.  I used Yellow Speckled Dot & Coral Multi Stripe*

- Scissors

- Disappearing fabric marker

- Canvas shoes

*This fabric tape is available in a number of versatile prints in standard tape width shown, as well as 3/4in wide mini rolls and in 8x10in sheets.

Start by cutting a strip of fabric tape slightly wider than the toe cap of the shoe. Place tape over top of shoe so edges cover canvas of shoe and overlap onto the welt (rubber side).  Press firmly using a fingernail, or non-sharp edge of a blade cutter, so the indentation where the canvas meets the rubber will show through the tape.  Draw along that seam with the disappearing marker to make the cut line. 

Pull lower edge of tape up & away from shoe just enough to be able to cut along line with scissors.  Smooth tape back down after cutting.

Add another strip of tape next to the first and repeat the creasing, marking & cutting along the sides.  Don't worry if it isn't perfectly aligned - the tape can be repositioned easily to get it just right.  To wrap around the upper edge, trim the overlapping portion of the tape to 1/4 inch and clip as shown so tape will easily wrap around the curve.  Press firmly to the inside of the shoe.

To do a strap, cut a strip of tape that is 1/4 inch wider than the strap on either side and place as shown.

Clip into the curved end and then fold tape over to the underside of the strap.

To cover any buckle edges, cut a tape piece to fit around buckle area first:

Then add an additional piece of tape, and cut with a slight edge to wrap around the buckle sides:

To add decorative touches, cut shapes in a contrasting print tape.  This part is what I really love about this tape - since it's paper backed, it's easy to trace on and to cut any shape.

I used my Cuttlebug and a die cut to make detailed butterfly shapes in seconds:

All I needed to do was peel away the paper and stick:

Now some plain shoes have a totally colorful & custom look:

The transformation from drab to fab is incredible - and was easy to do.  It was so fun to work with, I'm planning to do some home decor and paper projects with it too.  I want to tape just about everything with this stuff!

  

Want more fun project ideas using Duck Tape®?  Follow Duck Brand® on Twitter @TheDuckBrand. And share your own ideas on Twitter & Pinterest with #DuckCraftTape hashtag!

I'm also sharing this project with my FAVE LINK PARTIES.

Click HERE to check them out!

Sharing Some LUV: Our Ambassador Announcement!

If you follow Sew Can Do on Twitter you may have seen some tweets with shoe pics & references to LUV and wondered what it was about.  Today's the day to share it: my daughter & I are now LUV Ambassadors!

So what the heck am I talking about?

Back in the summer I saw a review on another blog for some toddler shoes from LUV Footwear. The colorful prints caught my eye, as did the cute slip-on flat style.  That blogger mentioned how comfy & durable they were, so I checked out their site.  That's when I saw they made Dream Flats for girls AND women.  I decided to order some for myself & my daughter.  They. Were. Fabulous!

Me in my Poppy Purple LUVs

They take the comfort & ease of slippers and cross it with all the durability of a sporty shoe and the creative prints & textures of a gorgeous fabric stash.  I ordered a few more and found myself choosing outfits based on being able to wear our LUVs with them.  I was hooked.  I've since bought pairs to give as Christmas gifts for all the girls & ladies on our list too.  

Our growing LUV collection

I've worn them running around with the kids, while working out, poolside - I even sew with them on (they are ideal with working a foot pedal).  They've become my go-to footwear in & out of the house and let me show my love of fun fabrics too.  

At the pool in my Fiesta Pink LUVs.

My daughter loves wearing them because she can get them on & off by herself and she can run, jump and climb in them.  I love that they look just as good with skirts as they do with pants.  Plus, despite several months of regular wear, they all still look practically new.  They can even be tossed them in the washing machine!

Serena in her Metallic Criss Cross Reds

I wanted to shout out my fabulous find from the rooftops and now that the Little Miss & I are LUV Ambassadors I really can!  You can check out our Ambassador profile HERE (look under "C" or just click on Michigan).  We get to share our LUV experiences and inspire creativity in the community with some help from LUV Footwear:)

Rocking our LUVs together

Why is this good for Sew Can Do Readers?  

Random Acts of LUV - I can now gift FREE shoes and other LUV goodies to people who inspire me.  I meet a lot of inspiring people thanks to the comments you make here at Sew Can Do, on my social media, and via the projects you share with me at the Craftastic Monday link party, so keep it up! You might find yourself bestowed with a Random Act of LUV!

Special Discount Code - You can use my code for a discount on any LUV Footwear purchase.  And until 12/25, as a special holiday treat, 

My code: CBLUV20, is good for 50% OFF Your Entire Order!!

Designing Opportunities - I'll also be on the voting panel for the LUV Open Call Design Competition.  This program allows creative designers & artists to submit their ideas for a chance to commercialize their designs into new LUV Footwear styles.  Seeing your own design made into a shoe - how cool is that?!?  I'll share more details when the 2014 call is ready.

Community Involvement - LUV also does some great charity work to benefit the community. They gave out free shoes in exchange for donations to Make-A-Wish San Francisco at the now famous Batkid event.  They even let him drive the LUV bus!

There are lots of great things about sharing LUV Footwear.  I'm so happy to be able to take part as an Ambassador & share some LUV with you:)  You can check out more at LUV Footwear and follow on Facebook, Pinterest & Twitter.

I was not financially compensated for this post.  I am an ambassador for LUV Footwear.  I share LUV with the community and they share great shoes with me & those I know.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For my complete disclosure policy, click here.