zipzip!

new zippy pouches:


i'm so into these dutch-y prints that i am able to find at the vintage markets around here from time to time. i've always got my eye out my first love folk-y print (this one, remember? oooooh...) and then a few weeks ago i scooped up these two new prints.
i love the colors of this one:



i've made up a few, and put one on etsy.
the colors on this one arent my first choice, but i really like the print - a lot:


so far i've only got one of these sewn up, so i'm not listing it quite yet.
in fact, i may not get to listing it...
i just had a mini panic attack this evening when i realized that i seem to have lost an entire week somewhere. coming up so soon --- the nyc bust craftacular - december 6th (that's NEXT sunday -- not two weeks away, as i somehow was thinking!) trunk show in my hometown of t-nacle, NJ on december 7th, the divine studios art and craft sale in manhattan on december 13th. AND, i'm madly stitching up the final pieces to go into a show at new shop hello bluebird in west reading PA next week. (i'll post more details on that as soon as i get these pieces finished!) oh, and i'm to be shooting new videos for howcast this coming week, too. remember, also, that i've got lots of chez-sucre-chez pieces on display at the renegade handmade shop this month. see this post for more details. phwew! am i going to be able to pull this all together? eeks! i hope so!

readymade teeth

yay! my little toothbuddies made it onto readymade magazine's handmade gift list!

(don't they look so happy in their photo?)
see this and the other great gifts here.

the "in stitches showcase" at renegade chicago!

ah! i totally missed posting about this; the opening was last night... darn, i'm a little late.
but it's okay! the show is up all month.
look look look!


sue, kate, and danny, the wonderful peeps at the renegade handmade shop in chicago have put together a seriously excellent selection of artists and works for the latest show in their spotlight series. this is show number three and it's called "the in stitches showcase." it's a cross stitch and embroidery group show featuring these artists:


clockwise: atlantic treefox, pinpals, lucky jackson, the time is now, moxiedoll, mucho design, lou lou and oscar, pidge pidge


gillian bates, miniature rhino, porterness


mary’s granddaughter, sissyfist, MummySam, et moi - chez sucre chez

holy crap, that's an amazing round-up, right?! i am bummed that i cannot make it out there... i am sure i'd be totally wowed and inspired and i would LOVE to meet some of these other artists and talk thread and needles.
and, last night, jenny hart, of sublime stitching, was there to do signings of her new book, embroidered effects. what an event, eh?
but it's up for a little while longer - so there's still time to see it if you find yourself in the chicago area. look for more details and directions here.

it's beginning to look a bit like xmas

just a wee bit.
last week i made up some ornaments:



i listed them in my shop with the option of having the year embroidered on there or not. i understand that some people like dated things, and others definitely do not. i know that in my family, my sister and i were given two gifts to open on christmas eve; one was a nightgown or pyjamas (we got matching pjs so that we looked all cute and match-y in the photos the next morning.) and the other was an ornament to hang on the tree. i really appreciate the ones that have the year on them. i think it's fun to have and see that little history each year.

and then there were these ones:


i printed them with stamps that i carved of the various bird shapes. i had hoped to have done more with these stamps, but that hasn't happened yet. i hope i can make those ideas happen in the next month.
here's what i am REALLY looking forward to this week. this thursday, besides it being the arrival date of this year's beaujolais nouveau, i've got a date with my z-town gals in the afternoon to do some entirely non chez-sucre-chez holiday crafting. hooray! we're gonna get together and eat some snacks and pore over the holiday crafts in this months (and those of last year, and the year before that and...) issue of martha. fun!

a stitch in time on once wed

once wed, the uber-huge wedding blog, just (yesterday) published a story that i helped to work on! remember this piece?


i had done it by request for courtney, of merriment events and the blog little white book, who was putting this story together. it's really sweet -- a super thoughtful dude comes up with a crafty-inspired proposal (and it's actually inspired by a true story). i was called upon to be a part of it by making the title piece and a set of stitched up l.o.v.e. letters. everyone who worked on the project did an amazing job and it's wonderful to see that it's been picked up by once wed. here's a preview of my work in the piece:



(screenshots taken from the once wed site, photos taken by kellan studios, who've also posted additional photos from the shoot.)
but you gotta go see it for yourself -- click here for part one and here for part two.
thanks, courtney, for inviting me to be a part of the story and thanks to everyone who made all of our work look amazing!

scratch market

whoa -- it's just about holiday season and my calendar is filling up rather quickly with lots of exciting stuff.
here's one for this weekend:


any of you PA peeps -- eastern PA, i guess, who may be looking for something to get into on the weekend. come on out on saturday to the from scratch market. it's a new craft fair event that's been organized by a talented and connected little bunch -- should be a good one. i will be there selling chez-sucre-chez goods alongside sara smedley, jen lindsay, and melanie linder (all of the z-town made group) who will also be hawking their wares. i'm kinda excited about this one because we're sharing a couple of tables and we'll be making it like a little z-town made store rather than separating and showcasing each of our own lines. i'm very much looking forward to a day with my ladies before the real madness of the holiday season sets in. c'mon out and visit us and get a jump on your holiday shopping!

chez-sucre-chez has gone to the frogs

i said i wasnt gonna do it -- but i did...
i made a more kid-friendly sandwich wrapper.
this one's got frogs on it:



i had gotten a lot of requests for prints and patterns that would appeal more to kids (boys in particular) and i had said that i did not plan on doing that... but then when i saw this frog printed vinyl, i decided to just give it a shot. they're kinda cute -- but definitely not very chez-sucre-chez... they're up on etsy.

oh, and speaking of frogs -- chez-sucre-chez goodies are now being sold by not one, but two shops in france! les fleurs in paris, and mum shop in bordeaux! tres cool!

more buddies

last week was one for stuffing things. i stuffed the birds for ornaments and i made and stuffed a bunch more tooth buddies.
here's the newest line-up:


my favourite thing about this batch is the color scheme going on with their eyes and mouths. b got me a big jar of buttons and in it were lots of these matching greenish-blue buttons. i liked how there were lots of buttons in there that were this same color, but the pairs were of varying sizes and shapes.
these gems were also in there:


ooooh, i love those colors together:


anyways -- yep. so there's a new batch of tooth buddies.
here are some of my favourites:
minxy:


marv:


this guy, with the crooked little smile who doesnt yet have a name:


and this guy - whose face i love:


he doesnt have a name yet either. (if you've any suggestions, please do leave them in the comments!)


look at how much fun they seem to be having all hanging out together. they look like they're playing "ha'" (remember that episode from the brady bunch?)


i think that these little guys are gonna be in a magazine this coming month, but i'm not positive... we'll see. just in case, i'll be restocking the shop.

ornamental

so, i started working on my little holiday line a few weeks ago and i was thinking, "christmas is still awfully far away... i should maybe wait on this stuff a while." and now i feel like it is practically here and i should have had this stuff done before now.
there's lots more in the works, but here's the first round - tree ornaments:
this is kind of a weird photo of them -- i gotta take some better ones some day soon. let's just think of this as a sneaky peaky, since they arent going in to my shop or anywhere else for at least another week or two. this way, though, you at least know that i'm working on it and that there's more to come...


(i'm HATING these photos! they look gross and bloody! -- maybe i still have halloween on my mind. well, trust me, they'll look way better with the red contrasting against an evergreen tree.)

keeping up with the smiths

new posts soon! i just gotta get caught up on this past week's orders and then i'll show you the new stuff that i've been working on!