BUST Magazine Holiday Craftacular

BUST Magazine's Holiday Craftacular
Saturday, December 17th
The Warsaw - 261 Driggs Ave (between Eckford and Leonard)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
12 pm - 12 am
www.bust.com/craftacular/


NY peeps, I hope to see you there!

Ornament Thursday

My friend Christina over at Fern House Studio just started a new feature called Ornament Thursday. It's such a cute idea! Every week, she scours the internet to find holiday ornaments that she loves, and then she features them in her blog.

This week she chose to write about my cupcake ornaments. Yay! (You can click here to read it.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends! I hope your holiday is filled with good folks, good food, and good fun!

Note Cards and Stationery Now Stocked at Internationalist Books

india*romeo note card sets are now available at Internationalist Books, a super duper cool co-op bookstore in Chapel Hill, NC. If you're in the area, you should definitely stop by and check out the place if you haven't been in there before. It's a pretty dang sweet little place.

See me on TV (again)!

The episode that I taped for HGTV's Crafters Coast to Coast re-airs tomorrow morning. If you missed it the first time, now's your chance! Provided that you like to get up early and watch the boob tube, that is.... It comes on bright and early at 7:30 am - check your local listings for the channel.

I have two segments. In the first, I demo how to make one of my Bird Mobiles, and at the end of the show, I show how to make a Loopy Flower Pin.

If you watch it, don't laugh (too much). :)

india*romeo update!

I just finished a huge ginormous update. I didn't get any new bags up yet, but I did add some new stationery, new scarves, and new skirts! That's right, skirts. I'm on a clothing kick. I'm dreaming of pleats and darts and ruffles and piping and patch pockets and I'm itching to make more. Keep your eyes peeled. Oh, and there will be shirts and hoodies sometime soon, too, but how soon depends on how quickly I can get caught up.

If you notice any wonky links or anything, let me know. I was in a hurry. Now I'm off to answer emails, pack up 2 consignment orders, finish some CR business, and then I will crash out on the couch in front of the boob tube to cut more paper birds out. My episode of Crafters Coast to Coast re-runs on HGTV next Tuesday morning (the 15th), so I want to have a few ready in case anyone happens to be up at 7:30 in the morning to see it and wants to order one!

A spooktacular sale at india*romeo!

There's a spooky sale going on right now at india*romeo! Enter TRICKORTREAT in the voucher section at checkout for 30% off your entire order!

Hurry! The sale ends at midnight on Halloween night. Go on, get your shop on!

SPOOKY SALE AT INDIAROMEO.COM! 30% OFF WITH CODE: TRICKORTREAT
SPOOKY SALE AT INDIAROMEO.COM! 30% OFF WITH CODE: TRICKORTREAT

Come Rock & Shop with me!

The Rock and Shop Market is this Saturday, October 29th at Tir Na Nog. (218 South Blount St. in downtown Raleigh, NC). Stop by and get your rock and shop on!

Visit http://www.rockandshopmarket.com for directions and a list of the other vendors.

I'll have some great new stuff - fall handbags, stationery, and some new clothing and accessories. Hope to see you there!

i'm a crafty bastard!

Come see me tomorrow at the Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair in Washington DC! I'll be in booth 83!

Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair
Western Market in Adams Morgan
2200 Champlain St. NW, Washington DC

For details, directions, and a list of the other fabulous vendors who are participating, visit:
www.washingtoncitypaper.com/craftybastards/index.php

See you there!

Ready for Renegade? Yes! I am!

I'm all packed and ready to head out to Chicago for this weekend's Renegade Craft Fair! Yippeeee!






Rain or shine, I'm in booth 134! Come by and say hello if you can!

For maps and a list of all the other fab vendors, visit: http://www.renegadecraft.com

almost ready for renegade

There's plenty more where this came from... believe me... there's lots, lots, lots more. More sneak peeks to come soon!

india*romeo is haute, haute, haute!

Hey, check it out... india*romeo is featured as a Haute Shop over at bussbuss.com! Go on and take a look, and be sure to click around - some other really lovely sites are featured, too!


Psst... I just added some new bags and stationery to the site, too.

This tote bag can help the victims of Hurricane Katrina!

This tote bag can help the victims of Hurricane Katrina!

I just listed this tote bag over at craftrevolution.etsy.com. If you buy it, 100% of the proceeds will go to the Red Cross to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Buy handmade and support a good cause!

Edit: These are all gone, but there's lots of great stuff in the shop - please go take a look!

Crafters Unite!

Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast earlier this week with devastating effects, forcing hundreds of thousands out of their homes and causing at least 68 deaths, including 55 in Mississippi. Rescue efforts are currently under way, with many victims trapped on rooftops and in flooded communities. The area is experiencing a shortage of food, a lack of drinking water and no power to homes that are still standing. The devastation is unbelievable.

We at Craft Revolution have been watching the news coverage together (online) with heavy hearts. We know full-well the power of the indie community to come together to support one of our own in need. Now is the time to mobilize that power and reach out to the victims of this horrific storm.

We have approached Etsy.com with a plan to offer donated indie items for sale on their website. Etsy has offered us shop space (http://craftrevolution.etsy.com/) and to help us promote the event by mentioning the event in their blog and featuring some of the items from the shop.

All proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund, which is providing hot meals to victims and rescue workers, as well as providing other much needed assistance such as shelter, medical needs and even therapy for victims. Our initial goal is to raise $1,000.

With hopes of forming an unprecedented partnership across the entire indie design community, we’ve contacted the major shopping websites for help in promoting the event in their newsletters, blogs, and on their websites. Tanya Sharma of MyCicy.com and Leah Kramer of Craftster.org have already agreed to work with us.

We have set up a special disaster relief page on CraftRevolution.com (http://craftrevolution.com/craftersunited.htm) where we list our partner sites and maintain a complete list of participating shops and cash contributors. We will also provide a special banner and a blurb for anyone who wants to help spread the word to post on their websites and in their blogs.

We’re also working on a press release for the event that will be sent to numerous shopping sites and also sent out on PRWeb.

Want to help?

Donate an item for sale! You just need to provide us with a good-quality photo, description, retail value and shipping cost (if applicable) for your item. We’ll post the item on Etsy in our special disaster relief shop. Your business and website will be mentioned in the listing. When the item sells, we’ll contact you with the name and address of the winning bidder to ship to.

We’re also asking for participating shops to send out a special newsletter to help spread the word to their customers.

Even if you can’t donate an item, please consider posting something about the event on your sites, in your newsletters, and in your blogs. The more we get the word out, the more we can help!

If you’d like to make a direct donation with paypal, you may send your contributions to donations@craftrevolution.com. Please also send any inquiries or offers of donations and help to that address.

Thank you tons and bunches!

wacked out fortune

Your fortune:

The best way to save face is to keep the lower part of it shut.

The Wacky Fortune Cookie Generator

Ain't that the truth!

Friday Fun

Got this from Veronica, and I couldn't help but repost it for a little TGIF fun...

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year's winners. Read them carefully. Each is an artificial word with only one letter altered to form a real word. Some are terrifically innovative:

1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
   
2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
   
3. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
   
4. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
   
5. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
   
6. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
   
7. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
   
8. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
   
9. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
   
10. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
    
11. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
    
12. Glibido: All talk and no action.
    
13. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
    
14. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
    
15. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
    
16. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.
    
    And the pick of the lot:
    
17. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an a**hole.

Happy Friday, friends!

Hooray!

I just got the nicest little surprise in my inbox from Miss Christina of Fern House Studio! She recently posted in her blog to ask for some help in choosing which of her lovely prints she should offer in her shop, and put everyone who responded in a hat for a chance to win a sample pack of her beautiful cards. She chose my name, and I'm so excited! I've been a fan of her artwork ever since I discovered her site, and I'm stoked that I'll get to call some of her work my own. Yay!

If you haven't seen her work, you really should get on over to her shop to check it out. She makes the best stuff. I love her designs, and her little finger puppets are the most darling things ever!

Pretty pillows for sale!

I just added these 3 new pillows to the site last night. Yay!

They're all are made from vintage fabric - some are Vera napkins and table linens, some are scarves, all are fabulous, if I do say so myself.

They're one of a kind, so hurry up and snag one (or all!) before they get gone.


Come see these and more at india*romeo!

so freaking cute

dessert erasers at fred flare

these are the cutest ever. love them!

Sweet Swaggy Goodness

Yesterday's Southeastern Swag Market was a rip roarin' success, and a whole lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who came out! I had a wonderful time, and can't wait until the next one - I'll be there with bells on for sure.

The drive up to Danville and back was really nice - pretty back roads and lovely scenery most of the way. I really wish I'd taken some pictures of downtown Danville - I really loved all the old buildings and homes along the main street. Judging by all the gorgeous 20's and 30's architecture, Danville must've been the place to be back in the day. The photographer from the local paper was out covering the Market, and I wound up having a conversation with him about the North Theater, which was built back in the 40's and recently restored. He said the acoustics in the building are amazing and that it's one of the best places to see a movie. They're showing some great movies in the next little bit, so I might have to get myself back there to check one out.

I've got a mini site update scheduled for this week, so keep an eye out. New lovelies will be coming your way soon!

P.S. There's a nice review of the Southern Swag Market in the Danville paper, and yours truly gets a mention, although apparently my first name has been changed to India. Oops! Go check it out!

Southeastern Swag Market, here I come!

I'm busily working away at some new treats for this Sunday's Southeastern Swag Market. If you're in the NC/VA area, you should come on down. It should be a lot of fun! It's this Sunday (August 14th) at the Squire Recreation Center in Danville, VA from 2-5 pm. You can find maps, directions, and a list of vendors at the event's website.

If you stop by, tell me that you found out about the event through my site, and I might have a special treat for ya!

These are two new bags that I sewed up this morning - they're small, but very roomy on the inside. They'll be making their debut at the SSM, and will be on the site shortly thereafter. I've got a bunch more cut in all sorts of yummy new fabrics, and will be sewing them up this afternoon - keep an eye out!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

A couple of weeks ago, I received some very good news. Unfortunately, I was sworn to secrecy, and couldn't share the details until August 1st.

It is now officially August 1st, so I can spill the beans. Hooray!

Here's the secret:



I won! So did my friend Erika at Mellifluous Couture, and Janice at Copacetique! Lots of other wonderful and talented folks won, too! Yay!

I'm honored, stoked, pleased, tickled, overjoyed, stunned, and completely bowled-over that I won.

But even more than that, I'm so overwhelmed with feelings of thanks because I know that the only reason why I won is because of you (yes, you!), the nice folks who were kind enough to vote for me.

To each and every one of you who voted for me, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish I could give you all hugs and kisses. It means so much to me that you would even remotely think that I deserve this honor. I'm so touched. I feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have friends like you.

Thank you.

xoxoxo,
Ileana

Girl's night out

Last winter, my friend Robin and I started having girl's night on Mondays. We'd go out to this cute diner downtown called Poole's, and bring our crochet projects to work on while we caught up on the week's gossip over dinner and drinks. Eventually, we started inviting other friends to join us, and before we knew it, we had a full-fledged girl's night on our hands.

So now, on most Monday nights, you'll find us with our lady friends (Kiona, Kristen, Leeann, and Michelle, to name a few), crammed into a booth at the back of the restaurant, discussing boys, business, and other fun girly things.

We recently hit the big time, when a nice lady from the local newspaper came to visit. (Apparently, word of our girl's night out had been getting around town.) She wrote a nice piece on us for the paper, which you can read here if you'd like.

Last night when we showed up, we sat down in our usual spot and opened our menus, expecting to choose our eats and drinks from the familiar list of our usuals. But instead, we found an unexpected surprise. The entire drink menu had been changed, and each of the new selections was somehow craft-related! The managers thought it was so nice that we got a write-up in the paper that they dedicated the menu to us. Aw.



Poole's is known for its ever-changing drink specials menu, which invariably reflects recent events in pop culture or world news. For example, when the Olsen twins turned 18, the drinks were all named things like "barely legal" and whatnot, except their names were wittier - that's my lame attempt at remembering. (Perhaps I shouldn't drink the drinks so often, so I'd have some brains left to remember them with! Yikes!)

Anyways... We were all pleased and tickled that they thought to commemorate our weekly girl's nights by dedicating the next two week's drink specials to us. A few of us even ordered 'em, and boy were they tasty!

Oh, London, I'm so sorry.

Look out, here we come!

Thanks to everyone who came out last weekend to the Indie Craft Experience in Atlanta! It was a whole lot of fun, and I had a really great time. If you were there, I hope you did, too!

Next on the agenda is the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. Boy oh boy am I excited! I've been sewing up a storm to get ready for this, so I'll have tons of new stuff making its debut in New York. Yay! If you're anywhere near the Big Apple, you really should try to come! And don't forget to swing by my booth to say hello! I'm in booth #94. Here's the scoop:


June 25-26th (That's this weekend, y'all!)
10:30 am until 5 pm
at McCarren Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

For maps, a list of vendors, and other tidbits of helpful information, visit: www.renegadecraft.com

For those of you who can't make it out to Renegade, never fear... When I get back from New York, I'll be doing a major shop update, so if you'll just hold on to your hats for just a teeny bit longer, I promise you won’t be disappointed. You'll get to see some of the new goodies, too.

Yikes! Must get back to work... We leave tomorrow!

india*romeo on ice

If you're anywhere near Atlanta, won't you please come out and visit me this Saturday night?

I'll be peddling my goods at the Indie Craft Experience at Eyedrum Gallery, from 8 pm until midnight. There's free beer from 8-9pm, and all visitors will receive a tote bag full of all sorts of great goodies. It should be a great time, so I hope you'll come out!



Indie Craft Experience Sale & Fashion Show
Eyedrum Gallery
290 MLK Jr. Dr. SE, Suite 8 (corner of Hill St. and M.L.K. Jr. Dr.)
8 pm - midnight
Admission is $8
www.ice-atlanta.com

Another year older, another year wiser....

birthday wish
originally uploaded by indiaromeo

Happy birthday to me! I took a break from my preparations for Renegade and the Indie Craft Experience to do have a little shin dig at my place on Sunday night to do some early celebrating. It was a lovely time. There was ice cream cake, yummy margaritas, lots of good food, good friends, good times...

Yay for birthdays!

A hard morning's work

pink button clutch


yellow flower bag
originally uploaded by indiaromeo
I finished these bags this morning before I'd even had my morning coffee. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

Now, if I can do that about 10,000 more times before I leave for Renegade, I'll be in good shape.

Cards and Cakes

I'm working on some cute new animal and sea creature themed stationery for the shop, so keep an eye out for it them soon!

Speaking of stationery, if you've had your eye on any of the cards in the shop right now, you might want to hurry on over and get 'em while you still can. They've been going like hotcakes, and I only have one or two left of each design. Quit your waiting, and get some cards so you can start writing!

Have I mentioned that my birthday is on Tuesday?



I'm definitely excited about my birthday, but I'm even more excited about the ice cream cake that I'm going to have!

farmer's flowers

originally uploaded by indiaromeo

Part-time work definitely agrees with me. I took a whole week off from work *and* the computer, and I swear, it was the best thing I've done all year. I got so much business done, which was something I desperately needed to do since ICE and Renegade are quickly approaching. (9 days until ICE! Hooray! And yikes!!)

One of the best things I did was to take a leisurely trip to the farmer's market to browse for homegrown veggies and fresh flowers. I bought these poppies from one of the vendors. Aren't they pretty? They smelled like watermelon. Too bad they only lasted for a day.

Even though I've been back at work for a few days, I'm still not back into the swing of things. I'm still not caught up with my email either. I only have about a zillion more messages to go....

my yard bunny

my yard bunny
Originally uploaded by indiaromeo.

This little bunny has been hanging out in the back yard for the last few days. This morning, I got all National Geographic on him, and got close enough to take this little picture. Isn't he adorable? I named him Miguel.

Extra, extra, read all about it!

Marcy Rice from the Raleigh News & Observer was kind enough to mention some of the NC artists who were featured on HGTV's Crafters Coast to Coast in her Notions blog on Friday, May 20th:

Thank you tons and bunches!

Thank you tons and bunches to those of you who watched me yesterday on HGTV's Crafters Coast to Coast! I'm so thrilled that you all were so pleased with my projects!!

I'm so stoked about how the segments turned out. Thursday night as I was going to sleep, I kept tossing and turning, thinking about all the silly stuff I said and did, and wondering how it was going to look. They did a great job of editing it together, and I'm so impressed with how it turned out. Yay!

The only sad part... my kitty Henry didn't get any airtime!

If you missed it, never fear. I have pictures of my two projects here.

I'm on TV Today!

Crafters Coast to Coast airs on HGTV at noon and 5pm. Don't forget to watch it!

See me on HGTV!

Although the HGTV website hasn't been updated yet, I'm almost certain that my episode of Crafters Coast to Coast is going to air tomorrow. Yay!

They filmed it back in January, so I've been waiting and waiting and waiting to find out when it would be on. Finally, the time has come!

In case you're curious, I'm making a bird mobile in my main segment, and I do a short segment at the end where I make a flower brooch.

I'm so nervous to see how it came out. They filmed me doing all sorts of crazy, crazy stuff... I had to pretend to fly out of the sunroof of a car (while it was sleeting!), and they made me serenade myself with my collection of toy instruments (so silly!), I had to juggle yarn really badly (and they threw it at me!)....

So, needless to say it should be very entertaining and super silly!

Oh, and if all goes well, my Henry cat will be making his TV debut, too! Yay!

P.S. And my shop is gonna reopen tomorrow - just in time for my TV debut! Hooray!

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Erin W. from Ontario! Her name was drawn from my list of submissions for the Happily Handmade Giveaway!

Thanks to everyone who signed up for my mailing list for a chance to win. I'm sorry you all couldn't have won a prize, but hey.... you're all winners to me!

Be on the lookout for info on the Summer Giveaway - I'll be participating in it, too, so if you didn't get lucky in this round, you'll have another chance beginning in June!

Give a Hoot!

My friend Jackie runs a lovely website called Allymoon. I recently ordered one of these adorable owl pins from her shop:



It came in the mail yesterday, and it is bee-yuu-tiful! They're only $5, and the proceeds go toward helping a friend of hers who is battling a brain tumor.

Won'tcha go check out her site?

Craft for Critters

The Crafters for Critters shop is open for business! Go, go, go, and shop! Quick! :)

Craft Revolution is Hot Stuff!

Craft Revolution is featured as a Hot Site on USA Today's Web Guide! YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!!!

Extra, extra, read all about it!

The April issue of Craft Revolution is up! Go check it out!

New goodies for the shop!

These are some of the new hair accessories I've been working on for my shop relaunch!

images and content © india*romeo 2005

Look out for these when I add 'em to the site!