can anyone give me the lowdown on how to get a wholesale license in the state of texas? any info and tips would be appreciated!

thanks in advance!! 

I've seen tons of patterns for normal knotted friendship bracelets, but I want to know how to make these!

http://images.andale.com/f2/130/115/16412285/1145232469298_P1019934.jpg
Anyone have any ideas? I see that they are wrapped, but around what? A braid? and how do you keep it from riding up and getting all messy? I suppose I should just give it a wack, but I was hoping someone would have a definive idea of how to do this.

Thanks!!

Hey guys, I just got this through a myspace bulletin, thought some of you Houstonians might be interested. I've signed up, even though it is short notice, so even if you can't be vendors, come shop and browse! I'm not too sure how good it will be as I've never done this before or been, but the area is great for foot traffic and the type of customers I would want...so we'll see!! 

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the Montrose Tea and Kettle Club would like to present you with the opportunity to display and sell your wares at our monthly Arts and Crafts Market.

The Market will take place on the last Sunday of June in the front parking lot of the Animal Hospital, which lies east of the major intersection of Westheimer and Dunlavy and is directly across the street from Taxi Taxi and Poison Girl Bar. It's an open-air market, which is ideal for drawing lots of foot traffic from people shopping or just passing up and down the street. As we all know, Houston sorely lacks a really cool, hip, bohemian market and this would be a great opportunity to get something good going. If the response is good, we plan to host these every month.

The first Market will be on Sunday, June 25th from 12pm to 6pm. (If the weather is especially bad, we'll reschedule for the following Sunday.

You are encouraged to bring your own essentials: tables, chairs, umbrellas, etc.

There is a $15 fee to set up a booth, just so we can cover our operating costs (permits & flyers). Aside from that, any and all profit you earn belongs solely to you.

To sign up as a vendor, just send a reply by email to poisongirllounge@hotmail.com by Thursday June 22nd just so we can gauge how many vendors to expect. Spread the word and see you there.

Warmly,
Quasim Brown & Dawn Callaway

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I'll be at the Aeroplane Blonde booth if anyone wants to stop by and say hello!

made from julsey723's pattern: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=62184.0




i like the stockinette side more with this yarn, it shows the little details better.

Made with awesome thrift store wool that I've had lying around for ages! I have tons of it left too...
I probably won't wear it with that brooch, but it was the one i grabbed for the photo.

I love it! I think I'm going to make my mom a pretty one for christmas.

has anyone been to loop (http://www.loop.gb.com yet? it's in islington, on cross street just off upper street past st. mary's. and it's awesome! the ladies working were very nice and had a lovely stock of yarn, books, vintage buttons and gorgeous handknitted & crocheted goods. i bought some amazing teal handspun & dyed yarn for a fiver. i would definitely recommend checking it out. they also have a full schedule of classes from beginners to intermediate and a free knitters help clinic coming up soon.

just thought i'd share the wealth!

Meet Sebastian. One of his legs is smaller than the other, his ears are rather large and he has no tail. But I love him!

Sebastian is my first ever crocheted softie and I made him to give to my boyfriend back home in Texas when I finally get to see him in a month. He is for the boyfriend to hug when he misses me!

No pattern, entirely guesswork and scrutinizing other people's softies! I'm rather proud of myself.

Ok. So I don't know how authentic this recipe is, but from my experience with Houston's amazing variety of Vietnamese restaurants, they're pretty darn close. I found the recipe on allrecipes.com and it was so easy and quick and the results were so yummy! I recommend heartily.

For your reference, the wrappers need more time to soften than it says in the recipe. You can tell by the texture when they are ready. Also, go easy on the mint and basil because they can really overpower the other flavors.

All ingredients can be found at an Asian food market. For all you Texans: HEB carries everything you need. Just find the asian food section.

Also, I wasn't too keen on the sauces: the fish sauce seems more appropriate for the fried variety of spring rolls and the hoisin with peanuts was a poor version of Vietnamese peanut sauce. I am currently on the hunt for a good peanut sauce recipe...I want something not too spicy. I've tried Thai peanut sauce and it just isn't the same. Any suggestions?

Enjoy!!


INGREDIENTS:

    * 2 ounces rice vermicelli
    * 8 rice wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)
    * 8 large cooked shrimp - peeled, deveined and cut in half
    * 1 1/3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil
    * 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
    * 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
    * 2 leaves lettuce, chopped
    *  
    * 4 teaspoons fish sauce
    * 1/4 cup water
    * 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
    * 1 clove garlic, minced
    * 2 tablespoons white sugar
    * 1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
    *  
    * 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
    * 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts

DIRECTIONS:

   1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.
   2. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
   3. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
   4. In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
   5. Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.

http://www.aeroplaneblonde.net/crafts/crochet_tote.jpg

Yay!
Made with 100% Cotton Yarn. Lined with orange silk and a Laura Ashley fruit print cotton. Pink ribbon is not as shiny in real life.
There are still some ends needing to be woven in. I was just too excited to wait.

Made from Jennye's excellent pattern and inspired by an Anthropologie purse.
pattern: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=36046.0

After working on a final term project that involves research on ethical fashion and fair trade, the dangers of the modern cotton industry are really starting to freak me out!! Did you know that for every cotton t-shirt blended with polyester a quarter of it's weight in air pollutants and 10 times it's weight in carbon dioxide is released? Doesn't sound like much, but just think of how many t-shirts are made each day all over the world. And the dyes and treatments involve greenhouse gases and toxic chemicals. The permanent press treatment for cotton garments releases formaldehyde gas! Cotton is the most pesticide intensive crop in the world.

Keeping all that in mind, I was wondering if anyone has found a good source of organic cotton yarn? I'm originally from a hot climate (Texas! boiling) and cotton yarn is a MUST. Any info would be appreciated!!

here's some info on the cotton crisis:

The Cotton Project http://www.pan-uk.org/Cotton/cotindex.htm
Sustainable Cotton Project http://www.sustainablecotton.org/

http://www.aeroplaneblonde.net/fabulous/myskirt.jpg

Made from gorgeous canvas-y type material. No pattern used. Has a zip at the right side.

And it looks good with my new thrifted cowboy boots.