This weekend in Seattle!

Come to Urban Craft Uprising this weekend at the Seattle Center! Swag bags, giveaways, and some great shopping!

We'll be on the left wall next to our buddies from Slow Loris T-shirts, and and aisle away from Wooly Bison Bags.

I can't tell you how much I love this show. The organizers are THE BEST, the shoppers are SO friendly, and there's something for everyone among all the vendors.

Hope to see you there!

Flock to these Shirts, Blocked Flock, Birch'n Birds,

or These Shirts are Flockin' Great! 

I know what you're thinking - I missed my true calling of being a Newspaper Dame. Good thing I've got this outlet so the world doesn't have to miss out on my bon mots.

Newly cooked up for Spring, a forest of birch trees and a spiral of crows - block printed on some cap sleeve T's for you! or a tree/bird/green/print loving friend!

Hand drawn and hand carved by me. And then hand inked and placed and printed by me. Yes folks, these were done the slooooooow way.
Above is the process of rolling the ink onto the stamp. In the upper right corner you can see our logo stamp and a couple of individual bird stamps. Below is the process of placing and pressing the tree stamp - 3 times across the front of the shirt!
Then they hang up to dry for a bit before I take my 6 little crows and ink and stamp them in various orientations and 2 different colors to create the spiral.
This process, though incredibly (and maybe foolishly) slow compared to silk screening - allows for some spontaneity in placement, and (what I think are) nice variations between prints.
Mr. Crow is on my shoulderrrrr.....!

Currently available at Velouria in Seattle, and our etsy shop.

Look who made the papers!

Or should I say, magazine. Specifically, Do It Yourself Magazine - a Better Homes & Gardens Special Interest Publication - available at Home Depot, and perhaps at your local news stand.

It's a cute magazine, and we're in great company within the article, titled, "DIY:Best in Show". What can I say, I certainly love and rely on the blogosphere - but there's something really satisfying about seeing your work on a glossy magazine page. I guess that's my preference for paper talking.

Bleach Fun!

New Chikabird bleached hoodies and track jackets! We got inspired by our friend, Dave, who used this process. We just love how every print is different with subtle variations.
We'll be selling them at the LA & SF Renegade show!

The process is pretty simple, but the result looks more than ordinary. The possibility to play with layers makes it super fun. It's easy to do and the materials needed it is so minimal that you can literally do it in couple hours. Here's a step-by-step instruction, so you can try it, too!
Step 1: Make a stencil with waterproof sheet. We used a medium weight Mylar here.
Step 2: Mix 50/50 bleach & water in a spray bottle.
Step 3: Spray back of Mylar with light adhesive spray to keep stencil secure.
Step 4: Use a the mist setting on spray bottle and try to spray evenly over the areas you want to cover. Dab any extra residue on the surface with a rag.
Step 5: Wait and watch the magic happen! You can see the color change immediately. It's so much fun to watch.
Step 6: Peel off stencil when you've achieved the result you want. The time can vary since you can play with something really subtle with less time, or let it sit longer with more contrast.
Step 7: Wash it in the washing machine right after to set the bleach so it doesn't continue the bleaching process. Ta-da, you're done!!

The best part about this process is that you can really play around with the bleaching time, layering, and even different texture. I like to overlap the stencil so it just adds another layer of visual interest.

Oh and look!! It's Hammer pants! Get it?.....it's a Hammer...with pants??
That was a little funny accident where the fold was....
Have fun!

Patch Kit Valentimes!

Give yourself a fun little project, and give a loved one (or again, yourself) a sweet reminder of your affection! Sweetheart Patch Kits are now available in our shop in plenty of time for Valentimes!

Choose from ten different but equally charming animal friends. Is someone you love a bear or fox or quail? Are you a squirrel?

Chika's story that she tells whenever the subject of squirrels comes up: I'm personally not too fond of squirrels because I have run over squirrels while riding my BIKE ---- TWICE. And both times they dove for my bike tires, and both times I screamed very loudly, and both times they seemed totally uninjured, while I remain traumatized to this day. BUT to bring it back to Valentimes, I learned later that they exhibit risky behavior to impress potential mates - pretty romantic, huh? Totally gross for me, but maybe that squirrel got a lady friend out of the deal.