fairfield + hi tree

Okay today I'm going to talk about Stuffing.   

Over the past few years I've been developing my style and the aesthetic for hi tree and my other stuffed items. I've learned that the quality of the stuffing is crucial to the final result.  I need stuffing that stays full and soft through time and abuse.  Through tons of experiment of sundry stuffing, I find that Fairfield Premium Polyester Fiber-fil is my favorite. Somehow it manages to add the perfect full and finished effect I am looking for.  I LOVE IT. 

 Earlier this year, Fairfield Processing Corp, the makers of said amazing stuffing found and contacted me through my use of the tag "polyfil" (yay SEO) on Etsy.   

This is the largest stuffing manufacturer IN THE WORLD requesting hi tree be featured on the FIRST PAGE of their  interactive handmade landscape built for their new website www.fairfieldworld.com AND they ordered 3 custom free standing trees ranging from 3.5 ft. to 4 ft. tall for their Trade show booth display. YAY!

Check it out.  My trees look so happy.  I am so proud.  

The designer info page:

Here are the trees I made for their trade show booth

In other news. I made a discovery a few months back that I know would be useful to my crafty readers. If you shop at Michael's Craft supply Store, there is a sign next to the register that reads: We accept competitor coupons. SO if you are anything like me and have 10+ Joann Fabric's 40%-50% off coupons every month, now you know you can use them there too! Happy day!!!

Have you made any discoveries like this you can share with us? Leave a comment below!

A few new things added to the Etsy shop this week. 

new Autumn maple tree keychains

Conjoined twin decapitated unicorns? I think YES!!

Head over to hi tree land blog to see the latest installment of MSPaint weirdness. 

Head on over to the Etsy shop for 15% off with the promo code: OHHEYTREE!

Enter code into the "notes to seller" field during checkout and i will refund you 15% through paypal after checkout is complete.

Thats all for now! Hope everyone has a fantastic week! 

H.D. Buttercup & New Things

Friday night! Grand opening of the Apartment 3 & Unique Los Angeles Shop at H.D. Buttercup. 

This shop will be carrying the full line of Hi Tree pillows.

So needless to say i will be there! If you would like to come and enjoy the OPEN BAR and celebrity DJ's, click the flier to RSVP via Eventbrite. 

Also, i listed some new things in my shop this week! 

Including, the newest addition to the Hi Tree pillow collection, Hi Mr. Maple Tree!

At $45 he is the most affordable of the big trees. YAY!

You can read more about him here in my shop.

hi mr. maple tree!

pinky the decapitated unicorn!

grey ear hat

light brown autumn oak leaf barrette

dark brown autumn leaf autumn

take me to the slothspital

I just had to take a minute to post the cutest video I have ever seen in my whole life because you NEED to see it. If I were an animal I would probably be a sloth.  These little guys are inspiring me to make some slothy things. Sloth backpack perhaps?

(the video has an ad in the beginning, but there is a "skip this ad" button to the top left)



The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica is where these little guys live. They have a pretty amazing website where you can adopt a sloth or volunteer (www.slothrescue.org) I would recommend going and taking a look at the slothbook.

hi my name is tina and.....

i am going to blog about my blog. 

not this one.

the other one.

 the one where i draw silly childish pictures in paintbrush. 

yesterday someone told me i should combine them into ONE blog. hmmmm i don't know, what do you think? 

do us both a favor and click on the picture PLEASE

oh, and DO NOT forget free domestic shipping ends FRIDAY.

NELA art walk and shipping changes!

Helllo! Tomorrow is saturday, but it isn't just Saturday, it is SECOND SATURDAY! yaaayyyyy!!
That means its time for the North East Los Angeles art walk.
This month (as well as every month) you can find me at the She Rides The Lion studio located behind the Avenue 50 studio. Some of you may remember a time when i had my studio at the Avenue 50 Studio, well i can't stay away from that place i love it far too much (it also helps that i live around the corner). So, If you live in or near  Highland Park come by and say hi! If you mention this blog post, that will get you 15% off your purchase, yaaayyyy!

On to other news, as you may know, i have been offering free domestic shipping in my Etsy shop, WELL rolling into the holiday season, free domestic shipping is coming to an end!! I will begin changing my listings on Friday October 15th. So Take advantage of it while its still in effect!!

Be sure to check out my other blog on tumblr! its super silly.

Also, here is a map of the NELA art walk, its one of the best art walks in los angeles!
Hope everyone has a super fantastic weekend!

How to make fabric sew in labels {with out a printer!}

Here I go, all giving away my secrets and stuff. This is a pretty awesome secret, I have to say, when I discovered I could do this it CHANGED MY LIFE and saved me millions of dollars. Ok, fine, not millions, but hundreds at LEAST and could easily be thousands. Okay enough about that, you get the point.

This blog post is about how I make fabric sew in labels for my trees, hats, fanny packs, keychains.... EVERYTHING. The BEST thing about making tags using this method is that you can customize each and every tag/label specific to the item you will be putting it on. Say it with me........ yaaayyyy!

This is what you need:

* bias tape, ribbons, trims, fabric pieces.... etc....

* a stamp {with your name, logo or whatever you want on the label}

* oil based stamp pad / pigment stamp pad (nooooo
    water-based!)

* scissors

* umm, nope, thats it

OKAY I know you are sitting there with all your materials ready so ill get on with it.

FIRST choose the fabric and/or ribbon you want to print your name or logo onto. It can be ALMOST be anything, ribbon, strips of fabric, bias tape, whathaveyou (although waterproof-ish materials don't work so good). You want the ink to be able to absorb into the fabric a little bit. (twill works GREAT)

My personal favorite is store bought single fold bias tape like this! (I use it for almost everything)

{sidenote: I would recommend NOT cutting the desired length until you have already printed onto the bias tape (or whatever you choose to print on)}

Next, get your stamp.

This is my stamp, it looks REALLY funny, I know. To make my stamp, I used a Clover felting needle case (this is not really the right way to mount the stamps, but im cheap, so it will do) and those fabulous Martha Stewart stamp letters that you pull apart and make your own words with (there probably is a name for them, but I don't pay attention to such things, clearly) you can buy some at Michael's. (In the paper craft section) There are proper blocks for mounting the stamps on that you can also purchase, coincidentally, at Michael's.  The moral of the story: your stamp does NOT need to look this ghetto.

Once you have your stamp all sorted out, bust out that fancy stamp pad and start stamping until your heart is content.

For making multiple labels on one strip of ribbon or fabric, I have found that spacing the stamps about 2.5 inches apart from each other leaves plenty of room to cut and sew around the whole label.

Last but certainly NOT least, cut out your tag and sew it into your stuffed unicorn. (SO sweet of you to make me a stuffed unicorn! Please send to 333 Magicalforest lane, LaLaLand, Ca 90042)

Here are some examples of labels I have printed on random bits of ribbon, bias tape and fabric I have found laying around. The options truly are endless, and it is really nice to not have to rely on someone else to make your labels.

Here are some examples of how i use my home made labels 

trees!

ear hat

fanny pack

tote bags

Now, go knock yourself out! Feel free to leave any questions in the comments below!

P.S. need a custom stamp? or ink? There are many stamp makers on etsy! You would be surprised how affordable they are! Here are a few sellers i found with a simple search:

                                  

scribblingclub.etsy.com

terbearcollectibles.etsy.com

sweetpaperie.etsy.com

RubberStampPress.etsy.com

{and of course there are many many more!}

yay we have a winner!!

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in my giveaway! I love having them, so check back often before christmas, i plan on doing it again.

{my little hazel nut wearing the purple ear hat}

On to the juicy stuff! Our winner is Sylvia-Louise!

Thank you Sylvia for entering the giveaway! Please email me your address to tina@hitree.com.

Mean while on my birthday i started a new blog! I realized that i really enjoy drawing pictures in paintbrush. Its basically the macintosh version of good ol' microsoft paint. Im not a graphic designer by any means but i certainly enjoy drawing like a 5 year old..... please go check it out! at hitree.tumblr.com

ALSO, and this is important! I will be posting a super fun and easy tutorial in the next few days, so check back!!

Thanks everyone!!