I can't work like this!

... Seriously, how am I supposed to get any work done when THIS is happening just two feet away?
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vida's market & a sneak peek...

hello friends! first, let me thank you all for your diligent emailing, even in the face of my diligent "not-checking-my-email"; as will soon become apparent, i have holed myself away and have given myself strict "no interaction with the cyber-people" limits the last few weeks. partially because i can't get online at home at all and am tired of schlepping to any number of random wi-fi locations (ps, my grocery store has wi-fi... w(hy)i? ) and the posts from the phone, while convenient, are never as pretty and my thumb gets tired of typing. the main reason, however, is the show i have coming up this weekend (... and the one the following weekend, and the one the following weekend... yep, three back to back weekends of greenstar-markets!). so, i've been stock piling merchandise, making new wholesale order sheets, painting, sewing, cutting, laminating... you name it. if it ends in "ing" i've probably been doing it. but this is all good news because the shows on the horizon are amazing ones and i am very excited to be participating again or for the first time, and even more excited to be able to show up with brand new items. and those items will making their debut this saturday, may 31st at vida's market. for those of you in the New York City area, you have GOT to come check this show out.

look how happy those kids are with their handmade clothing and sweet knitimal friend!

(photo credit: christine trotta)

"Vida’s Market is the first market in New York City
dedicated to selling handcrafted, original items for children,
babies and expecting moms. We provide a place where
up-and-coming designers can show their work to the public".

i'm really excited about the prospects of a show in NYC and am really impressed by the vendors who will be making appearances at the market. SO, get on a train, or in your car or on your bike and come check us out!

now, i suppose i can't just tell you to come to a show and say there will be all new items without at least giving you some idea of what you might expect... ok, i can do that.



if you loved the first 2 coloring books, maybe you'll love the next two. that's right! expect TWO brand new greenstarstudio coloring/activity books, designed to help your little one (or not so little one... i seem to sell about half of these to adults who keep them in their desk drawers at the office and color when the work load gets a little too intense) tackle new concepts like counting and spelling! here's a sneak peek at the new counting book...



if playing games is a little more your kids' speed, perhaps "knitimatch™", a brand new matching memory game will fit the bill. the illustrations are mine all mine, and each set of 36 cards (18 pairs) is hand cut and corner rounded (by hand) to keep those little eye balls poke-free, and packaged in an easy to tote plastic bag.



i know for a fact that it's quite popular with the 2 year olds!



and while Knitimals are typically STRICTLY one-of-a-kind, who wouldn't want to find TWO of these cuties?

also packed up and ready for new york: brand new magnets, car/ home window decals, knitimal magnet decoration/game boards, hand painted t-shirts, all new journals, lunch boxes (yep), recyclimal™ re-loved knitimals, and brand new organic Knitimals.

On that note... i am off to the studio. i'll try to check in with you in the next few weeks, but probably won't update the etsy shop until after these shows are over, SO, if you want something, come to a show! (check the side bar for more info).
until then, xoxo, danamarie

Procrastination 101

... When you have 3 weekends of back to back shows to get ready for, why not watch "Indiana Jones and the raiders of the lost ark" (first time I've seen it) and tie-dye some tshirts instead?
While craft store shopping today (for last minute items and loose ends... Fabric paint, poly fil, magnets etc), I found a tie dye kit and decided AJ and I needed to make tshirts tonight.
Would I recommend this? Yes. Eat a burrito, watch Indy, put on a jazz remix compilation and dye your heart out. That's what I did. Xo, danamarie
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Good to go!

Wow! Thanks for all the emails today... You guys are really nice. Yes, I'm doing just fine. When I got to the doctor they found I had 6 baby teeth that were being stubborn (like puppy, liky teeth, I suppose) and we're crowding my big boy teeth, so Dr. Lee took them out while I was asleep too. I'm a *little* nervous about going to sleep tonight (what else might get taken?) but I'm happy to be home and in mommy's lap. Xo, mason
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Big day!

Hello 2-legged friends! I'm getting (gulp) nuetered today... I'm not nervous though; I'm almost 6 months old! I know it's the right thing to do and I'm very brave. And I'm very grown up; I graduated puppy kindergarten last night (ask me to sit, i'll do it!). I'll be at the doctor's office all day today so please think happy thoughts (and help my mom not to worry about me much... She has a lot of shows to get ready for... But i'll let her tell you all about those another day) xo, mason
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i can teach you to draw

like this? sure. why not... but baby steps, first ok? if you've always wanted to learn how to draw (but were afraid to start or didn't know where to begin) OR if you've been drawing but feel a little rusty, why not sign up for a Beginning & Continuing Drawing class? And heck, if you're gonna do that, why not let me be the one to teach you!?

I'm going to be teaching 2 sessions of drawing courses at School 33, from June 17 to July 15 and from july 22 to august 12th. classes will be held on tuesday evenings (partay!) from 6:30 to 8:30pm (so you can unwind after work!).

check out the education page for more info and to register.

hope to see you in class!
xoxo, danamarie

done and done!

that's right friends! it's done. and i LOVE it. the mural at the Giant in Waverly took me about 30 hours to complete and is, so far, my favorite (though they are always my favorite when i finish them... until the next one). i've gotten some great feedback from the community, both local and in cyber space. thanks so much for your support. you guys are great. i'll post pictures of it again when the scaffolding comes down. until then, if you're in the area, stop by and see it in the flesh (or the stucco, as the case may be!). xo, danamarie

The busy must rest

Hard work rewarded... In the form of a spontaneous mid-project nap. Yawn... Now where did I leave those scissors? (Cel phone photo credit: AJV) xo, d
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Cut cut cut

Happy lino cutting party! Its a party of one, but look for some new lino prints at the summer shows. There are still a few prints left from the first series for sale on etsy. xo, danamarie
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almost done... for now

hi friends! i know many of you have been concerned about me (thank you for all those sweet "where have you been" emails you've sent the last couple weeks... i know, i've been hard to get a hold of); i assure you i AM fine... just very busy. as i've now successfully ( i think) explained, in individual emails, i've been buried under awful, awful "from the bowels of hell" asthma and allergies, and battling to finish the mural (here it is on day... technically day 7, but day 6 only lasted about 15 minutes and i had to leave because i couldn't breathe), and getting ready for all the shows i have coming up. it's going to be a really exciting show season too. i can just tell. on that note--- i have to go make more coloring books (yep, i finally finished the counting book). xoxo, danamarie