Hello hello!

Sunday was the last day QQ took orders for 2009 and tonight SMC will close it's doors for the holidays! What a year it has been :)

When I first registered my store name in April I thought I would make a few handmade items for fun and see if I could sell a few to help fund the repair work needed to get our vintage Moke (lovingly named Victoria or "V") back on the road.


Months later... V is still off the road but significantly closer to cruising. In the meantime though, having my own Etsy store has been a blast. I finally made time for myself to just create. It's something I had always put on the back burner since school kept me so busy. I've also met some really nice people in the community... some as close as the mid-west and others as far as Japan and Australia. Then there are the two consignment partnerships I was able to begin this year. I can't wait to see how the products do in other cities!

As a result of all the crafting taking place at home with my Etsy store, Q was inspired to open up his own Etsy store in the fall. Screamin Monkey Circus has grown exponentially in the second half of this year. We turned our spare bedroom in our house into a crafting space to accommodate all our supplies and chaos in general... but the ideas just keep coming faster than we can make space for them. There is already talk of additional shelving and a dedicated shipping station to be built in the loft area come the new year.

As for now though, we are both looking forward to a break. The holidays are going to be full of family, friends, and good food. I honestly cannot wait to sit down with everyone to celebrate! So from us to you, happy holidays and best wishes for 2010!

Steph + Q
(QQ + SMC)

Yesterday was the Christmas gift sort at the Humanitarian Service Project in Carol Stream. After shopping for craft supplies and packing up the kits, Q and I loaded up the car and headed over to the warehouse for delivery and some gift sorting.

We joined a large group of people helping out yesterday and talk about an efficient group of hard workers! We sorted, counted, bagged and tagged two giant batches for gifts for families in the area and even had time to sort donated books PLUS eat a slice of pizza (thanks HSP!). The experience of helping with the gift sort this year was great - just knowing that we were a small (but important) part of a family's holiday was very rewarding.

In addition to all the gift sorting shenanigans yesterday, I was also very excited to see that Sheila at HSP mentioned QQ on the HSP blog December 7th! Here is the link to the feature!

http://humanitarianserviceproject.blogspot.com/2009/12/crafty-christmas-idea.html

Sheila had e-mailed me earlier in the month after she had found my post about doing the Creativity Kits. I was so happy to learn that she was just as excited as I was about the little project! It was nice to meet her and other staff members yesterday. We are already looking forward to the next project!

SQ

Greetings!! Yesterday was the final day of the Quintessential Quirks Creativity Kits donation drive to benefit the Humanitarian Service Project. My goal at the beginning of this drive was to raise awareness about HSP and put together 5 creativity kits to give local kids the opportunity to grow their creativity. I'm very happy to say that the QQ Etsy store sold 48 items from November 1st through December 6th so I will be donating 48 arts & craft items... enough to put together 5 kits (plus a little bit more)!

Here are photos of the stash so far! My friend Chris is going to be adding a few things from her scrapbooking stock too so there's a bit more to come. Next weekend we are going to volunteer at HSP and will deliver the boxes. I hope the kids enjoy them!


In other exciting news, Q and I officially booked our first craft show. It will be at the Handmade Market Chicago on April 10th, 2010. We are sharing a 4 foot booth and I can honestly say we have zero experience with craft shows! Regardless, we are excited!

That is about it for now. Q had a great feature recently on Unplggd.com in an article all about gifts made from old recycled tech. You can check it out here: Unplggd.com

... and we are ready for Christmas

... and ready for a bit of a crafting break. Both shops will be going on vacation next week until after the new year. We've had a wonderful year creating and have so many ideas for 2010. Thanks for reading and I'll be checking in once again before Christmas.

SQ

Check out this lovely blog feature of Screamin Monkey Circus by Julie at Always Inspire!

http://alwaysinspire.blogspot.com/2009/11/friday-feature-screamin-monkey-circus.html

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving... we are heading to Q's parents' house today for gathering #3!

SQ

(...and just for the record we are up to 28 HSP items!!)

Hello Hello!

We are on day 19 of collecting donations for the Humanitarian Service Project and I'm happy to report we are at 23 items for the Creativity Kits!! So exciting!!

On Tuesday I presented my very last project in my very last class for my Masters degree program! I cannot tell you what a relief that was... now I can finally focus on my thesis and wrap this program up. Fortunately I have a pretty good idea of what I am going choose as my thesis topic so I'm planning to get a proposal ready in January, approach readers, apply for a grant, etc, etc.

In crafting news, Q and Screamin Monkey Circus continue to be featured in treasuries and gift guides all over Etsy plus his items continue to be featured on Craftgawker! The hollow book orders keep rolling in and this makes for a very busy Q. I do have to send out a thanks to him though as he spent all afternoon yesterday tidying up billions of pieces of shredded paper and organizing his newest book acquisitions in our craft studio.

Last night while Q was working hard tidying up I finally had a chance to get back to the barn after about a weeks hiatus. Finals week always takes me away from the barn but the minute school was over, I was back in the saddle and rode both Rudy and Delia!

Here is Rudy:


... and this is Delia:



Soooo of course I was exhausted this morning and could barely wake up at 6:30 a.m. for work hehe. Sorry Q! Once I finally did wake up I came upon a message in my inbox from Candace of Bridgewater Art with a consignment inquiry! Check out the sweet Boston gallery here: Bridgewater Art

I sent my items to Long Beach at the beginning of the month for Cosa Bella... so I'm happy to announce that soon you might be able to purchase QQ goods on each coast! Yey!

Just in case I don't have a chance to update in the next week, have a happy Thanksgiving holiday!

SQ

I opened my inbox earlier this week to discover the latest newsletter from the Humanitarian Service Project (HSP), a wonderful non-for-profit in our area dedicated to serving the less fortunate in Kane and DuPage Counties. For several years Q and I have participated in HSP activities such as buying presents for giving trees and helping with gift sorting around the holidays. Well... as I was reading through the newsletter at the verrrry bottom there was a note about a new spin-off of the popular birthday box project HSP does. Instead of birthday party supplies, they will be collecting arts & crafts supplies in kits for children ages 8 - 12 and up to 15 for the holidays. I got so excited! This is a great opportunity to give to the community in a new way... and not only that.... but in a way that supports and fosters creativity in young people!

I immediately set to work trying to figure out how to raise awareness while also gathering supplies and I decided to incorporate the Quintessential Quirks Etsy store. So for every item sold from November 1st through December 6th, 2009 I am going to donate an arts & crafts supply. The supplies will be assembled into creativity kits to be delivered to HSP on December 13th when Q and I participate in the annual present sort.

I've already put a notice up on my Etsy store and I sent a preliminary tweet out. My goal is to be able to provide 5 creativity boxes to HSP by December 13th. I can't wait to get started!

SQ

... and just a quick note about another exciting development... today my Red Tomato Poptop was featured in this Etsy "Do-It-Yourselfer" Gift Guide!

Where do I even begin?! It's been an absolutely crazy week at QQ/SMC. After Q's amazing Etsy front page appearance... Screamin Monkey Circus had a Hollow Book Safe included in The Storque (Etsy's Handmade Blog) in an article titled "Etsy Finds: Libra vs. Scorpio" that was e-mailed to about a million subscribers. We were both shocked to find the book included as the store is relatively new and although we do advertise on Facebook and Twitter, we certainly don't have a budget to pay for advertising to get noticed like that... and boy did it open the flood gate! Q has been absolutely inundated with orders! Shop visits were over 1,000 views yesterday and hearts are through the roof. Even Quintessential Quirks has tipped 70 + hearts now!

After rolling out the most recent Poptop Pincushion Rings, I've had several requests for custom orders that I have been happy to fulfill. I am most proud of the orange Crush design I created for a customer. I ended up making a second Crush Poptop because I loved how it turned out. I haven't snapped a photo yet, but I will. It's on the list with the Apple Pie on a Stick recipie I HAVEN'T forgotten about.

Speaking of food... I embarked on another food-related adventure recently and created bite sized pumpkin pies for the lovely people at my work. Here is a cell phone photo of the pies in progress and completed:



They were easy to make and I used a technique I read on Bakerella! I just used 2 boxes of Jiffy Pie Crust Mix and one regular can of pumpkin pie filling. Just make the pie filling according to the instructions on the can. I did the crust one box at a time. The beauty of Jiffy is that you only need to add water and it comes out really well every time. Seriously. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Then I used a cookie cutter to make the bitty crusts. It was probably about 3 inches in diameter... work with whatever you got. Stick them in a mini cupcake pan and add a tablespoon of pie filling to each crust. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Each box will make 24 mini crusts and the pie filling will fill all 48 perfectly. (There will be left over dough for Monkey Tails should you wish to make them! Just roll out the dough, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar and roll them up. Bake for about 10 minutes or til done.)

YUM!

In other interesting personal news, as many know I am in grad school right now working towards a Masters in Leadership Studies. Well, it turns out I might be closer to the finish line than I originally thought. The faculty in my program have revised the curriculum restructuring the requirements and according to my transcript, I have completed the necessary requirements after this quarter! Amazing news! I do still have a thesis to complete but knowing that I am almost finished with courses is a great relief.

Until next time!

SQ

Hello!! Q reminded me yesterday that I had not blogged in quite some time... I didn't realize how long it's really been! Things around here on the craft front have been quiet for the most part... well until recently. Q had a rather large order of 7 hollow book safes come in from a couple in San Francisco getting married this weekend. They too are using them as groomsmen gifts like previous sales. Who knew Q would be making such an impact on the wedding scene with those books! Amazing! The bride also decided to order each of her 6 bridesmaids a Love Bird Lavender Trio sachet set too. This weekend was very busy for us here at SMC/QQ headquarters to say the least.

In other big news, I received a text from my friend Chris at 12:15 am this morning telling me that Q's most recent computer hard drive/turntable creation made it to the front page of Etsy last night at midnight. Talk about a wonderful surprise! Our first front page feature!



I also woke to a lovely surprise with a message in my inbox from Damjama on Etsy notifying me the she had featured my brown Poptop Pincushion with a red heart on her blog: Loddelina Designs. I highly recommend you check out her shop and blog as they are both full of beautiful things.

I have another sachet order that came in yesterday almost ready to ship... but I do have grad school tonight so unfortunately it will be another day before I can work on the finishing touches. All in all, things are going well at SMC/QQ. I've also been in touch with Bella Cosa out in Long Beach and their brick and mortar store is coming along well so QQ is still slated to be in store for their opening day! Come on supply order! I'm just waiting on you!

Until next time,

SQ

Hello all!

I am officially signed on to do consignment at Bella Cosa green boutique in Long Beach, CA! Putting together an inventory list right now and the store is slated to open late October. I will be sending my lavender and cedar sachets along with my Poptop Pin Cushions! Now to come up with appropriate packaging to ensure freshness of the sachets...

SQ

Oh my goodness it has been quite a week for us!

I started back to grad school for the fall on Tuesday and it's quite an adjustment to be in class until 10:30 p.m. as that is usually about the time I'm drifting off to sleep watching some show about UFO's on the History Channel. I know it will be over before I know it though so I won't complain too much!

Orders for lavender and cedar sachets keep rolling in. One customer purchased 3 sets last week and returned to purchase an additional 9 sets of cedar and lavender! I was so happy they were enjoying their first purchase so much and decided to return to QQ. That made my day!

This morning I woke to find a lovely surprise in my convo inbox on Etsy from Christy who is opening a green boutique in Long Beach, CA. She was inquiring about the possibility of selling QQ items on consignment in the new shop. What a great opportunity! Their blog is at: http://shopbellacosa.blogspot.com/ I am hoping to hear back from her about the details soon and when I do, you'll be the first to know!

In other exciting news, Q and I turned our guest bedroom in our house into a craft studio. We moved the bedset out, put up shelves, brought in a big table, and sorted all our supplies into storage solutions. Productivity has skyrocketed... Q cranked out 3 books this week (all of which sold within 1 HOUR of being listed!) along with these cool clocks made out of upcycled computer parts and I have been an owl-stampin' machine hehe.

Now to share my most recent Etsy purchases! I have been keeping my eyes open for a portfolio / planner / notebook / thing on Etsy for a while now as we are beginning to approach the end of the year and new calender / planner time. (The acquisition of a new planner is always a celebrated time for me - there's just something about it!) So I came across a lovely store: GetSassed and with a gift certificate I recieved, I picked out this little pretty design:


I'm excited for it to arrive so I can finally have all the loose bits floating around in my purse organized. Like Alton Brown says.. "organization will set you free!"

In addition to the pretty portfolio I also could not resist this:


It will be a Christmas present for the aspiring little artist in the family... shhhh don't tell!

So that's about it for now! I've just come home from the barn after riding Rudy and Delia. Both of them were very good, even Rudy who usually gives me a hard time! He was extra good today. Carrots for all :)

Until next time!
SQ

Hellloooo from Chicagoland! We are on the other side of Labor Day and fall feels official.

Our weekend getaway to Springfield was exactly what the doctor ordered and we are back and in full swing.

Today I have some great news! Yesterday I was featured in my first Etsy treasury by user PersonalOasis! She chose to include my love bird lavender sachet trio which sold earlier in the day. The same customer also picked up my cedar sachet set and my eco flower lavender set. Needless to say, yesterday was busy with wrapping everything up in tissue with ribbons and thank you tags.

Speaking of packing and shipping, Screamin Monkey Circus is beginning to really live up to its name. The past week has been an absolute circus at home. Shortly after selling the beautiful green hollow book safe, Q had a request from a groom for 5 hollow book safes for his groomsmen!! I thought, what a GREAT idea! Fortunately we had made a few visits to the resale shops and a lovely antique book store in Springfield so there was plenty of book stock at home. Honestly though, all this book-safe-making equates to giant-mess-in-the-living-room-making. In an attempt to acknowledge the seemingly infinite scraps of paper everywhere, Q did pull out the vacuum earlier in the week. It has stood in silence like an island in a sea of paper chaos. All in the name of beautiful handmade crafts though, right?! Right! Thank god we are both in this together :p

So anyway! Keep a look out for amazing new hollow book safes from Screamin Monkey Circus coming soon. Q finished one last night that really takes the cake. He's also listed some great acrylic paintings he's done. People who are weenies about having bright colors in their home need not apply.


Quintessential Quirks has Owl and "C"edar sachets relisted along with the eco flower lavender set and designs on the horizon for the Christmas rush. I'm also toying with the idea of including cloves in my cedar sachets. Beta testing will be taking place in the upcoming week. I will be sure to report back.... And I promise I haven't forgotten about the Apple Pie Pop recipe! I am aiming to type that up very soon!

So that is about it from us. This weekend is going to be crazy. Renegade Craft Fair - Chicago is taking place tomorrow and we are very excited to be going to check it out. We also have the annual British Car Festival on Sunday.

So until next time... take care and have a great Friday!

SQ

Well here we are at labor day weekend already! I cannot believe this weekend marks the end of summer. A part of me is sad to see the summer fade away. Another part of me is excited to see the beautiful fall colors begin to turn up the volume. I'm so torn!

Q and I are expanding our 2 year old tradition of joining the masses on the last great summer migration to a third year. This year we are heading to Springfield, IL to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum along with the other sights of the capital of our great state of Illinois. I admit I'm a total museum geek. Lucky for me Q seems to understand. I love to read every placard and I sometimes wonder how / why things are displayed the way they are. (I almost went into museum studies for grad school after a year in material cultures as an undergrad). Now that I think about it, I'm very lucky he goes to museums with me!

Anyway! Back to business... today I listed a few more lavender sachets and introduced cedar sachets to the QQ family of goods. I decided to try my hand at stamping on the muslin bags. I think they turned out beautifully. I've already had a number of requests from family and friends for the holiday season as they really do make nice gifts. I first made them for christmas presents last year and everyone loved them....(I did have to keep a few for our drawers too!)


Business is booming over at Screamin Monkey Circus. Q sold this beautiful book safe made from a book published in 1943. It sold within an hour of appearing on CraftJuice.com and shot straight to the top of the most popular crafts. Needless to say I was quite proud of Q! Despite being a new Etsian, he photographed the book and listed it like a pro.

Until next time... have a great weekend everyone!

SQ

After a bit of a hiatus, I'm back with an announcement!

This weekend Screamin Monkey Circus (operated by Q) opened it's doors on Etsy! While at the All Night Flea Market a few weeks ago, Q rolled out a few of his handmade / handcrafted items and had some success selling to the crowds. SMC already has 2 items listed and will be rolling out various bottle cap crafts, branding irons (for the BBQ fanatic in your life), hollow book safes, concrete light bulbs, and original screen printed designs. All in all, it is pretty much a store that totally encompasses all of Q's interests: beer, bbq, hiding stuff, tricking you, and art. Good luck on the new venture Q!

In Quintessential Quirk news, yesterday was a productive day as a new dragonfly prototype came into existance as a potential thank you gift for donors to my boss's new foundation. The foundation aims to encourage college students to become involved. Today I gifted the prototype to my boss who is retiring after about 30 years in "the business" of Student Activities along with some felt fortune cookies with best wishes inside. So fun to make! In the future, the dragonfly design may be an exclusive M.E.R.I. Foundation item.

The recent return of cool tempuratures to the Chicagoland area has brought a return of baked goods to the Quirk homestead. While Q is definitely the cook in our home, I enjoy upholding the baking standards. Yesterday evening (with Da Bears football game on in the background) I got to work on my most recent fascination: Apple Pie on a Stick. It combines two of my favorite things ever... apple pie and stuff on a stick (everything from ice cream to corn dogs to cookies and of course fudgecicles). Despite not having a recipe to work from, I had great success in this endeavor. I promise to post the recipe soon!

Until next time!

SQ

What a refreshing weekend! I hope everyone had a nice relaxing time :)

Since coming home Q and I have been going non-stop in the crafting department. Yesterday I came home from work to find plastic cups, light bulbs (some broken, some not), screws, nuts & bolts, quick set cement, bottle caps, glue sticks, magnets, and two extra large zucchinis in the kitchen. Not to mention the bag of lavender and photography equipment I left hanging around....

At any rate things are getting done! This weekend is the DuPage Co. All Night Flea Market and we are attending! Every year we go to staff the M.I.N.I. club table but this year we are gearing up to sell too! Exciting :)

In other exciting news... 3 of my items have made it onto CraftGawker.com! The pretty lavender sachets, my sunny side up flower, and my little teal poptop. It is juried website so I am happy to have been accepted. It is an absolutely beautiful website... another one of those where you can just get lost for hours.

Sooo it is getting quite late here in Chicagoland so I best be closing up shop. Before I go though, here is a kinda crummy photo of the recent additions to the Poptop family. The delicious photos to come soon ;) Good night and be well.

SQ

Well I thought I'd give a quick update tonight! It's been HOT here in Chicagoland the last few days but that hasn't stopped the QQ workshop!

I listed the lovely lavender sachets in my Etsy and ArtFire stores. Honestly, filling those sachets was heavenly. I have one in every drawer in the bedroom! There are literally millions of sachets on Etsy so hopefully my little flowers will give me the edge... and the fact that I fill my sachets with 1/2 cup of pure lavender buds. I was surprised to see that some only have 1/4 cup or add other things into the filling!

I also had fun making maple leaves yesterday and my craft table is taken over by pretty fall colors. Red, orange, gold!
This evening Q has completely taken over the downstairs in our little home making bottle cap magnets out of his extensive collection of bottle caps. I think my crafting is starting to wear off on him! He has always been very creative though so I can't take all the credit :)

Tomorrow I leave for an overnight retreat for work then we are going on vacation to Michigan for the weekend so I hope everyone has a good next few days and I'll probably catch you on the flip side!!

SQ

TA-DA! Introducing an original quirk: poptop pin cushions! They are made of the same eco felt I use in all my crafts and itty bitty buttons cradled in a upcycled pop (root beer) and beer bottle caps. Contemplating offering these as-is even though their original intent was to be attached to ring blanks and be pin cushion rings. I absolutely love how they turned out. One would be just as useful in a mini sewing kit as on a ring. They fit perfectly in an Altoids tin... I tested it out! More photos are on my Facebook Fan Page: http://tinyurl.com/mwsa6b


Next in line to be completed are these little sachets for lavender. I just need to fill them up and package them and they will be ready for their new home. The pound of lavender in my work space waiting to be scooped up is soooo lovely.

The long awaited red and orange fall leaf has FINALLY been listed. I was stalled so many times with this one but fingers crossed, the next few will not be such an ordeal!


SQ

So I came across a very cool website a few months back called Colour Lovers that I wanted to share. Many moons ago I was a photography student and after faffing around in black and white film for a bunch of classes, I eventually found my way into a color photography class. We were the very last class to actually use slides. After us, all color was taught digitally. Makes me a little sad although I'm not sure why since slides were a pain to get developed. No one had the machines to do them anymore! That aside, my color photo class awakened a love of colors I did not know I had before then as my experience had been in the gritty black and white world of the photo lab. I was transfixed by how colors work together ... or didn't... and I learned quite a bit about using color to create interest.