Vintage Finds & Classic Designs

Christmas Gifts

Posted on January 3, 2013 by studiogatz

The holidays are over…thank goodness. I was in a mad rush to finish all my StudioGatz orders and still have time to make all my family presents. My favorite gift this year was a quilted cover buttoned wall calendar I made my little sister. She has a new office and needed some “decorations.”

Quilted Covered Button Calendar

This is my first time to quilt anything. My mother is an expert quilter (check out her quilt blog I Finally Have Time), so I tried to channel her spirit while making this. In fact, I got the idea from a Zakka craft book I bought her for Christmas.

I chose this project also because my little sister had helped me make covered button earrings to sell at my Christmas craft show. She is a covered button maniac and was whipping them out faster than you can say “covered buttons.”

Here it is in her office (and changed to January):

Calendar in Office (notice the picture of Gatsby!)

I haven’t decided yet if this will make it over to the StudioGatz Store, but thought it was still fun to share.

P.S. For those wondering what’s going on with my Esty Store, well… I have no excuse, but I’ll try to sound pitiful while explaining. I hate writing descriptions and being clever and tagging and everything that goes into making a great Etsy store item. BUT It’s a new year and with that come New Year’s resolutions…So Resolution #1: Post items in my store.

Tis the Season for Shopping

Posted on December 3, 2012 by studiogatz

Yesterday Studio Gatz kicked off the holidays with its first “show.” Thanks to the lovely Marie of Kokomo Jewels fame, we were invited to share our unique treasures at a holiday party.

Studio Gatz products on display

I’m slowly adding the items to our Etsy site, so keep checking back for more unique home gifts. We thank everyone who attended the sale yesterday.

Happy Holidays!

Sandy + Gatsby

P.S. Gatsby stayed home and hung out with his best buddy Monty, but was still in the holiday mood.

Merry Christmas

Store Updates: Customization

Posted on May 21, 2012 by studiogatz

So what happens when a Judge and a Princess meet and fall in love?

They have a wedding shower and need 60 Thank You cards.

To be honest…this isn’t actually about a Judge and Princess, but about two friends whose last names are Judge and Crowne. With noun (and I guess verb) last names, you can have a lot of fun!

Mr & Mrs Stationary

The Mrs (or soon to be Mrs) helped with the design. She had seen one that had a mustache and lips, but wanted it customized to their names. I already had a Mr. and Mrs. card in Studio Gatz, so I added some of those elements.

Other Mr & Mrs Stationary

Every card needs a little fun, so I added pearlized dots to the crown for Mrs. Crowne (soon to be Judge). For my regular cards, I use glitter for the ampersand.

Studio Gatz can do almost any custom order. Just contact us (custom@studiogatz.com) with your wish list. We’ll be happy to send proofs, pictures, and pricing.

Gatsby Turns One!

Posted on May 3, 2012 by studiogatz

So it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to post. Since the store opened a few weeks ago, I’ve been busy creating new product, managing the website (I’m sooo not tech savvy) and just the regular life stuff (oh and my 9-5 job).

But there was reason to celebrate this week…Gatsby (the store’s namesake and my precious pooch) turned one on Tuesday!

It was raining out, so we invited over his best friend Monty for a play date. I wanted to get party hats, because, yes I am that crazy dog owner. However, my search was fruitless. So I quickly whipped up some of my own out of construction paper.

The Birthday Boy

Monty Didn’t Like His Hat!

DISCLAIMER: I didn’t spend much time on these hats (obviously). They do not reflect the products available on studiogatz.com. If you’re wondering why I didn’t spend more time and design a really great party hat, this next picture should answer your question:

Monty Stealing/Eating Gatsby’s Hat

We’re Open!

Posted on April 17, 2012 by studiogatz

After slaving away for days in the living room workshop, we are finally open! Actually yesterday we opened the virtual doors. Every day, and every few hours, we are adding new products so check out the store often. Here’s a preview of some of the items you will find!

We are just starting out so please send us any and all feedback to contact@studiogatz.com.

Stay Connected

Posted on April 9, 2012 by studiogatz

As the countdown to Studio Gatz begins, we are excited to tell you about our new email list.

This exciting enewsletter will feature a new product every month and show off the site’s best sellers. Also, it is where we will tell you about special discounts and promotions. (How can you miss out on that!?!)

If you include your birthday (don’t worry we don’t ask for the year), you’ll also get a special birthday month treat!

Don’t forget to also follow Studio Gatz on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! (and of course here at Gatz Chats!)

TOP SECRET: We’ll be running a super secret promotion in the next month. If you follow, like, subscribe, etc. to the enews and other sites listed above, you’ll have a better chance of winning. (What do they say? The early bird gets the worm!)

Favorite: Coordinately Yours

Posted on April 6, 2012 by studiogatz

I stumbled upon Coordinately Yours by Julie Banner in the wonderful world of Pinterest. I was led to the blog by a pin for hostess gifts, but I found oh so much more.

Like amazing printables and suggestions for events. I just love this table setting for Easter:

Great place setting for Easter Brunch!

It’s simple and elegant with a fun touch (and smell) of lavender. The menu cars/baggies are adorable.

There’s also great recipes and DIY projects (a little something for everyone–most of all the Pinterest obsessed).

Bad Hair Day

Posted on April 5, 2012 by studiogatz

We’ve all had them…bad hair days. But yesterday took the cake for me. Let me just explain with this picture:

On the left, my cute adorable, dopy, fluffy puppy (with his best bud Monty). On the right, what he returned looking like after what I can only guess was caused by tripping over a box of clippers.

Poor, poor Gatsby looks like a skinny foo-foo pup now. (I’m worried the other dogs at the playground will make fun of him.)

It turns out all that fun swimming he’s been doing caused major mats. And so alas, Gatz was shaved from his neck to the start of his tail (think poofy head–skinny body–poofy tail). I wasn’t totally convinced he was him when the groomer gave him to me, so after walking out the door, I immediately made him do a “high five” (his only trick) to prove that he was indeed Mr. Redford.

He Was. So for now he’s just going to have to deal with a bad hair ~~day~~ ~~month~~ summer.

Anniversaries Are Hard Work

Posted on April 4, 2012 by studiogatz

Anniversaries are hard work…for the children. I say that because last night was my parent’s 30th anniversary. And while, yes of course, it took a lot of work for them to get to that point, it also took a lot of work to make their present.

Let me start off by saying I’m one of three girls and we don’t live close by to one another (we’re spread between Boston, Chicago, and DC). So trying to plan something together is a bit hard. Thank goodness for group GChat! We started off by trying to meet in DC, where my parents also live, to celebrate, but couldn’t get our schedules to work.

Then SURPRISE! My parents said let’s go to Hawaii. They had been there on their honeymoon and we all went on their 10th anniversary (see our luau gear below). Well I was definitely in for that. “Hey everybody its time to start working out, I’m going to be in a bikini early this year!”

Hula Dancers

Oh wait…just kidding… My dad, it turns out, has a meeting there this Fall. So “Sorry girls, no trip to Hawaii for you.” Way to totally rip my heart out mom (I know you’re reading this!).

So anyway… we loved watching our home videos, but they were all on VHS and my parents were paranoid about converting them to a DVD or digital format. Worried they would forever lose their memories. (Ummm the problem with that is you were still missing out on them because you didn’t have a working VHS player!) So we hired my baby sister to be stealthy and secretly grab the tapes and ship them off to be converted (I had a coupon).

Hello preserved memories! And while 13 hours of shaky video footage is oh so exciting, we needed something more. Enter iMovie (my new boyfriend and a new “Favorite”). This is why I’m so glad to be a MAC. This program was amazing–I was able to slice the old (now digitized) footage with pictures and set it all to music.

I then made these cute DVD covers using my Silhouette Cameo:

And of course you can’t forget that Anniversary card. I made this one using the Cameo sketch pen feature. I had the brilliant idea to re-create their cake. I had that idea before seeing a picture of their wedding cake. It took some time (and a little simplification), but here it is next to the real cake:

So parents, please remember… it’s hard for all of us.

Vintage Finds:Silver Hand Hammered Glasses

Posted on April 3, 2012 by studiogatz

I’ve been searching for some great “finds” at local antique fairs to add to Studio Gatz. The problem is I love everything I buy! And I want to keep them all for myself!

Like these:

They are hand-pounded silver and about the size of cocktail glasses. But I think they would be cute as home decor. Wouldn’t they be adorable on a bar tray with an old ice bucket, or on the mantel with a little garland. Possibly with an egg shaped candle in them?

There’s so much I could do with them! But alas, they are for the store. This set of six “glasses” (cups??) will be found under One of a Kind Finds starting April 16.