Welcome to the new B3nson craft blog!

I’ve always loved to make things. My mother taught me how to sew when I was in elementary school and later on as a freshman in college I stayed in my dorm room teaching myself how to knit instead of going out to bars with a fake ID like my roommates. Since then I’ve dabbled in other crafts such as crocheting and (admittedly rudimentary) embroidery. If you are a close friend of mine you probably have a scarf or two that I’ve knitted, and more recently I’ve been distributing handmade ties amongst my guy friends (more on that later!).

Like many of you out there I’ve also been nursing a penchant for used clothing and vintage fabric scavenged from garage sales, thrift stores, and antique shops since my days of frequent after school Salvation Army trips as an teenager. Lately I’ve come to the realization that I’ve stockpiled way too many of these finds than I really need. Having tons of cute clothes is great but what is the use of letting things that I never wear collect dust in my closet? That’s when my good friend Katie and I decided to start our very own Etsy store where we will be selling reworked vintage items as well as our own handmade pieces made from recycled fabric.

For the last several weeks I’ve been having “craft night” at my house. The name itself is misleading because crafting is not the only thing that has been taking place here on Benson St. Although we’ve been working assiduously on getting our Etsy shop open for business we have also been baking up a storm! Every Wednesday one of us will pick a baked good that we’d like to make. Sometimes we will look for new recipes online or in cookbooks and sometimes we’ll just wing it. We’ve made a ton of delicious things so far including but not limited to chocolate chip pumpkin bread and homemade granola. We usually make big batches so that we can both have plenty to keep at our respective houses during the week.

I used to write all of the time but for a while now I’ve been going through a sort of creative dry spell. Luckily, ever since I started crafting often again I’ve been feeling more and more creative. That’s where the idea for this blog came from. Each week (or maybe every 2 weeks, we’ll see how I do!) I will do a little post to let people know what we’ve been up to craft-wise, baking-wise, and just plain life-wise. Sometimes I will share recipes and sewing patterns but for this first post I’ll just let everyone know what we’ve been up to this week.

Katie and I are the only regular attendees of Benson St. Craft Night however we often have visitors. This is what happened this Wednesday:

Katie mostly worked on photographing our finished pieces so that we can get them up on our Etsy shop. We want to have a good amount ready before we are open for business. Once our shop is well stocked we will be able to add new things as we make them. Katie took multiple photos of each piece on its own and then we took turns modeling and taking pictures.

Rob is working on making a chain mail pouch for his dice. He’s made them before so he is a pro, however he tells me it is a very slow process; each link needs to be pressed into place with pliers. Add, press, repeat.

Tim came home early from band practice and really wanted to come hang out. I told him he wasn’t allowed in the dining room (craft central) unless he was working on a craft himself. He decided to change the strings on both of his acoustic guitars to gain admittance. I know this isn’t technically a craft but I let it slide because he’s a cool dude.

I didn’t get a chance to do much crafting this Wednesday because I was busy baking lots of goodies for a very special person’s birthday. I made a raspberry cheesecake (my first cheesecake ever!) with a Nilla wafer and pecan crust as well as a big batch of cupcakes. Yum!

I don’t feel that bad about not getting much done craft-wise since I’ve been working on a bunch of projects during the week. This is a pretty pillowcase that I made earlier in the week. The front is embroidery on a piece of white linen and the back and lining are made from an old dark green pillowcase I found in my fabric box. I’m working on making matching cloth-covered buttons for the top and then it should be finished!

Be sure to keep an eye on the B3nson blog for new updates as well as recipes, patterns, and info about my new Etsy shop – The Tandem Tailors!

- Ashley -