Handmade Holiday 2012 Gift Exchange

Hello, readers!

Does anyone know what yesterday was?  Here's a clue.

It was September 25, which means that yesterday was exactly 3 months before Christmas!  Now that I have built up a small blog following, I was wondering if any of you readers would be interested in a holiday handmade gift exchange.  What better excuse to stitch up that cute little ornament you have been eyeballing? I always read other bloggers' sites and see the adorable gifts that they have received from other crafters, and I thought it would be fun to host my own holiday exchange.  You can give something awesome and get something awesome in return!

Here are the rules:

1.) Make something handmade that you think would make a great holiday gift!  It can either be a craft made from a pattern or an original creation.
2.) Materials cost limit of $10
3.) Labor cost - no limit, up to your discretion, but please invest some time and thought!  Make something you can be proud of.  :)
4.) Sign up by November 1, 2012
5.) I will select gift exchange partners on November 2, 2012.  This gives you approximately one month to get your project ready.
6.) Mail your gift by December 1, 2012
7.) US and Canada residents only, please.  This is just so nobody has to pay an exorbitant amount on shipping or worry about customs - although if I receive interest from a few people from the same non-US/Canadian country, I will definitely consider changing this rule.
8.) If you sign up for the exchange, please subscribe to my blog - that way, if there are any updates, I can post them here for the participants to read.
9.) Disclaimer: although it is in everyone's best interest to reciprocate, I cannot be held responsible if someone fails to send a gift.  Let's just all play fairly, please.

You can sign up for the gift exchange on Elfster at this link: http://www.elfster.com/exchange/view/6974686/020ed2/.

This is my first time hosting an online gift exchange, so if anyone has any tips or advice, please leave them in the comments section!  I am just really excited to interact with some crafters outside of my usual circle, and I think this could be a really fun opportunity for everyone.  If you agree and would like to share the holiday spirit, please join!

Happy Crafting!  :)

-Erin

Next up - "The Finery of Nature" and a home for Mr. Sock Monkey

I got a new project in the mail yesterday - "The Finery of Nature," a kit in the Dimensions Gold Collection, modeled here by the ever-handsome Julius.

"The Finery of Nature" kit (and Julius)

The interesting thing is that I have already stitched this piece once (from a different kit), but it has since been discontinued, and I can't find my original pattern.  I LOVE this pattern - the colors are so pretty! - and I found this kit for a really reasonable amount online (around $13), so I just had to snatch it up so I could stitch it again!

Here is the piece I have already finished:

"The Finery of Nature" (minus Julius)

Now, as you can see, the piece is divided into four square panels.  You can see close-ups of the panels on Etsy.  So, to mix it up this time, and because I think each panel is very pretty in its own right, I am going to stitch the panels individually instead of stitching the entire large piece.  I think the panels would look quite nice framed by themselves!

Speaking of framing, I think I have found something to do with my cross stitched Sock Monkey!  Because he is such a weird size (7.5" x 2.5", or 22.5 cm x 6.3 cm for you metric folks), I was looking at probably having to have him custom framed.  But then... I found something at Goodwill that just might work!

Retro jewelry box with a tapestry lid - $7.99 from Goodwill

Oh, yes, that is a glorious cherry wood jewelry box with a tapestry lid.  You know you love it - but look how well he fits in it!

The jewelry box lid is the perfect size for my sock monkey!

Framing him is going to still require a custom mat and probably some creative mounting, and I also have to figure out how to remove the mirror from the inside of the lid without slicing off any fingers.

Mirror inside the jewelry box lid

However, if I can get it to work, it will be perfect!  For $8, I had to give it a try.  :)  I also picked up a few brand new solid oak 5" x 7" frames (with glass) that I can use for my smaller pieces - only $1.99 each!  Gotta love Goodwill!

Still not much to report on Celestial Dragon.  I promise to make some headway on it this upcoming weekend and take pictures!

I am also working on a piece for EtsyNEAT's May/June needlework challenge, but I'm not posting any pictures until I finish my piece and enter it into the contest.  It is coming along quite nicely - lots of specialty stitches and bold colors.  :)

And, finally, in the near future, I want to buy some foamboard and make a framing tutorial, now that I have frames and a few 5" x 7" pieces to frame.  Keep an eye out for that in the next few weeks.

Thank you everyone for all of your wonderful comments on my last post!  Hopefully I am keeping you entertained in my little corner of the Internet.

Until next time...

-Erin
Less Bitching, More Stitching!

Crafting and Copyright - Can I Sell Finished Pieces?

One of the issues that has come up in the past few days is how intellectual property issues can potentially affect your cross stitching hobby.  The issue is that patterns are considered copyrighted designs, and if you sell pieces made from patterns, in some cases, it could be construed as copyright or trademark infringement.  I sell my completed pieces on Etsy, and I was approached by another member saying that I should verify that I was not violating any laws by listing those pieces, so I did some homework.  Now, I am not a lawyer, but I did speak with one (my fiancé) regarding these issues, and I looked at several websites, including designer Teresa Wentzler's own copyright page, Crafts and Copyrights, and Yarn Tree's copyright page to find some answers for my readers.

Trademark versus Copyright
First, you have to determine if your piece is trademarked as well as copyrighted.  A book of cross stitch patterns of cats is copyrighted, but a book of cross stitch patterns of Garfield is copyrighted AND trademarked.  A copyright generally applies to a piece of art (a book, song, or textile art pattern), whereas a trademark generally applies to a commercial brand or line of merchandise (a line of T-shirts featuring Mickey Mouse).  Based on what I have seen regarding derivative works (art inspired by trademarked or copyrighted materials, including finished cross stitch pieces), if you sell something that features a trademarked character, you could be opening yourself to legal action.  I have heard of people being contacted by lawyers for selling girls' dresses made of Disney-printed fabric, for example.  I am a little fuzzier on these details because I choose not to stitch trademarked characters out of personal preferences, and I have heard conflicting statements concerning the legality of this topic.  If you are considering selling finished items featuring trademarked characters, you may want to speak with an intellectual property lawyer first.

So, assuming you are stitching something non-trademarked, what limitations must you observe?

1. No copying the pattern for re-distribution.  This is probably obvious but bears mention.  You are allowed to make one working copy to enlarge a detailed pattern or to mark up the pattern, but you cannot distribute the pattern to anyone else.
2. If you stitch the piece and sell it, you must buy a new pattern for each piece you sell.  Technically, copyright would prevent a crafter from selling a finished piece made from a copyrighted pattern, but practically, nobody is going to hunt you down for only listing one copy (ever) for sale.  An exception to this is Dimensions (part of EKSuccess Brands), which grants crafters permission to produce limited (~50 pieces) copies of their projects for distribution over a limited geographic area, provided the crafters request permission through EKSuccess's Angel Policy prior to sale.  I do stitch a lot of Dimensions products, but I have never stitched more than one copy from a single pattern, so I can't really say anything else about their Angel Policy.  Another exception is Teresa Wentzler's list of free patterns, which she explicitly states can be stitched more than once, although the charts (and, I presume, multiple copies of the finished pieces) cannot be sold.
3. You are also not allowed to take a copyrighted pattern, modify it, and pass it on as your own original work.  The new pattern would then be considered a derivative work, but you are not granted permission to create this type of derivative work from a copyrighted cross stitch pattern (conversely, you ARE permitted to use the original pattern to create an identical finished piece).

What is the absolute safest way to avoid copyright infringment?  Why, create your own designs, of course!  It may take a little longer and require some creative inspiration, but you are free to sell the pattern and the finished piece(s) as many times as you like.  There are many computer programs available for download that can help you - personally, I like KG-Chart, but there are several others.  You can either create sampler-style patterns, or you can convert original photography to portrait-style charts if you are a shutterbug.

Does anyone else have any experience with crafting and copyright?