Welcome Fairies!

Brass Mattress Vents

When I was a little girl I always dreamed that there were little fairies, little people, or gnomes living around my house or yard. If there was a little crack somewhere I thought it was a doorway to where they lived.When playing outside I was always building little villages out of twigs and rocks, knowing that when I wasn't looking, and they knew it was safe, the little woodland creatures would come and play there...and if I am truly confessing my childhood fantasies (and oddities) I used to believe there were little people living in my mattress, and that the metal vents (I hope I am not the only one who remembers these) were speakers. I would talk into them, and then I would put my ear next to them hoping to catch a response. When I didn't get one, I just simply shrugged it off that they were not allowed to communicate with humans so they kept perfectly still and quiet so not to expose their secret world.
I also would lay in bed at night, and if I was positioned in such a way I could hear perfectly decorated miniature soldiers marching two by two in my brain ( I now know that it was my pulse) and they fought of germs to keep me healthy. Not sure if that falls into  "the voices in my head told me to do it" category, but it is definitely walking a fine line.
 So now you know about a fraction of the imagination I possess, and probably what contributed to my obsessive need for creative outlets (and the many, many, many projects I ask Tony to help me with). These memories lead me to my creation of the day. A fairy door that I painted on the tree that is just outside our garage. I can see it from by kitchen window and it makes me smile. I am passing my fantasy world to my little girl and I think that she loves the little people as much as I did. I still hold on to the hope that there are little creatures out there, and I have provided them a doorway to live in my yard. Use your imagination today...and become a kid again! Creativity rocks! Peace!

STEP AWAY FROM THE T-SHIRTS!!

So I had a small epiphany...Crack Tops is supposed to be a hobby with the possibility of making a little bit of cash. I have been way over-thinking every decision and move that I make and becoming a little stressed out...distributors taking a long time to deliver, discontinuing entire lines of t-shirts, paypal or google check-out, keep an inventory or not...my head felt like it was going to burst!! So in the small epiphany I thought, take a step back, clear my head and just make shirts!!  The rest, God willing, will come in time. I feel better and lighter. I never intended Crack Tops to be a booming business, just a way to be expressive and creative. We were always looking for fun shirts and now we can make them! If there is something you want, ask, chances are I can do it. If there is a color/style/size shirt you want and you don't see it on my website or my facebook page, ask, again chances are I can get it! We want everyone who wears our shirts to love them as much as we do. That means I will continue to search for the best quality shirts that fit, wash, and wear well. I have tried several brands and some of them just don't work. (Good news for family and friends, the trial shirts will be given as gifts or offered at substantial discounts!) Learning curve =) Thanks for being patient with us.  Love and Peace from our family to yours!

It is time for wine!!

The T-Shirt gods were not kind to us this evening! We prepped our screens today and our first one didn't expose, not our actual first silk screen so we were not sure what the issue is, but deducted that our equipment eventually needs to be upgraded to do what we want it to do (we had tried something new)...so we go back to the old way! The next exposed beautifully, no issues...the third,  put us at a standstill...the halogen bulb exploded! So we called it quits for the night. I then decided to come inside and order some Tees, only to find that the women's shirts I took weeks to choose, are possibly being discontinued! Seriously it is enough to make me batty! Chalking it up to the T-Shirt gods toying with us, and making us earn our stripes! LOL, tomorrow, and the next, are new days, with a new perspective and new ideas. ...as for today it is Choco-Vine time! Have a great night! PEACE!

4 MORE DESIGNS!

Just wanted to let those of you who have been checking back with us, we are making 4 new silk screens today!  New Pictures should be up in a day or two! Thanks for the support! PEACE!

Almost There!

We are almost up and running! Please check out the pages and see the shirts we have designed so far! We are really having a good time with it! We are learning; therefore making mistakes, and figuring it out along the way. The two biggest challenges we are having is inventory of shirts...we are not certain if we want to keep a stock or just order them as we go...and if we do the latter we need a company that will ship fast, while not charging as much as a small country for shipping. We are just two of us with the the occasional slave labor of our children, so we are not doing this as a true, quit-your-day-job business. We are right now having fun and hoping to throw some money towards our daughter in college...woop woop Junior year!!

So as far as shirt colors, styles etc...please be patient with us. I think I have narrowed it down to two brands, one for guys and ones for gals. The fabrics are soft, comfy and flattering for everyone. That was a challenge to find the right cut, especially for women. I have "fat" arms and I am self-conscious of them, so it was important to me to find something that fit, hid the flaws while still being feminine and pretty. The kid's tees are so much easier....ahh such a simpler time! The shirts that we chose come in almost every color you can imagine, including the heathers. If you don't see it on display just ask, chances are we can get it!

The second challenge is in the design. Because we have chosen such soft fabrics for our tees, the fabric shifts a little and stretches more making the placement of the image not always on center....and although we ourselves are a little off kilter, we do not want our products to reflect that! We are working on a solution and hopefully the next batch will be perfect!

Almost forgot, we are also working on the Paper or Plastic Check Out page...hopefully soon. If you need something before it is up and running, just give us a shout.

Like I said we are not corporate, we are mom, pop, and the children serving under duress...please be patient with us.

We are nice people and we will treat you nicely...because let's face it, NICE MATTERS!  Thanks for checking back in with us! ....and go ahead just ask!  PEACE!!

We are getting there...

Geesh...we really thought when we decided to create T Shirts that we would get our equipment and be up and running in a week or so...how unbelievably  delusional we are!!  Life gets busy sometimes and it seems like there are not enough hours in a day to learn a new "trade"! ...and seriously we are just too tired sometimes to go out to the garage. Sad sometimes to realize you are not 20-something anymore and going to bed by 8 just sounds better. Moving on...Can I tell you how excited we are to say that we finally got to the stage where we put the emulsion (the stencil-y stuff) on the silk screens tonight. Holy cow the first ones were a disaster and Tony made a colossal mess, but I think we (and by we, I mean he) got it figured out. They are drying as I type and hopefully tomorrow morning when we check them they will have no drips, runs or gaps...fingers crossed!!! If all goes well and we don't have to spend countless hours removing a mess that we created tonight, we will have our first silkscreens made on Thursday or Friday!! Can't wait to get into the painting part and getting my hands dirty! =) Wish us luck! Peace!