Drawing for 6/30/2011

The prize for the drawing held on June 30 will be a small dice bag in bright pink with holographic butterflies on the exterior.  Lined in berry panne velvet it closes with gold cord drawstrings.

This bag is able to hold a few sets of dice, keys, money and IDs.



please note, money and keys are not included in the prize



please note dice are only used to give scale, not a part of the prize

I'm looking forward to giving this one away.

Going to Extremes

You can call me the fashionista of dice bags.

Seriously.

I put as much detail and thought into each dice bag as a professional costume designer would put into a costume for an epic movie.  What is possible?

Anything.

Sequins, beads, hand embroidery, various trim, ruffles, ribbon, lace, hand-cut decals, rhinestones, buttons, belt-loop clips, pockets, pencil-holders...the list could go on and on. 

For me, it's a nasty ongoing game of "top that" with myself.  I'm always looking for a new way to use fabric, texture, trim to create a stunning visual number that could really draw the eye at any occasion.   My Wonderland bags are coming together nicely...the first one is requiring a lot of attention to detail with the sequins, beads and cross-hatched braid on black panne velvet.  Can't wait to share it with everyone!

Tell me what you'd like to see

OK...so some of the first bags I put on sale have sparkly, shiny butterflies.  My goth selection features a velvet print mesh.  I've got more specialty fabrics with a variety of Halloween designs on them I'm fully intending to use, although I'm in a hot debate on which section to put them in depending on whether they could be considered more "Gothic" or "sparkly"...I'll just cross that bridge when I get there.

I'm also thinking of other styles done in suede, namely for steampunk designs and there are ideas stemming from movies and comics.  I can't tell you how many idea's I've gotten for Wonderland themed bags alone.  And of course there's always tribute to favorite superheroes and villains (Joker bag anyone?).  Those may be good for cosplayers whose costumes don't allow for pockets.

I can use most materials to make them, but I find lightweight fabrics work best, such as costume satin, chiffon, taffeta, faux silk, organza, lycra and panne velvet.  The stiffer fabrics create different effects with the overall design of the bag as opposed to the softer fabrics, but they're still attractive.  I also have different styles of bags in mind, for example a version that is completely reversible.

The Steampunk bags I have in mind are proving to be a real temptation, with the addition of pockets and various holders for pencils and other items useful at the gaming table.  That line I think will even branch into pack styled bags, belts and bandoleers.  Quite frankly the prospect is enchanting.

I will also be offering more formal appearing bags for "Black tie" events, weddings and other formal celebrations sometime in the near future. 

If anyone is interested in a bag customised for a specific purpose, whether it's for cosplay, a tribute, for fun, or for a wedding, please contact me at crazyredgeekbags@hotmail.com.  I'll be happy to accommodate any one's ideas!

In regards to the rules

I've put the limit on RTs for a reason, mostly to help me stay organized as to who is in the running for a dice bag and who isn't.  I really do appreciate those of you who want to retweet it more, so I will propose this. 

For the next drawing on June 30, I'll throw out some "advertising" tweets, those you can RT as much as you like.  The competition tweet will have a picture and link to the rules and that one will be the one you can only RT once.

At the end of the contest I'll have the hashtag #freedicebagentries.  Anyone who qualified to enter the contest will be listed before I announce the winner.

To be fair, my process is very simple if time consuming.  I look through my retweets to record each one who did so.  Then each entry is written on a slip of paper, folded twice and dropped into a bag, so it is as fair as I can make it. 

There will be more opportunities to win, so stay tuned!

We have a winner!

Congratulations to the first winner of a CrazyRedGeek dice bag, @psychicparrot!

This first drawing was a trial and error of sorts, so a big thank you to everyone who entered and I ask you to please stay tuned next week for the next free dice bag drawing!

I will have more bags coming, several are being worked on as I type this, so if you don't see something you like, just mention it!

First Giveaway contest!!

Today is the first drawing for a free dice bag!  Rules are simple; follow my @CrazyRedGeek twitter account and retweet the contest picture once.  Thats all you need to do.

The winner of the drawing will be contacted through DM.

Be warned though, there is a chance you could be disqualified!  Please see further detail on the rules on the Thursday Giveaway page listed above.

Today's prize is a small turquioise bag with multicolored metallic butterflies

Fantastic happenings going on

I've decided as a promotion to give away one bag each Thursday. 

Each bag to be given away will be a small bag, but still large enough to be useful.  It's able to hold money, cards, IDs, keys and at least three sets of dice, a perfect size for game night or makes a descrete clutch for a night on the town.  Could also be used for holding a myriad of items as well!

First drawing will be held June 23.  The prize will be a turquoise bag with a metallic multicolored butterfly print mesh overlay and a blue panne liner and closes with a gold cord drawstring.

You can find  the rules under the "Thursday Giveaway" page above, please take a look and give @CrazyRedGeek a follow on Twitter!

I'm on Twitter!!

My Crazy Red Geek bags now has a represetive twitter account!!YAY!!

Go ahead and give me a follow!  I'll be posting updates on my Etsy shop, announcing contests and getting in touch with interested customers!!  Just follow @CrazyRedGeek on Twiiter and get the game started!!

Welcome!!

There is a scenario that describes this venture perfectly

The kid who is told by his parents he'll have to save his pennies in order to get that new bike, the game everyone at school was talking about or the new toy.  Sometimes they would go and start a lemonade stand to see if  they can make any money, usually with high hopes of making a fortune on a fifty cent cup of lemon juice, sugar and water.

Consider this my lemonade stand.

I've got high hopes as a writer and comic creator, however a lot of those hopes depend on whether or not I've got the ability to pay for them.  Whether it's sequential art for a comic, supplies for my own use, editorial services or file conversion, it all takes finances to get there.  As it is, I do have a full time job, but the check is usually spent before I even see it.  So this is the last ditch effort to help reach my own goals. 

I realize I'll never make a million on the bags alone, especially since I can only make a few a day due to other projects and other obligations.  However, I plan on making these bags some of the most original and stunning pieces of usable art you'll ever see!