hand-made stamps!

I try to do small things to help the earth, like minimizing waste and trash, and recycling whenever possible. Did you know that the waxy paper on the back of stickers and adhesive labels is not recyclable?

So, I am trying to move away from using shipping labels by handwriting addresses directly onto the shipping envelope whenever possible. And today, with a couple of easy-to-use tools and some help from a lovely tutorial, I carved a stamp to use as a kind of frame for shipping addresses on my envelopes, in lieu of my standard white Avery label. I really like how it came out, and it didn't take very long at all! I see some more stamp carving happening in my near future...

colors, textures

Hope everyone is doing their best to keep cool in this heat! I attempted to organize my paper stash--I forgot I had some of these! I love all the different colors and textures.

hello again.

Ahem. Allow me to re-introduce myself. I'm coming back here from a long absence. Is anyone still poking around this space?

...And here I am working away at a new craft medium: fabric! Yes, I am teaching myself to sew. Armed with a new sewing machine and some helpful books, I have already tackled a couple of projects! Above you can see pieces of a few checkbook covers in the making. The buttons especially make me smile, they were a great find at a local fabric shop the other day. The fabric was purchased months ago from Kirin & Co.

I can't wait to see how these turn out! One of my toughest challenges is sewing hems in a straight line, but I figure the more I practice, the better I will become. I also seem to have some trouble with needle tension, and figuring that all out.

But this new little hobby of mine is no excuse for my long-term neglect to this space, and my etsy shop! I am actually working on a new collection of cards, to be launching by month's end--promise to keep you posted!

recycling Christmas card envelopes

...into Valentine's Day stickers! I love using something old, otherwise destined for the trash, and transforming it into something new again!

holiday spirit

There's nothing like sitting around tying homemade tags to handmade gifts to get me in to the holiday spirit! The other day, my cousin and I got together to decorate and package up our little jars of this delicious apple butter that will soon be given away as gifts! It was great fun, and I can't wait to give these yummy gifts away!


Now, off to hunt down some cookie jars....

flower power

My etsy shop has been quiet for a bit, but I am printing up a storm! A close friend of mine is soon to be wed and aside from having already done her wedding invitations, the past week was concentrated on printing her bridal shower invitations. After a flurry of sketches and ink and flashes of gocco bulbs, the inky dust cloud has finally dissipated and these bridal shower invitations were the result! I am so pleased with how they turned out!

Although the wedding theme is all blues and silvers and sparkly and starry, I decided to depart from that for the shower invites and really had a good time coming up with the design, as i had the freedom to make them as I pleased. I knew what I wanted my palette to be from the start, and just started drawing by hand. Then scanning. Then digitally tracing. Then creating the layout, until I liked what I saw.

Perhaps the design will re-incarnate soon as some thank you notes, or other greeting--keep an eye out for this new floral design to appear in my etsy shop before the season turns!