Craft show.

My first craft show purely a learning experience. There are so many things I will do differently next time. So mant things that would make it better.

Display. I didnt have anything that was spectacular as a display this time around. I wasn’t really sure how the tables were set up or where we would be placed or how the flow was going to go, so I wasn’t really sure how to
put things in my mind so that it made sense. I ended up placing cards around as display cards while the real cards were flat in their plastics sleeves. Not the best to see them.

Ask questions of the organizers. Like I said, I wasn’t clear on how this whole thing was going to work, and that’s my fault for allowing myself to be in the dark. Next time they are going to be sick of emails, I’m sure.

Prepare everything before the week of the show. I’ve been busy. That’s obvious, but I wish I had given myself more time to prepare. I had cards and stamps ready, but the quote prints (be looking for them in my Etsy soon) I wanted had not arrived. I was slightly bummed because they are really cute! It was my own fault though. I thought I had given myself plenty of time when I had them printed, but I was wrong. They didn’t arrive until Monday, two days after I needed them to be there.

It was a fun day, despite selling very little. My sister-in-law and brother kept me laughing, and the day went by surprisingly quick. And Kendall. She just cracks me up. For a five-year-old, she is so witty.

Looking forward to the next one.

Today: My mom and I are at Craig picking up my new chair. I’m wanting to go home already. This place isn’t for me this week.

christmas cards 2012.

Christmas cards this year were easy. Easy in the sense that I knew I wanted something simple, easy, small, and us. Greg is very much like me in that he doesn’t like a whole lot of stuff going on. He trusts me with our paper projects (cards, invites, etc.), and I love him for that. So I knew he would like the same thing as me.

I designed the front in October and forced myself to wait until around Thanksgiving to print onto the 5×7 kraft paper from Paper Source. I cannot be the only one obsessed with kraft paper for just about every single thing. I love it. It’s beautiful.

I folded and used washi tape to put our Christmas picture (actually it’s a leftover picture–my favorite ever–from this summer) to the inside. The envelopes had to be red, because red screams Christmas, red is Christmas. I stamped an Amy Tangerine stamp on the back, and used green washi to close.

I love the way they turned out. Can’t wait to get them out in the mail, and into the hands of our favorite people.

p.s. These cards are also available in my Etsy shop, if you should happen to love them too!

upcoming.

I’ve never done a craft show before. Not that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind many time, but I never really got enough umph to actually do it. But Sandra and I have decided to go ahead and participate in Berryton’s craft show. Since that is where we’ll be residing soon and our kids will eventually go to school, I like the idea of getting to know the community and the people. December 8!

I’ll be selling my cards, stamps, and small mini books. I have been printing, folding, assembling and visualizing how I want things to look. It’s getting closer, and I am almost positive I’ll be ready far ahead of time. Exciting.

Sandra will be selling her crochet goods. Super cute hats, baby booties, and baby cocoon outfits. Check them out on her Etsy shop, Five Kids and a Cow. So cute.

Looking forward to the fun.

clk. on a ring.

CLK. That’s me. Er, my initials anyway. And now I can wear them on my hand.

Isn’t it beautiful? I love it. Simple and sleek and it fits my skinny ole fingers!

I ordered it from Agustina Fernandez via her Etsy shop a few weeks ago, and I was actually surprised it arrived so quickly. Besides being completely handmade for me, it came all the way from Argentina. I can’t help looking through her jewelry and wanting to order more!

sewing machines and glitter felt.

I love it.

I have been feeling good and creative lately. It’s so nice to have that outlet when work is hectic all week.

mini book/journal done.

Here it is. My first mini since Elise‘s mini class. It’s been done for a while actually, but I just haven’t had the time or the energy to take pictures, organize them, and get them on here. And I haven’t written a single word in it yet either. Soon, though, soon.

I used a lot of paper that I had laying around along with some Hambly overlays. Nothing fancy or expensive.

final X-mas cards.

I like making my own stuff, putting my own touch on the things that people see from me. Last year’s Christmas cards were thought up and done within a few days, but this year (obviously) took a little more thought and planning and time. I wanted to get them done early, and I succeeded in that part at least. Done before Thanksgiving! It’s not fun trying to throw things together at the last minute with no room for error. It just makes everything look like a big hurried mess.

I really like the ones I made this year because they’re simple, but still bright and cheery. And totally me.

I showed them to my sister, and all she could say was “Man, how do you think up this good crap??” I suppose that’s good. :)

I love you’s.

My Etsy was included in its first ever Treasury. Cute, eh?

halfway done.

I posted that I was getting ready early this year, so I worked a little bit more on my Christmas cards over the weekend. Now, when I get my silver washi tape in the mail to put on them, they’ll be done! Early is better than rushing around at the last minute I suppose. I would be happy to skip Halloween and get right to Thanksgiving so we can start getting all red-and-greened out!

red and green already.

I’m trying to not be a procrastinator this year. So yes, I have started thinking about Christmas in September.

Handmade Christmas cards are always a pain if I try to do them all at once, so I figured I would do a little at a time to get them ready and assembled. Then when it gets closer I’ll write on them and get them addressed. I already had the idea for the design a few months ago and have had to force myself to not work on them until now.

I’m cutting, trimming, and edge punching all day, and will do the rest at some other time. As long as they are ready to address by December (plus it might take me that long to find that damn green tape I have and want to use). I pride myself in personal Christmas cards–instead of a generic old message that goes out exactly the same to everyone. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it’s not my style. That alone can take a half a day!

25 to-do.

I am excited to have this done and ready to go. It will be full of pictures, words, and random junk by the end of my 25th year.

This year’s book measures 7.5 x 5.75, but several pieces are smaller. I am obsessed with using different sizes of paper in my minibooks. It feels like layers to me, and I am all about layers.



I’ll do a separate post on the actual goals for the next year in the next few days. They deserve their own post.

Because the bookrings are spaced the way they are, I am able to efficiently use both 4×6 and 5×7 pieces easily. I started off right away with 1.5″ bookrings because I had to upgrade the 1″ rings on my 24 book to larger ones once I got closer to the end. I have a lot of stuff in that little bitty book.





I used the Poplar STD font for all printed words, except for the double 25 spread. I thought it needed something different and just used a normal serif font.




Blue and gray were the initial colors I wanted to use (something was intriguing about the sky that day), but I needed a little splash of something bright so I made a yellow envelope and plan on using more yellow throughout for journaling backgrounds and accents. Yellow is my sunshine, I suppose. The front and back chipboard covers were left unpainted because I think there is just something rugged and comforting about the kraft brown look.

I really like the paper I used for this project. The blues are each a different shade of the sky blue I was looking for, and each have a distinct pattern. One, in fact, is pretty similar to the comforter I am ordering for my bed. I am in love with simple designs these days.

Now let’s hope I can keep up and get some of these things done!

Polaroid cards.

I have had this idea for quite a while but just never got around to actually getting everything together and doing it. It must be the procrastination in me, telling me that I can do it tomorrow.

I bought some Polaroid 600 film on Ebay a few months ago, and when I got it and shot the first picture, it came out with AXE across the bottom. Now I like my man to have some AXE and smell good, but to have it advertised at the bottom of my Polaroid? Not so much.

I decided to use the rest of the film as pieces for cards. So I took some photos of a “Love” painting I did. The colors and the heart worked pretty well for this. I cut the words off the bottom and sewed them onto folded cream cards with shiny silver thread and got matching cream envelopes. I love the way they turned out.

I think I am going to go to the carousel in the next week or so to see what kinds of shots would work for this. The colors should be pretty if nothing else. :)

But for now, the heart Polaroid cards are in the shop.

Brookish.

I have to tell you how much I am in love with this Etsy shop. Finally, someone who loves Jane Austen and Pride & Prejudice as much as I do! This mug is my absolute favorite.

I have a feeling that my cupboard will be filled with a set of these….

she minibook.

My latest crafty obsession has been minibooks. I have made some in the past, like forever ago in high school when making cute flash cards was my thing, but then college came along and didn’t allow me any time to do them. With all the free time I have now, I am on a roll. I regularly read Elise Blaha’s blog, and she is a pro at these things. I borrowed the idea for a “She” book from her, in fact. Here is a peek at her’s.

I used wallpaper samples from an interior design class I once took, random pictures of myself and stuff I love that have just been lying in crate on my bookshelf. I put it together pretty quickly. I learned that quicker is better because too much thinking makes the mini look just how I don’t like….too planned out. I like the messiness. These aren’t all of the pages, but here’s a peek. I really need to find a good place to take photos of them. The sun glares definitely mess up the color. Live and learn.