Back from the Brink

Jeeze! It's been a month since I posted last! I was unfortunately really sick for most of December. I'm glad to be over the hump and getting back into the swing of things now. Much love to my husband for helping out with my shop while I was under the weather.

Aside from being sick December was an awesome month. I made some great sales on Etsy and bought some really great handmade gifts for people too.

Check out this wonderful little package I got from recycledideas as part of a PIF! She sent me three awesome cards - the pink and tan are on handmade paper pressed with leaves and a Uakari monkey card all in a super cute envelope! Thanks so much! Your package will be on it's way soon!

Now I need to start working on my shop! I'll be posting new items all week!

First Coptic Stitch

I am so very in love with this book. It's even more beautiful than I had imagined when coming up with the design. The paper is a brand new handmade Japanese paper. I was so inspired by the paper as soon as I bought it, I came home and began working on the book right away. This book will not be for sale in Etsy shop - I keep every first-time completed project when learning a new binding structure.

Cover Me!

I made seven book covers last night - six of which are pictured here. The seventh was a coptic bind, which I'll post pictures of once it's done pressing.

I really love how these two koi covers came out. I'm very inspired by graffiti artists, so I was trying to capture a bit of that artistic style with these covers.



This awesome stripe cover will be a dream journal, I think =)

The plan for today is to get all six of these bound! I'll post pictures of the final projects!

Homepage Happiness

One of my journals was on the front page of Etsy yesterday! I'm a little bummed I missed it (means I didn't get a screenshot) but I'm super jazzed to have been there! I could really see the impact in my shop too, views and hearts galore. Here's a shot of the Treasury created by SeaFindDesigns:

My listing is the Chocolate Swirls journal in the last row =D

Coptic Stitch and Paste Paper

Like many of my fellow crafters, I dabbled in a few mediums before finding the one thing that is a perfect match for me. I did some lampwork, watercolor painting, portrait drawing and macro photography - all of which are still hobbies of mine and I still enjoy. But after I made my first book (a Japanese stab book) I was hooked. I knew I'd found something that I'd happily enjoy for the rest of my days. Don't ask me how I knew, I just knew.

I began taking classes and learning some different techniques. The structure I was most drawn to was the coptic stitch. There was a coptic stitch class offered in my area but unfortunately I had to miss it due to scheduling issues. I found some online tutorials, but none that were very clear or easy to use. Imagine my joy this morning when I ran across these videos:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4BMSrm0QOt0

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MTU6eIH7tAE

I threw some scrap pages together and actually completed a coptic stitch book!! =D I think my practice with long stitch helped out a ton - just for familiarity's sake. Expect some pictures of completed projects very soon!

The other super awesome thing I want to share today is Paper Kitty's Paste Paper Tutorial. I made a batch of paste tonight and it is cooling as I type this. I can't wait to try out it out. I actually made WAY too much - five cups of paste. heh. I think I'll take some to Jeannette's house and see if she and her daughter can come up with some crafty projects for it. I'm also hoping that I got the consistency right. Guess I'll find out soon!

New Listings!

Finally managed to get some new items listed today! I've been swamped lately prepping for shows so it was nice to get in some Etsy love.

This pendant isn't listed yet, but will be in the next day or two!


I still have two or three shows (I haven't decided on the third show yet) before I take a break to do some Christmas celebrations with friends and family. I *really* hope it cools off - the heat is just killing outdoor shows. At my last show, just a couple days ago, it was 90 degrees out in the sun. It was a little more tolerable in the shade, but not by much.

I'm considering offering a holiday special - something like buy three pendants/rings and get one free or buy three for the discounted price of XXX. The tricky part is my three-tiered pricing system. I offer pendants and rings in three different sizes and have priced them according to size. $10 for the small .75", $13 for the medium size 1" and $15 for the larger 1.5" pendants/rings. It's difficult to say "Three for the price of XX" because if I make the sale for $30, then if someone buys all small pendants, it's not a deal at all, but it's TOO much of a deal if they buy all large pendants.

Ack. What to do?? Perhaps buy three get a fourth for free is the best option.

Lures and Jigs

I've been wanting to make my brother and nephew a matching pair of journals for Christmas, so they can chronicle their many fishing trips together. Just before falling asleep Friday night I had a moment of inspiration and decided to use lures and jigs to decorate the spine. I'm happy with the results, however, I will replace the black hemp closure with something more natural looking. In addition, I'll probably add one or two more lures to the spine. I'm going to make a couple of these to list on Etsy as well!