Just a quick post to let you know that the shop will be closed for an indefinite amount of time, starting Sept. 15, so that we can travel across the country and get settled (at least a little!) up north. So if you've had your eye on anything, better grab it while you can! I expect to be closed for at least a few weeks while we get our new life in order. Wish us luck - we are super excited!
I've been dyeing like mad to get ready for Sock Summit! It's no fun dyeing when it's 105 outside, but the results have been worth it - some of my new faves have been dyed in the past week or two. :) Check my Etsy shop for updates on lace yarn - sock yarn will be out until mid-August.
As I was packing up my various and sundry items for a nice long day at work this past week, it occurred to me that every single one of the bags I use regularly was handmade by an Etsy seller. And I have many - a lunch bag, a purse-like/tote-like handbag, a knitting bag, little lunch bags...and more. (It's a problem, really. I inherited it from my mother.) So I figured this month I would share with you some of my favorites!
First off, I'm going to promote one bag that I don't even own. Simply because I want it so badly. I've seen pictures, I've heard friends rave about theirs, I've even seen one in person toted by somebody I didn't know and I almost went up and asked to touch it. It's Moop. I have coveted one of their bags ever since they were a brand new seller on Etsy and had hardly made any sales. And I still covet one. (*ahem*...this one, if you're wondering. I do accept gifts.)
But anyway! Now on to some bags I can actually vouch for! I recently ordered a wallet from the lovely L B Accessories and I love it. I had been searching for quite some time for the perfect wallet to replace the hideous brown leather-ish one I had been given years ago as a Christmas present from an ex's grandmother and was only using because I hadn't yet found that perfect one. But now I have! And it's lovely. Slim, but roomy, it holds all my cards (library, credit and otherwise), cash (that's assuming I ever have any), coins, my checkbook, and most recently, a pen. Plus, it's adorable enough that if I go out and don't feel like toting a larger bag, I can just carry it as a tiny clutch. (Apprently the shop is on vacation for a couple weeks, but do check them out when they return! Lovely items.)
This next bag, I love so much I can't even imagine how I ever got along before I had it. Seriously. It's a little knitting tote by Sew Bendy. It is my dream come true. Before this, I was tucking yarn into my tote and hoping it didn't get tangled (often a futile desire) or cramming it into ever so attractive gallon Ziplocs that my needles would poke through angrily. It is perfect for holding two little balls of sock yarn, plus socks and needles, for when I'm carrying my sock knitting everywhere. (Which I do.) It's also perfect for carrying one ball of lace yarn for a cardigan and confounding me every time I take it out and knit on it because I just can't understand how an entire sweater for a real person-sized person fits in there. (Seriously. I'm baffled.) Anyway, the bag is a lifesaver and you should go buy one, right now!
Another recent purchase was the lunch tote in the photo up there. I had been using, all these years, a little canvas lunch tote given to me by a high school friend. (And yes, that was over ten years ago!) The canvas was getting thin, the velcro had all but fallen off and the design on the bag was no longer identifiable. I decided it was time for a new, improved version. One with a handle and a zipper and some insulation. And I found the perfect bag from Naturally Felt. There are loads of fabric choices and the bags are utterly adorable. I love the little short strap on mine and it doesn't even get in the way of me stuffing large Pyrex containers filled with lunch in there. When I opened the package, I thought the bag seemed a little smaller than I was expecting, but I assure you that it is plenty roomy. I've always been able to fit my entire lunch in there, even when it didn't seem possible!
Last but not least, I wanted to get something to use instead of little plastic baggies every day for sandwiches. And I found these lovely reusable sandwich sacks from Waste Not Saks. They are cotton on the outside, nylon on the inside and topped with sturdy velcro. Easy to clean and use, I have a feeling I may be ordering more in the future! Plus, cute fabric! And now I feel better about toting my sandwiches and baggies of pretzels around in reusable bags.
Saturday is my birthday! In honor of the splendid occasion, I am having a sale in my shop! To get 20% off anything, just put "BIRTHDAY31" in the notes to seller and I'll refund 20% of your purchase, not including shipping. Saturday only! Yay for birthdays!
I finished this journal last night, just in time for my little one day sale in my book-related Etsy shop. We, the members of the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team, have been having little sales all month. My day is tomorrow, lucky me! (You can see all our Etsy goodies here.) So, tomorrow, Wednesday, December 10th, if you buy that lovely journal up there, I'll ship it to you for free (if you live in the US that is...we can work out a discount if you're international) and even throw in a free gift! It's a very cute little free gift too, I just have to say. Very cute. And I sort of hope you don't actually buy the journal because, well, I really like it. It's been so long since I've really made anything new, I'd forgotten how satisfying it is to create books!
I think I might have a little after Christmas sale just for my blog readers... When the dull grey of January starts to get us down! Stay tuned...
The members of the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team, myself included, are having a splendid back to school sale this weekend! Yes, that's right. It's almost time to think about school again. Almost time to put away those beach towels and grab a pencil. Lay down the bicycles and frisbees and climb out of the pool. Get your calculator in working order and dig out that backpack.
I'm offering 15% off all journals in my shop, and my fellow team members have various offers ranging from free shipping to free gifts and more! Check us out. Search Etsy for "bookbindingteam" to find all sorts of goodies.
The following team members are participating in our Back to School sale this weekend. Visit the individual shops to get more information about their specific sales and special offers!
I don't really talk about it much, but I make books. Maybe you've noticed, maybe you haven't. I sell them in my Etsy shop (or at least, I try to...it's been slow the past month or so...) and I really enjoy working with some of the gorgeous paper I've hoarded over time. But I think people often wonder what they would do with a blank journal, thinking that they are either for serious writers, diary-scribbling pre-teens, or tortured artists madly sketching away. Even I fall victim to that mindset. I tend not to use the ones that I make, since they all get listed in my shop, leaving me scrounging for scraps of paper whenever I want to write something down. I've got notes hastily jotted down on old envelopes, junk mail, receipts, you name it. But what I really need is a little notepad that I can carry around with me. Conveniently, I make them - like these or this one, for example. (Um, now I just have to make one for myself...) Anyway, the most recent post on our Bookbinding Etsy Street Team blog (BEST for short) had a lot of really great ideas so I thought I'd share with you! One of my favorites is the "guest book" idea - have friends and/or family write/draw/doodle/whatever in it over time. I've actually implemented this and it's endlessly entertaining to go back and read things that friends wrote 10+ years ago. So check it out! Then hop on over to Etsy and search for "bookbinding team" to find some great books made by me and my fellow BEST members.
I'm going to start this off with a little ice cream, because who doesn't love ice cream? (I mean, except my little sister in 1985. But that's another story.) So. Hi! Twice in one day, you're thinking? Whatever has gotten into her?
Well. See, there's this thing. NaBloPoMo. Basically, blog every day for a month. (Check it out if I sound like I'm talking crazy talk. I swear, I'm not.) So I participated last fall during the "real" NaBloPoMo, but I haven't done it since, because, well, I'm not that...loquacious. But I got a nice little email reminding me that the theme for July is food. Food. And there's not much I like better than food! (It's a wonder I'm not pudgier than I am. Which really isn't all that pudgy.) So I'm back to take a stab at food! Although, frankly, I just don't have much to say about food today. I've told you all about my delicious bread and my adventures in salsa-making. I haven't made anything worth mentioning in the past day or two, unless you count the ham sandwich I made for dinner.
So, a little at a loss, I searched Etsy for "food" since I was over there updating my shop anyway. I was expecting to come up with things like this Fauxstess Cupcake or this heavenly looking chocolate cupcake. But instead I found an astonishing amount of play food and food-themed items. And then I remembered all the crazy food-related things I'd hearted over the past year or so - like pocket bacon, loads of play food by MermaidSparkle (I particularly like the broccoli cauliflower blend) and this utterly adorable lobster dinner pin.
So, from now on I'll probably be focusing more on "real" food and less on things like these giant felt grapes. But I'm not promising anything!
Well, the trunk show went well the other night! There was a consistent crowd throughout the event and they all seemed to have a good time, throwing cookies and hearts with abandon! I really enjoyed getting to see my fellow team members' books and getting to hear everyone talk about themselves, their process, their stories!
I wanted to have this book, whose photos I'm plastering all over my blog (sorry 'bout that - I just love it so much!), ready and listed for the show, but a migraine got in the way and I just couldn't get the listing done. Boo. And actually, that darn migraine almost kept me from the trunk show entirely! (Um...I threw up right in the middle of it... The good thing about a virtual trunk show? I could do that! It wouldn't be so cool of me to be sick right in the middle of a real trunk show!)
(I just can't get enough of the beautiful paper I used on the cover of this book. Those swirly vine patterns are actually a gorgeous bronze metallic color that shimmers and shines in the light. It's amazing! I wish I could take credit for the design, but I merely picked it out!)
Lastly, I just want to thank Maiko for pulling this whole show together! She was our champion and leader through the whole process and did a fabulous job - thank you, Maiko!
