Live on Papernstitch!

This little shop of mine is feeling extra lucky lately!  For a limited time, you can find my shop on Papernstitch!  Now, if you ask me, that is a good reason to feel lucky!  If you have not visited Papernstitch yet, then you are in for a surprise...there are so many wonderful handmade goodies to be found on Paperstitch!  I could not be happier to be included in among so many great artists.

So go take a look when you get a chance!  :)

Gift for the Work Husband

I am a little late in posting this...my little shop has been buzzing.  My Idea Bulb Journal was recently featured in Huffington Post's  Work Husband Holiday Gift Guide!  Talk about exciting!  And I could not agree more...this little journal would make the perfect small gift to give to the guy in the next cubicle, the one that never fails to bring a little humor to the work day! 

Cyber Monday Sale!!

Don't miss my Cyber Monday sale already in progress!  Save 10% off your entire purchase using coupon code CYBER10 at the time of sale! 

And...with each purchase you will be entered in to win a free pocket size Moleskine cahier notebook featuring one my designs - you choose which one!

So head on over to my shop and get that Christmas shopping out of the way!

The better view

What goes better with a notebook when you are out exploring the wilderness (aside from trail mix and water)?  You got it...binoculars!  And what do we usually forget when head out for our little treks?  You got it...binoculars!

Well, this handy little notebook will help you to remember to add those binoculars to your pack!  What a great gift this will make for anyone who enjoys the outdoors!

Discover Paper 2011 Holiday Guide

I am currently drooling over all of the wonderful finds in the first ever Discover Paper Holiday Guide!  The setup is just beyond beautiful and I just cannot believe that this is the first time that they put a holiday guide together.  While I suggest that you browse through each and every page, clicking on the items to link to their shops, I really hope that you will take a look at page 38.  Yep, you guessed it...one of my own items has been given a very lovely space in the guide!

Right now, you can sign at Discover for a special holiday giveaway to celebrate the release of the holiday guide!

So take a look at the guide, drool a little, and then sign up for the giveaway!

Book Review on Indie Foxx

Anyone that knows me knows that I have a slight addiction to books.  When my husband and I moved across the country, we brought 42 boxes of books with us.  And that was after selling back a truck load of books to a used bookstore before we left.  In our little house in the woods, we have a weird little room in the middle of our house that goes between two hallways.  While not all of our books fit in this one room, this centrally located spot has made the perfect little library.  I would be the happiest girl in the world if my house was wall-to-wall built in bookcases filled with a plethora of books.

One of my favorite places to be is in a good bookstore, and one of the things I most miss about living in Seattle is the Edmonds Bookshop, the best little bookstore in the world that also happens to be independently owned by one of the smartest, genuinely nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and working for.  I love this place!  And I loved being a bookseller for such a great bookstore.  Talking books, meeting fellow book lovers, and learning about books other people love...who could ask for more?   Oh, how I miss those days!

When the opportunity to put together a book review for Indie Fixx, I jumped at the chance!  Sharing with other book junkies about some of my favorite reads was such a fun, fun thing.  Picking out five books to write about was, let's just say, quite difficult.  But I managed and now you can read all about the five that were chosen by going over to Indie Fixx.  Leave a comment there about your favorite books if you get a chance!

A stamp for my husband

I am very fortunate to have a wonderful husband that is not only very supportive of my time spent creating, but also happy to sit with me at craft shows, give me valuable feedback on my designs, and encourage me to grow my shop even more. Since I have a day job, most of my free time is spent working on my creations and keeping up with my shop.  Through it all, Jeff has been 100% behind me.  So with a little free time today, I carved his image into a stamp.  No more need for him to sign his reports at work with his name!  He can just stamp his image on the signature page and call it good!  :) 

Carving it out.

The progression of the stamp as I work it out.

 

The final product!

Fashion and Textile Museum of London

I am very happy to announce that several of my card sets and journals will be in stock at the Fashion and Textile Museum of London starting November 17!  So, if you happen to be in the neighborhood, please stop by, check out the museum's latest exhibits, and stop by the gift shop to check out my work! 

When cute kids come to visit

I have to say that I know one of the cutest little girls in the world...and she just happens to be my niece Zoey.  Take a look at this awesome kid...

A little Zoey cat....

She does all of her own poses.  I am not sure what this one was, but it made me smile because she was so serious about it. :)

 She really loves Scout.  However, I do think that she is a little disappointed that Scout can't read a book or play catch.  She gave Scout a book and asked her to read it.  Scout can barely walk and bark at the same time, so reading is a little over her head. 

 And here she is showing off her muscles...while wearing goggles.  Isn't she awesome?

And these little guys are her little brothers, Isaiah and Eli.  These two beautiful little boys joined our family in June. 

Go ahead...say it...ahhh...they're so cute!

:)

Hemingway in the shop

Here is the newest design in the shop...Ernest Hemingway. 

This one was a fun one to carve!  Look at the beard!  I listened to one of my favorite groups, Mumford and Sons, while I carved out this stamp.  Turns out, this was the perfect music to carve Hemingway.  It took a little time to get it right, but I think that this little stamp will make some folks happy.  :)

Asleep on the tile

I am fairly certain that all that our dogs do during the day while we are away at work is sleep.  As point of evidence of this hypothesis, during the day on weekends our dogs are about the laziest creatures you could imagine.  You can usually find at least one of them asleep in their kennel.  Today, Scout found a nice sunny spot on the tile in the dining room to take a quick nap. 

She stirred a bit after hearing the camera's shutters, but it took her about 0.5 nanosecond to get right back into her nap. 

Hidden beauty

My husband brought me these gorgeous coral beans still in their pods that he found while working in the woods last week.  Those brown pods are quite deceptive...you would never think that such a gorgeous shade of red could be hidden within something so plain!  I couldn't resist taking some photos of these gorgeous natural finds...

 

I also just had to add these to the photo for my newest design in the Etsy shop, Henry David Thoreau...

Subtle Acts in the Indie Fixx Autumn + Holiday Galleria!

I am super excited to announce that you will be able to find some of my items in the Indie Fixx Autumn + Holiday Galleria starting September 15!  If you have not had the chance to visit this awesome site, go now!

Be not simply good, be good for something.

Even after 200 years, Thoreau still stirs thoughts and imaginations in all who read his writings.  You can hardly go a sentence without stopping to think about what he has said and apply his words to your own life.  Not only was Thoreau a writer, he was a naturalist, an abolitionist, a surveyor, and a philosopher to list just a few of his many passions.  His words also greatly influenced the Transcendentalist movement in the 1830s and 1840s.

This hand carved stamp is my homage to one of America's finest thinkers.

Card Set 

 Moleskine Cahier Journal

Thoreau

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion."    -Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Meet Molly

Meet Molly.  She has recently joined the family as my husband's parents' puppy.  She is so full of energy and is just the cutest little thing!  She loves running in between legs and can hardly sit still.  Watch as she ducks under me...that tricky little thing!  They are working at getting her trained to control her excitement, but for now she is all puppy dog energy! 

(The audio quality is not so great, but the video is cute nonetheless.)

New hand carved stamp

We love Steinbeck.  We love him so much that we once arranged a vacation in California around being able to see Cannery Row in Monterey and visit his hometown of Salinas.  East of Eden is by far my most favorite, cherished book, and Grapes of Wrath is a close second.  If you have not read either of these (or if they were forced upon you in school before you could appreciate them like I was), then you are in for a treat!  And while you read through any one of Steinbeck's many great novels or non-fiction, grab up one of these nifty little journals featuring a hand carved stamped portrait of the man himself.  :)

Oh, these dogs...

I would venture to bet that most dogs are like mine...they don't know any tricks, they make messes and don't clean up after themselves, and they rarely give themselves a proper bath.  Yet, they always want a treat as if they have done all of those things.  And we relent, give them the treat.  Why?  Because they are just too dang funny for words!  My two dogs, Punky and Scout, are constantly play fighting with each other, making more noise than their little sizes should be able to make, and are always, always, always tracking in dirt, mud, grass, leaves, bugs, sticks, etc., etc., etc...  But they have one quality that outshines all of these terrible habits - they always make us smile. 

So here is my latest item in the Etsy shop...a begging dog journal!  You need one of these, right?  :)

All that time & The way sound leaves the room - Sarah Jaffe

I just saw these videos and had never heard these songs from Sarah Jaffe until now.  What a beauty they are!  I can't wait for her new album that comes out September 27!



Sarah Jaffe : All That Time from Kirtland Records on Vimeo.



Sarah Jaffe : The Way Sound Leaves A Room from Kirtland Records on Vimeo.

New journal photos in the Etsy shop!

As we are transitioning away from summer and into autumn (YAY!), I am trying to update shop with photos that match that transition.  So, far I have only accomplished this with two of my journals, but I think that it worked out well.  Take a look...

Butterflies!!

Another new design has hit my shop...BUTTERFLIES!  I hand carved this new little stamp yesterday and was so excited to get this into my shop!  I love it!  Take a look...

Single Butterfly Card

Wraparound Butterfly Card

Butterfly Journal


And here is the carved stamp.

Cowtown Indie Bazaar

It's official!  I am going to be selling my goods at the Cowtown Indie Bazaar on October 15 in Fort Worth!  I am extremely excited to have my first show be this show...it looks like so much fun!  I can't wait! 

New in the Etsy Shop - Wilderness Card Set

This little set of cards is the first item in my shop to use my newly developed band!  I am not sure if everyone gets as excited about packaging as I do, but I couldn't wait to post these pictures with the new band!  Jeff and I worked on getting this design out over the weekend, and I think that it is just as cute as can be.  Take a look...

The osprey stamp

Since I really like my latest design, I thought I would share a photo of the osprey stamp and the tools I used to carve it.  :)

These are the same tools I use for each of my stamps.  I also use a box cutter to do major cuts away from the rubber block so that when I carve a design, I am not working with a huge piece of rubber.  

New to the shop - the osprey!!

I am really excited about this latest design. I always love to watch the design break free from the rubber block, a slight bit of anxiety running through me as I hope I don's slip and completely ruin what I have worked so hard on. Thankfully, I didn't slip with this osprey and I think that it turned out really well. :)