More DIY Valentine Ideas

I’ve been pillaging my new favorite British blog Tea for Joy and discovering lots of wonderful things like this:

Simple, hilarious, adorable. Check out the tutorial at Jordan Ferney.

Making Valentines

I loooove Valentines day! I’ve been making valentines every year since I was a kid and no matter how old I get it never ceases to be fun. However, this year I might have gone a little overboard when I went to get supplies at Daiso:

It’s easy to get carried away at that store. Everything is so cheap and cute!

Strawberry and apple candy are my favorites!

I’m obssesssed with glassine envelopes, especially tiny ones like these:

The rest of the supplies:

I think this is some sort of flash card game? I’m not sure, but I thought the cards were cute!

The most adorable post cards:

I love giving people stationery! I hope it inspires them to write a letter:)

Things got pretty messy:

Remember these? Add some hearts and they’re mini valentines!:)

A mini valentine sealed up with some confetti and little heart buttons:

I like to mix it up:

The glassine envelope goes in the little grocery bags along with some candy and gets sealed with these mini heart clothes pins:

They’re all ready to go! (I had to label them temporarily to keep track of whose was whose)

My boxes are a motley crew:

It’s not too late to send valentines! If you’re stumped as to what to make, here are some great ideas to get you started.

Folksy Finds

Am I the last person to hear about Folksy? Apparently, it’s another Etsy/Dawanda website for the UK with some beautiful things on it!

Heart papercut by Sylvie Howitt Papercuts, If Life Deals You Lemons papercut by Made by Jolene

Love is All You Need print by Bonbi Forest, Butterfly cards by Ruby Wren Designs

Retro Technology cards by Pookie Su, Just Add Cake card by Dig The Earth

All images by their respective owners.

Crafting with Stamps

I can’t resist a sale on stamps. It’s simply impossible. Which is why when I went to Joann’s the other day on an entirely different errand, I had to pick up this guy and put it to work:

But it didn’t stop there. I remembered some old music books for piano that I had saved during our last cleaning purge.

And I’ve never met a pun I didn’t like.

Ta da! Stamp sale + salvaged items from my house = gift tags and stationery!

Adventures in Sealing Wax Part I

I find inspiration in the oddest places. For example, I got this lovely little note from the folks behind Gocco*Boom in the 2009 paper swap:

So adorable! I’ve been sealing my letters for years, but I’d never thought of doing it this way. After some googling, I have discovered many new lovely things. Take it away flickr:

From Donovan Beeson

From Brass Paper Clip

From Wiki Li

From Meaghan Thomas

From My DIY Wedding Day

If you’re looking for more info on sealing wax or would like to start doing your own, check out Letter Seals for supplies and their blog Waxing about Wax for ideas.

100th Post! + Renegade Round Up

I made to 100!! Woohooo!!!!!! It took two years, but it was worth it. And now on to the good stuff..

The Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco was this past weekend and I hope you got a chance to stop by and check it out. I was extremely impressed by the turnout, both in terms of the number of booths and people there. There was lots of good stuff and I spent quite a bit of my hard earned money. Here’s what I bought:

Some of these are gifts for friends who read this so guys: act surprised. Let’s start with some old favorites:

The bookplates are from 16 Sparrows who gave me a discount and a goodie bag for being a member of the LWA! Thanks guys! The little rude gift cards are from Sweetie Pie Press, who did the security envelope buttons and secret message envelopes. (I also bought one of the envelopes, they were too cute to resist).

The stationery set is also from 16 Sparrows and the card is from Dutch Door Press.

I also love discovering new brands, like Paper Parasol who did these cute aqua cards. The birthday card is from Sycamore Street Press.

Last but not least, I picked up this bacon card from Sweet Meats.

Postcard Aeroplane

Love this!

Available here. Via Rare Bird Finds

If I had my drothers…

One of my favorite parts about co-hosting the paper swap is finding new talent (primarily on etsy) to invite. However, I’ve gotten so caught up in inviting people that I forgot to post all of the great stuff I’ve found! Behold:

Personally, I’d be more than happy if I found any one of these in my mailbox.

Top left: “Spilled Coffee” print by Red Heather

Bottom left: “Bitches get stuff done” pillow by Artful Artsy Amy

Middle: “The usual subjects” print by Craftonite

Right: “Time to eat” print by CMZ Art