Sick.

It’s done! For weeks now I have been working on embroidering these cheeky little hankies and they’re finally finished! They were inspired by my good friend Charlotte; not because she’s gross or anything, but because she is the only person I have ever met who actually uses handkerchiefs. I thought a hanky with her initials stitched on it might make a nice gift, but then I thought why not embroider a handkerchief for what goes inside of it? Totally gross! And so I did:

Of course I had to make some sort of packaging for my little creations, so I hand-stitched a mini paper bag. Here’s to you Charlotte (don’t get sick!)!

Paper Swap 2010: What I Got

Please excuse my recent absence. I’ve been working on a new project that I’m really excited about, but it’s taking forever and a day to complete. I’m really bad at keeping secrets so I better stop there!

I finally rounded up all of my pictures from what I got in this years Paper Swap. What a great haul! I was really impressed with the overall quality and creativity of the items that I received. Great job to everyone who participated! I also posted these on the Paper Swap 2010 flickr group. Enjoy!

Gocco*Boom

La Familia Green

Hello Precious/Hot Mess

Paper Pastries

The Sweetie Pie Press

The Great Lakes

Crow and Canary

Lark Press

Bottle Rocket Designs

Would You Like to Buy a Vowel?

Finally! I think I’ve waited long enough for my packages to reach their destinations. Here’s my little project for this year’s paper swap with a school theme:

Ta da! I made a  letter set highlighting vowels for all of my lovely swap partners. I thought a little outside the box on the theme and I’m happy with how it turned out! Each set comes with 4 sheets (2 designs of each) and 4 envelopes. I wanted to make a set for everyone who participated, but I just didn’t have the time! All the envelopes are hand-stamped by yours truly:

It was quite an undertaking. This is only half the stack:

I used my VERY modest design skills to make the stationery. 26 letters=2 sheets 6” x 7”:

If you look closely, you’ll notice that the lines are actually made up of the letters themselves. Those are some tiny a’s!

I also hand stamped the packaging (made out of a grocery bag). One of my fav parts of the project!

I even stamped the addresses!

It was so fun! Thank you to everyone who participated. My packages are starting to trickle in and so far I’m very impressed with what I’ve gotten. Great job guys!

A Very Crafty Saturday

I took these weeks ago, but I’ve gotten so behind with everything that’s going on right now that I’m just glad I get to post these at all.

Saturday’s when both my sister and I can get together and craft are rare, so a few weeks ago we took the opportunity to embark on two projects that had been waiting in the wings.

My love for calligraphy is well documented, (here, here, and right here) but I can barely write in a straight line. So my trusty scribe took a shot at it:

It’s hard. (Or so I’m told).

But produces gorgeous results!

And that was only the beginning! Martha Project number two was printing cards using bits of lace. Neither of us had ever printed in any way shape or form so it was a learning process.

Inking the lace:

We used some very architectural lace. This one reminds me of cathedral windows:

The hardest part of this project was applying enough pressure (and paint) to the lace without moving it while it was on the paper. (I actually did help even though it looks like I just took pictures).

This lace was my favorite:

Not too bad for a first try!

Some excellent spring/Easter cards:

Check out the tutorial here. Thanks Martha!

Monthly Etsy Inspiration

Color!

From the top:

Spring card by Essimar

Red/Blue Pencil note set by Zoe Tropa

Juicy note card by Juniperberry

Feminists series oversized post cards by Anagram Press

Spring!

Technically it’s not spring until March 21. But who cares! I love all these bright colors:

From the Top:

Thank you card by Juniper Berry

Hello card by Wendushka

Butterfly card by Something I Made

Girly Muscle Cars cards by Day Dreamers

All images by their respective owners.

Valentines From the Vault

It always makes me sad when my favorite holiday is over.:( As I went to put away my stellar valentine, I found some Castle In the Air valentines of yore…

My sister tried to duplicate one of my favorites, the tulip heart card:

Not too shabby!

I also found this brochure among the mounds of stuff I brought home from London:

A promotional brochure for Selfridges department store circa 2006.

All images cross posted to flickr.

I Have the Greatest Sister Ever!

Look what came in the mail over the weekend!

The inside is even more beautiful! I looove Jane Austen style letters! The calligraphy is so delicate:

These gorgeous hand-written and illustrated valentines have been bouncing all over the web this past month, but I’d never thought I’d get one! Thanks Phe!

By the very talented ladies of Hello Handmade Paperie.

Christmas in February

There just never seems to be enough time during the holidays! This year, I wanted to make monogram embroidered ornaments for my family inspired by this ornament from September House:

But life got busy as it is prone to over the holidays and by the time I got the supplies it was January. Oh well! Anyway, I haven’t trimmed the edges and added ribbon yet, but you get the idea:

Better than I expected! The pattern came from here (a great resource for anyone interested in cross stitch) and the fabric came from here. I’m obsessed with linen now that I’ve tried it. It’s more expensive than evenweave, but soooo pretty! Also, I recently found out that February is national embroidery month which makes it a great time to start an embroidery project! Here’s some inspiration to get you started:

Lipstick Traces and Bam Pow Hand Embroidery by Sam Gibson via the Hand Embroidery Network

All images by their respective owners.

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.