{scissor variations}

whoopie! an anniversary {sort of}

this was the very first photo i posted on the blog...

{March 8th: E.T.A.} winners have been notified--check your mailbox!

...that was 2 years ago...today

 

i had started the blog several months prior to that february

but didn't tell anyone

(a blog for no one...now there's an idea)

i had been fighting the idea of starting a blog

+ of course in the back of my mind was 'what if no one reads it'...

 

it has been so wonderful to have you drop by

especially when you may see the same post for days at a time

when you indulge my baking whims sprinkled in among the DIY posts

when too many {interlude} photos appear in ratio to crafting posts....

 

so many of you have posted + linked to my crafting projects 

+ i am always so grateful for these kindnesses

 

i would like to celebrate this little blog milestone with some mailbox goodness

~ i have some little crafting packages to share ~

 

simply leave a comment---or just say 'hello'

no need to turn somersaults, but if you can do a back flip, do tell!

nix the skill testing question

maybe share what kind of crafting you like to do--or not

or just introduce yourself and tell me what country you are 'reading' from

but DO please ensure your email is included in your comment so that i may contact you if your name is chosen

 

{your comment may not show up right away}

you may enter no matter where you reside on the globe

i am so delighted to have readers from all over the world.

+ my little shop happily has customers that live continents + countries away

---so i could not fathom leaving any of you out in a chance to win a wee prize---

sound fair?

{ i will randomly choose winners a week from today-- march 7th)

DIY: keeping book

a basic accordian book structure with a special closure

 

Gather Together

 

 

Coupon organizer

Found book cover—with spine intact, that will accommodate the bottom width of the coupon organizer

Ribbon---length that can be wrapped around book twice

Locket

4” piece of wire

Scissors

Glue

Exacto knife

Heavy Duty Hole Punch (or leather tool punch or Japanese screw punch) —must be able to pierce through thickness of book covers

Pen or Pencil

Remove the text block from your book with an exacto knife. Open up the coupon organizer and cut off the flap.

Apply glue to front of coupon organizer + the back of the coupon organizer. Place in between the book covers. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the glue to dry.

 

Remove the top loop from the locket if desired. Open the locket and using the punch tool, punch two “button-type” holes, side by side on the interior of the locket.

 

Using the holes in the locket as a guideline, position your open locket on the outer book cover edge, pencil in the hole positions. Punch out.

Line up the locket holes with the punched out book cover holes. Thread the wire down through the locket and through the book cover holes. Thread back up through the same holes so that the wire ends are coming up through the locket interior.

Twist the wire ends once or twice. Clip the ends. Tuck into the lock interior and snap shut.

 

 

Punch a “single” hole in the back book cover, near the edge, centered.

Thread your ribbon through the back hole + knot on the inside cover.

 

{this project originally appeared in issue 3 of uppercase magazine}

  

color contemplation

 

 when inspiration doesn't come, I go half way to meet it

{sigmund freud}

evermore, thank you

more swell folks:

paper pastries- a fun place to visit

the always lovely Whitney, who recently mentioned us in a blog interview she did + just in case you have been hiding under a rock, the creative brains behind Divine Twine

Oh Joy! ---one of my personal every day must reads

 + The Bliss Guild blog

+the kind kelly kilmer, a long time customer

~~~ thank you ~~~

  

things 4 strings

{no. 23} interlude

flowers {on a first name basis}

not everyone knows what blossoms they are receiving whether singly or in a mixed bouquet

i like to include a fun label for reference for the recipient

{see, i am one of those people that would peel that off + keep it in a notebook for like, um, a long time}

happy hour at the tea bar

the other shelves have a bit of mayhem going on what with tea balls, tea strainers, tea pots and cozies generally fighting for a spot on the uppermost shelf.

the hot chocolate waits it out on the lower shelf. sheepishly waiting alongside the lemon sugar and marshmallows.

but the tea, the tea is front +  center.

i think there's even a box of old red rose hiding in there somewhere....for the parental units when they come to visit.

 

i am a bit behind.....

....as you can see

{no. 22} interlude

{no. 21} interlude