Last Minute Shopping Guide

I recently purchased some awesome products from my fellow Etsy sellers. Here are a few ideas for you last minute shoppers or heck buy something for yourself!

This Chickadee makes these colorful wanderlust wallets that are just perfect for popping into you pocket instead of lugging around a big old bag. There are three internal pockets and a clip ring - for your keys or to attach to your belt loop. Get yourself one and hit the road.

I originally purchased this as a Christmas gift but, as you can see from the water marks on the label, I have decided to keep it for myself! Herban Lifestyle creates glorious bath and body products. This is the Lemon Souffle Whipped Sugar Body Scrub and all I can say is wow! It smells lemon fresh and leaves your skin silky soft and exfoliated. Go ahead and buy yourself some, you deserve it!


When I wear this scarf from See Katie Sew everyone compliments me on it. It is thrifted and new material in a patchwork pattern on the front and fleece on the back. So not only does it look good, it also keeps you warm. There are only 4 scarves left in her store and they are on sale so get yours fast....

Pimp My CFR

Bring me your plain Jane paperback Code of Federal Regulations and I can turn it into a classy hardback set you will be proud to have on your shelves! Here is the before and after of a recent special request that put a smile on this Bookbinder/Librarian's face.

Holiday Art Mart

Five down and two more holiday shows to go! I look forward to Squidfire's Holiday Art Mart this Saturday, December 12th, from 11 A.M. to 6 P.M. in the Dunburns arena in Baltimore. Lots of awesome crafters will be there including some of my favorite Etsy sellers: See Katie Sew, Bette's Bags and This Chickadee. Come on up and visit us . Now back to bookbinding!

Weekend Craft Fairs

I had a fun time at the D.C. Craft Mafia's Holiday Heist this weekend. It was great to catch-up with fellow crafters. There was a good turn out and the Soundry was the perfect venue! I ended up with some awesome items from See Katie Sew , Ugly Kitty, and blugrn design.

Here are a few pictures of the event:

Here is my corner of the room. I liked being in an actual studio space with equipment!

A close-up of my accordion photo albums in one of my favorite vintage luggage pieces.

Katie of See Katie Sew in her beautiful booth.


Katie's pencil cases are the bomb!

Holiday Craft Fairs

Yes, it is that time of year. The start of the holiday market season. I wanted to let you know my schedule so you can come by and visit me at my upcoming markets. I am all over this year with shows in D.C., Virginia and Maryland. There are lots of new products: chalkboard journals, felt photo albums and new sizes of books made fromLEGO® pieces.

Holiday Heist
Saturday, November 21 12-6 P.M.
The Soundry
316 Dominion Rd.
Vienna, VA 22180
Hosted by the D.C. Craft Mafia in a super-cool location!

Temple Sinai Chanukah Mart
Sunday, November 22 9 A.M. - 3 P.M.
3100 Military Road
Washington, D.C. 20015
Can't wait to participate in this fundraiser for Temple Sinai.

Holiday Shop-N-Stroll
Saturday, December 5 10 A.M. - 3 P.M.
Ellsworth Drive
Silver Spring, MD
This is an OUTDOOR market in downtown Silver Spring with over 50 vendors.

Squidfire Holiday Mart
Saturday, December 12 11 A.M. - 6 P.M.
Dubuns Arena on Boston Street
Baltimore, MD
The cool kids of the Squidfire T-shirt company are putting on this BIG show!

Holiday Booty Show
Saturday, December 19 10 A.M. - 5 P.M.
Design Within Reach Showroom
1838 Columbia Rd.
Washington, D.C. 20009
A mini Crafty Bastards reunion with 20 vendors who all participated in this year's show.

Finally Felt

I have had these colorful pieces of German felt (thanks to FilzFelt) for months. I have actually gotten around to making felt photo albums with them. The cool thing is that the felt is so thick that no boards are necessary in the binding process. The result is a limp style binding. A cozy photo album to warm those cold winter nights!

My struggle was how to add a bit of fun to the cover. I thought about cutting out designs in a contrasting felt color to attach to the cover but this proved more difficult than I anticipated - the felt is 100% wool and VERY thick. So I decided to pull out the sewing machine and add a decorative stitch to the edge of the felt. I am so happy with the results!

Chalkboard Journals!

I had so much fun making these chalkboard journals. The journals are covered in black oilcloth that you can write on with chalk markers. Put a quote on the cover or your grocery list! The marker is erasable with a damp cloth.

Journal comes with your choice of candy colored chalk markers!

Philly Art Mart

Counting down to the Philly Art Mart this Saturday, October 17th, in Philadelphia. The Squidfire guys have put together this new craft event and I am thrilled to be a vendor. Come check it out at the Old Pine Community Center!

Crafty Bastards 2009

What an awesome day it was at Crafty Bastards. I only had the chance to take a few pictures of my booth. It was so busy did not have a chance to visit any other booths. (Not that I'm complaining!) All in all great weather, crowds and sales. Yeah!

Crafty Bastards Gift Guide

Check out the awesome products that will be available this Saturday at Crafty Bastards (including the crab moleskine from Moonlight Bindery.)

New look for the Fall Shows

It's that time of year - Fall craft fairs are here! I have changed the look of my booth with new signage, table coverings and accessories. Let me know what you think.

Kelly, of the Etsy shop Yellow Magpie, came up with this new design and color scheme for my sign. The sign came out really well and I had a god response from customers. Thanks Kelly!

I added some vintage suitcases and globe to my tables to make them more fun. The faux snakeskin train case is always a hit.

This is my favorite suitcase - my grandmother Mimi's from the 1950s. Makes me feel like a part of her is still with me. She was an awesome grandmother.

The booth is a work in progress. I plan to add risers for the Crafty Bastards show coming up October 3rd. I also plan to have more product and another suitcase. I'm thinking of spray painting the bookcases white - let me know if you think that is a good idea.

Arts on Foot

It's that time of year - the start of the fall craft shows. I'm kicking off the season this Saturday at Arts on Foot located in the Penn Quarter (7th & F streets roughly) of Washington, D.C. So please stop by booth number 62!

Here is some official info:

FESTIVAL

Saturday, September 12; 11 AM – 5 PM

Marking its 17^th anniversary, The Washington Examiner’s ARTS ON FOOT sponsored by Wines of Argentina is one of Washington, DC’s most unique celebrations, and is considered by many to be the city’s premier outdoor festival. Spanning four city blocks, the event kicks off the Fall arts season and showcases the best that Downtown DC has to offer.

Held in the vibrant Penn Quarter neighborhood, the festival features three Restaurant Sampling Courts with top DC restaurants; the O Organics^TM Cooking As Art Pavilion with chef demonstrations; theWorld Market^® Wine Area with tastings and intimate seminars; two stages featuring eclectic music and performance; two Cultural Corridors, supported by The Pink Line Project, offering cool hands-on activities for children and adults from galleries, theaters, museums, and more; and a juried Art Market, open on Thursday and Friday, September 10 & 11, too, with 100 exhibitors selling pottery, jewelry, paintings, photography, textiles, graphic arts, wood work, and other fine art. Also, check out the Neighborhood Showcase of Penn Quarter cultural organizations and venues presenting special programming throughout the festival day.

Pick up the Official Festival Program in The Washington Examiner on Thursday and Friday, September 10 & 11, and at the Art Market and Festival on September 10-12. Visit www.artsonfoot.org for exciting festival developments and updates and become a fan of The Washington Examiner’s ARTS ON FOOT Facebook page, too.

Admission and many activities are free; rain or shine.

Metro: Gallery Pl-Chinatown

New look for the Fall Craft Shows

I have been hard at work creating new table coverings for my Fall shows. I found some awesome Marimekko fabric at the Crate & Barrel Outlet and combined it with some linen curtains from Ikea to create the new color scheme: linen and green.

This is my sister Lee's super Bernina sewing machine. It was a joy to work with but I must (sigh) return it to her this weekend.

A close-up of the muted tones in the Marimekko fabric. There are also some vibrant greens.

The Ikea linen curtain turned into a table covering with a border of the Marimekko fabric.

I'll have two of the linen table coverings and one of the Marimekko. I think I need to add a linen border to this and a linen table runner. This is my first sewing project since third grade! What do you think?

Tax Treaty Books - Made by Moonlight Bindery

Yes, Moonlight Bindery has entered the international tax treaty field! The handsome books you see in this photo of the signing of a tax agreement between The Cayman Islands and New Zealand were bound last weekend by yours truly. The photo is by my talented photographer friend, Suzanne Behsudi.

I took loose pages and created a double fan adhesive binding. This style of binding is called for when you want the pages to lay flat and you don't have much margin to work with. Here is a great step-by-step guide from Indiana University.

Etsy back to School Voter

One on my Lego books was nominated for the Etsy Back to School Voter.  Today (Sunday, August 2nd) is the last day to vote.  Please cast your vote here:  http://www.etsy.com/storque/etc/vote-which-notebook-would-you-take-back-to-school-4505/

Just click on the green Go Vote button in the storque article to vote. I really appreciate it!

Crafty Bastards

I am thrilled to report that I have been chosen as a vendor for this year's Crafty Bastard. It was a tough competition this year - 120 slots for 480 applicants. The show is Saturday, October 3rd, 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. Can't wait - it was so much fun last year.

Felt

My Filz Felt order arrived and I am so excited! I decided to try three 18" squares of the 3mm felt. The plan is to cover photo albums (large and small) with the felt. No boards just straight felt on the albums. The felt is sturdy enough and photo album paper is also quite thick so I think this plan will work. Stay tuned...

Here is a shot showing the felt thickness. It is great stuff! I have seen this in Europe for years and am excited to see that is available here in the States as well.

DIRT - The Book for the Exhibit

I have been working on this oversized book for the artist Margaret Boozer. She does amazing work with dirt. Her exhibit, Dirt Drawings, is opening Saturday, June 27th at the Katzen Arts Center at American University. The book will have photographs of dirt to accompany the exhibition. This was a very interesting project both because of the scale of the book (25" X 40") and materials used. The covers are made from Dibond - street sign material - so they are super durable and will not warp.

Just to give you the scale of the book this is my eight year old daughter holding the finished product.

I love the way the light picks up on the stamped silver title - lower right hand corner. It reads simply DIRT is 30 pt. Optima.

If you have a chance stop by the Katzen Arts Center June 27-August 16.

Washington Folk Festival

I was a vendor at The Washington Folk Festival last weekend at Glen Echo Park.  It was a lovely two days - not too hot and no rain!  This was my first ever two-day show.  The craft vendors were in the bumper car pavilion.  My neighbor were Marla Rudnick, who makes AMAZING silver wire knitted jewelry, and Janet and Claudia of LotsAKnots two friends who knit, weave, crochet - all things textile!

I had a little help from my daughter Claire for a few minutes.  However, the carousel and various fun activities beckoned!

Here is my booth set-up - Three tables and lots of vintage luggage filled with books.  I liked it but want custom fit tablecloths that go to the ground!

My husband took this funny picture of the "Art Car."  I like the motto - "Drive Art and Live."

We Like to Make Snails...

Sometimes a day does not go as planned but turns out to be fun anyway. Kai was home sick and wanted to play with play-doh. We were out so I broke out my vintage 1970-something copy of Ann Wiseman's "Making Things" and made it ourselves! (Also a great book for macrame, tie-dye, and pot holder projects.)


I like the Baker's Clay: 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt and 1 1/2 cups water. I add a teaspoon of cream of tartar to the flour and warm the water to slightly dissolve the salt. Then add food coloring to the salt/water mix and add that mix to the flour/cream of tartar mix. Squish it up and there you have it!


Somehow we always end up with lots of snails! It is so much fun to roll the dough into a snake and then roll it up into one of these cuties.

Refreshed, Renewed, Relaxed

This past weekend three girlfriends from my "Needle Exchange" needlework group went away for a relaxing weekend (meaning sans kids!)  We ate, worked on our projects, took walks, and ate some more.  It was a wonderful, stress free, three days. 

I worked on these cocktail napkins using a Sublime Stitching pattern.  The idea of a weekend away was so exciting that I ordered this awesome bag set from This Chickadee - great quality and just the right size for this embroidery project!

Thanks again to my hostess Hedy for a lovely place to stay.   And to my husband Eric for holding down the fort!

Day 2 - "Summit of Awesome"

Today I had the pleasure of attending a lunch talk with Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching.  She is the embroidery guru - with funky/fun patterns, kits and a new book coming out from Chronicle Books.  It was so much fun that I changed my afternoon plans and stayed for her embroidery workshop.

So here is Jenny followed by my very first embroidery attempt - from Jenny's  "Sexy Librarians" kit !

Hello Craft "Summit of Awesome"

Today was day one of the "Summit of Awesome" sponsored by Hello Craft.  It was really fun and informative!  The highlight was Maria Thomas, CEO of Etsy, our lunchtime speaker.  The program is really amazing with hands on workshops and learning sessions.  

Me with Maria Thomas!  

Some of the talks are being shown in the Virtual Labs.  Tomorrow, Saturday, May 2nd, the following will be shown:

"Developing a Product Line" at 10:oo A.M. 

"Selling Successfully Online" at 1:30 p.M.

For more information check out the Virtual Labs Schedule!  These are worth a peek - and free.

Storque!

Etsy, the glorious venue where I sell my journals, has a community blog called The Storque.   The articled are fun to read and informative.  I have always wanted to be included in one and I was - yesterday!  I was scrolling down the list of articles when I noticed:  Etsy Finds:  One for the Memory Books.  I thought hmm a post about books and sure enough they had my chalkboard accordion photo album.  Yeah!

This accordion photo album is covered with a black oilskin cloth that acts like a chalkboard.  I've seen them used in restaurants.  I had a piece leftover from a project I did for a client so thought I should make something out of it.  The material is very thick and a bit tricky to work with but the results look great!

First Craft Show of the Season!

Last Saturday I shared a booth at the Crofton Craft Fair.  It was a beautiful day and the first craft fair of the season!  Here is the tent with my booth partner Katie - she makes gorgeous bags, wallets, headbands and more!  

While the show was not terribly well attended it was a pleasure to spend the day chatting with Katie and her husband John.

A close-up of the booth with a smiling Katie.  Her crayon rolls sold well! 

These headbands are awesome - beautiful and durable!  (I bought one for my daughter last year and it is going strong.

Katie not only makes the bags she also came up with a great pattern for the wristlet - available at her Etsy shop.

A new product for my shop - travel journals.  So far I have one for Scandinavia and one with a French/Paris theme.  Just need to photograph them and put them in my shop.

I Gocco printed these cards a while ago but have never listed them on Etsy - but I will soon.