Did She Say FREE??

A few weeks ago, on a whim, I threw my name in the hat for the Etsy "Weekend Deals" post...

What the heck, think positively and all that stuff...




Well, I got an email from an Etsy admin yesterday afternoon...

That meant burning the midnight oil last night (and that's OK, because boy child's birthday sleepover was last night. I still went to bed before they did!)...tidying the shop, sweeping the floors, adjusting shipping info...

I looked like this by the time I went to bed last night...

But the great news...
These stickers were chosen to be one of the featured items for this weeks' "Weekend Deals" on Etsy....


In exchange for this lovely, free PR, I am running a sale....a pretty darn good sale...FREE (yes, she did say free) shipping all weekend long!
Anywhere I ship (which really is anywhere), the shipping's on me, if you order and pay this weekend (through 11:59 EST, August 16).


And if you are a fan of my FB page, make sure you head on over there....I've got a little bonus "thank you" for you!
Heck, even if you become a fan this weekend, you're still eligible ('cause I appreciate you too!). Check it out!


So I hope to have a busy weekend, printing all sorts of FREE shipping labels....

Until Next Time,

Dum Dum De Dum...

...as in "Here Comes the Bride"...

Since I started making and selling paper stuff, I have repeatedly gotten requests for wedding stuff...

...gift tags, save the date cards, thank you's, table markers, etc....


I'm not quite sure why I have never really pursued this...pretty thick-headed of me, I suspect. Not necessarily because I think brides will now be beating down my doors, keeping me busy forever. Honestly, I should have done this earlier because it is fun!


I am enjoying thinking a little bit outside of my usual cardboard box...not too far, not yet. I don't think I could handle doing invitations at this point (and I suspect that because of the time involved, I would have to charge an astronomical price- wouldn't be able to compete with printers, who make one proof and start the machine rolling), but I do like working on the little touches.


Items like these beach-y "save the date" bookmarks are more my speed for the time being...


Even though I am now officially in the wedding biz, I have been making custom tags and stickers for the occasional bride pretty much since I opened my Etsy shop. Brides and Babies have always been my favorite custom clients. I love the fact that they are celebrating life...just seems like some of those good vibes always make my day happier. And who couldn't use all the happy thoughts that they can get these days?


So if you're getting hitched or you know someone who is, let's talk...

Until Next Time,

A Few New Things...

Got a few new things to share with you.

Not too many..sorry. I have recently started going to the gym right after the kids get on the bus...still adjusting because morning is usually my most creative time. The trade-off is worth it though, because I feel so much better!

I've also added a new music player...cute, isn't it? With a few new songs and a few accoustic versions of some old faves...

But anyway...on with the photos....


I think my bowhead lollapalooza from a few weeks ago "girlied" me out (say it ain't so!)...been drawn to very vintage, graphic images with not so much femininity to them (but there's always a touch- I am a girl, after all).


Right before the big move, I got a huge order of stamps that I had been waiting on for what seemed like forever. This particular company makes your stamps to order and stamps are not their primary product, so you have to be patient. My bowheads were part of that order and so were these vintage cat and dog toy images...LOVE them!

And...finally...the black ink is growing on me again ( I willl never give up the sepia, but variety is good). I like to keep the main image simple, simple, simple, that's why most tags will feature a sepia or black image, with the highlight color in the background...

Summer is moving season...have a new neighbor? Going to a BBQ with a hostess gift? Housewarming? How fun would it be to attach one of these tags to a kitchen themed basket filled with flavored oils, pestos and crusty breads?

The background of the ENJOY photo is a page from one of the few books I did not share *here* ...it's a shopping directory from Watertown, NY dated 1880. I think this was the ephemera find of that shopping expedition...it's a whole post on its' own, but I'll share a snap of the inside cover...

Last but not least, in that same huge stamp order was a series of vintage transportation images, from scooters to sailboats. I will be doing allot with these and some of the antique books I have been rescuing (these were bound for a dumpster- obscure fiction with no prized illustrations), and here's the first- an antique convertible...love it! And just in time for Father's Day...

Happy Wednesday to ALL!

Until Next Time,

Hello, My Name Is...

...Stephanie, and...

I have a problem...

Remember Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the classic cartoon?
Remember the Island of Misfit Toys?

Seems my home has recently become the Island of Misfit Books...


I love to go antiquing.

Perhaps I should say I love to go JUNKING because honestly, I know absolutely nothing about true value of most of the stuff crammed into antique shops. If I like it and feel it's a fair price (fair price=how much is in my budget on any given day), I will buy it, no matter the condition. Yes, I am the sucker the dealers see coming...but I am usually a happy victim when I leave...

And lately, it seems, I can spend hours going through the stalls selling old texts.

The book above caught my attention because of the painting of this artistic woman. I only wish I looked a fraction as elegant when painting.

The rest of my recent score was more juvenile in nature...

This Little Golden Book, with its' missing clock hands, would be symbolic of both my love of misfits and my complete lack of time management skills when I am going through book stalls. My watch has no hands either when I am lost in piles of vintage paper....


Of course it had to come home with me...my favorite image is this sweet little girl in her pink swimsuit...

The Breakfast of the Birds

I admit it, some of these books I bought just because I liked the cover. This is the first example. It's such a cheerful blue color, accented by cherry red...it made me smile and that was reason enough to bring it home...


More birds and kids...

Mrs. Leslie's Books for Little Children The Robin Redbreast Series

None of these books were in ideal condition, but this one needs more attention than most.

Still trying to figure out how to get that....musitness...to go away. But if there is one thing I have learned, it is that through Google-ing, one can find the best way to do just about anything.

"Mr. and Mrs. Robin were deeply pained by Dick's bad conduct."

Can you imagine telling your child that their behavior "deeply pained" you (I cannot)?
How genteel...


I think the oldest book I found is this primary geography school book.

It's full of wonderful illustrations like these...
and my favorite map...

Not because the focal point is my home state....look a little higher, where Oklahoma should be...that there's Indian Territory...


And last but not least, this picture word book had me at hello...
The colors, the subject matter, the stripes...I was sold at first glance, didn't care what was inside (which is not quite as whimsical and allot less colorful)...

I heart cherry eating giraffes in BK crowns!

And what's not to love about a cute li'l fluffy bunny?

I'm such a sucker for the cuteness!

Believe it or not, there are even more books I collected on this trip...but they will have to wait for another day...

Until Next Time...

I'm so excited!

Tooting one's own horn isn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but honestly, this kind of thing doesn't happen every day (not for me anyway)...

I am so excited and thrilled and flattered about this I just have to share!

My simple little Salt and Pepper Tags were picked by Country Living Magazine editor Katie Woolsey when Etsy's Storque asked her to be a guest curator.

Exciting in itself, for sure, but earlier this morning, when I did my daily run through Google Analytics, I see "countryliving.com" as a referring site to my shop...

Click here to see the slideshow on the CL website....

I am definitely not used to this kind of attention, so please forgive me while I act like a complete Yahoo...carry on...

P.S. There are some really nifty choices in Katie's story...Lots of shops I wasn't familiar with, but I have been a big fan of Yeehaw Industries for quite awhile. Their election posters last fall were the funniest things I have seen in a LONG time!

Oh well, back to the usual Manic Monday...Have a great day!!

Until Next time,

Meet the Bowheads...

Thought I'd give you a sneak peak of things I'll be working on while I'm watching the Survivor finale tonight (now that the "Dragonslayer" is gone- thank goodness- I don't care who wins, but I still have to watch) .

These girls are almost done....Remember back in the 80's when we all used to wear those hair bows on our pony tails?

I suppose it might have just been a Texas thing, but the girls who wore those ribbons were called "bowheads", for obvious reasons...so when I found these sweet baby doll stamps, the first thing I thought: "look, bowheads!"


OK...they don't all have bows.
There's a hat or two and some sort of head dress (feathers?), but they all have some sort of accesory on their noggins...


Every group has its' rebel, though. In this case she's a rebel without a dress as well as a hair bling...

I guess when you're brave enough to go to the party nekkid, you don't need no stinkin' bow...

Wonder if that's why she's my favorite?

Until Next Time,

Something New, Something Blue...

I knew it was coming...I took my chances...

I am officially grounded.

I am not allowed to so much as whisper the words (or even type ever so softly) "beautiful Teenage Girl Child" again until further notice (oops, did I just mention "she who shall not be named"?)...I told her everyone was looking at Molly anyway, but she wasn't buying it....If you have no idea what I am talking about, click here....

So how about some shop talk?

Something that would make every teenager on the planet stick their fingers in their ears and wail "lalalalalalalalalalala- can't hear you!"

I have been working today....working on something new, something blue...something slightly comfortable, but different none the less...


Over the past several months I have had several request for more hand stamped stationery.
Honestly, the idea scares me just a bit. My tags are wee little bits of stamping, a contained field that is very easy to keep simple (which has been part of my stamping mantra from the get-go: soft or faded colors, vintage inspired images and overall simplicity).

They are those little single bites of goodness that the contestants are always making on one of my favorite shows, Top Chef ...they are the amuse-bouche of the stamping world....(thank you Google and Wikipedia for teaching me how to spell amuse-bouche)...


Moving on to cards (to me anyway) is like taking the training wheels off. It's such a big surface to work with...that much empty paper intimidates me...

So how about some baby steps first?

How about post cards?


Perfect for short little notes of encouragement- not so small as a gift tag but not the big, full entree commitment of a note card or invitation (at least in my mind, and in that moment, that was all that counted)...


So what do you think?

Not that hard really...actually kind of fun...

Next (baby) Step: Save the Date cards....
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And what would a post from me be these days if I didn't tell you this:
If you haven't entered my OWOH giveaway, what the heck are you waiting for??

Click here!
Go there and post a reply! When I get to 250 entries, I will be adding another prize...
...and I want to give away more stuff, so help me out!

Only three more days 'til Mr. Sunshine comes home on R&R Leave (almost 9 months to the day since I last saw him)...woohooo! I tried to get through the post without mentioning that but I am so giddy, I just couldn't help myself...

And that makes this a HAPPY, walking on Sunshine kind of Tuesday!
Hope it's been a good one for you too...

Until Next Time,