They're Back

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  I have some shop-related news: some of my favorite bookish items are back in shop!  I enjoyed creating these bookish beauties, which showcase old book pages along with lots of handmade love and personalization.

 I created this one-of-a-kind poem on a smooth birch slice using tiny vintage book-page words cut from an old copy of my favorite text, Jane Eyre.  A sprig is stamped under the poem for a thoughtful visual contrast.  This is a delicate piece - no protective sealant, so you can see the book-page texture atop the smoothness of the wood slice.

 Small origami book-page heart bookmarks stamped with your initials - lovely for weddings and engagements, and as a girlfriend/boyfriend gift.  Each heart is cut, folded, glued, and stamped by me.  A tassel completes the piece.  Can be used as a unique door or window hang, too.

This last piece was from a customer's request: a tiny ampersand pendant talisman.  It's a twist on my tiny stamped initials pendant found here.  In addition to being a reminder of one's love, it doubles as a little good-luck memento for writers and thinkers.

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This past fall marked my Etsy shop's ninth year.  Can you believe it?  Almost a decade in business.  When I started out, I wanted to create an outlet for my artistic endeavors, which at that time was jewelry making.  Now I stamped metal, create book-page goods, and most importantly, offer writing services.  I often omit discussing the latter, but it is the work that is, in truth, my heart's work.  My soul.  

I began offering writing services after earning my MA back in 2013.  It was a time of transition, as my prolonged college years came to an end, and I also experience the profound loss of a loved one whose zest for books surpassed my own.  His vast book collection is now my own - I've documented it on this blog in posts from 2013.  I write like I think: a little different than others.  My writing style differs from others in that it is highly nuanced and sensitive, acerbic and witty.  I relish the classic works.  I think deeply.  And try to breathe deeply, too.  Motherhood.

So to you, my blog readers, thank you for reading.  The best to you in 2020.

It's Back: Stamped Initials Book-Page Hearts

After some consideration, I decided to re-list these literary handmade book-page hearts, with initials, in my Etsy shop.  They're been MIA in shop since before baby A.'s birth!  Bookish and classic, they're perfect for wedding favors and decor, as well as anniversaries.  I've also been brainstorming some new jewelry designs using hand-stamping tools, so look out for their addition to the shop before Christmastime.  Thanks for your support!

Shop: emeraldcut.etsy.com

Most Popular Item

The most popular item in my Etsy shop as of late:

The Great Gatsby
handmade book page envelopes

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They're Back!

Recently renewed in my Etsy shop, check them out...

Small Book Page Envelopes

Monogram Small Book Page Envelopes

Hand-Stamped Name Tags - Sage Green & Black

New in Shop: Raven Book Page Envelopes

If you've been following along on Instagram, the subject of this blog post - raven book page envelopes - may look familiar.  This week, I added a set of 10 of these small handmade envelopes to my Etsy shop.  Spooky and perfect for Halloween gifting or parties, these delicate envelopes can also be used for your seasonal DIY projects and function as bookish Poe-esque home decor, too.

                            

Raven/Crow Book Page Envelopes

Close-up of the raven/crow image, which I stamp by hand using a rubber stamp and archival black ink.  Layout varies slightly per envelope, as does ink saturation.

These upcycled book pages each have a different visual text layout.

No top closure allows for use as tiny gift bags - tape the top closed with your washi tape of choice and you're all set.

Size-wise, these handmade envelopes are around 4" tall x 2.75" wide.

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See the listing here.

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Book Inspiration: Villette

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I'm getting ready to make my first monthly donation (2016 donation goal of $175)!  With each listing purchased in shop, I'll donate $1 to Feeding America--read the details here.

Anatomy of a Book

Took apart one of my old copies of Jane Eyre to satisfy a creative urge.  

Off came a few pages with some of my favorite quotes; 

then off came the front cover and then the back.  

What was left were the bare bones, 

the words without the pretense imparted by the dated cover.  

Skimming every page and paragraph,

I was again reminded of why it is one of my favorite texts of all time. 

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Jane Eyre book page goods can be perused here.

More to come this autumn--please stay tuned.

The Cabin

The Cabin, by Stewart Edward White

I've been yearning for a sense of stillness lately, a calm quiet that only creeps up on you when you least expect it and lingers for moments on end.  Started reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, again--a well-worn favorite.  Dillard quotes Steward Edward White (why do I always want to call him "Edward Stewart White"?), so I figured that I should see what his writing is about.  I mean, if Dillard cites him, then he, by this association, must be one great observer and solitude seeker.

My 1911 copy of The Cabin arrived in usable vintage form: frayed hardcover edges, decaying corners, and binding half worn; an overall delicate-yet-sturdy feel.  The book chronicles White's life spent in a rustic, simple vacation cabin in the Sierras that he and his wife, Billy, helped build by hand.  White's pro-conservation perspective and urgent, gentle tone reflects his soaring popularity during the early 20th century conservationist movement.

 

According to Wikipedia: 

"White's books were popular at a time when America was losing its vanishing wilderness. He was a keen observer of the beauties of nature and human nature, yet could render them in a plain-spoken style. Based on his own experience, whether writing camping journals or Westerns, he included pithy and fun details about cabin-building, canoeing, logging, gold-hunting, and guns and fishing and hunting." 

With short chapters with titles such as the following, how could I pass it up? 

His philosophical slant--nature driven, minimalist, and highly moralistic--makes for a quietly compelling read.  White's words and stories are resonant and modest (sparse even), but it is his unwavering enthusiasm in exploring and relaying to the reader the natural world around him that makes this book a worthwhile read.  Wish there was more detailed information about White and his writings online, beyond Wikipedia...

 

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Ever since I received a new pair of hiking boots earlier this winter, I've been bit hard by the wander bug, longing to embark on mountainous day-long hikes--just the husband and I in the thick of it.  The Cabin will have to suffice for now.

Inspiration in Ruins

breathe in upon her

Brooke Schmidt's word poems are astoundingly astute both in terms of their proclivity towards raw emotion and their meaningful brevity.  Created from cut-out book words, these works are fine examples of what artistic and intellectual endeavors can be duly accomplished with the physical remnants--the leftovers, one may say--of musty old books perhaps deemed unfit for collection.  I can only imagine, with a giddy nostalgia, what stories each word has helped to tell in their prior book-bound lives... 

This Week

I hope that you've had a good week.  As for me, I've continued my creative, exploratory trek, sans-computer (for the most part).  I've not ignored the computer all together, which in my opinion, strikes a good balance between technology and humanism.  Technology as a means to an end; a tool.

Here are some other tools that were unusually helpful this week:

Book--Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse.
I'm only 29-pages in, but the complex, semi-detached writing style has drawn me in--I frequently catch myself referring back to the novel's unique tone as a source of inspiration.

Box cutter, vintage book pages--to make wall decorations with (see below). 

        Piece on the far left is listed for sale in my Etsy shop.

Camera--documentation, documentation, documentation.

Tools are truly more than a means to an end, since they can foster the creative process--as well as help one get through that very process.  It's interesting to observe how humans assign meaning to inanimate objects, look duly towards them for some sign of relief...or peace.  It is in this symbolism that tools transcend their merely objective usage and become decorative, sometimes revered objects.  Truthfully, I couldn't imagine it any other way because our continuous search for meaning makes life ever the more grand: a wind-worn pebble becomes a good luck charm; one's favorite pen, a reminder of a sentiment's origin.  On that note, happy weekending.

Shop Item Featured on Blog

And it's already Saturday.  I wasn't planning on posting today (it's a designated "quiet day" for me), but I logged into Etsy a little while ago and read a convo from funretro, letting me know that an EmeraldCut item has been featured on her blog, Vintage. Discovered and Rediscovered.  How insanely exciting is that?

The blog post's theme: unique book page finds from selected online sellers.  The entry's opening lines truly resonate with me on this cozy day, filled with reading actual books (including a textbook from the 1960s, for fun).  Here it is, copied and pasted--  

Vintage Saturdays: Book Pages

I'm a modern girl in virtually every way.  But there are a few things I need to hold on to.  Things like old books.  While I appreciate the ease and simplicity of new e-readers, I will take a book anytime.  Nothing can replace the look, feel and smell of a nice big book and if it a bit older, smellier and yellowed? Even better.

So to me nothing is more tragic than seeing an old book ruined and in the trash.  Certainly they can't all survive time, but what can be done with some of those older books that are in a state of disrepair and beyond the point of being able to be fixed?  These artists have found some ingenious ways to reuse books pages.  Even old paper can seem fresh and new when reused.

I love it; I'm secretly even more glad that people are "getting" my shop concept.  Literacy, folks--by the way of adornment and book page goods; photography.  Thanks again for featuring my shop item on your blog, funretro!  View the entire blog entry, here.