Happy Father's Day

Long Hand-stamped Quote on Book Page

Hmmm...I just realized that in my five-plus years of blogging (yes, it's been that long), I've likely never posted anything for Father's Day.  Why should Mother's Day, and the gender bias that comes with it, take all the glory?  So in honor of today--

Happy Father's Day!


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New in Shop: Holiday Gift Tags

Festive hangs tags, gift tags, or whatever you want to call them, are now available for purchase in shop for the holidays.  I had actually linked one of these holiday designs in a post last week; since then, I have been a nonstop Christmas tag-making machine (and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa because these tags are so versatile--I can stamp any custom word that fits).  Each tag is stamped freehand image-by-image, and letter-by-letter, for unique holiday gifting.  Current offerings:

Holiday Small Manila Tags - Joy, Peace, Noel

Holiday Branches or Noel Mini Hang Tags

Peace, Joy, Noel Mini Hang Tags

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Sending my positive thoughts to Paris... #prayforparis

Season's Greetings

The Countdown Begins

An EmeraldCut holiday item was featured in a festive, earthy-rustic Treasury by GepArtJewellery shown above.  I realize that the EC listing's image is broken in the picture, for which I blame my antiquated (it's also a workhorse, so I love it) computer in technological relation to Etsy, but found the entire collection--which brims with subtle holiday cheer--too charming and unique to not include in this blog.

If you're interested, the non-broken visual can be seen here.

New Last-Minute Holiday Work

Peppermint Bark Earrings
Garnet + Rainbow Moonstone Hypoallergenic Niobium Ear Wires

Winter Dreamcatcher Necklace
Aquamarine and Tanzanite 10k White Gold Necklace

Art Deco Green Aventurine and Black Onyx Pendant 

Eggnog Earrings
Creamy Opal Chips and Sterling Silver

Fancy Peridot Briolette Pendant 

AA-Quality Pink Tourmaline + Ruby Pendant

I told myself not to create any more new items for the holidays with Christmas coming in less than two weeks, but along came the holiday spirit in the form of a well put together Christmas-theme catalog.  Typically, I am not one to fall so hard for this time of year, but alas, here I am--so of course I had my husband purchase some peppermint bark, which inspired the creation of my peppermint bark (color-inspired) earrings for sale here.  Early-to-mid December also saw the creation of the above jewelry, which are eclectic variations of the traditional red and forest green of Christmas, as well as the shades of blue and white that characterize the winter season.

A Few of My Favorite Things

paperiaarre

Letters to You Matchbox Art

I lovingly refer to this post as my glad-to-have-met-you one because I'm glad to have met (over the Internet) these highly talented, truly phenomenal artists, who also happen to create the most inspiring handmade goods.

Lauren Meredith
Rose Cut Garnet Stud Earrings

GoHeyJudy
Boho Chic Little Rag Doll

Emmy Bean
Sunstone Sterling Silver Ring

Rumpelfeltskin
Woodland Autumn Gnome

I'm not trying to push the whole shop handmade thing, but heck, isn't it more interesting (and fun) than what happens on Black Friday?

I sure think so!

So carry on and buy handmade this holiday season.  

And also, a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

The Tangible Material

How was your holiday season?  Hope it went well.  This Christmas season, I realized something.  As a person who isn't too into material things, I have too much--I can probably do without most of it.  It's not that I am not deeply appreciate and grateful for all of this stuff (some of which I had personally asked for), it's just that it all just sits there, making you happy one minute, while adding to your visual clutter the next, overwhelming the senses and exacerbating the underlying holiday migraine from too much busyness.

Maybe it's just an introvert thing.

I much prefer thoughts, but no one can ever give a complex thought as a gift.  Well, unless it is a quote printed onto something tangible.  If this was the case, it would have to be a darned good quote, indeed.

Lastly, a slice of humble pie:
An EmeraldCut shop review was recently featured in The Chakra Glow's lovely blog.  See the review here.  Thank you, Courtney, for the kindness!

If any of you would like to share your EmeraldCut item photos or reviews, I would love to hear from you.  Simply leave a post comment, or convo me.

Spirit

Does it feel like the holidays to you?  As in Christmas is in less than two weeks?  Not really, at least here.  I was tempted to title this post "Bah Humbug," but it was already taken by this smart lady, and her post pretty much summed up the not-so-festive holiday feeling that I am currently experiencing--I couldn't have said it any better.

So here I am listening to Jagged Little Pill instead of the contemplative jams of the more mellow singer-songwriter variety, and I am certainly feeling fine.  (Christmas music is not my forte, anyhow.)

I spent six hours yesterday doing holiday stuff, and to tell you the truth, it was fun--especially since I purchased the majority of the gifts that I didn't make myself in early autumn; most from online sources.  That way, I was able to ease into the holiday season, and still enjoy the peppermint hot cocoa without absentmindedly burning my tongue.

This easing into the holidays got me thinking: the holidays is beyond giving the "right" gift (or not), and is also more than just spending time with family.  The entire point of the holidays, perhaps, is to learn about yourself, such as your strengths and weaknesses; your consummate burnout level in a time of potentially high crises.  One's dogged aversion or warm embrace of the season of giving takes on a whole new meaning when put into this context.  Realizing what makes you uncomfortable--or comfortable--about the holidays, and how these categorizations can change circumstantially, reveals to you the you of the moment disguised as (the lack of) holiday spirit.

Feign enthusiasm, I cannot--and I will no longer punish myself for it.  Conversely, if I happen to break out into a holiday jig, I will not punish myself for it, either.

A November Thought

Last vestiges of autumn...

I hope you all had a very cozy Thanksgiving.  As for me, I've been MIA from bloglandia for the majority of this week, and I feel like I've missed out on so many...thankful posts.  Yes, I am being slightly sarcastic/ironic here.  What I mean is...

Why should a national holiday urge us forth to be thankful?  

Shouldn't we be thankful every day?

In truth, I guess national holidays push us to examine, contemplate, and otherwise decry our love/hate relationship with these very national holidays that drive us insane--or into a blissful world of holiday cheer.  So, on that note, I will leave you until next week. 

P.S. If you're into Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, enter THANKFUL20 at Etsy checkout for 20% off items in my shop.

Holiday Goods

Are you ready for the holidays?  I'm sure not, but I'm stocking up my shop with some holiday goodies for a visual fete, or at least in theory--see below.

These new items will be slowly trickling into my shop, all by month's end (crosses fingers).  Hope you are having a blast of a week--the weather has been fickle in these parts as of late... 

Wintry Gift Guide

Recently created a winter holiday-themed Treasury...
Forgot how fun creating these curated goods lists can be!

Structure

I have always been an early holiday shopper.  Perhaps it is my slightly OCD nature, my overwhelming need for structure in the place of perceived chaos.  It is not that I don't get a nostalgic kick out of Christmas lights strung on stately trees or the tinsel-y holiday decorations in shop windows--it's just that I can do without the mass marketing campaign, the horde of (sometimes inconsiderate) shoppers...and the holiday songs. 

To avoid the holiday chaos, I purchase and create throughout the year, with ideas generated from early on in 2012.  The funny thing is that it is inconceivable to me how most people (I am making an assumption here; please correct me if I am wrong) holiday shop during the actual holidays.  What if you see a gift that would be perfect for someone in let's say, April?  Do you hold off, or do you purchase and hold onto the gift for x-amount of months?  Perhaps people lose the gifts in the process, for it is a handful or more months from then to Christmas, you know?  I know.  Or shall I say, I am trying to know. 

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In truth, I take great pleasure in finding the "right" gift; this sentiment also extends to creating handmade gifts.  Not crafty in the traditional sense, I--for the most part--use materials that I already have laying around, both to conserve resources and to make some unique things.  Book pages, as you could probably tell from my shop, are my upcycled/recycled materials of choice. 

This year-round creating and perusing is, I like to think, hope to think, a trait of a meticulously creative mind. 

And nothing is wrong with that: perceived chaos, structure, and all.

Halfway to Halloween

Can you feel the Halloween excitement in the shadow and light...

the darkly-themed materials+stones above?

The result is this necklace.

The anticipation--

it's more superstitious and spooky than scary...

 ....more imaginative than hair raising.

For me, the holiday is more of a children's holiday than one for the adults.

(Those little onesie costumes get me every time.)

Rather than be consumed by the consumerism aspect of the holiday, 

I am intrigued by its emphatic declaration of autumn.

So you see, it's my kind of day.

September Coupon Code and Giveaway

A sneak peek for my blog readers!   

For the month of September in Etsy shop... 

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To celebrate the harvest season, I am also having my first-ever giveaway...

WIN THIS:

A botanist's set of five envelopes
created from book pages, plus sage-green cardstock inserts.


TO ENTER:
Each shop purchase made in September equals one entry for this giveaway.  For example, if you purchase two listings from my shop at one time in September, you will be entered twice.  Another example: if purchase two listings at separate times in September, you will be entered twice.

Drawing will be held on 10/1/12, and done the old-fashioned way, a name hand-drawn from a jar.  Check back here for the winner on October 1st!

Weekend Work

Hope you all had a productive, relaxing weekend.  The words, productive and relaxing, may have quite different connotations--one being the act of getting work done and the latter, of supreme ease and lounging around--but these words accurately describe the bulk of my weekend, which was spent creating new business cards front 8 1/2"x11" thick cardstock and thank you notes from vintage book pages.  When I am working on a project, I leave everything scattered across my desk and on the floor immediately surround my workspace: from the many tiny sheets of paper, cardstock, and pictures, to stamps, to glue sticks and scissors.  Even my husband said (with slight surprise), "Wow," when he saw the aftermath.  Oh, the aftermath!  However messy it may have appeared, there is a relative method to my madness: see below.

Business Card+Thank You Note Set

Created thirty of these new business cards+thank you note sets this weekend from sheets of thick cardstock (cards) and vintage book pages (thank you notes).  I decided to try sage green-colored business cards, and am increasingly happy with the results--truthfully, I think that I enjoy this color more than the previous business cards, which have solely been created from already-cut brown kraft paper.

Don't know what to do with the thank you note, but like the photo?  The thank you notes can also double as a neat bookmark (see middle image).

Halloween-themed Thank You Notes

I was hesitant to change my thank you note paper from thick cardstock to vintage book pages, for book pages are both flimsier and word-heavy, but I like the tactile contrast between heavy cardstock business cards and the soft texture, and printing, of the book pages.  The printed words also give the cards an air of mystery, I think.

With a dark moth photo per note, these particular tiny cards were created with Halloween in mind--so be on the lookout for them to arrive with October purchases.

The End Products

Left to right: New Halloween-themed thank you notes created from vintage book pages--complete with hand-glued moth photos, new business cards in sage green, the "per order" set: business card, thank you note, and a coupon code to use with future purchases from my shop.

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Anyone excited for autumn?  Can't wait for autumn to arrive, but I am also content with the present time, since much needs to be done prior to the changing of seasons.  Please check back soon for a harvest sale coupon code.

P.S. Just wanted to say thank you to the wonderful buyers who take the time to let me know that they enjoy their new EmeraldCut piece(s)--your kind words truly mean so much to me.  Completely uplifting!

20% Off Sale: Coupon Code ENDS 4/8

Yes, it's sale time.  Great for Easter, Mother's Day, early graduation, and spring wedding gifts...oh my!  See below for the coupon code.

Take 20% off* in my Etsy shop with the coupon code: BUNNYHOP20

*Coupon code excludes donation items and gift certificates.

Hoppy Easter.  (Couldn't resist the play on words.)

It's that Time of Year, Folks

After taking a ten-day or so hiatus from blogging during the first part of January, I am back.  My mind is clear, my energy up, and I am itching to create new jewelry designs for my shop.   Speaking of shop, my 50% off clearance ends tomorrow.  So if you're looking for a Valentine's Day gift for a friend, significant other, sister, mom, etc., stop on by my Etsy shop to peruse to your heart's fancy.  The fine print--and coupon code--are in my Shop Announcement.  It's that time of year...

I was not sure if I wanted to post Valentine's Day items on my blog, with my hesitation to partake in all things holiday, but I figured that I could try it out this year and see.  Test the waters, so to speak.  So without further ado, here are some Valentine's Day-type gifts for sale in my shop...

Wishing you all a very relaxing, wintry Sunday.  In my neck of the woods, you wouldn't know it was winter around here--feels like how a winter might feel...in Hawaii.  It also hasn't rained here in two months, so I'm crossing my fingers for a little downpour to both awaken the senses and nourish the earth.  Nothing beats the feeling of solace that can be found in the calm before and after an especially sonorous rainstorm.

Random Thoughts

I'm staring out the window right now into a mild, clear sky with minimal wind, no preponderance of clouds, and nearly 60-degree weather (the latter of which I did not deduce from staring out the window--the temperature was stumbled upon by looking at our handy inside-outside thermometer).  Amos Lee's first cd, is playing ever so sweetly on iTunes: the man's voice is like honey.  A large cup of coffee is sitting next to me, turning cold over the lapse of time I've spent sitting here.  Perfecto.

The stillness of contemplation has gotten me to thinking about how often my mood matches the weather.  You'd think my mood would more often match my husband's, but no.  Calm, cloudless sky equates to me being calm.  A dark, stormy day is reason enough for me to cocoon up in sweaters and long cardigans, lost all day in a quiet mood.  However, I can get snappy no matter what the weather is...and this reaction is more reliant on how lost in thought I am, rather than depending on external forces.  The more I am involved in that inner dialogue with myself, the more intense my reaction is when prematurely shaken out of my internal soliloquy.  I think it's an introvert thing because growing up, most people did not understand my seemingly dichotomous reactions/moods to..well, everything.  I'm not insane: truth be told.

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My shop has picked up some momentum, as of late.  And for this, I am grateful; it helps in the holiday supply and gifts category for buyers and myself.  In this manner, the holidays is a symbiotic relationship.  People usually think that sellers sell just to earn money (and that they less often enjoy their occupation), not taking into account the personal and aesthetic joy that accompanies actually creating an item, and seeing it come to fruition.  The holidays are typically viewed as a justification to engage in consumerism, going from sale to sale.  An intricate dance--all in a rabid attempt to generate revenue.  However, this perspective erases every semblance of the handmade movement: the care, time, and creative energy it takes to make (and photograph) something. 

So this holiday season, consider buying handmade in some capacity--whether it be something small (like gift tags) or large.  You can't beat the big stores on price and reputation, but by shopping handmade (and US-made), you can make a small-scale stance on keeping jobs in the US, rather than supporting outsourcing.  Being mindful, while engaging in consumerism, is the best gift for us all.

Just some food for thought as the holiday shopping season approaches.  Be good; be kind.


P.S. This holiday season, I am thinking about creating some snowflake ornaments to include in each purchased item from my shop. :)  Until then, I leave you with another autumn leaf...a recent, favorite shot that I've recently listed for sale because it so intricately epitomizes this time of year.  And let's face it: I'm an autumn girl!

New Coupon Code

To take 15% off your entire order from my shop from now until Mother's Day (Sunday, May 8th), use the coupon code: EASTERMOMDAYHURRAY

Just a little thank you to my customers.  After Mother's Day, only the 10% off coupon code, SPRING2011, will be active until the end of May.


Lastly, a sneak peek of new items...

Brass pendants with silver-plated copper wire

Enjoy your day!