SALE SALE SALE!

Heads' up:
I have cut the prices on 18 gift tag sets in my shop.

Most of the tags have been hanging around since last year - like I said, they just don't move well on-line.
Anyhoo, I'm pricing them right about at cost (and some below cost, like the ones with vintage spun cotton fruits or mushrooms...) and while the relative shipping cost may seem high, I can combine shipping on multiple purchases. I know that I can fit about 10 tags in one box, so for a mere $15.00, ($17.00 Canadian) you could have ten tags to suit any occasion!
So go!
Please!
Shop!
Oh, and thank you, you're the best. Really!

The Tags

I did promise a while back that I'd talk about the gift tags that I make and sell. I don't know what inspired me to start making these floral tags, I think they started out as Valentine's, which I wrote about on a different blog a few years ago. Anyway I had all these little velvet leaves, and little paper roses just laying around and decided that I could make something other than valentines with them. The problem with trying to make a card with 3-D elements is that they don't really fit into an envelope. So that is how I came upon the idea of gift tags! These are so fun and totally addictive to make. I can spend a whole day slicing up cardstock, gluing on leaves and flowers and attaching ribbons. Really.

The leaves and flowers used to be readily available in the wedding aisle of any craft store. In fact the first supplies I ever bought I got at my local Walmart. Sadly, they don't carry them anymore, and I now have to buy the velvet leaves online. I can still find some paper roses at Michaels, but they are less expensive bought in bulk online.

I haven't really made any tags recently, not since before Valentines day. I listed those tags in my Etsy shop, but none sold. In fact, though my tags see a lot of traffic (a lot of folks like to LOOK at them) I've only ever sold two sets from my Etsy shop. Two nearly identical sets. To a mycology librarian. The tags had mushrooms on them. (they are the ones you can see up there on my banner - they were totally cute, and sort of my favorites, so I'm really gald that someone else liked them and bought them!)

I also sell some of my covered journals and gift tags at a little shop in the town where I live. The proprietor is trying to buy only US made wares for her shop and happily lets me and a few other crafty townfolk sell our items there. The tags sell waaaaaay better in person than they do online. Just a few days after taking my first batch down to the shop, the owner called to tell me she had sold a dozen of them to one customer!

Most things improve with time and this is true also of my tags. I now feel that my product is looking a little more polished than my initial efforts. tag progression:

And hey, things can only get better - practice makes perfect, right? So today I pulled out all of my supplies again. I remembered buying some little plastic eggs with the idea of using them in some nest-themed tags. A little slicing, a little gluing, and wahlah! The nest tag!

I am hoping to get some more of these made and listed in my shop. It's a half-day school week due to spring conferences and I really doubt that I'll get called to sub, so I'll at least have a few hours in the mornings, yay!

Happy Spring!

I Am a New Huge Fan

of this woman


and this woman.



We have been reading "To Catch a Mermaid" by Suzanne Selfors, a local, Washington State resident and I've got to admit, I'd enjoy this book even if I wasn't a mom. My eight year old son is enjoying it so much he'd rather listen to me read a few chapters than play with his electronic toys!

The book covers the adventures of Boom Broom and his sister Mertyle who have suffered heartache after losing their mother to a freak twister. Mr. Broom, the children's father who used to paint and sell landscapes of the island on which the Broom's reside, has since retreated to the attic where he has failed to produce anything, and things are starting to look grim for the Broom family. The two kids are now being cared for by Halvor, a large bald man of Nordic heritage who claims to be a direct descendant of Eric the Red, and who seems to only know how to cook fish, coffee, and rye toast with marmalade.
After being sent on an errand to get some fresh fish for the family's meal one afternoon, Boom returns with a free offering from the reject bucket of one of the fishing boats. I won't tell you any more, but the title should give you a clue...

Illustrations by Catia Chien appear at the beginning of each chapter and so perfectly capture the humor of the author as well as the demeanor of the characters. Her web page provides a broader look at her work which ranges from the ethereal to drawings that remind me of Quentin Blake's.

I picked this book up off the shelf at our local library without even realizing that the author was local. We always read the jacket before starting the book, so I did know going into the story, but I swear it has not colored my opinion one bit. I strongly recommend this book to anyone with kids who are reading - or ready for - chapter books, though 6 to 9 year olds would probably prefer having it read to them.

To Catch A Mermaid
by Suzanne Selfors
with illustrations by Catia Chien
2007, Little, Brown and Co.
246 pages, 32 chapters with 32 black and white illustrations heading each chapter

What is it about February

that gets my creative juices flowing?

I usually try to make valentines for my guys. Two years ago it was garlands

This year it's victorian style favors for Ben's classroom Valentine's party

chocolate covered brownie bites

and probably more garlands.

 

I LOVE this from The Paper Tie Affair's Etsy shop.

LOVE Scrumdilly's Ten Garlands in Ten Days - lots of inspiration there.

And as a paper crafter, this has me all giddy with excitement. 

Oh, the possibilities!

Tickled Pink

Valentine's Day is coming!
*squeeeeeeeee *

I was not nearly this excited about Christmas. CHRISTMAS! Everyone loves Christmas, right? OK, not everyone. But when I said I just couldn't get into it this year, people inevitably asked me why. Or why not. Whatever.

But Valentine's Day is coming!

I did mention that I love felt

.

This might be a choker for a little girl, or a collar for a little dog. I haven't decided which yet.

And last year I made this thinking I'd try to do a swap, or giveaway.

So, anybody got anything they made that they'd like to swap?

Hmmmmm.
I started this blog to sort of accompany my Etsy shop, also called Fun Frieda. There's a link over there on the sidebar - but it won't work right now as I'm "on vacation." and it works just fine now!
Anyway.
It's probably pretty obvious that I'm taking my time getting into this blog - there are various reasons, which I won't go into because they start sounding more like excuses than explanations. And really, blogs should not indulge in either. That said, I will probably at some time indulge in both, it's inevitable.
But I digress - the point here and now is to introduce myself and (hopefully) launch this blog properly into the blogosphere.
My name is Becky, and I currently enjoy working with paper, which is not to say that I won't eventually start working with fabric... I am also quite enamoured of wool felt.
In my Etsy shop I sell journals that I have covered with imported art or gift wrap paper, as well as gift tags that I design and assemble. I'll talk about the tags more in a future post.
The journals are purchased already in their book form. I have been getting them at a large book retailer and they are the best-made-least-expensive journals and sketchbooks that I can find but they are not always available, making them an unreliable source of supplies. Indeed, the small journal is no longer an option for me as the manufacturer for some reason decided to start making them with lines printed only on one side of a page. For me, this is a manufacturing defect, and I can't bring myself to offer them for sale - even with a pretty new cover - in my shop. See? Excuses. Explanations.
Even so, I am enjoying my Etsy adventure immensely!
Naturally, I've kept a nice big sketchbook for myself. And naturally, like the shoemaker's unshod children, my sketchbook has been similarly bare. Until last week! Because lordy! despite (or maybe because of...) all the pretty papers I have  It has been nearly impossible to decide which one I want gracing my sketchbook.

I finally settled on a really charming grey paper block-printed with sweet little pink flowers. I am a total sucker for little hearts and flowers and I only had enough left to cover two small journals, or one large one. Sorry, folks.

Anybody have a bottle of champagne?

Studio Tours 2009

For the past 8 years now, some of Tacoma's arists have opened their studios to the public for tours and sometimes workshops as well. If you live in the South Puget sound area, the tours are this weeked; Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8.

Not all studios are open both days, so check the schedule to find out who is open when.
Studio Tours 2009