Throw in some cross stitch

As you may already know, I am a huge fan of post! There's nothing quite as thrilling as a shopping spree in a cute stationary shop and something extra wonderful about receiving mail that isn't a bill! I'd love to say I'm an avid pen pal-er but unfortunately since moving to Victoria I seem to have lost my touch, as well as misplacing my address book on many occasions. Rats. I think I need to rekindle my love affair with mail by working on my organization and when I saw this adorable cross stitched letter organizer from Camille Styles blog (link), obviously I was oozing with excitement. Just look at how darling it is:

(source)

Ah! I have the feeling you might be able to find one of those metal mesh organizers from the dollar store and since I already have loads of embroidery floss and yarn to stitch with it would be pretty simple to execute.  In theory it would even let me be organized enough to keep letters I need to reply to in one spot and *gasp!* maybe not lose that address book of mine! Oh what a thought! For now I will be keeping my eyes peeled for letter organizers and  hope that will be enough motivation to be better at replying to all those cards and letters that are hidden in the piles of papers hiding around my house! Oh my! What do you think? Do you love mail as much as I do? 

Friday Find: Pretty Tape

Ever since making this ATC out of washi tape, I've been hooked:


How fun is it to get masking tape in all sorts of patterns and colours? Oh my! They are the perfect arsenal for any paper crafter and I've been dying to get my hands on more. Although my attempts to find some good washi tape sources have been unsucessful in Victoria, never underestimate the power of Etsy! Pretty Tape is an awesome shop just jam packed with all sorts of washi tape and loads of other crafty supplies to keep you busy. Just look at these gorgeous rolls:


Oh think of the handmade card possibilities! And if that wasn't enough - look at this:


Ack! Doily stamp! If xmas wasn't two days away this would certainly be on the top of my wish list. Looks like I may be investing in some new supplies in the new year...what do you think?

A Momentous Day!

Yesterday a most wondrous thing happened. I have been yearning for this day to arrive for over a year now, and am thrilled that it has finally come - I used up all of my dreadful Olympics stamps:


When I bought the roll of stamps early last year, I thought it was such a deal! No more having to perpetually buy little packages of stamps here and there and I'd even get them at a bulk discount rate! Woo hoo! No. Unfortunately the steal of a deal of stamps I bought were actually quite ugly. Boring simplified mountains and inukshuks staring at me over and over again reminding me of my unfortunate decision to buy the roll and how uninterested I am in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. I thought for sure the 100 stamps would get used up in no time - after all I do run an online business and dabble in lots of pen pal letters right? Wrong. It took me a solid year and a half to use up those babies and as soon as I stuck the last one on a card (to Lindsay in fact - thanks Linds!) I rejoiced! Oh what a momentous day! Good riddance annoying stamps! Never again!

Until...


Ah! Costco's bulk pricing suckered me in again and I just can't resist getting the sale price on the perpetual stamps (hence the little "P" in the corner instead of a cent value - so they still work years after the price of mailing a letter changes)! Postal prices increase each year in January and when I saw the roll of bunnies glaring at me I just had to. Here's to hoping I don't get sick of these fluffy wonders as quickly as the last roll...

More post!

Oh internet, you never fail to entertain me:


Okay, so this isn't totally true in my life, I am pretty over excited about both emails and post - but I must say for the amount of addresses I gave out before I moved (we're talking 30+) the letters certainly don't seem to be rolling in. Alas, I know September is a busy month but even though the month is almost over I'm hoping to have a most successful October! Hopefully this will be a universe wide productive phenomenon and my pen pals will find time to write too (especially since I've misplaced my address book...eep)! Aha! I'm hoping to even finish unpacking a big, finding my camera, and getting back to some Kate filled blog posts! Hurrah! Happy Thursday! Did you get any mail?

Marvelous Enveloperie

Kirsty of Ginger and George had a wonderful (and possibly the world's easiest) tutorial over on her blog the other day and I just needed to share it with you! All you need to do is get some double sided tape, cut up some old security envelopes (you know the ones bank statements come in so you can't see through them?), and get decorative taping! Hurrah! As an avid pen-pal-er I'm always saving scraps of interesting paper for card making and the fun repeated/geometric patterns on the back of envelopes are super fun! Just take a look at some of her uses from her deco tape diy:


Ah! So wonderful! I think I would actually take this tutorial one step further (and easier since it wouldn't involve me having to go out and buy double sided tape) and just use a glue stick to adhere the strips of envelope...but then that isn't really a "diy" project more as a "look at the neat paper I found" type deal. Oh well - regardless it is a fun idea and perfect for all the card making and letter writing I will get up to once I move at the end of August! Hooray for new post friends! How about you? Do you dabble in pen palery?

A wonderful day for mail!

Despite the unpleasantness the almost month long postal strike Canadians have suffered from, it does mean a boatload of mail now that the post is back and running! In fact - today may have been the best mail day ever! Check out the pile of parcels I got the joy of waking up to:


All those online purchases of crafty supplies and mustard tights (yes I broke down and bought some) I've been waiting for are trickling in making each morning just like xmas when I open the front door! Even more exciting are the super awesome prizes that are arriving from Freckled Nest's May giveaway! I got four of them in yesterday's parcel pile and after taking them out of their envelopes I discovered that they were even beautifully packaged:


I do love seeing how other people wrap their handmade goods! Take a peek at the fun items I received:


*Swoon!* Aren't they amazing?! What a generous bunch of ladies to participate in the giveaway and what a ridiculously lucky girl I am to get them! Above you can see the gray ruffle necklace from Pretties by Meg, an adorable little ceramic whale (who is now living with my tea pots in my glass kitchen cupboards) from My Happy California, Two fun suede necklaces from Tumbleweed's Oddities, and a vintage enamel flower brooch from Adalou! I also got a charming little vintage tea pot from Ashley Krogmen Designs that is fitting in perfectly with my tea pot collection (and apparently is a little camera shy). Ah! I am just bubbling over with joy from all the wonderful packages and can't wait to work each and every item into my daily life!

As for the craft supplies I also received - no peeking at those yet! I've been crafting up a storm preparing for consignment sales (woo hoo! Kelowna shop Funktional and the Kamloops Art Gallery are stocked up yet again!) and now that those are out of the way it is time to prepare for another Artisan's Square Market this Saturday morning at the Farmer's Market! That's right - I'll be peddling my wares yet again this week and I sincerely hope I get to see some of you there! Hopefully the mail will keep pouring in this week since I have half the supplies to make a few projects and still need the other parts - a slight downfall of ordering parts from different suppliers. Alas, I did some ring bases in though so I'll be sure to have loads of those to show off this weekend! Yay!

So what do you think? Are you as excited about mail as I am? Do you love buying online and playing the "wait for post" game? Is there anything more wonderful than a doorstep of goodies? (Well...if there is I certainly can't think of it....)

Stamp-tastic

Now that the postal strike is over (yay) I am finally receiving mail again (double yay!). Before the strike happened I had ordered a whole bunch of stuff off the internet and I am so thrilled that it is finally trickling in! Sure I am aware that when I order handmade goodies from across the globe they aren't going to arrive instantly, but when I ordered a skirt from Hong Kong in the beginning of May I didn't expect it to take until July to arrive. Mind you, the weather hasn't been very summery and cooperative this season so maybe it is a good thing it took its time because I am finally able to wear it! Hooray!

Another awesome part of online buying (besides the comfort of at home pj browsing) is that once your mail arrives (also an amazing feeling) you sometimes get the unique pleasure of seeing what cool stamps other countries use! Check out these rad bird ones from my skirt package:


Aren't they neat? I mean check out that owl! Oh my! It is like five little pieces of art happily attached to the corner of the envelope! Doesn't it make you wish you collected stamps? I have a collection going back in about 1992 but it has lost momentum since then. Luckily my wonderful mom is still an avid stamp collector so I will have to pass these avian beauties onto her!

I think animals are my favourite stamp subject matter and I'm really loving the stamps Canada Post is currently selling for US, oversize, and international packages:


Aww. Aren't those cute little foxes, ducklings, and baby polar bears just darling? They are certainly a step up from the boring olympics logo ones I still have a million of for within Canada letters. Note to self (and you if you are a Canadian stamp buyer): do not buy a roll of 100 stamps. Sure they seem like a good deal at the time but then you are stuck with them for 100 letters. Trust me, you'll get bored of them before the roll is empty and will be wishing you splurged the few cents to have a little more variety.

So what do you think? What are your favourite stamp themes? Do you collect them? Don't you just love neat stamps on mail? Heck - while we're at it does anyone out there want a new penpal? My pen pals are all failing me at the moment (except for Edwin. He's doing a great job) and I'm always up for some new letter writing friends! Let me know! I'll get my pen ready...

more moo

My moo order finally arrived and boy am I excited for all my moo goodies! Take a peek!


What crisp bright packaging holding so much kate stuff! Let's take a look inside some of those packages. First off - my business cards:


After running out of cards at my last fabulous finds show in november I knew I'd have to restock sooner or later. I ran into a few issues with the print shops in town and without my graphic designer (quinn moved to the coast) to assist me in my printing, I figured I might as well go with moo. After all their printing is reasonable and consistent, the colours are always great, and their cardstock is awesome (super thick and screams, "I'm amazingly high class!"). Sounds perfect right? Well...not completely ideal. Their business cards are a different dimension than your standard card (moo is 55 x 85mm while standard cards are 52 x 90mm) meaning the wonderful card design quinn made up for me back in 2008 wouldn't do! I didn't want to bother quinn and her fabulously busy life in the big city (and I had a coupon code to save on my order that was going to expire the night I decided to order) so I thought I'd test out my photoshop skills and rework the design to fit the moo cards. My redesigning ended up taking me about five hours to complete (oy!) but thankfully my novice skills aren't noticeable in my fantastic new cards! Oh! And this also means I get to use the showcase business card holder moo sent me for free a few months back for being a loyal customer (yet another reason to love moo). I'm not entirely sure how useful the carrier will be, but apparently it can hold credit cards and it does look fancy:


Hooray! Onto moo product number two - stickers:


I had stickers printed up before my last show and even though they weren't overly popular there, I still think they are super fun! I ended up almost selling out of them at my kate party back in december so I figured I should restock! Since I'm still testing the waters with them so I am not overflowing with sticker sheets, but if I have tons left after the show I'm thinking about selling them in groups on etsy. Since I'm asking $1 for a sheet of 3 it isn't really worth my while to post them individually online (with that 20 cent listing charge and epic shipping costs) but maybe groups of sticker sheets will be a hit! I mean who doesn't love stickers?

Product number three from moo is a double order of mini moo cards:


I use my button illustrations on these little gems and whip them into mini moo bookmarks I give out as freebies with orders. If you haven't seen me make them before you can check out my ultra easy instructions I posted a while back (link). Even though I don't really make money off the bookmarks I feel that they add a little extra nice touch to all my orders and hopefully hey help amp up my advertising a smidge. This time around I ordered 200 cards and bought a whole bunch of fun brightly coloured ribbons to make them with! Fun!

My final moo product from my order was more labware art/postcards:


Postcards aren't the most successful product I offer online and at shows but they pull their own weight. You can frame them for a super fun and inexpensive art installment or send them out and keep in touch with those far away from you! I still have quite a few sets left to sell but the labware cards seem to be the most popular on etsy (hence the restock). I'm super excited that moo now lets you customize the back of the cards too! I added my ciliated bacillus logo under where a stamp would go and added my site url there for a little added branding and personalization! Yay!

Whew - that was a lot of moo rambling but I am pretty excited about all my new goodies! Oh! And if you're new to moo you can use the coupon code "2RB2CK" at the checkout and get 15% off your first order - and if you aren't all about making your own illustrations like I am they have loads of premade designs to chose from. As for me, I best get back to work - those mini moo bookmarks aren't going to make themselves...

belated pen pal replies

Yesterday I shared with all of you some of the sweet loot I picked up during my weekend trip to vancouver and guess what? I've already put some of it to good use! Nothing like a trip to main street to inspire my card making and just in time too - I'm very much overdue on some pen pal replies! Hurrah! I love mashing tons of different elements together to get some truly unique card creations that (hopefully) are appreciated. Here is my favourite of the bunch I whipped up:


Yup - quite the layering of stripes, stickers, a doily, and stamps for that completely handmade card look. But the fun didn't stop there - I actually ended up with six different cards:


Yay! Six cards for six pen pals! I'd love to have kept going but when I was trying to tally up how many letters I needed to write I came to the sad realization that of the dozen people that messaged me from indie fixx's pen pal project I only ended up with three pen pals which has dwindled down to a single loyal letter writer (and vix - I do enjoy your letters!). Alas. Good thing I've got five other buddies across the country who still send me mail! Hooray! I guess letter post isn't everyone's cup of tea but I am certainly a fan. In fact, I'd love to increase that pen pal list to more than six if anyone out there is dedicated to written correspondence. I guess that is the flaw of the age of internet - instant computer communication is just taking over! Anyone else out there manage to keep up with a pen pal or two? OoO! And what do you think of my cards? Which one do you like best?

Friday Find: scientific culture at fabulous finds!

Yup - the big day is finally here! My first large scale two day craft show starts tonight and ready or not I'll be there! And I figured since all I've done is prepare for this show for the last month I will have this week's find as me! and my wares for my craft show! Let's take a peek at my line up:

1) pinback buttons and magnets - my etsy shop staple, lots to chose from, loads in stock


2) coffee sleeves - showing off my mad embroidery skills and your love for hot caffeinated drinks!


3) plush microbes - because everyone wants chlamydia for xmas this year...


4) fabric rings - bright, cheery, and a low price point for the thrifty shopper


5) button clutch - giving you even more reason to stock up on buttons!


6) felt flower brooches - one item I have never actually managed to sell at any craft show...we'll see how they do this time...


7) pocket mirrors - my best seller from my summer of bizarre bazaars is back in full force for the stocking stuffer crowd!


8) art/postcard sets - fun to frame or post!


9) mini moo bookmarks - a big hit with the kiddos and a nice freebie for large orders!


10) mustache on a stick - silly, amusing, and a perfect way for the facial hair impaired to celebrate movember


11) stickers - everyone loves stickers!


12) felt earrings - loads to chose from + positive fan feedback = good seller?


13) tea cozies - my higher price item! Tons of work but super fun! Way to keep those tea pots warm guys!


and....*drumroll please*...

14) little pouches and clutches!!! made from the highest quality suitings salmon arm has to offer these babies have been on the back burner of my mind for far too long. I love the cotton lace detail (almost doily-esque?) and great textures. Oh, and most definitely the reason for my sleep deprivation (hence the sad awful lighting 1am picture). I promise they are cute in real life!


Yay! I've loaded up my totes and am on my way for the show! We're open 4 -9 pm tonight if you're around. Heck mention this blog post and I'll even throw in something extra for you! Wish me luck!

pack it up, pack it in

Apparently the etsy sales stars have aligned for me! After my week haitus, my shop is back in full bore and the sales have been rolling in! Giving me the wonderful joy of lovingly packaging up orders to take to the post office! What fun! I've also managed to take my sales up to a record 450 there leaving me a mere 50 more before hitting the landmark 500 point! Just think of all the manila envelopes I'll get to send out (which, by the way, is still one of my favourite things about selling). Check out the nice little stack I sent out before work yesterday:


And since we're on the topic of packaging...I thought I'd take this time to share the new button packaging I came up with for a wholesale order I made with mary at the revelry boutique gallery:


Any thoughts? I feel they are more practical for store selling than the folded button cards I use for sales in my shop for a plethora of reasons. Ooo! List time!

I like the new packaging because:

1) You get to see the buttons right away! How eye catching and spectacular!

2) They tell you what the designs of the sets are (mary's idea) - which clears up those "who the heck are those old people?" and "what is that smiling hairy blob?" questions I hear quite often at craft shows...

3) They are sealed! Perfect for avoiding any buttons from falling off and getting lost or those sneaky shoppers who rearrange packages (just like how we all make underwear packages to have no white ones...or is that just me?)

4) They are more professional looking. Maybe? I thought so...

5) More store display options! Oh the possibilities! You could stick them on a dish, make a mobile, or hole punch the card and hang them on a rack! Fun!

Clearly I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out - and in case you aren't overly convinced here is a close up shot to sway you:


I'm thinking these packages will be perfect for the button sets I'm selling at the art gallery this year too! I've got a big stack of recycled brown cardstock that is just waiting to be printed on and cut up! I'm also planning to alter the card a bit and customize some for pocket mirror packaging too! That way all my items will be unified to some extent and wonderfully sealed and ready for xmas gift purchasing and giving! What do you think?

hello printable!

During one of my routine internet surfing/blog reading hours I came across the lovely blog - ginger & george. And while sifting through the pages of posts with fantastic colour schemes, inspiring ideas, and wonderful pictures, I stumbled upon the sweetest printable card:


Simple, charming, and free! What a combo! Perfect for a nice note when you're lacking inspiration - or as an inexpensive alternative for a pen pal! Just can't go wrong with this one! Oh...except as I mentioned a few days ago, I haven't got around to setting my printer up yet...and my address book is still M.I.A....hmm...hopefully you can use this link at least! Yay!

the pen pal project

Many months ago I joined tea cups in peony's project pen pal where some pen pal seeking folks from across the globe signed up and got paired off to be random letter friends! (link). Well - I promised to keep you all posted on how it was going (notice the terrible pun I decided was so delicious I'd use it again) and...nothing ever happened! I got paired up with someone who never mailed me! Ack! What a disappointment! Well - fear no more. Luckily jen at IndieFixx has arranged a whole pen pal project group I have joined! Take a peek:


She started up this project around the same time as tea cups in peony's but had some issues with spammers using people's emails illegitimately (yuck)! Now she's relaunched the project in the form of a google group (go google go) giving me the perfect opportunity to jump in! All you need to go is join up with the sweet group and write a little post about yourself (spilling details on the kind of person you are, hobbies, interests, etc). Then you can search the posts for potential pen pals you'd be interested letter-ing with or let them find you! How awesome! So if you're a letter writing fiend like myself I totally encourage signing up too! Or even better - sign up and message me (since I imagine being interested in reading my blog must mean we have something in common)!! Here's to hoping this one is a success!

Urchin fun!

A while ago I stumbled across another great etsy shop called urchin bags! I instantly fell in love with their sweet recycled goods, especially the "peata pocket"made from re-purposed bike inner tubes. Oh! And best of all - the shop is from Duncan BC! Yay! Sort of local! And the prices are killer! Check out a little selection of items:


Super awesome! So you must be thinking, "kate - it isn't friday, why are you doing this post today?" (Or maybe you're thinking that?). Well - I noticed in urchin's shop announcement that they're heading on a Canada wide bike tour from june - sept so I had to jump on the opportunity and snag one of these little pockets before june arrives and they're unavailable! So now this post went from a "what a great shop I found" to a "look at the cool stuff kate got in the mail" one. Ahha! So yeah, even if it took me a while (and assistance from my sister) I decided on one and it arrived just 3 days after I bought it (yay Canada Post! for once...). Take a look:


So darling! I was really waffling the two pouches I featured in that image above, but leslie told me, "kate, if you're going to carry around a recycled bike tire it is going to be a statement piece so go bold." So coral it is. Plus I really like the blue and orange markings on the tire part. Now to casually work this into a summery outfit and I'll be set! What do you think?

Pencil eraser stamp tutorial!

Creature Comforts was kind enough to share a sweet pencil eraser stamp tutorial with the world so in case you haven't seen it, I thought I'd spread the love and share it with all of you! What better way to spend an afternoon than with a quick and simple crafty project that you can use when you're being an awesome penpal! Hooray! Oh. Side note - I was a miserable pen pal for quite a while but I sent out a few "forgive me for not writing enough" postcards that will hopefully tide my post-y-pals over for a while...Perhaps long enough for me to make a few of these! Take a looksie (click on image to link to tutorial):


Super awesome! Even though it looks pretty sweet on those gift tags, I'm not totally sold on making the triangle, especially since I made the pennant stamp roller I showed you all back in november (wow that was a while ago). Maybe a heart would be better? Or naked woman riding a porpoise (yes mom - that line was for you). We'll see. In the mean time I'm on the search for butt loads of pencils with erasers to destroy! Hurrah!

Decoy Post!

As you may recall, last month my tea button set was featured in a mother's day treasury on etsy! I loved the treasury so much that I purchased something from one of the other featured etsians and challenged my readers to guess which item that was. Well, you all pretty much pegged me and at long last the exciting wait for it to arrive is over! Check out the wonderful owl brooch I got from decoylab:


I love it even more in person and it was do darned affordable! I took advantage of the $2 shipping and threw in another pin I am equally swooning over:


That little hedgehog is so cute! Both the pins are amazingly high quality and their neutral bamboo colouring makes them a perfect addition to (almost) any outfit! Sweet! And to top off all the etsy purchasing wonderment they also sent me an awesome free postcard with the pins! Eee! Nothing beats free post related goods:


I think it is quite obvious who will end up getting this one, but I won't spoil the surprise and keep you all waiting. Oh, except that I am apparently really easy to figure out (hence how you all figured out I snagged the owl pin from that treasury)...oh well...my lips are sealed...

Speaking of freebies and post...

I'm officially old. I am still beyond exhausted from my weekend (well mostly just saturday) events and haven't had a chance to sit down and blog about it! Not to worry, I'm still keeping with the post a day resolution as you get the joys of peeking at some lovely pre-scheduled blog-ness. Hooray! Hopefully tonight after work I'll be able to get a little writing done...or not...sit tight and see!

A while back, Kristin of sweeter than me designs had a super fun facebook giveaway promising a free item to anyone who properly guessed the sex of her upcoming unborn child. Well my keen wit led me to guessing a boy and I was right! Check out the fantastic gold locket I picked out:


I particularly like the chain length on this piece when its on and the bring colours are great for spring and summer! Plus this also lead to a wonderful mail day! Yay! Thanks so much Kristin for the generous giveaway! If only all pregnant people wanted to give me free stuff (hint hint leslie)...

craftyFOLK arrival!

At long last all of my craftyFOLK goodies have arrived! (Okay - so they actually arrived a while back - I just had too much going on with craft show to blog about them). And what a wonderful assortments of purchased goods and freebies I got - take a gander:


So lovely! If you're a hardcore blog follower, you'll recall how Sarah's shop made my friday find back in novemeber as well as the follow up owl sticker giveaway she had going on a few weeks ago! If not, that's okay - just know that I've really liked this shop for quite some time! I got the joy of taking advantage of her 300th sale offer and purchased that wonderful typewriter necklace, which in buy one get one fashion, came with the great dotted bow necklace too! And to top it all off I managed to swipe her 300th sale and she threw in some other freebies! I'm looking forward to wearing my new purchases with pride and hopefully once I get the paypal account a little fuller I can be a loyal return customer too :)