finished fridays: the big reveal!

I've had to keep this under wraps for so long! And I'm really a very good secret keeper, but this has been bursting out of me, especially since my copy came in the mail Saturday.

I'm in the newest Martha Stewart Living!

The section called "Great Finds" is all reds & purples for October.

And my little journals and decorative sheets made the cut!

Hooray!!  The issue should be in subscribers' hands any day now, and on newsstands shortly.  In the meantime, all of the featured items (and more) are available in my etsy shop!

finished: one week at a time

It's been such a busy week.  I haven't stopped since getting back from New York (and tonight, I'm really feeling the drag).

This week I finished three wholesale orders--to three stores that I'm so excited to be a part of: Urban Mercantile, in San Francisco, Papel New York in Brooklyn, and The Drawing Board right here in Montpelier.  I did a little photo shoot with the Drawing Board's goodies before I dropped off the box with Jodi, Liz, and Jen. 

Don't you just love the way pages drape and curve?  They're so sturdy and practical, and yet are so light.

Also this week: I've been thinking about this packaging for six months--no, seriously.  My decorative papers, stitched on the sewing machine into pretty little packages for card sets.

trying something new

...so, really, I just look for ways to make more work for myself. And make things prettier.

I've been loving headbands lately. Not the head kind--the book kind. Talas sells pretty one like these:Woven silk, in lovely color combos--just to decorate the tops of your book.

I decided to try it myself, to make my Rebounds look more finished. Here are the steps:
Sew your book as usual, and attach the super. Don't glue above the kettle stitch.
Cut a piece of ribbon slightly wider than your spine, and glue half of it just above the kettle.
Then put a bit of glue on top of the ribbon, to attach the super.
Fold the ribbon over the super, and make sure the loose ends (where you cut) are sealed with a bit of PVA.
Admire your handiwork!

While not totally necessary, I like the way they bring a shock of color to the textblock. Maybe soon I'll splurge on real headband, but I've got a lot of ribbon to get through first!

making do

Some days it's a real challenge to get myself to the studio at all. Today I don't have any scheduled print jobs--as I'm waiting for proofs to be returned--so...I guess I'll be printing business cards for me. (Note the serious lack of enthusiasm.)

It was in that sort of frame of mind that I started making these (all those months ago):


and now they're finally up for sale in my etsy shop. It only took me 15 months.

advertising ideas

I work with paper. A lot of paper. And no matter how hard I try, there's always just a bit left over.

I was in the studio all day on Wednesday, and though I desperately need to print thank you notes and business cards for me, that wasn't challenging enough. I've been trying to come up with a flyer/brochure/something for MDS, but it all seems so...corporate. And corporate is one thing I'm not.

So a full day let me put this together:
*bits of paper leftover from journal-making (text weight, and slightly bigger than a bookmark)
*the new type and dingbats that came with Lucy G., and some of it is too cool for words
*pretty orange ink inspired by this post from Albertine PressToday's mission: hang up these little handbills in pretty little rows on the bulletin boards around town!

crafty kids

Cecilia at Craftsbury Kids has been a big supporter of mine since the beginning...and I'm happy to say that I finally have a few things for sale in her shop!

Craftsbury Kids is "a breath of fresh air in a gadget-filled world" and features fine, handmade goods from all over the world. There are so many lovely things on the site, it's hard to pick favorites, but if you were to stop over and buy one of my limited-edition Bingo Albums, you should also check out the Bubble Wand, the Jingle Block, and the Step Stool (which I totally had as a young'un!).

quirky love

I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day. I am, however, a big fan of nice teeth. And so...



















..my Valentine's line was born.

I collect odd printing plates (among many, many other things) of body parts. So far eyes and teeth are where it's at, but I wouldn't turn down hands or feet if you're willing to part with them.

These are just the first two of four planned cards in the "quirky love" line now available in my etsy shop. Cards are 4bar size, folded, and printed in lipstick red ink on crane's lettra, with recycled red envelopes.

Buy 'em quick!

seeing red (and a bit o' green)

I woke up this morning and found this:

(click on the picture to go to the actual treasury--but it's only up for the next 24 hours!)

Hooray for features! Being in an etsy treasury is a little like winning the lottery...you might win (a sale), but then again you might just get nothing. Here's hoping for a sale!

P.S. If you missed the treasury, click here to see the full image.

week(s) in pictures

I'm finding it hard to keep up with the blogging lately. This is my first "busy season," and while I'm not totally unprepared, I am a bit underprepared. And very nearly out of time.

Here are a few shots from the past few weeks:
That's new friend Emma and old friend Meagan having a private bookbinding class in my studio. Here're the finished products:For Meagan's book, she brought fabric that she'd silkscreened, and Emma chose from my voluminous stash of pretty papers.

Last weekend's "Experience" workshop was a lot of fun! Sina, Jinkyung, Jenn, and Sarah were very laid back, and ready to experience whatever the day had to offer.
Sarah getting up close and personal with the Nolan proof press.Sina experimenting with layout on her prints.
Jinkyung, Sina, and Jenn locking up chase after chase after chase...

I stayed late after class to try to get the Vandercook #4 ready to print for this weekend's workshop: success!!
And while all that was going on, I got my first custom order on etsy--and it was shipping to Australia!
Two Bingo Albums, to hold 100 photos each...they're quite fat little books!

Coming up this week: Holiday Card workshop, printing my line of holiday cards, more prep for the Queen City Craft Bazaar and Paper & Chocolate trunk show, and hopefully not flubbing my first day as film projectionist at the Savoy!

new shops and nice words

The summer has been a slow selling season, I can tell you that. But when followed up by a busy fall, I have no cause for complaint.
First of all, Montpelier finally has an indie-handcraft boutique. Super-crafter Emily moved to town only a few months ago, and got to work while the rest of us just kept talking. The result: Swingin' Sphere! It's a pretty little space, and the photos on the site don't do it justice. While they're officially open now, the grand opening is September 29, and Emily says to "make sure to stop by for a cupcake and a free gift with every purchase from our lovely consignor Melissa of Honey Bee Herbals."

Second is a double-whammy: my first wholesale order, and my first international shop. You heard me right! Arthur's Circus is a new shop opening next week in Melbourne, Australia. Natalie saw my Bingo Books on etsy, and emailed me straight away about having a few for her vintage-inspired shop. Read what she has to say on the shop's blog, and be sure to look at what she got in the mail this week! Thank goodness I'm nowhere near Melbourne, otherwise I'd need these and these right now.

And now for some nice words:


May Day Studio got a little bit o'love over the summer on Apartment Therapy: Chicago's regular Scavenger feature. Click here for the full post.

After delivering new books to new shops in Burlington, I found these lovely and flattering blog posts from Sara at Made Boutique and Amanda at Studio STK. If ever you find yourself in Burlington, I highly recommend checking out both places!

saturday treats

A "day off" Saturday is rare for me--usually I'm teaching, or driving to teach, or spending many hours hunched over the press. Today, I'm happy to say, I gave myself the morning off, ostensibly to spend a few hours outside...before coming back to the studio to finish a custom book (I promise to post pics later!).

So, back to Saturday morning goodness...mmmm latte at Langdon Street Cafe (thanks, Wes!), then off to the glorious farmer's market (today's finds: green beans, fresh onions, and baby beet greens) for some much needed socializing. If you live in a small town like I do, it's possible to run into every single person you know at the farmer's market. And so I saw a whole lotta folks, talked about the weather (uniformly yucky today), the new Thursday Next novel, and the strange habits of grasshoppers and Japanese eggplant.

And as I was leaving, I ran into yet another friend, who reminded me that the ReStore was having it's 17th birthday today. The ReStore is a fabulous treasure trove of all that stuff you really don't need, but are sure that someone else will. I make a weekly trip, because you just never know what you're going to find! It's where, for example, my amazing stash of Bingo Cards came from, and where I get all my fabric for that new line of books. Here's what I found today:
Vintage knitting magazine-size pamphlets. For those of you who've seen my artist books, you'll know that I can't pass up a vintage lady. And while I can knit, sweaters are still a bit beyond my skill level. They're a bit scruffy around the edges, but I'm sure I'll find a use for them. Any suggestions?








Bits of fabric. It's not that I don't have plenty of fabric to work with already, but I couldn't pass up the 70s orange & brown flowers, or the giraffes (!), or that "I still think it's 1982" patchwork. There's basically enough for one book from each. Perfect! And the price was totally right: 42 cents for the lot. You heard me right!

I hope you're enjoying your Saturdays, out there in la-la land. I'm off to work!

Busy hands!

I've been working on these 99% recycled journals for a few weeks now...had to let the project "marinate"...and finally :

7 journals, different sizes, different paper combinations. Made from scraps of other projects (thus the many sizes), with covers from a 2005 Cavallini calendar that I couldn't bear to throw away. These are off to Black Sheep Books in Montpelier for happy viewing and fondling.

Also, some new paper I've accumulated more BINGO Books--I've been hording the green BINGO cards for lack of cool paper. Not anymore!