In a scramble for ZNE Convenzione

The ZNE Convenzione art retreat is starting this Friday and there's so much to do! I have no excuse; it's been on my to-do for weeks, but it wasn't until Sunday morning (!) that it hit me that I had no more time and I started to pull things together. Here's the photo diary of my to-do list.

1. Get art supplies together and get last-minute items (e.g., wash apron, buy plastic stencils and baby wipes, and look for white lace, buttons, and clip art) - finished tonight!



2. Make charms in case anyone wants to swap charms - done! (except I might make a few more ... if there's time)


3. Make goody bags in case anyone wants to swap goodies - done!


4. Make ATCs in case anyone wants to swap ATCs - just getting started (gulp!)


5. Collect maps, instructions, sign-ups, lists, anything I can think of, so I don't forget or get lost - done!



That's all for now; I'm a slave to the ATCs for the rest of the evening!

My First YouTube Appearance - Sort of

Amber Dawn purchased one of my kawaii books for her little sister's birthday a few weeks ago. She just uploaded a video on her blog and YouTube of Amber paging through the book while her sister tells us what she likes about it. Thank you, Amber! :)

An Etsy Favorite

One of my favorite artists on Etsy is Kendra Binney. Her work is whimsical and sweet at first glance, but when you take a closer look you'll notice that it's also dark, edgy, and a bit macabre. I've been collecting her prints for a while and I now have a wall at home that looks like this:

This is my new favorite that will be added to the wall soon, "Disregarded Ghosts":

You can view more of Kendra's work on her website, which also has a few prints for sale that aren't in her Etsy shop.

The Little Black Box Arrives

Have you heard of The Little Black Box? It's a service that helps connect indie businesses with consumers who might never hear of them otherwise. Businesses send in their sample- or full-size items and/or promos, which are then available for sale as a little black box of surprises. You don't know exactly what you're going to get, but that's part of the fun. I saw it mentioned in the Etsy forums and immediately googled it. And the following week, my little black box arrived. (It's actually a bag now, in order to fit items of all sizes.)

Kimberlee Keane, who runs The Little Black Box, is very helpful and friendly. I contacted her before I made my purchase, because I have environmental allergies and I was concerned about scented products possibly being included. This is both bad for me (achoo!) and bad for the businesses, since their items would be wasted on me. Kimberlee came up with a solution and I got a scent-free box. (Hooray!) So even though I ordered a July box, a few items that were meant for the August box may appear in my pictures. July boxes are already sold out, but August boxes go on sale August 22nd.

Hmm, what's in the bag?

13 goodies in the bag; here they are spread out on my kitchen table.


1. Hand-dyed silk scarf by Made With Loving Hands.

2. Fabric covered mirror by Promos in a Snap.

3. Stone earrings by jaC Jewelry. (My photo doesn't do them justice - very lovely in person.)

4. Pretzel earrings by Amazon Creations.

5. A small jar of "Fray" eye shadow by Mixology.

6. Glass pendant by Designs by Tami. This pendant was hard to photograph and is very pretty in person.

7. Car hair pin by Always Amy. That's the reverse side of her business card next to the pin - isn't it awesome?

8. Print by 3 Lambs Design. I've already found the perfect spot to hang this.

9. Earrings by Starrlight Jewelry. Once again, lovely pair of earrings, but I obviously don't have a career in jewelry photography.

10. Fabric tissue pouch (with tissue inside) by Midnight Creations. This is the perfect item for me - I have allergies and I love shoes!

11. Bookmark by A Muted Pallette - Diana Crites Gallery.

12. "Bite Me" recipe card (LOL) by Terri Taylor Design. I particularly like the "That's not PMS. I'm just evil" greeting cards in her shop.

13. Two linen greeting cards by five dot design. Very generous to include two cards! What you can't tell from the photo is the wonderful texture and weight to the cards.

All in all, a really good haul! Goodies for me, a few Christmas presents, and a lot of cool shops to check out. And I've already signed up to contribute to The Little Black Box in September and November. More on that later...

Wonderland charms

Amber Dawn is truly the swap hostess extraordinaire. Not only is she always hosting private swaps, but she also hosts the International Artistic Charms Exchange that has over a dozen charm swap themes going on every year. I don't know how she does it! This year I signed up for two IACE swaps. The themes are: Alice in Wonderland; and Fabric and Fiber Free-for-All. Earlier this summer, I finished the 10 charms for the Alice in Wonderland swap. My charms are 100% hand-sewn. No glue was used. Each one is a little over an inch square, so you're viewing them as "larger than life."

Queen of Hearts:

The White Queen:

The White Rabbit:

The White Rabbit (he looks a little psychotic here):

The White Rabbit:

Alice and The Cheshire Cat:

Alice and The Golden Key:

The last three are all Queen of Hearts:

What happened to July?

And the first half of August? Wow, I've really fallen behind! I got a little burned out on taking pictures (two weeks of snapping shots of stationery every night will do that to you), so everytime I meant to post, I'd think, "Oh, but I don't have any pictures of [xyz] yet." But now it's time to catch up! I want to tell you about the black and white charm swap and The Little Black Box and the stuff I've been designing and the charms I'm working on now and some zines I found on Etsy and... Where's my camera? I need to get busy...