phew

it's been a long while since i've last posted, yes it has!

here's a couple of commissions from friends o' mine that i did this past month :)

yay never ending story look-alike!


sibling books with pictures chosen by said friend!

i also went on vacation for a few days, and this puffin totally looked at me:


the bookbinding etsy street team is well underway! check out the BEST (harhar) blog for more details and let me know if you'd like to join! (--we're still busy getting everything together, pardon the dust)

last, luchicreations tagged me to tell you six things about myself, and to tag six others. sooooo...

1. i just discovered the cheesy beefy melt at taco bell today, and it is fabulous.
2. i'm a sports racer (actually dubbed "sparkle beauty" by ze) and i'm proud of it! ...and really miss the show! *tear*
3. i could never live in pennsylvania again, because the mere thought of the non-existant merge lanes on the highways sparks road rage in me.
4. i spend way too much on pretties, hoping they'll find their way into my etsy shop XD
5. i want to learn to make soap and to screen print and letter press, but for tomorrow i think i might make some cute chocolate molds if i can find something at michaels.
6. i want to own a shaggy moo.

well, so far there are only a handful people that i know of who have read this blog, so i'll tag the 4 left! haha

my handbound books
fuzzy izmit
krazy kates krazy days
paper girl productions

hell yes

seller of the month: sudlow

Rachael Sudlow - Kansas - USA



WHO (Your name, general description, any random bit of info about yourself, a vague sentence):

My name is Rachael Sudlow, I'm a mid 20's full time artist. I live in the heart of the midwest in Kansas & and I'm slightly OCD about making my work...at least I love it, because i'm constantly creating. You can always find new designs in my shop at least weekly.

WHAT (Tell us about your shop, the items you make):

http://sudlow.etsy.com is my main selling outlet & I peddle my jewelry. For the most part, I make what I think I'd like to wear & then post it on etsy & see how the reactions are. Pieces like my Peapods & Monet's Waterlilies series have been bestsellers. I'm always on the hunt for new colors & beads & trying to learn new techniques.

WHERE (Why do you sell on Etsy?):

Because it's the best full time job I've ever had. I quit my dull office job & haven't looked back. It's really fulfilling to work with customers directly & to create new pieces based on their preferences.

WHEN (When did you start making handmade items? When did you start selling on Etsy? Any tips for current/future sellers?):

I started making art & jewelry ages ago, back in highschool. I went to the Rhode Island School of Design & that further pushed me. After leaving school I worked a regular job for awhile + just making items for myself. when I discovered etsy in November 2005, I was hooked. Things have gotten better & better from there & I've learned a lot. I always put 100% into my shop & my work, & I think it reflects that. I tell people the key to selling is quality pieces & good photography. Fast, good customer service is always a plus & doing custom work doesnt hurt as well.

WHY (Go on, free self-promotion time! Why should people buy from your shop?):

Because you're getting an original work of art. Most of my pieces start from the basics...a plain sheet of metal, a few beads & some chain...I hand saw, form & solder all my pieces, including small components like clasps. I have amazing customer service & often get custom special orders done within HOURS rather than days. I'm willing to alter & customize my pieces to suit your needs, whether it be a different color, a special stamped message or the length or size.

FUN (Whatever you feel like talking about. A favorite shop or item on Etsy, a website you think others should check out, why butterflies and toe socks should rule the world):

I'm heavily involved with my street team, EtsyMetals. They are my creative muses & a great sounding board for my work. Our group site is http://www.etsymetal.com & it has a listing of all the members & showcases some incredible talent that's worth checking out.

Also, if anyone is in the NE Kansas region, I teach at the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, KS...I'm happy to get new people in to hammer, saw & create.

Aaaand…RANDOM QUESTION! If you could design your own wellies, what would you want on them?::

Bumblebees...I'm really into bugs right now.

Featured Items

commission

a friend of mine just commissioned me to make him a book like the one in the never ending story. FUN!

showcase!

i have a showcase reserved for tomorrow! i believe it will start at midnight...? :D i'm pretty excited, and am in the process of listing a few new items so my inventory will be a little more full! i didn't get a chance to make some new books like i had hoped, but new jewelry is always fun! i also have another showcase reserved for sept. 1st, so i'll have more books up by then ;)


if you get the chance, check out my items on etsy tomorrow! :)

experimenting with necklaces

so i decided to try my hand at beading necklaces :) i honestly think i have much more fun with earrings (twirling wire, yay!) but it was still fun doing this! alas, i cannot get my pictures to show the true colors of the blue beads for the life of me ;_; i tried taking pictures outside, inside, in sunlight, blue light, yellow light, shade, during daytime, nighttime... argh! :( i am doomed. i have no idea why it shows up so light! ahh well... i included a link in the description that i found on google of a more accurately colored bead, which someone in the forums said would hurt me more than help but i think that i would rather let the customer see what it would really look like than get the necklace and be like "schwaaaa~t??" :P





i also decided to try making necklaces with the whole burning leather thing! custom initial leather necklaces, with practically all aspects made to your specifics! we'll see if anyone will want one of these :)

new books!

i've finally made a couple new books. the first will be put up for sale on etsy, and the second is a custom order from my boss at the theatre XD





i had to put in the last picture because... it looks like it's glowing! hee!

i've added a few new items to etsy, including twins of the ear threaders i made for my friend :) i liked em so much i made another pair!

and i discovered a fun new site called etsytools on the forums! it puts on stats and all of that good stuff from etsy for everybody to see! check it out!

couple o' fun projects

i decided to try to play with leather last night, and here is the result of testing out all of the different points on my toy~
haha i know, it's just a mishmash of blah, but i had fun and that's all that matters XD

and today was my roomie alex and her twin sister's birthday, so i made them some earrings! the ear threader one is for alex because she thought the leaf earrings i just (half) made were cute and that they were cool because she had never seen ear threaders before :)

seller of the month: MyHandboundBooks

each month i will be supporting an etsy seller who i believe creates unique and interesting items. the first seller of the month is myhandboundbooks! :D


WHO (Your name, general description, any random bit of info about yourself, a vague sentence):



Rhonda Miller - Nova Scotia - Canada



I am a bookbinder - unemployed librarian & web developer - mommy & spouse.

shop MyHandboundBooks.Etsy.com
blog MyHandboundBooks.Blogspot.com
email pertelote [!at] ns.sympatico.ca

WHAT (Tell us about your shop, the items you make):

MyHandboundBooks.etsy.com is my shop. I make books. Lately I have been doing most of my books with limp leather covers, but I also enjoy making hardcover books using as much Japanese paper as possible. I especially like to learn about really old bookbinding traditions, and then try to replicate them.

WHERE (Why do you sell on Etsy?):

When I first decided to sell online, I went to Ebay because I thought it was the easiest option. Since then a number of people recommended Etsy and when I finally took the time to check it out, I loved it instantly. So I switched to Etsy as my main outlet.

WHEN (When did you start making handmade items?

I started bookbinding about six years ago when I took my first bookbinding course. In an previous life I tried making and selling jewlery. And even before that, my mother and I did a lot of crafts using dried flowers and wicker, very trendy at the time, and people bought the stuff...but that was a long time ago.

When did you start selling on Etsy?

I joined Etsy in March 2007. At that time, I was working full time at an office job and seemed to have a lot of downtime so I was able to do a lot of the early work setting up the shop and preparing listings on company time.

Any tips for current/future sellers?):

Make your photographs as good as you possibly can. Of course we are not all photographers, but it is really important to have nice pictures. If you take some photos and they are blurry, then start again and take new ones! Don't ever use blurry photos.

WHY (Go on, free self-promotion time! Why should people buy from your shop?):

I want to make books that people will like, and so far, people seem to like them. I want to make books that are functional, durable, beautiful, and unique, and they are. I try to make each of my books unique so if you have one of my books, you can be pretty sure that nobody else has one quite like it!

FUN (Whatever you feel like talking about. A favorite shop or item on Etsy, a website you think others should check out, why butterflies and toe socks should rule the world):

Everyone needs to see this video on YouTube, especially if you are a book person in any capacity. Even better if you are a book person who has worked in the IT industry.

The Medieval Helpdesk - A monk is learning to use a new technology (the book) and has to contact the help desk for user support.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ

Aaaand…RANDOM QUESTION! What is your favorite constellation?:

I like The Hunter, mainly because I can always find him and be sure that it is him. Most constellations elude me and I am never sure if I'm looking at ursa major or ursa minor :\

Featured Items

crystal of the night necklace

okay, so i am attempting to start naming my items, because listing this as "antique skeleton key and vintage crystal necklace" was going to be ridiculous XD we'll see how this goes!

nice -literally- treasury

bagladymomma has created a neat little treasury called A treasury for YOU!

what a cute idea! :)

vintage gold skeleton leaf earrings

i put up a new jewelry listing today! found some wonderful things at the antique shop yesterday, so now i have more pretties to play with! this is the first:

bought more fabric and the like today for new books, but i'm a little tuckered out so i think i shall experiment with the scrap leather i bought! :D if i do well with burning designs into them, hopefully i can make some neat leather jewelry!

first treasury listing!

i've been listed in shoot me i'm a newbie, a treasury dedicated to sellers with five and under sales, by tackybackintime!

LOVE

natural leaf book

here's my newest book, to be posted today! i absolutely heart it, but i got a little glue happy so there's a line of glue along the spine on the front and back ;______; but it doesn't look super weird or anything, so i'm trying to decide if i should just put glue along the rest so the line is from top to bottom and call it a "design choice" haha, or if i should just leave it as it is and stop messing with it. decisions decisions!

i took that picture in my new photo light box that i made with this tutorial. it's not bad, but i definitely need more powerful light bulbs!

in other news, i was browsing through my fave antique mall and found a bazillion different pieces of vintage jewelry! hurrah! so i'll be putting those up on etsy as well :3

aaaand last but not least, i am going to be doing an etsy "seller of the month", starting with rhonda miller, aka "myhandboundbooks"! be sure to check that out this wednesday!

.............and now there is a power outage and i no longer have internet connection. thank you, pennsylvania storms! XD...............

clue pool ball book

and here's today's book!

i made it out of green and black felt and a painted wooden pool ball from the set of "clue! the musical" :D i'm still waiting for it to dry... hopefully it'll turn out all right, because i sort of forgot about the bookmark and headbands until i was halfway done gluing the book block to the cover! whoooops... hahaha but i don't think it'll affect it at all. if anything, i'll probably need to do something to strengthen the bonds between the felt and the paper! we'll see :)

to hell with it...

...all of my books will be on sale for a limited time! :)

book press, puffin book, and sale!

yesterday i bought some carriage bolts and wing nuts from lowe's and made me a book press! this definitely helps with the sewing and gluing process :3

i also made the puffin book! i heart it... it's so fluffy and cute! i also think it's my best book so far, in terms of the book press helping me out :) check it out in the shop!

and now that i'm going to be adding a few more books, i thought i might put my orion's belt book up for sale :) find it here!

current/future projects

at the moment, i am making some business cards for the shop! i don't have a printer, so i really thought about using an online business card shop or someone from etsy, but in the end i decided to continue with the whole "homemade" thing and make my own cards! i like how they look so far, all embossed and tea stained! :)
today i used my new book cradle that i made to punch out holes in a few book blocks that i folded over. works fairly well! though the awl i have is kind of broken so i may need a new one :T
current cover ideas in the making, for which i bought my fabric and materials for include: a puffin book using some really soft and fluffy gray wool i found and am going to sew a puffin cut out of felt onto, a baby scrapbook using this adorable ducky fleece, a wedding album out of pretty and swirly light blue suede-like material with stitching on it, a pool ball book using green felt and wood painted to look like a pool ball recycled from "clue" the musical, and reusing an antique book cover to make a brand new book!

i also found a book block made out of the tea stained paper from a while back, and i think i'm going to use it for the country western book i'm going to make out of black leather and used blank bullet shells! i'm hoping that i'll be able to stamp leather by then (i'm going to practice using some leather i bought -- and might make necklaces and other accessories out of!) so that i can make some designs on the cover too :)

and that's all for now! lots of stuff to keep me busy, yay!

the name

soooooo! i thought that if anybody wanted to know why "flurrsprite's nook", then they can read about it here :) "flurr sprite" is a character i made up and has since become my screen name. here is a picture of her, drawn by the fabulous peet cooper:

and "nook" because i am currently residing in a place best described as a nook... it is basically a hole in the wall with my bed in it:

that is where i attempt to make all of my items! i do sit on the floor in the hallway, and occasionally steal the dining table downstairs, but yep! this is my home for the next few months :D

setting up a shop blog

well, i decided that it might be neat to set up a "shop blog" for any customers who might be interested in what i'm doing and how i'm doing it! i will try to update this as much as possible with current projects and future plans, though entries will probably be sporadic. i blame my 14 hour a day, 6 days a week theatre internship ;)

huzzah for etsy!