Giveaway Envelope!

A week or so ago I did a little giveaway for my new Etsy shop! My lovely pen pal won and this is the envelope that I made for her. I love the way that it turned out! Its by far one of my favorites I've ever made. I'm really hoping the recipient likes it. I used pen and some water soluble pastels to color it with. I'm thinking I should do more plant-nature envelopes! 

 The back and return address!

Once I started on this envelope I was consumed by it! I love when projects so that. I just so excited when I get to make beautiful things for people. I'm hoping I get another order soon so I face a new challenge!

Facts About Being a Lady: Period Products!

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I should warn you this post is a little bit ranty but theres also some cool links so just stick with me! I've been thinking about periods and menstruation a lot lately. It seems like its been popping up on my social media feed which has been creating a lot of discussions. Which is really awesome! I think its something we should all feel ok talking about. There is this weird stigma about periods that just saddens me greatly. So hopefully the more we all write about it the more people will be comfortable thinking and talking about it! My one and only niece it just approaching that age and you can just see how awkward she feels about it. I totally understand where she's coming from cause I felt awkward talking about it at that age too! So I'm doing my best to talk about it comfortably. She probably thinks I'm a real werido! I just have this great hope that when I have kids and they are that age that its not an awkward thing to talk about. That we as a society have changed the idea of periods. I really do believe that we have that power! If we continue to write about it, talk about it and refuse to be ashamed about it!

Phew! Ok enough ranting! Some really awesome links I wanted to share with you!
1. THINKS! Period undies! This is such a great idea and they look so well made. I'd love to try some of these out. They are a bit out of my price range but I'm definitely saving my pennies!
2. CLUE PERIOD TRACKER. I've gone though quite a bit of period tracking apps. This one so far is my favorite. I just love the way it looks. Its easy to read. The mood and symptoms tracking is very simple. Most of the other apps I've used have way too many options its overwhelming! Tracking my period has been the best thing ever! I wish I would've started this when I was a teenager. Why did I ever think it should just be a surprise? An awful surprise at that!
3. LUNA PADS. This is a new site I've found. I haven't ordered anything but oh man they have quite the selection. I love how many products they offer and they have tons of alternatives! When you're young and start your period it seems like you've only got 2 options. When there are so many cool products out there, you just need to find what works for you! So I love site that this that offer lots of options!

So what do you think? Any cool sites that you've found, please share! I'm always on the search for new products to try out. I've recently changed to cloth pads, so that's been quite the adventure! Ha I'm sure I'll do a rant post/ review about it later!

Out Going Mail!

I'm trying to get all caught up on my correspondence before I go on vacation. I got a few written this weekend and only 2 more to go! Now if I can just stop getting so distracted then I might be able to get them done! 

Gold envelopes from Paper Source are still my favorite! Perfect for white gel pens and black markers, best of both worlds! 

Moody girl envelopes! I feel like these looked better in my head than on paper. Needless to say it'll be a while until I make girl envelopes BUT they're fun so I wanted to share! 

Cheers for productivity! 

Vintage Markets!

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A new quest I've set for myself is going to more vintage markets! I was reading a few blogs the other week that found some amazing vintage things. I've always enjoyed the uniqueness of old things. Plus I'm a huge farmers market fan, so I think vintage markets should be up my ally! I have a small list of things I'm looking for. Mostly collage supplies, some picture frames, brooches and if I get really lucky a writing desk. I was surprised to see that there are lots of markets in Utah! I live in a pretty central location so should be easy to get to most of these! I just wanted to share some links, so if you're in Utah this post is going to be very helpful (hopefully!)

3 Dotters Vintage Market
This one is on August 1st in Pleasant Grove. I don't know Pleasant Grove very welly except that I pass it each day on my way to work. Follow the facebook page for updates!

Fleattitude Vintage Market
This one goes on twice a year. One is next week the 27th of June and the next one is in November! So if you miss this one you can catch it in the fall! It is in Salt Lake which is always a fun place to visit. (Well I think so at least! )

The Summer Flea
This one has several dates though out the year. The next one is August 22nd. So hopefully we've found a new house by then and I can get some neat stuff to fill it with! They are also doing some DIY projects that would neat to check out. Find the facebook HERE!

Urban Flea Market
This one has lots of dates! Its also downtown Salt Lake which means it'll probably be crowded, but fun! Next one is July12th, so its soon! Also theres one in August if you miss the July one. Find the facebook HERE!

The Vintage Whites Market
This one is pretty awesome! They have markets in Utah, Colorado and Montana. I love following their blog, they always post pictures of the prettiest homes! They seem like they really have the whole market thing down. I'm not sure when the next one is, but if I remember correctly its more towards the winter-y season.

Phew! So many new things to check out! Definitely a season to look forwards too. I'm also wanting to explore some antique stores around Utah. So hopefully once I discover a few I can do a post about those too! Are you a vintage kinda person or do you have any tips for me? I think this is something that will definitely take me a little bit to get into!

Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day! For my father this year I made him this lil' guy surfing on his beard! Ha! I think it clear that I need to practice drawing hands and feet.  I also started to creep myself out thinking about long beards. I'm not too happy about how brown it is, but overall it'll do! The awesome thing about my dad is that no matter what it looks like he'll love it and think its the most amazing thing ever. Isn't that such a great thing about dads? I bought my dad THIS awesome box of pickles! I hope he likes it and I'm super curious to find out how they taste! 

I hope all the fathers have a very lovely day! ALSO Happy Solstice! May you dance under the moon and celebrate the longest day of the year! 

Don't Forget!

Art by Alex Dehoff

Todays reminder is an important one that we all forget! Just be nice to yourself. We are all our own worst critic. Which is silly cause we're the ones who know how truly awesome we are and can be. I suppose its easier to not give yourself credit. BUT for today give your self some love! You're awesome and you're surviving this crazy world. Which is a pretty big accomplishment if you ask me! So for today remember to be gentle to your precious little soul!

Hope you're having a lovely weekend! Drink lots of water, keep outta the sun and don't mess with the mosquitos!

Thaumatrope Tests!

I did THIS post last week about my first Etsy order. I made her some Harry Potter themed thaumatropes. I had such a fun time making them that I thought I should put up a listing in my Etsy shop! I figured out a WAY easier way to make them line up and all. Plus instead of drawing them all like I have in the past I've been using the computer more, which is speeding up the process a bit. So I just wanted to share some samples that I've been working on so I have some good pictures to post on the listing. 

 I've got some lovely new card stock that was on sale and its prefect for this! Here are some little drawing ones that I've done. A cute lil' cat, a blinking eye and a light bulb! I do need to get some more embroidery floss, but for now I think they look pretty good!

Ones with words! These say "good luck" and "one and only" when you spin them. I'll admit these are a bit more tricky to get matched up perfectly. I'm still trying to come up with a better more accurate system. I have a few ideas that I'm looking forward to testing out! Since I just have these as samples and they aren't all too prefect, if you'd like me to mail you one you can go HERE and I'll write you a little note and send you a sample of a not so prefect thaumatrope! 

Hope you all have a happy Wednesday! 

Lovely Things: Home!

Its time for us to move out of our Draper home. Right now I'm living with Zoei my sister and her Dirk. I've come to love this old house. So its kinda sad, but I'm kinda excited about a new space! The house hunt has been an unsuccessful one. Mostly because every place is just ok not perfect. Since we have the time to look and be choosy we're looking for prefect! But since I'm so excited about the new home I've been trying to think of new ways to make the new place feel homey. Here are some neat findings that will probably do some major damage to my wallet!

Isn't this writing desk amazing! I wish I could afford something like this! Gah its so beautiful!(Uptown Heirloom Co)

How neat are these baskets! Such a neat way to organize the kitchen! 

(Charest Studios)

Cactus wallpaper! It's super pricy but pretty much amazing! 

(anewalldecor)

Beautiful removable wall paper! Prefect solution for renting! PLUS how cute and summery are pineapples! (Kate Zaremba Company)

Wall planters! Wouldn't these be awesome in a kitchen or bathroom? Our house definitely could use more plants in our house! (Rhyno Clayworks)

Last but not least THIS awesome DIY project from a Beautiful Mess! I have decided that its about time I invested in some good clothes storage. The pile clothes on the chair method probably isn't the best. I figured I could get something like THIS to paint and add a cool photo to the front. This will probably have to be one of the first things I do in the new home! That is if I don't get too lazy! 

Phew! Cheers to new new-ness! Wish us luck on the house hunt! 

Song and Doodle #49

Todays song and doodle is by the lovely Angel Olsen! I'm kinda crazy about the uniqueness this lady carries in her tunes. She has that perfectly imperfect sound wrapped in lonely beautiful lyrics. I'm in love with this song. Although I do fall in love with songs very easily these days! Have a listen let me know what you think. Happy Monday.

"I wish you were here with me. But you're too far away

Standing beside me now. With nothing to say"

Giveaway Winner!

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I held my very first giveaway last week and now we have a winner! My lovely pen pal Janine Van Emden! I'm looking forward to making her some pretty mail! I'm not too sure how successful this giveaway was, but for my first one I was shocked to have anyone enter even if it was just a little handful. Hopefully the next giveaway is better! I've come to the conclusion that I may not have a blog with a million followers and a shop with loads of sales. BUT I absolutely adore the small handful of people who do read my blog and who gander my shop and let me make neat things for them! I have amazing support from so many people! 

Hopefully I can give away some really neat next time! HUGE thanks to everyone that entered! I adore you all. 

Bullet Journal!

Journal found in Jackdaw Bindery Etsy shop.

Awhile ago I came across this awesome post about a Bullet Journal. I'm a huge fan of journals (I have about 3 going at once!) So when I saw this new layout I wanted to give it a try! It has to be better then my sticky note method that I now keep for to do stuffs. I've just started it this week and I quite like it! I'm such a list maker and this is just like one giant organized list. I suppose the real test is if I keep up on it! I'm always good at the start but then get forgetful and resort back to sticky notes! 

Heres a lil' video so you can get the brief overview and HERE is the Bullet Journal website! 

So what do you think? How do you keep organized? Any tips or tricks?

First Etsy Order!

About a week ago I got my first Etsy order! I wasn't sure if I was going to get any sales this early so I was way to excited about it! Just the idea of getting to create something for someone else is why I send snail mail in the first place but now to have a specific theme puts a new challenge onto creating mail art! I was definitely challenged with my first order! The person wanted a Harry Potter themed envelope. Which I have to add I know nothing about. (crazy I know!) So thank goodness for pintrest! After spending a day searching Harry Potter I now know that I have to read these books eventually!

She also wanted some thaumatropes. I had posted them HERE forever ago and she had seen it and wanted some! I made these ones a little different using the computer. I quite love the way the turned out! A lot more clean lines and more details. PLUS it didn't take me forever like those other ones! I'm hoping that I can get a listing posted in my etsy shop for some of these soonish. I wanna test out some with words first!

Heres the envelope! She chose the illustration style, small size with a Harry Potter theme! I didn't want to go too specific, cause I wanted it to be special and look like something I'd make! I'm hoping that she likes it. I am really surprised with myself how challenging it was and how much I liked the challenge. I hope I get another order soon so I can work on something new! 

The package I ended up sending her! She also wanted a quote instead of a letter. Which was also a challenge cause I haven't drawn many pigs before. BUT being a Charlottes Web quote it needed a lil'pig don't you think? That was a fun challenge too!

Phew! Lots of projects to be working on. I'm glad I got this done. I'm so happy about it ALL! Sometimes I feel like a really lucky girl, cheesy I know!

Moths + Indecisiveness

This weekend has been fairly productive then once the week started I lost my gusto! I'm not sure what it is. Maybe I tried to do too much? I am still super excited about my first Etsy order. Which will be shipped out tonight and photos posted soon-ish. I also did this lovely moth water color. The idea is that I was going to make it into a card or postcard, but now I'm not too sure. Maybe its too brown? Or editing it in illustrator changed it? Who knows! My indecisiveness is dragging me down lately! BUT I put a lot of work into it so I figured a place on my blog will do for now.

Also a reminder that I'm still doing a giveaway! So far only a couple people have entered. Which is a bit of a bummer, but it could've been worse! Only a few days left! I'm not sure if its a fail or success yet? I think I'm going to label it a success just to keep me motivated!

Oh June!

Making. Listening. Eating.

Making. I did this lovely moth watercolor the other day!

 

Listening. I'm quite obsessed with this album as of late.

Eating. Zoei made the best stir-fry the other night!

Lovely Things: National Doughnut Day!

I didn't realize it was National Doughnut day until seeing all these cool posts from the blogs I follow. I was a bit jealous so I wanted to post also! So here are some of my favorite recipes I found. I am still in love with the idea of working at little doughnut shop!

Malasadas with Guava and Lilikoi Filling

 
Lemon and Poppy Seed Doughnuts

Vegan Lemon and Poppy See Doughnuts (ok so maybe I really love lemon and poppy seeds!)

Basil Pesto Hummus Doughnut (I've never had a savory doughnut before!)

Apple Cider Doughnut Cupcakes

MmmMmmm...Now I'm hungry! What did you do for National Doughnut day? I think I'm off to battle the crowds to get me some fluffy fried goodness! Cause lets be honest as much as I love eating I'm not the greatest cook. Maybe one day?