Category: bookmarks

Give the Gift of Nature! Shop Small this Season…

Natural stones all polished and strung, check out these gifts for some holiday fun!
15% off of everything in my Etsy Shop from now through this weekend! 
Use Code: BLACKFRIDAY12
Knotted and beaded with stones to match, long enough for your favorite hard back, these handmade bookmarks are unique and personal so consider one or two for your favorite reader:


Yellow Botswana Agate and Golden Autumn Leaf Macrame Bookmark
Lapis Lazuli and Starfish Macrame Bookmark
Perhaps a pendant or necklace is what you seek? A single nugget of earth’s beauty or some sliding stones, adjustable from large to small they are a great fit for one and all!
  
Crazy Lace Agate Adjustable Pendant
 Labradorite Sliding Stone Necklace
Bracelets and jotter sets I have as well. What you might like I cannot tell so take a peek and have a look-see, especially the jotters that have artwork done originally by me.
Practical art for your pocket or stones for your wrist, you might find a stocking stuffer or perfect hostess gift!
 

Mookaite Jasper Triple Leather Wrap Bracelet
  
 

Garlic Scapes Jotter Journal Set (3 mini-journals.)

Last, but not least, be sure to check back as I will continue to add to the shop, that’s a fact. 
Happy shopping!

Beauty of Bookmarks Treasury!

I have created a new treasury in Etsy! It’s called Beauty of Bookmarks and features a range of gorgeous ways we can use to mark our favorite reading material.

Of course, I am a little partial to bookmarks since I make them (and I am a librarian and avid reader!), but I happily found a number of different styles on Etsy to include here. Check out the wonderful work of these various artists!


What are some of your favorite bookmarks? Do you make your own? I’d love to hear all about them.

Kerrytown BookFest!

Last Sunday (September 9) I had the opportunity to have my first, official, by-myself booth at an event. I had a table at the 10th Annual Kerrytown BookFest!

BookFest is a fantastic, local event focusing not just on authors and the literary arts, but also on the art and craft that goes into creating the physical books, including bookbinding, printing, and papermaking. As a librarian and artist, I couldn’t resist the combination!
Held in the space where the weekly Kerrytown Farmer’s Market occurs, my booth was in a great location just outside of Sweetwater’s cafe, next to the information booths for BookFest. I was also right at the T-insersection of the first aisle of the market.

I had consistent foot traffic all day, so much so that when I took a couple of brief breaks, my volunteer relief (both BookFest volunteers and also my husband!) reported that I had folks stopping by and browsing and asking questions. Great to hear!
 

My offerings included the full range of items that I have in my Etsy shop, including wrap bracelets, jotter journal sets with prints of my original artwork on them, natural stone pendants, hand-knotted macrame gemstone bookmarks, and some handbound mini-journals.


<– Jotter Journals with Prints of Original Art

Handbound journals, bookmarks and pendants –>

In addition to my products, I had a couple of other things that were incentives for folks to stop by and linger:

1) A giveaway! I thought it would be a nice sign of appreciation to the folks who came by to have a chance to win a gift card to my shop. I put a sign on the front of my booth and had a  sign-up sheet on the table for folks to win a $50.00 gift card to my Etsy shop. I had over 60 entries and picked the lucky winner (Ellery) during the week after BookFest.

2) Something informative! One other item I had on my table that seemed to be helpful in drawing folks to the booth and giving them something “no-pressure” to do was an informative display about Stones of Michigan. You can see the sheet in front of my jewelry stands:

It included samples of five different stones, all from Michigan, with descriptions of the origins of each.  Most Michiganders are familiar with the state stone – Petoskey Stone – which is a fossil coral, specifically Hexagonaria, found off of the shores of Lake Michigan. In the course of making wrap bracelets and researching the state’s natural history, I have discovered a number of other stones that I have started to use in my creations. These include Leland Bluestone, which is actually a glass/stone mix that resulted as a by-product of smelting in the 1870s; epidote, a gorgeous, green stone; mid-mitten alabaster; and kona dolomite (a fossil algae.) People were drawn into the booth and it gave them something to look at, and learn from, while browsing around.

The content of the booth also includes the finishing touches, such as a nice table covering and display stands, professional signage (I printed pricing cards up and laminated them) as well as some decorative items to fill up the space so that the table doesn’t look too sparse. All of this contributes to creating an attractive, inviting, and professional display that speaks to the quality of your products and your business as a whole.

I am thrilled to report that I had a nice number of sales at BookFest as well as some inquiries from folks about my presence at other local craft venues. I am very grateful for everyone who came out and who supported my first foray into craft booth selling!

What did I learn? While having a craft booth is invigorating and exciting, and potentially lucrative, it is exhausting! I spent a great deal of time preparing my booth materials, making extra product so that I had enough to offer my customers, and then spending the entire day on Sunday setting up, staffing, and cleaning up the booth. It was a wonderful opportunity to talk with my customers and potential customers directly, get my products in front of people, and make some sales, but when I started to tally up my time spent on the whole endeavor, I began thinking about my pricing. I will explain more about that in my next post…stay tuned!

Have you ever sold your wares at a craft booth? Do you do this frequently, or just at a select few shows per year? I would love to hear your perspective on the subject.

Happy September!

Welcome to September! It is starting to feel officially like fall, even if it is going to be 80+ degrees today. 🙂

I have been busy with end-of-summer activities and haven’t posted in a month, so here’s an update for you!

I have been creating like crazy lately, among other things, adding some new mini-journals to my Etsy shop:

 Natural Dragonfly Mini Journal with Bead and Button Closure

Approx. 5.75” x 3”, hand-sewn with walnut brown waxed linen thread in a chain stitch or Coptic style, and designed to lay flat for writing or drawing. Heavyweight, 100% cotton, acid-free, warm-white Wyndstone paper in three signatures included for 18 sheets (36 pages) total.
 

Thai traditional paper in a natural buff-white color was used to cover the book board and is finished with a flower-shaped, bone-white button and more waxed linen thread for easy closure. The thread has a beautiful dangle of beads that include a 6mm Jupiter jasper bead surrounded by two gold metallic beads. Inside, the end papers showcase gorgeous green and gold dragonflies on a buff background.




Sienna Mini Journal with Mookaite Jasper and Apple Blossom Button Closure

Approx. 6” x 4”, hand-sewn with dark orange waxed linen thread in a chain stitch or Coptic style, and designed to lay flat for writing or drawing. 70 lb, acid-free, Canson drawing paper in four signatures for 128 pages total.

 

Thai traditional paper in a beautiful sienna color was used to cover the book board and is finished with a delicate, antique gold apple blossom button and more waxed linen thread for easy closure. The thread has a beautiful dangle of gold metallic beads and a Mookaite jasper flat round.
 
And I am also preparing for next weekend’s 10th annual Kerrytown BookFest. I am excited to be participating for the first time as an exhibitor. If you are local to the Ann Arbor area, stop by booth #138 and say hi!  Here is a sneak peek of some of my new items that will be available there:

New! Flower Jade and Mum Macrame Bookmark. Hand-knotted light green S-Lon thread and featuring beautiful flower jade beads and an antique silver-plated mum charm.

New! Lapis Lazuli and Starfish Macrame Bookmark. Hand-knotted medium blue S-Lon thread and featuring gorgeous lapis lazuli beads and an antique silver-plated starfish charm.

Petoskey Stone Triple Wrap Bracelet. A rare find, beautiful, authentic 6mm Petoskey stone rounds were used to create a stunning triple wrap bracelet. Petoskey stone is the official state stone of Michigan. It is a variety of calcite and was formed by the fossilization of ancient coral, Hexagonaria. Petoskey stones are found on many beaches of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, as well as in rock quarries from Traverse City to Alpena.

And more bracelets, bookmarks, and journals to come! Have a Happy Labor Day!

New Bookmarks and Saline Farmer’s Market!

I have been happily plugging away at some new bookmarks for my Etsy shop. I have a few listed there:

 Midnight Sodalite Macrame Bookmark.

 Rhyolite Macrame Bookmark.

Pietersite Macrame Bookmark.

Golden Sunflower with Botswana Agate Macrame Bookmark.

And have created some new ones (with more on the way!) Here’s a sneak peek:

Green Enamel Leaf Macrame Bookmark.

 

Black and White Sardonyx Macrame Bookmark.

I am trying to get some extras done this week since I will have the opportunity to sell my wares at the Saline Farmer’s Market this Saturday, June 9. An artist friend of mine had an extra spot in her booth and kindly invited me to join her. I am very excited! If you are local, stop by and see us! We will be there from 8:00 a.m. – noon.