cards and postcards... i used pantone markers that i had to buy for design school, they were $60 so i figured i better keep using them since they didnt get much use during school! oh yeah, i am trying to less of a perfectionist lately. it takes too much time and energy making everything perfect! im hoping that making these cards will help.

somehow these got deleted...so im reposting them. we made our christmas cards this year. carved and block printed by me. the envelopes are made from brown "kraft" paper. i actually got the boy to join & help me out on this one!

....and they are done! we had a peep show photo shoot too. arranged in order from blue to blue green to green. yes!

so i made some bird stamps today. half of them turned out crappy, my brayer doesnt roll right for some reason, it keeps getting stuck and then the ink gets all smudged. but thats okay. i will keep the good ones. im turning them into gift tags i think...

so ive never had a fake tree before...or artificial or whatever you want to call it. and i didnt think i would have a fake one this year. we actually had plans on cutting our own. but then we got a newsletter from our landlord "reminding" everyone about the "no real trees" rule. yeah. so plans changed. i wasnt about to buy a plastic tree, either. but i needed SOMETHING to put the presents under, esp. since its our first christmas living together in the apt. so, i made one...
it cost about 10 bucks to make. i found garland buy one get one free. my dad had a ton of wire hangers and didnt mind if i took them off his hands. and they also had the rod for the trunk. i had acrylic paint already too, to paint the trunk. you cant really tell- the brown things are pinecones. i bought a big package of cinnamon scented ones and we strung them up and hung them- it smells great too :). i drilled holes at an angle on 4 sides and 4 corners about every 7 inches up the rod. and my favorite part is that it all comes apart pretty easy for storage.

updated on february 8th... dammit im getting really pissed! they look sharp and just fine on my computer and then when i put them on here they are really blury. why does it do that!!!??? uuugh. anyway, if you click on one it will bring it up in a new window and be sharper. except for the birdhouse one and the stove top one- those two are still pretty blury.

they are coptic bound and i am getting a table at a handmade market on feb 11 in chicago. the girl who is running it wants to turn it into a monthly event if all goes well. that would be great for the future of smock, paper, scissors!

this is my first attempt at a blog, so im keeping my fingers crossed. i didnt even know what a blog was till a few days ago. i mean, i had a general idea and all, but its just one of those things i never ventured into. but now that i know just how cool it is, i will probably lay in bed at night losing sleep thinking about what i will post next. i mainly want to use it as a place to exhibit the things i craft. im going to the store tomorrow for batteries for my camera. after that the fun will begin.