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Friday, January 25, 2008

etsy friday

Part of the love I have for etsy is not just finding acres of cool stuff for myself, but being able to connect with other artists and use their handmade items when making and preparing things for my own etsy shop. I realized, after buying more "zero" hangtags for my handdyed rovings and handspun yarns that I should check MaryLou's shop out for larger sized tags as well. She has a huge range of tags, but these! are! perfect!

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Octopi handstamped tags by time2cre8.etsy.com
(bright in real life, rainstorms today!)

Ever since packing up my holiday knitting, I have been thinking how nice it would be to include a tag attached to items that I don't have the chance to deliver personally... you know, with a little "handknit by" and care instructions and the like. These tags have lots of room on the back for just that... and fulfill my irrational attraction to all things tentacled :)

It was a tossup between my colorful octopus tags and these "handmade by___" custom tags... the handmade ones may have been a better fit for what I intend to use them for, but... octopuses! :)

I also asked time2cre8 for more recycled business card envelopes (I use them in my packaging to send gifts in with orders)... I've gotten into the habit of letting MaryLou just surprise me with what she sends and these are so fun :)

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Recycled book business card envelopes from time2cre8.etsy.com

These are made from a children's book and a comic-- so bright and fun :) I'm always floored by these; time2cre8 handcuts each from a template she designed, and handglues each together. She sends me blank business card sized cards as well that I go on to handstamp with my Hotai + Yarn stamp and write a thank you on... I'm lucky MaryLou's work helps me extend the handmade revolution a little further with these :)

I also try to find handmade items on etsy to make stitch markers from-- it can be a challenge, but one of my favorite artist suppliers for my shop is jessprkle.

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Handmade paper beads by jessprkle.etsy.com

Jessprkle's shop is full of handmade goodness, from jewelry to handspun yarn and to these handmade paper beads. I use these beads to wrap copper colored wire around and make into one-of-a-kind paper bead and wire stitch markers like these...

wirewrapped

I haven't made these in a while; they are more work but I really do like the effect. Jess' beads are the best of any I've tried-- they are very very hard (some paper beads I've bought still have a flimsy paper quality and don't hold up to the wrapping as well), and the papers she chooses are always very interesting and stand out even against the dramatic wire. With the downpour outside, I'll probably be spending a chunk of time this weekend wrapping these beads :)

I also couldn't resist picking up this tiny pendant from jessprkle when checking out...

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q pendant by jessprkle.etsy.com

She's taken a glass half marble and applied a jumpring and a "q" to the back... and backed it all with a tiny dot of felt. It's tiny, but I don't always have to be a size queen ;)

...

Meanwhile, back on the farm-- I ran out of time last week to share something from an etsy artist who has purchased from my shop, but it is something I want to keep doing! I think it's another fun way to find cool etsy stuff... like handspun yarn from Knitted to a T:

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Handspun superwash merino/tencel from knittedtoat.etsy.com

I don't usually go for tencel blends, but the blue and orange combo here is one of my favorites and would make such a super hat! I've been wearing my handknit hats a lot lately and need to knit one from a superwash-- they're getting much more use (and downtown grime!) than I had thought they would and wish I could toss them into the wash instead of handwashing them :) There also may be just enough here for some sweet simple mittens (esp. if paired with a coordinating color for cuffs and thumbs), another thing I could use more of lately :)

That's all folks, miss you! Stay warm :)

9 comments:

Charity said...

LOVE those paper bead and copper stitch markers! :0)

Chris said...

You always have the most fun finds!

lexa said...

More cool stuff! It's so neat how you incorporate other Etsy vendors wares into yours and your gift giving.

Rhonda the Stitchingnut said...

Oh that orange & blue yarn is gorgeous! Love the rolled bead markers ... especially the bright colored ones.

Anonymous said...

what a sweet surprise! thanks so much for the feature! i'm thrilled to hear how much you enjoy your beads... it's quite flattering :)

btw--i got a google alert for this blog post; that's how i found out about it!

errs said...

Octopi!!! I wish I had a need for hang tags. Those are too cool.

Lori said...

Hey! pretty pretty! You always tempt me so badly with your etsy Friday posts!
By the way, I've given you my "You Make My Day" award (awww!) over on my blog if you want to pick it up :)

Anonymous said...

The comic print cards are grand. I love the fly/eye one especially. Great find, Aija.

~Tonia~ said...

Thanks so much for featuring me on your blog. That is so sweet of you to do. The merino/tencel blend was so lovely to spin. I am sure that there will be plenty more of your rovings spun into yarn in my shop. :) Thanks again you are so sweet.

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