What a great first day!

I started my new shop today, and right off the bat got three sales - woohoo! As I mentioned before, prices in this shop are set to MOVE some stuff, so it's not like I made a lot of money, but how sweet it is to have a sale...doing the happy dance!

So you know more of what I've added to Ginny's Veranda, here's a mini from the shop:



Drop by and "set" a spell. Who knows what you might find, as I've got lots more in that closet to bring out.

Why Hallmark is so last century

Okay - I've got a twelve-year-old at home. And when things I say or do are absolutely unacceptable to her standards (like every five minutes), she tells me, "Mom, that is sooooo last century." Cracks me up. But seriously, why oh why would anyone buy mass-produced stationery items, when they can gocco? Gocco, you say, what the heck is that? Well, it's a wonderfully creative and unique way to screen print that is being adopted by a number of papiere artists, especially the wonderfully talented Etsy artist My Cat Lulu. Such beautiful cards, with that unique edge that tells the recipient that you really do care to send the very best, because you've selected something handmade, not something made for the masses.


How you can you pass by custom thank you notes for the special day of love?

How about choosing to express your love of animals?


And lastly, don't forget the opportunity to make your purchases do more than pad the corporate pockets....how about making purchases that give back? The peace cards below are dedicated to have 50% go to Amnesty International.


Do take the time to be totally 21st century, checking out My Cat Lulu's shop and her blog. Au courant, bebe.




Peace out, y'all.

New Year's Resolution - Ban E-cards?

Now that the holiday season is winding down, it's time to think about what to do next. For many, it's a time for reviewing the last year, looking to the next. Is one of your New Year's resolutions a commitment to connect to friends? Have you been sending e-cards, and dashing off a quick e-mail to say "thanks"? As you are writing thank you notes for all those fabulous gifts just received, why not send an equally fabulous handcrafted thank you note instead? Eclectic and unique paper treasures can be found at the shop of Etsy artist Quirky 'n Berkeley. Her pieces are created out of her love of paper and color, and never with the assistance of a computer. All handcrafted and quite lovely.


Or maybe you would like to get a jump on the next holiday - Valentine's Day. It's not too early to begin, and what says "I love you" better than a handmade card of archival quality to cherish for a lifetime? These hearts peaking through a vellum aperture set the stage for the heartfelt sentiments you write yourself in the blank inside. Perhaps a little poetry for your true love?


Quirky 'n Berkeley, in addition to her card designs, also fashions paper treasures such as these petite origami boxes made of beautiful, luxurious, textured yuzen chiyogami paper. They're the perfect size for rings or earrings. You could get them for yourself as a treat to store your favorite pieces of jewelry, or use them for gift boxes that need no wrapping, should you find yourself challenged by that activity. (No, honey, I'm not talking about you. Really.)

The wonderful world of paper and color - something someone can hold in their hand, delight their eye, for now and for as long as they decide to keep the greeting. With the handcrafted works of ephemeral art from Quirky 'n Berkeley, I would guess they would be treasured for a long time. Check out her blog, too, for more about her art, her custom work, and her features on other Etsy artists.

Get Your Holiday Style On

Vanessa Kimball from Bloomington, MN is a graphic designer for a design company called Ekcetera Productions, and her stationery can also be purchased at the brick&mortar store called Ekcetera in Inver Grove Heights, MN.


Lucky for us on Etsy, Vanessa also sells her stationery at an eponymous shop there. Her designs are bright, crisp and modern. You can find cards, calendars and gift tags with a classy look and elegant lines. If you love her design aesthetic and need some graphic assistance for your own e-commerce life, she also sells her skills in graphic banner designs.

Here's how Vanessa describes herself in her Etsy profile:

I'm glued to my computer. I wonder if there's such thing as a design addiction. Oh and I'm also addicted to Lipsmackers lip gloss. Strawberry Kiwi to be exact. Don't judge. :)

I also enjoy interior decorating, tennis, music, painting, vintage, IKEA, listening to The Current,coffee table books and art.

Don't worry, Vanessa, we would never judge a Lipsmackers addiction, especially Strawberry Kiwi - yum!

It's not to late to hop on over to Vanessa Kimball and find some holiday paperie to make your holidays classy, and even more important, handmade. Find out more on her blog, too, while you're at it. She's also doing the 90/90 blogging challenge and may have found just what you need and written an awesome feature on it. You'll never know until you click-and-go!

Stocking Stuffers!

I have found some items that will make for perfect stocking stuffers for literally EVERYBODY! Who can beat that? Check out these wonderful paper products from Etsy artist Simply Said by Sarah. Great as gifts for anyone with a need to keep notes, monogrammed sticky notes, or holiday inspired design notepads, these will be perfect choices for friends, family members, teachers....yep, just about everybody.


The artist behind Simply Said is Sarah Orton. Sarah is a graphic design student in North Carolina. Her flair for design stems from a lifelong interest in crafts and her pieces demonstrate a fun spin on a contemporary sense of style. Encouraged by the requests she’d begun to receive from fellow employees and friends, Sarah decided to combine her creativity with her business sense, and Simply Said by Sarah was born. Each piece is handcrafted and unique, and is sure to add a tasteful touch of originality to your home!


Open to customization, special requests are always welcome at Simply Said by Sarah. Check out her blog, too, on posts about her graphic design journey and posts on other Etsy artists.

A Paper DemiGod

Our (the "90 Feature Folk" as Phyllis from PersonalTreasures has dubbed us) resident DemiGod is Michael Gresh, and he is a man of many trades. Designer of hotels by day, craft inventor and schemer by night, a self-proclaimed "paper nut", he is the force behind the Etsy shop Darjeeling Paper.



He is also the co-owner of DemiGod Studio, an ecclectic duo of craft & art show afficionados. When he's not working on plans to open his own shop for DemiGod Studio, he bides his time coming up with new and inventive ways to use up the stockpile of paper he's accumulated over the years. That must be some stash considering the wonderful paper eye-candy he's got listed in his shop. His plans for Darjeeling Paper, Ltd. include a showcase for these paper goods, and to distinguish his works as a new product division of DemiGod. A man with a business plan - his offerings are so lovely and practical, I'm sure he'll be a quite successful DemiGod.

Spend some time checking out Michael's shop, and find out more about his processes on his website and blog, where there are even plans for tutorials in the near future.

Mark this!

Hallmark better pay close attention to the indie paper market out here in cyberland. With artists like Etsy's Earmark Invitations, the bar for modern, witty, crisp, clean paper goods is getting set pretty high. Wonderful graphics set the tone for fully customizable invites, greetings, journals, you name it. Establishing a name for themselves with a feature at the Sundance Festival in January 2007, the folks at Earmark got to hobnob with the celebs at the Kari Feinstein Style Lounge and show off their wares. In September 2007, Bridal Guide Magazine featured their customizable chocolate bars for weddings. Sweet!

Their motto is simple - "Paperie goodness for you". With a total dedication to customer satsifaction, they aim to "create happiness" with their products. So the next time you're tempted to send out an email to friends for the next soiree, maybe it's time to reconsider the "old-fashioned" excitement of receiving honest-to-goodness mail, and handcrafted paper invites at that. How classy, and with Earmark, how modern at the same time. You can see their beautiful happiness-creating goods at their website, too, and keep up with all their doings through their blog. Happy correspondence, y'all!