I had a notebooky Christmas this year. I really hit the jackpot. My mom and dad gave me a binding machine (sionara Kinko's!) complete with coils. And Alma gave me all the supplies a girl could want, including one of those infomercial paper cutters with all the different blades. He got me a bunch of vintage ephemera, like old used envelopes, report cards, and math homework. And he got me these!


(from One Good Bumblebee)
I can't wait to make some vintagey notebooks with my new stuff. I may even have to keep one for myself!

I'm already sick of my graphics. They just don't pop and they print pretty poorly (how's that for alliteration). The following is a list of graphics, websites and banners, that I adore (that might provide me with some inspiration):







I tried to get the pictures to be links to the websites, but I guess that didn't work out. So here are the links, just in cases you need them:
Design Sponge
Alicia Bock
Belle and Boo
One Good Bumblebee
The Paper Princess

Rule of thumb for anyone using spray adhesive: NEVER buy anything but 3M Super 77. If you do, you will end up spending $15 on glue that doesn't stick.

Hooray for custom orders!
my special form
Email completed forms to penniesandpearls@gmail.com.

And also, I've been loving the holiday vibe that's been floating around. I've been trying to think of ways to package my notebooks to be cute and fun and festive. Any ideas?

I must say, the artists boutique on Saturday was amazing. I was running on 3 hours of sleep and lots of caffeine, and I still managed to have an absolutely wonderful time. Selling the notebooks that I've been slaving over was a little bit weird. I spent so much time thinking about them, putting them together, perfecting them, binding them, displaying them, that to see them disappear is... odd. But it's exhilarating and very fulfilling to sell something I made. I can't wait to do it again. I think I'm going to try this week to get an *official* business license, so that I can open an etsy shop and maybe a little website. I have 5 custom orders to finish before Christmas, and I'm so excited.

Another bonus from this whole experience has been proving something to myself. Proving I can be ambitious and motivated. Proving that I can work really hard. Proving that the crafty things I make are worth spending money on. Proving that my creations are something worth having a little bit of pride in. Sorry that got a little mushy at the end.

I am so grateful to everyone who helped plan this, to everyone who came, and to everyone that bought something! And lots and lots of thanks to Mikey Mike who, despite my poor planning, still showed up with camera in hand to take some beautiful pictures of my table.

Click here!

My arms are sore from carrying reams of paper.
My hands are covered in spray adhesive.
Every surface is covered in scraps of paper,
from the kitchen counter and the dining table
to the top of the piano.
My paper cutter is dull,
My body is full of caffeine.
It's still slow going,
but I'm enjoying the work.
Imagine that.

So, my arts & crafts boutique is this Saturday, and I currently have, let's see... 6 notebooks. My goal is to do two a night. We'll see how it goes. I'm getting more ansy the closer it gets. I've never done anything like this before... I know it's small, but it's a big deal for me. I have this dream of working part time and making stuff to sell part time. This could be the beginning of something!

And, on a different note, I have noticed, being totally immersed in this for the last couple of days, that creativity fosters creativity. The more I'm in it, the more I think about it, the more ideas flow. Let's hope I don't hit a road block.