Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Oh my.....Has it been that long since we last posted? Guess we had a busier holiday season than we planned on.  But we did not get the snow that pretty much the rest of the US received -- I feel so deprived and neglected by Mother Nature.  As I write this, snow is falling today in eastern and southeastern Washington state; we have nippy weather with sunshine.

But we have not been laying around.  Here are some items we did since our last posting:


Commissioned hand-etched Elephant square vase.


Many of my fellow cardmakers know how difficult it is to sell their products -- not because they are poor quality or not of an appealing design, but simply for the fact that people do not send out greeting cards anymore.  We have customers who love to buy our greeting cards, but not enough for us to stay in business as we have been.  Show fees have increased. Cost of supplies have increased.  So what to do? It saddens us, but we must cut back drastically on our show schedule this year.  When we do a show, we will have one (1) table instead of our regular two (2) tables.  We are attempting to do different things with our crafts to entice customers.

One new product we started carrying in November last year were Memory Albums and Memory Greeting Cards (glorified photo albums - but oh so CUTE!).  They have been selling fast, so if you see one you like, if you do not buy, it will probably not be there at the next show.  I will get photos for our next posting.


We learned how to create tri-fold cards years ago, but typically do them for friends and family. Size is typically 6 X 6 inches. We made a couple for the holiday craft shows.  Our first one:





 same panel as previous, but showing the snowman just out of his Pocket.



A Snowman tri-fold card, with 5 panels to decorate.



Our next tri-fold card:





Vintage Christmas tri-fold card with space to write a personal message.  Yes, our tri-fold greeting cards are a gift in themselves!

Now with the New Year here, it was time to get the January birthday cards done:



Completed for a friend in India.



For an aunt....



And an uncle.



For a friend to give his Lady for Valentine's Day. Yes, the center design is cross stitch by hand.



For another friend's birthday, whose last name is Peacock.  I decorated the envelope.  We used to do that years ago, but got away from it.  Time to bring it back.  Looks stunning, and it survived the mail in perfect condition!

What have you worked on lately?

Our first craft show will be in April.  Hope to see you there!

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