Swaps and Shops

Ok Amy, no peeking now, this is all about your bookmarks so you have to go read someone else's blog until you receive them in the mail!

I finally got the bookmarks and the hole punch to meet at the same location and within minutes they were finished, photographed, wrapped and photographed again!

I know they look a bit big for bookmarks don't they? Because I was feeling so bad for being such a slack swap partner while I was out thrifting I found 3 little books that I thought might suit Amy and the bookmarks I had made for her.

Bookmark number one has a Kiwiana theme. I typed out a condensed version of the wooden Buzzy Bee story and fixed that to a card, laminated it and then attached a laminated cut out of a Buzzy Bee. I found a cute book dated 1967 "Birthdays and Family Celebrations" to go with this bookmark.

Bookmark 2 has a retro feel to it, Amy being a retro girl and all. This one is made of barkcloth and gold rick a rac and a religious verse as Amy is a Christian. And a nice little book of garden verses to go with it.

Last one is vintage fashion theme with a sheet music background and green rick a rac. I found a fashion pattern pack to go with this.

I used beads on the first lot of bookmarks I made and they had a nasty mishap in the laminator, they came out kind of melted (funny that!) and rearranged the laminate sheet so it was pleated in a very odd fashion. That was after they got stuck and I had to yank the sheet out of the laminator!

Second swap down, this swapping business is soooooooo much fun! Can't wait to get my partners for the next two I have signed up for!

Now the shop . . . this weekend is the big garage clean up weekend, really looking forward to it - kind of . . . but feeling very inspired after viewing Karla's studio photo's over and over again, really helped give me some vision for what I am going to create in there. Thanks Karla.

You wouldn't believe this, the shop is soooo busy at the moment, doing really good sales each day and my Trade Me sales are ripping along also . . . But I can't reverse the decision so I have to make the best of the new plan.

I have been telling my customers I am moving and handing out brochures inviting them to vsit the new showroom/shop and while they are visting have a cup of tea or coffee, some home baking and on Friday evenings wine!

So hopefully . . . the upside is I will be warm, the shop is freezing cold. I will have a kind of clean house again and I will be able to paint the furniture I have sitting around waiting to be prettied up for sale. Couldn't do that at the shop, the workroom was too small and had no ventilation.

I'm sure it will work out for the best and if not I will go and do it again somewhere else but this time with more money behind me!