I finally finished binding my first batch of journals. (It took a loooong time.) Pix are up on FLICKR and FACEBOOK.
Also check out my new Journal section on this website with descriptions of the Mini journals and the Coptic bound journals. Woohooo, now it’s time for a MUCH needed break!
On a side note: Chad and I have officially lived in our Chicago apartment for 2 years starting now – Sept 1st. Making Chciago longest I’ve consecutively lived anywhere in my adult life (since I left my parent’s house in ‘98). AND the longest I’ve ever been in any one apartment.
When looking through some of my older boxes of art projects and supplies I stumbled across some of the first greeting cards I ever printed!
I made these “Greetings from SF” cards with metal and wood set type as a part of a letterpress workshop I had taken while living in San Francisco. I think these cards were originally printed in 2007. I still love them. They will be available on Etsy!
Even though I’ve been on Etsy for a year now, I feel like I’m learning new things every day.
A few months ago I found these two useful sites for tracking views, finding treasury features and viewing new shop and item hearts: http://craftcult.com/ – http://craftopolis.com/
Through craftopolis I found my carrot cards featured in two new treasuries:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c1a8871d3486d91ff1e3300/happiness-of-rabbit-or-about-rabbits-and
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c35134f33d58eefd416392b/eat-your-carrots
Apparently carrots are poplar in the summer 
My favorite new tool is Google Analytics which I have added to track traffic on my etsy site. I can track who visits my page, how they find me, how many hits I get a day and what search terms visitor use. I’ve only been using the analytics for less than a month so it’s still all pretty new to me.
In other news, I came across this feature of my “You Rock” cards, with a slew of other awesome cards with similar sayings from Invitation Buzz. Check it out: http://invitationbuzz.com/posts/152-you-rock-
Lots of updates from the Steel Petal Press headquarters. (ie – my apartment)
First- Letterpress Baby Cards are printed, posted and up for sale on Etsy! My favorite is the “Baby Mama” card based on a picture I took of one of my best friends in the hospital with her new born. It’s crazy to think her daughter is already 3 years old, walking and talking! Pretty soon I’ll be one of those old ladies who always seems surprised at how much the young’uns have grown.
Next — One of my Father’s Day Letterpress cards was featured in an Etsy Father’s Day Treasury. There’s some great gift ideas for Dads in there. Check it out!
Lastly. I bound a new journal last night! It has been about a year since I’ve done any book binding. It was a little messy, since I’m out of practice, but I plan on binding many many more over the next few weeks and adding them to my inventory. I dug out some beautiful handmade paper I’d had rolled up in storage for way to long and used that to cover the boards. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out and am definitely looking forward to making (and selling) more.
To celebrate my first year on Etsy I’m offering FREE SHIPPING on all US orders for the month of June. I opened my shop on June 19th, 2009. It’s been a slow and steady start and I’ve been gaining increased momentum month after month.
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