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.

coptic stich binding

So, I’m sharing a booth at renegade craft faire with Cheesecake Handmade Beauty.  I didn’t officially apply this year (I didn’t want to take on more than I can handle what with the wedding and all)  so I’m going under the radar.  Initially Claire had only wanted me to help run the booth and sell her wares on Sunday morning while she’s running the half marathon. In exchange offered me half her booth for free as compensation.  As the fair is approaching, has offered me space in her booth on both Saturday and Sunday.  This is exciting! But stressful as I have lots to do to get ready for the day. I’ve been working on better packaging and getting my whole display set up together.  That’s been the easy part.

The studios where I print are closed until September, so in the mean time I’ve been working on producing hand bound journals (finally!) which seems like its taking fooooorever.  I have at least 10 started, which I think will probably be my limit for what I can do in the time I have while also needing to work on tying up countless other odds and ends.

So, I’ve bound journals before, and I’ve helped edition artists books, but I’ve never ‘mass’ produced journals.  The first thing I’ve learned from this experience is next time only  make ONE size journal!  (or two for variety)   Seriously I have 10 journals that are all different sizes.  I thought they would look more interesting that way, but it’s taking my probably twice the amount of time just to cut the paper down to size, and my head is swimming with numbers and calculations and ways to produce the least amount of scraps.

I am also thinking I’ll do a few little, super simple single signature pocket notebooks to sell for $2 or so.  Those will be much easier to make and satisfying to see finished as I crawl my way through the larger jornals.

ALSO — my kutrimmer has been my savior!  I don’t think I’ve loved (or used) a new tool more than this.  I am in love with that thing.  Once I get more done on my journals I’ll take some pix and post em.

Thanks for listening!

~ shayna

There are shots of my most recent custom project.  I created an 8×10″ two color print of the hands ceremony for a couple to give as a wedding gift to their friends.

I was really happy about the final outcome.  And I got an email back from the customer who loved them as well.  It’s so nice to hear.  I have a few more custom jobs coming up over the next few weeks, as well trying to acclimate back into ‘real life’ after all the wedding hoopla.   I’ll also be stocking up on inventory as I’ll be sharing a booth at the Renegade Craft Fair on Sunday, Sept 12th with Cheesecake handmade beauty.  (very exciting, but so much work to do in the next month.)

I’ll also be working binding a new stock of journals that will hopefully be up on Etsy and in stores soon!  I’ll keep you posted.

I have been accepted as a vendor at Indie Wed next January 2011.  It will be a showcase of wedding wares and services for brides looking for less traditional weddings! Woohoo.

I’ll keep you posted as I learn more.  There is more info on the website: http://www.indiewed.com/home-ch.html

I just got back in town, unpacked, and have piles of laundry waiting for me.  I feel rejuvenated and ready to jump back into the swing of things.  It was a wonderful two weeks. 

I will post pix as soon as they are taken (hopefully tomorrow)

I must say, it turned out quite beautiful.  It will be a really lovely and personal wedding gift.  It feels  nice knowing I can contribute in some way to someone else’s wedding.  Especially with my own wedding mere weeks away, I have a stronger understanding of the importance of the occasion.

Speaking of… this will be my last custom job for the next few weeks as I prepare for my own wedding (then honeymoon) in July / August.  Yay!

Steel Petal Press handmade letterpress cards are now available at The Inkling Shop in the Lake View neighborhood of Chicago!  The shop is relatively new and specialized in local handmade Chicago crafts and wares.  There is also an art gallery in back.  Stephanie, the owner is super duper sweet, and almost always there.  If you’re in the neighborhood i definitely recommend a visit.  There’s tons of cute things!

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!

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-carrotsApparently 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-