cake & pie

Tree trimmin'

I can't wait for the mailman to arrive each day, because almost everyday he brings me a different ornament from a talented swapper. Our tree is looking pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself. If you haven't yet, definitely check out the swap flickr group...so much holiday creativity going on there.

My good friend Caitlin Keegan just debuted her swap ornament...LOVE it!

It is gocco printed and hand sewn. She has decided to sell a few in her etsy shop, so go check it out along with her other amazing work.

Sometimes you feel like a nut

Well, here it is, my ornament for our 2007 Holiday Ornament Swap:

A walnut. Bizarre? Perhaps. Unexpected, well yes, considering up until Sunday night I was planning something completely different...but sometimes you just have to give in to your inner nut. So there you go.

In other holiday news, I got a very unpleasant surprise when my holiday cards arrived back from the printer...they gloss coated both sets. They are so glossy I can see my reflection in them. Nothing against gloss coating...it has its purpose and place...just not on my holiday cards that I had envisioned a beautiful matte. I called the printer, and by the time they are reprinted and sent to me it will be way too late to sell card sets, (it kind of already is,) and even too late to send holiday cards to my own list of recipients, so lesson learned. Next year Kathleen will have her designs done early (perhaps I will start right now!) I may just print a few cards on my own printer to send to my list, or I'm thinking of doing a very eco-friendly email card. I'm sure Al Gore would approve!

Have a nice Tuesday everyone!

Without further ado

Since my holiday cards seem to be experiencing some shipping delays (grrr) I decided to put my nesting doll ornaments up in my etsy shop sooner rather than later...so here they are!

Etsy ornaments

If you are looking for more ornament swap inspiration, look no further than Etsy. There are so many people creating great original ornaments. Here are a few that caught my eye...

These pressed steel ornaments by Megan Auman are completely gorgeous. I could see having these hang around my house all year round.

Left, a felt flying elephant by ditazol...incredibly cute. Right, I love the dimensionality of this felt tree by jmday.

Last by not least, these embroidered Star Wars ornaments by blackrose are great. I am not the biggest Star Wars fan, but these would be fun to have on our tree.

As for my own swap ornaments, I am working away on a prototype and I will share it with you all soon. I will be selling some of my left over nesting doll ornaments from last year in my etsy shop soon, so stay tuned for that if you've been wanting a doll!

Craft heaven

I was reading Try This at Home, and saw that Martha has just put out this awesome faux bois ribbon. I have no idea what I would do with it, but I think it's wonderful. So I clicked on the link for the ribbon, expecting to be taken to the Michael's website, but no! I was taken to the Martha Stewart Crafts website, (that I didn't know existed,) where Ms. Martha has put over 500 of her products online.

I know there are those out there who may not be a fan of Martha, but I think she's fabulous. She has such an inventive, creative staff, and I think her products—from her craft products to the kitchen spatulas she sells at Kmart—are really good quality. Check out this 18 piece Goodie Box set...it contains everything you need to package homemade treats for gifts, etc.

I love that the inside of the box and the tissue paper is patterned...such attention to detail.

I also love these pinecone and acorn ornament gift boxes. You can decorate them or leave them plain, and when you are done with the gift giving hang them on the tree.

Alright, I am done with my Martha gushing now. Good evening everyone!

Images from marthastewartcrafts.com

Handmade favorites

There are just so many gorgeous things popping up on Etsy these days. Here are a few of my current favorites...

Left: Beautiful tea bowls by Diana Fayt, $42 each. I love their shape! Right: Gorgeous knitware vase by Alyssa Ettinger, $120 each.

Left: Great black and white weave print notebook by Susy Jack, $8.50 each. Right: Otto Cornejo by Essimar, $20.

Left: Elegant twisted ring set by Abigail Percy, $55. Right:  The Market Bag by Moop in gray corduroy, $78.

Swap update

11/14/07 ***An update to the update: All swap groups have now been sent out. We have been having problems with swap emails getting caught in people's spam filters. If you have not received your swap group yet please email us at holidayswap07@yahoo.com and WE WILL RESPOND WITHIN 24 HOURS. We apologize if this is frustrating...it is frustrating to us as well. Hopefully we can have this all resolved in a few days...and we'll be working out a better system for getting the swap groups out next year. Thanks!

Due to the large amount of swap sign-ups this year (over 600,) Nicole and I have opted to give ourselves one extra day to put together all the swap groups. Swap group lists will now be sent out on Tuesday, November 13th. Sorry for the delay everyone!

Ornament inspiration

With the swap upon us I thought I'd post a little ornament inspiration to get everyone going. Every year Anthropologie puts out a gorgeous collection of handmade-looking ornaments. Here are a few of my favorites:

Hable Construction has a great collection of wool felt ornaments this year. They have so much personality.

Also check out these cute button ornaments and clothespin doll ornaments on Martha Stewart. There are always great holiday ideas on her site. 

Last, but not least, go look at last year's Swap Flickr Grouo 06 to see all the amazing ornaments swappers turned out in the first Ornament Swap. While you're there, if you are a swapper, be sure to join this year's Swap Flickr Group 07. Have a lovely Saturday friends!

Images from anthropologie.com and hableconstruction.com

Sign-ups closed

Sign-ups for The 2nd Annual Holiday Ornament Swap are now closed. We'll be sending swap lists to all those who signed up on Monday, November 12th. I can't wait to see all of the amazing ornament creations this year!

Wow

Nicole and I are just overwhelmed by the response to the swap. As of this morning, well over 300 of you have joined, and there are still three days of sign-ups ahead. I just wanted to thank all of the blogs who have kindly posted about the swap and helped us get the word out...we could not have done it without all of you! Stay tuned here and at FB for more swap news in the days ahead!