Buttons and Magnets and Rings! Oh my!

Regular readers will remember my excitement when Liz of Hobbledehoy loaned me her 1 inch tecre machine. Here is a peek at some of the fruits of my labors.
I made rings with chiyogami paper, magnet sets with all sorts of recycled papers, pin back buttons with dried flowers, recycled magazines and more chiyogami paper, and subtle promo magnets featuring the same paper I use in my packaging. Very, very fun! Geoff used recycled magazines and the tecre to make funny celebrity magnets for his brother. Thing One had fun collecting flowers for pressing.
Last week I mailed the machine back to Liz so she can get started on promos for the holidays. It was so great to give the machine a test run. I am still on the fence about whether I want one of my own - when my current stock of promos gets low, I will have to make a decision, but in the meantime, thanks to Liz, I am stocked through Christmas.

In the spirit of sharing, I would like to send a little package of goodies - at least one ring, magnet set and pin back button - to the first five readers who comment here. Thanks again Liz!

Thanks Maia and Karen Beth

So, when I came home from vacation I discovered I had been nominated for two blog awards. When I shared this news with Geoff, his response was "What? You?" And when I told him one of them was the "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award, he just laughed and laughed.

Don't let this interaction fool you. He is a very loving and supportive guy. Really.

My pal Maia is responsible for the Rockin' award (I am pretty sure I was rockin' for at least a minute or two in 1991.) and I am thrilled to pass on to:

stilettoheights because, honestly, she really is rockin', even off-line. And her letters to celebrities are the sole reason I am excited to wake up on a Wednesday morning. (Okay, I love my kids, too. And coffee.)

zellmer because she refers to doing a great deal of rockin' pre-baby (and look at her picture - she's still rockin'), and her blog was the first Mommy blog I found that I enjoyed reading.

tracey because, well look at her playlist and try to argue with me. And because she writes a very engaging gardening blog that feels like it is about a lot more than gardening.

______

The other award was invented by Karen Beth of Zazazu. It is the "Uplift Award" and I am so touched that she mentioned me. I am not able to express how much it means to me that someone who reads my little ramblings finds them uplifting. I am also a little self-conscious, because she mentions my One Small Change series as a reason for the award, and I stole the idea from Gillian.

So naturally, I want to pass the Uplift Award along to

Gillian who inspired One Small Change and writes from Nottingham, England, which always gives me a little thrill. Her artwork is lovely, and it is wonderful to read about her process and the inspirations behind her work.

Eva whose blog is so lovely looking. When she is not writing about her beautifully embroidered animal creations, she posts thought-provoking and often spirit-lifting links, poems and quotes.

MissFickleMedia who has been so supportive of my work and my process. She is a kindred spirit and I always look forward to reading what she has to write about her kids. Also, I love watching her process as she develops new products and new looks for her popular pendants and gorgeous fine silver jewelry.

MsBelle because she is the kindest, most supportive blogger/seller out there. She is always the first person to comment on my new work, the first person to congratulate me on my successes, and I swear, she was even more excited about my front-page appearance than I was. It has been exciting to see her develop a signature look for her shop and even more exciting to see her work gain the attention it deserves.

Beck because she is the best writer in blogland and at least once a week she publishes a post that makes me think perhaps she is living in my head.

And finally, Karen Beth, can I pass the award back to you? Karen-Beth's blog is like a little yoga class for your brain. Amazing, serene photos and quotes that remind you to slow down, breathe deeply and appreciate all the beauty and goodness that surrounds us.

Thanks, friends.

hobbledehoy!! or The Kindness of Strangers

I do not know Liz, the seller behind the etsy shop, hobbledehoy, from Adam, but when she read my forum post asking where I should buy a Tecre Button Machine, she offered to LOAN ME HERS.

For those unfamiliar, a Tecre is the pinback button making machine recommended by all Etsy sellers who use button machines. And they cost $250!

I have been wanting one for the longest time, because I think it would be so fun to send out little stephaniegibson pins and magnets (the machine makes those too) as promos to my customers. I could also use the machine to make rings that I think would sell like crazy at Eastern Market. I have saved up all my sales money for the last three months to justify buying one, but I was still thinking maybe this was an impulse buy that was never going to pay for itself. Now, thanks to the generosity of Liz, I can try one out and see whether it is really something I need to invest in, or whether it is just another craft gadget for the closet where all non-jewelry-related craft gadgets go to live sad, lonely lives, unable to entertain even one another, because, of course, they are all still sealed in their original packaging.

So, help me celebrate by checking out Liz's shop. Not just as a favor to me, but because she is selling fiber batts called Riot in the Batcave!