Lettergirl

Giveaway winner.

What creative suggestions for teacher gifts!  And especially the ideas that included a thoughtful note from the child.  The random winner of the name stamp is:

Allison

At Christmas, we usually give travel mugs with our homemade cocoa mix and biscotti.  At the end of the year, bookmarks (made by my kids) and gift cards to a bookstore.

Allison, please email me at lettergirl66 {at} gmail {dot} com; let me know the name for your stamp, if you'd like self-inking or red rubber, and which lettering style to use.  You can see the options here. 

Come back and visit in June, when I'll be hosting a whole week of giveaways in honor of my 21st business anniversary (which was actually last week, but I'm hoping to host the giveaway week on my brand new blog!).  Be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you'll know just when the giveaways start!

A giveaway!

All week I am featuring teacher gift ideas, but today I invite you to share your favorite gift ideas for a chance to win a lettergirl stamp.  You can give it to a treasured teacher or keep it for yourself.  (I won't tell, promise.)

This giveaway is for one handwritten name stamp, in your choice of convenient self-inking or traditional red rubber.  Use the stamp to make your own notecards, gift tags, or labels.  You'll get your choice of any of my handwritten lettering      styles too.

To enter, leave a comment on this post by midnight on Sunday, May 19th.  Let me know your best gift idea for teachers -- whether it's your child's 3rd grade teacher or a mentor who's helped you as an adult.  I'll draw a winner bright & early on Monday.  Good luck!

 

Teacher gift week, part three: wall decals.

Repositionable wall decals from Spoonflower are eco-friendly and come in three designs (Dreams, Happiness, and Good Thoughts) and three sizes (5", 15", and 30").  I've moved this one around my studio three times and it's still sticking like brand new.  Prices start at just $5 for a small decal. 

Teacher gift week, part two.

I know what it's like to have a lot of teachers I want to thank and not a lot of funds in the budget.  Enter these notecards:  only $12 for a sweet set of 10. 

Written and illustrated by hand, the motif on each set varies: stars, leaves, an apple, a pencil -- whatever looks best with the individual name (or whatever you have your heart set on).  Sale ends Sunday.

Teacher gift week - 20% off this week only!

Each day this week I'll feature a different teacher gift idea.  Teacher gifts from my etsy shop are 20% off this week -- no coupon needed.

I love making bookplate stamps for teacher gifts!  These stamps are available in convenient self-inking or traditional red rubber and will last for years. 

And coming Thursday:  a teacher gift week giveaway....

Fabric + starch = instant wall decor.

Recently I revisited a technique I used in college to decorate my dorm room walls:  letters cut out of fabric and adhered to the wall with liquid fabric starch.  Want to freshen up your wall?  You can peel these letters off, wash the wall, and start over with a new quotation:  no need to repaint...easy peasy!

First you cut out your letters.  I like to use batik fabrics because the weave is nice and tight.  I also cut my letters freehand; I don't mind the imperfections.  If you're not up to that, you could stencil letters to the shiny side of freezer paper using a nice dark pen (like a Sharpie). Iron the shiny side onto the back of your fabric, cut out the letters (the pen should show through enough for cutting), then peel off the freezer paper.  The freezer paper also keeps the fabric stiff for cutting, but watch when you're peeling so you don't get too many frayed ends.

Dip your letters in a shallow bowl of liquid starch.  I did this entire quotation with less than a half cup of starch.

You don't want too much extra starch on your fabric or it will drip onto the wall.

Press your letter against your (clean) wall.  I like to do one word at a time, stand back & make sure it looks straight/even, and peel the letters off if necessary.  You can reapply them without adding more starch if you do it quickly. 

Once I'm sure I like the placement, I blot the letters with a paper towel to catch any extra starch that could drip on the wall.

Ta da!  Now why did it take me 25 years to remember this idea?

New in the shop: quotation greeting cards.

It's here!  My newest set of greeting cards -- 8 of my favorite quotations, handwritten & printed in color, then matted & mounted on heavy folded stock.  Each set includes two birthday cards, and one each of wedding, baby, graduation, thank you, sympathy, and get well cards. 

I am thinking of framing a few of these instead of mailing them out!

Free shipping for card sets through Wednesday, domestic purchases only.  No coupon needed, just make your purchase through May 8th.

Friday wrap-up.

On Monday, I didn't realize how hectic this week would be; on the upside, it was ordinary hectic, so I'm grateful for that, and I'm pretty happy that we didn't get 13 inches of snow on Wednesday night like my mom and sister, who don't live too far from here.  But still, here it is Friday and there are many things circled on my to-do list that I just didn't get to.  (My friend Beth uses a ta-da list instead, for the things she managed to get done.  I'm definitely going to figure out a way to work that in somehow.)

Destiny, I have read All Over but the Shoutin', only years ago so it's pretty vague.  Maybe I need to consider a re-read of that one myself!

CJ, I think you should add The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society to your list of happy books, if it's not already on there.

What I'll be doing today:

*artwork to commemorate my 21 years as Dreamland Designs (which ended on Tuesday this week)

*reading a post or two on Dinner: A Love Story

*five-minute good morning snuggle with my 12-year-old (whose birthday was Monday)

*working from home for part of the morning since my wireless disappeared at the studio on Wednesday

*stretching to work out the kinks from two intense kettlebells classes this week

*catching up on Glee with my daughter tonight

How about you?

 

Wednesday Book Club.

Are you a re-reader?  I am.  My friend Kristi always reads the last chapter first when reading a new book, so that she won't have to bear the tension...and I guess that's a bit like the pleasure of re-reading.  I think the tension is compelling the first time through, but the second time is for savoring the details.

We recently got bookshelves in our parlour (which may now be called the library), which have been on my list for years (but not in my budget).  We spent a whole afternoon hauling tubs of books down from the attic, sorting through them, and filling the shelves.  I came upon so many titles I want to reread, starting with a stack of paperbacks by David Lodge.

In college I read a lot of David Lodge, after I spent a semester studying in London.  (When in Africa, read Love in the Driest Season; when in New York, read the Morningside Heights trilogy; when in England, read anything by David Lodge.)  I continued to read his books through my twenties, and made it as far as Thinks, which was published about 10 years ago (when I was definitely not in my 20's anymore).  I tried to get through his more recent novels, Author Author and Deaf Sentence, but they both were too dense for me with sentences that go on for half a page and dare I say it, a little boring.  I excused him (but didn't finish the books) because he's been writing so long, he deserves to indulge himself as he ages.

So when I set my old paperbacks on the new bookshelves, I decided it was time for a re-read of his classic academic trilogy, starting with Changing Places, which I first read 25 years ago.  Guess what?  The sentences are really long and parts of it so far are a little boring.  Sigh.  I guess he isn't the only one who's aging.  But I'm going to stick with it; I remember the third book in the trilogy, Nice Work, was my favorite and the most accessible.  

Do you have any favorite re-reads?

Coming soon: greeting card sets.

A few years before I started my etsy shop, I sold my custom stationery at boutique paper stores around the country, and had a few greeting cards in the mix too.  I used to package them up in clear bags tied with pretty ribbon -- a couple of birthday cards, a wedding card, one for graduation, and sympathy and get well, maybe a new baby card.  My sister-in-law Carol liked them so much that she still orders a few packages every year.

Time for an update!  I've written some of my favorite quotes, printed them in color and mounted them in layers on beautiful papers. (And the clear bags are now made of recycled plastic.)  I'll have the card sets available tomorrow during my open studio hours and available on etsy by the end of the week.  Happy Monday!