Announcing...

I am so happy to announce the opening of my new Etsy shop, Apples in June. This shop has been in the works for the last six months and I'm so excited it's finally up and running and I can share it with you. I've always loved designing invitations, stationary and other paper goods but felt that the process can get really expensive for folks like me on a budget. So, I've designed a bunch of templates that I can customize with your information. I then email the templates to you to print at home. They're easy to print and assemble and I hope are an ecconomical, eco friendly and fun way to get custom paper goods. I'll be adding new templates often and hope to have everything from wedding invitations to birth announcements to custom stationary. The possibilities with these are pretty endless, just changing the type of paper they're printed on would make them totally different. Here's a sneak peak at a few things that are in the shop now. I really hope you have as much fun browsing the shop as I did putting it together!

Small Gifts

I'm full sail ahead on the advent calendar and hope to be able to show it to you all soon. I still haven't figured out what I'm going to put inside the calendar yet though. I really don't think I want to do candy, it seems like we're still wading through pounds of Halloween candy so we really don't need any more in the house. So, I need ideas for little gifts that I can stuff in the calendar. I'm thinking things that are $2 or less, like stickers, cars, etc. Does anyone have a traditional small gift that they put in their calendars or stockings? I would love to hear your ideas!

Vintage Illustration

I've been buying vintage records on ebay for awhile now, in the hopes of giving them to B for christmas. There's something so inspiring and magical about illustration from the 50's and 60's. The colors are wonderful and the line work fluid and loose. These are just a few of my favorites. I haven't found a record player yet so I haven't been able to listen to them, but just sitting and looking at them is just as fun!

New in Shop

Finally, a new print for the shop! There's a version in red and one in gold. I love how these turned out... They're kind of holiday-ish the more I look at them. See them both here.

Sneak Peak

A wee sneak peek at a super special project that I've been working on. The full reveal and a giveaway soon!

Housekeeping

I just did some much needed updating to the "Must Reads" link list over there to the right. The list of blogs that I read everyday keeps growing and growing. So, if you have a moment check out some of those there blogs. They're all folks that I greatly admire for their talent and creativity.

Advent Calendars

I'm still in complete denial that the holidays are literally right around the corner. Even so, I've had advent calendars on the brain for awhile. I've really been wanting one for a few years now and I've decided this year I'm going to make it happen. I've been waffling back and forth as to if I want to make my own or just plunk down some cash for a nice wood one. I haven't seen too many cute, modern ones so I'm leaning towards crafting my own. There are definitely some really creative ideas out there.

Love, love, love this one, from Martha Stewart. I have no idea where I'd get all these perfectly coordinated socks but it's still such a great idea. Instructions are here.

This gorgeous calendar I found on Flickr was inspired by another Martha Stewart project here. It's by Laura Hartrich and I love her take on this project, this is such a beautiful wall display and would be perfect for those who don't have a mantle to hang anything on. (Me included)

While digging through photos on Flickr I stumbled on a great pool called Creative Advent Calendars. There is tons of inspiration and some really beautiful examples. Here's a few of my favorites.
I love the idea of packages in all shapes and sizes in this one by carambatack I think this would be especially interesting and fun for little ones, it would really feel like Christmas every day.
I adore the simplicity of this one by apfelbaum, what's even better I have everything on hand to make one like this. Has anyone else seen any great advent calendars out there?