Birthday Wishlist

It's way too late for anyone to be buying me anything for my birthday, but I DO have some birthday cash!! How can I decide between all these awesome Etsy finds?

Refillable Leather Sketchbook by ZenfishLeather

Gray Sweatshirt by YSari

Sweet Skate Toe Guards! by RedRage77

My favorite biscuit pillow... by Nikki McWilliams

Or maybe I'll blow the whole wad on washi tape... from washimatta

Hmm... what should I treat myself to? Decisions decisions! ♥

I had a swell day! Went to work at my favorite framing shop, got news that Jamie has officially been accepted to U.C. Santa Cruz (YAY!! We are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate), got some lovely letters & birthday cards, and I'm looking forward to lots of surprises tomorrow for my birthday!

♥ Ciara Kay

P.S. Don't forget to use the $5 off code in my shop by the end of tomorrow! Spend $24 or more and get $5 off with the code 24BIRTHDAY ♥

Bizarre Holiday Card the First

I am pleased to announce I have the first of my Bizarre Holiday Cards series now available for purchase! It is indeed a day of days.

Buy now!

I think the cards themselves turned out great, and the listing photographs are super adorable if I do say so myself! I can't wait til I get my camera situation figured out so I can get sharper images, though. Do you like the background for this listing? It's the back of a box of Spirographs that my dad had when he was a kid. I think it works well with the theme!

Remember, Extraterrestrial Abductions Day is March 20! Order soon so you have plenty of time to send it to that special someone...

I know that LetterMo is quite over, but I felt I did a shoddy job of keeping up with promised letters & minizines I wanted to share. So I'm going to keep going through my list & surprising a few of this year's LetterMo participants with late zines over the next few weeks. I also have a growing pile of mail to reply to! Oh well, a full mailbox is a happy mailbox, after all. I need to get back in the groove of incoming/outgoing mail posts! So many things I've neglected... but now that all the boxes are in the garage I feel like I'm starting to form some semblance of a routine, which hopefully will help.

♥ Ciara Kay

A Few of My Favorite Things

Oh man, if I had a million bucks I could easily spend it all on Etsy. These are just a few of the things I've added to my Etsy favorites... I'm so proud to be in a community with these talented people!

This Roller Derby Mini Messenger Bag

$64.50 by Zoe's Bag Boutique

SUPER CUTE... Just what a derby girl like me needs to carry around my notebooks & pens!

This Mini Letter Set

$15 by The Fox and the Teacup

Stephanie Fitzer Coleman is my hero. Her shop is the gold standard for what I hope for Scoutaroo Paper Co. to become! And I LOVE space-themed stuff!!

This Hand-Carved Stamp

$9 by Fresh Baked Paper Goods

I am starting to fall in love with rubber stamps... and this one in particular is so charming!

These Kraft Paper Stickers

$5.50 by Papered Thoughts

Rin Dawson's handwriting is amazing! And I love her designs... lots of maps & washi & kraft paper & neon. ♥

These Notebooks

$10.93 by Little ATae

I've been on the lookout for my next commonplace book... Ideally I would like a letter-sized notebook, but I love Isabel Reyes Feeney's designs!

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Last night's derby practice had positives and negatives.

- I decided to run for my pre-workout, which meant my legs were not working properly once I got on skates (running is my mortal enemy)

+ We had a short practice!

- My bruise left me favoring my left and far less willing to hit people.

+ We hung out in the hot tub & sauna instead of skating longer!

- I had to drive home in wet clothes...

+ ...but I'm still glad I went. Good bonding time.

Tomorrow afternoon I am taking my littlest brother roller skating! He's eleven and I'm twenty-one... so we don't hang out all that much. It's a shame, really. So I hope this is the first of many sibling excursions. I'm also looking forward to going skating just for fun! No mouthguards or whistles or teammates around to give me bruises on top of my bruises, haha. Jamie & I also have some plans with friends from out of town and family over the weekend. It should be good.

Any exciting weekend plans?

♥ Ciara Kay

Valentine's Day Preview!

I'm hoping to launch in time to hit the Valentine's Day crowd, but time will tell! Hoping and praying that I get that second interview... and we looked at apartments in Chico today, too. If all the pieces fall into place, I'll be up and running in just a few weeks!!

But still, I am worried that I may not be able to get Valentines printed in time to arrive by Valentine's Day! So... would it be crazy to offer pre-orders? Thoughts? I don't think I've seen this done with stationery before and it may be a complete flop, but then, what do I have to lose?

Anyway, I wanted to share some of my designs for my 2013 Valentines! The theme: Under the Sea. I will be offering Classroom Valentines and regular 4.25X5.5 cards. There are four designs total, but here are two:

I'm excited to reveal the rest when I list them in-store on Etsy.com!

My mom has always decorated the house for every holiday, so I love to celebrate them! I always associate Valentine's Day with sugar cookies and candy and making our own Valentines. I always got Valentines from my parents and grandparents until my boyfriend-now-husband took over, so Valentine's Day was never as depressing for me as it can be for some. I love to give Valentines to friends & family and always get a pack of Classroom Valentines to share... only this year, they will be ones I designed. :)

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As we all know, when you send letters, you get letters! Here are some I've received in the last week from a few penpals, old and new!

Incoming Mail

Top to Bottom: Deborah, Girl on a Glide, and a new correspondent Derrick Dodson

A new penfriend found via Swap-Bot.com! Her first name is Kay and she sent me a wonderful letter and lots of goodies... looking forward to swapping more zines & life stories with her in the future. :) 

Things are moving by way too fast and not fast enough!! 2013 is off to a bit of an unexpected start. More on that in future posts!

-- Ciara Kay