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

Waterfalls and Envelopes

I wanted to share some photos of our recent hiking trip! Last Saturday we went on a 9-mile round trip hike to see the Feather Falls! I had never been before and enjoyed myself immensely (except for the last mile when every step made my feet feel like they were going to fall off, haha). The weather was perfect and the falls were spectacular. Here are a few of my favorite photos of the trail & the falls:

That's Jamie all the way at the top of the trail...

Feather Falls! 600 ft drop...

The Feather River

Over the Falls... we were standing inside a chain-link cage, else I never would have got that close!! Scary!

I also had a great New Year's Eve! This is one of my least favorite holidays, even though I like "starting over" and setting goals. I hate forcing myself to stay up, haha! If I had it my way I would be in asleep by ten and up at 5:30 every day. I'm such an old person. But we had the Twilight Zone marathon playing and enjoyed a few games and new memories with some good friends. We completely forgot to open the champagne at midnight, so my bestie Tanya and I had mimosas in the morning, haha.

As I've mentioned before I am SOOOO happy to have my craft stuff back... I made a few envelopes with my salvaged scraps and some washi tape. The Snail Mailer came up with a brilliantly simple form of envelope making... Just fold & tape! These little lovelies will be going out into the world very soon!

Magazine ad with washi flag embellishments & paper bag labels 

I love hand-drawn maps (the freebie ones are the best)! Sealed with washi, paper bag labels.

Old Calendar Illustration (Vera Bradley). This one I cut & glued into an envelope. Kraft paper labels, hand-drawn.

I have a few more things to share, but I'll save those for later!

-- Ciara Kay

Happy New Year!

Hey! Quick post here with my 2013 Resolutions! I'll have the long-time promised mail/envies/photos of  the Feather Falls hike in a few days.

So, I made a zine for my resolutions this year (totally addicted to zine-making... in fact I started a new swap to satisfy my craving! Deadline is Jan 2 to join!!). Here's the full zine, and below is my list!

Read counter-clockwise from the top right!

♥ Make a Dress

♥ Have an Art Show

♥ Shop used/local/handmade Whenever Possible

♥ Read the Bible

♥ Read 13 Books

♥ Run Three 5K Races

♥ Lose Three Inches

♥ Adopt a Pet

♥ Join Big Brother, Big Sister

♥ Learn to Cook five Thai or Indian Dishes

♥ Make 100 Etsy Sales

♥ Visit Five "New" Local Attractions

♥ Collect the Rest of David Bowie's Albums

Last year I made a list of 20 things I would like to try for the New Year... I accomplished three things, haha. I learned to drive a stick shift, I made lots more art, and I went wine-tasting for my 21st birthday. All good things and it was still a good year, but I hope to check all of my resolutions off this year!

Tonight we're watching the Twilight Zone marathon and probably playing some games with a few friends before the midnight Times Square shindig. Should be a fun New Year's Eve!

Did you make any resolutions?

-- Ciara Kay