Etsy Again!

I received an email the other day from a Japanese TV Network (TV Asahi) that claims to be one of the biggest tv networks in Japan.  They are doing a program about the papermaking industry and want to include a bit about my moose poo paper, including photos from my blog.  I agreed but asked that they include a link to my Etsy shop in return.

Moose poo paper card from my Etsy shop

My Etsy shop, however, has been on vacation mode for several months.  So, once again, I'm responding to crisis and will be spending this week getting some listings back into my Etsy shop.

If you would like to learn more about the process behind making moose poo paper, check out my tutorial here. It includes links to the series.

One a Day in May - Day 18 - Introspection

I missed most of this beautiful sunset this evening.  I was working in my studio and looked up just as it was disappearing.

Maybe it's time to take a step back from production and just create because I love to, not because I'm obliged to.  I already have a full time job.  Should my art be another one?   I want to make my home beautiful with all of the things I love to create but there aren't enough days in this lifetime if I keep filling them with never ending lists of "things I must make for money."  And the reality is, the money never really adds up the way I hope it will.  Not if I'm really honest about all the costs involved.

 Obviously I'm having "one of those days."  But it's something I'm going to spend some time thinking about.

Anyway, here's my Day 18...a set of small notecards to sell!

One a Day in May - Day 16 - Oooohhh....Aaaahhh

I got an exciting packet in the mail today full of all kinds of bits and baubles for mixed media from some of my friends on the Melange Team on Etsy. I think using materials that I don't have a preconceived idea of how they were intended to be used will be fun.

 

The weather today just begged me to go curl up under the covers with a good book when I got home from work, so I did.

Big change from yesterday!

 But I did manage to get one card done before heading to bed...again...with my book!

Moose poo paper card

One a Day in May - Day 12 - More Moose Poo Cards

I worked my shift at the Lakes Artisan Centre yesterday after my day job and completed several moose poo paper cards while I was there.  I tried to post yesterday but Blogger was down.

Moose photos printed on handmade paper prepared with digital medium; mounted on moose poo paper cards.

One a Day in May - Day 10 - Bleeding Heart Card

So much to do, so little time, but staying true to my challenge, here is today's small piece.

I printed a bleeding hearts photo onto vellum and then removed part of the ink with an alcohol wipe.  I mounted the photo onto a copy of a handwritten poem and embellished it with tiny brads and a charm.  The photo is then mounted onto a handmade iris leaf paper card.

One a Day in May - Day 9 - Moose Poo Paper Card

It's coming into tourist season so I'm getting started on my moose poo card production.  I made this card today using moose poo paper that I made last fall.  My photograph of the moose is printed on hand made plant fibre paper coated with digital medium.

My daughter-in-law gave me a box of moose poo for Mother's Day so I have a good start.  I found a few more deposits over the past few days that I'll gather when I have some time on the weekend and then I'll get busy making paper.

If you're interested in the process of making paper from moose poo, look in the tutorials under Making handmade paper from plants.

One a Day in May - Day 4

I had to push myself to produce something this evening.  After working all day I succumbed to a nap and then I had a meeting to attend which is for a very cool project to market and sell the arts in our region (The Enterprising Artisans Project).  Then I came home and submitted some photographs of my work for the power point presentation they are doing at trades fairs in the region to promote the project.  And then there was 'Survivor!'  So I really did have some excuses but I knew if I used them today, I would find new ones tomorrow and the next day and pretty soon this One a Day in May challenge of mine would go the way of my diets.

Mixed media (acrylic, watercolour, ink) mounted on kraft cardstock card.

One a Day in May - Day 3

Remember what I said about knowing when to stop?  Compared to yesterday's understated elegance,  today's card is more overstated chaos.  And I have more flowers stuck to my fingers than I do to the card!  Which was part of the problem.  I kept tearing the pressed flowers but then parts of them stayed glued down so I had to cover them up with more flowers and ended up with a bit of a jumble. 

Pansies & viola on handmade corn husk paper

I also managed to cut and stamp the lavender soap I made the other night.

I'm going to try to get up earlier tomorrow morning and get into my studio before my day job uses up all my energy!

One a Day in May - Day 2

One of my greatest challenges is knowing when to say enough.  For this card I decided to let the simple beauty of these Japanese maples stand out against the rustic texture of the gladiola leaf paper.  I have to admit that I almost started looking for something else to add but I managed to stop myself...for now.

Japanese maples mounted with matte medium on hand made gladiola leaf paper.  The delicate leaves are also covered with a thin layer of matte medium to help stabilize them.

Thinking Spring!

Calendula on handmade paper card

The ground is still covered in snow but I'm thinking spring.  The days are getting longer and the sun is glowing warmer.  I especially love that I wake up naturally in the morning, to the light.  But this weekend it's time to 'spring ahead' to Daylight Savings Time and I'll need the jangle of the alarm clock to wake me up again.

While winter is a great time for collecting moose poo, the warmer weather means the sap will be running and it's time to gather the woody bast fibres like willow, red osier dogwood and alder barks for my papers.  Each season brings new treasures for my craft and they're free!