For this one I gathered some brown paper, dotted tissue paper, red ribbon, and card.

First, I wrapped the gifts in brown paper.

Next I took my tissue paper to the ironing board, folded and lightly pressed it into a strip of my desired width.

I carefully tapped the tissue paper so that it formed a band then then tied the red ribbon around the whole thing. Voilà!

I’m quite happy with it!

Here’s what I found on my last trip down the handmade rabbit hole of lovely things.

1) Chalkboard Mug  2) Porcelain Bottle  3) Cori Badge
4) Camera iPhone Cover  5) Antique Ring

I’d be happy to scoop up the whole shop, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be this one. Be brave.

You can visit the shop here and read more about Shanna’s work on her blog.

“With a needle and fiber, of course, anything can be done. This is what I believe.”

Handmade Portraits: Ayşegül & Sebahat from Etsy on Vimeo.

This also means that I will not be making any more cozies. What you see is what I’ve got and once they’re gone they are gone.

Get ‘em while you still can! For the month of April use code “COZYSALE” for 25% off!

I rediscovered the yarn this past weekend and I’ve almost finished the first glove. I love this pattern so I might write it up properly and share it here sometime.

The gloves have a simple horizontal ribbing at the wrist and a diagonal cable that wraps around the entire upper portion of the hand. The cable gives them a wonderful cozy, chunky-knit feel.

I might need to make myself a pair…

When Cors and I went out this morning, the sky was grey with little wispy pink clouds. Just like this collection:

You can find all these lovelies right over here.

This is a peak at my inspiration book for my design class.

Next up this week I have a dress to sew, a moodboard to put together, and a little philosophy to read. I think I’ll be posting schoolwork odds and ends here much more frequently. I hope you don’t mind!

More info about the project from Jeska:
Matchbox Challenge – To decorate, alter or fill a different matchbox for every day of February.

The Gist – Each tiny artwork will be listed in the Lobster & Swan Etsy shop and sold to raise funds for Oxfam.

Jeska hopes that other crafty folks will join her and she’s made a schedule to inspire everyone with themes loose enough that they can be interpreted any way you choose! You can find out more about the project over on Lobster & Swan. Looks like lots of fun!

*All photos by Jeska. See more of her beautiful photography over here.

You can visit their Etsy shop, website, and blog, too.

Your work is beautiful! How did you begin letterpressing?
We took a letterpressing workshop down in Irvine. We were addicted (I think we both dreamed about printing that night) and decided to buy our very own press! We took some more classes but are largely self-taught. We’ve definitely learned through doing.

What is your favorite part of the creative process?
Our favorite part of the creative process is seeing our designs come to life – that final stage where we ink up the press and start printing! It’s such a satisfying feeling seeing it pressed on to paper.

What was your inspiration for your Valentine cards?
My dad always draws an arrow through his hearts when he writes me a note. It’s the sweetest depiction of his love. I’ve been incorporating arrows in a number of our cards for a while. One of the prints we made is also of a heart with the phrase “You Quiet My Wild Heart” inside of it – Sarah designed it and thought it was a common phrase, but we’ve come to realize she just made it up. It was inspired by Valentines but really could apply year round as a nice gift.

What’s your favorite dessert?
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies hands down. Ok, that’s a lie. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough. The salt, the sugar, the oats – nothing beats it.

Sarah’s got a vicious sweet tooth… she’ll pretty much eat anything in the dessert department. But for her, nothing beats a scoop of well-made vanilla bean ice cream.