The Sandy Hill “One and Only” craft show happened on Sunday and I was happy to be able to participate. The show was really organized with treats, water and music for all of the vendors.

This was the first show selling my new handbound books. The books got a lot of positive feedback, but I’m afraid the price point may be too high. I plan on putting together a “how your book was made” pamphlet to explain the long and very time consuming process of bookbinding. I always include the cost of “human time” in the price of my work. I think it’s important to do that.

I tried a delicious vegan cupcake (my first vegan cupcake ever?) from Vanessa Holm whom I met at Cherry Pie a couple of weeks ago. Sadly, I forgot to take a before photo.

The cupcake was chocolate with a minty icing and a little chocolate on top. Very pretty! If you’re hosting a party and need some sweet treats catered, send Vanessa an email.

So that’s two shows down, one to go. The biggie is left - Ladyfest on Saturday at the Jack Purcell Centre.

I’ve got a few things left to prepare - more recipe cards and more “Thanks for working harder so that I don’t have to” cards. (They were a hit at Sandy Hill.)

Last week was the Cherry Pie event - it’s a networking event for women in business. The most recent event was held at Helsinki in the market.

I was happy to meet with some really interesting women (and friendly booth neighbours). I gave out almost all of my business cards and did some sales.

Here’s my table set-up with the new “Letter by Letter” books featured on the right hand side.

The next show is this Sunday at the Sandy Hill Community Centre.    It runs from 10am to 5pm and is located at 250 Somerset Street East.  Hope to see you there!

Attention ladies!  If you enjoy networking, drinks, nibblies and shopping then you should definitely attend tonight’s Cherry Pie event at Helsinki (15 George St.) starting at 8pm.

I’ve got a fresh batch of cards, accordion albums and new baby books.  In fact, tonight’s show is the official launch of my Letter by Letter baby books.  Much effort, glue and tears have gone into making them!  Bookmaking is pretty time consuming, but these books are true keep-them-forever gifts.

Hope to see you there tonight - please stop by and say hello!

For women in business who mean business!  Cherry Pie is a great networking (and shopping) event for women in Ottawa.  Get there early, because this pie is sure to bubble over.  Not only do you get to network but lots of businesses will have a table to sell their products and services.

I’ll have my full line-up of cards, invitations and books at this event.

Tickets are $20 each or 2 for $30.

The holiday cards are all printed and are up in the shop.  I splurged for the holidays and ordered some icy blue envelopes - I really love the combination of red and blue.

Another design complete!  It was extremely hard to print Christmas cards when the temperature outside reached 20 degrees! Nevertheless, I Gocco’d lots of these “howly holidays” cards on ivory and khaki cardstock for upcoming shows.. and for the shop.

I started printing a series of gift tags as well, but they’re not quite ready. I ran out of steam… and space for drying prints!

A few weeks ago I had an email from the producers of the CBC TV show “Living in Ottawa” to see if I would be interested in filming a segment on card-making. Um… yes! I tried very hard to channel my inner “Martha” and the results will be broadcast tomorrow.

Ottawa residents can check out CBC TV at 1pm.

Or you can also watch it online from the Living in Ottawa website. (For five days only!)

Paper Skirt will be participating in Sandy Hill’s “One and Only” Art & Gift fair! This is a great show for people who like to get a head start on their holiday shopping.  You can see their blog for more details on the artists involved.  Hope to see you there!

Event details:

Date: November 25
Time: 10am - 5pm
Location: Sandy Hill Community Centre, 250 Somerset St. East

I’ve just added four new baby announcement designs to the shop. Each design is digitally printed to keep costs low. (Screenprinting is always an option but will be an additional cost) Cards measure 5.5 x 4.25 inches and include a coordinating envelope. Corners can be rounded or square.

A minimum order of 25 is required. Please send me an email with your text. Current turnaround time is two weeks (I place a paper order once a month).

Here are the other three designs:

Over the weekend, I started working on a new product idea.  These handmade books will be made in a limited edition for the upcoming season - once I tweak the dimensions just a little bit more.  I’ve ordered some great bookcloth in some really fun colours, so these books will be unlike anything you’ll find in Ottawa.

I feel like I’ve finally mastered the art of mixing glue for bookbinding.  And the art of not getting glue everywhere.  It’s a lot harder than you think!

I’m working on a couple of options for the inside pages, but again waiting to supplies to arrive.   So, no inside shots now… but soon!