December is here!!!

Happy 1st of December everyone! It is so hard to believe that today is the first day of December and this is the last month of 2013...this year flew past a lightning speed!

I had two incredible groups of ladies at my house on Wednesday to participate in my Christmas tag workshops. One very special lady even got on the train from Geneva at 4:56AM (yes, 4:56 in the MORNING) to come to the morning workshop - THANKS, MARIA!! It never ceases to amaze me how many times I hear "I'm sooooo not creative" or "I can't make that!" from people at my workshops. And I always tell them they are WRONG! We all have imaginations and the ability to make things, it just takes the right tools, the right atmosphere and the right frame of mind to do it. Well, we had all those factors and then some on Wednesday. The ladies made 25 tags each and had fun sharing their ideas with one another - "OOOOHH! So pretty! I'm copying that one!" was a favorite phrase I heard around the table.

Here are a few photos of the workshops!

The lovely Maria - still smiling in spite of getting up well before the crack of dawn :-)

Thanks again, ladies, for a wonderful day!

Have a wonderful start to December! In this month of giving, let your creative spirit out of the box and make something special for family and friends instead of fighting the crowds for a gift that anyone could buy!
J xx

THANK YOU...

...to all of you who came to our Christmas "Around the World" Market!!!!

It was a great day complete with snowflakes to get everyone into the Christmas spirit. I enjoyed meeting new people, talking with old friends and seeing so many other talented women with their own businesses in Switzerland. And the location this year was amazing! We will definitely consider doing another market at the Restaurant Neubüel in Wädenswil!

Here are a few photos of my stand (of course, I meant to take pics of the others, but got side-tracked...sorry, ladies!).

Now, a bit of rest on this rainy Sunday in Zurich. Tomorrow I'll get busy again with Christmas orders!

Enjoy your Sunday!
J xx

All ready for our Christmas "Around the World" Market!

So, after many late nights at my overflowing desk (think explosion of paper, ribbon, fabric, ink pads, needles and thread......) and days ignoring the dust bunnies accumulating in all the corners around my house, it is almost here! 3 DAYS TO GO until the big market - YIPPPEEE! I have lots of fun gift ideas for young and old, including altered paper clips to jazz up a Christmas present, vintage style cards and tags, a variety of bags from little coin purses to wax & plastic cloth totes, stamp kits and a variety of gift bags to perfectly package a special gift! I'm sooooooo excited...can't you tell?!!?

Here's the link to the market for those of you who are in Zurich and would like to stop by. 

Can't wait to see you there! 

J xx

Creative juices are flowing!!!!

I don't know about you, but I love it when the creative juices are flowing!! This generally happens to me more when I am under a bit of pressure...like having less than two weeks to go until the Christmas market....! YIKES! I've been a total machine this week, sewing drawstring bags and totes, making gift bags with a mix of paper and fabrics (stamped and appliqued), stamping and gluing lovely papers onto notebooks, creating altered clothespins with scrap papers, sandpaper and a bit of brown ink to make them look aged....and the list goes on! I only wish my body could keep up with my creative side :-)!

Here's a few pics that will hopefully get your creative juices flowing to get crafty for Christmas and also to join me at our market on 23 November!

Totes out of plastic tablecloth fabric:

Gift bags - paper with fabric and reusable fabric drawstring bags

Altered clothespins - you never know when you need something pretty to clip on a gift or hold something special!

Scrap fabric paper doll kits similar to this post

A few of my favorite notebooks made from IKEA notebooks, lovely papers and quotes from "100 Gathered Thoughts (For My Beautiful Child) & Papers for Brilliant Ideas and Laundry Lists", an awesome collection of quotes on old-fashioned looking lined paper.

Happy crafting!
J xx

Vintage Christmas Tags

I've been having fun with my Christmas stamps making tags for the upcoming market. As you can see above, the cute little vintage postcards I used on some Christmas cards also found a home on some tags. I just love them!

It's been very busy in my office this week, so I'll try to post more during the week to show you what else I will be selling at the Christmas "Around the World" market on 23 November!

Hope you are having a good weekend!
J xx

Christmas card and tag kits

Today I made eight Christmas card and tag kits for my upcoming Christmas market and thought I would share them with you! Each kit contains:

- 4 colored cards & envelopes,
- 3 cream tags,
- 5 sheets of decorative paper,
- red & white bakers twine,
- 4 Christmas stamps, and
- a roll of washi tape.

No two kits are the same as I used different papers, stamps and washi tape in each one. I think they would make a great gift for a crafty child, teen or friend! What do you think?

Tied with a bow and ready to go!

Hope you are having a good start to the week!
J xx

Christmas "Around the World" Market on 23 Novmeber 2013!

I'm very excited to be included in a Christmas market with a creative group of ladies who live in Zurich and would like to invite YOU to join us!!

Our market, Christmas "Around the World" will be held:
ON:      Saturday, 23 November 2013
TIME:   9:00 to 17:00
AT:       Restaurant Neubeül, Wädenswil (just at the circle from the exit from the Autobahn)

Products on sale will include: jewelry, ceramics, knits, handmade cards, bags and gifts, party supplies and cake tasting, fashion & styling ideas for your Christmas and New Year's festivities, and more! Come find a unique, handmade gift for those special people in your life.

I hope to see you there!
J xx

Burlap and vintage post cards

I don't know about you, but I love things that have a vintage look and feel to them! I found the cutest holiday vintage post cards at an antique market in Paris and just had to use them for some Christmas cards! In order to be able to use the image multiple times, I scanned it and reprinted it in duplicate on cardstock. Here are the first two designs I made with them (I'm sure there will be more to come, too!).

 
I also made some burlap gift bags for my upcoming Christmas market using bits and pieces of fabric, velvet ribbon and vintage lace. I love how they turned out!! The big bags are about 9"w x 11"h and small ones are 4.5"w x 5"h.

Hope you are having a good start to the week!
J xx

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

...all around my desk! Since I had out the Christmas stamps to play with the tags I posted earlier today, I thought I would get busy making some cards for the upcoming Christmas market! AND....I made 30 cards - YIPPPPEEE!!

Here are a few of my favorites :-)!

     

      

         

... I even had to make some with my favorite bike stamp!

And this is what I get to wake up to in the morning as I am too tired to clean up tonight.... (actually it is what I wake up to every day since I am notoriously messy when working!).

And to all ... a good night!
J xx