Market success!

The 2nd annual Christmas Market "Around the World" was a success yet again! We had 15 vendors selling a variety of products for customers to choose from. Here are a few pictures of the event!

Carla from Paper and Party Love

Luz Maestro baby gifts, children's clothes

Dennise Camara Jewelry

Rachel from Seize the Stamp

More photos can be seen at the Around the World blog here. 

Finally, here are a couple happy customers wearing their new aprons! They were so adorable running around in them :-)! 

Have a great week!
Jx

2nd Annual Christmas Market "Around the World"

It's that time of year again!!! We are excited to hold our 2nd annual Christmas Market "Around the World" on 6 December (see details above).

We've set up a website this year to allow you get to know the artists that will be participating in the market.  Here's the link when you want to check it out! We will all be adding posts to it over the coming weeks to show you our products, so be sure to check it on a regular basis!

Looking forward to seeing you on 6 December :-)!

J x

Easy DIY Christmas Packaging Ideas

I love pretty little packages. I mean, what girl doesn't like a gift wrapped in cute paper and tied up with twine, ribbon and other little embellishments like buttons, stamps and doilies? As you can see from previous blog posts and my Facebook page, I've already been busy making some kits for my Etsy shop and market :-)!

With Christmas just around the corner (7 weeks and counting...), I thought it would be fun to have a post on some easy DIY ("do it yourself") packaging ideas you can use to dress up your Christmas or Advent gifts.

1. Use fabric instead of ribbon 

Using a cotton fabric, make a cut on the selvedge edge of a piece of fabric (the long side that is "bound" along the edges) about one inch from the edge, or however wide you want your ribbon to be. Tear the fabric from the cut all the way down to the bottom and pull off the extra threads.  Do both sides if you want it to look "shabby chic". Alternatively, use shearing scissors (the ones that have the zig-zag teeth on them) to cut the fabric piece to the size you want. Use in place of ribbon to tie around a box, envelope or package.

Here's an idea for packaging using a wide fabric ribbon
(this will be the packaging for my Child Apron & Baking Kits :-)!).

2. Decorative paper envelopes for gift cards

Use a template (you can find loads on Pinterest) or a Stampin' Up! Envelope Punch Board to make adorable little envelopes for gift cards. Decorate the outside with stamps, ribbon, doilies and top with a tag and small wooden clip. Here are some I made with the SU! punch board for my Etsy shop and Christmas market.

3. Brown Bag It

I love all the brown paper gift bags that I see popping up on Pinterest all the time. Who knew those brown paper lunch bags could be so cute!! You can stamp on them, print sayings or images on them (check out this tutorial I found on Pinterest), make the top edge scalloped using a punch, and then top them with whatever you have on hand, such as, scrap papers cut into flag bunting, punched Christmas trees or hearts, doilies, lace, tags and the list goes on and on...!!  Here are examples from three different kits I made for Christmas. Each kit includes all supplies to make 5 gift bags (one design per kit). As you can see on the bag on the right, I made my own fabric ribbon to tie the bag closed.

4. Scrap fabric & paper gift tags

Cut out tags using kraft-colored paper (I normally cut my tags to be 2 inches wide by 3 inches high, but you can cut them in any size you like). I have this tag punch from Stampin' Up! that works great for creating the tops of the tags. Then you can decide if you want to use scrap fabric or maybe you have a lot of scrap decorative paper from other projects...or use BOTH! Glue or sew onto the tags in a random way, add some text of your choice (either using stamps or printing off your computer) and voilà, you have a unique gift tag! Here are a couple cute ideas I found on Pinterest.

Adorable vintage flair paper and fabric tag from Love Stitching Red Blog

Check out these amazing Chrismtas tree scrappy tags from tracyBdesigns on Etsy

Pinterest is overflowing with ideas. Check out my "Packaging Ideas" board for loads of DIY packaging inspiration.

I hope this post has inspired you to get creative for the upcoming holiday season!

J x

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