Spring Koffermarkts in Thalwil and Schaffhausen

My "Koffer" filled with lots of paper products and cute Easter goodie bags

Lots of goodies for Easter baskets :-)

Sorry for the lack of posting recently... It's been busy, busy, busy around here with the new shop, The Creative Café, and preparing for two upcoming Spring Koffermarkts. For those of you who do not know what a Koffermarkt is, it is a special market where handmade products are sold and displayed in suitcases or old trunks. So if you are looking for unique, handmade gifts in an unusual and artsy setting, a Koffermarkt is the place to go!

I will be participating in the following Koffermarkts over the next two weekends:

Handgemachte Unikate aus dem Koffer - Koffermarkt Thalwil
Date: Saturday, 21 March 2015
Time: 11-17
Place: Schützenhalle, Dorfstrasse 65, Thalwil (parking lot across the street)
Link: http://kreatives-koefferchen.jimdo.com/frühlings-koffermarkt-thalwil-21-03-2015/

4th Annual Schaffhauser Koffermärt
Date: Saturday, 28 March 2015
Time: 10-17
Place: Schaffhausen Hotel Kronenhof, on the Kirchhofplatz in the old town part of Schaffhausen*
Link: http://koffermaert.blogspot.ch/p/offnungszeitenpreise.html
* Parking is limited in the old town, so public transportation is the best way to get there.

The pictures above show my Koffer and I'm still busy making a few more goodies!

Hope to see you there!
J x

Coming soon....

J Blume Bags, Tags & More will be opening a shop in Thalwil, Switzerland starting in March!!!!!!

It has always been a dream of mine to have my own shop and this year my dream will come true! It all came about just before Christmas when I was going for a walk in the town I live in and walked past a cute little shop that I've always liked because it had a variety of refinished furniture in the windows. The only problem was, this shop always seemed to be closed or by appointment only... Well, this time there was a sign in the window saying that they were looking for people interested in joining them - so, after a couple days of building up my courage, I called! And once I met the amazing woman responsible for the gorgeous furniture in the windows, I got more excited about the prospect of actually fulfilling my dream.

Our shop will be a collaboration of creative women sharing the space and the days, giving us all the perfect opportunity to "test the waters" with a retail shop, without having the full responsibility of having to man the shop every day of the week. Starting in March, Rachel, from Seize the Stamp, and I will be working together to have the shop open two days a week (Tuesday/Thursday), and will have various events, including workshops and pop up sales, that will take place either on those days or other days of the week depending on the event.

All the furniture you see in the picture above is from Jamais Vu and will be for sale in the shop, as well as used to display our products, including cards, stamping and scrapbooking supplies, bags, gift sets and much more.

More info on our grand opening will be coming soon!

I will also be participating in the following Spring markets in March:

Saturday, 21 March 2015: Spring Koffermarkt in Thalwil (Link to page)

Saturday, 28 March 2015: Spring Koffermarkt in Shaffhausen (Link to page)

I'll post pictures of the trunk I am refurbishing for the koffermarkts once I get a bit further on it.

Lots of exciting stuff going on (hence the radio silence this month)!!!

Have a great weekend!

J x

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

A bit of this and a bit of that

Hello! I've been wanting to post some of my latest adventures over the past few weeks but as I sit here attempting to clean my office (that I could no longer stand to step foot in due to the extreme piles covering EVERY surface...), I realized that life has been so crazy that I haven't blogged anything in almost a month. So, this is going to be my "catch up" post to let you know what's been going on!

We had fun at our Summer Market on 6 June, with several people popping by in the morning to see what all was on offer. Here are a few pictures!

One happy customer :-)! 

The weekend of the market was my daughter's 8th birthday. I still find it hard to believe that my baby is now 8 years old... She is a child that is generally always on the move (currently using stilts she received for a birthday present to walk all over the house and beyond...) and is always being silly and trying to make people laugh. It was only fitting that she wanted a circus party! I ordered some amazing invitations and printables from Carla at Paper and Party Love and we had 10 little girls running around our house like circus clowns.  We had a photo booth and various carnival games that the girls seemed to go through in record time (Note to self for future: organize party elsewhere so someone else can entertain and clean up!!). Here are a few photos of the highlights (you can also check out Carla's blog to see the invitations and printables more clearly).

Miss A wearing her new flip flop shirt handmade by Luz Maestro!

Clowning around

Table decorations

Walking around the house on her new stilts!

We've also been taking advantage of the beautiful weather in and around Zurich by going to the Sihltal to play along the river, pick strawberries and cherries at the Sunnehof farm and go hiking with Daddy on Father's day in Brunni. I have to say that I am exhausted and it is not even summer yet... Three more weeks of school and then the real fun can begin!

I wonder why it is that we can never get a picture without someone being silly?? Hmmmmm...

We met a friend along the trail

Panoramic view from top of our hike

She ate too many cherries while picking them and they started growing out of her...

Perfectly ripe and ready to make jam

Hope you are having fun too!

J xx

Coming soon: Summer Market on Friday, 6 June

Looking forward to seeing you at my upcoming summer market to be held in Au, Switzerland! Information is above and pictures of some new stuff will be coming soon :-)!

Happy Sunday!

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