Some new Etsy Faves

I have been collecting some Etsy sellers in my favourite list, and here are some of my new faves!




Don't you LOVE, that bag!? I'm this close to buying it, but I'm trying to save my pennies. I have to slap myself on the hand when I go to close to the "Buy Now" button. I wanted to share the bag with you, as I'm hoping she finds a good home. :)

And the others, oh how I love thee. I already down a Globe Piggy bank which you may have seen in some product shots I've done, and people have asked where I got it (Ebay) but I've found some online at Etsy recently, so take a peek over there!

Globe ,
Kiss + Hug Needlepoint Kit(s) - I only wish she sold them already made!
The Weekender Tote,
Green Earings

Etsy Favourites

I love Etsy's system of being able to mark sellers as "favourites". My favourite thing about the bookmarking system in Etsy is that you see a list of your favourite products/stores, and you you see a visual picture of each store, which means it's super easy to remember WHY you bookmarked them. It saves me having to go through a list of favourites, wondering why I saved their link. (Like in my Internet Explorer - with 2,000 links I've saved)

There is no rhyme or reason to this particular collection, other than I think their shops are super sweet! From Top to Bottom:

stitchface - OMG - you have to look at their super cute stuffed animals.

zukzuk - She's gotten a lot of press for her prints, so you may already be familiar with her work. I adore and admire her work.

pinkpandafabrics - A collection of amazing fabrics that I'm drooling over. Eye candy for the crafty. :)

Oh we're on Ohdeedoh....Again!

I love blogs. Love, love, love them. (Maybe that's why I'm addicted to ours). So when our products are featured on a blog that I admire and read every day, I get giddy - absolutely giddy. In the past week, our Alphabet Prints have been featured not only once, but TWICE as the "Best of 2008" on Ohdeedoh.



We were mentioned as one of the 2008's "Best of" Alphabet Prints and "Best of" Etsy Finds.
That's like getting an Academy Award to me. Holy mackaroons this made my week!

desk transformation

I forgot to post about this when I bought it, but thankfully I remembered to take pictures right before I was about to paint!

A few weeks ago, at my favourite used furniture shop, which I visit way too many times a week to be normal - I walked by this wood desk all alone in a corner. I loved the lines and then I walked back to see if I read the price tag correctly - it was $35!

I didn't NEED a desk, but who would pass up this deal of a century? I always need a project so we purchased it to replace a standard Ikea desk that my husband was using. Now he gets a pretty white desk. I'm sure he's thrilled.

Anyhow, we're getting quotes on the studio renovation and this will fit in SOOO niceley when I get to decorate down there!

{What I Did}
I primed it in OIL base primer & let it sit for 24 hours.
After it had dried I gave it 4 coats in Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore - in oil.
This time around I used a foam brush - I tend to associate them for some reason with "arts & crafts" but using the foam brush made it super easy, and surprisingly better coverage. I'm not sure why, but I'm now a fan of foam brushes.

Yesterday on my day off I went up to Lee Valley and purchased these sweet knobs.

So, the desk costed about $70 when you factor in $35 for the table and $35 for the glass knobs. I had the paint on hand (i always have white paint on hand).
Oh yeah, and that chair needs reupholstering, I know. Still working on that one.
Thought you would like to see!

Ps., Recognize that lamp base? When I'm done with it I'll post more pictures. :)

photo post

This weekend we're at the Baby & Toddler Show at the Metro Convention Center... (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) Today was the first day of the show where I got to meet some current customers, and new which was a delight!

I'll be honest -The days are long, and exhausting. Your on your feet for 8 hours straight. The nice thing is this year we're surronded by some pretty amazing vendors that we've grown to be friends with over the years of doing the shows, so everyone can be achy about the feet pain together.

On the way home it was cold and rainy - a sign of the season, and I grabbed my camera from the backseat as we were driving downtown and snapped some pictures to remeber the feeling of the drive home. Aches & pains in my feet, the rain outside which seems to heighten the need for a hot shower, and then of course, the traffic of downtown. To me it reminded me of the start of the Holiday Season, and although the pictures may be oddly out of place, I find them rather beautiful and thought I would share.

Ok, time for a Blog Contest

It's time for a Blog contest. Here is the reason...

I get a lot of comments from people saying... "Oh, I read that on your blog" and I am flabbergasted how many times I hear that, as you, my sweet readers, are ever so quiet. Every so often I'll have a few reply comments here and there to a post (which delights me!) and I wish it would happen more often. So here is the start to a new trend hopefully on the site. I am bribbing you to write a comment. And this post is the post where you get to test your "blogging" skills.

How the contest works:

All you have to do is reply to this post and write whatever you want. You can write "Hi!" or you can write "I want to win!!" it's totally up to you.

We will randomly* select ONE winner on November 15th who will win a set of 30 Personalized Birdie Cards (shown above) AND a matching set of address labels.

No catch. All you have to do is say hello on this post. We will ship to any US or Canadian Address. Please post only once. Although I would love to see a lot of replies...if I see "I love you, signed Mom" more than once, well, Mom, I'm going to have to politely explain the rules.

The moral of this contest - I would love to hear more from you on my blog. Although I will keep talking away for years to come on this blog if I don't see comments, it's always nice to see some "familiar names" in replies.

How to post a reply? See where it says "0 replies" below? (Ok, well, hopefully it will be more than that soon)...click on that and voila! You can reply. :)






* The winners will be chosen at random, using random.org's integer generator.
* Please revisit on November 15th to see who won - if a winner doesn't claim a prize within 3 business days, then we will randomly select another winner. :)

My alter ego is a paparazzi ....

A few clients have found my alter ego - my secret life - my deep dark secret - yes, my other love other than stationery .... Photography. As some people know, but I have been hesitant to promote, I have a photography website to showcase my passion for the camera. I was framing one of my favourite pictures this evening "Candy Land" and I thought..what the heck, I'll take a picture and post it on the blog. You can view more of my photographs, if you so desire, at http://www.lindsaystephenson.com/.

Awhile ago I found a picture on the web of this beatiful green lamp (shown to left). I searched high & low, and unfortunately found it high...at over $800.00. I wondered how I could justify the lamp purchase - it would be a heirloom, something I would pass down to my grandchildren, and something that would be a focal point in the room. Unfortunately, it would be the focal point in my living room, as alas, it would be the ONLY thing in the living room - I wouldn't have been able to afford the couch, or anything else we would have needed.

So today, I decided to walk to Starbucks to get myself a morning coffee. (The 2 I had drank at home, obviously weren't enough) and I walked by Pegasus Community Thrift Store - a store that is run by volunteers and profits go to Adults with Special Needs. And in the window was the lamp (shown to right) in the window.

There I stood, in the rain, staring at the exact replica - except for the colour - of my green, $800 lamp. I know it needs to be painted - somehow but for $35.00, I figured it was worth a shot!

When I was looking to find the address of this fabulous store for others, I came across this wonderful article about the store.

Anyhow, I have yet to figure out how to make this lamp green - however when I do, I will post it. And yes - I know it needs a new lampshade. :)

Weekend Project - Ikea Rast overhaul

The instructions for my Ikea Rast hack are now over at our Home Blog at http://www.aubreyandlindsay.blogspot.com/

Click Here for the direct link to the project!

The Matrimonial Mishap - Oh My!

How excited was I when I got an e-mail, and then phone calls from friends asking me if I knew that my hubby and I were in the North Toronto post this month? Pretty darn excited. I love the North Toronto post, and was pretty elated when I saw a full page article about my hubby and I, and the mention of Penny People. And I obviously drove around looking for a NTP box at midnight, zipping around in our little Mini, trying to find ourselves a copy. I should have just gone to my Moms house - there it was proudly on the Kitchen island. ;) I giggled at the headline; "The matrimonial Mishap." It sounds as if we didn't mean to get married. How scandalous! (The reality is that our marriage liscence didnt make it to the ceremony). If you're in Toronto, you can pick yourself up a copy and read the whole story. ;)

Red Ruby Rose

I confess, I love clutches. I have tried to nail my habit for "purses" lately as I've found I only truly use one, but when it comes to clutches, they add instant fun to an outfit. I found a shop called Red Ruby Rose on Etsy. Rowena makes the most beautiful clutches and I just had to share my purchase! I picked up the Peony design (bottom) and can't wait for my little present to myself to arrive. Eeek! So exciting.

Recap of a week

One delight that I have in running Penny People Designs is that we're able to design & produce 99% of all of our products in our studio. In mid 2007 we decided to outsource our printing of Wedding & Bar&Bat Mitzvah Invitations to help with printing speed and more options for colour coverage. We've unfortunately had a pretty poopy experience with some orders that have come back from our printer. Yes, I said poopy.

Soooo.....Why am I mentioning this? We're now going ahead with a new standard protocol to send our clients, prior to ordering, a paper and print sample so that clients can touch & feel the paper prior to ordering. Sometimes clients need orders right away, so sometimes this isn't possible, but if you have time, and want to get a feel for the style of invitation if you need a Wedding or Bar or Bat Mitzvah, shoot us an e-mail. We'll send you a sample in the mail.

We're hoping that a good thing comes from a bad experience with this last printer - such as finding this new super-dooper printer. What else happened this week? I was driving with my window open in my little Mini Cooper and a car drove by me and hit a puddle and I got soaked. It was out of a movie. I had to pull over - I didn't know if I should laugh, or cry - I went with a little laughter.

I wanted to post a personal note as I personally like knowing that there are people behind companies. Running a business is great fun, and when one encounters road blocks (or icky-poo printer experiences) we have to learn from what happens and develop changes. So 2 things we learnt this week - Change printers for our Wedding invitations and lesson # 2 is to drive with your windows closed when there are puddles.

;) Lindsay

Happy Thanksgiving!

Guess what's around the corner....Thanksgiving!!! Whoooop!

Fall is my favourite season, and Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays. There is something so wonderful about Fall - changing leaves, lots of photography, and getting in the last kayack of the season.

Here are some pictures to get you inspired for Fall! I dont leave home without my camera, and so I thought I would share with you some of my personal photos from my album.

The chipmunk in the picture is Sir-Chipalot who lies on the hammock with us. He was caught here stuffing a nut in his mouth as my hubby tried not to move!

xo Lindsay

STUDIO HOURS: We will be closing for the long weekend as of 5:00pm on Friday and we will be re-opening on Tuesday, October 9th.