live. breathe. design.

looking for a unique gift? this personalized stationery might be just the thing you are looking for. packaged in a custom, hand made box it’s a perfect thoughtful gift. any style, any name – perfectly custom.

this particular set was done as a christmas gift for a clients wife. she likes blues and traditional decor. printed on a heavy weight strathmore stock are 30 sheets of stationery. additionally 30 personalized cards, 4.25″ x 5.5″ are included along with 60 envelopes.

this year i decided to move towards being more eco-friendly with my gift wrapping, and i have to admit i had a lot of fun with it. it was a great way to use existing items i had in my house already and save some money too!

some eco-friendly wrapping tips (also check out the photos below for how they turned out!):

• buy reusable totes instead of holiday bags, they are often made of recycled materials and can double up for the recipient as an encouragement to use their own bags when shopping. most of the bags i purchased were just $1 – that can be even cheaper than a lot of gift bags out there these days.
• on the inside of the bag use reused tissue as packing – most people do not even notice the tissue inside the bag at all. if you have some saved tissue in good shape use it for the outside of the bag too!
• save ribbons leftover from projects or from presents/packaging you receive and use them to add a festive and free touch to your gifts.
• instead of purchasing gift adornments or new ornaments, check out your local thrift stores. many of them sell bulk bags of ornaments for a few dollars and you can decorate you gifts with a nice extra touch and a little add on gift for just a few cents.
• for gift tags – purchase tags made from recycled paper. the tag pictured here was adapted from cards i designed and is printed on 100% post consumer waste paper (available in my etsy shop). another idea for gift tags is using the fronts of the cards you received last year as gift tags, you can cut out shapes or characters and add the to and from with a marker or nice pen.
• use the black and white pages from the newspaper to wrap up gifts and decorate with saved ribbons – they add a great splash of color.

in keeping with yesterdays post i am writing today about another local artist i met at the wnybac holiday art market. amy greenan had loads of wonderful little handmade goodies that i just have to share. she also has some beautiful paintings you can view on her website. amy’s items are great for stocking stuffers or a very meaningful small present for a close friend. looking for something a bit larger for a last minute gift – her paintings would make a fabulous holiday gift! if you are interested in purchasing any of her items check out her etsy shop chocishop. live in western new york? contact her locally. buy local, buy handmade – support our buffalo artisans

beautiful little handmade box

great handmade journal with amy's own artwork used

this past weekend i checked out the last minute panic holiday market held by western new york book arts collaborative. there were tons of great goodies – i wish i could of  taken more home with me. fortunately, i did the next best thing and took photos of some of the vendors work. so i plan on featuring some local artists here over the next week. there is so much talent here in buffalo, ny, i am excited to share these great items with my readers!

i did splurge on a couple small items for myself from the artist that is featured today, elizabeth switzer of crude crafts.

i purchased this great pillow cover below. she hand sews the cover and screen prints the image on the front. i loved this so much it already has a spot in my house!

i also love these star ornaments and purchased one of those as well. they are sweetly handmade and also eco-friendly! each of these stars are cut and sewn from wool sweaters that were no longer useful for wearing – but perfect for up-cycling! great as a stocking stuffer, a gift for yourself or an adornment on a wrapped present or bottle of wine.

check out crude crafts on etsy! liz’s ornaments are currently on sale at local candy shop can can on elmwood. great for a last minute gift or for adorning any other gift you already have!

this is probably my absolute favorite thrift store find of the year. these are complete sets of fabulous fifties christmas cards, love the great images and the beautiful text. definitely want to use the bells as inspiration for next year’s holiday card designs. enjoy the photos!