Snippets of Words: 'You can be responsible for the shopping'

Hello you.

It felt strange to close my Etsy shop for a week and just to enjoy having nothing to do [not to mention not checking my emails for 4 days. And I survived! My world did not unravel! Who knew?].

But, now the shop doors are flung wide open again and, as I mentioned earlier, I'm marking the occasion with ...

[a] a discount code for any + all orders until the evening of Monday 22nd July:

So, if you've been meaning to grab a kit or a paper pack to use in your summer journals or crafting in general ... now seems as good a time as any!

And, if you do place an order, or if you already have some of my packs ... or if you have any vintage papers of your own then hang around here for the next week or so ...

[b] I'm going to be sharing new examples of where you can use 'snippets of words' in your crafting ... like this ...

 

[You see what I did there? That's a hint for you to go shopping!] ;-)

I make lots of these small cards [you can tell by the cotton reel that it's just a few inches across].As I've mentioned on here before, they live in a box on my shelf and come in handy to:

• drop into parcels I send out as a little personalised 'Hello'
• they could also make great little - unique - business cards
• and - perhaps if you make them a bit bigger - they're great for general greetings cards for any occasion. And for no occasion. [Who doesn't like to receive unexpected happy mail?]

This style of card is so relaxed, informal and fun ... and that all reflected in how they're put together:

• I make the base card from scraps of cardstock left over from other projects;
• I then decorate them with other scraps of patterned paper
• I usually always add washi tape on there somewhere too. Being self-adhesive means they add colour and interest in seconds - and with such small, casual cards I don't want to be spending hours on them!

Then, finally I scrabble around for the nearest vintage page [OK, so, in this house you're never more than an arm's length away from an old book!] and I skim read it looking for anything I can snip out and add as a sentiment and focal point on the front.

It doesn't always have to make perfect sense or be a complete quote or anything like that because I like to think they leave room for the recipient to interpret the meaning for themselves ...

• maybe they'll find their own meaning in it ...
• they'll interpret it to mean something just for them ...
• they might even think 'Wow, why did she send that to me? How did she know that's what I was thinking / needing to hear ' etc ...
• these little snippets begin life so general and random ... but can have a life of their own once they land in someone else's hands!

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If you'd like a more varied collection of snippets to sift through then here are some ideas currently in stock in my shop ...

The Fiction themed mixed text pages are perhaps the best choice if you're looking for poetic or narrative snippets:

These contain a lovely mix of pages from story books, comics, poetry, adventure stories and ... one banned book [carefully proof read before being added to the pack!]. You're bound to find a suitable line amongst them.

Meanwhile ... if you're up for a spot of random snippet hunting then a Serendipity Pack  could be the one for you: 

I can't tell you what you'll find in your Serendipity pack ... because they're all different. A complete mix of pages and phrases from across my entire book + publication collection.

There could be anything in there! All orders for them are picked and packed at random [they're on a high shelf and I just reach up and pluck one out without looking!].

If you prefer a full kit of co-ordinating eclectic supplies which also contains vintage pages plus little packs of pre-cut words + phrases then you can head towards any of the new Ephemera Bits packs:

The Ephemera Bits kits are currently available in shades of pink, orange and blue.

And finally for today ...

If you're looking to make something more lasting than a card ... then the Message in a Bottle kits are just the thing:

These contain full book pages along with packs of pre-cut phrases which can be scoured to create a phrase, a poem, a story or a message then you can pop it inside the little glass bottle, and inside the fabric pouch for safe keeping. There's also twine and charms in there too to decorate the bottle or pouch.

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I'll be back soon with more 'snippets of words' projects to inspire you to get your scissors out!

Until then ... don't forget there's 10% off until Monday [22nd July 2013].

Julie :-)