In November, I did my second Petite Boutique and my fifth craft show ever! Petite Boutique is so well organized and popular in Oak Park. We were in the sunroom again, the same spot as last year, which was perfect. 
This is the sunroom from the outside. Isn’t it gorgeous?
I didn’t really change a ton on my booth set-up. I re-used my Kimberly AH banner since that’s what I used last year, but I need to consider a new banner with Galaxie Safari. I’d like something to go above my booth so you can see it when people are standing in front of my table. Something to work on this winter… I rigged a little bar to hold my “Comparison is the thief of joy” letterpress print and got a felt board for pricing. I really resisted the felt board since it’s so trendy, but really, you can’t beat its convenience and simplicity. 
I still love my card rack. It’s not big enough for all of my designs now (yay for new products) so I highlighted holiday cards, best sellers, and newer designs in the rack. The other designs were in a wooden box. I feel like last year, my holiday designs sold best. But this year, it was a nice mix of things since I had so many other (birthday, love, thank you, friendship, etc) styles to choose from.
I added a ton of framed quotes, so I no longer had space for my typewriter. The framed quotes sold really well, which was so exciting. 
This particular saying sold the best. I actually came home after the show Friday night and made more to sell on Saturday. I’ll be adding a greeting card to my shop next week, too. (As a side note, I’m so excited for the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote. I think we need to throw a huge party.) 
Naoto was a great sales assistant. He wore his Mr. Zip t-shirt “uniform” and manned the booth while I ate lunch and walked around and assisted with bagging and answering questions. It’s so nice to have a partner who is so supportive of this! 
This winter I’m trying to research and apply to more shows. They have been really good and really fun for me. I am, at my core, a last minute person so planning six months to a year ahead of time is mind-boggling, but necessary. I’ve already signed up for two shows in Berwyn this year at Friendly’s Tap. (I’ll be there April 21 and November 17!) And I’m applying to a few more thanks to friends I’ve met along the craft market way. If you’re local and know of any good shows, I’d love to hear from you!
You’ll need to cut your paper to an 8×8 inch square. I used a ruler and scissors for this since the paper is too large for my paper cutter. Do your best to get nice straight lines since origami is a pretty exact science. My paper had a deckled edge so I placed that at the top to add some interest to the collar of the pencil/chopstick holder. You could also cut the deckled edge off and just have clean edges all around. A bone holder (that thing on the right) is helpful to smooth your folds, but if you don’t have one, you’re fingers will work just fine.
Flip your paper over so the pattern is facing down. 
Stick in some chopsticks, pencils, pens, magic wands…and you’re done! I made a bunch for my 
Since I won’t be standing in the shop telling people that my cards are all typed on vintage typewriters and that I use real cancelled postage stamps and line the envelopes with pages from old encyclopedias, I’m having a stamp made for the back of the cards to explain those details. Most of the cards at the shop are mass printed, so I’m hoping some locals and visitors will appreciate something that’s made entirely by hand.
Karen started a new job last week teaching a class at University of Illinois at Chicago. We wanted to give Professor Karen (I’m sure her students call her something more formal.) a little good luck gift to send her off on her first day.
Like me, Karen loves Frixion pens, so I pulled a .05 from the “Japanese vault” and added it with a couple of pencils from C.W. Pencils. 
I folded a little origami pencil holder for them out of my 
I plan to use the pencil to decorate the table and black place cards for our next 
So…I know this is groundbreaking…I use my red/blue pencils to mark my to-do list. (As you can see above, last Thursday was a very productive day.) When I complete a task, I check it off in blue. When I don’t get to something, I draw a red arrow next to the task so I can move it to the next day. I know I could do all of this with a plain lead pencil, but where’s the fun in only having one pencil in your pencil cup?
I’ve been in 100% neon mode for my mail and my planner this summer. I’ve been using all of my neon washi tapes, pens, pencils, stickers and papers. It’s been fun, but I’m ready for a change, a change to school supplies. Even though I’m not going back to school, I ordered myself a few pencils from CW Pencil Enterprises last week. Those new pencils got me in the mood to refresh my desk space and break out some back-to-school treats from my washi and Japan stationery hoard. I have a “Japan drawer” in my desk that holds a bunch of washi tapes and backup pens. Since we most likely aren’t going to Japan this year, I’ve been dipping into my stash more and more. It’s like having my own little store to visit. 
I bought a few limited edition washi tapes during our last trip that fit the back-to-school bill perfectly. The top two are collaborations between mt and two iconic Japanese brands, and the bottom one was a special tape created by 
Fueki glue is another popular Japanese school supply. Fueki-kun, the little yellow mascot, is a pot of glue. It’s made from 100% corn starch and is safe for young children. 
Last weekend, Naoto and I went to a local Forest Park spot, 
Naoto painted “Norm the Gnome” and I painted “Norma the Gnome.” We decided to make them kind of coordinate so they could live in the big pot on our balcony together. 
We went back yesterday to pick up our gnomes. I think they turned out pretty well! I just love Norm’s white beard! And I admit Norm’s black eyes look better than my faceless Norma. In spite of her lack of lips and eyelashes, I think they make a cute pair for our balcony garden.
In the 
kimberly ah 