Storenvy

I wanted to tell you more about Janette Crawford. 

Don't you love her necklace!

We met at Alt Summit and she is absolutely adorable. She and her husband are the master-minds behind Storenvy.com (kind of like etsy, but better!) Have you heard about it? I asked Janette to tell us about Storenvy and share some of her current favorites:

Storenvy in a Nutshell 

Storenvy is a social marketplace for buying and selling goods of all kinds from independent businesses all over the world. Storenvy charges no fees to buy or sell and gives merchants a fully customizable online storefront in addition to placement in the shopping marketplace. 

Storenvy is changing the face of the e-commerce experience by enabling anyone, from the owner of a fashion boutique to a guy designing skateboard decks, to create their own completely customizable store at no charge and with no programming knowledge required. And by combining all the stores' products into one big marketplace, stores make more sales through the natural discovery process. (Current stat: Storenvy stores make almost 15% of their sales through the marketplace rather than through direct store traffic.) For shoppers, a well-categorized marketplace makes it easy to browse all stores at once, allowing them to save their favorite items for later and follow their favorite stores and users.

 

My Storenvy Picks

 

GIFT FLAGS from IN HAUS Press

http://www.storenvy.com/products/20547-gift-flags

Letterpressed in San Francisco on 2-ply birch veneer, using scraps that are an excess of the Denver, CO, furniture industry. 

"santio eduardo vega" print (a4) from cardboardcities

http://cardboardcities.storenvy.com/products/17245-santiago-eduardo-vega-print-a4

Laura Redburn is a young illustrator from Wales. 

MUCHroom Wall Hook from Workerman

http://workerman.storenvy.com/products/6087-muchroom-wall-hook

Handcrafted by Adam Brackney in Minneapolis, MN, of reclaimed + sustainably harvested woods. 

Love is Waiting T-shirt (Seafoam) from Love is Waiting

http://www.storenvy.com/products/36176-love-is-waiting-t-shirt-seafoam

All proceeds help fund (our friends) Aaron & Heather Hale's upcoming Ethiopian adoption of a baby boy. 

Beaded Fringe Necklace in turquoise & red | by: Noble Town Vintage from Blonde Grizzly

http://blondegrizzly.storenvy.com/products/24565-beaded-fringe-necklace-in-turquoise-red-by-noble-town-vintage

Handmade by Noble Town Vintage, sold by Blonde Grizzly, an art boutique in Salt Lake City, UT. 

Spring Bangle from Kianga Project

http://www.storenvy.com/products/14437-spring-bangle

Each bangle is handcrafted by, and benefits, a man or woman living with HIV in the slums of Kenya. 

+++++++++++

Thanks for sharing with us Janette!

What's your favorite Storenvy find?

photo book

There are so many companies out there who make photo books. For me, I don't just want a book with my pictures on it. I want a book where the colors are vibrant, the paper feels nice and thick and the presentation is above par. 

 

I figured I didn't have to look any further than Apple. They deliver quality work every time I have purchased one of their products.

I knew they couldn't mess up my pictures, and they really did a great job. Above and beyond in fact!
This is the book I made for Ben this Christmas.

This would also make a great Valentines Day gift. Pricing is about $1 a page and you don't even have to scrapbook ANYTHING!

Do you have a photo book company you love?

low expectations = high excitement

Christmas presents are quite simple around our home. I don't make a big fuss about "what do you want Santa to bring you this year?" That way there are no let-downs. 

Usually I find used or almost new toys and so far they have been a BIG hit. I keep it to about 3 or 4 presents per kid. 

By the time you throw in presents from both sets of Grandparents, cousins, friends, extended family, etc; there are a lot of presents under the tree.

This year I went ALL OUT and they each had at least one BRAND NEW present.

 I think my personal favorites are the hand-made gifts. Sterling is quite enamored with the Pixar film Wall-E. 

Great movie......

but it didn't do so well in the toy department. 

So rather than give up on giving him a Wall-E toy, I decided to make my own. Say hello to Eva, she is now a family favorite!

 And Christmas wouldn't be complete without some quick work for Puj. I will have to tell you about this sewing machine sometime....I LOVE IT! It is the very machine my mother bought herself in college. Hooray for all machined metal parts!

Thanks Mom!

What is your Christmas morning tradition?

exotic fruit update

Though I had some naysayers (ahem....brittany!) the exotic fruit in the Christmas Stockings was a HIT! It certainly did not hurt that Santa decided last minute to also throw in some gourmet root beer.

 They loved picking out the pomegranate seeds. Notice there are some homemade cinnamon rolls : see! we sill had treats.

(please excuse the Captain Hook arm)

What does Santa leave in your stocking?

christmas stocking + exotic fruit

Candy has become sort of a problem in our house. I never buy it, and yet somehow my two year old is always finding some. He could eat candy all day if I would let him. Don't get me wrong, I love a great treat, but I want to keep it just that. A treat! And if he gets it on a regular basis then it's no longer a treat.

 

And so, I have a new tradition I want to introduce. Or rather, a new tradition I want Santa to introduce. Instead of a stocking full of candy canes and chocolate, I want Santa to fill the stockings with exotic fruits. Goodies like kumquats, goose berries, star fruit and crab apples.

Just think! We'll have fun exploring foods we've never had before. And they will be a true treat without all the refined sugars.

But don't worry, Santa is not a total Scrooge. I have little pack of trail mix with plenty of chocolate in it.

What does Santa put in your stocking?

wingbat

 

Recently the boys completed their reading charts and so we thought it was time for a reward that was bigger than a Trader Joes Organic Sucker. 

They each got to choose a Beta Fish.

 These fish needed a new home, but I was not about to buy three fish bowls at $20 a piece and then fill the bottom with a bag of $6 marbles.

 

Mason jars are pretty.

And as much as I love "What About Bob" the jars just felt temporary.

So what do you do? You head to your local thrift store and find 3 fun glass jars for $1.99 and then let the kids fill the bottom with their own toys, money, rubber-bands, etc. The kids are so proud of the finished product and they each named their own fish.

Hooray for creative rewards!

How do you reward your kids?

iPad gift idea

Need an easy handmade gift idea? Well if your recipient has an iPad you could make a little cozy for it. I made ours from some dear-skin leather (super soft). It was really quite simple

 I just cut the leather and fabric lining .25 inches wider on all four sides. Flapped over the top and sewed all round it.

 

I chose a navy & white stripe that I found at IKEA as my liner.

  

And because the fabric had a fun little hole I thought I would turn it into a little design detail and let the fabric stripes show through the hole.

Now my iPad can ride along in my bag scratch free.

You could also do this very easily with some felt that you double up for thickness.

Now I just need an easel to prop it up while we watch our Pixar shorts. For now these two rolls of tape are working quite well.

jump

I like to jump.

There is something about the weightlessness and the freedom that causes me to propel myself into the air and hope for a good landing.

Growing up I was a gymnast and a diver who was always bouncing off of something.

In college it was snowboarding, wake-boarding, and rock climbing.

Now I am a mom and I am mostly just looking to giggle like a little girl.

Below are some pictures of our jumpy weekend on the Oregon coast with good friends...enjoy!

I hope in some way that these pictures have inspired you to be weightless and free. But most of all I hope you go do something that makes you giggle.

wool

I am loving these handmade wool felted bags.

 They are handmade in Lithuania.

 

spotted on onstail.