Resolutions

Happy (almost) New Year!! ‘Tis the season of making plans and promises. Eat better, exercise more, have endless patience with the children, yadda, yadda, yadda.

My professional goal is to be more free and flowing with my shop. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I tend to get bored easily. I’ll spend a couple of days furiously making tons of upcycled stationery, only to find that I’m bored by it. Then I’ll move on to wrapping pencils with my scrap stationery paper.  Fun for a while, then – Whammo! Bored. Newspaper coasters? Cute, but tedious. Custom painted picture frames? Lovely, but they take an enormous amount of time to do for the amount of money that I charge. For some strange reason, I feel like I need to stick to painting and upcycling because it says “An eclectic mix of handpainted designs, custom pieces and upcycled eco-art” on my facebook page. Um, HELLO!? Why don’t I just rewrite the tag line on my facebook page? Or, even better, I could go with it and embrace the phrases “eclectic mix” and “custom pieces.”

I hereby vow to make 2012 the year of my creativity. I’ll make what feels fun at the time, and see what happens. Maybe if I write it down here in cyber-space for all to see I’ll actually do it.

It Wasn’t Me

If you have kids like mine, you hear this all day. “It wasn’t me!” or “He did it!”

My appliqués are embroidered by hand on hand-cut felt and hand-sewn onto shirts. I designed these for twins, but this set would be cute for any siblings…

Dial 1-900-MIX-ALOT

My latest obsession: cross-stitching. I know, when you think of cross-stitch you think of intricate Thomas Kinkade-ish scenes embroidered on pillows. Or fancy samplers hanging on your Grandma’s wall.  Are these things that I would EVER make? No. (Apologies to your Grandma – No offense intended).

Instead, I have taken the traditional sampler and turned it on its head with snarky sayings and song lyrics. These have been a lot of fun. Let me know if you have a clever one you’d like to see!

 

The Cutest Little Caterpillar

I recently designed this set (inspired by Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar) as a newborn gift for a friend… The little peanut was born a few days before Halloween and didn’t have a costume! I just couldn’t let that happen.

 

Hat + Swaddle Blanket = CUTENESS.

 

Although originally created for use as a costume, it could be used anytime and would make a fantastic prop for a newborn photo-shoot!

  

GIVEAWAY - Enter to Win Twilight Saga Stationery!

Breaking Dawn is coming to theaters this Friday!  In honor of this epic event, I have created stationery sets out of a discarded Eclipse book.  Coming soon to my Etsy shop - win a set here before they are available for purchase!

In order to be eligible for the giveaway, simply enter your name and email address (required).

For TWO BONUS CHANCES to win.....

1. Become a fan on facebook.
2. Link to my site on your blog.

I will use random.org to determine the winner – contest will close at noon on Friday, November 18.  I will contact the winner by email (and will post on this blog & my fb fan page)…. If you win, email your mailing address to me so I can ship your free stationery set!  GOOD LUCK ♥

**Please only enter once – duplicate entries will be deleted.

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This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Myleen B. 

YOU WIN!!!

Atlas Stationery

In this digital age of GPS and Google Maps, who needs to keep an entire U.S. atlas in the car?? Mine was wrinkled and bent and about 10 years old.  So I salvaged the clean pages to make stationery sets!  Now, you may be asking… “In this digital age of GPS and Google Maps and EMAIL, who needs a stationery set??”

Touché.

 

Aloha Wedding Frame

This frame was a custom order for a wedding gift. The couple had a tropical-themed destination wedding, with a color scheme including greens and corals.  What a great way to display a favorite photo from such a special day!

Craft Fair Success

It was a successful May Day for Liz Ohsiek Designs! The weather was gorgeous, and I sold enough to cover the cost of my booth plus a small profit.  The vendors around me were so nice, and were happy to give me advice about the ins and outs of the craft fair scene.  What more could I ask for??

I had several friends and family come to my rescue in the past few days…. THANK YOU to everyone who helped me set up & clean up, as well as everyone who donated equipment to make my day go smoothly. 

Square Newspaper Coasters

I. Love. These.

Similar to my original newspaper coasters, this version is square and oh-so-hip.  Huey Lewis would be very proud.

    

And Every Day the Paper Boy Brings More

These newspaper coasters have been popular for Treasuries!  Last week, Helen from the Etsy shop Sixoclock created a gorgeous Treasury featuring my coasters (and other fantastic newspaper-ish items).  Thanks, Helen!

Click on the image below to view the full Treasury.

I’m Coming to the May Day Festival!

I just registered this week to secure a booth at West Chester’s May Day Festival in Everhart Park.  This is my first craft fair, so I’m very interested (and a bit nervous!) to see how it turns out. 

Description from West Chester Parks & Recreation: May Day Festival of the Arts is a daylong celebration of the arts held at Everhart Park. Approximately 40 to 60 artists set up booths throughout the park to sell their high quality arts and crafts. Entertainment for the day consists of strolling magicians, mimes, jugglers, a variety of other local dance academy performances and children’s crafts. All day long there is fresh food from local vendors available. Festival attendance ranges from 2,500 to 3,000.

Sounds like fun, and admission is FREE – So please stop by to say hello!  xox

Giveaway! Enter to WIN!!

February was my busiest month since starting liz ohsiek designs, and with several orders already in March – I’m hoping for a great year.  To celebrate, I’ve decided to have a special giveaway:  Enter here to win a Harry Potter Stationery Set! 

In order to be eligible for the giveaway, simply enter your name and email address (required).
For TWO BONUS CHANCES to win.....

1. Become a fan on facebook.
2. Link to my site on your blog.

I will use random.org to determine the winner – contest will close at 5pm Monday, March 7.  I will contact the winner by email (and will post on this blog & my fb fan page)…. If you win, email your mailing address to me so I can ship your free stationery set!  GOOD LUCK ♥

**Please only enter once – duplicate entries will be deleted.

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CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.  Congrats to Jessica C!! You WIN!

Etsy Treasury

It’s always so fun to read your email and find a message that your product was featured in an Etsy treasury… It completely makes my day.  Thank-you SunshineSisters for including my newspaper coasters!

Click on the image below to view the full treasury.

Name Meaning Plaques: Casey and Ethan

Painted completely by hand (no stencils!), here is another example of my Name Meaning Plaques for a pair of brothers. 

 

What great meainings! Strong & Enduring + Vigilant & Courageous.  These brothers will be a force to be reckoned with. Maybe I should make some for my own kids….

1. hebrew: princess
2. greek: farmer

Hmmm, doesn’t quite have the same effect, does it?

Baby Girl Newborn Frame

My striped newborn frame with birth stats has been my most popular hand-painted item.  But for some reason, I have only had requests for boys!  Finally, I had the opportunity to make a girly one in pinks. 

Harry Potter Stationery

This weekend I went shopping at Second Reading (a local second-hand bookstore) with my family to get some new/old books for the kids.  While we were there, I happened to notice a shelf with $0.50 books.  On that shelf was a hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  FIFTY CENTS! The first 16 pages were missing, but who cares? I’m not going to actually read it.….

The stationery set turned out great.

 

Did I mention that the book only cost fifty cents??  Maybe I should take the $26 that I saved by buying it used/damaged and get myself a manicure.  Yikes.

Upcycled Sunday Comics Pencils

As if I need another excuse to save paper.  This pencil set is so fun!  Each set of five pencils has been carefully wrapped with color comic pages from the Sunday newspaper, before being varnished and pre-sharpened.

I “heart” Poppy Frame

Here’s a cute frame that is so easily customizable. Who (or what!) do you heart?

I ♥ Poppy – I ♥ Daddy – I ♥ Nana – I ♥ Granny – I ♥ My Dog – I ♥ Mickey Mouse – I ♥ Brother       I ♥ Santa – I ♥ The Beach – I ♥ Cookies – I ♥ School – I ♥ Baseball – I ♥ Naps…..

So many choices!!

Sheet Music Pencils

Each set of five pencils has been carefully wrapped in vintage sheet music, varnished, and pre-sharpened.  They coordinate perfectly with my “Songs of the 60’s” sheet music stationery, and would make a wonderful matching gift set!

 

Sheet Music Stationery

Hey man, can you dig it? Here’s a gift that your favorite music teacher, music student or any music lover will get jazzed about.  Each envelope features sheet music from a “Songs of the 60’s” piano/vocal/guitar book, and comes with coordinating flat note cards.  Groovy.

 

(click here for more upcycled stationery from my Etsy shop)

Square Newspaper Coasters

Coming soon to a sweaty beverage near you: Square Newspaper Drink Coasters.

These are still a work-in-progress, but here’s a preview of my latest coasters.  Armed with a glue gun and the Sunday paper, I’ve created a *square* coaster to nicely complement my original *round* Newspaper Coasters that I made this summer.  More pictures to come after I complete the set!

Plarn Scrubbies

Do you have countless plastic grocery bags falling out of your closet because you feel guilty about clogging up the landfills with even MORE non-biodegradable material??  I know I do.  Actually, delete “do” and replace with “did.”

What happened to all of those bags? I transformed them into PLARN, of course!  Next question: What is plarn?! Plarn is a PLastic yARN…. In this case, created from plastic grocery sacks.  Next, I scoured the web and found a pattern for crocheted scrubbies.  I adjusted it a bit (mostly because I’m not very good at crochet, and couldn’t follow the pattern properly), but I think they turned out fairly well.  Perfect for scrubbing dishes and pots – the plastic is durable but soft, so it won’t scratch.  I tested it on my non-stick pots, and it works nicely!

Upcycled Notebooks

I got a new toy over the holidays!  Thanks to Mom O, I am now the proud owner of a wire-binder, and it is so fun.  Figuring out how to close the wire took a bit of experimentation, but I’m beyond excited about the possibilities for new upcycled products.

 

Here’s a peek at my first attempt.  These notebooks are 2.75” x 4.25” and are the perfect size to leave by the phone, pop into a purse, or slide in your back pocket.  The covers have been cut from a box of Alpha-Bits and each notebook is filled with 24 sheets (48 pages front and back) of white paper so you’ll be all set to take notes wherever you happen to be!

 

 

Sunday Papers Etsy Treasury

My Upcycled Newspaper Coasters were featured in an Etsy treasury today… Thank-you A&B Originals for including me!

Click on the image below to see the full treasury.

Become a FAN on Facebook (and tell your friends)!

Security Envelope Pencil Set (Gray)

Ok, you all may have to call “Hoarders” for an intervention.  My poor husband is afraid to throw anything out – yesterday he asked if I wanted to keep a broken rubber band.  Why the hell would I want to do that???  Oh.  Wait.  Maybe he’s a little confused about what is a keeper around here, since I’ve been saving everything including the security envelopes from junk mail and bills.

 

In my defense, the patterns inside these envelopes are quite interesting… How many people have ever even noticed them? 

 

Each pencil in this set has been wrapped in gray security paper, and varnished before sharpening.  Next on my list is a set with similar patterns in blue.