Omiyage Blogs: January 2013

Send Pretty Mail #5 - Pink & Glitter

Since I started the first month of the Send Pretty Mail project with the opposite of pink & glitter, it made sense to finish it with a whole lot of it.

Jennifer was Lucky #2 in our Send Pretty Mail Giveaway, and here's how we packaged up her goodies. Hope you like pink & silver, Jennifer!

The actual gift set was packed inside a large Bitty Bag (easiest wrapping ever), then sealed with a silver heart sticker. A blank pink notecard is fancied up with a simple light pink heart sticker.Then everything slipped inside a pink poly mailer. Love them! The mailer was too big for the package, so I folded it in half and secured the sides with wide silver washi tape. Then 2 more stripes of tape - pink glitter & silver stripe - are added on each end for fun rather than function.

The finishing touch was a silver ribbon sticker with a cheeky message. The finished package is simple but special and definitely pink & sparkly!Here's a look at the other four pretty pieces of mail I sent in January:

black & kraft camera print / canadiana stripes & stamps / naoshi crowded tart / washi tape birthday card

Have you sent or received any pretty mail this month?Want to receive some pretty mail in YOUR mailbox? Send me a note at info@omiyage.ca with your mailing address and a little something about yourself. I'll be making a list and choosing new friends to send mail to each month.

Handmade Find - Quill & Fox

I've had a stationery crush on Yas Imamura's Quill & Fox design studio for quite awhile now. I ordered a few Hello Cards for the Send Pretty Mail project and they're even better in person than online! Don't you love when that happens?

Whether you're on the hunt for the perfect card for Valentine's Day, a birthday or everyday, I think you'll love Quill & Fox too. You can visit Quill & Fox online, shop on Etsy, check out the blog, and connect via Twitter or Facebook.

Send Pretty Mail #4 - Washi Tape Birthday Card

Cake & glitter - is there any better way to celebrate a birthday?

I still love the look of a washi tape layer cake - simple to create but looks fancy. Add a glitter tape topper & cake stand. Perhaps some gold accents for extra fanciness!

Why not try adding washi tape inside the card too?

There's no reason for the card to have all the fun - craft washi tape balloons on the envelope. To create your own balloons (or any shape), apply tape strips to parchment paper, cut out the desired shapes, peel off the parchment paper backing and stick!

Loving the ombre effect of our new floral washi tapes - perfect for a finishing touch on the back of the envelope.

Happy birthday Mum!

DIY Valentine's Treat Bags

I wanted to show you a few simple ideas for using the lovely goodies inside our Valentine's Paper Packs. Here's the first - super simple but totally cute!

Stick a large heart-shaped sticker on a clear bag. Slip your treat inside. (I went with oatmeal raisin, because, well, it's still only January! But, come Valentine's Day, you might want to go with something a little more decadent!) And close with a washi tape twist tie... or a simple piece of baker's twine.

The heart stickers are the perfect matte surface for writing on - so you can add a sweet message before sticking them on the bags. Card & treat in one cute package!

Happy Friday! Hope your weekend is cozy & warm & filled with delicious things (cookies or otherwise!)

Have you entered our Send Pretty Mail Giveaway yet?

Eye Candy - Sandra Javera

Blues

Mirror / Booklet

Embroidery Studies

Don't you love it when a single pin leads you down the rabbit hole? Fantastic washi tape collages led me right to artist Sandra Javera. The Brazilian-born illustrator lives and works in New York where she creates playful and colourful work - I especially enjoyed exploring the experimental section on her site.

See more of Sandra's work here. Follow along on her blog. Connect via Facebook or Flickr.

Send Pretty Mail #3 - A Giveaway

I'm cheating a little bit with letter # 3 - but it's only because Naoshi's letter sets are already so well designed that there isn't much room to add more cuteness. So, letter number 3 is written on Naoshi's Crowded Tart stationery set (if only riding the TTC at rush hour was as delightful as this), a few cute stickers slipped as an extra treat, and I'll seal it all with a strip of washi tape.

January seems like the perfect time for a little giveaway, don't you think? And, even better, a Send Pretty Mail giveaway!

Win a love-themed stationery kit including a Naoshi letter set, greeting card and assorted heart stickers. Perfect for sending love notes to your favourite people!

Simply leave a comment below telling me about the best piece of mail you've ever received or sent. Or, well, any mail-related comment will do! Want an extra entry? Tweet, share or pin this giveaway and leave a comment for each below!

Open internationally. Comments close January 30th at noon est. Winner will be drawn & announced January 30th. Approximate value of prize is $20.

Have you seen Naoshi's work before? It's sand art - that's right, sand art! So fun, right?

Giveaway now closed - Congrats to Lucky #2 - Jennifer!

In The Mood To Knit

Brioche Cowl - the purl bee / Double Basketweave Cowl - Fringe Association / GAP-tastic Cowl - Jen Geigley

I don't know about you, but come winter, all I really want to do is cozy up to my knitting needles. I'm really not much of a knitter, nothing fancy need apply, but once the temperature dips I get the itch.

Last week, a box filled with new yarn arrived (my first Knitpicks order) and it's hard to think anything else... Daily rewards now consist of "if you finish ____, you can knit another row." Knitting has replaced tweeting as the tv companion of choice. Probably better, really, when you think about it!

This winter, I'm all about the cowl. And knitting in the round is really rather satisfying. I have cowl number three on my needles at the moment... though none of them have been for me... yet. But cowl number four, cowl number four is all mine!

Find more knitting inspiration over on my Let's Knit Pinterest board.

Anyone else a foulweather knitter? What do you have on the needles these days?

Send Pretty Mail #2 - Canadiana

The idea for this envelope came to me in the shower - as all good ideas do (not just me, right?) An envelope inspired by the iconic Hudson's Bay point blanket and accented with vintage Canadian stamps.

Couldn't be simpler really. 4 strips of washi tape in blue, yellow, red and green. Solids are awesome, but, if like me you don't have them handy, patterns are fun too!Grab your own vintage stamp packs from Send More Mail.Have you sent any pretty mail lately? Want to receive a pretty piece of mail in your mailbox? Send me a note at info@omiyage.ca with your mailing address and a little something about yourself. I'll be making a list and randomly choosing new friends to send mail to each month.

2013 Valentine's Collection

Looking for the perfect finishing touches for your Valentine's Day goodies? Or perhaps you're looking for a sugar-free alternative to the usual chocolate overload?

Our 2013 Valentine's Day Collection is now available in the shop. There are sweet heart-covered washi tape sets, classic heart stickers, pink & red basics, and even a selection of limited edition Valentine's Day Paper Packs!

The Art of Inspiration

Emily McDowell

What words inspire you? Motivational art has come a long way from those feel-good posters on the office walls of your high school guidance counsellor. Join Marisa over on Oh My! Handmade for a round-up of inspirational art which looks as good as it feels.

DIY Valentine's Day

Origami Heart Cupcake Toppers / Paper Heart Pouches
Valentine's Collage Tags / Origami Heart Garland

Is it too soon? I know, you probably don't want to hear it, but Valentine's Day is only a month away. How did that happen?

I was really hoping to tell you all about our new Valentine's goodies today - heart print washi tape, cute polka dot paper bags, heart stickers, special Valentine's paper packs filled with love-ly goods... but one of our deliveries seems to have made an unscheduled stop in Hawaii (must be nice, right? I could go for one of those myself!) and so we're a little behind.

In the meantime, why not consider making something this Valentine's Day - it's clearly one of those holidays that people have a love/hate relationship with. Why not bake up some goodies, package them prettily and spread a little love?

Check out our favourite Valentine's Day tutorials up above and last year's love-ly round-up of things to make, bake or buy.

Do you like Valentine's Day? I appreciate the red & pink cheer in the middle of a rather bleak month - oh, and the excuse to indulge in something decadent!

Let's Talk Emerald

Catch me over on Oh My! Handmade Goodness today where I'm talking Pantone's choice for Colour of the Year 2013 and rounding up gorgeously green handmade items.

Send Pretty Mail #1 - Black & Kraft

For January's first piece of pretty mail, I actually didn't want to send something pretty - I promised an old friend one of my felt iPhone sleeves and he's not really a pink glitter kind of guy.

So I grabbed some basic kraft paper, one of the camera stamps you just might find in our Lucky Bags, a black & white paper bag and an index card. Oh, and some washi tape - because, well, I don't do much without it!

I slipped the felt sleeve inside the paper bag and sealed it with a strip of washi tape. Then stamped the kraft paper with a pattern of black cameras and one on the index card too. Wrapped the paper bag and index card in the camera print kraft paper. Finally I covered the whole package in a layer of clear packing tape for durability.

one down, fifty-nine to go! Have you sent any pretty mail lately?

Eye Candy - Khristian A. Howell

Pattern and colour inspired by travel, nature, the exotic. What could be better, right? Especially as a cure all for the post-holiday winter blahs.

Khristian A. Howell is a colour and pattern expert and her work is fun, vibrant and totally lustworthy. That flower-full Honduras print surely has my name on it! Why not add some colour to your life? Khristian's patterns can be found on art prints, stationery, phone cases, even textiles.

You can purchase Khristian's work in her shop or on Etsy. Connect via Facebook and Twitter. Get inspired on Pinterest.

Send Pretty Mail in 2013

It takes me a while to get my thoughts together on a new year and what I want from it. Not quite as long as it takes to remember to write 2013 instead of 2012, but almost! That first sleepy week of January just doesn't feel like the right time to start new things. It feels dormant, peaceful. A time to snuggle up with a good book and the last of the Christmas goodies, to ease into the new year... gently.

But a week into January, and I'm ready to kick things into a slightly higher gear... and declare my first crafty intention for 2013!

I want to send more mail this year... specifically more pretty mail (and, hopefully, receive more too!) In this age of digital everything, there's really nothing nicer than opening your mailbox to a real live letter (and not just flyers and bills). I really enjoyed making teacup envelopes last year and, as I'm sure you know by now, I do love to liven up an envelope with washi tape!

So, in 2013, I want to send 5 pretty pieces of mail per month. That's totally achievable, right? 5 of the same, or 5 totally different. Flexibility is more fun!

I've signed up for the next Elevated Envelope Exchange, started a Send Pretty Mail pinterest board and treated myself to some Posticks and I'm ready to go!

How's that for something? How about you? Any crafty intentions for 2013?

Want to receive some pretty mail in YOUR mailbox? Send me a note at info@omiyage.ca with your mailing address and a little something about yourself. I'll be making a list and randomly choosing new friends to send mail to each month.

2013 Lucky Bags

If you follow along on Instagram, you would've caught us packing our 2013 Lucky Bags - lots of cute, colourful (and useful!) goodies lovingly ~~crammed~~ packed into handstamped pink paper bags.

This is our third time making New Year's fukubukuro, otherwise known as lucky bags or happy bags, and these just might be our favourites!

Since our Large Bags are always the most popular, we've made them all large this year. For $24.50, you will receive approximately $40 worth of Omiyage goodies - some of which we brought in especially for the bags - and, yes, there's plenty of pretty tape. Some are valued at a little less, some a little more - discovering just what's inside is the fun part!!

Are you feeling lucky?

Happy New Year!

Wishing you health and happiness in 2013... and time for a little crafty and creative fun too!

If, like us, you're back to reality today, hope you can ease back in and your inbox isn't TOO full.

Happy New Year!