New cards!

I love the understated red of these cards, and the simple little snowflake in the corner.
I had some white ones for sale this year, but I like these better because you can see the white interior of the card shine through the snowflake cutout.

Delicousness!

Did you know I made dog biscuits? Oh yes!

These peanut butter ones in particular are huge favorites with everydog who tries them. They have so much peanut butter in them, if they containted sugar, they'd be peanut butter cookies!

Hand Carved Sailboat

This Sailboat print was inspired by my Grandfather's love of sailing. They recently sold their sailboat and the print was a gift at Christmas last year. I'm running this as a limited edition of 100, signed and numbered.

It was created by carving Speedycut and hand-mixing midnight blue ink. I'm probably most proud of it, out of all the carvings I've done.

I'm also considering offering some framed prints, although I'll have to purchase the frames myself and shipping costs will go way up... Maybe I'll do ONE, and see if it sells.

Washi Note Cards!

New for today, vibrant washi paper note cards. I've coordinated some pretty handmade Japanese papers with bright cardstock and matching envelopes in several sets of 4-packs. They're pretty and very affordable!

Washi Paper Mini-Cards!

I whipped up a ton of these wonderful little mini-cards this afternoon and just listed them tonight! I'm in love with washi paper, and a seller that I recently did a trade with, (the very lovely Xiane), was wondering if I could make some smaller-scale cards with the washi paper I use for my larger cards. Well sure! And what a great idea!

I love the way these turned out, they're a perfect size for leaving little love notes on pillows, dropping notes in lunchboxes, sending a thank-you in an Etsy package or garnishing a gift.

Kitsch!

These owls warm my heart, they're so dang retro looking and they turned out exactly how I wanted them to!

Sock Monkey!

So little, so cute - so socky!

I'm having far too much fun coming up with new block prints and little stamps - here's my latest, a sock monkey.

Pandas!

Baby pandas, to be exact. You will definately see these in the store soon - so keep an eye out!

Item of the Day!

One of my favorite "time wasters" is to punch in random words to search on Etsy. Tonight I tried the combination: Moose Booger, but alas, nothing came up. So the second item that popped into my head was Caviar - and on page 2 of the search results, these beautiful earrings appeared by LoopsDesigns.

Very nice!

Current Craft Challenges!

This month features some interesting craft challenges around the net!

Crafster is featuring a "Super Ugly to Super Awesome" challenge that involves revamping a thrift store/flea market item and taking it from awful to brilliant! The prizes are great and the scope is pretty broad - just about anyone could think of a good entry for this one.
Entries are due December 1st through 5th, so there's plenty of time!

The EtsyMN Street Team is challenging members to submit an entry for their December challenge with a snow/ice theme. I've gotten my entry in, can't wait to see the others!
Posted items are due by November 30th - the details aren't posted on the blog yet, but their on the Yahoo Group pages.

New holiday/winter cards are in, after a long night of carving this stamp, I inked it with a delicate mixed blue and printed up a batch of lovely cards.

I've actually posted a tutorial or "how-to" on Crafster.org if you're interested in viewing the process.

I also used it as my December, 2007 challenge entry with my Street Team group!

Am I all swallowed out yet?

Apparently not!

I'm bordering on mass production here, but in the meantime, my brain is working overtime trying to develop a truly unique set of holiday cards. Some of the ideas I'm tossing around are a block cut snowflake or animal in the snow, or perhaps a leaf print, I don't know.

I'd welcome your creative suggestions - and if I pick one of them, you'll get a set of holiday cards of your very own as a thank-you gift!

Quinessential Minnesotan Imagery

I pine for a wonderful camera, but I do what I can with the little Canon PowerShot I do have.

I've been working hard on new cards, and I've been filling orders at the rate of a couple per day for a few days now, it's nothing short of wonderful. I've also got submissions to The Sampler Project under way, pending acceptance of my inquiry.

Be sure and click the cattail to see my Flickr account in action - lots of detail of new items mingle with my everyday life. Enjoy!

Hey! Guys! Add RustedDesigns on Flickr - you won't regret it. :)

Washi Paper Swallows are BACK!

The hand-cramping pays off in the end... each swallow, painstakingly cut by hand and applied to bright white cardstock. I love these suckers!

Sea Turtles are HERE!

The newest edition of cards is here and features a hand-carved, hand-inked sea turtle in a luscious green color.

I'm really having a blast creating the carvings, so there will be many new ones forthcoming.

A Fabulous New Journey!

I've really set the wheels in motion for a large-scale stationery project. I've invested in three whole cases of stationery packaging and have created my first block-cut design and transferred them to note cards.
I did them in the off-kilter style of my Un-Sappy Valentine Stuffies and I'm really super proud of how they turned out, the design reflects my love of the inner-workings of the human body, and they're kooky enough to call my own. Click on the picture to see the listing or check them out in my Etsy store.

I've made some extras to include in a marketing push for The Sampler Project, and I'm also crazy-excited about that!

In family news, I would like to take a moment to mention my best(est) friend, who has been embarking on an entrepreneurial project of her own. Studio 422 is the sexy brainchild of Ginger Curry-Richmond of Richmond, VA - if you know anyone in that area who wants some pin-up photography done for an insanely great price, check her out. She's amazing!

Whoa! Long time no update, eh?

A lot has been happening at RustedDesigns, so much so, that I haven't had a chance to update this blog or get out the inaugural issue of my e-newsletter! (Thanks so all of you who signed up already!)

Hey, if you're interested, send me a note at Rusted_Designs@yahoo.com to be added. It's bi-weekly and will include special offers, new items and craft contest alerts!

So what is new at RustedDesigns?

HANDBAGS!, PINCUSHIONS! and HANDBAG ACCESSORIES!

Item of the Day!

Today's item comes to us from Lissa! Her cloth balls for babies and children are vibrant, beautiful and a refreshing alternative to hard plastic/electronic noise-making toys that plague most households with children.
Priced so low, she's sure to sell out - so grab yours while you can!

Item of the Day!

Today's item comes from CleverGirl, an Etsian who pairs handcrafted sterling silver settings with vintage plastics.
I love this necklace because, while she calls it "Optimist" and describes it as a "sun eclipsing a cloud" - I think it could double as an egg, and that, is awesome. Sun and Cloud, or Sunny-Side Up!