:-)

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T12:20:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween Everyone! In case you didn't know, Inhabitat is having a Green Halloween costume contest...check it out here...there's only one day left to enter! You can even get some inspiration to make your own green costumes by checking out their gallery of last year's winners, here!

Also, remember to save your carved pumpkins after the trick-or-treaters have gone...they make great pie, bread, and snacks! Check out my tutorial on getting the most out of your pumpkins, posted last year!

Have a safe, happy, and green Halloween! :-)

Craighton Berman's Coil Lamp

2009-10-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Check out this cool Coil Lamp designed by Craighton Berman of Chicago.

By winding a 100' extension cable around a carefully designed, laser-cut plexiglass structure, Berman manages to turn an object that typically lives in a snarled heap in the garage into an accessory worthy of display space inside the home.

This object of desire is available for purchase already hand assembled on Berman's website, or for half the price, you can purchase a kit and do-it-yourself (cable not included...recycle your own!).

Freecycle

2009-09-28T17:17:00.001-07:00

Freecycle has been around for a little while, but I've just recently (finally) joined the group so I thought I'd post about it!

Freecycle is made up of 6,540,000 members (4,808 groups) around the world. As their website states, "It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people)." Basically it's a place where people who are looking for stuff and people who are giving away stuff can connect, and everything must be offered up for free.

Membership is also free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box on the site or browse through the groups. I'm not sure if each group operates differently, but the Minneapolis group that I'm a part of is run via Yahoo groups. You have to offer up some items before you're allowed to start asking for specific items, and the first couple items you list need to be approved by the administrator. But, I just posted a ceiling fan that we're giving away from our recent remodel and am in the process of giving it away!

At first it was a bit overwhelming as my email box got instantly flooded with offers from the group. However, once I was able to go into the settings and sign up for the "daily digest" instead of getting every offer individually, that helped a lot. I now get a couple emails a day with a big list of 25 of the latest messages so I'm not swimming in emails.

If you have some "stuff" you are looking to give away or are looking to help recycle by re-using other people's stuff, it's worth checking out!

Junk Mail Gems Mentioned in Women's Focus Magazine!

2009-09-20T14:05:00.001-07:00

September has been a big month for press coverage for Junk Mail Gems! Junk Mail Gems has just been mentioned in another great magazine called Women's Focus, in a wonderful article by freelance writer Bonnie D. Tharp:

You can check out the article along with others on my press page, or, you can read the article online via the Women's Focus page, here!

Thanks so much for the nice article, Bonnie!!

TWO New Products at Junk Mail Gems!

2009-09-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Those of you who subscribe to our e-newsletter (now over 575!) already have heard about the latest products now available at Junk Mail Gems: Paperweights and badge lanyards! This is a direct result of YOUR participation in our contest this summer, providing me your feedback on your favorites of my selection of new product ideas!

Paperweights ($23.00) are made from recycled junk mail! Each paperwight showcases a colorful page from a piece of recycled junk mail underneath a crystal clear glass dome. They measure 3.5" in diameter by about 2" tall and weigh over a pound. The base is covered with a black felt pad. I am trying out something new with the paperweights...you get to choose the exact design that you purchase! I will be doing my best to keep the page updated as paperweights sell out and new ones are added. Prefer the element of surprise? Simply select "surprise me" from the drop-down menu when you add it to your shopping cart!

With 30 1" beads made from recycled junk mail ($30.00), this new colorful badge lanyard is sure to be a conversation starter at work! It's strong, swiveling, metal clip can hold your ID, name tag, badge, etc.

Thanks again to those of you who helped me choose which new products to make available this fall!

JunK Mail Gems Featured in Womeninc Magazine

2009-08-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

I was pretty excited to find some copies of the latest Womeninc magazine in my mailbox today, with a several page article featuring Junk Mail Gems! Check out the story on my press page, where you can download a pdf. Many thanks to Myrna CG Mibus, the talented freelance writer who wrote the article, and photographer Jessica Sauck for the many great photos used! It was very cool to see my magnets covering the entire table of contents page too! :-)

Womeninc is published in Fairmont, MN and has a circulation of 15,000 copies monthly. It is subscriber based and people can subscribe online at www.womenincmagazine.com or www.readthestories.com.

Virtual Open House: Junk Mail Gems' New Studio!

2009-08-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

After a lot of cleaning, re-organizing, carrying, and Ikea furniture building, Junk Mail Gems has now completely moved into the new studio space! (formerly known as our master bedroom!) Here I am (above) with my preggo belly at my desk. This 130 square foot space is used for 3 different businesses, but for this blog I will focus on how I stayed within a limited budget and did a lot of re-using and recycling to create a functional space.

(If you are interested in more about how I juggle 3 businesses and watch a toddler all day, check out my GF Design blog post on how I have been able to tailor this space to fit both my work and motherhood!)

Here's the view as you enter:

While always keeping the "green factor" and limited budget in mind, I had a couple of other main goals in re-designing my new space:
1) Functionality of the space as it pertains to the type of design work that I do, and
2) Child safety. (see my GF Design blog for more on how I did this!)

As far as functionality goes for my work, things are laid out wonderfully now. I have a space for my computer work (below, right half) which includes everything I need within arm's reach for doing my design work, as well as website maintenance and order fulfillment for Paintertainment and Junk Mail Gems.

I then have an area for non-computer work (ie. creating Junk Mail Gems products!) on the left side of the room where my drawing board sits. Both work areas are by windows which provide great natural light and cut down on electricity usage. I use compact fluorescent bulbs in my desk lamps, which take a bit longer to reach full brightness but otherwise work great.

Storage
I purchased an Ikea Expedit bookcase for my main storage area with attached desk. I did a lot of searching on Craigslist to find a used one over many months, but in the end had to buy a new one...

You can see some of my little storage jars that I've blogged about in the past up on top.

These Lekman boxes work great to store my stash of bottle caps, corks, and security envelopes.

You've seen me post about using soup cans in a previous post...they work great for pens and pencils, and even look cool! The spider plants were maybe $1 at a garage sale, and the cactus $0.99 in Ikea's as-is section:

These spring clips can also double as handy photo or note holders:

Got this nice drawer unit at a garage sale for $5. It's on wheels which makes it easy for me to move around, which means I can turn the drawers the other way to keep little fingers out when I'm not accessing it.

I saw this idea in a Parent magazine...using a spice rack to store small craft items. I got this one at a garage sale last week for $2. I spray painted the jar lids silver and the rack white, and it works great for my loose beads and other small items!

Another great used find was this Sapien bookshelf that I got at a thrift store for $9.99. They run in the hundreds new!

Here is a view of the back of my desk and the wall on the other side:

The zig-zag bookshelf also came from Ikea, as did the wall shelf that I installed lower down, just above all my drawer units, which really increasing my working surface area as sortof an extension of my desk. I think it also helped unify my row of drawers underneath and maximize space.

The lamp on the far right of the shelf looks like a giant push pin in a block of cork...$4 at a thrift store. The fun part is pushing the pin into the cork to turn it on and off! Both white boards came from thrift stores for about $2 each, including some magnets. Side by side they make a great wall for me to write and hang notes, within arm's reach of my computer desk. Soup cans with magnets glued to them stick nicely to the white boards as white board marker holders. I also glue magnets to my eraser to keep it always within reach.

Why bother with the expense and mess of hanging wallpaper when you can just paint? Stripes are something that anybody can do regardless of artistic talent. I painted one wall with stripes to match the rug that lies in the entrance of the space. What I do is take a string with a piece of tape on the top and a washer tied to the bottom, then tape it up by the ceiling where I want the side of a stripe to go. The string, combined with gravity and the weight of the washer gives me an instant vertical line to guide me as I tape off each stripe and paint.

It was a challenge to make my new studio look cohesive with so many mismatched pieces that I've collected over the years at garage sales and thrift stores. But, together with a few new furniture items I think it looks much better than it was! (wish I had a before shot!) The old furniture that I was using that no longer fit my work patterns have been sold on CraigsList, and passed on to be recycled by someone else!

So, there is a little peek into the place where Junk Mail Gems happens! It's no fancy corporate suite with a view, but it fits my lifestyle and work style and enables me to cram 3 businesses into one room with great productivity! Got any green office organization tips of your own? Please do share! :-)

DIY Recycled Bottle into Outdoor Oil Lamp

2009-08-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

Greetings Junk Mail Gems fans! Wow, it's been forever since I've last posted! I've been really busy these past two weeks. Last week was my annual "busiest week of the year" as I was tending to my Paintertainment business, face painting at a local county fair. This week was spent trying to catch up on my mountains of backed up freelance design work and Junk Mail Gems wholesale orders. In the midst of this chaos, I've moved into my new office and have been getting things in order. (photos to come in a later post!) Needless to say, I've been "burning the midnight oil" for the last two weeks! And speaking of burning oil... (how do you like that transition?!)

...I want to thank my super awesome brother Ben for finding this cool idea and passing it on to me. Erik Anderson takes you step by step through his tutorial (with fantastic photos) to create this unique oil lamp using an old bottle. Such a cool idea! Summer may be winding down, but it's not too late to light up a torch in your backyard and have a party, so check it out!

As I get more caught up on my orders and projects and get my new office together enough for some nice photos, I'll be posting pics of the new digs and sharing some more fun DIY recycled office organization ideas! Stay tuned!

Creating Art with Trash and Shadows

2009-07-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

An old high schoolmate of mine just posted this on facebook and I just had to share. Being an artist as well as a designer and creator of Junk Mail Gems, I especially love to see ways that people turn trash into art. This is a particularly unique method that I have not seen before...using light against carefully crafted piles of trash that cast intricate, recognizable shadows on the wall. This work is done by Tim Noble and Sue Webster...fantastic stuff!

Make Your Own Nursing Cover & Baby Bunny Blankies

2009-07-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

Babies, babies, everywhere! I currently have 5 friends (2 of them family members) expecting babies, and probably 4 or 5 who just had babies. On top of that, I myself am expecting my 2nd baby this winter. So, as you can imagine, I have kept pretty busy lately making baby gifts for everyone. I thought I'd share a couple ideas for those of you interested in making your own baby gifts for yourself or to give at showers!

I never really did get very good at using a blanket to cover up while nursing and don't think I ever even had the need to nurse in public with my first baby. But, with a toddler who is dying to get out of the house daily, I figured I will need a better solution for baby #2. I found some very cool nursing covers online, for around $35-$40 plus shipping. I knew they would be simple to make and did not want to pay so much, so I went online and found a great free pattern for making your own nursing cover by pinkatilly.

I thought it was so great that I made several of them in one afternoon so I can give them as gifts. I found some really cool, modern designed fabrics that worked great (you only need 1 yard), and can hardly wait to give mine a try! The only thing I'd change in the pattern from pinkatilly is in step 6, where she asks you to use pliers to open up the D-rings. I found them to be very difficult to bend open, and much easier to just thread the strap through them in step 3 before sewing the strap in half. Other than that, it is a really fantastic tutorial with great instructions, and I got a beautiful, custom cover for less than $8! To make your hand made gift even more green, check out some fabrics at your local thrift store. Usually they'll have a raw fabric section, but if not, don't forget about other fabric items you can reclaim like curtains, tablecloths, and sheets. You can also try modifying an apron into a nursing cover by cutting off the waist straps and shortening the length.

If you like to crochet like I do, this next one is a great baby gift idea. For the price of two small skeins of yarn, you can make these cute little bunny blankies or "lovies." The pattern is available for free on Lion Brand Yarn's website. Here is a photo of three that I have made in blue, white and pink. The pattern calls for using two strands together, so I like to mix white and a color. Again, don't rule out recycling some unused yarn, whether it be from a previous project or from a thrift store! You can even get creative and make stripes if you run out of a color!

I have made one of these in anywhere from 2 nights to a week of evenings while sitting on the couch watching tv. They are quick, fun, and make a great personal gift! I am planning to try making some of my own variations, such as a dog instead of a bunny.

I have a few more crochet ideas of my own that I am hoping to create very soon, and hopefully make patterns availble on my new original crochet pattern site. I'll be sure to post about it when I do so stay tuned!

Keeping your Sanity During Overseas Travel with a Toddler!

2009-07-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

A while back I wrote about our trip to Arizona...our first flight with our toddler. I shared some travel tips and gear on that post, and promised to write another one about our trip overseas. I know that some of you fellow traveling mommies have been waiting for this one, so here it finally is! This post is about our 10 day trip to Paris (2 of those days taking a train to and from London) with our then 15 month old.

Upon arriving in Paris and entering a room of easily over 1,000 people waiting in line to get through customs, we were blown away by the utter silence. One peep from a toddler would turn thousands of heads! It didn't take long before an airport official noticed us with our stroller, and escorted us past the thousands of people in line, up to another counter, and we were through in seconds! We were guessing they are either an extremely family-friendly airport, or just wanted to maintain the precious silence in the room. Either way, we didn't complain!

Baggage
In total we brought 3 large checked bags with wheels, and three carry-on's, for our 10 day trip. The carry-on's were backpacks, leaving one of us to pull two of the checked bags, and the other to push the stroller and pull the third checked bag. While we could have purchased some upon our arrival, I packed disposable diapers (we usually use cloth), thinking we'd use the empty space at the end of our trip for souvenirs anyway.

Now let's talk baby travel gear, as it's something I researched extensively before our trip in my attempt to prepare for everything.

Crib
I didn't want to trust that I'd get a completely safe and clean rental crib at the hotel, so I purchased Phil & Ted's Travel Cot. It is super light weight and packs down pretty darn small, especially compared to the bulky (yet quicker to assemble) pack-n-play. You can see in this photo below that the crib fit INSIDE one of our suitcases. It's the long, black zipper bag shown in the back side of the suitcase here with the red label on it:

It worked great. We could un-zip the side of it and turn it into a "fort" during the day, and then close it up as a crib at night. Below is a photo of it set up in our living room. Both the top and side can zip open. There's another tip...if you get a new travel crib, practice setting it up at home first! The last thing you want to do upon your arrival with a jetlagged toddler is fumble through instructions.

It's a bit more work to assemble than the traditional pack-n-play's, but I found it was well worth a little extra effort to have our own crib without adding another loose checked item. After hearing about a friend's trip to Paris with a toddler and how their crib reservation got "lost," we were glad we brought our own!

The Car Seat - Stroller Combo
I talked about the Sit-n-stroll in my previous travel post from our trip to Arizona. So, I will try not to be too repetitive. The sit-n-stroll I gave rave reviews in my previous Arizona trip post, and I still highly recommend it for within-the-USA travel. However, I no longer adore it quite as much after this trip. On this trip it did not fit down the aisle on any of the planes, so my hubby just had to lift it over the seats. Not that big of a deal, but not quite as wonderful as our last trip when we wheeled our baby boy right to his seat.

Also, they tell you that you must be gentle with the wheels, and go backwards over every curb. In the US where the sidewalks are smooth and the ADA ramps provide a smooth glide for a stroller, this stroller does just fine. But on our first day in London, my husband hit a curb and a wheel snapped right off. We'll just say we spent one of our two days in London trying to find a cheap umbrella stroller, which we discovered didn't really exist...so we spent about $80 bucks on a new one. This turned us into feeling-quite-smart-with-our-fancy-carseat-slash-stroller parents into those parents who are lugging around a car seat and a stroller through the airport. (and in this case, train station and metro and taxi...) So, unless you are 100% committed to treating this stroller/carseat combo as gently as you treat your precious cargo itself, I would not recommend it on the cobblestone streets of Paris or London. I really wish it had held up, because until it broke, it was incredibly nice to have! I also bought it on ebay, saving me about $60 over a store, but since it was not from an authorized reseller, I basically have no warranty. So, if you do buy one, it's worth paying full price to have the company back it up if it breaks!

I think for our next trip I may invest in the Go Go Kidz Travel Mate. It attaches wheels to your car seat so you can wheel it through the airport. Doesn't really function as a stroller once you're there, but if you have to bring a car seat anyway, might as well put it on wheels!

Baby Slings & Wraps
When we toured the catacombs down underneath Paris, we had to carry the stroller and other "stuff." So, I used a Hot Sling to carry our little Sammy (below, right), while my husband carried our bag, high chair, and stroller (below, left). Sure, it doesn't make for the most ideal touring experience, but it worked for us and we got to see something really amazing!

We found there were several places we couldn't use the stroller, which made us happy we were now using a fold-able umbrella stroller anyway. We had to fold it and bring it up with us when visiting the top of the Eiffel Tower as well. In this event I used a Moby style wrap that I made myself. It worked okay, but it would have been a whole lot easier to get the thing on right if we were not standing in gale force winds at the time. (Same thing happened in Arizona. I think my wrap attracted wind.) Here we are all cozy at the top:

We encountered the same thing at the London Eye, where we had to fold up the stroller and carry it on the ride. Otherwise, there were a few places where we could park it in a "corral."

Travel High Chair
I talked about the high chair we got in my last baby-travel post, and I still think it was the best travel purchase I made. Not only for our trips, but because I have used it a ton just here at home. In all my online research, not once did I find a photo of the thing folded up, which baffled me. I mean, the whole idea is to sell the portability!! So, I took some myself here to show you...

The center photo is a canvas pouch that I made with a velcro flap and shoulder strap to carry it in. I don't know why it doesn't come with one, but it was easy enough to make my own. That kept the whole thing very compact and easy to sling over our shoulder or the stroller handlebars. I still take this thing just about everywhere we go at home. It is so small and light, it's just easier to get this thing out than to lug one of those big, wood, sticky, gooey high chairs across the restaurant. It doesn't work on every table though.

Another thing I wanted to be prepared for was for Sammy to be able to eat off of a clean surface anywhere and everywhere. You can spend about $20 on a silicone mat that has cartoons on it and is made for kids, or you can haul around those disposable ones which are wasteful and not very good for the environment. I brought along a silicone baking mat that I purchased at Target for $9.99 to double as a place mat and a plate when needed while out and about. I got this brilliant idea from another Mom that I know, and it worked great. You can run it under a faucet or wipe it off to clean it, and set it on virtually any surface to eat off of. We used it everywhere, until we stupidly let it go out with one of our room service tables, and then we missed it greatly. Here we are using it at an outdoor cafe across the street from Notre Dame, along with the high chair:

This was one of my favorite little mini "moments" of toddler travel zen on the trip, when everything was going great and we were basking in the glory of our success in traveling with a toddler and all the gear working perfectly...

The Sit-n-stroll is parked with our high chair bag perfectly hanging on the handlebar, the high chair is working wonderfully on the table to secure our little guy, and his silicone mat is providing the perfect eating surface for his delicious croque monsieur as Mommy and Daddy enjoy some fresh crepes! Boy, were we feeling smart!

Entertainment
The key to getting through the flight is entertainment when it comes to kids. Luckily my little boy is very content to sit in his car seat while traveling, so we were not out running around very much. I packed two little zipper pouches of small toys...one for the trip out and one for the trip home. The flight that was overnight had some fun light-up toys for the dark. I collected little toys in the months leading up to our trip and my little guy never saw them until we were on the plane. You will need many distractions, so the smaller they are the more toys you can bring! The best entertainment that worked for us, as I mentioned in my Arizona trip post, was my iPod, loaded with home movies. He just loves watching himself on screen! Check out the Arizona trip post link to see some of the other toys I brought.

Great Books for Getting Around the Area and Language
There are a few books that were really useful on our trip. I'll post links to the Paris/London books, however you can find similar books by the same publisher for other countries as well.

The "Top 10" books by DK are fantastic. They are small enough to take with you, and outline the top everything...top museums, top art pieces to see in each museum, top parks, fun places for kids, etc. It's full of color photos and maps to show where everything is, and even has a small pull-out map that you can take out and view separately.

If you plan to do any dining out, which is a must wherever you go, get a menu reader to help you decipher the menu. I found this one to be great...small, compact, and full of great tips and restaurant reviews.

While I did purchase one of those thick little French-English dictionaries, I did not want to carry it around beyond the hotel. I found this little phrase book to be much more useful and compact. Sections are color-coded by situation (eating out, stores, travel, etc), and there is a small dictionary in the back as well.

It helped that I had taken some French in high school, but I also was able to brush up my French skills through some great free podcasts. I also purchased some French music to get my brain used to the sound of it. You can also check out some nice language resources from your local library.

These were the three books I always kept in my backpack. I also purchased a large, laminated map. But, nothing screams "clueless tourist" like a gigantic map. We used it more in the hotel to figure out where we were going the next day. The little pocket map that came with the "top 10" book worked great (as did the printed maps inside the covers), and they also had metro maps included. But, we also got a nice little "pop-out map" at Barnes & Noble, which elminated the hassle of map folding.

Clothing
I probably would have packed less diapers, as I brought more than I needed. I also would have packed less clothing overall. There were several outfits I never wore as we didn't dine out anywhere fancy. I also brought along a travel laundry kit, enabling me to wash up some sox and undies in the sink one night:

This way we only needed to pack half the sox/undies needed. In retrospect I could have done this with a few onesies and packed much less baby clothes, and less bibs.

Eating Out
Unfortunately I can't tell you much about fine dining in Paris after our trip. We tried eating inside a couple of little restaurants/cafes, but we pretty much stuck to eating in our hotel room or grabbing bites to eat on the street most of the time. Again, the French people are very quiet everywhere compared to Americans, which I have to say is not a bad thing. But, we hardly saw any kids around, ever, unless we were at a playground. We just never saw a single kid in any restaurant we went by or ate at. So, as you can imagine, it was just not worth the stress to us to try to translate a menu in a silent restaurant with a hungry toddler. We normally take our little guy out to eat all the time, and he is very used to it and very good. However, add on our stress with every noise he'd make, and I think he could tell this was not fun!

We did get to eat plenty of good food though. Room service was a great luxury a couple of times, as was the hotel restaurant which was more kid friendly for a more substantial dinner. We also had a couple nice lunches at the huge department stores in Paris, which had entire levels (and restaurants) dedicated to kids, as well as in the parks and at a little cafe at the top of the Montparnasse tower. At the end of the day my husband often would take us back to the hotel to unwind while he'd go out on the street and come back with some delicious take-out surprise. We had some amazing meals, just not in the restaurant. I know this may be the worst thing some people can imagine, flying all the way to Paris and not dining out. But, it worked fine for us, and we found keeping everyone happy and relaxed made the whole trip much more fun and enjoyable. We figure maybe we'll go back some day to see Paris at night (AFTER bedtime!) and do some fine dining when the kids grow up!

The Unexpected Expenses
We certainly didn't expect to spend $80 on an umbrella stroller that was nearly identical to our $20 stroller at home. Nor did we expect to pay nearly $90 for a fancy, European designed humidifier that we could only use for one week in a hotel room with a European plug. (After just finishing a rough case of croup and double ear infections right before our trip, we thought it was better to nip an oncoming cough in the bud, rather than pay for a night in the French ER!) We would much rather have spent that money on souvenirs, but you can't plan for everything! So, plan for the unexpected by setting aside some extra cash!

General International/European Travel Stuff
If you've traveled internationally already, this is old news. But, I thought I'd throw 'em in for any other new travelers.
1) Register your trip with the government for free here.
2) Make sure you all have passports well in advance, including your kid's (no brainer).
3) Make or buy a little photo ID for your child with a current photo, your names, child's name, hotel name and number, and weight (converted to kg) and height (converted to cm).
4) Write down some common baby-related phrases in the local language on a little cheat sheet. (such as, "where can I change the baby, do you have milk, high chair please," etc..)
5) Pack a roll of masking tape. It works universally across all types of outlets to cover them up and keep little fingers out.

General Tips to Keep Your Sanity:
My #1 piece of advice is to travel with an open mind, a flexible schedule, and a good attitude! These three things will get you through just about anything. Oh, that, and cash. (see "the unexpected expenses" above!)

Also, no matter how much you love your family togetherness, everyone needs a little time alone, which is hard to come by when you're all crammed into one room. Since the wi-fi was only free in our hotel lobby, we took turns going downstairs each night to catch up on emails and blog photos home to our family and friends while we waited for our little guy to fall asleep. It was a nice break at the end of the day, even if it was only a half hour or so! Whether you run down to the hotel bar or just shut the bathroom door and take a bubble bath, be sure to give yourself a little "you" time! After all, this is supposed to be a vacation! :-)

Recycled Playground Equipment

2009-07-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

Maybe I've spent too much time at the playgrounds this summer with my little boy, but I just had to share this cool chair that I just came across, made out of a recycled playground slide!

And the winner is...

2009-07-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Prize Winner:
Woohooo!! Congratulations, Sharyn, you have won the free magnet give-a-way! Your profile is not public, so if you could please contact me via my website, and give me your shipping address (and preference for catalog magnets or security envelope magnets), I will send you your winnings!

Huge thank you to everyone who participated in our first ever Junk Mail Gems give-a-way! I really enjoyed all of your comments.

The Results of the Vote:
After tallying the votes, it looks like the badge holder comes out on top, being in 19 people's top 3, and #1 favorite for 11 voters! The paper weight came in a close second, being among 18 people's top three, and voted #1 favorite for 9 voters!

Thanks again for all of your feedback and votes...the paperweight and the badge holder will be my next new products, available soon this summer! As for the other new product ideas, I will continue to work on these and get them out there on my site down the road as well. Stay tuned...I'll be sure to blog about them when I have them available for purchase.

Have a wonderful 4th of July everyone!

Contest: WIN FREE Junk Mail Gems Magnets!

2009-06-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

As promised, I am going to give you all a sneak peek at some of the many new products that I have in the works that I hope to soon add to my current recycled junk mail product line. But, what is even more exciting, is that YOU have a chance of winning a set of 10 colorful catalog magnets, OR a set of 10 security envelope magnets; your choice! I have 7 new product prototypes below (and probably 10 more in my head!), and need some help deciding which to start offering on my site first!

The Rules:
Here's how you can enter in two easy steps....

1) Help me decide which products to make available on my site first by leaving a comment on this post with your top 3 favorites in order of their favorite-ness! (#1 being most favorite, #2 being second favorite, etc)

2) Post a link to this contest on your own blog. If you do not have a blog, share it with your friends via email, Facebook, or wherever!

The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday, July 3rd.

So, here is your sneak peek and the new product prototypes that you have to choose from to tell me your favorites!

The Prototypes:

1) Pencil Cup
This pencil cup is made entirely out of recycled junk mail catalog pages. The base is a sturdy piece of coiled paper and the sides have almost a leather like feel.

2) Coil Earrings
Created in reaction to some of my customers' requests at this year's Craftstravaganza, these coiled junk mail earrings are a perfect complement to my junk mail pendants and pins! They are coated in a high-gloss, clear resin.

3) Badge Holder
This stylin' badge holder is made out of the colorful recycled catalog beads that I also sell as necklaces, earrings, and separately as loose beads. But, now you can use them to display your badge at work in style!

4) Coil Bowl
This bowl is made entirely out of coiled junk mail, and covered in a clear, glossy finish. Certain to make a great conversation piece! Since these take a long time to make, they would likely be offered either as made-to-order, or I would display the current stock of actual bowls up for sale on my site.

5) Collage Bowl
This bowl has an underlying structure made of plaster, and is then covered with a collage of colorful junk mail catalog pages, and sealed with a clear, glossy finish.

6) Paper Weight
This awesome paper weight showcases a colorful catalog page behind a heavy crystal dome, magnifying the design while holding down your papers in style! The bottom is covered with a black velour pad. I would likely be displaying actual paperweights in stock on the site, so that you can snatch up the specific, one-of-a-kind pattern you like!

7) Keychain
These keychains are made with the same technique as my junk mail pendants and the coil earrings above, with a disc of coiled junk mail protected with a coating of high gloss, clear resin.

As you can see, I have my hands and head full of new ideas...please help me out and tell me what your favorites are! I'd love to know why as well, so feel free to elaborate! Thank you!! :-)

Possibilities for Recycled Chandeliers

2009-06-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

After doing a little web surfing today on SuperUse and I've noticed just about anything can be turned into a cool chandelier. You may remember my recent post with a plastic trinket chandelier I saw on our trip to Paris. Well, if you liked that one, here are a few more cool ideas!

Check out this styrofoam chandelier:

Umbrella and LED chandelier:

Flashmob Chandelier:

Ballpoint pen chandelier:

Plastic debris "Tide Chandelier":

Banana box chandelier:

PET bottle "Cascade Chandelier:"

CD Jewel case chandelier:

Stainless steel sink drain filter chandelier:

Recycled glasses chandelier:

Craftzine has a couple cool recycled chandeliers here too.
Oh, and check out the neat party popper chandelier on Ecofriend, and this tail light chandelier at Apartment Therapy. It seems the chandelier possibilities are endless!

DIY Office Storage Solutions...Don't Waste your Money!

2009-06-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

My postings have been a little sparse lately, due to the combination of a lot of freelance work right now, and a pretty major home remodel project we have going on. This remodeling, however, means that the Junk Mail Gems studio will soon be moving to the room next door, which means I will have more space. Wahoooo! It also means that this is a great opportunity for me to de-clutter and re-organize.

I have always been big on organization since I was little. I'm like a kid in a candy store when I go into a Container Store. However, rather than leaving their store with full shopping bags, these days I've been leaving the store with a lot more ideas to make things myself for a whole lot cheaper.

Take these storage canisters (above,left) for example. You can buy them for$3.99 to $6.99 a piece. OR, you can do what I have been doing in my office, and spray painting the lids of empty food jars with metallic paint, and getting the exact same look for pennies (above, right). Probably not even a penny...fractions of a penny. And I bet you can do it in less time than it takes you to go out and buy them. I don't understand why the same people who toss glass jars into the garbage or even recycle bin, would then turn around and pay for the exact same thing in a store!!

Here's another one. You can spend $8.00 on a piece of metal that you can stick magnets to:

Or, you can go to the hardware store, buy a piece of steel bar stock, and attach it to your wall yourself.

These wood veneer magnet boards are pretty cool looking. Bet you think you can't make this, eh? Think again!

Save the $25.00 and go get yourself a piece of steel from the hardware store, add some peel-n-stick woodgrain shelf liner in oak or pine, and you've got virtually the same thing. You can even try faux leather or granite! Looking for an even better deal that's even more green? Instead of buying a new sheet of steel from the hardware store, go to a local thrift store or yard sale and pick up a few cookie sheets! There's a great DIY cookie sheet message center project here. I've even seen rolls of left-over shelf liner at thrift stores and on Craigslist as well.

Don't forget to spruce up your magnet boards with some Junk Mail Gems recycled junk mail magnets, of course! Starting at just a buck a piece, you won't have to worry about emptying your wallet.

I am eager to get started on making my own personalized organization and storage solutions, once I am able to move into my new office. Once I do so, I'll be sure to post some instructions so you can try it too!

New Crochet Pattern: Rocket Ship!

2009-05-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I've posted! I've been busy with my list of 14 new Junk Mail Gems product ideas, making prototypes! I just have too many ideas to pick from so in the near future I am hoping to put up some photos of these prototypes and have you all vote on your favorites, for a chance to win some free Junk Mail Gems product! Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I've been back on a crochet kick again, and I'm really excited about my latest original crochet pattern, now available at my design site. It is a rocket ship, which I made for my 1 and a half year old's new space themed bedroom! Check it out...

The flames are my favorite part! :-)

This rocket was made using all left-over yarns from previous projects. That's the fun part about amigurumi figures...you can easily have enough left-overs to make many fun toys!

Book Review: Collapse of Distinction by Scott McKain

2009-05-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

I recently signed on as a book review blogger for Thomas Nelson. Basically how it works is, if you have a blog, they will send you books for free in exchange for you later posting a review. It's a pretty cool deal that I found out from my sister-in-law, and I thought I'd give it a try! So, here is my first book review!

For my first book I chose "Collapse of Distinction: Stand out and move up while your competition fails," by Scott McKain. I chose this book because I am a small business owner (three of them, to be exact), and thought it may provide some new ideas to help grow my businesses. I figure we could all use a little boost to our businesses in this economy, and this is certainly one way to start! It took me a little while to get through, being a full time at-home Mommy and business owner, as I pretty much only read in the bath tub! But, this book was a very easy read and Scott kept my attention throughout.

One thing I liked about this book is that it contains advice and strategies that will apply to your business, whether you are the CEO of a major corporation, a low man on the totem pole, or a small business owner like myself. Scott uses great stories and business examples ranging from his own father's small town grocery store to large corporations like Starbucks and Apple.

Scott starts out by explaining the phenomenon of a sea of "sameness" that so many companies today are getting swallowed up in. He explains three things that destroy differentiation, and goes on to talk about what does NOT work to differentiate. I was surprised to find that the things that first came to my own mind for ways to differentiate from the competition were among his list of things that don't work!

There are three levels of differentiation according to Scott. Level one, sameness, is when you are indistinguishable from your competition. When a company reaches level two, "differentiation," they have traits that separate them from their competition. But, it is when a business reaches level three, "Distinction," when you become #1 in your field. Scott goes on to explain the four cornerstones of distinction, and how you can build these cornerstones for your own business.

Every chapter ends with an "executive summary," or outline of what you've just read, which not only makes it easy to retain the information, but super simple to go back and look something up afterward. He also ends each summary with a list of action steps, questions, and ideas, which help to apply his principles to your own business.

Overall I thought this was a great book. For me personally, it reinforced that I have been doing many things right all along, but helped me understand why those things are working. It also made me think about my business and my customers in a new way, which I feel will impact my business in a positive way!

"Innocent Spam" by Janet Nelson

2009-05-03T20:55:00.001-07:00

So, here's how this post came to be. Yesterday I posted on my Facebook status that I "just deleted over 1,600 junk emails from my inbox from only 6 days; this is getting ridiculous!" A friend commented with something about how if only I could turn junk EMAIL into something crafty (like I do with paper junk mail). In chimes another friend out in Ohio, saying that he has seen artwork made from spam emails. You see where I'm going here? Anyway, I just had to share the link he sent because it made me smile, and was in some weird way, related to Junk Mail Gems...if only in a distant-cousin-twice-removed sort of way.

We all have gotten those spam emails with dirty subject lines. Well, thank goodness for people out there like Janet Nelson, who finds the innocence within the icky with her fantastic "innocent spam" cartoons. Check it out...you're sure to look at those nasty spam messages in a whole new light!

As I glance over at the now 244 messages in my junk email folder, I see a few that might be fun to illustrate...
"Women will stare at your member like at the museum."
"Never half-staying in bed."
"Ladies crave for bigger chest like the guys crave to be blessed."
"She won't hide her emotions when she sees your proportions."
"Just what your rod needs!"

These lines clearly are not written by people whose first language is English! Especially this one: "hoist your belove sexuality" and "Be sure in your hose." Huh? Well, I guess I can be glad that these forms of junk mail are electronic and not physically arriving in my mailbox, but they are no less annoying!! Thank you, Janet, for your creative and entertaining way to "repurpose" electronic junk mail!

Craftstravaganza 2009 Recap

2009-05-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

Craftstravaganza '09 was a success! I will post some pics from my own booth and then show you some other great artists that were at this year's show!

If you read my post from last year, which was the first show I've ever sold Junk mail Gems at, you'll notice there was much improvement weather-wise this year! No freak snowstorms...I think moving it to May helped a lot! Here is the line-up of shoppers just outside the MN State Fairgrounds' Fine Arts building a few minutes before the show opened (the first 100 got a free swag bag of goodies):

Besides more new products, I added a little bit more to my booth this year, including a fabric backdrop, a hand painted banner, and some new fixtures...

This year I displayed the magnets on cookie sheets that I had purchased at my local thrift shops, propped up on some tabletop easels:

I displayed the beads in the basket/candlestick fixtures I blogged about a while back, and they worked great!

I used the same tree branch display from last year for necklaces and earrings, only this year I painted it silver:

I think it gave everything a more consistent feel having all of the display fixtures painted silver. There I go talking about fixture design...I'm mixing my professions here! This morning at the last minute, I decided to bring along a couple of my junk mail TV trays, just in case I needed a little extra display space. They ended up being a hit with shoppers, and I am hoping to offer some for sale next year, if not sooner via my website!

Here is my wonderful hubby, who is still coasting along on the brownie points he earned from last year's ordeal, and our baby boy:

They helped me set up on Friday night and then came up just for a little visit this afternoon which was a fun surprise!

Overall it was a good show! Although, it did not take much to beat last year! I always really enjoy seeing how people react to my products in person at these shows, since I never get to see people's reactions when they shop online. As usual, I left this year's show with a full page of notes on what to improve in my booth the next time around, and even more new product ideas to add to my list!

Since I was manning my booth by myself all day though, I unfortunately did not get a chance to shop around with the other vendors as I would have liked. But, I did get to see a few items while running back and fourth, and on the Craftstravaganza website, that I'd love to share. Be sure to check out these awesome, recycled goodies:

Repurposed vintage necktie accessories from A Boy Named Coy,
Recycled billboard bags by Drive-By Bags & Things,
A variety of fun recycled items from Emily Kircher, Recycling Artist,
Super cool belts made out of tires from Tired Ol' Belts,
...and many, many other creative and talented artists from this year's list of vendors here!

Thanks again, Andy & Jenna, for another fantastic job organizing the show!

Craftstravaganza, Here We Come!

2009-04-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

at the 2009

Hello everyone! This post may only be of interest to my fellow Minnesotans, but I wanted to send out a reminder about the upcoming 2009 St. Paul Craftstravaganza Rogue Art & Craft Sale going on this Saturday, May 2nd! This will be the 2nd year that Junk Mail Gems has been represented in the show. Last year we had a freak snowstorm, so this year is sure to be better! I am always so tempted to just leave my booth and shop because there are so many really cool artists there!!

And, I've got a good deal going on for all of you shoppers who stop by...I will be paying your sales tax for you this year! I figure, everyone else in the US who shops on my site doesn't have to pay MN sales tax. So, I wanted to take this opportunity to pass on that same deal to you!

My booth will be located towards the main entrance of the Fine Arts Building. If you enter and go to the left you should see me. This year I'll have some green fabric hanging from the wall with a blue banner that has my logo, so hopefully I'll be easy to spot.

You can download a pdf with all the details on how to get there and how to find the Junk Mail Gems booth HERE! Hope to meet you at the show! The first 100 shoppers get a free swag bag, so come early!

Fun Kids Craft Ideas from Crafty Crow!

2009-04-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled upon this super awesome blog today called "The Crafty Crow" that is full of great craft ideas for kids! I came across them because they recently posted a link to my paper chain tutorial. There are many fantastic project ideas that utilize recycled materials! So, be sure to check them out...and feel free to hint at your kids that Mother's Day is coming up!!

I also just saw that they are giving away a super cute book full of 20 amigurumi robot crochet patterns! I am totally going to enter, as you all know I'm into crochet robots lately, and you should too!

Amigurumi Robot Blasts into Cyberspace

2009-04-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

What could be more "green" than making your own amigurumi toys and gifts, yourself, out of yarn?!

I am excited to announce that I have just made my first original crochet design pattern available to the public!

I have done several original crochet projects as gifts for family since teaching myself how to crochet about a year ago, such as an "Olivia" doll for my niece Olivia (below, left) and a Dairy Queen "Blizzard cozy" for my Dad (below, right).

I am in the process of designing a new "retro space robot" themed room for my 16 month old boy and thought I'd try my hand at crocheting him a cuddly robot toy. But, this time I thought I'd actually write down what I was doing so that I could turn it into a pattern.

My chicken scratches, when combined with my graphic design skills, turned into an 8 page pdf pattern, complete with full color photos of the process on every page. Robot-loving crocheters can get their copy on my design site for just $5. Purchase the pattern, and I will ship it to you through cyberspace for free!

Aaaw, a smile like this is worth hundreds of thousands of single crochet stitches, don't you think?!*

(*Adorable, curly-headed boy not included)

DWR Champagne Tour Stops in Minneapolis for One Night Only!

2009-04-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday, this work-from-home Mommy took a break from making Junk Mail Gems, designing retail fixtures, and shipping out face paint to do a very rare and beautiful thing, thanks to Gramma and Grampa, and go out on a date with her husband! We specifically chose April 21st so that we could make one of our stops the Minneapolis DWR studio to check out the 50 champagne chairs "on tour," one of them being mine! (in the photo above)

(Click here to see my chair entries from previous years)

I was never into sports in high school, and me as a cheerleader would have been disasterous, so this is about as close as I've ever come to being on the top of the pyramid. Unfortunately we got out of the house a little late, and enjoyed beverages, appetizers AND dessert at dinner, so we couldn't stay very long as we then missed the first 10 minutes of our movie. But, I was really glad we were able to stop in and see the entries in person! Here are a few photos...

There was another Minnesota-designed chair, and his was also on top of another pyramid:

Here are a few more chair shots...

The "Spring 2009" chair by Gavri Slasky won popular vote:

This "Grape Divine Chair" by Tony Nemyer won "DWR Staff Pick:"

Jesse Menayan's "Kub Armchair" won "Judges Pick:"

It's always fun to see the winning entries and marvel at their feats miniature craftsmanship!
The top 50 chairs are still on tour through May 15th, so check out the schedule here and see if it's coming to a DWR studio near you!

Recycling Neckties

2009-04-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

Every time I go to the thrift store, I can't help but walk down the aisles full of neckties and think about all of the possibilities for transforming them into something new. I always love the graphic patterns on things like this, which really is how I got started with Junk Mail Gems in the first place...I couldn't bear to toss out another menswear catalog full of pictures of ties with the coolest patterns. From there my magnets were born, and the rest is history!

I was just out shopping on one of my favorite shopping sites, Uncommon Goods, and came across these cool wallets and necklaces designed by Laura Skelton of Prix-Prix:

Then I found this great Etsy shop called "Tie One On Designs," that sells recycled necktie purses, skirts, cell phone cases, and more:

Check out this great "Woof Nanny" blog post, full of tips on how you can prepare ties for sewing into something new, along with some photos of beautiful quilts and rugs, like this quilt by Lori Mason Designs,

and some really cool rugs by Eileen Away:

You can find some really great instructions with clear, step-by-step photos here to make this cute cuff bracelet:

...and click here for instructions to make this beautiful necktie scarf:

Craftster also has a nice tutorial to make these cute little necktie daisies, which I think would be great embellishments for just about any project:

I could totally see some of these sewn on to a necktie scarf, used to make greeting cards, or even attached to some wire stems for a bouquet!

And, if you're looking for an easy project to do with the kids for Father's day, check out one of my older posts on turning a tie into a sling for sunglasses!

I love the idea of turning ties into something useful, especially because not only can you make the tie live on, but also possibly the memories of the man who once wore them. You may not want to wear Grandpa's old ties to work, but it's better to turn them into something you will carry with you every day to remind you of him, than to leave it to collect dust in your closet!