Featured Artist Update: The Creative Team at www.scrapping.no

They are still at it!

You may remember that in early Fall 2011, Bumbershoot Supplies sent packages of mixed media supplies to Wenche Jensen in Norway for use by the creative team at www.scrapping.no.

The most recent piece from this talented team is shown at the top of this post.  By Silje, this one shows how the smallest of embellishents can elevate a classic card into something very special.

To see many other samples of mixed media art by the Norway scrappers creative time, see this blog post and this one too.

Thanks so much to Wenche and the other members of the creative team for connecting with us and sharing these designs!

Complementary Upgrade to USPS Priority Mail at Bumbershoot Designs

How's it going - are you knee deep in holiday preparations?

We can help!

As of today, Dec 14, 2011, all jewelry purchases made at Bumbershoot Designs on the web and Bumbershoot Designs on Etsy will receive complementary shipping upgrades to USPS Priority Mail.  This upgrade is for all US customers purchasing our designs - you pay the regular shipping and we'll pay the extra fees to upgrade your package to Priority Mail. No need to ask, no coupon code necessary, we'll provide Priority Mail shipping for all US shipments until Dec 21, 2011. 

The US Postal Service says that Dec 21, 2011 is the last shipping day to ship Priority Mail packages for Christmas delivery.  All of the jewelry designs at Bumbershoot Designs are ready to ship. Be sure to order by 10am on Dec 21, 2011 for Christmas delivery.

For the convenience of our local Seattle customers, we will support last minute purchases by shipping up to and including Dec 23, 2011, with our usual 10am shipping deadline.

And don't forget gift certificates! We send those electronically so they are a great last minute option.

Wishing you a happy holiday season!

Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies 2011 Holiday Shipping Schedule

The holiday season is here!

Here is the holiday shipping schedule for Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies.

And remember that we now offer gift certificates, which are available by email within 24 hours of purchase.

HOLIDAY SHIPPING SCHEDULE:

Thurs Nov 24, 2011	No shipping, US Thanksgiving Holiday
Fri Nov 25 and Sat Nov 26, 2011	Yes, we are shipping
Nov 28 - Dec 23, 2011	Shipping every day, Monday through Saturday, including Fri Dec 23, 2011
Dec 24, 25, 26, 2011	No shipping
Tues, Dec 27, 2010	Regular shipping schedule resumes.

Our standard shipping policy will apply during the holiday season: 

If payment is received by 10am Pacific time, items ship the same day. Otherwise it is the next business day. 

 

We email a shipping confirmation with tracking number (US destinations) or scanned customs form number (international destinations) for every purchase on the day your package ships. 

 

If you want a faster shipping option than regular first class mail, please contact Sharon for a quote: sjdurfy@bumbershootsupplies.com.

 

 

 

We Have a Winner for the $100 Bumbershoot Supplies Gift Certificate!

The winner of the $100 gift certificate giveaway for Bumbershoot Supplies is...

(drum roll please...)

Number 4, Wilhelmina!

Wilhelmina says: "Oh love your supplies and would love to win the giveaway! Thanks for offering..."

And thank you to everyone for playing!

Jim and I read every single post and visited all of your blogs, facebook pages, tweets. 

It was wonderful for us to get to know you better, thanks for that.

This was SO MUCH FUN that we will do it again, stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you are in the US, we wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Last Chance to Win a $100 Gift Certificate from Bumbershoot Supplies

Did you know we are giving away a $100 gift certificate at Bumbershoot Supplies?

It's true! Click on over to this blog post to enter.

The giveaway closes at 9am Pacific time on Wednesday Nov 23.

Enter and find details here.

Good luck!

Announcing Gift Certificates for Bumbershoot Supplies And Giveaway Reminder

We are very excited to now offer gift certificates at Bumbershoot Supplies!

Such a quick and easy last minute stocking stuffer, hostess gift or a treat for yourself or a fellow artisan. During the holidays, or any time!

We send gift certificates by email, guaranteed within 24 hours of your purchase, and usually much quicker than that.

We send a link to the gift certificate to the purchaser.  The purchaser then can forward the email or print out the gift certificate and provide it to the person they are gifting.

Gift certificates can be used to purchase any of the beautiful vintage supplies at Bumbershoot Supplies and will also apply to shipping!

Put us on your Christmas list!

And have you entered our giveaway for a $100 gift certificate to Bumbershoot Supplies?  It closes 9 am Pacific time on Nov 23, click here for details and to enter.

Bumbershoot Supplies November Free Earring Kit for Newsletter Subscribers

Do you subscribe to the Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies newsletter?

This month, newsletter subscribers are receiving everything they need to make these beautiful vintage garnet Swarovski earrings. We're sending an earring kit free, with every purchase to newsletter subscribers who have the coupon code.

Our next newsletter will be emailed on Nov 15. To take advantage of this offer, sign up here. To see what past offers newsletter subscribers have received, read back issues of our newsletter in the archives, here.

These earrings would be a perfect stocking stuffer, hostess gift, last minute present, or a holiday treat for yourself! First come, first served, while supplies last, until Nov 30, 2011, with coupon code and paid purchase at Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies.  The code will be provided in our Nov 15 newsletter. 

 If you've never set rhinestones in pronged settings, learn how to do that here.

Featured Artist Update and Giveaway: Stacey Yacula of Stacey Yacula Studio

I’m very excited to provide you with an update on one of our past Featured Artists, Stacey Yacula of Stacey Yacula Studio.  I’ve previously blogged about Stacey’s charming, whimsical, holiday and nature-inspired illustrations, sculptures and designs here and here, and I’m delighted to share that Stacey is featured in the current issue of Art Doll Quarterly for her “little blessings”.  Stacey kindly allowed me to use these photos of her beautiful angels, which you can also see on Stacey’s blog, thanks, Stacey!

Stacey and I met because she decided to use some of Bumbershoot Supplies’ beads and baubles to embellish her holiday ornaments, such as the lovely 2001 Limited Edition Keepsake ornament shown above.

I’m so thrilled we were able to provide the bells that Stacey used for this wee boy angel above and the stars held by the sweet girl angel on the left in the group photo (and also seen below), as well as vintage French metal sequins embellishing the hem of her dress.

 

To celebrate her latest publication, Stacey is hosting a giveaway of 9 holiday cards from her “little blessings” series.  So head on over to Stacey’s blog to read a bit more about the story behind these angels and leave a comment for a chance to win! Last day to leave a comment is Nov 9. And for a dose of Christmas spirit, plus many varied all-occasion cards and paper products, head on over to Stacey’s Etsy shop, Stacey Yacula Studio, where you will find many wonderful choices and Stacey’s excellent customer service, of which I have personal experience :)

Win a $100 Gift Certificate from Bumbershoot Supplies!

It’s Halloween and here is a treat for you!  We’re giving away a $100 gift certificate to purchase vintage supplies at Bumbershoot Supplies!

Just leave a comment below to enter. Be sure to leave some way to contact you (or we will have to pick again).  One comment per person please.

If you want up to 3 extra chances to win, you can tweet the giveaway and/or post it to your blog and/or post it to your facebook page.

Then come back here and leave us a link(s) so we know what you’ve done and can include your extra entries.

Your comment(s) must be received by 9 am Wednesday November 23, 2011.  We're in Seattle so that's Pacific time.  We will randomly select a winner later in the day on Wednesday November 23 and post the winner here on the blog.

We will email the gift certificate to the winner for immediate use.

International participants are welcome, of course.

The gift certificate will work on the Bumbershoot Supplies website only (not in our Etsy shop).

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

Featured Artist: Patricia Mackey of Tippy Stockton

I am delighted to share with you another one of Bumbershoot Supplies’ talented neighbors, jewelry designer extraordinaire, Patricia Mackey, owner of Tippy Stockton. 

Patricia has been selling on Etsy and in other venues for some time, and she just recently launched her own website, a beautiful place to visit and a wonderful complement to her lovely designs.

Patricia says: “Some of my earliest memories are of playing with my Mom and Grandmother’s jewelry. Opening up their jewelry boxes, made me giddy with excitement.

I still get that same feeling today when I find a piece of Vintage jewelry - that piece of jewelry tells a story and I love giving it new life!

Tippy Stockton jewelry is designed and handmade from sterling silver, vintage, and glass beads. My inspiration is great color, texture and a bit of nature thrown in for good measure. You might call me a "jane of all design trades".

I love jewelry, textiles, paper - see, I told you! I began creating jewelry when I couldn't find the perfect necklace for a special event. So my imagination took over and as they say, the rest is history.”

Patricia’s metal of choice is sterling silver. Oxidized to a dark patina, she pairs it with high quality vintage and contemporary components, reflecting her love of combining vintage and contemporary into something new.

When last I checked, Patricia’s designs were available at 23 different boutiques and retail sites in 4 different states. But no matter where you are located, you can always view her designs and get a dose of inspiration and loveliness on her website, Tippy Stockton.  I hope you will enjoy a visit soon!

Featured Artists: Second Post of Mixed Media Art by The Creative Team at www.scrapping.no

As I mentioned in this earlier blog post, Bumbershoot Supplies sent goody bags of treats off to Wenche Jensen in Norway for use by the creative team at www.scrapping.no.

I have always used our vintage supplies for much more than jewelry making, and it is wonderful to see others do the same. Look and be inspired!

I love the colors of this page by Scratch, and how our flowers (daisy cabochons and fabric millinery flower) have been used to extend the theme.

This is a whimsical wedding design featuring our vintage lace and vintage Japanese love bird cabochons...

...plus another with the lace, cupid and vintage Japanese rose cabochons. Both are by AnnKristin and found here.

And finally this lovely piece is by Kristin. She used our lace, buttons, flower cabochon, cupid and those beautiful red hearts, all combined with a beeswax overlay, for which she provided detailed step by step instructions.

It’s wonderful to see how these talented team members have used the vintage supplies!  For additional designs, see my first blogpost about this Norwegian creative team, here.

I hope you will enjoy a trip over to www.scrapping.no. I’m sure you will discover some new and exciting ways to use vintage materials in your own mixed media designs.

Featured Artists: Mixed Media Art by The Creative Team at www.scrapping.no

Some  weeks ago, Bumbershoot Supplies sent off goody bags of vintage treats to Wenche Jensen in Norway.  Wenche is a lead designer for www.scrapping.no which is the largest scrapbooking forum in Norway, with over 15,000 members.  Wenche contacted us to see if BumbershootSupplies would be willing to send some samples for their creative team to work with. 

We were delighted to do so because the paper arts are dear to my heart.  Paper and fabric is where my art and crafting journey began.  (See my  Christmas cards for 2011 here.)  Wenche suggested some items her team was interested in and I added some surprises too. I packaged up everything you see above into kits like this…

…and sent the kits off to Norway. Wenche has sent me links to the mixed media designs her team is creating with these supplies and also kindly allowed me to share the photos of her teams’ designs with you. 

I just love the tiny 1950’s vintage daisy cabochons we carry and AnnKristin has captured their cheerful spirit in this layout.

This calendar page by Wenche uses our vintage Czech glass heart cabochons and vintage rose montees. The colors are beautiful!

This is another advent calendar page by Wenche, with a full tutorial, clear and easy to follow, even for me and I don't speak Norwegian :) For this page, Wenche used our vintage lace, the hearts again, and some vintage angels.

There are so many lovely projects to share. I will post another series of designs by this talented team very soon.

Bumbershoot Supplies Vintage Bead Giveaway With Beading Arts

Want some free vintage beads? Head on over to Beading Arts, Cyndi Lavin's blog, where Bumbershoot Supplies is sponsoring a giveaway! Cyndi has used some of the beads in the above photo to make an embellished skeleton key pendant, for which she will be posting a tutorial, check it out. The rest of the beads are up for grabs!

Leave a comment on Cyndi's blog so she knows you are interested.

The winner will be selected on Oct 19, 2011.

The day I pulled together this selection of beads, it was a glorious fall day in Seattle, a beautiful blue sky, gorgeous red orange dahlias outside my window, and just a hint of frost to come. Those were my inspirations for this particular color palette. You can learn more about the origin of this selection of beads in this blog post on Cyndi's blog.

Vintage Glass Beads from Kaufbeuren, West Germany at Bumbershoot Supplies

I’ve written elsewhere about the history of our beads, buttons, cabochons and rhinestones that were made in the US Zone of Occupied Germany, between 1945 and 1949.  In that blog post I also mention the various names for Germany over the decades.

Often the supplies we source arrive in original wraps. If the place of manufacture is stamped on the wrappings, the country name helps in dating the supplies. “Western Germany” and later “West Germany” were the common English names used for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), which existed from 1949 until the reunification of Germany in 1990.

We sell our supplies in our Etsy shop and on our website.  The Etsy policy regarding labeling items as "vintage" is that they must be at least 20 years old.  That means that anything from 1991 and older can now be labeled vintage on Etsy. It also means that anything made in Western Germany or West Germany is now considered vintage by Etsy’s definition.

I must confess that 1991 does not feel vintage to me! Plus, we would like to determine the age of our beads more precisely within the 60 year time period that West(ern) Germany existed.  I’ve written previously about the various approaches we take to determining the provenance and history of our supplies, but sometimes you just get lucky.

Many of the vintage West German glass beads currently offered at BumbershootSupplies have a clear provenance. They were made in Kaufbeuren, in southern Germany, southwest of Munich. They were made in the 1950’s and remained in a warehouse there for decades, until the warehouse was closed and the contents of the warehouse were purchased by the supplier who provided the beads to us. Not too many steps involved, and a clear provenance.

We currently have a total of 28 different beads from this warehouse. You will be able to identify the Kaufbeuren beads most readily on our website, because over the next day or so, Jim will add a link to this blog post to the description of each of the beads.

Products related to this history can be found right here at Bumbershoot Supplies.