Cloth Paper Scissors Reader Challenge and New Ad

I'm an avid reader of Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine (as well as Quilting Arts) and so I am really excited that our very first print ad will be in Cloth Paper Scissors (CPS) in the upcoming September/October 2009 issue. It should be on the stands any moment. Look for it - Bumbershoot Supplies with the green umbrella.

If you get the "Embellishments" email from CPS, then you know that one of the current reader challenges is to create a mixed media Sailor's Valentine. I decided to participate in this challenge in my own way through creating two mixed media inspiration kits, or collections if you will, around the theme of Victorian sailors and the women who loved them. These collections include some items usually available at Bumbershoot Supplies and other items available exclusively in the kits. Always limited editions, usually one of a kind, I hope these kits fire your imagination and afford an opportunity to sample some of the wonderful vintage materials that are available for mixed media art. Enjoy!

If you want to learn more about the CPS Sailor's Valentine Reader Challenge, click on the hyperlink.

Here are the kits, also see the photo above:

Update on Bumbershoot and Button Sale!

First, and most importantly, RUN, don't walk to the annual fall sale at Beppa + Iijepo. You will find thousands of antique and collectible buttons, wonderful vintage textiles, vintage costume jewelry, and more. I'm serious. Get over there. Located at 7700 6th Ave NW, Seattle WA 98117. From 10 am to 4 pm Aug 14 and 15, today and tomorrow. Get on their mailing list so you hear faster than I can tell you when the spring sale comes around. I picked up some paper, buttons and trim for Bumbershoot Supplies, and a few goodies for myself...

It's been a busy couple of weeks as I expand both of the shops. At Bumbershoot Supplies, I've added many more glass and plastic cabochons, and continue to expand the one of a kind offerings of buttons, lace, trims, ephemera, and paper ephemera that I come across in my travels through the estate sales, antique stores and specialty shops of Seattle.

In the designs shop, I've just started to introduce greeting cards made with my inchies, original art 1 inch square. The weather of Seattle has not been cooperating for picture taking this week, it has been rather dull. But I'm forging ahead anyways. Check them out.

Tell me how many beads there are

In a silver chain

Of evening rain,

Unravelled from the tumbling main...

~Thomas Lovell Beddoes

Lots of new and beautiful beads at Bumbershoot Supplies these days. We're now offering several choices of vintage 1950's West German beads. I'm showing the raindrop shaped ones in this post, but there are more, come on over and check it out!

The theatre, the theatre...

A quick reminder that Seattle Children's Theatre's Summer Season opens tonight with "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass". Plays are at 7 pm and 8:15 pm respectively. This is your chance to watch some great theatre for a great price, and even better, theatre featuring very talented youth from the greater Seattle region and beyond. For example, our own Eric, as the King of Hearts, in "Alice in Wonderland".

See you at the theatre! The shows run today through Saturday, same times each day.

Coming next, Emma as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. Stay tuned...

Inspiration at the beach

I took these photos at Carkeek Park, Seattle, at a recent minus tide in June.

Eric loves to see the tiny crabs.


There is all kinds of wild life under the rocks. It's like visiting another planet.

The colors are typical of what you see in Seattle in June. Still lots of grey, but beginning to lighten.

Except sometimes you get a lovely surprise jolt of color, like this wild rose...

...which looks just like these flowers at Bumbershoot Supplies. Amazing...

Shipping: the happy bag

Enroute to you, this is the first step for your purchases from Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies. We call it "the happy bag". Packages and parcels get loaded into this bag for their trip to the post office. Usually, your package is walked to the post office, by Sharon or by Sharon and Eric together. Every day. Since we go to the post office every day, your purchase is enroute to you within 24 hours of receiving your order. Currently, domestic shipments are taking 2-3 business days to arrive from Seattle, and based on the feedback we have received, international shipments seem to be arriving in a timely fashion too. But regardless of where they are going, all purchases from Bumbershoot Designs and Supplies start here, in the happy bag.

Bumbershoot Supplies update: lots of flowers

So, what will I do with the time liberated from caring for our foster kittens? 2 blog posts in one day! This one is an update on some new supplies that have arrived for Bumbershoot Supplies, and I'm pretty excited about them.

First are the vintage 1940's to 1950's glass Japanese flower cabochons. These are such a lovely piece of history just to have and hold, and also of course for use in your mixed media, paper and jewelry arts. All of them are simply gorgeous, with lovely detail and beautiful colors.

The painted ones you see above were originally hand painted (just stop and imagine that for a moment...), but over time have lost varying amounts of their color, for an authentic shabby chic feel. Below are some really unique glass wreaths, and wonderfully, these came with their original tags.

We've also received some new hand painted Japanese plastic flower cabochons, also 1940s-1950's vintage. The ones I'm showing below are vibrant hot pink.

I wasn't sure there was any such color in nature, but then I saw this wild rose on the beach at Carkeek Park in Seattle...

There are many more flowers available at Bumbershoot Supplies - head on over and check it out!

Kitten update

I am happy to report that all of our foster kittens have now been adopted. It's one of the great parts of fostering for me, meeting so many good souls who want to love Seattle Animal Shelter's kittens (or as we call them - Mayor Nichols' cats). So many hours spent caring for, playing with, nurturing and adopting out these wee creatures over the last 2 months. Whatever will we do with all the time we have now.... :)

I do believe in fairies, I do, I do

Do you believe in fairies?

We do! We do!

Our big news last Friday was that Eric has been cast as Michael in Seattle Children's Theatre's holiday musical production of Peter Pan, running November 2009 through January 2010. We spent the weekend celebrating and being happy about this great good fortune for Eric.

Be sure to join us at the theatre this fall! But before then...

Both Emma and Eric are performing in Seattle Children's Theatre's Summer Season, opening in July. This is a wonderful opportunity to see affordable and great theatre featuring talented youth performers. Eric will be performing in Alice in Wonderland, and Emma will be performing in Romeo and Juliet (coming in August). Emma and Eric have been students at Seattle Children's Theatre for many, many years now and we can't say enough good things about this organization and the people that work there. SCT has a piece of our hearts...

The excitement made work on Bumbershoot Designs and Bumbershoot Supplies take a second seat this weekend, but a few things did occur. I'm expecting more shipments of the vintage 1940's - 1950's hand painted Japanese flowers this week, more occupied Japan glass flower cabochons, and look for the following on Bumbershoot Designs over the coming week...

Tiny treasures

I feel really fortunate to have been able to purchase these recently...

The photos show several lots of incredibly tiny 1930's Peking glass on wires. It doesn't get much better than this, except if the wires are wrapped with silk thread like these are... These stamens are amazing! They elevate flower beads to a sublime status. I'm looking forward to sharing these antique tiny treasures in designs for Bumbershoot Designs.