Jingle Bells

There has been a distinct rustling of jingle bells here at Sushipot as I work on all sorts of holiday goodies for the shop.

Lotsa vintage ornaments hanging around the studio these days including some kitschy, hand-painted wooden ones from the decade I was born.

Yes, the holiday blocks are coming along nicely and will be ready to go in the shop early next week. No....I didn't snip these snippets with giant shears....they are just a prop and the largest pair of scissors I own ;)

In other news we found a pair of acorn twinsies on a recent Autumn walk. There are always treasures to be found....you just gotta look.

Marbled Paper

Hand Marbled Paper by Dodin's Marbling

My plans for the week disintegrated when I came down with a nasty cold last Friday. I spent several days in bed, trying to stay hydrated and listening to The Goldfinch, but now I'm up and puttering 'round again. These gorgeous hand marbled paper scraps arrived in time to use in the next group of art blocks. Not certain if I'll have them ready this week but will keep you posted.

Paper Snippets

The pile of paper snippets on my work table is starting to grow. I've been gleaning images here and there over the past few days. The grand plan is to turn these into the first batch of collage blocks for 2014.

Studio Snippets

A couple snippets from 'round the studio. Coming soon (most likely next week) Autumn-ish/Halloween-y blocks and some assemblage critters too. Have a beautiful weekend.

Sushipot Art Blocks

After a long hiatus Sushipot's popular collage art blocks are back. Simply put...I missed making 'em! I can't believe there are over 2,000 of these 'round the world. Enjoy!

Fall Things Zines

We made "Fall Things" zines over the weekend to celebrate the beginning of the new season. Lizzie and I filled ours with things that remind us of Fall and Patrick did a literal interpretation of 'things that fall in the Fall' (and other times of year!). If you want to make one too, here are instructions on how to fold a mini zine. We used the single page option, no staples necessary. Happy Fall y'all!

1950's Grocery Snippets

While I was out grocery shopping today I remembered a little stash of 1950's grocery snippets I had cut out months ago when in need of some therapy (hah!). I made a mental note to find the clippings when I got home. No idea what I'll do with these now that I've unearthed them but I sure do love them. Makes me wanna step back in time and browse the aisles in these grocery stores. Happy September to ya!

French Paper Doll Plaques

I've been holding onto (hoarding?) some exquisite French paper doll plates. They are from the world renowned Imagerie d'Epinal, Imagerie Pellerin studios of France which date back to 1796. From what I can gather, this series of paper dolls, Poupées à Habiller, was created as a series of four plates published in the late 1800's. Since I recently discovered they were just the right size for my little plaques, I decided to stop hoarding and share a few of them via Prickly Plaques.

Lucky Greens

Enjoy this collection of lucky green ephemera I put together just for you. Looks like we'll be attending the local parade decked out in our green garb (someone in this house already has her nails painted green in anticipation). Have a happy Saint Patrick's Day y'all!

Spirograph Pendants

According to my blog stats there's a whole lotta you Spirograph lovers out there. My post on Spirograph patterns over a year ago remains my most popular post to date! Anyhow, I finally snipped up the spiro-goodness and created these lovely spiro-graphic pendants. They will be trickling into the shop throughout the day today. You can view the entire selection right here. Happy March!

Betty's Valentines

I've been saving these handmade Valentines for months with the intention of sharing them with you today. Each of the darling cards are inscribed to a girl named Betty--I'm thinking she must have saved them from a class party many years ago. Lucky for me she did as they are now a special part of my ephemera collection. My hands-down favorite is the clown Valentine but that anthropomorphic heart comes a close second. May you and your Valentine(s) have a very special day together!

Merry & Happy

I picked up these handmade Christmas paper dolls earlier in the year at Miss Pickles Attic and have been saving them for a special day to share with you. The elfish looking Santa and sweet holly leaf girl along with a few of their cousins are part of our holiday decor this year.

Looking back on 2011 I have so much to be thankful for and smack at the top of the list is my gratitude for each Sushipot patron and blog reader. Thank you for supporting me and my family this year. Patrick, Lizzie and I send you wishes for a Merry Holiday and a Happy Christmas wherever you may be and however you may celebrate.

And for now I say adieu...I'll see you in the New Year!

Little Scribbler

Little Scribbler, original collage on book cover

Floral Endpapers

Aren't these delicate, floral endpapers exquisite and aged to perfection too? I rediscovered them this week while rummaging through my "Extra Special Ephemera That Must Be Used In A Very Special Way" drawer. I'm sure every collage artist has a drawer labeled like this. Am I right?! Anyhow, before I sign off for the weekend I wanted to say a BIG "thank you" for the glowing response to my newest collages on book covers that I shared earlier in the week. Your comments, tweets, emails, convos and purchases mean the world to me. Have a beautiful weekend!

A Midnight View

A view of my workspace around midnight last night (er...this morning).

Paper Lace

As many of you know I'm a sucker for old doilies and lace. I recently purchased these remarkably delicate paper doily placemats from Beca Runs. Aren't they just perfect? And the packaging?! Oh my! I've been looking for more of the Milapaco designs but they are seemingly elusive. This box of lovelies is copyrighted November 28, 1942 by the Milwaukee Lace Paper Company. I have grand plans for these but wanted to share them in their original form before I start snipping 'em up.

Paper Animals

I'm fascinated by these splayed animal figures I came across yesterday while clipping collage imagery. The bizarre silhouetted animal patterns are from a 1914 volume of amateur handicrafts for children. Thought you might enjoy them too.

Valentine Vignettes

Don't you just love these old-school Valentine vignettes? This set of lovelies are from a booklet published by Doubl-Glo circa 1950's. We've sure had Valentines on our minds here at home. I've been receiving daily love notes from Lizzie and so has her daddy. All of her Valentines have been mailed off to their recipients and she's busy planning the special day and trying to guess what the "surprise" is that I told her we bought for her last night (big mistake 'cuz I'll be grilled for the next 72 hours I'm sure).

Ephemera Sampler no 100

Sushipot Sampler no 100

I recruited Patrick during one of his snow days last week to help me put together a new batch of Ephemera Samplers for the shop. Every packet has 50 plus bits of vintage paper goodies and we put together a dozen sets. Here's a peek at the 100th sampler. I'm telling you folks--that's a lot of paper!

I Love Essimar

More specifically, I'm loving Essimar's recent project of decoratively wrapped packages using Japanese masking tape (aka washi tape). The resulting patterned packages are small works of art in themselves. Esther Ramirez is the talented artist behind these designs. Her blog is definitely worth perusing as she works magic with all of her paper projects. You can also visit Esther's Etsy shop to purchase her original jewelry, art and stationery goods. I sure hope Santa leaves some Japanese masking tape in my stocking this year 'cuz I've been inspired!