Aiteall: Sunny Spell Between Showers

I have made up a little print of Irish words describing wet weather - and included a few that describe those wonderful rare moments when it ISN'T wet, including the one in the post title, Aiteall. Lovely :) (Pic of print to follow!)
My point is, I had a little Craft Aiteall recently, after a stretch where nothing seemed to be going right, in the form of some lovely compliments on an order that went out a couple of weeks ago, including these handmade paper ones...

It makes a big difference to hear something positive! 

And, on going back through my pics to find the one above I also found my 'new' business cards - I had ordered a bunch of Moo cards when I was Paperpennies, but the text was really disappointing and I pretty much forgot about them UNTIL I was making up the new design for Irish Elements: I designed them to the moo card size and got my glue out and...tada!

More News of Newness

More new packaging ideas! I got these magnets made up from www.12greengiraffes.com here in Connemara - they are super simple bottecap magnets, an inch in diameter, but so cute! So I am adding them to my packages as my little 'gift', instead of another card, which really was not cost or time effective. I did like the packaging below, but if I can make it look well without having to spend on the extra tissue paper and assembly time I'm all for it. Also with this new(est) packaging, I will write my little 'Thank You!' on the sheet of paper attached to the backing cardboard - eliminating the need for a separate card (which instead I can now make to sell in their own right!), and having the business card unattached means it will, hopefully!, be passed on.
There is SOME irony in a card shop diligently removing any need for using cards in said shop's day to day business, but I'm hoping 'an rud is annamh is iontach' - that which is rare is wonderful...
And, coming soon I swear!, finally some progress with the handmade paper cards and the attempts at screen printing...

New Name, New Packaging

In my characteristic Cart before Horse style, I made all the changes to the shop name etc and then forgot that I would need to update my packaging to match - most importantly the little label I attach to the front of each package with my shop name prominently displayed...so short of scribbling 'formerly' in front of the Paperpennies labels I had left I quickly put together this alternative:

I quite like it! I say that in mild disbelief because my amateur attempts at product testing - leaving it lying around where random family members will see it and noting their reactions - haven't been great...Maybe in time I will see what they see, or they what I do, or maybe the label wasn't the problem at all - it was presented alongside my new packaging which (cart followed by horse remember) I also threw together at the last minute. I need the rigid board backing, so kept my reclaimed cardboard covered in coloured paper, but instead of leaving it at that with a band of matching paper wrapping around to hold it all together as before, I attached the board to a small piece of white tissue paper, and that to a larger piece of green tissue, creased the tissue so that it would open up like a present, and then used my paper 'belt' to keep it all together, topped with my new label as 'buckle'. 

Again, dare I say it, I like it! I wouldn't have chosen the green, as it is very dark, and I think the two pieces of tissue should be the same size to avoid that dark band down the middle, but otherwise it looked neat and inviting, and didn't take too long to do (so many of my orders are for single cards, that's a big consideration.)

Must say, just writing that last sentence made me wonder if it's too much for one card...Oh, good, more to think about!

Meanwhile, the thank you card I included cheered me up - I made a full sheet of handmade paper flower heads on one of the very VERY few occasions when I planned in advance, and they are now very handy to stick onto blank cardstock when I'm strapped for time.

And the final product, Irish Element's first sale:

Everything changing and remaining the same...

Just like a swan, I have been paddling away furiously under the water while appearing calm and unruffled on the surface. Unlike a swan I have got lost a few times along the way, got my feet caught in weeds and rubbish, forgotten where the brake is and gone ploughing into mud banks...etc. My point is for the past few months, as well as promising updates of new card ideas, resin jewellery making, and virgin screen printing attempts, I have been toying with the idea of dividing the Etsy shop into two separate entities - one of which would be a continuation of Paperpennies, but under a new name (that wasn't confined to paper, and didn't make people think of pennies!), and which would focus particularly on an Irish American audience (so my central product would be the embossed Claddagh Ring cards and prints...strictly no Leprechauns though!). This new Paperpennies is now called Irish Elements, and I even bought my dotcom, so www.irishelements.com will bring you to the Etsy shop-formerly-known-as-paperpennies-designs. The not parallel but perpendicular shop I am hoping to develop alongside this one will be Raurta Crafts. Raurta is a phonetic spelling of the Irish word Rabharta, which describes an exceptionally high or Spring tide, and also a burst of music or singing. In my case, I love it because it gives a nod to my location, surrounded and very much influenced by the Atlantic ocean; it incorporates the Irish language without making people trip over their tongues and start gurning in an attempt to get the pronunciation right! And I love the idea of a burst of creativity, unleashed - here's hoping!
However, I actually think I will leave this blog as Paperpennies, so that it can incorporate both shops and maybe be a more personal insight into what goes into making this all come together (again, hopefully), before the products appear all polished and primped on the Etsy shelf!

Anyway, apart from picking the names - which absolutely literally took me all summer, no lie - my only other tangible evidence of progress is my new shop banner and avatar for Irish Elements. You were warned, this is an embrace your Irishness shop, so it is all quite green and ethereal looking. But there is a slightly more subtle note in the little diamond shaped logo - meant to represent the four provinces of Ireland, mirroring the 4 classical elements of air, earth, fire and water, and also the fact that I hope to offer little 'elemental' nuggets of Ireland in paper, resin, print or supply format...See?! Here's the shop as of this morning: