Banner Day! with meringuedesigns

It's the Monday before Christmas, and it's a 'banner day'! Let's celebrate with the wonderful Etsy shop, Meringue Designs.



Cynthia Winward is a SAM of three who " found (her) passion in life" through sewing. When she left finance to raise her children, she also reunited with her serger and that's when things came together. Literally! Drapes, quilts, jackets and clothes for the children and for herself. And now she creates pillows, embroidery, patterns, and - of course - celebration banners like this one:

The best thing about this banner, though, is that it's for sale as a pattern - an "entire alphabet in mirror image...for uppercase and lowercase letters". It is a supplement to her 'Birthday Banner' pattern, which includes instructions for constructing the banner itself (also available in her shop). Wonderful, especially for those of us who like to 'make do and mend' - and create!

More loveliness from Meringue Designs:

  

Meringue Designs is a lovely shop and Cynthia writes an engaging blog, "Deep Thoughts by Cynthia". Reading through, Cynthia is not only "additcted to color", but this little tidbit caught my eye - and made me laugh-out-loud: "There is something ironic about being a seamstress and yet hating to sew costumes for my kids. I swear I can’t be bothered." I love that irony! And finding a terrific shop full of great fabrics, gorgeous pillows, and amazing banners - like Meringue Designs.

Time to wrap-it-up, lovelies! Here's to a great week - and a banner day!  tIO x

PS: Happy birthday, Tim!

Banner Day! with Earmark

Hear ye, hear ye! Earmark is today's 'banner day' feature, and is a wonderful shop run by husband-and-wife team Bridgette and Mike Berndt. Technically, I suppose, Earmark is the umbrella brand because these two have two Etsy shops - Earmark, their "mother shop" which stands alone as a traditional stationer, and Earmark Gatherings, their "new" shop "filled with fresh and fun party items".

Here are the two Etsy shop banners to start:




As I said, Earmark is a stationer, and a very talented and clever one. They design and sell most traditional paper products, e.g. cards, stationary, prints (like this one I bought), journals, invitations, announcements, etc. And, of course, they produce some terrific banners. Like these:

I may have featured some seasonal banners, but these are the tip of the proverbial iceberg for what Earmark creates and stocks; check-out this one:


Bridgette and Mike are lovely people who create lovely things. And they have turned their passions and talents into a lovely shop for the rest of us: "We have an obsession with paper products, and we cater to the customers that share our obsession."

Do they do custom orders? Yep. Wholesale? Yep. Are they available online? Yep - and not just at their Etsy shops, but also http://earmarkinvitations.com/ (and other online retailers). Bricks-and-mortar? Yep - look on their website for locations. Blog? Yep - http://eigreetings.blogspot.com/ Twitter? Yep - http://twitter.com/Earmark. Go on and click through any of these links to find out how Earmark "creates happiness", some of which looks like this:

      

That's is for today, kids. I'm off to either 'keep calm and carry on' or 'freak out and throw stuff'!

Make it a banner day!  tIO x

PS: Want to read more about Bridgette and Mike? Their interesting tale of life before and since Earmark was posted in May, 2008 as an Etsy "Featured Seller" Story: read it here.

Banner Day! with nestables

As I was scouring sites and shops for banners this week, an odd thing happened: I couldn't find any that caught my eye. I was a bit perplexed. Usually, too many things catch my eye. "I must be ill," I thought. With 'the flu' running rampant, it wouldn't be a stretch. So I carried on, as all mommies (and bloggers) do.

This morning, I circled-back to Etsy. It usually takes me awhile to peruse the amazing offerings - because so many things catch my eye. Within minutes, however, this wonderful shop popped into view:

Let's start with that wonderful shop banner; it had me at 'hello'!

Open since March 2009, nestables isn't just a shop full of banners and bunting. There are lovely pillow covers, linen napkins, and even custom orders on offer.

And everything looks beautifully made!

Take a gander:

       


Simple but gorgeous. Plus, it's another 'local-to-me', and you know how I feel about that.

Regardless where you live, however, with its fresh fabrics, eye-for-detail, and tasteful style, nestables is the perfect shop to find some feathers for your own nest.

I'm off to 'fluff-and-fold'! Remember to make it a banner day!

Thanks for perusing this blog; blog you again soon!