Before getting to the “good” stuff, I’d just like to thank everyone who visited my blog, left comments both effusive and terse, and especially thanks to those who signed up for my feed, FriendConnect, or email subscription. It’s been a wonderful experience again (this is my second year participating) and I’ve found several blogs I’ll be visiting again and hopefully made some new online friends along the way.

I also want to thank Lisa Swifka for her tireless effort in hosting this blog event and organizing all the details, not to mention how she visited every participant herself.

Onto the giveaway–

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It’s time for the 4th annual One World One Heart global blog event and I’ve got several really fun items to give away this year for the Magic Carpet ride. Do you have your ticket?

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So I spent last night finishing up my most recent Steampunk journal while re-watching a 3rd-season ep (or is it called season 2 now?) of Primeval (well, “listening” to it, anyway–it’s not easy sewing a book while watching tv, even just a pamphlet). This journal’s a bit different because I broke out of the brown/black/copper color scheme I’d been focused on and tried something quite different…

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I had an epiphany today and I don’t have them too often so I figured I should share it. I’ve been working on various ways to make the Steampunk design elements (mostly metal) work with book board, paper and leather and I think I’ve found a solution.

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Normally, I would write a post highlighting the book or doll I’ve made and give a few details (or a ton of details) about how I made it. This time I thought I would share some thoughts on the photos I used in listing this item, instead. There will still be lots of lovely images showing off the new book, I promise.

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Our Etsy bookbinding team is holding a holiday event from November 27 through December 5, featuring a giveaway. The most important question is, of course, what’s being given away? The answer? A most excellent selection of prizes–three gift baskets featuring nine (9) prizes in each basket and two $30 gift certificates to be used at the participating shops. There are 23 shops involved in this, all with some beautiful journals and book-related offerings. How do you get involved? Simply buy an item (or several) from one (or more) of the participating shops. For every $10 you spend in one of the shops, you’ll get an entry into the drawing (if you spend $30, you get 3 entries, for instance). This is a terrific way to take care of your holiday shopping and possibly walk away with some goodies for yourself. For more details, check out our team blog post with specifics, as well as links to the participating shops.

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I’m very excited to announce my inclusion in a recently published book called 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse: Remake, Restyle, Recycle, Renew by Garth Johnson.

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So I made my first Steampunk journal and posted it on Etsy yesterday. It was a challenge for me but fun and satisfying to complete it finally (took me quite awhile to engineer this one).

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I decided to try out a new gallery plugin on my blog here but I’m not sure how the various setups on the gallery look in a post so you get to enjoy some picspam today (I’m sure everyone is faint with excitement at the thought).

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

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Pierre with the suitcase base--a miniature mint tin

One idea I had for Pierre’s accessories was a suitcase. Mainly because I have these little tins (I don’t remember where I got them from) that were the perfect size for a little suitcase for someone Pierre’s height. I believe they were probably promotional mints/tins at some point in their lives but I, of course, won’t be using any of them for that.

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