I can write, right?

Many of my customers contact me asking me if they can write on my plantable papers. The answer is simple: YES! One side of the paper is bumpy with seeds but the opposite side, where the paper is pressed against a screen when it is being made, is smoother for writing. But I decided to write this post to explain why you can, what the pitfalls are and show examples of different kinds of ink since I can't know what you will be using on your handmade paper.

The pitfalls: Unfortunately, my plantable paper can't go through a printer. I know that a couple of my customers have successfully printed on my papers but I haven't. I have a very old printer that is fussy. But even if it were not, my papers have some very chunky seeds in them that not only would catch in a printer and rip the paper but might also do a lot worse to your printer. So I don't recommend it.

The reason you can write on my papers is because I recycle paper that was initially manufactured to allow for writing, like card stocks, junk mail, etc. That means that when the paper was made, an internal sizing was added to the slurry (or paper pulp). Sizing is used to improve the strength, stiffness, smoothness or weight of a paper or to control its absorbency. In other words, it seals the paper so you can write on it without the ink bleeding and feathering.

So I decided to try a little experiment with as many different kinds of inks as I could find. I went down to my local arts supplies store. (Shout out in Soave Faire in Saratoga. They allow customers to try any pen they sell, so I brought a piece of my plantable paper into the store and tried everything! Huzzah!)




For the most part, every ink worked well, which actually surprised me. I tell my customers not to use inks that are overly watery, like calligraphy ink, but I had decent success with the Varsity Disposable Fountain Pen (the purple ink on the largest piece of paper). It worked well when I wrote quickly but did bleed into thick lines when I wrote the word "pen" very slowly. The Buffalo marker was a thick marker (the light blue ink on large piece of paper), like one a child would use. I didn't like that one, probably because it doesn't have enough ink to transfer well - perhaps because it is intended for coloring. The only hiccup was from the calligraphy pen (red ink on large piece of paper) because I hit a big seed in the paper that had caused a divot. I even had success with an erasable gel pen as well as a pencil.

I hope that is helpful! To get back to my Etsy shop, go here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PulpArt

Want to know about sizing in a more scientific analysis? Here you go:
http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2%3A12738/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Flower seed paper doves with envelopes - NEW ITEM!

I was so excited to acquire these envelopes. I got them from a paper auction so I only have a limited amount. Once they are gone, that's it. I paired them with some plantable paper doves that I already have in my shop and they turned out to be the perfect size. Doves are the symbol of love and peace so use these plantable paper doves for weddings, baptisms, Christmas events or any time you want love and peace to grow.

Purchase them in my Etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/87945429

Treasury time!

No time to write today. Instead, some pleasing pictures. I am so excited that my plantable paper trees have been featured in several treasuries on Etsy this holiday season. Love the color combinations in all of them!

FIVE THOUSAND!!!!

Woke up this morning to my 5000th sale on Etsy. Yippy skippy! Yesterday I was scheming all day about putting something on FaceBook or in my banner about free shipping or an extra surprise for my 5000th sale. Then I decided I would't say anything and just refund the cost of the order and give the whole thing for free. So I did. And now I feel like Santa Claus!

I have to admit to being not completely selfless in this transaction. I love the feeling I get back when I have been generous or surprised someone. Is that selfish? Maybe a little!

Here's how my customer responded:

Whhhhhhhaaaatttttt????!!!! That's so awesome!!! Yay for you for selling 5000 items and yay for you for being so generous!! Thank you! What a wonderful surprise! :D

Cuuuuute!!!

I will never forget the very first outdoor craft show I ever did, some time in the early 1990s. I had not done my research well and chose a pretty lousy show just because it had low fees. It was dead for the first hour or so and then a tour bus rolled up. I stood up straight and put a big smile on my face. A group of senior citizens got out for a bathroom break and a few wandered through and looked at the booths. Two of the women from the group came over and looked at my handmade papers. One of them picked one of my items up, then turned it over with a frown on her face. She turned to the other and said, "I could make this." Then, with what felt like disgust, she tossed it back on the table without ever looking at me. The other woman, hard of hearing, asked what her friend had said. Louder this time, "I COULD MAKE THAT. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY."

You have to have a thick skin when you do a craft show. (Remember my earlier post? "Creativity takes courage.")

Most customers are an absolute joy and I have even formed friendships with customers I met at my booth. But here's a very funny spoof video about what customers say at craft shows. (And it's kinda true!) Enjoy!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGWjm13R7OI

When to say when

I have been saying "no" a lot lately. It is a word I struggle to say, especially as a one-woman business. I take every sale and every request not just as income but as a compliment. Someone has taken the time to find me, read about what I do and like it enough to contact me and ask me to make something special for them. They are not buying a manufactured product, but one that has my heart in it. This is huge. As Henri Matisse is credited for saying, "Creativity takes courage." I am putting myself out in front of the world to see for judgment, rejection, but hopefully acceptance.

While I feel it is a sign of success to come to a time when I have the luxury to say no, it also feels like a tiny failure, like I have let someone down. I have turned down several very large custom orders recently because taking them would have meant endless hours of extra work, the stress of an immediate deadline and time away other things that are important to me.

A charitable organization asked for 1000 rainbow seed bombs that would be given out at their fund-raising event. While it takes a long time to roll each little ball of pulp by hand, it also takes a lot of space to dry them. I figured I would need to make more than 200 every day to get the order out in time, and that was assuming they all dried quickly. But I would have to put aside other pending custom orders that had tight deadlines (as well as canceling several really fun events in my personal life), so I had to say no.

A church contacted me needing 400 white doves for an event about a week before their deadline. Add in the time it takes to ship and it would mean no sleep during a very busy time of year.

A bride had been looking for something special for her wedding and didn't find me until the very last minute, which was yesterday. I love making items for weddings, especially when the bride and groom want something different from the products I ordinarily make. (As a matter of fact, some of my best-selling products have come from ideas that customers gave me!) But to meet her deadline, I would have had to compromise my quality for an event that is too important for goofs. Another no.

So I am feeling ambivalent and relieved all at once.

This is where I belong

Breaking out the Christmas boxes today. Psyched that everything made it through a year of massive house renovations, dust, misplaced boxes, etc., especially this little snowman. I made him out of a gourd that I painted and decorated with wood-burning tools and other pieces from other gourds. I love this little guy.

Opening up my ornament boxes is always a walk down memory lane, since every ornament has a story. I have a bunch of ornaments made in India that were given to my family when I was a little girl. My father had helped an Indian family and never charged them for his services because they were new to this country and had very little money. As a thank you, they gave us ornaments that are covered in little pieces of mirrors, beads and colorful designs. They remind me of my father's generosity of spirit.

When I got my first apartment and wanted to decorate a tree but didn't have enough money to buy ornaments, my best friend and I used a hot glue gun to attach loops to anything we could find that could be hung on a tree. I still have one of those ornaments. It is a one-armed skeleton that had once been a pair of skeleton earrings. (We purchased them for next to nothing because one of the skeletons had only one arm. My friend ripped the arm off the other skeleton so that we were even and then we each took one and incorporated it into a Halloween costume.) Makes me laugh every year and think of her.

And, of course, there are many, many handmade and homemade ornaments: felted ornaments, ones made from clothespins, beads and wire, and Play-doh.

I look at my tree and see a living history of my family and my life. We have a tradition of cutting down our own Christmas tree. When we get it home, I snip a little piece of a branch off, spray it with a preservative, put it in a glass ball ornament and write the year on the outside. I buy an ornament with a name on it for every member of the family (although the family has grown so much in the last couple of years that I am behind for a few nieces and nephews). It feels good to look at the tree and be reminded of who I am, from where I have come and where I belong.