Swapping with my Teammates

First things first...for those of you waiting for a winner to be announce, the name I drew for the Martha Stewart bird stamps is...Billie Jo! If you're reading this, Billie Jo, I have sent you a message via your link, but haven't heard from you yet...please contact me so I can send you your prize! Yay!

One of the great things about having an etsy shop is getting to commune with other shop owners via teams. I'm proud to be a member of three: Vegan Etsy, Etsy for Animals, and EtsyVeg. We get together to support each other's shops, promote our crafts, and do good for animals. One of the added bonuses is getting to know other craftsy people who care about animal protection, and another is finding other creative people who are interested in swapping their goods for yours.

I just completed my first Etsy store-to-store swap ever and it was super cool. My first swap parter was the very talented Laurel of Straw House Books.

Check out the detail on this handbound book. The paper inside is gorgeous. It's so soft. It's so lovely I'm having a hard time deciding what I should use it for. I'm leaning toward using it as an art journal.

The spine is actually a whole separate piece bound to the covers via some nifty stitchery. I've done some bookbinding using Club Scrap kits so I know how much work goes into stitch binding like this. I've never gone so far as to make a fabric covered book, but I imagine that takes some time and extremely good control of your adhesive to prevent wrinkling.

Is this fabric not adorable? Wee little rat-sized paw prints! Yeah, I know, they're more like dog or kitty prints, rat prints would look a whole lot more like human hand and foot prints than dog and cat ones. Nonetheless, tiny pawprints = oh so darn adorable!

I love this book! Thanks so much Laurel!

So, what did she get in exchange? First, a copy of my Yummy for Dogs Cookbook (grab one now to help out the Berkely shelter post-fire.)

And also a set of my custom photo cards. I love making these. I work with the photos electronically, then hand collage the cards after the prints arrive. One of the things that makes these so fun is sitting with the images and getting to know each person's pet via the .jpgs they send me. I try to get a feel for their personality, then show off who that animal is via the finished cards. Laurels dog is just too loveable! Check her out:

Aww! I love a happy, silly dog! Below is a more thoughtful portrait.

You can see the rest here, if you like. What a fantastic model she is!

(Are you an etsy seller who'd like to swap with me? Contact me via http://scrappyrat.etsy.com!)