When I was at the Philadelphia International Flower Show a few weeks back I took a quick snapshot of these nicely designed seed packs from the Hudson Valley Seed Library. Each pack is designed by a New York artist and unfolds to a frame-worthy keepsake. What a cute gift idea for the creative gardener in your life! You can visit their online store to peruse and purchase. www.seedlibrary.org/catalog/artpacks

Last week I shared my creative journey into the magical world of Harry Potter . One of the flourishes I added to each wizard's wand was a handmade tassel. They are very easy to make. All you need is colorful embroidery thread and scissors. Below are the steps (numbered in the image above): 1. Begin by wrapping one color of your embroidery thread around your four fingers, four times. 2. Add a second color of embroidery thread and wrap that around four times. 3. Remove the thread from your hand. You will now have a small circle of thread. With a separate piece of thread (about 3 inches long - long enough to use as a tie), tie a knot at one end of the circle. 4. Use your scissors to cut through all of the thread at the opposite end of the circle. 5. With another separate piece of thread, tie a knot around all of the tassel threads about 1/2" down from the main tassel tie. This is what the tassels looked like on the wands:

Image © Vintage Books It's been awhile since I checked The Book Cover Archive and was pleased to see so many new additions. I love this collage-style book cover design for a 1999 edition of Vladimir Nabokov's T he Enchanter . There is so much depth in the colors and textures that it feels like you can fall into the story. I was pleasantly surprised to learn this was not the first time I was taken with a design by Megan Wilson .

I am so happy that spring has finally arrived. I just added these new illustrated cards to my shop in celebration of all things "spring." If you have visited my store before, you probably recognize the illustration. The previous version of this card had the text "missing you" on the front. Aside from the illustration, these new cards are completely blank. No longer do you have to be sadly missing someone to send them a sweet, cheerful note. Click here to buy . Happy spring!

I went to Utrecht Art Supply Store the other day in need of a couple new pens. While there, I went a little overboard and threw "a few" new watercolors into my basket. What? I need them!

I gave these adorable handmade shoes as a baby shower gift on Sunday. It was hard to buy only one pair from lil (green) beans shop on Etsy. She makes such cute and fashionable stuff for babies! I love these Lil Spring Kickers too. The shop owner, Denise, is really friendly and accommodating. My order arrived quickly and in a precious little handmade drawstring pouch. I didn't even have to wrap my gift!

This year's theme for the Philadelphia International Flower Show is "Springtime in Paris" and, let me tell you, it is spectacular! I was completely taken away by the beautifully landscaped sets of flowers and scenery. To add to my enjoyment, the entire convention center smelled like heaven. The show ends on Sunday so get there if you are in the area. Below are a few of the photos I took at the event.

I have some pretty big freelance jobs in the works at the moment, two of which are wedding invitation suites. I am so excited to share more details once they are done. For now, this is a sneak peak at the special treatment of the outer envelopes for one of the wedding projects. I'm working with the lovely Bryn Chernoff from Paper Finger in Brooklyn, NY for the address calligraphy. As a cost-saving option, Bryn also sells custom stamps for the return addresses. She uses the same style chosen for the actual mailing addresses. Here are some photos of my progress with 150 stamped envelope flaps. For optimal stamp performance, I used a magazine as a cushion underneath the envelopes as I applied the stamp. I also made sure to press the stamp firmly into the inkpad a couple times before applying to the envelope.

My friend Lauren has come up with an absolutely fantastic blog idea. She's going to post 365 of her favorite books for children, complete with reviews and personal anecdotes about her reading experience. Lauren is only going to share her absolute favorites; She has a cute disclaimer that she won't be posting a book a day but, rather, a total of 365 books over the course of the blog's existence. You'll have a year's worth of books lined up to read when she's done! As a teacher and mother of two, Lauren is providing a valuable resource to families and educators alike. Thank you, Lauren! For her latest reviews, make sure to follow her blog via RSS or Facebook . http://365greatchildrensbooks.blogspot.com

I have read countless Etsy forums and various business entries on some of my favorite blogs about the importance of packaging. While I understand that packaging should be lovely, I think it's asking a lot to spend more on the boxes than the product inside. Instead of buying a bunch of new boxes and fancy stickers, I decided to add a decorative, hand-made look to one of my recent wedding invitation shipments. I still used a sturdy cardboard box and bubble wrap for the outer packaging (that cargo is precious!). However, I rummaged through my craft bins and put together a very affordable but pretty wrapping job for the actual invitations. This is the finished piece—using some leftover ribbon, a small square of handmade paper , and plain white tissue paper. My customer emailed me when she received her order and told me that, after seeing my packaging, she wanted me to help with more wedding details. Packaging really is important but you don't have to spend a lot of money to make i