Common Folk

We gave ourselves a big treat on Sunday, after our event at PS Stores. A couple of our customer friends, Shirley and Katherine, have been nudging us to visit Common Folk Co., a wonderful shop in Bellevue at the Crossroads Shopping Center. Don’t you adore their invitation for their recent open house?!

We loved their combination of new and vintage product, along with artist made goods. Everyone was so friendly. (Another) Katherine, the owner, greeted us warmly the moment we entered. We gobbled up pieces of Shirley’s pineapple cake and memorized the recipe when she shared it.

Common Folk was filled with so much sparkle, that my pictures have less than ideal lighting. But I have no problem with oodles of crystal chandeliers, whimsical lamps and holiday lights blazing in a charming shop like this one!

Two fun Sundays in a row!

Many thanks to PS-Stores and their fantastic customers for joining us for Holiday Green Gifts - Salvage Studio Style. Here are just a few photos of some of the items we shared with them. Hope they inspire you, too.

PS Stores + Salvage Studio = Sunday Fun

What is worth leaving your cozy house for on a Sunday? Seeing all the new green gifts and wrapping ideas we have cooked up with one of our favorite business buddies – PS Stores.

Please join us this Sunday, November 1 at 1 p.m. at their Seattle store. Our snappy show and tell will share all new ideas for quick, inexpensive and fun gifts perfect for nearly everyone on your holiday list. We’ll combine green and sustainable products from PS Stores, along with easy to find items from thrift stores.

Turn an old record into the star ingredient of a chips and dip set!

Reserve your space for $10, and in return, you will receive a $10 voucher plus a 20% coupon for in-store purchases. You can’t lose on that deal. Call 206-762-0540 for reservations. Check the PS Stores website for more details.

AND if you have some other hot date for November 1, we’re offering the same zippy presentation at their Redmond store on the following Sunday, November 8 at 1 p.m.

Space is limited, so please pick up that phone!

Fall Schedule is on our Website

Our Fall Schedule of workshops, events and speaking engagements is up on our website. We are so excited about our fall lineup. We are speaking at PS-Stores again in November -- always a fun time -- and we have added a few new adventures! Check it out.

Plus, we still have space available in our Art Party extravaganza on September 19. Guaranteed to be a jam-packed day of fun, laughs, workshops and prizes.

The Party at PS Stores

Saturday morning at PS Stores doing our 5 Minute/$5 Gifts Go Green event was such fun! The room was packed with kindred souls – happy to learn you can tie packages with VCR tape. (Bust that plastic case open, and there is a big spool of semi-hip ribbon, sturdy enough to tie in knots, and it even curls when you want it to.) From a plaid bowling bowl bag to an empty margarita mix container – all enhanced with the green and sustainable products from PS Stores. Junk can look really good!

We really enjoy doing joint ventures with other businesses we admire. Cross marketing and collaboration – it’s a win/win for everyone. Working with PS Stores is a dream – everyone who works there is so darn pleasant. Lisa and I were treated like queens. Joan, the manager of the Seattle store, even tucked slices of Macrina’s lemon and sour cherry coffee cake into our bags as we were leaving. Literally leaving a good taste in our mouths!

PS Stores-Here we come!

Here's a sneak peek at one of our show and tell examples for our upcoming 5 Minute/$5 Gifts Go Green presentation at PS Stores. We'll be at the Seattle store on Saturday, April 25 at 10:30 a.m. Please check the link on our sidebar for more info and call 206-762-0540 to register. There are a few spaces left.

What's on your ping pong table? Here are piles of recycled goodness for goodie bags, waiting to be packaged for everyone attending Saturday's demo at PS Stores.

And the winner is....

...Linda in St. Louis, Missouri! She has two blogs...A Swap for all Seasons and Grace Filled Moments. Congratulations! Hope you enjoy the book!

And don't forget that we will be speaking on 5-Minute/$5 Gifts Go Green at PS-Stores this Saturday at 10:30. Click here to see how to register. Beth and I are putting together the goodie bags for attendees tomorrow. One of our favorite chores of the week!

Once again, thank you to all who entered the Earth Day Giveaway and we hope to continue to see you in Blog-land!

“Trash is the failure of the imagination.”
Aaron Kramer, trash-based artist

Great Morning at PS Store

Lisa and I had a really good time this morning at the PS Store (formerly Packaging Specialties) in Seattle!

We were working on our samples and gathering supplies for an upcoming event we are doing there on April 25 - 5 Minute/$5 Gifts Go Green. It will be an action-packed demo showing quick and inexpensive gifts you can create using PS Stores' green and sustainable products, thrift store gems, and some secrets of our re-use philosophy. (To register, please call 206-762-0540.)

A lovely array of goodies we will be using.

Lots of terrific papers.

Ribbon streamers with tissue paper flowers create a wallop of a display.

Cheerful flowers greet the industrial traffic on the busy street outside their business.


A sample 5 minute/$5 gift.

Actually it was bj's birthday gift I was delivering! But after I wrapped it, I was darn tickled with the result - a French newspaper sheet gathered up with a bright polka dot ribbon. I'll be making another one of these to include in our show and tell.