friends & green bug around the world!!!

i am privileged to still keep in touch with a good friend from high school. we've been friends through many experiences...getting our driving license.... college... studying abroad.... first jobs.. our quarter life crisis', and even getting married! we often reminisce about the days we used to hand write letters to each other. remember friendship before the internet?!
last year she moved to the fabulous city of San Francisco! although we can't just grab a cup of coffee like we used to, it's still great to have her as a long-distance friend. she recently asked if i could make some custom pillow boxes for her. i was thrilled! she wanted to be able to give these boxes to her husband for the eight nights of Hanukkah. what do you think?

in other news, i have been featured in even more blogs... all over the world! wow!
here are the links

in brazil:
http://www.copyepaste.com/2011/12/pacote-barato.html

in turkey:
http://cepaynasi.blogspot.com/2011/12/yine-paket-leme.html

in korea:
http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=okdongsoon&logNo=20143871519

i was also featured on a polish website but i can't seem to find the link.

till next time....

new fabric! new features!

here are some of my most recent thrifting finds! can't wait to make them into bags!

i've also been featured in two more blogs! check em out!

****http://modishlydelishblog.com/chic-holiday-gift-wrapping-inspiration-ideas/

****http://www.libbywilkiedesigns.com/2011/12/crafty-christmas.html

math... and a sneak peak

i have always been a math person. i not sure why, but i would like to give the credit to my excellent teachers! i was good at math until senior year of high school. then i hit calculus and my brain said, "no more!!!!" even though i was an art major in college and didn't need to take it, my math career isn't over! i work with 5th grade students and they are in the midst of pre-pre algebra. the worst of the worst... fractions!!!! all forms of fractions! adding, multiplying, reciprocals, simplifying. each afternoon, i have 20 kids looking at me with blank faces and questions marks above their heads. i am overwhelmed with how to make math as fun as i remember it. last night i was thinking, math is only fun when you understand it. so i am striving to teach these kids to understand and love math!!!! what does all this have to do with art and etsy? nothing, but i think it's important to give kids the tools to succeed. so they can strive to meet their dreams of becoming a engineer, mathematician, teacher, or even start their own (etsy!) business!

speaking of businesses, i will be adding a few new items to my etsy shop greenbugmarketplace soon. here is a sneak peak! i also bought some new vintage fabric over the weekend and hope to be making more inventory for my greenbugbags store.

oops! how'd this get here! :)

can you guess what these might be????

featured

i'm excited to say that i have been featured in many blogs and one newspaper website! 

you can find me here:

*****http://www.thestar.com/living/shopping/article/1091564--koszuta-all-wrapped-up-for-the-holidays

****http://photogallery.thestar.com/1091624

****http://gallantandjonesblog.com/2011/11/23/etsy-christmas-gift-wrapping-round-up/

****http://knitting-meeting.blogspot.com/2011/11/2011-get-ready-for-christmas.html

****http://www.studiodiy.com/2011/11/28/handmade-wrapping-paper-round-up/

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to find my greenbugmarketplace etsy shop and share it with their communities!!!

it's the little things

i love the excitement of being included in a treasury or email! can you find my boxes among these amazing handmade items?

trees covered in spider webs

read about this here

couldn't wait to share

2 posts in one day! what?!!!! :)

i wanted to share two discoveries i found this week... a video and a song. can't stop watching..... or listening! enjoy!

black birds    and     roosevelt blues

thanksgiving table

yesterday i was at trader joes picking up a few items for dinner. i heard a woman in the aisle next to me say, "i know this is a stupid question, but is thanksgiving this thursday or next thursday?" i thought that's not a stupid question! november is flying by! it might as well be this thursday! anyway, i had some fun this morning taking some thanksgiving pictures for my etsy shop. alas my apartment is too small to host a thanksgiving gathering but one day i will have a big table filled with delicious food and my fall gift boxes!

three day weekend

it's been over a month since i last posted. i didn't have many followers then and i doubt i have any now. so if you are reading this, thanks for your patience! it's been a normal month- full of this and that. my mom and i had our second annual gift show last weekend. i spend most of october gearing up for this event. thanks to all of you who came! it was a success! i have alot of thanksgiving and christmas pillow boxes left, so be looking for new listing in my shop! in other exciting news, i've been on the front page of etsy a few times with my greenbugmarketplace shop! it's always such a nice surprise! since i have a three day weekend, i will hopefully have time to work on some new listings.... and bags! i have four in the finishing stages and one special order to finish. here are some photos of what i've been up to.... thanks again for the support everyone! it means so much to me :)

shop number two

i have to admit.....working AND making greenbug bags AND blogging is alot for me right now. i'm trying my best to keep up! if those three things aren't enough, i've opened up a second etsy shop! crazy i know, but these things just happen! i've named it greenbugmarketplace. i've continued my aesthestic of vintage, modern upcycling. using materials that other's would consider dispensable and creating useful art with it.
my main focus right now if eco-friendly gift wrap and decor. i can't help but cringe when i think about all the waste that is generated around the holidays. all that wrapping paper.... all those bows.... all those boxes... being tossed in the trash. why not wrap your gift with something that is ooak, upcycled, and reusable? i would love to know what you think about my new products.

you can check out my shop greenbugmarketplace here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/greenbugmarketplace

and the winner is.....

happy first day of fall everyone! thanks to all of you who participated in the double giveaway. all of your names were written on a piece of paper and put into a bowl. one was chosen and i am pleased to announce that the winner is........

Cynthia!!!!!

we will be in touch about your prize! check out my mom's blog to see the winner of the autumn clutch! have a great weekend everyone!

double autumn giveaway

friday is the first day of autumn! to celebrate, my mom and i are hosting a double giveaway! i have been meaning to introduce you to my mom's etsy shop..... and this is the perfect opportunity!


wanna win a super cute autumn clutch?

wanna win a vintage fabric bag of your choice?

i know you do! here's how you win:

1. Comment on this post! 


2. Post a link to this 'blog posting' on each of your social networking sites. 


3. Share about this giveaway on your own blog with a link back to my blog. 

Each of these activities will earn you a chance to be a winner. Make sure to comment about each of these activities to add up your chances to win. 

You will want to do the SAME on my Mom’s blog too.  You have until Thursday at midnight to enter. Winners will be announced on Friday, September 23rd.

my mom's blog is called garden clippings. 

her blog is located at http://www.lauraclauson.blogspot.com/

she creates amazing home decor, clutches, and word art.

visit her etsy shop to see more: 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lauraclauson    

good luck!

organization: expedit boxes

finally! i am posting an "organization" entry. i love to organize, rearrange, and then rearrange again. i can't help it! i come from a long line of organizers. my mom, my grandma, and even my great grandma. without even knowing it, i grew up knowing how to sort by color and size, try different furniture set-ups, and how to make the most of a small space. i am constantly looking around my one bedroom apartment thinking "what can i do to make this space work better?!"

here's an idea i came up with a few years ago while living in another small place. this house had one closet! yikes! like most people, we immediately went to ikea to find a solution. again, like most people, we ended up purchasing the expedit bookshelf. you know the one with all the cubbies? ikea also sells weaven shelf baskets to slide into each space. even though our bookshelf has 16 cubies, i only bought four. buying 16 is out of the question! but i still wanted boxes i could slide in and out and use to "hide" our stuff.

this is what i came up with.....

1. i found some retro wallpaper at a thrift store.

2. for almost the same price as one ikea basket, i bought a 10 pack of generic storage boxes from an office supply store.

3. i covered the face of the box with the vintage wall paper.

4. i filled each box with our things and created inexpensive yet fun storage bins!

here is the finished result! you can do this with any kind of paper, fabric, or even paint. be creative and  have fun!

inspiration: deploy that fabric

my sister-in-law loves to send my husband and i little notes and letters of love in the mail. i love it! there's nothing like getting a letter (and not bills) in the mail. sometimes it's an amazing drawing by our niece and nephew or perhaps a clipping from a magazine that reminded her of us. the other day, i received one of these fun letters and found a newspaper article inside. the article is titled "Uniforms return to Service." it features artist Jen Eskridge's new book Deploy that Fabric. I am extremely inspired by her idea to upcycle military uniforms. check it out... what a great & creative way to honor service members.

inspiration: container cities

i saw this article on etsy today and was intrigued. i know i've seen this idea before but i never took a good look at it. today i was drawn in. architects are creating not only homes but cities out of old shipping cargo containers. even swimming pools! i love the eco-industrial look. i love the re-invention.