New Leaf  Handmade Goods

We hope you are enjoying the summer and spending lots of time outdoors!  If you are going to the fair and Frontier Days in Swift Current next week, stop by the Stockade building and visit our exhibition on July 2nd and 3rd -we'd love to see you there! 

We've had a few changes this month, as we've moved our shop to Etsy.  Our original site is still in action with our blog, D.I.Y page, and other info, but now the 'Shop' link takes you to Etsy where you can purchase our unique goods.  If you live in the Swift Current area and want to make a purchase, we can always refund you the shipping cost and drop it off instead in order to save a few bucks.

Also, our monthly giveaway is on July 1st!  We've recently added some beautiful new necklaces to our shop and one lucky person will get one for free!  Check out the giveaway details on our site, and learn how to gain extra entries too.

D.I.Y: Drawing With Thread
Embroidering Using a Backstitch 
Cecelia has been giddy and excited about learning the backstitch, "It's like drawing with thread!" and decided to share her new-found skill with you all in hopes that you will have as much fun with it as she does.  It's a lot quicker than the blanket stitch that I wrote about last month, though they both look really good together as well, as you'll see in Cecelia's tutorial.  I just used the backstitch to embroider an octopus on the valance for my bathroom window -so grab a piece of cloth you want to liven up and follow these instructions!

New Necklaces
New to our shop are these handmade necklaces.  Some are made with vintage sheet music, while others are tiny acrylic paintings.  I love the way the glass dome magnifies my little paintings -they look like candies to me! 
For the month of July, we are having a Buy 1 Get 1 Sale for these necklaces -so you can indulge and get two for the price of one!  Use the coupon code below to redeem your free necklace.

Welcome to our first-ever monthly email newsletter!  We look forward to sharing exclusive offers, coupons, new products, and D.I.Y tips with you!  Don't forget that our monthly giveaway happens right away, this month it's Sleepy Owl Notebook -deadline for entries is May 31st at 11:59pm CST.  Check with this page for details for gaining more entries!  

DIY: Felt Flower Applique 
Using a Blanket Stitch to Add Felt Flowers to Boring Clothes
A few weeks ago I learned a couple basic embroidery stitches and am LOVING all the things I can do with them!  If you've seen our pillow covers, then you've seen the 'blanket stitch' in action. I've been adding felt flowers to my daughter's baby clothes and they are so cute; I thought I'd share the technique and a couple pictures so you can try it too.  First, you need a piece of simple clothing, a bit of felt, some embroidery thread, and a needle...  Read more on our DIY page.

Sleepy Owl Notebooks
We recently added these Sleepy Owl notebooks to our site.  I love designing and drawing these new journals.  They are drawn with pen & ink, then coloured in with watercolour pencil crayon (I like mixing various shades of green and blue).  After I've finished with the pencils, I take a damp paintbrush and blend the colours together to achieve that watercolour look.  I hope you enjoy the results as much as I do! 

Use the coupon code at the bottom of the page to receive a free Sleepy Owl greeting card with the purchase of an Original Hand-drawn Notebook (medium or large sizes only).

Free Card!*
Treat yourself!  Type the coupon code JUNEOWLS into the Special Request box when ordering either a medium or large Original Hand-drawn Notebook receive a free Sleepy Owl greeting card. Feel free to share this coupon code with family and friends!
Don't miss out!  Shop now!
  Offer Expires: June 5th, 2010
*with purchase of medium or large Original Hand-drawn Notebook.