Posted on

Comic Book Magnets at Craft Shows

Hello all!

Paper Butterfly Forge is still making comic book magnets, shiny magnets and upcycled book magnets.  However, I have taken them off the website because of the high number sold at craft shows.  It was rapidly depleting the inventory on the website.  I could either take pictures of magnets five hours each week or I could take them of the website.

Please check out our events page to see where we will be next!

Events

Check out some of the past magnets that we have made!  Again, visit our booth at Seattle area craft shows!

Nancy Drew Magnets
Charming Upcycled Nancy Drew book magnets
Upcycled Book Magnets - German
Charming upcycled book magnets
German Illustrations Magnets
Glass Fridge Magnets upcycled from a vintage German Tutorial book.
ROBOT HAND IS GOING TO GET YOU!!!!
ROBOT HAND IS GOING TO GET YOU!!!!
WOK! Comic Book Magnet
WOK! Comic Book Magnet
Jane Grey Magnet
Jane Grey Magnet
Mushroom Comic Book Magnet
Mushroom Comic Book Magnet
Shiny Tiny Fridge Magnets
Shiny Tiny Fridge Magnets

 

Posted on

Paper Butterfly Forge will be at the Georgetown Trailer Park Mall this weekend

Urban Craft Uprising - First Thursday Art Walk Pioneer Square

We are super excited to be at the Georgetown Trailer Park Mall this weekend.  (May 14th & 15th 2016).  The market features vintage and upcycled products.  They also have long term vendors in vintage trailers!

Hours:

Saturday: noon-7pm
Sunday: 11-4pm

Location:

5805 Airport Way South,
Seattle Wash. 98108

 

http://www.georgetowntrailerpark.com/

Posted on

Attending First Thursday Artwalk in Pioneer Square May 5th 2016

Urban Craft Uprising - First Thursday Art Walk Pioneer Square

I’m super excited that I will have a booth for Paper Butterfly Forge at the Pioneer Square artwalk on May 5th, 2016.  Urban Craft Uprising is coordinating the crafters and artists for the booths in Occidential Park in downtown Seattle.

Link to the Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1580357975626422/

There will be about 40 booths with jewelry, art, photography, journals, bath products and more for the craft fair.  It only runs from 5 pm to 9 pm, make sure you don’t miss out!

Edit: I had a great time and met lots of fantastic people.  I’ve added a picture of my booth!

Posted on

First Time as a Fremont Sunday Market Vendor

Fremont Fair - Seattle

Yesterday, I was at the Fremont Sunday Market as a Vendor.  Pretty cool!  Well, it was raining and cold, so it was literally cold.  🙂

I showed up just after 7:30 am just after the Market office opened.  Just under the Red Door were two cheery women organizing the market for the day.  There was a clipboard for the signup and an second clipboard for the rules and regulations.  Later during the orientations, I would be told to acknowledge all the rules, just not the ones we felt like following that day.

I wandered a bit before the orientation at 8:27 for new vendors.  The street was a bustle from cars being towed, merchants unloading trucks, assembling canopy tents and getting their displays ready.  I got a cup of coffee to off set the chill from a nearby coffee shop.

About 8:20 am I headed back and found a small semicircle of new vendors waiting.  A bit of a chuckle as she chastised us that we didn’t need to back before 8:27 am.  It was then it started to drizzle a bit.  I wasn’t worried, I was planning on being on inside the parking garage.  My book journals can’t stand having their feet wet, so it was a good fit.

We were asked to come inside so that we would be a bit drier.  There was short orientation, description of fees, and more banter.  Then one by one we were called up to the register where we issued our booth number and parking permit.  After learning the traffic method, I retrieved my car and unloaded it near the mouth of the parking garage.

Once inside, I realized that many lights had been rigged to light up the garage.  I’m too new to know if this is the Fremont Market or if the long term vendor have an astonishing array of bright lights.

I got to setting up and before I had finished customers were already coming into the garage.  The rain was pretty thick at that point, and I was a bit soaked.  I went off to put my car in the official parking.  I ran back and got my feet soaked.  (Next time, I’ll bring some thicker soled shoes to help with the puddles and to easy my feet during the long day.)

I settled in for the day.  Lovely people came to my tabled and looked at the book journals.  Kind things were said.  The rain eased on and off.  When the rain was the hardest, we had the most people inside the garage.  When I went to a food vendor for a snack, I could see the street was a bit empty.  Later, when it was sunny the market street was full of shoppers.  Never say that Seattle shoppers don’t mind the rain.  They were there, they were just hiding between the rain drops.

 

 

 

Posted on

Found Between the Pages

California Banks Gearing up Cashless Society

In an old social studies book, I found a photocopy of 1972 Newspaper article about banks switching to ACH Clearinghouse payments.

ACH payments are still used today between banks.  They bundle up a large number of transactions and then send the net amount to the other bank.  They also email/transmit a list of transactions for that amount.

It’s not quite the same thing as debit and credit transactions flying around via merchant services.  However, there is a pretty good chance your payroll is transmitted to your bank account via ACH.

 

Posted on

How to Keep a Reading Journal

A reading or book journal can be a great way to record your thoughts and progress on reading books.  Book clubs and other get togethers can be a fantastic way to interact with people about the same books, as well.  Here are a few tips:

  1.  I have a journal that I use exclusively for book reviews, thoughts, and goals for future readings.  I find that it helps to centralize my thoughts into one location.  (Of course, I love making journals, so I have about five that I write in each week!)
  2. Record the date, the title and the page number at the top.
  3. I like to chat about what is going on as I’m reading the book.  Am I on vacation?  Did I just have another Kickstarter campaign?  What volunteer work am I doing at the time?  I find that my current projects sometimes color the book that I’m reviewing.
  4. Discuss the book themes and main characters.  Did you like them as people?  One of the current themes that I’m not liking is the bad things happen to women and then they go all karate/judo and get revenge.  Is it a trope that bad things happen and then women need to be rescued or get revenge?  Perhaps too much video game plotting is seeping into books, just a thought.
  5. Talk about where the novel is located.  Is it in space, Earth, or in a mine?  Was the world building appropriate?  I remember a romance that I read many, many years ago where it was located in a city where I had spent much time there.  (Port Townsend) The location seemed like a generic small town and not once did they mention the very large tourist/shopping area.  This was before the age of google, but couldn’t they at least pick a tourism brochure and make sure that it mentioned a few landmarks?  Or even that there is a large fishing fleet harbored there?
  6. How did you acquire the book?  Gift, bookstore, book club?
  7. Did you like the resolution?  Would have made different choices?
  8. Is it difficult to believe the character could actually do those things?  This is a problem in multi book series in science fiction and fantasy.  All characters grow during the course of the books, but in those genres, the authors are compelled to give them new abilities and powers that don’t seem reasonable.  For instance, a poor magician suddenly finds out that he has magic beans and that he can stop nuclear blasts.  A space ship is given a over haul and can suddenly travel to new galaxies overnight.  Did the author actually layout a reasonable process for those new powers/abilities?
  9. Was it a predictable read or not?  Was that a good thing or not?
  10. Is this a book that you would recommend to others?

Is there anything else that you would add to this list?  Your reading journal is about you and the books that you read, make sure that is included in your entries.

Feel free to add suggestions in the comments!

Posted on

25 Journal Writing Prompts

Sometimes we all need a little help getting started writing a journal entry.  Here are twenty five writing prompts for journals:

  1. Do you remember learning how to read?
  2. If you could have a robot do one task for you, what would it be?
  3. Would you rather be a werewolf or a vampire?
  4. If you had one snapshot that could go viral on social media, which one would it be?
  5. What was the best pun that you’ve heard recently?
  6. What do you like to write with?  A pen?  A pencil?  Glitter pen? Keyboard?
  7. Have you self edited your social media posts?  Have you exaggerated the ‘good’ in your life or the ‘bad’?  Discuss why.
  8. If you had a only an hour to pack to save yourself from zombies, what would you bring? Only weapons?  Clothes?  Perhaps a red pair of high heels that can also be a weapon?
  9. What makes you want to volunteer your time to a cause?
  10. Doodle instead of writing today.
  11. Would you rather visit a chain coffee house, like Starbucks or visit an independent coffeehouse?  Or perhaps you would not be caught dead in one?
  12. What is the first book that you remember reading?
  13. Compare frozen food to home cooked food.  Which do you actually eat more often?
  14. Christmas and holiday traditions that you miss.
  15. How has your family changed over the years?
  16. Write a paragraph about oranges that does not mention the color, name or the word orange.
  17. Describe the smell of fresh spring rain.
  18. If you see someone with a clothing tag hanging out, do you tell them?
  19. Describe the last time that you laughed.
  20. We always hear about 5 year goals and the current year goals.  What are your 2 1/2 year goals?
  21. Do you always finish books or movies?  Why or why not?
  22. Which food do you remember from your childhood that you never eat now?
  23. If you had to start over, what would you change?
  24. What are you grateful for?
  25. Describe the perfect day.

 

Posted on

Found Between the Pages

I find all sorts of interesting thing while reworking books into book journals.

This mysterious stock quote was found in a Hardy Boys Mystery.  Frozen in time, it appears to be from the 1980’s judging by the Holiday Inn stationary it was written on.  I like to think a Eastern Washington business person was watching a stock quote show while reading his/her trusty Hardy Boy’s mystery from the 1960s.  Hopefully they remembered to buy the stock!

Found Note in Hardy Boys Mystery
Found Between the Pages

This extensive note was found in a copy of The House at Pooh Corner.  I love that it talks about philosophy and why studying it can lead to understanding your fellow man.  Safely tucked in a children’s book that is also about philosophy and how to be a better person. 🙂

Found Note found in Pooh Bear Book
Found Between the Pages

What will I find next?  I don’t know!  I’m looking forward to sharing more notes, notes from the past and funny bits on the blog.

Have a great day!

Posted on

Write Your Own Story in a Journal

Why should you have a personal writing journal?  The reasons can be complex and simple at the same time.  A journal can help solidify a thought, call others into question, or be the new step in your life.  A journal doesn’t have to be about writing, it could be doodling or drawing your thoughts and perceptions.  Today’s art journals are also a stepping tool into the soul of the creator.  They can be hand drawn, stencils, or collages.  Each one is unique and reflects the heart of the artist or writer that created it.  Starting off with a non-mass produced or altered book is a great way to kick off the creative process.

If you are going to create art on a book page, it might be helpful to add gesso or white background page to a book page to create a good background and to stabilize the page.  Other’s prep by gluing pages together to create a stable surface.

Part of altering a book means letting go of any mistakes.  In real life, I’ve rarely seen an altered book without what the creator would call flaws.  On the internet, everything looks perfect and no mistakes are ever made.  Letting go of the perfection ideals and creating a unique and flawed altered book is part and parcel of the creative process.  Journaling is about acknowledging and giving acceptance to all parts of yourself, just not the perfect ones.

Pinterest and Tumblr are full of perfect journals.  They are perfect for those other people.  Are you creating a journal for Pinterest or yourself?

I enjoy creating blank canvas’s to launch other people’s creativity.  Never mind recreating what I want, explore the process on your own terms and create your own unique journal.

 

 

Shop: Paper Butterfly Forge’s Handmade Book Journals

Posted on

Blank Books and Journals Reclaimed from Recycled Books

 

The Secret of the Old Clock Nancy Drew Blank Book

I’ve been busy at working creating blank journals from books lately.  It’s an extremely relaxing and engaging task.  Find a cool book cover or VHS tape.

The Avengers Upcycled VHS Case

Find some cool paper that I would like to see in blank book.

 

 

Mr Brown Can Moo Can You Upcycled Journal

Assemble the book and add a sturdy wire binding.

Nancy Drew The Bungalow Mystery Handmade Journal

Paper Butterfly Forge is excited to add recycled books and VHS tape covers to it’s product line up!  Keep an eye out for some of our new products on the website! As always we welcome wholesale and bulk orders.  Custom Orders are just fine!

 

Posted on

Writing Contest – Paper Butterfly Forge LLC

Paper Butterfly Forge is please to announce their first writing contest.  Table top, role playing games, and traditional board games are an important social bonding experiences between family, friends, or that strange person at the con, who told the best jokes.  This contest is about your positive experiences while playing board games with others.  Did you discover something new about your friend?  Impressive strategy?  Perhaps you learned something new about yourself.  In a 1,000 words let the world know about your pivotal moment that happened when you flipped that card, rolled a 1, or learned to lose gracefully.

Writing should be in up to a thousand words, should be about:

  • Tabletop games
  • Board games
  • Role Playing Games

There will be one first place winner, $20.00.

How to enter: This contest ends at 11:50 P.M. PT on October 24, 2015. To enter online, send your entry to (1,000 words maximum), to zuffyrobot@gmail.com.  If you cannot send in a word doc format, please send a text file. If entries are unreadable, they will not be eligible. To enter via snail mail, mail your entry to Writing Contest, Paper Butterfly Forge LLC, 9792 Edmonds Way PMB 126, Edmonds WA, 98020. Entries must be postmarked no later than October 24, 2015, and received no later than November 10, 2015. Limit three entries per person or e-mail account.  Entries should be sent separately and cannot relate to one another.  Paper Butterfly Forge, LLC is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, or incomplete entries, postage-due mail, or entries not received for any reason.

Void where prohibited.

See other rules.

Posted on

Getting Towards the End of the Kick Starter Campaign

We are getting towards the end of the current Kickstarter campaign.  Thank you to everyone who has pledged.  It’s not quite funded yet.

I’m really looking forward to sending out two color Game Tokens.

Remember that the game tokens will also be slightly larger as well. 🙂

Have a shiny weekend!

Laura Dodson

(I have my fingers crossed that the project will fund!)

Posted on

The Middle Zone

Kickstarter thoughtfully sent me an an email that I shouldn’t worry that the project has gone quiet.  It’s the middle part and usually projects get most of their funding at the beginning and the end of the project.

I bought some glow in the dark paint yesterday, that I hope will work out.  While the project has gone dark for now, I’m still busy doing R&D, looking for that perfect color of red, and busy making a holiday campaign for facebook.

For a project that I started in January of this year, I’ve been happy to ship out thousands of Lore Bits.  The road is bumpy from time to time and sometimes you have to hold your breath.  Especially when you have to order thousands of glass domes that will arrive months into the future.

I just got back from mailing some more packages out.  The mail box person, just waved, took the package, and told me that she could see me coming.

I think that these shiny game tokens have legs and I will be shipping them out for a long time.  I can see that coming.

Best,

Laura Dodson

Posted on

Kickstarter Pt 2 – Resource Tokens

This week Paper Butterfly Forge launched a second kickstarter to support resource tokens.  We learned a lot during the first kickstarter project.

Product size: People like packages of ten.  We will be adding that option to this website.

People were not that fond of the color pink.  Not sure why, it’s a perfectly fine color.  Maybe not for dnd, though.

Shipping payment issues.  More people were willing to pay more for the tokens if I lowered the shipping prices.  Okay…….  I can do that!

We spent some R&D time on how to accurately add images to glass tokens.  It’s not as easy as it sounds.  I have to repeat the same image at least 1,000 times each year.  It took some fiddling, but I have it figured out now.

The token size is also increasing.  It makes it easier to make the image on the glass.

Posted on

Almost completed with the Kickstarter rewards shipping

Lore Bits Game Tokens Being Sorted

 

It’s been a long road to get to this step.  I’ve just started working on the final batch for the Lore Bits Kickstarter.  It’s about a month late and  there have been a lot of late nights.  Unfinished Lore Bits even melted in a hot car!  I hadn’t finished putting on the backing, but I wanted to get more finished during a long planned trip.  Put them in a plastic box drove across town and when I checked on the, the paint was melting off the glass.  I guess I should have paid more attention in high school chemestry.  Turns out, if you heat uncured paint, it can reliquify.

But the end is in sight!