xo

Happy Valentine's Day, all!
Give those you love an extra helping of smootches! xoxoxo

Red Folk Heart Card from Dutch Door Press.

Hello Handmade Sale!

Just wanted to let you know that we are having a little sale in the Hello Handmade Shop! Just enter HAPPYHOLIDAY10 when you purchase, for 15% off your entire order, now through December 17th. Cheers! Thanks for all your support!

Nature's Splendor

This calendar is the fruit of a week-long retreat, spent on one of the most beautiful estates I've ever seen. The process of creating it with Shanna was so perfect, with long strolls interspersing our hours of writing and drawing. I feel especially excited that each of the four seasonal panels feature a snippet of words from Mary Oliver, whose poems perfectly capture the spirit of each season depicted.
As this year we decided to pay special tribute to each season, we gave each one its own page. At 7x7, the calendar is designed to be trimmed down, once a season has past, into an original 5x7 little piece of art - something to last long after 2011. What makes it really special is that each page is an original hand lettered by me- no two are exactly the same. Really sets it apart, we think.
To see more photos and description, check it out in the Hello Handmade shop here!

unbelieveable...

Shanna finally launched her new line of decals yesterday, and I must say, it was totally worth the wait! They are absolutely, positively beyond gorgeous. I can't wait to scoop several of them up. Keep up with her blog, as she will be doing a series of free tutorials that explore how to use them in unexpected ways. I have to admit that I've never been a big fan of decals until now; I've been totally converted. Beautiful work, dear Shanna!

can't wait.

Shanna Murray, my darling friend and partner of Hello Handmade, is launching an amazing line of vinyl wall and window decals in her shop at the end of the month....here is a sneak peek from her blog. I can hardly wait to see the whole collection- this one is so completely gorgeous. She is having a little pre-launch sale in her shop tomorrow through the 23rd, with the actual launch happening on March 29th. Just thought I would spread the word...I'm sure they'll absolutely fly out of her shop!

be mine.

Nick and I don't really do presents for Valentine's Day....but I really just adore this ornament from Paloma's Nest (hint!). The simplicity is beyond perfect.

Romantics Unite!

Every time I watch a Jane Austen movie, I am always fixated on the scenes where someone receives a letter- sealed with wax, elaborately folded, the recipient quickly unfurls the folds to read the gorgeous lettering within.

So this year for our Hello Handmade valentines, Shanna and I decided to take a cue from Austen's era and create these lovely Regency Valentines! Hand-painted and hand-lettered, folded in the regency style, and sealed with striped washi paper tape and wax, these personalized, customizable valentines are truly something spectacular, if I do say so myself. And 10% of each valentine sale is going to the American Red Cross relief for Haiti, which makes them even more special.
Just wanted to share some love with you today.... xo

shop talk

Hello there! Are you feeling festive?! Hello Handmade certainly is, and we've marked our 2010 Laureled Tea Towel down to $20 to prove it! We've also listed some bulk orders in quantities of 2,5, and 10 for those of you looking to stock up- these are at an even further discount with free shipping. Yay!

We are also having a giveaway over at Poppytalk. Just leave a little comment (on the Poppytalk post) with your favorite holiday tradition by 10 PM Pacific, and a winner will be selected and announced tomorrow.

Hope this makes you feel merry and bright!

Greetings from Hello Handmade!

Good morning! Shanna and I have been waiting for this season to roll around again for a whole year, and now it is finally time to reopen our Hello Handmade shop selling this winter's goodies! Listed starting today are the Tannenbaum Specimen Chart and the 2010 Laureled Tea Towel. At the end of November we will be listing some downloadable items, such as an advent calendar, ornament, and bunting.
It was such a wonderful experience getting to work together on these items this summer in Rochester. Creating beautiful designs with such an amazing, wonderful friend is such a giddy feeling. We are so proud of them and hope you will love them, too!

a sneaky peek...

Well, ladies and gents, here is a tiny little sneak peek of some of the items that Shanna and I will be selling through our Hello Handmade shop this upcoming season! We can't wait to unveil everything more fully.....just pulling together some loose ends at this point. Cheers!

States United

I checked out the HBO series John Adams from the library to watch while I was working last week, and it was excellent. I would highly recommend it. It made me feel very patriotic, thus the link to this awesome letterpressed poster from the Etsy shop Beauchamping. Did anyone else watch and enjoy this series?

Julene Harrison

Nick's birthday was a couple of weeks ago, and I commissioned Julene Harrison to create this amazing papercut piece for one of his gifts. Pretty amazing, don't you think? The lyric is really special to the two of us, and I can't stop looking at the framed end result. Check out more of Julene's amazing work here on her blog.

fabulous feathers...

I just love these screen printed feather cards that my wonderful pal Shanna Murray listed in her shop today, don't you? They're so fabulous!

King and Queen of Hearts

These amazing stamps are being released today...Steve, who works at my favorite post office ever, gave me a heads up a couple of weeks ago, saying "There are some new stamps coming out that I think will be just your cup of tea." He was so very right! Can't wait to scoop them up.

Whales

I don't remember where I stumbled upon the link to this little print shop, but I absolutely fell in love with this whale print. I'm crushed that they are sold out. But anyway, it reminded me of the really interesting article I just read in National Geographic about blue whales. What amazing, majestic creatures! I would love to go whale watching sometime. Have any of you ever done that?

Personalized Valentines from Hello Handmade!

Oh, I'm just so excited to introduce this project! For Valentine's Day, Shanna and I are offering personalized valentines; Shanna illustrated and designed the letterpressed cards depicting a sweet pair of enamored foxes, and my part of the project is inscribing the love note on the back! We love this project and think it is so unique and different from anything out there. Check out our shop and the details here! Send one to your sweetie!

Holiday goodies

Shanna and I are launching our small holiday collection this morning! Take a peek!

Hello Handmade!

I am thrilled to announce the grand opening of Hello Handmade, the new online shop that I am opening today with the wonderful Shanna Murray. Shanna and I have never met in person, but have become fast friends despite the many miles between us, and I treasure her so much. She is incredibly talented, not to mention the kindest person ever, and we have so many exciting projects swimming around in our heads, that we can't wait to see to completion. We have been lovingly working on these current projects for such a while now, and are excited to finally have them out there for all to see! Feel free to stop by and check it out! Available starting today are a 2009 calendar and a Christmas print, and later in the week some holiday cards and gift tags will be joining the spread. Thanks so much, all!

{Hello Handmade = Betsy Dunlap + Shanna Murray}

UPDATE!
P.s. Check out all these amazing posts about us below- we are so blown away! Thank you so much everyone!
Design Sponge
Frolic
Creature Comforts
Decor 8
Oh Joy!
Poppytalk

Again with the still lifes...

I can't get over these. I would love to move to the south of France and paint landscapes and still lifes. I am sure I could convince Nick to relocate pretty easily. Here is the website:

www.shiftinglight.com