Jen is the Coolest!!

I think blogging has made such a wonderful array of connections possible for me. Take, for example, today's wonderfulness.

Through many other people's blog, I even tually came to know and love Kimberlina of Gimchi. Because of her many talents, and her many talented friends (wistful sigh!), she is now part of a group called Girlfriend Sweatshop (GFSS). These girls get together and make things, which they then give as gifts, or sell.

Through Kimberlina, I discovered her friend Jen, whose GFSS affliate is known as Ligurian. These wonderful women all sell their wares on a little place called Etsy, the coolest online store I've found to date. This place allows for a thing they call Alchemy, which is really just custom work.

Being impressed with Jen's books, I requested that she create the guest book for our wedding. And boy did she! I am telling you, never have we seen such a beautiful handmade book. We wanted to do something different with our guest book. I knew that if we got one of those traditional white satin things, I'd hate it, and it'd just go in a box in storage as soon as we got home. And who ever looks at a list of names? So, we decided to find a beautiful book, and have people write us notes in it. We left the actual design up to Jen's creativity, and we are not disappointed!!

(Note: Names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent.)

So please, let me take this opportunity to remind you all to think about the people you know when buying things that are special. There are some wonderful artists out there. Everything I've bought from these GFSS peeps has been amazing.

Jen also makes albums and notecards. Her books come in all different sizes. If you're in the market for a new journal, get one from her!!