I'm back!

Gilbert and me with his handmade Easter balloon

Anyone who has kids knows that the transition to parenthood is quite something: lots of intense emotions (deep love, tremendous excitement, anxiety), a whole lot of sleep deprivation, a radical shifting of priorities, a steep learning curve regarding your new role and pertaining to the baby's behaviour, health, nutrition and development, and a new set of challenges with regard to time-management and organisation, baby-proofing, etc. etc. etc. I'm still in the midst of all this, of course, and I'll never cease to learn, but I've also somewhat gotten used to the fact that there's this new person in my household now, have developed a wee bit of a routine, and carved out chunks of time to dedicate to Paper Turns again. In other words: I'm back!

 








What's new? I'm working on a few new designs, but I'm also getting ready for Mother's Day, and with that, my first craft show of the year. I look forward to returning to the Spring Artisans' Market at SickKids Hospital; my fourth one - it's that great a market! Come and visit me on Friday, May 11, 10 am - 5 pm in the SickKids Atrium at 170 Elizabeth Street, Toronto.

I've also been working on a few special commissions. For example, a grandma-to-be contacted me recently with the request for a woodland-animal-themed card for her first grandson. I played around with a few of the animals she suggested, including owls, rabbits and bears. You can see both one of the drafts (on uncut card stock), and the version she ended up ordering. I really love creative challenges like that, and I'm excited to work on the next ones, which I'll show you in June. 

 

Finally, I've joined other Canadian Etsy sellers in offering free domestic shipping for part of this month. If you order any of the cards in my Etsy shop to an address within Canada between May 1 and May 14, shipping is on me. You're welcome! Time to celebrate the snail mail revolution.

Vacation Plans and the Canada Post Labour Dispute... The Gist: Expect Delays!

After a beautiful long summer weekend, which saw me salute my adopted country on Canada Day and wish my LGBTQ friends Happy Pride, Canada Post decided to make the life of small businesses such as Paper Turns a whole lot more complicated. As the result of an ongoing labour dispute, Canada Post has given notice to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) that they will be locked out as of Friday, July 8. Canada Post will not be accepting, processing or delivering mail for the duration of the lockout.

What does this mean for Paper Turns? 

As Canada Post is the default shipping provider for any online orders to be shipped within Canada, please note that your domestic orders will be delayed until the labour dispute has been resolved. If you prefer shipping by courier, please contact me before placing your order on Etsy so that I can provide you with a quote. Shipments to the US and the rest of the world will be processed normally but routed through the US Postal Service.

Coincidentally, I will be on vacation from July 12 to July 20. Any orders placed by July 8 will be processed before I leave; orders placed between July 9 and July 20 will be processed after I return, i.e. after July 20.

Enjoy the summer!