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New life for much loved books

7/30/2017

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It's no secret that my youngest son is hard on books. He loves them to pieces...literally. I'm a book lover, too, which makes it painful for me to throw away all those beautiful illustrations. When several pages fell out of "How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?" a few weeks ago - our third copy of this favorite title - I had the idea of turning the sheets into puzzles.

And so my upcycled book art puzzles were born. Each is made from an original page salvaged from a children's book and affixed to sturdy birch plywood. The pieces are large enough to be safe for the littlest kids and at 1/4" thick, they are durable. A clear acrylic sealant protects the image. The frame and tray keep the puzzle together when assembled and make for easy storage.

Since I won't be able to keep a consistent stock of these on Etsy, I thought I would post them here for people to browse. If you would like to purchase any of these puzzles, message me with the puzzle number and your shipping address. I will send you the total price with shipping and tax, if applicable, and payment instructions. Remember that each puzzle is one-of-a-kind, so once it is sold it's gone for good.

Lastly, if you have a page from a much-loved book that you would like made into a special puzzle, let me know! Mail me your page or picture and I'll send it back to you as a unique puzzle souvenir.


Upcycled Book Art Puzzle Gallery - Browse and Shop Below


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2017 Fair Calendar

6/24/2017

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I'm confirming the final details for my summer and fall schedule of craft fairs. This year you'll be able to find me in more places than ever before!
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I kick things off at the Natural Parenting Expo July 15 in Ipswich.
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Then it's the Folk Music and Arts Festival July 22 at the Templeton Fish and Game Club.



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Birds, Bees and Trees

5/7/2017

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Spring has come to Holyoke. Bees and birds are once again frequent visitors to my yard. Big fat honey bees buzz around the blueberry flowers. Robins pull worms from the newly turned garden soil while starlings and sparrows argue over the seeds at the feeder.
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Although we live in a neighborhood of closely packed homes, we make good use the yard we have to provide food for ourselves and many furry, feathered and flying visitors. My family grows blackberries and honeyberries along with blueberries. Last year a friend gave us seven grape plants which thankfully survived the winter. Before too long we'll have lettuce in the ground and as warm days become more predictable, beets, carrots, cucumbers, beans, squash, tomatoes and peppers will go in.

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Optimizing images for the web and adding a custom watermark

4/24/2017

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One of several mini side jobs that I do is web design and consulting.I'm the webmaster for my church and I've been consulting for a local business that is in the process of updating their website.

While I love designing websites for organizations, it's even better when I get to teach a user how to create and maintain the site themself. To that end, I just created two tutorial videos for my clients that I thought others might find helpful.  In both I use the free photo editing website Pixlr. I especially like their Editor, which has a nice suite of image editing tools that will get most jobs done for small business owners like myself.

These videos are intended for people with little to no photo editing experience. I filmed them in a Chrome browser on my Windows PC. If you are using a Mac, whenever I refer to right-clicking on a menu you should hold CTRL and click.
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It's spring, or so the calendar says

3/25/2017

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Google calendar assures me that it's spring, although given the snow flurries yesterday I'm not entirely convinced. The one good thing about lousy weather is that it encourages me to sit down at my desk to catch up on piles of neglected work.
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That begins with craft fair applications. Several shows now appear on my 2017 fair calendar. That list will grow as acceptances come in. Check in periodically to see where I'll be in the coming months. Next up is the Music and Arts South Hadley Craft Fest at the Plains School April 22 from 9:30 to 3.

New puzzles continue to come out of the workshop. An equine theme emerged in my latest designs. This horse and centaur are made of walnut. I also plan to try them in other woods like maple and shedua. I've had commissions for a few custom puzzles of favorite pet dogs and a lovable squirrel with chunky pieces.

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New Country Collection

1/30/2017

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I've started 2017 with a new collection of country-themed puzzles. These designs are straight from the barnyard. I made a special effort to create some puzzles perfect for the smallest kids. The bunny, duck or sheep would make a great Easter gift this year.
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Resolutions 2017

12/30/2016

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The idea of making resolutions for the new year is appealing but always gives me pause. In the past I've set too many goals or made them so ambitious as to be unachievable. Then when I didn't meet those impossible goals, I felt bad. Yet setting goals is important for making progress. Without a clear goal, how can you chart a way forward?  I'm going to take a page from my teacher playbook and be sure that my 2017 goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-based. With that in mind, I'll tackle my resolutions for the new year.

First, a recap of my 2016 personal and professional goals and how I fared.
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This little dude has determination. I'm going to channel some of his tenacity in 2017.

2016 Recap

  1. Go to the gym regularly. I did pretty well with this. I had some off weeks, but managed to average 3 or 4 days a week at the gym. I even got an invitation to the YMCA's "150 party" for members who went at least 150 times this year. Go me! (By the way, there's no fee to join the Y in January. I highly recommend a membership!)
  2. Double puzzle production. Yes, I did it! I doubled my sales in 2016. I still have a ways to go to get my business where I want it to be, but I'm proud of the growth I've managed in the past 12 months.
  3. Prepare for the holiday rush well in advance. Um, not so much. November and December were a whirlwind. And then there was the panic about low inventory after the first day of a three day show on Thanksgiving weekend. Thank goodness for my supportive family who spent several hours in the wood shop with me that Friday night!
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Help in the workshop got me through the holiday rush.

Resolutions for 2017

  1. Do 3 cardio workouts and 2 strength workouts per week. Staying physically healthy is an essential ingredient to staying mentally healthy. Without good heath, it would be next to impossible to be successful in my work. I'll track this with my fitness app.
  2. Average one new product addition to Etsy per week. Realistically, I know that I won't be able to put something new up every week. But I figure if I manage an average of one product a week, that still means putting up over 50 new products during the year.
  3. Update this blog once a month. Because you, dear reader, are important.
  4. Prepare for the holiday rush well in advance by making at least 5 puzzles per week to stockpile from January through September.​ Same goal as last year, but with a specific target. I hope that this will give me the motivation to make more than just what is waiting in my current orders queue.
Are you making resolutions for 2017? I wish you the determination and resolve to follow through on them.

Happy New Year!
- Barbara, your happy puzzle maker
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New custom designs

10/27/2016

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I have been such a slacker since August! Well, at least where the blog in concerned. But if I have neglected the blog, it is because I have been hard at work creating new puzzles and gearing up for the holiday craft show season.

​Here is a sampling of the creations that have come out of the workshop in the past two months.
Now that you've seen what I've been up to, I hope you'll forgive me for gross blog neglect. If you want to see these new puzzles in person, stop by one of the many craft shows that I have coming up.

Craftily yours,
​Barbara
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Top 8 list: Favorite things about craft shows

8/30/2016

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The first time I did a craft show I was terrified, worried about dealing with bad weather and mean customers.  Happily I can report that I have never encountered a single mean customer at any show and have had pretty good luck with the weather. (Knock on wood!)  Going to craft shows has become really fun for me.  Here are the top reasons why I like them.

#8. The food

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There's usually something delicious to be found at fairs and shows.  Whether it's a chowder made by the ladies of Saint Paul's in Ludlow or amazing chocolates from the vendors at stART on the Street, there is something yummy to keep me energized.

#7. Visiting different towns

I'm not a particularly adventurous person. Give me a weekend with nothing to do and I'll stay at home 95% of the time. Craft fairs get me traveling around the state, seeing towns that I've never visited before. I get to see them at their best, usually from their downtown or another prominent location.

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We're all in this together

8/24/2016

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Holyoke Puzzles might seem like a one-woman show.  While it's true that I do all the designing and puzzle production, my family is an essential ingredient in the puzzle magic.

My husband Sean has the biggest support role. He is chief child-wrangler, shipping clerk, and errand runner. If Sean didn't keep the kids occupied, I would never have time to get into the workshop. From September to June when I'm busy with my other full-time job during the day - teaching - he runs boxes to the post office and picks up supplies. He's always willing to step in and lend a hand when crunch time comes up. With Celebrate Holyoke coming up this weekend, Sean and our oldest son Gabe helped me assemble and package up several dozen puzzles that I cut over the past few days.

Sean isn't the only family member who has had an impact on Holyoke Puzzles. Gabe is my chief inspiration officer.  He has his finger on the pulse of the 9-year-old set. A number of the puzzles that have made it into production began with his ideas, including the saber tooth cat and my redesigned bunny. Unfortunately I can't keep up with the speed of his imagination, so I keep a list of puzzle ideas by my computer for when I'm in a creative mood.

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My youngest son, Xavier, is not yet in a place where he can help out in a practical sense. But he keeps me going in his own goofy way. Xavier has a rare genetic condition that ends up looking a lot like autism. Building my business is one way that I can help create a better life for him and pay for the medical equipment and specialists that he needs. Xavier inspires me to keep going despite whatever hardships come my way.

Another main player who is an essential support for Holyoke Puzzles is my mother-in-law Linda. She steps in to babysit the boys so Sean and I can have a night out to recharge. This weekend she'll watch the kids so that Sean can accompany me to Celebrate Holyoke.  With the festival ending at 11 p.m., I'm sure to need him to prop me up by the end!

I'm not unique in relying on my family for support to make my small business successful. I'm lucky to have great people around me and to live in the business-friendly city of Holyoke. Behind every small business success story is a family and community.

​Thanks for reading! - Barbara


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    Barbara Bitgood, Artisan owner of Holyoke Puzzles in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

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