Ash Tree Makes Alzheimer's Donation

After The Ash Tree was featured in South Shore Living, we received a great amount of feedback and publicity for our 6 In the Shipyard store location. One email specifically caught my attention - it was a woman who had read the SSL article and was wondering if I would be willing to make a product donation to an Alzheimer's raffle event. Being the charity-focused person that I am and always wishing I could give more, I said "YES!"


This particular fundraiser is going to be held, in April 2011, at the 99 Restaurant in Wareham to support the Alzheimer's Services of Cape Cod and the Islands (ASCCI). They had written me in the hopes that Ash Tree Designs would like to participate by donating a prize for a raffle to be held at the event. 

"Dining for a Cause" Event: April 2011 at 99 Restaurant in Wareham, MA

In an effort to raise awareness, the woman's daughter, Amanda Sullivan, has organized this "Dining for a Cause" event after her grandfather passed away over a year ago from Alzheimer's (...and she's only in the 7th grade!) In addition to the gift donation I had made, I just wanted to raise awareness about this event to the local subscribers to my blog. This is an excellent organization, and the event itself has 100% of the proceeds go to Massachusetts local programs and services that help an estimated 10,000 people living with the Alzheimer's disease on the Cape - including:

• Memory Screenings
• Family Support and Education Programs
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Caregiver Respite Programs

I hope that you are able to make it to the event - for more information about the charity, please contact Catherine Oldham, at 774-487-3663 or email catherine@alzcapecod.org to inquire about what you can do to support this great cause.

Included in the Ash Tree donation was a great gift bag with a large handmade journal, handmade necklace with a beautiful glass drop pendant, and a pair of handmade rainbow quartz earrings - all in a "green" theme for the Spring!


The Ash Tree has a long history of volunteering and donating time and items to charity events. If you are interested in featuring Ash Tree products at your charity or event, please contact me with event information and I'd be happy to set something up!

Handmade Travel Book

Travel Journal and Souvenir Book, $20

Need the personal book to keep all of your traveling memories and souvenirs in? I have the perfect solution!

A client came to me last month and inquired about my Before I Forget handmade book series. She loved the travel paper, and was looking for a gift for her boyfriend, who was looking for a way to document his travels. With a few design tweaks, we came up with the perfect page template for a Travel Book.

The left page is where all of the details of your trip are recorded: there's enough space for a quick weekend getaway, or use several pages to document a big European vacation! You can write where the trip was, places visited, the date you traveled, and much more in the lined notes section.

Page Detail: Record all of your adventures on the left page!

The right page is blank except for a "pictures and souvenirs" heading at the top. You can get a lot more creative here, add ticket stubs to the museums you visit, quick sketches of what you see, etc.An elegant-looking scrapbook-on-the-go!

The custom item is in my Ash Tree Designs shop, but I have the template and you can order this for your very own! Check it out, and let me know what you think :)

Looking to make your own handmade book project? Have a certain theme in mind? Email me!

Listography: Live Your Life with Lists

While idly browsing through Blick a few days ago, (which I must stop doing. Damn those art stores so full of awesome) I was checking out one of the cool tables full of funky products - you know, full of amazingness I DON'T need.

Anyway, I saw this book called "Listography", which is an illustrated notebook that prompts you to fill in entries in the form of lists. I keep a journal personally, but I liked the idea of having suggestions to guide you in recording your life at this point in time. I actually thought of my little sister, who graduated 8th grade and is now heading into Archbishop Williams High School (My high school, btws) - she's really not a journal-keeper, and I thought this would be a unique way to preserve a piece of her thoughts and dreams at this point of her life. Aw, look at me :)


I made Olivia a handmade book, bound some blank cream paper covered in coral-orange and turquoise. I really liked the contrast of the complimentary colors, especially lining inside with a beautiful deep navy paper. And since I do calligraphy, I figured I could give the book a personal touch by not only making it, but also writing out some lists for her to fill out. Not sure if this idea is mass-produceable, but for a one of a kind, personal piece I thought it was perfect.


In coming up with inspiration, I found this website called Listography.com. It's so cool! You can create your own lists, edit them, and have the chance to really sit down and think about what's important to you, what memories you value. There's also the lame lists like "to-dos", but you can also browse other people's profiles and get inspired from their lists as well. It's fun to do when you're bored, and there's a random "generate list topic" option if you don't know where to start.

The books are definitely worth picking up and flipping through at a bookstore. The cutesy illustrated look is not exactly my style, which is why I made my own, but I really do love the concept. As an artist in this instance, do you feel as though borrowing this concept is okay?

My username is aosgood - look me up and let me know what you think of my lists!

To Do Daily Agenda

New Item listed on Etsy! Handmade To-Do Daily Agenda book

I feel as though lately my life is nothing but lists and lists of things to do and things I didn't do that I should have. So, I thought that this may be a great way to better break down tasks: and I know that we are in a digital age, but turning a page is so much more satisfying and screams "accomplished!" than deleting something off of your calendar, or not doing anything to it at all.
This is a first edition book, so I did it in the classic black color scheme. I covered it with black handmade paper with silver "windows", that I thought looked very orderly and systematic looking - perfect for a daily agenda! Then I used a small strip of shiny, crocodile-textured paper to designate the front of the book. I recommend this book for artists, and at the discount price of $10, what have you got to lose?


Inside, there are 2 pages for each day:

-The left page shows the date, with lines for you to mark all of your tasks that you have to do for the day.-You come to the next page at the end of the day, where you carry over unfinished tasks.-There is also a helpful area with names and addresses that have to be followed up on, like clients.
-Additional notes to self!
There are approx. 200+ pages, and the pages are made out of recycled cream paper. Dimensions 6" w x 8 1/2" h. The pages are bound with hand sewn signatures, and the book is also lined with handmade paper. More editions, colors, and styles to come!

Handmade Journals

I enrolled in a class called Book Arts this year, and completely fell in love with it. There was just something about the process that was so meditative, and the results were just so satisfying. I really enjoyed making hardcover journals, and have put up two models on my etsy site. These are difficult to sell online, because I believe - like much of my work - they are so tactile and fun to flip through, that it's difficult to make a purchasing decision.

The little handmade journals are the best - they are the perfect size to carry around, keep as an agenda or reminder books. Journals, apparently, are "in". Why? Probably the same quality of tactility is so rare and valued in a society that is increasing its dependence on internet/online. Feeling something substantial is very attractive!


I've made journals spanning the color wheel - I typically get inspired by papers that I buy, and love to emboss one contrasting paper on top of another. I was surprised to see how many books that I sold at the Sidewalk Sale - I take a real pride in their craftsmanship, and its good to see that it's appreciated!!

Sidewalk Sale: A Great Success!

I just wanted to thank all who came and checked out my work at the Sidewalk Sale last weekend. I hope that you all got something nice, for Mom or yourself!

It was a smashing success! I doubled (and then some) my profit from last year - which was amazing considering we had a freakin scary torrential downpour with scary thunder. Due to my busy-ness, I sucked at documentation :( But my table display was great!! I had a black tablecloth with my handmade jewelry scattered around. I also had my new handmade journals that I blew out of - once I make more, they will definitely be for sale on the website! Lastly on display I had a representation of my handmade sail products, like the sail notebooks and wallets.
As always, I had my embroidered necklaces, which did fairly well - the biggest hit were my $8 earrings, which were the perfect Mother's Day gift at the perfect price :D

I also did some trading at the very end, which is my favorite part - I traded earrings and necklaces for some awesome ceramics: I got two bright blue mugs, an earthy colored mug, a bowl, and a sterling silver wire ring. Fun!! (Pictured below is a piece by Sara Eustis: I custom made a pair of earrings for her mother for Mother's Day, and she traded me a mug that was similar in style to this vessel - I love the look of her pieces!!)

Here were some of the advertisements that we received for the event!

Boston Globe – Thursday, May 6

“Bargain Bin”

Circulation: 264,105

Going.com e-newsletter

“10 Things Boston is Doing this Week”

Style Carrot blog

“ARTevent: SMFA Sidewalk Sale”

Recycled Sail Notebooks

Oh my god this is so awesome. Though I feel as though I may have more success with this product at live shows or in person, I simply have to write about it because its awesome. As I said.

So I've been experimenting with my sail cloth, and am always trying to come up with new products and ideas. I'm currently enrolled in a Book Arts class, which surprisingly, I absolutely love. It's as though all of my creative juices are finally coming together through my love of writing, paper, and sewing into one fantastic package. This book is a prime example.

It's blank insides are made from recycled sketchbook paper, and I knew that the sail canvas wouldn't be sturdy enough for a cover - as in, it would probably fold and be a bit flimsy without being sewn like a hem: similar to my sail wallets. So, after I cut out a piece and embroidered it, I dipped it in wax to see what it would do - and it just feels so cool. It gave it that extra push for strength and added a really cool, soft texture to it.



I then bound it with a running-Japanese stitch, which is actually a lot simpler than it looks. (I think I'll throw up some how-to's for stitching, because it's so fun!) And there you have it! This model is really big and thick, more like a sketchbook that you can take *anywhere* - I'm going to make some smaller ones once I can get more canvas embroidered and cut to go. So let me know if you're into a custom order, or keep checking back in my etsy shop for smaller pieces!