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Things that give me joy, one discovery at a time.

February 15, 2010 • 7:31 pm 5

Some things I’ve been up to

I haven’t spoken about this much on my blog in fear of, well, failure, but it’s about time I start talking about my goals for 2010 and face my fears! This year is the year that I’d like to start my own business. As most of y’all know (thanks to my friends who read my blog) I left my desk job last June to pursue something…else. Its been an interesting journey to find what I’m passionate about, but I believe I’ve come to a good point in my life.

After taking several classes, a soul-searching trip to Portland, and putting quite the investment in a vintage letterpress, I’ve decided that I’d love to pursue a career in all things paper.

I love the tactile experience of creating something and although I love my social media and internet (a lot) there will always be something special about paper. Isn’t it the best when you receive a letter in the mail? A hand written note? It’s my hope to spread the love one stamp at a time.

As our wedding approaches (quickly) I’ve been busy making and practicing calligraphy, invitation design, and letterpress. It’s my hope to pull all of those things together by end of year (if not sooner) to be able to quit my day job and do this for real! I’m taking baby steps toward my goal and will report my experience here on the blog. I’m strongly considering going back to school for this endeavor, which really excites me, as well!

So here’s to jumping in head first and doing this! Cheers!

Filed under: Just for Fun, Letterpress , , , , ,

February 1, 2010 • 9:20 pm 1

Wedding Details: The Invites!

The invites are officially sent out and I wanted to share with y’all the details of everything that went into them.

Of course, the letterpressed invites were done by the always brilliant Hammerpress. I got the stamps from Dave Kaplan, a new favorite source for vintage stamps and the calligraphy and website inserts were done by yours truly!

Filed under: Letterpress, weddings , , , , ,

January 12, 2010 • 11:38 pm 0

Repeat Press

And this is why I love letterpress printing. This video rocks my face.

Filed under: Letterpress , ,

December 12, 2009 • 1:29 pm 2

Welcome, My New Family Member

I am so excited. Ecstatic. Can’t contain myself. I just won this puppy on eBay. 2010 is my year!

Filed under: Letterpress , ,

November 18, 2009 • 2:01 pm 2

Holiday Card Round-Up

It’s that time of the year and I’ve been hunting around for the perfect Christmas cards to send out. Here’s a sampling of some of my favorites I’ve found:

Of course, Hammerpress has some excellent choices. I’m loving their bold, bright colors. And their new website makes shopping a piece of cake!

Egg Press is where I got my cards last year, in fact, they’re the first ones here. I’ve got a few left over so I’m excited to send some of them out this year. But I’m loving some of their other options!

Etsy seller, Yee-Haw, has some fun items. Especially for us Texans down here in the south! Check out their cute cowboy-inspired Christmas cards.

For something a little different, I like these cards that are shaped like ornaments from Louella Press. They could double as cute Christmas decor, as well!

For something really simple and classic, Oblation in Portland, OR (a letterpress fantasy) has some lovely cards.

For something fun and quirky, go to La Familia Green. I’m doting on a lot of their cute cards.

Hello! Lucky has some great stuff, as well. Here are some pretties:

Those are some of my favorites for now. I haven’t decided on one in particular yet. I’m waiting for Jingle Bash before I decide in hopes of finding a local vendor first.

What are your favorites? I’d love to hear!

Filed under: Letterpress , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 2, 2009 • 8:49 am 0

Friday Favorites

Oliver Peoples

Oliver Peoples

Forget Ray-Ban and the Wayfarer (even though I love my pair that has lasted me a good 2+ years…a miracle for me) I’m loving Oliver People’s shades. From the Sheldrake up top to the Zooey below (named after the precious Zooey Deschanel) I’m desiring a pair in every color.

The amazing pop remeniscent art of Daniel Blagg, who’s featured at Artspace111 in Fort Worth these days.

Lots of 2010 calendars being released lately, and I dig these letterpress calendars made of 100% recycled material from YeeHaw on etsy.

This lamb’s wool cowl. Makes me pine for cold weather!

Anna & Viviana’s outfits. And Eva’s.

And Whorange’s post on Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which features this video:

Filed under: Just for Fun, Letterpress, design , , , , , , , , ,

September 16, 2009 • 4:14 pm 0

A trend!

What great joy for today I received another lovely card in the mail! Annnnd guess what? It has a bird on it!

Letterpress Card, Sesame Letterpress

Isn’t it pretty? This card is from Sesame Letterpress out of Brooklyn, New York. I like a lot of their things, especially their coasters! After two days of getting trinkets in the mail, I think it’s my turn to pass it forward!

Filed under: Just for Fun, Letterpress , ,

September 10, 2009 • 8:26 pm 3

The Reason For It All

So I went on this fabulous trip to Portland and San Francisco…alone. Why? Why would I go to such beautiful places without anyone to enjoy them with? The answer: letterpress. This was a letterpress vacation. I went to learn the craft, meet new people, and see a city (Portland) that I’ve been waiting to see for so many years. I wanted to share some pictures with you regarding the real reason for my vacation.

My first stop was the IPRC (Independent Publishing Resource Center) in Portland where I took my first letterpress class and practiced for several evenings. The press room was so great.

IPRC Portland

IPRC Portland

So lucky to meet Ellen, an amazing person in Portland whom I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with. It’s so much fun traveling and meeting people. Here, we’re setting type.

IPRC Portland

IPRC Portland

I made about 100 of these little cards and lined the envelopes with this fantastic paper. I really like the end result!

IPRC Portland

Mid week I took a one-on-one workshop with Inge Bruggeman of Textura Printing, an amazingly talented artisan and equally impressive teacher. Her studio was heavenly. She helped me make a lot of fun goodies, which will remain secrets right now. :)

Portland Letterpress

Portland Letterpress

Heidelberg Press

Back at the IPRC, locking type.

IPRC Portland

An example of someone’s work at the IPRC. So funny, I think.

IPRC Portland

My last stop was in San Francisco, where I took a class from Jordan Ferney, author of the great blog, Oh Happy Day!

Jordan Ferney Letterpress

All in all, it was a dream of a vacation. Gorgeous surroundings, new friends, perfect weather, and learning a ton all at the same time. Perfection.

Filed under: Letterpress , , , , , , , , ,

July 17, 2009 • 10:21 am 1

Kansas City

This week Olive, Terri (that’s mi madre), and I took a quick impromptu trip up to Kansas City to see my favorite aunt, eat at Lidia’s, and visit Hammerpress, my most recent obsession. While there, we went to this amazing antique mall with prices that were so reasonable it was insane! After 2 hours and three floors, we completed our trip with 8 cake stands for the wedding amongst other fun trinkets in tow. Here’s a sampling of some of the knick knacks I bought while there.

Antique Store finds

Birds, yes, birds. I cannot stop looking at this little orange glass gem with the bird on top. So sweet and precious. And it was only $15! I’ve decided I’m going to start a collection of small kitschy dogs to put in this really narrow bookcase in our house. Pictured here are Toto and Harper Lee (named after Heather’s dachshund). They’re the start of my collection.

Antique finds

Isn’t this little condiment dish fab?? It’s so art deco/century modern. Can’t wait to put peanuts or olives in it. Or something.

vintage nightgown

This is the detail on a nightgown I bought that is so dainty and beautiful. Best part about it? Only $12!

Hammerpress

And then there’s Hammerpress. ::sigh:: Hammerpress is the example of a shop I would die to run someday in my life. Since I found out today that my letterpress has been cancelled, this dream of mine will be delayed a little longer. But that’s ok! When I have people like Hammerpress around to dream about, life is good.

Hammerpress

I had an appointment with a precious young man named Matt at Hammerpress where we went through their portfolio, talked about our wedding, and came up with a layout for our invites and save the dates. The craftsmanship and design that Hammerpress puts out is in.cred.ible. I’ve seen nothing like it anywhere else. Needless to say, I cannot wait to see what kind of comps they come up with for Travis and me for our wedding.

Hammerpress

I did a little shopping while at Hammerpress, as well, and snagged some great posters and prints to hang around the house. I’m in love with this alphabet poster with it’s great typography and intense color.

Hammerpress

I got the MERDE print for Trav. Isn’t it wonderful? Love. Love. Love.

The trip to KC was fun and productive, and we left with a ton of fun loot to prove it. Hooray for home decor!

Filed under: Just for Fun, Letterpress, design, weddings , , , , , , , , ,

June 30, 2009 • 9:53 am 1

Excited.

Hammerpress

I have an obsession with letterpress. For years now I have been so attracted to the art, look, and feel of this print technique. I love it so much that I am starting a letterpress class on July 20 and I cannot wait. It’s my hope some day to master the art myself and start my own business. Until then, I am inspired by many others who are doing great things. One being Hammerpress out of Kansas City.

Hammerpress

Next week I will make a trek up to the big KC to meet with Hammerpress to talk about my own wedding invites. My favorite aunt, Steph, got her invites made through them and can be seen below. (Deep periwinkle and brown). What’s even crazier is that Hammerpress was just featured in the new summer Martha Stewart weddings mag. Wowzers! Cannot wait to have my meeting.

Hammerpress

Filed under: Letterpress, weddings

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