i *heart* marta

ohmygoodness. blogging.

it's literally been years, but today's shout out from marta dansie and martawrites.com warrants a post.

so thrilled to be mentioned on marta's wonderful blog. i am a fan of her.

love to you all. more soon. simple ink is firing up again!

p.s. - find these little prints, inspired by the grandmother i never knew, here.

{image courtesy of martawrites.com}

Gift Sets

I'm excited about these boxed gift sets Jeff & I put together for Art Hop in downtown Bend tonight. Get a beautiful box of Thank You notes, a handmade bookmark, and a set of magnets all for the normal price of just the notes! We put together a bunch like these, all colors and styles.

If you're an out-of-towner and would like to take advantage of this same deal, just drop me an email! Shipping is on me!

Luv,
A

Stick To It

I'm making up a batch of new magnets for a really fun store that carries an awesome mix of home wares, gifts and clothing. This photo doesn't really do justice to the vibrant colors in the magnets... but I liked how their pretty glass domes looked in the sunshine.

Putting some sets of these in the online store soon. Get a set of 7 handmade, ultra-strong magnets for $8. Your fridge will thank you for it.

Save the Date Magnets

I burned the midnight oil to make up a bunch of these sweet Save the Dates. We went for flat printing on these to save on cost, but they're backed with a magnet to add a special touch. Hopefully they'll become fixtures on many fridges. My favorite touch is the bride and groom's monogram carved on the tree... to be reprised on the formal letterpress invitation soon. More on that to come.

P.S. Super sweet with kraft envelopes.

Babies, Babies Everywhere.

Today I'm working on some cutie birth announcements using this sweet, new Japanese Chiyogami that just came in. Nothing says New Baby like little chicks, bunnies and sheep.

Babies & Weddings. It's that time of year.

Sweetness.

More.

Swamped today. (What is it about Thursdays?) Here is some more envelope liner fun. :)

Pretty Liners

I spent my evening cutting pretty liners for some new boxes of letterpress notes. (Well, that and watching Lost.)

This liner is particularly close to my heart, as it's the first print of chiyogami I ever purchased... which was about fourteen years ago while living in Japan.

I'd wandered into this beautiful store in Kyoto filled, floor to ceiling, with paper. The way my heart went pitter-patter, I should have known then that paper would be a big part of my future. (Sadly, I didn't figure out the paper connection for a while.)

Anyway! Here's the liner. The liner I first found over a dozen years ago, bought just one sheet, quietly rolled up and stuck in my backpack. Flash forward to today, and dozens of sheets are being shipped to me from Japan as we speak, in a package filled with tons of paper goodness.

These little babies are going in the new online shop this morning. Pick yours up here.

Save The Date

This is just an initial draft -- we're not done working yet -- but I'm happy with the progress. I'm thinking of using this tree image (inspired by the photo from yesterday) in a greeting card.

TGIF, guys! We're taking Ben-Ben to the mountain again this weekend. A three-year-old on skis is *way* cute, let me tell you. (I used to teach kids that age to ski, but it's even cuter when it's your own kid. Might have to share some photos on Monday!)

Ranch Wedding

I've been working on an invitation set for a lovely couple marrying at a beyond-beautiful private estate here in Bend. If it's this pretty in the middle of winter, I can only imagine it in July. The ceremony is taking place in a spectacular barn on the premises... tomorrow I'll share some small sneak peeks of our work.

Type

I'm excited about this new wooden type I picked up recently. The font is elegant and simple -- just what I'd been looking for. But it's big -- about 2" tall -- so what I'll do with it remains to be seen.

Still very exciting.

Snowflakes

My last post revealed that I can, well, sometimes resent the snow. There can be a lot of it here in Bend. And I'm not just saying that. I mean A LOT.

However, when I'm not dwelling on the sheer volume of it, I can appreciate its beauty. The snow where I grew up was much, shall we say, "wetter" (thus the nickname, "Sierra Cement") than here. It fell in globs, not whispering flakes.

In Central Oregon the snow is more like dry powder -- so much that you can see the individual crystalline shapes of the flakes as they fall on your jacket.

It was that first experience actually seeing the intricacy of little snowflakes with my naked eye that inspired one of this year's holiday cards. Well, that and Eckhart Tolle. I discovered The Zen proverb on the front of the cards in his A New Earth.

Everyone needs a little Zen in her life... especially around the holidays... right?

Winter Wedding

This wedding invitation for a winter ceremony here in Bend just came off the press. I love how it came together. Printed in silver and cranberry inks, it makes me feel ready for the holidays on this cold, blustery day. And the thick Somerset paper makes me happy no matter what is printed on it...

...The branch image is actually from a photo I took last winter while I was sitting in the car waiting for my husband to run an errand -- goes to show that you never know when inspiration will strike!

Holiday Cards

It has been hot, hot, hot here in Bend this week, but my mind is on snow-covered branches.

I'm just itching to unveil the new boxed sets of holiday cards I've printed for this year; I've wanted to produce boxed sets like these for a long time, and the feedback I received at ACRE finally put me over the edge. They're going to look so pretty all boxed up and ready to go... I can hardly wait!

Here's a tiny sneak peek...