Giveaway

Enter to win $30 of free Simple Ink goodies today over at The Short and the Sweet of It.  Kirby & Alexa have loads of sass and style.... I'm betting you find all sorts of lovelies over there!

Lovely.

Just back from an amazing week working with these.  My mind is still humming.  

Just can't wait to hear her humming here.

Worth Considering

 
A trusted adviser asked me this yesterday.  Worth considering, right?

Surprise

I didn't think I'd be one of those mothers.  Looking down, holding back tears.

The sun dappled down in soft flecks as he took his place in line.  Ready.  He stood in the middle, the safest spot, fancy new back back on his back, hair smoothed, favorite shirt on.  Smiling that there were so many boys, new fun boys, in his class.

I expected to be the well-dressed mother, hair done, jewelry on, snapping pictures with the fancy digital camera.  The mother that waves, blows kisses, and then turns to leave with a glee smile.  

"Free at last!"  I'd shout it to the rooftops.

But I wasn't that woman.

In denial of the day, I'd never put on that make-up or that jewelry.  Instead I packed and repacked the lunch.  Checked and double checked the back pack.  Changed the baby's diaper one more time.

So, as the sun shone down on that lovely line of 5-year-olds, waiting expectantly to enter their new classroom - with their darling, fashionable, young teacher - instead of waving good-bye cheerfully, I looked down to hide my welling eyes.

It wasn't the vision of him there, ready to begin a new life, that did it.  

It was the memories, swimming in my ears, of my baby.  The one I'd hovered over at night, insuring he was still breathing.  The toddler who had gripped my hand so tightly as we waddled down the street to our favorite park.  The three-year-old running his fingers through my hair at night.  The four-year-old planning forts for just the two of us.

Those children, those incarnations were gone.  And this moment made that clear.

Today, I wasn't the woman I wanted to be. 

But he was the boy he was meant to be.  Happy, confident, ready.

And that should be the end of this story.

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}

She Lives!

It's time to shake things up around here, Post Baby! Lets get things running again with a little party... come on down!

Count Your Blessings

I just bought this for Ben's room and I'm pretty darned excited about it. Go Etsy! Go Persimmon & Pink!

P.S. - Here's your happy song for the day: click here and scroll down to "Lovin' Arms." You're welcome. :)

{Image courtesy of Persimmon & Pink}

Free Friday

Looking through my color book trying to find the perfect brown to mix... and listening to this and feeling happy (even though I wish I could be here).

If I wasn't a Simple Inker, I'd want to be a Fish Liberator. (You'll know what I mean if you watch the whole video.)

Or, if I couldn't be a Fish Liberator, I'd settle for just being Holly Beck.

Are you free?

Dreamy Thursday

Working on a wedding taking place here in just a few short months. Again, I can't wait for leaves on the trees.

Listening to this and feeling happy.

Gone, but not Forgotten.

Dear Readers,

I am still here -- I do promise that. The last few weeks have been filled with lovely wedding projects and packing the studio carefully for our big move. I'm glad to say that, although I sit here surrounded by boxes and dripping paint cans, the moving is complete. The computer is back up and running and blogging will resume soon!

For now, I'll leave you with this photo -- the view from my new window. I love my little birdie friend, who seems to spend much of his time in that very spot. Can't wait for his tree to have leaves soon.

Missing you, Mr. Sun.

Love,
A

Thanks

Thanks to all the many friends and new customers who came out to see me in Downtown Bend last week. Here are a few scenes from, Silverado, the prettiest store around:



(And my favorite customer of all time. The smile had nothing to do with Mom's stationery and everything to do with a chocolate ice cream cone.)

Thanks again so much, Heather, and all the Silverado gals.

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

Goodies on Sale

All of these little goodies are getting packed up for Art Hop in downtown Bend tomorrow night. Locals, please come out for some great deals! I've put together some really fun matching sets -- a great gift at a great price! More on that tomorrow!

Art Hop - Spring 2010

This week at Simple Ink is all about finishing up some lovely wedding invitations and prepping for this Friday's Art Hop event in downtown Bend. My lovely, lovely friends at Silverado Jewelry Gallery have invited me again to be their in-house artist for the evening. If you're a local Bendite, please come out and join us! (Art Hop = Free wine, snacks, and local artists to entertain you all along the downtown strip.)

Silverado was the first retailer to ever sell a Simple Ink product (way back in 2005).

I *heart* them forever.

Moving Mondays

This room (in the new nest) will likely be Simple Ink's main office. The wall color, well, it has to go. And so does Aerosmith. (Although I found this interesting, considering the Simple Ink slogan is "Dream Big." Spooky.)

I'm taking suggestions on wall colors. Any ideas? At this point, the office has a yellow/grey theme, based on some great Amy Butler fabric I scored on Etsy last year. Should I stick with that? And isn't that little window box cute? Makes me happy.

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.

Good, Cheap Fun

I spend a lot of time pouring over which ink color to mix, which paper weight to choose, how many replications to print. But this afternoon was a great reminder that sometimes there shouldn't be any pouring over any of these things. Colors should just be picked, used and enjoyed. And who cares if it's never duplicated. It's fun. And lovely. And cheap.

Hello, Spring.

Moving Mondays

This week starts the official moving process; thanks so much for all of the good wishes on the new nest. It seems to be coming together. So for the next month or so, let's devote Mondays to moving updates.

First and foremost, hooray for garage windows. Someday soon my Heidelberg press will sit right there, below the one on the far right. I can see it already.

Risk

It has been a week of risks around here. Big ones. Look out over the edge, take a deep breath, and just jump, kind of risks.

So here's a shout-out to the optimists of the world. You remind me that the lump in my throat could turn out to be a golden egg. And that sailing to an uncharted land is never easy.

Have a great weekend, everyone. Let's be optimistic.

Ribbon Organizer

I love this little ribbon organizer featured in last month's Better Homes and Gardens magazine. All of our wholesale orders of greeting cards and gift enclosures get wrapped in bundles with satin ribbon before shipping, so there's quite an array of ribbon to be organized. This mesh idea would keep everything so tidy! Love!