i can't wait

christmas in may

My amazing friend Nicole (seriously, if you had your own cheerleaders in life...she would be one of mine) alerted me that the fine folks at Minted just started another design challenge. These challenges are really great ways for up and coming stationery designers to network with other designers and get their names out there in the small world of stationery design. I've wanted to enter one for a while, and now feels like the right moment to make my debut. So, I've been spending the past few days (and will likely be spending many more!) dreaming up holiday inspirations. Happy holidays. Oops! I mean Happy Friday.

Pretty twinkly lights via We Heart It

let's talk paper

Paper is oh so important in letterpress. A coworker recently showed me a wedding invitation he received that was letterpressed and it was printed on some plain old cardstock. If you are going to spend the money on letterpress you should definitely make sure the paper is worth spending money on. Unless you prefer cardstock and to that I say, to each their own. There are many 100% cotton papers out there that were engineered specifically for letterpress because it takes the impression so well. Plus, you get the added bonus of giving recipients of your beautiful stationery, business cards, or wedding invitations a sensory explosion and them being left thinking “wow, this person really sourced out the best for little old me!” I just ordered some samples of this Holyoke paper (gotta love the cool packaging!) and I am in love. It’s 140 pound paper and I typically print on 110 pound. Love, love, love.

printmakers do it in reverse

We set type in reverse so it doesn’t print reading right to left! My dear friend Meghan bought me this perfect and hilarious magnet as part of my birthday present last year. She’s such a great and very thoughtful friend and we both of the same sense of humor so she can never go wrong with these types of gifts. This is a look at my first attempt setting lead type last year, it's a confusing exercise since you have so spell everything backwards. I have no idea how people used to set entire books and newspapers this way. We are so lucky to have copy editing programs!

pretty weekend flowers

I can't wait to use these pretty spring flowers I saw over the weekend in some designs! I love the bold orange poppies and this pretty peach ruffley flower. I obsess over anything with ruffles so I am LOVING this flower!

yoga for printing

I’ve mentioned that I am a yogi. I have a very devoted vinyasa practice. But wait, does this relate to printing? It totally does. You need to be strong to operate a press. Back in the day, printing was seen as a man’s job. Pulling the various levers, lifting and especially setting up a chase on a Heidelberg takes some serious upper body strength. Even if you are already strong and printing is a piece of cake for you, you can benefit from yoga by making yourself more flexible. A supple body is a lot less prone to injury. Namaste, printers!

[yoga asana via We Heart It]