Meet Charlie

We got a puppy yesterday! Her name is Charlie, and she's a 10-week-old Boston Terrier. We've been obsessively trying to find one to adopt for the last couple of weeks. I'm so glad we have this little girl now. She's so sweet and playful and it's hard to not just play with her and hold her all the time.

More cards for the shop

Just added these cards to the shop.





I've generally been more drawn to rounded organic shapes, but lately I've been itching to design something more geometric. I didn't even notice it until after I had made all these cards. The shop has been a sort of playground for me - a place to try out ideas or designs and just see how the rest of the world responds to them. I don't want to lock myself in too much in this first year of Etsy-ing, but to just go with the flow and learn as I go along.

Oh Target..

I went to Target this past weekend for some toiletries and walked out with this shirt. They've really had some great pieces this summer. I've been drawn mostly to grays and other very delicate colors and patterns lately, but somehow this shirt caught my eye and wouldn't let go. They also have it in a white/light gray plaid .. which, um.. I also bought. I almost never buy the same shirt in multiple colors, I'm not sure what came over me.



Also, I've been working on a couple of new card designs. I'll be adding them to the shop this Thursday morning, so stay tuned!

Typesetting (and yellow kiwis)

I'm taking a 4-day letterpress class and the first class was this past Saturday. We learned about typesetting and had a chance to try it out and proof some prints. Next week we'll be able to print on the real presses. I've always loved letterpress for its textural quality, but learning about what people used to do to print a page of text, and seeing all the drawers of physical type just took my appreciation to the next level. Seriously amazing stuff.



We went to my parents' for dinner last night, and look what my mom bought. They taste a bit milder than normal kiwis. Yum.

Lena's new book

I've been reading Lena Corwin's blog for some time now and my appreciation for her style and designs has grown immensely. She uses color freely but keeps it simple and delicate. I like that.

I'm sure most of you have heard of her new book, Printing by Hand. I just received it today and cannot be more excited. I know, it wasn't too long ago that I got Lotta's printing book, but this one has more detailed information and instructions. And of course, both are full of inspiring photos and you just can't have too much of that from your favorite designers!





I've been itching to start printing on fabrics, but it seems to require so much preparation (as well as tools and materials), that I know it's going to take me awhile to get started. One of those things (again) where I need to just do it instead of waiting for everything to be perfect.

Renegade craft fair in SF

Wow, I said I'd post some stuff about the Renegade on Monday and now it's Wednesday already! Well, here it is, though I wish I took more good photos of people's tables and goods. I felt a bit embarrassed taking pictures for some reason, so only took a few, none of them very share-able. There were tons of sellers, all with really neat stuff. We nearly died of excitement as we walked in! Look at the masses of people! It did get fairly crowded, but it wasn't too bad. It certainly didn't deter us from checking out every table.



Here are some of the goods I bought - mainly cards and postcards, but also some little vintage earrings from Cara Lyndon and wooden pins from timber (for the new tote!). The cards are from Petit Collage and Satsuma Press, and the postcards are from Poster List -- they really have some great stuff.



And as is my usual habit, I collected a bunch of paper souvenirs - here are some of my favorites. Though I didn't buy anything from their booths, I really liked Cut & Paste, Particle Zoo, and Lali.

A new summer tote

I finally squeezed in some sewing time this past week and made myself a new summer tote!



I've had this style on my mind for quite awhile, after discovering moop and their awesome market bag. Mine is a bit simpler, with just one pleat.



Both the outside and lining fabrics are from the bargain bin at Joann fabrics. I wasn't quite ready to use some of my nicer fabrics, though I still really like both fabrics for this bag. I ironed the interfacing onto the lining since I didn't want to lock down the outside because of the pleat. I initially made it way too big, and actually took it apart and took all the seams in. More and more I'm realizing that with sewing you just gotta go for it and persist until it comes out right.



Also, I'm going to the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco tomorrow! I'm super duper excited - I know there's going to be tons of talented people there to be inspired by. I'll try to take some pics and share with all of you on Monday!

Lychee

Nature's colors and textures always fascinate me. I couldn't help snapping a few shots of these lychee before I gobbled them up.

Trees and bowls

I'm adding these cards to the shop today! This is probably my favorite size for cards since I write small and tend to not write much.





I'm having so much fun with my Etsy shop. From packaging up orders to thinking up new items, I love it all, and can't believe it took me so long to open it. I'm seriously so thankful for Etsy and this awesome online creative community. Y'all are awesome!