(almost) showtime!

The National Stationery Show, that is! I've been furiously busy the past ... oh, forever it seems like! ... designing, producing, and prepping our new product lines to get them ready for their big debut at the show. And of course, designing the booth, which is super fun but a bit nuts - lots of visits to the hardware store and art supply store!

I'm debuting several new items at the show - new letterpress cards, a pocket journal set, coasters, some notecard sets AND a new watercolor calendar in both wall and desk versions. Whew! Producing journals and coasters was a new (slightly nerve-wracking) experience for me, and I'm just thrilled with how everything came out.

After the show dust settles, I'll be working on some updates to our website.

If you'd like a heads-up when these items land in the shop, sign up for our email list on the site.

*Thanks to Carina at Crow & Canary for the pic of our promo postcard, top.

DIY Ombre Mother's Day card

What you'll need:

1. watercolor paper, thick cardstock, or white mat board trimmed to 5x7

2. washi tape, artist's tape or masking tape

3. watercolor or gouache paint + brush

Lay your trimmed paper or cardstock on a cutting board or work surface. I like
to use a cutting board because the grid helps me keep things pretty aligned by just
eyeballing without having to measure!

Use tape to spell out "MOM". I used washi tape because it's very low-tack and
repositionable, but white artist's tape or low-tack masking tape will work just fine.
I laid pieces of tape on the cutting board and sliced them in half to make thinner
letters that fit the space. You can move the pieces around and make adjustments
as needed.







Once your letters are complete, squeeze a small dollop of color onto a palette or
paper plate (I'm using a pretty violet shade here). I start on the lighter side and
build color as I go, so I like to make a little puddle of water and slowly add more
of the watercolor pigment to it as I add brushstrokes to the paper.














Play around and have fun with the paint! There's no set rules here.
You could even do watercolor stripes or zig zags and get a super cute result.

Let the paint dry, and carefully peel off the tape, one piece at a time.
Ta da! You're done. I paired mine with a charcoal envelope.

Love in the Afternoon

Sometimes when I'm working late, I like to bring my laptop into the living room
and turn on the tv (and, ok, maybe pour myself a little glass of Rioja too!) so that
I can at least pretend that I'm relaxing... Since it's less then two weeks until the
National Stationery Show,  I've been working late a lot! Saturday night, I planned
on popping in a Downton Abbey dvd, but happened to catch Love in the Afternoon
just as it was starting.

What a gem! A charming and funny romance with the always-luminous
Audrey Hepburn - although you have to get over the grandpa-ish age difference
between her and leading man Gary Cooper, who, while past his prime, was
still amazing in the role. The great acting by both parties makes you
really believe they are falling in love and forget the chasm of years that
separates them. The film takes place in fabulous fifties Paris;
what could be better?

(Spoiler alert below...!)




At the end of the film, there's a voice-over telling us that the two are married
(after running away together)... I learned afterwards that this was added only
after the film was put on the Catholic Legion of Decency's "Condemned List".
I guess the idea of a young woman and older man having an unmarried affair
was just too scandalous at the time! After the voice-over was added the legion
changed the film's status to merely "Morally Objectionable".