Montauk-bound

I'm taking the day off tomorrow to head out to one of my favorite places, Montauk!
If you've never been there, it's a special place definitely worth the effort it takes
to get all the way to the very tippy top end of Long Island (3+ hours from NYC).

We go once a year with a big group of friends and it's always beyond fun. This year
will be a little different because my husband is bringing along his new friend -
a surfboard! He's excited to test it out, while I will lounge on shore with a stack of
magazines. Unless it's really hot out, I can't get more than my big toe into the
ice-cold Montauk waters. And with temps forecasted in the upper 70s this weekend,
it's not looking like a super sweaty weekend. We'll see!

For more pics, check out my Montauk Pinboard.
Bon week-end amis!

I am obsessed with these whisks by product design gurus Ding3000
for Normann Copenhagen that I first saw in House Beautiful:

One of my least favorite kitchen tasks is cleaning egg goo (or a thick
roux, etc..) off all those curvy, intertwine-y parts on a traditional whisk.
This design totally eliminates that problem, AND when they're not
in use, you can make them nice and skinny. Space savers are always
appreciated in NYC apartments. Now, the only problem is that the
great color combinations make it hard to decide which one to buy!!
I'm definitely leaning towards lavender or mint.

You can buy one right here at Gretel Home!

Men's Custom Stationery

I have another custom project to share with you! This one was especially fun to work on. My client, Tina, wanted to create a custom personalized stationery set as a surprise anniversary gift for her husband, featuring his prominent beard as a motif along with his initials.

I created a personal logo using these elements with the beard icon in a curry/gold color; we added this same accent color as a border on the notecard.  The charcoal and gold striped custom envelope liner adds a sophisticated touch to balance out the whimsy.

Thanks to Nole for sharing this project on Oh So Beautiful Paper last week!

New Luxe Pattern Collection is up...

Introducing our new Luxe Pattern Collection!

Glam gold foil meets punchy patterns and modern color, all on eco-friendly recycled materials printed locally. The gold foil adds a special touch for an extra-nice birthday or thank you greeting. The coasters and notebooks make great gifts - but you may be tempted to keep them all for yourself!

Right now, you can get 20% off your order in our etsy shop - simply click "Apply shop coupon code" before checkout and enter code “LUXEPATTERN” in the coupon code field. Sale ends July 18th.

Edge Painting

I'm into edge painting right now - it's a fun way to add a really special touch
to your custom invitation or business card, especially with all the neon colors
that are so hot at the moment! It also works well in subtler colors (like the
light celadon above) or in metallics, yum.

If you do decide to use this technique, I recommend using a super duper thick
cover stock, otherwise the effect can get a little lost. You can combine with
letterpress or flat printing.

Image below from Bella Figura; above, wedding invitations seen on
Oh So Beautiful Paper.

Lauren & Kaivon's tropical tote

I created this custom tote bag for Lauren and Kaivon's super-romantic wedding
on the stunning tropical island of Turks & Caicos. Each guest received a tote,
filled with all sorts of island-related goodies from the couple. So fun, and such
a great memento of their special wedding weekend!

(Contact me for more info on creating a custom tote for your wedding...)

this is just to say

This is one of my all-time favorite poems. It comes into my mind often on very hot
days, like the one we had last week in NYC, when I returned home from a day out
in the city's sticky humid heat and savored a refrigerator-cold cherry (and then
several more...). One of summer's blissful pleasures.

(this is just to say by william carlos williams)

For the grooviest of patios...

How amazing are these chairs? Designed by Italian fashion house Marni for the Milan Furniture Fair, the pieces are handmade by Colombian craftsmen using salvaged materials.

Back from the road!

Wow, it's been quite a whirlwind - there was just enough time to recover from the Stationery Show and then we hit the road - Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Moab, Arches, Telluride (our favorite spot - a cool town in a stunning setting!), Aspen, winding up the trip with a weekend visiting our good friends in Denver. It was a welcome change from our city grind to be in such raw, beautiful environments and just be outside all day - picnic lunches, hiking, rafting, biking, and more hiking!

Here's a few pics from our trip...

(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".