Just a
little update to share what’s been going on in my printing world. I’m working
on a lyrics poster and I brought in some friends to help me set type this week.
It was the first time Eric had seen me print and I think he’s gained a new
appreciation for the art.
It was
mostly an educational/test print session so we used fun magenta ink. I want to
make a million of these cards with the fancy lady on them. Perhaps some new
personal stationery is in order.
After baking
cookies, making caramels, and drinking hot chocolate for 10 days in a row, and
after spending the last few days with a house full of family and many visits
with friends, today was a little more difficult than planned. At least I got to
put it off for a few hours because my parents’ 8am flight was canceled and
rescheduled for 3pm. We went on a long family walk with the dog and stopped
along the way for pastries and coffee.
Then, on a
stroll through Eastern Market, I finally caught up with the mysterious
letterpress man. I picked up a few beauties that will be perfect for printing Valentines
(thanks, Dad!). Wooden case upon wooden case of type will keep me coming back
every once in a while. Or maybe every week.
DC
Rollergirls Craft Fair & Holiday Bash
December
12, 8pm-11pm
McFaddens
(2401 Pennsylvania Ave., NW)
I’m putting
finishing touches on stuff for the craft fair tonight. I spent the day printing
on Wednesday and came up with these prints. I love what they mean to me. I’m
always trying to create something new to show my love to friends and family or
make my little world more beautiful. Eric does the same with food. So I thought
up these coordinating prints. I can’t wait to frame them!
I’ve also
been working on some new birthday cards. Mostly, I’ve just loved printing with my
two wood type alphabets lately and wanted to make beautiful words with them.
I wanted
to print a variety of gift tags for the craft fair on Saturday. These bright
orange literal “gift” tags make me smile and will brighten my table on Saturday
night. Now to dream and scheme other ways to make my table pretty pretty.
I’m doing
my first craft fair this weekend in DC. If you’re in the area, please stop by the
DC Rollergirls Holiday Bash at McFadden’s on Saturday night and say hello. In
preparation I’ve been printing lots of new cards. Here’s a peek at what I’ll
have on my table. I love the way mixing these two wood types looks on the
beautiful Arturo paper. I've put a few of each of these cards in the shop if you want to grab one before the craft show!
If you're in the DC area, you can catch me and my letterpress cards at the DC Rollergirls Holiday Bash & Craft Fair on December 12th (McFadden's | 2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW| 8-11pm) Or you can get letterpress holiday cards and tags or a new 2010 mini calendar/planner in my new shop. Enjoy!
I am so
excited about this calendar. Several of the letterpress printers from Pyramid
Atlantic got together to print an edition of 99 2010 calendars. The project was
so much fun. I learned a lot from my own print work – it was the first time I
used photopolymer, the first project I completed in Illustrator, and I think it
was also the first time I printed in multiple colors. And it was wonderful
meeting some of the other printers during a calendar assembly/pizza party last
week. Thanks to Moira for organizing!
Keep an
eye on Moira’s blog if you want a calendar. She’ll be selling them for $40
there.
And if
you’re in the market for holiday cards or gift tags, I’m finally re-opening my
shop tomorrow.
I’m hoping
to reopen my etsy shop soon and when I do, I want it to be full of pretty
letterpress goodness. I spent Monday working on that goal and printed lots of
holiday cards and gift tags and some custom stationery. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming.
it's been
a good week for us. a new kitten joined our family, i spent some time in the
letterpress studio, and the rain finally stopped. here are some of my favorite
things right now.
letterpress.
i printed holiday cards and
personalized stationery on a sunny day in the studio. it made my week.
handmade
soap from union street soapworks. picked up at the clarendon farmers market on wednesday.
toasted coconut + lavender oatmeal.
happy weekend!
oh? you thought this was a letterpress blog? it certainly had been a while since i printed anything. i’ve been volunteering at pyramid often but it’s difficult to share fun photos of me redistributing type or recount tales of cleaning a Vandercook with q-tips and a toothbrush.
yesterday?
yesterday was different. i printed for the first time since june. and it was
wonderful. several of the letterpress printers at pyramid are collaborating on
a calendar to raise money for the studio. i taught myself how to use
Illustrator and designed a calendar page for february. it was my first
two-color job and all that quiet time in the studio with my design made for a
fabulous day. also, did you know that the color combination of red + aqua is known as rockqua? (thanks, haley!)
yay! letterpress
is back at grey moggie!
Saturday
10.10.2009: Intro to Letterpress
Saturday
11.14.2009: Letterpressed Holiday Cards
I'll be
helping out with both workshops. More info on Moira's blog here.
A friend from school is getting married in Chicago later this year. She's having lots of fun planning most parts of the wedding, but she was having trouble when she had to make decisions about her invitations. A mutual friend told her I might be able to help, and she gave me the opportunity to put together a wedding paper suite for her.
I was beyond thrilled just to have box upon box of Arturo delivered to my door for this project. Add to that the joy of spending a day in the studio printing these lovelies and it might make up for the fact that I can't get back to the studio until August because of the bar exam study schedule.
The bride wanted something clean and simple and the wedding colors are burgundy and cream. After I got a feel for what she was after, I designed and letterpress printed invitations, RSVP cards, reception cards, and printed some envelopes. I have to thank Mr. Moggie who helped me to tie ribbons around the invitations.
After graduation, I had a mile-long list of people to thank for gifts, support, and thoughtfulness. I wanted to check out how my new silver ink would look on kraft paper, since that's the combination I'd be using for these wedding invitations. So I cooked up these little thank you cards in the studio.
Thank goodness for the kindness of people like you.
I picked up some fushchia envelopes at Paper Source to give the cards a bit more character and then used some address label wraps from TapeSwell to finish off the package.
After several hours of volunteering at the studio by sorting lots and lots of type, I spent some time working on my own printing projects yesterday. I worked on a stationery order, a special order for a friend (which I left behind at the studio - ugh), and some thank you cards. My first time letterpressing, I learned how to use a Vandercook. Since then, however, I've been using a Chandler & Price platen press exclusively. It's great for small projects (think business cards) and platen presses are less expensive so it's likely what I would own if I had a home studio. Yesterday, I reacquainted myself with the Vandercook and loved it like an old friend. I'd forgotten how much easier it is to clean than the platen press.
That paper sale was serious. A box of 100 arturo flat cards: $5. Unbelievable! After the happy paper moment, it was too early to hop on the metro to head to the studio so i stopped for some frozen yogurt and ate it in the park. I got to the studio just in time to sit down for afternoon tea with other volunteers and some of the Pyramid staff and I spent the afternoon sorting type, which turned out to be incredibly relaxing. Then I came home and popped in the yoga DVD for a little stretching session with eoin finn. A tasty dinner of leftover homemade pizza and a chocolate truffle (also homemade by Mr. Moggie) and I'm actually sleepy at an appropriate time with a whole stack of library books staring from the nightstand. *Contented sigh*
I leave you with a screen grab of this awesome Etsy treasury. Good night!
Check out these simple save the dates from my studio visit last week. I was so lucky to work with a great couple! They had come up with the design and just needed someone to put it into reality and onto paper. I love the personal touch of the couple having designed it themselves and was thrilled to help them spread the word about their special day.
Yay for letterpress projects!!
(save-the-date design: copyright 2009 stu griffith)
Lots of my friends, single and attached, love to boycott Valentines Day. My old roommies had a "stray cat" dinner one year. And I know several people who celebrate by driving through a fast food joint with their significant others. Mr. Moggie and I will use any excuse to go off budget for a meal at a splurge-level restaurant so we're not the boycotting type, though we try to avoid actually being in a restaurant on the 14th. This year is no different and we'll be dining at one of the city's best sushi restaurants tonight.
Moving along with the love theme, here's a photo of some wedding cards I printed a couple weeks ago.
Today I'll be in the studio printing Save-the-Dates for a lovely couple, which also seems like a great way to celebrate love.
And if you need something else to celebrate check out this letterpressed love letters book by Moira, a letterpress associate at Pyramid Atlantic.
Tomorrow I'm heading to the studio to work on a few projects that have piled up in the last few weeks. One of the projects is personal stationery for one of my very best friends. I gave her a stack of 30 personalized letterpressed cards for her 30th birthday; it seems she's already used most of the cards so I'm printing more of them tomorrow. I realized that I hadn't posted a photo from the original run. Here they are:
And just for fun, here I am with Steph the night I gave her the cards when we were actually out celebrating Mr. Moggie's birthday.
Dec. 6, 2008::rock n roll hotel::washington dc
I also printed some letterpress stationery for another friend who wanted a sweet holiday gift for her little sister, who loves birds and navy blue. Voila:
Now that we have fun family stationery I'm hoping to have a few minutes in the studio tomorrow to print some of my very own personalized cards.
I've lived in the greater DC area for over 6 years now. In that time I've been lucky to develop the kinds of friendships that make being far from family tolerable. The hardest part about DC, however, is that very few people stay here forever. I could not be more grateful for the relationships I've built here; at the same time, I am sad about all the wonderful people I've met and loved who inevitably, when the time was right, found another city, coast, or continent to call home. When I have to say goodbye to friends I alway wish, perhaps selfishly, not that I'll find something or someone to replace them, but that I will always remember the joy in the city I still call home. This bon voyage card captures my hope that I will always hold on to the music and the laughter that make life feel like home, and that my friends will find the same music and laughter wherever they go.
I've put a few in the shop.
