Happy Holidays!

Just dropping in to let you all know that I am closing up shop until Thursday, December 30. I will respond to all emails at that time. Thanks for your patience, and happy holidays.

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New letterpress gift tags!

New in the shop: letterpress holiday gift tags! Created from 100% cotton, tree-free delicious Crane Lettra, these tags are ready to dress up your holiday packages.

Please note that all orders must be received by Friday, December 17, for shipping within the US. I'm sorry, but I cannot accept any additional foreign holiday orders at this time. Happy Holidays!

The cards are in the mail.

Last month, I acquired a 2,000 lb. beast of a letterpress. It's been an absolute joy to work with as I've been cranking out personal stationery orders, gift tags and even my own holiday cards over the past few weeks. The card I created this year ended up being quite complicated, but I'm really happy with them. They are accordion-folded with a circle-shaped photo affixed to the front and our holiday letter making up the back panel. I wrapped the entire package with a lovely moss green and gold sash. I hope our friends and family enjoy receiving these cards as much as I enjoyed creating them.

Sending a card isn't that hard.

When I began reading this Real Simple column on manners and the role of holiday cards in today's technology-heavy society, I immediately felt resentment bubbling to the surface. Why would a columnist focusing on manners urge against sending cards by basically calling them a waste of time and money?

Fortunately, author Michelle Slatalla questioned herself and gave this annual tradition further thought. After discussing card sending habits with friends, she concluded that a meaningful card is indeed worth the time and effort. I couldn't agree more.

While email and social networking sites may keep us connected (in some form) to friends and family, what we communicate is usually brief and impersonal. Keeping this in mind, I don't necessarily believe sending cards is an obligation, but being the recipient of such effort at this busy time of year is certainly appreciated. I personally take correspondence a few steps further by sending postcards and thank you notes (the very definition of manners perhaps?) throughout the year.

So, I continue to send out holiday cards each December. My husband and I enjoy sitting down and reflecting on the past year and composing a letter filled with photos and memories. And if I don't get a card back from you? No worries. I wouldn't dream of crossing you off our list next year.

Tomorrow, I'll share our holiday cards with you. Have you sent yours?

It's holiday party time! Wanna see the invites?

We are hosting our annual holiday party this weekend, so I'm in full on baking, cooking, decorating and wrapping mode. I look forward to this party every year and usually starting planning it in October. Crazy, I know!

Since we gave our living room a mid-century makeover this year, we decided to go with a vintage vibe at this year's shindig. This started with choosing a pretty metallic paper reminiscent of that era to dress up the invitations. You can see the results below.





Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Urban Craft Uprising picks.

I spent a good portion of the weekend exploring the handmade shows happening around Seattle. The Urban Craft Uprising is, by far, my favorite. This year's show was incredible, too. There were so many good vendors! I picked up a raccoon print by one of my favorite illustrators, Ryan Berkley. His work simply makes me smile. There were many fantastic pieces of jewelry I would have been happy to take home, as well. Here are a few of my discoveries:


Alisha Louise Designs
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Elisa Shere Jewelry
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The Sprinkle Factory
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Material & Movement
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Le Wedding Party.

Just wanted to alert you to a sweet new blog, Le Wedding Party! The bride-to-be, Elsie, is very creative, so watching her big day come together should be good fun. Enjoy!