pretty patterns

Between a move, a job change and an engagement there hasn't been a lot of time for making things in the last few months. In fact, my sewing machine JUST got unpacked. But right on time, because the holidays are fast approaching and I've got some crafting to do!

In the meantime, I wanted to post this amazing, perfect, fantastic, dreamy piece of vintage Swedish fabric I found on Etsy and promptly ordered. As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be the perfect pattern to integrate into our wedding decor and paper goods - envelope liners, here we come!

signed, sealed, delivered

Now in my third Christmas with Jake's family, I've been offered an official position in the Levin-Engel-Snow-Topping-Moore Secret Santa drawing. This year I pulled Chris's name. Chris is like me: a note taker and a list maker. So I knew he'd appreciate a few books in which to jot down his thoughts. 

The more difficult task would be designing a pattern that wasn't too feminine. But inspiration is everywhere, even on the gum- and oil-covered city streets. A few iPhone photos of manhole covers gave me plenty to work with and resulted in a collection of sweet, but not too sweet, notebooks I was proud to hand off.

holiday wrap up

I love wrapping gifts, so this holiday I decided to take it to the next level and print my own paper. I had high hopes for full sheets of a perfectly repeated linoleum pattern, outlined with precise lines of gold gouache. Unfortunately that decision was made a little too late and somewhere between hand making gifts, baking and printing I was forced to resort to plain 'ole kraft.

Luckily the stamp- drawn from a beautiful Spanish tile we dug up in Barcelona- is pretty universal. Using different ink colors, it should carry me through a year's worth of events and holidays. And I've learned my lesson: to finish in time for Christmas 2011 I'll have to start now.

well seasoned

After my visit to the Hatch Show Print Company in Nashville, I decided to try my hand at a wood type broadside. Luckily, the very talented and crafty Sara was just as game and we immediately registered for the Vintage Poster class at Studio on the Square. 

Around the same time, I was busy in the kitchen perfecting my saffron bread recipe- hoping to meet the high standard set by my Mother each Christmas. Each trial batch brought me instantly back to the December memory of breaking saffron bread with my family in Swedish tradition. I was struck by how the scent of a familiar spice can be a vehicle for potent memories. So grew the inspiration for my first broadside project: a triptych of three classic spices- Ginger, Saffron, and Paprika- in their respective vibrant hues.

 

Note: These definitions were taken from the beautiful pages of one of my most trusted cooking bibles, I Know How To Cook by Ginette Mathiot.

printed matter

If you will die for me,

I will die for you

and our graves will be like two lovers washing

their clothes together

in a laundromat

If you will bring the soap

I will bring the bleach.

-Romeo and Juliet, Richard Brautigan

I'm not really into love poems, but I am most certainly into Richard Brautigan. So when it came to choosing a line of text for my first letterpress sample I knew I could turn to him for a "sweet nothing" with a ring. Mitered and tied with hand-spun yarn, it's now my go-to gift tag.