Lucky Friday # 82 TYPE(FACE) SORRY!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 82nd edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Randi Jensen, K Shaw and JoEllen! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Hang in There card.

Design: TYPE(FACE) SORRY! Artist: Eunice Moyle Inspiration: We gave the project some face time, and when we typed the word "Sorry" we knew we had just the type of card we needed. Who to send it to: The type of person you need to face up to— or the type you would rather just send a cute little letter... and not face right away. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one:  For the Christian congrats card, we couldn't decide on a good baptismal font. Favorite detail: Love the subtlety of the sad face. The Mona Lisa of frownies. Why letterpress? How could we honestly make typographic jokes without such graphic use of type?

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 81, Hang in There

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 81st edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Maggie, Csilla and Kendra Purnell! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Chairs card.

Design: Hang in There Artist: Eunice Moyle Inspiration: Life and work is like a barrel of monkeys, and we know things go better if we all hang together. Who to send it to: A macaque who feels like crap, a monkey who's been feeling a little funky, or a Rhesus who fell to pieces. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: We were thinking of doing a new version called "Ecce Mono" in honor of the recently "improved" Spanish fresco. Favorite detail: Can y'all spot the one monkey who's just a teensy bit different from the others? Why letterpress? When it comes to printing primates, we prefer mano a mono.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 80, Chairs

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 80th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Frances, Jana and Chris! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Sporty Birthday card.

Design: Chairs Artist: Julia Rothman Inspiration:  We took a load off, set a spell, and we fancied we'd honor the humble foundations of our inspirations. Who to send it to: Anyone named Anne, Louis, Chip, Dale, Chaise or.... Cherry. (?!) Or any antiques aficionado. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: The "Go for Baroque" pun fell flat on all but a few and the "Rockin' the Rococo" rocking chair card was... actually, we might re-consider. Favorite detail: Just can't decide which chair we'd most like to have and never sit in. Why letterpress? Antique chairs, antique presses— wethinks we see a pattern emerging!

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Jude's Picks: Cookies, Tunes & Reads!

In today's post, Jude offers up some cookie, music & book recommendations. We tested out this chocolate chip cookie recipe from the New York Times over weekend - they were delish, though tough to call whether the dough or the finished cookie was the most tempting...

Jude has always been big into singing and dancing (circle time goes against his rebellious nature, but throw on a good tune and he's there, with bells on!). Current favorites include I Was Made for Sunny Days by the Weepies (favorite dance move with this one is the alternating shoulder shrug)...

Rihanna's (also known as "Ri-Na-Na") What's My Name and Rude Boy are often a favorite for post-bath dancing and in car sing-alongs...

Ça Plane Pour Moi - awesome punk rock tune from the 70's by Plastic Betrand (accompanied by 80's metal-style head thrashing and occasional fist pumps)...

Another huge favorite is Price Tag by Jessie J featuring BoB - also an excellent karaoke number...

Jude's top story time story these days is Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty, a hilarious, irreverent book about doing your own thing...

Other faves include Eric Carle's ABC (to date read about 1,538,585,192 times)

"Leo", by Robert Kraus (also available in English as "Leo, the Late Bloomer") - this was one of my favorites as a kid too...

And, of course, "Les Oeuf Verts au Jambon" otherwise known as "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss.  I'm hoping if we read this one enough times he might start eating something other than apples, blueberries and pasta - or, at the very least, might contemplate eating something, anything green.

Lucky Friday # 79, Sporty Birthday

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 79th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Lydia, Angela and Lisa! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Unicorns card.

Design: Sporty Birthday Artist: Lab Partners Inspiration: Must've been feeling inspired by all the Olympic feats of strength. Who to send it to: A trophy-toting-teen, a champion of a chum, a contender of a friend or an all-around good sport. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: We nixed the Valentine's design that featured trophies— seemed a trifle tacky. Favorite detail: Love the trophy case nostalgia. Why letterpress? Nostalgia is best expressed with an antique press.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Hello Weekend!

Happy Friday everyone! We hope you have some fun things planned for the weekend! In case you missed what we were up to this week here's a little recap...

We drooled over the gorgeous details in Jessica & Brandon's wedding.

Shared some snapshots of Sabrina's singing weekend in Pennsylvania.

Found out the UK's Perfect Wedding Magazine picked us as best wedding stationery!

Announced the winner to our Shabby Apple giveaway.

Gave you a peek into what our design process is for some greeting cards.

Kicked off a big Summer Sale!

Shared a lovely feature on letterpress and our studio.

Lucky Friday # 78, Unicorns

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 78th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Janet, Julie and Bethany! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Whale of a Birthday card.

Design: Unicorns Artist: Julia Rothman Inspiration: We thought of making a pretty corny card about unicorns, but then thought to make a pretty, unicorn-y card that wasn't so corny after all. Who to send it to: Someone truly unique, someone named Charlie (remember him?), or someone you've been meaning to get on the horn. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: The "Sometimes You've Just Gotta Grab the Corn By His Horn" encouragement card. And the Austin Powers unicorn card— erm... we won't go there. Favorite detail: We fell for all the fanciful flowers; not sure which is our fave. Why letterpress? Letterpress is rare and beautiful— if not mythical, it's at least legendary.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Hello Weekend!

This week on the blog... We share a patterned paper DIY on how to make drink flags.

Celebrated a lovely floral wedding.

Hosted a giveaway for some sweet clothes. (You can still enter!)

Picked out the perfect guest book.

Shared some fun news about one of our birth announcements.

Gave away a favorite Julia Rothman card. (You can still enter that too!)

Have a great weekend whatever you do!

Lucky Friday # 77, Whale of a Birthday

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 77th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Linda, Julie Glassman and Lexy! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Gallant Birthday card.

Design: Whale of a Birthday Artist: Julia Rothman Inspiration: We were trying to brainstorm Moby Dick themed humor cards that were appropriate... Who to send it to: Seafarin' bretheren or sister'en who lived to tell the tale, a dolphin lovin' doll, or anyone named Herman, Mel, Moby or Willy. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: "Have a Kracken Good Time" was suggested for our UK store, but it must've gotten lost at sea, or lost in translation. Favorite detail: Love the swirly sea and pretzel-y, pretty clouds. Why letterpress? Letterpress backwards read "sserprettel" which makes us think of sea serpent, pretzel and pretty. There must be a message here we need to decode.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 76, Gallant Birthday

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 76th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Chelsea, Debbie Cotton and Cat! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Hog Wild card.

Artist: Esther Aarts
Inspiration: We'd been listening to a lot of Dubstep around the office. Wondering why "Dub" step. We figured it must have something to do with knights.
Who to send it to: Anyone named Arthur, Lance, Gawain or Guinevere; or any virtuous vassal or chivalrous cavalier you dub worthy of birthday accolades.
Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: No one expected the Spanish Inquisition themed surprise birthday card would be nixed... and the other ideas were a bit quixotic.
Favorite detail: Love the graceful gesture of his hand holding the reins.
Why letterpress? Rumor has it that Gutenberg was a knight. If he wasn't, he should have been.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Hello Weekend!

This week on the blog:

We considered bridal pantsuits.

Took another trip to Carmel with Sabrina.

Debuted our latest stop motion video all about patterned papers.

Dreamed about a Brazilian wedding.

Partnered with Betabrand for a sweet giveaway (which you can still enter!).

Shared a gorgeous DIY bouquet from Madeline Trait.

Went a little hog wild. 

We also wanted to share this amazing video created by the brother of our very own Anna Boswell, whose fantastic blog writing and Martha Stewartesque crafting skills have been gracing us for over a year. We're not surprised her brother is just as talented as she is.

Happy Friday everyone!

 

Lucky Friday # 75, Hog Wild

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 75th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Rin, Diana D and Phoebe! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Animal Parade card.

Design: Hog Wild Artist: Shauna Leytus Inspiration: We went whole hog on this one. We were pretty sure we could make a sow's ear into a silk purse. Who to send it to: Anyone who plans to pig out, ham it up, hog all the attention, and wallow in the occasion. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: After butchering a couple of other boar-ing ideas, we decided we'd better stick to one that was sure to bring home the bacon. Favorite detail: The pig's pouty party expression is priceless. Why letterpress? Hamlet said "to be or not to be..." ...we say "let it be letterpress."

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 74, Animal Parade

 

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 74th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Holly, Elena Lazutina and Nancy! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Birdy Birthday card.

Artist: Julia Rothman
Inspiration: Julia was so inspired, she made this card in half-time— she must've been feeling wild and brassy.
Who to send it to: Anyone with a March birthday, who loves a parade, who marches to the beat of a different drummer, or who's braved band camp like a beast and lived to tell of the tails.
Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: The Zombie Marching Band card was... hrm... actually, maybe we should re-consider.
Favorite detail: We like the gesture and lean of the leader and the tuba bear is simply too cute.
Why letterpress? Parade uniforms are most impressive when they're properly pressed.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

En Vacances!

It doesn't take much to get the average Brit. thinking about holidays, especially considering the hit-and-miss wash-out Summer that we've been having recently. What could be more enticing than these charming retro-inspired posters by the French tourist board that have appeared all over the capital in the last few weeks to gently tempt us wet and weary commuters into packing our suitcases and heading South.

We love the use of the different fonts and the wonderful graphic cartoons that put us in mind of those classic Pink Panther opening sequences.

Beautifully fresh and oh so very French - who but a Frenchwoman would co-ordinate her deckchair with her son's t-shirt!

Allez...en vacances! Bon Voyage

Lucky Friday # 73, Birdy Birthday!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 73rd edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Shay B, Diana D and Harper! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Très Chic card.

Design: Birdy Birthday Artist: Esther Aarts Inspiration: "Happy Bird-day" is a common alternate pronunciation, particularly after a few bird-day cocktails. Who to send it to: A hero of herons, a champion of chickadees, a protector of parrots— basically a bird's best bud. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: We were too chicken to print the Valentine's card "Ornithologists Make Me Orni." Favorite detail: The itty bitty birdie with the bowtie. Why letterpress? Any other printing method is, erm, for the birds.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Lucky Friday # 72, Très Chic

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 72nd edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Jackie G, Land and Sarah M! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your 1st Birthday card.

Design: Très Chic Artist: Julia Rothman Inspiration: We'd been clutching onto some old ideas, but we just had to buckle down, strap in, compartmentalize and get a handle on it. Who to send it to: Someone suave as suede, luxurious as spanish leather, and very well put together. Or, maybe just someone who has a lot of baggage. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: The "Old Pairs of Jeans" card wasn't too flattering, and the bomber jackets and cargo pants cards didn't have the same je ne sais quoi. Favorite detail: Ooh, definitely the subtle spring green patterns. Why letterpress? Did I hear someone say "leatherpress?"

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Eunice's Weekend Snapshots

We took off for Big Sur this weekend, staying at a house we rent every year for the 4th of July weekend.  We hang out with some of our favorite friends for a weekend full of dinners under the backyard tree, beach trips, and general loafing about.

The house is one of several on a family ranch - Jude was really into the cows - he and his buddy, Hugo, learned how to say "caca de vache" - they both found it very amusing to poke cow patties with sticks while shrieking and shouting "eeeeeewwww!!"

Twirling sticks in the backyard.

A crab we found at the beach.

Running from waves.

Bodi, the family dog, giving us a goodbye grin at the end of the weekend.   Hope you have a fantastic fourth!

Lucky Friday # 71, 1st Birthday

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 71st edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Derek Rigby, Nicky, and Sierra Catherine! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Hipster Party card.

Design: 1st Birthday Artist: Esther Aarts Inspiration: We had a little block about this one— our train of thought didn't have rails, but then we got on the ball and it ended up being a real bunny of a design. Who to send it to: We can think of some one, one for whom it's perfect, the one and only, the sweetest one of all! Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: The text "One Is the Loneliest Number" didn't suit the occasion— not one bit. Favorite detail: Ooh, that's a tough one... Why letterpress: We can give you one good reason... it's one-derful.

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

 

Lucky Friday #70, Hipster Party

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 70th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway.  Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress greeting cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The winners from last week are (drum roll, please): Richelle, Martha and Ashley W! We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your You're a Peach card.

Design: Hipster Party Artist: Esther Aarts Inspiration: Esther was hip to the idea long before the idea was hip. Who to send it to: Someone who is Indie or die, who makes wardrobe and facial hair decisions based on "what he can get away with," or who's so new and fresh she hasn't even been born yet. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: We had a birthday card that was so unimaginably funny—the joke was so raw and wrong and real and right-on that we didn't get it. Favorite detail: Sweet how you can see the dude's hand through the green glass of his micro-brew. Why letterpress? Why? Really, sister, stay with us here. Need we explain why the sky is blue like an orange?

Don’t forget to post your comment and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!