Red, White, & Indigo

Independence Day is the perfect day for BBQ, sparklers, and a side of DIY. This workshop hosted by Joya of Joya Rose Designs and Katherine of The Habitat Factory is the exact kind of summer soiree we spend our days swooning over.  This step by step tutorial will guide you into creating your own beautiful indigo dyed linen napkins. See full DIY here.

We can't wait to throw an indigo dip dye party of our own! Happy 4th of July!

Credits: handmade napkins by Gitana of Daiktuteka, spread by Sweet Lady Cook, photos by Heather Hackney, home goods and aprons from The Habitat Factory, and styling and lettering by Joya Rosa.

Iphone case giveaway!

We loved our Write On doodle card so much we decided to make it into a limited edition case for a giveaway! This is our first ever Iphone case so we are still testing the waters, and we want to know what you think! Write a quick blurb below and share this post with your friends on facebook or twitter to enter to win! We will pick 4 winners come Friday! Fit for a 5 or 5s!

Alameda Flea Market

We are flea fanatics so finding our way to Alameda the first Sunday of the month is a must. Amongst this outdoor treasure trove is everything from antique furniture to clothing and accessories. It's the perfect pastime for vintage seekers and it's family friendly. The market is spread out on the Alameda waterfront overlooking San Francisco. There's a lot to see so make it a day trip and bring an appetite, it's chock-full of gourmet food trucks offering up every cuisine imaginable & kettle corn carts you can't avoid because it's aroma is undeniable. The next one falls on July 6th so be sure to mark your calendars!

Here are a few of our favorite finds from yesterday's excursion. 

National Stationery Show!

We just got back from the National Stationery Show in New York & what a wonderful experience it was! Each year we are so impressed & inspired by all the wonderful new card designs. It truly is a smorgasbord of eye candy & we couldn't be happier to be a part of it. We attended a few lovely & carefully crafted soirees with our industry pals & the Louie Awards Gala where we brought in three awards with one Card of The Year Award for our Sunny Day card! It was a huge honor, especially when  surrounded by such talented people! 

Overall a complete success! Thanks to all you guys for all the support!

Postable introduces Hello!Lucky wedding stationery!

We are thrilled to announce that our wedding suites will soon be available through Postable! They have such a wonderful collection of cards to choose from, and they even offer customization all the way to stamping and sending your cards out for you! This is what you've always been waiting for. Writing thank you cards has never been so easy! Check them out!

Write_On Campaign

Today marks day 1 of our 30 letters in 30 days challenge celebrating National Letter Writing Month! We hope you will join us & Egg Press in this mission to bring back paper & ink! Order your free kit here & share your progress on instagram & twitter VIA #write_on. We will be sharing your photos here on the blog!

Write_on with Hello!lucky & Egg Press

 

This April we are spreading the word, quite literally. We have teamed up with our pals at Egg Press to encourage the art of writing (conveniently coinciding with National Letter Writing Month)! The goal is to write 30 letters in 30 days to 30 people who have in some way touched our lives. Here’s the best part, we will supply you and your friends with FREEWRITE_ON starter kits, equipped with 4 limited edition letterpress cards designed by Hello!Lucky & Egg Press. Each card sports a back-stamp to guide your recipient to THEIR free kit. Each of us will be sharing our experiences on Instagram & twitter, and we would love for you to join us. We will be hand selecting instagram posts throughout the month of April to be featured here on our blog (#WRITE_ON). Get your free kit here!

*see kit below- available while supplies last.

Thanks and #WRITE_ON!

DIY STAMP KIT + GIVEAWAY!

 

was kind enough to let us pick out a little somethin’ for a DIY project! Naturally we were drawn to SF local- Yellow Owl Workshop’s stamp-carving kit, though it was a tough call since they offer a ton of great DIY kits. We decided we wanted to do a bandana using a neon color palette, our most recent obsession. Follow the instructions below to create your own stamped bandana. In addition we will offer up $40 gift cards to UncommonGoods to TWO lucky winners. Find contest guidelines below!

Happy crafting!

 

created this genius Carve-A-Stamp Kit that contains everything you need to master the art of stamp carving.

The kit comes equipped with: • 2 rubber blocks mounted on wood for carving • 1 brilliant red ink pad • 1 pencil • 1 wood carving knife with five tips & a tip remover • 1 template featuring different designs • 1 piece of tracing vellum • 1 muslin bag

 

What you will need in addition for this project: • 1 yard of muslin • washable/ fabric friendly neon ink pads • scissors • neon thread (optional) • a sewing machine (optional) • one extra block of rubber (optional)

 

*All of these items can be found at Michaels, or the craft store of your choice. STEP ONE:

Carving the dot pattern stamp-

We used the semi circle tip in order to cut out our dots for our reversed dot stamp. First use your pencil to draw scattered dots. Then push the semi-circle into the rubber, rotate 360 degrees, and pop the rubber out. Repeat until your pattern is complete.

STEP TWO:

Carving the star pattern stamps-

Draw the star onto the rubber with your pencil. Then use the flat knife to trace the outline of your star. After, use that same tool to remove ¼ inch of the entire surrounding area. In order to achieve only the outline of the star, you will then use the wide “V” carving tool to remove the rubber from the inside of the star.

*note: If you wish to create another star stamp, repeat the steps listed above with your extra rubber pad.

 

STEP THREE:

Cutting out your bandana- Cut a 23 inch square out of your muslin. This allows for a ½ seam allowance on each side. Using your neon thread, iron, pin, & sew the edges in.

*note: if you would not like to sew the edges, cut out a 22 inch square & leave it raw!

STEP FOUR:

Stamping your bandana- Using the dot stamp you have created, line up the block along the edge and make a border all the way around. Then fill the center with your star stamps as seen above.

STEP FIVE:

Protect your fabric- Wait until the ink has dried (a few hours). Place a piece of muslin over your pattern and iron each side without water/steam. Allow for a week or so before washing, then hand wash or machine wash alone for first rinse.

 

STEP SIX:

Strut around in your new bandana.

We made two bandanas, one for our pen pal, and another tiny one for Imogen because we couldn’t resist, duh.

Jump the gun and make one for mom for Mothers day! Get your own kit here! Or check out more great mom day ideas here.

CONTEST GUIDELINES:

Enter to win a $40 gift card to UncommonGoods to snag your own stamp carving kit and then some!

All you gotta do is like UncommonGoods on facebook & comment on this post! Don’t have a facebook? Join their newsletter instead!

Our winner's will be announced Friday the 21st!

DIY Animal Envelope Valentine

We got super into this animal envelope DIY by Mer Mag Blog. Super easy, cheap, & adorable. Stuff them with candy for the kids, or fill it with a card for your sweetie! Head to Mer Mag for the full tutorial!animal envelope diy

Susan Connor

 

Newly launched handmade goodness from Susan Connor. This New York based designer creates her patterned textiles using hand-drawn carved blocks. She prints on linen to create one of a kind throws and pillows. Each print is a little bit different, much like letterpress! See her full collection here!

The Weekend Press

 

 

We pledged for The Weekend Press's Oakland Illustration Project on Kickstarter and received this awesome kit! A pocket notebook, letterpress coasters, one postcard, and 10 original prints! We are extra excited and a wee bit sentimental over this project because these prints were created with our very own Original Heidelberg Press that we sold to them when we closed up shop in SF. Not only that, but one of our lovely designers Anna Hurley moved on to collaborate with them! We are incredibly supportive of this project not only because of our connection, but because it's a community project that uses a traditional form of craftsmanship, letterpress- our one true love. Learn more about the project here! Here are a few of the prints we received. Styled and shot below by The Weekend Press.

Valentines Day Gift Guide: For Him

 

1. Iphone 5 USB cable, 2. Men's facial elixer, 3. Hair of the dog flask, 4. Wool felt necktie (15% off before 2/14/14 with code: luckyvalentines), 5. iphone 5 case, 6. you're a stud card See more ideas on our Valentines Day gifts for him board!

Hello!Lucky & Couple Giveaway!

Read below for instructions on how to enter to win two Couples tee's, a Hello!lucky card, & free app stickers! Valentines Day is one of our all time favorite Holidays because it instigates positive language & reassurance. What we love most about the app Couple is that it allows you to do this on a daily basis. Whether you’re in a long distance relationship, have conflicting schedules, or just enjoy having a common place to connect, this app makes sharing sweet nothing’s a piece of cake. It’s the ultimate share app with Couple, creating archived moments including videos, voice messages, photos with filters, and drawings. It offers facetime, shared to-do lists, an interactive calendar, and even the option to share locations. It’s all the apps you use with your honey rolled into one. Learn more about them here! We thought we would couple up with them this Valentines Day to offer their loyal customers a tangible way to say I love you, and share their approach with our fans! Contest guidelines below! 

Enter to win a Hello!lucky Valentine, two Couple tee’s, and a few Couple stickers to use on their FREE app by commenting on your favorite Hello!lucky card featured on their blog here. Then be sure to “like” Hello!lucky & Couple on facebook between February 3rd- 8th. The 5 winners will then be chosen at random. It’s easy to enter, just comment on the post found here stating your favorite featured card, and like Hello!lucky and Couple on Facebook.

*Additional contest information here.

DIY: I Lava you pop-up card

 

 

We wanted to create a simple & fun (and gender neutral) Valentines Day card the kids would be excited about! Using few materials, our free printables, and following the steps below, you can create an I lava You Pop-up Card of your own! Mess around with different color card stock & glitter to make it unique! Happy crafting! MATERIALS

  • 8.5 x 11 sheet of blue or green card stock
  • 8.5 x 11 sheet brown card stock
  • 8.5 x 11 sheet white card stock
  • Printer
  • Scissors, or a craft knife, ruler and cutting mat
  • Gluestick
  • Liquid glue & brush
  • Bone folder (optional)
  • Pink and orange glitter (optional)

 

HOW TO

1. Print the background template on the green cardstock, the volcano on brown cardstock, and the cloud template on white cardstock.

Note: you only need one volcano, & one cloud per card. We included multiples in case you would like to make more than one, in which case you will need to print additional background templates

2. Cut out and fold the blue cardstock: cut off 1/2 inch along the solid grey line; cut out the circle and around the palm trees. Fold along the light grey lines (use a bone folder if desired) to form a diamond shape with a glue tab. Glue & add glitter to the asteroid (we used orange).

3. Cut out the volcano, crossbar, and the cloud. Fold the glue tabs as indicated by the light grey lines and cut small slits in the volcano and cross bar along the solid black lines. Glue & add glitter to the top of the volcano to represent lava (we used pink). 4. Glue the cloud to the back of volcano. 5. Slot the cross tab into the volcano and glue the tabs to the background. 6. Glue the volcanos tabs matching the letters as shown in the diagram.

 

Note: line cut out card with diagram from original print-out. 7. Glue the tab of the background template to complete the diamond shape. 8. Flatten & press down firmly until glue dries. And there you have it!

Looking for more DIY projects and free downloads? Head over to our site here.

Valentines Day

Check out our new Valentines Day collection in the shop! We are strong believers in the art of hand-written notes, and Valentines Day is the perfect opportunity! So don't forget to tell those special people in your life how much they mean to you this Valentines Day! We are offering 20% off our entire love & friendship collection until Monday the 20th with code SWEETNOTHINGS. We will also be doing a Valentines Day DIY next week so you can make your own! Check back with the blog soon! Which card below is your favorite?spread-the-love

love-cards

valentines-day-cards

love-and-friendship

valentines

Contest: giving thanks in 2014

 

 

ENTER TO WIN TWO PACKS OF LETTERPRESS THANK YOU CARDS BY JANUARY 16th!!! There’s plenty of research showing that gratitude promotes happiness -- expressing thanks helps you hone in on what’s positive in your life, and everyone loves to be thanked and appreciated! So this year we are promising to say thanks!

Here are perfect occasions for writing a thank you note:

  • A gift
  • A dinner or date
  • A handwritten card
  • A great conversation
  • A thoughtful action, like helping you with a project or chore
  • A long-term friendship or partnership

You can write thank you notes to family, friends, work associates, teachers, or those who provide a helpful hand day by day like your mail man or garbage collector.

Great thank you notes are brief and heartfelt. Here are some samples:

Thank you for the wonderful birthday card. I am so grateful that you thought of me.

Thank you for your the great conversation we had yesterday. I appreciate your support, and I am so glad we’re friends!

Here are some tactics we’ll be trying out in 2014:

  • Keep a stash of thank you notes, stamps, and a pen by your bedside. Write a note at the end of the day. (Think of it as a twist on writing “gratitude journal,” which some researchers advocate -- one that has a positive impact on other people’s lives as well as your own)
  • Write thank you notes right away -- the feelings will be more authentic and meaningful.

What are some of the ways you like to say thank you? Post a comment and we’ll pick a winner next Thursday the 16th to receive your very own stash of 12 letterpress thank you cards (featured above)!

Hello!Lucky and Ella Lou Giveaway!

We are super excited to announce our raffle giveaway with Ella Lou! Ella Lou is a San Francisco company designing artful playmats and toys for the kiddos! Check them out here!

The raffle winner gets THREE 6 card boxed sets of Hello!Lucky holiday cards and one new Ella Lou Wanderlust organic City Playmat featuring San Francisco!

It begins today, Saturday December 7th at 11am PST. Winner is then announced December 12th (only open to US residents).

Come visit us at the SF Bazaar today if you're around! There will be other opportunities to win Hello!Lucky cards!

Follow the guide below to enter to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Tantrum Kids Boutique

Hey San Francisco peeps! If you haven't been into Tantrum in Cole Valley yet then you must go take a peek! One of the most unique and well done kid's shops in the city! They have mid-century modern inspired toys, home goods, & other finds at a price you can't resist. They even feature us and other local letterpress & we couldn't be more proud to be amongst such visual bliss!cute kids clothes kids store san francisco san francisco kids store kids clothing store tantrum boutique

SF Bazaar This Weekend!

This weekend we will be participating in one of our all time favorite events! The SF Bazaar is a free entry craft festival showcasing local artists. It's the perfect opportunity to get your holiday shop on with so much crafty goodness to choose from, and multiple chances to win cool stuff! Read below for more info on entering to win! 

Share This link on your facebook & automatically enter to win 2 boxed sets of Hello!Lucky holiday cards! Winners announced at the event! Are you that person that never wins anything? That's okay! show up early and get a gift baskets! The first 200 people in the door take home the basket. Double your chances by sharing AND showing up to the event early. And remember, you're always a winner to us!