lately...

well, i'm a week away from being full term (37 weeks) and i've been running around the house frantically organizing stuff. my mom says it's nesting. but when i asked hubby, he said "ehh, you've always been like this." so i don't know. what i do know is that we have more dog hair tumbleweeds in our house than i've ever seen - even though we cleaned approximately 3 seconds ago. which means one of two things: our dogs are shedding more or they are shedding the same amount and all of that hair was eaten by the carpet of our old house. (gross.)

*****

i've been toying with revamping the blog and am getting an idea of how i want to set it up. nothing too crazy, but a blog facelift would be nice. i toyed with blogger a little bit, since my lack of web design skills are keeping me from doing anything major. i've looked at the designs of blogs i admire and wondered "how did they do that??" taking on another project doesn't seem like the wisest idea at the moment, but it's good to get the wheels turning now. has anyone else switched from blogger? or designed in dreamweaver & uploaded your results? any tips?

*****

when i woke up this morning, i had a hankering to do some art stuff. i've had an idea for printing some small book covers for quite some time and spent the morning sketching out the new idea. i think i'll get back to my roots and carve this guy from a lino block. partially because i am impatient and don't want to wait for a letterpress plate to arrive. that, and i'm feeling guilty about letting my beautiful new-to-me press sit in my studio.

wanna win an iPad 2?

ok, so i don't have an iPad 2 to giveaway, however, the lovely erin at design for mankind does!! the contest is offered by MeridaHome. you can enter a few ways...

- leave a comment on erin's post here
- tweet the contest using the link on erin's post for an additional entry
- or post the contest on your own blog for 10 extra entries!!!

it's funny because my hubby has been bugging me about an iPad for ages...maybe i will win it...and then taunt him with it. no, i'm kidding, i would actually give it to him :)

if you don't feel like winning an iPad 2, you should still check out design for mankind. erin posts all kinds of rad stuff and on top of that, she usually writes back when i comment on her posts. which is truly awesome in my book.

a short break

wow it's already been a week since i've posted. oops!

i have some big news but am not quite ready to share it yet. i'm still mentally processing the huge changes that coming up. emotions are coming in waves and there is a to do list forming that is miles upon miles long.

"the news" is why i've been absent. i'm still reading blogs when i have time here & there and will post when i can.

i won!

i'm back! i kept thinking that after my shows things would calm down...but they haven't! the holidays always whiz by so quickly...and since this is hubby's & my first holiday together, i really want to slow down and enjoy every moment. but before i do that, i have a few projects to finish up, such as the rebinding of the giant shakespeare book. it's still in process & i've been snapping photos for a post.

one of the things i checked off my to do list today was sending in measurements for my eshakti prize!! a couple weeks ago, i was informed that i won *yay* an eshakti giveaway hosted by brandi of not your average ordinary. eshakti is an online clothing & accessories store that gives you the option to customize the look & fit of the pieces you order. a fantastic idea, don't you think?

for my giveaway prize, i chose the asymmetric collar felted pea coat - since the temperatures have been dipping into the single digits in the currently dark frigid north and my go-to jacket's zipper is broken.

i can't wait to wear my new coat! thank you brandi & eshakti for hosting a wonderful giveaway!

hyperbole and a half dogs

i was reading hyperbole and a half today and practically fell out of my chair from laughing so hard. so i thought i would share, since i'm sure you need a good laugh too.

this is what it's like when we drive mia & vito around too (source)

tiny showcase of awesome

thanks to designlovefest, i was introduced to tiny showcase - the creators wanted a venue for artists to make some money with smaller works of art & for customers to purchase affordable pieces. each week, they pick a new tiny piece of art & have a limited edition of prints made.


cool things about tiny showcase:
1) there's a letterpress section!!
2) a percentage of each sale goes towards the artist's favorite charity

check out some of the gorgeous work:

"Tiny Boat on a Tiny Bottle" by sol linero

"August Migration" by tyler stout


"Inside Trip" by the little friends of printmaking

and my favorite piece (seen on designlovefest too):
"Homage to the Stamp" by Gavin Potenza

be sure to click on each image to see the additional shots of the prints - the pics really capture the beauty & depth of letterpress printing.

and since i received my 60+ pounds of french paper & my letterpress plates yesterday, i'll be cranking out some prints myself tonight! pictures to come...

the oatmeal

a college friend of mine posted something from the oatmeal and i checked it out...and am now hooked. it is HILARIOUS. somewhat dark humor and some *$@! language. the creator of the oatmeal, matthew inman, draws, writes & codes the entire site. extremely talented guy...

but check these out:

things bears love (source)

part of 8 ways to prepare your pets for war (source)

from 7 reasons to keep your tyrannosaur OFF crack cocaine (source)

hyperbole and a half

a friend of mine showed me this post from hyperbole and a half:

"At some point during my childhood, my mother made the mistake of taking me to see an orthodontist. It was discovered that I had a rogue tooth that was growing sideways."


read the rest of the story here. trust me, it's worth it.

hilarious.

true story

saw this on design crush & loved it:

via ffffound

the happiness project

attempted to pursue one of my goals for the year, i'm reading more - and am happy to see a tall stack of books (threatening to teeter over) on my nightstand. on a recommendation from brandi of not your average ordinary, i've started reading "the happiness project" by gretchen rubin. i just finished the first chapter last night and am a bit relieved - gretchen touches on a lot of the same things i worry about, feel guilty about, etc. not necessarily big things either - some are so tiny and mundane, most people wouldn't bother acknowledging them. but i'm a worrier...

credit

and since i've been on this kick to get things cleaned up around the house, her first chapter gave me some good, manageable tips & tricks for getting things done. i'm really looking forward to the rest of the book!

quiz!

found this great quiz from the how about orange blog - the quiz reveals info about your creative style. to take the quiz, go here.

here are the pens i like to use when i'm busting out some creativity, yo.

i found out that i communicate through creativity:

"You think of art as a means of reaching out to others but, at the same time, you use it as a shield to some extent...It’s the way you communicate with others and the way they can communicate with you. Seen in this light, creativity provides the basic materials to build a bridge between you and other people, so you can’t think of it as something that lies outside your relationship with others. You like the attention and good opinion of others. When you show people what you’ve made — a birthday cake, or a piece of music you’ve written — it’s your baby, so you are very sensitive about any criticism. You need to be able to distance yourself from the result, and allow others to enjoy it and feel part of it, without it reflecting on you alone."

hmm. that explains why i cried so much during art critiques in college.

hello blogland...

well i did it. i finally caught up on the 800+ neglected blogs that i hadn't been able to keep up with in recent-ish history. awesome.

as i made my way through, i realized a few things:
- my teeny tiny internet presence was missed, which was nice to hear :) and i missed my blog friends and keeping up on their lives
- lots of other blogs have LOTS of followers. i would like to actively pursue a larger base of readers
- i really oober want to submit photos from my wedding to a few blogs that i enjoy reading and that inspire me
- my etsy store needs WORK, like serious mass amounts of work. especially since it is empty.
- i want to try setting up a facebook page for tama press and see what happens

so what are your thoughts on these realizations? any advice to help me get started on any of these little goals?

in the meantime, i have some art projects that have been seriously neglected and need to be done pronto.

pay it forward gift!

i got this in mail a while ago...it's my pay it forward (the posts about pay it forward are here & here) gift from brand-eye!!!! and it is LOVELY. it was such a nice surprise and so gorgeous :)

go check out brand-eye's blog and see her lovely work! thanks so much! you made my day!

silhouette

so i've been looking at die cutting type machines for some time now and haven't been very pleased with what is available. everything i've found seems so...constricted. not a whole lot of room for creativity or flexibility...until now. thanks to "oh, hello friend", i've been introduced to the silhouette digital cutting tool!

source

very versatile and it looks like i'll be able to create my OWN designs and cut them with this awesome machine...instead of hand cutting with scissors. (ugh) go check out the silhouette website and the blog "oh, hello friend" - she's doing a GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

planning planning!

sorry i've been MIA. wedding planning is suddenly my second job :) bfff & i have made a lot of progress in just a week, with family & friends helping out SO much. it's really a lot of fun!

first thing i've actually accomplished - i ordered my dress & put down the deposit. and OMG it's going to be awesome. but it's also a secret so...no pictures til after the big day! besides, bfff reads this too. i do have to say that i'm ecstatic with my choice and that it is being made just for me. from scratch. no one else on the planet will have this exact same dress.

second major thing i've been working on - the invitations. as a printer, i couldn't let someone print our invitations. i wanted to design them myself. besides, i wanted letterpress invites and DAMN it's expensive! much cheaper to do it myself. i'll have to keep that in mind as i'm cursing at my press in the middle of the night while printing. LOL! i'll post some pictures once i get a more solid idea of the invites. i do know that they will be fire engine red & aqua blue!

coming up this week:
- we went out to a nice dinner friday night (just us) to celebrate the engagement...so pictures from our dinner!
- pictures of THE MOST AWESOME RING EVER!
- puppy pictures (of course)

talk to you soon!

words with friends

thanks to lady smaggle, i downloaded the app "words with friends". basically, it's scrabble on your phone & you can play random people or friends. OMG it's so damn addictive!!

i have learned that a) my vocabulary is really not that great and b) my neighbor is a freaking genius. he's beaten me by 100 points consistently. it's ridiculous. he says it's luck. mmhmm.

it's pretty bad when i just start randomly placing letters to see if the program will accept it as a word. like "gied" or "thane" or "mir". did you know the plural for vacuum is "vacua"? yea i didn't either. no one knows the plural of vacuum because no one has more than one vacuum. and if they do, they say vacuums. seriously.

i have to get back to my multiple word games now. because one of my opponents put down "adz" and "lysin". i swear, i think they're cheating.

letterpress

thanks to giovanna at swoon, i was introduced to the gorgeous world of spark, a letterpress company in south dakota. they do really gorgeous work and have a fun website too. here's some of my favorites (click on photo for credit):

lucinda wedding suite (same one giovanna liked) - i love the blue & brown!

closer view of lucinda suite

spark mallorca

passport invitation

sarah invitation suite

erin invite & envelope

i obviously don't have a thing for blue, based on my photo choices...ha! these make me want to run out and print some letterpress stuff! maybe i'll look into designing some photopolymer plates (which i have never done) and get back to my printing roots.

pay it forward reminder!

hello all! remember a while back i posted a "pay it forward" piece? well, if you don't remember, that's okay. go here if you want to read it.

i still have 2 slots open...so if you would like to receive a handmade mystery gift sometime in the next year by yours truly, write me a comment on this post or the original post. leave your email address too so i can get your snail mail addy.

*as of march 12th, all spots have been filled! thanks for reading!*

quiz!

how about orange posted an awesome quiz that will choose a career based on your favorite colors! click here to try the quiz yourself.

my results: i'm an ORGANIZER. (duh) according to my results i enjoy math. my suggested careers are: "Administrator, Secretary, Printer, Paralegal, Building Inspector, Bank Cashier, Private Secretary, Statistician, Operations Manager, Financial Analyst, Bookkeeper, Medical Records Technician, Developer of Business or Computer Systems, Clerical Worker, Proofreader, Accountant, Administrative Assistant, Banker, Certified Public Accountant, Credit Manager, Store Salesperson, Actuary, Dental Assistant, Business Education Teacher, Food Service Manager, IRS Agent, Budget Analyst, and Underwriter."

i don't see artist anywhere in there. maybe those are all the things i'll have to do in addition to being an artist. except for a few, like dental assistant, medical records technician & food service manager. or irs agent. hrm.

my second best results: i'm a DOER. so i'm "Emotionally Stable, Reliable, High Energy, Practical, Thrifty, and Persistent"

what about you??

the artistic stylings of me

i was reading some archived entries at The Fierce Beagle and learned that the author, Erin, has some mad skills at drawing. see proof here. sweet giraffe, right?

that got me thinking about things i used to doodle in high school notebooks, margins of paper, binder covers, etc. and the only consistent thing i remember doodling was this (forgive the cell phone picture):


apparently, a smiley face and hearts with my current crush's initials just didn't cut it. after years in college taking horribly difficult drawing classes, i'm sure i could probably come up with something more realistic. but i like to kick it old school.