Paper Yum

I'm in love with these assorted papers from Mieke Willems in Belgium. They have an online shop and ship to the U.S.; the papers are small...origami-like sized squares. I've got a hundred ideas for the uses of the paper but can hardly bear to cut any.

Hi friends!
Since Paige was born, my art life has taken a huge backseat. Baby comes first, obviously. As time has gone by I've been itching to be creative again. If you read this blog frequently then you know that I've been taking a watercolor painting class to get me out of the house once per week so that I can focus on something that I enjoy and relax. It's been so great! I have so much fun and really have learned a lot. I've only got 2 classes left which leaves me wondering what I'll take next. Perhaps sewing? Anyhoo, I decided to incorporate painting into my life a bit more; but how to do that with a now semi-crawling baby? I need to be nearby to keep a watch on Little P whenever she is awake. So, we took one of my office desks and put it in the family room at a window overlooking the conservation land behind our house. I can see Paige's play area to my right as I work and I have the wonderful natural light coming in through the window. It's been a great solution to incorporating my time for painting with being with Paige. Why should the two be separate? Why go into a different space and treat my creative life as a separate one from my daughter? I love that I can dabble at my work here and there while she's around and I just feel happier in general. I like that she can watch me do something I enjoy and know that she can be a part of it too if she wants. Of course, the majority of my time will still be spent playing with her, teaching her, and tending to her needs; but it is nice to know that I can include my own needs into the day and I now have a place to do it!
Here's a painting I did on my own here at my desk...without the guidance of the teacher. It is of an old converted barn in Maine...from a photo I took one summer. The computer isn't normally going to be at the desk, but the photo I was using to paint from was on my flickr site and I was too lazy to print it out. Then, of course I had to check facebook! :)
Damn you addictive Facebook! Damn you! :)

Watercolor Painting 2

Thought I'd share the second painting we did in watercolor class. I'm happy with it; although we've had to work so quickly in the 2 classes it took to complete it. The teacher's demonstrations take up a chunk of the class. I'm looking forward to trying a painting on my own...now I just need to find a chunk of time for myself just for painting! You can view how my first painting turned out here.

Soap

Hi friends!
This weekend we were visiting Chris' family in Connecticut...we decided to head over to Greenwich Avenue to do a little holiday shopping. While at Kate's Paperie (of COURSE I had to go there!!!) I saw these gorgeous packaged soaps and picked a few up. Not only did each smell AMAZING (and unique!); I love the packaging. The label design is sophisticated and I especially love the different patterned papers. These ones shown are tiny mini bars (great for part of a gift bag or something like that) but there are also giant bars. You can get full bars or a gift set of 6 mini bars HERE.

Lonny Magazine

I am loving the new online magazine Lonny. I've been missing the shelter magazines Blueprint and Domino since they've both shut down. Lonny fills that void and then some! See for yourself and enjoy all the eye candy!

Bedroom Re-Do!

We redid our bedroom not all that long ago and I thought I'd share some befores and afters. Click HERE to see photos of our bedroom before the redo and the afters.
If you want to see it all via a slideshow, click HERE.

Watercolor Class

Hi there!
In a step to find time to enjoy something that is just for me AND just for fun, I enrolled in a watercolor class at my local community center. It meets every Monday night for the next several weeks; last night was the first gathering. I LOVED it! The teacher is going over techniques and "how-tos" with lots of individual instruction thrown in. I took a course in college and the professor literally gave us assignments and then sat there as we worked. I had no clue what I was doing the entire time and just sort of figured things out as I went along. But, I struggled. In just last night's course I learned several things I'd been doing wrong that had been making watercoloring really hard and giving me crappy results. So, it's been worth it so far! As you can see in the photo, we've begun a one-color painting of a lighthouse (here it's about half-finished) to learn about shading, tone and controlling the water. All that aside, it was nice to get away and do something for myself for pure enjoyment. It's nice to have no purpose...there's no grade, no critique, no trying to sell the paintings, etc. I get to just sit, get lost in the project at hand, and play around with it. There was a mix of people in the room; old and young...experienced and un-experienced. There were no judgements (a long way from the scary and sometimes mean critiques I suffered through college...I have a great story of a professor who ripped up one of my projects into little shreds...sigh) It was so relaxing and the 2 hours went by like nothing. I can get used to this! I came home feeling so excited and energized simply from this one thing! What do you do that is for yourself and just for fun? It's something to think about if you haven't been doing it already. Have a great day!

Planner

Phew! I'm already getting appointments and things I need to think about for next year. Time to get a planner for 2010! I am now in LOVE with this Laurel Denise 2010 planner...it's beautiful and most importantly, functional. If you click on the link you can "look inside" the book and see details of the inside pages... Pretty cool stuff!

Noted

Hi friends! It's been quiet around here! I'm sorry for that; we've been filling our time with trips to the Minuteman National Park (nearby), visiting with friends, running errands, and overall life-living. I've been trying to enjoy the nice weather while we have it before winter comes crashing in a few months. I wanted to show you the thank you notes I designed and letterpressed for Paige; they are made to match the birth announcements I designed and printed. Now I have a custom card to send out whenever she gets a gift or needs to send a note. Of course, for now I write them but I'll be sure to get her into the habit of writing her own thank yous when she is able! Have a great day! I'm off to run errands and then watch Paige as she is, as of yesterday, finally grabbing her feet and inspecting them! She's a little monkey, that one.

Charming

I saw this book on the "for free" cart at the library and snapped it right up. Isn't it cute? I find the illustrations so delightful and charming. And isn't it fun with the price tag is so right? :)

Dorothy Skirt

Hi there!
I know, I know, it's been FOREVER since I last posted here. *sigh* To be honest, I've been spending my days with baby Paige...snuggling and playing with her and enjoying the weather when it rarely isn't raining out. My creative endeavors have taken a serious back seat! It's strange not focusing on design and artful pursuits and I'm starting to get that creative itch again. But, for now, I've been allowing myself to focus on being a new mum and adjusting to this new life.
That being said, I thought I'd show you this new summery skirt (ahem, pardon the wrinkles, the iron isn't my friend!) I just got from Etsy shop Favorite Style. To quote her shop description: " "favorite" is a fun new line of women's clothing created by Genifer Goodman Sohr. Sohr previously led creative development for major retailers including Victoria's Secret, Old Navy, The Body Shop, and Oilily."
The one here is called the "Dorothy Skirt"...a cotton dream in a one-size fits all solution. It's got elastic waist at the back so it's very forgiving and comfortable. I think this is my new go-to summer outfit! You cannot lose, and with a price set at $38 it's a steal!
See you soon friends, I'm going to make a real effort to post fun inspirational finds here more often! Now that I'm getting the hang of caring for an infant I think I can swing it!

Paige's Birth Announcement

Hi friends!
I've finally finished mailing out the birth announcements I made for family and a few friends. They were quite the undertaking! But, I didn't want to skimp since I do this for a living and really wanted to do something nice for my own child. Also, these were very intensive to do and no client (or very few at least!) would ever order something like this (it's very cost prohibitive due to the time it takes to line envelopes, do a 2-color letterpress job, print and cut belly bands, etc.). Anyway, here it is! I lined most of the envelopes while still pregnant. I did the design while pregnant as well. The little insignia at the top with the "P" in it says "Little P est. 2009" And next to it says "P is for Paige".
After Paige was born, I updated the information in the design and sent out for the letterpress plates. I then printed all the belly-bands out on my inkjet printer and trimmed them. When my Mother in Law was here hanging out with Paige I finished lining the envelopes and even ordered a custom rubber stamp I designed to do the return address on the back of the envelope (and I can continue using the stamp for all my mailings now!) Then, on a Sunday, Chris spent the day with Paige while I letterpressed and trimmed her announcements down. I also assembled them all. And during her "naps" (they were short last week so I use the term loosely) or fussy evenings, I stuffed and addressed the envelopes. (that took all week!) It's finally finished and I'm happy with how it came out. Phew! I hope you like them too!

Here Comes the Sun...

Hi Friends,
Here is my post from April 29th from my Me and Wee blog, but I wanted to post it here too...


She's here!
PAIGE ROSALIE CARTY

arrived yesterday on April 28th, 2009 at 2:20 pm (afternoon) after a wonderful labor (once the epidural came!).

She is 20.5 inches long and weighed in at 7 lbs. 4.5 ounces.
She is absolutely perfect!!! And she looks exactly like her daddy and has been calm, quiet, and cool as a cucumber! I'll enjoy that since it likely won't last long! (we can dream, right?)
I'll be back in a few days since I'm still at the hospital...and I'll be sure to post more photos and give you her whole birth story. Again, I LOVED that epidural!!!! I'm already married, but if I weren't, I'd consider marrying the epidural. Here are a bunch of photos from her first day so you can be properly introduced. Cheers friends! We are so grateful and thankful for your kind thoughts and loving words. We are truly SO lucky!!!!!!!!

Here I am just before we got in the car to go to the hospital...hee hee


Here I am as Paige was placed on my belly right after she came out. Sorry, it's a little bloody arm there!


Our first family portrait while I was still finishing labor (ugh).


Her first feeding with Mama!


Her first feeding again!


Family portrait!


Daddy and his little girl


She loves her Daddy!


And finally, her face (sort of) Yummy hand!!!


She's trying to focus and was looking all around. She went off for her first sponge-bath not long after this!


I hope this helps tide everyone over and that you enjoyed the photos. We took a million but wanted to show you some favorites. As for her hair, she's business in the front and party in the back with light brown fuzz on top and then it's much longer and brown in the back and sides. Very cute! And I'm biased, I know. :)
See you soon friends! And thank you again for all your love.

Hooray!

I can't wait to see this in October. I'm already full of anticipation. I hope it's as good as it looks!!!
I remember that the book "Where the Wild Things Are" was first read to me in kindergarten. I was 5. This was 26 years ago and I still remember it vividly! I was fascinated by the story but I remember being scared as well. Since then, I've wondered if a movie would ever come out and if it would be any good...now we shall see!

Color Story

Hey friends!
So, here are all the different color combinations I like. It's quite a few! I also included some favorite possible envelope choices from Paper-Source. And off to the left you can see some favorite little swatches for envelope liners that Paper-Source JUST started selling...customized and cut and ready to go! It's pricey, but saves time. There are other liners I like as well, but I wanted to show a few. The color combos just show what I'm thinking in my head in terms of the big picture. Perhaps 2 swatches make up the inks on the card, while the other is the envelope or potential belly band. Or perhaps 3 swatches will make up the inks, and the others suggest what the envelope and liner might be...
What do you think? My favorites right now are the top right row and the 3rd one down on the right. That 3rd one down would go well with the little red & pink blossom envelope liner. The top row would go well with the swirly liner seen in the bird dish. Both seem fresh, fun, and girly enough and not overdone everywhere. Hmmm.

Birth Announcement design

Hello friends! I've spent the past several months with ideas swirling in my head...ideas for Little P's intended birth announcement. And I'm still overwhelmed and have no clue what I really want to do. I have lots of thoughts, but nothing cohesive. I have no problem doing this for other people, but when it comes to our own...well...I'm frozen. I feel like I could do ANYTHING so I'm having trouble settling into ONE thing. So, I've decided to pull back and ask myself "what is the look and feel I want the announcement to have?" Much like her nursery, I want the announcement to feel fun, cheerful, colorful, and interesting to look at. I also know I want to letterpress it, so that simplifies the color palette. And I know I want colored envelopes lined with pretty paper. Is all this crazy? Maybe. But since I do this for a living, I really want to do a showcase piece...I mean, when else would I ever get to do something so detailed? I'd like to figure it all out soon so that I can at least get the envelopes done and lined and the announcement designed...that way I can just order the plates when she arrives and print later. Anyhoo, I know I'd like to incorporate some sort of pattern into the design and I saw this today that reminded me that a lace pattern would probably be the perfect choice. But this will only be one component and I need to work out the color palette. Maybe I'll post some different color-combinations here and see what y'all think? Image is from the Twig & Thistle blog.

quiet

Hi everyone! It's been pretty quiet around here as I wait for Little P's arrival. She's due on May 4th but could come any time. I've had to slow everything down with work since I am moving so sluggishly and painfully these days and am exhausted most of the time! I often wonder what I will do on the creativity front once Little P is here. And I've decided to just wait and see. I don't know what I will or won't be able to handle. But I do know that I'll be sure to keep creating, and I already know I'll be thinking of new ideas for new cards to go in the shop. I can't stay away for long! I guess this is a time where I am hunting and gathering inspiration. There are so many things out there that inspire me every day and I'm so bad at sharing them here. So, I think I'll try to focus on improving that...and show you the kinds of things that run through my head. If I'm not actually MAKING something, I can at least show you my thinking process and the things I'm noticing around me. I'll start tomorrow since I'm off to eat a cookie and soon will take a nap. Be well everyone, and thanks so much for your patience with my sporadic posting! In the meantime, I will throw on my Wellies and take Maren for a nice walk to the pond this afternoon. Spring is on its way!

Grateful Monday

There's so many things I'm grateful for today. But my husband brought me flowers and mini-cupcakes the other day and that has taken over my mind ever since.

HANNO the Gorilla

If you've been reading my blog for a bit, you'll have seen that I love toys and trinkets. I've seen this toy around the web for a while now, but never quite realized it was quite so flexible! I found some photos out there that show this gorilla can do pretty much any pose you could want, and he's larger than I imagined. Designed by David Weeks, this toy makes a great gift for yourself or a friend as it is so unique and expressive! He's also made of sustainably harvested Beech wood, so there is an eco-conscious component to him as well. It seems his joints are elastic and he's "virtually indestructible" but I've also read that he can't be dropped from any heights. Makes sense though! Photos shown are pulled from Bobby Berk Home and you can buy him/check him out for yourself here.

Fabric

Here's a close-up of some fabric I have hanging on the wall of the nursery that I posted about earlier...it's a Little Red Riding Hood theme and if you look closely, there are different little things happening around each cluster of trees: sheep, squirrels, birds, a bear, a wolf...but all very friendly and non-threatening looking. Like, the wolf would wave hello and tell you how fabulous you look if you walked by rather than mauling you at Grandma's leaving behind a bony carcass.

See Jane Work

Life is filled with lame and mundane tasks...particularly office tasks like filing bills, organizing receipts or coupons, etc. Why are most office supplies so boring or ugly??? In the past I always just ran to the nearest drugstore or giant office supply center to grab what I needed and ran home. But then I was surrounded by ugliness that made said tasks even more lame. The shop See Jane Work has solved this issue and I'm thinking that now it's worth a few extra bucks to have pretty things to work with and boost my mood that little extra bit during the day. I encourage you to browse the shop and see what calls out to you; there's a ton there! Here are some (although I loved pretty much everything) of my favorite things I saw:

Small Document Box


Recife Ballpoint Pen

Shaped Paper Clips

Semikolon Classic 3" 3-Ring Binder

Pancake Meow

I'm loving these prints from Pancake Meow...the colors and the style of illustration are great for a child's room or to liven up an office space. As you know, I love whimsical styles and colors! They are also very affordable at $12 per piece! The first one shown (I'm most partial to this one) is called Piroska the Persnickety Painter. The one below that is called Gretchen Gum Shoe.

Fabric art

Hi friends!
Yesterday my order from Purl Soho arrived...a stash of lovely fabrics! I placed them into embroidery hoops and hung them up on the wall as art in the nursery to add some warmth and coziness to the space. I'm happy with the outcome!

Grateful Monday

I'm grateful for a thoughtful husband who brought me colorful tulips and some yummy apple cider the other night. I love you Chris!

Organization

Hi friends!
I'm finally starting to get organized around here! I picked up these great desk accessories from Barnes & Noble...an accordian-style file folder and 2 report keepers with clear sleeves. I've been going through and clipping my favorite articles out of my stash of magazines so I can throw out what is left and save some space. I put the pages into the clear sleeves and voila! I now have my own custom magazine of favorites! One thing that bothers me is that most of my favorite mags come in a square size bigger than the standard letter format, so those pages have yet to find a home. My accordian folder is now home to all coupons, bills to be paid, bits to tend to, gift cards, and the like. With each having it's own slot, it makes finding all the little loose papers that build up in life a breeze! P.S. I finally have a new blog header up, all thanks to Lyndsay at Banners by Lyndsay!