White January

I thought I'd be able to drive to Astoria Market this coming Sunday, but it looks like another trek on the N train for me. One day, our car will thaw out and take me to a Fair :) Stay warm all, Spring is just around the corner.

Page Daily Mention!

Thanks to PageDaily.com for the mention in their Top 9 Personalized or Monogrammed Gifts for Valentine's Day list.

Colorful night of Printing

Though I only used black ink tonight, it's been the most colorful night of printing I think I've had. My sister got me this assorted pastel card pack for Christmas. It worked out nicely for Valentine's and Easter cards. I'm not sure I will buy more of these, but the nice bright colors were nice to work with on a dark, cold, January night.


I heart my new Goudy font! I'm so glad I went with 24 pt. and not larger. This is perfect and easy to handle. My favorite cards tonight are the duck. duck. goose! and the poker Happy Birthday! I love how black on ivory or white resembles an old stored in a chest vintage feel. It makes me want to get back on Ebay and find more vintage blocks. I'm trying not to log on to my Ebay app on my Ipad. I get emotionally attached to the items before I win them and feel utter loss when I lose the auction. I never would have made it as a stock broker or a gambler. I've started shopping on Etsy more and more for fun little stamps. If you like, you buy... no competing at the last minute and second guessing how much more you want to pay for an item. What I really need to stop doing is imagining a card in my head as though the piece of lead is already mine and then being outbid down to the wire.

I tried and failed printing my new Goudy font and a photo polymer plate on the Boxcar press at the same time. This will screw up the way I saw printing the silhouettes and quotes. Though it may end up being even more fun the new way. I could just print a ton of silhouettes in different areas of the card and go back and add the words when the mood strikes.


I'll be selling at Astoria Market this Sunday, January 30th from 12-5pm. All the cards you see here and more will be on sale. It was nice taking a break from everything Letterpress for a while. I feel motivated again to pump the press.

Create on, my friends.

Silhouette Time

The silhouette's are coming along, but still need a lot of work. I want to order a Cameo version and a smaller black silhouette of each. The new Goudy font arrived today, so I'm excited to use them together soon!

Goudy that!

Of all the achievements of the human mind, the birth of the alphabet is the most momentous.
-- Frederic Goudy


I finally won the Goudy typeface I want on Ebay!
I can't wait to put in on the press.

Dawn Likes Red

I've had a love/ hate relationship with the color red since I was a child. My first favorite book was Ann loves Red. I changed the name to Dawn loves Red and wanted it read to me over and over again. I'm not really sure how this happened or if it was by our choosing, but I always wore red and my twin sister always wore blue. Our colors suited us well. I've stayed true to reds, burgundy, and deep purple, while my sis stuck to blues and greens. In the biggest year of Strawberry Shortcake fame, we requested a Strawberry Shortcake Doll cake for our birthday. I think we each had our own. The details are all a little fuzzy now, but I mostly remember the eagerness and excitement as I took a large bite of a solid red corner piece. It was the corner of her skirt made up of individually applied stars of frosting. I also remember the smell of the frosting. It wasn't like our normal buttercream since it was made by a friend. Immediately, I realized it didn't taste like regular frosting either. I ate the whole slice though... it was exactly what I wanted after all. It wasn't long after that I felt very, very ill. Turns out the red food coloring or the butter was rancid and unfortunately, I saw the red frosting again. I've been leary of red icing ever since. Red dye or food coloring you could say is not my favorite thing. To my chagrin, one of my husbands favorite things is red fake flavored things... especially in the version of fruit punch. At least it has a pleasing smell though I don't prefer to drink it.

I realized a while back that my magenta ink for my press smells a lot stronger and more like rancid butter. This last run of red was the same and took me back to my elementary Strawberry Shortcake loving year. I don't think I'm supposed to refrigerate the ink though it has be thinking I should read the fine print. But it's ink, not food and applied to paper makes a lovely card.

Love Birds

Usually, I'm not this motivated to crank out 1 idea, but I was excited to get these little love birds out of my head and printed on a card. The hardest part was trying to simplify the birds on a branch enough so it could be carved and leave a clear enough positive image. My neck was hurting after bent over carving on Monday night and well worth it after I printed the little guys last night.

I'd like to use them for other occasions as well. I can visualize them in black with a script Happy Birthday. More talk about the rest of the Red soon. Check out all my Valentines on Etsy.

I Heart NY Connections

The other day on the subway, I witnessed a sweet moment between strangers. A gentlemen scurried into the train right before the doors closed and plopped in a seat next to a woman. He immediately said he was sorry and she responded with, "hey, we're all on the same journey" He chuckled and they began chatting and laughing for the 2 express stops before I got off the train. They were both mid to late 40 year olds that didn't seem to have wedding bands on. I couldn't help but think they belonged together and just met on the train. What are the chances? I bet it happens all the time... at least I'd like to think so. I used to read Craigslist missed connections a lot, especially when I was single.

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I hope everyone finds their person that makes them feel complete. Whether it's on the New York Metro or anywhere else.

Check out all my Valentine's for your special someone and if there isn't one, I'm sure your mom would appreciate one from you.

Borderline Happiness

I got my adorable little deco border today. It's a lot smaller than I thought from the photos, but I'm stoked to try it out. I'd like to make a photo frame for Holiday time with Happy Holidays on the bottom and room for a 4x6" photo. I'm also hoping to print birth announcements. We'll see. There are a few 2011 babies whose mother's might like it.