Paper Inspiration: Mexican Flowers

I'm sure you've probably seen plenty of these at craft shows and in festivals. In fact, during the Highlands festival this past weekend, I saw a few crafters that were inspired by these flowers. Usually when you think of paper flowers, you think of the crappy tissue paper and wire roses you made in 3rd grade art class. But these flowers go above and beyond the simple, crafty flowers of elementary school. Check out these lovely flowers that are considered a Mexican tradition. They are usually made for the Day of the Dead (especially marigolds) but these can be created for any kind of holiday or occasion. It's amazing what these women can craft from such simple elements. I love the little bouquet!

-LG

Anthropologie + Hatch Show Print = Amazing

Usually I hate getting junk mail...unless it's a magazine I subscribe to, a catalog to a store I love, but shouldn't even bother looking at their wares, or some kind of random windfall that has a nice fat check in the envelope. (Who am I kidding? A check for $5.95 was mailed to me recently for my mail-order contacts and I was excited). This past week I was doubly surprised when I received the new Anthropologie catalog. Let me tell you a little about my obsession with Anthropologie. I LOVE THIS STORE. Everything about it is beautiful. I love their clothes, their housewares, the smell of the store when you walk in, and especially the artful displays they have within windows and the different sections of the store. Their catalogs also amaze me. They aren't just a bunch of pictures lined up in a grid to sell clothes. Their catalogs are works of art. Seriously. I actually keep their catalogs for inspiration. Now, I know many of you probably think I'm a bit nuts, but I you have to admit this store is beyond beautiful. Needless to say, when I reached into my mailbox on Monday and got their new catalog, I was ecstatic to see they combined forces with Hatch Show Print (one of my favorite printing places of all time) to create the ultimate un-catalog. Not only are the photographs of the clothing beautiful, but everything about this piece of work is hand-crafted to perfection. Take a look at the cover, the headers and even the page numbers. All lovingly done by Hatch Show. Hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I do.

-LG

Paper Inspiration: Pinatas

Since we didn't post our usual paper inspiration blog yesterday, I thought I would switch things up and just do it today. I happened upon this guy's site yesterday and I was amazed by his talents. His a writer and (obviously a great dad) because he makes the most awesome pinatas for his daughter's birthday every year. The site is called pinataboy. You will be blown away by all the cool pinata's he makes. I seriously want to have him make one for my birthday in August! He could be making some serious cash by selling these things! Plus, he also documents the making of his pinatas, so you can see the thinking behind each step. Check out the rainbow zebra. I'll attach some pictures I pulled off his website. You'll be wanting a pinata for your next occasion... or maybe you'll be inspired to create one yourself.

-LG

Space mouse!

Pirates of the Caribbean.

What a cute little ghost!

A very large parrot.

A puffer fish. Ridiculous!

Little Red Finally Arrived

So we know we have been slacking a bit since our last post and we totally apologize for our neglect. Things have been super busy as far as the biz goes, and with the holiday weekend 2 weeks back, we got off track a bit. BUT last Monday, or little red letterpress finally arrived and it's in perfect condition. We absolutely love it and can't wait to get our hands dirty with ink. We also were surprised to actually get some letters with the press. (Jen is opening them in the above picture.) They are tiny, tiny individual letters that you hand space on a plate to create the wording. We were so excited to see what was in the letter box that we accidentally spilled them all over the place... then spent the next hour organizing them and placing them back in their respective places within the box. Obviously, the top pic is our precious little red press. I've also attached some pics I pulled off the net to show you what our lettering looks like and how you actually put them in the plate. More to come soon. Our studio (in Jen's apartment) was set up this past weekend, so we'll have much to blog about.


-LG

This is what our letter box looked like.

You can easily see the comparison of size between the
actual letter and your finger. This is where you would
place the letters in the plate.

This is a final plate ready for press.

Final product. A pressed paper w/ lettering!

Spray Paint Palooza

This past weekend we decided to have some fun and by creating some new cards. The business logistics of the biz has been bogging us down, so what better way to get out of our funk than with spray paint? I don't want to reveal too much about our new line (since we hope to post these on Etsy soon) but here is a little teaser of our process. We will give a shout out when the cards are ready to buy on Etsy.

-LG

Fun at the Flea Market

This past Saturday we went to Scott's flea market near the airport. Sorry for the crappy picture posted above. It doesn't even begin to explain how large this market is. I swear, it's like a football field or larger full of vendors that sell anything from furniture, to old books, to antique jewelry to weird knick-knacks you'd never seen before. The whole goal was to find a table for our letterpress. But by the time we got there, most of the vendors were packing up for the day. Maybe b/c it was Mother's Day? Regardless, here are some pictures of the stuff we found. I think Jen has more pictures to post as well.

Deer heads? What the heck?

Bins of odds and ends.

I almost felt sacrilegious checking out these windows that

looked like they were looted from a church.

This was super cool grain and seed bin. Wonder how
old the contents were?

-LG

Inspiration Monday: Wreath-united and It Feels So good

So, we've always been a fan of the books-as-art movement. It's reusing and innovating, all at once. When Anthropologie did it for their in-store displays, we swooned. As seen here in CasaSugar...

When Urban did it, we voted Hot on Apartment Therapy...



And, as posted on today's Apartment Therapy, this fun paper project from Rag and Bone Bindery.


But the one we like best? This amazing installation from CraftStylish...

Can you say yummy?

Much paper goodness, all around.

} jp-c