Toes in Sand {happy weekend}

Little O put his little toes in the sand for the first time this week. He also got a little taste of sand when I wasn't looking. I hope you all have a wonderful time this long weekend and get to enjoy what life is all about - walking barefoot and tasting life!

Penelope Dullaghan {illo inspiration}

Penelope has a wonderful blog that is a truly honest telling of her life as an illustrator, artist, yogi and mama. She inspires me on so many levels I just had to pass her along to you. Enjoy!
all images belong to artist {Penelope Dullaghan website}

So much to print - so little time

We've been printing as much as we can and I feel like we have barely put a dent in the stuff we need to print. I guess having a 6-month-old eats into your day like you can't imagine - unless you have kids too! These two new cards turned out beautifully. We were able to print them, score them and get them ready for packaging. That is where they sit now, waiting to be packaged. I suppose we'll find some time this week! I'll check under this rock over here...

Angie Lewin {illo inspiration}

I ran across the book above "Natural Garden Style" illustrated by Angie Lewin when I popped into Solo {Solana Beach} this week. I went in to buy a birthday card for my sister who is turning 30 today - Happy Birthday, Nat. Anyway, I love her block-print style so much that I wanted to share it here. The second image of the coastal grass, ocean and rocks reminds me of our current garden project. We are changing our large beds to succulent plants to save water and we've been putting rocks in wavy patterns between the plants to fill in the empty space. It is looking super cool. I'll take some pics soon to share.

On another note, I recently started another blog called Illo Inspiration where I was posting art from random artists with no blog message to go with them. It was more like a reference file for myself. But I've decided to merge the two here. This blog is about illustration AND letterpress anyway. I'm hoping you'll enjoy browsing the mini galleries of inspirational work as well.

all images belong to artist {Angie Lewin}

Byvik Ink Video

Byvik Ink from Infinite Media Works on Vimeo.

Wow! Take a look at the video our friends, Crissy and Brett from Infinite Media Works, shot of us printing in our garage. They filmed us over the holiday season, just before our son was born - you can't miss my huge belly! They did an amazing job. Our Chandler & Price is a beautiful machine and I thought they captured it perfectly. I especially love the shot of us printing at night with the glow of the garage and our dog, Lucy, nearby. Thanks for making us look so good!

Happy Graduation, Sarah!

My niece graduated from college this past weekend. I'm so proud of her. In her honor, I found this beaver "Congraduations" card from Dee & Lala and thought it suited her - the hard worker that she is. I first saw Dee & Lala's beautiful cards at the International Printing Museum in Carson, California. They had a booth at the Letterpress Fair and I stopped by more that once to get a look at their paper goodies. I love their modern, graphic illustrations and clean use of type. But most of all, I love how their collection shows their sense of humor. You can tell they are having a good time. I guess that takes me back to my niece - my advice to a graduating senior is: do what you love and you'll be successful! Love you!

Happy Mother's Day

I can't believe this Sunday is my first mother's day. My mother died when I was 17 and I stopped paying much attention to Mother's Day after that. Now, wow, it's a big deal to me. I really love this card by Dutch Door Press with the guitar. I would love to receive it. More than that, I would love to give it to all three of my older sisters for standing in for my mother all these years. I would also save one for my younger sister who will be a mom herself before the year is up. Sisters, you totally rock! Happy Mother's Day to you all.

Starfish Save the Dates

Here are some Save The Date postcards we printed recently. We used chocolate brown ink on chip board that is 100% recycled. If you look close enough you can even see specks of colored paper throughout that help with the sand-at-the-beach look. Chip board is thick enough to print on both sides and get a good impression too. I can't wait to show you the 2-color version of the invitations that go with this package. Stay tuned!