Welcome Baby – Announcements!

I thought I’d continued today’s baby theme with a few baby announcements that have caught my eye over the last couple of weeks.  First up,  Brandi from Sweet Harvey sent over a custom baby announcement that she recently created in a modern pool and orange color palette.  And how cute are those tiny little baby feet?!

custom letterpress baby announcements

custom letterpress baby announcements

{sweet harvey}

Kathleen from Twig & Thistle created these gorgeous letterpress baby announcements for her new niece.  I love the simple layout and flower details – so pretty!

custom baby announcements custom baby announcements

{twig + thistle}

Also in the photo baby announcement category, this blue baby announcement from Duet Letterpress would be perfect for any baby regardless of gender:

custom baby announcements

{duet letterpress}

Back in the non-photo category, I couldn’t resist these elephant baby announcements from Pearenthetical Press.  So cute!

elephant baby announcement elephant baby announcement

{pearenthetical press}

I love this floral baby announcement from Bella Figura – the design is based on one of their wedding invitations!

floral letterpress baby announcements

{bella figura}

If you have a baby announcement or birthday party invitation that you’d like to share, please feel free to e-mail me!

{all images from their respective sources}

*Bella Figura and Sweet Harvey are two of my fabulous sponsors; for more on my editorial policies, please click here.

{happy weekend!}

Ok, I’ll admit it, this week totally won.  I’m exhausted and ready for a much-needed weekend.  I’m also really looking forward to this weekend, because tomorrow is the annual Crafty Bastards fair here in DC!  If you’re in the DC area, you should definitely come check it out.  Also relevant to DC-based readers, one of the many projects I’ve been working on recently is almost done!  Want a sneak peek?  I’m so excited!  But in the meantime…

…a few links for your weekend:

…and just in case you missed it, a round-up of this week’s posts:

That’s it for me this week!  I hope you all have a wonderful (and hopefully relaxing) weekend, and I’ll see you all back here on Monday!

{photo by aimee, who has the most lovely photostream, found via design crush}

2011 Calendar Round-Up, Part 1

Other than the arrival of fall, the end of September means only one thing – and that’s calendar round-ups!  A few of my favorite stationery shops have already listed their calendars, with more to come over the next few weeks.  So I thought I’d get a head start with the first installment of the year!

First up, one of my perennial favorites, letterpress and silk screened desk calendars from Ilee.  I’m loving the January design, inspired by the Year of the Rabbit on the Chinese zodiac!

letterpress and silkscreened calendar

letterpress and silkscreened calendar

letterpress and silkscreened calendar

{ilee}

I absolutely love the design of the 2011 calendar from SeeSaw!  This year, the ladies at SeeSaw were inspired by vintage textiles, and the calendar features gold foil and gray letterpress in beautiful geometric shapes:

letterpress and metallic foil calendar

letterpress and metallic foil calendar

{seesaw}

We caught a sneak peek of this calendar at the National Stationery Show – and the 2011 calendar from Sycamore Street Press is now available!  The illustrations were inspired by the wildlife around Eva and Kirk’s home in Utah:

letterpress poster calendar

letterpress poster calendar

{Sycamore Street Press}

Another perennial favorite that we also saw at the Stationery Show, the gorgeous calendars from Linda & Harriett!  Each month features a perforated post card at the bottom that you can detach and send to a friend.  There’s also a fantastic perpetual calendar that’s great for keeping track of birthdays or anniversaries.

Linda and Harriett letterpress calendar Linda and Harriett letterpress calendar

{linda & harriett}

Every year I like to get at least one fabric calendar to go along with my annual collection of paper calendars (I may or may not have at least 5 calendars scattered throughout my home), and I’m loving these fabric calendars from Lisa Rupp.  The calendars are available in two designs – one with floral illustrations and another with hot air balloons:

fabric 2011 calendar fabric 2011 calendar

fabric 2011 calendar

fabric 2011 calendar

{lisa rupp}

Flora and Fauna Press also created two calendars for 2011 – a large 3-color letterpress poster-style calendar, and a smaller desk calendar inspired by marine life:

letterpress wall poster calendar

letterpress desk calendar

{flora and fauna press}

Also along the marine life theme – the 2011 mini calendar from Blackbird Letterpress features a Louisiana blue crab calendar pad with tear-off months:

gulf coast letterpress calendar

{blackbird letterpress}

From Dizzy Wizzy Design out in Australia, a fun desk calendar with space to jot down notes on the reverse side:

2011 desk calendar

2011 desk calendar

{dizzy wizzy}

Or turn calendars into a fun family craft project with these printable calendars from A Little Hut:

printable calendars

{a little hut}

For even more variety and options, one canoe two has created FOUR gorgeous poster-style letterpress calendars for 2011:

{one canoe two}

That’s it for now, but I’ll be back with many more calendars over the next couple of weeks!

p.s. If you have a calendar that you’d like to submit for a round-up installment, feel free to send them to me right here!

{all images from their respective sources}

{happy weekend!}

How is it Friday already?!  This week has completely flown by for me – which I’m sure is at least partly due to the fact that I seem to be testing my limits regarding the total number of projects that I can handle all at once.  This weekend is shaping up to be a working weekend for me, but this kind of busy is the best kind of busy, so I’m not complaining.  I hope you all have fun plans for the weekend!  But in the meantime…

…a few links for your weekend reading!

…and just in case you missed it, a quick summary of this week’s posts:

That’s it for me this week!  I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday!

{image credits: illuminatedperfume via mary ruffle}

Crane Stationery, A Tour – Part 2

After the introduction to engraving, we moved out onto the Crane printing floor.  Most of the presses, including engraving presses, letterpresses, and thermography printers, are all located in a large common area – it was difficult to get the full perspective in a single image, but hopefully these two photos will give you a sense of the general size and scale:

Crane Stationery Tour

Crane Stationery Tour

Engraving!  The printing presses are huge – I’m always amazed that these heavy machines are able to produce such delicate and beautiful stationery.

Crane Stationery Tour

Crane Stationery Tour

{going through the press}

Crane Stationery Tour

{a quick run under the heater to make sure the ink is dry}

Crane Stationery Tour

{and then coming off the press}

Crane Stationery Tour

{ink fountain behind the press}

Crane Stationery Tour Crane Stationery Tour

Crane Stationery Tour

{so much ink!}

Crane Stationery Tour

I couldn’t help but take a photo of each project that we passed during the tour.  This little dragonfly makes four total passes through the press – one for each blue color, then one for the gold ink, then one final burnishing run that gives the gold its shine – and it all has to line up perfectly.  It’s hard to tell in this photo, but the blue inks also have a bit of shimmer:

Crane Stationery Tour

Custom gold stationery – most likely for a newlywed couple:

Crane Stationery Tour

These sailboats were also a custom order – the printers were working on aligning the little red flags so that they lined up perfectly with the thin blue sailboat mast:

Crane Stationery Tour

Traditional invitations for a debutante ball, with black script text and a beautiful blind emboss monogram at the top:

Crane Stationery Tour

Crane Stationery Tour

Engraved business cards with white text on black paper:

Crane Stationery Tour

With the holiday season approaching, we came upon a few Kluge presses putting some gold foil on Christmas cards and gift wrap.  I’d never seen foil stamping in person before, but the printers were kind enough to walk me through the process:

Crane Stationery Tour

{gold foil on Kate Spade gift wrap sheets}

Crane Stationery Tour

Crane Stationery Tour

{that’s the gold foil above}

Crane Stationery Tour

Crane Stationery Tour Crane Stationery Tour

{a negative image on the gold foil after it passes through the press}

Crane Stationery Tour

Crane Stationery Tour

{the final product!}

I hope you’re all enjoying the tour as much as I am!  I’ll be back a bit later with a bit more from the trip!

{all photos by me}

*Disclaimer – Crane & Co. provided my accommodations during this visit; but this is not a sponsored post.  For more on my editorial policies, please click here.