10/05/2009

Crafty Bastards 2009

On Saturday I headed on over to the 2009 Crafty Bastards fair with Juli. Perhaps it was the amazingly good weather on Saturday, but this year’s fair was absolutely packed! There were a bunch of repeat vendors from last year, which was absolutely great, but for my recap I thought I’d focus in on a few new favorites from this year:

First up, some fabulous screen prints and posters from Brainstorm Print + Design:

Next up, these lovely moleskine notebooks and gocco prints from local DC crafter Gosh Darn Knit:

Also in the paper goods category, some cute and snarky upcycled map stationery from Craftgasm:

I also really liked the modern jewelry and reusable felt coffee cozies from Megan Auman:

And check out Megan’s cute holiday ornaments and prints!

I really, really loved these hand-printed textiles from Home Sweet â€” check out the chevron pattern!

Something’s Hiding In Here was also back this year, but with a whole new woodlands-inspired booth:

That’s it from this year’s fair! Did any of you go to Crafty Bastards this year? Did you enjoy the fair?

{image credits: Oh So Beautiful Paper, Something’s Hiding in Here}

10/05/2009

Bespoke Letterpress Illustrators Project

Bespoke Letterpress recently completed an amazing project combining two of my favorite things — letterpress and illustrations! Bespoke Letterpress commissioned 10 emerging illustrators from across the globe to create a 3 color illustration, each of which is now available as part of a special collection:

Bespoke Letterpress is celebrating the new collection with a huge giveaway — one complete collection with all 10 prints (a $560 value!) — as well as a huge sale in their shop:

Check out the giveaway and illustration collection over at Bespoke Letterpress right here!

{image credits: bespoke letterpress}

10/02/2009

Happy Weekend!

I don't know if it's the new chilly fall air or what, but I am sooo ready for this weekend — and for Crafty Bastards tomorrow! Anyone also planning on going? You can check out the vendor list right here. But in the meantime…

…here are a few things making me happy right now:

An exciting brooklyn flea design co-op curated by Lena Corwin!
Don't forget to enter this engagement photo session giveaway on snippet & ink!
I love the color palettes from coco + kelley, particularly these rich colors and these muted hues (I know, totally opposite, but I love them both!)
This amazingly gorgeous wedding on The Bride's Cafe
Fabulous styling tips from Chelsea on Santa Barbara Chic – a must-read for all brides!
I'm crazy for these travel-inspired invitations with map details on ritzy bee
Amazing design work from Ben Whitla via mint
These business cards by Parrott Design Studio for Paloma's Nest are just gorgeous!

That's it for me this week! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend — and if you haven't already, don't forget to check out the first part of my 2010 calendar round-up. I'll see you all back here on Monday!

{image credits: Sloan Photographers via Once Wed}

10/02/2009

A Weekend at the Farm

Do you remember, from a couple of weeks ago, when we went to a friend’s farm in western Virginia? We couldn’t have asked for a more lovely afternoon and I went a little camera happy as we explored the property. I finally got around to uploading a few of the photos and thought I’d share some here with you…

{our friend’s dog, Sasha}

It was such a gorgeous day… we immediately fell in love with our surroundings and now have dreams of moving out to a farmhouse in the countryside, which is saying a lot for these two urbanites. It didn’t hurt that it was an absolutely gorgeous day â€” just look at this sky!

Check out a few more photos after the jump!

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10/01/2009

Real Invitations â€” Isabelâ€™s Graduation

That's right — these aren't wedding invitations, but rather a graduation announcement and party invitation from recent art school grad Isabel! I love that Isabel celebrated this momentous, six-years-in-the-making (see below), occasion and the beginning of her new graphic design career with an equally monumental booklet invitation:

From Isabel: I felt my invitations should reflect the career path I'd chosen, as well as tell a story about my education. And, since I love small keepsakes and all things paper, I wanted each invitation to be a mini souvenir of sorts. I was very inspired by a couple of my professors at Portland State University, Precious Bugarin and Kate Bingaman-Burt, who encouraged me to use a more hands-on approach to design. Everything was printed on my home printer.

To make the smaller RSVP envelopes, I took apart and traced one of the large kraft paper envelopes I purchased for the invitations, scanned it in, adjusted the size, then printed, cut out, and glued them together. I then used that file to correctly size my envelope liners, which were just lightly glued inside the envelopes.

With some tweaking, I was able to print the booklets double-sided. Once each page was printed and cut to size, I measured the width so I could score the covers to fit around them properly. I also marked hole-punch guides to save guesswork. My crocodile hole punch went through all the layers no problem, then I just tightly glued the ribbon on to bind them. I was able to use the scraps from the booklet pages as envelope sealers, then made stickers to wrap-around seal them as well.

In addition to the fabulous booklet-style invitation, I love the mix of the neutral kraft paper with brightly colored patterned papers for a more modern design. Congratulations on your graduation Isabel — and thank you so much for sharing your fabulous invitations!

{image credits: Isabel Cattadoris}