I heard about this hilarious website a little while ago where you can email people fill in the blank officially looking documents for various occasions. If you’re madlibs fan or have a hard time composing a letter, you should definitely give it a try!
Lucky for us analog folks, they’re making a book! You can preorder it on Amazon and it’ll be available March 30, 2010!
Before everyone opens their presents tomorrow, I wanted to share a few of my favorite decorating ideas. I never have a problem getting inspired, it’s picking one decorating scheme and staying with it that I find difficult! I’m a very lazy DIYer, so I always try and keep it as simple as possible. Last year, I printed out the first letter of everyone’s name in different fonts and glued it to a bit of spare wrapping paper. They make great easy gift tags and add a bit of graphic interest:
This year, I decided to use these gold foil thingies (I’m not sure what their official name is) that I bought at Castle in the Air as extra decoration/adornment:
And that’s a wrap! 
Happy Holidays everyone!
I just got back from the Renegade Holiday Craft Fair in San Francisco and I wanted to show you all what I got!
Pie Bird Press has always been a favorite of mine, not only because they make the most gorgeous letterpress cards that look like paintings, but also because they have great extras like this favorite customer ribbon. So cute!
I love discovering new talent! Power and Light Letterpress may not be new to the rest of the world, but they’re new to me. I picked up this quirky little card at their booth and I can’t wait to send it!
Everyone who knows me knows how much I love a sale, especially when it’s less-than-perfect/experimental cards that didn’t quite make the cut. That’s why I picked up these four cards at Two Guitars. And it was hard to narrow it down to these four. Believe me.
Paper Pastries had the most adorable booth! Everything was pastel and they had a 25 piece stationery set that I couldn’t quite bring myself to buy, but was sorely tempted by. I ended up taking this “I left my heart in” card home for a friend and now it ocurs to me that I should have bought one for myself!
Krank Press had some adorable little card sets that required much heming and hawing before I decided on this rainbow “thank you” card.
One thing I love about craft fairs is that you can get things that aren’t available online! I saw these neighborhood posters by Ork Posters a little while ago on one of the many blogs I read and lamented the fact that I couldn’t get a San Francisco one due to lack of wall space. So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that they turned some of their damaged neighborhood posters into greeting cards and were selling them.
All in all it was a great turnout. Lots of new people and some great finds from my old favorites. In my upcoming travels, I hope to make it to some of the other Renegade’s in either Chicago or Brooklyn and see what they have to offer. If they’re anything like the last three in San Francisco have been, I’m sure it’ll be worth the trip!
Making a holiday wreath has become my own personal tradition (does two years in a row count as a tradition?). Wreaths are about as complicated as I like to get with my DIY, but this wreath was definitely worth it. The example:
And here’s mine:
I did a few things differently. I used a hardback instead of a paperback which gives it more of a sculptural quality due to the heavier paper. I also added a little bit of gold glitter to the antiquing process because glitter makes everything better. However, anyone who attempts this project be warned: use a book that’s 200 pages or more! She mentions that you’ll need a long(ish) book in the instructions, but I foolishly did not read that part and ended up substituting pages from a paperback (which are much lighter) in order to finish the center. Oh well! Perfection be damned, I think it turned out well. If you’re looking for something a little bit easier or you have a fear of hot glue, I’d definitely take a swing at the paper leaf wreath I made last year. Here’s the example:
And here’s mine:
Here’s a few more I’m thinking about attempting next year.
Felt:
And pom poms!
Via Paper Crave and Design*Sponge
Paper book wreath tutorial by Living with Lindsay
Paper leaf wreath tutorial by The Red Thread
Felt wreath tutorial by Domestifluff
Pom pom wreath tutorial by Bluebird Vintage
I originally wanted to make a holiday version of the security stamp postcards I created for the paper swap for the holiday card swap, but my computer is badly in need of a replacement and so I went analog instead.
I turned to my old favorites: silhouettes and office supplies. I can’t wait to send these out!
Two things I’m digging today:
These mini envelope templates from JetPens which Jess from How About Orange made into mini envelopes using security pattern envelopes. Exactly what I would have done! We must be twins.
She’s having a $25 JetPens giveaway right now over at How About Orange and if I don’t hear that I’ve won by Friday, I’m buying them anyway!
I also love these mini envelopes Amy of The Sweets Blog by Amy Atlas picked up at the Martha Stewart Craft Sale. (What I wouldn’t give to go to that sale!)
By Love Teenie
I went to Houston a week or so ago and stumbled across PH design shop while I was there. What a great little store! I just wrote them a glowing review on Yelp because I thought that some of the reviews were a bit off putting and didn’t reflect the marvelous selection of great designers they have. Here’s what I bought:
Anyone who’s ever met me knows how much I love a good letter set and this set my heart a flutter. (No pun intended). Five beautifully designed sets of paper and envelopes and a nifty little box to store them in by Grady McFerrin. (Top image by Ph Design Shop, bottom image by yours truly-forgive my atrocious photography skills!)
It took much self restraint not to buy absolutely everything by Linda & Harriett including their gorgeous 2010 calendar. (Beautiful colors. Simply stunning in person). I’m also the biggest sucker for thank you cards because they’re so “practical”. (Image by Ph Design Shop).
I’ve always loved Yee-Haw Industries, but I’ve never gotten a chance to see their stuff in person. This letterpress frame is just gorgeous (I think I may have blogged about it before?) and just had to come home with me.
I have a serious crush on Mr. Boddington’s Studio and on this visit I think I converted my sister to the cult. They’re another brand that I’ve been following for some time, but have never seen their work (or their occasion cards) in person.
Last but definitely not least, I found these lovely holiday cards by Parisian based artist Nathalie Lete produced by Paper Prince. They’re are another example of paper goods I love, but can’t find anywhere on the web. It’s also precisely why I come to small boutiques like Ph Design shop.
There was more (so much more!) that I wanted to buy and blog about, but somehow I managed to only come home with the above. Suffice it to say, if they were to open a branch in the SF bay area, I’d be a regular customer!
Oh man….
Free copies of ReadyMade magazine, free raffles for paper goods that I actually want, PLUS all the usual goodies. Goodbye money.
Anyone who did my paper swap will love the holiday card swap hosted by Brooklyn Bride. I just signed up!
Hurry! The deadline to sign up is this Wednesday, November 25!
Science journal letter set by Present and Correct
Blue ship stationery set by Squeedles
Mini flower note set by Ruby Press
Faux Bois letter set by Donovan Beeson
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