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Lots of people are in love with this tape; I'm not the only one. But, still, I really REALLY like it and maybe you're one of those people who hasn't yet jumped on the bandwagon. It makes a package oh-so-pretty – and those packages, I think, are more fun to receive. This Japanese masking tape is called 'happy tape' and it does make me happy. You can pick some up for yourself right here.
I am cleaning the studio today in preparation for some solid days of printing next week. We are going to this house tomorrow til Monday with four other families from Portland and the Gorge. We all have one or two kids now and have been friends since college. I can't wait! It's not easy to find an accessible rental house and I'm hoping this can become a yearly tradition.
I've really been loving yellow for a while now, but especially as of late. There are some particular shades of yellow that I really love, mostly the ones that lean toward ochre, which may well be my very favorite color. I really think it is a perfect color. It's a brightening touch in fall and winter (and goes really beautifully with grey) – and in the spring and summer, it's like sunshine.
Today was a yellow-love day, for sure, because I received a package from Elisabeth Bentz in the mail. Elisabeth and I traded her lovely linens for my stationery – and I couldn't be happier. I got 2 pairs of yellow linen napkins and one yellow apron. If you are in love with yellow, too, you can pick up your own goodies from Elisabeth right here.
And then, after going by the bank, I stopped into the local consignment shop where I found this perfect ochre leather bag! I've been coveting this yellow bag from Sundance, but even on sale it is far too much for me. This one I got today, though, was just my price at $40 after a coupon and my in-store credit from selling off some of my clothes.
I'm off to Portland and Seattle tomorrow until Saturday night!
I am a list-making fool today as I try to get everything ready for my trip to Seattle. I leave on Wednesday to take the bus up to Portland where I'll spend a night with friends. On Thurday, a good friend and I are driving to Seattle for the event at Liave. She is coming along to turn this into a mini-vacation, sans kiddos! I am so excited. On Friday, we plan to eat some good food and maybe do a little shopping. I want to go eat at Black Bottle again – my brother and his wife had a dinner there the night before their wedding last fall – and it was delicious.
Anyway, here are my three things:
1. I almost always buy books before going on a trip of any sort and of any length. I bought these two books {this one and this one} yesterday, both hard cover, which I usually avoid, but these are pretty new books. You know the saying: don't judge a book by its cover? Well, I often do, although I also read a great review of Little Bee. For the record, I also tend to buy wine for its label. Why don't people put more thought into the packaging?
2. I just bought this Orla Kiely mug on E-Bay! I couldn't resist these colors – ochre and brown, ooh la la. I know lots of people are gaga over the new Orla Kiely stuff at Target ... and while I've admitted to my love of Target before, the Orla Kiely mugs there don't do it for me. They have very strange tiny handles. I cannot afford nor justify the cost of most of the things from Orla Kiely, but I can buy a mug or two for my daily tea drinking habit.
3. There is a sale at Ban.do! I love this one shown above.
4. A bonus! My friends, Ali + Evan, of Little Red Bike Cafe in Portland just re-opened after an unfortunate flood. If you live in Portland, go go go there. I know I will be stopping by on Saturday when I am in town.
Do any of you read Bird Dog Press' blog? That Alli: she is one organized lady – and so talented, too. I am not going to be as orderly about my posts as she is, but I am going to try to post more often. I thought one way to do this is by making a list of three things – little things about me, Satsuma Press, the wedding line, Liam, or random stuff. Sometimes all together in its proper place; sometimes all jumbled up. Why three things? Not too many, not too few. I thought of seven first, but that's too many for a regular basis, at least for me. And I really like lists, so this should be fairly easy for me. I realize of the blogs I read, I really like getting those little glimpses into those small details that make up a person.
I'm going to start off with random today.
1. I love these new stamps. I already ordered them and they should be here next week. I really think the packages I sent out for my etsy and big cartel shops should look pretty. I know I could print the PayPal shipping labels, but I don't. Because they're ugly.
2. I buy fabric even though I cannot sew. I like the patterns and colors and so I buy little bits and keep them around, just to look at. It's a little ridiculous, really, because I don't think I'll be learning to sew any time soon. My husband, on the other hand, can sew really well. I like to tease him and call him a seamstress, but he'd prefer to be called a tailor. He hems all my pants for me and he even made Liam the cutest coat {see above} when he was 9 months old! Anyway, I think it goes hand in hand with why he's studying mechanical engineering – that sort of mindset and way of going about things.
3. I do not like green peppers. At all. And I never have. Red, yellow and orange ones are tasty and good, but green ones are horrid.
That's it, folks. Happy Friday to you!
From now til May 20th, I am running a special on all calling card orders! You can read the details over at Oh So Beautiful Paper, but here they are as well: $25 off any order of 100 calling cards (one or two ink colors) and $35 off any order of 200 calling cars (one or two ink colors). Orders need to be placed and paid for by May 20th and it's a 2-4 week turnaround, or really just as fast I possibly can. Please email me at lynn@satsumapress.com if you're interested.
Also: I am going to be in Seattle next Thursday, May 14th for an event at a lovely shop called Liave. I'll be there with florist, Patti Bosket, from 6-8 pm ... with my new wedding line portfolio and some goodies as well. It's not entirely wedding related and there will be wine and hors d'oeuvres – so stop by and say hello if you're in the Seattle area! Liave is a beautiful shop where I wholesale my stationery line – and I'm really excited about the evening.
I've been quietly admiring Kari Herer's work for some time now, but I just came across her new magnolia pieces and I'm in love with them. I just don't think I can resist these. If you can't either, you can find them here in her shop.
{images from Kari Herer}
I am just popping by here to say that I just realized that Mother's Day is next weekend and that I also have been wanting to have a big sale in my online shops for a while. So head on over here or here to see what is on sale right now, at least through Mother's Day if not a bit longer ... The two shops have different items – but both have lots of designs on sale. It's a perfect time to pick up some stationery for your mom or for yourself!
Sometimes, I'm all over the place. I want to be able to focus my thoughts and my actions – and sometimes I can and do – but the truth is that it takes TIME to be able to do this well. Let me try to explain. My days, my weeks, my months are filled with short blocks of time when I can really focus. Part of this is the way I work, part of this is the life I live. Each one of us has reasons why we make lists, how and when we are able to cross things off those lists, why some things never get crossed off, and so on ... I know I'm not alone in this – and have I told you before that I am an avid list-maker? I don't think a day goes by without a list (or two or three) ... I make them in the morning, with tea in hand, and then I update them and re-write them throughout the day. Sometimes I even make one before I go to bed, as a to-do list for the next day.
But, seriously, I get bogged down in an awful lot of trivial [i.e. should I buy this dress from Target? Because I really like it, it's only 24.99 and I could wear it every single day. I already bought it in black and have worn it three days in a row and I really like Target even though I think I really should not ... ] and not-so-trivial things [i.e. why Liam's fifth birthday was, in part, so difficult and how to make the right choices as a parent in general and, specifically, as a parent to a child with special needs, even though I hate how that term is so all-encompassing ... more on this soon perhaps, next post?] ... and sometimes my lists get way too long. Or I just have way too many things running through my mind [um, see above rambling] and on my wish-I-would, wish-I-could lists. Some of these things are really very unimportant and some are not [again, see above for very good examples].
One thing, though, that I've been wishing I would do lately is use my cameras more. So I'm trying. These are all photos I took yesterday.
Here is a list, for now: I'll try to be back soon with more posts. I'll try not to waste so much time checking blogs and surfing the internet. I'll try not to get frustrated with my child. I'll try to delete emails as they come in and get read, which I never ever do. Which is why I have, literally, thousands of emails in my inbox. I'll try to get back to running 4 or 5 days a week, but pushing myself harder. I'll try to not eat so many sweets now that I have a fairly new found love for dessert, although I am so so tempted to make this. But I won't. Instead I'll make something more virtuous, like these. I will try to find some new music, although I'm perfectly content to listen to the same-old same-old day in and day out. I'll try to keep my list-making in check :)
On the way home on Sunday, we went to the Air Museum in Tillamook. Liam and Ben went on a 20 minute vintage airplane ride – and they got to see a baby whale and its mama! I was regretting that I didn't go with them as soon as they got back. Liam gave me a big grin and thumbs-up as soon as they landed. He's an adventurous boy!
