Validation (Midwest)

As I slowly tally up sales on Etsy, I often question my Etsy commitments and wonder about my fiscal goals regarding my extra curricular printing. Sometimes, I feel like I should have a more obvious asthetic purpose with my art. Or, at least be making a statement about something, thus qualifying myself as a "true artist". Not to mention, shouldn't I be spending this time taking on legit design projects? Ones that earn money for the family, and keep my portfolio overflowing? The more I think about my printing the more I see it as a necessary stress free creative outlet. A hobby for my mind. So much of my creativity in the design world, although fulfilling, adds a lot of stress to my plate. This does not. My goal, if I haven't mentioned before, isn't to become rich or famous (ha.) but to pay off my letterpress, and to enjoy the zen of the process of doing so.

That being stated I returned today after a family weekend at a waterpark in "The Dells". I was without an internet connection for almost 48 hours. It was horrible! Actually, I managed, but was very preoccupied with wanting to check my email. Maybe I am an internet junky like Joey says. Anyway, I returned today, tired but pleased about the daylight saving time change, and eager to see if anything happened in my Etsy shop in my absence. I discovered that I had made another sale and that it came from a posting on Poppytalk! Poppytalk is one of my regular blog reads and has a large following. I'm so proud. I'm feeling validated for creating the gobs of inventory which I store in rows on my shelves (pictured above) .

Weekend Printing (Midwest)

I finally finished my "Winter" print last night. I used all of the elements that I posted on here. I started with a this base print of geese flying in a "V":




Then, I printed two layers on the letterpress. First, came the wood type. Since my type is so old and worn, I got a nice textural print result. Lastly, I ran a red bird graphic over the top of it all. It really pops off the background. I'm so pleased.

Part of the fun of selling these prints on Etsy is playing around with my digital camera. Figuring out a composition, lighting, etc. I'm trying to venture into props. Here is a photo of my final print all styled up and photographed as a (WAY) simple still life. The photo is a little too balanced for my taste, but I'm a rookie photographer don't cha know. :)

DIY Poster (Midwest)

I'm starting to receive show materials, booth assignments, etc for the DIY Trunk Show Chicago. I thought I'd post an image of the poster. I think the design is great. I like that it's playful, with strong color choices, yet it's still clean and easy to read. The car graphic is super. I saw this stuff and got so excited, oh, and a little bit nervous (I'm a dork).

The kids are off school today and tomorrow. We are heading out to a waterpark. I'll post later this weekend with some WIP.

I do like Mondays (Midwest)

I had a productive start to the week this morning. I went to a 6am Step class. I packaged up some cards for my upcoming craft fairs. I printed the first layer on some combined Gocco and Letterpress holiday cards. I started sketching and playing with some wood type for an art print I'm working on. I vacuumed and did dishes and laundry. All this before noon. Whoohoo!


Here is a composition in progress for the print I'm planning. The print is titled "Winter". It will be multilayered with type, cooler colors and the migrating bird block above. I found the block on our road trip through Northern Wisconsin. I'd say it's a Wisconsin bird. Maybe a crane or heron? If I don't pass out by 9pm I'll be running the first base color tonight. (This is very unlikely now that I think about it. Let's be real.)

Hope everyone else is having a good week.

Kids Art (Midwest)

I'm getting my desk cleared this morning, making spaces to put new piles, getting out the inks and papers. I have a few hours to myself and I'm going to work on my press...


...But, before I do I'm posting this drawing. Sophie drew this yesterday. For the past few weeks Sundays have been difficult for her because they are the day before Monday and school. She was happy yesterday. And, this morning. She is finally starting to relax at Kindergarten. I'm not sure what this is a drawing of. I think it looks like a killer whale. Whatever it is, it's a sign of her returned happiness. Pshew.

It's Friday! (Midwest)

What a week. Sophie made some progress adjusting to Kindergarten and lunches solo. She and I both made trips to the doctor to be diagnosed with ear and sinus infections. It's a lot easier to remember to take your antibiotics when you are dosing your child each day. Hannah had Brownies, swim lessons, and soccer practice. Sam did his normal, my life is your life routine. We were busy. I'm so happy to have it be Friday. Ah, time to eat pizza, relax and watch movies with the squirts.

This morning I worked on my letterpress for an hour or two. Here is a print of a circle and one tiny snowflake. I'm going to overprint a tree in a green wash (I think). My press was misbehaving (ok, it was probably operator error) so I got some unexpected gradation, which I actually like. The circle looks more spherical this way. Probably my favoritest (Sam word) thing about printing by hand is the unplanned surprises. The way the colors mix, the way they print, the textures that arise. It's just fun to partake in. However, I do hate clean up.

Joey is out of town this weekend playing frisbee in Tulsa, Oklahoma of all places. I'm going to take the kids on an overnight to a hotel with a modest waterpark.

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday (Midwest)

First, as I transition back into the working design world, I'm going to start posting things I see that I find interesting or inspiring. Laurie, this will help to motivate us, right? Here is a photo of the cover to the latest Veer catalog. I like that the texture is created from overlapping font dingbats and flourishes. The title type is embossed. The overall feel is very clean and organized even though the imagery is kinda messy.

Next, after my long weekend in Door County (I'll post on that some other time), I returned to hear that I was accepted into another Holiday Craft Fair. I applied for 3 fairs, and was accepted to all of them. Yay! and Ohmygod! and Crap!
I'm going to have a table at these venues:

The DIY Trunk Show Chicago (Nov 17th)
The High Noon Craftacular (Nov 24th & 25th)
ArtvsCraft (Dec 8th)





So, now I go into production mode. I figure I have one month to crank out oodles of cards. I'm shooting to have 3 Gocco card designs, 2 to 3 letterpress designs, and if possible some holiday necklaces.

Today I started printing. Above is card number 1. When I first set up shop on Etsy I sold a couple block prints with a puppy image. I think there is a large audience for pet related stuff. Therefore, I illustrated a new puppy that has gotten into the Christmas trimmings and done some damage. He's loosely inspired by my dog nephew, Rayfield. He's Brian's very large, clumsy yellow lab. The ink looks really pretty on the kraft card stock. I should've printed more than I did. Most of what I printed was on boring old white stock. Oh well. My next card idea will be the kitty. Also, my letterpress plates arrived today. That may have to wait until the weekend.

New Friends (West Coast)

Meet the latest in our family of stuffed toys. I have been a fan of Wee Wonderful's stuffed creations for some time. Last weekend we had a free day to craft, and went to town on some wee friends of our own. Katie wanted a Kitty. These are all made out of a bag of the kids old clothes!


This is Ethan's design. He sketch three versions, then picked his favorite. He picked out all fabrics and directed me on the sewing! Our littlest designer!

A Contest

Ok. Doesn't this sound like a fun contest? It's a car accessory design contest. The winner gets a new car. I just love the whole vibe they have going on the website. Very crafty. Go to craftmyride.com

Laurie, should we enter something? A knitted steering wheel cover? A letterpressed license plate? It's not like we have kids and other things to do. Oh wait, we do.

The Sad End to Summer (Midwest)

Today is the first time ever that all three of my kids are at school. It's a bittersweet feeling. I find myself sad that summer has ended and they are gone, yet excited at the possibility of steady (part time) work. I'm going to need to keep busy to not feel empty. I swear Joey wants to slap me to my senses. He reminds me this is what we wanted.



We were up north this last weekend doing lake stuff to celebrate the end of the summer. The weather was great, no rain for once and it was a nice closure to the season. The kids collected rocks and seashells for their "shop" which was set up on a bench seat on the pontoon boat. They had no customers. They paddled around the lake on assorted blow up toys and swung in the sky chair. Freedom will come for them now in short weekend bursts and holiday vacations until next summer.
Big sigh.


So, I spent my morning blasting my music, spraying windex, filing piles, and cleaning off my desk. I have about 3 or 4 feet of empty desk just waiting for a project. Hopefully, it will soon be active with pantone swatches, mechanical pencils and computer printouts. Anyone need a graphic designer?