Friday, July 31, 2009

From the Desk Fridays: A Fall Wedding


I LOVE this invitation suite we just did - but it's hot off the presses & has yet to go out to guests, so I can only allow you a peek. The colors change from golden yellow to mustard yellow to light brown to red. Stay tuned for the full unveiling in a few weeks.

Have a great weekend. Can you believe it's August?!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Photographing Food




I'm in the process of submitting a recipe to a food column & am struggling with the photos. They never look quite right. Can you imagine a food magazine or blog with bad photos of the food? No matter how good the recipe, you'd never want to make it. So I'm clicking through marthastewart.com to get inspired. Love these little ladybugs!

[images courtesy of marthastewart.com]

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Inspiration


We were up in Lake Placid this weekend watching our friend compete in her second Ironman race. The Ironman is hands down the most inspiring race I've ever witnessed. It's a long day, even for a spectator sitting on the curb, snacking on licorice. For the athletes, it's a grueling testament to the seven-plus months of training - the early workouts, followed by a full day of work, followed by a late workout, followed by another day of that and then another. And then you stand at the finish line & find it impossible to hold back tears as there are literally dreams coming true minute after minute. Men and women crossing the line - many with numbers on the back of their legs that double the 29 that would be on mine. I find visual inspiration around me on a daily basis & in regular everyday things. This race is anything but regular - and the impact as a spectator follows suit. And even though I experienced this race for myself first hand last year, I still found myself completely overwhelmed by the sheer determination & will that carried many over that line on Sunday - as if I was seeing it all with new (and blurry) eyes. If you ever have the chance to witness an Ironman race, you must. Even if it's not for you, it will change your life.

More on the Ironman race here and a great comeback story here.

Thank you Jen for showing us all, as cheesy as it sounds, that anything is possible.

Friday, July 24, 2009

From the Desk Fridays: Screen Prints



Here are some more completed shots of the screen printing work I did this week. The first is a super sneak peek at my sister's wedding invitations, for which I screen printed all of the liners when we couldn't find one with the right color.

And the second is a t-shirt I printed for our friend Jen who is doing the Lake Placid Ironman this weekend. Jen oversees about 70 horses on a ranch in Wyoming for the National Outdoor Leadership School. We thought this cowboy boot & spur image was more fun that "Go Jen Go."

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Screen Printing: First Real Projects


I completed my first two major screen printing projects this week. Here are a few sneak peeks at both: ink mixing up top for invitation liners (for my sister!) and a part of the final print on a t-shirt (for my friend) - can you guess what it is?

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Ink Calendar



How great is this Ink Calendar by Oscar Diaz? The ink is absorbed & "printed" daily. Each month is a different color - "a color related to our perception of the whether on that month." I would love to see this in person - with all the months up & mid-year so I could see all of the colored numbers together. It looks stunning in my mind. Yours, too?

Read more about the Ink Calendar & Oscar Diaz here.

via design milk

[images courtesy of oscar-diaz.net]

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

My Matta Scarf





I've loved these matta shawls ever since I spotted one in this Martha Stewart Living shot last summer. They always looked so light & cozy. I received one for my birthday last week & have not taken it off. I absolutely love it. I never knew I was such a scarf girl until the gift-giver pointed it out:)

Check out more Matta shawls at the cute online boutique Orange and Pear or over at matta.

[images courtesy of Earl Carter for Martha Stewart and orange and pear]

Monday, July 20, 2009

Weekend in Photos






A few shots from the weekend - starting with a little family time at the beach & ending with a stroll down the High Line and beers at the Frying Pan. Perfect.

Now back to work.

Friday, July 17, 2009

From the Desk Fridays: You Tube

It's Friday. And it's my birthday, so I'm taking off early to make sure I'm in time to blow out candles with my dad & my two year old (as of today!) nephew. Birthday Weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year & I cannot wait.

And in honor of birthday weekend, I'm posting three completely irrelevant to L&H You Tube videos that I love - for a laugh, for a feel good song, for inspiration.

Enjoy! And have a great weekend!




(fast forward to 50 seconds on this one)



[videos above: ESPN video game ad featuring Tracy Morgan & Jeremy Roenick; Wilco & Fiest perform on David Letterman; stop motion senior thesis from SCAD graduate]

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Pillows from Lena Corwin



Found over at design*sponge & totally love: new pillows from Lena Corwin. Her work is just awesome.

[images courtesy of Lena Corwin]

New in the Shop: Hang Tags


We've just added our Zig Zag Tags to our online shop! In green, gray & blue. Tags are the perfect gift accessory when there's no time or need for a card. They're great for gifting wine, too.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Baby on the way!






My friend is in labor right now & I can't stop thinking of her. (Forget her labor pains, I'm in agony with suspense!) In honor of her & her little girl, a selection of my favorite things from my favorite kids shop, romp.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Monday, July 13, 2009

Coney Island: Weekend Pics





I took a break from a little weekend work on Saturday & we biked down to Coney Island. I expected the crowds & the hot dogs, but did not expect the big beautiful beach.

We'll be heading back there tonight for Wilco!

Friday, July 10, 2009

From the Desk Fridays: Mad for Marble



Marbled paper. Does it make you think of making your own in 5th grade art class? or perhaps the Italian paper-covered journals collecting dust in your stationery store? or maybe you're like me and just don't like the marbled look. Or, I should say, didn't.

One trip to NY Central Art Supply today & I fell in love. The colors and textures are incredible. The marbled patterns vary in form - from peacock and rock-like to zig zags that remind me of Missoni knits. And because it's a handmade process, each one is unique. For a truly bespoke stationery piece, it would be top-notch.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Poll: Recipe Cards

At the NSS this year, we gave away banana bread samples (a recipe from my best friends grandmother) with this letterpressed recipe card postcard. I love recipe cards and have been thinking about designing some for L&H - but do you think enough people still use them? I have a recipe binder that I use as more of a collect-all folder for all of my varying shaped recipe cards, tear-outs & print-outs. It's kind of a mess. Recipe cards (and a nice little box) would certainly be neater. Do you write out recipes? How do you organize them? Do you prefer to keep them in a folder or a book or a box? Talk to me, recipe collectors!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

A Family Dinner






A few shots from last night's dinner with two of John's brothers & their families. Eating from a beautiful & bountiful vegetable garden, holding & chasing the chickens, picking & eating raspberries, grilling vegetables, rope-walking, al-fresco dining, ice clinking in glasses, singing Happy Birthday in Swedish (I join in but doubt I have it right), our nephew playing guitar & singing his own songs, and tucked in bed back in Brooklyn by midnight. A pretty nice way to spend an evening.