Little Lucky

How cute is this little girl, Lucky? She's Kinglsey's new best friend - and my friends Emily & Kirsten's new baby. They got along really well thanks to Lucky's ability to squeeze into places Kinglsey can only fit her paw into. It was a great weekend with these two.

More studio setup and cleaning today - floor-to-ceiling track shelves are going up tonight (when John's around to help... these suckers are heavy!) and I'm finishing painting the room. I can't wait to have everything out of these boxes - they're driving me crazy. I hope to have an updated picture tomorrow.

Personalize Your Note Cards

I have been hand stamping invitations for a while now and recently decided to hand stamp my letterpressed note cards. I was nervous that it would dilute the quality of the letterpress - but I have found the opposite to be true. It adds another layer - in a really good way I think. And when it is physically layered on top of the letterpressed image, as in the Summer Dress card below for Eloise, I find the chocolate ink to be like a beautiful linen screen.

While I have been personalizing stationery on a You Ask, I'll Do It Basis, you'll soon be able to personalize your note cards online through our website. Here are some samples I have done in the past:


And here's one I just did for my niece's birthday:


And this one of our Oversized Flats (8.5" x 5.5") - all elements are large & in charge on this one! Perfect for big handwriting like mine:


Having the names rubber stamped gives me the flexibility to place the name wherever I want, in any color, and on different designs. AND, the person gets to keep their stamp. I love the way it looks and can't wait to do more of them.

Email me directly at liz@lindaandharriett.com if you want your very own.

And let me know what you think of the rubber stamp/letterpress combo. I'd love to hear what you think.

Maine on My Mind

John & I were up in Maine for our Bates reunion this weekend - and I'm longing to get back already. The weather was beautiful - clear blue sky and cool nights. I could have stayed up there all week! And longer.

So now I'm back in Brooklyn and am in need of surrounding myself with all things that remind me of Maine. Here's my favorite summer in Maine card:

Oh Sunny Day

It's the most beautiful day here in Brooklyn! It feels like a warm fall day - even better than a summer day in my book. Bright blue sky, no humidity (finally!) and sunny sunny everywhere. I'm loving it. And to help capture the moment, I'm drying John's shirts outside:

and also noticing Kinglsey's more milk chocloately face these days. Here she is giving me lip:

After complaining to a fellow dog-friend this morning at Gorilla Coffee about Kinglsey's all-of-a-sudden-obsession with my nice shoes, she said that bad dogs have to be cute or else we just couldn't put up with them. I laughed - then realized the joke was on me when I was uncomfortable with her saying "bad dog," like it was a "bad word."

Going to Long Island tonight to pick up the letterpress! More on that tomorrow.

Let's hear it for eBay!

I won! I won! Thanks to John and his sneaky ebay bidding with 7 seconds left - I am now the owner of a C&P Pilot letterpress. It's a tabletop press - a bit smaller and about 1800lbs. lighter than the other one I was looking at. It's currently in Long Island, but we're hoping to bring her home tomorrow night. I am so excited and can't wait to get started. I have used these before, but never my very own. As a new homeowner who has dealt with the harsh realities of ownership (backed up pipes exploding in the basement), I know that the glamour of owning something can come with a price. But I also love our backyard and the freedom it allows me to let our dog Kinglsey run in and out - something I couldn't do as a renter. So, as the owner of this little piece of magic, I'm cautiously but enthusiastically looking forward to diving in! I'm sure there will be many more posts to come on this.

Do you back up your work? Umm, no.

Well, yesterday I found out that that "no" can cost $600. Yup. My beloved powerbook would not turn on. After several hours of frustration, John & I took our sick little machine to Tekserve in the city. After getting a number and waiting with all the other people holding their sick machines, I was finally told by the technician that it had experienced a "hard drive failure." I said, But it's only 3 years old! He shrugged and told me not to feel too badly, that I was the 17th person that day who had this problem. On top of that - he told me that I should "expect" these machines to fail! Can you believe that? EXPECT them to fail? No, I expect them to work - and keep up - and keep chugging along like one marathon after another. No water, no sleep, no breaks. Work, work, work. Isn't that the point of machines in the first place?! $600 later meant no.

So this "backing up" thing that apparently everyone is supposed to do, but no one ever does, I'm finding is like insurance. Insurance for your stuff, your wallet and your mind. I'm without all my work for 7 days and don't even know if I'll get it all back - ever. Oh, the pain.

Long story short, I'll now be back up queen. Any questions on it, ask me, I'll be an expert in 7 days.

New Digs

A few photos of my new studio space:

It needs some repainting and a little pine sol, but it's bigger than my booth at the NSS and that's pretty much what I've had up until now, so this is pretty fantastic. I'll be moving & organizing all weekend. More photos to come.