I am loving...

Matchbook Magazine, a new online magazine that has something inspiring on every page, from fashion to cooking to home decor (and much more).  Almost every page is an inspiration board, literally, and this makes it so aesthetically charming. The articles are pretty much all fun, unique and relevant subject matter, interviews are with relevant and talented people, and I could read the magazine without reading a word just looking at the visuals and love it!  Oh, and one of the founders is a stationery designer to boot! Check it out:

IMAGE CREDIT: July Cover, Matchbook Magazine

Hydrangeas!

This was such an exciting weekend, as my hydrangea buds began to peek out of their brown branches!  I do NOT have a green thumb and these hydrangeas are about all I can keep alive, but I think it is the love they know I have for them that keeps them coming back for me.  This reminds me of something I designed almost FOUR YEARS AGO!  This was my own wedding weekend packet, complete with hydrangeas blooming off of every page.  Yes, almost four years ago, but I still have a few pictures.

Here are a few pics from the wedding of the flowers and some of the other blue accents.  My favorite blue hydrangeas were the lighter blue, but I couldn't find many pics of those from the wedding at first glance, so here's what I found...

DIY Holiday Treats

I am not a food blogger, I know, nor do I claim to be a top chef, BUT this easy cheese straw recipe from one of my favorite food blogs, Shutterbean, is SO easy and delicious.

Here's a fun DIY project if you are one to give holiday gifts to friends or neighbors.  I will break it down for you and make it really easy (hopefully).  If you have a grocery store, a party store and an office store, you can easily find everything we need to make this fun edible holiday gift.

First of all, head to the grocery with this list:

2 Sheets Frozen Puff Pastry
Flour (just a little bit for dusting, so you probably have all you need at home already)
1 Egg
Hot Sauce
Extra Sharp Cheddar, Grated/Shredded (enough for 1 cup)
Fresh Thyme Leaves (1 tbsp.)
Fresh Rosemary (1 tbsp.)
Kosher Salt (1 tsp.)
Ground Black Pepper
*You probably have a lot of these ingredients in your kitchen already

Egg Wash, Preparation...

Slicing the puff pastry

Ready to go in the oven!

Final Product.  Mmmm.

 Next step is to head to the party supply store or Paper-Source for cellophane baggies, and ribbon.  Another option is to use mason jars or small cookie jars (but you might have to make more straws to fill up one of these).

The last thing you need is stick-on gift tags so you can put a custom sticker on each of your bags.  If you go to Paper-Source, they may even have the 8.5 x 11 sheets of stickers that you can print with a template on your home printer.  If not, then you can head to the office supply store for the sticker label sheets (there are all different sizes and shapes you can use, and most of them come with template instructions that work in Microsoft Word).

If you're intimidated by this, then you can also just buy or cut out some small cards in a thick pretty card stock and punch holes in them and write a note in a pretty pen.  This takes a lot of the fun out of it for me, being that I love printing and I love custom designs, but friends will be impressed that you are giving them homemade treats regardless.

Then all you have left to do is prep, bake, bag 'em and deliver!

Photo Credits: Photo #2, Shutterbean; Photo #1 and #3-7 came from my own kitchen!

Holiday Cards, Part III

Here are a few more cards to round out the sample collection. Working on some custom cards now for several folks, and would love to help you too if you want to get yours going.

"Calling" upon a more genteel time

One of my (many) favorite things is a well-done business or calling card - the tiny size, the endless layout possibilities, and the simplicity of condensed information.  I do love looking at well-executed business cards, but I really love the individuality that only a social calling card can express.  Why hand out your business card when you're out at parties with friends?  Let your hair down and get some personalized calling cards.  I decided that I should do some research on the validity of the calling card today, and whether it still has relevance and practical use.  I found some fun information on the history of the calling card, interestingly enough, on a site called "The Art of Manliness".  According to The Art of Manliness...

In the 19^th and early 20^th century, social interaction was a richly cultivated, well-mannered affair. The tool that facilitated these interactions was the calling card...The calling card...served as a way to brand your social identity. The way your card looked and felt or the way you handed it to someone communicated your standing and relationship with the receiver. While the calling card had gone the way of top hats and knickers, they’re starting to make a comeback...men today can resurrect this tradition to create some stylish panache in their social interactions.

Read more: http://artofmanliness.com/2008/09/07/the-gentlemans-guide-to-the-calling-card/#ixzz14nP0vGg0

To paraphrase the history of the calling card, there were all sorts of distinct social nuances involved with the art of "calling" upon a family or person.  How and when the card was presented, with what information on the card, the size of the card and whether the card was engraved, beautifully hand-written or simply printed all gave off information about the purpose of a gentleman's visit and his social stature.  Using a business card for a social call was considered impolite, so there was a necessity for the social calling card if you were to be considered a gentleman.  It is actually really interesting to read about if you want to go to the link above to read more.

Moving forward to the present, wouldn't it be so much more personal and civil if people still used social graces like the calling card, rather than some guy "poking" or "friending" a girl on Facebook to make his interest known?  Well, that's probably not going to change, but here are some traditional and some more fun options for the calling card that can be used in today's world - for men and women:

This is a fun contemporary take on the traditional calling card, while still maintaining the overall simplicity.  If you want to correspond with someone socially, why hand them a business card with only your business contact info?  This is the perfect alternative to awkwardly entering your cell information into someone's phone, or trying to remember someone's email address or blog from a conversation.

This is very much how the traditional calling cards are laid out, and I love this.  I am all for keeping the tradition.  The only modern nuance here is actual email addresses and phone numbers, rather than just a name and address.

I love this for a lady.  It has a vintage feel, and is more of a correspondence card than a calling card.  Correspondence cards are still widely used today with gifts, so are probably more useful than an actual calling card if you have to choose between one or the other.  If you could do the lace detailing and name in letterpress, it would really stand out.

Here is another example of what we now refer to more as a correspondence card, made for a couple.  This is a very standard traditional style, with dark grey or black ink engraved on an ecru card.

This is a fun example of a two-sided card for a woman to use as a personal calling card, or for use while in between jobs.

Here's another fun take on the calling card.  This is one way to make the calling card personal.  I think this card would be fun if you were a writer, school teacher or student and wanted to have a calling card that reflected that.  My personal recommendation is to try not to get too cooky with your calling cards, but definitely express yourself.  These are for sale on Etsy.

This is an example of a family calling card.  This can be useful to hand out at school, among parents, etc.

And last, but certainly not least, is the funny calling card.  I witnessed this card being handed to a lovely but chatty girl by my hilarious Uncle Joe, and it was truly amazing!  There is a time and place for this, but when the time is right, it is quite a card to play.

Let me know if I've convinced you that you must now create your own calling card.  I'd love to help you establish yourself as the true gentleman or woman that you are on a tiny little card.  Or alternatively, I'd be more than happy to help you come up with something funny and creative, like the STOP TALKING card.  Correspondence cards are always good to keep in stock with just your name (or you and your spouses name).  And the calling card might just make a comeback, so get ready!

Image Credits: Image 1 - The Art of Manliness, Image 2 - The Stationery Studio, Image 3 - The Mandate Press, Image 4 - The Art of Manliness, Image 5 - Dempsey & Carroll, Image 6 - Red Stamp, Image 7 - Crane, Image 8 - Etsy, Image 9 - Set Editions (Stop Talking)

New Look in Progress...

My blog is getting a makeover!  I have added the new header and changed some of the coloring around.  I am still playing around with the customization tools, but it is starting to come together.  Go ahead and check it out!

Cathy Whitlock: Designer, Writer, Blogger, Book Author...What's Next?

Cathy Whitlock, the talented interior designer, magazine writer, book author and blogger, asked me to work with her on a simple web logo for her newest web site a few months back.  She has just finished writing an exciting new book called Designs on Film, and has a blog called Cinema Style.  Her last book prior to Designs on Film is a great read for anyone considering a career in interior design or anything like it, called Re-de-sign.  Not to mention, it has beautiful pictures.  I am especially excited by one of Cathy's most recent interviews she did with the ever-so-talented and sexy Javier Bardem for the cover of Celebrated Living magazine.  She interviewed him just when "Eat Pray Love" was coming to theaters (and just before the big news officially broke that he and Penelope are expecting!).  Cathy has such great simple elegant taste and her books, writing and style show it.  Here is the logo that she basically conceptualized all on her own, and I just had the simple task of executing: