Nathalie's Notecards

I've been working on a number of new custom pieces lately (part of the reason I've been so quiet!), and hope to share some of them with you over the coming weeks. I'll start by introducing you to Nathalie Márquez Courtney, a photographer in Dublin, Ireland, who asked me to make her some bookmarks, business cards and notecard sets using her logo and a luscious embossed swirl in the background. Above are the notecards, which were printed on Crane Lettra 100% cotton paper, and the accompanying peach and robin's egg blue envelopes, which added punch to the package. Check out Nathalie's gorgeous photography here.

Project Nerd Power!

Alright, I'll admit it. I'm a total nerd. Braces, glasses, and upper-level math classes meant I was one of those not-so-popular smart girls in high school. In college, I tried to shed some of my nerdiness as an art student, but to little avail. It has stuck with me all these years. Lucky for me, I met Anne, a fellow creative geek who embraces the smartness in herself and those around her. We've come up with a collaboration between her groovy vinyl gear and my letterpress work that celebrates the nerd in each of us.



This is an updated version of the classic pocket protector, complete with personalized index cards and a Fisher space pen (the kind astronauts use to write in zero gravity!). You can choose from 21 different color combinations for the pocket protector, and customize the index cards to your liking. A perfect gift for Father's Day, which is just around the corner. Available here.

And, coming up soon... another blog giveaway. Stay tuned!

Frosting + Sprinkles

Hot off the press this week! My new personalized letterpress recipe cards featuring a whimsical running cupcake (complete with lavender frosting, colored sprinkles and a wooden spoon) are now ready for prime time. They are available here.

Also, I wanted to say a big "thank you" to Jane at Simple + Pretty who mentioned my Map Booklets in one of her posts this week. What a beautiful blog. It's easy to get lost there for hours on end!

Seed Journal Winner!

Thank you all for the thoughtful and entertaining comments that you've left over the past week. Without further ado, the random number generator has chosen #15. So, 11studio, you are the winner. Congratulations! Please send an email to christy[at]thepetitepress[dot]com with your full name and mailing address, and I will send it out to you. Thanks, everyone, and be sure to check back in a month or so for another giveaway!

Gardening + Giveaway

Remember how I said that my items are often created for a particular person? I hardly ever do this, but this one is made for... well, me. Each year when I plant seeds in our garden, I keep the seed packets to refer to as the season progresses, but they usually become a jumbled mess in a dilapidated box. So this year, I made a seed journal to keep things neat and organized. I made room for a seed packet to be attached to each page, along with room for notes about where and when I planted the seeds:



Along about January, when the winter doldrums are at their worst, I like to start planning where things will go. Here is our plan for this year:



We planted our cold weather crops like peas, spinach, lettuce and arugula in March and early April according to plan, but the weather hasn't been cooperating much so far. They're finally popping up, though, and hopefully the rain and cool temperatures will ease up just a tad this week to give them a chance to catch up. I just discovered the first volunteer tomato seedling for this year, so our plan will likely go awry, but that seems to be my style of gardening:



Something new this year: I have given my seven year-old daughter her own plot. She can plant whatever she likes and she is responsible for tending it. I found this interactive kitchen garden planner on the Gardener's Supply website and she enjoyed moving the pieces about and deciding which vegetables she wants to grow. She's so excited and is checking every day to see how her veggies are coming along.

This is from a few years ago, but is one of my favorite past photos of our garden. I was especially lucky to catch that little nymph on camera:



Now, time for the best part of today's post. I promised another blog giveaway — so, how about a seed journal of your very own? To enter, please leave a comment below before Friday, May 8, 2009 at 9:00 am CST. I will use a random number generator to choose a winner and post the result at that time. Don't forget to check back then, and best of luck to you!

Giveaway Winners!

Thank you, everyone, for all the fun comments for the giveaway! It's so nice to have so many new visitors. According to the random number generator, the winners of the birdhouse booklets are number 13, Helene, and number 2, Kirstin. Congratulations! Please send me an email at christy[at]thepetitepress[dot]com with your full name and mailing address, and I will get them in the mail to you right away.

To everyone else, please come back and visit again soon. This has been so much fun that I'm already thinking about the next giveaway. I will do another one in a month or so. I should have some new things hot off the press by then. Hmm, what shall it be, what shall it be...

P.S. If I had to choose, I think my favorite thing about spring would be starting our vegetable garden each year. More on that later!

Birdhouse Booklet Giveaway!

It's about time I offered a blog giveaway, dontchya think? For my first blog giveaway, I'm offering two of my new little birdhouse booklets. You can see more about how I made them here, at the Handmade Artist blog on Poppytalk Handmade. If you would like to be entered for a chance to win one, please leave a comment below before 9:00 am CST next Friday morning, April 3, 2009. I'll pick a topic: your favorite thing about... spring! { Seeing as we're expecting something like 8 inches of snow here tonight, I'm going to have to use my imagination. :) }

I will use a random number generator to pick the two winners on Friday morning. I'll post the names of the winners at that time, so don't forget to check back then. Thanks for participating!