holiday product excitement!

It looks like the General Hangtags (available at shopscad Atlanta and shopSCAD Savannah) found the attentions of the one and only Grace Bonney! She also bought the lovely work of the ever-talented Katie Runnels!

I am so flattered that in a store as full of wonderful items as shopSCAD always is, that my little ribbons caught her eye in the veritable sea of beautiful gifts.

self: Extend arm out and over left shoulder, and pat.

ATL HOLD IT DOWN

Pardon my blurry photos, c'moooonnnn verizon iphone!

Had an awesome time at Ice Atlanta today!

Not only did i get the foam hand of my atlanta memorabilia dreams for a mere 5 bucks, but i bought a fantastic bath tub necklace from my good buddy Cuyler (which Jay has already dubbed the William Howard taft necklace), got some griswold family Christmas gift tags from Concrete Lace, and caught up with sweet Marji from Pony Up! vintage.

Light up your handwriting

Attention art and design school graduates: don't throw away your old light box.

I have been learning a lot about letter writing and paper crafts since taking a (great) job with a local paper crafts store here in Atlanta last march. One of the things I have been fascinated with is correspondence and the art of calligraphy.

Now--real talk--I am by no means a calligrapher.
My handwriting isn't even "nice," in fact I should probably work on it.

I have learned a few tricks of the trade from talking with talented calligraphers of atlanta when they drop by the shop and one of the general themes is that it doesn't really come naturally to write perfectly! They use tools just like any other crafts person--one of such tools is a lightbox.

If you are lucky enough to have one of these old gems lying around getting dusty why not put it to good use for your letter writing or even your holiday correspondence?

It's simple:
1: slap down some lined paper
2. place your (unlined) note carefully on top and instantly have 50% improvement in your handwriting.

You'll surprise yourself! And maybe even the person you haven't talked to in a few years on the receiving end of your polite gesture.

Found this one in the phone awhile back: a friend of ours let us try on the elephant costume that their performance troupe was preparing for the east atlanta strut parade this year! awesome.

this HAS to be the world's most perfect swimsuit. Challenge to duplicate this suit by summer 2011, ACCEPTED.

Just working in the studio today on an order for shopSCAD Atlanta!

A cast aside set of dog-toy eyeballs finds a happy sewn-on prankster's home on one of my love's bedroom slippers.
This makes me laugh every. single. day.

Halloween costume materials gathering!

Materials gathered for Halloween costume 2010!
I swear I have dyed that pink dress orange to the best of my abilities. Looks like I am going to be a peach awards ribbon for Halloween.

Watched Whip It! with the girls last night, downloaded the soundtrack this morning--this has to be the best summer kick off soundtrack I have ever heard.

Fitting in with the locals in five steps:

When I travel I really do enjoy fitting in. Not just for some image of what cool is, but more so that I can understand a city's true offerings to my specific age range/style (twenty-something artist type with a passion for the cheap and delightful!) Not to mention that I am always willing to move somewhere for jobs/school in the future and I want to be able to assess whether or not I could do that in a quick trip.

I just got back from Philly and I managed (in a short amount of time) to do just that. I travel frequently enough on my own that I have developed a formula that keeps me happy and makes the most of my time. Even my Philadelphian friends were impressed at all of the things I had found on my own! Five easy steps:

1. Buy a (relatively up to date) Not for Tourists Guide everytime, end of story.

2. Read Readymade? Make note of when their 'Place Setting' column travels to a place you would love to go. Always keep your RM mags though, the RM website is not at all archive friendly. Xerox a copy of the article and carry it around with you for reference.

3. Check Design*Sponge for a city guide to wherever you are traveling! Again--print it out, carry it with you. This is the part of the advice column where I tell you to keep a travel folder in your bag to put your articles/business cards/etc from your day.

4. Keep your eyes open! This sounds like common sense but be open: If you are in a neighborhood picking out a restaurant and you love to ride bikes, look for the joint with the most awesome bikes outside! How about following your nose? (OMG Il Cantuccio thankyou for the best sensory advertisement we have ever witnessed, my taste buds still thank you) Heading to somewhere specific and see something along the way that trumps it? Go there instead! We never would have found National Mechanics if we had stayed on our original path to find the 'best philly cheesesteak.' (Read: Did I eat one cheesesteak this weekend? No. Did I eat in a delicious gastro pub that looks like eggplant-colored-dusty-terrarium-stocked-anthropologie-church on the inside? Yes I did. Did I mention that NM has a monthly event wherein a Scientist comes into drunkenly lecture on his/her area of study while you drink? Next Science on Tap: "Bacteria." I am pretty sure this is what winning looks like.)

5. This last one is a preparation measure, but keep a 3 ring binder divided by city to put random articles and advice from others in for your next trip. I have LA, Milwaukee, and Denton Texas ready to go and on the flight home I read a fantastic article about seeing Morocco that I will be adding as well, a gal can dream can't she?

Happy traveling!

When great minds collide..

..beautiful things happen!

SM had a fantastic opportunity for collab with Joy Thigpen and the brides'-blog-to-beat-them-all, Oncewed last year to push the boundaries of vellum and this is how it went!


Oddly enough, Emily visited my flickr account and found my previous window dressing portfolio for shopSCAD and an image from the past that sold her on my abilities with paper! So, always document your work folks--you never know when it will come in handy!

So in honor of our upcoming month of showers, today's image of the day is brought to you by April Showers windows from shopSCAD circa 2007:

Philadelphia here we come!

Well today I am packing for SGC!

Awesome stormtrooper image posted just yesterday on Printeresting, looking forward to their Copy Jam reception!

Not quite sure what I am in for but I know it is going to be filled with exciting open portfolios, exhibitions, some sweet jail time, and very importantly visits with friends!