spoonflower :: ice cream

last week's spoonflower contest was ice cream so OF COURSE i wanted to submit a cute pattern! i gave all my ice cream friends accessories (including one with feather flair to match me) and put them on a simple stripe background. it was fun to do since i always love to give inanimate objects personalities.

my friend allison always has amazing artwork with great details and patterned backgrounds PLUS she also loves working on creative projects outside of work so i have to thank her for the extra motivation! she also has a super cute submission under thislittlepiggy so feel free to vote for us :)

new cupcakes

i recently made some cupcakes that happily went over really well (probably because they contain over 5 sticks of butter...!) for the dirt topping i crushed teddy grahams instead of oreos thinking that i'd get all chocolate and no cream. i didn't realize how bad i'd feel crushing tons of smiling bears though...next time i'll probably just use oreos ;)

printerette press

my talented friend catherine left the corporate world not long ago to run her letterpress and design studio printerette press full time, and i couldn't be more proud of her!!! she is a fun and sweet person and amazing at designing beautiful stationery...i am so glad she is using her many skills to do what she loves. she knows i also have a great love for letterpress and has been helping me get reacquainted with running a printing press which has been so fun. (i took a class at the minnesota center for book arts last year which was fantastic) PLUS, she also worked with me on a top secret project which i will post about later :)

she is currently at the national stationery show in NYC at booth #1467 (which from the photo she posted looks super cute and amazing!) stop by and visit her if you're around and give her a big hug for me!

[photos from printerette]

testing testing

HOLY SMOKES.

i'm finally testing out some blog headers...pinch yourselves, you're not dreaming. it's funny how much difference the slight saturation in a color or the width of a stripe can make. i always love red & aqua but we'll see what ends up sticking.

have a great weekend!

happy belated thanksgiving!

hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving with family and friends, getting a lot to eat, and having time to relax! we went to wisconsin for the weekend where i spent time knitting and reading while indoors, and enjoying pleasant strolling weather while outdoors. i took this shot of lake du bay from the car...it looked the same as it would in summer, just frozen in time.

ps. if you still have turkey left over, i've invented the turkey scramble and it's delicious. mix eggs, shredded turkey, mashed potatoes, and cheese in a frying pan, then enjoy!

spoonflower results

the kawaii theme for spoonflower was SO FUN to draw, it was really nice to find out i ended up getting 11th place out of 160 entries!!! a huge thanks to allison, chris and 385 mystery friends out there for the votes--it was such a neat surprise! :)

spoonflower

if you haven't heard of spoonflower yet, it's a fantastic website where you can upload YOUR OWN DESIGNS and have custom printed fabric made. how fun is that??? my friend maeve motivated me to finally start an account, so you can find me under rhymeswithfun (you can even vote for me in this week's kawaii contest). although our house is cute fabric overload, i feel like buying your own prints would be too fun to miss out on!

poor blog...

i can't believe how i've neglected you dear blog, i feel like time has just flown by! here is what's been going on since february in a nutshell, more details and pics to [belatedly] follow:

1. chris and i went to copenhangen and london with a mini stop in helsingborg, sweden too! it was all UH-MAY-ZING. (i'm surprised we even came back ;)

2. chris turned 30 so besides joining him in europe, i threw him a photo scavenger hunt/photo reenactment birthday party, followed by dinner at brasa and drinks & games at chatterbox.

3. i also turned 30 so chris, dana, and lauren (with help from mike and hieu) threw me a HUGE loft party complete with a red&aqua theme, puppy movies & rockband projected on a screen, frost your own cupcakes, italian food, a paparazzi wall, and...the EASTER BUNNY.

4. i started and completed a super fun pottery throwing class through the minneapolis community ed program with melissa and leah. i successfully mis-dated one of my pieces the year "2100."

5. i took a textile center class with melissa (thanks again, friend!) her cute mom and elisa at the textile center on dyeing wool felt with kool-aid and hand sewing woodland creatures. i made an eye-patch-wearing embroidered pirate bunny.

6. i have been working...A LOT. and it sadly makes me really tired.

7. to offset the pain of working, i have been trying to eat better (for me ;) and get exercise, so after losing 2 pounds already, i am starting to feel pretty great!

8. i've discovered this cuteoverload baby sloth post and it makes me SOOOOO HAPPY!!! when you watch the video my absolute FAVORITE part is when they show this lil guy above for the 2nd time. AHHH, SO FREAKIN' CUTE!!!

wishing a very good night to everyone and sweet dreams!

ps. did you think that i had posted a picture of an actual baby sloth in my own yard as my blog update? i just figured this would be cuter than stock clipart of a jagged highlighted alarm clock symbolizing time passing by and my lack of posts as of late ;P

pps. if you are still reading this, i truly thank you and would like to extend a virtual high five in your general direction. way to stick it out, this is a lot of writing--even for me.

skål & cheers

chris and i are lucky to be spending ten amazing days in copenhagen and london, so watch for fun posts when i get back!

(we brought meerkat milo too...the real one wouldn't fare well on a european adventure ;)

tea shirts

my cute and talented friend becca (who is MOVING TO TEXAS, sad) recommended i check out a blog called lovely package and it IS lovely, and i LOVE it! this was one of my favorite products featured--who wouldn't want mini tee-shirt shaped tea bags hanging around their kitchen??? or hanging in their cube at work??? super adorable.

(becca also generously gave me her namesake for ordering coffee at starbucks, so i can avoid the awkwardness of "van," "von," or [you can only laugh] "vune." she is so sweet...i will miss that fun girl!!!

tea party baby shower

i've been friends with lauren and lisa for over 3 years now, so it was only natural for us to celebrate the first pregnancy between us in a big way! lauren and i threw the CUTEST tea party baby shower for lisa that you could imagine (if i do say so myself) i designed the invitations and put a hidden "lisa b" on the tea pot for fun. we had everyone wear pearls and fancy hats and had the most amazing spread of delicious apps and cupcakes. (i baked 65 cupcakes--the most i've ever done in one night) lauren had the sweetest idea of having all the guests bring baby vivienne a tea cup as a keepsake memento and seeing them all together was just adorable. the extremely talented amber was generous enough to take beautiful pictures for us, thank you! :)

vivi is due in 20 days, and i cannot WAIT to meet her!

1. summer 2006 2. shower invitation 3. tea pot close-up 4. lauren and i hosting (photo: amber) 5. becca and kara looking cute (photo: amber) 6. clockwise from top left: tea making station, tea cup collection, lauren's sweet fruit tartlets, vegan/gluten-free chocolate cupcakes, vanilla/cream cheese frosting cupcakes (photo: amber)

lights

look what calvin gets to look at above his tank. the lamp shines fun heart-shaped projections on the wall!

ps. calvin is my cute turtle, he turns 10 this year :)

love is in the air

i cannot believe how fast january is flying by, it's already february in less than 2 weeks! i need to get started my valentine's day cards, yikes.

(see more cute letterpressed cards at egg press :)

coquelicotsalon

i LOVE hand warmers/wrist warmers/fingerless gloves (melissa knows!) and how cute are these embellished fingerless gloves by coquelicotsalon--i love them! the bow and buttons make them so fancy. and how fun are the polar bear fingerless gloves, i can't even believe it. (the kitty charm is INSANELY cute too, look at that lil winking eye ;)

found via housemartin--a REALLY cute blog

change something.

i saw this linked on the bedlam of beefy and i just loved the simplicity of it. my parents always told me if i didn't like the way something was, then do something about it. i think it's still so motivating, even if i'm just being reminded of things i already know :)