Hello, world!

I'm back! Or... at least I am going to try to be back.
Little one is almost 4 months old. Things are going relatively smoothly and one of the biggest indicators of this is that I have been able to COOK DINNER for the last few weeks. Nothing too fancy- some good grilled dishes with herbs from the garden and simple sides. I will share as soon as I can!
Wow... so much to write about, I don't know where to start... So let's start with the birth announcement I sent out for Valentine's Day for the new little one! My sweet boys...

Twelve Days of Gift Tags

Here are the tags that I created for this year's presents. This is a bit of an experiment- try printing them and let me know if the quality is too bad. If you send me your email address, I can send you a PDF file!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a well-wrapped gift!

Christmas Card

Wishing you a happy holiday season!
~From 1809WEST~

Boardwalk Empire

Last night we watched the premiere of HBO's new drama, Boardwalk Empire. Sleek and dazzling, brutal and grizzly, this show has it all. The Prohibition Era styling is spot-on and I thought I'd share some sources for 1920s style.
For flapper-worthy fashion, shop The Boudoir Queen. Vintage pieces and one-of-a-kind details come together to create couture items for a night on the town or on the runway.

The Chesterfield Bed from Restoration Hardware makes a statement in the bedroom.


The Budmojiggler font from 1001fonts.com echoes the lights of Atlantic City.

Get into bootlegging with your own barrel of Garrison Bourbon. The only bourbon made in Texas!
Create some drama of your own with these Pumpkin Damask Window Panels from Pier One.



















Red lips were all the rage in the 1920s- Pretty up your pout with MAC Red. And tune in to HBO next Sunday for the second episode of Boardwalk Empire!

Belated Christmas Decor

Well, it's too late to give you any ideas about decor for this holiday season, but maybe for next year?

(Some of these things could be done for other holidays too!)

Our Christmas Card: I designed it in MS Word with the fantastic Budmojiggler font (download at dafont.com) with fun little flourishes from dafont too.

Our Christmas Tree: This year I went with a black, red, gold and white theme. Kinda Hollywood Regency. Kinda mod. Created a monogram "brand" for our gift tags using the Budmojiggler font. Found some way cool vintage ornaments at The Antique Mall. Gold cardboard and black pipe cleaner H's rounded it all out. Unfortunately, I took this pic today, and our tree is so dried out!

B&W Abstracts for the Tree: H and I painted with black acrylic paint on a large sheet of parchment paper. I then cut it into smaller rectangles. The frames are made from cereal boxes, painted with black and gold acrylic. I just taped the paintings to the back of the frames and tucked them into the tree. I love the way the light shines through the paper!

Christmas CardDisplay: Tack ribbon to the top of a door or window and secure cards with tiny clothespins. Last year I decked the kitchen with yarn and attached the cards all around the island. I also attached cards to what was the "Bat Tree" then became the "Fall Tree" and is now the "Christmas Card Tree." (I think I'll take it down after NYE and figure out a new display for that table.

You are invited...

I've been in love with paper since I was a young girl. I used to set up movie theaters in the basement and create tiny paper tickets for my family members and stuffed animals. I was obsessed with making books about various species... there was a bird book, a dog book, a zoo animal book. (Man, I wish I still had them!) Lists, menus, cards, valentines, calendars. You name it, I made it.

While everyone else was ordering their college graduation announcements from the CO-OP, I was busy formatting and aligning in MS Word. These announcements were my first foray into the world widespread distribution of personalized paper goods. From there, I went on to create our wedding invitation. It was truly a labor of love... and an exercise in mass production. Since then, I have designed and produced invitations for 5 weddings, announcements for two babies, invites and other printed items for two baby showers, and stationery for countless other events. I've also been working on a line of children's calling cards. 

I love receiving cards and invitations in the mail... and I absolutely love sending them. How exciting is it to find a pink envelope addressed in calligraphy, amongst the bills and val-u-pak coupons. (Although, I know some ladies who get pretty darn excited about those too... wink, wink.) 

So why don't I start my own stationery business? Good question. Maybe writing this blog will lead to something, help me figure out if making paper prettiness is really where I'm headed. But, until then, here are some samples of my previous works on paper. Bon appetit!