long live snail mail!

with technology rampant… twitter, facebook, email, text, etc… it’s nice to know that some people still write– snail mail is alive and well!  with the holidays just around the corner, i’ve been at the press daily churning out the numerous personalized stationery orders that keep coming in.  it’s nice knowing that a product that i hand cut, hand fed on a vintage press, packaged on my kitchen table, and mailed to the buyer will either use it themselves or give the personalized stationery to a friend, colleague, family member, teacher of their child, boss, etc as a christmas present, engagement gift, birthday gift, graduation gift, etc.  then one day, that person will hand write a sentiment in their own penmanship and either hand it to someone else personally or put a stamp on it and send it to yet another person. so cool!

holiday letterpress printed goodies

with thanksgiving in just 2 days, the holiday season is fully upon us!  fresh off the press and in the shop is the first ever holiday line of penelope’s press…

food+foto fridays: week 2

it’s saturday, i know… but isn’t it still technically friday somewhere in the world?  alright, so i’m late in posting.. this was supposed to be for yesterday.  for food+foto fridays.. today {err, yesterday} is new england clam chowder… made by the lovely husband.

1 cup diced and peeled potatoes
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp pepper
2 {6 1/2 oz} cans minced clams, drain & reserve liquid
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk

-combine potatoes, celery, onion, salt, thyme, pepper and reserved clam liquid, bring to boil, reduce heat & simmer {about 10 minutes}
-in medium bowl, combine flour & milk, whisk until smooth
-gradually stir into vegetable mixture, cook until thickened
-stir in clams, reduce heat to low, stir frequently, cook until thoroughly heated, do not boil

food+foto fridays: week 1

hello there.  normally friday would be “feature fridays”, but today and for the next 5 weeks, it will be food+foto fridays!  ”why?” you ask… well… let’s take it back over a year ago.  i love reading blogs… one blog takes you to the next and so on and so on and before you know it, you’re following a ridiculous amount of blogs and then you wonder to yourself.. why am i reading all of these blogs?   i have so much stuff to do… kids to take care of, a house to clean, a business to build.  {oh, ok.. so maybe that’s just how it goes for me}.  so anyway, last year sometime i stumbled upon “the blah, blah, blagh“… written by a witty blogger known as “miss b.”  upon reading a few of her posts, i was hooked on her humor, sarcasm, and photos.  it turns out that miss b. is also the founder of the bright side project - where wonderful giveaways are up for the taking!  {alright, cut to the chase already}  so, miss b.  occasionally hosts web sessions called souvenir foto school to encourage you to shoot {with a camera} and see the extraordinary in the ordinary {as miss b. likes to put it}.  the first time i joined, i wanted to learn a few photography tips and to practice taking pictures in the hopes it would improve my blog and product photos.  i enjoyed it so much that i’ve joined again.  this time around, the subject is food and miss b. is encouraging all of her “students” to post their photos on their blogs.  for six weeks, our assignment is to take photos of food.  it’s getting chilly here in the midwest, so i’ve decided to concentrate on soups… presenting food+foto fridays: week 1: tortilla soup.  {if you want to join miss b. and her students on a food+foto adventure, click ‘here‘ to sign up}

workday wednesdays: the queen bee market

i’ve been a busy bee lately, but today i want to tell you about the queen bee… the queen bee market that is.  in early october, i had an interview feature over at oh my! handmade goodness {read about it by clicking ‘here’}.  a few days after the feature was posted, i received an email from a woman named mique.  in her email, she said she read my feature and laughed aloud because she had a babysitters club and sold candy from costco in junior high and high school, just like i had! {again, you must read the interview to understand what i’m talking about because if you haven’t, you’re probably confused right about now}  it turns out that mique is the talented woman behind the blog 30 handmade days, a blog filled with crafty inspiration.  along with being a busy mom and a successful blogger, she and her sister host a handmade art & craft fair called the queen bee market.  mique asked if i would like to have a penelope’s press product in their swag bags… i of course said yes!  i got to work and letterpress printed 110 mini holiday gift cards for the swag bags and shipped them off in the mail.  if i was in warm san diego {and not chilly chicago} i would totally check out the show, so if you’re in the san diego area this weekend, swing by the hilton del mar for the queen bee market holiday show!