mommy mondays: all nighters

i snapped this picture with my phone early this morning.  i stood at the kitchen counter packaging orders that needed to go out while my husband stood at the counter to keep himself awake while working on his laptop.  my husband and i met in college and we spent many nights pulling “all nighters” cramming for exams and writing papers.  it’s funny how years later, we’re still pulling all nighters.  sometimes though, it’s those quiet, long nights when the kids are sound asleep, that the most work gets done.  i imagine i will have had many all nighters by the time the national stationery show arrives in may.  sigh.

mommy mondays: handwriting + letterpress gift tags

i save all of my off cuts {aka “scrap” paper”} for all of those small orders and projects {mini business cards, gift tags, etc}.  it’s probably getting out of control… i have stacks and stacks of small pieces of paper, organized and bundled by size {one day i’ll have to snap a picture of my stash to show you just how out of control it is}.  so, when my two girls celebrated their birthdays at a joint party this weekend, my off cuts came in handy!  i used my eldest daughter’s handwriting, turned it into plates, and letterpress printed gift tags for their goodie bags.  if you want to see your handwriting or your kid’s handwriting letterpress printed, let me know!

mommy mondays: personalized thank you cards

my good friend {and client} remy is expecting!  with the birth of a baby comes many presents… baby shower gifts, hospital visit gifts, 1st time meeting baby gifts, i saw this at the store and it’s so cute gifts… remy needed some thank you cards and apparently she wanted some variety, so she ordered 4 different styles!  congrats to remy and geoff, i can’t wait to meet baby smith!

a big thank you for voting and sending penelope’s press to the second round of the mission small business grant… your support means so much!

{like my new tricks?  i’ll need to tell you about this class i took recently.  i will post about it soon!}

have a productive and creative week ahead!

mommy mondays: ex-real estate agent

my real estate license expires today and marks my official departure from the real estate industry.  before my letterpress life, i was a real estate agent with baird and warner, the oldest independent brokerage in the country and the largest in illinois.  i worked out of the lincoln park office, which was the #1 office in the state.  we had an awesome office and extensive sales training.  over the course of my real estate career, i saw a lot of homes- mini mansions with elevators, posh high rise condominiums looking over lake michigan, white picket fence homes in the suburbs, to beautifully rehabbed four squares {let’s not mention the handful of rat infested, poorly maintained, dilapidated properties i saw, even a condemned property a client was trying to view, sheesh!}  so, when i passed through a nearby downtown suburb over the weekend and verbally expressed to my husband how it would be perfect to open shop in one of these vintage homes, can you imagine how my draw dropped when i saw this perfect little place?  for sale and zoned transitional for work+live/live/work!  it was built in 1907, the perfect little home for my 1900′s old presses and some sweet retail goodies.  sigh… day dreaming.

mommy mondays: 7 years + counting

i’ve known the mister for 14 years and today marks 7 years of marriage!  since i’m in the business of designing and printing wedding invitations, i thought i should share some images of our special day.  it was {besides the birth of my children} the happiest day of my life… so cliche, but so true!  i still remember how my face hurt from all the smiling!

our wedding was traditional… the roman catholic church, the grand ballroom reception, and all that jazz, infused with some filipino {me} and chinese {the husband} cultural traditions.  i loved all of it, good times!