Inspired: Scherenschnitte (papercutting)

I am completely fascinated by beautiful, intricate scherenschnitte, and am so pleased that it's made a comeback in recent years, both in traditional patterns and more modern form. One amazing artist that I adore is Rob Ryan, who has completely captured the vintage charm of this art form, while giving it a bit of a current twist.

I tried my hand at papercutting several years ago - making some lovely framed pieces and sweet ornaments... I loved the process as well as the final outcome, but especially enjoy the design process - working with symmetry, silhouettes and the use positive and negative space, as I also do in so many of my prints.

The papercut above is from Rob Ryan's book, This Is for You (which would make a very sweet Valentine's day gift, by the way...).

Things I love: Colored Pencils

Oh, aren't they just glorious? 500 amazing colored pencils to collect, inspire and delight! I could have so very much fun with these, and a big sketchbook!

Inspired: Wood grain

I bookmarked this post several months ago, completely inspired by these amazing prints! Printmaker Bryan Nash Gill had taken an ordinary tree stump and painstakingly relief printed it to create amazing limited edition prints. It really takes me back to some of my earliest printmaking endeavors, inking and printing leaves, apples cut in half, and other beautiful natural elements.

Things I love: Speaking of Chocolate...

Cupcakes. Of course, who doesn't love cupcakes? Chocolate or otherwise. I am completely enchanted by all the little cupcake shops that have popped up in nearly every town over the past few years. It is so wonderful to see something that was once relegated only to kid's birthday parties develop into a treat for everyone, and a true art form as well! And all the cupcake goodies out there make it possible to elevate the cupcake to a new level.

Don't you just adore these cupcake pedestals? I can just imagine one at each place setting for a lovely little dessert after a girls' lunch.

Or how about these amazing paper cupcake wrappers? They certainly make every little cupcake extra special.
Of course, Artful Sentiments has its share of cupcakes as well (including one of the newest - Chocolate + Moose) and in addition to all the cupcake cards, I decided that cupcake magnets are a must! So here they are. Sweet, huh?

Inspired: Chocolate

Inspired by chocolate? Um, yes.

Every year I make chocolates for the holidays, a heavenly sweet little treat, a glorious decadent bite of goodness. I especially love making (and eating) truffles - in the past I've made such delights as chocolate raspberry, white chocolate peppermint, pistacio covered white chocolate cherry...mmmm, all delish. This year I tried a new recipe - chocolate peanut butter truffles, a lovely smooth chocolate peanut butter ganache rolled in chopped peanuts. For all you peanut butter cup lovers out there, these are a must try!

That leads me to my inspiration! As a lover of all things chocolate (although I am indulging only in moderation these days), I've added "Chocolate + Moose" to my collection of hand block printed party animal cards. These whimsical notes feature some of my sweet little creatures, along with cupcakes, party hats and birthday cakes.

I think that Chocolate + Moose will sell like hotcakes (or maybe cupcakes!) in Maine, where they love their moose!

Inspired: Snowflakes

I have always been enamored by snowflakes - they are a marvel to me - a lovely symmetry, complex yet simple. As is fitting for the season, I've been seeing them everywhere the recently, but not just literal snowflakes. These snowflake-like images bring back memories, not only of many delightful winter days, but of a favorite childhood toy - the Spirograph!

It all started with my daily peek at a favorite blog, Cafe Cartolina, where I saw this lovely jewelry from JenJewelry. Little pieces of wearable art, so much like the pieces created with a Spirograph - maybe even better... (just this jewelry addict's opinion). I wonder if Jen was inspired by the Spirograph when creating her amazing collection?

Then, a few days ago I was in Restoration Hardware, browsing through their novelties and toys, when I found the Hypotrochoid Art Set, in a little tin, so reminiscent of the original Spirograph! What a sweet creative outlet these would make.
And again, yesterday, as I browsed through the holiday issue of Martha Stewart Living, I found these beautiful lacy yarn pieces, created with a tool called the Knitwit. (Apparently it's been around since the '70's, and I believe it's the only craft I've never attempted - or even seen!). Martha shows examples made with some of the most beautiful yarns, and uses them to make pillow covers, embellish sweaters and more. So charming. (Add this to my list of crafts to try.) And it's all quite fitting, given that winter is arriving and snowflakes are flying, and very inspiring.

Hmmm, I am envisioning some spirograph inspired snowflakes in next year's collection.....

From my sketchbook...

I love the whole process of creating the designs for my cards - forming the idea in my head, sketching, refining the sketch, carving the block, then finally printing. I love seeing what I have imagined come to life on paper. I thought I'd give you a little peek into my sketchbook (which is always with me!) where the designs begin.

These are initial sketches for some greetings that I am planning for my next product release. They are really rough, but they show the ideas as they first get from my head onto the page. I'll take these sketches and refine them before I transfer them to blocks, carve, and then finally print.

Before the National Stationery Show I created a few holiday greetings similar in style - simple greetings with charming images, in the same color palette as my Assorted Affections collection -a bit non-traditional for the holidays, but I love non-traditional.

I am looking forward to adding to this collection, completing the process with the new sketches - carving and and printing... but first, I have lots of printing to do to fill my current orders, so these will have to wait a bit!

January thaw... in February

We're getting a little warm up here in New England... it is supposed to be close to 50 today, but a bit cloudy, and quite breezy. Earlier today it looked like it was pouring rain outside my window, but it was just the massive icicles melting. I'm desperately needing the warmth and some sunshine, and waiting anxiously for when we start consistently getting warm days. Ok, that still may be many weeks away, but a girl can hope.

I've been keeping the dream alive with lots of new spring and summer prints! Can't wait to get them all finished, but here's a little peek to show you what I've been up to. I'm loving curly vines, and have more like the strawberry vine above in the works. I also have lots of new coastal goodies and am looking forward to unveiling all of those at the Boston Gift Show in March. (Of course, I won't be able to resist giving a little peek here in the coming weeks.)

As for right now, well, I'm seeing blue sky and sunshine right now, so I think I'll head out for a little walk and soak up some inspiration!

The last days of 2008...

I'm well rested after a lovely (though slightly hectic) holiday with my family and friends, and I must admit, I spent most of the weekend lounging around, not really accomplishing much of anything... the perfect antidote to the Christmas rush, I think!

Througout the fall and early winter, I've been working on new designs, printing, and preparating for 2009, but still have lots to do in the remaining days of 2008, and for the start of the new year, so I'd better get busy.

First up for me is clean-up and organization of my studio / office (oh, not to mention the rest of my home). I did ask Santa to send me a couple elves to help if he could spare them after Christmas, but it seems they couldn't make it, so I guess I'm on my own. I am armed with some storage boxes from the Container Store and various other sources that I've purchased on sale in recent months, garbage bags for the big purge, and inspiration from the beautifully organized spaces I've seen on so many blogs and on flickr, especially in the Pretty Organized and Organization is for Squares groups. If you're looking for some motivatation and inspiration to get your space in order, check them out. I hope to be able to get my studio looking beautiful (and functioning well) over the next few days, so I can share it here and on flickr as well!

All wrapped up!

A few years ago, I decided to take a step toward simplifying my life, and eliminated the endless half rolls of wrapping paper and mismatched gift bags, and replaced them with white and Kraft paper and bags. Don't get me wrong, I love the gorgeous papers that are out there in the marketplace, but I found that I was always buying it, and never seemed to have the correct color, style or theme to go with my gift, and more importantly with my card. Yes, I'm one of those who must coordinate.

Plain paper - boring, you say? Well, fortunately, I am able to print my paper if I want, so that helps with the boring factor, and there are such beautiful embellishments and ribbons, that I never feel bored.

With everyone wrapping for the holidays, I thought I'd share a couple of my past holiday looks - the first was my favorite ever.


My Christmas card was my polar bear, set against a pale blue sky filled with snowflakes. My wrap - white, with blue organza ribbon. Tags were white, printed with little blue snowflakes. And to top off the packages (for all the girls, at least)... lovely rhinestone and crystal snowflake pins that I collected from vintage stores in the months before Christmas. In some cases, the gift inside was just a small token, a bar of handcrafted soap or some little sweets, and the pin was the real gift! In the years since, I often see my friends, cousins and aunts wearing the little pins that were atop their packages.


Then there was the year of the penguin. My card for that year was the chill card... which I chose because, well, I really needed to do that! For my wrap, I used white again, with hand printed penguin tags, and a variety of apple green ribbons, in polka dots and plaids. My plain white gift bags were all hand printed with the penguins as well. For some of the little gifts, I chose apple green and red polka dot organza bags which I just thought were too cute to pass up! And the little girls had their gifts packaged in pink paper suitcases with green bows and penguin tags.

As for this year... well I'm still working on it. My cards are done, and will be going in the mail in the next few days, and I'm working on my packaging now. Of course, I know I'll be starting with white wrap, then I'll add the ribbons, tags and embellishments!

Happy Wrapping!

Sweet little gifts....

Every year I make inexpensive, creative little gifts for friends, family, and also a few extras to have for hostess gifts, or to have on hand, just in case. I've been working on gifts for everyone on my list, but wasn't sure what to do for the extras. I thought I'd like to use my new tins but wanted to add a little something to them... and finally today, creativity struck!




Faux bois tin filled with homemade white chocolate peppermint bark (get it?).

Honeycomb tin filled with teas, and maybe one of the little honey dippers.














Blossoms tin filled with packets of seeds for spring flowers.










What creative little gifts are you giving this year?

Dear Santa

Wow, I can't believe it's December already. The months have flown by. Sorry I haven't written in a while. You'd think, being in the stationery biz, that I'd be diligent about sending cards and letters, but I will admit I've been a little lax in that area. In most other areas, I've been really good this year, so I think for sure I should be on your nice list.

I know you're getting lots of letters these days, filled with everybody's wish lists. Honestly, I have enough stuff, so you'll find none of that on my list - please make sure to send my share of the stuff to someone who might not otherwise have any packages to open Christmas morning. So, I guess that's my first wish... that there is a little bit of joy for everyone this holiday season.

As for the rest of my list... I wish for continued inspiration and creativity. It really makes me happy to create, and frustrated when I can't find the inspiration, so I'd really love if you could share some of your secrets. After all, if you can keep all those elves inspired, you must have some great secrets. I would really like for my brother to get the kitchen reno he's been dreaming of. I know this is a big one, but John is always so good to me, and he is a fabulous cook and so deserving of a nice kitchen. I'd like for my friend Michelle to get some time for taking care of herself....maybe enough so she and I can book manis and pedis together and spend some quality friend time. And it would be great if Grace could get a little time to come with us too. I wish for continued health and happiness for my family and friends. We went through a few rough years a while ago, and it's really nice to see everyone doing well....I'd love for it to continue. It makes me happy to see them happy.

Well, I think that's more than my share, so I'll stop now. Oh, there is one more (little) thing... if you can spare an elf or two after the Christmas rush, I could really use some help organizing my workshop!

Thanks Santa, for all you do in spreading the cheer!

Have a Merry Christmas and Peace and Joy in the New Year!

xo

Molly

(P.S. You can thank Melissa at Operation Nice for getting me motivated to write this year. She is very inspirational when it comes to keeping her readers on your nice list... so if you can, you should do a little something extra for her this year!)

Art!

Lori from Paisley Wallpaper shared this wonderful youtube video, and I found it so inspirational, I wanted to pass it on!

Enjoy, and be inspired to create!

Warm and Wooly....

now in my etsy shop!

I just love these sweet designs - they remind me of my childhood, winter days, and playing in the snow. I first designed the mitten card several years ago, inspired by my grandmother. Gram loved to knit, and I was lucky enough to always have hand knitted sweaters and hats and mittens. Each year, she would knit me a new pair of mittens, the pair was tied together with a long yarn that you'd thread through your jacket sleeves, so you'd never lose them!

Gram taught me how to knit when I was a child, but it never really held my interest for long enough to make anything bigger than a doll blanket or potholder. I'm thinking I might like to give it a try now, I probably have enough patience to at least end up with a scarf, and with all the lovely hand dyed yarns out there.... hmmmm, I'm talking myself into it!

Life's a beach.... any time of the year.

The beach is a big part of my life and inspiration, not only in the summer, but throughout the year. As a New England native, and a beach-lover since I was 2 weeks old, I am incredibly inspired by the joys of the coast.

Many of my customers, both wholesale and retail, are along the New England coastline, on lovely Cape Cod, the craggy coast of Maine, the beaches of Rhode Island and Connecticut, and of course, the tiny New Hampshire coastline. I've always had a collection inspired by coastal living , and a couple of years ago expanded it to include coastal holidays, combining New England tradition and a bit of whimsy.

This year, one of my retailers, P-Town Pulp in Provincetown (at the very tip of the Cape), asked if I could message the inside of the normally blank coastal holiday cards....it was a bit of a challenge, but wonderful fun! I struggled a bit, not wanting to be too corny, but definitely needing something beyond a generic greeting.... so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites!

Now... I've got tons more of those lobsters with holly to print, so I'd better get back to work.

Autumn Inspirations

I've been enjoying the last few beautiful autumn days - the crisp air, changing leaves, lovely tart apples, and delightfully imperfect pumpkins. It's a wonderful time of year in New England, as so many leaf-peepers will tell you!

As inspired as I am by this season, I'm always designing about 6 months ahead, so here I am loving autumn and sketching, carving and printing new designs for spring and summer! I've never found it an easy task to design this far out, but this year I seem to have found so many inspirations that are translating to a sweet new collection for next year. I'm not ready to unveil the goodies just yet, but you may just see a few before the holidays, since I'm really not very good at keeping secrets.

For now, though, I think I'll enjoy a little more of this gorgeous fall day, and maybe sketch a little more spring and summer from my patio. (Oh, and just so winter isn't neglected in my plan for the day, I'll be printing some holiday cards as well.)

Orange you glad...

My favorite color combination in recent months (years?) is orange and pink. I've found myself adding more and more of it to my life, and as well as into my line. My favorite earrings, a fabulous paisley shawl I wore all last winter, and my zinnia prints, which make me smile like nothing else. When I'm shopping I'm drawn to sweaters and tees in these delightful shades, and would have them all if it wasn't so frivolus to have multiple orange sweaters. (Ok, I admit, I do have more than one orange sweater, but one is cotton and one is wool, so that's ok, right?)
I am beginning to work on additions to my line for next year and I'm quite sure orange and pink will be strongly represented among the patterns and colors.

I'd love to hear what color combinations you're inspired by right now. Orange you glad I asked?