be mine.

Nick and I don't really do presents for Valentine's Day....but I really just adore this ornament from Paloma's Nest (hint!). The simplicity is beyond perfect.

obsession...

I find that I tend to go through obsessive little phases with the things I cook or bake, making the same thing over and over again when I find a great recipe, until we just can't take it anymore. This fall and winter I've been a little (a lot!) fixated on this Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup, a recipe which I stumbled across by accident one day. I tend more towards the savory camp when it comes to butternut soups, so this recipe is just heaven in my book.
Do you have any favorite recipes from these winter months?

Romantics Unite!

Every time I watch a Jane Austen movie, I am always fixated on the scenes where someone receives a letter- sealed with wax, elaborately folded, the recipient quickly unfurls the folds to read the gorgeous lettering within.

So this year for our Hello Handmade valentines, Shanna and I decided to take a cue from Austen's era and create these lovely Regency Valentines! Hand-painted and hand-lettered, folded in the regency style, and sealed with striped washi paper tape and wax, these personalized, customizable valentines are truly something spectacular, if I do say so myself. And 10% of each valentine sale is going to the American Red Cross relief for Haiti, which makes them even more special.
Just wanted to share some love with you today.... xo

simple song's mailing...

I know the holiday season is more than over at this point, but I wanted to share these photos of the lettering I did for Suann's holiday mailing this year. She did the letterpressing, and the boxes were filled with goodies from Whimsy and Spice. Here is the link to her post about them! I was totally honored when Suann asked me to work with her on this project, as her blog, Simple Song, is one of my very favorites.

Image from Simple Song

Lucy & Orla

Last month a sweet woman man named Francis (Mortifying: Francis sent me a note this morning correcting my mistake- tattoo was for daddy's arm all along. I had it all wrong.) emailed me to see if I would be interested in scrawling out her his daughters' names for a tattoo, and of course I eagerly said yes. Here is the result (and a cute photo of the young family, to boot). One of the sweetest projects I've worked on in a while!

ducks in a row...

Happy New Year! It has been a while since I've posted, my excuse being the whir of the holiday season as it flew past! But I'm back, and ready to jump into a whole new year (decade, while we're at it!). How about you?
My parents generously helped us buy and install a dishwasher this Christmas, which has been the most wonderful gift ever. It has given us the gift of hours more time during the week to spend on other things besides dishes, and since it displaced the only drawers in our kitchen, it has kicked off a whole-house organizational spree. People always talk about "spring cleaning," but I think the dawn of a new year is the most perfect and fitting season to really make huge, cleansing changes in lots of areas- house and home, priorities, attitudes, etc. It feels good, doesn't it? Here's to the freshness and hope of a brand new January!

Image from Toast by Post.

shop talk

Hello there! Are you feeling festive?! Hello Handmade certainly is, and we've marked our 2010 Laureled Tea Towel down to $20 to prove it! We've also listed some bulk orders in quantities of 2,5, and 10 for those of you looking to stock up- these are at an even further discount with free shipping. Yay!

We are also having a giveaway over at Poppytalk. Just leave a little comment (on the Poppytalk post) with your favorite holiday tradition by 10 PM Pacific, and a winner will be selected and announced tomorrow.

Hope this makes you feel merry and bright!

interview

There is a little interview with me today on the Martha Stewart Wedding blog, called The Bride's Guide. Thanks, Shira, for asking me to be a part of your column! I feel so honored.

Tell Your Story...

My friend Laura Adams just launched Storyteller Public Relations, and I just wanted to share her new website, as I think she is amazing at what she does, (and I also did the lettering for her logo!). Check it out!

wishing we had seasons...

Nick and I just got back from taking a little trip to Sedona and Prescott, Arizona. We met up with our friends Rob and Meghann in Sedona, and then traveled solo to Prescott, where I had spent a lot of time growing up, as my grandparents used to live there. It actually felt like autumn in Prescott, with leaves on the ground- it felt wintry too, at a chilly 27 degrees during the night. Now we're back in Tucson and it is a balmy 80 degrees today. Oh well, at least we were able to pretend we lived in a climate with actual seasonal distinctions for a few days on our trip!

Grace and Aaron

I was excited to see Grace Bonney's Savannah wedding featured in the Fall issue of Martha Stewart Weddings, and there was a tiny little photo of a sign I did for the reception included, too. Fun! She posted extensively about her wedding a couple of weeks ago on her blog. I especially loved all of the sweet attention to little details- I wanted to post of few of those photos here. Congrats, Grace and Aaron!

Grace had her invitations printed by Bird and Banner on 75 different vintage handkerchiefs, printing numbers on the leftover ones for table numbers. I loved this idea so much! What a sweet memento for guests to keep!
I loved the way the flowers were done at this wedding, down to the simple gardenia in Grace's hair. And look at those chair swags! Beyond beautiful. Flowers by Garden on the Square. Gorgeous paper flowers by Erin Heath.
Adorable flags for the straws made by Grace herself.
Favors were bags of grits from a local farm, with fabric buttons by Busy Beaver Button Co.
The signs describing the food and drinks were done by me.
Sweet ring pillow made by Llubav Choy-Duerr.
May your new life together be blessed, Grace and Aaron!

Photography by Bethalee.

green.

I've been feeling extra motivated to live as "greenly" as possible lately. All it takes sometimes is making a little extra effort to conquer laziness and be good stewards of our resources, you know? Hanging your laundry instead of drying it, bringing your own bags to the store, unplugging items you aren't using.....there are dozens of great little ways to change your lifestyle. But I've come to think that the key is really learning to change your mindset.

In our consumer driven society, we are trained to believe that our value is based upon our level of consumption. So we are continuously trying to upgrade our wardrobe, our houses, our cars, etc., and we are never, ever satisfied. Its a hard cycle to break out of, I'm the first one to admit. But it is crucial to start examining the excessive way we live, and start focusing on the things that really matter- our family and our friends, our spiritual life, blessing others through service, savoring the small moments, etc. Here is a link to a video called "The Story of Stuff" that really convicted me to start making some changes. What do you think?

Greetings from Hello Handmade!

Good morning! Shanna and I have been waiting for this season to roll around again for a whole year, and now it is finally time to reopen our Hello Handmade shop selling this winter's goodies! Listed starting today are the Tannenbaum Specimen Chart and the 2010 Laureled Tea Towel. At the end of November we will be listing some downloadable items, such as an advent calendar, ornament, and bunting.
It was such a wonderful experience getting to work together on these items this summer in Rochester. Creating beautiful designs with such an amazing, wonderful friend is such a giddy feeling. We are so proud of them and hope you will love them, too!

Boo!

To be honest, I'm not really into the whole Halloween thing very much, I just think it is rather creepy with evil underpinnings. But I was super happy with the way these envelopes for a costume ball turned out, complete with kooky, turned-sideways-house-of-mirrors-effect "head" stamps. I loved drawing all those creepy, twisty ribbons, too.

Happy 25th!

The Monterey Bay Aquarium turns 25 this week. Here's a cool little audio slide show about it. On our trip up the coast last December, this was one of our favorite stops. We read Cannery Row in the car on the way there, to help us get in the mood. I loved the jellyfish exhibit especially much. I would highly recommend stopping there, if you are passing through!

Heather and Evie

My friend Heather is an amazingly talented writer, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to link to her lovely blog. Isn't her little baby Evangeline the cutest?

Map Quilts

I absolutely love the idea of "map quilts," and here are two very different examples of the concept. The top image of a soft map quilt is by Emily Fischer, a Brooklyn based architect and artist, and the photo below is one I had bookmarked a long time ago- a paper quilt created by Susan Stockwell. I love them both!

(Reference to Emily Fischer via Snippet and Ink)

Rachel and Michael

I just wanted to share these gorgeous photos from the June marriage of Rachel Cardina and Michael Adkins. I had worked with Rachel, who is a fabulous designer, on this spread for Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles a while ago, and then she contacted me to provide some of the lettering for the invitations she was designing for her wedding. Please click here on their wedding blog to see some more invitation details. The wedding took place at the JCT Kitchen in Atlanta, and I just love the photos, taken by Jose Villa. Many blessings on your new life together, guys!

And just as a bonus, I think it is super fun that Rachel posted these pictures from their honeymoon on her wedding blog. Looks relaxing!

So sad.

I was so disappointed to learn yesterday that Gourmet magazine will be closing its doors after nearly 70 years in print. This is my favorite magazine by far, and I will sorely miss it. Nick was asking what the big deal was since all of the recipes can still be found online at Epicurious, and he has a point, but I told him there is just something so satisfying about flipping through an issue, getting inspired, trotting to the kitchen with the recipe, and getting the pages all splattered with the evidence of a meal prepared with love. I'll take actual, tangible cookbooks and glossy issues of Gourmet any day over a recipe I have to print out on computer paper in the office.

Lauren and David

Congratulations to Lauren and David, who were married this past August at the Encantado Resort in Sante Fe, New Mexico. I loved all of the "southwestern" detailing, such as corn husks on the chairs, succulents on the cake, and a turquoise bracelet on the bride's wrist. And take a look at those monsoon-y looking clouds- what a breathtaking backdrop. May your new life together be blessed, Lauren and David!

Photography by Twin Lens, LLC.

a sneaky peek...

Well, ladies and gents, here is a tiny little sneak peek of some of the items that Shanna and I will be selling through our Hello Handmade shop this upcoming season! We can't wait to unveil everything more fully.....just pulling together some loose ends at this point. Cheers!