Sorry, I'm a Slacker, but there's a good reason

Yeah, i've be awol for a while. Bad Ashley! But i've been busy. Prepping for this:

So, on SATURDAY, at The Highball there's an Austin Flea going on, and if you're in town come by!! (Sorry if you're not local, but if you have friends who are, send them my way.)

There's going to be a sh!t-ton of vendor and it is going to rock. (Plus, $3 mimosas. Derrick, i'm looking at you.)

Of course, inviting will be there, with some brand new products, from the super-elegant to the borderline-goth. I'm thrilled with them and hope you will be, too!
This will be inviting's first south Austin event. Come out and say hi! (And, maybe buy some stationery? I can accept credit cards now!)

Ack! The Full English in Austin? Yes, please!

So the "full English" is one of the most amazing meals/things *ever*. Had it a few times in England and in Scotland. Imagine my surprise and joy when I saw that there's a cafe IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD called Full English. (Okay, not exact neighborhood but close enough to ride a bicycle to should I be so inclined. (i am not.) you get the idea though.) I'm really wondering how i am just NOW finding this out?* It's off a busy road and you can see if when driving by! Madness.  But anyway, I know of it now and am thrilled.

One of the many cozy seating areas of the Full English cafe

We went there for breakfast today because, again, a Full English is, well, when done all out, it's B.T.S. ; ) This one wasn't b.t.s, but it was still pretty damn tasty!

Bangers, fried toast, roasted tomato half, tasty tasty mushrooms, fried eggs, and yummy salty bacon. $8.

 Turns out they also do a High Tea ($15/person) so I'll be doing that (soon i hope!) with mom.
Check them out HERE. (*Oh, and turns out they just had their official grand opening on the 25th so I don't feel so bad now. yay.)

Any one know where to get black pudding in Austin?  (The pudding at Fado in their Full English is pretty good.)

In other news...

Made these Saturday morning for inviting. An etsian said she liked my folded cards and was looking for something like that to frame for a newborn's room, so I came up with these. The pinks (shown) are a little larger than 5x7, and they're also printed on white cotton paper, gray cardstock, and a cool coppery-shimmery cardstock.

Tried making tempura veggies for the first time. A little difficult when the package has no english whatsoever. But I made it work, and wow was it yummy!! I did asparagus spears and avocado quarters. The avocado not so much, but the asparagus- très délicieux. So that, plus some ramen and edamame (not pictured) was dinner one night. Not the healthiest, but something new.

Have a great week, and don't forget you can purchase a letterpress printed bookmark HERE - all proceeds go to relief efforts in Japan.

Help Japan

Just printed these bookmarks. All proceeds will go to Japan.
Click on the picture to be taken to the etsy page for more info.

It Looks So Small...

When it was in seven or so boxes, my inventory (boxed cards) looked like so much more. Now that it's all nicely tucked away, it doesn't look like i've been busy at all!

Or maybe it just looks like I get a lot of etsy sales? Sure, we'll go with that.

Top shelf, A7s, A6s, and my groovy "goth invites" as well as some of the smaller packs.
Middle shelf, A2s and 4bars, plus coasters and bookmarks.
Bottom shelf - holiday items.

On display, jasmine-scented candle (my favorite scent for candles), extra SXSW invitations because they look so damn cool, a little budha, a sequined skull (the question isn't why do i have a skull, it's why *don't you* have one?), and an antique stamp (for fabrics i believe) that was a housewarming gift from one of T's gaming buddies and his g.f. Pretty cool.

No, I still haven't finished painting.
Like that surprises you.

My Mostly-Painted Study

Since the other bookcase's order was closed (still not happy about that) I found a quick replacement for 1/3 the price. Super quick (and free) shipping was great but
a) it was a bitch-and-a-half to put together. I believe it was a 2-person job but that's not how i roll.
b) it's cheap. during the shopping portion that's great, but during assembly, not so much.

But it's up, and while less real estate than my bricks-and-boards leftover from college, i'll make it work. (Bulk trash collection was the other day but someone adopted my cinder blocks before it came. Glad they got a good home.)

The color is from Lowes, "pink wink," and i actually brought in a letterpress card i printed to match because i really love the (discontinued) paper:

So, the plan I guess:
-finish painting, maybe Friday evening I'll complete it. I have above and behind the door, above the window, and some touch-ups left. Then of course the door itself, which i'd rather just replace but i can't find what i want.
-paint the trim and door frame. Plain white or glossy black?; ) Probably white. bah.
-paint the wood of my desk chair and an "A" hook (thanks, mom!) glossy black.
-figure out how to hang my collection of framed art and pictures. Over the chaise (aw, there's a kitty curled up on it right now.) i think.
-oh, and most importantly, get myself organized!!

Map It!

This might be really nerdy, but I think it's cool to see where my customers are.

 

Blue = 2009 Customers

Yellow = 2010 Customers

Look at all that yellow! There is more blue than is shown, but the yellow covers some of them up.

It's been a good year. : ) I'm ready for 2011!
And if you want some letterpress goodies on sale, visit the facebook page and click on Email Signup tab. You'll get the coupon code before it's shared publicly.  : )

Fun with Fuchsia Ink!

This is what happens when you have the day off, finish a print-job using fuchsia ink, and find more blank coasters...

Uh, yeah these are on etsy if you're interested!

It's insane how happy I am when printing. Practically indecent.

Printing Saturday

Like most Saturday mornings, today's was spent in the print shop. Today's projects included some Call Me calling cards, those damned Ladies of Letterpress postcards (doomed project full of frustration and procrastination), some halloweenish invitations, and a couple other things. Busy morning. Overall, it went okay, minus the LOL postcards. I hate that project. *But* the ladies of inviting had their first printing injury. My partner got her fingers smooshed.

Ouch!

Her fingers are still swollen but not as bad as this. The knuckles are very very bruised though. She can bend them okay so we're hoping nothing is broken or damaged.

We're both relieved to know that getting your fingers caught between the paper and the image isn't as bad as we imagined: flattened fingers or pieces missing! But we were using the aluminum base and polymer plates and not metal type. Ughhhhh.... I feel woozy just thinking about what *could* have happened.

Well, it was bound to happen eventually, right? We've had the machine for 3 years...

Oof.

I was hoping to have more here this year but have been very busy with the printing. And when I'm not at the day job or working for the weekend job, I'm trying to do nothing. (Nothing sometimes = a beer on the couch while zoning out to South Park. Need to get to knitting again, holidays are coming up.)

But alas.

Seriously, i've "worked" the past 2 weekends, and have 2 more coming up. Longing to sleep in, but with the temperatures the way they've been, even with the portable a/c unit, the mornings are the only good time to print. And there's been a wedding, personalized cards for a photographer in PA, cards for a friend in NYC, experiments, etc.

I do love it though. : )
And am very much looking forward to winter- sleeping in a little, enjoying a nice long morning, and then getting up to go print.

Anyhoo. What has been going on?

I turned XXIX and got sick with a horrible sinus infection a couple of days before so was totally miserable that week, and I even had 3 days off from work to celebrate ME and it was terrible. Then that week my girlie doctor told me she wants me to lose weight, to get back where I was 2 years ago. (If I didn't like her so much I'd call her a total bitch and be looking for a new dr. But a good dr. is hard to find, and she is pretty cool. And okay, fine, she's right. Still.)

But my bday wasn't a total dud: my brother and his Ashley came over to grill dinner and my mom baked a rhubarb crumble. It was a nice dinner but I was just wiped out.

 I have a thing for fun make-up palettes

and am trying out a dry-shampoo for those 

'i really don't want to wash my hair' days.

There's been a make-do area in my kitchen area: an old aquarium stand with a crappy shelf laying on top of it, serving as a little "this is where i keep my tea pot and sugars" area. And yeah, it was probably as bad as you're picturing. But looking on crateandbarrel.com they had this lovely tall and narrow wine shelf thing that would have been perfect... except it was over $500. Bah. And all the bakers racks I'd seen were too country, too 'vintage wine country,' or too traditional - so not us. But then I saw a simple  little white cabinet, glass doors, 2 drawers, would look great in that space... for under $150! Sold! And i got it 2 days later. Crazy fast $1 shipping. : )

Well, then I had to put it together.

 Fuuuddddgggge. NOTHING came pre-assembled.

1 cocktail (Pimms & Ginger), 10 minutes of music, and almost all of Gordon Ramsay on Master Chef, it was completed!

And it's perfect. Little (and I do mean little) drawers hold teas and sweeteners, and as it's mounted to the wall, nothing jiggles when the doors open or close. Only thing I need to change- add 1 more shelf (crap, and i was at Lowe's this morning too) so that I can hold ALL my tea things and not have anything stacked. But it looks nice, right? Surprisingly, even T likes it.

Since inviting has been rather busy this month (had to make project sheets to keep everything straight- it's been wonderful!) I've been taking any help I can get. Business Partner's been coming out again, and when photographing and posting in the afternoons when it's too hot to print, these two have been helpers:

The Emma's "helping" cut paper? Uh, okay. 

She also keeps an eye on the computer while I'm out  printing. 

I come in to wash my hands and see her either on my desk or on my chair, supervising. 

 Darcy "helping" me with etsy.com listings.

And see? Been busy, and this isn't even everything I've worked on this month! (But I'm really not complaining. I *challenge* you- let's see how many orders I can handle. Hit me with your best shot. And, uh, the holidays are coming up. Really, they'll be here before we know it! Shop early and you'll be less stressed later!)

Happy Valentine's Day

As some of you know, we took Darcy to the vet for a small bump on his chin. Poor guy had a (non-cancerous) tumor that needed to be removed. He did really well, the people at the animal hospital love him, and he had to wear a silly collar (which he kept flipping back like a bib so we just left it like that) for a week, until his stitches were removed.
Here's Darcy trying to sit comfortably:


I have a slight eye glases addiction, thanks to the super affordable zennioptical.com. Had $ to use up from my flex spending account in December so I ordered SIX pairs. Here's one of the more fun pairs : ) It's lime green on the inside, black on the outside, and had lots of sparkles at the corners, pink sparkles making little flowers, too.


And for my dressing room, I made a very nifty purchase. A girl needs a place to sit while she puts on her stockings and shoes, no? Found a fabulously huge (40" across), tufted, round velvet ottoman (from overstock.com) for a *great* price (plus used BillMeLater so no payment is due until May- nice). Here's Darcy modeling it, the evening his stitches were removed:

And on the stationery business front, the AMOA (austin museum of art) downtown is holding a Hatch Show Print exhibit and the buyer, who is fabulous, contacted inviting about having cards for sale in the gift shop during the exhibit. I busted my butt last week and got 2 dozen of 5 designs printed and packaged, and they will be in the shop early this week! Show your support for a local letterpress printing shop and buy a few cards. I'd love to get an email saying "we sold out and need more!"

(The trains are actually printed in brown, not orange)

That's it for now! More later I'm sure. Since I've neglected this I have some catching up to do! : )

Happy Valentine's Day, whether you celebrate it or not. We pick up some chocolate covered strawberries from Amy's Ice Cream, a pizza from Homeslice, and watch a movie; nothing fancy. Almost like any other day ; )

Holiday Card Giveaway

Because I'm in a good mood, enter to win this letterpressed holiday card from inviting.

To enter, leave a comment: What was the best part of 2009?

I'll select a winner by random on Monday morning, and I get up early, so enter by Sunday night just to be sure.

Also, become a fan of inviting on facebook.
Or, follow inviting on twitter.
It'll make me happy. Really.

Have you seen these yet?

Business Cards: Final!
Originally uploaded by inviting

Over the weekend I did my first multi-color printing job- my business cards. Check out those bubbles! Wheeee!

Printing Project

Did this one a couple weeks ago and it just felt wrong to mention it in July. Now that it's mid-August, I feel a little better sharing it. : )

Staycation Day 1

So for my first day of the staycation...

Spent an hour or so in the print shop today, making blind-punched thank you notes.

They are listed on etsy now.

Watched a meh movie (Duets) on netflix and knitted some of a scarf- pink organic cotton yarn- chunky and textured.

Aiming for a somewhat narrow long fun scarf. Looking forward to fall...

Went to the Domain to The Steeping Room for tea and scones with Mom, then wandered through a few shops

Yummy scone with jam and clotted cream!
When the weather cools down, will definitely go back for a pot of hot tea and scones.

Put on Clueless for background giggles (sadly it made me feel old; dumb high school kids, man...) and marinated some chicken for dinner and tried some zucchini cakes- yum!! Serve that with some plain organic yogurt with a 3-finger pinch of curry powder...

Also saw the carrots in the fridge (blech, carrots. Really. Especially baby carrots- i can only eat 5 and then I feel the gag coming...) and decided Carrot Cake! I don't think I've ever made it from scratch before so... Found a recipe from a pretty reliable source.

Not the prettiest, but you know what? I don't care!
It's a cake from scratch, and it tastes like carrot cake, so there!

Had dinner with T (chicken, basmati rice, steamed brocolli, and a zucchini cake

Wouldn't tell T what was in the veggie mound until after he tasted it.
He does not like zucchini, but thought these were okay. Didn't care for the yogurt dipping sauce.

And went to Central Market in hopes of finding those citrus slices.

Success!

Someone who features letterpress studios, who I've been in contact with, has asked to feature us. Eeek! I'm not ready! But no time like the present, right? In the morning I'll do a few reprints, get them online, and *then* say "sure!"