Where's that 40' x 40' studio I requested?

I recently purchased a die cutting machine. It's going to be great and save a lot of time once it's set up. Unfortunately, it's a bit larger than I'd expected, so I've been spending the last few days purging my office/studio of the piles that have built up since the last purge in 2007. It's amazing what accumulates if you don't keep an eye on things.

On a positive note - aside from the new die cutter - I did find quite a few single cards, one-offs, discontinued items, experiments, etc. Over the next few days I'm going to post most of them over in my Etsy shop as sale items.

Now to find just a bit more space.

It's amazing what color and a perspective shift can do

I posted a new set of cards over in my Etsy shop. Called “Wave hello”, I think it's amazing what putting a very similar cut pattern on a different color and lying it horizontal instead of vertical does to the image. Suddenly what looked like a creature from the deep now looks like the deep (water that is).

Dare not speak its name

More fun with security envelope patterns. I just posted this new card over in my Etsy store. Done freehand, using an exacto knife, the pattern came out very cthulu-esque. Does a message written in a cthulu greeting card need to make sense?

Packaging as part of the whole

I've been really enjoying Jackie Hernandez' posts on handmade and creative packaging over at Crafting a Green World. I'm definitely a strong believer in packaging and think it can make or break a product, and the items she's posted are absolutely beautiful. They have my head spinning with new ideas.

I am surprised at something she said though. In her post on Thursday, she said, "You do not need extravagant overdone packaging that will probably be thrown away by the recipient. Instead keep it simple, keep it easy to open, and keep it handmade." When reading that, I kept coming back to the question: why make something that will be thrown away by the recipient? If at all possible, shouldn't the packaging be something that can be reused in some way? I know it's not always possible, but when it is, it sure seems like the more ecologically-friendly option.

Two examples of this in practice come to mind. I visited Japan for the first time a few years ago. That's a country that knows how to create beautiful packaging. I still have some of the "ordinary" papers a few books I purchased were wrapped in, and have used other papers in projects since then. They were too beautiful to just recycle. Even simple wrapping was a work of art. Although I was leaning in that direction anyway, that trip really did firm up my belief that the packaging can be as important as the inside.

Secondly, I was thinking of shopping bags. Although the majority of my purchases go in cloth bags these days, I do still occasionally get store bags. Cheap plastic bags go directly into the recycling, but sturdy, well-made paper (and sometimes plastic) bags with cloth or string handles go in the drawer to be used later. And we do use them until they fall apart. What better branding for a company than to have their logo seen again and again because they've made a bag that can be reused?

Ultimately, for me, it comes down to lifecycle being as important as origin.

I began creating keepsake boxes as part of my card sets as a long-term packaging solution. The box can be reused long after the cards are gone.

Patterns within patterns within patterns

As I noted in an earlier post, I've been working on some projects using the patterns found in security envelopes. After a couple of false starts, I finished up the first set of cards yesterday. Cut freehand with an exacto knife, I'm pretty happy with the outcome – pairing two patterns together.

Shown: 4" x 6" blank, folded card and 2.5" x 4" blank, folded gift tag

Scraps take on a new life as bookmarks

I love paper – shiny, handmade, banana, hemp, linen, wood – paper of all kinds. But, I often find the me-that-loves-paper at odds with the me-that-wants-a-sustainable-lifestyle. I have a hard time reconciling the two sides, especially when I walk into de Medici Ming or even Paper Zone and begin drooling over all the pretties. I end up keeping a lot of scraps. After all, they'll be useful for something, right?

So, I end up drowning in boxes of scrap paper. I've made it a mission to plow through the pieces and use them in projects this year. I've detailed one attempt below as a stack-o-scratch paper.

My new project had been bookmark sets. Who doesn't love using a real bookmark to mark their place in a book instead of that envelope or newspaper corner? I love these sets because the bookmarks aren't so “precious” that one doesn't want to use them for fear of damaging them, but still pretty enough to have fun choosing the right bookmark for the book.

I've sold a few sets, and there is still one available in my store.

Hidden beauty in security envelopes

Lately, I've been collecting security envelopes as they arrive in the mail. Although not a new idea to re-use security envelopes, there are a few projects that will incorporate the inside patterns.

It's been fascinating to me to collect and actually pay attention to these patterns. They are as varied as they are beautiful. It's a good reminder about how much of our world is purposefully designed and we never notice. So, here's a shout out to all of those designers and illustrators who have made something beautiful out of something so mundane as a security envelope.

Above are some of my favorite designs so far. Click on the photo to see a larger image.

Making scratch paper

Despite my best efforts, as a graphic designer, I print – a lot. If the papers I print don't have proprietary information, then I add it to my “stack” of paper to be used as a “blotter” when I'm glueing items. Great for a gluestick/PVA junkie like me. But lately my stack is getting a bit tall, so I've been looking for alternative uses.

I came up with a stack of scratch paper for notes, figures, lists, etc. Cutting a standard letter-size piece of paper into quarters gives a good size for scratch paper. But, I really didn't like just having a stack o' paper sitting on my desk, so I made a container. It's made of mat board and covered with a burgandy red paper and lined with black. I then made a collage of words cut out of magazines to cover the back panel, which will slowly reveal themselves as I use the stack of paper.