Printing by Hand

I think I might order this new book: Printing by Hand by Lena Corwin. The cover makes me want to get my Gocco out and start stamping (and I haven't even seen inside yet!)

All I've got to do now is choose what to stamp on, now shall it be paper or fabric, paper or fabric, paper or fabric....?!

Image by Thayer Allyson Gowdy

Etsy Shops

I always seem to find myself over at Etsy whenever I'm feeling a bit "stressed"... I think it's the calming shopping feeling that kicks in when your looking at all those lovely creations that helps... before I know it I'm nice and relaxed again dreaming about what to buy next!

Seeing as I've been over there quite a bit lately!, I though I'd complile you a list of some of my favourite Etsy shops.

So here they are:)

curtie01.etsy.com
sarahparrott825.etsy.com
jenskelley.etsy.com
orangebeautiful.etsy.com
simplesongdesigns.etsy.com

Adana 5 x 3 Letterpress

I'm so excited... I've just given in and bought myself an Adana 5 x 3 Letterpress!

It needs a bit of TLC as it's in a bit of a state! I haven't got a clue how to use it or what parts it needs!... but it's going to be fun finding out!

I will post some more pictures of it soon!

Under The Stair Studios

If you looking for something a bit unusual, something magically memorable to mark an important day then have a look at Kat Whelan's etsy shop: Under The Stair Studios... which she has just opened!
Her etsy shop is filled with Paper Circus's designed, illustrated and hand cut by Kat, to little card's with delicate butterflies on that look as if they have just landed... I love them all!


... if I had to choose a favourite though, I think it would be the Dancing Hare Paper Circus. You can make the four little dancing hares dance by turning the little flag on the top, how delightful!

Kat's blogs are great too:

Under The Stair Studios
Kat Whelan Illustrations
Shoestring Garden

Images from Kat Whelan

A little peek inside!

Tiny doors and little windows... I gave my daughter, Kayleigh this Fairy Castle Lift-The-Flap Card for her fifth birthday, and she adores it. She keeps checking inside all the little doors and windows to see if the tiny birds, fairies and flowers are still in the same places!... how sweet!

... now why can't I have a Lift-The-Flap-Card for my next birthday (hint, hint!) It's not just five year old's that like unicorns and fairies and little doors and windows to open!... other ("slightly older") people do too!

Paper Source Perfection!

A few photo's of yummy goodies from our recent Paper Source order... all ready for creating with!

Yuzen Red Pool Plum Blossoms on Chocolate Japanese Decorative Paper. (This smell's fantastic!)

Eyelets, Snaps & #10 Flat Card all in Chocolate. Setter and Translucent Laser Vellum Sheets.

Envelope Templates & Envelope Liner Templates, Lick & Stick Glue & 5 3/4" Teflon Folder (never leaves a shiny mark, like a traditional bone folder can)

The Paper Source Shape & Colour Guide 2008!

Katazome Lavender White Flowers/Vines Japanese Decorative Paper. (This smell's fantastic!)

Eyelets, Snaps, A7 Envelopes & #10 Flat Card all in Beet. A7 Flat Cards & A7 Box Mailer in Luxe Cream. 1 1/2" Double-Faced Satin Ribbon in Black.

Leaf 2.5 Round Labels.

(The colour is a little out on some of the photo's...all the Paper Source goodies look far more delicious than we have managed to show here!)

We will post our creations as soon as they are finished!

Printing with a Letterpress

I have been meaning to write a post on Letterpressing for a while now.

This is something I have always wanted to learn.

I remember using a letterpress years ago at school to print some posters up (I think it was an Adana) and fell in love there and then! I am hoping to get myself a press... as soon as possible!

I have found a few sites that are really interesting, especially if you are beginner... like me!

They are:

www.handandeye.co.uk
www.britishletterpress.co.uk/machines/adana
www.snapandtumble.com
www.dolcepress.com




I adore this image from Flickr, I think its very provocative! Dosen't it make you just want to get printing... right now!

... and I just love the work of Sesame Letterpress check out their Flickr Photostream for more!



Envelope design by Sesame Letterpress

Gocco Sentiments!

Found these lovely cards on Etsy Shop Jess Gonacha.



Have you ever wanted to tell someone how special they are in the form of a card but couldn't find the right sentiment? Well Jessica has found the answer!

This set of 4 notecards has 4 different sentiments in the set:

"everything will be alright"
"you are my sunshine"
"you are so loved"
"we are all made of stars"

... these sweet little cards are sure to brighten the day of whoever receives them:)

Image from Etsy Shop Jess Gonacha

Ribbons Galore

Ribbons Galore is a site I heart today... especially their blue/brown dots ladybird (10mm or 3/8"wide) ribbon.



How cute!

Image from Ribbons Galore

Colour Guide

This is a close up of the current Paper Source Shape and Colour Guide. The colours are just wonderful and are designed to compliment each other beautifully.



Chocolate & Pool are my favourite colour combination... at the moment!



(Pool is actually a little greener than it looks in this photo)

Mr P... the purple envelope!

You just have to visit these great new accountants called Mazuma who have created an innovative pack designed to take the headache out of finances for small and medium-sized businesses.

Mr P (created by Mazuma) is "the purple envelope" You use it monthly to hold all of your accounts documents, sales invoices, receipts, bank statements etc. You then seal it and post it back to Mazuma who will then do all of your bookkeeping, payroll and VAT and then produce you a set of monthly management accounts and send them back to you. You then start the process all over again by filling a new purple envelope for the next month!

We just love Mr P!... what a sophisticated way to keep your accounts in order! Well done Mazuma for making bookkeeping fun... and a little less daunting!

A little sticky reminder!

This is the first draft copy of our new stickers that you will soon see on some of your orders. We will be sticking them onto our Jiffy Green envelopes and will make another version up to go onto our new Compost-a-Bubble bubble wrap... so you don't forget to be "purply" green!

What do you think then?



... it will be printed on a Leaf 2.5" round label from Paper Source, and is nice and simple.

There are a few adjustments to be made though before we print the final ones!... for starter's the opacity and font colours are not quite right. (The font we have used is Abadi MT Condensed Light... if you are interested!)

Paper Source Stockists!

We're so excited here at Purple Greetings Cards... as we are now Paper Source stockist's! Paper Source is a premiere seller of fine, handmade papers from around the world. Based in America they have several stores and can also be found online. Their trademark is "Do something creative every day"... a great reminder to keep creating!



We are great fans of Paper Source and their spectacular selection is sold in a wide range of forms - large sheets, pre-cut and packaged letter sized sheets, envelopes and accessories, their palette is uniquely Paper Source - with colours developed by and exclusively manufactured for them.



Have a look at this fun Paper Source ColourScope and let their colours tell you more about yourself!



Our current order is making it's way from America to us right now... with our favourite Japanese handmade silkscreened papers included in the order we are counting the days down until it arrives! You may have already noticed the beautiful paper appearing in your orders as we hand line our baby beet envelopes (another fantastic Paper Source product) with it and make our stickers our of it!



We will update our website with our new range as soon as it arrives and as we order regulary from Paper Source... please let us know if there are any special Paper Source products that you have fallen in love with and would like us order for you!

Images from Flickr

Hot Tips and Trends

I have been admiring the work of Chartula Studio for a quite a while now... their delightful bespoke wedding stationery is just divine! I adore their laser cut invitations...



and their Hot Tips and Trends are very helpful too!

Image from Chartula Studio

A Year of Flowers

I found this lovely blog today called A Cup Of Jo You just have to read her "A Year of Flowers" post!

52 little envelopes, were given to someone very special for her birthday by an extremely romantic husband...each with a handwritten love note and cash inside to buy fresh flowers every week for a year.

Make sure you check out the photos of the beautiful flowers she has bought so far!



How delightful is that!...

Image from A Cup of Jo

Handdrawn Peacock Print

I adore this Gocco'ed Peacock Print from Etsy shop SnowDropSense. It's a handdrawn image printed with a Gocco. I can't stop looking at it, the detail is amazing. I just had to show you it. (I've always loved peacocks ever since I was little!)



Oh...and if you haven't visited Etsy yet....hurry up! You don't know what your missing out on!

Image from SnowDropSense

02/07/08 - Keen to be "purply" green!

We are very keen to become more eco-friendly at Purple Greetings Cards... so instead of just automatically re-ordering our usual bubble wrap, we decided to take the time to see if there was any compostable bubble wrap available to pack our orders in.

We came across Compost-a-Bubble ("Compost-a-ble"...get it?) bubble wrap from
PH Flexible Packaging Ltd



So... from the end of next week we will start using the Compost-a-Bubble, bubble wrap at Purple Greetings Cards, you will notice the difference as it is matt white rather than clear... we will even put a sticker on it to remind you it's Compost-a-Bubble!

... and we have also just started to use Jiffy Green envelopes to pack your orders in as well!