good morning, julie!

inspiration to begin the year

2012-01-05T18:00:00.000-08:00

Two thousand and twelve. It is here! I am partial to numbers that I think look balanced and beautiful, and I think 2012 is one of those beautiful numbers. Sets a nice tone for the year, don't you think?

Illustration by Katie Daisy

I wanted to share a few things that are inspiring me right now.

Yukon and Alaska: Some of my favourite memories from 2011 are from a quick road trip I took with two friends to Yukon and Alaska last summer. (You know you must live too far north when you can use the words "quick" and "road trip to Alaska" in one sentence!) But seriously, we saw some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. At work I'm using a huge Mac, I don't even know the size of the screen, but lately I keep Yukon scenes as my wall paper: both are vast and beautiful!
Time off over this holiday season has been wonderfully rejuvenating. I've been reading some books about modern-day and past heroes who embody true sacrifice and love. Sleeping in, spending time with family and friends, cutting and gluing, handlettering...doing things that help me relax. My sister also served us a tremendous turkey dinner + two rounds of turkey sandwiches...yum!
Birthmas (my birthday and Christmas, which fall near each other) is a joyful time of giving and receiving sweet notes, handmade gifts and kindness. One of my favourite gifts was a bright and beautiful necklace by Yeonhee, a local Korean jewelry designer who shows her craft at some of our local farmer's markets. I sort of wish it matched my outfit every day.
My talented brother's website design was featured in Applied Arts' December '11 magazine. So proud of that guy (not just for his talent, but for the man he is becoming, too). Did I mention that he's only recently graduated from design school? This was a project he completed while interning at Pylon in Toronto.
A recent winter handlettering and illustration project of mine got great feedback both from clients and friends. My handlettering work feels even more personal than other, more digital work, and when I get so much kind feedback it is really encouraging.
I finally upgraded my camera and am sort of wondering why it took me so long to do so. But, I was able to buy a camera from a friend, a win-win for both of us.
We've had tremendously mild weather this fall and winter. All fall I was thinking "I better make the most of this nice weather, it will be over soon!" But our beautiful fall was has been followed by a lovely winter, too.
Through Smile Train, I was able to give a needy child the gift of a cleft lip and palate surgery. Growing up in Brazil, I knew of several needy people who had this type of surgery done and it makes me so happy to be able to help a child in need. As my hero says, it is better to give than to receive.
Just the fact that I even have time to post this is inspiring to me, I am learning about time management and reading a book called Margin.
As usual, I'm a bit slow to get on board with some new fads, but I've finally created a Pinterest (just as addicting as expected) and Twitter accounts. Sometimes I find the internet a bit overwhelming, and I may use Twitter more just to follow others, but Pinterest, well, it is sheer genius.

Here's to 2012. I'm excited for this new year, and what it may hold!

Image source: http://slidingdownthestairs.blogspot.com/

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

2011-10-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

This is another excellent short video on the importance of creativity in education. Ken reminds us that our current school system was built to supply workers for the industrial revolution, but kills creativity by valuing other areas of learning, like math or science as more valuable than the creative arts. I like his definition of creativity: "the process of having original ideas that have value." Ken is hilarious and highly intelligent, and this video is well worth your time: Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

originality is born of risk.

2011-10-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

Paulo Coelho was asked to speak on "the fear of failure". Below is a short video of the Brazilian wordsmith's advice.
I quote:
"After sending a new book, or a new article...to the publisher or the newspaper, I sit down, I breathe, and I say, 'I did my best. I put all my love [into this], I did it with all my heart. So whether they are going to like it or not...is irrelevant. Because I liked it. I'm committed to the thing that I did.' And so far, nobody ever refused it or criticized it. ....when you put love and enthusiasm into your work, even if people don't see it, they realize it is there; that you did this with all your body and soul. So I encourage you to do this, and don't worry about the fear of failure. The important thing is to move beyond this fear and to do what you think you should do."

Paulo Coelho – on the fear of failure. from Berghs' Exhibition '11 on Vimeo.

In the world of so-called graphic design, we see a lot of so-so work which, while it might be trendy, looks like everyone else's work. A few exemplary graphic artists push the boundaries; the rest of us stay within them and imitate things we've already seen. Yes, there are time restrictions and client briefs. But I wonder at the huge spectrum of work we'd produce if each person put his own heart and soul into his work, developing a style as unique as his fingerprint or personality. Instead, we just do whatever keeps the money rolling in as quickly as possible.

I often design in an environment with rigid deadlines and clientele who haven't worked with a graphic designer before. I love to try something that seems a little crazy for the world in which I work. What will the conservative client think of the hot pink circle, or the oversized bracket? Some of my best projects have happened when I took a totally different and new direction. When I ditched the corporate colour, scrapped the original copy, because I didn't feel it.

Routine design feels half-hearted. Enthusiastic design brims with new ideas born of a mind that is always learning, growing and creating. The difference is tangible.

I love to see artists whose work is fresh, unique. Over the past few years, I've watched whimsical North American artists (I have a soft spot for whimsy!) like Katie Daisy, Rifle Design, Woodward Design and Colour Me Katie do work that is fun—and gets the job done. A memorable, recognizable look. A style people can't outsource in China. An aesthetic that draws clients like bees to honey. There's power in what Paulo Coelho speaks of—"when you put love and enthusiasm in your work, even if people don't see it, they realize it is there." They like it, because it's oozing originality and creativity. They value it, because they can't find it anywhere else. And they want more.

flower power

2011-09-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

This week I was working on a 2012 calendar for St. Albert Botanic Park. Which involved staring at this dahlia. I didn't mind at all.

goodbye, summer. i'll miss you.

2011-09-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

[a view of what summer looked like in my kitchen this year]

reception photos

2011-09-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

It has already been over one year since my friends Julian and Pascale were married. You may remember that I designed their peacock-inspired stationery.

I was asked to shoot photos at their reception, since their professional photographer would not be in attendance.

Yes, there were a few adults in attendance...I just get distracted by the non-adults.

I had fun shooting with my brother's new lens and just wanted to share some of the fun with you...albeit late!

nova scotia - spring 2011

2011-09-15T06:13:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in my living room and in front of me is a tray displaying driftwood and seashells.This is only one of various reminders around my house of my first-ever trip to the Maritimes. In May, I spent 9 days in Nova Scotia. My friend and I collected seashells and driftwood, spent time on the Halifax waterfront and at Fisherman's Cove, visited the Halifax Citadel fort and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, and mowed tall grass at a local Bible camp.The people I met were so friendly and kind. If you've never seen Canada's east coast, I highly recommend it.

Nova Scotia is etched in my memory by way of:

driftwood, rocks, choppy water
deep blue, earthtones, grey
fog, cold, rain
history, old stone, brick
bright paint
authenticity, friendship, peace [Psalm 29:11]

Enjoy a few photos to illustrate the memories...

new projects now featured on my website

2011-09-14T18:00:00.001-07:00

I updated my website last week...with new wedding stationery (for the oh-so-happy Jared and Laura; stationery above, happy couple below) as well as some more recent book and calendar projects. Check it out!

drawing cute maps

2011-06-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

I probably get way too much enjoyment out of drawing maps for event stationery.
If that is even possible.

This is for Jared & Laura's big day.

puddle jumping

2011-04-02T18:28:00.001-07:00

i got my yellow rubber boots out of the shed today. spring is here!

baby announcement for gracie jade

2011-03-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

This week I designed and printed a custom wall art baby announcement for my friends' new little one, Gracie Jade. Fun, fun, fun! Plus, I tried out a local digital print shop my brother raves about, and the service and product were both great.

[red] snapshots

2011-02-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I gave some of my friends homemade chokecherry syrup. Back in the fall my uncle picked the berries and I prepared the syrup. In December I got the jars and labels ready and made homemade pancake mix to accompany some of the syrups.

Some cheery outdoor Christmas decorations in my neighbourhood:

The font I used on the syrup and pancake labels was the hand-lettered Antrokas which you can find here. Creating custom labels and packaging was probably one of my favourite parts of this project. (Watching syrup boil over my biggest pot multiple times was not :) ). To me, food is about community and relationships. Hence, the label says "Enjoy with a friend."

In January a few young artists took charge in my kitchen. The lino still has a pinkish tinge.

Happy February!

jules and pascale - wedding stationery

2010-08-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

When Jules and Pascale came to me wanting a peacock-themed wedding invitation, I had no idea how trendy peacocks were. Now, I'm seeing them everywhere. Leave it to these two to be on top of the trends. :) I was so happy the vibrant colours in the feathers. I'm excited for this sweet and beautiful (inside and out!) couple. Thanks for the privilege of designing for you! Looking forward to celebrating with you this Saturday!

roll call book

2010-07-17T21:18:00.001-07:00

This past winter I had the privilege of designing a book cover and layout for a self-published piece by a retired school teacher. Etty's book details the stories of teachers who came from the Caribbean to teach in Alberta schools--a fun project! Etty was a sweet lady to work with. Her visits were full of laughs and her mark-ups on our drafts were very teacher-esque. :)

For the cover, I wanted to use a colour scheme that shouted "Caribbean!" The first yellow I chose was too bright for Etty's taste, but we agreed on the paler yellow you see here. I based the final colour scheme on this handpainted sign. I enjoyed the opportunity to play with some fun type for chapter titles, etc. throughout the book, keeping the entire piece cohesive.

schleich animal replicas

2010-03-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

Recently I went to Sexsmith, Alberta to visit family. While taking a wander around the little town's main street area, we found a shop selling all kinds of little animals. My sister was quite embarrassed by how long I spent lingering near the toy animal replicas. These German Schleich animal replicas are very realistic, the website I linked to doesn't do them justice. This little giraffe found her way home as my souvenier from Sexsmith. She replaced the reindeer that was my book topper on my shelf during the Christmas season. :) A little bit of Africa in my living room!

insights from robert bringhurst

2010-03-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

In January I had the opportunity to hear Robert Bringhurst speak in Edmonton. His classic book on the topic of typography is The Elements of Typographic Style. I enjoyed the insights of this man who is an author and a typographer...and a lot of other things too, by the sound of it. Going through my day planner tonight, I noticed a few interesting points from his presentation at Grant Macewan University.

Bringhurst spoke about listening to the text you are arranging on the page--being real, attentive and thoughtful. Instead of laying out body copy in a generally one-size-fits-all manner, he suggested "listening" to the copy. He used illustrations of typeset pages from 500 years ago when some things were done simply because they were beautiful--not necessarily because they were functional.
Originality is the fruit of sincerity. The design world is full of people trying to copy a style that is trendy or that they've seen elsewhere, when often that is neither true to the subject of their design or to themselves as designers. We're each unique and our design choices should reflect that somehow.
Typing without knowing how to form letterforms is like driving without knowing how to walk. Driving is helpful, useful and even necessary sometimes. But can you imagine how limiting it would be if you could only drive, and never walk? We should keep our options open. In the discussion it was brought up that in recent years some schools are teaching children to type directly after they are taught to print, skipping the script or cursive stage entirely. It was also mentioned how there is a movement for some Chinese children to never learn traditional Chinese characters but to write Chinese solely in Roman characters. Whether in English or Chinese, it is a shame to lose that which is a beautiful part of the culture and thus disconnect ourselves from the forms of expression used by generations before us.

creating unity by simplifying your copy

2010-02-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

This past fall I was presented with a Christmas project for Priority Printing Ltd. The customer service reps wanted to put together a small booklet that would accompany a Christmas gift bag for clients. The purpose of the booklet was many-fold: to give Christmas greetings from the company, to inform the client about the company (describing values, staff, stages and options within the printing process), to encourage the reader to shop locally (highlighting a variety of locally owned businesses whose products would be in the gift bag) and to encourage earth-friendly practices, flaunting some FSC stocks. Did that sentence sound a bit overwhelming? So did the text that was given to me for the booklet. (Below is a little preview of the final gift bag).

The topics for the booklet sounded nice, but they sounded like topics for different occasions, not all for the same booklet. I wondered how they could ever be tied together succinctly...and still sound like a Christmas greeting, too. It was a good challenge. Brainstorming anything and everything I could think of that related to each of the main topics was key to finding their common theme. Below is a list from the beginnings of the copy editing/writing stages. I'm being a bit vulnerable here, as you may see some random things on my list. But such is the case with racking one's brain, sometimes a few random, unrelated things are revealed. That's OK. Try mind mapping a topic, the same thing may happen to you, too.

I wanted to post this mind map because it really was through this tool that found the commonality between on the many themes given to me. Whenever we want to communicate clearly, whether through words or images, it is best to boil things down to the key message(s) we want to communicate. I teach children frequently, and one thing I have learned is that I need to confine the main message to some key points that will stick with them. Otherwise they go home with a bunch of nothing, instead of a little bit of something. I don't think that adults are much different: keep the key topics simple and clear. Through mind mapping, I was excited to find that the ideas of Christmas, local focus and environmental consciousness did overlap in themes such as community, village, growth and kindness.

But then, how to make these themes into a catch phrase that, in a few words, introduces all we want to say? The phrase I came up with (somewhat hijacked, as you will see, from a better Author) was "Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Edmonton." The inside headline read "Priority Printing is supporting its community. Earth or Edmonton. Globally or locally." On the first pages Priority would lead the way in introducing its "earth-conscious initiatives" and its "Edmonton-conscious initiatives."

You can see more images of the final project in the advertising section of my website. In the end, the project encompassed a promotional booklet, a Christmas card, an envelope, labels, an informational card and a banner. The design was simple, especially to show off the variety of papers in the booklet. A nice design with bad copy is just a veneer; it is still poor communication, no matter how showy it looks. To me, the great victory of this project was pulling so many topics into (what I hope was) a simple, logical whole that conveyed the message Priority had for its clients last Christmas.

thinking about...

2010-02-24T18:40:00.001-08:00

wisps of ice

2010-02-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

I see something beautiful every day. Today it was the jagged hoar frost on the trees which forgot to lose their leaves last fall. If I hadn't already been running late, I would have stopped to take more pictures. I knew that by the time I walked home, the hoar frost would be gone.

This morning's sky was thick with a low fog. As I got close to work, I noticed that bits of fog were clinging to my coat and mittens; thin wisps of ice that melted as soon as I hung up my coat. I thought about how much I have in common with the fog, the frost or the ice on my coat! James said, "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

the walk to work...

2010-02-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

...is made all the more lovely by the typography on a neighbour's door. I've been wanting to take a picture of it for weeks...

I've been slacking at carrying my camera with me when I go out, but when I can I love to capture beautiful things in ordinary life. Below is a close-up of the type itself. Reminds me a little of Kate Forrester's beautiful hand lettering, which I was revisiting today.

Someday I want to design a book with the page numbers written in longhand.

creating unity by simplifying your colour palette

2010-02-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

Last year I had the privilege of taking a design course with Brenda Malkinson, an excellent fine artist and educator. If there was anything that Brenda emphasized when she taught about colour, it was that artists should choose a basic palette (red, yellow and blue with the addition of white or black to create a tint or a shade of a colour) and stick to it. No introducing a second red or a third blue after the original primary colour chosen has been used.

Because the course focused on fine arts rather than graphic arts or digital design, I struggled a little with how to take paint mixing principles learned in the class and apply them to the digital world of graphic design. Brenda helped me to think about how principles from paint mixing could apply to digital "paint" mixing. Below I'll explain a little of what I learned.

Brenda's class transformed how I think (or should think) about colour. As a graphic designer, I don't think about colour wheels enough. I generally would choose secondary or tertiary colours from an image I'd be using in my project. For example, using Photoshop I would choose a green from an image and then use those exact colour values in my layout, so that the image and layout will match.

Instead, when I started on the educational activity folder seen above, I began with only three primary colours (chosen from the fish image that I collaged onto the front right-hand side of the folder.) I created digital swatches for those three colours. Doing some simple digital colour mixing, I made orange, green and purple. My secondary colours ended up looking like pumpkin, mint and mauve due to the primaries I had chosen. (Your primaries have a huge effect on what your secondaries and tertiaries will look like!) Above, you can see the primary and secondary swatches in the bottom right corner of the image, along with the final printed folder and sliders.

The more complicated step was taking my secondary colours and mixing tertiaries. Every colour used in the whole project (13 sets of 3 sliders, one set for each animal, plus a folder) was mixed from my three primary hues. Below you see the second slider from each of the thirteen sets. There is a definite harmony between the colours because they each have their roots in the same primary colours.

Through Brenda's instruction I got a fresh perspective on how simplifying a colour palette creates unity in a design.

early "graphic design"

2010-01-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

My mom recently produced some pictures I drew when I was four or five years old. I thought it was funny that I was already doing "typography" at such a young age, drawing with letters. I was also looking through things that I said and did when I was little.... It is amazing how our interests and personality, which stick with us for life, start showing themselves in our very first years.

brazilian floor tiles

2010-01-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

I keep coming across this picture of a floor tile pattern from northern Brazil. In North America I don't think we have such a creative approach to making floors beautiful.

happy 2010

2010-01-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

One of my more recent, fun projects was a 2010 calendar for Priority Printing on the theme of Interesting Edmonton Buildings. I was responsible for some of the building photos and for the design of the calendar itself. My vote for most interesting building (in the calendar) was the Samarpan Meditation Centre featured on the July page:

The font I used for the capital letters was Ballpark Weiner. Used in excess it can be a bit overwhelming but I thought that using it
occasionally added some interest and drama to the piece. I also currently have a crush on Wire-O binding.

There was some enthusiastic tweeting about this calendar from the owner of Priority Printing. I'm constantly impressed at the power of positive words, in this case, to lift my spirits and excite me for my next project. I hope I can use language to encourage others, too.

christmas lunch poster

2009-12-24T16:20:00.000-08:00

A quick poster I made up to advertise the date of our turkey dinner at work.

Using a trick I learned from paint mixing, I digitally mixed the red and green colours I chose to make a matching brown.

handmade travel journal

2009-12-23T20:54:00.001-08:00

This fall my brother went on a three-month backpacking trip through Europe. Before he left I made him this homemade journal to document his travels. Below you see the journal with a few sweet photos he took in Europe.

Most of the pieces of this project were things I reused or got second hand. I made each of the covers from re-purposed stiff board. Using some National Geographic maps, I covered the fronts with more modern day maps of Europe and made end sheets out of ancient maps of the same areas of Europe. The idea was that he could mark his route on the outside maps. He did, though in the end he traveled to some areas not included on the cover, so the cover is not quite a complete record of his journeys.

The pages inside were blank (to allow for sketching or writing) except for some sheets of Europe photos from National Geographic magazines.

Finally, I got the journal Wire-O bound, which allows the journal to lie open flat and is very durable. At the end of the journal I added an envelope to store tickets and mementos that might otherwise be lost. The elastic around the cover is anchored in under the final end sheet: just another touch to keep the journal together.

My brother's bedroom walls are now a collage of maps, ticket stubs, etc. from his three months in Europe--a great idea.

handlettered invitation: adventures in cookieville

2009-12-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

This year I hosted the third annual Adventures in Cookieville baking party where friends come to my house, baking chaos ensues and everyone goes home with a few trays or boxes of goodies. This year, just for fun, I hand lettered a gingerbread-shaped cookie invitation and photocopied it onto card stock. Each invitation was tucked into a paper bag along with a bright red napkin. I addressed white recipe cards and attached them to the outside of the paper bag before the bags made their way through the local postal system. The feedback from the recipients was one of the best part of the project! (...tales of roomates or mothers standing impatiently by and wondering what could have come in the paper bag they found in the mailbox!)

Unfortuntely, Adventures in Cookieville coincided with the biggest snowfall yet this winter, and about half of the bakers who'd RSVPed were no longer able to attend due to bad road conditions. But those who attended participated in the creation of gingerbread men and a Canadian classic, Nanaimo bars.

"art grows brains"

2009-09-16T16:50:00.001-07:00

A year or two ago I picked up a poster at my local art store called "Art grows brains: Quick Facts on how Art makes you Smart". While the points are insightful, its not the most beautiful poster, so I've decided to retire the poster and let its observations live on here on my blog.

Experts who study the brain say that whenever you do something creative, like drawing or painting, you are giving your brain a terrific workout. So pick up some art tools, flex your mind, [stretch] you imagination and build up your brain power. Here are some more good reasons to create art:

Art makes you smart: Studies show kids who make art do better at school than those who don't do any kind of art at all.

Art gets you thinking: You might not know it, but whenever you create a picture, you ask yourself lots of questions. Like, 'What if I put an elephant here?' And learning to ask yourself questions, and figure out answers, makes you better at problem-solving.

Drawing requires complex reasoning: The eye of the artist is like the eye of the scientist--trained to see details and nuances. Artists compare the work on a page with the vision they hold in their mind. If the marks on the paper don't match their idea, they have to figure out how to adjust the drawing to make it come out right.

Art lets you show the world what you're feeling. Studies show that kids who create art learn to express their ideas and feelings. Plus, they may find it easier to share their thoughts with their parents and teachers.

Art lets you experiment: When you create art, anything goes. There's never a right or a wrong way, it's all part of the learning process. It's risk-free fun.

With every picture, you tap into your imagination: Guess where all the great inventions in the world first started? In people's imaginations! That's where all original ideas come from. And here's great news: your imagination is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes.

Art makes you a better speller: Incredible but true. kids who do lots of art learn to concentrate on visual details so many find it easier to recognize words and remember how to spell them. Research says art can also help them improve at math.

Art teaches patterning: That means more than a pretty picture. In developing patterns, kids relate different parts to a whole--in other words, they learn to make connections which is key to strategic thinking.

Art helps you with your homework: Art forces you to concentrate and helps you get used to staying with a project from start to finish, even a homework project.

Art is the healthy after-school snack for the mind: According to estimates, a person under 18 spends about 12,000 hours in school and about 88,000 waking hours engaged in other activities. These stats confirm that a lot of learning goes on outside the classroom.

say "no" to tobacco

2009-07-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

Messias is a long-time family friend who works with a tribe of indians in northern Brazil called the Kayapo. Last time I was in Brazil he asked me if I could help him with a simple project: making posters to teach the Kayapo about the hazards of tobacco use. It was a new experience for me, typing and formatting text in a very foreign-looking language. Times New Roman came through for me, though, and had all the accents I needed. I was glad to be able to help him. Here's Messias, checking out the final product:

take a walk. pick flowers. repeat.

2009-06-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

Summer beauty. Simple pleasures.

[typographic christmas] design

2009-05-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

Below is a typographic design I created last Christmas for personal stationary. Lately I'm moving, sorting and packing and just came across some Starbucks patchwork reindeer from last Christmas. Very, very cute. Maybe that's why I have Christmas on the brain!

2009-04-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

Unsolicited customer feedback:
Aaaaaaaaaaaah! Julie, I got the invitations just now & they're beauuuuutiful! I'm so excited about them... Thanks soooooosooooo much for doing them. They're fantastic & gorgeous...I'm stoked about the whole ensemble together.... Sweetness. THANKS...!! -Esther, bride

spirograph stationery

2009-03-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

I started playing with spirographs for a Christmas card project. The spirographs were never used for that project, but I wasn't ready to put them to rest. I developed a set of note pads with various spirograph colours and combinations as gifts for friends. I love the retro/modern feel, simplicity, clean lines and element of surprise in the developing of the Spirograph.(You never quite know what you're going to get as you play with circles and ovals). Printed on natural-coloured note paper and padded in stacks with cardboard at the bottom.

why handmade?

2009-03-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

"For some people, sustainability is a part of their handcraft practice. Other people want to see a project through from beginning to end, something they don't get to do in their daily lives. In their jobs, they do one part of producing something and they don't do the other parts. In producing a handcraft project, people can see something from start to finish and then have a material product that they can use themselves or give away. Even though we all have frequent access to the internet and are able to communicate with people through digital media, we are still sensual beings. We need to maintain a tactile relationship to the world."
- Sabrina Gschwandtner on why there's been a resurgence of handmade goods in America, as quoted on page 26 of "Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design" by Levine and Heimerl

shipping

2009-02-23T20:47:00.000-08:00

As much as I enjoy designing and printing wedding invitations, there's still something exciting about the final step: shipping. I love any excuse to send packages, especially to happy recipients! I've often thought I'd like to work in a post office. Tonight I shipped out the last of Jackie & John's stationary package for their wedding on 06.06.2009.

Unsolicited customer feedback:
"I got the invitations last night...I ripped into them because I couldn't wait...and I LOVE them! They turned out so great! Thanks again for all the hard work you put in to make our invitations special! You saved me a lot of stress and time in trying to find something I would be happy with. You have been a blessing to me and I've enjoyed our correspondence over the past month! Again, I just want to express how much I absolutely LOVE the invitations! They fit in with my vision for the day so well and are so us! Everyone I've showed loves them too! Our deepest gratitude to you." -J&J, bride and groom

"Thanks so much Julie for such a beautiful job of designing and printing Jackie's invitations. She and we are very pleased. You've done a wonderful job and we would recommend you to anyone who now asks if we know who to recommend to them. The time you spent in designing something that fit the personalities of John & Jackie is obvious.... You obviously have a creative gift and I'm glad you're willing to use it to glorify God... Thanks again." -BL, mother of the bride

[thanksgiving] flyer

2008-11-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

A digitally printed flyer done for a Thanksgiving conference. My goal was to make the front eye-catching enough that whether or not the recipient was interested in the conference, he or she would keep the flyer around to look at the front. The actual conference information was printed in black on the reverse. A vinyl banner was made to match, advertising the same event.

sweet thanksgiving

2008-10-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

Truly, we have so much to be thankful for...not the least of which are homemade saskatoon pie, hot mango-peach white tea, the beauty of fall and sweet fellowship.

autumn light

2008-09-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

i love being in my kitchen in the morning when the sun's yellow light is beating through our east window. the photo above is simple, but it captures what i saw this morning. it is too bad that moment can't last all day...but if it did, it wouldn't be so special. the sun is waking up later here and i won't get to see bright mornings in my kitchen for much longer. fall is definitely here. bright yellow leaves are floating down from the trees on my street, piling in crunchy drifts on the sidewalks and getting stuck in my windshield wipers. it is so beautiful.

in the morning i also love to read Tozer's Renewed Day by Day while I eat breakfast, when i'm not in a big rush. here's something from today:

Before the Word of God can mean anything inside of me there must be obedience to the Word. Truth will not give itself to a rebel. Truth will not impart life to a man who will not obey the light. ...I can know about God: that is the body of truth. But I cannot know God, the soul of truth, unless I am ready to be obedient.

last week i started an evening course at a local university. there is something quietly surreal about fall in that historic section of our city, as the late afternoon sun filters through the trees which are dropping swirls of leaves. like a new morning, a new school year seems to speak of a new opportunity. a new textbook, a new sheet of looseleaf, a new pen. there is so much to learn, to do, to see and to experience...but for a few moments, it is delicious to get silent. to lose yourself in the splendour of God's current artwork. to watch the games light plays. happy autumn!

kiko the parrot

2007-08-03T06:54:00.001-07:00

i met this charming little guy in Sao Felix do Xingu, Brazil.