It is Cyber Monday 2013 already! And that means free shipping!
Here’s the deal:
Spend $25 or more on my Etsy Shop and get free shipping! Just enter Coupon Code: CYBERMON2013 at checkout
Just a reminder, this is a one day only offer for Cyber Monday. So get all your Christmas shopping done at Porcuprints.etsy.com!
Grotesque #1 is the first in my new series of prints! The series is inspired by miniatures in medieval manuscripts. Grotesques populated the edges of medieval books, surrounding the central scenes but not a part of them. My goal in this series is to enlarge, and highlight the grotesques themselves.
The first grotesque is now for sale on Etsy, and it’s only $20!! Doesn’t get better than that!
So check it out here!
Dear Readers,
I offer my sincere apologies for not posting for so long! A new job, and lots of projects are to blame. But I have vowed to be much better about posting and showing off all the fun things I have been working on. What follows is a recap of the last few months!
I have been learning how to use a milling machine to edge my own blocks, instead of making Doug do it. This is going to speed up all of my work, since I won’t have to wait (rather impatiently) for Doug to get up the enthusiasm to do the work for me.
Learning to use a milling machine
Next, I spent the end of summer helping Em Space to plan our annual Letterpress Fair. This year I managed to secure the Oregon Rail Heritage Center for the event. It ended up being the most amazing venue! In convincing the board to allow us to rent the space, I learned a lot about the commonalities between letterpress and trains. For instance, Did you know:
Cool, huh?! I love history.
The Letterpress Fair was held on October 12th. I had a booth (that somehow I managed to omit in all my photos– oops). But I did get some good pictures of the event.
Letterpress Fair at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center
The Fair was a part of Design Week Portland. One of the special things we did for the event was a “Steam Powered Design Challenge.” We challenged 20 designers to create images to be printed with a steam roller! It was really awesome.
Inking plates for the Steam Powered Design Challenge
After the Fair was over, I was able to turn my attention to my own projects. First off was to organize all of my type. I haven’t quite finished, but my cat (Thursday) does his best to keep my company.
Thursday: Guardian of the Type Cases
I have also printed a few new cards and I have begun a lot of new blocks for woodblock prints! It is going to be a busy winter, and I promise to keep up the flow of information throughout it all!
I’m glad to be back to sharing all my musings with you. Stay tuned for more!
I have added two new cards to my Etsy Store (as of last week)!
First up, a PURPLE version of my red leaf card!
See the listing Here.
And Second,
Drum roll please….
Call Me, Maybe Greeting Cards!
Printed in two colors, this card is the perfect thing to send to all those friends who don’t know how to pick up the darn phone!
So Click here to buy!
Crafty Wonderland’s Super Colossal Spring Sale is happening tomorrow, Saturday May 11th! I will be there with all my prints and cards and even my Kelsey press (if you want to feel what a real letterpress is like!). Porcuprints is booth #159, so swing on by.
As an added incentive, the first 200 shoppers will receive goodie bags with awesome free stuff from the vendors!
I finally got around to photographing the serial number on my press so that I could look up when it was made. Low and behold, I found that this year is the centennial of my press’s birth!
The serial number on these presses is found on the upper left hand corner of the chase bed. Mine reads D51051. The Chandler & Price Co. issued a list of serial numbers of the manufacture dates. According to the list, 12×18 New Series presses with serial numbers between D50902 and D51651 were manufactured in 1913. As it is 2013, my press has officially hit 100!
I really think I should throw her a centennial birthday bash or something of that caliber. In the meantime, I’ll just print some more!
Don’t forget to visit my booth at the Artists Creating a Better World Mother’s Day Show tomorrow (May 5th)!!
Visit the Facebook Event page to tell everyone you’re going!
I have been so busy trying to make enough inventory for my upcoming shows that I have been extremely lax in adding those items to my Etsy Store. Well, I am happy to say I have finally gotten my latest Thank You Cards listed on Etsy!
Here they are in all their glory! The design for this card was inspired by the Art Nouveau style and its Egyptian influences. I printed it in two colors, yellow & green, just in time for Spring!
And just because, here are a few more detail shots:
So head on over to Etsy and purchase one of your very own!
Click here to go directly to the listing!
While prepping for my first year of Craft/Art Shows, I realized that I had no way of handling cash. After searching, I found a small, locking cashbox at Goodwill for $5. I thought my problems were solved. But as I got closer to the date of my first show, I just couldn’t see how I was going to handle protecting the cashbox and doing everything else I needed to do (like talking to buyers, showing off/explaining my work, and dealing with anything else that came up). I had also read others experiences with cashboxes, and I knew I couldn’t use it. So I had to find another solution. The Answer: A Money Apron!
I looked on Etsy, and other crafters’ blogs, for patterns that would fit my needs. But I couldn’t find what I wanted. Nothing had a zippered pouch for protecting the money AND pockets for important things like pens, business cards, etc. So I created my own.
I based my pattern off others that I had seen, and my own needs. It has a large zippered pouch in the center for money. On the sides there are a variety of pocket sizes, including a business card holder and a pen pouch. I had to edit certain aspects of the apron based on what materials I had lying around the house. I didn’t spend any money to make this apron. If I had, I definitely would have gotten a longer zipper that went all the way across the money pouch, but this was the zipper I had. As it is, it works perfectly, so I don’t see a need to change it. In the next picture you can see the zipper.
The fabrics I chose were ones that I thought worked together (and that I had enough scraps of).
The business card holder proved invaluable at the show. If someone has trouble locating the business cards on the table, just reach down and grab one from your pouch and hand it over. No thinking involved. Someone needs a pen to sign a check? Voila, you can easily produce one. Need your Square Card Reader in a hurry? No problem, it’s right there.
No cashbox to worry about. Everything is right there, on your person. I highly recommend making one of these if you are doing a Craft/Art Show. It only took a few hours to make, and it made my life a million times easier.
