Blooming 2008 Letterpress Calendar Sneak Peek!

I'm still busy taking pictures of all the different months, but I wanted to share with you some of the different months. The months are all printed in a beautiful metallic bronze color and each month features a different vintage floral illustration.

The calendar is packaged in a plastic calendar case that doubles as a desk stand:

And here are some months! I love the impression and all the beautiful colors!

Joie Studio's Blooming 2008 Calendar will be available November 11th in our Etsy store. You can email me to reserve one. The calendars are $15 each, plus shipping and applicable taxes.

Today on the Sampler Homepage!

The Sampler does little features on all of their contributors, and today they did one on Joie Studio. Yay! They featured the "Warm Wishes" holiday card, as well as one of our coasters.

SWEET!

So Done! A Progress Report...

So this past Tuesday and Wednesday, I worked exclusively on the 2008 letterpress calendar. The printing is so so done on January - December! Yay! So now it's just a matter of packaging them up and taking pictures for the world to see. I'm debating when to make them available on Etsy. I have two craft fairs coming up, and I've been toying around with how many I should keep for the craft fairs and how many I should make available online. Decisions decisions...

What else is done in the studio and just needs to be packaged? More holiday cards!

Pictures soon!

OOOH! Joie Studio in Adorn Blog!

So guess what I saw on Adorn's blog? A little note about the November Sampler, with a little blurb about the "Warm Wishes" card!

Sampler Excitement!

So I checked on the Sampler today, and Joie Studio (and our card, picture from the Sampler website above) is listed! It's so exciting! We're on the November Contributor List and our "Warm Wishes" letterpress holiday card is in the November gallery.

In celebration, I've listed the "Warm Wishes" card in my Etsy shop. I'm selling them in sets of 5 for $12. There's only a couple sets left of this run! Give me an excuse to do another run of these beautiful cards!

I feel like a slowpoke...

I was just updating my progress chart, and I'm getting a little nervous at my progress. Most of my cards have already been started, but it doesn't make me any less nervous that I won't be meeting my deadlines.

I'm also fretting over our personal holiday cards and Joie Studio's holiday cards. You know the saying "the shoemaker's children have no shoes"? That's kind of how I feel like with my own holiday card right now. I don't want to just send out one of the designs I'm selling (though it may come to that)...I want to be something special and fun!

The good news is that my 2008 letterpress calendar is ALMOST done. I've told everyone I know that for 2009, I will definitely finalize design and get the plates in March to give myself more time to print. I've been ambitious, and I'm making 150 letterpress calendars. They are, so far, very very pretty, and I'm excited to see the final product! Keep watch on the blog! I hope to be done in a couple days, knock on wood.

200 Warm Wishes to the Sampler!

I just sent out 200 samples of my "Warm Wishes" holiday card to the Sampler this past week. It'll be included in the November Sampler, and I'm hoping that it generates interest in my holiday line of cards!

I was going to wait until the Sampler debuted them, but I can't wait to share! Here are some shots of the card, which will be available on Etsy in early November (you can always preorder them by emailing me):

I just love how the pictures show off the impression. A thoroughly modern holiday card, with lots of warm holiday wishes!

Today's Feature on EtsyGreetings!

My pine tree card is today's feature on EtsyGreetings' Blog (http://etsygreetings.blogspot.com). Check it out!

Joie Studio at Craft Fairs in Southern California!

So I think it's official! Here are my craft show outings for the month of November:

Anaheim Ballet Nutcracker Home and Craft Show
Anaheim Cultural Arts Center
280 E Lincoln Ave, Anaheim, CA
Saturday, November 10th, 9am - 2pm
Benefits the Anaheim Ballet

Handmade for the Holidays
Fairfax High School
Fairfax and Melrose, Los Angeles, CA
Friday, November 23rd, and Saturday, November 24th
11am - 6pm
$2 admission

I'll have my entire holiday collection available at the fairs and will also be able to take lots of special orders at the Anaheim Ballet show, and maybe even some at Handmade for the Holidays if time permits!

Come by and say hi! I love meeting people who read the blog!

Zen Coasters Listed on Etsy!

I just finished these letterpress coasters and have them listed on Etsy!

These came out beautifully, and it's one of my favorite coasters I've made!

The coasters are ultra thick, 4" squares with rounded edges, and letterpressed with waterproof ink. I've priced them at $10 for a set of 8. They are set in a box that's perfect for gift giving! I currently only have 20 sets, so if you like them, get yours today!

For this particular item, I am offering free shipping to all my blog readers. Just email me at shop@joiestudio.com if you want a coaster set with your name, email address, and shipping address and I will send you a Paypal invoice.

Another Letterpress Holiday Card Done!

Another letterpress holiday card is done! Well, almost done. I'm waiting for the matching envelopes (silver!) to come in and I still need to score the cards. I love the metallic silver in this; it reflects light ever so slightly. This is my second card that's done (YAY!). I am debating doing another run of this card in different colors, because I love the design of it so much.

Baby Shower Invites Complete!

I delivered the baby shower invites today! I LOVE LOVE LOVE how the colors turned out. I don't want to show the whole picture because I haven't had a chance to blur out the address and phone number on the invitation, but here is a taste:

Baby Shower Invitations In Progress!

Tonight I finished setting the type for a baby shower invitation. It's a two color design, with a mix of custom plates and hand-set type. I had ordered plates for the gerber daisy motif and some script that I wanted to use for the invitation and printed it in pink:

While I was waiting for the first pink run to dry, I began setting type. Tonight, I worked out the line spacing and locked the form into the chase. I didn't have enough slugs in the right size, so I used smaller sizes. Not the most ideal, but it gets the job done. The type is pretty secure in there, so I think it'll be OK:

I pulled a test print with no ink, just impression, and it came out great:

Tomorrow in daylight, I'm going to finish up these invitations, printing the text in a lovely green color. Here's hoping it turns out well!

Bookmarks

I am making up promotional items in between holiday card runs. Here's one promo item, a bookmark. I'm making up 200 of a couple designs. I love the way the rounded corners gives the bookmark such a great finished look.

Mixing Inks, Roller Bearers, and the Start of a New Year Card

Friends that know me know that I am notorious for spilling things on myself, so it's no shocker than whenever I work with ink, I tend to get it all over my hands, arms, and sometimes, to my great dismay, my clothes. So this past weekend, I decided just to get my hands dirty only once and mix all the different greens and blues that I will be using in the coming weeks. These are (hopefully) all the greens and blues I will need to mix to finish my holiday collection. All these greens and blues were mixed using opaque white, Pantone yellow, Pantone green, and process blue.

I used the light blue today and it came out so beautifully I had to share. If you notice on the press, I'm using two roller bearers on either side of the form to keep the rollers at type-high. The roller bearers are type-high and serve to prevent roller slurs by keeping the rollers type-high before it hits the form. This saves majorly on the pains and sorrows of taping the rails to get the rollers type-high.

And here is the result -- the start of my New Year 2008 card:

I still need to mix my pinks and purples (I am using A LOT of colors) as well as a peach color. But I just needed to share this beautiful blue!

Enjoy!

Holiday Letterpress Card Listed on Etsy!

So thanks to the great feedback I received on my first letterpress holiday card, I decided to go ahead and list them as is on Etsy! I paired the cards with sage envelopes and packaged them in sets of 4. These cards are priced at $8 for 1 set of 4 cards and envelopes, $15 for two sets (8 cards and envelopes), and $20 for 3 sets (12 cards and envelopes). Applicable taxes and shipping not included.

You can also email me (joiestudio[at]gmail.com) with your name, email address, shipping address, and how many sets you would like, and I can send you an invoice.

The Zen letterpress cards are in queue to be sold on Etsy as well -- I'm waiting for the envelopes to come in.

(You can also buy these cards at my upcoming craft fair outing at Handmade for the Holidays November 23rd and November 24th.)

Brewery Artwalk This Saturday & Sunday!

For all my readers in Southern California:

The Brewery Artwalk is this weekend - October 6th and 7th! My friend Michelle will be showcasing some of her riveting photography (check out http://www.afootephotography.com) at the Artwalk, so hopefully you'll get to attend and see her photography!