Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...

I know it's already the end of January but I wanted to share our Christmas card from 2014. It was so much fun designing and it helped that we had such an adventurous year to talk about. Plus I'm very interested in designing cards for other people for this year so definitely let me know if you're interested!

Thanks for reading and have an awesome rest of January...

Top 5 Books I've Read in 2014

Independent Bookstore I visited in the Nolita neighborhood in Manhattan

I read so many books this past year that it is helpful for me to think back on what I've read and how they've affected me. There's no point in reading so much if I retain nothing. I always mean to journal throughout the experience of reading a book to take notes on either quotes I like or what I'm learning. I've done that for a couple books but not nearly as much as I want to. Some books are really just not inspiring at all, which is always a disappointment. Some books are so good that I'm jealous I didn't write them myself. 

Here is my list for 2014: 

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Beautiful language and flow of the story. Such a realistic tale about two teenagers who fall in love amidst life that is dirty and still beautiful. It leaves you aching for more and but still satisfied.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This book is the work of a creative genius and I am quite disappointed that more people haven't read it. I was so inspired by the mystery set up in the book and how lovely all the characters are. A circus that pops up in random cities without any announcement and is only open in the nighttime hours...how can you not love that? Reading this book was an experience in and of itself. 

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Considered a modern classic, Lolita has disturbing content but the language is so gorgeous that I had to finish it just for the pleasure of soaking in Nabokov's phrasing and word choice. This book is written in the first person from the perspective of a pedophile who falls in love with a 14-year old girl named Lolita. It sickens me to think of a grown man with a young girl in a romantic sense but also taught me a lot about how deep their struggle goes.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

This is the book that inspired me to pursue writing my novel. Stephen King is very good at writing about writing. He's very down to earth about his art and to someone who is just starting out, like me, he helps drive a realistic and helpful perspective about all the trials involved in starting and finishing a novel. He's also helpful without giving too many rules. I hate rules more than anyone I know and, especially, with something creative, I can't be put in a box. King doesn't encourage a box, he encourages being messy and cleaning up later. 

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This book is obviously a classic and please don't judge me for having not read it until this year. I loved every second of it and you know what? It is a classic but I loved it because it's not boring. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I read it so fast. Like in four days. 

What is on your top reading list for 2014? I want some recommendations for 2015 so be sure to comment below!

Thanks for reading!

In Theory // 10 Ways to Fill Up Your Journal

My journals from 2009-2014.

This post includes 10 ways to fill up your journal without a boring rendition of the day's events--entries that are too boring to write (unless something extraordinary happened) and don't make you want to reread.

Feeling creative? So you grab an empty journal and open it to the first blank page. Now what? Does your imagination fail you?

Or do you have a million unfinished journals and want to fill them up so you don't waste paper? That is, until you go buy the next adorable owl-studded diary at Barnes & Nobles. 

I have lived both scenarios many times and they can be very frustrating for the creative person. The following list should help either person fill up those intimidating pages. Or at least jump start your progress!

[1] Make lists. Current favorite songs, movies, books to read, to-do's for the day, goals for the summer, think up the most unrelated things possible and list them. 

[2] Answer one of the following questions: (Or script your own)

What is important to me today?

What inspired me today?

Who did I meet today?

What am I thankful for right now?

Who am I and who do I want to be?

[3] Use up a page designing a new way to script the alphabet. Practice using it on the next few pages.

[4] Copy down a few favorite quotes. Google some if you don't have any memorized or readily available to read.

[5] Doodle a cartoon character and have a conversation with him/her/it via speech bubbles. 

My 5-second conversation. :)

[6] Plan your next dream trip. Write down every where you'd visit, photos you'd take, who you'd meet. What souvenirs would you take home?

[7] Write a letter to the actor/musician you hate the most. Explain to them how disappointed you have been in their career and why they should find another job.

[8] Open a book to a random page, close your eyes and point to a sentence. Copy this sentence on the page in your journal and close the book. Finish the scene using stream of consciousness. Don't stop until you have closure. 

[9] Take your journal to a park and draw a map of the layout of the park design on the page. Be sure to include the people walking their dogs and the three toddlers running away from their moms.

[10] Design a household appliance you think needs to be invented. Draw it in diagram form so an engineer could build it according to your picture. 

Thanks for reading--that's all I got. Let me know if you try any of these and how they go for you! I had fun dreaming them up. :)

Introducing the Mini//Product Pictures for My Christmas Offer

Again, this is the $11 version that I listed on my flyer (see this post for the flyer). It is 5.5''x4.25'' and has 52 blank pages. Send me a name or phrase and I will hand-letter it on the front for customization (included in the price)! The next size up is $15 and is the same width and twice as tall as this one. These are really fun to make and I'm hoping to make a lot of them...

Thanks everyone!

A Special Christmas Offer: from Kiss Kreativ to You

The Fine Print… A Word from the Trend Authorities at Vogue

I just read an article in the September issue of Vogue that made my day. 

My day job right now is to sell print—that’s how I am supporting myself financially. However, I am a print evangelist 24/7, meaning I brag about print all the time: its benefits, the creativity involved, how necessary it is especially in a digital world, and how it helps companies and individuals stand out from an overly-saturated digital market. So, needless to say, when my favorite fashion magazine is publishing the very same things I’ve been saying to people the past couple years, admittedly a little more stylishly, I get very happy.

Vogue’s article by Robert Sullivan states that “despite the long-trumpeted rise of digital media, a handful of New York women are championing conventional print--be it in the form of magazines, stationery, or good old-fashioned books.”

Below is the first paragraph of this article, entitled The Fine Print:

You thought print was dead, kaput--especially now, as more and more of us see the world through Google-colored glasses. But lo! Print is not only not dead--it's back, at least in certain circles. As I type, magazines are being birthed off-line, and more and more independent bookstores are opening. People are even printing stationery again, despite what texting has done to their penmanship. "Sometimes I feel like I am doubling down into the tactile world," says Sarah McNally, owner of McNally Jackson, a little bookstore in Manhattan's Nolita with big plans for expansion, as we shall explain in a bit.

I obviously can’t put the entire article up here because that’s why you’re supposed to purchase the subscription. But in a nutshell, these are the main points:

1. Print is not necessarily back, it is just changed. Since you are no longer required to use paper for correspondence, when it is used, it affects with more gravity.
2. People want beautiful things and people are also tactile. You can look at print as an event in and of itself.
3. An example of print making waves is the print-only magazine Cherry Bombe, which focuses on women and food. A combination of amazing photography, good paper stock and excellent inks have readers flocking to the publication.
4. Sarah McNally, referenced in the first paragraph of the article as the owner of a small bookstore in Manhattan, has a new print shop in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan. She sells lithographs, Risographs and letterpress posters advertising a John Cage performance circa 1952.
5. The final point is, don’t give up on the digital world. Just recognize how the old world just keeps influencing the new one.

I 100% agree with this article and am excited to see that other people are getting the value of print. I’m going to make a point to visit Sarah McNally’s bookstore and print shop when I go visit NYC in a couple weeks. Thank goodness for people like her.

Thanks for reading!

Nostalgia // Toys Recently Discovered in an Old Tub

This is a bit of a strange post. I took all these pictures so I wouldn't forget some of my favorite childhood memories. Then I donated most of it. In a small apartment, you just can't keep everything. I kept the things I'd want to show my children one day and the rest I hope someone else can find some use out of...

My first Valentine's Day bear

A great story--I read it all Christmas night

Yep.

My bunny collection

Hand-sewn clown toy made for me by friends of my parents

Porcelain doll I played with

Collectible porcelain doll that I wasn't supposed to take out of the box but I did anyway

Archie comics!!!

My favorite collection of stories by Roald Dahl

Thanks for reading!