Style Your Next Party With Paper Goods

DIY PAPER GOODS: FOXY BABY
FEATHERED HATS, WOODEN CAKE TOPPER,
LETTERPRESS BUNTING & ORIGAMI FOXES

Seems like forever since I last posted, and it’s not for idleness, and actually I like the fact that I don’t have to post (despite the rules of social media), but want to post. My baby girl turned a year and I had a very full couple of months preparing for her party. As the usual, there were some obstacles, like finding the right decorations, cake and outfit. The rest and certainly most importantly fell into place when friends and family arrived and enjoyed the day with us.

I initially started by thinking up of a theme. I turned to Pinterest to gather some birthday themes for kids and created an inspiration board to gather ideas. I really liked the woods animal theme, but I also loved the origami theme too, and I knew I wanted some sort of photo backdrop. I figured out how to fold a fox, a bear, a rabbit, but as time permitted I could only project and letterpress one of them. The deer would have won out, but I couldn’t find a simplified origami version of it, and so my Foxy Baby was born!

We got a cake made, and made a calligraphic cake topper ourselves. I did some freehand calligraphy and my hubby carved it out of 2 mm aeronautic plywood--a nice keepsake for the coming years. The cool thing about this is we didn’t have to stop short with style choices that on-line businesses offer you for calligraphy cake toppers. If you’ve got a flair for doodling, I’m sure finding a laser or wood cutter could help do the job.

TEEPEE WITH STAR RIBBON & POM-POM
BIRTHDAY CAKE WITH WOODEN CALLIGRAPHY TOPPER

My color choices were salmon, gold and a watery green (best way to describe it). The watery green was hard to find in paper. Actually I did find an awesome Japanese paper in just the right color and did get it shipped from Denmark. I absolutely love it, so much I decided not to use it! So, that’s how watery green got nudged out of the design. Surprisingly gold paper was easy to find and got some shimmery sheets in thick card stock by Favini for half the price.

The idea that these party paper goods inevitably get taken out with the biodegradable paper plates and excess cake frosting made me a little uneasy. But that’s what party paper goods are made for, for the sole purpose for party. So I thought it important to weight in equal parts function, design and cost. Best not to spend a fortune on specialized paper for kid parties, but still find the right paper, design and printing technique to make it look good!

PARTY HATS & ORIGAMI LETTERPRESS FOX

I wanted party hats, but I knew I would never find them at any stationery store here. Yes it’s true, online everything is a cinch, but as noted before, most of these novelties come from America...and living in Italy you must tag on shipping costs and the like and decorations alone can push you over budget! The obvious solution was to make my own (with a little help from my friends). After looking at a few tutorials online, party hats, festooning and bunting was made.

For the photo backdrop, we got an Indian teepee custom sewn by a local tailor. We chose a cotton linen blend material for the teepee and some pretty trim and cotton star ribbon to embellish it from La Boutique, a modern old fashioned haberdashery in town.
It was to serve not only as a backdrop, but a cubby hole for our growing girl that can last her long after the cake’s been eaten.

Letterpress Chalkboard :: Beer On A Curve

My recent explorations in chalkboard paper for a client has been satisfying. On an earlier post I wrote about making your own chalkboard paper rather than downloading a digital file. At first I started off with hand lettering and a paper wire bound construction for the drink menu, but with the client we thought it wouldn’t survive the wear and tear. Back to the drawing board...

MY VANDERCOOK MAKES BEER ON A CURVE

DIY :: Chalkboard Paper

I was doing some shop comparisons and recording results. What a fun challenge to find not just the least expensive paper route, but also authentic. I needed to find some chalk paper and realized that most of the chalk paper sold are digitally mastered pdfs. Which got me thinking... Why pay for a digital file when the possibility to make my own shouldn’t be that difficult? After all, I only needed a small quantity and the essentials I already have: black card stock, white chalk pencil and a fixative to prevent my work from rubbing off. It worked!

PENCIL SHAVING ON BLACK CARDSTOCK,
CHALK PENCIL & FIXATIVE FOR ADHERING
DIY CHALKBOARD PAPER

Turntable Tuesday :: Ephemera Flag Tags

If you are a paper lover, chances are you have saved some type of beautifully designed ephemera along the way. I know I have! Some of my absolute favorite types to collect are paper sample booklets. They are such a great source of inspiration, as mentioned in a previous post. They are usually beautifully designed by agencies with the sole aim to showcase the companies paper. They are wonderfully tactile, and most times humorous telling the story of something or someone around the theme, paper.

Why not put some of this collected ephemera to work and create something for your own stationery needs? In this instance, I used some paper from an old sample booklet I had by International Paper featuring Beckett Paper’s 'True Felt'. Petrick Design designed a booklet with truth quotes foil stamped or engraved. With them, I cut out flag tags, punched a hole and added a paper cord.

FLAG TAGS :: MADE FROM EPHEMERA PAPER

"BEAUTY IS TRUTH, TRUTH BEAUTY.
THAT IS ALL YE KNOW ON EARTH,
AND ALL YE NEED TO KNOW."
JOHN KEATS

“THE TRUTH IS RARELY PURE AND NEVER SIMPLE."
OSCAR WILDE

Mini DIY :: Paper Gauge Pins For Letterpress

When I first started out printing, I used metal gauge pins on my tabletop press. Now I prefer the disposable paper gauge pins made at home. I had a very tight registration to do for a client once and broke a metal one having to shift my paper around to find the perfect position.  I was a little sad about it and rather than break another, my husband jumped in and suggested we make some paper ones.

Paper ones give me a lot of leverage when I have to reposition my paper to get the colors to line up perfectly. They are inexpensive, easy to make and work well in my opinion. If you want to make your own, read on!

PAPER GAUGE PINS

Happy July 4th :: Baby Fireworks

(updated) I’ll call them baby fireworks, but they’re actually confetti launchers. I think these are a great alternative to fireworks for babies like mine who are 8 months! We don’t celebrate the 4th in Italy (wink-wink), but I really wanted Maya to experience some of my/her root traditions.

Vampire Hello Kitty :: New additions at the table

Being a new mom, 11 days today, gave me the duty to do a pumpkin for our own pumpkin on Halloween. Since I’m working on little sleep and using other spare moments to document Maya's “firsts”...we didn’t exactly have time to design and carve our very own. A Stencil came fast and easy! I found this vampire Hello Kitty on the net to carbon copy/etch onto the pumpkin. I then used acrylic paints to fill it in and presto! And hey who would have known, Hello Kitty is celebrating 40 years this year!

Letterpress Basics: Time to Print

This is the fourth in a series of posts speaking about the basics of letterpress. I started off with how to use a composure stick, next working with metal type and then on to moving your composition from galley to chase ready for print. There are a lot of visuals taken from my own hands-on experience learning the basics of letterpress in Paris with Thomas Gravemaker some years back. This is an overview and would suggest anyone interested in the craft to take on a workshop for more in-depth knowledge. So without further ado, it’s time to print!

CUTTING PAPER DOWN TO SIZE

Letterpress Basics: From Galley to Chase

This is a short but concise series of letterpress basics. The first two posts started with How to Hold Your Composing Stick to Composing with Metal Type on your composing stick and now getting your design From Galley to Chase secured, keyed up and finally Time to Print!

For visuals I’m using my first cards done at a letterpress workshop in Paris with Thomas Gravemaker.  I had in mind vertical and horizontal text and an oversized P. A line gauge (a specific printer’s ruler) helped measure how much distance I actually needed to create “designerly space”. In this example, the distance would be between the vertical and horizontal metal type relative to my sketch.

Letterpress Basics: Composing with Metal Type

This post might be past due but here it is nevertheless! Certainly, I’ve had time to practice composing with metal type, and once I learned the basics and dove in, this process was relatively easier that it first  looked.

At the top you see the composing rules with ears mentioned in Letterpress Basics: Composure On A Stick. It helps compose lines of type built on top of each other. Lines of type are mirror reflecting letters, words or lines of words you compose on your stick. These lines of type will be set backwards (and facing upwards) since the final print will re-reflect itself correctly. 

Letterpress Seed Exchange: DIY Mini Envelopes

I made some mini envelopes for a letterpress seed exchange project I did with gals from mostly Europe. I’ll post more on that project later. Here’s a simple illustrative how-to make your own.

TRANSPARENT MINI ENVELOPES WITH LETTERPRESS STICKER

Mini DIY: Jazz It Up Envelope Liners

Versione inglese e italiano

A printer closed shop in a nearby village and gave away tons of plain white mini envelopes and cards. One way to jazz up a simple envelope is to make some liners. I experimented with different weight and textured paper.  For paper lovers, surely you’ve collected gift wrap or other types of snazzy ephemera. You’ll be able to create envelopes you’d find hard to get. I had some light weight floral wrapping paper I decided to up-cycle tucked away. The colors popped and coordinated with my letterpress baby notecard card design.

IT: Un tipografico ha chiuso il negozio nelle vicinanze così ha dato via un sacco di buste e bigliettini. Un modo per abbellire una semplice busta è fare una fodera. Ho sperimentato con diverse grammature e tipi di carta. Per gli amanti della carta, sicuramente collezionare carta non più utile al momento (carta da impagliatura, depliant, reviste, etc...) aiuta nel processo. Ho trovato carta da impagliatura floreale con colori che si coordinavano con il mio design di auguri per bambini fatto in letterpress. 

Two color letterpress BABY Notecards designed for Cuore di Mamma baby concept store- handset with wood and metal type - white cardstock with envelope and floral liner

Happy Maker Station :: Secret to Happiness Revealed

Along with a host of original Italian craft, art and design, Happy Maker Station introduced a couple of dedicated products at the second annual event this year. Pirouette Press along with graphic designer Paola Paoletti created fleece wood type letterpress “Be Happy” pillows and printed cotton shopping bags. 

Here’s a mini diy: Vintage Milk Bottle Packaging
Use re-purposed tomato sauce bottles. Spray paint the lids, use cotton tape (or other decorative tape) and sticker (in our case, we used the HMS logo) to create a vintage type seal.

The bottles could be fun to re-use again in other imaginative ways. The pillows included a secret to happiness tag which read, “ La felicita sta in una bollincina - Happiness is in a bubble" (roughly translated) and bubble wrap overlay. Who doesn’t love the simple funny pleasures of popping bubble wrap?

A parallel prints on cloth laboratory was also conducted. The public could bring in a t-shirt or similar cloth for us to print on. Some of the stylists brought cloth to be eventually turned into their own creations. I can’t wait to see them!

A re-cap of Happy Maker Station 2014 / Italian creatives works here
photo credits: Lisa Di Sabato, Maker at HMS 2014

Barnwood Sign Painting DIY

Never tried my hand at sign painting. So why not try!  In the studio with HMS creative creating some DIY signage out of salvaged barnwood for 2nd annual creative market in Mondovì. 

It couldn’t be easier! After choosing a motif (I’m digging Indian arrows). We’re just about done going over the sketch with Sharpie.

mini diy: Barnwood Sign Painting

find a piece of barnwood, sand it down and give it one hand of white primer paint. After laying out to dry in the sun for half an hour, sketch out your design in pencil and then copy over it with a Sharpie marker. 

Turntable Tuesday: Red For Tomato

OX HEART TOMATOES, better known as CUORE DI BUE in north Italy, is a “COMMON" big, soft, plump and super juicy tomato. I’m a big fan if you couldn’t tell!

This is not your typical supermarket tomato, which may be redder, less expensive but tasteless...  HARRY J. KLEE, from the University of Florida’s Institute of Plant Innovation, is trying to bridge the gap and make common supermarket tomatoes more tasty for the average consumer, yet easy and financially viable for the producer to get to market.  But until then, you might find something in the States like Goldmans’ Italian American tomato, which aren’t perfectly round and firm to use in this following recipe.

Our late blossoming summer has allowed us a wonderful fall "CASALINGA" ITALIAN TOMATO SOUP RECIPE and some TURNTABLE TUNES.

Turntable Tuesday :: A Curated Mix

My favorite songs (often times the more obscure ones), get randomly copied, pasted and collected in a folder on my desktop or scribbled down on whatever paper lying on my desk then hidden away inside notebooks...

8tracks and Soundcloud are music social networks that allow you navigate and share with other enthusiasts what’s already in their network or upload from your own music library. But if you don’t have the music in your library (like those obscure ones)... it means you gotta get them there! I discovered an easy way to convert favorite songs/videos to MP3 fromYoutube (for instance) to your music library.

I didn’t care for uploading any software and just wanted something efficient.

HERE IS A SITE I found easy and straightforward to transform your scribbled on pieces of paper into MP3’s, store them in your library and neatly into a curated collection of songs to summon up a mood at work, a dinner party or just to chill.

Turntable Tuesday : for my best friends from pirouettepress on 8tracks Radio.

Mini DIY : Simple Stitched Booklets | Fare un Libricino Fatto a Mano

(versione EN e IT)

Here is a MINI DIY on HOW TO MAKE A SINGLE STITCH THREE HOLE BOOKLET. You can use this simple technique to keep recipes, photos, sketches... it’s all up to you!

(L-R) TOOLS, NORA AND VARYING STITCH TECHNIQUES
( THIS MINI DIY IS SIMILAR BUT SIMPLER THAN ONES SHOWN HERE).

Product photography with props

More and more my work focuses on product photography to try and get the best representation of   design I do. I still work with a point and shoot camera, and I like the discipline of learning to use best what I have. It’s a continuous learning process with great hints on the web to take some decent images and improve your skills from the likes of the Biz Ladies section of Design Sponge . It is a part of the process between what you do and getting it out there to the public. Here’s a business card hand printed in two colors on Crane’s Lettra 100lb paper for a painter with prop.

  

More attempts at product photography click here.

Letterpress Basics: Composure On A Stick

So the cool thing about the basics to hand setting type is it requires composure (meaning patience and organization) and, in my opinion, helps one appreciate the craft of letterpress that much more. Here are some of what you need to get started and a simple visual guide on how to hold your composing stick before you compose your first lines of type.

AT MY LETTERPRESS WORKSHOP IN PARIS WITH THOMAS GRAVEMAKER
LEARNING THE BASICS

Fête: DIY Hosting A Gourmand Baby Shower

In February I hosted a baby shower for ex-pat Kate. The theme of the party was inspired by Kate’s hobbies, like entertaining, cooking and photography. I thought a “GOURMAND” THEMED BABY SHOWER would be perfect.

I first designed a plant seedling as a logo and then decided to get a rubber stamp made for it (as I didn’t have my press at that point). I knew I wanted something more personalized than a digital print up. I mixed an antique rose with acrylic paints (it’s a girl) and applied the stamp to small envelopes filled with seeds to plant that spring. Finally, this envelope was put onto the cover of small kraft style notepad for guests to write down notes during the event.

Other stationery (that doubled as PRIZES) included DESIGNED RECIPE CARDS with Kate's favorite's like "Easier than Julia Child's Caesar Salad" and "Spinach Artichoke Dip,1960's Style". Another prizes included MATTED FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY of homemade pasta, fresh beans or nashe (a hybrid of pear and apple) by Kate. These matted pieces were then attached with a favorite quote and wrapped up with rustic string printed on cardstock.

I kept DECORATING SIMPLE and made about a dozen of the queen of DYI Martha Stewart's paper pompoms...a nice background effect inside barrel vault brick ceilings. The catering was done by La Bottega Errante  which supplied simple finger foods and local bottled wines.

THE GAMES kept the party fun and full of laughs. These included the classic blindfolded type games as: FIND THE BABY PENS IN A JAR OF RICE, FEED THE BABY (beware, this one can get very very messy--best to wrap a trash bag around person getting fed as the person feeding the “baby” is blindfolded), TOSS THE BABY WATER BALLOON (another messy one--decorate it with your baby’s face and you and your partner are more likely not to drop it)! 

The GUESSING GAMES were interesting too...make a list of little know facts about the guest of honor and find out just how well her friends know her...

party photography by Maria Zanon and Roxy