O Holy…

We finally got the Christmas tree up.

Exactly two minutes later – in an unsupervised split-second – little man pulled it over on top of himself and earned some angry branch-scratches on his belly.

We calmed his howling, packed every last glass and ceramic ornaments into our Do-Not-Use box, and decorated the tree like this:

Please note the non-festive bottom half of the tree. It offends my aesthetic side but prevents trips to the ER, so I guess we’re even.

The rest is pretty (see Hello Kitty sharing space with the Sydney Harbour ornament we picked up back home in April.):

And the 2006 Berry-picture-ornament is here, next to a really lovely soft doll ornament Nathan’s mum sent:

My tree-decorating drink came in a bottle so pretty I wished I had a miniature to put on the tree (although it looks bizarrely like perfume):

I drank it instead, and all was well.

For those who’ve asked (and who have his leering image seared into their memories): NO, Feral-Rabbit-Angel did not get on the tree this year. The kids are just not scare-proof yet and besides, I don’t like his attitude.

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Celebrate: letterpress for a cause

I designed these cards to honour Bryan’s mum, and women everywhere who face cancer with courage, and the families and friends who support them, and the researchers and fundraisers working tirelessly to find a cure.

We only met Bryan’s mother for a couple of days in New Orleans years ago, back when Bryan and Nathan and I were bar-hopping, stoop-sitting, black-cat-owning neighbours in the French Quarter. Bryan’s mum was sweet and off-beat and lovely, and I’ve always remembered her. I wish I’d had the chance to see her again.

When Bryan asked me to design some letterpress Christmas cards themed for breast cancer awareness, I felt completely inspired and filled with an urge to do something good. After many hours at the press, these are the cards:

…and this is the Good: I’m donating a portion of proceeds from the sale of these pink-ribbon Celebrate Love card sets to Susan G. Komen For The Cure® and the Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers Foundation. Bryan’s mom supported both, and they supported her.

These cards are letterpress printed one by one on my 107-year-old Chandler and Price letterpress, creating an impression on luxurious 100% cotton (tree-free) stock. They are available in boxed sets in the Sweet Olive Press online store.

Let your heart be light…

A warm golden manor house among silvery snowflakes, to wish your nearest and dearest a merry little Christmas… letterpress printed on thick folded cards made from 100% reclaimed cotton.

I got so busy with printing and turkeys and family (not all at once!) that I forgot to post these! You can find them in the Sweet Olive Press online store and on Etsy.

Letterpress Christmas Cards: Noël

I’ve been printing so much this week, I’m in letterpress heaven!  Exhibit A:  a golden candle-lit Christmas tree and a holiday-red “noël”, just off the press and available in the Sweet Olive Press online store in boxed sets, and soon on Etsy.

More coming! Much more…

Working on the railroad

I knew trains used to be cooler than they are today. Look at this fabulous shot of a linotype in operation on a railway press car in 1913!

Um, molten lead on a bumpy railway? The pot did have a cover, but I wouldn’t be putting my hand up for the job…

{Photo by Brown Photo Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, from the George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress}

Not spooky at all

Happy Halloween from Owl and the Forest Fairy Princess, and from Sweet Olive Press!

(Owl is testing the forcible entry approach to trick-or-treating. At 17 months he gets a pass; next year not so much.)

 

 

Away we go

One thing I’ve noticed since moving from Australia to the United States is that over here the downhill dash to the end of the year starts much, much earlier.

If you’re so inclined, you can start fretting about Halloween costumes in late September and be in full panic by mid-October. The last week of October is all lollies and trick-or-treat and then hey presto, we’re into November and there’s Thanksgiving to plan (and plan and plan). As soon as the turkey’s done, Christmas is absolutely hurtling towards you.  Lovely! (I mean that!)

And so: while once I would have thought it was strange to be choosing Christmas cards in October, these days I say it makes perfect sense.

So here they are….

Hand-mixed inks for a gorgeous dark silver and a rich red… magnesium plates for a strikingly deep impression… luxuriously thick card made from 100 percent reclaimed cotton… and a message for all mankind.

Available with red envelopes in boxed sets of six and boxed sets of 30, they’re in the Sweet Olive Press online store now.  (Plan ahead! Blink and it’s Christmas!)

Advice

Printing wisdom from my four-year-old:

“We don’t lick the letterpress,” she says, “because it would taste yuck.”

Getaway

I had planned a weekend at the press… but since it was all “do-anytime” work, we decided to go to Florida instead.

It was lovely.

Life can be fun!

I’m so excited to show you the very first limited edition art prints from Sweet Olive Press!

“Life Can Be Fun” is a four-colour print (read: four separate trips through the press!) inspired by Australian women’s magazines of the 1950s, and is the first in a series of works on this theme. I’ve been working on this piece for months, and I’m thrilled to be able to unveil it at last!

This is a limited edition of 110 prints, signed and numbered. The four colours were printed one by one, using magnesium plates and hand-mixed inks on my 107-year-old Chandler & Price Old Style letterpress – an enormous antique iron machine of great charm and mysterious history. This centuries-old printing process presses the images and letters into thick paper, for an impression you can see and feel.


I created this original artwork to reflect the captivating mix of style, earnestness, and buoyant promise of the time.

(Aside: there really was a 1955 ad that proclaimed “Life can be fun!”.)

Limited-edition “Life Can Be Fun” art prints can be purchased at the Sweet Olive Press online store!