I’ve heard scary stories in the letterpress studio about people smushing their fingers in the press. I never understood how until today while finishing up my old roommate’s wedding invites. After printing 400 invites, 100 ceremony/RSVP postcards, I was a little tired to do 400 envelopes. I wanted them done quickly as possible. With the extra flap flapping in the air as I feed the paper across the cylinder, I held on to ensure it eased through the machine until my index and middle finger put a stop to the whole production. They were stuck between the cylinder and a bar that the paper slips through. I thought for sure I was going to lose a fingernail or two, but as of right now they’re still painfully intact. The first thing I thought, I must really love Di, and I powered through the rest of the set.

I have never designed or printed wedding invitations before but Di and Matt are such amazing and supportive friends, I thought it’d make a great wonderful gift. I have to be honest though, I don’t think I am cut out for wedding stuff. I felt burnt out after shooting two weddings with my holga camera and this, this was another world. So many freakin’ options and so many people to invite. Oy! Luckily I knew how much they love cats and how they will be cat people – married or single – forever and ever. It seemed obvious that their two cats, Monster and Zim, had to be on there. I am more of a dog person myself so that may be the reason why I am not in love with my design. But Di and Matt love the invites and I love those two so that’s all that matters.

Printed on Crane’s Lettra Ecru and Neenah Classic Crest Slate.

I was born and raised in good ol’ Utah. I’ve been here for 23 years with the exception of a couple study abroads and sweet vacations to far away places. One Utah gene I did not catch was the desire to place a bright and shiny rock on my left hand. You know on what finger I’m talking about. In my own and complete opinion, enormous rings disgust me. Diamonds disgust me. I am all about concept and reason and a large diamond cannot be justified in my brain. I understand the rings that have been passed around throughout family and I think that is very sweet. But other than that, most rings just scream out how much money the husband has, or how much loans he has, depending. Here’s where this post relates back to art: The featured seller on Etsy this week is husband and wife of Fabuluster. The custom made wedding rings they design make total sense to me and are pretty dang romantic if you think about it. If, and this is a big fatty if, I were to get married I would consider looking into these more.

I am a little attached to this thrift shop ring I always wear. I’ve never taken it off for nearly 3 years now and it’s been with me through a lot of thicks and a lot of thins. I wouldn’t mind this being “the ring” either. Future husband will have to pay the $3 for it though because a lady can’t pay for her own ring, damn it!

(Photos above courtesy of Lauren Brady, host of Amore Lounge)

I celebrated Valentine’s Day yesterday with an awesome breakfast at Ruth’s diner, snowshoeing up Big Cottonwood Canyon, the most amazing onion rings I’ve ever had at Red Rock, a massage, dinner at The Copper Onion and attending the most well-thought out themed party I’ve ever been to. Lauren (in photo) is so adorable. She mailed out invites that were letterpress printed for her Amore Lounge party. Cocktail attire required. Her gorgeous apartment was decked out with hand made paper and wooden hearts, a custom sign, stringed lights, delicious food, an open cocktail bar, a guest book, party favors and great people! I can’t wait to see the photos on my holga. I only took a few until some technical difficulties crammed my film (the sponge that held the film in place, rolled with it).

Remember when I said I got inspired from my Impressive Kiss print to print completely blind? Well, here it is in all it’s glory. Once again it’s a play on printing. Can you guess what I titled it?

17 3/4″ x 12. Printed on Bleached Lettra, wet pack.

Exactly 33 years ago, my parents married. They were 21 years old and in love. How did they meet? I’m glad you asked.

The Vietnam War was getting bad and my Uncle, a white guy in the army who married my mom’s oldest sister, moved the family from everything they knew to his hometown -Caste Dale, UT. Now something you should know about the mama and all of my Aunts and Uncle – they’re all deaf but the youngest sister. The only deaf school in Utah at the time was in Ogden so the kids journeyed north for school. Now, a few weeks before this my dad had no job. He received his last welfare check and knew he needed to start looking for work. One day coming home from school at Weber State University, he turned left to the deaf school to see if they were hiring. That left turn changed his life, as he likes to put it. My dad was an RA for the boys dorm and this is how he learned his fifth language, American Sign Language. Him and my mom were the same age and older than most of the others and once she got the courage to talk to him, they started dating.

One day, my dad got down on one knee and signed, “Will you marry me?” Even though she was mostly confused on why he was down on one knee, she answered, “Ask my parents first.” So my dad hired a Vietnamese translator and drove 3 hours to Castle Dale just to be shot down. My grandparents justification for declining was that they were both goats in the Chinese Zodiac which meant they’ll butt heads. But somehow when they heard my dad had a house they agreed to the marriage and moved in with them with 3 of my mom’s siblings. As newlyweds, my dad had 5 extra people in the house to take care of, none who spoke English or spoke at all. This is how much he loved her and still does today.

Happy Anniversary!

Exactly one year ago I walked into PetSmart, contemplating on getting a cat because I knew they were easy to take care of. My roommate Di had an adorable kitten and she was all for getting another cat in the household. As Di is holding a cat, I slip over to the dog section just, to look. My eyes lock onto a small puppy with the most adorable stubby tail. Her name, Dakota. She’s part Australian Shepherd and part mystery. I walk her around the store and learn she was abandoned in North Logan at only the age of 4 months. She sits and looks right up at me and I fell in love. Despite the fact that my landlord doesn’t even want animals in the house, despite the fact my parents never let me get a dog when I was younger (because of all the responsibilities and…the poop), despite that I was a full-time college student working on 2 majors in my final year, I adopted her. I take her home and instantly am trying to rename her. My then boyfriend pointed out that we didn’t want to be reminded of Dakota Fanning every time we called her name. I wanted to play with the fact she’s Australian Shepherd and how I feel an attachment to the Land of Oz. It was so simple, she’s a Sheila.

Even after losing some plants, some eye glasses, some clothes, part of the kitchen floor, a couch, the back seat of my car all to her stomach, she’s perfect for me.

I’ve created a Sheila photo album of pictures throughout the year most of you might have not seen, on facebook.

And I am just now realizing I never shared this adorable video of her wanting to go outside so badly and play with the neighbor dog!

Last Saturday my half sister Crystal married her boyfriend of 2 years. They had their wedding at Perception Park, a campground up towards Monte Cristo. They asked me to take photos for them and this one is my favorite:

I don’t really know Dustin all too well, and to be honest I don’t know my half sister all that well either (yet). But during the ceremony both of them shed tears while smiling so brightly. The fact that Dustin couldn’t hold back his tears means something to me – he’s in absolute love with her. I think that’s the sign of a happy marriage when a man can cry at the person he wants to spend the rest of his life with. I am so happy for them both!

Congratulations you two! Thanks for having a wedding where I can put on a hoodie and eat a (veggie) burger.

I guess it’s true what they say, when you’re in love you just know it. I didn’t expect it to hit me this hard though. I mean, it’s all I can think about. And it couldn’t come at a better timing. I just graduated from Utah State University with a BFA in Graphic Design and Printmaking. I’ve been tossing and turning at night wondering what am I going to do with those degrees. Become a graphic artist or a fine artist? Well, all the stress and nausea of having two emphasis finally felt worth it. Today I met Letterpress. The best of both worlds. Letterpress lets me play with typography and layouts while still letting me ink up, get dirty, and lift the paper up with anticipation of what the final result is after each pull. Why couldn’t Letterpress come into my life sooner? I guess I shouldn’t complain, I’m very fortunate Letterpress came into my life at all. I think it’s the start of a beautiful long lasting friendship.

I will never forget our first pull. I chose the letter “P” from the woodblock family to ink up for the first time. I was very gentle, I didn’t want to overdo it. I felt really nervous but excited at the same time – a good sign, right? We’re planning on meeting every Wednesday at 4pm at the U of U Library. We might sneak in some more studio time, but I don’t want to rush this new relationship too fast. You can’t overwhelm something this good.

I hope Letterpress likes me as much as I like Letterpress.