Cupcakes & Stands

I want cupcakes! by SugarcubePress
I want cupcakes! a photo by SugarcubePress on Flickr.

I love to bake…and create. So, in efforts to get ready for Wren’s first birthday party, I decided to create a small dinner party complete with cupcakes & champagne. I envision a little bit of a tea party for grown ups, since really, she’s going to be 1…and she’s not going to remember this. And, Wren is the second kiddo…Beck got the full-on-crazy first birthday. There’s no celebration that says, “yeah, you made it through the first year, with your second baby.” Maybe there should be. So, using the cupcakes for the St. Paddy’s Day bake sale for Beck’s kindergarten last night, I tested out the place settings I wanted to use.

I found some great orange colored glasses at a local thrift store, and some sweet saucers with a teal and silver patina. Using the goblets as stands, and the saucer as the plate, I created little cupcake stands. I think I might use these with some paper treats as placecards or maybe just all together in a first birthday cup-cake arrangement.

The possibilities are endless with a great local-vintage find. Total cost: $1.90. This just needs some sweet letterpress treats…designing is on my mind today.

sweetly: kelsie

Happy Valentine’s Day

crumbhearts

Nothing is sweeter than a little hand-made letterpress on this love-ly day.

10 percent off in January!

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Rainy Day Packaging

Today the rain comes down in SoCal a la Seattle-style, where for 9 years I lived on an island. Rain was part of life, no escape, so black rubber boots and a chin-up (or head-down) were de riguer. Now, the only black rubber I have is flip-flops, a bit too chilly for rain or printshop. AND I had to climb on the printshop roof and sweep leaves off to prevent pooling and possible leakage. I was soaked and bitter. Printing was also a failure so I have instead been pre-paring for the NY January show rush and have been packaging for hours in front of Julie & Julia. Li’l glass o’ port and it is after all a perfect rainy day.

Road-side Find

sugarcube_orgchair

This Danish Modern beauty was at a yard sale, $30! Look at those arms! The fire-orange is perfect in my white-white 1951 house.

I’m keen on finding, it seems, chairs, on the side of the road. Maybe I should open a shop, “Lizzie’s Lost +Found”? Must it’s the instinct to “nest”, to sit and enjoy my home. It’s a comfy chair in front of the fireplace.

Oil It

HOW many places does this thing need oil? Every moving part!

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Heidelberg Windmill ‘n’ Me

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My mom’s apron (apron story shortly).

The Heidelberg moved in thanks to my husband’s hours of coaxing it off a tipped over, oil-covered flatbed. Large things must sometimes be moved by brains + millimeters (think pyramids!), then wiggling it through a door with 1′ to spare. THEN another hour getting it off a pallet jack in a very small studio, with no help at all.

It was synchronicity that got it to Sugarcube; Toxic Coyote Press (aka Frank Boross) wanted to sell and remembered us from the LA Printer’s Fair. He owned it for 25 years. What a gift!

green velvet chair and dresser

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The green chair was literally on the side of the road in Ojai! We were walking and there it was in the weeds. My friend sat in it until I could return with a car. A little shampoo and beating the feather cushion made it gorgeous.

I found the dresser at a garage sale in Seattle; this robin’s egg blue is it’s 3rd paint job, from lacquer black + chartreuse. The knobs are vintage butterfly prints.

a little birdy said Thank You

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In our computer-dynamic insta-world, a REAL Thank You note is more special, unexpected. It used to be one would never not send an immediate handwritten Thank You for a gift, a luncheon or an act of kindness. This man John Kralik www.365thankyounotes.com wrote notes that change his outlook on life… Is there someone you could thank today?

Wren’s Nest Part 2…The Sweet Details

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Nothing is complete without the details! So, here they are…

Above, I added willow branches to intertwine on the canopy area of the crib (Bratt Decor’s Venetian Iron Crib). The bedding is from NurseryWorks and has since been discontinued, but I found it at a great discount on Overstock.com. It just happened to be the perfect shade & pattern for the room. I hung some great hand made paper mobiles from the ever-talented Michelle Moode from the crib posts. We had met while we displayed our sweet hand-made goodies at the LA Printer’s Museum, along with some of our L.A. letterpress peeps.

In all my spare time (my bowl is pretty full with sugar), I also freelance design for textiles and printed matter for small businesses (logos & identities, letterhead, business cards, etc.). The textiles on the Petunia Pickle Bottom bags hanging from oversized thread spools on top are some of my favorites that I have created…on the left, their delicious Cake Cosmopolitan Carryall Bag in Pistachio Layer Cake, and their Glazed Boxy Backpack from the Spring 2010 Collection, Tea on the Thames. All packed and ready to go!

In the middle picture are hand-painted watercolor bird prints from the mid to late 1800′s. I hung them on vintage clothing hangers (found on etsy) and used vintage spools of thread to cover the nails. The light fixture was the piece de resistance for me. I had seen, along with everyone else, the beautiful bird cage light fixture from Anthropologie. I thought I could make it myself (I’m still convinced I could). But, time was running out. So, I found one that Urban Outfitters made. But, it just wasn’t the same. It had the great structure, but needed some improvements.  So, I removed all the faux birds and copper perches it came with and replaced them with branches, more realistic faux-birds, butterflies, moss, nests & eggs. And, it came to life once we wired it as a light fixture vs. a plug-in fixture.

On the bottom picture (above), the shelves behind the door, hold felted birds (I had to learn how to felt, of course), along with moss, branches, a nest, a vintage brass birdcage, an old wood type W, and Sugarcube Press’s A to Z letters were used to spell out “Wren.” There’s also a print by Oh My Cavelier!, a couple circa 1850 vintage egg prints, and some silver spoons from my husband’s Grandmother’s Collection.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the sweetness! Now, off to have this baby!

Sneek Peak…Wren’s Nest

wrensnest_part1

We’re going to be welcoming a new baby girl into the Sugarcube Press world tomorrow, so we thought we’d give you a sneak peek into what we’re now referring to as “Wren’s Nest.” Now, if she actually sleeps in this room until a few months from now, we’ll see, but it sure is sweet-as-can-be. The inspiration was vintage 30′s, with pale pinks, creams, charcoal, and olive accents. Of course, it’s not perfectly finished…there’s always the two curtains on backorder that we’re waiting for!

My husband & I waited awhile between children. Our son, Beck, is now 5 1/2 (that 1/2 is very important to him) and knew this probably was going to be our last. I was in dis-belief, happy and scared (all in one) to find out we were having a girl. My husband, as well as my friends, are very concerned about how I’m going to handle the shoe and clothes situation…I’ve been known to harbor a clothing & shoe obsession for myself…what would happen when I had a mini-me to dress as well?

So, as the designer of the sweet girly duo, I set out to make Wren’s nest a few months ago. It was really an empty shell of a room, having been my past home office a year ago. There was not much in it, and badly needed to be re-painted. Having a baby is a good excuse to get the rollers out. So, after 2 coats of paint, and several trips to Lowe’s, the pale pink walls, cream baseboards and charcoal-taupe painted brick laid the groundwork for some furniture.

We were on a budget, so we had a lot of d.i.y. and re-purposed elements involved in this room. The glider (even though I really wanted a new one) was from my son’s nursery and is a olive green toile adorned with ruffled pillows from Pier One Imports. The walnut colored bird mobile, by Helen Ige, is also from my son’s room, but worked perfectly above the changing table. After all, I had stored these items all this time, I felt I should really use them again.

The industrial metal cart & vintage-styled crib found me at the LA Mart when I was picking up some letterpressed card samples at our wonderful showroom, The Lynn Mitchell Group. The room was built around those two pieces. It happened to be the sample sale week, so it fit my budget perfectly (as well as already being assembled). I really loved the metal and wood, as well as the heaviness of the cart, but also knew I had to even it out with something softer & lacey. I found the great tablecloth cover at Anthropologie (on sale, too!). It’s a linen cloth, along with creams & charcoal lace doily edging. The metal bins were re-purposed from my son’s room and were from Target. The cabinet above the changing area (purchased at Pottery Barn), holds antique and family curiosities, and is filled with vintage pocket watches from my husband’s grandfather, scales & silver spoons from his grandmother, spools of thread from my great-grandmother, and even a few hand-made owl plushies from our friends over at Night Owl Paper Goods (and the wonderfully-talented Lori Nichols). I used moss as a soft landing spot for many of the pieces. The lamp was purchased at Urban Outfitters and was used in my room prior, along with a lamp shade that was purchased from there for my son’s room. I used an olive tweed train case found on Etsy for all those baby-essentials and the beautiful print of the bird creating flowers is from Oh My Cavelier! on Etsy

Stay tuned for all the sweet details and more photos!

Lovely, letterpress love.

letterpress love

This card evokes summer lovin’…the layered look of wood type combined with the warm colors of California sunshine. Perfect for your sweet Valentine. But, you’ll feel the love all year long with our Everyday Love Collection. Look for it at your local stationery store. If they don’t have our Everyday Love Collection, ask for them to carry it!

Stationery Trends: Sugarcube Press Crumbs

The Winter 2010 issue of Stationery Trends Magazine featured Sugarcube Press’s Crumbs products! Sarah Schwartz, Editor-extraordinaire, interviewed Kelsie to find out more about the how, the what and the why of it all!

Sugarcube Press Crumbs

“Neccesity is the mother of invention, and lately sustainability is a neccessity. Sugarcube Press’ Kelsie Zimmerman and Elizabeth Rittmeyer have always embraced green business practices, but their efforts didn’t stop there.

Enter Crumbs, DIY card kits available in several themes whose ingredients would have otherwise ended up in the recycle bin. Each includes letterpress clippings as well as two cards and envelopes. Stationery Trends interviewed Zimmerman to learn about how this line came to be. ” To read more, download a pdf of the rest of the Sugarcube Press Stationery Trends Magazine Article.

Sugarcube Press at Urbanic, First Friday on Abbot Kinney Boulevard.: December

A lovely evening was had by all at Urbanic in Venice last Friday for a First Friday on Abbot Kinney Blvd. From hot buttered rum cider to wine to chocolate cupcakes and sweet treats, it was a festive evening ringing in the holiday season. A big thanks to Audrey, Joshua (Javin, too!), Tess & Celia for having us. We loved the feedback from the evening, showing people the art of letterpress, and meeting letterpress enthusiasts!

sugarcube press at urbanic

With us, along with some letterpress goodies, we hauled in our table-top “portable” press. At 180 pounds, it’s not too light, but well worth the fun and excitement that surrounded it all night. As a special treat, we brought down coasters, that we made into ornaments. Guests enjoyed imprinting a message onto the coaster, and adding our signature bakery twine to adorn the holiday home. Happy Hoo-hoo-lidays all!

sugarcube urbanic ornament owl

xo, k & e

Join the Sweet Girly Duo at Urbanic’s Holiday Party

Join us for a night of merriment and sweet letterpress love at Urbanic on Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice this Friday night from 6 to 11. Invitation follows. It’s going to be sweet!

Join Sugarcube Press & Urbanic Friday, Dec. 4th

Join Sugarcube Press & Urbanic Friday, Dec. 4th

Inky on the Press: Colors in the Print Studio

Today in the Print Studio

Oranges, yellows, halloween & holidays adorn the print studio & packaging area today. We said good-bye to our last halloween shipment of the year and are busy fulfilling orders for some sweet holiday cheer! Holidays came later this year (kinda nice), so at least we’re not in 100 degree summer heat printing holiday orders!

Halloween Invitations

halloweeninvites

There is no holiday like Halloween. From the decorations to the elaborate costumes…make your féte the talk-of-the-town with these scrumptious letterpressed invitations. Licorice black ink on crisp 100% cotton rag paper with a deep impression. Pen it in silver or blood red ink for a real treat. Available at select retailers. Call us at 805.641.3933 or email us for one in your area. Happy Haunting!

Inspiration Board: End of Summer, Beginning of Fall Figs

The figs are falling off of Elizabeth’s tree faster than she can take them off! This inspired today’s inspiration board as we’re gearing up for Fall here in California, but summer temperatures are still at a high. Passion-filled plum-colored peonies with a rustic barn feel, perfect if the temperatures decide to get colder, or even hotter.
This board was created on Style Me Pretty’s new site for brides & wedding aficionados, the Style Circle. I usually create my own, but wanted to try this service out so that we can give a shout out to how fantastic it is. Even a few of Sugarcube’s invitations have ended up in the graces…
We’re a member of the Style Circle…Sugarcube Press and we’re excited to announce we have been invited to join the Little Black Book from Style Me Pretty. We’ll be completing our paperwork in October. But, in the meantime, it’s never too early to start your invitations!


Custom Postcard for WORD in Brooklyn, NY

the gothy part of town, WORD Bookshop in Brooklyn, NY

This is a great 2nd year for Christine’s postcard and her great gothy-look at WORD Bookshop in Brooklyn, NY. Perfect as we head into the traditional holidays, especially in the Northeastern US with Tarrytown (Sleepy Hollow), Salem and Sam Hain for Fall rituals. She keeps the postcard available all year.

Custom Printing: Bat Mitzvah

Raspberry Bat Mitzvah, crisp and cool

Jamie Hoffer, a wonderful woman we met at Landis Stationery on Larchmont in Los Angeles, during one of our press events, had us print her daughter’s Bat Mitvah invitation that she designed herself. Beautiful raspberry ink on crisp white frosting stock. All text with deep impression.