Archive for the 'Simply Sweet' Category

Wren’s Nest Part 2…The Sweet Details

Published on April 1. 2010 in Simply Sweet. Closed

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

Published on March 30. 2010 in Simply Sweet. Closed

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!

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

Published on December 8. 2009 in Simply Sweet. Closed

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

Published on December 1. 2009 in Simply Sweet. Closed

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

Letterpressed Snowflake Coasters

Published on August 19. 2009 in Simply Sweet. Closed Tags: coasters, drinks, entertaining, fun, holiday, letterpress.

Sweetly fun, modern yet traditional, drink coasters. They can also be used as gift tags or ornaments, just get your hole-punch.

Owl Crumbs

Published on August 17. 2009 in Design Sweetness and Simply Sweet. Closed Tags: collage, crumbs, design, letterpress, off-cuts, owls, recycled, scraps.

Cutsey owls for our DIY collage cards called “crumbs”; it’s all made from small scrap paper that would otherwise be tossed, not big enough for invitations but it’s the perfect size for collage pieces.

Thank You Letterpress Cards

Published on August 15. 2009 in Inky On the Press and Simply Sweet. Closed Tags: letterpress cards.

Our wonderfully whimsical belizean blue thank you cards on press.

Holidays in August!

Published on August 15. 2009 in Inky On the Press and Simply Sweet. Closed

Holiday and henna hands Thank You's in-process

Holiday cards galore & henna hands abound. Getting ready for September shipping!

Letterpress Wedding Invitations On Press

Published on June 23. 2009 in Simply Sweet. Closed

We’ve been a little busy over here with the new designs coming out and shipping all the product from the New York Show orders. Elizabeth has been busy printing like a mad-woman, as I’m prepping all our marketing and packaging orders. In between this, we’ve been doing a few custom weddings. We thought we’d share what has been making Elizabeth’s hands even more inky than normal….cherry red & vintage gold to be precise! The lovely Laura Hooper will be doing the calligraphy on Paula & James’s Floral Invitations.

Letterpress Wedding Invitations on Press

Lettepress Wedding Invitations On Press

Off to New York

Published on May 13. 2009 in Simply Sweet. Closed Tags: New York Stationery Show, NSS 2009.

We’re off to New York to the Stationery Show. We’ll be in booth no. 1646. Come by if you’re there for some sweetly vintage, uniquely modern letterpress goodies. We’ll post pics from the show! Our Crumbs line (D.I.Y. Collage Card Kit) is up for Best New Green Stationery Product…how sweet is that?

scp_crumbs_diycardkit1

Hello Blogging World.

Published on May 9. 2009 in Simply Sweet. Closed

Woodsy Hello Notecard

Hello World! Sugarcube Press is pleased to announce our new blog…{sweet talk}…a pinch of sugar with a dash of sass. enjoy. xo, k & e