New Business Cards...that you can play with!

Friends I've finally buckled down and made some bus cards for Mer Mag. And I have to say...I'm head over heels in love with how they turned out! Rowley Press did a phenomenal job of letterpress printing and I'm one happy happy happy gal.

And with all things Mer Mag...well it just wouldn't be as fun if you couldn't recycle it and turn it into a new toy to play with, right?! So that is just what we did.

After saving all the Mer Mag info into your smart phone, you can cut out this fun bear on the back, assemble and play with him! So fun right?

Oh and these have a new blog address on them...which could only mean one thing...Mer Mag is getting a face lift! And soon!!

And as ALT is...next week!...I'm happy to say that if I pass out while speaking during my panel ;) I'll at least have these lovely cards for you to remember me by.

So if you are attending ALT, please do stop by my panel (should be fabulous really, some great speakers lined up) say hello (and perhaps an encouraging word or two? :)!! I'd LOVE love love to meet you in the flesh.

And now I better get back to packing and preparing...so much to do...so little time! Eeep!

Altitude Design Summit Report

I'm back from a lovely long weekend in Salt Lake City, attending ALT. It was a whirlwind of information, which was great, but i think for me the best thing about the conference was being able to meet up with SO many inspiring people. Such as old NYC friends (So great to hang with you Brooke and Mara!!) and finally meeting a slew of blogger friends in person (EZ you are just as lovely as I imagined) and connecting more with my new craft night bloggy friends (Susan, Annie, Alison, Jen). The list goes on and on. (Such as I chatted it up with the darling Emily Henderson and gave her an Advil (my claim to fame) - if you've read this post, you know how much I adore her work. She's a doll with a wonderfully generous personality. And I spoke with the ever elegant Amy Butler (she's a gorgeous gazelle, had no idea how tall she was. Reminds me of Uma Thurman).

There were so many lovely gals (and a couple of gents) that I met and wish I could list them all. I do have to quickly share how much I adore Annabel Wrigley of Little Pin Cushion Studio. I illustrated her portrait (can you spot her bus. card in the slew of cards below?). She is SO darling and full of generosity and warmth (my favorite trait of my favorite bloggers). Keep her on you radar, she's got some super great stuff in the works. And can I just say that I'm SO glad that Rachel Faucett of Handmade Charlotte (and Anthropologie fame) stopped me in the hall!? She is so fantastic and has sooo many great ideas. I adore her energy and enthusiasm. Oh yes and I have to give a shout out to Roxi Marj. She's a creative genius with a really great and original point of view. Seriously keep her on your radar. Oh my, the list just goes on and on...

(Leather bag by Annie of Annily Green. Gold polka dots handed painted on by me.)

Now to keep up all this creative momentum! The possibilities are endless. And I have to say a BIG thanks to all of YOU dear readers, because without you...well I'd still be crafting up a storm...but all by myself...and the connection I get because of you and this community is priceless. So thanks! You are the best readers ever. Seriously.

Altitude Design Summit

("I heart SLC" shirt made from Freezer Paper stencil for the conference)

Hello friends! I'm currently in Salt Lake City along with a slew of fantastic design blogging friends (and personal heros) and I couldn't be more in heaven. If you haven't yet heard of ALT, you are in for a real treat. In short, it's a dream design blog conference full of fantastically inspiring people. You can get more of the low down here.

OK, so you might be surprised but I really haven't left my children to go galavanting off to conferences, or even on a couples retreat...like ever. (I know, Jon and I seriously need a little Valentines rendezvous, don't you think?).

So as excited as I am to have a bit of time away, it feels a little weird to up and leave. To make things easier on the boys (or on me?) I left them a little gift (just a fun activity book) for them to open after I left, letting them know how much I love them and asking them to be good to dad, and that I'll be back soon, etc. I wanted to make them a batch of Hershey Kiss cookies like my mom did once when she went away for a wedding. I remember feeling so much love from her every time I ate one of them. I unfortunately didn't manage to get around to it, but maybe I'll have to keep that in mind for next year! Because if the rest of the week is as good as this first night has been, I know I'll be back!

And I know that the boys will be having the time of their lives while I'm away (I'm sure there will be a lot of WII playing going on. Jon turns into a little boy himself with he's with those two...it's really quite adorable...and a little funny).

(the boys made a matching triangle shirt for Jon last year for father's day)