Consider the Letter

I've heard stories about how after Steve Jobs took a basic typography class, it changed the way that he looked at things.

Take a closer look at how a letter is constructed, how a dot sits on an "i", how the shape of a letter affects the form or a word, and you can appreciate how beautiful a letter really is. How well designed it is.


It's obvious to me, that this type class really helped Steve Jobs, and by extension, Apple, create computers, and phones, and other devices that were really well designed. And in some cases really beautiful. Remember the first iMacs? All in one, colorful, easy to use computers. They were everywhere. You would turn on the news and a reporter would have one sitting behind them.

And it all started with a simple type class.

Not only should type communicate, but it should hold your interest and, if successful cause an emotional reaction. Type, with the help of fonts, should feel like what it's saying.

I thought about type a lot, when putting together the new release for June 28th. Played around with mixing typefaces, how they work together. And how they would work with the images. Who would, when looking at a line or two of type, think there would be so much to think about? I may be a little nuts about type, but I think you are worth it.

Happy Birthday, BSF!

That's right. BSF. For those of you who don't know what that means, it means Best Stamping Friend. And my BSF is Kim, The MFT Lady. And we are surprising her with this blog hop to celebrate.


One of Kim's most beloved lines are the PI girls. So I took 2 of her sets, used a little of the MFT paper, added some bling and MFT ribbon, colored it up with some colored pencil and gamsol and this sweet little card was born. I really must like my BSF a lot because you'll notice that I actually pulled out the sewing machine for this card and didn't, for my last.

But I guess Kim is worth it. She is one of the truest, most giving friends you could ever wish to have. She owns the sharpest wit, and the most killer laugh I've ever known a Southern Belle to have.

Happy Birthday, Kim. Hope this birthday is the bestest.

But wait, there a just a couple more people that want to wish Kim the best on her birthday.

• Alex Maldonado
  
• Amy Sheffer
  
• Barbara Anders
  
• Beate Johns
  
• Bonnie Ratzloff
  
• Carole Burrage
  
• Carolyn King
  
• Cassie Trask
  
• Chris Veneruso
  
• Christina Fischer
  
• Cindy Haffner
  
• Dawn Barghorn
  
• Dawn Easton
  
• Erin Smetak
  
• Frances Byrne
  
• Gabrielle Howey
  
• Gretchen Belknap
  
• Jen Davis
  
• Jen del Muro
  
• Jenn Balcer
  
• Jessie Rone
  
• Joanne Basile
  
• Jodi Collins
  
• Jody Morrow
  
• Joy Stagg
  
• Julie Dinn
  
• Karen Motz
  
• Kelli Hull
  
• Kerry Johnson
  
• Leigh O'Brien
  
• Leslie Rodriguez
  
• Lisa Henke
  
• Lori Craig
  
• Megan Lock
  
• Melody Rupple
  
• Michele Boyer
  
• Michelle Lanning
  
• Sherrie Siemens
  
• Susan Liles
  
• Tammy Hershberger
  
• Wendy Bond

State of the World

I was doing my daily visit of blogs that I love and I came across this one from Ginny Carter. Ginny is the former owner of Stamper's Anonymous and the Creative Block. And a wonderful artist. I always like reading about what she is doing and her point of view as an artist and a person.

She reminisced a bit about where stamping as it is today started, and a bit about where we are now. And, of course, it makes me think about how I started way back when.

I think, for me, it started how it starts for so many. I wanted to make a card. For Mother's Day. And I saw these cool little blocks that I could ink and reproduce the same image over and over. Of course, I could produce the same results with a computer, but after spending 8+ hours at a computer, I wanted to make something with my hands.

So I made that card for my Mother. And one for every Mother I knew.

Then I went to a Stamp Convention where I took a stamping class and I was hooked. The class was a discovery of the art form and breathed a hunger in me that could only be satisfied by stamping. I discovered Somerset Studio magazine and proceeded to purchase every back issue I could find. I memorized the names of the artists featured, as if they were rockstars.

I discovered there were a lot of stampers out there and I spent the hours not working, stamping away and learning how to "distress" things. How to properly sponge the edges of a card so that it looked vintage. I was a stamping, distressing and edging queen. As confused as many of my non-stamping friends and family were confused when they got brown cards and "art" pieces, I loved it. And, I resigned myself to keeping my creations to myself and amassed a huge pile of them that sat diligently under my bed.

Then 9/11 happened. And after the sadness and tragedy of it, I needed something that would pull me out of the constant state of depression I seemed to be in.

That's when my stamping saved me. And here is where I have to go back to Ginny's post about where stamping has gone. Some of us needed to make things that weren't so "heavy"...and "brown". We needed to lighten our hearts. We needed to smile again. We needed to use color in bright swathes across our pieces and return to a simpler way of design. A simpler life.

And that's why The Cat's Pajamas happened. To fulfill that need. Plus, I was running out of room under the bed. And I've had a smile on my face ever since.

Super Delicious Goodness

After reading Buzzville's account of her trip up to the SF Bay Area I had to make my way over to Daiso.

I want to say that it is in the same place that the old Farrell's but I would be lying. The old Farrell's building is long gone and so is my memory of where it stood. It was a crazy place where we would go after bowling, team championships and the Prom. Their menu had items like the "Zoo" (filled with a multitute of plastic animal toys), the "Volcano" and the "Pig's Trough."

The order of certain menu items would bring the staff hurtling through the restaurant with the item on a fringed "stretcher" with bells and whistles 'ablowin'. And did I mention the sirens? There were sirens , too!Then Farrell's was gone and another piece of my past disappeared with it. Happily, Farrell's is BACK. Making a triumphant return in Santa Clarita. I may just have to go the 316 miles and 5 hour drive to taste my favorite "Gibson Girl" sundae once again. It will be worth it, I know.