this past thursday, i packed my carry on bag and flew to asheville, north carolina for the ladies of letterpress conference.  the ladies of letterpress is a trade organization that is, "dedicated to the proposition that a woman's place is in the print shop". 

the conference started with awesome swag

then off to the trade & printer's fair with awesome vendors like virgin wood type from rochester, ny

a tour of asheville's book works for demonstrations on papermaking {detailed post on that later}, die cutting, a table top press demo and more

and panel discussions on subjects like tweeting and social media in your business, letterpress as a business, running and starting a community print shop, and so much more.

in my pre-printer's life, i didn't have a job where i went on business trips, so i've never flown anywhere by myself where i didn't know a single soul.  i'll be honest, i had a difficult time sleeping at night.  despite my lack of sleep, i came back from the conference renewed!  i met amazing printers, heard inspirational stories, was inundated with a plethora of information, and made many new lady printer friends! hooray for the ladies of letterpress conference.. i can't wait for the next one!  

hi blog friends!  there are big changes happening here at penelope's press.  wanna hear?  a new blog design, i'm in the process of freshening up the etsy shop with new product photos and more offerings, re-branding with a whole new logo and colors, and one more BIG surprise... stay tuned! here's a sneak peak of my business cards with my brand spanking new logo....

{there is a bit of construction going on here though... broken links & misaligned text & such... please pardon the dust... thanks!}

the internet makes it possible to communicate with a bride and groom from across the country {or across the world} without ever speaking or meeting, yet together, we can collaborate and create invitations to what they've always imagined.  so amazing.

since i don't always have the pleasure of meeting all of my clients, it was a treat when i recently met up with a local couple, karen and jon... they have creativity bursting from their pores.  karen and jon designed invites that are original, tell a story, and is packed with personality!  now on to the pictures, shall we?  

this is really random.  a few weeks ago, i saw a big fat bunny in my vegetable garden {warning: horrible camera phone pictures}

the bunnies were so small, with their eyes still closed and their ears tucked back.  they've left their home in my garden and they are big now.. i see them running around the yard.  here are three of them... can you find them?  

{that's right... i know... i have weeds to pick outside the garden bed too}

just yesterday though... my kids were playing on their playset when my son started screaming bloody murder that there was something in their playset... so i come running like a nut, thinking they've found a mouse or snake or something... but no.  tucked at the base of their playset... MORE BABY BUNNIES.. seriously?!  our backyard is no longer ours.  

the bunnies should stay away if they know what's good for them.  my husband spotted a hawk perched on our gutter...

 after all those weeds were picked... look at that... the first harvest of the season... yellow & red grape and roma tomatoes and a pepper too!  back to letterpress related news tomorrow... promise.

i'm so behind on blogging about the brides and grooms i have had the pleasure to work with lately...  giselle and lloyd are no exception.  some brides {and grooms, but it's mostly the bride} have an idea of what they envision for their wedding invitations while some need a little bit more direction.  giselle though, is like no other bride i've ever met.  when she approached me regarding her upcoming nuptials, i could not believe how organized she was!  i was provided with a power point with invitation text, desired fonts, colors, and images from the web that were sources of inspiration.  incredible!  after just a little back and forth, the design was finalized.  thank you giselle and lloyd for letting me create invites for your special day!