Its been a really really long time but this morning I heard a noise downstairs and out of insatiable but fearful curiosity and an obligation to at least try and protect my happy home, I slipped quietly (and that's no lie, I am not any more graceful under duress than any ordinary scenario) down the basement steps to find him.  there.  just like this.  my little man is not afraid of pink. and I do believe we might be staging a comeback...

love bugs of June

Tennessee wedding, Kentucky heart

April showers bring May weddings...

and delicate proposals on wood.  Personal contact information for the host has been protected by a privacy fence made of digital blur, but in real life the information is present.

4 wheel drive drive drive drive

We are going to the Monster Jam truck show next weekend.   Really I should be printing (and I am!) but still have to take a break and do something different and get some inspiration every once in a while.  And while we aren't big car people (or anti-car people for that matter), yesterday we went to an auto show.  No compelling reason, really, it just was one of those things we never do, never think of doing so probably might not be a bad idea to do and see what it is all about.  And one of my favorite things to do is to hide out in a car or truck as if it were a fort you built with your parents good sheets in the living room when they weren't paying attention.  And that is exactly what it was like except the cars were a bit swankier than what we are used to!

(photo from the funny icanhascheeseburger.com) 

We have two vehicles, one is an inefficient compact truck sitting on a farm across the country holding hay and kittens I am sure (and happy about!) and the other lives here with us.  We don't use our KTV (stands for Kevin Transport Vehicle as it was my brother-in-laws back in the day) often unless all five of us are going someplace together, in which case all the kids do a domino act when the back doors close.

It was impressive seeing how incredibly busy the auto show was with thousands of people.  We might have been the only ones that consistently entered each vehicle through the rear hatch or trunk if there were one of those nifty luggage doors which I have never really understood the point of aside from letting me and and my kids have too much fun pretending we are in a gymnasium on wheels.    

Whoa Nelly! Slow down there!

Its been a busy month filled with lots of snow and things on ice.  Today felt like a perfect snapshot of an industrial, gray winter day so I decided to find some flowers.  The first ones I have seen in reality this year, in fact.  Looking at the buckets and buckets of gerber daisies, calla lillies, ferns and irises, felt a bit like a very lucid and water-laden prismacolor display.  Not quite ready for spring, I picked up some deep purple proteas, white tea roses, and some eucalyptus with mauvish-like berries.   It was a nice addition to our home, particularly in the afternoon winter light.  Hard to believe that February is moments away.  So this afternoon, for the first time in quite a while, I went the pace that the day called for- slowly, slowly, slowly with the company of roses, three little voices, and an early evening glass of wine.  Excited to commence the hunt for more botanical visual elixirs, like the one above, and enjoy the last of winter next month.

hello and goodbye chicken little

Chicken, chicken, who's got the chicken?

Well it was fun.  New addition to my butcher buddies and he is FOWL.

Enjoy!

etsy shop is open!

It was such a pleasure meeting so many at the I Made It! Holiday Market, I hope you had as much fun as I did! My only regret was not being able to peruse the aisles a bit more as it was wonderfully busy. But for all of you that I didn't see, my etsy shop is now open!  Link to it HERE.  Here are some photos from the market:

you could go with this ... or you could go with that

(image from the Arkansas Plainclothesman blog link here!)

We over here at clothespeg press love to eat year-round.  In fact trying new provisions and libations often form the itineraries of rare trips, schedules of a ho-hum day, and sometimes impromptu pickings in the kitchen when really, we should be in bed.  And while sometimes our tastes go against the wills of our wallets, often times what we hunger for is something simple but maybe tried in a new way.  There are times when we talk for MONTHS about getting an heirloom turkey for Thanksgiving (MONTHS because you need to save for one of those and I imagine it is very worth the austerity efforts) but a little over a week ago my husband took a trip to the barbershop and, well, our plans changed.  Good thing we didn't put an RSVP or a down payment on that heirloom bird after all.  

The barber, an eloquent and intriguing Italian gentleman, took a respite from dappering up my husband to have an enthusiastic conversation with his wife of when exactly to pick up the capon and how best to go about making its final preparations.  A capon... hmm... now I am particularly interested.  It sounds familiar as I am sure one of the history of food books we have at home has a chapter or two devoted to it, so why have we not pursued this as a dinner option before?  You can click on the Plainclothesman's link to learn a bit more about this bird formerly known as rooster.  

(image above from the McGill digital library)

Since we are traveling to visit long-ago seen family members and are all recovering from bouts of various seasonal ailments, this year we are going to have a post-Thanksgiving celebration complete with a Capon, Lithuanian Bacon Buns (with Peruvian potatoes and French thyme - our palates know no political prisoners), filberts (hazelnuts) from the Pacific North West, apples from PA, and I would guess that my husband will throw in a perogie or two in the sides of stuffing that probably are made from Swedish Rye Bread.  And if my parental units were in town, I am warmly positive that we would have shrimp or maybe even alligator, too.  

Here's to good food - newly tried or true- good company, health and wonderfully informative barbers!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

gift cards fit for Queen

I want to ride my bicycle!  I want to ride my bike... I want to ride my bicycle! 

You see black you see white

You give gifts you give thanks

bicycle! bicycle! bicycle!

Who wouldn't like a little Queen these days? 

permanent press

Bright copper cattle and warm muslin mutton

Hot hogs on denim, for meals that unbutton

Cute linen packages, tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things

With the small bites, with the drinks that sting, 

or just when your feeling glad

If you simply remember to cover your lap, 

these napkins your guests will wish they had!

heybellysnuut

Birds NOT the word, but "heybellysnuut!" is...

Visit me Friday, December 3rd at the I Made It! Market for the Holidays,

whisper that sweet nothing (well maybe say it a little louder so I can hear you) and I will give you a treat that looks edible but really isn't!  Curious???  See you there!

And he's cute, isn't he?  

Made it to I Made It and now a Maiden Making More

Ode to the joys of holidays!  They start really early over here so its a good thing it is a gleeful season.  Clothespeg Press will be present at the I Made It Market Holiday Market on December 3rd in Pittsburgh's South Side (Carson Street).  More details to come closer to the date so if you check back in, I will be sure to share a few secrets (read funny words you would only say out loud to get fun free stuff from me) that might help you fill out your holiday lists.  

And while I have my lists of things to bring and share, I am always open to suggestions on designs or themes that you would like to see.  Leave me your suggestions and if they make the cut (or photopolymer) or press, I will get you a ticket to a roller derby match in your area.  Deal?  

Photo above of our own Steel City Roller Derby Demons.

Happy Monday!

End of Summer, wish I went everywhere!

Well, maybe not everywhere... 

but there are definitely some places that I'd love to visit! click here to enjoy some fun letterpress postcards from all over by Ladies of Letterpress.  

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh has only been "home" for about a year (we hail from the lovely Portland, Oregon and as I type this my musical memory says thank you to Loretta Lynn) but despite missing the peculiar charms of the NW, this town built of iron and molybdenum has been welcoming with perogies, hills, salads made of french fries and a language all of its own.  Here are some things you may not have known herald from the land of the three rivers:

Ferris Wheel 

Mr Yuk

Big Mac

Zippo Lighter

Daylights Savings Time

Mr Rogers

and a household staple (at least in this region)...Heinz Ketchup

So why not try printing with something a little local?  I printed these post cards using my letterpress and a bottle of Heinz ketchup.   

The only thing missing is a french fry.  If there is anyone feeling regionally jilted or disappointed that Hunt's wasn't used, let me know and I'd be glad to give it a squirt.

Foam Printer

Thanks for sharing Printeresting!

communication is a funny one

We all love communication.  

Lately I have become more interested in posters and postcards, more so than I ever thought I would.  But what a fun way to say something concisely with words but also have the chance to say that concisely something with imagery and composition as well.  A well known letterpress outfit, Hatch Show Print, has had some luck doing just that.  This is a nice little video on their history and process if you are inclined to take a peek.  

Being hungry most of the time, it pleased my mind and stomach to stumble across these posters also printed up at Hatch Show Prints for 4505 meats and for someone as hungry for food and language humor as I am!

     

http://www.4505meats.com/shop/index.html#Posters

And it isn't easy to replicate those subtleties of well crafted and fun ways of saying something simple like hello, goodbye or are you hungry? Its fun to think about the syntax of our synapses; what your particles are telling your other particles and how exactly they go about saying whatever it is they need or want to say.  I find this much easier to do if you can imagine it done with sounds like pings and zooms and zaps.  Any language, indeed, is a funny thing.

Happy Trails!

Friday Spry-day

Happy Friday.  Friday afternoons in the fall always seem to be particularly frisky.  They have that edgy bombilation that just builds up until the early evening when everything becomes revelous.  The best part to me though, is Friday morning where your energy is still in the orbit of predictable productivity but maybe just with an extra boost of whimsy and wit.  So with that in mind, I thought I'd share a little something that I have been working on for a little someone else.
I am a preservationist by nature.  All things canned, dried, fermented, stored, pickled and cured capture my intrigue and hold it hostage until I have figured out how the process works and ultimately how it tastes in the end.  So, our house always has something funky hiding in the cupboards or shelves, most of the time bubbling with life and giving your nose something to work with.  Being Fall where it is now comfortable to actually use the oven, our newest endeavor has been to make a whole lot of beef jerky.  But these days, when ever I see any type of material (edible or not) my mind immediately jumps to "How can I print with this?" and off on a tangent, or tangerine, I go.
While this has clearly made it's rounds on the internet, www.meatcards.com, I'd love to bring it around again.  Particularly since it is a frisky Friday and communication is what we do best here.  What better way to tell a little special someone that nothing they can do will diminish the euphoria you find in your little everyday routines and snippets of life?  And give them a serving of protein while you are at it?

This weeks project:  BITE ME cards letterpressed on handmade jerky.  Yum and Fun!  Have a great weekend and if you have any kosher sayings that you'd like to see printed on a dried slab of beef, drop me a line!

Dear World, meet Strongbad, my right-handed man.

Hello!   I'd like to start this first post by introducing you to Strongbad, my little Kelsey table top press and my partner in letterpress crime.  He can be a bit cranky, takes time to adjust and has really dark sense humor but all in all, he makes pretty good company in the basement studio.  Its funny that we ended up together, he wasn't really my type (excuse the puns please, I had a couple of really good cups of coffee this morning) but I'd say we have bonded.  We usually share a good stong cup of coffee together in the mornings.  Today its pretty somnolent here in Pittsburgh, so he has the morning off while I get some prep work done for upcoming projects but here is evidence from a recent contrivance to show you what we have been up to while the rest, well, sleep!

                           

lamb chop linen napkins

                                                                                   

beef steak napkins

bbq pork placemats

letterpressed correspondence & ephemera