Vintage ribbon will always make me happy. My mama found this little gem.

Here are some fun links I've been enjoying.
Sagmeister's new website is Uh-mazing. Studio on Camera around the clock.
These kids look like fun people to design with. Awesome right?
Also, I just got a letterpress loot bag...you should too!

This week my mom has been cleaning out her photo files which means I get daily e-mails with little photo gems. The photos have brought back so many memories....I'm so grateful I have a mother who documents life. I received the photo above yesterday. My Great Grandma Harlen taught at a one room school house. These lovely ladies were her students. Isn't it such a sweet photo? I also love their cute little outfits. It's fun to see styles repeat themselves over the years.

Blouse image source + shoe image source.

The sun decided to come out yesterday, so we took the opportunity to go for a snow walk. The little woods behind our house have brought us so much joy. We love having nature so close. The weather has been bitter cold...single digits all week. Good thing we have long underwear and a good pair of snow boots and a warm home to come back to after our trek.

Yay! It's Friday again. This weekend, I've got lots of plans to get lots of work done..some of which includes binding more books. I bought 25 new books to re-bind, these are some of my favorites.  How cute are they? I adore vintage typography...so much.  My boss always tells me that no one with half a brain uses colors like these....I completely disagree. Bring on the saturation!

Speaking of type, I've been reading my christmas present and adoring it. I highly recommend it to all those typophiles out there.

We had a house guest this weekend. In our tiny 700 sq. ft home, I always feel badly for our house guests. All we have to offer is clean sheets, warm blankets, a cot and a corner of our living room. Cree's friend from high school was interviewing for his residency at the University of Michigan, so in order to persuade him in our direction, we took him all over town. We even ventured to the new restaurant called Frita Batido downtown. It was so good. So so good. The owner was on Top Chef not too long ago and used to own a swanky dinner spot in Ann Arbor.  I highly recommend it to all.

It made us giggle when our food was served on a banana leaf. Whenever we were offered food on a banana leaf in the Philippines, it always came with an apology. I bet they'd get a kick out of knowing that a hip spot to eat in America uses imported banana leaves as plates. Sometimes our world is funny like that.

We got mail! The top was from an adorable friend we made last year in Ann Arbor. She is now based in California, so we've taken to corresponding by snail mail. Cree and I loved her stationary and I think I've been inspired to get our our old retro typewriter. The next two are from Tanya at Snap + Tumble! We were tickled pink to receive her Christmas card this year and a cute carte card. Can you hardly stand the map envelope? And that eraser stamp?!?

Mail is so much fun.

Yay! It's Friday. I love the weekends. I bought some origami paper from Hollander's and haven't figured out what exactly I want to use it for since I don't know how to do origami, but I loved the patterns so much, I just had to get it. I think they are pretty fantastic.

I've finally added some products to the Jones Press shop. I'm still working on adding the other cards, books and prints....all in due time.

Now that Christmas is over, I can share my handmade gifts. I made this for Cree as well as a similar one for my dad. It gave everyone a chuckle. :)

For those who didn't get to see the Jones Family Christmas card.....here you go. Sorry for the weird lighting which makes the background look like a different color in every shot. Not my intention. I tried to make the last one big enough to read, I'm not quite sure I succeeded. After we sent everything to the mail, we started to remember all the people we forgot to send one too. Our apologies if you were one of them. :)

I framed my Michigan print...finally. We have yet to decide where to put it, so for now it is just leaning against the wall. For those of you who have requested a print, I'm working on the whole online shop thing. It is slower than I anticipated to set up, so I'll keep you posted on my progress. When it comes to web, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Also....Cree and I are to be Aunt Amanda and Uncle Cree again! Biff and Rosie are having a girl!!! Woohooo!

More shots from the barn in Elba, Idaho. I love the old rusty details....and such pretty lighting.

Speaking of lighting, I've been wanting to take photos of my work to post, but by the time I get home from work, it's much too dark. I prefer to use natural light, and I'd rather not fill my weekends with taking portfolio photos. What's a girl to do. So frustrating. Anyone have any suggestions?

PS. I've been listening to the Fantastic Mr. Fox soundtrack all week on Grooveshark. It helps brighten the otherwise gloomy days. :)

We went and visited Cree's aunts in Elba Idaho...I love visiting their homes and walking through their beautiful old homes. Each is filled with little treasures. A lovely thing about Cree's family is that they are all so close and you can tell they all love each other very much. Family of any kind (distant or not) is very important. Now a days I think this is rare.

Ps. It is getting cold again here. We had a nice little warm blip, but that seems long gone. It's always hard for me to be productive when it's cold and dark when I get home from work. I tried my hardest to stay focused last night, but all I wanted to do was curl up in my PJ's, read a book and fall asleep at 8. Silly me.