patience made | text message/note acronyms

i am so excited to tell you about my new line of stationery! i call it simply "acronyms" and it consists of messaging short forms. i first dreamt up the idea while reminiscing about sending high school notes across the classroom. remember i wrote about that here? well as i was thinking about those notes, it occurred to me that girls probably didn't handwrite their messages nowadays. why would they when they could simply text each other on their phones? and then i laughed out loud because i realized that the special acronyms my girlfriends and i used "back in the day" - are still used today in technology! my hope is that this stationery appeals to ladies of various generations. maybe the younger gals will get back into the swing of things and write a note to their bestie.

so i picked the best crossovers and made them into stamps. ta da! what do you think and which is your favourite?

shop the acronyms

creator | ashkahn

you should know...i've already got three valentine cards lined up for my husband. but then i saw this first card by ashkahn at my work and i had to get that one too. not to get too sappy...but when i think about not being with my husband - i literally cannot breathe. so obviously this card is perfect. 

i'm pretty sure ashkahn only does wholesale (though they have a list of stockists), but i thought you might enjoy some of these valentine "alternate" options!

art | jesus perea

 i've been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately. i wake up at least five times a night and all i want is to be tucked away in dreamland...

the work of spanish artist jesus perea reminds me of a the fantasy worlds we visit when we sleep. and in fact i discovered his piece entitled "i'm happiest when i dream" on curate1k. a hop, skip and a jump over to his etsy shop led me to a room full of dreams that i wish i was having right now...

musings | valentines day

people have a lot of different opinions on valentines day. and i suspect some have no opinion at all!

i love valentines day. and yes, i have experienced it while being single. and no, my husband is not the kind of man to blow my socks of with v-day surprises (though he's surprisingly good with birthday scavenger hunts...).

but that doesn't mean i don't love valentines day. i'm sure i've waxed poetic on this topic before, but maybe it's worth repeating. there are three hundred and sixty-five days in a year - why not dedicate one of them to expressing our love for one another? a day that's sole purpose is for us to remind our family, friends and lovers just how much they mean to us. i think that is amazing.

and i guess it bothers people that the day has been "watered down" into cards and flowers and chocolate. but i guess the way i see those things is as solutions for those that aren't necessarily creative enough to think of something else.

but me? yup, i love it. how about you?

p.s. if your still looking for sweet gift ideas - here's one of mine!

snail mail | letters that brighten your day

i find "letters that brighten your day" generally includes all letters. but i mention it because this week i received three perfect letters that really left me feeling refreshed and connected to these friends who are far away. one letter was comforting and full of joy, another was very real and informative, and the last was short but sweet/sarcastic. which is exactly the way my friend is. it's amazing to me how well a letter can capture someone's voice and while reading, you feel like they are sitting there right next to you, watching as you laugh at their witty remarks.

the neat thing about all of the envelopes below is that i made them! (or, provided the pieces to make them, as with the last one). it's always such a strange thing to get my own stationery in the mail...but also fun to see how people use it and to see how it looks after it's been traveling.

patience made | valentine acronyms

this is just a mini preview of my new line: i designed these stamps below, and i'll tell you more about them later but i just had to use SWAK & FYEO for valentines!

creator | belle & boo

i find it hard to believe that i haven't posted here about my newfound obsession with belle & boo. though if you follow me on twitter or instagram you'll know i've already ordered from them twice, and bought about ten cards and five sheets of belle & boo wrapping place from the paper store where i work. (i actually have all of the little children postcards below, third image - so cute!). mandy sutcliffe is the uk artist and illustrator of these gorgeous images and you can get clothing, books, prints, cards and even fabric!

anyways, i can't get enough and i want you to revel in the cuteness as well. so check out belle & her little rabbit friend boo here and here.

art | shintaro ohata

i was sent a link to this work by kim over at a blackbird's epiphany. at first i didn't know how i felt about it - in a way it looks like storybook illustration. but as i perused the images of shintaro ohata, i suddenly realized that the majority of them were actually a combination of paintings + sculpture. and then i fell in love. i'm sending you here to look at the works yourself. i love the idea that making the pieces three dimensional with sculpture is what makes it in interactive experience for the viewer. depending on where you stand, we would each have a different perspective. 

and ohata's amazing ability to capture light using bold brushtrokes is exceptional. i'm also drawn to the images because of their subject matter. the way each character is paused momentarily against the busy backdrop of a city somehow puts my heart at ease.

musings | baby fever

babies. wow! there is a lot of directions that this musings post could go in. for example, i could tell you how confused i am because i feel that i'm almost ready to start a family...but my career is not where i wanted it to be before i start said family. i could also tell you how i don't think i'm really healthy enough to make a baby. and i could tell you about how i can't stop thinking about it - wanting to hold a baby and dress and baby and pondering about how it might change our lives.

but what i want to talk about is the conversation that i had with my husband on this topic. it lasted five hours and covered everything from our lives now, our financial situation, conception, timing, beliefs, difficult/unforeseen circumstances, how to raise our children and what type of parents we ultimately hope to be.

i spent about an hour earlier that day brainstorming questions and topics that i thought should be covered. i even did a bit of research and also asked for recommended questions from friends. i know this sounds a bit dorky but having a list of "conversation starters" during our discussion was so beneficial. and of course we used them as a starting point and then expanded into our other thoughts, our own childhood memories and hypothetical life situations.

there were ups and downs. things we agreed on and things we didn't. there was things i learned about my husband that i never knew before - such as why he wants our child's name to begin with "j", why he thinks it is important to send our kids to public school, as well as some more personal things regarding adoption and fertility treatments.
but above all...i learned that he is going to be an amazing parent - perhaps even better than i! he will be patient and clever and kind.

i cannot recommend enough having a talk like this with your partner. whether it's about babies, family, money matters, house buying or just the state of your relationship. it was incredibly useful and it also felt very vital. the key of course, is that both participants must enter into the discussion with a completely open heart and mind.

patience made | valentines

ohmygosh i love valentines. i'll chat more about that next week but for now here are some of the valentines i've made!

isavirtue valentine love letters

creator | nature's my friend

i just love meeting other british columbian makers on etsy! i've told you about meghann rader (on isavirtue, on etsy), but another seller i love (also nature focused) is nature's my friend. jessica gowling, based in castlegar, bc is an incredible artist. she creates beautiful drawings and paintings of the animal kingdom and then uses the images on postcards, buttons, stickers, and prints. i can't tell you how much i wish i had this kind of talent so that i could design my own graphics for my stationery!

shop nature's my friend

snail mail | telephone mail?

i used frankie scraps and some beautiful floral paper to decorate this envelope. i really love it because of the rotary telephone image (remember those??). and then the quote underneath says "do not call me on the telephone to chat. i am an anxious member of generation y who does not understand such customs."

it's kind of perfect.

 

patience made update | letter writing kits

everyone seemed tickled by the craft it forward letter writing kits that i posted yesterday. so i decided to make some for my online shop! see the images below or click here for larger photographs and more detail about what is included!