I’ve always wanted personalized holiday cards from Rifle Paper Co, and this year, I got my wish!  No, I didn’t splurge on the custom illustrations – I made my own custom cards using Rifle’s collection on Tiny Prints.

I’ve used Tiny Prints to make my holiday photo cards for the past few years. They print on nice paper, have good designs, and excellent customer service. So I was beyond excited to see that Rifle Paper Co did a line of designs for them for DIY holiday cards. It was like an early Christmas present. (seriously, I’m such a paper nerd)

I picked this one and added a photo of our family. Seriously easy.  No I can’t wait for them to arrive.

[Yes, I know I'm a bit neurotic for ordering my holiday cards this early. But there was a promo code, so I got them done quickly! ]

Rifle Paper Co. has announced their 2010 Holiday Collection, and it’s spectacular.  One year, I would love to splurge on custom personalized Christmas cards by Rifle – they’re so gorgeous, and much more original and interesting than the custom photo cards I get each year (which is enough of a splurge as it is!).

But if you don’t go custom, their other cards are quite reasonably priced.  And Rifle Paper Co. stationery and prints are great gift ideas…

[top image: Kinnon's letterpress projects.  She has mad skills.  bottom image: my letterpress project, based on a quote from Samuel Beckett.  A fitting passage for my lack of skills.]

On Saturday, Kinnon and I attended an “intro to letterpress” workshop at Kozo Studio.  All of the print design work I do is designed on the computer and printed on digital presses, so working by hand on old-school presses was a real change.  Things that are so easy to do on the computer (layout changes, kerning letters, justifying text) is NOT so easy to do by hand.  But it’s so much more rewarding when you get it right!

I was a bit disappointed to learn that “real” letterpress work doesn’t actually impress/indent on the paper.  The ink should just “kiss” the paper, leaving a print, but not a pushed-down indentation in the paper.  Our instructor taught us that pushing so hard as to make an impression on the paper is hard on your metal type (it wears it down quickly).  But it’s so popular now to use letterpress to get the indent on the paper on purpose.  That’s what sets it apart from digital printing – there’s so much texture that you can’t get with digital. If I were to do more letterpress work, I’d say “to hell with the metal type” and definitely make indentations in the paper.

Overall, I had a great time, but learned that I am not so good with movable type.  It takes too much time to position your letters properly.  If I were to do letterpress projects, I would design them on the computer and have photopolymer plates created.  Then I could take the plates and run those through the press.

Now I have even more respect for printers and those that are doing letterpress work by hand.   Just look at this blog post from our instructor at Kozo Studio – that’s pretty insane.  And cool.

[image above: wooden animal figurines by enormous champion, courtesy of Design*Sponge]

[image above: animal stamps from ink & wit, courtesy of Design*Sponge]

Over in New York, the National Stationery Show is in full swing.  Every year during the Show, my favourite design blogs write posts and put up amazing photos of what they’re seeing.  I don’t work in the stationery industry (not directly at least), but I’ve always wanted to go to the National Stationery Show just to see all the pretty paper.  I think it would be quite inspiring.

But, I already took one trip to New York this year, so for now I have to read the blogs and get inspired from a distance.  Over at Design*Sponge, they noticed a big trend at the Show for animals, floral, nautical, food/homesteading, and calendars.  So every day this week, they’re posting pictures and descriptions from each of those trends.  Today was animals - check it out.

The folks from UPPERCASE mag are down at the National Stationery Show too.  Check out their picks here.