I often doodle on post it notes and send the photos to friends and have people doodle back to me. The internet is an amazing tool that allows us to do this. We could always do it the hard way and involve the USPS, but I am more about instant gratification. Plus, I really enjoy seeing what people coming up with right on the spot.

The other day a friend mentioned to me she was bored, so I randomly said "draw me a picture involving a campfire, a bear, and a caesar salad." This is what I got back a few minutes later. A big win in my book. So true, lettuce IS for losers!

A quick post on a letterpress shop I cam across: Elum.

Really nice work all around but what really caught my eye was the Desk set featured at the top. The grey and yellow together just pops so well. I wish I had people I wrote letters to so I could get something that nice to write them on.

Elum also does invitations, announcements, bags, journals, stationary sets, editioned prints, calendars and other various custom letterpress items.

One day I will get something letterpressed...one day.

Yesterday as I was browsing Grain Edit's SanFran Renegade Craft Fair post I stumbled across a link to a reader's Flickr page that had photos from the LA event. That is how I found these beauties. Luckily they had the website name with the photos, because I wanted to know more about them.

Welcome to Sweet Meats. The plushies come in both individual and family size servings, and I gotta say, I want them all. It could be because I am a carnivore, and I love meat, or it could just be that they are just plain awesome. 

I really enjoy the website design as well and that fact that you can have them gift wrapped in butcher paper. The pins are pretty cool too and once again makes me wish I had a button maker. I hope they make an appearance at the Chicago Renegade since I will be there (hopefully).

I would not mind picking up a Meat Medley of my own. I need to find their bizarro company though, onc with plushies of veggies since my wife is a vegetarian. Gotta balance it out.

Wine bottles for Meteor Wines designed by Osamu Akatsu. I went looking for the site for the actual vineyard to find more photos but I don't think they are in use yet.

Really elegant bottles that stray far far away from the normal boring bottle design (and also away from some of the newer styles which everyone was doing and therefore becoming boring as well). Great astrologically inspired line art combined with good color choices screened right on the bottle. I can't pass up a good design based up on space, stars, celestial bodies etc.

I think the first one is my favorite (the red one, but I think it is a white wine). It has so much energy and movement which is a bit uncharacteristic to see on most wine bottles.

Keep up the good work.

If you are someone that has been talking to me lately, you know block printing has been on my mind. I am currently trying to teach myself and it is actually going quite well. I should have my first print done soon and will have some up for sale. I have been scouring the web and etsy for some inspiration for future prints (and I have a few ideas lined up already).

In my searching I came across these city block prints by Mark Andrew Weber. This stuff is amazing, utterly amazing. I know from doing lithography, and screenprinting, and now block printing how hard it is to do a large image, and this guy is taking size to the next level.

The first 3 images are from his current city he is working on, Paris. Where as the last two are from Amsterdam, and they show the finished print and the block. So, the Paris lino is as big as an entire room and is around 60" x 70". That is so huge! Not only is he cutting and printing something so large, but he is also doing typography with it, and really cool type at that. When he finishes prints he sells them in his store and I will have to keep a lookout for when Paris is up for sale (my wife loves France and Europe) since the one photo looks like it might be close to done.

I know I already said it, but the type on these are great and they are just enormous (they are so big I had to say it twice!).

They make my 4"x5" block look quite puny. 

The Canon EOS line of cameras are named differently depending on what country you are in. In American they go by the name of the "Rebel" (after Andre Agassi), in Japan they are known as the "Kiss" and everyone else refers to them as a number (450D for example, along the same lines as European cars).

So here is a Japanese ad for the new canon T1i. To me it is confusing on many different levels. First being why the heck they call their camera the kiss, and second, what it has to do with the actual band Kiss at all... Is that band reference really needed, is it current? No.

I agree with Leo on this, however, I also feel that also staying creative is the secret of creative people. 

I had this discussion at work today and how it is very important for me to stay creative outside of work, or I don't want to be creative at all. This could be just going out and shooting a few photos, doodling in a random sketch book, or whipping out the block printing stuff for a quick 1 hour print session. Anything and everything. It all counts. It often affects my entire mood as well.

Creativity keeps me happy.

So I ask you... What is your great secret as a creative person?

A post of happiness. 3 of the original voice cast have signed to do the show again and the other 2 are close. A very good day.

From the same great place as the caution/barricade tape by the same name, Every thing is OK started as a simple project to point people towards positive action. This is one of their new posters for sale in their shop created by Amos Kennedy on election day 2008. 2 color letterpress on chipboard(12.5x19). $35 + shipping in a limited edition of 50.

Quick great gift item

Pantone Cufflinks

I was at a wedding last weekend and although it wasn't really fancy enough to need cufflinks, if I had these I would have rocked them. They come in 12 different colors including Olive 17-0535 and the Pantone 2009 color of the year Mimosa 11-4800. 

Both of these colors are great as well as some of their other options. I was a big fan of the yellow before it was named color of the year, or even projected as a color trend (lets say my one time of being ahead of things...). I do really wish they were named in my more familiar colors such as 109c etc.

One day they will be mine. They can be found here for $67 a pair.