People think us country folk aren’t refined and sophisticated but let me prove you wrong, I can’t tell you how many lovely people I interact with daily in my community. There are some really great friends to be made who will bake just about anything when you have a baby or just have a bad day (with crying babies in the background ;) -ENTER SPUDNUTS – I don’t like to get too personal because it’s not in my nature, but its been a rough few weeks with diabetes management with my 5 year old. High carb foods, especially things like donuts are the bane of my existence. Not because he’s diet restricted, but more because he’s sensitive to certain foods with carbs. Even when we calculate how much insulin needs to be injected, if the insulin hits his system faster than the food digests, he can have a serious reaction which we found out when cooking these. I feel like it is a complicated algorythm in which I’ll never learn no matter how hard I study quantum physics, molecular biology or advanced mathematics. So I just continue on being a mom and designer.

We made some SpudNuts from our famous Idaho Potatoes and crazy blood sugars ensued. DUH. Granted they were about 100 carbs each, so with David’s insulin to carb ratio that equaled 5 units of insulin. He usually has about 15 units a day so that was a ton more than he usually gets. That will be the last time that I’ll attempt to cover for something totally unreasonable for his little tummy.

Thankfully he wasn’t too keen on the cinnamon/sugar dusted SpudNuts so I got to eat all of those. However he really loved the sprinkled variety. So we decided to make mini-SpudNuts and survived the sugar-high and following insulin crash. Rounded out at about 26 carbs each, they were the perfect solution to our donut exploration. Although still high for some, I feel that in our house if we restrict all sorts of treats then it will only backfire. David is such a good boy, I just couln’t say no to the donuts when that was his request for the recipe of the week. And we survived with only one blood sugar reading above 200 for the day.

Look at that pink vanilla bean nutmeg glaze just dripping with goodness. Yea for smaller portion sizes and for smart country friends who really know how to cook in smaller portion sizes (I can’t take full credit for sizing the recipe down).

I found this the other day when cleaning out my photos again. Shot in November while on a nature walk with the kids, I was reminded that texture can be applied in numerous ways to enhance design. Interesting how sometimes we forget that it’s all around us, often in the simplest form of nature. How cool would this pattern be as a blind impression in some yoga cards or something?

I keep getting emails asking how I light my photos. I’m by NO means a good photographer, however since I’ve owned the Canon Digital Rebel Xsi I have to confess that although I’d like to take full credit for my photos, I really think it’s all the camera (and a little research on the side). I have a 50mm f1.8 fixed lens. I never shoot with my flash, and to learn the focusing and aperature/speed properties I shot in manual mode for a long time to try to learn to feel my camera. The lower the “f” number the more light is let into the camera (and the more bokeh). I like to shoot during the day in indirect light. It makes for the most true colors which is crucial for product photos.

My product and kids shots are almost always a little over-exposed because I like it that way. Generally I shoot with my speed between 1/80 and 1/400. Higher if I’m outdoors and it’s summer. My F-stop is usually set between 1.8 and 2.5. Sometimes I venture up to 4, and on rare occasion (like when I’m shooting the mountains beside my house) I shoot above 10. This is really jumbled up, but if any of you have a DSLR, maybe you are picking up on my ramblings. Anyways, to the point: if you have product photo questions feel free to ask, you can contact me on my about page. I’d be happy to answer! Thanks for listening to my babbling.

Yet again I find myself falling behind on this here blog! It’s been a busy month preparing for a few birthdays in the family and getting Valentine’s Day custom orders out the door. To pause a moment and give you a glimpse into my personal life, I’ve been catching up from the holidays, getting my taxes done for 2009, getting a plethora of new invitation inquiries (it’s wedding season officially for letterpress brides) and settling into the cold weather and snow that we are finally receiving. At the first of the month we celebrated Evelyn’s birthday which encompassed everything princess imaginable. I never thought I’d see the day where Disney Princesses ruled my household from top to bottom. However the only pretend play Evelyn will allow with my involvement is princesses. No school. or art class. No coloring or ballet unless the princesses are present. So for her birthday I thought we’d go all out and do a princess party for family. Original I know, but since it’s not about me I indulged her every princess fancy. My first attempt at a princess cake wasn’t totally fruitless and I can indeed confess that the frosting was the best part, vanilla bean paste and all! I’m just glad it was a success this year, because last year the power went out right when we were singing happy birthday and stayed out for the rest of the night. Not too exciting for a two year old who was afraid of the dark!

The best part of it all? When Evelyn exclaimed, “Mom, Cinderella’s bum is on fire!” (when we lit the candle’s to sing happy birthday). Although mediocre in piping and craftsmanship, I have to say it was a fun first attempt at trying to create a princess cake. Evelyn notified me after her party that next year I will be making a Belle cake, so I better get working as her dress is much more complicated than Cinderella’s.

So I missed posting yesterday, too much letterpress jobs going out the door! To make up for it though,  I’ve got lots of free gift tag and place card goodies (personal use) for download this holiday season. Click on the image to be directed to my flickr stream where you can download the original image file direct to your desktop – there’s more after the jump so head on over and get some goods!

The original file is letter (8.5×11″) saved at 300% so just scale to size when printing out at home or the local print-shop and have fun! Cards measure 2×3.5″ when trimmed.

I just love coming home for the holidays and seeing what my mom has up her sleeve. I think if my mom were 20 now, she’d be the other Grace Bonney. Always full of amazing fashion finds, ahead of the interior design curve and still there to offer timeless decorating tips – my mom was the go to lady in my world of fashion. She is the queen of mixing and matching things and somehow making it all work together. Check out her lovely table setting of Spode and randomly collected vintage glass.

Today marks a day in history I often thought I wouldn’t make it to. 9 Years in marriage. As I think about the last nine years it’s hard to pinpoint any particular point in time. We’ve had the “itch” years (4 & 7), the honeymoon, everything in between. Death of a parent, stroke, heart stents, diabetes, toxemia, vacations, power outages (lots), building a home, starting a business, buying a business, school, marriage counselors, and more – mind you not in that order just a random jumble of things.

As I think about our 9 years together, and my nine years as a young adult, there are so many overflowing emotions that I am filled with and yet have no idea how to express them.

I’m a counter by nature and when we got married I counted (when the days got rough) how old I’d be when I was married for a 1/3 of my life. That seemed like a large milestone to me and something to reach for. Being a young married person, it was hard and still is to fathom a golden anniversary, so I settled on a much smaller goal. 1/3, I could do 1/3. And here I am at 1/3.

I am 27. I was married at 18. In a backwards sort of way here is my history before I got married.

1982, Birth.
1984, Glasses and eye surgery.
1987, Kindergarten.
1989, First art contest won on a school level.
1990-1996. Many state art contests later and then my first writing contest on a state level. 9th grade.
1987-1999. Ballet | Flute | Art my three talents I stuck to from K-11.
1998. Drivers License, 16.
1999. Graduation from High School, 16 (summer birthday – school got out early that year + early graduation).
Boys.
1999-2000. College freshman, 17. Boys.
2000. Marriage, 18.

Everyone, including my parents, thought I was nuts – that we were crazy. However although our parents thought one thing, they were led with their hearts by another and Brian and I set a date for October 20, 2000.

Some say don’t marry young, you miss out on so many opportunities. There were times I felt like I was missing out. But even after only 9 years down the road I know if given the second chance, I’d still make the same decision I did when I was 18.

In the last 9 years, I’ve driven 100,00 miles in a Toyota 4Runner, and 147,000 in a Honda Accord. Most commuting to and from college. I’ve gone to school, and received a BFA (2005), worked at 9 different jobs. I’ve given birth to 3 children, one with toxemia (2004), one with an epidural(2007), and one naturally (2009). We’ve lived with parents, and moved 4 times. I’ve started a business (2006), become a mother, and learned to be domestic (still learning). These days I give injections like any well trained nurse (2008).

I’ve lost my mind on numerous occasions (all the time;), and my poor vision and hearing are by-products of lame pregnancies, screaming children and a laptop.

Patience is a virtue that printing via the letterpress process has taught me (to a certain degree at least).

As I think about who I am as a person today, I can’t help but think about how my husband has supported me and helped shape me in these last 9 years. My husband has been there to cheer me on and help me up when I’m down. He’s supported every crazy idea I’ve ever had and has been there all along the way to help me achieve my goals. Through his love and friendship, I’ve become a strong woman and mother.

I can’t imagine these last 9 years without him. If I try to think what my life would be like in another aspect, I realize that I’ve erased the most trying yet happy memories of my existence.

I’m married to an enabler. Brian hasn’t been there to tell me what to do, he’s been there to empower me to do my own thing. I think selfishly I’ve taken more than I’ve contributed to this marriage, and I wonder how on earth such an amazing man could stand to live with me these last demanding 9 years – and then I think, “I guess I’ve developed a special talent at brain-washing!” Just kidding, what I mean to say is that I am a blessed woman to have Brian by my side and I only hope that in the end I’ve balanced things out by loving and supporting him along the way as much as he has loved me. Cheers to the last nine and hopefully the next 9 (in which I’ll then have met the 1/2 life mark)!

Happy 9th Anniversary, I’ve now been married for 1/3 of my life to the love of my life! Thanks for putting up with your crazy wife.

How I doth love thee – when we’re apart, my heart does surely bleed! I don’t know what it is about Delia’s but I’ve been a fan since the wee age of 13. You’d think I’d grow out of this tween/teenangester clothing line now that I have three children but every couple of years or so I check out their website and fall in love with them all over again. Maybe I’m a rebel at heart. Maybe I still look for youth in such a serious adult life, whatever it may be, I know for certain -

- these colors make me happy when the days are sometimes gray. Now if only I were that skinny…and had rock hard abs…and well nevermind!

Sorry about all the family posts this week, it’s just been on my mind recently with summer in full swing. We’re headed to the Endo today for our quarterly check-up for David. Basically this check up will tell me how I’m doing as a mother. They take what’s called an Hemoglobin A1C test. Which in plain English means that they’ll run a test that is like he’s had his blood glucose levels tested every 30 seconds for the last 3 months. The average is given as a percentage, our target range for David is anything below 8.9%.

When David was diagnosed, he was at 14% – BAD! In March I got him down to a 5.9% with 64% of our blood glucose readings in range, 21% high, and 15% low. AWESOME! This time around I’m a little more nervous. David has come out of what they call the honeymoon phase and so he no longer kicks out any insulin (we had that helping us out for the last quarter). As a result his blood sugar is a lot harder to manage. Not without the added factor that I’ve been more than occupied with Charlie and lack of sleep, I haven’t been on top of it as I usually am in the diabetes department. Here’s to hoping his A1C hasn’t risen too much and to setting better goals to be more on top of his injections and calculations for next quarter!

As I’ve been prepping him for his appointment and we’ve been talking about the A1C test and meeting with his doctor he’s been asking a lot of questions about why he has diabetes and the rest of us don’t. It breaks my heart to try to explain to him that he’s just unlucky in the pancreas department however these sorts of things are there to make us stronger. To which he replied, “Yeah mom, Charlie is going to think I’m the toughest big brother with my shots. If he ever gets diabetes then I can teach him all about finger checks, and shots and help him when he’s sad because I love him.”

With that said, David hasn’t lost any of who he is characteristically because of diabetes, still sensitive and sweet and adventurous. Just the other day he and Evelyn decorated their toes to which he then notified me, “Mom just because I get my finger sticked (blood checks) doesn’t mean I can’t sticker my toes! Look I helped Evelyn sticker her toes too!” (beautiful artwork below) Always the optimist, aren’t children resilient?

So it’s inevitable that poor eyesight and genetics play a dominant role in both our families resulting in the need for lenses among many family members. I’m just a little surprised that I haven’t thought about my own children’s vision until recently, when in contrast I had eye surgery the first time at 18 months and the second time at 3 years to help correct my own crossed eyes.

Needless to say, with diabetes playing into the mix as well, it will become a reality probably sooner than later that Dave (the 4 year old who almost knocked out his teeth on Monday) will have to get lenses for vision. He complains sometimes that he can’t see very well, and occasionally when I’m pointing a very large moose out on our drive home, he will miss it by a mile. We’re told that his blood sugar readings can affect his vision too – in that if he’s high – there will be spots and blurry vision however it is only temporarily.

Which got me thinking: I had UGLY glasses as a child. I don’t know if it was a combination of 80’s large frames and my petite heart shaped face, or my parents not wanting the boys to chase after me EVER (which worked until I was a freshman in college and I then took matters into my own hands, THANK YOU DKNY)! Needless to say, do any of you know of good looking little boy frames? I just can’t stand to take away from these lady killer eyes.

I’ve found some awesome frames from Lafont Eyewear but alas they are definitely a girls frame.

I love the simple design and the flexibility of it all but was sad to discover there aren’t any boy alternatives! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

So I turned the big 27 last Tuesday and have been collecting some cash gifts as a result. Thanks family :) While pondering what I could spend this cash on (seeing that I haven’t bought an article of clothing/accessories for myself since 2007), I think I’ve found the perfect purchase.

I admit, buying things for myself is a hard thing to do these days. When it comes down to it I’ve kind of become a comparison shopper. My thought process usually goes as follows, “$100 shoes vs. $100 vial of insulin” or “clothes for me vs. clothes for 4 year old who’s finally growing now that his body is on insulin therapy.” Or maybe “new car/$400 monthly payment or $400 worth of prescriptions/month for healthy child”.

Not that I’m complaining – I find that even with the difficulties that we face as a family with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes there are blessings that come with it too. One being that it’s good to have things to pay for to help your children live vs. having other things that aren’t considered a necessary “living” expense. The others just don’t seem that important any more.

However since it’s time to treat myself I’ve looked long and hard for something I really need (with a little bit of want in there too). A watch has been one of those need/but can’t find the right one sort of issues. But alas! My problems are solved. Presenting the limited edition 4×4 Nixon Rubber Player watch. I know it’s a men’s watch but I like large wrist accessories. AND that yellow is really the perfect color for a purchase like this. I can already imagine this watch saying things to me like: “I’m happy” and “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” or  “You need something to get you places on time now that you have 3 kids.”

And lastly the most important thing this watch says is, “Life goes on, you’ve made it this far how about adding another 27 years of bliss to the mix!”

It goes on sale st 10 am PST so wish me luck in snagging one, I’ll be aggressively stalking their website minutes before launch. If I come away empty handed I think I might just cry.

Since high school graduations are happening across the country today I thought I’d show these before I let the weekend take over. These shipped out this last week and are available here for purchase if you still need to get some out. Customizable with your wording, ink and envelope colors.

Whether it’s college, high school or pre-school, graduation almost always signifies the end of one era and the beginning of another for those involved. For all of you moving on in 2009, congratulations to a job well done! This summer marks my own 10th year high school reunion, which seems so long ago, yet also feels like yesterday. I admit, I am still a baby with much to learn. Here’s to the next 10 years – I wonder what will be in store, and where life will take me. To humor you all…Here are the first and last pictures I’ll ever post of myself so chuckle away!

From left to right: Senior Photo: age 16. Graduation: age 17. College, BFA Graphic Design: Age 22. Graduating from brunette to blonde (and back): Age 25. Current age? You do the math :)

I can hardly stand it, these have been off press for under 12 hours and I couldn’t wait to get them blogged. This post might not pertain to many of you, but the print just turned out so cool. Recently we had an LDS temple built in Rexburg, Idaho which defines a new temple district for all LDS church members in the region. We now only have to drive an hour (instead of 1.5 hours) to preform ordinances sacred to the LDS religion. I’ve been wanting to do a limited edition poster for awhile because it’s such a beautiful piece of architecture outside and inside provides so much amazing interior decoration and symbolism to my faith. For more detailed images click on the photo to be directed to my Flickr stream.

If you want one you don’t have to be from Rexburg or in the district, just comment as to why you’d like one!

The goods:

14×19″ printed poster (think large). 3 Colors : Gold, metallic minty/sage, and a blind impression. Signed and numbered you’ll get one from the top of the stack! Printed on Rives BFK 280GSM Grey paper, fabulous!

Giveaway ends Saturday, May 9th at midnight, one random winner will be drawn.

WINNER!!!

Congrats to Laura, I’ll be contating you for a mailing address!