Summertime Blues

This is my third summer as a stay-at-home parent. However, it is my first summer as a work-from-home parent.

During the summer vacations I try not to book my older daughter into too many activities or classes so we can have lounge time together, read, work in the garden or tackle home projects (she has painted many walls with me in our house). My youngest still requires an afternoon nap, so we plan our errands or park outings for the morning, come home to have lunch and some quiet time. We stick to the back yard later in the afternoon or eat dinner outside.

Our first summer with two kids was pretty stressful. I was still unpacking from our year in California while tending to a baby and attempting to convince my oldest she still had my attention. My husband was also changing careers.

We had a better groove last summer, where both kids (then ages eight and one), were content in the wading pool while I brainstormed ideas about a home business.


This summer I have had time for one role only: Referee.


My girls, now ages nine and two, are constantly bickering. #1 attempts to reason with #2. #2 repeats everything #1 says. #1 gets mad, yells. #2 yells back. Sometimes I let them yell it out until they call for me. Sometimes I just separate. Most times I give threats. Once in a while, treats.

In June, I imagined the girls could play together long enough for me to squeeze in an hour or so of work. It hasn't really happened that way. When my husband took some vacation time, I thought I'd be off the hook, but that was almost worse.

I always knew I needed to put certain expectations aside when my children were young. That self satisfaction would have greater limits: Fewer date nights, less time with girlfriends, fewer books read, stricter budgets. I even accepted that my "work" now exhibited itself within the minds and bodies of two little girls. But now that I have a mentally stimulating and creative outlet - a business -  I need to restrict myself in other areas in order to make room for the business.

Restricting time with my family just doesn't seem right for me at this point. So the business gets shifted down the priority chain a notch.

But I'm not powering down entirely-I'm taking some time to build a website, stylize our logo, organize our branding, marketing and packaging so that once the first leaves fall from the trees we'll be able to boost print > pixel's visibility. Then, at least, I can push that 'Referee' title further away.

Travis! You're a Year Too Late!

 If you're looking at this blog, you can see that print > pixel is a big fan of letterpress (if unclear, please see business card sample, above).

So I am salivating at the new print shop Levi's opened on San Francisco's Valencia Street. The neighborhood is an amazing testament to the best big cities can offer on an intimate scale. The Bay Area branch of Dave Eggers' 826 fabulousness  is located there, creative design mecca The Curiosity Shoppe stands across the street, along with Dog Eared Books and a number of restaurants, design spots and cool shops. It was just a year ago this week that I was there last, taking in the eclectic heartbeat of that part of SF.

Apropos to say 'salivating' because the Levi's Print Shop will have a session for students from a local Edible Schoolyards program with Chez Panisse founder, Alice Waters. The students will put together a book of their printed works after a discussion with Waters about finding art in the garden.

Knowing the issues Levi's has had in the past decade to stay hip and current in the age of high-end denim (not to mention solvent and scandal-free), I think this is a pretty shameless ploy to carve a niche. But brilliant? Definitely.

If you've never rolled the cuffs on your Levi's to match the cigarette pack you rolled into the sleeve of your white T-shirt or worn your shrink-to-fit 501's in the bathtub, then this is the perfect opportunity to jump on the crafty bandwagon and gain some exposure to the company that defined denim. Design and handicraft are gaining exposure every day. As much as the next generation loves technology, print is taking on entirely new dimensions.

If this communal hub isn't inspiring enough for you--and as a business owner I am very inspired by companies who choose to not only put a face, but a philosophy behind a brand--Levi's takes it up a notch. This year, Levi's is collaborating with the city of Braddock, PA. They've invested in the town's community center, library and urban farm to help rebuild a city that needs rejuvenating. There are a couple of short films on the site introducing various townspeople and the "Ready to Work" campaign.

I was awed by the stories they told, the images of a once-thriving mill town looking more like a ghost town. But the hope these residents share, their commitment to their town is inspiring. It felt like a positive step and I had my own hope that maybe Levi's would build a factory in Braddock, bringing not only jobs, but truth to the tag, "Made in the USA."

In case you weren't quite sold on the idea of stacking a pair of Levi's next to your 7's, Joe's or Citizens, the site also offers free music downloads on their Pioneer Sessions site from happening musicians like She & Him, The Shins, Raphael Saadiq and The Swell Season. The artists do a great job covering older tunes. I especially love The Swell Season's rendition of "Young Hearts Run Free."

So check out the site. Watch a movie. Download a song. And if you aren't putting some jeans in your virtual shopping cart, I'd be surprised. Yes, it's an advertising campaign. But it's also giving some good people some good tools for their futures. We can't really say that here at print > pixel yet, but we're keeping watch and taking notes for our future.

Oh, and here's a little extra something, just for fun:

Diorama for Dada

I know this is a bit late, but while snooping through our photos, I remembered this fun project we whipped up for Father's Day.

Inspired by Photojojo's tutorial we were able to pick a couple of pictures, cut out the figures and glue it all together in a matter of minutes. Not bad for a late card idea. This diorama was for my father-in-law, who always loves pictures of the grandkids, so I added an envelope to the bottom of the page to insert a few extras.

You can do so much with this idea, whether you want to create an entire cityscape with people walking around or cut out paper wings for your little angels to float around a blue sky. Or, if you have vintage photos you can re-create some fond memories. Wedding photos come to mind...
We'll experiment more to get some exciting scenes together.

Moving pictures

Not only is this a fun and catchy tune we've got going in the work room, but I love the polaroid and contact sheet framing.

Mega pixel project

During some recent scanning work for a client, I noticed a fair amount of landscape photographs. They had amazing colors and lovely scenery and probably captured many memorable moments. (Say that ten times fast) I also have lots of scenic photographs without people in them: cloud formations, sand, rocks, water, mountain ranges. I'm embarrassed to show the many pictures I have of plain blue skies. But what to do with them?

Artist - and prolific photographer - Liesl Pfeffer makes incredible collages out of her photographs. I particularly love The Mountains Wait.

Of course, you can cut up original photos to create your own collage. But with digital images you can print your photos onto photo paper for glossy or matte finishes, card stock, or any other fine papers for effect. Manipulating the digital images to enhance a color scheme can also add to your collage work. Imagine using sepia tones to create a cinema-inspired project or adding hyper contrasts for your Warhol homage.

Pretty Paper

Last week my husband and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. Although I am very happily married, I have to admit that it can be difficult to think of an inspiring gift that we haven't done before--that also stays within our budget. After being together 17 years, married for 14, and our two children, we are usually running out at the last minute for something easy.

I was proud of myself this year because I'd gotten the gifts early (books), figuring I'd spend the extra time on the packaging. Inspired by this hand painted wrapping paper from amazing artist Geninne, I made some fun wrapping paper of my own.

Using photo booth photos we took the year we were married, I scanned the strip, copied it into Photoshop and duplicated it until they fit across an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper. Luckily, the vertical strip fit three times across. I had to print out two sheets and tape them together to wrap one book, but the tiling effect worked perfectly with the photo booth format. What a fun way to revive an old memory!

I had initially made a pastel-colored card, but once I saw the black and white wrapping on the books and found a black ribbon in my spare ribbon box, I knew a bright red heart would be the perfect accent. Please note that I am not ordinarily so completely coordinated - with clothes, home decor and especially NOT gift wrapping - but it felt great to use items at hand to create such a complete package. A photo-inspired one at that!