A Shout out to Kariann

"There is not a particle of life that does not carry poetry within it."

- Gustave Flaubert

Bonjour Mon Coussin on Daily Poetics

Steve Wiman on Daily Poetics

A thank you to Kariann of Daily Poetics for posting about our Stamp Notes and Femme Fatale mini-notebooks on her lovely blog. I introduced you to Daily Poetics' Flickr photostream here. Now I would like to encourage you to visit her blog. She features intriguing, beautifully designed things you are not likely to stumble across elsewhere, and each post is accompanied by a snippet of poetry or a beguiling quote. Visit often...there is always something delightful to discover.

Sharon

Recycling Comes Home

We talk about it often--the importance of recycling and how it impacts Secret Leaves. We use much of the old paper that comes our way, but what we don't use ends up in our handy make-shift recycling box, shown here. Very fancy, I know.

About 12 weeks ago this dumpster showed up in the alley right behind my house. How convenient for me! I quickly found out that the city was testing this idea and placing these around town in various neighborhoods. I happily filled out the survey I received in the mail and gave the trial program an A+. At first I was afraid this dumpster would be wildly misused and be filled with garbage in no time flat. But it was smartly designed to discourage that and so far everyone seems to be using it properly. I think (and hope) it is here to stay.

Just about everything is accepted and it sure beats separating all of my recyclables and hauling them to the fire station. I hope this catches on and the city keeps this program in motion. I thought it would be a long time coming, but it seems the tide is changing. If we can have a program like this happening in my neighborhood, I believe it is do-able just about anywhere.

Ann

Bang!

Hope you had a great Fourth!

Sharon

In Search of Inspiration

Like many of you, I'm constantly searching for inspiration. Sometimes it's artistic inspiration I seek; sometimes I am just looking for something to inspire me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Without further ado, here are a couple of my favorite places on the web to find inspiration:

My favorite Flickr photo stream belongs to Daily Poetics. She features all manner of beautiful graphic design and typography with a lean toward vintage stuff. Here are a few of my favorites:

Business card designed by Eric Kass

And also Keri Smith...

For a different kind of inspiration (the 'putting one foot in front of the other' kind), visit Keri Smith's web site. Keri is "an author/illustrator turned guerilla artist." I especially love her 100 Ideas and How to Feel Miserable as an Artist. Of the 10 ways she lists, I am guilty of at least four of them.

Sharon

Cigar Box Kits - sometimes it's ok to think inside the box

Here are some Cigar Box Kits Ann and I are working on. These contain everything you need to make your own journal, album or scrap book. A typical kit includes bits of vintage ephemera, old buttons, postage stamps, ribbon, twine, old-fashioned picture corners, tags, labels, mini envelopes, fancy fasteners and more, all housed in a beautiful cigar box. Kit also includes two book boards, pre-cut, pre-drilled and covered in vintage paper along with two antiqued binder rings.

I love the bit of ephemera that says "Nerves Ruin Pep and Sleep." Ain't that the truth!

Here is another one:

The book boards are covered in some gorgeous old handwritten ledger paper from the turn-of-the-century. I love this ledger paper and have been using it in lots of our handmade paper goods.

The endpapers on inside book boards in this kit are pretty.

This is what they look like all packaged up. If you are interested in Cigar Box Kits, email us at inquire@secretleaves.com.

Sharon