oh no

i just tried to post a new blog and only half of it showed up! EFF. Will post again later when i have the heart to say it all over again. in the meantime, i'll be working on books for 52.5 x 10 (Feb. 23rd). Pictures soon.

words of wisdom from a pro...

A few days ago, I had Easter dinner at my friend Joe's house. This is a huge Easter tradition among our friends, and everyone gets semi-dressed up and has mimosas and plays croquet in the yard if it's sunny. Then we all eat giant amounts of food that Joe's mom makes. It is always really nice. Some years I attend, like this year, and some I don't, like last year when I went on a little trip for Easter vacation which included visiting my friend, Mackie's parents and going to SEE ROCK CITY in Chattanooga. On a side note, if you ever have the opportunity to go to Rock City, you should do so. It is awesome and really really weird.
This year at Easter dinner I talked to Stacy Clifford a whole lot about her business, Perlaanne. She makes really beautiful hand printed cards and journals and magnets and all kinds of other stuff and on top of that, she has managed to be both creative and successful in turning that passion into a business that makes her some money. It's her whole job! What a leap of faith she must have taken! She told me all about how she got a business loan and went to tradeshows, like the National Stationery Show. It sounded really expensive and hard and like a lot of work...but it sounded exactly like something I want to try to do. I am totally intimidated by the idea of taking out a loan and spending all kinds of money to get inventory set up and a booth at a tradeshow and taking orders for stuff, etc. but it seems like the next step to take. I really need to get a functioning website and some promotional materials made for that kind of thing. Baby steps toward a long-term goal. Alright bloggers, I resolve that I will do at least 1 thing every week toward making this more of a business rather than a hobby, whether that means make a least one new thing every week, or work on ideas for a clearer more intuitive website, or sketch some new ideas, or make a new contact... Ok...BREAK! GO TEAM!

making band flyers is fun too...

...way more fun than having your house broken into, which is what happened earlier this month. Not only was my grandmother's wedding ring stolen, which honestly did make me cry a little bit, but also, my digital camera was stolen. Now, I don't always exhibit the greatest of common sense, and like an idiot, I failed to download all the pictures of things I have made in the past. I good number of images of things that I have created are still living on the little disc somewhere in a pawn shop someplace, along with all the pictures of my trip to Austria and pictures of other important stuff... Worse, still, is that I have made some more stuff and can't take pictures of it at all. Lame thieves...messing things up all the dang time.
My most recent project is making some band flyers for Tin Cup Prophette, my friend Amanda's band. She is awesome and has been playing for a billion years with lots of talented people and finally has her own project and album. She plays accordian and violin and sings her own songs and they are really, really pretty. Seriously, go check out her songs and you will be pleased. Also, one day if you are in a town where she is playing you might get to see the bitchin flyer I made for her. You won't be seeing it here because I can't take a picture of it and it is too big to put on my scanner. This is the first time I have made a band flyer, and I found it difficult. I am not too savvy with the old Photoshop, although I am trying to learn more about it. I ended up doing a lot of paper cut-outs and scanning/copying and layering things. It made it turn out very old-fashioned looking, which is kind of what I was going for. I hope that it is the overall effect instead of it looking very shoddy and amateur. Well, whatever. I hope she likes it. I can try again if she doesn't. At the very least, the idea was neat: Paper cut-out hummingbird feeding from a sillouhette paper cut-out phonograph over wallpaper-looking background and transparent ribbon border. Maybe one day I'll have a camera and will be able to show the people (all zero of them) who may read this.
--katie

Photo albums 

cards 

Journals: 

who likes paper???

I do, of course. I like it a lot, and it's becoming a hobby of mine. In fact, I spend lots of time looking for old photographs, postcards, wrapping paper, and clippings from old magazines, books and advertisements that I can use to create handmade journals, photo albums, and cards. I have been making journals and cards out of found vintage materials and orginal photographs and prints for about two years. I love the idea that these old things that have fallen out of use (and have sometimes fallen into the trash can) can find a new life as someone's treasured keeping place for their thoughts or that they might end up as a carefully selected, tenderly-written letter sent to someone special.
Want to see some of the things I've made? Want a little book to write in for yourself? Visit my website, Paperdoll Design. If you see some things there that you like and want one of your own, you can contact me via email at katie@paperdolldesign.net. This site is very much under construction and will be changing and improving all the time, so check back often.
And check back here often, too, to learn about the newest items I have been making, new materials I have found, and stuff I have been thinking about.
Funny that someone who loves paper and who makes journals fit for a pen has decided to keep a cyberjournal, isn't it?