rubber soul blog

in the moment

 

i'm loving this new book we are carrying both in our storefront and in the on-line shop - 1,001 Ways to Live in the Moment. it's in a fun carry-along size - about 5"x5" - but super chunky thick and filled with lots of whimsical illustrations and 1,001 quotes and ways to be mindful and in the now. 

a few examples for you:

#79: jottings in the modern age, many writers use a word-processing program, and in the process miss the joy of handwriting, a craft that conjures thought to word intimately, via the medium of hand on paper. keep a notebook and fill it with your scribbles - relish untidiness, in the knowledge that the brain's serendipity is a major creative strength. 

#82: inspiration "fill your paper with the breathings of your heart." - william wordsworth

#468: gaze at a flame meditating on a candle, known as trataka in yoga, gives the mind a precise point of focus. light a candle and place it safely in front of you, at eye level. focus steadily on the flame, blinking as little as possible. try to empty your mind of everything but the flame. if your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to its object.

#539: watch the sunrise at least once a month watch the sunrise, a refreshing experience for mind and spirit, especially at the start of new life phases.

#686: fluid be open to different viewpoints, and change your mind if you see new truth in a situation. this is wisdom, not fickleness.

#937: becoming the path "you cannot tread the path until you become the path yourself." - zen saying

it's filled i tell you, filled with good, positive, soul-filling and uplifting words of motivation. i hope you get a chance to enjoy it too.

the weather outside is still delightful.....

and i'm sooooo happy it's not frightful. i'd much rather be playing with snow on my holiday cards than shoveling it outside - at least until christmas has come and gone. when i asked ward jenkins to design some holiday stamps for us, i also asked for a dog and a cat stamp, because i always believe that they make the holidays that much sweeter :)

 

here is a card i made recently using our new snowman stamp - chillin' charlie, and i really do think that little pup is one of my favorite stamps this year. for this card i drew in the line for the snow drift, and stamped our new little winter tree on it several times. i did some very light watercoloring throughout, and then sponged on versamagic ink in aquatic splash to the upper edges. the snowflake is a little added extra that comes with the snowman stamp, and the cool winter wishes is always the perfect greeting for any snowy scene. and because no snowflakes are complete without it, i added little dots of glitter glue to their centers, and along the edge of the snowdrift.  

a jolly ho ho ho

we're busy busy here at rubber soul headquarters, but i wanted to offer up a quick card idea using a couple of our new holiday designs.

i love our new retro santa- he truly has that jolly feel, don't you think? the little bird is also new, and the happy holidays is one of our classic favorites. i just did some freehand cutting around the happy holidays to try to capture a shape with a retro feel. i gave santa his suit color with a red color pencil, painted on a bit of silver watercolor on his bag of loot and the chimney, and finished up with a touch of diamond glitter glue on the chimney's snow-lined top. easy peasy! hey, don't look now, but it's almost december 1st....shheeesh! wishing you all a great thanksgiving weekend.

snowflake girl

i was recently invited to do a make-and-take event at the stampin' in the rain shop in bothell. it's always a pleasure to do these, and i'm forever impressed with how nice this store is. the project we did was a modified version of this card: instead of the card as you see it here, we did a bookmark with the snowflake girl, same colors, and lots of snowflakes. isn't she sweet? she's truly one of my favorites from our new holiday stamps designed by ward jenkins. for this card i stamped snowflake girl and the curious kitty on the white card, and then stamped her a second time on red cardstock. i then cut out her boots and coat and dressed her with them. i used a white gel pen to polka dot her boots and create white buttons for her jacket. i used a fresh eraser on the back of a pencil to stamp the circles in versamagic seabreeze, then stamped simple flake on top of them in black. and of course, there's nothing like a good dab of stickles glitter glue to give a card that proper wintery feel. brrrrrrr! 

thank you for coming by!

gratitude

every year, on the second saturday in november, the rubber soul store has its holiday open house. and every year, sixteen of them now, there is a flurry of action leading up to the big day. the preceding week is all about the fluffing and stuffing. new products arrive, new sample cards are made, treat trays are ordered, decorations and fresh lights are hung, and we always make sure we have a hefty number of new candles to burn.

and every year on this day, we are invigorated by it all. we love the connecting with happy people eager to create their holiday cards, and the familial feeling we have with our longtime loyal customers. we love the sense of community with this family, even though several come from many miles away. we are full of gratitude for every customer that chooses to visit us, and chooses to share their creative as well as personal stories with us. we are so grateful for each day that we get to do this, and for each and every one of you that has played a part in this rubber soul family. just wanted to tell you all this, being the month of gratitude and all :) thank you, thank you.

a retromatic christmas

when i was in the planning stages of a new rubber soul christmas stamp release this summer, i thought how cool it would be for the line to have a retro feel, and then i just knew who to ask to draw them - mr. ward jenkins! i love his illustrating and animating style, and saw him as a perfect fit for the rubber soul holidays. he has a great blog which is always fun to check in on, and he recently finished illustrating his first children's book - how to train with a t.rex and win 8 gold medals by michael phelps. bravo ward!

many stamps from the new collection have a distinct holiday feel, but there are also a few that scream cold winter fun, as well as a couple of perfect furry characters. i've had some real fun making cards with these, and there are several stores you can see both the new stamps and cards in now, including all of the paper zone locations in the northwest. i'll be posting some of those cards over the next few weeks, as well as cards from other paper craft artists having fun with the new release. 

i met ward and his totally delightful two kids in the reals for the first time in portland in september, where i got to give them the new stamps - his first ever illustrations-turned-rubber! 

welcome again ward, to the land of rubber stamps, and thank you for the great characters and fun you've added to the rubber soul line!