Taylor Made designs

Books + Bookplates

Aren't these a great idea? I just designed these bookplates for a school fundraiser.

Maybe it's all this snow and people are inside reading more, but I have never been so busy designing bookplates as I have this past January/February. How long this trend will continue is unknown seeing we are heading more and more towards digital media. No need for bookplates then :(

Myself, I've been doing my fair share of reading too. {just don't ask me if my books have bookplates in them.} Much like the cobbler's kids, my books are naked too. Someday I'll actually get around to placing bookplates inside them. Although lately the books I have been buying + reading have been on my iPad. A trend I have been slow to adapt. But adapting I am.

I have to admit, it's quite nice to open my iPad and read anywhere: the pool during swim lessons, the doctor's office, the hair salon.  The problem... I like paper. Ok, understatement. I love paper. I like the smell of books. I like the feel of paper and turning the pages of a book. Swishing my finger to turn the page doesn't have the same appeal for me.

I downloaded Treasure Island to read to the kids and it's just not the same as reading a hardcovered book. It's just not the same experience. I'd hate for them not to have a beautiful library full of books. So I continue to buy them books and yes, their books, unlike their mum's, have bookplates in them :)

My latest reads: Cutting for Stone, The Slap,  Peace Like A River, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet to name a few. All really great books.

So, what are you reading? Are you reading a hardcover or have you gone digital?  I want to know :)

Write it down

I'm a total list girl. I have an itouch which I have used for lists making. But nothing beats writing it down on paper. {And then crossing it off my list.} I find it so tedious to type my list in. And from the amount of books I sell, I am thinking I am not alone. I much prefer to use a nice pen and a favorite notebook than some electronic gadget. Am I alone on this? Maybe I really am getting old!

Birthday Gift Ideas

Here's another birthday gift I created for William's friend Savannah. Like most little girls, she loves fairies, and girly things. So I found a fairy illustration online, modified it + added colour to it. I then created a sketch pad, notepad + custom notecards with envelopes and stickers. I also picked up some markers. The fairy illustration has come in handy. Naturally Davis wanted stickers + a notebook of her own. 

I swear, I have more fun making up these presents than the kids have using them. I am still not convinced that a little boy would be enamoured with a notecards, sketchbooks etc. So I find myself heading to the store buying legos :)

Twilight – swoon

For those who have read the book, you know exactly what "team edward" means :)

This coming Monday, my bookclub is meeting at my house to review Twilight. Yup, we read it for our group. I have a feeling it will be a lively discussion. Imagine 10+ woman all talking about his book?  It makes me smile just thinking of it.

So far, everyone I know that has read the book, has liked it. It's an easy and fun read. I swear I felt like I was 16 all over again. My friend is bringing me the 4th book on Monday. I hear it rivals the 1st book. I was a bit disappointed with New Moon, but enjoyed Eclipse.  Has anyone else read the series?

Anyway, I have been thinking of clever things to have for the evening, you know, for snacks + atmosphere. Any suggestions? I'd love to hear what you think? Shona sent me the playlist the author listened to while writing Twilight. So i could download those songs to my iPod. I figured I'd have apples and a chocolate fondue. But what else? I thought about having bloody marys, but not sure if anyone would drink them in the evening. I'm all ears... so let me know what you think!

Learning our ABC's

Remember when the toughest thing you had to learn was your abc's and not the lastest version of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop or InDesign? {forget learning Microsoft Word, that program is just evil!}

Since the kids start school in about a week, a few weeks ago I made these books for them. On each page they can practice writing their abc's. I also put in some blank pages  + some pages with just lines. So far, the kids are doing great. 

If anyone would like the book, you can download a pdf here :)

Download TMD.ABC.PenmanshipBook.pdf

Another Custom Ribbon Order

Just finished this custom ribbon order this past Friday for the lovely + talented Mary Ann over at A Very Mary.  She ordered this ribbon for her grandmother who makes handmade quilts. (is she sweet or what?) She is planning on them being tags. For those of you who are interested, (I get a lot of emails asking this) she'll be able to cut out @ 150 tags from this spool of ribbon. Not bad :) You can order ribbon by emailing me directly or by visiting my etsy store.

It's a cold and rainy day here. But I'm not going to complain. We had such great weather last week. Plus, the rainy weather allowed me to read more of my book while waiting to pick up Davis from School. (normally I chat it up with the other mums while the kids run around in the playground, but this time I sat in my car and read) Over the weekend I finished reading, "The Curse of the Spellmans". A silly + lighthearted book I picked up at the library. And now I am half way through "Interpreter of Maladies", and really enjoying it. It's such a quiet and thought-provoking book. I have placed a bunch of books on hold at the library. I hope they will be available soon. Anyone reading anything interesting? Let us know!

:: Taylor Made designs products ::

Well, I've been busy with a lot of Taylor Made design products and thought I'd show some of them since I have a lot of new people visiting my blog. They might not be familiar with my stuff :)

I finished a custom order for a mini taylor book. {top photo, pink} I love when people custom order because they put together totally different stocks and colours than I normally would. Which is so great. Love getting a new and different perspective. Every book is treated with ScotchGuard™ and comes nicely packaged. I also offer gift certificates for those of you interested. {i did a few of them for christmas for people - see lower left photo} These books are the perfect size to fit into your handbag and keep all your notes handy. I actually get a lot of orders from event planners. They are able to customize their books to their events and it's a gift that their attendees will actually use way past the event.

I have a bunch of new bookcloth colours: brown, teal, and a vibrant green. I'm going to upload my catalog for my books and have them on my sidebar. That way I won't have to keep emailing them out. I don't know why I did not do that earlier! I will also upload my TAG it catalog as well.

I am doing a lot of custom orders for my wine tags. I did a couple of weddings last fall and the wine stores are loving them. Customizing tags are a terrific way to extend your brand. I just received an inquiry from a dentist rep. She has some great idea about branding. Very exciting.

And of course I am always making up silkscreen ribbon to tie my packages up. I get a lot of emails asking me how I am able to print my ribbon so clearly. And the answer is practice :) There are so many variables in printing the ribbon. The moisture in the air can affect the ink, the type of ribbon and it's ability to accept the ink is important too. I always practice on some ribbon before I start on a final roll. Sometimes it takes quite a few goes with the Gocco press before I am happy with the results and I am able to start on the final ribbon roll.  Barbara just emailed me asking if the ribbon was washable... and I have no idea ~ So today I'm going to throw some in with a load of laundry and find out :) I will let you know the results. Meanwhile, have a wonderful day!

:: And the winner is...

Naked, by David Sedaris.

I gave my club five book choices:
:: Naked
:: Holidays on Ice
:: Eat Pray Love 
:: The Time Keeper's Wife
:: Lucia, Lucia

We took a vote and everyone decided they wanted something fun + light for December. (we just read a 1000 splendid suns) AND to read more books written by men. So Naked fit the bill. I really hope everyone enjoys it.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I took all your recommendations and have them in a list on my computer. I am going to read them all :) (I usually read 2-3 books in a month) Again, thanks for sharing!

Sorry it's been quiet here. With the holiday and having a relapse, I have been resting and taking it easy. I want to be healthy for December.

Yesterday the kids and I  made beautiful glass wreaths ornaments. I'll take photos and show you. They came out terrific and was a fun and easy project to do with kids.

It's unbelievably warm here today. By Thursday it's suppose to be back down to 30 degrees~
Have a great Tuesday.

:: what are you reading? ::

So, it's my turn to pick the next book for our bookclub, and of course, I want it to be a good one :) We're not going to meet in December, (too busy) so we are meeting the first week of January at my house.

I was thinking, since it is a busy month, and who wants to read something heavy and big, I should go for a light read, something fun, like David Sedaris's, "Holidays on Ice" or even his first book, "Naked." But since both books have been out for awhile, a lot of my bookclub members might have read them already. I have, but I would love to reread them. Another book I thought of, which is gentle, and an easy and sweet read is, "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series. Starting with the first. I just love this series and have read all eigtht books in the series.

Some of you have already emailed me what books you are reading, so thank you! But I'm wondering, does anyone have a book that they absolutely loved and want to share? I would so appreciate it. I need to pick a book by next Monday. I'm open to any + all suggestions.

Some of the books my club has read so far this year:

:: Snowflower and the Secret Fan {loved}

:: The Glass House {really liked}

:: A 1000 Splendid Sun {loved}

:: Outlander {I could not get past page 38 and I was in the hospital with nothing to do!}

:: Curious Incident of the dog {loved}

:: The Memory's Keeper Daughter {read it, but hated it}

:: 19 Minutes {difficult subject matter, and took a bit to get use to her style of writing, but was good}

:: Water for Elephants {loved}

 

So come on... I know you are out there, reading my blog....don't be shy :) Tell me – what are you reading or have read that I should??