enJOY it by Elise Blaha Cripe

see you, september.

I am trying something different with my fall minibook this year. At first I thought I would just skip it. You might have noticed I've been having trouble getting on-going albums to... keep going.

But then I realized I have been taking photos and collecting bits ANYWAY, so I might as well keep them together using the fall kit. For now though, I am not calling this a fall book. It's a pile. An ordered pile that sits on the corner of my desk. I am cropping papers and gluing photos (printed at home) back to back. And ordering the pages chronologically. Then at the end of the November, I'll punch holes and tie it all together to become a book.

Maybe this will relieve some of the pressure? Make it feel less like something that has to be finished and more of just a collection? I tend to do better with paper collections than I do with on-going albums.

We'll see.

fall minibook kits are on sale for $8

how we do hummus.

The most used wedding gift so far has been our Cuisinart food processor. (Actually that's a lie. The Kitchen Aid gets used about every three days to make cookies and now pasta. But it's a super close second) Obviously we're all about it when it comes to pesto. But an extra bonus is we can make our own hummus.

Here is our recipe (makes enough as a dinner for two & probably leftovers for lunch the next day) :

• 15 oz can of garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas) - rinsed and drained
• 2 T tahini
• 2 cloves garlic - peeled
• about 12 pitted kalamata olives* (hence the purple-ish color)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix the first four ingredients in the food processor.

Add olive oil while the processor is blending until you've reached a "hummus" consistency. (Should be sort of like thick frosting - yes, that's the best description we could come up with.) We usually add about 1/4 C. Add your salt and pepper and give it a final spin. Be sure to taste and see if you like the consistency and flavor!

Serve with pita, carrots, red bell pepper. And we love to enjoy it with chicken and red wine too.

*If you don't like or have kalamata olives, use juice from about 1/2 lemon to enhance the flavor.

more 5x7 prints listed.

"enjoy it" & creativity prints now available in 5x7.

stickers & other packaging.

stickers from UPrinting.com / thank you postcards from vistaprint.com / washi tape from happytape & kimamaya / twine from divine twine / shaped paper clips & white tags from Office Depot / mailing tubes from amazon.com

+

For now, the re-brand is done.

So much of building the shop has been learning the best way to package things so that items look good and arrive safely. It's always a work in progress. Especially as I add different shaped items to the inventory. I rely on client feedback to let me know if something arrived damaged (so please keep me posted!) and then make changes for the next guy (and reship when appropriate).

Little things I have learned that have streamlined my process, saved me money and enhanced the brand :

• buy packaging in in bulk
• estimate shipping rates high and then adjust down
• it's nice to get something extra in with the purchase (for now, that's a thank you postcard, I am hoping to add label stickers & pinback buttons)
• reuse boxes and bubble wrap
• custom stickers are awesome
• custom rubber stamps are inexpensive and an easy way to add a logo
• reinforce the seams on flat poster mailers with packaging tape

I am still working on improving it all. Especially how I store shop items, supplies and packaging materials. But for now, it's working well.

she + he in september.

It's summer in San Diego. By summer, she of course means 95 degrees in fall.

But they are okay with that.

And besides, without humidity, 95* feels like 80*.

Speaking of humidity, they went to Austin this month.

He was in a wedding. She was in a photobooth.

It was their last vacation for awhile and it could not had come at a better time.

She had just hosted an online workshop for two weeks.

He had just taken a two day board exam.

Those were not vacation days.

They recently bought a pasta maker.

Making pasta from scratch can be added to the list of things that brings tension to a stable relationship.

Also on that list? Self checkout machines at grocery stores.

the photo and text above will be printed and added to my ever growing "she & he" album.