61 | THREE DAY WEEKEND

postcards from the perfect summer weekend in SF

~

The Fillmore Jazz Fest was the perfect way to spend a lazy summer day.

Jello fruit made by Anne were perfect for the 80 degree weather...

and tanning, reading, and postcard-writing in the park.

~

Of course, no weekend would be complete without paper

like new stationery, the perfect gift for a one-year anniversary...

paired with a greeting card: one year down, 99 to go.

and some of my favorite designs from my paper crush Hello Lucky!, my beau, and the Coit Tower gift shop circa 1950.

i hope you all had a safe, sunny, and perfectly summer 4th of july.

59 | Let's Get Personal

With the end of May close by, and June just around the corner, we are the thick of Summertime celebrations. We are celebrating Moms, Dads, Grads, the Newly Engaged, and the Newly Married and that brings a whole new suite of L&A personal stationery designs. Printed on 110#,Classic Crest stock, each set of stationery uses the highest quality ingredients to reflect a unique personality... and guarantee a 97% chance of happiness to anyone who receives a letter written on L&A stock.* *L&A cannot take responsibility for the time you spelled your boyfriend's mother's name wrong.

MEET THE NEWEST CHARACTERS IN THE L&A CAST:

{ GIANT MONOGRAM | designed for Ann }

{ NAME PLATE | designed for Nicole }

{ NANTUCKET | designed for Jim }

{ FLOURISH | designed for Fran }

{ ELEGANCE | designed for Lara }

{CITY COUPLE | designed for Charlaine and Zaw}

56 | THE PERFECT (THANK YOU) PRESENT

LOTUS&ASH was featured on the blog The Present Perfect today. As a paper lover, there is no better feeling than the confirmation that there are other paperphiles out there. Long live letter-writing! I designed two sets of stationery for the blog author - Jessica - and I believe that we might be paper personality soul mates, since I'm dying to make myself matching sets. Jessica needed stationery for shorter, but more formal thank you notes {on the right}, and a set for longer, but more casual correspondence {on the left}, which would include a sparrow motif.   I designed A2 notecards on thick #110 stock, and half-letter sheets on cotton #32 stock to add to her stationery closet.

My favorite part of the suite might be the flock of sparrows on the envelope flap!

Thank you to Jessica, and thank you to paper-lovers worldwide! Happy writing...

53 | Goodbye TwoThousand&Ten, Hello TwentyEleven!

Happy Birthday Blog! Since New Year's 2008, the L&A Blog has featured my latest paper/food/design creations, and this year will be no different.

New Year's Eve was a chance to combine all of those creations with a dinner hosted for Bay Area friends, the first of what I hope to become an annual tradition.

The food and decorations were simple - a handmade paper garland connected the kitchen to the living room, and labels made from black paper, leftover from the year, framed each of the dishes.

Post-NYE festivities, LOTUS&ASH welcomed in the new year with its annual calendar. This year's is a small matchbook, and a fun tribute to my font-loving ways. Each month is set in a different face, and the last page lists them altogether, making for a handy-dandy font reference, my version of a polly pocket.

: The 2011 L&A Calendar :

L&A wishes you a very healthy, happy, and delicious new year, filled to the brim with good design and hand-written correspondence.

lotusandash(dot)com

51 | L&A HOLIDAY & CHEER

*  *  *

The season is upon us, and the L&A holiday workshop is in full swing. Dean Martin is blaring, and the spice candles are burning, and there are ribbon cuttings all over the place.

December snuck up especially quickly this year - dreidels are already spinning, and the christmas countdown is well under way!  But despite the hustle and bustle, there has still been time for:

custom letterpress greetings...

personal illustrations with metallic touches...

brown paper packages tied up with string...

stationery gift sets...

in this year's L&A holiday gift wrapping.

HARK! There's more work to be done... including more greeting card and gift designing...

to my favorite holiday tunes.

So, before Christmas arrives in a blink of an eye, L&A wishes you a happy December, filled with present-wrapping, friends, plenty of merriment, and of course,

paper.

*for holiday paper inquiries, click here.