Happy Halloween Cards

The spookiest holiday of the year is just around the corner, and I’ve put together a collection of absolutely fang-tastic greetings that celebrate black cats, haunted houses, vampires, and all of the other ghouls and ghosties that come around at this time of the year. I hope that you’ll find something that sets your spine a tinglin’ in this ghoulishly good group:

Happy Halloween Cards

Above, clockwise from top left : Dee & Lala // Laura Hooper Calligraphy // Quill & Fox // a. favorite // Sea + Lake // August & Oak

images from their respective sources

Funny & Irreverent Letterpress Cards by Frog & Toad Press

Frog & Toad Press Huzzah Letterpress Card

Clever and irreverent cards are some of my favorites, especially if the irreverence is paired with fantastic hand lettering and illustration, as is the case with this awesome letterpress card collection from Frog & Toad Press, whose back story is just as cool as their cards.

For years, the Providence, RI-based shop, Frog & Toad, has curated some of the coolest, most irreverent items you’ll ever see. Over the years, they began making more and more of the products that they sell, gradually expanding their operation to the point that they opened their own design studio as part of the design collective in the historic Nicholson File Building in Providence. They’re now printing their own line of greeting cards, as well as onesies and prints, as Frog & Toad Press.

Lemons Letterpress Card by Frog & Toad Press

After what I’m sure are some pretty hilarious brainstorming sessions by their creative staff, Frog & Toad Press’ own Maret Bondorew brings their snarky and sweetly sentimental concepts to her drawing table and hand-paints and hand letters them into reality. They then work directly with Dan Wood at DWRI Letterpress or the screen printers at The Headlight Hotel to create the finished product. And what a great product it is!

Hand Lettered and Illustrated Letterpress Cards by Frog & Toad Press

images from Frog & Toad Press

Make a Simple Layered Card + Free Templates

DIY Simple Layered Die Cut Card + Free Templates @Craftsy

I used the fantastic cardstock from Gmund at LCI Paper – Sun Glow, Chartreuse, Cayenne, and Aqua here – and my handy dandy Silhouette Cameo to create this simple yet bold handmade card for my latest paper crafts project over at Craftsy. Head on over to check out the step-by-step tutorial and to download the free templates (SVG and PDF files included)!

image by Kristen Magee for Craftsy

Watermelon-Themed Note Cards & Greeting Cards

It’s Labor Day here in the U.S., which marks the unofficial end of summer, and even though it’s still feeling like mid-summer around here (so hot!), we’ll be bundling up and watching the leaves fall before we know it. But today it’s all about grilling, chilling, and heading out to enjoy the summertime weather with friends and family.

In celebration of the last days of summer, I’ve put together a little roundup that features the quintessential summer fruit, watermelon! So, grab a piece if you’ve got one and check out these juicy, watermelon-themed paper goodies:

Watermelon-Themed Paper Goods & Stationery

1. A Jar of Pickles 2. Hello! Lucky 3. Rachel Corcoran 4. Laura Hughes 5. Pei Design 6. Idlewild Co.

images from their respective sources

Trendspotting : Holographic Foil

I think it’s safe to say that 2015 has been a great year for copper foil, and gold foil is still going very strong, but what’s this? I sense a new contender in the foil stamped stationery and paper goods space, and its name starts with “holo” and ends with “graphic”. There’s lots to love about holographic foil. It has a metallic rainbow finish. Its colors change as you move it. Um, yeah. It’s magic.

Here’s a little holographic eye candy to whet your appetite, and I hope that we’ll be seeing many more craveable, holographic paper goodies this holiday season and into 2016.

2016 Paper and Stationery Trends : Holographic Foil

1. NAVUCKO 2. The Social Type 3. Parrott Design Studio 4. Lionheart Prints 5. Ashkahn 6. Garance Doré for Rifle Paper Co. 7. Smitten on Paper 8. The Social Type

images from their respective sources