My Favorite Things: Round-up for Mom

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Clockwise from top: Multi-language Mother's Day Note Card | Anthropologie Bee Watch | Cactus Concrete Planter and Plant Combo | Stay Majestic Art Print | Tory Burch Flats | Italian Soft Leather Crossbody Tote | Plamplune Grapefruit and Peach Wine | Nars 'Cruising' Lipstick | Mother's Day Monogram Note Card | Deep Green Cardigan


Dear friends,

I've put together this mood board with mothers in mind, filling it with carefully selected pieces of gifts that I'd love to gift my mother. Works for mother's day (that's fast approaching), holidays, her birthday or just to simply say 'I love you'.

Each item will give you an idea of how my mother is: lowbrow yet tasteful and ever so practical. My Mah turns casual into trendy but always goes for the comfortable as well as timeless. So if splurging a little means you'll get your money's worth in the end, well then, it's a no-brainer.

We don't come from money. We're middle class as middle class go. My Mah taught me expensive brands don't mean anything if you don't know how to wear it in a way that flatters you. So we find the good with the cheap, and trust me, we always do! The one best lesson when shopping that she imparted to me that is somewhat of a double-edged sword is: "Buy it now or spend time thinking about it later only to find it's already gone when you go back for it. Anyway, you can always return it if you change your mind. This way, there are less regrets in life." 

Then off we go to the clearance section.

Now, I feel like I really have to explain the addition of the cactus planter on here, well, maybe most moms prefer a bouquet of flowers. Feel free to switch it up. I just know that my Mah, being the green thumb that she is - prefers to have something that lasts longer with as little fuss as possible. So there you have it.

The Letter Parade products featured above are:

 Mother's Day Monogram Note Card, $5.00 Click here to shop.

 Multi-Language Mom Note Card, $4.50 Click here to shop.

Stay Majestic 11" x 14" Art Print, $34.00
Click here to shop. Also available in 8"x10" size art print as well as single and boxed set of 8 note cards.

What other gift ideas for mom do you recommend? 

Love & Letters,

LETTER PARADE: Blog Overhaul

Blogs are here to stay and are like multivitamins to any brand in this day and age. And if it can't be done consistently, why even bother? And if the content is next to garbage, I say stick to the diary. So here's me resurrecting my blog feeling like it's New Year's day and so full of resolutions.

Introducing,

I will be posting my blogs under five categories broken up into...

California Love   |   Paper Crush   |   Behind the Brand   |   Letter Parade   |   Art & Music

...because the above are what matters to me and will serve as a manual so I won't be writing about science in the near future unless it directly relates to paper or Letter Parade for that matter.

These are the blogs that have served and continue to be strong sources of inspiration for me. The ladies behind these blogs are tour de force and epitomize the true meaning of Girl Boss. I look up to each and every one of them and follow in their foot steps. They are doing what they love, make money doing so and live very fulfilling lives. What won't I find inspiring in that?

No. 1


OSBP is a household name in the stationery industry. The blog that a hopeful stationer like myself can only dream of being featured. This is run by Nole Garey and she hosts Paper Parties in New York in conjunction to the yearly National Stationery Show. This party is the real deal and prestigious AF and it's by invitation only exclusive to big names in the industry. A girl can dream, right?


No. 2

The Paper Chronicles penned by Sarah Schwartz who is only the editor-in-chief of the highly regarded and well-designed trade magazine Stationery Trends. Her love for stationery and her achievements play a big role in the continued success stationers like myself enjoy in this crazy whirlwind consumer-driven world.

No. 3

In every industry you'll be lucky to come across gems like Eva Jorgensen who, not only make it their mission to give back to the community but aid the ones following along their footsteps like myself. Surely they didn't need to do that but they did anyway and thank goodness for their genuine kindness because I've learned so much taking her webinars Stationery Biz 100: Start Strong and Stationery Biz 200: Wholesale. Her blog reflects the authenticity of her brand which is unmistakably her and it flows so well to her other social media platforms. Sycamore Street Press is a perfect example of a successful brand.

There's more to add but I'll save those for another post. In the mean time, follow me on Instagram @letterparade 
Here are some of my recent posts:

Love and Letters,

Personalized Note Cards

Hello friends!

All over Los Angeles, the wind and sun are not showing any signs of slowing down in lieu of fall. "What fall?" asks the locals. And here I thought I bought my bike way too late for summer, but nope! Having all this heat deceives me into thinking we're still in June but my massive wall calendar tells me otherwise. SEPTEMBER! Time to think about presents, cookies, Christmas trees, and personalized note cards! I always enjoy designing our own note cards (you can view our 2009 and 2010 cards here) and this time around, I am opening up my doors and graphic designing skills to anyone who wants their own special note cards, too!

A couple of months after New Year 2011, good friend, Lynn Kwan approached me for a surprise she wanted to give to her Beatles fanatic boyfriend, Chad Porter for V-day. She let me have the creative freedom which for me is the only way an artist should be able to work (ideally)! I ran the whole nine yards hyper ecstatic and it was incredibly rewarding to have very satisfied customers at the end of the line.

Meet Lynn Kwan and Chad Porter.

I'm a major Beatles fan myself (and saw my favorite Beatle, Paul McCartney at Coachella '09!) so it was a bit challenging where or how to start; which song to pick, which album, which image, etc. Finally, Lynn suggested I use the 'All You Need Is Love' song which is appropriate for Valentine's.

The animated version of the fab four from the famous "Yellow Submarine" film was too irresistible for me not to use, and how fun would it be to make Lynn and Chad like Heinz Edelmann's characters?

Lynn's Valentine's card for Chad has definitely up my inclination in designing personalized note cards especially after she posted this testimonial on my Etsy shop.

I am now excitedly working on wedding invitations for a wonderful pen pal in France! Stay tuned for that! And if you want your very own personalized note cards, email me at letterparade@gmail.com and quit sending massed produced cards that are no more special than the paper and envelope they come with!

Happy writing!

Cindy Gonzales-Kujat

Framed & Lovely

Hello friends!

My blog entry "Free Stuff Monday" last month had subscriber Marinette suggesting that I should post the free stuff here instead of posting on my face book page where I've shared ten stationery designs that are free to be downloaded and printed for personal correspondence. Though I only have 32 followers here and 272 (and counting!) on face book, I know it's wrong and unfair to neglect sharing with my faithful subscribers here. So, to Marinette and you my faithful reader, I am making up for it starting with these three new stationery designs I call 'Framed & Lovely.'

Design No.1 - "Black Flowers"
I was looking into my old designs and dug up one of the Paris-inspired note cards I did way back at the urging of my mother-in-law, Donna. The pink frame accent struck a creative chord that lead to the creation of all three in this series. I may want to create more in the same style, or create a completely different design. 

Design No. 2 - "Sea Creatures"
So far, all the ten stationery designs I've shared through my face book page had nothing on summer, and it's terrible because it's my favorite season! So, here's to summer and the countless fun memories I've had at the beach growing up as an island girl.

Design No. 3 - "Tribal"
This one uses elements that I've previously used on an earlier stationery design. I love these characters so you'll definitely be seeing more of them here!

I am seriously considering getting these printed and sell as notepads on my shop only if they're worth putting on the shelf. What do you think?

Paper Art : Charles Clary AKA Paper Extravaganza

Dear friends,

How are you all doing? I hope your week is starting out great! If not maybe I can help make it better with my FREE print-at-home stationery designs that you can find on my Letter Parade page, (there's a reason why I picked to share them on Mondays!) or you can marvel at the genius of Charles Clary.

The precision, the concept, the patience, the colors, the dept of work, the brilliance.... I can't praise this artist and his work enough. Simply amazing and definitely worth raving about!

As you scroll down to see photos of some of his previous work, please keep in mind that these are all done with paper and colored with Acrylic. Just paper, and that's why it's so awesome!

Flameobic Opulation

 (detail)

(detail)

Flamungle Gestation

 Flamungle Gestation (detail)

Codastic Diddlation

See more of Charles Clary's work and follow his blog if you love his art. I know I do!

Paper Art : Jayme McGowan

Dear friends,

I hope you are all having a great day, or night! I'm currently working on a new postcard idea, will tell you more about it soon! Meanwhile, I thought I should share a very inspiring body of work using paper(!) by artist Jayme McGowan. Looking at her works remind me time and again how versatile paper is as an art medium. There are endless possibilities on what you can do! Truly when one is creative, even the simplest of material can be transformed into something so brilliant. What I love even more about McGowan is her ability to not just make shapes but also tell a story. See for yourself.

"Aerial Adventurers"

"James & the Giant Peach"

"Oscar's Accidental Adventure"

"The Best Album Ever"

"Cloud Climbing"

Now I don't have to tell you why this one is my favorite, it's pretty obvious isn't it?

"Earl's Good Tuesday"

You can see more of Jayme McGowan's work here. She is also an Etsy seller like myself and you can purchase prints and shadow box kit under her Roadside Projects shop. If you love her work, drop her a note and let her know how much you appreciate her art. We need people to keep making beautiful things! Lastly, don't forget to write to your pals about this.

Happy writing!

Cindy Gonzales - Kujat

LA Printers Fair 2010

Here in LA, you can be sure there's always something happening somewhere between Santa Monica and Downtown Los Angeles whether you are into theatre, sports, literature, art, music, dancing, etcetera... this Saturday is extra busy for Dan and I with the Glow Festival, a bi-annual music and art festival at the Santa Monica Pier, Epicenter (another amazing music festival - this year's headliners Eminiem, Kiss, Buss and Blink-182), and Nocturnal Festival 2010 (which we've got free passes for thanks to Brad Athens of Insomniac Events). But there's one major event that I'm so heartborken to miss! It's the:

The museum itself - The International Printing Museum at any given day is a printing and paper addict's paradise which houses Ernest A. Lindner "Collection of Antique Printing Machinery considered by many authorities to be one of the largest, most comprehensive collections of historic graphic arts equpment in the world." It has the first iron printing press built in the 1800 by Lord Standhope; the second one built in 1813 by John Clymer; the Albion press in 1820; the Washington hand press of Samuel Rust in 1821........ and there's so much more! 

14x19 Albion

24x35 Washington

Columbian Press

6x9 Platen Jobber

This Saturday's fair will include over 100 vendors selling tasteful paper products and some will even sell classic printing presses. Click here for the vendor highlights. If you do make it you MUST blog about it! It's times like these I wish half of my Gemini self could materialize and be in two amazing events at once! That's double dose on happiness!

Well, wherever you will be this weekend, be safe, have fun with good company, good food and a ton of laughter!

Cindy Gonzales-Kujat

Paper Art : Brian Dettmer

If I could write to my pen pals pages and pages about art, I would. Oh wait, I think I already do! But if you saw these works of Brian Dettmer in one of your online excursions, wouldn't you at least spare a few lines of your beautiful stationery sheet to share about his amazing work?

I've seen his works a few years back and blogged about it in my Multiply account (since then he's added so much more to his collection!), and after recently discovering Su Blackwell's work I can't help but dig up Brian Dettmer whose works are also in the same medium, books. Who knew there's so much more you can do with one aside from reading or helping you doze off? A few years ago, there was a wave on altered book art and the trend is going strong. But I'll save that for another day.

In the topic of books, I am currently reading David Linden's 'Accidental Mind: How the Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams and God'. I have always been fascinated on how the brain works and its mysteries that leave most neurologists still puzzled. But we are slowly learning more about its intricacies and functions. And these discoveries never cease to amaze me. This book sheds light to new studies, correcting misconceptions and explaining in great detail the little cells in a way no other science books do - it packs humor and keeps the praising of the brain to a minimum.

Check out Brian Dettmer's works here and don't forget to write about it in your next letter out to your pen pal/s. Should you want to blog about Mr Dettmer's work, don't forget to cite credit and drop him a compliment :)



Happy wiriting!

Cindy Gonzales-Kujat