having one of those days, too?

photo: delphine

I'm having one of those days ... trying to balance work, more work, even more work, life ... and halloween costumes.

way cool: 3-d drawing pad

3-D drawing pad from Restoration Hardware

Know an illustrator? Want to make their head explode? Give them this 50 sheet 3-D drawing pad ($10) from Restoration Hardware and let the craziness begin.

new from charleston collection: sullivan

sullivan design, new from delphine's charleston collection

"Sullivan," one of the new designs from our upcoming Charleston Collection, is named after Sullivan's Island, the "next door island" to where I grew up (Isle of Palms, South Carolina). I chose the deep marine blue ink because it reminds me of summer nights on the island, and the bright crocus ink is a nod to my mom's favorite color circa 1983!

welcome, chickie gift wrap

hello! lucky "pink bursting with pride" gift wrap, available online at luxe paperie

This adorable gift wrap by Hello! Lucky is a mainstay in my gift cabinet. I can't bear to part with the scraps, so I've used little pieces as gift tags and even as envelope liners. There is something so joyous about this little chickie! Those girls over at Hello! Lucky always infuse their designs with happiness, don't they?

new jewels

"hera" necklace: delphine

"alexandria" necklace: delphine

Just added to the site: new turquoise and chrysocolla (malachite with turquoise veins). necklaces!

new from charleston collection: cactus ranch

photo and designs © delphine

Know anyone getting hitched on a desert ranch? These cactus invites would set the tone for a fun, yet chic outdoor wedding in Arizona, right? Of course you could substitute any of our delphine motifs for the cactus, or we would be happy to design a little icon just for you.

free gift tags with custom holiday order

photos and card designs © delphine

We love the holidays here at delphine! This year we'd like to gift you free personalized gift tags with the purchase of any custom holiday card order. We're also waiving our specialty paper fee -- this means that you can print any of our super chic designs on any paper we can get our hands on for no extra charge. Offer expires 11/15/08.

new from charleston collection: acorns

photos and designs © delphine

Here's a sneak peek at one of our newest designs: Acorns. Of course you can substitute the acorn motif for any one of our little critters or icons, or even a monogram. But I think the acorns are perfect for a sweet & simple woodland affair!

inspiration: trees

cards & journals by old school stationers

My friend L sent me a pic she took earlier in the month of fall Aspen trees in Colorado. They remind me of Brian's gorgeous work over at Old School Stationers. Here in Southern California the trees don't really change colors much ... it's still in the 80's at our house. While I love the "perfect" weather here, sometimes I do miss a good rainstorm and a crisp October afternoon!

what i'm missing

capri jewelry: pomellato

I think this is what my jewelry box is missing! Yum. Wish I could scoop up this pink gold, chrysoprasne and rock crystal "Capri" collection by Pomellato.

orange logos

community food & juice

10 cane rum

I'm loving ORANGE for logos--I think it adds a cool masculine, downtown vibe.

trend: crackle metallic

metallic ballet flats: J. Crew

"Soul of the Underground," by Jean Dubuffet at MOMA

Trend I'm loving: aged, crackled, and colored metallic, like these cool ballet flats from J.Crew.

"Soul of the Underground," by Jean Dubuffet, is an oil painting over aluminum foil. I stood in front of it for a looooong time. Hard to tell from this pic, but it's 3-dimensional and totally mesmerizing!

van gogh & the colors of the night

the sower, by van gogh (now on exhibit at moma)

I had the great pleasure over the weekend to visit MOMA in NYC and was lucky to snag a ticket to see the Van Gogh exhibit: Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night. I had seen some of the paintings (from the MOMA's permanent collection and at Musée D'Orsay in Paris) but never before had I seen so many Van Gogh works in one place. Walking through the exhibit felt like walking through one of his paintings--it seemed like all the walls were painted colors taken directly from Van Gogh's color palette.

What I found most remarkable was that all day I had been walking around the museum and had been confronted with sadness, loneliness and pain. So many pieces at MOMA are depressing! (Or maybe that's just me projecting???). BUT, I found Van Gogh's paintings quite the opposite. Here's a man who is known to have had serious psychological problems (he did cut off his own ear and all), and most of his paintings depict evening/night scenes, yet I found his paintings to be the most joyful in the entire museum: a celebration of life.

I highly recommend visiting MOMA's online exhibit (and of course the real one if you're in NYC)--the audio clips are great.

The painting shown above, "The Sower," is much (much!) brighter in real life. The setting sun is super bright lemon yellow and the green sky seems electrified. Loved it!

verdant

Lowcountry marsh • photo by delphine

A few weeks ago, while visiting with my cousins, I was challenged to do a relatively simple math problem in my head. Let's just say it wasn't pretty. Then I turned the tables and asked them (both engineers) to name as many shades of green/names as they could think of. They got stuck after about 6 shades. Here's what I came up with ... I'm sure there are many more out there and would love to hear from y'all!

GREENS:
Kelley, Lime, Chartreuse, Olive, Forest, Sage, Tarragon, Fern, Jungle, Sea, Shamrock, Emerald, Spring, Leaf, Lawn, Palm, Celadon, Mint, Spearmint, Evergreen, Moss, Seafoam, Grass, Asparagus, Pistachio, apple, linden, willow ...

bobcat

photo: bill hart

Here is a reason to go out for a hike! My Aunt & Uncle spotted this gorgeous bobcat in the Sierras a few weeks ago. Isn't he gorgeous?

uncle beefy

Uncle Beefy * Delphine recycled cotton totes

Merci beaucoup, Uncle Beefy, for posting about our recycled cotton totes on your fab. blog! We j'adore the love!

quiz: color hues

test your color IQ from x-rite

I saw this quiz about sorting colors by hue on How About Orange and had to try it. Totally addictive! Good luck.

pumpkins

photo: delphine

It feels like Fall now that we've made a trip to the pumpkin patch. I picked up one of these minis pumpkins for my desk for a little pop of fun color.

santa anas + screech owl = no sleep

owlivia, by delphine

Before we moved to Southern California I never had allergies. But now, once per year, when the Santa Ana winds blow in from the desert, my head feels like it has been put in a vice. Combine that with the screeching owl that sat outside our window last night and, well, lets just say I'm a little tired and cranky today.

new studio scent: frosty pinecone

photo: shopdreamy • frost pinecone candle by voluspa

One of the downsides of owning your own business is stress headaches. In my experience, a little soothing music (I go for Vivaldi, Otis Redding and Jack Johnson when I'm particularly stressed) goes a long way. But what invariably makes me feel better is a lovely scent in the air. This month I'm all about the new Frost Pinecone scent from Voluspa (available at Dreamy). Yum.

inspiration: stamped concrete in Paris

Loving the stamped concrete detail on this home's exterior, as well as the reflection of the chestnut tree in the window. The location is divine, too: the banks of the Seine River in Paris.

new delphine ad

delphine ad in Fall issue of Inside Weddings

Our new ad campaign has hit the newsstands. Check out the gorgeous Fall issue of Inside Weddings! Thanks to all the stores who helped make the ad possible:
Burns & Associates (San Francisco, CA) ••• Union Street Papery (San Francisco, CA) ••• The Envelope Please (Boulder, CO) ••• DK Schulman Design (New Preston, Ct) ••• Just Paper (Washington, DC) ••• Cheryl Clisby Events (Boca Raton, FL) ••• Sam Flax (Atlanta, GA) ••• I Do I Do (Chicago, IL) ••• The Village Invites (New York, NY) ••• Settings (Charleston, SC) ••• Ménage (Memphis, TN) ••• Swee Swee Paperie (Seattle, WA)
The new design shown in the ad, Ava, is available only at select stores (those listed above), or directly through us here at the studio.

just added: letterpress paper weights

1-of-a-kind letterpress paper weights: delphine

Just added to our website: one-of-a-kind paper weights made from our make-ready letterpress prints. You can check them out here.

politic

politic greeting card: delphine

In honor of the VP debate tonight I though I'd post my two cents.

We've nearly sold out of our Politic greeting card (letterpressed in patriotic blue & red on white, 100 percent cotton paper, with recycled kraft envelopes) but we do still have a few dozen left. Made in U.S.A. (of course!) You can pick one up here.

delphine is For the People, and we approved this message.

recent letterpress work

photos: delphine

One of my favorite recent projects is the letterpress business cards we designed and printed for Mike at Bahia de los Sueños (translation: Bay of Dreams! How lovely!). We didn't design this cool logo--they had it already--but it was perfect for letterpressing. We used offwhite 100 percent cotton paper and two shades of hand-mixed brown ink to convey the rustic luxe charm of the logo (and the properties).

new holiday designs

holiday photo card by delphine for cardstore.com

I finally finished up the last of the new delphine holiday designs for Cardstore.com. It will be a few weeks before the designs are online and ready to order. These cards are digitally printed by Cardstore, but if you prefer a letterpress version just give us a shout at the studio.