Valentine's Day and photos of Love

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone is enjoying this day of love!

I received a wonderfully sweet card from my honey and a box of chocolates from my soon to be mother-in-law, which I plan on digging into tonight!

Mer and I shared a pizza and I had a glass of wine.

Now I am going to watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy and then get into bed by eight!

I figured in honor of Valentine's Day I would share photos/art/and quotes to celebrate LOVE!

Engagement Photo from Jenny GG

 Isn't their love just palpable?  I feel like it flows out of the photo.

Photo by Jessica Loren Photography (otherwise known as me!)

Adore this Mother/Daughter love before the wedding

Found on Attack of the Cute

Mommy/Baby Sea Lion Love.  Doesn't this momma look so happy?!

Amazing family photos from Kelly Smith Photography

Love this pose!

Photo found on Flickr from Michelle Gow

Two of my favorite things.  Cats and Coffee!!  Isn't this a great photograph?

Finally, I will leave you with some quotes...

Origin unknown

Happy Valentine's Day Lovelies!

Until tomorrow,

Jess

New Unicorn card on LoveUPaperly, Adele, and a cool craft tutorial

Hello my friends!

I needed, yes, NEEDED to show you the new card I put on LoveUPaperly yesterday.  I love everything I make and put in my shop, otherwise I wouldn't try to sell them to you!  That is a big rule for me, if I wouldn't think it was cool or want to buy it why should I ask other people too?

Sometimes I am unsure as I am making things, and then sometimes it seems as if the heavenly crafting gods come together and what I see in my head is what comes out as the image.

This happened when I was carving the new linoleum unicorn stamp that went into making this card!

This card is available on my shop for $2.25.  Believe is letter-pressed in navy blue and original linoleum unicorn stamp is prominent in silver.

Another cool thing I wanted to share with you is an awesome craft tutorial I found by Laurie Cinotto on her Flickr account.

I have always wanted to make fortune cookies as favors and I have been throwing the idea around of making them for our wedding.  The other link I found for making them was on Martha Stewart and by the time I read through the directions and the supplies I would need I was really discouraged.  Sorry Martha!

However, Laurie's directions in photos are clear, simple, and awesome.

Check out more of her photos and tutorials on her Flickr site.  Very cool!

Last but certainly not least is that Adele (my singer girl crush at the moment) won BIG at the Grammy's last night!  I was beyond excited and I just think she is so cool. 

Here are the five reasons why I adore Adele:
1.  She doesn't try to be anyone she is not
2.  She has no gimmicks or flashy dancers when she sings. All that girl has to do is sing!
3.  She is actually horribly shy and usually throws up before preformances
4.  After her album 19 she worked in the back of a record store to keep up on the latest music
5.  I love how she curses with her cockney/British accent.  If I sounded like that I would curse a lot!

Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Isn't she the cutest?!

Until tomorrow,

Love,

Jess

New Card on LoveUPaperly

Hello!

How has everyone's Monday been?

I wanted to post a new card that I put in the shop on Sunday.  It is good for anytime, but Valentine's Day is just around the corner!

Check out more cards on LoveUPaperly!

Love,

Jess

New Card on LoveUPaperly and a tired, cold, Monday

Hello all you gorgeous readers!

To tell you the truth I am pooped tonight!  I had to see the doctor this morning, worked most of the day, and then came home to crash with an icepack!

I have been working on some new cards.  I think this one is cute, look for more on LoveUPaperly.

I am OBSESSED with this cow stamp!

I don't have much else in the land of this blog right now.  Meridyth and I are planning the wedding and I have soo much work to do!  I need to start figuring out what we want the invite to say and then I need to start working on the ceremony, and hire a photographer.

Plus, school starts next week.  For those of you that don't know, I have a master's in graphic design but found my true calling accidentally when I started working for a cardiology practice.  So, now I am taking classes to hopefully apply to PA school in a year or two!  The two classes this semester are microbiology and medical terminology.

I love working all day and using the analytical part of my brain and then coming home to blog and work on my shop which is so much more artsy.

Do any of you have arty jobs and then go home and do math or work as a doctor and love to blow glass on the weekends?  I love the dichotomy of that and my life feels fuller than it has ever been.

Until tomorrow lovelies.  Yes it is 6:30 p.m. but I am going to lie down and watch t.v. with my eyes close while my body heals!

Love,

Jess

A New Card on LoveUPaperly

Hello Lovelies!

It is so very cold here in Maryland but we are also very lucky that we are not getting a blizzard like those in the west, a.k.a. my sister in Seattle!

I wanted to post a new card I made that I am sort of in love with.  Check out more work on LoveUPaperly.

I know everything I make is not going to make everyone fall in love, but the image of the pink cow makes me laugh!  It could be that I am tired and delirious, but if it makes me laugh then I will take it!

Also, I have pinned a few images on pinterest that I am digging so I am going to share them with you!

I found this lone image using Stumble so if any of you know the owner/or are the owner let me know!  It is an amazing image and I want to give it, it's proper credit!

 

 

I love abandoned buildings.  Something about the imprint of life that was left from the people that used to go there fills me with awe.  Does anyone know where this is/who took it?!  I am in LOVE!

I also found an amazing website that shows views of different cities/countries from the sky.

original source from Flickr showing Chicago in the fog

Cargill Salt Ponds in San Francisco Bay.  Original source from Flickr

Go to this website to see more amazing images from the Sky.  Looking at the world from above can really be amazing!  That color red/pink of the salt ponds makes me want to eat strawberries!

So, tomorrow is artist Friday!  Are you excited?!  If you are an artist and would like to be featured please e-mail me at loveupaperly@yahoo.com.

Until tomorrow my friends,

Love,

Jess

More Valentine's Day cards and Friday artist showcase

Hello, hello!

How is everyone doing today?  It is about 60 degrees here in Maryland which is a nice change from the very cold weather, but weird for January.

I wanted to share a set of new cards I put up on LoveUPaperly.

Four cards with envelopes to match are $8!  Each card is letter-pressed and stamped with a hand-cut linoleum stamp.  I think they are super cute!

Sort of on the same note, since I have been busy making art lately, I was thinking today about all the wonderful and very talented artists I have had the opportunity to live and work with and I wanted to talk about a two of them today.

I went to graduate school in Venice, Italy at the Scuola Internazionale Di Grafica.  This means that not only did I have the opportunity to live in Venice for a year, but I was exposed to AMAZING artists!

Greg Murr:  Not only is Greg an interesting guy and a great cook but his attention to detail and the nuances of his art are really beautiful.  In Italy he would spend hours mixing different shades of the same color, he also loves coffee, a lot!

Claire Rau:  Claire was my graduate thesis adviser, but also an amazing artist, strong woman, and confidant.  Without her, school would not have been nearly as focused or challenging.  On top of it all she is an amazing artist making strong social statements while working with a variety of material in sculpture and prints.

I recommend clicking on their links and looking at their websites which have their artist statements, portfolios, and contact.

So, I am thinking that Sunday I have been trying to do a lovely photograph (I forgot this last Sunday! Oops!), and Friday will be Artist Showcase Friday highlighting a new artist or two every week.  What do you guys think?  I would love suggestions or e-mail or comment about a new artist to highlight!

I hope everyone has a splendid weekend!  I am going to make some new cards tomorrow that are perculating in my head.  Can't wait to show you!

love,

Jess

Valentine's Day Card and Good News

I just posted my first Valentine's Day card in my shop!  Is it alright that I am kind of in love with this new card?  I might give one to my own honey for Valentine's Day!

It is a gay friendly card, this one specifically for two women, but I am going to make one for men and men/women couples as well.

The imprint of the letterpress is deep and I am digging the sillouettes!

On different news, Meridyth and I went to the surgeon today.  It was a looong drive to the hospital where he works in D.C., a looong wait, and a looong drive home.  However, there is good news!  I am healing well and he said I was actually right where I was supposed to be in terms of swelling and pain.

The doctor also said, that he never told me that I should be back to working full time by eight weeks.  My mom and I both told him, but he said it's normal to be out of work for awhile, which made me feel less mopey and better!

I hope everyone is having a good Tuesday!

until tomorrow,

love,

Jess