The L Letterpress is now shipping; I have not yet received mine. A girlfriend of mine found hers in store at one of the big box craft stores – and used a coupon. Rock on!
Here’s a video demonstration of the L Letterpress in action:
Stay tuned for my tutorial on making your own plates! I’ve made plates for custom embossing and polymer clay projects. I’m just waiting for my supplies to come in so I can shoot step-by-step instrux.
Tony, the webmaster from Lifestyle Crafts, updated us today on a few questions our readers had about the machine
Lisa asked what printing plates the machine comes with:
@Lisa – I’m looking at the Letterpress packaging right now, and seeing that the printing plates include 3 shapes: two of which are kind of flower-like, and the other is kind of a thin, border-type flourish.
It also contains 5 phrases: “Happy Birthday” in a cursive font, “Thank You” in a sans-serif font, “I Love You” in a slightly serif font, “for you” in a bolder cursive, and “Hello” in the same font as “Thank You”.
Tonya wanted to know if the machine would be available at her favorite big box stores:
@Tonya – I have heard all three of these names tossed around the office quite a bit in Letterpress-relevant discussions. I would imagine that eventually all 3 will be carrying the tool, as it is planned to be available in large chain stores, although I don’t know what the plans are for it when it first is released.
And, finally, Tony volunteered the scoop on the delivery status:
The tool was delayed somewhat by the overseas manufacturer, but is scheduled to arrive here VERY soon, so be looking for this as a potential Christmas gift. I know I am strongly considering it for my wife.
Back in February, I reviewed the Epson Artisan 800 printer. At the time I gave it a positive review and, admittedly, it was a really good printer – for a few months.
While I once loved this printer, it is now so problematic that I can no longer give it a recommendation. Here’s why:
For what the retail price is on this unit I expect better quality, especially from Epson whose products I’ve been very pleased with in the past. This one simply disappoints after less than a year in use.
As I often mention in these pages I am a hopeless gadget queen. If it’s new, bright and shiny I gotta get my hands on it because I’m always on the hunt for cool tools that make the lives of us creative (and not-so-creative) types much easier.
The swell folks at Envelopments sent me their new tool called JIGster. A jig, for those of you not familiar with the term, is a guide to help with exact placement of objects. In the case of the JIGster it helps invitation designers (that’s you!) perfectly align layers of paper/cardstock for each and every invitation you create.
I adore this tool. Seriously, this is on my top 10 list of all-time favorite craft tools. I create several hundred (thousands? yeah, probably) of layered invites, programs, menus, and other papery goodness every year so I can say with some authority how much trying to get uniform alignment really sucks. The JIGster made a recent project a total no-brainer and cut down production time significantly. My crafting minutes are very limited these days so that in and of itself made the tool totally rock in my book.
The JIGster allows you to create standard border widths (the amount of area showing between the edges of the layers) of 1/8”, 1/4”, 3/8” , 1/2”, 3/4”, and 1”. The unit itself is pretty compact, about 12″ x 12″, making it easy to store in your craft space. It’s made of heavy plastic, is easy to use, and will last forever.
The price for this baby is $69.95. In my estimation it’s well-worth the price for the quality, ease of use, and functionality. Buy here.
Check out a video of the JIGster in action.
{Disclaimer: Per FTC guidelines, it is my duty to mention that Envelopments sent me this product for review without charge. No money was exchanged for this review and the content of the review reflects my personal and honest opinion about the merits of the product.}
Have you ever wanted to make your handwriting into a font? There are a number of sites online that allow you to upload samples of your handwriting and they’ll turn into a TrueType font for a fee. The cool thing is that you can create your own dingbats, too. Check out: Fontifier $9.00 HandFont $249.00 YourFonts $9.95 FontCapture {FREE} FontsForPeas {FREE}
We receive a lot of questions about where to buy bulk wedding flowers online. Here’s our 2009 resource guide. Happy shopping!
Abaco Flowers
Amazonia Flowers
American Floral Distributors
Blooms By The Box
Brides N Blooms
Bridesign
Farms To Go
Fifty Flowers
The Flower Exchange
Flowers and Freshness
Flowerbud.Com
FlowersGrowers.Com
Fresh Rose Petals
Global Rose
Grower’s Box
JR Roses
Lola Blooms
More Than A Bunch
MyFlowerBuyer.Com
Pacific Bulk Flowers
Pacific Callas
RoseSource.com
Sam’s Club
Sun King Wholesale
Whole Blossoms
Wholesale Wedding Flowers
2G Roses
Hey DIYers,
Michelle from Lifestyle Crafts responded to our questions about the L Lettepress Machine.
Thanks for your comments and interest in our new product line! I thought I’d answer a few of your questions…
…our printing plates come with an double-sided adhesive sheet that is used to adhere the plates to the L Letterpress tool so you can print as many plates as you’d like at one time.
…the current alphabet printing plate designs are designed to be used as monograms. You could of course use them to spell a word or name but the size and design probably functions best as a monogram.
…the other printing plate skus available all contain a variety of phrase dies that work well for many different occasions
…we are going to offer a custom program that will be announced very soon! This will allow you to create your own words, phrases designs etc.
I’m totally excited about their custom program! Can’t wait to hear more. And, yeah, I pre-ordered mine this afternoon. 
Have I confessed my love of letterpress here yet? As some of you may know, I run another blog called I Love Letterpress (not updated frequently). I recently posted about a soon-to-be released product called the L Letterpress machine by Lifestyle Craft and just had to share the info here, too. The L Letterpress is a kit that is used in conjunction with the Epic Six Tool (a die cut and embossing machine). {The Entire Kit} 
I love using chalkboard paint for DIY wedding projects (check out the votive seating “card”). Until now it’s only been available in black or that weird shade of green, while ok for some motifs and projects, aren’t the ideal for coordinating with most wedding color schemes. Thanks to Hudson Paint, chalkboard paint, is now available in 24 colors! {Queue my girlish squeals of delight here.} Quart cans are only $7.00 making chalkboard goodness within the reach of most DIYers.
Australian paper designer Cristina Re has long been the first go to place for beautiful paper designs and accessories. With a large range of lustre papers, embossed papers, fasteners, papers and coordinates, there’s always something just right for your wedding stationery. 
Boudoir Blue is a great choice for a stylish summer gala. Guests arriving to jazz and cupcakes, parasols to shade from the sun and bunches of English country roses. 
Edwardian Mocca evokes memories of chocolate and warmth. An Autumn wedding, surrounded by crackling fires and dimly lit lamps, bouquets of dark toned flowers with autumn leaves. Lace veils and hot chocolate served at the ceremony. 
Enchanted Birds is suited to a spring wedding. I see birds on top of cakes, vintage style fabrics, bouquets of soft pink peonies. Big hair flowers and mismatched bridesmaids, a best friend playing guitar to your favourite melody and the wind whipping through the gum trees. 
Geisha Blossom reminds me of a styled, feminine wedding. Sweet treats like individual gingerbread cookies and shortbreads, paper cranes on tables. Vivid red gowns, bouquets of orchids with roses intertwined. A ceremony surrounded by blossoms with soft pretty petals falling over reception tables. Cristina Re Papers are available from selected stockists http://www.cristinare.com/ Ms. Polka is the creative force behind one of my all-time favorite blogs, Polka Dot Bride.
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