Congrats to these winners:
Florida: Tona
Texas: Tori
Wisconsin: Bethany

Thanks for playing! All prints will be mailed this week.

We have some new designs coming out in a few days! Here is a sneak peek! Well, back to being a busy bee. Tax day is coming up and we have a lot of paperwork.

Here is the deal:
1. Tell me what state you are interested in: Texas, Florida, or Wisconsin
2. Tell me what you like the best about your state of choice
3. Why don’t we make it more competitive and fun? If you tweet, retweet, facebook, or blog about this giveaway, I will put your name in twice. Please leave a link or twitter name in the comment section. If you add Paper Parasol Press on FB, please let me know by commenting on my Facebook page.
4. Please don’t forget to link back to you blog or comment with your name/email so I can contact the winners

I will draw names at 8pm on Monday January 30th! Please don’t forget to list your state of choice!

Texas print, 11×14, three colors, printed on a vintage Vandercook #3 on 140lb paper

Florida, 11×14, three colors, printined on a Vandercook #3 on 140lb paper

Wisconsin, two colors, printer on a vintage Vandercook #3 on 14lp paper

My state print project is partly inspired by nostalgia road trips, Americana, and vintage travel maps. As much as I love getting my ol’ passport stamped, there are so many beautiful places and people within the states. Why leave, when adventures are just a drive or short plane ride away?

Here is our line up of cards! You can also visit the Etsy shop to buy.

Today is going to be a busy day of mailing out a new wholesale account I am very excited about and some self promo material. Happy Monday!

Looking back at 2011, it was a good year. I had a lot of trips to California, squeezed in a road trip, business trips, printed a lot, and established a lot of new clients. It started off rough with slight mishaps out of my control, but finished with a bang. I organized some Instagram photos into two collections. One is random Instagrams from 2011 and the second one is vintage signs, mostly neon signs. Thank you, Kevin Systrom for such an amazing thing!

They really don’t make them like they used to. Oh, #signporn! For some reason photographing vintage things (especially signs) makes me incredibly happy. I can’t figure it out, but as far as I know, if it makes you happy then keep at it. I was also thrilled to learn this past year that Betty Willis designed most of the iconic vintage signs of Las Vegas.

The one thing I want for 2012: Get Schooled. I want to learn as much as possible about web programs, gain more knowledge on the programs I do have under my belt, and keep up with technology. As I picture myself going into my 30s and beyond, I don’t want to be left in the dust. I know this is a lot to take on – combining the crafts of the past with the tools of the future, but I know I can do it. So, here goes nothing, 2012!

If interested, my Instagram name is PaperParasolPress.

Best to everyone in the New Year!

Illustration website in progress.

Wish me luck as I work late into the night…

The Renegade Craft Fair is by far my favorite show. Looking forward to spending one weekend at the cozy Pulaski Field House and then the next weekend in (hopefully) a sunny Los Angeles. In LA, I will be sharing a space with the talented Sonya Gallardo.

Oh, I love California. I am planning on squeezing in some movie time with Bret Iwan, attending holiday parties, and going to see California Design, 1930 – 1965: “Living in a Modern Way” at the LACMA. It is always so wonderful visiting and I am so thankful I have been able to sneak in so many trips this year with my hectic schedule. I have a feeling it’s going to be hard leaving the Golden Coast without a another trip in sight. Le sigh.

Also, I will be having a sale for Black Friday in my shop. There may be a Cyber Monday one as well, but it will be a different coupon. Happy shopping this holiday season and please support small and local businesses.

I also did not think I would like Las Vegas as much as I did. Vegas was the last leg of the trip and its colorful history, glutenous nature, and fun people surprised me. Leaving California is always hard for me, but this time it was a little easier driving out and knowing I will be back in about 5 weeks!

We hit Route 66 at a few points and fell in love with the character of the highway. It’s so nice to take your time. I haven’t had a trip in a long time where days were completely unplanned and one place led to another place. I am already planning the next adventure and hope it will come into fruition! I am also planning a few designs based off of this trip. I can’t wait to start sketching all the ideas I have floating in my head! Cheers and Travel on, friends!

If it makes you happy, keep up the good chase. Somehow, it will all fall into place.

I wanted to share two of my favorite places I have been to: Iceland and the desert. Both are like society detox to me.

I drove around Iceland, got lost a few times, went off the paved path (literally, with our rental car), braved a whale watching tour in the Arctic Ocean, (iced ocean water being dumped on me) and loved every moment of it. I felt alive. The desert is another therapeutic place. You can see all the stars. You can hear the quiet and I love the heat in the middle of the day on your feet. The first time I was there, we did not own smart phones, so the ol’ atlas was our guide through lonely forgotten highways. When I think about these times, I realize I feel like a zombie more than I would like. Why can’t I feel like I am interacting with society and creating art all the time? When I want to be brave, I think of a coach and a particular professor. Although, they may have long forgotten me, I do remember them. They challenged me and I went above and beyond. If I don’t do what I love and do it well, I feel as if I may somehow being disappointing their whole idea of me somehow. They knew I could do better even when I myself did not. There was sort of this promise of a future.

I feel like I am giving up, settling in, and just holding on for something that will more than likely not have a huge pay off in the end. This isn’t the Cindy I know. The Cindy I know strives for challenge, adventure, incentive, and surrounds herself with like-minded individuals. The well is dry. I am young, I should be the one learning, but more and more lately I feel like the creative road I was once on is moving farther and farther away. I need to make a U-turn. Now. So often, we settle into our lives and tell ourselves, “I’ll do next week, I will do it next month….” Weeks pass, months pass, and years pass and we are still unhappy. We tell ourselves things like, “This is the way it’s supposed to be.” Well, maybe it’s not. I’ve never allowed myself to be unhappy for very long and always made moves around the board to temporarily fix this. This time, however, I need to make a major move. Our lives are short and we deserve to live them how we would like. Sometimes, this means taking risks. I am a firm believer that when you are doing something you love you work harder. When you work harder at something you love, you start to shine. Working 15 hour or more hours on something you love is more important to me than working 8 hours on something my heart is not in. Why settle for this? Why not give it your all? I am a firm believer that doing something you are passionate about and love will have a better pay off in the end. I want to have the same feeling I do when I am in unknown territory, like Iceland or the desert. I want to get lost, find my way back myself, spend all day learning and improving my skills, and do what I know will make me happy and advance in my career in the future. Let’s do this.

A few things
– Surround yourself with like-minded people.
- It’s best not to listen to your parents.
- Listen to yourself, trust you instincts.
- Don’t allow yourself to come home from a rough work day and sit in front the of television. Turn off the tv, put music on, and do something creative that is good for your mind and well being.