New & Improved Mother's Day Cards

I have successfully moved my Mother's Day cards to the press & now they are available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Behold - the glittery Happy Mother's Day card & the also sparkley I Heart Mom!

Happy Mother's Day is letterpressed on #90 cotton paper in metallic gold. It comes with a lime envelope. Hot pink, white or kraft also available if you would prefer.

I Heart Mom has a fabulous new look in gold & rhodamine red. No envelope liner this time - just a crisp white envelope to keep complete the stunning statement on the card.

There is also a Mother's Day special on the shop as in previous years - one of the above cards PLUS any set of stationery in my shop! And! If you liked last year's cards & want a deal on them, they are on sale - $3.00 and free first class shipping.

Check out all the Mother's Day offerings on my Etsy shop!

Paper Porn

A little blast of pretty paper to brighten your day...

Lanvin "Air Mail" from Neiman Marcus.

** Love stationery & paper products? Submit something for Paper Porn via email me: Kbatty {at} ymail.com or twitter @kmbatty **

Paper Porn

Just a little blast of pretty paper to brighten your day...

From Lydia & Pugs - Hello Scottie Card

** Love stationery & paper products? Submit something for Paper Porn via email me: Kbatty {at} ymail.com or twitter @kmbatty **

K. Batty = Wild Sucess!

{Our table - I shared with my bff Sara from Romey & Zoey Creations.}

Last weekend was the First Annual P.S. 8 Craft Fair & I couldn't be more excited about the results of the afternoon. It went well. Very well.

Let's assess...

Cards of the Week :: Fall is here!

Thursday started out as a beautiful late summer day. The high was 80. And by 6pm it was 60. Holy-shock-to-my-system, Batman.

Ok, Mother Nature, I got it. Apparently it's time to get on with Fall.

(Autumn Leaves with Birds - Set of 8 Notecards by Dots and Dahilas)

While you can get these in any combo of colors, I love Autumn Leaves notecard set by Julia at Dots and Dahlias for Fall stationery. Add to the colors the bird & leaves...which are traditional symbols of Fall...and it's perfect for any message. Know someone with a Fall birthday? I may have just done your shopping for you!

Ode de Letterpress - week 2

Hi all! How was your 4th of July weekend? Mine was fabulous! And busy. I needed a vacation from my vacation.

But! That's not why we're here! I'm back with a round up of fun letterpress things I've seen this week, around the web.

{Clockwise from top left: Thank you dear - Letterpressed 4Bar card and envelope, Hats off to you, Sir - Letterpressed 4Bar card and envelope, Thanks for Holding Me Together - Letterpressed 4Bar card and envelope, I'll drink to that - Letterpressed 4Bar card and envelope}

Fun vintage illustrations with quirky messages from Kerrie Kirtland of Kirtland House. She's a Chicago-based graphic designer with a great selection of cards on Etsy. You can see more of her work on her website, here.

{Letterpress Cloud print. You make me happy when skies are gray. - Sycamore Street Press}

{Letterpress Bonjour Art Print. French Bulldog - Sycamore Street Press}

These art prints are from Sycamore Street Press. They show off the deep printing impression that draws so many people to letterpress, even when printing delicate lines. {FYI, as a guide, stroke lines less than .25pt are not recommended. They don't print well.} Cotton paper, such as the kind these are printed on, is so popular for letterpress printing because it helps show off that deep impression & really takes the ink well for a vibrant print.

{Letterpress Lovers Club Membership - 3 months}

Letterpress of the month! Great idea! This 3 month or 6 month subscription comes from Sunlit Press, through their Etsy shop. Also, for some of their great wedding invites & other projects, go to their blog, Adventures in Letterpress.

SOOOOOO much fabulous letterpress! So little time...

Cards of the Week - Letterpress follow up

Hi all! A few weeks ago, I posted about a great card from Letterpress Delicacies {real name: Heather}, a fellow-Etsy seller. She asked me to include her contact info for Facebook & Twitter - and I spaced! Shame on me!!

So, here it is, along with a look at a few other cards in her shop...

{Super smart card set!! Letterpress Matryoshka (Nesting Doll) Card Set}

{Can you hear the Barry White playing when you see this card? Circle Pattern Letterpress Card I Love You in Pink, Magenta, and Gray}

{Letterpress stickers! Fun! Choose from 14 options...Letterpress Stickers Envelope Seals set of 15}

Heather! Great shop! Keep up the fabulous (and highly creative) work. You guys go check her out, not just in her shop, but at the following:

Twitter.com
Flickr.com
Facebook.com

Cards of the Week - Crane's Summer Stationery Promotion

Hi y'all! Every one's favorite stationer is having a SALE! {OK, no, not me - but aren't you sweet for thinking that...ha, ha!}

It's Crane! For a limited time you can get 50 notes, cards, or stationery sheets with matching envelopes for $59. 24 styles are available - trust me when I say there is something for everyone.

Let's start with a classic...

Navy Blue on Ecruwhite Correspondence Cards - a traditional, classic & timeless design featuring a 3 letter monogram. You can send this card for business or personal correspondence and with any message written on the card. Great for all occasions! If you like the classic look but want to use your full name, check out this card, also included in the sale.

Crane has certainly updated their design selection with this correspondence card - Watermelon on Pearl White Correspondence Cards. Keep it funky & write your note in the orientation seen above, or make your name the top of the card & write your note that way. Options! Love it! Simple, clean - 2 things I look for in everything. Plus I am really into these juicy colors...


...or maybe just this watermelon color? Crane designed another fun take on a classic with this card, Watermelon on Pearl White Monogram Notes. With it's lower case monogram & fun sun-like border, it's a great card for the summer. It's a folded note card this time. Do you like these over correspondence cards?? I like both, though if the note needs to have more formality, I like the folded notes, even if the design on the front is a bit whimsical.

And we'll finish with another classic. This is why Crane has endured - they own timeless & classic. This folded note - Peacock on Ecruwhite Monogram Notes - has a semi-art deco monogram front & center on the outside of the card. There is a similar design with a different monogram style here to check out as well.

This is a great opportunity to get yourself set up with a proper, adult set of stationery. All of the sets are printed by thermography, a technique that heats the ink so it is raised above the paper. Love it! You can also upgrade your set with an envelope liner or printed return address on the envelope.

So, what are you waiting for? Go!! Order & get writing!!

Cards of the Week - Dad's Day

{Dad Since 2011 - Personalized With Any Year - Charcoal Cotton T-shirt - Father's Day Sale by Pamela Fugate Designs}

Hi all! Happy Saturday! Raining here. Perfect time to figure out what you're doing for Dad for next weekend if you haven't already. My brother & I took care of our dad last week, I'm proud to say. I have a card planned for him too, but I learned after posting this for Dad's birthday that if I tell you, dear readers, about my plans for my parents here on the blog, they find out about it. My parents read my blog. They are the best!! I'll share the card AFTER he gets it this time.

So, a few cool cards for your dads...

{Father Daughter Father's Day Card by Amy Walters}

Great illustration, plus what looks like hand-done type on this card! I get that the daughter is delivering the message to her dad without any corny talk bubbles. If you're a redhead, there's a version for you too.

{Funny Hilarious Father's Day Card / for Father, Dad / "I Need Money" by Neat Things}

{Funny Clever Father's Day Card / for Father, Dad / "Best or Worst Dad Ever" also by Neat Things}

ROTFLMAO! These 2 cards by Neat Things from Denver, CO are great. Normally I do not send serious cards & the funny ones these days are seriously pushing the cheesey limit. But, these...there is not a block of cheese in site. Just good ol' laughs. And there are more good ones in their shop.

{Letterpress Notecard - Father's Day by Presse Dufour on the left, Father's Day Letterpress Card by Parrot Design Studio on the right}

Unless this is your first time reading my blog, you know I have to get some letterpress in here somewhere. The card on the left, by Karen Dufour of Presse Dufour, looks very manly, with vintage illustrations on kraft paper. On the right, by Parrot Design Studio, this more modern card is for a preppier dad (or card giver) with its swanky chevron print. Love the gray with the chartreuse!

Usually putting this post together takes a while. Searching the internet for cards in whatever theme I've concocted for the week is sometimes a pill - but not this week. Tons of great stuff on Etsy. So much so that this week I didn't even look anywhere else. Check out my search here if you're interested in more.

Hope you're having a great weekend! If you're in Brooklyn & don't mind the rain, head to McCarren Park for the Renegade Craft fair!

PS How fun is that T at the top??

Cards of Last Week

Hi readers! Last week I didn't get my Cards of the Week post up. Shame on me, I know. To get back on track, I have 2 posts planned - the first kicking off thus:

K. Batty Rescues Mother's Day

Two weeks ago my cousin, Kate, asked if I could help out by designing 3 sets of stationery for gifts for Mother's Day. "Do we have time?" she asked, fretfully. "Yes!!" I said, "but we must act quickly!"

And so we did...Designs were decided on within the week. Orders placed. Orders arrived, checked, assembled & forwarded to my cousin for gifting. All in the span of a week & a half. It was Operation Custom Stationery-In-The-Blink-Of-An-Eye. She was thrilled, her "moms" were all in love with their gifts & I was so excited to be able to get the job done for her.

{M for Marie, her grandmother, left, with pink lemonade envelopes.
ABH for her mom, right, with sno cone envelopes to match the stripe detail on the card.}

{A triple monogram for her mother-in-law, in periwinkle with envelopes in banana split, left.
All the colored envelopes to match each set, right.}

Have I said how much I love colored envelopes these days? Not that I ever disliked them, quite the opposite. Maybe I am just finding myself more comfortable with mixing them into the design. Hmmm...

So you see, I was working hard on these & COTW had to be put off. I'm good at being busy, but I can't always "do it all." Though, God knows, I try. Oh! Good news! I have been asked to do another project with my cousin - look for our collaboration on bridal shower invitations.

Yippee!!

Cards of the Week - A Quick Study

{Hi Sewn Card (3) by A Quick Study}

Happy Friday! This week COTW will focus on ONE person - meet Zoe of A Quick Study.

Zoe is a fellow exhibitor on PaperNStitch & as I was going through the shops last month, looking for material for the COTW post, I found her. I wanted to post every card she makes. Hello?! Did you see that first picture? It's a hand embroidered hi! It's adorable. Check a few others out and then we'll hear from Zoe!

{Zig Zag Running Stitch Sewn Card (single)}

{Thanks Sewn Card (3)}

I could post her card collection here. No lie. Like this card...and this card...and how about her notebooks??

But, let's get to our guest. Zoe!

I’m Zoe, mom of two very little boys and multi-faceted designer. By day, I design curricula and professional training for new teachers, and by (late at) night, I design branding, graphics, web sites, and of course embroidered and block printed/ stamped paper goods.

How & when did you start making hand made crafts?

I’ve been crafting forever, and actually first learned hand embroidery from my elementary school librarian, but I started doing hand-embroidered paper only within the last 6 months or so. I sort of stumbled upon it by accident. I spend a lot of time on the phone for my day job, and I have a hard time focusing unless I can keep my hands busy. I started poking a pattern into an index card using a pin, which led to the idea of embroidering the pattern. I loved the resulting textures and patterns, plus the sort of mathematical process of figuring out the holes required for each design, and it just exploded from there!

That sounds like fun! I get why you love it. What will we find in your Etsy shop?

My Etsy store, I think like most, is a continual work in progress. I currently sell my card line and my embroidered notebooks, and am continually thinking about new designs to add to those products. I’m also in the prototyping phase for a bunch of related but different products tending more towards the home goods realm. I like to think my products make life a little more genteel and refined while staying modern and fun, so you’ll see products that are geared towards classic activities like letter writing using traditional stitches but executed in bright, modern colors and blown up to emphasis the geometry of the designs.

I love what I'm hearing! Can't wait to see what's next! What is something we won't learn from reading your Etsy profile?

My dad is a master carpenter and furniture maker - he makes really beautiful custom furniture and is also great at home carpentry like cabinet making. I grew up listening to the whine of powerful saws in his garage workshop and playing with scrap wood. I think I get a lot of my crafty tendencies from him, along with a love of power tools (especially my compound miter saw).

Last but no least, who do you {heart} on Etsy?

There are so many! One of my longest-standing favorites is YellowMonday - I have three of her prints in my house and I just love them. I also love AmandaGentry but haven’t been able to justify buying any of her ceramics yet, although I drool over them regularly.

I hope you guys will go check out Zoe on PNS & especially on Etsy. She also has a blog! All kinds of subjects covered - crafts, time management...something I bet she is great at with little ones running around, a full time job AND her hand made business, blog, twitter, etc, etc, etc... Zoe, my hat off to you girl.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Cards of the week - Bunnies

This week I have been combing the internet for cool cards with bunnies on them. Not just your garden variety Easter card, but something else...Bunnies with a twist.

{Keep Calm Bunny Greeting Card by African Grey}

Here is a new take on an old design, by African Grey on Etsy. The Keep Calm and Carry On message {and countless knock-offs of it} have literally been seen everywhere. I don't know what it is, but I love to see this cute little bunny there, holding the poster. It actually makes me feel calmer, just looking at him. So cute.

{Mr. Bunny Notecards by Bubbledog}

This little guy is cool. Maybe it's his tie. He's a kind of hipster bunny. I like that it's all in orange, brings in that carrot reference we see so often with rabbits. Bubbledog has a great shop if you like this little character. I'm crushing on her Happy Spouting Whale t-shirt.

{Rabbit Family Note Set by Zoetrope}

Fun family card! This would be great to send for thank yous or just a quick "hi from the group" type message. The good news is they are on sale! The bad news is that Zoetrope is discontinuing them. But no worries, if you miss these there are several other great cards in her shop. I'm digging these and these.

That's it for this edition of Cards of the Week! Hope everyone has a great weekend & a lovely Easter. May you find all the Easter eggs you basket can hold!

I Heart Moms

And now you can too :)

Presenting, from the K. Batty Etsy Shop: I heart Mom Mother's Day Greeting cards in 2 color combinations - teal with red & navy with gold. PLUS! Since Mother's Day is closing in on us, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on them.

{I heart Mom - Teal & Red}

{I heart Mom - Navy & Gold}

Both color combinations have matching envelope liners inside white envelopes, are 4.25 x 5.5 folded & are blank inside for your message.

In past years I have had a hard time finding a card for my mom that wasn't super cheesey. So! I pulled out my sketchbook & went to work. I'm really glad to have these beauties ready for sale in my Etsy Shop...What do you think? Do you heart them??

Don't forget, there are also lots of great personalized gift ideas in my shop for Mom!

Cards of the week - Pink.

Hey Sports Fans! It's Friday, so you know what we are talking about on the blog today...Cards of the Week of course. As I teased earlier, this week's color is pink!

None of them are from Etsy this week. Shocked?! I was inspired by a Real Simple article, showing off cards from 12 online retailers...one of course was Etsy. Several other popular sites were listed, but these posts come from 3 new ones to me. Check out the article here for the others, which were all fabulous as well.

{Sorry, I F-ed Up, on RedStamp.com}

Sorry I F-ed Up by Whimsy Press, in Atlanta, GA, that I found on RedStamp.com. How funny is that???? And usually when you send an "I'm sorry" card, isn't that exactly what you're saying?

Red Stamp might be my favorite new site, card-wise. AND they have an iPhone app to send e-greetings which I snagged. **People in my address book beware! I will be sending you cute, stylish e-cards via text or email!**

{Hey Ladies, on GreerChicago.com}

Greer Chicago was also new site to me. I could spend hours on their site. They carry this fun fill-in invitation called Hey Ladies, by Snow & Graham, in the windy city, Chicago, IL. I hope you are familiar with Snow & Graham. If not - go check them out...when you are done here, that is...

{Madeline Congrats, on Broadway Paper.com}

Thirdly, we have Broadway Paper with this Congratulations card by Smock Paper, in Syracuse, NY. Again, if you are not familiar with Smock Paper, they are worth the time browsing their site - as is Broadway Paper.

What I am astonished by is that I saw that each site carries some of the same card makers, but didn't buy any of the same designs! Amazing! I hope you'll give these card makers some love by going by their websites for a look-see.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday!!

{Image courtesy of Veer}

Today is my dad's 70th birthday. You would never know it. It's shocking, really, that the man is 70. Saturday was his younger brother's birthday. Both of them are at an age & stage that if they want or need something, they buy it. So, what's a girl to do for their special day??

Why, make them stationery of course!

{Ta-da!}

I've just tried out a new online printer with my fab Ahoy cards. The results are perfect so I boxed them up for Pops & my uncle, pairing them with colored envelopes this time, instead of my usual envelope liners. All of my family members have a love for 2 things - sailing & horses - so I know these will be a hit.

Thoughts?? Me likey.

Cards of the week - Blue

It's Friday, so that means it's time for Cards of the Week. Today I'm all about blue. Kind of reflecting my mood today. Calm, but a bit bummed out. Can't really put my finger on why...

This is Skyline - a really fun letterpress card from Paper Source. I think this is a cool, flat card. There is a picture in my head of who sends this card - someone chic, who always knows a cool, laidback place to get well-made cocktails.


This one, Chinoiserie Navy, from Boatman Geller is also chic, but in a different way. In my head the person sending this has a gin & soda in one hand, their Sperry Topsiders in the other, a copy of The Preppy Handbook on the table. Not overly preppy, just great taste!

Lastly this week, another from Paper Source, called Lake Dots. This reminds me of the song Yellow Polka Dot bikini...just in blue. It feels more retro than preppy due to the size & organization of the dots. It's kind of hypnotic...

Running out the door! Have a great weekend all!!

Cards of the week - Green!

Last night I had a crazy dream. Everything was mustard yellow. Odd but I took it as sign from my subconscious.

This month each Card of the Week post will revolve around a color! And because St. Patrick's Day will be here before you can say "leprechaun" we'll start with green.

Love the type treatment on this card from Itsy Bitsy Paper. And! The matching envelopes, which are a little extra, really complete the look. Very nice!


Look at all these greens! Delightfully Noted has created a fun & festive St. Patrick's Day card.


How about these traditional cards from The Zesty Desk? They can be sent for any reason (or none at all!) & would be great for kids. Teach those young 'uns to write thank yous!


Have a great weekend!!!

Cards of the week - Take me to the beach...

Hellllllllooo!! After last week's warm spell here in Brooklyn & pouring over pictures from our Barbados trip on Facebook, I can't stop dreaming about the beach. Hence! This weeks cards of the week theme: the beach.

Simple & nicely printed, this starfish note card from Petite Paperie can be delivered on your choice of paper.


Unusual color combo with the gold & burgandy, but it goes very well with the sea foam & green. Great vintage-y illustration of the seahourse. These cards are from Skel Design.



LOVE these vintage-inspired note cards from Jacquelyn Vaccaro with different sea shells on each one. The worn look is fabulous, as is the brown in she printed in. Nice & elegant, but relaxed at the same time.




And lastly, these are handmade PLAYING CARDS! How freakin' fun are these?? I'll tell ya - really fun! They are by Leah Mackin Dot Com. The item listing on Etsy shows a suit from the deck. Each has a different ocean creature.

Until next time, everyone have a great weekend!