Blog - Cotton & Flax

Erin Dollar

Snail Mail Saturday – Letter Ledger from Paper & Type

letter ledger

letter ledger

This week, I received my very own Letter Ledger from Paper & Type, which I’ll be using to record all of my correspondence for 2013. I love the design of the notebook, which features areas to record what topics you discussed, and what stationery you used, as well as a little envelope to store postage. I’ll admit, my memory is not the best, so having a written record of what I just sent my pen pals helps me to not tell the same stories over and over (or to send the same card to the same person twice!)

letter ledger

So, readers… do you have any pen pals?

Free Patterned iPhone Wallpaper – Broken Chevron

January Cotton & Flax wallpaper

For any new readers: as a thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with the Cotton & Flax blog this year, every month I offer a little thank you gift for your support – a free downloadable iPhone wallpaper background designed by yours truly!

Click here to download the Cotton & Flax iPhone wallpaper for January.

What’s that? You have the iPhone 5? Well, aren’t you fancy! Click here for your download.

january cotton & flax wallpaper
This month, the wallpaper background features a chevron pattern that came from last year’s collection of textiles. While I’m no longer printing this pattern onto fabric, I thought it would be fun to bring it back for one last hurrah!

This wallpaper should work for most smartphones, not just the iPhone (although it may get cropped depending on the screen size). You can also download other Cotton & Flax iPhone wallpapers here!

To Download: Click the link and it will take you directly to the image. If you are on your phone, you can simply save the image to your phone, and set it as your wallpaper in the settings area of your phone. If you’re on a computer, save the image to your computer, then email the photo to yourself. Open the email on your phone, save the photo to your phone, and set the photo as the wallpaper!

The Cotton & Flax family

Zac and Erin

I spend a lot of time talking about how Cotton & Flax is a one woman operation. I take a lot of pride in creating work for Cotton & Flax from start to finish. I design the patterns, source the raw fabrics, silkscreen print the patterns by hand, and cut, sew and finish each item myself. Taking such a hands on approach is certainly not the most common approach, but I think the results speak for themselves: it’s worth it!

However, I’ve neglected to mention how lucky I am to have a group of supportive friends and family who help me along the way. Today I’d like to thank my boyfriend, Zac, who has supported me in all of my creative pursuits, especially Cotton & Flax. He keeps me company while I stay up late sewing and printing, he helps me schlep all my stuff to/from all those weekend craft fairs, he comforts me when I have moments of doubt about my business, and he’s always encouraging me to pursue the activities that make me happiest.

Thank you to Kate Miss, who took the photo above when we were vendors at Feliz in Austin.

Snail Mail Saturday – New Stamps from USPS

USPS Stamps

I have been pretty excited to see what new stamps USPS would debut for 2013… what can I say, I’m a snail mail nerd to the core. These kaleidoscope flower designs are new this year, and I hope to be able to use them soon (there’s no release date posted yet). I’ve resolved to keep sending at least one hand written letter per week, as I did last year. I’m curious, readers: do you plan to send more snail mail this year?

Print of the Week – Margins

Margins Moon Calendar

Margins is a small print studio run by Jeremy Rendina, an artist working here in Los Angeles. He produces lots of different original silkscreen and letterpress prints, but the annual moon calendars are my favorites. This particular version is letterpressed, and can come framed in blue pine. Jeremy has even shared a little peek into the printing process below:

Margins

Margins

I love the tactile feel of a letterpressed print. Did you give or receive any prints for the holidays?