Welcome, little one!

Your mom and dad are so happy you are here; and so are we! Three cheers for Charlie!

Confessional.

Picture me in a small, soundproof, window-less room with a plush couch and a boom mic and a camera that rolls 24/7 all by itself. You've all watched MTV's Real World - so this should not be a difficult thing to envision.

Paper Hounds' Confessional:
1.) We know. We know. We haven't been doing a good job posting pictures/stories about our custom work (*cough* *cough* -the true essence of Gus & Ruby). We're making it, clients are loving it and we're still not sharing it. Unfair, right? Well listen, pals, we are sorry. We really truly plan to write up some whiz-bang posts. It's just we need to do photo shoots of all the work and, well, frankly, it just keeps getting pushed down on the massive to-do list. But - girl scouts'* promise - we'll get to it before the official start of Summer. Deal? Deal.

2.) My nickname for Whitney is Whiz. It provides me an endless source for catchy names and phrases. You're a real design Whiz! Nobody beats the Whiz! Whiz on over here and bring me an iced coffee. Oh man - she loves it. I think.

3.) Whitney calls me Ham. I actually kind of like it. Is that weird?

4.) I still get seating cards and escort cards mixed up. Whitney does not. Good thing she's around.

5.) We really, really love what we do. Really.

Phew! I feel better already.

*You should know - both Whitney and I (separately - long before we met) quit the Girl Scouts after about a week. Whitney because she doesn't really like girls (kid-Whit was a tomboy!) and me because we painted our nails with clear polish (Lame! What's the point?) and they canceled the annual sleep-over at the Museum of Science in Boston (really the only thing I wanted to do). This promise, thus, is null-and-void.

Totally worth the blisters!

{top: oh so beautiful paper, bottom: linda and harriett}

I wore 3 different pairs of shoes in the course of 3 days in the hopes of keeping my feet blister-free. Instead, I got 3x as many blisters. So worth it! Sam and I were nervous we would be overwhelmed by the NSS, but our weeks of research on each and every exhibitor really paid off. We knew exactly who we wanted to see and even made a few awesome discoveries (see Sam's post below regarding Paper Medium). It was SO much fun and super inspiring. I felt right at home. I'm such a nerd that I am still wearing my awesome stationary pin (illustration of a stationary bike making fun of all you peeps that can't spell stationery) from LaFamiliaGreen. One of my faves (before and after the show) is Linda and Harriett. Liz, artist/printer/owner behind the adorable company is just as cute as her cards. Her booth was simple, sweet and showcased her work perfectly. I have to say I was extremely disappointed that she didn't bring her pig tags... I love those little guys. But, I was still smitten with the gorgeous work and she was so fun to chat with! Looking forward to working with her in the near future. And Liz, if you're looking to off-load some of those pigs, you know where to find me. I'll be back later with a few of my other faves.

Exhausted. Excited. Inspired.

(Photo courtesy of: Simple + Pretty)

Wow! Big time WOW. NSS was truly amazing. So many incredible designs and wonderful people. Absolutely adored chatting with the gals from Two Trick Pony. I'm a sucker for ponies, their adorable puppy-dog cards and hearty New England stationers.

And how about the girls from Sugar Paper? Could they have made a better-looking and nicer crew? And their booth!? I melted it was so beautiful.

Also - totally loving Paper Medium! Those little monsters are sweet and hilarious. Thanks to Simple + Pretty for taking such great photos of the show and having a completely awesome blog.

Sigh - so many inspirations and new paper obsessions. I'd say NSS #1 was a success. Hooray! Congratulations and thanks to all we met and chatted with - we can't wait to be in touch!

Here we go!

Whitney and I are packin' it up and hittin' the road to NYC for our first National Stationery Show. Hooray! Be sure to say hello if you see us walking around - eyes glazed over in pure paper bliss. Wonderful weekend wishes to all!

Ciao!

Bright colors make me happy

{happytape.bigcartel.com}

Alright people. Chime in. Give me some ideas. I need this tape. Not want. Need. I just have to convince Sam that it's a really important purchase for Gus & Ruby and I'm good to go. Really though. What could I do with this tape besides stare at it all day and pretty up my shelves with it? Thoughts? Maybe I'll add it to my wedding registry. A.K. probably won't even notice and as long as it keeps me in my studio working and he can watch Prison Break and Lost, he'll be happy. You can buy me some here. Thanks! You're the best.

I'm a sucker for the Crew

{courtesy of J.Crew}

I can't help it. I tell myself that they're overpriced, the website takes hours to load, the clothes are made overseas, etc. etc. But, time and time again I find myself pouring over their catalog, browsing the online sales and wracking up my credit card bill. (Don't worry, Mom. I pay it off). The bridesmaids' dresses and shoes, my shoes, the groom's suit and tie and the ring bearer's ties were all ordered from J.Crew. It's the photography, the models, the fabrics, the colors... all of it. I just love love love it all. Don't hold it against me.

Utterly Enchanted.

(Photo courtesy of Freya Art)

I am totally in love with Freya Art. I love everything about Freya's work. The messages, the drawings, the colors. All of it. In love. Imagine how happy I was when I realized that I could buy a little bit of Freya heaven from her Etsy store. And buy a little heaven I did; I found a piece that made my heart happy and is going to live in the Gus & Ruby studio so I can stare at it every day. Yay!

Also - I have a lot of strange and magnificent creatures in my life (Hi, Whit!) and I wish I could give each and every one of them a lovely little bird to express my enchantment. Ahh Freya - you totally speak my language!

Warm Wishes

(Photo courtesy of Jules Bianchi)

Lucky Whitney has snagged one of the best wedding photographers around for her upcoming August nuptials, Emilie of Emilie Inc. Emilie is an amazingly talented photographer and her work continues to knock our socks off; if you haven't already, check out her website and blog and immediately get engaged and book her. Do it! You won't regret it. Well, you won't regret the booking her part. I can't say for sure about the getting immediately engaged part - maybe think that piece through a bit.

I, for one, can't wait to watch her in action on Whit's big day. I'm sure Whitney won't mind when one of her bridesmaids goes missing for a few hours to follow around the photographer, right? Right.

(Photo courtesy of Jules Bianchi)

Well, Emilie got married last month in St. John and her photographer, Jules Bianchi, (a photographer's photographer - so you know the pictures are amazing) has just posted a slide show of the event on her blog. Emilie and her handsome hubby Jason look absolutely, positively gorgeous. The simplicity and intimacy of the ceremony and casual, colorful elegance of the reception make me swoon.

Emilie is one of the most talented wedding photographers out there and we couldn't be happier for her or feel luckier to get to work with her soon. Congratulations Emilie!

Warm island wishes from Gus & Ruby Letterpress.

Spring Chickies

One of the many pleasures of working in the custom letterpress business is getting to share in our clients' joyous and momentous occasions. Take, for example, working with new mamas on birth announcements: while they can be a tad distracted (who can blame them?) new parents are some of the most appreciative and enthusiastic clients around. I cant tell you how much Whitney and I adore presenting the proud parents with gorgeous, handcrafted cards that announce the much-anticipated arrival of their bundle of joy. It's pretty phenomenal.

Most importantly, working with baby mamas usually means that we get to hold the little ones when we drop off goods. Hooray! Tiny toes. Mini fingers. That top-of-a-baby's-head SMELL! I could melt just writing about it.

(photo courtesy of: Kenziepoo)

I'll tell you what - visiting new babies can really get my wheels turning about how much fun it's going to be when I have a mini one myself (a long, long time away, I'll have you know). If this nursery design isn't the most fab thing you've seen in a while, I just don't know what is. Pretty paper +pretty birds = pretty wonderful place for a babe to snooze.

Visit again soon - I'll be posting some sweet birth announcements shortly!