{letterpress} 2011 klt:works calendar is here!

A few months ago, the lovely ladies at Ideal: carefully curated goods , asked me if there was going to be a klt:works 2011 calendar with my thread drawn images. To be honest, it really hadn't even crossed my mind at that point. Being  a really small business, I tend to steer away from exclusively seasonal items due to my budget. However, I started mulling it over in my head and came up with an idea that I was really excited about. 

Now considering that my schooling is one of a "fine artist" and not a graphic designer, my computer skills are limited. I'm basically self taught. Oddly, due to timing (and my age), I was able to get through 4+ years of college & 2 years of graduate school with never owning a computer. At the time, it wasn't that unusual. I did have a word processor - that was giganitic,  but didn't have a computer until the mid- to late '90's. Ever since then, it has been a crash course in the world of ever changing technology. I'm telling you this because it does factor into whether or not I feel I can tackle certain projects in a time crunch and it was one of my concerns about making a calendar in such a short amount of time. I was sharing this information & my idea with a lovely friend from the blogosphere (who occasionally takes on freelance projects). She offered to help me with laying out my calendar idea so it was print ready! The generosity of this friend needs to be mentioned but she is shy and doesn't want me to mention her by name. But note, I am grateful beyond words.... 

You may remember me mentioning "the smile behind all of my klt:works letterpress work" - if not, you can read about her here. Amy Redmond is a designer and letterpress printer out of Seattle that I adore working with. She was able to squeeze in my calendar project and they arrived yesterday! The design element that I am most excited about with this calendar, is that there is enough room left around the owl couple image to crop it down to a 5"x7" print when the year is over. I signed all of the calendars for that reason. As a print, it would fit in beautifully with the other klt:works letterpress prints as well. I used the same gorgeous, cotton, Crane Lettra paper. Oh boy, does the letterpress looks & feel wonderful on it....

This was a fun project and it was so exciting to open that carefully wrapped box that arrived at my doorstep yesterday!  Thanks to everyone that made my first  klt:works calendar happen... particularly the ladies at Ideal for giving me the idea to make one.  Hope you like the finished product!