Found: Heritage Press Museum

I was lucky to have a rare morning all to myself today, and I took the opportunity to run a few errands without help. Afterward, I decided to head Downtown to enjoy two of my favorite Queen Street shops, Creative Reuse and Mommalicious. I shop at the first and window-shop at the latter!

While walking from one to the other, I passed the Heritage Press Museum. I only recently learned of their existence through an article in the local paper. After visiting both my intended destinations, I determined I would have a bit more solo adventure before retrieving the baby for naptime.

 (I first saw this text on Felt & Wire, and I'm thrilled to have my own copy to post in my workshop, printed in Lancaster!)

I dropped in the Museum and was welcomed by Mike and Bill, two members of the .918 Club. With limited space in the small storefront, they currently have two presses in use. An expansion planned for the fall will allow them to set up and use additional presses from their collection. They provided me with my own private tour, including the history of printing and demonstrations. Fascinated as I am with paper and type, I learned quite a bit.

(Yup, I printed this one. It will make a great postcard!)

I even got to try my hand at printing before I had to say good-bye. I hope to visit again soon; perhaps I can convince my dad it is time for another artists' date. I look forward to attending printing workshops with the .918 Club in the future. If you find yourself in Lancaster this summer, visit the Heritage Press Museum, and tell them the tall letter-writing lady sent you!

Found: Bamboo

On Wednesday, my 12-year-old found and brought home quite a bit of fallen bamboo from the park down the road. This girl has been collecting sticks since she learned to walk at nine months. She busied herself in the back yard for the rest of the afternoon, dropping by my desk occasionally to request supplies: paints and brushes, super glue, sandpaper. (She had already borrowed my craft saw.)

At dinnertime, she presented me with "The Mail Snail," complete with clear gloss slime trail! She chose dark green for the body since that's my favorite color. There are slots cut in the back to hold cards. She explained that if I arrange the mail small to large and back to small again, she thought it would resemble a shell. She is amazing when she sets her mind to something! Thank you, my dear!

Found: Silence Please

I wish I could find some silence these days, but it's a rare commodity around here.

This evening, my husband came across this passage in a short story titled "Silence Please" (1954) by Arthur C. Clarke found in Tales From the White Hart.

"I can still remember reading the synopsis while waiting for the curtain to go up, and to this day have never been able to decide whether the libretto was meant seriously or not. Let's see—the period was the late Victorian era, and the main characters were Sarah Stampe, the passionate postmistress, Walter Partridge, the saturnine gamekeeper, and the squire's son, whose name I forget. It's the old story of the eternal triangle, complicated by the villager's resentment of change—in this case, the new telegraph system, which the local crones predict will Do Things to the cows' milk and cause trouble at lambing time.

"Ignoring the frills, it's the usual drama of operatic jealousy. The squire's son doesn't want to marry into the Post Office, and the gamekeeper, maddened by his rejection, plots revenge. The tragedy rises to its dreadful climax when poor Sarah, strangled with parcel tape, is found hidden in a mail-bag in the Dead Letter Department. The villagers hang Partridge from the nearest telegraph pole, much to the annoyance of the linesmen. He was supposed to sing an aria while he was being hung: that is one thing I regret missing. The squire's son takes to drink, or the Colonies, or both: and that's that."

Certainly an unfortunate end for the postmistress and one of the more interesting postal references I've read!

Found: Postage Stamp Artwork

(photo: Ethan Allen catalog)

I've been hoping to add some postal zip to my home decor, and I recently found these large and lovely stamp prints in an Ethan Allen catalog. With my stamp collection, scanner, and new printer, a few craft store mats and frames, I think I can recreate a similar finished product for much less than their $300 price tag.

Found: DIY String Tie Envelopes

(photo via minieco)

I love printable envelope templates. I like to have various shapes and sizes of envelope patterns handy, but I also run all sorts of paper through my printer to save a little time tracing a pattern. These string tie envelopes found on minieco are especially sweet. When I'm feeling creatively stuck but still want to make something, I cut and fold envelopes.

Found Friday: Keep Searching

I am cleaning out and organizing. 

Again. 

Still. 

I found this envelope from Miss Sequential. 

I know when I received it, I loved the rubber-stamped phrase. 

Now it reminds me once again to Keep Searching.

Even if I don't find what I'm looking for, I hope I find what I need.

Perhaps I already have.

Found Friday: Philosateleian Post

Mucking about the interwebs a week or two again, I stumbled upon the Philosateleian Post, "from hither to thither," a private local post operated by Kevin Blackston. I forget now for what I was originally searching, but I knew this was a find worth sharing.

From the website:

 (Duck Stamps coming June 1)

Philosateleian Post is a private local post in Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America. Operated solely for the enjoyment of the proprietor and other individuals interested in local posts, the Post carries mail to nearby USPS receptacles and post offices.

Philosateleian Post gives special attention to philatelic interests, and offers several services to stamp collectors.

I have not yet mailed anything though the Philosateleian Post, but I can't wait to give it a try!

Found Friday: Yarn Bombing

This is the first yarn bombing I've been lucky enough to find in Lancaster City. 

Found it right in front of my favorite boutiques, Mommalicious and My Aunt Debbie, and just across the street from my favorite eatery, Rachel's Cafe & Creperie.

Check out this yarn bombing by my pen pal Mary Has Sound. 

(Thank you to my husband for snapping photos for me!)

Found Friday: Posted Drawing

 Pencil and crayon on paper found behind Queen Street Station,

Downtown Lancaster.

Titled in lower corner "Kim Kardashian"

(Thank you to my husband for snapping photos for me!)