creative coffee with the movable letterpress truck!

Save the Date for Thursday, August 9! Boulder, Inspired will be kicking off the Creative Coffee series, designed to bring our creative community together by sharing ideas, inspiration and conversation. The Movable Type Truck is on a cross-country adventure, bringing mobile letterpress to our town! Come check out the delivery truck, turned letterpress workshop, and learn to print the old fashioned way. This FREE event will be held at the Common Threads parking lot and is open to anyone interested in being part of our creative community. Come spend the morning celebrating the timeless art of letterpress, along with tasty treats and coffee by Tee & Cakes for purchase from our beloved local bakery Tee & Cakes. You can RSVP right here. Can’t wait to see you there!

a not so big life

Summer is in full swing over here and I've been spending a lot less time online. I miss the constant inspiration and feeling like I'm up-to-date on things, but honestly ~ it's been quite refreshing to just shut off the computer and slow down! It also has me thinking a lot (& frankly struggling!) about how to find the balance of being in the online world and the value of turning it off. I am the first to admit, I love what the internet offers ~ it's ability to connect like-minded people, the instantaneous resources available, the beautiful blogs, a source of new inspiration, the sharing of ideas and favorite finds, etc... But at the same time, hours go by in a flash. In an era where time is a most precious commodity, the internet can be quite a culprit in taking it away. It worries me how fast paced all of our lives seem to be these days and the enormous amount of information we are constantly being fed. How does one stay present with the never-ending flood of communication we both send and receive ~ emails, text messages, facebook, twitter, blog posts, etc...? Does anyone write a handwritten letter anymore,  just because? Are our children going to know how to have a conversation in person or make a friend not on facebook? This is what I've been contemplating ~ a lot ~ and I think a huge part of why I love making anything with my own two hands. It slows me down and always brings me back to the present moment.

It feels serendipitous that I stumbled upon this little book this summer, as finding the balance of the online and real world is constantly on my mind. I've only read the first few chapters ~ finding myself hanging onto practically every word Sarah Susanka says and wholeheartedly agreeing with the profound (yet simple) wisdom she has to share. I do confess, it had me at the cover and tagline ~ The Not So Big Life ~ Making Room for What Matters Most. Sarah's philosophy is "that anyone can wake up from an overstuffed life to make room for what we long to have time for. It's possible to start living a life of full, rich, vivid moments where everything that happens to us is experienced fully, and where spirit and connection have room to thrive." If this is what living a Not So Big Life means, well then sign me up because I couldn't think of a more beautiful way to be in this world.

we heart tee & cakes

What a fabulous first Makerie Meetup we had at Tee & Cakes! Our venue couldn't have been more perfect and it was really wonderful to see some familiar faces and meet some fantastic new people too. There was some completely adorable crafting going on ~ lots of cute little flag garland, fabric flowers & even a bow tie cake by Alli (above) ~ all reusable (which we love). Tee & Cakes ~ the most generous host ~ made such delectable cupcakes and mini cakes to send home with everyone (which are SO yummy!) to go with their handmade treat toppers. On top of that, they gifted us their donation jar to go towards a Makerie scholarship for next year. How awesome is that? There was such a happy energy in the air & it was great fun to witness the lovely creativity in one room. I loved getting to talk to people in person. With much of our lives online, it always feels so nice to have a face to face conversation and give someone a real hug. We did get quite a few questions about next year and who the teachers will be. We're working on that & will be super excited to announce this in September. Stay tuned! : )

Thanks so much to everyone who came out last night to our meetup and to Tee & Cakes for being the most fabulous host! If you missed it, don't worry, we'll be planning more. Make sure you are signed up for our mailing list (here) so you can keep up with the latest happenings at the Makerie.

Have a happy weekend!

our first makerie meetup

We are having our first Makerie Meetup ~ a Sweets Styling Summer Eve ~ in a few weeks! I am so grateful to Tee & Cakes, the most adorable cupcake shop in town, for partnering with us to host our first event. There will be cupcake decorating, crafting of special little treat toppers from fabric scraps (bring your favorites!), good music & mingling. What more do we need really for a fantastic, fun night out? It's wonderful connecting with everyone online, but at the end of the day, nothing beats spending time together. So if you are in the area, come to Tee & Cakes on Thursday, July 14th from 6 - 9 pm. The event is free, but please RSVP (here) so we have an idea of how many people to expect. Really hope you can make it!