Red Shoes blog

Sweet Like candy......

One of my favorite lines from a Dave Matthews song ...says 'sweet like candy to my soul'  It's a line that has always stuck with me,  don't know why,  but I like it.

so it's kind of fitting that I would have something in my shop with the same name and vibe.  A soulful collection of handmade cards and invitations from Local designer

Kimberly Mortson.

Her designs are simple,  clean,  elegant,  and fun.   They are also printed on beautful Heavyweight Crane papers. 

nice.

  So for the first time ever,  I am turning over my blog to the designer herself,  I'm going to let her tell you a little bit about herself and her products!

Hello, I'm Kimberly Mortson – the creative mind behind Small Moments. After working for more than a decade as a newspaper reporter/editor I shifted gears in 2007 to marry my love of the written word together with my obsession with papers and fonts to start Small Moments.

I always believed it was a privilege to tell someone’s story when I worked as a reporter. Once I left the field of journalism I found another way to do that through my designs … by creating mementos that people use to mark the important celebrations and milestones in their lives.

My work includes both professional branding and marketing materials such as logos, business cards, postcards, banners and brochures to social invitations for weddings, save-the-date cards, showers, baby announcements and birthdays as well as personalized stationery and note cards.

In 2011 I debuted a line of greeting/note cards charmingly named “Sweet Like Candy” cards. The messages on the cards are a combination of all the quirky (Play Hard, Nap Often, Eat COOKIES), sentimental (You Make Me Feel MUSHY)  and fun (I Need You + TEQUILA) things my family and our best friends say.

I describe my overall design style as romantic and simple. I find inspiration in everything and I’m really sentimental. I love when I have a customer that hires me to create an invitation for a special occasion and my design not only sets the tone for the event but also conveys the significance of the moment.

You can find my line of more than 30 “Sweet Like Candy” cards at Red Shoes as well as custom art prints for framing and a portfolio of my invitations. You can follow my company on Facebook at www.facebook.com/smallmoments and order my invitations through my online store at www.smallmoments.bigcartel.com. I can be reached for custom design work for events/occasions big or small by calling 734.516.6971 or [email protected].

So please stop on by Red Shoes and check out Kimberly's line of cards and invitations,  or stop by her website to take a peek. 

It's Summer afterall, lots of celebrations and parties to be had...wouldn't it be nice to announce them in style?  yes,  I think so too :)

XOXO

My Dad.......

I love the smell of sawdust,  all forms of nature, and having a good time no matter where I'm at.  I can single handedly thank my Dad for all of these things.   He taught me everything I know.    The man was born full of mischief and wonder, 

and he passed those things on to me. 

  He taught me at an early age about gardening.   we were always doing something in the yard when I was a kid,  planting things here and there.   we'd spend hours and hours at the Botanical gardens,  or in the woods where he'd teach me about all of the kinds of trees,  learning to recognize each one by the leaves.  We'd poke around logs, where all the bugs and critters might hide, or hunt for puff ball mushrooms that he'd poke amazing me  by the cloud of pollen that would shoot out.   Endless weekends were spent on the Huron river in a canoe.  In fact, This is how I learned to steer a canoe,  by the years of torment he put me through on those rivers. He would always be in the back steering us extra close to shore because that's where all the interesting stuff would be,  snakes,  turtles, spiders.  He'd steer us straight into cobwebs,  where spiders would fall into the boat,  or land on my body and I'd flip out.  He'd always laugh,  while I wanted to kill him.
I lOVED being on those rivers mind you,  he taught me all sorts of things, like being able to paddle without making a sound…. but from now on, If  I am in a canoe, I'll be the one in the back of the boat doing the steering.

    He's always had that kind of silly humor,  messing with us to rile us up.  He'd wake us up in the morning when we were kids by banging on the door like a gorilla,   pulling us out of bed by our feet.  It used to make me laugh,  my sister,  not so much.
  He's always been that way,  curious and kind of naughty.  He told me stories about things he used to do when he was young,  one of them involved cutting off the braided tail of a prize winning horse. 
  I think that kind of mischief comes from an active imagination,  and bright mind.  My Dad in my opinion is brilliant.   He was an eagle scout,  and track star.  A valedictorian and voracious reader.  He went to Yale, and then to the UofM to work on a PHd in Linguistics.  The man speaks Chinese fluently.   Ever the Scholar, he  reads books about the constellations, and does complicated math problems and equations just for fun. 
I did not inherit that math part at all.  nope,  not one bit.

  I did however inherit a love of other kinds of Learning……reading his Auduban books about birds,  visiting museums and learning new words. I also  learned to make things with my hands.  He taught me how to use power tools,  and as a Man raising a daughter,  I think that's pretty cool.  You gotta love a dad that gives his daughter a table saw for her birthday.  just my kind of guy. 
  we'd spend hours in his shop when I was a kid,  He was a custom cabinet builder for years,  installing some of the most beautiful kitchens you've ever seen.  Working with exotic woods,  and crafting things with fine details.
I learned about dove tails,  and mitre joints when I was young.  In fact,  when I was little I had a bird that died. I was so upset and sad.  my dad made me this tiny little coffin  out of wood with a fancy sliding lid and an engraved top.  I know that sounds kind of morbid,  but it was so special.  the fact that he'd take that kind of time,  and put that kind of detail into something that was going to be buried in the yard meant a lot.
  There is so much more I have to say about him, but the words escape me,  go figure,  A linguist's daughter being wordless.
  So on that note, I thank my dad today on fathers Day for all of the wonderful things he's given me over the years,  A love of
dogs, digging in the dirt,  a sense of humor,  and enjoying a cold beer.  

  Simple things, but things that made me who I am today.   I am so proud to be your daughter,  I love you more than you know Dad.
Happy Fathers day to you!
XOXOXO

Gypsy Soul....

 There's nothing that makes me happier than hitting the open road. 

 

The sense of freedom I get from jumping in my car and heading out onto the highway gives me such a rush for some goofy reason.  Maybe because I feel like I'm running away, or maybe it's because I feel empowered by driving somewhere by myself.  who knows.

I know I just love it. 

In another life I probably was a gypsy or ran away and joined a circus,  in this one,  I am just living in one   ;-)

So for the past couple of weekends I hit the road and travelled 4 hours north to my friend Kamala's resort,  Wandawood.

  Kamala and I have been friends for a very long time (since Highschool) we are two peas in a pod,  that is for sure.  We are both wild women who love music,  Art, and being free spirits. 

Don't fence us in,  no no no!

About a year ago, after she took over running the 15 cabin resort for her mom,  we started to talk about ideas and directions the resort could take under her new management.  we talked about doing simple things like making new pillows,  and paintings for each of the cabins. Giving each individual cabin a little bit of an update,  while still maintaining the old school charm of the place.  We also talked about more involved things for the place such as making some of them available for off season renting in the colder months,  and doing Art retreats in the fall seasons as well.  SO many ideas passing between us over cocktails and blaring Dance tunes.  it was super exciting to think of being a part of this amazing place that i've been coming to for over 20+ years,  and something that's been in her family since the 1800's!  seriously!

  So starting last fall I made the first trip solo and we started work.  buying rugs, and making pillows,   discussing things I would make in the coming spring.

 Last memorial day weekend I made the second trip up here spending 4 days painting from the minute I woke up until late at night.

  It was a ball.  Creative ideas Flowing like the water I was painting by. 

It was exciting to see some of our ideas coming to fruition and the hard work paying off.   I enjoyed doing this for my buddy.  good for her,  and good for me!

one cabin in particular was my favorite,  It just had, by it's natural layout,  an Arty feel to it.  so I made quite a few pieces for this particular cabin called "Postscipt"

3 paintings to hang over the bed that were made to coordinate with the pillows.

This piece now hanging over the dining room table....

and some flowers made to go on the mantlepiece.....

I love the feel of this place,  with it's transom windows and open feel to the space.

Each cabin is unique in it's layout.......they are all older cabins,  but one was built a few years ago,  and has all of the modern conveniences for the people that are into that.

half of them are on the water,  the rest,  just across a private street just feet from the lake.

with docks leading down to the beautiful lake...

so beautiful

my little traveling companion loves it here

I mean,  who wouldn't .

I made one more trip the following weekend,  this time I took my daughter Fiona with me for an all girls weekend.  it was nice.

each of us creating our own thing.

Fiona was working on Fish for her upcoming Art fair at the yearly townie street party.

among other goofy things she's working on......ohmyword.  XOXO

she kills me.  seriously. 

while she was occupied,

I managed to make 4 more paintings on the second trip for another cabin called "cheerio"

a series of boats.

each one made with layers of paint, and paper

All in all,  I made a ton of work in a short amount of time,  but it felt good

it inspired me to create some other things when I blew back into town for my own shop.

 a little bit darker piece for me...kind of moodier.  I guess it's kinda like how I'm feeling I spose.

Going through all of these changes with the shop and dealing with life has made me a little bit tired and  Kind of grouchy lately...not to mention Raising a teenager, ooooh.

they're ALWAYS grouchy!  ;-)

So my pieces may be  a tad bit darker,  but that isn't neccesarily a bad thing.  I kind of like them,

and I love change.

plus i'm not THAT grouchy :)

so on that note,  I am off to race to make dinner and schlep people around.

it's no roadtrip to an exciting location mind you ,  but it is fun to drive these clowns around in my very own personal circus.

it's exciting to see my boy and girl back in the pool for the start of summer swim practice...

it's my favorite time of year honestly,  I just have to figure out how I'm going to get it all done,  but you know I will.....cuz i'm a circus performer.....I can pull things out of my hat,  or something like that ;-)

XOXOXO