Toast

Here's a good card for making one. Created by SF design group Chewing the Cud.

E-cards' impact rising

American Greetings' download site Kiwee.com last year had more than half a billion downloads - and its own subscription sites ( BlueMountain.com and Americangreetings.com) have nearly 4 million customers -- totalling $100 million a year. The cards-to-cell idea however, not so much.

Which is scarier -- this press release or the card?

I would be more upset if she WASN'T being made fun of, just like the boys. Hillary can take it.

Inspiration, procrastination

The surface pattern design site print & pattern is bursting with ideas. Time to get to work in the studio.

Father's Day backlash

Dads of the world, unite against stereotypes -- you snoring, lazy outdoorsmen. Not longer will you be pigeonholed to a land of cards featuring empty beer bottles, ugly recliners, bad pants and even worse parenting skills. At least one Washington group (I tread lightly here) has decried the "dumb, dangerous or disaffected" label, requesting the value of fatherhood be treated with more respect.

I bought two mushy-type cards this year. Neither of my father folks are of the mold that mainstream-card USA trends toward. Send me your "loves to take walks in the woods and drink good Scotch Dad" and "is obsessed with all earth sciences and awesome martinis Dad" cards, and you'll get me. You'll also probably understand a bit more about where I came from.

Paper Cravings

Paper Crave is a nicely put together, regularly updated site exploring the paper and gift industry. And Im a sucker for a fellow sticker lover. There is no way to explain how much I regressed to being 10 upon seeing the Mrs. Grossman's booth at the NSS two years ago. I was such a visibly freakish wreck, that one of the kind booth boys gave me a bag full of swag, upon which I immediately bolted to the bathroom and tore it open. It was awesome.

A great artist passes

Alton Kelley, along with Stanley Miller, created some of the first pieces of art that I recognized as art beyond museums, galleries and what I learned in school. He created the skull and roses poster that millions of people associated with the Grateful Dead, as well as poster art for Hendrix, The Beatles and Journey. I look forward to paying homage to him in San Francisco in a few weeks.

"I don't know, it must have been the roses
The roses or the ribbons in her long brown hair
I don't know maybe it was the roses
All I know was I could not leave her there... "

The economy hits the industry ... hard

Hallmark this week announced it consolidate its manufacturing operations, culling greeting card production operations at plants in Toronto, Arkansas and Indiana in the coming months, and outsourcing some of the work to Asia and Mexico.

It's a tough time for everyone, people. Go buy some cards.