New Acquisitions

Since I brought home all sorts of goodies from the Printers' Wayzgoose in Mt. Pleasant, I've wanted to test is all out.  Here are a few shots of some of the things I brought home and have been testing out.

APA Wayzgoose!

Some of you may wonder exactly what a Wayzgoose is....so here is the definition (via Wikipedia):

"Wayzgoose was at one time the name for an entertainment given by a master printer to his workmen each year on or about St Bartholomew's Day (24 August). This marked the traditional end of summer and the point at which the season of working by candlelight began. Later, the word came to refer to the annual outing and dinner of the staff of a printing works or the printers on a newspaper"

From September 18-20 I attended the Amalgamated Printer's Association's annual Wayzgoose at Printers' Hall in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.  Printers' Hall is a working museum, with nearly thirty pieces (if not more) of working printing equipment.  They coined this Wayzgoose as a "Play-goose," as everyone was encouraged to "play" with the equipment.  

While I was there I got to print on a Uni-I Vandercook, as well as watch and listen to many older printers and some young ones alike.  Overall it was not only educational but a great time.  And I also came home with a bunch of new type and equipment!  

The worst blogger ever....

...is me!  September has been so crazy!  I've felt out of touch with blogger world, but I've had so much to share! 

As seen in the previous post, Matt and I were heading up to Okoboji for Labor Day weekend.  We camped out and it was gorgeous the entire weekend.  The above shot is our view from the tent.  

Of course the main reason we headed north was for the flea markets.  Okoboji has three flea markets over the holiday weekend and we stopped by Clear Lake's flea market on the way home Sunday.  Here is some of the great stuff along the path of the Okoboji Flea Market and Clear Lake Flea Market.  There was a ton of great stuff at both places.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) my car limits the amount of purchases we can make, so most the photos here are objects of desire.  Enjoy!

Take a trip to the I-O-W-A Ocean!

This weekend Matt and I will be making our annual pilgrimage to the one, the only I-O-W-A Ocean, otherwise known as Okoboji. The major summer holidays are filled with multiple flea markets in the Okoboji area and we both love a flea hunt.  Vick's Corner will be celebrating its 118th flea market, while Treasure Village and the Dickinson Co. Expo Antique and Flea Market will also be crawling with bargain hunters, junk pilferers, and antique junkies.  

In addition to the flea-trifecta, the Iowa Rock n Roll Hall of Fame will be holding their annual induction ceremony.  The schedule of events seems quite promising and I hope Matt and I get a chance to view some of the celebration.

And for those not familiar with the term I-O-W-A Ocean, check out Wally Shoop and the Zombies here (scroll down to the bottom of the list for a listen). 

photo link

Anticipation.....

is not only a Carly Simon song.....it's what I'm feeling right now!!!  In September the Great Northern Printer's Fair along with the Amalgamated Printer's Association's Annual Wayzgoose will be held in Mt. Pleasant, IA and I will be attending all the days this year! There will be demonstrations on printing (even registering a 7 color job I'm told), bookbinding, and even paper marbling.  I've really been needing some time for myself lately and I can't can't wait for it to come!  

To check out some of last years awesome-ness (and pictures of me printing things) click here and here for my old post.

Tea and Tarts

Last week I decided to have a little lady pampering party for a few friends. When I was planning the party, I really wanted to use these vintage display pieces that I had found recently. They are kind of like mini cupcake trees, but I haven't seen them anywhere else.

I began searching for dessert recipes that would be appropriate for the display tree and thought; Tarts! They'd be perfect. I eventually found a recipe on the Joy of Baking for Shortbread Tarts with Cream Filling, using blueberries for the topping, and they were delicious!

Here is the recipe:

SHORTBREAD TARTS:
1 cup (227 grams) (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (72 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch or rice flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
1-8-oz. (227 grams) package cream cheese - softened
1-14 ounce (396 grams) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup (80 ml) lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

GARNISH:
Any combination of berries (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries) or other fruit such as slices of kiwi.

Shortbread Tarts: Lightly butter, or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray, 36 miniature muffin tins (approximately 2 inch (5 cm) in diameter). Set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together (approximately two minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour, cornstarch and salt and mix just until incorporated.

Divide the dough into 36 even pieces and place one ball of dough in the center of each muffin tin. With your fingertips, press the dough up the sides of the individual muffin tin so there is an indentation in the center. Once filled, place the tart pan, with the unbaked shells, in the freezer for about 10 minutes so the shortbread can become firm. (This will help to prevent the shortbread from puffing up during baking.)

Bake for approximately 18 - 20 minutes or until lightly browned. About halfway through the baking time, lightly prick the bottom of each shortbread, with the tines of a fork, if they have puffed up. Check again after another five minutes and prick again if needed. Once they are fully baked, remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. When completely cooled, remove the tarts from the pan. (These may be made in large quantities and frozen.)

CREAM CHEESE FILLING: In your food processor or electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the condensed milk, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla and process until smooth. Transfer the filling to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until serving time. It is best to make the filling at least a day in advance to give it time to become firm and for all the flavors to mingle.
To serve: Using two small spoons, fill the tart shells with the cream cheese filling. The filled tart shells can be made several hours in advance and refrigerated. Just before serving top with fresh berries or cut up fruit.
Makes about 36 - 2 inch (5 cm) miniature tarts.

Maybellene

I just paused from my internet life, and saw a commercial on Ovation TV for what looks to be an awesome series called "American Revolutionaries." They will be featuring some great musicians, from Sarah Vaughn to Chuck Berry (hence the name of this post). Not only does the series look good, I love their graphics! The saturated illustration on top of the black and white photo and the great use of type, its love all over. To check out a schedule of the American Revoluntionaries series, click here.

Awesome Fabric Flowers

flowers to wear
Originally uploaded by calamity kim

Aren't these beautiful!?!!! I've been wanting to make some fabric flowers forever now and I'm totally in love with these. Check out the tutorial at Calamity Kim.

Put a Record on...

Likewise, this is also hilarious. Especially with the vast amounts of records spewing from our house.

Via Printeresting

A Tiny Press

This was too great not to post!

via Printeresting