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hello there.

Well, whaddya wanna know?  Here's the plain and simple truth:  My name is Rebekah Tennis and I love design.  I love paper, the way it feels, its weight and texture.  I love extra special touches on little things: homemade tags on gift-wrap, old stamps on an envelope, and twine on nearly everything.

My husband, business partner and all-around solid rock Matt would probably tell you that he likes tools - lots of 'em, finding the perfect way to do something, taking things apart, and precision in everything. 

So you might as well have guessed by now... we are the perfect match for an old letterpress studio. Together we farm rice and have a small but adorable three-year old son, Cameron, and a chubby one year old, Lance.  This keeps us fairly busy, but whenever we have a spare moment, we crank up our 102 year old Chandler and Price platen press and pull some prints. 

There's more, oh yes, there IS more - but that's what this blog is for.  Take a look around, get to know us, our great town of Chico, California and our beautiful presses.


new cards: spring 2013

Thursday, March 28, 2013 filed: Stationery, Stationery Preview

It’s incredibly crazy how much designing, printing and packaging is going on right now at Wild Ink Press. In between printing all of our new designs for the stationery show in May (so many!), we’ve also been doing some rather large reprints for stores and shipping them out under tight deadlines. I can’t wait to share it all with you!

Meantime, how about a sneak peek of some new cards? Perfect for spring… Mother’s day, Father’s day and Graduation.

No one measures up to you, Mom. Really.

For the handy awesome Dad in your life… no one measures up to him, either.

And for that smart cookie who graduated top of their class (or not):

I photographed these in a big hurry… but I’m having fun with styling and props and I look forward to doing it more!

These will be available starting this weekend on our website and our etsy store! Just a special sneak peek for you from our new idioms collection.

So… What do ya’ think?

by rebekah

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instagr.am { the month of january }

Monday, February 25, 2013 filed: Personal

Hi there. I’m sure you’ve been wondering where I’ve been (that is, if you’ve been thinking about this blog at all. You may have forgotten it even existed.).

I am here. Sorry for the radio silence. You know life has been very very busy. And that is not a complaint. Busy with wonderful good things… kid moments, new business opportunities, hard work and new ideas, family, friends, church – I can’t complain. I would rather have a life that’s full than one that is easy (and empty). That said, I miss blogging and would like to get back into sharing bits and pieces of my life with you. I’m going to be introducing some new, shorter features, like “inspired by today” and “in the studio” a bit more behind-the-scenes stuff here about Wild Ink Press. Don’t worry, recipes, diy decor and kidmania will stick around too. Sometimes I just need to stop being a perfectionist and settle for shorter posts with less images.

Okay. So without further ado, lets catch up briefly on January, shall we?

{ The boys got a beautiful play kitchen for Christmas. What do they play with it? Chopped. It’s the most adorable thing EVER. }

{ When the Christmas decor came down, I skipped late Winter and jumped right into Spring. Hello backyard ferns, you make me happy. }

{ In early January, Matt got a bee in his bonnet and bought another Windmill. We rearranged the entire studio to fit it. Then, it wouldn’t register even after rehab. So we retired it as a venerable parts-press, Matt bought ANOTHER Windmill, and we rearrange the studio again, one press out, one press in. In a mud-rain storm extravaganza. Whew. Post coming soon. }

{ Cioppino. My favorite winter seafood. In other news, yay for Chico Restaurant Week! }

{ Boiled supper – pre-boiling. }

{ We consume A LOT of oatmeal around here. That bag is now only 1/3 full. I kid you not. }

{ I never thought I would be THAT MOM, but I sometimes dress my two adorable korean babies alike. I can’t help it. }

{ I have been a card-drawing fool lately. Over 30 new designs coming out for Spring! Now we just need to print them all. }

{ Spring flowers help me make it through the Winter. }

Up next… a gigantic double-header press move!

by rebekah

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a cottage remodel.

Monday, January 14, 2013 filed: Home, Kitchen, Remodel

What’s the month of January without a bit of a remodel? Fresh year, fresh start…

You may be wondering if I have anything at all to remodel left. After the exterior, living room, kitchen, master bath, guest bath, master bedroom, nursery, boy’s room, studio, laundry room and side yard, there can’t be anything in my home untouched, right? For the record, my office and the studio bathroom and attic storage remain on the list. Never fear, I will never be out of projects!

But I have to admit, I miss the thrill of completely refreshing and revamping a space (like my kitchen). Therefore, I am happy to share with you that two tremendously awesome things happened in the late fall: 1) my parents moved up to Chico, and 2) they bought a home that needs a complete overhaul. Can you see me rubbing my hands together with glee?

The home they bought is teeny-tiny, but it sits on a full acre in the charming country-side – yet just five minutes from downtown Chico. Not only is the home teeny-tiny, but even smaller is the kitchen:

To give you an idea of just how small, that photo my friends, was taken with a wide-angle lens. The room only measures 8 feet across.

Fortunately, my parents accounted for a remodel with their home purchase price. So while it would be on a tight budget, there was enough to completely gut the kitchen and make it a cozy, functioning space. The inspiration for the space is cottage, farmhouse, country charm (and not in the cluttered sense of the term). The problems: A water heater and vent that took up almost 1/3 of the whole kitchen, outdated and broken appliances, not enough counter space, bad lighting, and don’t even get me started on the black and white vinyl floor tile…

I have a whole pinterest board of cottage inspiration, but these two photos really exemplify the look they wanted for their kitchen:

Much, much better, right? Simple. Light. Charming.

Here is the mood board I created with the kitchen inspiration:

 

 

 

 

In case you can’t tell, my mother is very fond of yellow. :)

The cabinets are from Ikea (Lidingo), as is the farmhouse sink and the butcher block counters. The yellow penny tile backsplash is from Home Depot. It’s such a simple yet pleasing look, really, and perfect for a small space.

The place has already been gutted and the new kitchen is going in! I’m excited to share with you the “after” and a full breakdown once the kitchen is finished.

Happy Monday, friends!!

by rebekah

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instagr.am { the month of december }

Friday, January 4, 2013 filed: Personal

Be ye warned: December’s instagram recap is very Christmas-ey.

{ The Great Flood of 2012 – see that tiny red thing? That’s a canoe. On our street. }

{ Cam decorated this gingerbread house all by himself. Then came downstairs early every morning to eat off of it until I figured out what was happening. Candy for breakfast, anyone? }

{ Our adorable little Kelsey 5 x 8 saw some use at our holiday open house. }

{ Three boys – identical sweaters, not on purpose! I dressed one, Matt dressed the other, Cam dressed himself, we met in the middle and laughed. }

{ This year’s kid tree – a Ponderosa Charlie-Brownish thing of wonder. }

{ Jammie night! }

{ How I set the table for Christmas. Plus ten more place settings, of course. }

{ Snowman pancakes!! }

{ Yay! Presents!! We follow the three things only rule: something to read, something to wear, something to play with… }

{ What our tree looked like this year – believe it or not, the only picture I took of it. Oh well, it looked remarkably like last year’s tree anyhow. }

{ the fireplace and hearth at the cabin. My idea of completely cozy. }

Happy Friday. See you around the bend!

by rebekah

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wrapping it up neatly {2012}

Wednesday, January 2, 2013 filed: The Good Life

Ah, 2012. Thou wast a whopper of a year. New child (a surprise!), major WIP expansion, major international travel, two big remodel projects and lots of living thrown in between. In the spirit of of keeping tradition (see the 2010 and 2011 summaries), here is the yearly summary by month of posts that YOU, dear reader, liked the most.

January:

We start the new year off with a remodel (when don’t we?) and this time it’s our laundry room:

February:

We started to work turning our side yard into a garden, but it was our things to drink on Kauai recap that had people most intrigued…

March:

We visited Full Circle press in Nevada City, met other printers and letterpress enthusiasts, and generally had a good time:

April:

Our side yard garden reveal!! From a gravel waste land to a raised-bed, brick pathway place of happiness. One of my favorite remodels ever:

May:

Stationery show month!! We unveil all of our new lines, but it’s the ombré booth wall tutorial that catches your fancy (and was featured on Design Sponge!):

June:

The most viewed post was our 2nd National Stationery Show recap:

but the post with the most pins on Pinterest was Roasted Cherry Chocolate Cake:

 

July:

We took most of July off from the blog (summer doldrums!!) but did share a little creek walking with you… I LOVE summer in Chico:

August:

By now we were back in full swing, and the most popular post by far was our three year bloggiversary:

However, the post that lived on the longest (on Pinterest and other places) was Fresh Roasted Tomato Pasta:

September:

September saw the big boy room reveal (Finally! Only two years in the making):

October:

Ah, October. A banner month if I ever saw one. I shared about our Dinner Party for 40:

But, what could be more sweet than sharing with you that the most popular post was introducing our amazing little surprise, Eric Kippum? You guys are awesome.

November:

This month was a tough call – a split between my journey to homemade pie crust, the roll out of our 2012 holiday line of cards, and this little DIY firetruck costume:

On a side note, Cam’s Toy Army guy costume went viral. I’ve never received so many emails in my whoooole life.

December:

We wrapped the year up with the defense of something I hold dear: fruitcake. Hopefully all the folks that visited and pinned it do indeed give the 100 year old recipe a try!

 

That, my friends is a wrap for 2012. I have big plans for 2013, but they do not include anymore family expansions, big trips abroad or huge remodels (least not mine, but we are remodeling my parent’s home!!). More like: hugging my kids tighter, laughing more and taking care of what is already mine.

Thanks, as always, for coming along for the ride.

 

 

 

 

by rebekah

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{ happy 2013 }

Monday, December 31, 2012 filed: Personal, Stationery, The Good Life

The years keep getting bigger and brighter!! Can you believe 2013 is here? The blog has been a bit silent over the past couple weeks – hosting 19 people at our home for Christmas and the biggest Wild Ink Press year ever might have something to do with it…

A 2012 recap is headed your way soon, but first things first:

Wishing you a very happy 2013!!

This year we actually managed to eek out our own Christmas cards and send them to family and friends (last year, not so much). I love sending Christmas cards, and designing our own card each year was one of the first things that inspired me to head in the direction of letterpress. Nowadays, however, I usually just pull from some of our existing line and use the stock on hand… too tired to design anything new.

**Soapbox moment here** I like to send real cards, not some unsigned flat, one-sided photo-card that was printed, address and mailed by Shutterfly or the like and never passed through any familiar or thoughtful hands before arriving in someone’s mailbox. Real cards. With handwritten notes (albeit short ones!). We hand-address the envelopes and write personal greetings in each card, including a photo of us or the boys. Since folks are always asking me how to incorporate a photo into our A6 size cards (and it’s so easy!), I thought I would show you how we do it…

Four photo corners (which take about 15 seconds to apply). An A6 card fits a standard 4 x 6 photo perfectly. Or, double-stick tape, if you prefer.

Pretty easy, right? With plenty of space for personal notes.

Here was our printed sentiment inside this year’s card:

Long live the handwritten note. We are blessed to have family and friends to send them to.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the five of us!! See you around the bend!

 

by rebekah

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