WE HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON

There are many letterpress and paper goods companies out there, not to mention other handmade vendors and stores in general. Add to that all the blogs, websites, etc...  and the options of where to spend our time and money are seemingly infinite. But because these economic times aren't the best, and everyone's lives have become so busy, we all have to limit our choices. Which makes the fact that you choose to check in here, and maybe even purchase something once in a while from our shop, so meaningful to me, and to Kirk, and to the rest of the Sycamore team. Because of you, we are able to make a living doing something we love, with people that we love. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

So when we say that we hope you are having a wonderful holiday season, and that we hope the year to come is filled with hope, joy, and love for you and yours, please know that we mean it. From the very bottom of our hearts.

xoxo,
Eva, Kirk, Ingrid,
& the rest of the Sycamore team

JINGLE ALL THE WAY

Here's a little video of the holiday social at the Write Image. It's worth watching just to see the adorable vintage decorations around the shop. It was a lovely party and I'm already looking forward to next year! -E

Video by Lost Childe Productions

CRANBERRY LEMON BREAD

I love cranberries. Love them!

But I hardly ever eat them.

Aside from the dried, sweetened variety and the sauce you eat at Thanksgiving, they've been a rare occurrence in my life. I decided that needed to change. So the next time I saw a big bag of fresh cranberries at the grocery store, I grabbed them. Time to experiment.

I tried eating them plain (not good), I made them into a smoothie (okay), and I made a pumpkin cranberry bread (pretty good). Finally, I made a lemon cranberry bread, and that was it.

Like any quick bread, this recipe is super fast and easy. It keeps well for several days, and makes a great breakfast, snack, or dessert. Because of the cranberries, it also seems festive and would make a lovely handmade gift, don't you think? Maybe wrapped up in waxed paper and one of these ribbons?

Cranberry Lemon Bread 
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups picked over fresh or frozen cranberries

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a loaf pan. (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches)

In a large bowl, beat together the yogurt, sugar, water, eggs, oil, and lemon juice. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and stir until batter is smooth (no need for overkill, though). Fold in cranberries and lemon zest. Pour batter into loaf pan and smooth out the top.

Bake bread in middle of oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (I would recommend putting a cookie sheet under the pan in case it overflows. It hasn't happened to me, but it came close.) Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely. Stores covered for several days. (Although I doubt it will last that long.)

Do you have any favorite cranberry recipes? I'd love to hear!

I also wanted to say thank you for all the nice things you've said about our new website. We put so much work into it that we've been thrilled with the warm response.

Also, since the blog url changed, I think you will need to update your feed. Just click here and subscribe in the sidebar. Thank you!  - E

NEW WEBSITE!

I feel so fancy.

After over 4 years of being in business, we finally have a website complete with a retail & wholesale shop! We've taken pride in making well designed, high quality goods since the beginning... but in this day and age, it seems like most companies need a nice website to really shine, doesn't it?

Oh -- and while we were at it, we also decided to re-brand. Like I said -- feeling fancy!



In case you are thinking about creating a website for your own company, and are curious about how we went about making ours:

Although I've been scheming about this website for a couple of years now, I really started researching it this spring. I figured out what I did and did not want in a site. Kristin Mills & Amy Shaffer (the creative team behind our Lark line) took that information and came up with the main concept for the site. Kristin then went ahead and designed it (along with the new logo!), Amy wrote the copy, and their friend Alfredo Nava coded it. Nicole Hill Gerulat took the product photos, and Kristin, Amy, and I styled the shots for the images on the homepage.  I did some drawings and lettering, and each member of the SSP team contributed images and links for a mood board. (Get a glimpse of Kirk's below.) I also need to acknowledge our intern Kandyce, who was a great sounding board, and helped out with other stuff in the shop so I'd have time to work on this. And of course, Kirk's mom, my mom, and my granny, who frequently help take care of our little one.

A huge thanks to everyone who helped out!

I'm so happy with how it turned out, and am especially grateful to Kristin, Amy, and Alfredo for being so committed and doing such an amazing job!

Please click here to have a look... I'd love to hear what you think!

(Next up: a blog redesign.)

HOLIDAY PAPER WORKSHOP

Stephanie and I will be folding, cutting, and gluing paper into festive little forms at The Write Image in Salt Lake City this Thursday. If you're local, please come and joins us.... we'd love to see you!