Blog

Grandparents adore their grandchildren and they don’t expect to be celebrated for it. This is even more reason to acknowledge the day and let them know how much we love them right back. 

To help you out, we've created a fun printable letter that kids can fill in and give to their grandparents. Abigail let us feature her beautiful letter to her grandmother here! She simply followed these easy steps:

1) Click on the links below to download and print the Grandparents Day printable. Each is 2 pages.

Printable for Grandma
Printable for Grandpa

2) Color, draw, and fill in the blanks!
3) Cut along the gray outline of each page and glue the pages back to back to make one sheet.
5) Orient the sheet so that the width is longer than the height and lay on its “gift wrap” side. Fold so that the left and right edges meet in the middle to complete the ribbon.
6) Use a little tape to keep the letter closed and “wrapped up.”
7) Give to a grandparent!

 

Updated September 2017

Read more

This Independence Day, we'll be raising a glass to The Statue of Liberty and thinking about Emma Lazarus's sonnet, The New Colossus.  

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

-Emma Lazarus, 1849-1887

Learn more about the poem here.

Want to take action? This is a good list of organizations that could use help. 

And below is a printable recipe card for a summer cocktail we're calling Miss Independent (right click and open image in a new tab). 

Recipe illustration for Smudge Ink by our summer intern, Stefanie. 

Read more

Happy February, friends!

I cannot believe that January passed so quickly! It’s as if time goes faster every single year. This Sunday is National Thank a Mail Carrier Day. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but for us, it's so important because we adore snail mail. Mail carriers are out in the rain, snow, heat, and wind six days out of the week year-round and without them, there is no way the paper mail service would be able to function.

In honor of this day, please thank your mail carrier! Even if you are at work or school while they come by your house, it's easy to do. Print and cut out one of our free, printable cards, add a quick message if you’d like, and pop it in your mailbox! The mail carrier will be so pleased to find out that you appreciate them regardless of how often you actually meet. Since the holiday is actually on a Sunday, you can put it in the day before or after so that they can still get the card.

You might also include a small treat like a cookie or candy bar with your card!

DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE PDF NOW!

-Zee

Read more

Hello! My name is Zee Sutermeister and I am the spring intern at Smudge Ink! I am a senior Illustration major at Lesley University in Cambridge, and printmaking and stationery are actually my two most favorite things about illustration. I am so excited to be able to work with Smudge Ink over the next few months learning hands-on what goes into the stationery and letterpress industries. Feel free to check out my work Here (www.zeesutermeister.com) at my website or on Instagram!

Today, January 23rd, is National Handwriting Day! As someone who has always loved hand-lettering, I love learning more about it and I have spent some time researching tips and tricks which I have compiled into a FREE printable guide for getting started with hand lettering! Hand lettering, from brush calligraphy to big playful block letters, is an incredible way to make a statement with words that goe beyond just the meaning of the words themselves, adding another dimension to the words. I remember writing my friends’ names in funny “bubble letters” in elementary and middle school and embellishing notes with a variety of “fonts” to emphasize points in high school. Now that I make art all the time, I have been trying to incorporate hand lettering in my pieces as well.  

I’m including one of my own pieces of hand lettering: a quote by Oscar Wilde that I illustrated for a journal cover.Anyhow, I hope y’all are able to learn a little something from my Hand lettering tips and tricks guide! The best way to get better at something is by practicing, and though I admittedly am still learning every day, I would love to teach you something myself if I can.

Thanks!

-Zee

Read more

Hello, hello! My name is Meaghan, and I'm a senior at Lesley University College of Art and Design studying Illustration. I'm back at Smudge Ink as their intern (some of you may remember me from last year's Thanksgiving post when I designed these place cards) and couldn't be happier. 

Last semester, I was studying abroad in Dublin, Ireland. One of the many incredible facts I learned about living in Dublin was that what we know as strictly Thanksgiving-leftover sandwiches (stuffing, cranberries, turkey, etc) is just a common, everyday sandwich there. Talk about fortuitous news for me! Still, all of the Irish "Thanksgiving" sandwiches in the world can't beat a Thanksgiving back home in New Hampshire. Thanksgiving in the my house is the best: waking up at 7AM to the fire alarm, setting up the dining room (which we only use twice a year), eating dinner in our pajamas, and falling asleep during the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special. We gather for the food, but stay for the family time.

In coming up with ideas for this year's Thanksgiving place cards, I decided to channel Smudge Ink's love of wordplay. We also threw in a nice little wreath and gourds place card if you're just not into puns (what?!). Click the links below to download and print the free printables (either by design or all four designs):

• Smashing! Pumpkins Place Cards
• Cheers! Wine Glass Place Cards 
• Cran-tastic! Cranberry Sauce Place Cards
• Wreath & Gourds Place Cards
• All Four Place Card Designs

Hope you enjoy using them when you gather around the table on Thanksgiving, and happy eating! 

Update: This was originally written and posted in 2015. We're sharing again now because these place cards are so darn cute!

Read more