Los Angeles: CHA 2012

This past weekend Lindsay, Francesca, and Alyssa made the trek to Los Angeles, CA to attend the 2012 CHA show. It was great to trade the cold, grey Minneapolis weather for sunny skies and temperatures fluttering in the high 70's for a weekend. Although we're glad to be home, after our trip we can definitely understand why people brave the earthquakes, mudslides, and crazy natural disasters to live on the golden coast. Here are a few snapshots from our fantastic weekend:



We don't have any pictures from our first day in Cali, but we spent Friday eating delicious New Orleans fare at The Grove Farmer's Market, cruising up and down Melrose, and snatching up all the awesome treasures downtown in Little Toyko. It was a long, but awesome day that got us geared up for the rest of the weekend.





One of the main goals of the trip was to eat as much delicious, fresh Cali food as possible. Originally we had planned to break down the three main meals into a bunch of smaller meals throughout the day to maximize our eating potential. This task proved to be harder than expected. As witnessed by those MASSIVE salads above - some meals were hard to resist. Our lunch from Monster Salad was super delicious (and healthy) paired with kale lemonade, and cucumber mint lemonade.





After lunch (and second lunch) we made our way to Santa Monica beach. The views of the pier from the beach were breathtaking, and because it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon the entire neighborhood was buzzing with people.





We had fun exploring the beach, playing on the beach, and dipping our toes into the surf. We also had the chance to explore underneath the pier which was amazing. It was really fascinating to see all the barnacles growing up the side of the pillars, and the light was so beautiful it made it feel as if we were walking within a painting.









We closed the day out riding the ferris wheel in Pacific Park. We timed our ride perfectly with the sunset, and the lighting up of all the rides on the pier.





Overall it was an awesome trip, and addition to our time spent wandering the streets of LA we had a great time at the CHA show talking to a bunch of great companies. Everyone is glad to be back in Minneapolis, but now we're super fueled up for our trip to NYC in May!

Paper Bicycle Printables: 'Love Doesn't Grow on Trees' Valentine

Maybe you like your romance a little more somber and grey? Then have I got the Valentine's Day card for you!



Download a full-scale, printable one your for sweetie here!

Paper Bicycle Printables: 'Infinite Love' Valentine

"Similar to my love for donuts - my love for you is infinite". If that's not true love folks, I don't know what is! Continuing on my holiday/sweets theme I decided a donut card was essential to my printable collection. Now I'm hungry...



The printable version of this card makes a 4"x6" folded card! If you print it on some heavier card stock it will look super pro! I promise!



Download the printable version here, and share this donut greeting with your friends!

Paper Bicycle Printables: 'Nuts About You' Valentine

It's not quite February yet, but Valentine's Day is lurking right around the corner. It's two weeks away, and although I'll admit - I totally forgot January had 31 days - it's never too early to start getting your Valentines affairs in order.

I thought it would be super fun to offer printable Valentine's Day images over the course of the next two weeks. It's easy and fun to share greetings with your friends and loved ones when a super cute card is only a click away!



You can download the printable version here. Feel free to share it with the world!

Awesome Entries & Winner of the JANUARY PATTERN CONTEST!

It's that time again! Time to showcase the entries, and lucky winner, for the first Pattern Contest of the new year! Special thanks to everyone who participated for taking the time to make these excellent patterns! It's always hard to choose a winner and this month was no different!

This month's topic was Food, and it's pretty obvious the majority of people are split into two camps; sweets and veggies! That's cool, I'll take 'em both!

Without further ado, let's announce the winner!




Congratulations to Rebecca Greenwood for making these three awesome patterns! They're all super cute and deserving of praise, but my personal favorite is the orange themed one! So let's call that the winner! See more of Rebecca's excellent work on her site and give her a big round of virtual applause!


But of course it was a hard decision because we had a lot of great patterns submitted this month! So let's check them out!


Heather Tubwon knows the secret to our hearts at Paper Bicycle; Cupcakes! Looks tasty, although I wonder what some of those cupcake flavors are! See more of Heather's work at her site!



Cupcakes were a popular food in this contesnt, and Anne M Bray bring makes an excellent contibution with this super cute pink number! See more wonderful work at her blog!



Previously featured Anna Rodighiero has a very sweet tooth, because pure marshmallow in fluff-form is about as sweet at it gets! The color on this one is just icing on the cake! You can find out more on Anna's website and blog!




Previous Featured Guest Emily Muschinske sent in not one but two super cute, fruit themed-patterns! You can see her work at her website and follow her on twitter @emilymuschinske. Also (and this is super exciting) she's now offering art courses!



Abbey Freundschuh brings more of the cupcake love with this dessert-inspired pattern, but she doesn't discriminate! All desserts are welcome! Check out tons of great work on Abbey's website!



Alexander Bielovich titled his pattern "Mystery Ingredients" so I'm not so sure I'd want to eat whatever it is. But I sure like it anyway! Super colors! Check out Alexander's portfolio!



Good to see some people are thinking healthy! Emily Harris represents the power of the veggie with her gardentime pattern! See more on her site and get inspired on her blog!



Whoa! It's a childhood dream in this this bright, super-fun, sugary-rush of a pattern by Tammie Bennett! See a lot more work on her site and follow her on twitter @tammiebennett!




Melanie Schultz sent two awesome patterns this month and proves a person can appreciate all types of food. From light, fresh and delicious sushi to comforting, greasy fries. Be sure to check out Melanie's site and her ambitious blog!


Thanks again to everyone that entered! We're proud to show off your work! And be on the lookout for the announcement of our next contest shortly!

Daily Pattern : Old Green Eyes

Ah yes. I can't believe it's already Thursday. How the heck did this week pass us so fast? It seems like just yesterday it was the beginning of January, doesn't it? Time flies when you're having fun.

Thinking about time also reminds me of something my dad always says:

"You get more done when you're busy."

You like that quote? Me too. If you really think about it, it's totally true. When you've got a to-do list a mile long, there isn't time for dawdling. There's only time for doing. Time for getting things done and doing them fast.



Anyone out there feel like they're running at breakneck speed, too? What do you do to relax? What's your favorite way to gain back a little you time? Traveling? Reading? Watching TV?

This is what I'll call a stream of consciousness pattern. Not sure where it came from or what is going on. This is one of the many ways I get in a little relaxing time. Figures, doesn't it?

Murder: of Crows.

It's a chilly, grey day. My favorite kind of day. When I look outside it's like I'm seeing a giant fuzzy blanket that's been wrapped around the earth. The sky is low, and everything is desaturated. We're moving soon, and Chris reminded me today that we'll only be in this 6th floor space for another couple weeks.

It's a bittersweet feeling. Change is good, and it's great to think about what is to come when we move into the new place! Still, I'll miss the view. It really is something special.

As I was glancing over my shoulder, I noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye. A HUGE murder of crows was flying past our window for what seemed like an eternity. I've been seeing them perch by the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. Looking like black leaves on the trees. Thousands of them. Just waiting for something.



I apologize for the orientation of this video, but I thought you had to see it. I caught the last couple seconds of this flock -- its crazy. Put you your bifocals and peer in really close to experience the magic. I love these gray winter days.

January Pattern Contest Reminder! Food Patterns!

Hi there!
If you're still interested in submitting a pattern for our January contest, please do!
We have a little less than a week to get all of our submissions in! Remember, all you have to do is send a pattern over to Chris (at) paperbicycle (dot) com, along with your contact info (blog, site & name!)! We'll post you on the site and put you in the running to win our prize!

So far, you've got a great chance of winning! We've only received a small number of submissions this month, so if you're interested, now's a great time to join us! Good luck and happy pattern-making!!

IlloMN Gallery Show, Painting a little & an Update!

Wow, it's been a crazy week here at PB. I can't even describe to you the horrors, and the craziness, the laughter and the tears.


A Painting for Llew Mejia by Lindsay Nohl "A night out" -- Acrylic on Hot Press Watercolor Paper


Well --- I GUESS I can... Pretty much we've been scrambling trying to work hard getting ready for a slew of things. We got slammed this week by a ton of awesome new projects at work. Some Print & Pattern, some packaging, some product development, 2 books, and some greeting card revisions, some sketches for toddler clothing... the list goes on and on. Besides that, Francesca and I have been gearing up for a show we're in called IlloMinn 3.

There are a ton of super talented people that are going to be in it, including one of my favorite MN artists, our good friend Andres Guzman.

Today was the drop off date for work, so the last couple of nights have been spent finishing paintings, drawing on Moleskines that are going to be auctioned off, and basically just tying up loose ends with Light Grey Art Lab (our new project).


A detail of his sinister face!

And to top it off, I decided to undertake one MORE project, finishing up a painting I started for my awesome friend Llew. I told him a while back that all I used to paint while I was in college were raccoons eating garbage. So here's an homage to the days of olde. Super excited to get that up there! So, no, it's not a pattern, but you can see a little pattern influence in it for sure!

Whew! What a week!

Repeating Recipe: Monster Cookies

I've always been a fan of peanut butter cookies. Oatmeal Raisin is pretty boss, too. Chocolate Chip has it's place but it comes in a distant third, I guess.

Argue all you want, you won't change my mind. BUT! Maybe we can come to a compromise? Eh? Why not combine them all into one crazy cookie? A monster cookie, as it were? YES!

I know that back in elementary school (Kegonsa represent!) when it was cookie time, I was always rooting for Monster Cookies! And not even because I liked them better than any other cookie. It was because I was hoping and praying with all my might that this time, THIS TIME, they'd look like real monsters.

Alas, they never looked like anything more than lumpy M&M cookies. Which is why fate forced my hand to make this pattern today.


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Reverse

Download the full-size, printable version here!

Repeating Recipes: Mile High Lasagna

There's nothing more delicious than an Italian dinner, and lasagna is king of foods! It's an easy recipe that produces a ton of food, and a lot of left overs (depending on how many people you decide to share it with).






Download available soon.

HUGE NEWS EVERYONE!

It's been a long time coming! I wanted to make an official announcement here on the Paper Bicycle Blog! We have been preoccupied for the last 6 months or so while we planned, schemed, organized, and prepared for this!

It's official! We're opening our sister studio : Light Grey Art Lab

The short explanation is : it's a community center for art & design! We'll be holding a variety of workshops, gallery openings, events and travel workshops for the creative community! Have you ever wanted to share your skills? Have a show? Collaborate with other creative types? Well, come on over.

Paper Bicycle and Light Grey Art Lab will share our new space at 118 E 26th Street #101 in Minneapolis! We'll be posting all of our progress on the Light Grey Art Lab blog.
Over the next couple months we'll be organizing a series of shows and looking for new instructors for the Summer months! Hit us up!

Well, that's about it! We'll keep you posted! Thanks for being there for us!!
We are SO excited!

Repeating Recipe: Vegan Taco Non-Meat

Taco's are a crowd pleaser, who doesn't love a mother freakin' taco?! Jerks, I guess, maybe. Only a jerk would dare to not like tacos.

I came up with this recipe when trying to use up the massive amounts of vegetables we got from our CSA this summer.

I use seitan for the protein but if you're not vegetarian feel free to use anything your heart desires in it's place!

Although I totally recommend the seitan either way, it's probably my favorite protein out there. Specifically Upton's Naturals. It's the best and the packaging is pretty awesome too!

Anyway, throw this mix on a tortilla with all the regular taco fixin's you want and I guarantee it'll be a party in your mouth! A cute taco party!


Front


Reverse

Download the full-size, printable version here!

Repeating Recipes: Happle Bagel Sandwiches

When I was in second grade, we made a cookbook full of recipes of things that we (as second-graders) could easily make with a little help from our parents. Happle Bagel Sandwiches are a concoction I still turn to in a pinch for a quick and delicious lunch.


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Click here for a full sized downloadable recipe card!