The power of positive thinking

So, I'm sitting here doing a little bit of work and sucking on cough drops to avoid having an uncontrollable coughing attack in the middle of the library. You know the attacks I'm talking about—they come on only when it's most inconvenient: in the middle of Sacrament meeting (preferably during a prayer), in a library, in an interview, or any other place you hope beyond hope that your throat won't betray you at exactly the wrong time.

But I digress. As I took out a cough drop, I noticed the wrapper has many motivational statements printed on it, which include:
- Seize the day.
- Buckle down and push forth!
- Nothing you can't handle.
- Take charge and mean it.
- Be unstoppable.
- Power through!
This has me wondering what the purpose of these messages is. At first, I thought, is Halls trying to be like Dove? But then I thought, they must be tapping into the power of positive thinking! The dear, thoughtful Halls manufacturers are trying to help the weary and cough-ridden by telling them to "power through" that cough! You can do it! "Take charge [of that cough] and mean it!"

I have yet to see the benefits of these statements, but hey, maybe I'll try "power[ing] through" next time I'm doubled over, with tears running down my cheeks, from the incurable tickle in my throat.

Beautiful things: Angela Liguori

I have a lot of things I need to be doing (and should be doing), but instead, I'm taking a break to look at beautiful things. Ever since working for Creating Keepsakes, I have been in love with different stationery, paper, and fabric. One of my favorite parts of being an editor there was seeking out unique materials to feature in the magazine. For a year, I wrote a column that featured four different products that could be used in paper crafting. We often had different companies send us different products to consider for the magazine. I remember Angela Liguori sending some beautiful ribbon to be considered, and I loved it.

When I talked on the phone with Angela, she was so sweet to talk to and gave me so much great information on her Italian ribbon, and I could tell she had a passion for book binding.

 

 I recently ran across her website again, and I fell in love with her cards. I love the vintage stamps on these:

Aren't they lovely? And, of course, I love anything letterpress:

Hooray for beautiful things (and time to discover them)! You can find more of Angela's products at her shop website, which is where all of these images came from.