busy as a bee

and, that's a VERY good thing! here's a glimpse of the goods that have been churning out of the workshop lately. i like posts like this; they're little pick-me-ups for me and proof to mr. man that i am actually working all day (my tan tends to raise questions around here. pshaw!)

i'd also like to take this time to thank all of you, my three readers, for all your support. when you tell me things like 'you're the best' and 'the world sucked when you weren't doing this', it is like a jolt for the self-esteem. i know i say it all the time, but you'll NEVER, never, ever know how much y'all coming back time and time again means to me. i love ya, man!

ok, enough mushy gushy. behold the latest and greatest.

we've had weddin's

babies being born (can we talk about how cute this is?! mama painted this hooty-cute owl art for baby's room, and i knew it had to be his announcement! LOVE it!)

babies being celebrated (oh, just you wait til you see all this stuff come together!)

babies being welcomed

people on the move

goods to be sold

and gifts to be given (i sure hope the farmer isn't readin' this, cause this is what i'm tuckin' in my suitcase for his birfday. maybe one day i'll tell ya all about their farm. or, you could just go to his blog and read first-hand. yea, do that. i'd get everything wrong anyway)

Surf's Up

one of my sisters from another mister added a bambino to her brood in june, and i thought and thought about what gift to give. checked the registry, added things to the cart, then promptly emptied the cart, deciding instead to gift them announcements made by moi. that's a good gift, right?

since mama's hawaiian, we had to bring some'a that flair to the cards. especially since this was big brudda's announcement three years ago:

i was thinking retro-ish, surfer sign-y, and luckily mama was on board, and even sent pictures of baby in a surfer shirt! so, this is what we came up with:

see the surfboard in the corner? and, the wooden "sign" feel? how it looks like the words are carved into the sign? i was so excited his shirt was turquoise and orange, because those were the exact colors i had in mind.

just another perfect example of how awesome custom is. ain't nobody else gonna have this announcement. insert the hawaiian phrase for too cute here!

A Little Site Updatin'

DISCLAIMER: y'all! i've been without internet for 3 days. 3 DAYS! whoa. ok. breathe. i've had to surf the web on my phone (which is awesome, but...). can you imagine how horrible this was? ok, i'm being a little overly dramatic, but wanted you to know this was 'posta be a friday entry, but instead, it's a monday entry. carry on.
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sooooo, i've been kinda neglecting the old website. since i spend so much time over here telling you about all the workshop goodies, i tend to forget i need to update the site. whoopsie.

well, i'll neglect her no more. i promise. until i do neglect her again. but, anyhoodle...

when you check her out, here's what you'll see:

that's right! i'll be selling the goods in my first street fair in a few weeks. (kinda why i'm sprucin' up the site.)

and, i've updated the portfolio page. there's now a moving announcement link, since those were a bit lost before. and, there's now a gift section, because they've never been added to the site, and i know some people have been looking for them.

you'll also notice each section is broken out into sub-sections, because i know it was tedious to scroll through all the designs just to see save the dates, for example.

when you click on the sections, you'll see pages like this:

and this:

you'll know where you are, too, because whatever page you are on will be highlighted in red text. and, the image depicting each section will stay on the left side of each page.

so, let me know what you think - if there are any broken links, etc. i checked and checked and checked again, but my brain hurt, so it's quite possible something got lost in translation. especially since the webster went down in the middle of my updates. sheesh.

on that note, happy monday! mr man and i have elected to start having 'meatless mondays' where our dinner is of the vegetarian variety (sisty, you so proud?). last monday, i made this and these for dessert (and several brekkies after). tonight, it's mongolian bbq (no recipe for that - just throw veggies in a pan with sesame oil, red pepper flakes, garlic and soy sauce and serve over pasta).

ok - go. check out the site. order something. make a meatless monday meal.

Pomp & Circumstance

as shocked as i am that we're steam-rolling through 2011, i'm here to tell you it's time to get those graduation invites ordered. for college, high school, heck even kindergarten.

the school invites are bo.ring, so order up something custom. We can slap a picture (or 5) on it, invite friends to a celebration after the big ceremony, tell your nearest and dearest what life after graduation holds. Whatever - it's custom, you know.

i just whipped up invites for baby sister's college gradjuration. see how cute they can be?

and, once all those awesome gifts ($$$) come rolling in, you'll have the perfect matching thank you note to send.

and, just so you know, yes, the waterworks flow every time i hear pomp and circumstance.

May I Take Your Order?

Time to order Holiday Cards. I know, I know, you're still deciding what costume to wear Trick or Treating, but Thanksgiving's like next week, and those December holidays and parties are right after that.

So, do yourself a favor, order your holiday cards. You don't have to know what picture you're using yet, just place the order. Tell me what look you might be going for (if you're having photos taken), styles or colors you might like, or just tell me to wing it. I get lots of those "wing it" requests. You guys like to make me work. If only flexing creative muscles burned more calories...

I've put together a little montage of some of last year's favorites. Maybe you'll see something you like here, or get an idea for style or color.

Remember, all my cards are double-sided, which is a great way to fit a brief Holiday letter on your card.

And, holiday cards are great for doing double duty, like announcing a new baby.

Or, updating people's address books.

And, if you aren't really into sending pictures to everyone in your address book, that's no problem.

Drop me a line if you're ready to order. I've got some orders going, in case you were nervous about being first in line!

Recently

Some days I feel like I don't get much done, and then I stress out, and worry that I'm not blogging enough, marketing enough, doing enough. So, as I was looking through pictures to edit for the website, I realized I have actually gotten quite a bit done in the workshop recently.

In fact, I think I've designed something for almost any event or happening there is, and I know you'd love to see them, right?

There have been weddings

babies born (great idea here: they used the white space on the back to have the announcement double as a thank you note)

new addresses to announce

kiddo parties

adult parties (kiddos can't have all the fun!)

new mommies (great way to keep your identity when you become a mom)

new business ventures

and gifts to give

Phew! Next time I'm feeling less than productive, I'll just head back here to feel better about myself!

The holidays are coming up - time to start thinking about your parties and cards. And, gifts. If you're looking for something custom, one-of-a-kind, let's have a little chat.

Keepin' It Real

Whoa! Where've I been? I blinked and realized it's been a month since I last blogged. In my defense, I was on my girl's trip for 9 of those days, and we had company for 5 of those days. You'll cut me some slack, right? All 3 of you who read this thing. :)

So, bloggers all over sometimes do keepin' it real posts, and the other day, I found an opportunity. So, in full keep it real fashion, I thought you'd like to see my "photo studio".

Sooo professional, huh? In the kitchen, by the window (natural light), white tablecloth (neutral backdrop), using my point & shoot (trusty camera). Not exactly photographer standards, but it gets the job done for me.

And, since we're getting real here, a few more confessions...

• I make a list every morning that includes items just so I can mark something off (um, like, shower...really.)
• I rarely get dressed in anything other than yoga pants and a fleece. Rarely even put in my contacts. (my apologies UPS man.)
• I get sidetracked very easily when I'm doing "research" (reading other people's blogs).
• Coming up with blog posts is really hard for me, because I want them to be one part my design, one part my witty sense of humor, and I want you to like me! And, the post titles? Forgetaboutit! That alone can take me an hour.

So, that's me keepin' it real. Tell me something you do so I don't feel so bad about myself...

Home Sweet Home

It seems everyone is packing up, buying houses, and moving these days. Maybe it's because it's a buyer's market; maybe it's because they're moving closer to family. (I can guarantee my mom wishes I'd move closer to her.)

So, because everyone's packing up, buying houses, and moving, I'm back with more moving announcements.

My favorite announcements are the ones that I can add a little of the location's flair to. 

I think this might be my favorite moving announcement! This client moved from Texas to Seattle, and decided to buy a house a year later, so I really wanted to showcase all that Seattle has to offer. The back resembled an airmail package - super cute! (I know it'd be really awesome if you could see the back. Whoops!)

And, then announcements for clients moving to Texas are just so easy. I mean you can do the state, bluebonnets, boots, anything. And, you know, the bigger, the better, right?

Or, maybe you want to showcase your house without showcasing your house. This little house looks shockingly like the real house, even the picture window with the family peeking out. Hee Hee! We went back and forth on whether to include the picture, and I'm glad we did.

So, if you're one of those people who are packing up, buying houses, and moving, give me a shout - let's get something going for you.

And, don't forget, we can do postcard size, with the addresses already filled in, so all you have to do is stamp & send.

Happy Earth Day!

Around here, every day is Earth Day. We're fortunate to live in an area of the country that takes saving the Earth every seriously, so it comes easier for us than others. You know, things like recycling everything, using your own bags at the grocery store, carrying a steel water bottle instead of buying plastic, and keeping the heater at 65 (brrr).

As a company, I print the majority of my designs on papers that are either certified Green or have the FSC Seal of Approval. And, I hope to find printers who use alternative inks.

I thought this recent design I did for Teacher Appreciation Week was appropriate for Earth Day. Aren't the kiddies cute? Stay tuned - a ton of designs have been churning out of the workshop, and they'll be debuting soon.

Sadly, the weather isn't cooperating, so I won't be spending much time outside today. What are you doing for Earth Day?

Custom IS Everything

I read an article recently that stated custom is everything. The article was focused more on social media and our computers/devices, but it's amazing how accurate those three words are when it comes to paper goods!

Sure there are plenty of paper good sites out there that offer an abundance of choices for any event you choose. But, they lack the experience you can have with a custom design.

With custom, it's all about you - your design, made specifically for you, sometimes based only on two colors you might like. The beauty of custom design is it gives a "mom & pop" feel to the world wide web. We can get to know each other and you can feel confident you're going to get a quality product.

And, you can be sure that with custom work, your friends & family are going to enjoy opening the envelope, reading about what you've been up to, and they'll definitely be excited to attend your event!

So, I say Custom IS everything - what about you? What do you think?


If you'd like to read the article, find it here.

Got to Move it, Move it

You know how frustrating it is when you send out all your Holiday cards, only to get a handful back because friends have moved and didn't send a moving announcement? Well, if you're moving this year (even across the street), don't be that friend.

We can put together a custom moving announcement that's all you.
When this client told me where she was moving, I did some research & pulled the colors for her announcement from a sculpture in the city.

This client wanted to highlight the fact that her family was making a big move (from NYC to TX), so we came up with a catchy tagline, and it doubled as the family's holiday card. (Sent out around Turkey Day, so lists were sure to be updated).

Moving to Texas? We could do something like throw a map on there, a few y'all's, your favorite colors, and it's cute as can be:

Another announcement playing double duty as a holiday card, we took a picture in front of our new house, and sent it out:

If you're concerned about postage costs, a great way to avoid those are to send postcards. If you're nice and organized, we can even print the addresses on them, leaving you with the small task of stamping them.

Of course, if you're not moving, you're probably regretting having read this far! Sorry! Send your friends who are moving my way!

PS - trying to come up with a title for this blog post was super hard, because I didn't want y'all to think I was moving, or that this blog was moving, or things were changing, etc., etc., etc. Phew - this one is as good as it gets!