Black Friday and Small Business Saturday Sale + WIN Cards for a Year!

It's that time of the year! I have lots of fun promotions going on this weekend for my shop. In addition, I'm giving away a year's worth of greeting cards to one lucky winner! Woot woot! The Black Friday sale coupon codes are valid both Friday AND Saturday, so enjoy. Plus, be sure to check back here on Monday for my Cyber Monday deal. I have a feeling it's one that you definitely don't want to miss. Hint-- it involves greeting cards. Lots and lots of greeting cards. I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and happy shopping to you all! :)

Newsletter and New Pencils and New Cards

There are a lot of things to catch up with you all on today. I still feel as though I've been flying by the seat of my pants these last few days. I spent this weekend at a local craft fair, but also had my busiest weekend in the last two month this past weekend in my Etsy shop. After all was said and done, I've been playing a huge game of catch up. With the biggest shopping weekend of the year soon upon us, I have even more to prepare.

Recently, I've started a newsletter for all of my amazing customers. My goal is to send out information about new products and promos to all of you newsletter readers first, so that my most loyal customers can get a sneak peek of those products and exclusive offers. In addition, just by signing up for the newsletter, you get a coupon code to use once in the shop for 15% off. Needless to say, later this afternoon, I will be sending out information for my Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday sales as well as information about an upcoming promotion that begins on Friday. I am SUPER excited about this promotion as it is something entirely new that I have never offered before and it may involve cards-- lots and lots of cards. Either way, in order to get that promotion info, simply sign up for the newsletter here.

Ok, phew! See, I told you I had a lot to catch up on! Next up? Pencils. I have added a few more stocking stuffer sized pencil sets to my shop that many of you are already eating right up. These are some of my favorite sets yet because they also serve as little daily reminders for myself. Sometimes (actually most times these days) I need a little extra boost of motivation to get everything on my checklist done as the busy season is currently in full swing. It is really hard for me to choose which of these are my favorite. I have such a love for mint, but the dark, dark purple pencils are fabulous as well.

And finally, as I prepare for one last show in Richmond on December 14th, I have been adding a few new card designs to my stock. I tested these out this past weekend and people seemed to like them, so I would say they got the seal of approval.

What have you been up to these days? Are you feeling just as busy as I am?

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving and be sure to check back here starting on Friday for all of the upcoming sale information. And of course, again, if you want a preview of all of that info, be sure to sign up for the newsletter! Now go and enjoy your holiday! :)

Hello from the Studio

I've been in overdrive these past few weeks as the holiday season is upon us. The shop has been busy and I'm preparing for two shows-- one at Fort Meade this coming weekend as well as the Richmond Craft Mafia's Handmade Holiday on December 14th. In addition, I've still been hard at work launching a few new products here and there and getting my new newsletter in order, so I thought it would be fun to get a little peek into my studio.

My studio is located in our historic Baltimore row house. I get to enjoy lots of natural light coming in from both a large window and a glass paned door that leads off to our second story deck. One wall in the studio is exposed brick, and Andrew put up salvaged wood shelving for storage. It is definitely a space that helps keep the creative juices flowing as well as being tranquil and relaxing.

And of course, arranging to have all of these photos taken was no easy feat. Andrew was my sort of fabulous photographer, which involves many photos being taken when you're not even close to being ready or ok with the fact that he is snapping the shutter. And then, my friends, you end up with this.

After all was said and done, there were obviously many photos that were still salvageable. I was able to use some of them, including a new head shot, to update my Etsy shop About Page, my Twitter profile, and my Instagram profile. In addition, you may see some of these photos pop up in an upcoming feature that I am excited about! It feels good to have a little more cohesiveness across the board when it comes to all of my outlets.

Do you have any photos of you creating in action? I love getting glimpses into the studios of other artists!

Cockatoo Island

When I last wrote about our trip to Australia, I left off with some beautiful photos from Bondi. The following day, we spent some time strolling throughout Sydney. We took the metro into the city and went exploring. In the afternoon, we decided to take a ferry out to Cockatoo Island. Cockatoo Island is located in Sydney Harbor and has a history as both a convict prison as well as being an old shipyard in which they drafted plans and built ships. The entire island's history was incredibly interesting to learn about and the remnants of the buildings left for some pretty fantastic photo opportunities.

After our day at Cockatoo Island, we headed back to Sydney for some record store shopping so that I could snag a few records that I can't get in the US. We took the metro back to our apartment, took a nap (we were ridiculously tired and the jet lag was catching up big time!), and then got ready for dinner. We headed to Manly, again by ferry, where we had a delicious meal and beer, of course, at a local microbrewery called 4 Pines. The next morning we would leave to fly into a totally different part of the country for a new adventure.

Christmas Pencils and a Big Thank You!

Now that Halloween is officially over, I'm even more so in the mind set of the upcoming holidays. I shared with you my holiday card line last week, and this week I was up to a little fun with the hot foil press and have two new sets of pencils in the shop that are perfect to use as stocking stuffers.

I had a lot of fun pressing these! Not only will they be in the shop this holiday season, but you'll be able to snag them up at a few shows that I'll be doing in the upcoming months.

In addition to sharing these pencils, I also wanted to say a big thank you to all of you for such an amazing October! This past month was the third busiest month I've ever had, right behind January and February. That says a lot since January and February are truly the busy season with Valentine's Day cards being the big thing. After some really unexpected issues cropped up after our trip to Australia, I worked the hardest I ever have on my shop to try and make the best of it, and it paid off.

I am feeling incredibly lucky to have such amazing customers that continue to come to shop with me, and to be able to realize this big dream of mine. I wasn't sure that this would work as a full time endeavor because it was such a huge risk, but two months into the school year, I know now that I made the right choice not to go back to the classroom. I'm looking forward to even more exciting things throughout the holiday season and into the new year!

As a big THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart, I want to pass on a 20% discount to you all. Use the code THANKYOU20 today only on any items in the shop. You guys continue to make me feel grateful to be able to do what I love and what makes me happy!