New Father's Day Cards

With Father's Day around the corner on June 15th, I thought I'd share the new Father's Day cards that I've added to the shop this year. I feel as though I'm finally happy with the cohesive nature of my shop with the addition of some of my latest work. Again I've opted for bold colors and simple designs that provide something both recognizable and relative for most of us.

While Father's Day tends to be a less card heavy holiday than Mother's Day, I still feel that it's important to recognize the dads in our lives. When I was growing up, my dad was the stay at home parent for quite some time, so I have many fond memories as a child in a different way than many people may have had, and for that I am incredibly thankful. While I didn't crash the family car and I rarely text my dad, one thing that I do enjoy doing with him when I visit home is sitting and chatting over a good cup of coffee at my mom's bakery.

What are your favorite things to do with your dad? Did any of you have a stay at home dad?

Copper and Gold Foil Stationery

After introducing gold foil pressed cards into my shop several months ago, the creative wheels began to turn as I thought of all the beautiful foiled stationery that I could create. While the hot foil press seemed to be an easy shoo-in for foil stationery, it came with many limitations that began to irritate me. I could only press paper with letter type that was sized small enough for my press, and I couldn't really use my own designs.

With these limitations in mind, I began looking into the process of foil embossing and printing without the use of the hot foil press. I spent many hours completing test runs, and finally felt confident with the results. I have since debuted two new designs in my shop-- a beautifully simple stationery set printed in copper paired with aqua envelopes, and a gold foiled hello card sweetly paired with light pink.

I'm thrilled with how my original visions for these designs have come to life on paper, and look forward to adding more foiled paper products in the near future.

Do you like the foil look? Do you prefer foil on stationery or art prints?

Cyber Monday Sale!

Thank you all so much for your AMAZING support so far this holiday season! To be honest, I have been completely overwhelmed (in a good way) by the fantastic support I've had thus far in this self-employment journey of mine. For those of you that may have missed Friday and Saturday's sale, today's Cyber Monday deal is definitely one you don't want to miss. It's for one day only, so be sure to take full advantage of it! In addition, don't forget about the Instagram contest that is currently running. It is open until the end of the year, so be sure to enter! Again, happy shopping to you all!

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!

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!

New Holiday Cards Are Here!

It has been a crazy few weeks in my home studio as I've had one of the busiest months this year and have also been working diligently on my new holiday line. After several weeks of work, I'm happy to say that the full line of holiday cards is officially here! Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah combined, there's a bit of everything-- some simple, some funny, a few naughty, a couple bright and fun, and a lot of eco-friendliness going on in there too. Many of these cards are 100% recycled paper content, something I've been striving for recently. While not all of the cards are listed in sets, I am happy to do sets for you if need be, so feel free to get in touch with those sorts of requests! Now, here's a look at the full line of cards. You can click through the photos to find them in my shop!

What do you think of the new holiday line? Which are your favorites? It is hard for me to choose which ones I like the best because they all turned out just as I had envisioned, which is a super exciting thing! Are you preparing for the holidays yet?

Back to School

This is the first time in many years that I am not going back to school. Before, I was either a student or a teacher. I cannot even begin to explain how freeing it is to watch others get ready for another school year, while I know that I just simply don't have to do that. It became increasingly apparent that I was loving this little fact yesterday as I met up with two former co-workers for lunch. Seeing their stress about getting back to school made me realize just how relaxed I am and how happy I am that I'm not heading back. That being said, my mind was still a little on the topic of back to school as I had requests for back to school pencils. I just wanted to pop in briefly to show you two sets that are currently available in my shop.

While I have probably seemed to be obsessed with pencils these days, I promise that I have some other new cards in the works that will be making their way into the shop. I also promise that I'll be back tomorrow with a post that doesn't promote my shop. Stay tuned if you like seeing awesome transformations of rooms.... ;)

Vintage Kingsley Hot Foil Press

When I first introduced you to my new line of pencils, I also showed you a glimpse of the hot foil press that I purchased in order to make the pencils. Many of you asked about the machine, so I left that post with a promise of an up close look at the machine. I was able to get the machine on eBay along with all sorts of extras that came with it. I received a nearly mint condition machine that really only has one flaw it's missing its handle. I have remedied that with a screwdriver for the time being, but Andrew said he would make me a handle.

In addition to the machine, I received three sets of type, several additional typeholders, a box full of unused foil, a box full of extra spaces, some press pads (that I hope to use if I print on paper), some miscellaneous paper work for previous orders of foil and spaces, and the original envelope containing a user's guide to the machine. What is most incredible to me, is to see the dates printed on the order forms-- one dating back to July of 1959. One of the boxes is postmarked July 18, 1951. Using that information, it is clear that I have a machine that is at least 62 years old! All of this came at a fraction of the price as what most of these machines tend to be listed at for just the machine alone. I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten such an amazing deal.

This hot foil press has been super exciting to use on many levels. I have learned a new process that is really a lot of fun, hands on work. In addition, each time I use the press I feel as though I'm using a piece of history.

Do you have an vintage finds that you absolutely love?