May 25
Placemats {More Coming Soon}
I want to design a line of placemats to sell in my etsy shop. I think I am going to offer three different choices. One, disposable placemats. These will be printed on card stock. They will be perfect for parties, family gatherings, and more. They will not be reusable unless your guests are tidy eaters. That wouldn’t be the case at my house. The second one I am going to offer will be a laminated version. It will be laminated with a 5 MIL weight of laminent. I’m guessing these will be the most popular variety! You will be abel to just wipe them clean with a damp rag! Super easy clean up, right? Lastly, I will offer them in a 10 MIL weight laminent. Just like the second, but more durable and thicker!
I’m envisioning super modern, yet fun placemats. I have a ton of ideas floating around in my head, but I just need to get them into the computer. The first design I did was based off of the “Flair” boards that are on facebook. I am in love with cork board right now and I thought this would be a stylish yet fun placemat for the kids. I included many of Skyler’s favorite things! What do you think?
People will be able to choose their “flair” and their photos. Pretty much everything will be customized. I also had to do one for Jackson. Notice that his has mostly food! Yep, that’s my Jackson! The kid loves food!!! Now, I know these may not be everyone’s style, but I am planning on offering some more “traditional” geometric styles. Seriously, I don’t think I can design fast enough to get all of my ideas out. . .
Here are some other samples. . .
This one is based off of Avery’s first Birthday party! Wouldn’t these be cute party favors for your guests? Aren’t you sick of getting a bunch of cheezy toys from the Dollar Tree? I know I would be super excited if my child came home from a birthday party with a personalized placemat.
What about this one? Yep, I can’t get enough of the candy shop stripe. It’s so cute. These colors were inspired from Emerson’s pacifier. Seriously, the places I get my inspiration from are a bit random.
Here is the last one I did. It’s pretty simple, but I kind of like it.
I am planning on also offering silhouettes too! I will add some more throughout the week. I’d love to know your thoughts. Do you think these are good? What would you rather see? Any ideas or suggests are totally welcome!!!
Time for bed!
Jess
I recently baked a bunch of cookies and rice crispy treats, you know the staples of baking, and put them in a care package for Jonathan, the nice guy who did my blog. My blog turned out just how I had designed it and I am so thankful that Jonathan was able to take me on as his “charity” case.
One day when I am rich beyond belief, I will shower him with substantial monetary tokens of gratitude, but for now I wanted to give him a small token of my appreciation! Plus, who doesn’t enjoy an assortment of yummy baked goods? I know I always love getting a plate full of “who knows what” at Christmas time from friends and family! Honestly, people should include labels with all of their baked goods so there’s no surprises! We’ll touch on this at Christmas, I guess. . .
I didn’t make anything too crazy, but I did want to put a cute label on his package! I’m working on a project right now with a “candy shop” theme and have been dying to use the candy stripe pattern in more mainstream applications. What do you think?
I think it turned out cute! There are so many applications that you can use these for. You are only limited to your imagination! Do you like the package with or without baker’s twine? Can you guess my favorite? Definitely with the baker’s twine. You guessed it!
From time to time, I will be including FREE, who doen’t like the word, FREE. FREE FREE FREE! Okay, sorry, I got carried away! Anyways, I wanted you to be able to enjoy this FREE, there’s that word again, download too! Click on the link to download the SURPRISE Gift Tags/Labels freebie. If you ever miss one of the free downloads, you can always go to the “Freebie” tab and download it from there too!
Enjoy!
Jessica
P.S. I think I a need a handle or a tag line, or a cute way to sign my blog posts when I am done. Does anyone have a good idea? I really need to design something! To make it more interesting, if I choose your idea, I will give you a $10 gift card to my shop. You can use it on whatever you want!!!!! Now, think of a good idea!
May 21
Just for Fun
It’s Friday, so I can do anything I want, right? Well, I am posting silly pictures of my boys because I can. I wanted them to take some photos the other day since they were all sort of matching and had their hair done. This is a rare occurance at my house and I wanted to take advantage of it. I tried to make it fun and they were not super cooperative, but I think these pictures are funny and I wanted to share them with you!
“Okay boys, just hold your duck up so I can take a picture of it. You don’t even have to look at me.” Check out their expressions!
Geez Jackson! What kind of parents do you have? Don’t they wash your hands? Yuck!
Now I told them, “Okay, okay! Just make silly faces!” Since they were not cooperating with me anyways.
The cross eyed photo of Skyler totally makes me laugh!!!!
Then I had Lincoln bring out Emerson. I love how the boys look at him with a sense of pride, contentment, and joy. They are so happy to be Emerson’s big brothers.
On a side note, did you check out their beautifully long, long eyelashes. Wouldn’t you kill for those?
Enjoy your Friday and take a minute to just be silly!!! I’ll let Jack show you how it’s done!
Thanks Jackson! You truly are my silly man!
So, many of you may not have an Etsy shop or other internet business, but everyone is influenced by product packaging.
If you are anything like me, you buy products based on the packaging. If I am trying to choose between two items, I always buy the one that has cuter, more stylish, colorful, unique packaging over the ordinary, same ‘ole, boring packaging. Price doesn’t override my decision either. It’s all about what looks aesthetically pleasing to my eye. So, if you are not like me you probably think I am a weirdo. Pretty packaging really makes my day!
Baker’s twine is all the rage right now, and I had to have some. I purchased this twine from Divine Twine in aqua and I LOVE it. I can’t wait to wrap it around all of my packages. Baker’s twine makes everything look a little prettier, right?
In an ideal world, I’d love to have my business cards die-cut. Basically, they would use a die and cut my business cards in the pretty shape of my logo. I’d also love to have them letter pressed too. I love the way letter press looks and feels. The texture is amazing. With that being said, both are really expensive. So, I opted for a more economical approach and had them press printed on my favorite pearl card stock. I think they look shimmery and beautiful and will do until I am RICH, baby RICH! Okay, at least rich enough to afford die-cut letterpressed business cards.
I’ve also noticed that paper bands are really popular. I first noticed them when I was helping my aunt Kelley design her wedding invitations. We didn’t end up using them for her invites, but I knew I had to incorporate them in my business somehow. I think they look really nice wrapped around a set of envelopes!
Custom return address labels are definitely one of my favorite things. I think for a couple of reasons. First, I love how quick and easy they are to use. You just crack the back, peal, and stick it to your envelope or package. Second, I love how they look. I think a label just adds a bit of color to any package and makes it less dull. Lastly, they are an inexpensive way to add a coordinating or personal touch to anything you mail or ship. You want to stand out in a crowd, right? I want people sifting through their mail to stop when they get to my package and open it. I don’t want to be discarded to the recycling pile. Would you stop and open it if you received this in the mail?
When I was working on my blog, I also designed a new logo. I wanted the colors to be both modern and timeless. I wanted my logo to be easily identifiable and to be easy on the eyes. I want it to scream style and whisper elegance. What does my logo say to you?
Thanks for listening. . .
P.S. Sorry my pictures aren’t as beautiful today. The lighting and the rain put a real damper on these! Forgive me!