Holiday Cards Now Available at Minted!

One of my favorite parts of being a stationery designer is having the joy of Christmas in May. Yes, I said May. You may not realize just how much work goes into designing holiday cards every year, so trust me when I say it's a lot of work. As a designer, I'm thinking about the holidays all year round, and it's always SO much fun when Minted has their holiday challenges in the Spring. It's such a blast to play holiday music in warm weather with the windows open. My neighbors must think I'm crazy.

Anyway, I have two designs that will be for sale this year through Minted. Snowy Man is a fun, simple design featuring a little snowman and simple type.

I'm so excited that Snowy Man is now available, and if you're one of those super organized go-getter types that started buying presents last year, well now's a perfect time for you to start thinking about your holiday cards!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

This is my husband and my first Christmas together, and we've already spent lots of time baking cookies, decorating our home, eating said cookies, wrapping gifts, and listening to cheesy holiday music. Today and tomorrow we'll be spending time with our big ol' family, and we're darn happy to do so!

Merry Christmas to all! I hope you're surrounded by love and joy this holiday season!

Oh What A Week!

Happy Saturday morning to all! And boy, am I glad this work week is over! This past week was particularly busy for me, as at my 9-5 job we hold a week long training class that sucks the life and energy out of my group (we're the trainers teaching the thing!). In addition to the week long class, this past week was also mid-terms at grad school, and on top of it all we had to juggle all of the issues with insurance and whatnot for our flooring problems. It looks like we'll be getting all new floors within the next few weeks, I should be excited, but really I'm just stressed.

I'm also almost finished printing all the samples of the holiday cards! I know I'm running super behind, but I'm planning on having a few cards for sale by the end of the weekend. I've decided to put together digital samplers to show all the color and backer options for my designs - as opposed to printing hard copies of everything. Digital samplers are a great way to show options without incurring the extra costs associated with time and printing. I've always used digital samplers when working with clients, and I thought it would be great to use them for my online shop as well! Here's a peek at one of my sampler sheets:

Can't wait to debut the rest of the line :)

Enjoy the rest of your day everybody!

Behind the Scenes Holiday Collection 2011

Today I am putting the finishing touches on a few more of my holiday cards for the 2011 collection. I've been finishing between 2-4 designs each weekend, and I know I'm a little behind. I've definitely been struggling lately to keep up with work, school, homeowner problems and a growing stationery business. I'm so thrilled that the business is growing, but I'm nervous too! This holiday season is going to be a busy one!

This morning I woke up late, which is good, because I was in desperate need of sleep. It may be 2:00 in the afternoon, but I've been cleaning all morning and just sat down with my coffee to work on my holiday cards. Here's a peek at my desktop (and a little glimpse of one of my designs!)

My husband thinks I'm nuts, but I've been having my coffee in my holiday mug since June. I've gotta get into the spirit somehow!

Enjoy the rest of your day everybody!

Coming soon to Minted!

I'm giving it my darndest right now to keep up with all the design challenges going on over at Minted. I've had two designs picked from the last few challenges, which is pretty good considering I didn't enter many designs. You've already seen the "Sweet Hearts" birth announcement design, which should be for sale soon, and I just found out I also won an Editor's Pick for my "Smouldering" business card design!

"Smouldering" Business Card Editor's Pick                       

Minted also has just announced all of the Holiday Card winners, and my oh my, they are amazing! I had submitted two designs (there were a total of over 2,200 designs!) and neither were chosen, but I am actually happy about that because it means I can sell them in my Etsy shop this season. That's the beauty of Minted, even if you don't win, you still end up with lovely designs that are fit for sale. The design challenges are win-win!

The new wedding challenge is also open at Minted, and it's my mission to enter at least three designs. The talent is amazing, and while I have no plans on actually winning, I love submitting and getting feedback from such talented designers. Be on the lookout for my submissions!

Holiday Minted Submissions

In the world of design, Christmas starts about 8 months early. That's correct, many designers are working on their 2011 Holiday collections already.

Minted is having their annual Holiday Card challenge as we speak. I might be busy, busy, busy right now, but I absolutely had to squeak out at least one submission. Here are the two I've submitted:

I don't meant to sound as though I'm wishing by wedding away, but I cannot wait for the wedding craziness to be over so I can show you all the custom designs I've been working on! Between designs for my own big day, and a bunch of orders that have come through my Etsy shop - I have certainly been busy!

If you haven't checked out my shop, please hop over and take a look! Since the thank-you notes have all been such a success, I plan on adding a few more designs as soon as I have the time. Thank you all for the love and support!

Holiday 2009

Just a taste of my 2009 holiday cards. If you are interesting in seeing more, please contact me at believenotes@yahoo.com. Enjoy!