enJOY it by Elise Blaha Cripe

weekend links / 08.

As part of my word WHOLE this year, I want celebrate the work of others by sharing links to my friends, possible friends and complete strangers who are doing great things on the Internet. This is some of the rad stuff I recently saw online...

podcast episode suggestions from Ann-Marie.

how rad do business cards with painted edges look?!

"It’s such a delight to get lost in a topic you didn’t even know you felt strongly about, then come up for air to find yourself the author of something you’re surprisingly proud of." - Anne Sage...what a perfect description of how blogging can feel sometimes.

I think this could really work with our tall ceilings (and 700 blankets).

paper versions of famous dresses (thanks, Ashley!).

Sarah Jessica Parker's shoe collection launched today. I need heels like I need a hole in the head but this "behind the scenes" is fun.

got lost in the #cakieshome hashtag yesterday.

great round-up of free fonts.

this blew my mind.

how to talk to your kids at dinner & related, I love this cookbook.

when is it okay to use other people's quotes in your work?

and random from me : so fun to have my driftwood airplant display featured in the Australian magazine, Inside Out and today is the last day to save 28% on the get quilty eCourse with code FEBRUARY.

*running this post a day early because I need some time to finish up and photograph my February Project Life spreads. Look for that this weekend.

february : currently.

loving this photo of the three of us captured this past weekend.

writing this post in "real time" this morning.

returning home from a five days away.

appreciating a good nights sleep in our own beds like you would not believe.

unpacking suitcases.

packing up your print orders.

believing in magic for sure and...

feeling so overwhelmed with gratitude that month one of make29 was a success.

listening to the traffic just outside my office window.

realizing I am so rarely in here during rush hour.

heading out to the kitchen for my coffee and granola now.

wishing you a wonderful Thursday.

anticipating your questions ... my jacket is from target last winter, my dress is by Everly, Ellerie's dress is baby gap and her shoes are Stuart Weitzman.

my favorite photo into abstract portrait art.

I recently commissioned Elizabeth Chapman to paint a picture for me in her abstract portrait style. I have become such a fan of her work through Elsie & Emma (talk about a talented family!) and was so thrilled that she was willing to take on this project.

This photo of Ellerie and me works perfectly in the abstract style because it's a profile shot. The relationship is the important part, not the faces. I LOVE how it turned out.

I added it to the gallery wall over our TV (by far the most stared at wall in our house) though I know it will hang in various rooms in various states in various countries as our family grows and moves over the next few decades. Such a special heirloom.

Thank you, Elizabeth!

ps. this makes two family paintings that I'll be hanging on to forever.

our backyard is complete(ish)!

Last week we finished up and sealed our outdoor patio and I am SO thrilled with the result.

The bulk of this project was completed in January (you can read more on the decking there), but we needed a jigsaw to cut the Ikea PLATTA decking to fit around the brick curve.

Paul created templates out of cardboard and my dad used this saw (cheap and effective!) to cut them down to size.

The result is pretty perfect.

This patio has been in place for about a month now and with the little bit of rain we've had it seems to have settled into itself well. I am very happy with the look and equally happy with how it feels to walk on. We ended up sealing the surface with teak oil (applied it by hand with a paint brush). It darkened the deck (in a good way!) and hopefully will help keep the color longer and slow the graying of the wood.

Every time I look outside (very often) I am shocked at the change and overwhelmed that this backyard is mine. It's such a fun space to sit in and will be getting even more use as the days grow longer. I would still love to do something with the plant area behind the cement wall (maybe add some white rock to brighten things up?) and we are going to get cafe lights strung overhead but this space is pretty close to done. (Which means I get to check another item off my 2014 goals list.)

our deck chairs are Ikea (thank you, Stephanie!), the fire pit is this one from amazon & here's the jade ampersand tutorial.

new project branding / the physical side.

Last week, I talked about the changes that I made to my branding and online promotion. Today, I want to share a bit about how I tweaked the paper items to prepare for my new shop launch.

In general, my thought about the paper stuff is: "make it look good, but don't spend a lot of money." If things are going well, you're giving these pieces away constantly. If each business card costs you $.50 that's an extra fifty cents out the door every time you sell an item. Not ideal. (Unless, of course, stationery and branding is your business, but even then, it might be a good idea to have some less expensive cards to hand out in high traffic situations.)

Over the past few years I have experimented with a few different things for my promotion and have decided that what I "need" is a business card, a thank you note, a stamp/sticker for the outside of the package and a stamp with my logo for creating simple stationery or letterhead.

I loved my old business cards, but they had a photo of my rubber stamps on them and since stamps are out the door, so are the cards. I kept the backside (which is now white on black) the same because it does the job and changed the front of the card to display the MAKE29 logo.

I ordered two different versions of this card from overnightprints.com. A large batch with __/290 on the front and a smaller batch with __/29. I will be handwriting in the number of the product that is sold and mailing it with the appropriately numbered edition. I hope it adds an extra touch and plays on the fact that this is a limited and special edition item.

I will be using these cards when I pack shipped orders, but am realizing now that I need another business card that has nothing to do with MAKE29...something that just promotes the blog and my website that I have on hand to pass out in person and at craft fairs. Adding this to the list...

Also shipping out with each order is a 4x6 thank you postcard (printed by overnightprints.com as well) that includes a unique coupon code for 10% off the next order should a customer decide to shop again. I designed the graphic with a space for a roller number stamp and will be stamping each card with a 5 digit code. This is the first time I have tried a loyalty/rewards program like this and I am curious to see how it goes.

My old thank you cards (before they needed space for a coupon code) had a version of the above message on them. Years ago, I purchased something from an Etsy shop and the shop owner's default email message was something along the lines of "your order made my day." As a small business owner, I saw the absolute truth in her sweet message and I have adapted my own version.

I decided to transfer the message to packaging stickers that will go on the outside of each mailer. I went with metallic gold ink to play on the "bright" and added the "hooray" in my own handwriting. These stickers were ordered from stickergiant.com. I ordered 3000 and paid a pretty penny for the gold, but in this case, I felt like the extra punch that comes with metallic is worth it.

Last, but not least, I always order a custom branding stamp (from simonstamp.com) to go along with any project. They are cheap(ish) and can turn any piece of paper into something that fits with your brand. I purchased two sizes this time around and have already used them both.

Seriously...coming up with this stuff might be my favorite part of the whole process Thanks again for letting  me share.