giveaway

happy to announce that i'm part of crow & canary's gratitude campaign for the month of march! hop on over to crow & canary, leave a comment and YOU could win a set of four, hand-diecut THX. greetings from me! giveaway is open through friday, april 2nd at 11:59 PST.

thanks, carina, for such a lovely opportunity :)

new in the shoppe

bookplates are sure to make a great hostess, birthday or shower gift...

striped disc initial bookplates coordinate nicely with striped disc initial flats...

...book shelf bookplates are available in 4 different color combinations...

...and, handwriting paper bookplates that go nicely with handwriting paper flats! see all three bookplate choices here.

be sure to stay tuned for two more shoppe announcements later this week!

special thoughts

when it comes to packaging orders for shipping i squeal with delight. this is my chance, as a shoppe owner, to go the extra mile and make my customer(s) feel special EVEN AFTER they place an order. i always try my best to make each shipment stand out in some way by including a handwritten note of thanks (on SB stationery of course), at least two business cards (one to keep and the other to pass on) and more often than not, a lovely little surprise.



what you choose to package your order in makes a difference too. most of my items ship out in bubble envelopes. i managed to find lovely, all-white bubble mailers that i can adorn or choose to keep simple. larger orders, of course, go out in boxes. 



*confession* 
i reuse boxes - shoe boxes, boxes from other orders, gift boxes; whatever the box, it usually has a second life in our household. that being said, there's always a lot of yucky on the outside of those boxes. what to do? i wrap 'em up in kraft paper and put a SB brand label on the outside, hand-addressed of course. the kraft paper is part of my brand look and feel so it makes sense. plus, it's kinda like christmas when your customer opens their parcel (at least that's how i imagine it)!



oh?! and, i always include a copy of the receipt in the bundle too. i sure do love me a paper copy to file away!

i love lists

i make a list for everything. seriously. i have long lists, short lists, day lists, weekly lists, items to post lists, new items for the shoppe lists, house lists, taxes lists, a list for charlotte's new big girl room, spring lists...

if i don't have a list, i can't seem to get anything done; my mind sorta goes blank. and when i can't find a list - well, you really don't want to see what happens then (in walks Angry Beaker). if my list starts to look messy, i scrap it, re-write and start fresh. kind of OCD, i know. but it makes me feel better.

and you know what makes me feel even better? penelope loves lists too.

images from simplesong and SweetBeaker

silhouettes

i love a good silhouette; they're so versatile and you can use them on most anything for a little extra personalization. needless to say, i am pretty excited to see that brooke (of inchmark) is sharing a whole week of silhouette projects! yippee!

sidenote: remember the hellewell family tree of silhouettes i posted about a little bit ago? well, that's from brooke too and where her week of sharing originated.

can't wait to see what she shows tomorrow!

the blog header above is a silo of my daughter for our family journal, BabyBeaker; i blog there too :)

an initial exploration

as y'all know, i'll be exhibiting at my very first arts festival in april and i'd like to share the process with you, starting with the 'look' of my table and exhibit space...

i believe it's very important that your exhibit space reflect you AND your brand. i first started looking at completely custom-built tables and spaces from NSS and wishfully thought that i would do the same and then - pinch, pinch! i realized that, in these early stages, my budget doesn't really allow for something of that caliber (just yet). so, i dialed it back A LOT. i'm truly on a tight budget and i've realized (quite stubbornly at first) that it doesn't have take a ton of money to put something together. in fact, there are a ton of inexpensive items out there already that will be just as effective and get the job done quite nicely. 

that being said, i've been scouring the internets and have gathered quite a lovely collection of images. here's a sneak peak of how i hope my table will feel and my brand will be conveyed...

i've really been drawn to a classic mix of modern, home grown and tried and true items. this is just the start, folks. there's a lot more to come!

images from container store, am radio, gibson holders and iStock.

new nav bar

been working on a few small changes around the ol' blog. have you noticed? look up - see the new nav? those items used to be in the sidebar. now, above, i believe a more prominent nature will help deliver information better. makes it all more immediate. absolutely loving it and hope you do too!

misuse

according to merriam webster the word STATIONERY, a noun, is defined as (1) materials (as paper, pens, and ink) for writing or typing and (2) letter paper usually accompanied with matching envelopes.

on the other hand, STATIONARY, an adjective, can be defined as (1) fixed in a station, course, or mode: immobile and (2) unchanging in condition.

just wanted to get that out there.

green offerings

handwriting flats (personalize yours here)

new item sneak peek

jotter + pencil cup gift set. or, buy separately here and here.

another new item sneak peek

happy st. pat's y'all!

many thanks...

...to jane of simple + pretty for showing a little SweetBeaker love yesterday...



shop now for your very own set of personalized note book calling cards!






screengrab from simple + pretty

poplar

i really needed this today. it made me laugh. thank you, christoph.






seen via ok great. image from christoph niemann.

family trees

remember this post from last week? well, since then i've caught wind of a couple more! this option is from kimberly canale of inspired goodness and is available as a paper print or glass etching. for the paper prints, you can choose your own color palette and fonts to fit your style!





brooke reynolds from inchmark came up with a lovely silhouette format and used it as her family's 2009 christmas card (and to announce a new addition!).



and then just this morning (yes, i'm behind on my google reader) i came across this posting from ohdeedoh | green wedding shoes...



it's not exactly a family tree per se but, wouldn't it be fun do something like this at a family reunion and get everyone to participate?





images from respective links above

treasury

forgot to post this the other day! many thanks to oveja negra for including SB in her chevron etsy treasury!

nice to meet you :: sweet ivy girl

sweet ivy girl, run by erica patten, is a handmade hair accessories shop out of salt lake city. i was lucky enough to 'meet' erica by way of tangled + true's downeast basics giveaway - we were both winners and chose the same spotlight polka dot dress. so not only do we have the same dress but we also have little girls just about the same age. read on for a little more...





01. tell us a little about yourself...

I have been married for 5 1/2 years and have a 18 month old little girl and another due in July (the gender is a surprise). I'm actually fairly new to the blogging world - I was a bit stubborn when it came to starting one...I didn't really think it was my kind of thing. Boy was I wrong! A few months after my baby was born I finally came to the conclusion that blogging was the best way for me to document our daily life. I love having a record of all the big and little happenings in our life. I'm pretty sure our families that live away from us are even more happy they get daily updates on their little grandbaby/niece.



02. how did you get started? when? obstacles?

I got started creating bows a few months after my little Ivy was born. I never seemed to find bows/headbands that I really liked that i thought were worth the money, so I started making my own! It wasn't until people started asking if they could buy some that I actually considered opening an esty shop — even then I was a little apprehensive. It was never my intention to make money selling bows (although it is nice), my desire really was to supply something that was affordable to everyone and maybe a little different. Sweet Ivy Girl has been up and running for exactly a year now and I have really enjoyed the ride, I hope to be able to keep it up with two little babes!

03. where do you seek inspiration?

Everywhere really!...magazines, the internet, family, and friends. I am really drawn to bright/bold colors and am not afraid to mix and match.

04. what's a typical day like at sweet ivy girl?

I am so lucky I get to stay at home and enjoy my little girl AND still have a creative outlet on my own time. Usually I take a Saturday here and there to make a bunch of my bows/headbands, that way when an order comes in I just have to package them up and send them off. I'm not always that on the ball though, so when something isn't ready I usually make them while Ivy is napping or at night when my husband is home. I hate having orders waiting so Ivy and I find ourselves at the post office multiple times a week.



05. what does the future hold for sweet ivy girl?

Currently I have no huge plans above and beyond what I'm doing now for sweet ivy girl. I'm just glad I'm consistently selling on etsy and hope that continues! I also sell Sweet Ivy Girl clips in some shops around Utah.

I really enjoy having a little outlet and I've always got my eye and mind open for what to create next.

06. can you offer advice for other first time shop owners / bloggers?

Go for it!! Don't be afraid to take the step - you never know who may be interested. I went into starting my etsy with no expectations and so every sale was and still is exciting!

Also a good support system is huge! If it weren't for my husband and family I'm not sure I would have been able to do it.

07. if you could pick one place to be right now where would it be and why?

Anywhere that is hot and sunny is my ideal place of choice. My husband and I are actually going on a cruise this week, which I am really looking forward to. With the long winter we've had here in Utah I am ready for the heat!

I am not sure how we are going to deal without Ivy...but she will be in very good hands, I'm sure we'll survive!

e: ericapatten@gmail.com
s: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetivygirl
b: http://patten-family.blogspot.com/

thanks for the interview, erica - it's great to 'meet' you! be sure to check in on erica's blog where she writes quite candidly about daily family happenings - it's really great to follow; i check in daily!





____________________

if you'd like to submit a shop for the Nice To Meet You collection, send an email on over to sweetbeaker@gmail.com

images submitted by Erica Patten of Sweet Ivy Girl

sweet ps arts festival

ok. i've got to let you know - i'm officially signed up for my very first arts festival! i'm pretty darn excited (and really nervous too).

somehow or other, the festival chair found me on etsy, contacted me directly and asked if i would exhibit and fill their only paper goods slot. i felt honored, a little giddy and didn't share until now because i still had to go through the proper channels of being 'accepted'.

all that aside, i'll be exhibiting at the sweet p's arts festival as a marketplace crafter from saturday april 24th to sunday april 25th. the festival is hosted on the grounds of the episcopal church of st. peter and st. paul, in marietta, georgia and proceeds benefit metro atlanta charities serving children and families.

so now, it's go time. i've been making lists; lots of 'em. i've been doing lots of prepping and my mind is overloaded with tons of (new) ideas. does anyone have any advice or tips you' like to share?

be sure to check back as i share the building of my exhibit space with you!

new in the shoppe, part III

i had to re-create a bunch of files before i knew full recovery was a possibility and while doing that a couple ideas came to me to 'make better' a product already offered in the shoppe. see, old...



and, now, see new...



corners are now classic, instead of rounded, to reinforce the straightness of the handwriting guidelines. and they're now available personalized, with all lines or with half the amount of lines (so you can draw a little something or even attach a photo).






thoughts? i'd love to know what you think!