tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36127153971902426162024-02-19T15:28:10.762-08:00Butterfly Garden CreationsMy blog about my creative ventures making bookmarks, paper crafts and more. See my store at http://www.bgardencreations.etsy.comBgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06104456870017299838noreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-29371128913435565572016-06-07T19:25:00.001-07:002016-06-07T19:25:43.300-07:00On the Subject of Trademarked Logos, Images, and Other Intellectual Property<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Graduation orders have trickled to a stop, but this is a relevant topic any time. When I first started my shop, and in particular when I started making
my graduation exploding box cards, I did not give a thought to using logos or
graphics from the internet and whether they might be trademarked or
copyrighted. Starting out, I was just
making cards with local school graphics, and it didn't occur to me that it
might be a problem. However, since
joining Etsy in 2010, I have made an effort to spend time in the user forums,
where I have learned a lot about many issues involved with selling on Etsy, and
as it happens, trademark violation is a huge issue. There are thousands of discussions about how
some of the larger companies, such as Disney, Harley-Davidson, and Tiffany, are
vigilant about violation of their trademarked materials (you can't even
describe something as "Tiffany blue", come to find out.) As it happens, many colleges and universities
have similar protections on their own logos and other graphics, especially the larger,
more notorious schools with big athletic programs. Thankfully, I became aware of this early on
when I began selling my graduation exploding box cards, and have made an effort
not to be in violation of any school's policy on use of their logos. Unfortunately, it's not always clear, and
that's where I run into uncomfortable situations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With school logos, my usual procedure is to first look at the school's
website to see if they have a brand guideline.
Many of the larger schools have a document that describes everything
from the exact fonts and colors in their official brand, to information about
permitted uses. Some have a request form
that can be filled out and submitted to request authorization to use the
materials, but most that I have dealt with do not. In those cases, I have to search the website
for contacts in their marketing, public relations, or branding department and
send an email requesting permission to use their logo. I would estimate that the rate of response is
about 50/50: half of the time, I get an email back granting me permission, and
half the time I get no response at all.
Only once have I received a message denying permission. If I get no response, I will not use the
logo- I will only use it if I can document that I have permission to use
it. It is disappointing when I can't use
the logo, because most buyers do want it used on their products, but most are
very understanding about this.<o:p></o:p></div>
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You might ask, what's the big deal, anyway? Would some big university or company on the
other side of the country (or world) really care that some small-time paper
crafter on Etsy put their logo or image on a customized greeting card? The answer is: I don't have enough money to
find out the hard way. In other words,
if I use an image without permission, I am risking a lawsuit. The fact is, logos and other trademarked
images are protected by law as being the property of the trademark holder, and
many can and will do what they have to do to protect their property
rights. There are a number of companies
that are well-known for doing sweeps on Etsy for sellers using their
trademarked property illegally. They
file a DCMA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) notice with Etsy, and Etsy must
comply by taking down the offending listings.
Etsy has a 3 strikes policy regarding violations of trademark or
copyright- if a seller gets 3 strikes, their shop is shut down and they are not
permitted to reopen. Period. Check out the Etsy user forums any day, and
I guarantee you will find at least one post from someone complaining that they
were shut down for trademark/copyright violation and don't know why. Ignorance is not bliss in this case- Etsy
considers it the responsibility of sellers to know and comply with the laws.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have been asked to use materials that I do not have permission to
use, and while I hate it when I can't give a customer exactly what they want, I
simply cannot take the risk. Some may
view a transaction between a buyer and seller as private, so what's the
harm? Well, the thing is, once the
product leaves my hands, it is no longer private- it is in the hands of the
buyer, and the seller has no control over what happens with that product or who
sees it. All it takes is one social media
post with a photo of the product, and the audience is suddenly much wider than
just the buyer. While it's true that you
can find thousands of sellers on Etsy willing to take that chance, I simply
have never been comfortable with it. And
it's not even only about the risk involved, although that is a major
factor. But also, I've seen the shops
that are chock full of designs that include trademarked materials from tv
shows, movies, etc. Knowing the law, and
that these shops are blatantly violating it, cheapens the value and the name of
that shop, because it's basically stolen merchandise. They are literally stealing from the
trademark owner by profiting from the use of that material. I hold myself and my business to a higher
standard than that. I have built my shop
and my reputation as a seller on honesty, class, and integrity, and am not willing to cheapen it by illegal use of someone else's intellectual property under any
circumstance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have turned down several requests to make exploding box cards with
Disney and other trademarked materials. Yes,
I lost money that I could have made, but my conscience is clear and I can sleep
at night. As complicated as copyright
and trademark law is, that really is what it comes down to: how I feel about
the integrity of my work and my shop.
Maybe only someone's immediate family would see the product that I make
for a customer, and no harm would come of using that trademarked Harvard or
Disney image. But I can't set that
precedent, because that might not be the case with the next one. Or the one after that, or the one after
that. I have a firm policy, and just
can't cross that line, not even once.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As disappointing as it is when I can't use a logo or other image, it's
also an opportunity to push my creativity and find something else I can do
instead. That has resulted in some
things that I am truly proud of, and that is what keeps me as a crafter, and my
business, moving forward and continuint to innovate.
As Dumbledore said in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, sometimes we
have to make a choice "between what is right, and what is easy", and
in my business, as well as in much of life as possible, I choose what is right.<o:p></o:p></div>
bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-38251294478996065012016-03-09T19:23:00.000-08:002016-03-09T19:23:45.283-08:00Graduation Season Begins!It's only March, but already the graduation exploding box order rush has begun! I received two orders last week, and another one this week. Crazy!! Last week, I got orders for one high school and one college graduate. I try to be really careful about using school logos and imagery...it's not really an issue for high schools, but for colleges/universities, it definitely can be. The graduate of the college order I received goes to University of Alabama. Being on the west coast, and not being a big sports fan, I was unaware how very notorious/important this university is, but upon researching their logo usage, was duly informed, lol! They have an extremely strict policy about using any logos, including a licensing procedure that I did not have time to go through. So, I had to get creative. I have had to deal with these situations before, and managed, but this time I think I hit it out of the park!<br />
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So, breaking this down: I used the school colors of crimson and gray for the card box bases. Since I could not use the university logos, I instead used a letterman font for the graduation year in the school color, and added some script to add "Class of". Love. It!! Also, since the university has trademarked the phrase "The University of Alabama", I dropped the "the" and printed University of Alabama in the school colors, in a font close to the letter font used by the university. The rest is the usual, including general graduation graphics on the printed panels with the graduate's name. I am really happy with how it turned out! I sometimes struggle with what to do when I can't use a school logo, but I think this really worked out well.<br />
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In addition to working on custom orders, I am working on stuff for the SET Spring Sale at the end of April. I recently ordered a sample pack of paper from a company that makes seeded paper- that is, paper that contains wildflower seeds, so you can actually plant the paper and grow flowers. How FREAKING cool is that?? The sample pack I ordered came with 2 sheets of 5 colors: pink, blue, white, yellow, and green, and I also ordered one sheet that is white with red/pink flower petals embedded. I have started making some floral gift tags, which I plan to sell at the spring sale. Here's a sample of what I've made so far:<br />
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So, as you can see, I've made some tags that are blue with daisies, as well as white tags with pink carnations, and green tags with butterflies. The tags are 2x3" and I have added natural twine through the top holes, for a natural look. I am really liking how they are turning out! The seeded paper is pretty spendy- the company I ordered from is in Canada, so shipping is not cheap. But I have wanted to try this for some time, so am excited about offering these tags at the upcoming spring sale!<br />
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That's all for now- will update again soon!bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-4454447225066079522016-02-17T17:28:00.000-08:002016-02-17T17:28:10.889-08:00Mother's Day Exploding BoxesI know I gave a sneak peak of my new smaller Mother's Day-themed exploding box cards last time, and since then, I have actually sold the one pictured in my previous post! My husband's cousin stopped by the day before Valentine's day and asked me what I had for Valentine's day, as he had not had time to shop for his wife. I showed him one of the never-ending cards I made in the last year or two, and he bought it. Then he spotted the Mother's Day box, along with a second one I'd made but had not had time to photograph, and ended up buying both of them for his mom and wife! So that was a nice surprise! It left me without any Mother's Day boxes for the Salem Etsy Team Spring Sale though, so since we had a long weekend this past week, I took a day and knocked out 5 of them at once!<br />
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I really like how they turned out, and I hope that having these smaller boxes at a lower price will make them more appealing to the local market. I have listed them in my Etsy shop, as I find that having a wide variety of products brings in the browsers. I have listed a similar box in my shop before, though it was the larger size, and it did not sell, which tells me that that might be the wrong market for them- however, as I said, it helps to have interesting things for shoppers to look at. Besides, I really want to be able to sell them at the SET spring sale, so won't be heartbroken if they don't sell on Etsy anyway!<br />
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Next up- more bookmarks! I recently added a few new floral bookmarks to my shop, as my supply had run low, and I plan to make some washi paper bookmarks next. I also want to try some laminated pressed flower cards, similar to the ones I did in the fall with the leaves, but with flowers instead.<br />
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bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-74082045033360902182016-02-06T11:26:00.002-08:002016-02-06T11:26:44.044-08:00Catching Up and Getting Ready for Spring!Well, I sure fell off the blog bandwagon for awhile there! Life sure is busy these days, and the holiday season was INSANE! <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SalemEtsyTeam/">The Salem Etsy Team</a> had our holiday sale in December at a new, larger venue, and it was EPIC! We had over 80 vendors, and more than 2,000 shoppers came through! Now we are gearing up for our spring sale in April, so I am already crafting away and getting ready for that. Being one of the organizers of such a large event takes up a lot of my time, so in order to have time to make items to sell at the sale myself, I have to get started pretty early.<br />
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I've launched some new products in the last few months, including these:<br />
<img height="318" src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/v/t1.0-9/12109226_1002069423148322_5868125281750864722_n.jpg?oh=7a3791d8916901c378fcf0806d6281ed&oe=5738BA60" width="320" /><br />
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<img height="320" src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/12032212_1002069456481652_5462049021970152617_n.jpg?oh=bdee54affeab4208f014bda6d05ed76d&oe=573764CE" width="320" /><br />
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<img height="320" src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/12031996_1002069493148315_7714563727058593211_n.jpg?oh=cdd7c03afd14f20cc2e87c8d96d3472a&oe=572409AC" width="320" /><br />
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These are cute little pillow boxes that I made with my Silhouette Cameo in two sizes- the large are about 3x5, the small are about 2x3. I'm selling gift wrap kits in my card rack at Top Drawer, which include one pillow box, a coordinating gift tag, a piece of white tissue paper, and a white ribbon. Aren't they cute?? I made a bunch for the SET holiday sale too, using holiday-themed papers. Can't wait to sell springy, flowery ones at our Spring sale!<br />
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I'm also experimenting with some smaller sized exploding boxes than the standard 4x4x4, since I've found that at the in-person sales, people are reluctant to pay what I charge for the larger ones. Here's my first attempt:<br />
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These are 3x3x3 and have two layers instead of three. I'm planning to make a few for the spring sale, and maybe even a couple for my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/BGardenCreations">Etsy shop</a> as well.<br />
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I have lots of plans for other products, but of course there's the issue of time, which I am pretty short on these days! I'll do what I can though, and will try to remember to share what I come up with here!bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-29520448025473279202015-08-23T18:22:00.000-07:002015-08-23T18:22:32.507-07:00It's Looking a Lot Like Fall.....in August!Yes, it's August, and yes, it's in the 90s outside. And here in my part of Oregon, the Willamette Valley is blanketed in smoke from forest fires both to the east and the west. But I've been looking toward fall, and making items to stock in <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/BGardenCreations">my Etsy shop</a> and my card rack at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Top-Drawer-Upscale-Resale-Boutique/275948095898502?fref=ts">Top Drawer Upscale Resale and Boutique</a>! Up first- pressed fall leaf/flower laminated bookmarks, which I've been making for a number of years now. I haven't made any new ones for awhile, and it was so much fun pulling out my stash of pressed fall leaves (which I, along with my daughter, collected and pressed myself) to make these!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNZOORYsm_5-ZghXrVjU8YBlUqxV8XYTDc0S3eCK4MANndB4o2pCAj17D9esOAa4dfHfQZsnpnInx7MBv2Bn91t6xOvBKZ3gS5rRt5DQXWhO9n8EB0TB4Wtmt4WdNV-ITZRWx9Xn5w1A/s1600/IMG_1736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNZOORYsm_5-ZghXrVjU8YBlUqxV8XYTDc0S3eCK4MANndB4o2pCAj17D9esOAa4dfHfQZsnpnInx7MBv2Bn91t6xOvBKZ3gS5rRt5DQXWhO9n8EB0TB4Wtmt4WdNV-ITZRWx9Xn5w1A/s320/IMG_1736.JPG" width="319" /></a></div>
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I threw a few flowers in there as well- I love the Black-Eyed Susans with fall leaves! And there aren't a lot of orange flowers out there, but the fuchsias I used in that last one coordinate perfectly with the orangy leaves.</div>
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In addition, and I alluded to this in a previous post, I recently ordered some matte laminate from my laminate supplier, <a href="http://www.oregonlam.com/">Oregon Lamination Company</a>. The reason- to experiment with making pressed flower and leaf greeting cards! As it has been a busy summer, I did not get around to making any with flowers, but since I had my leaves out and was playing with them, I figured I'd take a stab at some cards. I used a collage style on an off-white background, and used paper colors to compliment the leaves. I think they turned out nicely! The matte laminate, unlike the gloss that I use for bookmarks, does not reflect any light, and you almost can't even tell it's there. After experimenting with different ways of putting pressed flowers and leaves on greeting cards, this is the only one that has really worked to protect the delicate flora from breakage with use. Being laminated, these leaves will last for years, assuming it is not stored in direct sunlight. Wouldn't these be gorgeous in a picture frame?</div>
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These cards are standard A2 size (4.25x5.5) and come with an off-white envelope. I've listed the top two in the photo in my Etsy shop, and will be taking the bottom two to my card rack at Top Drawer.</div>
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In addition to the fall colors now exploding in my Etsy shop, I have also listed some pressed flower bookmarks. I recently got an order for 3 bookmarks, and after reviewing my remaining listings, I realized that I only had one bookmark left in my shop! Well, I had some inventory that was not listed, so today finally took the time to take pictures and get them listed. Along with the regular pressed flower/leaf collage bookmarks, I also listed 3 of the Jane Austen book page bookmarks that I had left over from the Jane Austen Faire last year. Surprisingly- one of them was favorited only minutes after I listed them!</div>
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My spare time is short these days, but I'm hoping to get some more fall products completed for both my Etsy shop and my rack at Top Drawer soon. I already have a start on a couple of Halloween cards, using a paper that I bought last year and had some left over. I had made 2 cards with it, and both sold out, so hopefully someone will like these too. I just LOVE fall- it is my favorite season, and it's so fun to finally be able to make some more fall items!</div>
bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-78589873954150308442015-07-05T19:02:00.000-07:002015-07-05T19:02:06.111-07:00New Product- Laminated Signs!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, this is something that I have been working on for a few years now. Quite awhile back, when I first got my laminating machine, I made a No Soliciting sign for myself, and made a few extra and gave them away to friends. I always put a few out on my table at craft sales, but never sold any. One reason why I never really pursued making this product for my Etsy shop or other venues was because of my personal experience with my own: being that they are outside, they tend to fade in time with exposure to the sun.<br />
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The company that I buy my laminating supplies from, the <a href="http://www.oregonlam.com/">Oregon Lamination Company</a>, does offer a UV laminate that is supposed to help protect items from the harmful UV rays and resist fading. It is not inexpensive though, which is why I had not bought any before. My previous signs were about 6x8 inches, which would have necessitated me buying the letter sized laminate sheets. I decided to try making smaller signs, 4x6, and went ahead and ordered the 4x6 UV laminate. Let me tell you, every single experience I have had with the Oregon Lamination Company has been nothing short of stellar. I bought my laminating machine from them, and soon after, I managed to jam it, and not only did they fix it for free, they had someone pick it up and deliver it back to my house, because they had an employee who lived in my area. How amazing is that?! I buy most of my laminate pouches from them, and though these particular pouches are on the spendy side, I have no problem paying for them, because I am happy to support a local business. And guess what? I ordered this laminate, along with some other laminate (for an idea I will be working on later), and it arrived in my mailbox THE.NEXT.DAY. Yes, I had my order in 24 hours. Ok, yes, it helps that I live 30 miles from them, but I just find it amazing that they are SO prompt to fill their orders. LOVE this company!<br />
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So, back to my signs: now that I have the UV laminate and feel a bit better about my product holding up over time, I felt a better about offering these for sale. Actually, my old signs, which I made with plain old Scotch 3M laminating pouches, lasted about 3 years on my east-facing front porch, and yes, the card stock border and printed text faded a bit, but it was still perfectly readable. I want something better for paying customers, though. I like the idea of a smallish doorbell sign- something that can just sit unobtrusively next to the doorbell for those pesky solicitors who would otherwise disturb our peace and quiet, but not be garishly obvious or out of place on my front porch. I have, by the way, recently begun doing some sprucing up of my front porch- it is an area that I have never paid very much attention to, but after some Pinterest-surfing, have decided needed some prettying up! I found this gorgeous bronze metal plant stand, which I have been accessorizing with plants and other cute things. So when I remembered that the Dollar Tree had picture frames in various metallic patinas for only $1 each, I went and picked up a bronze 4x6 frame to put my sign in, and mounted it to the wall above my doorbell. Well, I already know that it worked, because yesterday when I was leaving to run some errands, I found a business flyer taped to my door. Hey, at least they didn't ring the doorbell! You can see by the above photo that it is pretty and stylish and still delivers the right message.<br />
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I made some in a few different colors, and I did them two ways: with the "Youth fundraising OK", and without. I know that some of us really appreciate our Girl Scout cookies and little league candy bars, but some don't, so I wanted there to be options for both!<br />
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These signs I have packaged up and taken to Top Drawer for purchase from my card rack- that is the other nice thing about these being a nice compact size, they fit nicely on my rack! I have also put up a custom listing in <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/BGardenCreations">my Etsy shop</a> so that people can choose their own custom colors, designs, and even text. Just think about a "Quiet, Baby Sleeping" sign, or even just a simple "Welcome to the Smith's" on a cute laminated sign! I don't provide the frames with purchase, but they will fit into any standard 4x6 frame, and with purchase I do include 2 Command strips for damage-free mounting to a door or wall.<br />
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I'm kind of taking it easy this summer, and not pressuring myself too much to make a lot of new things, but this has been fun! I have a few other ideas up my sleeve, so when I have a chance to try them out, I'll be posting about them here. In the meantime, take care, and stay cool! (Oh my, but it is a HOT summer!)bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-33529147174062253062015-05-27T20:19:00.000-07:002015-05-27T20:19:48.710-07:00Graduation Season!I am so pleased to say that my graduation exploding box cards have, well, exploded this year! I started getting orders in January, and have been getting them pretty consistently since about April. Now that it's late May and graduation season is upon us, it is getting BUSY! I am working on my 14th order of this year...that might not seem like a lot to a lot of people, but it's a lot to me! The best thing is the incredible things that my customers have to say about my product. Just today, I sent photo proofs of a work in progress to a customer, and she responded "<span style="background-color: #ebf6f9; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">WOW!!!</span><span style="background-color: #ebf6f9; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #ebf6f9; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">This is just WONDERFUL!! </span><span style="background-color: #ebf6f9; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">LOVE IT!!! </span><span style="background-color: #ebf6f9; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Thank you so much. My daughter will just LOVE this!!!" </span> Well, that could not make me happier- I want, above all, for my customers to love what I do for them!<br />
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Last time I updated, I mentioned that since I got my Silhouette Cameo, I had made the process of making the graduation exploding boxes much more efficient, so I thought I would share some of the results from that:<br />
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I love how the layers now lay exactly diagonal from one another. Before, the inside layer was only barely offset from the middle layer. With my Silhouette software, I was able to create cut files to exact dimensions, and experimented until I got it right. I love the result! What an improvement- it looks so much better!<br />
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You might notice that a couple of these do not have school logos, like I usually include. That is because for colleges, I will never use a logo if I am not authorized to do so. I send an email to the college licensing office to ask for permission for all college jobs. About half of the time, I never even hear back from them. Sad to say, but they have better things to do than deal with a small request like mine. I have never had one turn me down- if I do hear back, it is to give permission. Anyway, two of the above photos show boxes that I had to make without the college logos, due to the fact that the university never responded to my request for permission to use the logo. On the Sacred Heart one, the customer (the mom of the student) suggested that I just use the heart graphic. On the one for the University of Illinois, I did actually (finally) hear back from someone, but it was too late- I had already completed the box and shipped it. In that case, I simply used general graduation graphics found on the internet, and the customer was happy. I do prefer to use the logos, but I think I am getting better at the ones where it is not possible.<br />
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I am so happy that my product has taken off this year- I have actually had to keep it unlisted at times so as not to get too overwhelmed with orders! Most of all, I am happiest with the feedback from the buyers- I have been blessed with customers who are happy and thankful for what I have created for them, and that is all that a crafter like me can ask for.<br />
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In other news, I have transitioned out of my booth at the consignment store Top Drawer, and now just have my card rack there. It will be interesting to see how it does! I think I did ok for Mother's Day, so we'll see what happens after this month. I still think I did the right thing giving up my booth, and will be happy as long as I can sell enough cards to make the rack fee worth it.bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-8369909074043812082015-05-10T20:47:00.001-07:002015-05-10T20:47:34.882-07:00Finally, Some New Stuff!I am well into my transition from my previous booth at Top Drawer to my scaled-back focus on my crafting, and it is going well! I have gotten rid of a number of furniture pieces, and this weekend went through my crafting stuff and posted some crafting supplies that I will not need since I am pulling my attention away from the other crafting activities apart from paper crafts. It feels good- I do wish I had more time to do the other crafts, but for the time being, it will have to wait.<div>
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In the meantime, we had our Salem Etsy Team spring sale last weekend, and it was fantastic! We had the best traffic we've ever had at an event! I sold a number of cards, and my daughter Meredith sold some things to raise money for her choir trip. Now that that is over, the pressure is off, and I have time to get things organized and plan for the future. This weekend, I did some cleaning and organizing, and managed to get in some crafting as well.</div>
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I have gotten a number of graduation exploding box orders this year- I just completed my 10th since January, which is a record for me! I'm very happy that they are doing so well. Since I got my Silhouette Cameo, I have spent some time creating cut files for my box cards, and it has really made things much easier and efficient for me! I can now cut out the box layers and panels in a fraction of the time it used to take to do it by hand, and they are much more precise and even in size. It takes a bit of time to set up the print files in the Silhouette Studio software, but once done, it prints and cuts easily and quickly. Hooray for efficiency!</div>
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For our SET spring sale, I made some new products- some cards, as well as these little reusable gift tags/bookmarks. This is something I have played with in the past- in fact, for the holiday sale last year, I made mini-bookmarks for the swag bag contributions, very cute, with paper snowflakes in them. This time, I made them with pretty washi papers and added on a blank white square to the backs with temporary adhesive. They can be used as a gift tag, then remove the white square to use a as a bookmark after. I sold a few at the spring sale, and just today listed some in my Etsy shop. We'll see how they do- I realize they are kind of different! I really like them though:</div>
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I especially love that bird and foliage paper in the first photo- I have made some cards with that paper, and just love it!</div>
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Also just listed a few new cards in my shop:</div>
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I got a few new washi papers back in December, so used some in these. I really love that peacock feather pattern paper! The pink/white quatrefoil is not washi paper, but I really like that pattern- it is geometric without being too blocky and regular, and it looks nice paired with a flower. I just got an embossing folder with a quatrefoil pattern, so will be experimenting with that soon.</div>
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It is nice to be focusing once again on my paper crafts! Looking forward to doing more. I recently ordered a bunch of new washi papers from a seller on Etsy, and these are in patterns and colors I have not used before, so should be fun to work with!</div>
bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-20223691018197628052015-04-12T19:34:00.000-07:002015-04-12T19:34:35.665-07:00Catching Up and Changing Direction (Yet Again)Wow, I can't believe it's been since Christmas that I last posted! I guess I have been otherwise occupied. Family obligations have taken up a lot of my time and focus in the last few months. My dad passed away in November, and though he didn't want a service, I took my kids to the other side of the country over spring break to visit my step-mom and other family members, sort through photos and other things of my dad's, and spread his ashes in the mountains. It has been a different, and sometimes difficult, time, and has definitely affected the time I am able to spend on crafting and my Etsy and other craft businesses.<br />
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Lately, I have had to reassess my commitments and make some decisions about them, because I have been feeling spread very thin. I did not do the Jane Austen Faire this year for this reason, and am kind of scrambling to fulfill other commitments. So, I have made the difficult decision to give up my booth at Top Drawer Upscale Resale and Boutique, as much as I have loved having it. I am not leaving Top Drawer altogether though- I will be keeping my card rack there, which will only cost me half of what my booth fee has cost. I have found that I have been spending way more time and effort on the "supplemental" things in my booth than I have on cards, which were the main things I wanted to sell there. In fact, they are my best selling items there, so removing my focus from them has been a disadvantage all this time. Making this decision has been very freeing- I feel better than I have in months, because I do not have all the pressure that I have been putting on myself any longer. I have really enjoyed refinishing furniture and making the other items that I have done, but I simply do not have the time for everything at this stage of my life. Maybe in a couple of decades when I don't have to work full time and have 2 teenagers to raise/guide!<br />
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SO...I am in the process of clearing out my garage of the furniture I had stockpiled to refinish. I have gotten rid of a number of items already, and it feels great! That's how I know that I have made the right decision. In the meantime, I have been working on some new cards, for my card rack at Top Drawer, as well as in preparation of the Salem Etsy Team Spring Sale, which is scheduled for May 2nd. I don't have much made yet, but hope to crank out lots of Mother's Day cards in the next couple of weeks. Also, my daughter is still raising money for her choir trip next month, so will be making some items to sell there. She'll be making some seeded gift tags (gift tags with flower seeds that can be planted to grow flowers), bird seed cakes in fun shapes that can be hung from trees, and pretty clothes pin magnets. All of the proceeds from those items will go toward her trip to Seattle, which is coming up quickly!!<br />
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I have learned a lot in the last few months, not the least of which is what my personal limits are. There may be things that I want to do, but those must be balanced with what I *need* to do. It is a delicate balance, and as every working mom knows, is a moving target- no 2 weeks are exactly the same. While I am sad to have to give up some things for the time being, I feel really good about moving forward in a way that will not create so much pressure on me, and I can enjoy my craft again. My graduation exploding boxes are currently, well, exploding! I have already done more orders so far this year than I did all of last year, and the momentum seems to keep building! It is nice to once again focus on my Etsy shop, since I have had little time for it since having my booth at Top Drawer. Hopefully the decisions I've made to scale back will benefit every area of my life and business(es). I will be able to focus on what sells the best at Top Drawer, which is the cards, and my most popular product on Etsy, the exploding box cards. And not go crazy in the process- it's a win-win!! I am excited that I have been able to reduce a lot of my physical labor on the exploding box cards by using the Silhouette Cameo, and look forward to making more efficiency changes in the near future.<br />
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So- onward! :)bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-16403112058292124952014-12-26T22:19:00.000-08:002014-12-26T22:19:05.580-08:00Happy Holidays!<div style="text-align: left;">
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Happy Holidays, everyone! Santa came to town, and look what he brought!</div>
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Wishing you good cheer and blessings for the New Year! I am looking forward to a new year of creating great things, and sharing theme here with you. Can't wait to start making some new stuff in 2015!<br />
bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-89609558958044600002014-11-09T20:40:00.000-08:002014-11-09T20:40:16.987-08:00New Fall ItemsLooks like I have some catching up to do! Whew, time sure flies- it does not seem like it was nearly a month and a half since I last posted!<br />
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Well, I continued my fall product development with this:<br />
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Isn't this cute?? It's a wreath made from a picture frame, embellished with faux fall foliage. I got this frame at a garage sale for all of 50 cents, and painted it with paint I got at Lowe's from the clearance section. I added a burlap bow on the bottom. And in the center- a chalkboard that I made myself. I bought a plaque at Michaels and painted the edges with acrylic paint, and the front with chalboard paint in a dark brown. So yes, it's a chalkboard! I hung it from the frame with twine, keeping with the rustic look. I really like how it came out. I put it in my booth at Top Drawer, and I hope I sell it!<br />
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The other exciting thing that happened last month is that I had this great custom order from a customer in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I had never shipped to that part of the world before, so was not sure what to expect. The customer, Raeed, was a really nice guy who was purchasing a custom graduation exploding box for a very close female friend who was graduating from college. I communicated a lot with Raeed on the design of the box, and because of the high number of personal words and phrases he wanted to use, I proposed the idea of creating a word collage for part of the box. He loved the idea, and I got to experiment! I really like how it turned out.<br />
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He gave me enough material for me to create two word collage panels on his box. They are the larger ones on the outer layers.<br />
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Kind of hard to see those text panels, so here the are up close:<br />
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I mixed in some graphics, and I think it makes it fun. Raeed seemed really happy with the final product. I was very happy that he was happy!<br />
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I am currently working on some new holiday stuff, both for the Etsy shop and my booth at Top Drawer. In addition, the Salem Etsy Team is planning our annual holiday sale, so am coordinating that again. This time, I have some help- yay! We have brought on some new people to help with marketing, vendor coordination, and other tasks, so that I am not doing everything myself! The volunteers we have brought on are doing a fantastic job so far, and I think this will be our best holiday sale yet! This year, I will not be selling my own products. Instead, I am giving my booth over to my daughter Meredith, aged 14, who is looking to raise money for her choir trip to Seattle in May, for which she has to earn half of the cost. They are doing some fundraisers at school, but this is a great additional opportunity for her to earn some money. She has been hard at work making glitter ornaments, gift tags, holiday decor items, and more! It will be kind of different for me this time to have a role only as a sale organizer and not a seller, though I will be there to support Meredith on the day of the sale. But as she is making most of the items for sale, and will be manning the booth, all proceeds will go toward her choir trip, so I want to let her head it all up. I know she will do a great job! We have some great new items that we will be debuting at the sale...stay tuned here for previews!bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-40858376944350580842014-09-28T18:45:00.000-07:002014-09-28T18:45:18.978-07:00More Fall StuffThis week I did a couple more fall cards. You know...I LOVE flowers, that is not a secret, given what most of my cards and bookmarks look like. But wow, it has been so much fun to work on something a little different! I have had a blast experimenting with some of the fall themes in my cards! I just love fall-colored leaves, so it has been great to be creative with that theme. This week, I tried my hand at making pumpkins on a card, and I like how it came out!<br />
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These are actually pretty easy to make. The one on the left is 3 die-cut circles with an oval in the front. The one on the left is 3 ovals. They were cut out of a pumpkiny orange paper, and then I inked the edges with a darker orange dye ink. The leaves were from fall leaf punches, and I even cut thin strips and curled them with a quilling tool to make whatever that curly thing is on pumpkin plants. All of this set on an embossed background. I also made another leaf card today, since the similar one that I had at Top Drawer sold this week.<br />
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I used the same leaf punches on this one that I used on the pumpkin card, instead of the maple leaf punch that I had used on the previous ones. These leaves are a bit smaller, so there was room for more. I figured out on this one the easy way to ink the leaves: ink a piece of paper, then punch the leaves from it, rather than inking the individual leaves. Duh! Not sure why I didn't think of that before!<br />
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Yesterday we had a great meeting of the Salem Etsy Team to talk about team structure and the upcoming holiday. It was nice to see everyone!<br />
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It was so much fun to see new and familiar faces! We haven't gotten together in quite awhile, and this really made me think that we need to do it more often! We are making plans for our holiday sale and doing some neat new things too, like workshops. Can't wait to see what we all come up with!<br />
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Finally here is a picture of the co-captains (Me and Megan, of Phytotherapy) after the meeting, when we both stopped by Top Drawer to fluff our booths. We are SO ready for fall- bring it on!!<br />
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Oh! And check out the great new Salem Etsy Team blog! We just launched it this weekend, and can't wait to do more with it! <a href="http://salemetsyteam.blogspot.com/">http://salemetsyteam.blogspot.com</a><br /><br />
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<br />bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-19015528933973667132014-09-14T18:16:00.001-07:002014-09-14T18:16:41.888-07:00New Fall CardsI'm so excited to have some fall cards to post about! The other week, a Tim Holtz Sizzix tattered leaf die that I had been eying went on sale on Amazon, so I finally bought it, along with some stamps and embossing folders, both fall leaf-themed. My package finally arrived on Friday, and I couldn't wait to get to work! It took until today, but I spent some time playing with my new toys and made a few cards. Love the fall colors, even though summer is not over yet...in fact it is in the 90s here today, ughh! Well, looking at these cards makes me look forward to fall!<br />
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This is a design I have made before, waayyy back when I first started making cards, and was a member of PBS Swappers. There was a fall card swap, and this was the design I made. It was fun to get my fall color dye stamp pad and leaf stamps out again! This one features a punched leaf that I stamped with one of the new stamps I got- I love the veiny look, just like a real leaf! <br />
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This one has two layers that are embossed with mixed fall leaves, and two leaves in the center. One is cut from my new die, stamped with a stamp, and embossed, while the other is from the same punch as the first card. <br />
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The above two are simple, embossed cards- found this fun fall leaf embossing folder at Joann's awhile back. <br />
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Another card featuring a die-cut, stamped, and embossed leaf, as well as some jute ribbon. <br />
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I really like these two! The trees are embossed, and then I added some punched maple leaves, which I stippled with dye ink in fall colors. These are mounted on the cards with foam tape, so they are raised, and sort of float above the card.<br />
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These will be going to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Top-Drawer-Upscale-Resale-Boutique/275948095898502">Top Drawer Upscale Resale and Boutique</a> tomorrow, along with the Paris bookmarks, and some pressed fall leaf bookmarks that I've had hanging around for awhile. Time for fall to come to my booth! Next time, I am looking forward to making some cards that feature pumpkins...I've seen pumpkins made by layering die-cut ovals and circles, so look forward to trying it!bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-58694048180187986182014-09-12T19:58:00.001-07:002014-09-12T19:58:16.240-07:00Paris BookmarksThis past week, I stopped by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Top-Drawer-Upscale-Resale-Boutique/275948095898502?ref=br_tf">Top Drawer Upscale Resale and Boutique</a> to "fluff" my booth, and while I was there, I fell into conversation with a woman who was shopping there, assisted by Krissy, the owner. The woman was looking for Paris-themed items for a charity event- she was sponsoring a table, and had to decorate it with a theme, which in this case was Paris. She was interested in some bath teas by my fellow Salem Etsy Team member/captain, Megan, of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/Phytotherapy">Phytotherapy</a>, and was looking for other small items. Krissy asked me if I had anything, and I said that while I didn't have anything currently, I might be able to design a laminated bookmark with that theme. The woman was interested, and I gave her my card and told her to let me know if she wanted to talk about doing something. Long story short, Krissy contacted me and passed along the woman's phone number, I called and left her a message, but alas, I did not hear back from her. I imagine she probably changed her mind, or found something else to use. She had been looking for small gifts for each of the 8 seats at the table, and I am sure there are plenty of things out there that would be lovely for that purpose. Easy come, easy go- I am used to getting inquiries that do not pan out by now. It's disappointing, but I don't take it personally.<br />
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Well...sometimes when I get an idea in my mind, I can't let it go until I actually do something with it, and this was another one of those cases. I had done some research and had found some neat digital images that I had thought I could layer for a sort of Paris-themed collage. I stopped in to Top Drawer again today, and Krissy said that even though the woman did not call me back, she thought I ought to make a few items anyway- she said the Paris stuff flies off of the shelves there. That was all the encouragement I needed! I spent some time this evening working on my idea, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!<br />
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Here is the front. Let me break this down: the background is an image from a vintage postcard written in French, and I lightened it up considerably so that it made for a softer background. I then layered on other images: a Paris postmark, an image of the Eiffel Tower, a fleur de lis, some roses, and a butterfly. I like it! On the back, I put on some paper in a black and white damask pattern that looks a bit like fleur de lis.<br />
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I also managed to get my shop name on the bottom of the back- you can barely see it down there, but it's there!<br />
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I have never done anything quite like this before, and I am pleased with my first attempt. I actually had to print it in two separate layers, the background first, and then the items that are on top of it. I set up the layout in Power Point in two separate slides and printed them one at a time, so that the top images printed right on top of the background.<br />
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Next up I will be working on some fall-themed cards- I just ordered some stuff from Amazon and can't wait to get it and play with it!<br />
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<br />bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-81111503660831154882014-08-24T17:21:00.000-07:002014-08-24T17:21:28.090-07:00More New CardsWell, I decided that I liked that new card design that I came up with for my sister's speedy recovery card that I used it on a few other new cards! I wanted to make a few more birthday cards for kids, so I did a couple each for girls and boys.<br />
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I did this one in the large (5x7) size. I still had some of the floral and striped papers left, so I made two smaller A2 cards next:<br />
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Here are the boy cards:<br />
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Cute little car and truck pattern, and lots of neat colors to use!<br />
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I also made a "thinking of you" card with some papers I've wanted to use for awhile but haven't had the chance.<br />
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I don't recall where I found this paisley paper, but I suspect it was probably Craft Warehouse. I think I got the argyle paper from Scrapbook.com when I ordered some papers to use for Valentine cards, but I never got around to using this one. Anyway, I like the combination of these papers together- yes it is busy! But I love how the colors mesh.<br />
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So I'm still plugging away at the cards and building up my inventory at Top Drawer. I'm afraid my poor little Etsy shop is starting to feel neglected! I do need to try to get some new things in there soon. I actually do have some of the thank you cards from a few weeks ago that I reserved to list in my shop, but I haven't had time to take photos and do the listings. Hopefully soon! I still have not sold that little table that I painted a few weeks ago- I just marked the price down and did some promoting on Facebook, because I really would like to get it sold. I scored some new furniture pieces at a garage sale last weekend, and have already started working on one of them. Fortunately I have made my booth fee and then some already for this month- yippee!<br />
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<br />bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-81048666625437885892014-08-17T15:02:00.000-07:002014-08-17T15:02:19.400-07:00Speedy Recovery and Baby CardsJust a few new cards that I have made lately. First is one that I made to send my sister, who had surgery last week. I used some paper that I got at an estate sale- a pack of Stampin' Up paper that all coordinates together, so it's very easy to match papers to make a pretty card.<br />
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Lately, I have been trying to take my cards to the next level by using a variety of fonts and font sizes on my sentiments. I see a lot of that on commercially-produced cards, as well as on handmade cards that are stamped. I print mine on the computer, and have been making use of more fonts, and I think it makes it more interesting. Anyway, this card has a rich dark brown base and has green and blue floral papers layered. I also put a strip of striped paper with a bow going across it, just to add some interest. I tried something different this time with offsetting the paper layers, and I really like this- you can see the pattern on the bottom paper so much more than if the top one was centered! I will be using this design again for sure.<br />
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Next I have a couple of baby cards. This is my second batch- I forgot to take pictures of the first ones I made, which were for baby boy and baby girl. The new ones are just generic baby cards and can be used for either sex. I found this cute circus animal paper and coordinating striped paper at Joann's.<br />
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I again used the offset design, so that you can see the striped paper better. These are A2 size cards, and I didn't want the sentiment box to dominate them, so they are small- just 2x2. I used a scalloped square punch for the border.<br />
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What's next? Not sure yet! I have been making my way through a list of card types that I want to get stocked in my booth at Top Drawer, and have made good progress, but there are still a few that I want to get more of in there- sympathy, thinking of you, congratulations, anniversary, and some seasonal cards as well. The holidays are just around the corner! I have some holiday cards from the past couple of years that did not sell at my craft shows, but will be making a few new ones too. Not too many, since single cards do not sell very well, but I do enjoy coming up with new designs. I also want to do some fall cards- I got a couple of new embossing folders during a sale at Joann's and one is a pretty falling leaf one that I am looking forward to using. Also, my husband and I scored some neat stuff at a garage sale yesterday, including two small tables and a couple of wall-mounted shelves that I plan on painting. I am going to work on one of the tables first- I got a small jar of chalk paint at Michael's this morning that I am going to use on it, and I am curious to compare the results to the table I painted with the chalk paint that I made by mixing flat paint with Plaster of Paris.<br />
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<br />bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-79457117189079662542014-08-03T17:36:00.000-07:002014-08-03T17:36:27.957-07:00Wedding Cards and Painted JarsStill beefing up my inventory at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Top-Drawer-Upscale-Resale-Boutique/275948095898502">Top Drawer Upscale Resale and Boutique</a>- I'm trying to get more types of cards in there for different occasions. Last week I did some thank you cards, and this week I focused on wedding cards. I took a couple in last week- these are a new embossed design:<br />
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It's a pretty simple design, monochromatic in either white or off-white, with the edges inked with either gold (on the off-white) or silver (on the white). I saw this idea of inking the edges on Pinterest, and came up with my own design using that concept. I used a script font on both the sentiment box on the front, and the message in the card:<br />
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So those were last week's wedding cards. Here are this week's:<br />
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Unfortunately, the light was not great when I took these pics late yesterday afternoon, so the coloring is a bit off, even after correction. The first one is white with salmon, embossed with a poppy design. I did my best to create a 3D poppy, and I am happy with how it turned out! I used the Tattered Flowers die from Tim Holz (Sizzix) for the larger flower and the outer inside layer, then a sun punch for the inside, and put some tiny gold pearls on the inside. I used an embossing tool to create the striations on the outer layer. The other two include a light blue daisy, and a mauve rose (which I made with the Spellbinder 3D rose die.) The sentiment box is elevated on all of these with foam adhesive. I printed the sentiment on the computer. I have been working on using a mix of fonts on my sentiments to make it more interesting, and I like it!<br />
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Next up is some more painted mason jars. These are pretty popular right now, in fact mine are not the only ones that are being sold at Top Drawer right now. Pinterest is full of them, and finding a new angle on them is not easy. However, I saw something on a blog last night and had to try it myself: denim-wrapped mason jars:<br />
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I used a pair of old jeans and cut strips to wrap around the painted jars. I used the crackle painting technique with Elmer's glue, for a distressed look. On the first, I painted it a dark yellow and accented it with a white ribbon and white paper daisy with a yellow button center. I love the combination of the yellow with the denim! The second one is lavender, and I made two rosettes with strips of denim. They were my first attempt, and they turned out ok, but I think I can use more practice! I worked on some more this morning, and they turned out much better.<br />
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Finally, here is a third jar that I did with burlap, along with a burlap rosette:<br />
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Burlap is a lot harder to work with because of the loose weave, and the fact that the edges fray very easily. It is easier to use thin strips of material to roll the rosettes, however with the burlap that is hard to do because the edges fray from both sides, leaving you with more frayed edges than material in the center. I will keep working on my technique and try some more. I did try one using jute ribbon, which has finished edges, so I thought might be easier, but it wasn't because it is also much more stiff and less flexible than burlap.<br />
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I took everything down to Top Drawer today, and also brought some new signs to put on my card rack for the different card sections. It's a work in progress- I'll keep working on it, but it's a start!<br />
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Check out the new crackle painted frames above- the photo quality is not great since it is from my iPhone, but I love how these look when they are done! The one on the left has a base coat of a dark salmon color, with a top coat of light pink. The one on the right is aqua with white over it.<br />
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The big Grand Opening celebration at Top Drawer is this Wednesday, so I guess I am as prepared as I can be at this point! I will continue making cards and trying to increase my inventory. I got some new papers yesterday, several which are baby themed, so that I can make some baby cards. Those will be fun!<br />
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<br />bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-49228285609784252602014-07-28T20:43:00.000-07:002014-07-28T20:43:33.844-07:00A Few New ThingsI know I have been remiss in listing new items in my Etsy shop since starting at Top Drawer...it is hard to keep inventory up in two different places! I am working on it though. I have a plan for bulking up my card inventory at Top Drawer- need to have cards for a variety of occasions, so I started working toward that goal this weekend. Yesterday I managed to create some Thank You cards in several designs, and I made two of each design. I took one of each to Top Drawer today, and will be listing the others in my Etsy shop.<br />
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I've been focusing on Top Drawer because they are having their Grand Opening celebration on August 6th, and will be having some events and running a 10% off storewide sale that day, so I want to make sure my inventory is sufficient for that! Also, when you have to pay $50 a month rent whether you sell anything or not, you tend to make an effort to have stuff in there that people want to buy! I am happy that I have sold some cards- I'm not sure I am going to make enough to cover my booth fee this month, but it will be close at least. I knew going in that it might be awhile before I turn a profit, and resolved to give it 6 months before reevaluating,so I'm not worried.<br />
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I mentioned I was working on a cute side table, and I finished it and took it over to the shop over the weekend. I was happy to get it done, and pleased with how it turned out! It started out as a typical medium-toned stained wood table. I sanded it down and mixed my own chalk paint using latex paint and Plaster of Paris, two colors, white and a pretty mint green. I painted the white first, then the green, and sanded it to distress it.<br />
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Here are a few other things I completed this weekend and took over there:<br />
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<br />bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-74945274044938234512014-07-20T14:21:00.000-07:002014-07-20T14:21:05.914-07:00New Exploding Box CardsSince I've been back from vacation, I've started working on a few items for my booth at Top Drawer. I was pleasantly surprised to sell enough in June to cover my booth fee- hooray! This month, I have not sold as much, probably because I need to get some new items in there. Here is a start! I made both of these exploding box cards this weekend, and will be taking them down to the shop tomorrow.<br />
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This one features a Japanese washi paper in a gorgeous daisy pattern, with vibrant orange, pink, green, light blue, and yellow. The large inner panels are embossed with a daisy embossing folder.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CE53rFWZUpYX6VfPadFaHmdZtATFhOm-SLbNXHBYflYPK6RKcVCMgK_r72UB0rhS1IoE1wUMJndQ9Cr_o3bnb0r7BumPkfLLTGBGdXPiJyDhrflfwKsXmbKj39YsqeejThyphenhyphenIOZVbtVQ/s1600/IMG_0006-004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CE53rFWZUpYX6VfPadFaHmdZtATFhOm-SLbNXHBYflYPK6RKcVCMgK_r72UB0rhS1IoE1wUMJndQ9Cr_o3bnb0r7BumPkfLLTGBGdXPiJyDhrflfwKsXmbKj39YsqeejThyphenhyphenIOZVbtVQ/s1600/IMG_0006-004.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
The center contains a little pot of pink handmade paper daisies. I thought about painting the pot, but decided that the natural terra cotta color was a perfect match already!<br />
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The next box is a general Happy Birthday box:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkzSFHMU2ZCQs7mm_BY9qtE9mCQJY3E_gTFtkQvzs6TBzG6jd8-SrCzXiFAVA8KDUG7-4XSSHUxVt79wfMzIrwe1mSlrzyIFU1t9cdY_rooYktzxD038ZG7R2v9WTmlerp-HzajRQXbs/s1600/IMG_0010-002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkzSFHMU2ZCQs7mm_BY9qtE9mCQJY3E_gTFtkQvzs6TBzG6jd8-SrCzXiFAVA8KDUG7-4XSSHUxVt79wfMzIrwe1mSlrzyIFU1t9cdY_rooYktzxD038ZG7R2v9WTmlerp-HzajRQXbs/s1600/IMG_0010-002.JPG" height="320" width="319" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgaDieFGCkUqMNWWM88mgOTCfBVwWr65CAQy29tQz1pcNcKUcjyy4JlqHBs_REGLrFmP3WgMljDhux8XkTMvfLheo2hWvVqA_ljARMI_5jRfN1AhLnV_vyYWrDe3qvluzYctbqvwO6Ew/s1600/IMG_0011-002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgaDieFGCkUqMNWWM88mgOTCfBVwWr65CAQy29tQz1pcNcKUcjyy4JlqHBs_REGLrFmP3WgMljDhux8XkTMvfLheo2hWvVqA_ljARMI_5jRfN1AhLnV_vyYWrDe3qvluzYctbqvwO6Ew/s1600/IMG_0011-002.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
I used a cute paper in primary colors that has a little streamer pattern all over it, and paired it with a coordinating polka dot paper. This is different than my other box cards, because instead of a 3rd box layer in the center, I made a vertical piece to hold a gift card!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSqWevmKORWRxsPMLznjZoG7PgEisIw3dI-nEsMH1aqit0PZpJ2yuutKuitkxrH3JbCdTXDfnFo-h7Tf7TM8e8Fz2FNyhdybTk5dt7kP38rpZ3cCpOI_PCtJm0AX95eTbq25BlSVYTTI/s1600/IMG_0012-002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSqWevmKORWRxsPMLznjZoG7PgEisIw3dI-nEsMH1aqit0PZpJ2yuutKuitkxrH3JbCdTXDfnFo-h7Tf7TM8e8Fz2FNyhdybTk5dt7kP38rpZ3cCpOI_PCtJm0AX95eTbq25BlSVYTTI/s1600/IMG_0012-002.JPG" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
Also, one of the inner-most panels was left blank for a personal message to be written.<br />
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I'm anxious to see how my exploding box cards do at the shop! At craft shows, I usually get a mix of reactions...,most people think they are really cool, but some people turn their nose up at the price. Yes, it is a lot for a greeting card, and there is only a select market of people who will be willing to pay that kind of price for something like this. I'm hoping that those are the people who are likely to be shopping at the boutique. I am making little card tags for these that tell a little bit about the box cards, and also with a note that custom designs are available. Then I'll put some custom order forms at the shop in case someone is interested. We'll see how it goes!<br />
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<br />bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-50118340062162473662014-07-11T12:03:00.001-07:002014-07-12T11:36:34.200-07:00Vacation!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGaCldd3tIS764Cs9Tv_VeaxTQZBjUmXx-wZy5dknlryh2V8XUYByOdb3q4AlCw0g_GOiBbEuuaO5A0sQiuamkTXOCjtF88HRv0WBrJXVCAbmTQWf6Q5z0sIS5PNP8qZ1u8ZfsbfCK7pw/s1600/IMG_0978-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGaCldd3tIS764Cs9Tv_VeaxTQZBjUmXx-wZy5dknlryh2V8XUYByOdb3q4AlCw0g_GOiBbEuuaO5A0sQiuamkTXOCjtF88HRv0WBrJXVCAbmTQWf6Q5z0sIS5PNP8qZ1u8ZfsbfCK7pw/s1600/IMG_0978-001.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Just got back from a week at the beach with my bestie, Kendra- had such a great time! So great, that it was hard to come home!<br />
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I haven't done much in the way of crafting for awhile, but am about to get back into it. Both my Etsy shop and my booth at Top Drawer need some new stock, so I need to get working! The good news is, my first month at Top Drawer was a success- I made my booth fee plus $2.65- woohoo! Yeah, $2.65 isn't much, but since I fully expected to lose money my first month, I am thrilled!<br />
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Anyway, I'll be back soon with new stuff! bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-37877172078503746672014-06-17T20:22:00.002-07:002014-06-17T20:22:46.540-07:00Boutique Update, and a Few New ThingsHello! Well, it has been just over 2 weeks since I started my booth at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Top-Drawer-Upscale-Resale-Boutique/275948095898502">Top Drawer Resale & Boutique </a>, and things are going better than I expected! Honestly, I did not feel very well prepared for such a venture. Coming out of my spring craft shows, I did not have a ton of inventory, so with half of it listed in <a href="http://www.bgardencreations.etsy.com/">my Etsy shop</a> and the rest at the boutique, I feel like there is not a lot in either place, and I really need to beef up in both. But of course, with it being the end of the school year, my son graduating high school, etc., there just has not been time for me to get into my craft room and make much new stuff. Hopefully things will slow down now, and I will be able to get some things accomplished! I have been experimenting with some new things, and that has been really fun. One thing I wanted to share is this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uy9AifknLUMra7P5t4Gp3zfWbHBrUhdTkz0wS_WKlZ072QjWm3e0wrQH5jrhoTRBoReOxDOaVt8M5RoMaql1yggeFke9BVxn-zi62e_byxV-LxdZPsQN9A7bNQkLn_j58rgHo8nP3mc/s1600/IMG_0881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uy9AifknLUMra7P5t4Gp3zfWbHBrUhdTkz0wS_WKlZ072QjWm3e0wrQH5jrhoTRBoReOxDOaVt8M5RoMaql1yggeFke9BVxn-zi62e_byxV-LxdZPsQN9A7bNQkLn_j58rgHo8nP3mc/s1600/IMG_0881.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
It's an earring holder that I made out of a picture frame, which I crackle painted with a nice deep royal blue base and a light turquoise top coat, and a piece of burlap where the glass would normally go. Earring wires can be hung on the burlap, and voila- earring holder! I have wanted to try crackle painting for quite some time, so I experimented on this frame,and it turned out great! It was really easy too. I painted the base color (the royal blue) and allowed it to dry completely. Then I spread a thin layer of plain Elmer's glue and let it only partially dry, and when it was still tacky, painted on the top coat of the light turquoise paint. As it dries, it gets the crackle effect- totally cool! I gave it a coat of Mod Podge to finish it off, wrapped some burlap over the frame backing, and there you have it! My ultimate goal is to try the crackle painting on a piece of furniture, but I want to make sure I have the process down before I do that.<br />
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So, I'm just over halfway through the month, and so far, I have sold enough to cover about 3/4 of my booth fee for the month. To be honest, I did not expect to sell anything my first month, so anything that I do sell surpasses my expectations! Most of my cards are blank and do not have sentiments on the front, because on Etsy, I customize cards with whatever sentiment a customer wants. However, I think when people are shopping in a store, they want to buy a card with a sentiment on it, rather than a pretty card with no sentiment on the front. I simply have not had time to add sentiments to my cards, so I figured they wouldn't sell. But I have sold a few, so that's great! I also sold a purse, so that was a nice chunk of the money that has been brought in. Last week, I made a last-minute effort to make some Father's Day cards, since Sunday was Father's Day. I took one in on Friday, went home and made several more and brought them in on Saturday morning at opening time. When I checked back on Monday, I had sold 2 of the Father's Day cards! Yay! One thing I have noticed though: all of the cards I've sold there have been the smaller A2 size. I have not sold a single larger (5x7) card yet, and that's mostly what I tend to make. Maybe it's the pricing- I am thinking of reducing the price on the 5x7 cards by 50 cents and see how they do. Anyway, for the Father's day cards, I used a new design, which incorporated some of the geometric patterned papers that I used on my friend Matt's card-in-a-box birthday card. Same basic design on each card, but using different colors and paper. Here is one of them:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6i_Rx_hjCsBVsa8ua8wHD2KeifHLzLIYNP2j8-3lVsBbZ8wkFd244UsfiWYn5ImqGnC0grJ88j54fhpBuc-eH6DlPXtD_jNn6Mm9aCsaD_4oPKim0Z_i0Y3lJfs_8SzP9g9UYCdr_Z9o/s1600/IMG_0001-044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6i_Rx_hjCsBVsa8ua8wHD2KeifHLzLIYNP2j8-3lVsBbZ8wkFd244UsfiWYn5ImqGnC0grJ88j54fhpBuc-eH6DlPXtD_jNn6Mm9aCsaD_4oPKim0Z_i0Y3lJfs_8SzP9g9UYCdr_Z9o/s1600/IMG_0001-044.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
I did versions of this in green and red/tan as well. The two cards that sold were green and blue.<br />
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In addition, I managed to make a card for my dad for Father's Day. I always have a tough time with masculine cards, and I made his card before I developed the design for the cards above. I had seen a card on Pinterest that used paper scraps to make a sort of patchwork card, and I liked that idea, so I gave it a try with my dad's card.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LF7cvaUL1v8Hmb468p54JYwkgQtgiqkcXsCAeZIBC2m1yJ3himhY05KU9N-Rt3OjW7S5o0zEElR3OX6SG8E2-btGVijPgdV8r6jObkmh15KU4UJok6H2GK9cV8XF9ys4SKtBI5C1jag/s1600/IMG_0001-042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LF7cvaUL1v8Hmb468p54JYwkgQtgiqkcXsCAeZIBC2m1yJ3himhY05KU9N-Rt3OjW7S5o0zEElR3OX6SG8E2-btGVijPgdV8r6jObkmh15KU4UJok6H2GK9cV8XF9ys4SKtBI5C1jag/s1600/IMG_0001-042.JPG" height="320" width="319" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRV5sgUDfj5nrnMw5Ajzy-16BHbxXQI6r4RaYNIR7hSDHuDSHmKVkshyZ4iP5ZJ0GnM47yf_1pGdcvtcdKjV4LohchyphenhyphengiteduJQjgBqPe2QdIJQAVBTJ_O3mXpP8aNo59tzeiWuWEs2I/s1600/IMG_0002-041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRV5sgUDfj5nrnMw5Ajzy-16BHbxXQI6r4RaYNIR7hSDHuDSHmKVkshyZ4iP5ZJ0GnM47yf_1pGdcvtcdKjV4LohchyphenhyphengiteduJQjgBqPe2QdIJQAVBTJ_O3mXpP8aNo59tzeiWuWEs2I/s1600/IMG_0002-041.JPG" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
I took these photos inside so the light was not great and was a bit too reflective, but the square on the middle left of the card is actually embossed, not printed, with the diagonal stripes. The lighting and shadows make it look printed though! Again, I used the same papers I used on Matt's card. It was fun to do this, since it was different than anything I've done before, but it was a LOT of cutting and adhering, so this design is not one I'd do a lot of in the future. My dad is worth the effort though!<br />
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One more thing to share- I almost forgot about this, but it is sooo cool! I made so many graduating exploding boxes this year that I got a bit burned out on them, and then had no idea what to do for my son, who was graduating this year. He has seen so many exploding boxes anyway, that it wouldn't be that impressive. After checking out some new ideas on Pinterest, I was curious to try out a money holder box card that I found there. It actually turned out pretty cool!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPl2r9Tf830MBj2Unm6VNqKkizkn5wfGIRZXJjvSj9_aXp_oxx98V4mKJ_ppHWwAcw6RzI3l3tx3f6YhJavTU3iyOhgJ7RPRcLA7yLPrUN3iBp-4SzcZHXnK-WHi6G0XFAAnNwtVR1c0/s1600/IMG_0855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPl2r9Tf830MBj2Unm6VNqKkizkn5wfGIRZXJjvSj9_aXp_oxx98V4mKJ_ppHWwAcw6RzI3l3tx3f6YhJavTU3iyOhgJ7RPRcLA7yLPrUN3iBp-4SzcZHXnK-WHi6G0XFAAnNwtVR1c0/s1600/IMG_0855.JPG" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
This is the front. If I'd had more time, I would have created the closure using a light velcro or maybe a tie of some kind, but since I was making this at 11pm the night before his graduation party, I used temporary adhesive. I'm actually pretty proud of how it turned out, given how sleep-deprived I was at the time! Here is the open card/box:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjoVBoVKzpUMz4m1AO_l2AOIfSFmVeAfR4yQk0CsxONB_izNmKp488FFVGBdYpqx2iGDO2to19lypntsIJEiejADSrNuy8_9kLCYMWGATPmgAgeaXysydneC1OXm_L5Ia0-Ri70Foh48/s1600/IMG_0856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjoVBoVKzpUMz4m1AO_l2AOIfSFmVeAfR4yQk0CsxONB_izNmKp488FFVGBdYpqx2iGDO2to19lypntsIJEiejADSrNuy8_9kLCYMWGATPmgAgeaXysydneC1OXm_L5Ia0-Ri70Foh48/s1600/IMG_0856.JPG" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
It's flat when it's closed, then it opens up and sort of puffs up into a shallow box. I glued a panel on the bottom of the inside and wrote a message about how proud we are of Josh, and stuck a $100 bill on top. I'm not totally sure he even saw the message for being distracted by the money! Anyway, it's a really cool card, and it fits nicely into a standard A2 envelope. I'd be curious to try this in a bigger size maybe- it would be cool to not have to fold the money to fit.<br />
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Well, that's all for now- I hope to have more to share later! I really want to get some more stuff in to the boutique, so that will be what I'll be working on in the near future. See you later!<br />
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<br />bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-43722115992527017612014-06-01T14:25:00.000-07:002014-06-01T14:25:13.841-07:00I did it, aka I must be insane!As I reported last time, I was looking into having a booth at a cool new consignment shop/boutique. Well, I did look into it...and I'm doing it! I think I must have a screw loose to be trying something like this NOW of all times though! I have a child who will be graduating from high school in 5 days and a middle schooler who has a week and a half left of school, and what that means is that the next week is going to be CRAZY busy. Not to mention I have a custom graduation exploding box order that I need to finish up, my house is a disaster and we will of course be having people over next weekend for graduation festivities for my son, and that's just in addition to the usual business of life. So, yes, just what I needed- MORE to do! Well, you know what they say about when opportunity knocks. It had to be now, because the shop starts their contracts on the first of the month, and that's today. I spent a couple of hours late yesterday afternoon setting up the bulk of my booth, and am going back today to finish up. Here's what I've got so far:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtUDUVmu5qdAMcjXDqB6smbFZlRhf8SBrxtXs2VBAxndyFllffnKDgdoAWr3S1BRbcZoXAQ2FxPpZQNZZ335WoCq8mGoXnDuaKV18PKT9eZDfOwlSNtKgcXy5IoamDI5KASXdBlSJPYY/s1600/IMG_0827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtUDUVmu5qdAMcjXDqB6smbFZlRhf8SBrxtXs2VBAxndyFllffnKDgdoAWr3S1BRbcZoXAQ2FxPpZQNZZ335WoCq8mGoXnDuaKV18PKT9eZDfOwlSNtKgcXy5IoamDI5KASXdBlSJPYY/s1600/IMG_0827.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
It's a small booth- only 3' wide by 2' deep, but lots of height, so I built up! I had my wonderful hubby build me a L-shaped lattice wall, which we painted white with a soft lavender trim. I went out scouring thrift stores and garage sales for fixtures, and managed to find a collapsible 3-shelf bookshelf and tall sofa table. The sofa table is on top of the bookshelf, and then I have a small 2-shelf unit in between the two. My spinning card rack fits just barely between my and Megan's space- that is hers to the left. The lattice is great- it defines the space, and allows me to hang things from it. I got a package of nice brushed metal shower curtain hooks, and they hook through the lattice so that things can hang from them. Right now I've got some purses- the owner told us that since it is a shop that sells resale clothing and accessories, we can add those things to our booths as well as our own products. I went through my closet and found some purses and shoes, and also found a few purses at the garage sales I visited, and hopefully that will help to supplement my sales and help with my start-up costs. That lattice...it was not cheap, and all I can say is that I really hope this works out!<br />
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I have a lot of work yet to do- today I will be working on hanging things on the lattice on the window side. The window faces a very busy downtown street so there is lots of traffic there, so I want to maximize that space. It's a little hard to get back in there, so it should be interesting! The shop is not open for business today, so thankfully I don't have to worry about being in the way of customers, or vice versa. I also need to work on adding some sentiments to the outside of some of the cards. I have always left them free of sentiments for the most part, so that buyers on Etsy can choose whatever sentiment they want to be added. However, I think for a shop like this, people are more apt to buy if it has a sentiment on it. I unfortunately did not have time this weekend to work on it, so that will have to be a task for later. (Much later, with the way my week is looking.) Longer term, I plan to make some higher-end products, like exploding boxes, never-ending cards, and other novelty cards, as I think that will help draw interest. However, right now I can't see past graduation weekend, so I'm going with it as-is until I have time to get some more stuff in there. My big debut is tomorrow- wish me luck!bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-18546904143877576112014-05-26T09:40:00.000-07:002014-05-26T09:40:24.621-07:00Maybe a New DirectionNow that the spring craft sales are over, I figured I'd take a bit of a hiatus. Last year, I was so burned out by late spring, I didn't craft all summer long. This year is different though- I still had a lot of stock left last year, so didn't have as much to do for the season this year, so a little less stress. I've had a lot of custom orders lately, and have enjoyed working on those. I have a graduating senior this year myself, so you'd think I would be stressed out and unable to create, but it has actually been the opposite- maybe I'm using it as an escape from the stress! I have been browsing Pinterest a lot lately and finding a lot of new ideas and inspiration, and have a lot of things I want to try.<br />
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And that brings me to this- an opportunity to consign in a new local resale consignment shop/boutique. It has only been open for just over week, but I've been in 3 times already! It's near my office, so it's easy to go over and browse on my lunch break. I took my daughter there and she found a great dress for only $10, and I got a purse on the same trip. They carry mostly clothing and accessories, but also have vendors who rent space and sell everything from jewelry to accessories, candles, bath and body stuff, and even some home decor stuff. No paper goods though. They posted on their Facebook page the other day that they had some vendor spaces available, so I messaged them on a whim and asked if they'd be interested in carrying greeting cards, and provided a link to my Etsy shop. I got a message back that they'd love to talk to me! I need more of the details first though- I have the cost info but need to find out about how they do payments, what I'd need to do as far as merchandising and pricing and whatnot. It is a risk, because I'd have to put some money up front, and if my items don't sell, that's money lost. But, I have some funds saved from my spring sale season, so I am thinking about going for it! My fellow crafter/Salem Etsy Team leader Megan is going to try it- she called me on the same day I heard back from the shop, because she had just been in that day and was really excited about it! It will be a new experience for both of us- while she has done some wholesale sales to some locals shops, she has never done consignment before,and neither have I. Well, I'm planning on going down there today to get more info and maybe pick up a contract!<br />
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In the meantime, I just completed 2 new custom graduation boxes. One was for a repeat customer- remember this?<br />
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I made this one 2 years ago for a local customer, for her niece who lives back east. She contact me recently because her nephew, the brother of her niece, is graduating this year. I explained that I am not making the octagonal boxes anymore, but would be happy to make a square one. She was fine with that, and gave me lots of graphics to include. Here's the new box:<br />
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While I was finishing up this one, I got another order through Etsy. I was excited for this one, because I got to use colors besides red and/or blue!<br />
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Luckily it was a long weekend and I had time to spend on working on both of these!<br />
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I also made a card for a friend who has a 50th birthday coming up. It is a new style- sort of a pop-up card, called a card in a box. At the risk of having the picture out there before he sees it, here it is:<br />
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It was my first card of this style, and it did not go exactly as I expected it to go and does not quite resemble my original vision for it, but it's ok. I guess I am used to working with the 4x4 exploding boxes, and this is smaller- when it's "popped out" like this, the box itself measures 3x2.75. So some of the ideas I had weren't possible because they didn't fit. Also I had trouble with putting the embellishments in in a way that they didn't obscure the layer behind them. Oh well, live and learn! Here is what it looks like when it's folded flat:<br />
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The other side (not pictured) is pretty much the same, but I left a panel blank to write a message on. This measures 6x6 when folded flat, so it fits well into the 6.5x6.5 square envelopes I have in stock for never-ending cards.<br />
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As I said, I have been looking at lots of new card designs, and want to try making more of these novelty-type cards. I sell a few of the regular cards from time to time, but not much, so I'm thinking it's time to try a new direction. If I end up being a vendor at this consignment shop, it's a great time to try some new stuff! Also, my thought is that since I will have to pay a monthly rental fee, I will need to move some inventory, and if I can carry some of these types of cards that people are willing to pay more for than a standard card, that will help me cover the costs.<br />
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<br />bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-58401597163116966282014-04-28T18:34:00.000-07:002017-06-18T20:35:09.485-07:00Gallery of Exploding BoxesFrom time to time, a prospective customer will ask to see examples of exploding box designs that I've done in the past. I have posted most of them here in the past, but since they are scattered around, I thought it would be easier to put them all in one post that I can direct people to if they want to see some of my past work. Think of these as examples only- most of my work is custom, so I am tailoring a product to the particular person who is ordering it. I prefer to work with each individual customer on the design of the box they are ordering so that I know that they are getting exactly what they want.<br />
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First up: a zebra-print box for a pre-teen girl: <br />
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This was the very first exploding box I made! It was for a friend of my daughter who was having a birthday. Her favorite colors were turquoise and purple and she loved animal prints. I had my daughter give me cute one-word descriptions of her friend, and printed them for the inside panels, along with a Happy Birthday message. My daughter made the origami box in the center to hold an ornament with her friend's name on it, since her birthday was just before Christmas.<br />
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This is my first graduation box, apart from the prototype that I never took pictures of. When I got the idea to do a graduation box with a lid that looked like a graduation cap, I researched ways to make the box appear more round, like a real hat. That led me to experiment with making an 8-sided box that, while VERY dramatic in presentation, is more labor-intensive than it is worth, and as such, I do not make these anymore. More about the decision to discontinue those <a href="http://www.bgardencreations.blogspot.com/2013/02/preparations-for-spring-and-much.html">here</a>.<br />
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And here is another one. The student that this one was for was a varsity swimmer, and I was asked to incorporate that somehow into the box. I found a swimmer graphic for that.<br />
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Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the look of these, I really do! They are SO much work though. If I charged what it actually cost me to make them in terms of supplies and labor, they would be so expensive, no one would buy them. That is why ultimately I transitioned to offering the square graduation boxes only.<br />
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Here is one of those:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUXt1USSnLuMBZcAIPy7XoNcJcoC7qxsIqcyrVrple_TBSyLgiPb_BEcoXvxP6cTR1D32g8AHuN7NiylsUXIQjq4FGBGfe0zdYKU-gHX2iC9m3yCuxqlW32vrHC1MWVFpQtp8Bn8jueo/s1600/IMG_0003-004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUXt1USSnLuMBZcAIPy7XoNcJcoC7qxsIqcyrVrple_TBSyLgiPb_BEcoXvxP6cTR1D32g8AHuN7NiylsUXIQjq4FGBGfe0zdYKU-gHX2iC9m3yCuxqlW32vrHC1MWVFpQtp8Bn8jueo/s1600/IMG_0003-004.JPG" width="319" /></a></div>
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And another:<br />
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And another recent one. For this one, it was requested that I add some graphics to represent the personal interests of the student, who is an avid reader, had authored her own book, and planned to pursue a veterinary career.<br />
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I used a book graphic, and as the students' mom requested, I even added the name of the book that her daughter wrote to the cover. Other graphics include a veterinarian symbol and the high school logo.<br />
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(Now, having looked over the last few graduation boxes I've done, I'm wondering if there are any schools out there that have school colors other than red and/or blue?!)<br />
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This one is a repeat customer- she purchased the red/blue octagonal box a couple of years ago for her niece. Now her nephew is graduating, and I made this for her:<br />
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This one had more personalization in it than any other box I've done! Her nephew is quite an active guy: he swims, plays soccer and tennis, loves music and Colombia, so she wanted all of those things represented, in addition to the symbols for his high school and the college he will be attending. Boy, was it a challenge for me to incorporate all of that! I did it though, and I think she is happy with it! Here's a close-up:<br />
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And, finally, I got an order for a graduation box that is NOT red or blue! I was so excited to work on this one! No custom graphics on it, just school logos, so pretty straightforward, and I was able to complete it in a couple of days.<br />
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Incidentally, those were my high school colors as well, though it has been a loooonnnggg time since I was in high school! Nowadays, when I see orange and black, I think of the Oregon State Beavers!<br />
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Here's another one that is a little different. The graduate is headed to Harvard for college- wow! Her mom, who purchased the box, asked that the center layer be crimson, which is Harvard's color. I wanted to use the Harvard logo in this box, but their PR page was pretty specific that that was not allowed, so I just used the red, and added sentiments that her mom asked for. She also wanted a blue lid instead of the black, because that's the color of the high school's graduation caps. <br />
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Now here's one that is a little bit different. Not only are the colors ones that I have never used before in a graduation box (hooray for something other than red or blue!) but the customer wanted to have a holder for rolled up cash bills. At first, I thought she meant standing up rolled bills, so was thinking of making a tube, similar to a toilet paper tube that the rolled bills could stand up in. She wanted the rolled bills to lay down though, so I suggested a shallow box to lay them in. She was happy with that idea! In order to fit the box, I had to remove the inside layer of the box, so it only contains the larger two layers.<br />
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Here you can see the box in the center, where the rolled bills would lay.<br />
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I liked this project, because it was something different! I think the customer liked it too. I really enjoy making products that exactly match what the customer expects- their happiness is my ultimate goal!<br />
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New for the class of 2015. Since I got a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas, I have revamped my design, and the layers now lay much nicer together! See the 5th one down and beyond for examples.<br />
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Here is the first one I made with my new Silhouette Cameo. Notice how the inner layers now lay exactly diagonally instead of just barely offset.<br />
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This next one was one where I contacted the university to ask for permission to use the logo, but they never responded. Sadly, this is not uncommon. The customer suggested using the heart graphic, and I also used a dimensional graduation cap sticker on the front panels.</div>
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This is another one that I had to use non-university related graphics. I emailed the licensing office to ask permission to use the logo, but after 2 days I had not heard back, and as this was a time-sensitive order, I had to proceed without it. I used some general graduation graphics instead, as well as a font that is close to the one used by the university on their website, and I think it still came together nicely. Ironically, the day after I shipped the order, I got an email back from the licensing office, but of course it was too late to do anything then. My customer seemed happy with what I came up with anyway.<br />
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I really like this next one- the customer asked me to make the lid green, because the actual graduation caps that the students wear are green. This is only the second one I have made a non-black lid- I like it!<br />
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Now, onto some of the more creative boxes. Last year, while poking around in the floral section at Michael's, I stumbled upon these cute little terra cotta plant pots that are just 2.5 inches high or so. Adorable! I wondered if I could create a little flower arrangement in one and put it in the center of an exploding box. This was my first experiment with that:<br />
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I put a variety of different flowers in this pot, and also added a "floating" butterfly and dragonfly, which are attached to thin strips of acetate. Not pictured is a little sign that I stuck in the pot that said "Happy Easter". I just sold this box a few weeks ago at the Jane Austen Faire- the woman who bought it said she was going to her sister's for Easter and planned to bring it there.<br />
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This was my next garden box. I decided I wanted to go with a theme, and picked daisies, because I had some lovely yellow and blue daisy paper.<br />
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I love this one! I will tell you, though, those daisies took FOREVER to make! There are at least a dozen in that pot, all individually made with a daisy punch and mini-pompons that I had to ink with yellow pigment ink, then hot-glued to a floral wire. Love the result though! I sold this box last year at our Salem Etsy Team spring sale, for a Mother's Day gift.<br />
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This one was a custom box, requested by a frequent buyer for his girlfriend's birthday:<br />
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For this one, I was asked to make it in reds and pinks, and that was all the instruction I received. I came up with the rose theme on my own, based on those colors. Like the daisy box, the roses in this one were quite a lot of work. These were made with a 3D rose die, which punches out a sort of a spiral shape that you then coil to form the flower, then hot glue to keep them intact. They are very small- only about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch wide each. They are hot-glued to floral wire for the stems, and again, there are at least a dozen in this box. I really like how it came out though, and more importantly, my customer did too!<br />
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This is a Mother's Day box that I made in 2013 but didn't list in my shop until recently:<br />
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This one is much simpler than the ones with the pot, still pretty though.<br />
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And this is my most recent creation. This one is brand new for Spring 2014:<br />
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This mum-themed box was inspired by the colorful washi paper with the mum pattern on it. I love washi paper- it is one of my favorite mediums to work with, but I've never used it in an exploding box before. This was one of those ideas that came to me and I just HAD to make it! I have to say that it turned out at least as well as I had imagined it. I used the mum paper on both the outside of the box and on the middle layer of the inside. On the larger inside panels, I used a mum embossing folder to create the nice textured panels that you see in green. There are a couple of blue 3d mums on the inside layer, along with two panels with "Happy Mum's Day" text- since, you know, Mother's Day is coming up. (Clever, right?) Finally, the pot of mums in the center. These are made by layering different sized punched daisies together. I used larger flowers than in the daisy box, so there are fewer in this one- just 3 larger flowers, and 4 smaller ones, but the effect is still a nice, full bouquet.<br />
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This is a recent custom order that I made for a customer who tracked me down at the Jane Austen Faire last month. She remembered me from the previous year and wanted to find me to order a custom box for her daughter's 18th birthday. Her daughter is in the military and likes the color turquoise, is not a girly-girl, is athletic, and loves to read. This is her box:<br />
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This one is different that my usual style, but that is OK- I enjoy doing something different! The customer who purchased this is very happy with it and feels that it reflects her daughter's personality well.<br />
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A Mother's Day box, for a mom who is into Tae Kwon Do:<br />
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I mixed some pretty red washi paper in with the martial arts imagery to soften the look a bit and make it pretty. Every mom needs some pretty on Mother's Day! <br />
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Another floral box using Japanese washi paper:<br />
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And here's something new- an exploding box with a gift card holder in the center!<br />
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This next one was a custom order for a customer who wanted to send a nice gift to a friend, who is a hard working FT working mom of a toddler. Boy, do I remember what THAT was like! She sent me photos of her friend and her family to be incorporated into the box, and wanted bright, cheery colors like orange and yellow. I chose this Chiyogami washi paper because it had just the right colors and is very cheerful. I think it turned out great!</div>
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Here is a recent custom order for a Valentine exploding box. I worked very closely with the customer, as she had a lot of very specific things she wanted to include.<br />
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As you can see, there was a lot of text that I was asked to incorporate, and I got to really test out my Silhouette Studio software! I learned a lot by doing this project- as the ideas came to me, I researched how to create what my mind was seeing, and in the process learned things I had not known before. That is what I love about custom orders- they really make me think outside the box (pun intended!) This one had some neat things- word wrapping around a shape, some cool polygon fill effects, and it was another opportunity to make word collages, like I did in a previous project. The feedback I got from the customer when she saw the photos was very positive.<br />
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Here are some highlights from the graduation season 2017:<br />
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Note the new cash holder that I added this year! (2017) It has been pretty popular!<br />
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Also this year, I am expanding to add customized wedding exploding box cards! This is the first- I made it for a wedding I am attending, and it is made in the couple's wedding colors. I also included a quote and bible verse that they included on their invitation. I am really excited about this one, because I got to try adding reactive foil accents! It's hard to see in the photos, but the gold paper is a shimmery gold, and the panels that are printed in gold are the ones with the foil.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi1XSiolZiSr_Cm62yPoRVnAhwlneq08yE_R90im98QRuF9vH1BeM8jAYQZOt6ueXPyEyRYhTAkcj0W8-Xi6ip8LkYT0p5ql3fpYtF9mXLLegtVaUbAfTTrQrEEuUmQYiec-jELAUFtS0/s1600/IMG_2137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1107" data-original-width="1477" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi1XSiolZiSr_Cm62yPoRVnAhwlneq08yE_R90im98QRuF9vH1BeM8jAYQZOt6ueXPyEyRYhTAkcj0W8-Xi6ip8LkYT0p5ql3fpYtF9mXLLegtVaUbAfTTrQrEEuUmQYiec-jELAUFtS0/s320/IMG_2137.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are not the only boxes I've made- there have been others, mostly graduation boxes,that are similar in style to the ones I've shown here. I've also done a couple of holiday-themed ones, but I am still working on that concept, so haven't yet made one that I'm ready to put "out there". Anyway, my goal here was to have a gallery of examples of boxes that I can easily point customers to when they want to see what else I've done. Hope you've enjoyed browsing!bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3612715397190242616.post-39941401822097845532014-04-27T10:58:00.000-07:002014-04-27T10:58:27.746-07:00"Mum's" Day Exploding BoxAs mentioned in my last post, I found this great washi paper with multi-colored mums on it. So pretty! I made some cards with it, but then had the idea to make a mum-themed exploding box with it. What better occasion than for Mother's Day, right? Right??<br />
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There are so many pretty colors in the washi paper that it was hard to narrow down which ones to use in the box! Well, besides the limitations of the Michael's card stock supply. I went with a pink base and used blue and green accents. The mum on top of the lid was made by layering different sized daisies from a Sizzix die, simply called "Flowers, Daisies", and one (the smallest) from a daisy punch. I like it-the daisies are sort of ragged and imperfect.<br />
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Surprise- a pot of handmade paper mums in the center! There are also two blue mums on the inside panels that you can't see very well in the pictures. The other panels say "Happy Mum's Day"...yeah, I know, sort of cheesy, but hey, it's cute! The one thing I did not think of was to leave a panel blank for a written message, so I may remove one of the blue mums for that purpose. Anyway, I liked how the pot of mums came out. There are two different sizes of flowers , 3 larger and 4 smaller. This was much easier to do than the <a href="http://www.bgardencreations.blogspot.com/2013/03/its-finished-daisy-garden-exploding-box.html">daisy pot I did last year</a>, or the <a href="http://www.bgardencreations.blogspot.com/2013/10/happy-halloween.html">rose one from a few months ago</a>, which had at least a dozen individual flowers each. They were small though, so what I have figured out is bigger is better! You still get the look of a nice full pot of flowers but without quite so much labor! These are made by, again, layering punched daisies of different sizes, which are then hot glued to a metal wire. The wire I found in the floral department is covered with a green fabric-type stuff, so they look like flower stems. Those are stuck into a halved round Styrofoam ball that is sunken into the pot and hot glued so that they don't pop out. Once the flowers are secured into the pot, I added shredded green tissue paper. The pot is hot glued to the center of the box.<br />
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I won't be listing this in my Etsy shop, at least not yet- I wanted to have 3 exploding boxes to display at the Salem Etsy Team Spring Craft Faire, which is next Saturday. If it doesn't sell there, I may list it in my shop then.<br />
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Speaking of the sale next weekend, I still have lots of things to do to prepare! Most of my display props are still packed up from the Jane Austen Faire, but I still have things to do like print and cut coupons to give away with purchases, make some sentiments that can be added to the front of cards, and make sure that I have all the price signs I will need. Guess I better get cracking- only 6 days til the sale! bgardencreationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07608818389319660858noreply@blogger.com0