Bacon Rules

Bridgett — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:21:36 +0000

If anyone knows my daughter at all, knows how absolutely perfect this onesie is. Yes, we are the parents during a photo shoot that bribes her child with bacon to sit still for a shot. Yes, we are the parents that bribes our child with bacon to get up in the morning. Our daughter loves bacon and this is perfect for her.

Bacon Rules Onesie made by Bambina Mia – $20

Found via Cool Mom Picks

Custom Butterfly Birthday Invitations

Bridgett — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:38:26 +0000

I have been getting a lot of requests for custom designs from birthday invitations to moving announcements. It’s really fun working with clients to bring their vision to reality. Going out tomorrow is this birthday party package for a soon-to-be 2 year old little girl. The mom gave me full reign in terms of design but wanted a package with a butterfly and bright vibrant colors. So I digitally drew the butterfly and styled the invitation, thank you cards, and gift tags around it. These definitely got me in the mood for warmer weather, trips to the park, and more daylight.

And good news, these invitations will make it into our new website coming soon!

Dilly Baby

Bridgett — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:14:41 +0000

I stumbled onto Dilly Baby the other day after checking out Mama Bargains and thought this was a great idea! Have you ever gone somewhere where you didn’t need to bring your entire diaper bag? Dilly Baby offers wristlet changing case sets that is roomy enough to house all your essentials like travel wipes, 2 diapers, and a changing pad yet small enough to carry on your wrist. And to boot, they also offer stylish goods for your wee ones like a girls first messenger bag and a crayon case. Now how handy is that?

So many fabrics…

Bridgett — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:20:29 +0000

So little time. I haven’t taken out Bessie in awhile and need some ideas and inspiration on what to make. What have you made lately?

La Marquise des Anges

Bridgett — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:40:47 +0000

I absolutely love shopping on Etsy. You cannot find the heart and soul that goes into making every item at your big department stores that you find here. And Sabine, owner and designer of La Marquise des Anges, is a perfect example. I recently received my beautiful grey and ivory ruffle top. The packaging was gorgeous, the handwritten note was sublime, and the smell of fresh lavender instantly made me dream of walks on the cobblestone streets of France during spring time. Sabine even went so far as to include those gorgeous handmade earrings you see in the pictures. But even before receiving my top I knew it was going to be something special because of her note she wrote to me:

“…I now have to handwash it , then it will line dry, rocking by the sweet breeze of the pyreneas mountains…”

I mean who wouldn’t want to receive something that was swinging in the breeze?

Merci beaucoup sweet Sabine!

Sneak Peek

Bridgett — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:00:16 +0000

As I work on revamping my shop I’m also taking the time to work on some new designs. Here are 2 new sets of note cards that will be available in my website soon. I’m also working on more invitation and personalized art prints. Lots of goodies to come!

What would you like to see in the new website? More stationery, invitations, gift tags?

When In Doubt Draw Flowers

Bridgett — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:43:03 +0000

I stumbled across this Italian shop via Etsy’s shopping guide, Etsy Finds. They featured their reusable wall paper lunch bags which immediately drew me in. The basis behind their shop is to take old vintage goods, in this case wallpaper, and create something new, modern, and fashionable. Aren’t those lamp shades gorgeous? Check out more from When In Doubt Draw Flowers here.

Custom bridal shower invitation

Bridgett — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:42:45 +0000

A few weeks ago I finished a rather elaborate bridal shower invitation. The theme was cooking, my favorite! They are going to have a personal chef come and teach the attendees how to make some delicious food. This is one party I wouldn’t mind being invited to.

Goal Setting: Part 2

Bridgett — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:04:36 +0000

Do you remember Jan from Daisy Janie? Well I brought her back to sit and chat with us on her views on goal setting. I think it’s important to hear 2 sides of the story since we all learn differently. Be sure to read part 1 to read my take on goal setting. When I asked her to join me today she was ecstatic and in agreement that a lot of revamping and business structural changes were happening in the online world so we thought we’d share what works for us in terms of goal setting. Jan gives a lot of business tips on her blog so I knew she would be great for this. So let’s see Jan’s point of view on goal setting.
By far, the most challenging part of setting a goal and working toward it is hunkering down and determining what the actual goal will be. This can be as varied and personal as the day is long; it may require a peek inside your soul & your bank account all at once. For me, it’s as much about what I really want as it’s about what I have to start with. Once you have your goal chiseled out, think of working toward your goal as though you’re planning the party of the year for yourself, except that you’ll end up with money in your pocket and nobody to clean-up after (small talk is optional)! Have you ever planned a birthday party? A baby shower? A happy hour? Then you can set a goal for your business and work methodically toward accomplishing your objective – the key is to not let the goal psych you out before you even start. If you feel yourself looking at your goal & feeling ill, maybe it’s not realistic enough. You might need to break down your pie-in-the-sky goal into smaller subgoals that aren’t as daunting from the get-go. Fear of failure is not a valid excuse either. Yes, you will make mistakes, you will have setbacks, and you will be frustrated – the potential for failure is as great as the potential for success. If that thought paralyzes you, then you might need to rethink why you’re in business at all. Harsh? Yes. The truth? Yes. Need to hear it? Everyday.

Once you have your goal and you’ve told it who’s boss, make a list of subcategories – who, what, where, when, why, how. Take time to delve into each of these; write down what you know and what you don’t know. Start your due diligence by figuring out answers to what you don’t know. Research, read, make phone calls, make notes…copious notes. As you’re turning over new information, you’ll realize there are things you didn’t know you didn’t know…ha. This info can be very helpful to you, but be careful not to be pulled too far in a different direction b/c sometimes your curiosity will get the best of you and you’ll end up wasting valuable time. This is definitely an exploratory phase, but if you feel you’re venturing too far astray by all this new information, take a day to refocus and come back later.

After you have all your questions answered, you should be able to look over your notes and pull out Thee Thing in each subcategory that will get you where you want to go. Usually these Things will rise to the surface in an obvious way as you’re going about you research. If not, how will you know which options to choose? Well, how much time do you have to reach your goal and how much money do you have to spend? These 2 variables will weigh heavily on what can and can’t do…some options will be glaringly good or bad when you factor in time & money. I always do a gut check before I hit the gas; if I feel like I’ve done all I can do and these are the dots that logically connect to get me to my party, then I’m off!

It’s never too late to make a plan or set a goal. We do it every day, from morning to night; we just don’t think about the minutia of our lives that way.

Thanks Jan! We hope you found this information helpful.

Where else to find Jan:
website | etsy shop | blog

Goal Setting: Part 1

Bridgett — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:04:53 +0000

I thought I’d start this week out talking about goals and the best way to go about reaching them. Today you will hear my point of view of establishing goals and working towards them. And tomorrow you’ll hear from a successful designer and her thoughts on how to reach your goals. Why 2 points of view you ask? Everyone needs to hear different takes and methods as not everyone learns the same way. Take making dinner for example, some of you may thoroughly read the recipe, gather all of your ingredients and then begin making sure no step is left un-read. But some may just dive in and begin getting their hands dirty. It all depends on your learning style. So let’s start with my point of view, ok?

Before I would make lofty goals with no plan on how to reach them. I would post them on my blog or in my office for a reminder but that was it. Sometimes I would get lucky and accomplish them but most of the time they would be forgotten. The key, I believe, to overcoming this requires 3 steps.

1. When creating your goal determine a deadline. This is really important because if you need to accomplish a goal but have no deadline there is no fire lit to get you moving. You will always say in your head, “Oh I can work on that next month.” And then that will become a recurring trend. So create a goal and make a deadline and stick to it!

2. Create steps to accomplish your deadline. Something new to me as I never thought about creating steps, I just jumped in, similar to diving in when making dinner. So when doing this, break down each step that it would take to reach your said goal. Start big and then work small.

3. Make deadlines for your steps. Really! This is important to keep you on track to reaching your goal by your deadline. Again, something I never thought about doing, but once I did, it made reaching my goal more doable and less overwhelming.

So far this methodology adapted from Craft Inc. is working and I feel confident in what I’m doing and feel like my goal is reachable. Since doing this I have 3 goals I’m working on simultaneously. I would recommend keeping the number of goals to a small number, no more than 5 to not overwhelm you and keep you on track.

Check back tomorrow for some more advice on goal setting.