colette paperie | blawg-it

Life Lessons Video Blog #1

2012-01-12T21:59:00.000-06:00

Hope you enjoy. :)

Meet the Maker | Jennifer Bishop of Architette Studios

2012-01-09T14:29:00.005-06:00

Hello! My name is Jennifer Bishop and I am from San Antonio, Texas. I have a Bachelors of Architecture from my studies in New York City at Pratt Institute and being trained as an architect, I have always appreciated precision, accuracy, fine detail and craft. I always strive to attain that perfection (or near to it) through anything I create!

I now work full time with my Etsy shop Architette Studios, and I feel that I have the best clients and have maintained great relationships throughout our on-going processes, projects and collaborations. I enjoy waking up everyday knowing that something new and outstanding is about to be created!

It is hard to separate myself from creating because it is such a part of me… but all pens aside, I love to go for jogs in the high heat of the Texas summer, watching movies I have already seen a hundred times, and finding new healthy recipes to cook from.

How + when did you first become interested in becoming a maker?
If you were to ask my parents, they would say I was born this way. My mom still loves to say that I was the only child she knew who could name a city just by its skyline! By far, the hardest part of where I am today is not the artistic part, but rather… the business aspect of selling my creations. It is a balance game of answering messages, setting prices, marketing, time management, etc. I also built my own online portfolio and I frequently post “behind the scenes” work and new upcoming items on my Facebook page for Architette Studios and Twitter. I learn something new every day by selling on Etsy and have some of the best clients anyone could ever wish for!

Do you have a strategy for starting a project? Any rituals?
Not particularly. It is more about “getting into gear” from the many different modes I have to be in as a business owner/creator. I have found that I work best by alternating between two types of days during the week: design days and production days. On design days, I will create proofs, answer messages, relist items in my Etsy shop, and then sketch and design for the rest of the afternoon. On production days I will process, produce and ship orders.

What was your first "breakthrough" gig?
I think the best press I have received to-date is my Etsy Featured Seller interview. It really helped to get my business out there, especially since I had decided to work on Architette Studios full time just a month prior to its release! Since then, I have been featured on Splashlife, created orders for the White House (two so far!), and have had clients in just about every continent!

What has been your favorite project to work on?
Oh that is a hard one to answer, I have so many favorites! My favorite types of projects (and the ones that seem to have the best outcomes), are the ones in which my clients give me a basic outline of what they are looking for, and they let me run with the idea. The project takes on a whole new life between the both of us, and becomes something great which was better than we could have imagined!

What has been your silliest mistake in business thus far?
Of course, there have been a few. Mostly, it is about misjudging what shipping costs should, or will be. (If this is as silly as it has been, I will consider myself lucky!)

What is a project you hope + dream of working on in the future?
Letterpress! I think about it every single day. This is definitely the next area to conquer… stay tuned!

What is inspiring about where you live?
I currently live in a small city between San Antonio and Austin, Texas. There is big skies, rolling hills, barely any cellphone reception and peace and quiet. It is nice to go outside and see all of these things at once, and is such a nice change of pace from living in New York for as long as I did!

Who fuels your fire - who do you count on for moral support?
My sister is always there for me whether it is night or day to listen about anything from my latest ideas, to needing an opinion about what I am currently working on, down to how much I should list an item for. I really love having her there to help ease my mind when I feel like I am in a bind!

Which type of music would you choose to artistically represent yourself + your style?
Classic rock from the 60’s and 70’s, it is what I listen to the majority of the time. Chances are, I am immersed in the enchanting sounds of the Doors, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Who or Jimi Hendrix.

What are your plans for your business in the coming months?
To take it to the next level in terms of wedding and graduation stationery! I am looking forward to creating a close relationship with a local printer who can replicate my level of craft, and who can work with me to envision all that Architette Studios can be!

Meet the Maker | Leah Duncan

2011-12-16T14:15:00.000-06:00

I'm Leah and I'm an illustrator, textile, and surface pattern designer. I sell my work online and internationally in boutiques as well as work with companies to create goods using my work. I live in Austin, TX with my husband, our pit-mix Oslo, and our two cats. I love sunny weather, cowboy boots, topo chico, and chocolate.

How + when did you first become interested in becoming a maker?
I feel like I was always a maker. I was cutting things up to make new things out of them ever since I can remember. Sometimes it got me in big trouble, sometimes it gave me something to be proud of. Either way I was getting somewhere.

Do you have a strategy for starting a project? Any rituals?
I find the less organized and planned out my process is the better it turns out because it feels more organic and free. If I think about it too much I'll start to panic!

What was your first "breakthrough" gig?
I've been very lucky to work with a lot of great companies early in my career. They started to come about at very similar times, so it would be hard to name just one. I can say my "breakthrough" press was an article in Daily Candy Dallas back in 2009. After stuttering by with only a few etsy sales for months, I all of the sudden had hundreds of orders to fill within a few days. I was so incredibly thrilled and happy to see that people could connect to my work.

What has been your favorite project to work on?
Most recently my first fabric collection, Maya, to be released by Anthology fabrics in February. It's been a dream of mine to have a fabric collection produced for some time now.

What has been your silliest mistake in business thus far?
My husband would tell you I'm far too nice. This has gotten me into many situations I didn't want to be in. If you're going to run a business you have to make tough decisions, be assertive, say no when it doesn't work for you, and think with a business mind. This definitely isn't my natural state, but I've learned quickly from my mistakes and I'm getting to a better place everyday.

What is a project you hope + dream of working on in the future?
I'd love to illustrate an album cover for Arcade Fire.

What is inspiring about where you live?
Austin is a unique city with a very quirky vibe. I live in East Austin which has brightly colored buildings, piñatas, and great mexican food. There are certainly traces of that vibrancy in my work.

Who fuels your fire - who do you count on for moral support?
My husband has been my biggest supporter and has certainly been my comfort, my cheerleader, and my best friend on this journey.

Which type of music would you choose to artistically represent yourself + your style?
Strong female singer-songwriters and Arcade Fire.

What are your plans for your business in the coming months?
In the coming months I should begin work on several new Spring items and begin work on a second fabric line. We're headed into the holiday season though, so it may look more like, sew, cut, print, package, repeat. : )

Visit Leah's blog, Freshly Chopped

Her Etsy Shop

Official Website

I first came across Leah's work at a Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago and have been in love ever since. She has a truly unique illustrative style and "color magic" in her work. Thanks Leah for taking the time to write about your work!

Holiday Giveaway Winners!

2011-12-14T01:12:00.000-06:00

I'll be contacting you soon :)

Holiday Giveaway!

2011-12-10T22:00:00.001-06:00

As promised, the holiday giveaway has begun!!

Oh we have so many things up for grabby grabs, it's just insane. 15 items!

This giveaway will be nice and short so pass the word along so your holiday goodness can get there quickly! We must get 45 comments (one per person) for this giveaway to happen!

Item #1 & #2: A 6-pack of Holiday cards of your choosing!

Item #3: A mini-sized botanical display calendar

Item #4: A super-sized botanical calendar to hang on the wall, the fridge, your face, etc.

Item #5: A pick-up line calendar, one for each month, including display case.

Item #6: A 10-pack of snowflake soaps complete with gift box and to/from tag!

Item #7: Bike Snob book from Chronicle Books

Item #8: Lotta Jansdotter book on Scandinavian living from Chronicle Books

Item #9: Pantone Color of the Year journal from Chronicle Books (2011!)

Item #10: Kokeshi Journal from Chronicle Books

Item #11: Chez Panisse notecard set from Chronicle Books

Item #12: Hot Type Iron-on Decals from Chronicle Books

Item #13: Jill Bliss Drawing Journal from Chronicle Books

Item #14: Jill Bliss stationery set! from Chronicle Books

Item #15: Let's Bring Back book from Chronicle Books

What you gotta do to win:

Meet the Maker | Flores Del Sol

2011-11-26T09:54:00.001-06:00

1. How + when did you first become interested in becoming a maker?
When I was a little girl I loved crafts. Each summer was spent with my sisters going from one craft to another. Knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, latch rugs, friendship bracelets, godseyes and magazine collages representing ourselves to name a few.

2. Do you have a strategy for starting a project? Any rituals?
The idea for a new design usually comes to me in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep. My brain makes designs when I am half asleep. It is actually convenient because it is one of the only quiet times I get to brainstorm and think creatively.

3. What was your first "breakthrough" gig?
I remember the first time I was on Etsy’s front page. I would say that was my first breakthrough. I was so excited and it gave me confidence that maybe people really did like my stuff.

4. What has been your favorite project to work on?
Designing an arrangement on my take of an artist’s painting a year or two ago : (floresdelsol.blogspot.com/2009/12/custom-design.html)

5. What has been your silliest mistake in business thus far?
Well its one that I seem to sadly repeat often. When ordering new vases on-line, I sometimes forget to take the listed measurements into consideration. Often I end up with huge containers I cant use because of it.

6. What is a project you hope + dream of working on in the future?
I think designing floral arrangements or picking out houseplants for interior designers would be lots of fun. Or creating a dream studio for myself.

7. What is inspiring about where you live?
Jerseylicious, jersey shore, housewives of new jersey all give my Garden state a bad impression. But in reality its beautiful. It is not called the garden state for nothing. I am inspired by the great mix of people and scenery around me every day.

8. Who fuels your fire - who do you count on for moral support?
My husband. He is the one who is here and sees my designs in person. Today I finished a new arrangement and asked him if he liked it. He did but also told me something he thought I should tweak. I trust him to give me his honest opinion and he always does. It helps that he has great style to :)

9. Which song would you choose to artistically represent yourself + your style?
Hmmm I love music. Bon iver’s stacks is a beautiful song. I have not clue what ½ of the lyrics are though. go take a listen to it!

10. What are your plans for your business in the coming months?
Being a mother of three 4 years old and under, I hope to just get through the upcoming months. As my girls get older and I have more time in the future, I hope to really jump the gun and create a business I can work at full time from home.

Find Flores Del Sol on their blog, facebook, and Etsy shop!

Weekend Update with Norm MacDonald

2011-11-12T18:43:00.000-06:00

Oh, so much is goin' down!

Firstly, today I sold cards at Rachel's Holiday Boutique, the 2nd annual event here in Minneapolis to benefit The Michelle Project. A little about The Michelle Project:

"Founded in 1996 and based in the Twin Cities, The Michelle Project is a 501c3 organization that mentors and supports families with financial need along their journey toward self-sufficiency. Since its inception, The Michelle Project has mentored many local families—the majority led by single mothers who have faced challenges in providing for their families on their own."

Last I heard, over $3,000 was donated from proceeds! Super cool. I was happy to be part of such a good cause. Thanks to the fab Keegan at Honeylane for keeping me in the know! (P.S. Honeylane rrrocks.)

Speaking of good causes, my fundraiser for the National Race to End Women's Cancer has ended! I raised over $2,500 for the race! Better still is that they nearly made their goal of $250,000 raised to end gynecological cancers. This was only the second annual race, so this is great news. In all the pink madness for breast cancer out there (including companies simply trying to make money for themselves off of it) it's great to see a more rare cancer getting some attention and funds. Hopefully someday it will have as much in research funds as breast cancer has had in recent years and have a higher cure rate!

And for the past few days (and upcoming week and a half) has been our DailyCandy Deal! If you aren't familiar with DailyCandy - oh, you need to be. They have a Deals page, which is super awesome, and we are having a deal on there for 50% off!! You can even get up to 3 voucher codes, so check it out and get yourself some snazzy new cards. DailyCandy even told me that Colette Paperie had the most successful first day of voucher sales that they had seen in the stationery category! So cool! I feel super special. Kind of makes up for the fact that I was a royal pain and had just about a million questions for them during the process. They also wrote a pretty brilliant editorial:

"Being funny, witty, and devastatingly smart doesn’t mean you can write the perfect line to sum up your feelings about Stephanie’s tonsillectomy. Let Colette Paperie do it for you with its hilariously spot-on greeting cards.

The CompanyThe Minneapolis-based design boutique and stationery studio has paper products galore. Beyond snort-out-loud greeting cards, it offers journals, notepads, calendars, gift tags, labels, and more. Owner and designer Keli Catalano launched the business in 2008, and she’s been using her unique design aesthetic to put words in people’s mouths ever since.

The OfferScoop up five single cards for $10 and let someone know what you’re really thinking. No, like, really thinking."

Love it. Thanks DailyCandy for being such rockstars. It's not too late, grab yourself some 5-packs! Santa's workshop is in full session, packaging up nearly 400 orders already from the Deal!

In more news (as if everything else hasn't been enough), Paper Source chose a Valentine's Day card to include in their line for 2012! Very exciting to join the Paper Source card family - as I love visiting their fantastic card collection in Uptown. Thank gawd they have a Twin Cities location. I think I might die without them.

So this is the card they chose (now don't forget between now and Valentine's Day which card you must pick up from Paper Source):

So, basically my life has been a little nuts to say the least. But super fun!

It's time to get started on those Christmas gifts - all my holiday shopping is nearly complete and I'm sooo proud of myself. Yep, rubbing it in to all you procrastinators. Luckily, I've got your Christmas cards covered. And I'll even customize them for you. Don't you dare buy cards from Wal-Mart. Every time you do, a kitten cries.

P.S. A big huge massive holiday giveaway is coming soon, be on the lookout!
Next up... North by Midwest Craft Spectacular in Grand Forks, ND with my dawg MBMB! See her featured post here. :)
Have a great weekend!

Meet the Maker | Alex Wijnen

2011-11-07T22:16:00.002-06:00

Today's featured maker is Alex Wijnen! I scored an amazing calendar from her last year, and I'll probably give in and nab another one this year. Beautiful, beautiful illustrations! I wish I could do it!

My name is Alex Wijnen and I live in Portland, Oregon, with my hubby Todd, dogs Tucker and Pogo, and kitties Pluisje and Coco, all of them rescues (including the hubby :) I’m a graphic designer and work out of my basement office on projects for clients like Kettle Chips, the University of Oregon and the Oregon Humane Society. I also create illustrations and photography that I sell in the forms of prints and calendars in my Etsy shop and at local shows. And until a couple years ago, I also had a greeting card company for which I designed many fun greeting cards, invitations, and gift wrap.

How + when did you first become interested in becoming a maker?
I’ve always had the drive to create, even when I was little. I was constantly drawing and painting, sewing clothes for my dolls, building houses out of shoe boxes. Doing illustration work, though, is actually relatively recent. For years I’ve collaborated with a local printer to create a holiday gift that we hand out to our clients. In 2009, I came up with the idea to do a day planner and decided to try my hand at illustrating it myself. After I was finished with that project, it only seemed to make sense to offer the images up for sale as limited edition prints so I started an Etsy shop.

Do you have a strategy for starting a project? Any rituals?
I usually spend quite a bit of time thinking about various concepts before starting any actual work. Once I have a concept, I might look around for visual references, then do a few sketches to explore composition and scale. After creating the line art, I scan it into the computer and that’s when the fun really starts: I add color and texture using various techniques and filters, the most time-consuming one being the creation of all the masks needed to do the digital airbrushing. No real rituals involved here, other than making sure I take plenty of breaks away from the computer to rest my shoulders (I use only my mouse – yeah, I should probably invest in a tablet!)

What was your first "breakthrough" gig?
Hmmm, I don’t think I’ve had a breakthrough gig yet...if anyone out there wants to give me one, just holler! That said, I love doing local shows since it gives me a chance to connect directly with my customers and hear their feedback. It’s so much fun to see their reaction to various images. Everyone has a different favorite, although some of my images are almost guaranteed to make even a grumpy grinch smile (the ostrich comes to mind!)

What has been your favorite project to work on?
Besides my day planners, my favorite project was doing an illustration of Miss Hattie, the Airedale terrier belonging to my close friend Amy. Hattie is full of expression plus she’s so very much loved by her owners that I knew her illustration would be well received. It took a long time to complete but giving all that fur a lively texture was a lot of fun!

What has been your silliest mistake in business thus far?
Because I’ve had another business before where I dealt with retail buyers and direct buyers, I’ve been able to learn from mistakes and apply that knowledge to this business. The silliest mistake this time around has probably been something simple like misspelling a customer’s name or giving back the wrong change – thankfully nothing hugely embarrassing.

What is a project you hope + dream of working on in the future?
I have several ideas brewing in the back of my mind but I would absolutely love to offer custom pet illustrations! I need to figure out a price point to where I get compensated fairly for my time but it’s just so much fun to illustrate cats, dogs, even reptiles and birds! I currently donate a portion of the sales of some of my prints to the Oregon Humane Society, a non-profit that’s very dear to me. Doing more dog & cat prints would allow me to make an even bigger difference through my art.

Alex, did you know I am a major, major fan of elephants?!

What is inspiring about where you live?
Portland is such a creative city and as such, the community is very supportive of artists. There are lots of opportunities to get involved locally. It’s also just a wonderful place to live, surrounded by so much green, close to the mountains and close to the beach. We head out to the coast as often as we can, rain or shine!

Who fuels your fire - who do you count on for moral support?
My hubby is my number one fan and my biggest supporter. I bounce ideas off him, he provides feedback on work in progress, and he’s my muscle guy when it comes to hauling stuff in and out for shows. The rest of my family, as well as my hubby’s, is also very supportive, promoting my work on social networks and buying many of my items for gifts and for themselves. It’s so nice to know everyone is 100 percent behind me and proud of my accomplishments.

Which song would you choose to artistically represent yourself + your style?
That’s a tough one...I go through phases of what I like musically. Right now, my computer is playing classical but a few weeks ago it was tuned to a Dutch top 40 radio station. It all depends on my mood and even then, there’s not one song I can think of that specifically represents me or my style.

What are your plans for your business in the coming months?
We’re heading into the holiday season, which in the past has been quite busy for me. I have 8 shows lined up between now and Christmas, am waiting to hear back from 2 more venues and am gearing up for a rush in my Etsy shop. I’m pretty well prepared, though. My calendars have been done for several months, my holiday cards will be back from the printer later this week, and I’m well stocked in terms of my limited edition prints. The one thing still outstanding is my day planner, which will not be ready till early December. Although it is actually my client gift for my graphic design studio Defteling Design (www.defteling.com), in the past I’ve had a few extras and sold them at shows and online. I’ve had to start a waiting list for people who bought one last year and are ready for the new one!

Be a fan of Alex Wijnen on Facebook or visit her shop on Etsy. :)

Have a great day and thanks Alex for your time!

Wayzgoose 2011 - Hamilton Type Museum

2011-11-05T19:00:00.004-05:00

"Excellence, not perfection."

This weekend was beautified by my trip to the Hamilton Type Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. 4.5 hours in the car were totally worth it! I didn't get to stay for the entire workshop or really spend any extra time in Two Rivers, but I'm sure if I had more time I would have loved it even more.

The museum itself is quite lovely - although I thought I would see more prints and less pieces of type. The type is fun to look at, but the prints were my favorite part to see on the walls. Here are some photos of the major machinery in this joint:

Amazing demo of creating a custom letter in a wood block.

Drying racks galore...

This was the third annual Wayzgoose convention, where designers, students, teachers and other enthusiasts gather to view demonstrations by the true pros.

The first two talks on Friday night were a great start to the workshop:

Animated Letterpress by Judith Poirier of École de design UQAM, Montreal

This presentation really blew my mind! Judith makes these experimental films with letterpress type through a projector. She creates sound waves and moving type through abstract imagery in type. I desperately tried to find a link to one of the films, but alas, I have failed. FAIL.

Amateur Printing by Tracy Honn of Silver Buckle Printers

I had no idea this even existed. Tracy showed images and talked about the small presses of the late 19th century - a way people communicated in a similar way to today's blogs and communicative technology.

Saturday's workshops (I could only attend 2 of the 4) included pressing our drawn letterforms cut into wood veneer, onto paper. It was super cool. We did two prints - one directly printed and one slightly offset to create a 3D effect:

He told me I needed more muscle.

The 3D effect of my C.

In the second workshop, the experts at Hatch Show Print discussing a day-to-day design scenario, before letting us have our try at the heavy duty machines.

"If you follow music, art, and culture of the American South, sooner or later you're bound to run into the letters, images, and unmistakable "look" of Hatch Show Print. We're one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in America, and over the years our posters have featured a host of country music performers, ranging from Country Music Hall of Famers Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, and Johnny Cash to contemporary stars such as Garth Brooks and Wynonna.
"Advertising without posters is like fishing without worms."
- The Hatch Brothers

And then, letting us loose... first creating a Wayzgoose poster for ourselves, and second experimenting with the blocks they have collected. I tried to create something cool with the "experimental" stuff, but I failed miserably. So, no pics of that. But I think I did alright with the Wayzgoose print. :)

More majestic machines.

The image on the paper after being sent through the rollers.

I had to give this crank some muscle.

The end result!

A few more fun photos...

A dress hanging from the ceiling.

In the bathroom. Yep, taking pictures in the bathroom.

The end!

Meet the Maker | Michelle Brusegaard (MBMB!)

2011-11-03T11:57:00.003-05:00

My name is Michelle Brusegaard and I currently live in Grand Forks, North Dakota, which happens to be the 3rd largest city in the state at 50,000 peeps. Since returning to Nodak in 2009, I spend a lot of time running into people I went to high school with, petting my cats, watching murder mystery shows with my mom….and working. I pretty much eat, breathe and sleep craft style, my job and my hobby are one in the same. I occasionally take breaks and spend them strolling along the mighty Red River, thrifting, eating sushis with buddies and/or napping.

1. How + when did you first become interested in becoming a maker?
I’ve always been psyched about it. When I was a kid I spent a lot of time hanging out with my grandma, making dolls out of her support hose.

2. Do you have a strategy for starting a project? Any rituals?
Hmmm…not really. My projects all just sort of overlap each other. When I get an idea, I am usually too excited to think it through. I simply jump in head first and work it out along the way.

3. What was your first "breakthrough" gig?
I started out selling my paintings. In 2005, I signed up for the Grand Cities Art Fest in Grand Forks and got accepted as an “emerging artist,” which got me a free tent and a stipend. It was my first “real” selling event, and I sold three paintings, my mind was blown.

4. What has been your favorite project to work on?
That is a tough question! Every project is my favorite when I first start it. I love the design work soooo much more than the mass production that takes over my apartmastudio. I think my calendars probably take the cake for most satisfying, though. Just because they can get pretty involved, there’s lots of computer staring, but in the end there’s this fully realized product that people keep buying year after year. Close tie are my new screen-printed leather earrings…I’ve always loved wearing jewelry, so each time I make a new style I get a new pair for myself. Score!

5. What has been your silliest mistake in business thus far?
Um…I have made a lot of little mistakes, but I think they’ve all been essential. Probably the biggest learning curve has been customer service. I don’t like having to be “businessy,” and I think that hurt me in the first few years of business online. Like I once refunded a Canadian customer because she got charged customs. That was dumb, she knew she was going to have to pay customs, she lives in Canada…pffft.

6. What is a project you hope + dream of working on in the future?
I love love love fashion. Clothes. I would love to get better at sewing…or really, just skip that part and be able to design the stuff for someone, and see my prints living out their destiny on, say, a sweet free peoplesque dress.

7. What is inspiring about where you live?
My home itself inspires me, because I have surrounded my self with tons of tchotchkes, art, patterns and textures. Outside, the plains are kind of like a burgeoning canvas. There’s not much there, but the beauty is in the details. Most of my botanical designs come from what I find while walking across town.

8. Who fuels your fire - who do you count on for moral support?
I do a lot of self-motivating. And my parents and pals are really nice to me. But ultimately it’s my customers that keep me rolling out of bed in the morning. When someone buys something its like they’re saying “good job. I like you.” And I feed off of that.

9. Which song would you choose to artistically represent yourself + your style?
“Beautiful” by Carole King. And I’m not being flippant. Well, maybe just a teeny bit flippant.

10. What are your plans for your business in the coming months?
Well, the holidays are upon us. So I plan to work 4 million hours a week until January. And shows!

November 11,12,13-Open Studio at 311 N 4th St #1
November 19th-The North by Midwest Craft Spectacular! Grand Forks, ND
November 26th- Art vs. Craft, Milwaukee, WI
December 2-3-No Coast Craft-O-Rama, Minneapolis, MN

In January, I typically spend time painting, reading books and going to the movies. Then it’s back to product development in February!

Enjoy Michelle here:

Main Website:

Blog:

Join that Mailin' List:

Fan her on Facebook

and let's not forget... twitter!

Thanks for your time Michelle!!

New Hand-Drawn Nature Calendars!

2011-10-29T12:12:00.001-05:00

Hi y'all.

Well, as many of you know, I goal myself to have more and more calendars designed every year. Last year I had 7, and this year I hope to have at least 10!

Now, these 2 calendars are a bit special. I'm mainly a graphic designer (although I wear many hats), so I tend to draw my graphics on my computer. But, a certain someone has always been touting to me that hand-drawn is always better. And I have to say, he was right. These calendars have a much more authentic sketched feel and I'm really excited about how well they turned out. I used mainly neutral colors from nature. I hope you enjoy!

The first is a desktop calendar (mini size) that includes a display case!

And the second one is a larger size that can be hung however you wish - pinned in your cube, magnetted(?) to your fridge, or stash it in a frame every month. It's totally up to you. The size is 5.5" x 8.5".

The months on these calendars have all been beautifully done by calligrapher Angelique Phillips of Angelique, Ink. Check out this post on our "Meet the Maker" series to find out more about Angi's beautiful work.

To purchase these calendars, check out the Holiday section of the shop for calendars and holiday cards!

Best of all, for purchasing these calendars, you get a coupon for Angi's shop!
Have a great day!

Meet the Maker | Angelique, Ink

2011-10-27T22:06:00.001-05:00

Today's featured maker is Angelique Phillips of Angelique, Ink - who beautifully penned our calendars this year! If you buy one, you get a coupon for her shop! I fell in love with her calligraphy work and couldn't resist asking for a partnership. Now the Colette Paperie calendars truly have a work of art on every month!

A little about Angelique, Ink...
Angelique (Angi) Phillips, live in Anaheim, Cali, wishing I had about 3 dogs, love mountain biking with Matt (my hubs), road biking, playing tennis, singing, reading fiction--currently the Hunger Games consumes every minute of my free time, good coffee, gourmet tea, baking...

How + when did you first become interested in becoming a maker?
1. I got my first calligraphy pen set when I was 12 and was addicted to the art of writing immediately. Over time I forgot about it though and decided to pick up calligraphy as a hobby again 3 or 4 years ago. But it wasn't til about 2 years ago when my husband and friends encouraged me to really dive in and make a business of it. And here I am :)

Do you have a strategy for starting a project? Any rituals?
I wish I had a strategy for projects, but each one is so different. I guess my ritual is to sit down in the quiet of my office with a white piece of 100% cotton paper and let the pen do the work. If I'm tense and uncreative I turn on music for inspiration.

What was your first "breakthrough" gig?
I guess my very first breakthrough gig would be my first real paying customer, the first person who showed interest in my work that was not an acquaintance or family member or friend. It was the most validating thing and just what I needed to give me the confidence that starting a business out of this was the right step. The project was a typical envelope addressing for wedding invitations and I was scared to death, kept thinking she was going to hate them and want her money back but she adored them and was so positive with her feedback and praise.

What has been your favorite project to work on?
Favorite project? Is there such a thing? Gosh--I don't know... they are all so unique and yet so many are similar too. I absolutely LOVE making a fully handwritten invitation set designed for letterpress print! The first time I made one and received the sample it just made me giddy to feel the impression of the lettering on the papers.

What has been your silliest mistake in business thus far?
Silliest mistake in business: not listening to Matt (my hubby) when he gives business input or suggestions. He is usually right on although I always think I am, haha. But for a more specific example, the silliest thing I did was choosing a business name without giving it much thought and finding out later how difficult it is to change it. I started out with the name "Design and Ink"--yuck! Okay, now that I have a name that makes sense I cringe thinking about what it used to be. I wanted to open my Etsy store--like right away--and typed in the first thing that came to mind without reading the fine print that you wouldn't be able to change it! Was stuck with that business name for a while, hating it the whole time (Matt warned me not to be too hasty in the name decision--why does he know everything?), and eventually made the right but painstaking decision to change the name and open a new shop. So glad I didn't wait any longer--wish I would have done it sooner.

What is a project you hope + dream of working on in the future?
Dreaming: I would love to have my work published in a book about modern calligraphy. I think it is important to keep these old fashioned art forms alive and kicking and I am glad there are people in our society with an appreciation for it. I hope it will continue and grow. I'd love to take some classes and maybe even teach some in the very far future :)

What is inspiring about where you live?
Southern California is a hodge podge of inspiration. There's the beach cities that offer the tranquility and beauty of the ocean and silence. There's downtown LA full of fashion, art, hipsters, and museums. I like talking to people in coffee shops (which are trendy here too) to see what they like and what interests them. Some of my calligraphy styles have been born out of interesting conversations with strangers.

Who fuels your fire - who do you count on for moral support?
Matt is my biggest moral support and I am seriously so lucky he is my husband. I am not very good at self promotion and get a little shy when he talks up my work to people he meets, co-workers, family, friends, etc. He has great business sense and supports me with his knowledge as well as his love and genuine admiration for my work. Always makes me feel like I'm good at what I do and hands out my business cards a lot more than I do.
Davinah, my wonderful friend is another person who I will forever be grateful to have in my life. She is a rock and won't let me get down on myself when something goes wrong. She goes to great lengths to help me out when I need it, especially when it comes to my work because she understands it (she is also an entrepreneur). We get creative and always end up making something when we are together, I think she has an inspiration bug.

Which song would you choose to artistically represent yourself + your style?
I'm horrible with song choices... it's just that there is such a variety of music out there and I can't say there is a particular song that encompasses the way I feel about my style. Lame cop-out answer I know...

What are your plans for your business in the coming months?
In the coming months, I plan to get through the holiday season with flying colors! Anticipating busyness and lots of projects, and maybe a little vacation. For the new year, I hope to do a business plan so I can re-evaluate the current state of Angelique, Ink and set some goals for the year. One thing I want to incorporate in my schedule is free-creative time. Like free time--no projects, no obligations, no expectations, just time for me to be creative and come up with something new (even if it doesn't end up being something I will use for business or sell, it's just a good release for a creative mind).

FIND ANGELIQUE INK:
Main Website
Etsy Shop
Email Angi
Fan Angi on Facebook

On an unrelated note...

I almost forgot. I'm doing a coupon code this weekend for 30% off! Just use code JUMPSTARTXMAS for the whole weekend! Ends this Sunday at 12am CST. Now go buy!

Also keep checking out New Year Survey - lots of new and really fun entries have been posted! YES!

Your pal,

Meet the Maker Series : Kim Welling | Kim's Little Monsters

2011-10-21T06:55:00.001-05:00

Featured Maker:

Kim Welling of Kim's Little Monsters

A little about Kim...
I'm Kim Welling and live and work as an illustrator in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Besides making goodies for my shop I also do commisioned illustrations and projects. In my spare time I love to blog, cook & bake for my friends, crochet (especially cacti) and grow my own veggies. Unfortunately I don't own a garden but I think I'm doing well with pots and containers! These are also loved by my pet rabbit Seb (who was named after Seb Jarnot, a french illustrator), who, if he gets the chance likes to nibble on the little seedlings (although he knows perfectly well he's not allowed to...)

1. How + when did you first become interested in becoming a maker?
I remember being ten years old and deciding on being an artist. (Back then I thought that it was all about painting flowers, so I did! I even had my own oilpaint set.)

2. Do you have a strategy for starting a project? Any rituals?
I start with looking through books about the subject I'm illustrating about. Then making drawings with pencils or fine liner. When I'm happy with those I scan them in and add colour, layout and structures on the computer.

3. What was your first "breakthrough" gig?
I think I started, while being in my last year at art school, with illustrating for a Dutch magazine called 'Genoeg' (Enough) that was about eco friendly living.

4. What has been your favorite project to work on?
The Interior design fair decoration I did in 2010. I won this competition by sending in an idea on how to add something special to the big halls on this fair and won! I made 2 humongous 3D setttings/ boxes (about 16 x 10 x 6 feet). One with a city landscape, the other with a nature landscape. (www.kimwelling.com/index.php?/projects/woonbeurs/)/ It was absolutely great to work on a scale like this!

5. What has been your silliest mistake in business thus far?
Worrying about money too much. Things always seem to work out, I know that now!

6. What is a project you hope + dream of working on in the future?
I've got a few! I'd love to do window displays and more editorial illustrations (especially for Uppercase magazine!)

7. What is inspiring about where you live?
The canals. Utrecht is such a beautiful city with it's water and losts of green. Especially now, in autumn is so pretty! I just moved to a new appartment which is on a tiny canal, I feel very lucky.

8. Who fuels your fire - who do you count on for moral support?
My friends! Most of them are very creative themselves so I always feel I can call them for some moral support and creative input. Also, my family. I know I can always count on them and that's a nice comforting feeling.

9. Which song would you choose to artistically represent yourself + your style?
Wow, that's a hard one! I'm not really good with music. I'm the kind of person who calls her (ex) boyfriend asking 'what's that music called I like'? But if I had to choose, I think Kimya Dawson's songs, that sort of funny weird lyrics she comes up with, I think that fits my style ;-)

10. What are your plans for your business in the coming months?
Now that my etsy shop is running, I plan on establishing the balance between commissioned work and shop again. I'd like to focus a bit more on making illustrations for magazines or other nice commissioned illustrative work.

Links to Kim's work:

Main website

Etsy shop

Blog

Check it out!

2012 is on the way!

2011-10-18T17:35:00.000-05:00

Well, the holidays and new year get here a lot faster for me than for all y'all, so I'm working at mock speed trying to get as many designs for the holidays out that I can... because all that happens in November + December are shows and shipping out orders! We'll be in 5 shows all right smack in a row before the end of the year. Yeah, it's a mouthful. An armful. A big car-ful, really.

And then my BFF's at the post office will be seeing me nearly every day, struggling to carry bags and boxes through the (likely, let's face it) snow. Oh, snow. Well, it is a wonderful perk that while I do have to park my cah on the street, I don't have to get up at 6:30am to dig it out of it's newfound igloo-home. Thank gawd.

So this past weekend I whipped up 2 new calendars! Exciting! Despite it being only mid-October, yes, people are already stocking up on holiday cards and even buying calendars. I am still working with these awesome clipboards that are great for displaying - you can basically do whatever you want with these bad boys - pin them in your cube (they are nice and lightweight, the 6x9 mini-size) or hang them on the wall. Or you can use the cute clipboard for something else altogether and just stick each month out wherever you'd like. I have fun designing calendars.

I'm up to 5 calendars in the shop currently, but the clipboardies are the ones I needa talk to you about. 2 of which are a beautiful calligraphy partnership with Angelique Ink. Not only does her amazing calligraphy adorn these calendars - you also get a coupon to her shop with every purchase of one of the calligraphy'd calendars. Lemme tell you 'bout this calligraphy. I saw it in someone's shop and I was super in love. I mean, I took a calligraphy class this year (yes, it was on my list of resolutions and I took it with a bunch of old ladies at a community center, and then sent out creepy letters to all my friends - just ask them) so I'm pretty familiar with it. But Angi has a very unique style that is truly art in letterforms. As most of you know, I'm a TypeGeek5000™- so I'm pretty picky about my letterz.

Two of these calendars below have a lot of her work involved with them, as do others in my shop. There may even be more, depending on how easy my creative juices go a'flow.

Oh and another thing that is of utmost importance - the New Year Survey! I am already getting lots of amazing new year's notes in the mail (awesome, peeps. just awesome.) so I've decided to randomly select good ones and send them free calendars! Oh yeah, you know I love the freebs! I haven't taken photos of them yet, but make sure to follow that blog link to see them - and to learn about it all. You can get 4 for a buck - and I'm including them with every order from my shop from now til, I don't know, ever. So if you and your hubband/friends want to go in on some fun things to fill out (another love of mine) - feel free to drop me a line. No really. Email me. I need human contact!

#1: Animal Calligraphy Calendar - This calendar is my fave so far. I've been wanting to make something with animals for ages, and I might end up making a little stationery set out of the images too, cause they were super fun!

#2: Chalkboard Calendar - this can be a great teacher's gift (people are always begging me for teacher-specific gifts), but if you're a chalkboard/school supply geek such as myself, don't be 'shamed. There's even a handy notes area on each month to jot things down.

#3: Crest Calligraphy Calendar - a nice classic floral calendar, with perty flowers for every month to shine up your otherwise bo-ring cube wall.

Check out all the holiday/seasonal items in the shop here - more will be popping up as the weeks go by!

Ok, that's all I've got. :)
Your pal,

Things I have been obsessing over + more

2011-10-11T15:04:00.004-05:00

Happy... Um, Tuesday?

As I'm sure most of you that are on Etsy can agree, the "favorites" list can get really freakin' long. Well, I thought I'd share a few of my current obsessions. Things I am really dying to have but absolutely do not need.

Case in point: cards. Well, these are simply stunning carts by curtie01

birdmafia strikes again... and I already own 3 plushies of theirs.

mustard yellow bag! by tippythai

Now, I already have some of floresdelsol's yellow craspedia... but yet, I can't resist this yarrow mound.

I can't decide which pair of these FeistyInkDesigns earrings I like the best:

decoylab's teapot clock. sweet, much?

IUsedToBeATree - oh, clever name... I'm an expert bowler, did you know?

Uh, I'm a total sucker for magnets, specially this set by KitzieG

I've been lovin' fruitflypie for some time now, might be time to purchase a sa-weet toothpick holder.

thewheatfield : simply stunning, as always. And I love ampersands!

I'm in love with birch wood... NHWoodsCreations

This CallaghanArtGallery silkscreen is screamin' my name.

I've always been in love with Scape's beautiful rings. I have one in moonstone currently and might need this one too!

Paper Airplane Necklace by sissysstash

And here are a couple things I've bought recently and adored...

Awesome vintage tablecloth from pumpkintruck

Super amazing brooch from my pal Keegan at Honeylane!

OH - and check out a bunch of new holiday cards that were just listed today... neato burrito!

Adios!

Como Zoo Trip

2011-10-09T18:23:00.001-05:00

pretty pretty flowers, stickers, unicorns, trapper keepers

a little bonsai tree action

This tree... is bigger than me.

Polar bear with my big black tongue out.

Nap time for tranquilized kittehs

First you see these two chewed up kiddie pools...

And then the tiger that ate them. Wrong message?

Kitty tranquilizers?

Excuse me kids, but this weird adult needs a photo taken by the giraffe.

Imma zebra, just eatin' some grass, being stripey.


Check out my 'stache!

And now I will leave you with this glorious ape ass.

New project!

2011-10-07T12:26:00.004-05:00

The last few weeks have been a major overhaul due to the upcoming holiday season. Calendar designs, Christmas card designs, soap-creation-plans... It's kind of overwhelming. But, I still get super excited about the prospects of a new year, and I always make resolutions. Keeping them is another story. But now, I've created a fun way to share your resolutions anonymously, and to check out other cool peeps' resolutions in the meantime.

Thus begins New Year Survey... a blog dedicated to postcards I get back with New Year thoughts written out on them. A little like Post Secret except resolution-style. I even added a few of my own in there, and left a few blank. But there are some sentences to get you started.

Every Colette Paperie customer will get a free postcard with their orders, and I'll also be passing them out as freebies at the upcoming shows I'm soon participating in (Northwest Craft Spectacular in Grand Forks, ND - Art vs. Craft in Milwaukee, and Renegade in Chicago.) But if you can't wait to get your grubby hands on some, I'll send you some for a buck.

I'll be photographing the postcards I receive and even sending some free swag to those who decide to be in on it! TRUST ME, IT'LL BE FUN I SWEAR.
Check out the blog! Oh and be a fan on Facebook, too.

Oh we have so much to cover!

2011-10-06T00:55:00.002-05:00

Hi!

So, okay. I only had 4 entries in the giveaway last week of 3 items, so I feel it's only fair to extend last week's giveaway to this week too!

Here's a link to the giveaway blog entry.

Re-check it out. You literally have to spend 13 bucks at Colette Paperie to make it worth your while to donate the 5 bucks to my fundraiser. But really, you could save TONS with the special 40% off coupon code I'm going to send you! Super easy! I'm already at over 50% of my goal of $3,000. Awesome, right? I thought so too, not to toot my own fundraising-abilities horn.

The giveaway will now end this Sunday at midnight CST 10/9 and you can comment on either entry to win!

Now, on to my fantastic weekend of fun!

I visited several of my HOT SPOTS - including my hometown in Indiana, Cincinnati and even hit up Columbus!

Oh, glamorous Cincinnati... how I miss thee.

Now what I really miss... is the FOOD. LaRosa's specifically. :)

I'm gonna divide this into 3 parts:

Fair Fun! The world's fair in good ol' Aurora, Indiana, my hometown (expect photos of me shooting BB guns and of course, some deep fried action.)
Curious antiques in the little town of Lawrenceburg, Indiana (I take photos of things I want but cannot have.)
Baby Fest - a super fun non-traditional baby shower for my pal Ashley at White Star Farm in London, Ohio.

FAIR FUN - click here for more

ANTIQUES - click here for more

BABY FEST - click here for more

OK! Hope you made it through all that. Have a great rest of the week!

A new post is coming soon with new holiday cards + maybe even some calendars! So much in the works, I can barely keep it all straight.

oh ALSO ALSO: check out my latest project - new year survey!

Baby Fest at White Star Farm

2011-10-06T00:54:00.002-05:00

White Star Farm in London, Ohio (seriously fantastic.)

The fashion pals from CCAD, together again!

This kid's gonna have an interesting upbringing to say the least :)

The happy parents!

The Klaus clan

Noah's big blue eyes!

Oh yes, there was karaoke...

and lots of fun presents...

That's Grandma - can you believe it?!

The guest of honor singing some karaoke!

Pumpkin cupcakes

gorg!

I need this barn. In my pocket.

BABY HUNGRY!

Antiques

2011-10-06T00:34:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I bought these. What should I put in them?

I have kind of a soft spot for galvanized buckets...

I snagged these sweet triangle earrings for 3 bucks.

Let's take a very awkward photo chewing on some twine?

I wish I had a place to put a beautiful old cash register.

I'm totally going to make a card design that replicates this. Love it. "Pleasant."

In love with all of these...

I am a slowpoke. But it's a new giveaway!

2011-09-27T20:18:00.006-05:00

What's been goin' on? I'm a slacker. Well, a busy slacker. Whatwith the Etsy feature and all, it's been a lit-tle crazy around here. Plus I am heading home to Cincinnasti this weekend, so I'm trying to speed-clean and freak out my cat.

I have a new giveaway for you this weekend! But there's a catch. I'm registered for the National Race to End Women's Cancer in honor of my lovely ma, Teri, who passed away from reproductive cancer last year. You must make a donation. Yep! Sorries. BUT - in return, you have a chance to win one of these amazingly fabulous items, AND get a one-time 40% off coupon code to my shop.

I've never offered a 40% discount code so this is a big one! You can order as many cards as you'd like! Oh, and did I mention free shipping? All you have to do is donate $5. Really not that bad, eh? And let's face it, you've got 5 bucks to spare, and you know I'll reward you more in return. Plus you'll get that tingly feel-good vibe because you've donated to a good cause.

Click here to learn about my fundraiser. And to put in some CASH MONEYS! :)

GIVEAWAY ITEM #1: ($29.95)

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The first item up for grabs is this super book by Lotta Jansdotter. Lotta is one of my fave designers. Stalk her on Facebook - she's phun.

Ain't she just adorbs?

A little about the book:

Beloved designer Lotta Jansdotter's smart, organic design has earned her international acclaim. Now she shares her recipe for a stylish home: take a whole lot of Scandinavian influence, mix in a dash of flea-market finds, and then top it all off with expressive handmade touches. The result? An entirely fresh approach to home dcor and contemporary living. In this lavishly illustrated book, Lotta shares her decorating secrets, design resources, entertaining tips, and family traditions. Tucked away at the back shes included stencil pages and perforated recipe cards featuring classic Swedish dishes. Equal parts inspiration and how-to, this charming book shows readers how to create a warm home with elements of simple Scandinavian-influenced style. Lotta is a self-taught designer who sells her products and designs across the globe. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Photographer Jenny Hallengren lives and works as a freelance photographer in Stockholm, Sweden.

LOVE these pages...

Yeah, the recipes are included on handy dandy perforated cards! WHAT!

GIVEAWAY ITEM #2: ($8.95)

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Sea Flowers Mix + Match Stationery by Jill Bliss!

Flowers? Sea flowers? Stop talking dirty to me!

Here's Miss Jill's Facebook page. Y'all already know how much I love her!

6 x 7-3/4 in; 16 writing sheets and 16 envelopes (4 color designs repeating 4 times), sticker sheet.

Featuring the exquisite underwater illustrations of artist Jill Bliss, this stationery collection celebrates the beauty and magic of the sea.

Jill Bliss crafts beautiful and useful items inspired by nature. She has been operating her art and design studio in various iterations since 2001. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Seriously beautiful stationery.

STICKERS!

Perty.

GIVEAWAY ITEM #3: ($14.95)

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Chez Panisse Fruits & Vegetables Eco-Notecards

By Patricia Curtan
4-3/4 x 6 x 1-3/4 in; box with hinged lid, 16 cards (8 designs repeating 2 times), 16 envelopes, 100% recycled paper, soy-based inks, color illustrations

Celebrating the legendary restaurant's 40th anniversary, these notecards showcase sumptuous reproductions of Chez Panisse illustrator Patricia Curtan's famous linoleum block prints. Printed on 100% recycled paper with soy-based inks, this best-of assortment collects the most beautiful images from Chronicle's Chez Panisse Fruits and Chez Panisse Vegetables notecard sets.

I am completely in-love with these cards. I wasn't so sure about them when I first saw them, but they won me over. Intricate details, subtle organic textures and beautiful envelopes to match. These are truly stunning cards! And they make me want to eat avocados and delicious fresh berries, which can't be a bad thing. Now I want to visit this famous restaurant and have some snax!

Wasn't that fun?

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO WIN:

Donate some buckage: Click here to make a $5 or more donation in honor of my mama.
Post a comment here with your name + e-mail address. That's it, y0!
Be sure to include which item you'd like. Since all 3 of these items are specific and unique, I hope to give them all a good home in which they will be lovingly used. If you'd like to give one as a gift to someone, that's okay too. We spread the love.
I'll e-mail you with your 40% off coupon code! This giveaway ends Sunday, October 2. Sheeit, it's October already?!

Damn straight,

It's birthday week!

2011-09-20T11:03:00.004-05:00

Well tomorrow I turn a whopping 29 (thank God I have another year before the big one.) 29 years ago mi madre was carrying me around and ready to pop. Thanks mom!

Here we are on our Alaskan Cruise!

This week has been simply amazing so far. Yesterday my main squeeze brought me Chinese takeout and we watched Curb Your Enthusiasm (hilare.) Today, I am featured on the front page of Etsy in the "Quit Your Day Job" blog series - jigga what? My 15 minutes of fame are here! Thanks to marymary for publishing my story.

Tomorrow, I have a fun birthday lunch with some good pals, and Thursday I receive my brand new MacBook Pro! Now, this is a long overdue purchase. I've been working with my tiny MacBook designing zillions of cards for years now. So, I took the plunge. Happy birthday to me! On Friday it's dinner with Geno & Joni (fave boyfriend's parental units!) Then on Saturday I have a super fun birthday extravaganza at moto-i, a very cool sake brewery/restaurant in uptown! FUN. Next weekend it's family time and I get to see a bunch of old pals!

This week I am focusing on what I have in life and how perfect it truly is. I work for myself, have an amazing dude in my life, and am lucky enough to have this wonderful exposure from Etsy.

Thanks to everyone for their simply inspiring comments on the blog!

UPCOMING SHOWS:
North by Midwest Craft Spectacular
Grand Forks, ND - 11/19/11

Art vs. Craft
Milwaukee, WI - 11/26/11

Renegade Holiday Show
Chicago, IL - 12/3/11-12/4/11

Stop by and see me!

McSweeney's Planner, Jill Bliss Drawing Book, Typography Iron-Ons GIVEAWAY

2011-09-14T01:36:00.001-05:00

This week's giveaway is totally awesome for all my artsy followers.

It ends this coming Sunday 9/18 at midnight CST.

Here we go!

GIVEAWAY ITEM #1: ($12.00)

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The first item up for grabs is this awesome organizer from McSweeney's. If you haven't heard of McSweeney's, you're missing out. But you've probably seen some of their delicious books out there. This organizer is called the "Keep Your House in Order" and here's a little bit about it:

Designed by Heidi Meredith

"Do you find yourself awash in a sea of things to do for work, while the things you need to do for your personal life nip at your heels like hungry piranhas? Do you perpetually and repeatedly draw up to-do lists in order to keep yourself afloat, but—confound it!—keep losing them?

Well, this elegant and functional planner will help you keep track of all the things you need to do for work and for pleasure. You'll never miss a conference call again, or forget the name of the Chilean albariño that your mom told you to try.

The Keep Your House In Order planner has the capacity for fourteen months of organized living. You can start the planner whenever you want; it's not tied to any specific dates. It's full-color throughout and has plenty of space for whatever lists you can conceive, as well as prompts for things like "names I like," "good costume ideas," "museums to see in my town," and "favorite band in high school."'

Metallic coating on the cover, what a beaut!

The die-cut on this book is seriously incredible.

GIVEAWAY ITEM #2: ($14.95)

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This one's for the craftier folks out there, Hot Type iron-on transfers book, published by Chronicle Books and designed by San Franciscans Brett MacFadden and Scott Thorpe.

A little about Hot Type:

"Hot Type + cloth + an iron = DIY clothing design. It's instantly gratifying to customize T-shirts, bags, or any other piece of fabric with these bold type-driven designs and custom created alphabets. Simple instructions explain how to quickly iron on more than 20 vivid designs to clothes and accessories."

Mmmm, delicious, delicious type.

Yes, these bad boys are mirror image (duh.) This "Lover" iron-on is for fancypants guys and gals.

Lovin' all the alphabets involved here - you can basically make anything you want!

GIVEAWAY ITEM #3: ($17.00)

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Jill Bliss is back, and I'm lovin' it. I snatched up this Chronicle Books drawing journal by Jill and couldn't resist it.

"check it out: want to learn to draw natural objects, or improve your looking and drawing skills? need a new nature drawing journal? or do you just want be inspired by pages and pages of inspirational words and artwork of dots, lines, and shapes in colorful interplays? then this is the journal for you!
part instructive-manual, part diy journal, part inspirational tome, part art monograph, this baby has been a total labor of love!

the result: a hard-cover take-along journal infused with art and tips throughout, offering basic techniques for drawing natural objects. within these pages, i've distilled everything i've learned teaching artists of all skill levels in my yearly "summer sunday nature drawing workshop" series at home in portland, oregon. so now those of you who can't make the summer trek to portland, can still learn from me via this journal!

fundamental, easy-to-follow exercises explore ways of seeing the natural world and translating it into simple marks on a page. with plenty of space for sketching, this journal will also encourage you to appreciate your natural environment no matter where you are!"

This book is, well, amazing. I mean, there's really nothing out there like it. It's a journal, but also a drawing space, but also a tutorial, but also a total inspiration. Check out some photos of this beauty.

This page alone inspires me to do some drawin'. I want a print of this for my studio space... Help me out, Jill? :)

Beautiful full illustrations fill the pages of this to inspire to create.

Jill's beautiful illustrative style is truly unique and keeps things fun.

Your turn to draw!

Draw Every Day - sounds like a tall order, but I think you can if you have this book to keep you goin'.

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO WIN:

Post a comment here and tell me what inspires you to create and organize. Is it disorganization or a fun planner or creative "starting point"? Do you become intimidated by organization and/or art projects that never seem to happen? We're working on organizers and inspirational calendars now for 2012 and would love your feedback.
Bonus Additional Entry: Share this blog entry to your Facebook friends or Twitter account and post a link to it in a separate comment.
Be sure to include which item you'd like. Since all 3 of these items are specific and unique, I hope to give them all a good home in which they will be lovingly used. If you'd like to give one as a gift to someone, that's okay too. We spread the love.
Include your e-mail address and follow this blog to see if you've won!

Coming soon... more from Chronicle + more from us. Surprise, surprise.

Enjoy your day!

Fun at Renegade in Chicago

2011-09-13T08:30:00.001-05:00

I'm still in recovery mode from the 9th annual September Renegade Fair in Chicago (holy crap.) I had an army of about 8 people that contributed to helping me make it happen! Having a booth buddy, a place to stay, a kitty-sitter and many many helpers with the ever-monotonous card cutting, folding, enveloping, packaging, sealing and stickering was a massive help. Plus I had a buncha orders going out. So yeah, this girl didn't get much sleep until it was all over. And it was another endorsement that I have basically the most awesome crew of friends ever possible.

These shows are serious business because they have an amazing turnout every time. Saturday and Sunday were sunny and beautiful all day, so everyone came out for the good time. Chicago has a great arts + crafts scene and I was happy to be in the thick of it again.

For a full Flickr album of Renegade-official photos, check out this link to see all the interesting wares! I never seem to make the cut in their photos, oh well. I caught my own.

Here we have some shots of people smiling and laughing at the cards with their friends. These were really fun to capture, I love making people giggle it up. Over 1,000 cards were passed out into the Chicago world! I was a total creeper with my camera, but it was so wonderful to see so many people lovin' up the cards, I couldn't help myself.

You also get to really chat with these cool peeps, which is awesome because they are all seriously sweet people and give me great ideas for cards and I really learn what they respond to and really love. The cards that require a bit of thought to truly get the wit seem to be the best ones for people.

So happy to catch this sweet girl's laugh!

Choosing cards is a careful process!

This one's my favorite. :)

It's also an amazing time to people-watch and to see what's going on in the closets of Chicagoans. Although I resisted just taking photos of people all day (which you could totally do and be perfectly content) I did enjoy a bunch of people that stopped by my booth. I took a few photos of some favorite cool peeps...

This is begging to go on a card. Loved it!

I am lovin' this gal's pin! Bonus points if you can find it for me. I want it!

Oh, Helvetica. I do love typography-related t-shirts.

I need it!

Probably my favorite part of the fair. This guy had a banjo, so (being my usual self) I said, "will you play us a song?" His friend says, "He only plays Lady Gaga." Well, I said, "I'll give you a free card if you play me some Gaga." So he did. Poker Face. Free card earned. He did a wonderful little acoustic version of it. Put Gaga to shame!

Ruthie Kott at RedEye wrote up some fun stories and included my Lady Gaga Solo here. Fun!

Also, we were lucky enough to have neogranny as a boothmate. Molly has these amazing laser woodcut keychains, pins & necklaces made out of birchwood. Her swag looked awesome with mine, don't you think?

I'm lovin' these lunch trays as display pieces.

I was lucky enough to wear the orange flower :)

Some delicious globes

That about wraps it up my whirlwind weekend. I will soon mosey my way back to Minneapolis and get ready for the Quit Your Day Job feature on Etsy on the 20th! Gotta choose some amazing photos of m'self.

Have a great week peeps,

Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?

2011-09-05T22:41:00.000-05:00

Oh, y'all are back to work aren't ya? Booooooooo.
I'll cut right to the chase on the latest giveaway winners!

1) Jill Bliss journal : Carly!

2) Amy Butler journal : Jen!

3) Boy Girl Party journal: Lina!

Congrats! Send me your address, or I'll email ya for it this week.

Well, I'll have you know I'm back to work myself... this weekend is Renegade in Chicago, and I've got a primo spot. Time to get my display to kick major ass and create like 5,000 products to sell. I'll be carrying tons 'o greeting cards, magnets, prints and thank-you sets. Probably more, if I can get them done. :) I've got a few Santa's Little Helpers coming over this week, so I need to make a pit stop at the liquor store, natch. And...

It's a CALENDAR. Booyah!

Here it is in the neato little display case.

Yes, a bit early, but who cares. Honey badger don't. It's my first of the season - and my plan is to have 10 different ones. I've gotten these sweet calendar cases so you can display them on your desks. Pretty coo'. I have been planning on making a pick-up line calendar for some time, and finally finished it!

I chose a bunch of fun seasonal color themes for each month, and of course the pick-up lines are appropriate. :)

Here tis:

All my favorite pick-up lines...

Buy it here!

ALSO:

I'll be doing writeups on cool stuff I do + find. The speed at which I write them, depends on how much free time I have. BUT, I have some fun upcoming events, so it should be action-packed. The first one I did is on Big Table Studio in St. Paul, MN - a new studio space where artists can "rent" a table and also sell their work. The link to it is in the sidebar, and also here. I forgot to enable comments until like 5 seconds ago, feel free to write me notes!

This will require me to take the Rebel everywhere with me, and that's something I wanna do anyways. Documenting life for the win. Up next, I will take lots of delicious photos at the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago! In November, I'm visiting the Hamilton Wood Type Museum in Two Rivers, 'sconsin. I'm also going to a baby shower for Mrs. Reale, so you-just-wait for some baby swag photos.

Upcoming giveaway:
A drawing book by Jill Bliss, a monthly planner by McSweeney's Books, and a book of iron-on typography for your crafty pleasure! Be on the lookout!

Happy short-work-week,

Journal Giveaway (Chronicle of course!)

2011-08-31T12:08:00.007-05:00

Hey, long weekend coming up! What!

Well, every weekend is a long weekend for me. Ha! Yeah, I'll rub it in a little. But, the good news is, this weekend's giveaway starts today! It will go through Labor Day until 12am CST. Lots of time!

So, random side note, today I'm enjoying Pandora. It automatically sent me to a Salt 'N Pepa station, I have no idea why. I've been listening to it for 2 hours now, enjoying every minute. I was an 80s child, so I'm loving the hip hop from the 90s. Some amazing additions to the station:

Bel Biv DeVoe - Poison
Color Me Badd - I Wanna Sex You Up
Naughty By Nature - OPP
Sir Mix-a-Lot - Baby Got Back
Wreckx-N-Effect - Rumpshaker
Outkast - Ms. Jackson

Memba those? So good.
So yeah, I'm no spokesperson for Pandora, I'm just enjoyin' these beats. :)

You can see why I'm having such a ball on this lovely rainy Wednesday here in Minneapolis. Yes, I'm still in my PJ's, but for the record, I did brush my teeth and have laundry going.

Okay, okay, on to the giveaway. FINE.

This weekend's giveaway includes 3 journals by Chronicle Books. Have I mentioned lately how much I heart Chronicle?

3 winners yet again... ain't I good to y'all? Yeah, I'm from Indiana. Proud to be a Hoosier!

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The first journal is a beautiful floral pattern journal by Amy Butler. I'm lovin' it and not in a McD's sorta way. Amy Butler's kind of a fabric bad-ass, and we all know it in the Etsy community. Her fabrics are unique, inspirational and stunning. If you haven't seen her work, you kind of need to. And by kind of, I mean, go there now.

As usual, lots of options on the inside pages, at least 3, maybe 4 designs on the interior pages.

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Do you know about Boy Girl Party? I mean, this gal Susie is so awesome. I'm in love with her swag. Check out her website, you won't be disappointed. She paints these amazing little teensie paintings and also sells all sorts of awesome stuff like magnets, t-shirts, notepads, the list goes on and on. She's an indie gal like me, so I'm in full support mode for her!

Here's Susie's amazing owl journal up for grabs.

This interior page is my fave, but there are several designs in this beaut.

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And last but definitely not least, the Jill Bliss journal. Jill is super. She has this amazing illustrative style with nature-inspired drawings. She's got prints, notebooks, cards, and more with her stunning illustrations. Jill is a highly educated gal in Oregon. Check out her swag too!

Also - in a future giveaway I will be giving away one of her drawing books!

Some amazing interiors on this bad boy, too.

Pretty amazin', right?

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO WIN:

Share my biz. Yeah, you gotta pimp me. I quit my day job for this baby, so we gotta spread the word! Options: Post a link to Colette Paperie on your Facebook wall and either invite friends to be a fan of our Facebook page, or just tell them how amazing the cards are. Also, please share this coupon code with them: YOUGUYSRULE for 25% off their entire order. Jigga what? Also if you have one of those little Twittery accounts, please follow us and tweet your little birdie hearts out about us. If you are a trusty blogger such as myself, go ahead and bloggit. Trust, your friends will appreciate!

and then...

Comment and lemme know what you did. Don't forget to include your e-mail address and which journal you like the best - Amy Butler, Boy Girl Party, or Jill Bliss.

and then...

Well, that's actually all you have to do. S'not too bad, right? You do need to check back and see if you've won and contact me with your snail mail addie. You can also enjoy the coupon code YOUGUYSRULE since, well, you DO RULE. Obvi.

EASY!

* Sorry, due to the weight of these journals, international shipping is not available. U.S. only for these!

Enjoy your long-ass weekends. Hopefully the majority of you will be relaxin' jackson on the couch in your PJ's with some ice cream and painting your toenails. I mean, that's prob what I'll be doin'.

Enjoy!

Magnetize Me

2011-08-29T17:16:00.007-05:00

Thank you to everyone who participated in this weekend's Colette Paperie giveaway!

::: congrats to the winners :::
Morgan! Whitney! Suz!

You guys gave me some wonderful ideas for the holiday cards + calendars and I can't wait to show you new designs! It's been pretty crazy here in the "Colette Suite" preparing for the holiday season.

Today I am introducing an exciting new product to the line... magnets! These magnets feature the most fridge-worthy cards featured in the shop. There are 10 designs available at $4.50 each. Each magnet is backed with book-board and softly glazed with a glossy finish. They are 3" x 3" square, a perfect size for most anything in my opinion. (God, I love squares!) You can't throw them in the dishwasher of course, but they will resist the common kitchen mishap. And if you're like me, you have a lot of those. They have two little circular magnets on the back. These will make great gifts for, well, basically everyone you know, right?

check 'em out... and click the photos to see these up-close-n-personal:

and s'more...

and my personal fave...

Check out the full line of magnets here in the Etsy Shop!

CHICAGOLAND FOLKS!

Check out the Renegade Craft Fair along Division Street in Wicker Park on September 10th + 11th! You can meet me and all kinds of amazing crafty peeps. All Renegade events are fun-filled and crazy-awesome, so make sure to check it out if you're in the area. Click the pic for deets!

Next weekend's giveaway: 3 Chronicle Books journals!

Enjoy your week!

Colette Paperie Giveaway - Assortment Packs!

2011-08-26T00:20:00.007-05:00

Happy Friday!

I'm excited for the weekend. I've got a super-packed social calendar this weekend which makes me feel all popular and loved. Sushi tomorrow, a little state fair action on Saturday (fried food... WIN!), and a birthday brunch on Sunday! I am also planning out my little birthday bash, working on building up stock for upcoming craft fairs (specifically Renegade in Chicago Sept 10+11th) and the busy holiday season that is creeping up on me!

This weekend's giveaway will be Colette Paperie swag! I love giving away my cards. I'd give them to everyone if I could, but you know, gotta pay the stupid electric bill at some point. Giveaways are way too fun, so I can't resist.

There will be 3 winners!

The prize:

(3) assortment packs of Colette Paperie single cards (of your choosing)
4 cards included - worth $12 + s&h for FREE!

I've been working on 2012 calendars and cards for the upcoming holiday season, so here's where I tap your brains for clever cards! Don't worry, no pressure, you can still win even if your card idea stinks. :P

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO:

Comment on this entry and think of holiday cards you wish you could find... or calendars that you'd love to hang or display in your cube at work or on your fridge... let me know what you think and I'll probably reward you during the holidays! You know I love spoiling you cool cats.

and then...

Check out our site at www.colettepaperie.com and click "shop online" - pick out the 4 cards you'd like to win! List them in your comments below. Please make sure to include these in your comment!

and then...

Make sure to include your e-mail address (to prevent spambots, type it out as colettepaperie (at) gmail (dot) com - I super hate spam.)

Winners of these 4-packs are picked at random, no matter if you have an idea or not! (Your ideas are just a fringe benefit for me!)

Please share this post on your twitter feed, facebook, blog, other random social networking tool that I don't know about yet, etc. This giveaway is to talk about great ideas for cards and enjoy getting free swag!

If you mark this page as a favorite, the current giveaway will be shown. This giveaway ends Sunday August 28 at 12AM CST.

During this weekend, you can also enjoy FREE SHIPPING on your order with code "SUMMERSHIP" on the Etsy page. Check it out!

Winners will be notified on Monday the 29th and we'll ship your assortment packs right away!

Enjoy your weekend!

DwellStudios Giveaway - Chronicle Books WINNERS

2011-08-22T19:33:00.007-05:00

Hi everybody!

After a wonderful long weekend, I am happy to announce the winners of the DwellStudios stationery winners!

1) Amanda Frazier - winner of the sticky notes portfolio!
2) Cindy Ho Designs - winner of the lovely journal!
3) Sarah Wolcheski - winner of the notecards pack!

I'll be in touch soon to get your mailing info! Or - you can send it here!

Hopefully you all had a great weekend. Mine was filled with blueberries.

Have you ever made blueberry cobbler? You can't get it up here in Minnesota - they don't even know what cobbler is! Sad for them!

It was super easy to make and so amazing with vanilla ice cream.

This is all you need:

3 pints fresh blueberries
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
¼ cup water
1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
15-oz. package refrigerated pie crusts (made and rolled)
cooking oil spray
vanilla ice cream

Here's a link to a great how-to video on this recipe:

Betty's Kitchen - Quick Trick Blueberry Cobbler
(I need things spelled out when it comes to baking, don't you?)

It's super easy and fun to make! And Betty is southern, so she has a great accent while you're learning to make this amazing dish. I think next time I might go a little crazy and do 3 layers of crust (the best part, duh) and maybe get some of those fancy sugar crystals to sprinkle on top. It was sooo good! I then promptly did Yogilates because I totally ate two pieces. And lots of ice cream. But this photo shows how much it was worth it...

Enjoy the rest of your week!
More giveaways coming soon!

DwellStudios Giveaway - Chronicle Books

2011-08-18T19:22:00.009-05:00

aaaaand we're back!

Sadly, my entire blog somehow went kaput. Who knows, who cares? This new + improved blog is going to be way more fun anyway. Starting with today.

As many of you are well aware, I'm obsessed with all things paper. This is not hard to guess even if you don't know me, but especially obvious when you're attempting to hurry out of a little gift shop with me. Ain't gonna happen. Well anyway, since I'm so obsessed with these items, I'm constantly buying them and or receiving them. So, I figured, I have a big pile of things to give away, why not start a little giveaway blog? Sometimes I'll give away my items, and sometimes I'll give away other great finds.

Today's blog is part of a press release from my good pals at Chronicle Books. Yeah, you've seen 'em. Beautiful patterns, innovative page art, stunning design - every time you turn those bad boys over, there's the Chronicle logo. Chronicle has been around since 1967 and if you don't know of them, you must find out. They set trends in illustrated books + gift products in design, art, architecture, photography, food, lifestyle and pop culture. Once you see it, you'll recognize it anywhere.

Chronicle lovingly decided to hand me over some free samples of some upcoming products! Fun! I'm super lucky that we're cool like that. So I'm giving away 3 products from their DwellStudio Line:

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#1: A sticky notes portfolio.

Now, these "portfolios" of sticky notes are kind of new on the scene. And believe me, I have about 17 of them. Do you think I get tired of using them. Fat chance, yo. These are awesome. Why buy post-its anyway, even the hot pink ones are bo-ring.

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#2: A lovely journal.

What I love about Chronicle is that they always feature 4+ different page designs within the book itself. So while other companies use the same bland interiors, Chronicle switches it up, snazzy style. So while it's a beautiful book in itself, you open it up and there's a sweet surprise a'waitin'.

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#3: Notecards! And amazing envelopes.

Man, whoever decided to put a to/from area on these envelopes was summoning my thoughts directly from my brain. Just sayin'. This set comes with 2 different card designs, 4 of each design, and 8 matching envelopes. They're gorge and you need to have them! Just the little folio it comes in is reason enough to buy it. Well, for freaks of nature like you + me, I mean.

These items won't be available until September, but you can have some now!

Oh yeah, 3 winners!

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO:

Comment on this entry and tell me why you love these items + your past experience with Chronicle's amazing lines, and then (optional!) check out our site at www.colettepaperie.com and enjoy the coupon code DWELLSTUDIO for 25% off your entire order. Well, you don't have to make a purchase, but it would be awfully friendly of you. Winners are picked at random, no matter if you buy 500 items from me or none. Sad face.

Please share this post on your twitter feed, facebook, blog, other random social networking tool that I don't know about yet, etc. This giveaway is to promote + share Chronicle Books and their upcoming DwellStudio Line. The more shared, the better.

If you mark this page as a favorite, only the current giveaway will be shown. This giveaway ends Sunday August 21 at 12AM CST. Winners will be notified on Monday the 22nd and we'll ship your freebie ASAP! Because you NEED these!

If you wish to contact me directly, feel free to say hello!

Your pal,

uh-oh.

2011-08-11T14:31:00.002-05:00

That's the end of the blog. Because the entire blog got deleted for some reason. Thanks, Blogspot. But enjoy our new and improved blog anyway. :)