Monday, August 17, 2009

Greetings!

I love card stores. Hallmark, Papyrus, section of Target, you name it - they're all like magnets to me. My husband purposely tries to keep my head looking away from these stores or sections because he knows once I go in, it's game over. But aren't greeting cards so fun? Really - they're just "fun". Who doesn't like getting cards? Anytime we prepare a gift for anyone, my husband never understands why I put more thought into buying the perfect card than the gift. Anyone can find the same gift for anyone but no 2 people write the same thoughts into words on a card for that recipient. Cards translate the love from the giver to the recipient so much more than the gift itself. The idea of looking for that specific card, for that specific occasion, for that specific person is just fun & so meaningful to me. What kind of a card you pick says so much about you, too. Are you the type that likes those cards with the funny jokes or the sentimental poem? I'm neither. I like just simple, cute, plain but not boring cards. I always pick the ones that husband used to say "it looks like something you can just make at home!". And whaddayouknow! I do now! :)

In the shop now...
I'm still working on those personalized cards. I need to just finish up Gocco'ing them.

Thank you for visiting~ Cheers!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

First Shipments

The first week of the shop was a success in my book. :) Whether it was 1 sale or 8 sales, just knowing someone out there actually wanted to purchase a parywinkle card was so encouraging and a success to me.
I was in a rush to get these out before the post office closed yesterday. We had a 2:00 tee time to make it to and I worked in the morning so you can only imagine how crazy the 1 hour window I had between 12-1pm was to make the shipment on time. But it was all worth it! Many thanks & love to my first few customers!

What's to come in the shop ...

I've been working on some add'l items - address labels & personalized cards. How about sending a little hello to your mom miles away or your favorite cousin states away with a mini personalized notecard and sealing it with your own personalized address label? I'm sure your mom will appreciate it more than just a 1 minute phone call. I made this one for a mother of 3 who was one of my very first orders in the shop this past week. A small token of my appreciation, I wanted to send her a few personalized cards.
Hope everyone's weekend was longer than what mine felt like! Cheers!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Featured!!

I just got home from playing at my sister's with her 2 dogs and a tiny little precious puppy coco she is dog sitting for the week, and devoured a huge piece of mocha cake she had in her fridge - to find the most happy email~! Ms. CitrusHearts featured me on her blog http://designandink.blogspot.com today. It totally felt like a Sally Field moment for me. "You like me! You really like me!". To know someone out there un-related to me and un-married to me checked out my shop and actually liked it is truly flattering. I had my first sale and got featured on an amazing photographer's blog today! I all of a sudden don't feel so guilty about scarfing down that cake earlier tonight. :)

Coming soon...my sister's wedding thank-you cards and some banners & postcards she's asked me to make for her September wedding. I wish I could be part of a wedding every single week. Aren't they just so fun & exciting?

Cheers!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Up and away we go!

It's finallly open! I didn't think I can do it by this weekend. It was a busy weekend of wedding planning with my engaged sister (less than a month away!), visiting grandma in LA, and dinner at our friends' tonight and making it home in time to open up the shop. Whew~.

Thank you to all who's shown interest already and your encouraging words!

It's getting late and tomorrow is Monday. I do have a fulltime job I cannot forget about! :) Hope to see you all at the shop then. Good night!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Chicago

I made this invitation at the last minute as I prepare to open the shop this weekend. I love the fun, playful yet simple-ness of this set. The Chicago skyline is perfect for those who seek that urban sentiment to their wedding. I remember trying to choose a location for our engagement photo session and really wanted a downtown/urban feel to it. That is not easy to find when you live in the suburbs of orange county (and where we are is about as suburb as it gets!), so at times...I do wish we were in the middle of the hustle & bustle of a city like Chicago.
Thank you for stopping by ~ See you at the shop! Cheers!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

almost, barely ready

I'm not ready just yet to open up the etsy shop...still prepping and thinking and prepping and thinking some more. One thing I told myself before I began making paper goods is that I will not let this consume me to the point where it affects my daytime job. After all, that's what allows me to do what I want to do with parywinklepaper. But, here I am saying this 3 minutes before midnight before an 8am training I cannot be late for tomorrow. :)

After years of being in love with even the smell of paper, I decided to jump into my own small business in making paper goods. Where will it take me? Who knows...and hardly matters. I love the love and affection behind exchanging cards and letters. We are so comfortable in sending texts and emails these days - the instant gratification we are fed everyday makes us forget how wonderful a simple card makes us all feel. A personal card can make anyone's day better. That's the motivation behind parywinklepaper. All the goodies are hand made with my Gocco, the fabulous screen-print tool.

This is the first entry of this new blog, but there have been lots of activity in parywinklepaper these last couple of weeks. Here is a sneak peak at what is to come in the Etsy store soon...

Hope to see you in the store soon then! Until then - cheers!