Postcard Inspiration

Years ago, back in 2008, a friend loaned me a neat book called Post Secret. I'm not usually much of a book reader... at all. This book was more up my alley because it was entirely made from postcards, kinda like a picture book. This dirty secret book drew me in and hooked my interest. It's entire premise was based on anonymous post cards sent to the author with secrets drawn on them. I admit, the art wasn't anything to write home about, but the dirty little secrets were sometimes jaw dropping, which kept me turning pages to see how outrageous the next secret was. One of the most memorable was how a young woman had a crush on Hitler. 

Anyhow, I started randomly thinking about this book tonight, and then I started thinking about how receiving postcards, letters, and packages in the mail really brightens my day (and doesn't happen often enough). Once these two thoughts started to merge my brain was on overload! 


What if I were to take the same idea with receiving postcards or letters in the mail and compile a book about dreams and inspiration. I get what I like to call "artist's block" a lot, but all the books I've been able to find to unlock my next big idea are more how-to books and feel stale. I want to create a page turner that will appeal to every artistic soul looking for a sneak peak into the lives of other artists and crafters. Seriously, to be the fly on someone else's craft room wall for a moment would be amazing!

I've been reading this book (don't judge me) called The Everything Guide to Writing a Novel. My dad has said for years that he's always wanted to write a novel. During our novel-writing chats I started to get the itch to write something, too. I've always been creative, and I absolutely love expanding my artistic abilities. 

When I was 10 I vividly remember begging my mom for this book about how a woman (I'm sure her name is floating somewhere in my memory banks) became a writer. She was reluctant to buy it for me because she didn't think I realized what the book was about. Honestly, how may 10 year old girls request autobiographies at their school's book fair? I wore those pages out and knew I wanted to do something creative that touched the world like she had. I was fascinated by authors and poets! So yes, I bought my how-to book last September and began brainstorming. 

Oh, and you'll be happy to know that my dad has actually written a few pages of his book already! He's such an inspiration to me. 

My first idea was to write about my roller-coaster ride of relationships (which still may happen) but I was overwhelmed with the details right away. I put writing on the back burner for months, fearing that I'd waste all that time and energy just to find out that I suck at it. (Yes, shame on me...) When I got that familiar itch to write again I started this blog, which I love. Honestly, I've wanted to try blogging since I saw that movie Julie & Juliet. The thought of connecting to so many strangers who become fans and and friends (let's avoid the stalkers, okay?) is such a rush! 

So there it is in a jumbled 2am nutshell - I want to enlist the help of strangers to collect a book of inspiring thoughts, colors, images, and what-not. I'll spend some time tomorrow making sure my exact idea hasn't been done yet, and then I'll get the details down on paper (or in a blog text box, whatever). 
 
I'd love to hear what you have to say! Comment below or email me at uphilldreams@gmail.com

Hopefully, if my idea plants roots and grows, I'll be asking for letters and postcards soon, too! I would love to send something back to each and every person who writes me (I feel like I need to specify "snail mail" which is becoming a dying art form in itself). I'm getting very excited thinking about staying up until 4am writing thank you letters to all the hundreds of people who participate in my book to help other artists. Oh, I can't wait!

Business Facelift by Vistaprint

I've been working on ironing out my new logo since the beginning of the new year. My boyfriend, Will, and I came up with a surreal hill landscape because of my business name Uphill Dreams. I used Vistaprint's logo maker to fine tune our idea, and I fell in love with the finished product. 

Now that I had a fresh new logo I needed a unique and recognizable font to make all my sites and material flow and look more uniform. What a task! I must've downloaded over 15 different fonts before I found one that reminded me of the seed beads I work with. 

Then I had to update my Etsy shop, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, this blog, and who knows what else. Seriously, why are there SO many different social media networks with different size headers?! 

My business cards took the most time to update. They usually do. I'm super proud of the work I put into my business cards. I can't shake every hand that buys handmade jewelry from me, so my business card is like my 1st or 2nd impression. They're very important and have brought me some repeat business. I chose the Premium Glossy finish this time. It's something new Vistaprint had and my 80% off coupon code worked for it... so why not!

 

My old business cards displayed a few of my items on the backside in black and white. I thought it was a great idea to put photos of my work on my cards, but the lack of color didn't go over so well with friends and family. 

This time around I decided to go for full color printing, too. I can't wait to see them! It's like Christmas when my new cards arrive in the mail.   

(Business Card Front)  

 (Business Card Back)

 

Vistaprint really made it easy for me to streamline my handmade business and look professional. I've been ordering from them since 2004 when I was selling prints of my artwork. They've earned my loyalty for realizing that this starving artist was on a budget but didn't want to compromise quality. 

So the next time you're in the market for business cards or anything else business related (like a new logo!) check Vistaprint out. CLICK HERE TO VISIT THEIR WEBSITE NOW! This is an exclusive 50-80% off link for my blog followers.

  

Have you ordered from Vistaprint before? Do you use a different company for your business cards? Leave your comments below!

A Week's Worth of Updates

First of all, thank you to everyone who purchased items from my Etsy shop last month. It's because of you (and my laughable savings account) that I was able to get a used car. It's a '91 Chevy Corsica. The best part... no payments!

Unless you've lost your transportation and had to rely on city buses, expensive taxis and family you have no idea how alive I feel again just by having my own wheels. My poor family... I knew my situation was getting sad when I called them and before they said hello they'd ask when my boyfriend and I needed a ride. Hopefully those days are behind us now!

I received a lot of awesome feedback on Facebook about my new gift packaging. I ordered these fancy white jewelry boxes and some stickers with my logo on them, but the package still needed something else. I had leftover hemp cord in my filing cabinet (aka my craft storage space) so I tied some of it around the box.  I love how it looked! 

Then when I was at Michaels earlier this week with my sister I saw this stuff called Wraphia and fell in love! I'm hoping to go back this weekend for some. It's a LOT more colorful than the hemp cord I have, and it's cheaper than dyed hemp cord. I think it'll be perfect for my packages!!! 
 
We originally went to Michaels for bead thread. I ran out three days prior, and I was like a crack head lookin' for a fix until I got home and threaded my needle. I hate that JoAnn's doesn't carry my cord (WildFire). That would save me a 45 min trip out of town. Did you know you can't even order things on Michaels website? They need to catch up to the era of eCommerce. 

My sister, Jennifer, was looking for art supplies. I bought her a new sketchbook last month and she wanted a colorful medium to use in it. I suggested oil pastels because they're my FAVORITE. I couldn't believe it when I saw that Crayola makes oil pastels! WHAT?! She bought them, and we had fun breaking them in that night. She grabbed my Rubik's Cube and I grabbed my boyfriend's boot for our still life.  

I got frustrated with the laces on the boot and Jennifer was upset that her outline wasn't "perfect" so I knocked out a drawing of the cube in 10 mins with no regard to actual shape. She thought I was nuts, but it did get her to finish her piece. 

There's nothing like being able to let your guard down and let go of that fear of creating a "masterpiece" that some of us get (I'm guilty). I'm lucky to have creative sisters to do that with. So... can you guess which cube I drew?  

Translator Needed - Inquire Within

I received my order of white jewelry gift boxes yesterday. Yay! I ordered them from Nile Corp, which is a jewelry supply and bulk jewelry wholesaler with no minimum order requirement. I've been receiving their catalogs in the mail for about one year, so I finally ordered from them because I wanted to start offering gift packaging. 

Imagine my surprise when I start to open this big box from a reputable company and find this hieroglyphic looking drawing with chicken scratch that I can't read. I took a few years of Spanish in high school and college (that was over 10 years ago... and now I feel old), but I still can't make out what the box says. 

Please, if you know what the message on the box says comment below. I don't know if I'm more curious about what the words say or why Nile Corp would send me a box like that. At least the actual product was in great condition and not gratified. I probably won't order from them again unless the have the lowest price by a large margin for something I absolutely need! 

Gift Packaging

I had a few buyers take advantage of my Cyber Monday sale of a free gift with every purchase over $10. I sure hope they like their gift (keeping it a secret in case a buyer reads this before they receive their shipment). 

Now it's time to update my Etsy store's sale for the holidays. Hmm... what to offer..... 

How about 25% off the entire order? My jewelry is already affordable, so that sale would make it a no brainer to order a gift for a friend or family member. 

I've got over 80 items in my shop right now and I have to edit each one individually. Etsy really needs to implement a global editor so save sellers some time!

A few weeks ago I ordered new jewelry boxes and stickers with my logo on them so my packaging is more gift-friendly. They should be here tomorrow.... yay! I think I'll set up a photo shoot with my new packaging and add a photo to every product so customers can see how their items will be shipped to them. This is my version of keeping up with the Jones'.

I love Etsy stores that do that! Check out WolfwoodCreations on Etsy. I love their jewelry packaging (see photo to the right)! The owner of WolfwoodCreations was nice enough to tell me where she got those adorable gift boxes. If you're in the market for some I suggest using her supplier, Rio Grande. I should've asked her about those boxes before I ordered my white ones. At least I have logo stickers and other craft supplies to spice them up a bit! 

Do you use gift boxes when shipping your items out? Comment and tell us what you do to stand out. If you're a buyer tell us your opinion on gift packaging.