new product photos - 8x10 prints

I'm so excited about these photos that I received today from Jill Higgins, one of the professional photographers who I recently traded with. I've added them to my homepage, and I created a Photo Credits page on my website to provide links to all of the talented photographers who have contributed to the sarah + abraham website.

There are a few more photographers who I've sent products to... I can't wait to see what they come up with!

any new products you'd like to see?

Last week I announced that I've decided to sell Oh My! Handmade Goodness. Not just because of the number of hours that I was spending on it every week, but it was also consuming way too much of my mental energy. I’ve been so focused on OMHG for the past several months that I haven’t been bringing any of my creativity or mental energy to sarah + abraham.

In Nicole Morell's recent post about working with a sale rep, the rep who she interviewed mentioned that retailers expect a new product at least once a year and seasonally is better. I thought about all the new products and designs that I added last year (canvas prints, water bottles, fabric clutches and calling card cases, custom stamps, and the olliegraphic line). I realized that I haven't added anything new since valentines in January.

I had a great response to my recent call for photographers (I've done several trades and can't wait to share their photos!) So I thought I'd put this question out there, too: What new products would you like to see offered by sarah + abraham? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! And if you're the first one to suggest a new product idea that I begin offering, I'll send you one free as a thank you gift.

Nickelodeon Parents' Picks Awards 2010

sarah + abraham is up for nomination in the category of Best Personalized Gift in the Nickelodeon Parents' Picks Awards... I sure would appreciate your vote! You'll need to sign up for a free account to be able to vote, but it only takes a minute - I promise! (And you can always unsubscribe in the future.)

calling all photographers

How cool are these customer photos?! I love hearing stories about how my customers are using the items they order or who they're giving them to, and seeing pictures like this really makes my day.

I've been thinking that I need some new banner images for my homepage, and now I'm thinking that including people in the photos like these or a child writing a thank you note on sarah + abraham stationery would be so much better than basic product photos.

If you're a professional photographer and you'd be interested in doing a trade for your services... please let me know!

show us your sarah + abraham!

Hello! I'm back! I apologize that it's been so long. First of all I want to say a big thank you to anyone who has continued to check in to see if I'd ever come back - thank you for your patience and continued interest in sarah + abraham!

Oh My! Handmade Goodness has been much more time consuming than I expected - usually about 5-10 hours per week - but also extremely rewarding. I get really excited about every single post, and every time I get one ready to publish, I eagerly anticipate being able to share it and see what feedback we'll get.

I'm continually amazed at the quality of content that all of the contributors have been providing and the generous items that have been offered for giveaways. I'm really happy to see that the number of comments we're receiving and our number of Facebook fans have been steadily increasing... I feel like my vision of a community is really coming together.

But with all that being said, I also miss this blog and the community that we were building here. My plan is to start posting here at least once a week - hopefully more.

I've had several new projects on my mind. The first one that I want to share is something I'm going to call "show us your sarah + abraham". Every once in a while a customer will email me a photo of a sarah + abraham product "in action". I've shared several of them here - for example, invitations that Heather Mattos has embellished or party favor stickers on a bunch of goodies. I've also added some to the product pages on my website, like the framed 8x10 prints below.

But I've never asked for this type of photo or put them all together in one place. So I'm thinking about creating a Flickr account and/or a photo gallery on my website where I can put these photos together in one place. And that's where you come in... if you have any photos (or if you can take any photos) of any sarah + abraham products "in action"... please send them my way!

Above photo courtesy of Sarah Swartzentruber at Jack and Izzy.



Above three photos courtesy of Holly Mathis at Holly Mathis Interiors.