another photography trade

Here are some more fun pictures from a trade I recently did with photographer Emma Burcusel of Westland, Michigan. Isn't this little guy such a cutie?! And I love the dump truck birthday cake!

Chicago Renegade Craft Fair

{above photos are from the Renegade Craft Fair website}

I had a great time attending the Chicago Renegade Craft Fair yesterday! It was super crowded and parking was a major challenge, but it was so much fun to see so many talented artists and amazing handmade items together in one place - kind of like stepping into a huge Etsy treasury.

I gathered a bunch of business cards from my favorite booths so I could bookmark their Etsy shops for future shopping, and I figured I'd share a few of my favorites here as well...


White Nest :: I love these hand-embroidered pillows and wall hangings by Chicago designer, Meg Stevens. By the time I got to Meg's booth the ones that I had been hoping to buy had already been sold, so I'll be ordering online instead.

Zooguu :: We've all seen lots of handmade plush toys on Etsy, but I think these really stand out above all the rest. They're so well made, and even cuter in person, especially the little yellow chick.

Ryan Kapp :: I love this series of four screen prints called 4 Seasons in Chicago. It reminds me of going for walks along the lakefront - one of my favorite things to do when I lived in Chicago.

hip huts :: When my kids were younger they would have really loved one of these little huts (in fact, they probably still would!). There were tons of great fabrics to choose from, and I was really surprised at how affordable they were. I'm definitely keeping these in mind for future birthday gifts for nieces and nephews.

Soda :: This booth was full of cute ceramic cups and ornaments.

June craft :: I love Kayanna's sweet and simple gocco prints. I bought two of them, including the one above. I can't wait to frame them!

personalized cupcake toppers for kids birthday parties and baby showers

I just added another new item to my website... cupcake topper kits! I'm so happy with how they turned out!
I really struggled for a while to figure out the best way to make these - I had a complete mental block! Luckily my friend Stacy at Ink Spot Workshop was kind enough to answer all my questions and help me figure out the best way to assemble them.
This was definitely my kids' favorite photo shoot! They really enjoyed "helping" (licking spoons, spatulas, bowls, etc.). And they were especially happy when I had all the pictures I needed and they could finally eat the cupcakes and deliver the extras to neighbors!The toppers are easy but time consuming to assemble, so to keep the price down I decided to offer them as a kit. When placing your order you can pick which design(s), color(s) and text you'd like. The kit includes 2" card stock circles (with a solid or scalloped border), 1.5" circle stickers printed with the design(s) you choose, and 4.25" white lollipop sticks.

new! personalized lined stationery for kids

My kids (Emma, 5, and Jack, 7) have been really missing two of their best friends who moved away this summer. Yesterday morning they were eager to write letters to them. They started out using blank paper, but we quickly realized that lined paper would be much easier for them to write on, not to mention easier for their friends to read.

I printed some cute olliegraphic stationery for Emma with light pink lines to write on. When Jack saw it he wanted some, too, but he asked if I could put a soccer ball or football on it instead with blue lines. I loved how they both turned out!

I've thought about offering lined stationery for kids off and on, but it wasn't until I saw Jack & Emma using it that I realized what a good idea it really is. Even though they could type an email to their friends, and they would probably prefer to use the computer than to practice their handwriting, I know how much they love getting mail, and I'm sure their friends will enjoy receiving old fashioned letters as well.

So this afternoon I added a few lined stationery sets to my website. What do you think?

how to apply edible icing decals on cupcakes or cookies

UPDATE: I'm no longer offering icing decals. I'm now offering cupcake toppers instead.

Bake and cool cupcakes and/or 3" circle cookies (sugar cookies or shortbread cookies work great!) Remove your icing decals from the package they arrived in.
If your cupcakes have a rounded top, cut the top off so you have a flat surface.

Apply a generous amount of frosting and smooth it to a flat surface. Any type of soft frosting works well (ex. buttercream, royal icing, or store-bought whipped frosting).
Cookies don't require as much frosting - you can apply a thin, smooth layer.
With clean, dry hands, gently peel the icing decal from the backing sheet.Place the decal on top of the frosting.
Gently pat it down, smoothing the decal from the center outwards.
Ta da!
If you'd like, you can also add sprinkles or frosting decorations around the edges to finish.

edible icing decals

I've been intrigued by edible icing decals ever since I came across Erin McGinley's shop, Hello Frosting, in April. Erin sent me some custom icing decals for my son's birthday party so I could try them out, and I loved them! I used them on the cupcakes at his party and on sugar cookies for party favors.
A couple of weeks ago I ordered all of the supplies and equipment so I could begin offering them, and today I was finally able to add them to my website.
Yesterday I made some cupcakes for my first round of photos, and I'm planning on making some shortbread cookies soon for some party favor photos.

more new products coming soon...

Here's a little sneak peek at what I've been up to lately - lots of shopping to get ready for an upcoming photo shoot. I'm so excited to share my newest products with you, hopefully within the next week or so.

personalized plates and bowls - more photos

Last week I ordered some sample plates and bowls. When they arrived yesterday I was really excited to try out my new camera lens. I'm still having a hard time with lighting, but I'm pretty happy with how these two photos turned out.

new! personalized melamine plates and bowls

I'd been thinking about offering personalized melamine plates and bowls for a little while, but had forgotten about the idea until I posted last month asking for new product ideas, and Jaime at Raising Kane suggested plates.

I went ahead and ordered a couple of samples for photographer, Carrie Davis, even though I still wasn't completely sure about the idea. When she sent me these gorgeous photographs today I was super excited to add them to my website!

More designs will be coming soon, and I'll be contacting Jaime so I can send her a free plate for her little boy, Kane. If you have any other ideas for products you'd like to see, please leave a comment to let me know!

more new product photos

I recently added some more new product photos to my website including the ones above from Carrie Davis, an Atlanta-based portrait photographer and the one below from Deanna Ryan, also a portrait photographer. Product photography can be so tricky - I'm really impressed with what they came up with!
Also, I recently found out that my water bottle supplier is closing her business, and I was thinking about not offering water bottles anymore rather than starting over with a new supplier. But these photos are just too cute not to use!

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.

Oh My! Handmade Goodness

I couldn't wait until Monday (the official launch date)... Oh My! Handmade Goodness is live!