ordering deadlines for Christmas delivery

The ordering deadline for Christmas delivery in the U.S. for personalized plates and bowls and PSA Essentials custom stamps is November 30th.

The ordering deadline for everything else in my shop is December 16th for delivery in the U.S.

Early Bird Sale :: 3 days only!

For the early birds who like to get a head start on holiday shopping, I'm offering a 15% discount on my Silhouette Holiday Collection, Olliegraphic Holiday Collection, and Teacher Gifts for the next three days.

Also, I'd like to encourage you to order your Personalized Plates & Bowls extra early to ensure delivery in time for Christmas, so I'm offering 15% off those as well through Friday, 11/5/10.

No coupon code is needed. Any items purchased from these collections will be automatically discounted in your shopping cart.

New! Olliegraphic Holiday Collection

I'm so excited to unveil the 2010 olliegraphic holiday collection today!

It features customizable moms, dads, kids, and pets in a wintry setting on folded holiday greeting cards and large gift labels.

I'm offering five hairstyles and four facial hair options for dads, nine hairstyles for moms, and lots of cats and dogs in all different sizes and colors. But if those options aren't exactly right for your family, the artist behind the olliegraphic collection, Meg, is happy to create completely custom illustrations for you, which she'll then send to me to print on your holiday items.

Please note: the ordering deadline for custom illustrations is December 1st.

All of the folded cards include a message printed on the inside of the cards.

I've listed products with up to four children, but if you have more than four children, please feel free to order cards or labels with four children and add the details for the additional children in the "Additional Instructions" field.

I'm also offering a pregnant mom - so cute!

Yum Food & Fun for Kids

I received an order yesterday for a couple of personalized plates, and the customer mentioned in the comments section that she saw the plates featured in a magazine, Yum Food & Fun for Kids. I remembered that I had been contacted by the magazine a couple of months ago, but I hadn't heard anything since then. Unfortunately, the magazine isn't available online, so I headed over to Barnes & Noble to take a look, and sure enough, there were my plates on page 34!

I was bummed that they didn't give Carrie Davis credit for the photograph of her daughter, Charlotte, but it's always fun to see my products in print!

a creative use for bookplates

Last year I received an order from event planner Brittany Egbert of One Charming Party for silhouette invitations and a coordinating set of bookplates, each with different text.

I don't know how I missed these gorgeous photos when Brittany published them in a post about the pink themed first birthday party that she planned, but when I came across them recently I figured it would be better late than never to share them. What a clever idea!

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!