Flashcard Friday: A is for Alligator

Since I would love to add a few more cute characters to my portfolio I have been sketching and drawing a lot these past few days. Actually, a whole animal alphabet has been swirling around in my head and I'm planning to get them all designed.

One by one these creatures will be making their appearance -in alphabetical order of course- on my blog. This is my first Flashcard Friday post and today you can meet Mr. Alli Gator:

Mr. Alli Gator

He can swim and he can run

and loves to lie out in the sun.

He's a lovely chap to meet,

but don't be fooled, he has big teeth!

Let me know what you think! Who do you think will come to visit next?

The small Business Side of Things: Why

Since this blog was started to help launch my small business, I thought you might like to know a bit more about the actual business side of things. Like a look behind the scenes as it were.

I'll start with what in my mind would be burning question number 1: WHY.

Why did I start my business?

• Because I have this dream of being a work at home mom who does what she loves on a daily basis. 
• Because I think I can help other people make their parties unforgettable, whether it be for a wedding, baby shower or a birthday.
• Because I wanted to stop dreaming and start doing. Life simply is too short not to try.

So I am chasing this dream of mine.

Children's Wall Art Print 'Chase Your Dreams' by Sarah Jane Studios

This doesn't mean I don't get cold feet from time to time. Sometimes I do wonder whether this venture of mine will be successful, whether people will like what I do, whether I am good enough, but I know I am on the right track and I will do everything I can to make this work.

Do you have a small business or are you (thinking about) setting up a small business? Why? What is your number one reason?

Baby Shower Poems

A lovely customer asked me to design a matching insert to go with the giraffe baby shower invitation she ordered. She found a very sweet poem asking guests to bring a book instead of a card. I thought it was a wonderful idea.

Here's the insert I made with the poem she sent me (leaving out baby's last name):

I have kept most of the cards that were sent when my children were born. I used a few of them to decorate their photo albums and kept the ones that had a special message inside. However, since they have been stored away, I never look at them anymore. Books on the other hand are read multiple times and enjoyed on an almost daily basis.  I can definitely see this idea of bringing a book instead of a card becoming more and more popular. Besides, books don't necessarily have to be much more expensive than a fancy card.

Wouldn't you pay a little more for a book that lasts a lifetime instead of a card that might get thrown away?

Purple Princess Cupcakes {One for the Theme}

I came across these lovely purple princess cupcakes and thought they'd be perfect for a Princess themed party.  The crowns look really cute and shouldn't be too hard to make out of fondant.

Source: flickr.com via Tracey on Pinterest

A birthday fit for a Princess {Customer creations in the spotlight}

My lovely friend Tanya from Tanya Ryff Photography asked me to design a custom princess birthday party package for her daughter Tayla who was turning 14. She was looking for something simple and modern in Tayla's favourite colour purple. I started with the invitation and sent over some backgrounds, design elements and possible lay-outs for them to choose from. The endresult is a completely custom made invitation, combing all of Tayla's favourite elements.

I love how Tanya added her own personal touch to Tayla's birthday invitation by glueing it onto a hot pink background and adding a little sparkle. It really makes the invitation pop, don't you think?

The birthday package also included drink flags, cupcake toppers and foodlabels and Tanya did such a wonderful job styling the party table using the colour purple as the main theme.

 

If you would like to see more photo's you can hop on over to Tanya's blog.

PS: You can find the entire printable Princess collection in the shop here.

A million things to do (Evernote)

Even though I don't literally have a million things to do, it does certainly feel that way sometimes. To keep me from forgetting all those things that need to get done in daily life but also to store ideas of things I want to do in the future I write endless to do lists. Oh yes, Post-it notes and I are BFF.

I have been getting better at keeping my to do lists more or less in one place since I discovered Evernote. I find it especially useful for storing everything and anything that has to do with my business: ideas for new designs, blog post ideas, business related posts from other blogs, you name it.

It's like a big board full of post-its, but one where you can't lose any. You just have to be smart and consistent with your tagging. (and there's always the search function if you do get lost). And did I mention it's free to download?

Of course I still use Post-it notes from time to time. After all, we are best friends forever.

It's all Snails and Ladders here! {From me to you}

Welcome!

You are probably here to join in on the snail trail hunt blog-hop-fun initiated by Laura from Cupcakes for Clara (and if you're not you are of course very welcome too and you should check out this post to join in on the fun).

Well, before you go treasure snail hunting, I have a little something for you too: a free downloadable Snails and Ladders game as a little thank you for stopping by.

Sometimes we just need to unwind and slow down to a snailpace. Take a moment to sit down and play with your children. This easy game takes less than 5 minutes to play (confirmed after a 15 minute test-run with my daughter: she won, I won, she won again).

Click here to download the game. Clara, Macy and Colin will be playing too (as soon as they have caught all the runaway snails).

To play the Snails and Ladders game you will need:

• the above free downloadable Snails and Ladders gameboard
• pawns (2 to 4 players)
• dice

Game instructions:

1. place your snails (or pawns) at the snail gathering site (start)
2. the youngest person gets to throw the dice first
3. if you arrive at the bottom of a ladder you can go all the way up to the top of the ladder
4. if you arrive at the top of a slimy snail trail, you will have to follow the trail back down to the snail
5. first one at the finish wins!

Oh, and don't forget to look for Colin's runaway snail on my blog!

Only one of the snails links back to the Cupcakes for Clara treasure hunt and will reveal an awesome free goodie for you to enjoy. The others link back to my twitter and facebook account and the Cupcakes for Clara shop, so no harm done if you follow those too. It wouldn't be a treasure hunt if the snail were hidden in plain sight, now would it? Besides, Clara told me it's fine to do a little shameless self-promoting today. :)

I'd love for you to let me know you stopped by in the comment section or come and say hi on facebook or twitter.

Thanks & now go hunt some snails,
Tania