A Couple More Christmas Cards

Ok, ok. So I got a little carried away after I posted my Christmas card, and ended up submitting two more! I just couldn't help myself. And I stayed up way too late. Here they are. The Whole World and Rejoice, Rejoice  :) Merry March Christmas!

Business Holiday Card Challenge

Hi guys! I haven't submitted to any Minted challenges for a while now. After work all day, then launching new wedding invitations and bringing in some new brides, I've been feeling creatively drained. It's okay. I get it that I can't give everything 100% all the time and since entering challenges is solely for my enjoyment, it's naturally one of the first things to go. But, I just had to sneak at least one design into one of the current holiday challenges which close today. Holiday challenges are my favorite and even though it was a struggle to think about Christmas while is 80 degrees outside, it was important to me to stretch myself for this one. So although I wish I had made time to submit a few more, here is the one I entered into the Corporate Cheer Business Holiday Card Challenge. Hope I'm feeling more inspired for the upcoming Holiday Photo Card Challenge!

St Patricks Day Project

Happy St. Patty's Day! Did you know that Saint Patrick was not actually a saint, he wasn't even Irish, and he was one of the greatest missionaries who ever lived? It's true! I just read this really interesting bio on him and I think you'd like it too.

I mentioned that a couple weeks ago, I visited my friend Jasmine and we worked on a couple projects. Well the other project we did together besides my invitation product shoot, was this awesome St. Patrick's Day photoshoot! It was recently featured here on Ruffled, and you can see the full thing on Jasmine's blog. I designed all the paper products, but it was so inspiring working with lots of really talented artists and vendors on this project. Such a treat! 

New Product Pictures

A couple weeks ago I got to take a quick trip to Albuquerque to visit my sweet and talented friend, Jasmine. She is an amazing wedding photographer and had invited me to work on a couple projects with her. How lucky am I!? On the second day of my visit, she generously spent the day photographing all of the wedding invitations I had designed and now offer in my shop. It was such a cool experience for me, and I feel like it's something that every designer should do. I loved getting to spend time styling each set to show off the vision I had for each one. It made me more confident in my work and I felt proud of seeing how much I've grown as a designer in the past couple of years. I normally struggle with feeling like my work isn't good enough, so to actually have to print it out, and get it photographed was intimidating, but also really freeing for me. It's okay to like what I've created now, but also have goals and dreams about how I will improve. I'm trying to stay balanced in that way. So without further adieu, here are a few shots she captured. More can be seen in my shop!

Not only did this opportunity help me to feel more confident as a designer, but I also believe that it's so important to have good product photography when you're selling things online! You may have the most beautiful creation, but if you can't express that in a photograph, no one will look twice. If you're interested in learning about product photography, there is a free class right now on Skillshare called Make Awesomer Product Photos that I think looks good. And I recently read a great blogpost about it on Elm Street Life as well! I'm soaking all this info in because I don't think I'll be able to make a trip to New Mexico every time I come out with a new wedding suite – although I'd sure love to, Jasmine! ;)

March 2013 Desktop Calendar

I'm back at it! I have been a busy little bee these past couple months, but per my mother's request, I'm coming back to the blogging world with a March Desktop Calendar. Tomorrow I'll be back to report on all the happenings around here. But for now, I hope you'll enjoy this sweet spring design for March! 

Click on the image below to enlarge and then right click to use as your desktop background, if you like :)

This Designer Cares

This past week, I've had another opportunity to "give" and I am so proud to tell you about this new project.

I've often written on the blog about my involvement with Minted and how much I've grown from their challenges. But I'm afraid I've failed to mention that through Minted, I have come to know the most incredible network and community of designers. They all feel like real friends to me and although I have not even met a single one of them in person (yet!), I have been so blessed by their wisdom, critiques, advice and friendships.

This past weekend, my designer friend, Jackie from Believe Notes, initiated a movement from our little community to do our part in raising funds for Sandy relief. She organized a collaboration of designers to donate our designs which will be stamped and embossed on cards for sale in the Etsy shop. She has really given her heart and soul the past 5 days towards this effort, and more than 40 well established designers have generously given to the cause. All of the proceeds go straight to the Red Cross, and our design community has even raised funds to help cover overhead costs. Our hope is that we can selflessly use our gifts to bless those in need.

Here are a few of my favorite designs posted, but there are sooo many great cards in the shop! I hope you'll check them out.

Visit the shop and spread the word!

November 2012 Desktop Calendar

I've been thinking a lot lately about giving, and how the act of giving is so good for my soul. I want to develop the gifts God has given me not so I can hoard them for myself, but so that I can be used to  bless those around me. I feel as though I'm entering into a season of growing in intentional giving, and one way I can practice this discipline is through little gifts on this blog. Giving reminds me that life's not all about me and that my life can count for so much more than myself. It is so easy for me to get wrapped up in my own tiny world, scared of what others will think of me or if I'm measuring up to everyone else. But when I give, it isn't about me, it's about you, and ultimately about Him. So over the next few weeks I hope to give thanks to God by giving of myself; what the Lord is teaching me, what I'm learning and what I'm making. So to start, here is my little offering. I hope it brings you cheer and reminds you to give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thess. 5:18).

Happy November to you! Click on the image below to enlarge and then right click to use as your desktop background.

Christmas is Coming

Oh yes it is. I love the months of November and December and they are even more exciting to me this year because we hope these will be the months we get to move into our first house! But that's beyond the point of this post. This post is to tell you that Christmas is coming and you should get started on those darling traditional Christmas cards. I love Christmas cards and all growing up I used to spend hours reading through all of the letters and staring at the pictures my mom kept in the basket on the kitchen island. So fun!

This year I've created my very first cozy line of photo Christmas cards. I already told you about my design for sale on Minted, but did you also know I have a handful of other designs for sale in Etsy shop? They are listed as printables, which means I would create your personal card with your photo and information, and then send you a file that you could have printed as many times as you like, wherever you like. Easy Peasy! Or if you prefer to have me print them for you, I can work up a quote for that too :) Check them out! By the way, all the awesome photos were taken by Jasmine Nicole Photography.

Minted Christmas

I was so honored to have one of my designs chosen for Minted's holiday card collection. InstaChristmas is now available on minted.com. And they're offering 20% off until October 8 with the code PREVIEW2012.

Doe, A Deer

Minted just announced the winners of their Inspired Art Challenge and my design Deer Head was among those chosen to join their newly famed Art Print Collection. I was so excited to get the news! It's not posted for sale quite yet, but you can check out all the designs currently available here.

Introducing Printables

I'm so excited to introduce printables for sale in my shop this week! I've posted a couple birthday invitations and stationery designs this evening, and will continue to release more throughout the next few days. 

I hope this will offer people the opportunity to enjoy designed stationery, invitations and announcements with the option to print at home or a printer of their choice. Each design is customized for the individual customer and event, and then sent as a final high-res pdf or jpeg.

The final designs are formatted to print multiples to a standard 8.5x11 sheet of paper. Each layout includes crop marks for easy "DIY" and I recommend printing on an upgraded thick linen or smooth cardstock paper, which can be found at many local craft stores or stationery shops.

I'm excited to continue adding new designs to this part of my shop!

Be Brave

We've been really into the Olympics here in the Schmitt household. The past week we've tuned in almost every night to watch our favorite athletes compete against the best in the world. I have personally grown quite attached to those adorable "Fab Five" gymnasts as well as the super humble and smiley women's swimming team. I've grown so attached to them in fact, that I told Paul they kind of feel like my friends. I've been thinking about why this is, what it is about these people that draw me in. Is it their incredible athletic abilities? Or perhaps NBC's coverage of their real life stories? And I think I've kind of figured it out.

They make me want to be brave.

I watch them get out in front of the whole world and try to perform their very best. And usually they do. But sometimes they don't and there's always that chance that they're going to mess up in front of millions of people. I think that's so brave!

You see, for the past while, really the past 7 months, I have been preparing to open up this little shop. Now it may not be Olympics worthy, but it has been the place where I have poured my energy and time and thoughts. I have nitpicked over details, changed my mind a thousand times, asked close friends and family for advice and studied other shops and businesses. And even though each piece has been carefully considered, there has been one huge missing piece these past weeks. And that was the courage to open. I haven't been very brave. Now I don't know if it was the adrenaline rush of watching the Olympics this past week, or just the fact that my heart and soul are finally ready, but over the weekend I gave myself the push I needed to wrap up a few loose ends, and finally press publish.

I knew I would never feel totally ready, and I know that I'll always want to revise my designs and strive for "better." But I feel so relieved to have finally taken this step. Sure, I might mess up. And no, it probably won't be live in front of millions of people (thank goodness!). But for me, opening up shop is a jump worth taking. Because otherwise there is no chance of winning gold!

Holiday Challenge 2012: Final Voting Round

I am so excited to say that three of my holiday designs moved forward to the final round of voting! Out of the original 2600+ entries, they have cut over half the designs down to 1170! Still a lot, but much more manageable. Voting could end as soon as Monday morning, so click on an image to take you to the voting pages if you'd like to give your input for Minted's holiday collection. Hope you're all having a great weekend!

 

  

 

Minted Holiday Challenge

Minted's Holiday Challenge just closed and I entered a handful of designs. Their Holiday Challenges are traditionally the biggest challenges of the year and 2012 was no exception! They had over 2600 entries! Wow. There are so many, in fact, that they are doing TWO rounds of voting. That means my designs have to get voted in the first round in order to even be considered for their Holiday 2012 collection! There were so many amazing entries, that my goal is just to get even a couple designs through to the second round of voting. If you like any of my designs, would you help me out by clicking on the image to take you to the voting page? And definitely check out all the amazing entries here.

 

  

 

 

A Sneak Peek

Here's a little snippet of what I've been busy working on this year. I'm hoping to announce the Grand Opening of my online design studio soon!

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minted.com

A couple of my designs are now for sale on minted.com! This has been a dream of mine for a long time and this year I finally worked up the courage to start submitting designs for their challenges. I am so thrilled that a couple have been chosen, and so you can imagine my excitement when I went to their website today and saw this:

Whoa!  I can't even believe it! So fun :)

Most recently, I submitted 3 designs for the Thank You card Challenge.

There are soooo many good designs! I think over 800 were submitted this challenge. Go take a look and vote here.

And if you want to go to see and vote for my submissions directly, you can click...
Hipster Plaid
How Sweet
Made My Day

Thanks for all your encouragement and support throughout this new journey :) It is such a learning and growing experience and I am so very very thankful.

P.S. If you like that cute arrow brush I used in the above image, you can download the brush set for free over at Creature Comforts blog. They're all super duper cute!

Pharisees, Mercy & Midnight Reflections

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep for a while. My mind started running and I couldn't shut it off. Finally I just decided to process some of the things I was thinking about, and used it as a time of prayer, reflection and listening.

It started the other day, when I was doing a little online cruising and came across an Etsy stationery and invitations shop that was blatantly stealing designs from Minted designers. I was shocked to see the obvious copies (sometimes not even changing the names on the samples) and disheartened to find that this seller had over 1000 sales. I contacted one of the Minted designers whom I had a connection with and whose designs were being ripped off, letting her know of the shop and asking what to do about it. I also spent some time reading designers forums only to find that this happens all too often, and it can be difficult to control.

So as I lay in bed last night, I started to get really mad about this. Why do people think it's okay to STEAL other peoples designs? I thought about how I would never do this, how shameful it is that others make a living off of it, and brainstormed how I could get these types of people "in trouble."

And then it hit me. It was the sermon I had heard on Sunday at church. It was a simple story, a simple message, but a powerful truth that really shook my heart in the wee hours of the morning.

We had read Luke 18:9-14 which is the parable of The Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

In that moment, laying in the silence, I finally saw myself as the Pharisee. I know that it's the right answer to put ourselves in the place of the Pharisee, that our "good works" don't mean squat if we don't humble ourselves before a holy God and see our position and need for him. But last night I felt like I was praying that Pharisee prayer "Oh God, thank you so much much that I'm not like these other people. Wouldn't that be terrible if I was like them? They're so bad. Look at me though! I'm good!"

Gulp.

My mind flooded with sinful things I had done, said, and thought yesterday. Pretty quick, I was like "Oh Lord! Have mercy on me, a sinner!" And you know what? He does. He has mercy on me, because I deserve to be separated from Him. That was the fate that I chose in my sinning. But Jesus said to the crowd "this man went to his house justified...For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." This sure is good news for me today!

Today my attitude has changed about the "copy-cat" designers. I still find it completely offensive and disheartening, but I no longer want to be the first to cast a stone at them. Instead saying a simple prayer that they would be humbled in their sin as they find mercy from a holy, loving God, and turn from their ways. And for myself? For myself I pray the exact same thing. Because my heart is so prone to wander and my sins are also many.

Address Labels Printable

It's Friday of my birthday week and time for today's free printable!  I really like this one because I think it's a sweet touch to make an envelope feel extra special :)

Address labels! Just print it out on a regular 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper (or onto sticker paper to make sticky labels), cut them out along the gray lines, fold, fill out the information, and adhere it to your envelope!  Hope you enjoy. Have a lovely weekend!