Personalized gifts from Minted

I posted last week about the great cyber monday deals going on at Minted. Well, they just recently  launched their new and improved calendar designs! I always love it when they launch something new at Minted -- they're almost always sure to be a huge hit.

I think these calendars make such swell gifts. What amazes me is how customizable they are -- you can add text to any day of the year ( Dad's Birthday, for example), add multiple photos, and convert your photos to grayscale right there while customizing! Never fear, if your photo looks kind of sad in color, rest assure it probably looks pretty nice in black&white :)

Here's a couple of my favorites, as well as some calendar pages I customized for myself!

I chose to customize 'fine and fair' which was designed by Up Up Creative. They come in two sizes, but personally, I prefer the smaller one for $29. If that price seems a bit steep, not to worry, Minted almost always has SOME kind of deals or discounts going on!

my future tattoo

I have really loved browsing through the lovely inspirational images on pinterest. If you have never checked out pinterest, it's definitely a great place to get ideas. It was via pinterest that I found this amazing calligraphy tattoo design done by Betsy Dunlap and I knew I had to have one. I was so lucky to find a calligrapher via Etsy who I commissioned to create a custom tattoo for me, the wonderful Katie of Strength and Dash. Katie sent me several variations to choose from, and here is the final design!

I'm planning to have it running down the inside of my forearm ( it'll be my first official tattoo not done by my own hand..... don't ask.) I will definitely be posting photos of the permanent tattoo once I finally get it done.

Happy Halloween!!

Minted Wedding Invitation Submissions

lately I've been working my butt off submitting designs for the Minted Wedding Invitation challenge. here's hoping at least one gets through for sale! Any designs that do not get accepted will be up for sale in my etsy shop for the 2012 season! I would love your vote for this year's challenge, since the designs that get chosen for sale are based on the scores they receive in the voting stage. thanks all for your support!

Custom Design Sneak Peek!

I've been working on a custom mock-up design for the past few days. So far it's been my most favorite one to create. The bride & groom's wedding colors are papaya and gray. I could not have picked a yummier color combination myself. I was so excited when she told me she loves sweets and wanted something fun, and also mentioned she wanted the typography to stand out.

Here is a peek at what I've come up with so far. And yes, those ARE cupcakes and gumdrops!

Logo Design

I'm considering offering logo design in my shop. I know there are a lot of sellers who offer monograms (that all look eerily similar to me), but there are very few who offer custom designed logos. I just did this one with orchids in a vase, and I loved how it turned out!