FEATURED: HOLIDAY PATTERN on NICOLE'S CLASSES

Happy Friday!

I'm always so excited when Alma Loveland (of Nicole's Classes) asks to feature one of my homework pieces and this week was no exception.  It truly is an honor.  Check out the blog post here.

In this week's class, we worked on random repeat patterns.  Oh the fun I had!  I think random repeat patterns are my new favorite thing (I also think I say that what I learned in my previous week's lesson is my new favorite thing a lot - but it is totally true! I heart all I learn in my Ai classes).

You can probably tell that I was in a holiday mood when I put together this one.

One of my fellow students commented that the design would look cute on some snuggly flannel PJ's and I couldn't agree more.  If my sewing didn't look like a 5 year old did it I would be tempted to place a custom fabric order with Spoonflower!  Instead, maybe I'll put some wrapping paper together.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend.  So many things to do! Can you believe it is already the last day of November? I'm getting so excited to kick off Do It Yourself December next week!  I have so many fun things in store for you.  Here's another sneak peek.  Enjoy the weekend!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Greetings from Columbus, Ohio.  I'm here for a quick business trip but wanted to give you a sneak peak into all the fabulousness to come that I'm dubbing Do It Yourself December.

I have several projects on tap for the entire month to help inspire your holiday decorating & party planning.  So much fun is on the way!

FIRST UP : DIY Pretty 3D Snow Flakes - perfect for tree trimming, window decor, and more.

I'M OFF TO A GREAT START, THIS IS THE FIRST HALF OF THE FLAKE

Instructions coming soon!

INTRODUCING: HOLIDAY PHOTO CARD COLLECTION

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... That includes in the Squareview Studios Shop too!

I'm so excited to be offering Holiday Photo cards in the shop.  I had a great time designing each and every one of them and, quite frankly, I'm having a hard time deciding which one Mr. Squareview and I will send out ourselves this year!

Sending a beautifully designed custom holiday card to loved ones this year is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Order a listing from the shop
2. Email Squareview Studio your family photo and names to add to the card
3. Print your gorgeous custom card and send. Voila!

Originally, I was only planning on only offering these as a digital file that you could print your own, but after a ton of very helpful feedback, I decided to also offer professional printing. I'm happy to say that even with the additional printing costs,  the prices continue to be very reasonable which upholds my mission statement nicely - beautiful design at a reasonable cost.

Now, I'm off to try and find a cute picture for our holiday greeting.  Maybe that will help me narrow down my choices.

Here is a sampling of the collection.  Take a look at the full collection in the shop!

Isn't my model a cutie?  That's our little ring bearer ages 1-3.  It's great to have friends that get professional photos every year!

MINTIE FRESH: SAVE THE DATE

It's official - marriage proposal season is here!  I heard on the radio this morning that more engagements happen between Thanksgiving and St. Valentines Day than during any other time of the year.  I think the holiday season brings out the joy of spending time with family and kick starts the desire to share your life with another  (Mr. Squareview had a differing opinion - he said that this was the case because guys could get out of giving gifts that way - such a cynic!).

To help facilitate the announcement of all upcoming nuptials, Minted just opened their most recent challenge up for voting called the Just Can't Wait Save the Date Challenge.

I submitted four entries for this challenge.  I'm excited to say that these entries have been my most 'liked' so far by the other designers.  Check them out below and if you like what you see - vote for me!

THE SUBMISSIONS: 

This one is my favorite.  You'll see the same typefaces used in my blog banner - love me some Cyclone & Wisdom script!

save the date cards - Track to Love

save the date cards - star crossed

save the date cards - love is a blur

save the date cards - Circle of Love

Definitely check out the site - there are some gorgeous submissions by the other designers in the Minted community.  Such a talented group!

MUSIC MONDAY vol 30

For those readers in the US, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  This was the first time in my career that I actually took the day before and after off of work.  Since graduating from college, I've always worked in the field of financial services.  Those jobs are typically tied to the stock market and if the market is open, we're open.  Boy, was it nice to have the 5 day holiday for once!

Part of my time off included watching every single one of the Twilight movies save the one currently in the theaters - don't ask J

During this teen angst vampire marathon, I was reminded about how truly great the soundtracks are for each of the movies.  A rekindling of many of my past musician loves occurred so expect to see a sampling of some of the soundtracks in future Music Monday posts.

We'll start with Thom Yorke today.   Enjoy this moody little number!

If you can't view the video below - here is the link

FEATURED: LET IT SNOW on NICOLE'S CLASSES

So excited to have one of my invitation designs featured on the Nicole's Classes Blog today!  I created this design as a homework assignment to practice my random patterns (the snowflakes) and ribbon creating skills.  I was going for a mid-century modern look for this one and I think the Mission Script Typeface I used for the "Parker Holiday Party" and the RSVP details nails it.  If you're interested, you can grab it from Lost Type Co here.

MUSIC MONDAY vol 29

This weekend, Mr. Squareview and I went to the new Bond movie - Skyfall.  I would definitely recommend it as it was quite enjoyable.  Like this title song, it really got back to it's roots.  Madmen, MG's, & Miss Moneypenny.

FREEBIE FRIDAY - THANKSGIVING PRINTABLES

Happy Friday!

I'm getting excited for Thanksgiving, are you? It is a bit bittersweet though as this year will be the first Thanksgiving that I've ever spent away from my immediate family.  After getting married last year, Mr. Squareview and I agreed that we would alternate between families each year for the Thanksgiving holiday.  We both thought it was the best option as it would hopefully eliminate any hurt feelings or family drama (eek!) that may be caused by not having an intentional plan.  This way, we have a plan early on and can set expectations for everyone.  Last year was my family, this year his, etc...

Ok, enough about how we navigate our family holidays and back to the good stuff - party printables!

I put together a door sign, placecards, & table tents for you to use at your holiday gatherings.  They were based off of my fun Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Greeting Card found in the shop.

 Download the PDF and use them to add that extra little something to your Thanksgiving gathering.

Enjoy!

PRINTING SERVICES NOW AVAILABLE AT SQUAREVIEW

After a ton of research and samples received, I'm thrilled to announce that the shop will now offer printing services for all Party Invitations, Custom Stationery, & Holiday Cards!  

I've formed a great relationship with a professional printer that does wonderful work and offers a truly gorgeous selection of paper.  

I received my first official order back from them this week and they look amazing!  I took a few quick snaps on my kitchen counter, but they don't do the final results justice. 

I'm still going to offer all my selections digitally, but I wanted to be able to offer the client a choice if DIY was just not their thing.

Happy Thursday everyone!

ADDING 'YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE' BUTTONS TO YOUR BLOG

You've seen them everywhere - the suggestions at the bottom of the blog post saying that there are other post on this site that you might also like. I don't know how the little bot does it, but it is generally true - I DO also like!

I've been wondering how I would go about adding those helpful little hits here too, but my laziness prevailed and I never got around to researching.  My obsessive thorough blog reading saves the day again!  In fact, it was a link found on AltSummit's blog which led me to a couple year old Creature Comfort post that gave me the answer.  Unfotunately, I can't link back to the exact post as I'm not entirely sure how I found it.  Rats.

While I can't give as much link love as I'd like and simply send you right to EZ's post, I can tell you what it said.

ADDING "YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE" TO THE BOTTOM OF YOUR POST

It took me all of 23 seconds to complete this task, so no need to hunker down to prepare for a lengthy how-to.  Follow a couple links and viola! You're done.

STEP ONE::

• Go to the site LinkWithin here. 
• Fill out the highlighted section with your blog's general stats & click 'get widget'

STEP TWO::

• Click the Install Widget link below.

STEP THREE::

• This will bring up the Add Page Element info box shown below.  You click Add Widget and you're done.  If you use Blogger like me, you can then drag the new widget from the column where it is added by default and instead put it under your post if you'd like.   

Check out my new suggestions below.  Like I said, I don't know how the little bot does it, but I sure do like his style.

UGLY SWEATER PARTY INVITATION DESIGN

I'm not sure if this is just a thing in the Mid-West, but folks round here love them some ugly sweaters during the holiday season.  The more horrific the design the better.  Think Cliff Huxtable on steroids.  Truly, I'm not sure what possessed the makers of these gems to even sew them, they are so ugly.

We like to celebrate these monstrosities by gathering together over a cocktail or two and showing them off.  Personally, I don't own an ugly sweater (well, at least not on purpose) so I don't really partake in the fun.  However, that didn't stop me from helping others enjoy themselves by putting together this little design (just posted to the shop).

Let the raids begin on Granny's attics everywhere!

Homestead Typeface (by LostType - found here) perfectly showcases how good ugly can look with it's yummy layering options.  The combination of teal, orange, and green never looked so good. J

What kind of holiday party are you planning to celebrate the season?  Ugly Sweater anyone?

MUSIC MONDAY vol 28

Not sure why I get such a kick out of hearing the singer's accent in songs.  But it gives me a quirky little joy.  It helps that this guy is Scottish.*

Hope you enjoy this oldie but goody by Frightened Rabbit - Swim Until You Can't See Land


* fun fact about me - everyone in my immediate family ('cept me) was born in Scotland.  My parents emigrated to the states a couple years before I arrived.  In fact, all my extended family still lives throughout Scotland.  One of my favorite places in the world....

JOHNATHAN ADLER at BEHANCE 99u

Happy Friday!  Do you remember when you arrived in class and that magnificent huge TV on a cart was at the front of the room?  That meant only one thing - Movie Day!  No studying, just a blissful 50 minutes of TV watching.  Ahhh - those were the best.

Not that reading this little blog could be considered studying, but I wanted to relive those days of fun and share a "movie" with you.  I ran across this cheeky and wonderful talk by Johnathan Adler for you to enjoy.  He shares his history and his thoughts on the creative process.

Be warned, the video is laced with f-bombs - if you are adverse to such things, it's not for you J

I'm having issues embedding videos today so here is the link.

Hope Everyone has a fantastic weekend!

TO PRINT OR NOT TO PRINT....

When I set off on my little shop opening adventure, I created a pretty simple business model. I was going to design printable social stationery, customize it for my clients, and then send them the digital files for them to print themselves.  I even put together a handy dandy "what's next?" guide.

I was just going to sit back and let all other lovers of DIY start placing orders. Then an interesting thing happened... After practicing my elevator pitch on all my friends and family I had the EXACT same conversation with each and every one. It went something like this:

Me: Well, that's the plan for the shop. What do you think?

Friend or Family Member: So I get you'll create these custom designs for clients but then what?

Me: I'll send the final customized file to them digitally. Then they print it a home or send it off to their local printer. It's totally up to them.

Friend or Family Member:  Why would anyone want to do that?  I don't think people will get it.

Now originally, I thought this was just the opinion of folks my Mom & In-Laws age.  Even though they don't act it, they are definitely part of the Medicare eligible set so DIY printing probably isn't their thing.  Boy, was I wrong.  I talked to ladies in their 20's, 30's, & 40's and they weren't having any of it either.  At least not for the stationery designs (party invites, on the other hand, made more sense to them to print themselves. Not that they actually would, mind you.)

Obviously, that got my wheels turning and left me with no choice.  Now I have to start researching printers.  My simple plan just got a bit more complicated.  First printers comes printers, then shipping costs.  Boo!  Stay tuned for that adventure.

What do you think?  Would you print stationery and party invites at home?  I'd love to hear from you!

ELECTION DAY

Today is election day in the US.  Millions of Americans are going to the polls to determine the next leader of our country.  It has been a hotly contested and historically close race.  Every vote counts.

Have you voted yet?

MUSIC MONDAY vol 27

Happy Monday all!  Today, I give you a peppy little tune for your listening pleasure from Cults. Enjoy!

INTRODUCING: CUSTOM STATIONERY PRINTABLES

I've spent the last couple months in a designing, photographing, & editing whorl in preparation for my custom stationery collection launch.  Boy oh boy, am I excited to announce that the collection is now LIVE in the shop!

I've put together both custom correspondence card and thank you notes that offer clients a modern & fresh way to send their greetings through the post.  All of which are printable so clients can print as many and as often as they like.

Here is a sampling of the collection.  Take a look....

That is just a little taste - there are more designs in my shop if you'd like to take a look.

Phew!  All that has made me thirsty!  Good thing Mr. Squareview is going to take a crack at brewing the beer we bought during our Beer Camp this weekend (yes, I know, that was in AUGUST.  I wonder if a Hefeweizen will taste as good in January as it does in June J ).  

Happy Friday All!