iCANDY - 28th edition

Directions: For optimum viewing pleasure, click on collage

I'm feeling a bit Springy now that the daffodils are sprouting up all over Atlanta. Here are some fun and flirty fashions from fellow Etsy sellers.

1. Lotus Top - Rainbow Swirlz, Oklahoma $22.00

2. Bright Sunrise Dress - Cotton Fields, Chiang Mai $20.00

3. Faux Wrap - Econica, Canada $75.00

4. Red Hat - Samsarart, Italy $19.00

5. Pebbles Top - Zelaya, San Salvador $68.00

6. Zodiac Flowers Skirt - Alejandrina, Argentina $109.00

Enjoy and THINK SPRING!

Jump Starting My Day

My Whimsy & Spice order arrived yesterday, such a treat! Now this is what I call a well balanced breakfast. These Cinnamon Chocolate Malt and Chocolate Chili Cashew biscotti taste even better than they look. Who can resist topping off a cup of cinnamon coffee with a chocolate marshmallow?

The early bird catches the worm or at least a personalized order in Hebrew, going to Israel! Oh the places my stationery goes. Last week I did an order in Greek going to Athens. I wish I could package myself up and too go for a trip:)

Oh me oh Meyer

My mother has the most amazing Meyer lemon tree in the backyard of her Florida panhandle home. Meyer lemons are like no other with their silky smooth skin and sweet disposition. They make just about anything taste better and of course make the best lemonade you have ever tasted. Funny how they ripen in the middle of winter, not summer like you would think. This reminds me of a funny story my mom told me about her next door neighbors... a few summers ago the little lemons were starting to show their faces in the form of small green fruit. Upon returning from a few months up north, the neighbors told my mom their "lime" tree made the best margaritas they ever had. We all still crack up about that.

Colder than normal temperatures have done a number on my mom's lemon tree and just about all (a few hundred) of her lemons had brown spots. She was able to salvage the juices, not sure if the weather tainted the sweet juice or not, guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I was reading one of my new favorite blogs Cannelle et vanille and came across these astonishing pictures from Aran. She too lives in Florida and has captured the spirit of the Meyer Lemon like no other. To read the full post and get her recipes for these lovely treats, click here.




Over the holidays I had a request to do some custom gift tags for someone who was giving jarred Meyer Lemons as gifts. She had them packed in kosher salt and olive oil to use in savory instead of sweet recipes. Click here to see the recipes they offered on their blog to the lucky recipients of these little gems.


If you are lucky enough to come across a nice batch of Meyer lemons and want an easy recipe for preserving them to use at a later date, click here.

iCANDY - 27th edition

Directions: For optimum viewing pleasure, click on collage

I love everything about coffee and most importantly my morning rituals that go along with it. I get up early, really, really early as in 5-5:30 am every day, even on the weekends. It's the only time where I can have total peace, quiet and uninterrupted "me" time to fill orders and get organized. While on autopilot (in the dark) I find my way to the coffee grinder and give the button a little push, add cinnamon, water and my most favorite Starbucks mug - and my day is underway!

I dedicate this week's iCANDY to the ritual of coffee! Library Coffee company is located just up the street from me and is my new favorite place. On a whirlwind Etsy shopping spree this week, I purchased these uniquely delicious sounding biscotti from Whimsy and Spice - can't wait to get them.

1. Pure Cane Sugar Cubes, La Perruche - www.cooking.com - France $10.99

2. Love Tree Cup and Saucer - Lucky Little Dot, New York $34.00

3. Strawberry Jam - Tea Together, New York $18.95

4. Chocolate Chili Cashew Biscotti - Whimsy and Spice, Brooklyn $8.00

5. Italian Roast - Library Coffee Co, Atlanta $9.09

6. Coffee Love Printable Cards - Little Brown Pen, Paris $5.00

CHEERS!

INTRODUCING.....

Drum roll please.....I'm ecstatic to introduce you to the newest member of the InkSpot Workshop family. Meet Fire Hydrant Press, our fury little charitable division, established December, 2008. A portion of each and every sale gets donated to Last Chance For Animals (LCA).

The fact I had been getting so many requests to make designs including dogs, coupled with the images burned into my mind after seeing an HBO documentary by LCA, is how Fire Hydrant Press came about. Not to mention there really wasn't a place on Etsy, where you could get fun, fully personalized dog silhouette paper goods. I've been having so much success with InkSpot Workshop and I wanted to be able to give something back, which is why I chose LCA as our benefactor.

Just in case you didn't see the awful (in a moving sort of way) HBO special about Class B dog dealers, or see them on Oprah, I strongly suggest you do. My husband and I cried throughout the entire documentary and thinking about what I saw still makes me sick to my stomach and want to hug my dogs and never let go. It's in every way disturbing, but the type of reality we need to see in order to be so shocked that we take charge and do something that can help make a difference in the way animals are treated in this world.

Meet Brody, a lucky little foster guy

who is getting lots of help from

Bostons By The Bay - A Northern California Boston Terrier Rescue Group

On a lighter note:) I was recently contacted by the President of Bostons By The Bay to see if I'd be interested in donating a set of my magnets with Boston Terrier silhouettes, for an Easter fund raiser they are having for cute little Brody. Can you believe someone left this guy on the shelter's doorstep on Christmas? He has a pretty hefty vet bill and If you'd like to help please contact Linda Johannes at Bostons By The Bay.

In addition to donating a set of Boston Terrier silhouette magnets,

I'm surprising them with a set of matching note cards

GOOD LUCK BRODY!!

Thanks for bearing with a longer than usual post and should you need something for the dog lover who has everything, please come visit Fire Hydrant Press!

Easy as PIE

OK, I have a great lead for all of you who send a lot of envelopes and packages through the mail and are tired of standing in line at the US Post Office! Or are tired of paying such high prices for postage. I'd like to introduce you to my new assistant.... ENDICIA! Now I can print all shipping labels on packages both over and under 1 pound, first class postage, priority, even International shipping. The best part is that I never have to leave my house! It's all done from my desktop on my computer. I even get to add my logo to the label so I look extra specially professional. Plus I have an electronic database of where I have shipped everything.

All of this for just $15.95 per month, which is nothing compared to how much time I was wasting in post office lines. I spend a minimum of $150.00 each month on postage so this has been an excellent business decision for InkSpot Workshop. I first learned about Endicia from another blogger and Etsy seller and became completely hooked after my free 30 day trial. How would you like your own FREE 30 day trial? Simply go to http://www.endicia.com/ and please enter 678363 in the promotion code.

Happy Shipping!

Meet The Zoo Crew

I'm just tickled to introduce you to my new friends - meet the Zoo Crew! Now available in my shop. Aren't they just too cute? Personalized as you wish! I was having so much fun trying to decide on colors because honestly the combinations are limitless. I decided on something with gravel since I just received a few new envelope colors. I even designed the pattern for the envelope liner. Wouldn't these make fun invitations or announcements?

Wrapped and READY

Giving InkSpot Workshop goodies as a gift? Check out my new

InkSpot Workshop Stationery Gift Box

iCANDY - 26th Edition

Directions: For optimum viewing pleasure, click on collage

This week we're going to the DOGS! literally and figuratively. As my 2 pooches are really getting up there in age (12 and 14 we think!) I realize they are not getting nearly enough TLC now that we have added a 2 legged critter to our pack, 3 years ago. I'd like to honor our beloved best friends with some super cute pet stuff I have scouted.

1. Tiny Sterling Dog House Necklace - A Tail Of Two, Tampa $44.00

2. Gourmet Dog Bones - Diva Dog Bakery, Orlando $8.99

3. Dog Silhouette Magnet Set - Fire Hydrant Press, Atlanta $7.00

4. Herbal Dog Shampoo Bar - Good Clean Dog, Seattle $3.00

5. Patterned Dog Tags - Pure Panache, Orlando $8.00

6. Square Bowl Set - Chiara's Hand Painted, Tampa $55.00

Enjoy! if you see some iCANDY that needs to be featured, please drop me a line.

Change is in the air

It's a NEW year and I have some new things in store for InkSpot Workshop. In addition to upgrading my printer I'm happy to announce I've also upgraded the thickness of card stock I had been using. Now, all flat note cards, invitations and tags previously printed on 110# smooth, white card stock will be printed on a "double thick" 110 lb card stock. I won't bore you with the details but I got a "gsm" weight education and learned that all 110 lb card stocks are not the same. WOW! what a difference this makes.

I'm super excited to announce that I have just started working on InkSpot Workshop's very own website with the talented team at Aeolidia Designs. I have been dreaming about this since I started my Etsy shop back in April, and know this is just the group to make my dream into a reality. I plan to keep a sampling of my popular items in my Etsy shop and offer a larger selection of items on my site. I first heard about Aeolidia when my friend Sara Tams, of the popular SarahandAbraham.com had them make her site. I instantly fell in love with how clean and easy to use her site is. When you shop online there is nothing worse than a cluttered, hard to navigate site, especially when you are dealing with customized products. Stay tuned for my unveiling which will also include some new products.

Lastly, I leave you with this image... It is something I'm working on that is fury and for charity:) I'm still not 100% ready to launch it to the world but keep checking back.

Thank you everyone for a successful first year of business and I'm truly looking forward to bringing you even more fun, hand crafted paper goodies to make you smile!!

Photo Credits: Sea.Benn, AJFishleder

Sunday Morning Traditions

I love to make pancakes for my boys on Sundays. It makes them happy and I'm glad to be starting a tradition with my little guy. He likes to sit on the kitchen counter and watch me, sometimes even help. As you can see... the pancakes mysteriously disappear as soon as they come out of the pan. Dad still gets his fair share:)

What are some of your favorite Sunday morning traditions?

Ready for a new read?

So... a couple weeks ago I was at the hair salon getting the "natural" blonde put back into my hair:) For those of you with this same medical condition, you know how long this procedure can take and how important a good selection of magazines can become, right? Well that's when I discovered ReadyMade.

Wow! a magazine geared towards hand made items and businesses, how great is that? Not only do they have instructions for some really cool and useful DIY projects, they feature editorials from some of your favorite bloggers, such as Grace (who was kind enough to send me the name of this magazine because I didn't get a chance to steal it from the salon) from Design Sponge, just to give you one example.

As the story ends.... I now have another subscription to a great magazine I will probably only get a chance to read when my leaning tower of magazines topples:)

iCANDY - 25th Edition

Directions: Click on collage for optimized viewing pleasure.

Hey Sweetie! This collection is inspired by St. Valentine's Day, celebrated on February 14th. I love hearts all year and especially love little conversation hearts - just to read because they are simply the worst tasting little candies ever.

1. Conversation Heart Soap - dugshop, Los Angeles $4.00

2. Sweetheart Sprinkle Necklace - Baby Loves Pink, Vancouver $15.00

3. Dog Silhouette Card You Design - Fire Hydrant Press, Sunny South $2.00

4. Mod Heart Buckle - rDesigns, Atlanta $35.00

5. Sweetheart Ring - Smile Monsters, Aledo, TX $8.00

6. Wood Hearts - Mama Roots, Columbia MO $5.00

ENJOY!

Giveaway Winner

Using my random number generator....

THE WINNER IS...

JO of SMILE MONSTERS!

Congratulations! You've just won a set of

Old World Damask Cards!

500th SALE!

Pop open the champagne! I just had my 500th sale!!!!

..also coincidentally, I have 300 (even) feedback rating of 100% - Thank You Everyone! This far surpasses my wildest dreams considering I was hoping to have at least 500 sales by the time I celebrated my shop's 1 year Anniversary on Etsy, which is April 1st.