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Monday, November 30, 2009
Download Day:Freebie Holiday Cards

Lately I have been getting alot of request for printables, so I have decided to do a little DIY printable for a A2( 4.25 x 5.5) holiday card. Alot of people do not like the "Happy Holidays" wording, and want a traditional Christmas card , but some people like to encompass the whole Christmas/New Year's Season, so there are both.
I also like non tradional holiday colors so there is an option for those of you who like a little color in your cards.


{INSTRUCTIONS}

  • Download HOLIDAY CARD here.
  • print out card on cardstock of your choice, just make sure that the printer is "letter borderless". It makes it easier and the design will not shift
  • cut in half, there are two light grey small cut lines at the top and bottom at the "halfway" point for easier ref.
  • then fold each card in half ( top to bottom direction) and write whatever message you want inside.
  • Different printers and computers print/view color differently, so we suggest if you want to match the envelope (rather than white) with one of the colors, to print them out first then you can take card to find matching envelope.

ANNOYING LEGAL MUMBO JUMBO:
THIS IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. PLEASE DO NOT MODIFY OR SELL DESIGN, NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE. DO NOT DIRECT LINK TO DOWNLOAD, PLEASE LINK BACK TO POST.THANKS!
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Saturday, November 28, 2009
My Thanksgiving Biscuits:A Tutorial

For my thanksgiving I had the best biscuits ever from a friend of mine. Unfortunately she didn't want to share the recipe when I asked...so stingy!, lol. So I ended up getting it out of her friend (I was determined, sorry Jen) , these are good warm with butter, honey or jam........especially in the morning, because I ended up pilfering some of them.

There are two variations of this recipe that are both good, its just up to you which one you want to use. So here it is:


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{VARIATION 1}
Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoon(s) baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon(s) allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon(s) ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
  • 1/4 cup(s) packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup(s) unsalted butter, chilled
  • 1/4 cup(s) shortening, chilled
  • 1 1/2 cup(s) sweet potatoes mashed
  • 2 tablespoon(s) light cream ( milk can be substituted)

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Sift the flour, baking powder, allspice, cloves, and salt in a large bowl. Use the tips of your fingers to blend in the brown sugar.
  2. Cut in the chilled butter and shortening with a pastry cutter or pulse in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse, crumbly meal. Then stir in the mashed sweet potatoes and knead until the dough just holds together.
  3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently for 1 minute, adding a little flour as necessary to incorporate all the ingredients.
  4. Pat the dough in a 1/2-inch circle and let it rest, covered with a clean towel, for 10 to 15 minutes.
  5. Cut out the biscuits with a 2-inch round cutter dipped in flour. Gather the scraps, pat out again, and cut into biscuits. Arrange them about 3/4-inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet and brush the tops with milk. Bake until golden brown -- 10 to 12 minutes. Cool the biscuits on a rack.
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{VARIATION 2}

Ingredients
  • 1 large sweet potato ( about 10 ounces) baked and peeled
  • 1 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/4 cup cold whole milk or heavy cream ( better with the cream)

1. mash or puree the sweet potato pulp by hand or in a blender/food processor until smooth
for a total of 3/4 cup

2. preheat the oven to 425 F. Grease or parchment-line a baking sheet. In a large bowl using a whisk or mixer, combine flour, sugar,baking powder and salt.

3.Using a pastry blender or two knives , cut the butter into the dry ingredients. The mixture will resemble coarse crumbs, with no large chunks of butter. If butter get very soft at this point , refrigerate mixture to chill butter. Add the sweet potato pulp and milk/cream, stirring just to moisten all the ingredients. The dough will be moist, then stiffen while stirring( do not over stir). It should be slightly shaggy, but not sticky.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently about 6 times, or just until the dough holds together. Roll or pat out the dough unto a rectangle no more than 3/4 inch thick. Take care not to add to much flour at this point of the biscuits will be tough. Cut with a floured 2-biscuit cutter ( or top of a clean can if you don't have one), pushing straight down without twisting. Reroll the scraps to cut out additional biscuits.

5.Place the biscuits 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet on a rack in the center of the oven and bake 15- 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let rest a few minutes and serve hot.
makes about 12 biscuits
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There is also a nice variation of this called the "Yam and Honey Biscuit" which uses honey and lemon zest.







And good ole' Martha Stewart makes a great version of Sweet Potato Biscuits with buttermilk.



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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Cowgirl Cookie Gift: A Tutorial

As you can tell, we here have a weakness for the sweets, whether its the flaky pastries or the moist rich validation that only a cupcake can provide. So its not surprise that we love the folks at Bakarella, who have made this great Cowgirl Cookie Gift. This is great to give as a gift especially for the upcoming holidays and you can change cookie mixture to your own if you choose. In addition, for those of you who are not as design savvy as others, they have even made the cowgirl labels for you. We suggest if you are changing cookie mixture as well as theme, then also change the labels theme.
The Jars can be found at your local craft store( Micheals, Holly Lobby, etc) and the fabric as well as the suede cord can be found at any local fabric store. Of course you can decorate these in anyway you want, but these are great little quick gifts.

photo & item courtesy of bakarella
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Friday, November 13, 2009
Giveaway: Your Company Business Cards

Alot of times I have bought items and received business cards and have been somewhat surprised. Here are these great products and then when it comes to the business card or marketing material, the same thought wasn't put into them. I have seen countless business cards made of that thin office supply store cardstock or the
"pre scored" packaged cardstock with some skewed banner placed on it .


Business cards are important as they display your company brand and are a representation of you . Great business cards will leave an impression on the buyer, making them remember you and your product, which is what you are ultimately aiming for. But, sometimes sellers forget to put as much thought into them as they do their actual products ,which may leave you forgotten by the buyer.

There are a number of different programs that you can use to create business cards (we do not suggest Microsoft Word or Paint) but setting up the layout properly and getting it ready to print can be the most challenging part.
If you are not crafty , your home printer is not "up to par" or just don't know where to start. You can contact one of the many sellers and buy a premade design that you can just add your information to. Or you can buy a "design file" which can then be printed as many times as you want, either at home or you can take to one of the many online business card printing services.
The following are a few, just remember to research , read the fine print and ask around if unsure about feedback from these sites.
____________________________________
{BUSINESS AND MARKETING PRINTING SERVICES}


Moo Cards- Home of the popular "Mini Card", are based out of the UK but with the popularity
increasing in the USA, they have now opened up a USA branch and website. This is good for premades as they have alot of cute designs and you are sure to find something for all types of designers. Also they interface with Etsy, Facebook and Flikr, so if you have pictures of your work on those sites, you can easily upload from them. The downside is that the cards run a little high, (50 for $22 plus shipping). They also sell postcards as well as holiday cards and people tend to have good feedback and positive experiences ordering from them.

Vista Print- One of the more popular online printing services. Reviews for this site have been mixed, some having great experiences with customer service and products and some not. One of the benefits is it is a one stop marketing shop. They produce postcards, greeting card, posters, bags, hats, banners, books and a whole lot more. Also they usually have sales or discounts, so you can wait to buy different sets of materials.

Overnight Prints-Another popular online printing service. Generally positive reviews and they have competitive prices as well. The sell a variety of different sized cards (postcards, rack cards, fliers and etc) as well as magnates and bookmarks. One of the great things about them is that they consistently have great discounts , like now, everything is 20% off. The discounts are splayed across the front page so that you cannot miss them. They also have a variety of printing processes as well as paper and finishes , some of which are free.

123 Print- This site also has mixed reviews, but they do have some products not found at other sites, like the pens and Post-it notes. The Post-It notes are good when you are at craft shows and maybe need to write something down like a product for the buyer to purchase later. You can write them on your own company official 3M Post-It Notes, so that way they can see your company info at the bottom when they look at it.

48 Hour Print- This is an option if you are in a pinch, since like the name indicated, its 48 hour guaranteed printing and processing of your order at no extra charge.Reviews have been mixed as well, but they do produce nice glossy booklets, great for those of you who want a wholesale or holiday catalog.

PS Print- In addition to the standard letterhead items, the do event tickets with the foil stamping as well as the CD jewel cases which are nice if you are sending files or images on cd....you can have your company logo on them.Reviews are also mixed for this site.

My 1 Stop- They really have a small selection of products which includes the business cards. But what they do have are gift cards as well as luggage tags and key tags, so if you were always interested in offering these items, but didn't know where to get them, this is one of the places.

*If you are unsure about quality, printing and etc, RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. You can easily find feedback via google or forums on these companies. Also all of these companies have samples, so if you are still in questions, just request the samples of the product you wish to see.
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If you have no idea where to start or just need a card right now as a "filler" we suggest making a simple frame around card in one color. You can either put your info all on one side or put your name on one side and your info on the back. This card uses solid color background but you can just as easily print on any colored paper or just white with the frame and writing being your pop color.Though this is simple it is definitely cleaner and better than random images or a skewed company banner that you have tried to fit onto a small card.
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{SO NOW WE COME TO OUR GIVEAWAY! }

Gramkin Paper Studio is giving away a business card design to one lucky winner!
The winner will receive a consultation and ultimately their company business card design file which can then be printed out on your own printer or sent to any of the printing services like the ones listed above. This is an opportunity for those of you who don't know yet what you want ,need some direction or your ideas to come to life or just want something new!
DON'T HAVE A BUSINESS TO PROMOTE? NO PROBLEM, this giveaway is for personal Mommy Cards or Calling Cards as well. So if you are the winner and would like a Mommy or Calling Card design, just let us know!
*some restrictions apply, winner will be informed


{YOU CAN ENTER THE FOLLOWING WAYS}
  1. For one standard entry, just leave a comment about which you would like, business, calling or mommy card or take a look around our shop and come back here to comment on your favorite product.
  2. For an additional entry, just Tweet (on Twitter) about our contest and leave the link after your comment.
  3. For an additional entry, Subscribe to my RSS Feed or Follow My Blog ( just leave a note after your comment)
  4. Have a blog?, for an additional entry, make a blog post linking to this giveaway and leave the link after your comment.

The contest ends on 11/23/09 at 11pm , where I will randomly pick a winner for this design giveaway awesomeness! Please remember to include some contact info(ex: email address for us to contact the winner).THIS CONTEST IS OPEN WORLDWIDE

CHECK BACK ON THURSDAY 11/25/09 WHERE I WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER!
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Monday, November 9, 2009
Feed Your Soul: The Freebie Art Project





















With the recession looking as if it is going nowhere soon, justifying spending any extra money on art is hard to do. Enter Feed Your Soul .........................................
Feed Your Soul is a free art project where each month artists are invited to participate and to contribute a print which is totally free and available for download (personal use only).
This project is coordinated by Jen Wallace, the writer of the site Indie Fixx, to help art lovers feed their souls with art in these recessionary times and to help artists promote their work.Each week (usually on Monday) two or more prints are added to the available downloads.
Depending on the quality of printer you have you can download the desired art (in pdf form) and print out on your home printer (frame and hang as picture above). Or , after download, you can save and have sent to printer of your choice, whether local or another an online printer like Imagekind, where you can upload file and print on a variety of choices ( like glossy, traditional canvas, etc) and they even frame as well. This is a good option for those of you who like "one stop" shopping. Just remember that this is for "personal use" and not for profit.















The great thing about Feed Your Soul is that they have a list of artist with their bio and website, so if you would like to see other work and purchase from a particular artist you can. The only downside is that they don't keep archives, so if you see a picture then I suggest you download immediately as you never know when you will get it for free again...if ever.
If you are an artist and would like to submit your work for consideration, just go to the site and send an email with your url or 1-2 images of your work. The artist list is usually booked at least a month in advanced so it may take us them a while to get back to you....be patient.



photos courtesy of Feed Your Soul & Apartment Therapy
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Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Taking a Great Picture: A Light Box Tutuorial

I am always on the quest to find ways to take a better picture, no matter how good my photos are ( and yes I know that that is debatable, lol). So while doing a little Virtual Labing, another seller turned me onto to a place to build my own light box.
I love the natural white light of daylight, but unless you are in a certain spot it will never be even everytime and sometimes, I just don't feel like photoshopping everything...I do have a life, so a light box is a way to take care of that. For those on a budget you can make your own light box with a couple of cheap supplies and it will lessen your "photoshopping time".

This DIY Light Box Tutorial comes from a blogger by the name of JYOSEPH. You can get the clip-on lamps from Home Depot for a few dollars, which is better just in case you have to move around the lamps. If you do not want to purchase lamps and are on a budget, I suggest making sure to buy a "soft white" bulb. It was also suggested an Ott Lite Bulb , which is a "true" white light in a regular lamp if you don't want to spend money on clip on lamps.

If you are not crafty or just don't want to to take the time to make this, then why not try a Portable Light Cube. These are soft white outer material light boxes that usually come with four background cloths(white, red, blue and black)that you can interchange inside the box (as pic). Of course if you want another color background you can easily add your own.

These can be found on Ebay or Amazon for $10 up to $50 , some even come with two small professional lights(depending on seller). These are good if you don't want or have a place for a permanent light box (no matter how small). They easily "pop" open when you pull out of the bag (size of medium size pocketbook) and have a removable wall that has a slit in it for you to stick your camera lens if you want to make sure no shadows show. Or you can leave the wall off (as pic) Of course you still need lamps and a light to shine on box, but the best part when you are through you can store in a drawer or move around as needed.




tutorial and photos courtesy of jyoseph
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