Candy Cane Bark

One of my good customers, (who will remain un named, incase her friends also read this blog) e-mailed me to let me know that she's doing the Candy Cane Bark that we did last year, for her friends this year (hence, my secrecy to her name). I thought I would respot this, as it's the EASIEST recipe and I'm once again going to make it myself this year. Ohhh, I'm itching to make it!!

------------
Repost from last Christmas. :)



This is our first Christmas in our house, and we're so lucky to have some pretty amazing neighbours on the street who welcomed us into the neighbourhood so warmly last winter. Last week I whipped up my favourite tradition - Candy Cane Bark, as little gifts for all of our pretty sweet neighbours. I packaged them in simple kraft bags, and put a sticker on the front, and personalized a little note to each recipient.

I was going to type out all of the instructions on how I make mine, but it's a pretty common recipie so here is a link for you to read from.

Here are my variations on the recipe - (a) I add Perpermint Extract into the melted chocolate as I'm melting it by the double boiler method to give it that extra perpermint flavour ... and (b) I don't stir in the candy cane pieces as they mention in their recipe - I sprinkle them ontop of the chocolate after I have spread it out onto a cookie sheet. :)

After the candy cane bark was ready, I packaged them into their own clear celophane bags, and then put them in a kraft bag. The reason for double bagging is that I didn't want any of the chocolate to make "stains" through the bags as possibly cookies would do.

NEW! Round Stickers

We're slowly adding a new line of labels - it takes a bit to actually put products up on the site...but I couldn't resist giving you a preview of what they look like!



It's our new line of 2 1/2 inch round labels, perfect for putting on your holiday parcels, or even decorating packages with.



Not only Holiday related, these new trendy cityscapes are also being added!



You can see the section online here, but check back often as new designs are being added!

Tis' the season

I think it's the season for getting sick. Boooo. Unfortunately I've been batling something and I've been in bed by 8pm everynight for the past week which isn't a good thing for the busy season. We're still here, working away but I just wanted to pop onto the blog and say hello. I'm hoping to be back to my normal self in no time! I just wanted to explain the lack of blog posts and twitter updates. :(
Lindsay

Our 5th Birthday = 5 Winners

Our Birthday Celebrations continue! We turned five years old this month and to continue the fun, the first five people to reply to this post get 1 free sheet of Address Labels. :) All you have to reply with is your name, and e-mail address, and something witty. Ok, you don't have to be witty, but I definitely need to know how to contact you. ;) Stay tuned for more fun Birthday Treats! It's a simple contest, just for fun. ;)

Lindsay
Ps., Yes, no picture for this post. I got lazy. ;)

An obsession...

I'm a sucker for Jewellery. Delicate, or ornate, but the more interesting, the better. :) I inherited a love of sparklies from my Grandmother, who had an extrordinary sense of style, pairing simple outfits, with necklaces that stood out. I'm a jeans and Black, white, or gray shirt girl all the way, but I drool over accessories.



My vanity is always covered with the jewellery that I can pick up on a whim and wear. Last week I bought that beautiful Necklace in the forefront (Gold) that I've been wearing every day since. It's simply stunning - and it's long, which is perfect, because I can't stand things up close to my neck. (I'm the one that insists on buying turtle necks, only to stretch out the neck by pulling it over my chin as I work). I bought the necklace on a whim, and when I opened the lovely package, I was truly delighted - so I thought I'd share!

Refrences: 24K Gold Plated Chalcedony Pendant, Big Chunky Blue Necklace is from Anthropologie, but the exact style is no longer available, but this one is very similar. The pearls in the back were my grocery shopping find from Joe Fresh. (The broach was a present from my husband, so i don't know where it came from.)

Toronto East end customers....

If you're in Toronto and want to save on shipping costs on our prints, our Alphabet Prints are now available for those in the East End, at My Bump Maternity at 944 Kingston Road, Toronto. Place an order at the store, and pick up your print(s) a week later.

It's a fabulous store, and although I have yet to have the need to shop there, I highly recommend it to those who have a baby bump! Cheryl, the owner, is SUPER nice. Here are some store shots I took earlier today for her.






(Are you interested in adding our Personalized Alphabet Prints to your store? Here is some helpful info!)

Love, Love these cards

One thing I do with new products is do some test prints first, to make sure all is well. The new photocards are the simplest tests to run. I simply upload the JPG, like any client would, and wait 24 hours for my local photolab to get them printed for me. I went by Loblaws to pick up my prints and I love, love them.


Opening the package - and voila! A custom holiday card


Hanging in the studio - love it this much!

Remember, It's $25 for us to design a card for you, and then you upload it to your local photolab, like I did, and in DAYS you get your custom cards. I did this kind of design for a few reasons. First of all, I think that everyone should be able to be proud of the cards they send out during the holidays and economics shouldn't play a factor. And even better - have a custom request for a design? No problem. I never charge custom fees for this kind of work. (But e-mail me first to see if I CAN design something)

Here are some benefits to this awesome set up:

(1) No shipping. So you don't have to wait for us to print + package, and ship your order.

(2) You can have 1 printed, or 100. You can order them 2 at a time, or 5. So if Aunt Mildred was forgotten on your holiday list and you ran out of cards, quickly upload the image again and get an extra card printed.

(3) Dont want to mail anything out? You don't have to. Use your custom design to e-mail a custom holiday greeting to friends. Attach your holiday greeting as an image, and voila!

New Photo Cards have launched

We've started to launch our Holiday 2009 collection. Starting first with a large collection dedicated to "Photo Cards"...An economical way to get beautifully designed holiday cards with photos, at a fraction of the cost of other ways of printing.



Our 5x7 Holiday Cards are designed to be an economical way for our customers to have photo announcements, in small quantities. These cards are printed as if they were "photographs", via a photolab. There are 2 options for our cards. (1) We design - You Print. $25.00 (you print as many as you want from your own photolab) or (2) We design, print, and them to you with envelopes. $1.99 each

Click here to see this collection! Stay tuned, more new products are being rolled out over the next week. :)

New Art Photos

The new studio is proving to give me some great shots for the prints. Hmm. I'm aparently liking photos on an angle.


Classic Rainbow


Lime + Blue Print


Classic Print


Sherbert

and...here is a new mini print



Available here, a list of other retailers is coming up shortly!

New Art Print

You have to see this new print! :)


(Above, New Customizable Art Print)

Ok, so there is a story behind this one. I originally actually designed this print only for me. Here is how it began...


Last year, I had an awesome intern, Elise, join me in my studio. During her stay, there happened to be an article that came out about my husband and I in a local newspaper. When it came out, we rushed to go get the paper and one evening, Elise snapped a photo of me (goofily) holding up the article with the big supersized picture of my husband and I.

When Elise she returned home to New York, she posted pictures from her stay on Facebook and that one picture of me holding up the paper. That picture got the caption..."They're kind of a big deal over there." Oh my god, that caption made me crack up so much. The hilarity of it is infact that we are indeed NOT a big deal.

So, I made up a poster, for myself, that said..."I'm Kind of a Big Deal Around Here." It's funny, because "around here" only consists of me for a good portion of the time.


(Above, My own personal print, hanging in my studio)

But then I really started loving the saying and though, "How cute for a nursery!" - with the little one's name. Because, children ARE big deals. They are mini bundles of cuteness and joy. And should to feel really special. So I decided to make it up for others, with the option for customizing with a name.


(Above, Print customized with someones name)

And there you have it. The story behind the new print! The name can be customized, or, you can do what I do, and have simply "I'm a Big Deal Around Here." My print gets a lot of giggles when people come over. :)

More colours will be available soon, but I couldn't resits posting this right away.

Sweet review....

What a treat when I saw a "tweet" that was sent to me over on Twitter - the tweet was from a new name that I hadn't seen before. When I followed the link, I was so delighted at such a sweet write up of us.



You can take a peek at the blog post over here. Thank you to all of my fellow bloggers for being so supportive! If I've missed a mention, do let me know, as I would love to thank you! - Lindsay

Thank you!

A quick thank you to all of the fabulous blogs who have featured my Alphabet Prints! I am going through my Google Analytics, which I tend to do on occasion, but not enough, and saw some neat referal links! I have yet to get through them all but I thought I would start the weekend off with some thanks to some of the blogs!


Urban Nest


Katie Cupcake


About All And Nothing At All

New 13x19 Style Alphabet Print

Inspired by one of my friends rooms for her little one, this new colour combo has been launched as a standard style over at http://www.pennypeople.etsy.com/.

For us Canadians...makeover madness

If you read my personal blog over here, then you know I am a slight addict to home decor. There is a contest over @ StyleAtHome for us Canadians to enter your rooms that need makeovers. Have a room that needs a makeover badly? There are some prizes to be won. The nice thing is, is that Style at Home has made the voting process by how many votes you get, and the 2nd prize, is voted on by a judging panel. I'm SO glad they are doing the voting this way. The downside to the voting method of "how many people vote for you" is that the litle guy that REALLY needs a makeover may get beat out by the guy who has tons of friends who are always at the computer, and always voting. So it's really nice to see that they have added in a prize for someone picked by a panel. :) So you Canuks, go enter your room makeovers!!

New Card Design - Quatrefoil

I've been designing this summer, and one of the first new stationery designs is our new "Quatrefoil" Card inspired by one of my favourite geometric patters. I'm loving it on carpets, and of course on Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery. When I did a google to try to show you how much this design is on so many different mediums, I came across this great blog post (where the images, excluding the stationery, are sourced from) over on Wide Open Spaces. Do take a pop over there, as the blog posting sums up my love for the pattern.

Correspondence Card $1.20 each CDN
Available online at PennyPeople.com

Images via Wide Open Spaces, with the links to the product shown on her blog post

Unpacking the new studio

I've been in the mode of working, that the unpacking of the studio of the fun stuff (not printers, and stock) has yet to place. I was rummaging through the stuff that I would like to take out of storage and came across these framed prints.



These are from around 2002-2003 when I worked for the awesome toy store Mastermind (www.MastermindToys.com) at their head office doing graphic design, and running the e-mail marketing department. It was an awesome job to have right out of university (hello, I'm a Cultural Studies Major) so I realize how amazing that it was for that oppertunity. I saved some of my work and at the time, I had my first work framed. It was so long ago, but it feels like yesterday that I designed these.

When I pulled the prints out out and reflected, I remembered that at the end of the month is the 5 year anniversary of when I officially opened PennyPeople.com. One chapter of my life closed 5 years ago, and a new, fabulous one began.

So it's with the nicest of reflections that I look back on these prints and I thought I would share them with you today. :) I hope everyone is following their passions, as am I over on this side of the computer.

How 'Tweet!

I got an e-mail last week from a fellow Toronto Blogger telling me she saw me in Canadian House & Home Magazine. I had just gotten my own copy in the mail that morning, and had casually flipped through it myself and was pretty curious as to where she had seen me.

There was slight panic, as I hadn't seen any mention, (I mean...what was said??) So I frantically flipped through my magazine and I had to e-mail the fellow blogger back, to ask "where" she saw me. (I couldn't find it!) Anyhow, she e-mailed me back, and here is where I was mentioned...

HA! I laughed outloud. My "tweet" was publicized.

But after giggling, it dawned on me the sobering fact how everything we put out on the internet is visible to all. I knew my tweet was public (duh!) but to see it in print was a totally shocking experience.

Let me explain my sensitivity to what is said on the internet. I once had an acquaintance write a nasty comment in a facebook status indirectly about me. Ouch. What got me was that this person obviously forgot that a status update isn't an inner monologue. What was a flippant comment made by them (publically) was hurtful to me, and I was flabbergasted as to how she thought I wouldn't see it.

Messages we type on the web aren't private - they are very, very public, even if you think that no one is reading. I've kept this in my mind always when I do blog posts. I feel fortunate that I can invite you into my life, so telling you about my concerns about privacy are obviously part of the whole package.

And hey - maybe your tweets will someday pop up in an awesome magazine like House & Home! If they do, hopfully it's something fun like mine!

*What happened with facebook? I turned it into a "family" only application for me, as I decided high school was better left back in the 1990's. :)

So random, but so fun

I saw this video this evening and just had to share. So nerdy of me, but I so wish I could break out into that dance routine with friends. My husband is probably going to crack up reading that, as, well - my university dancing days on stages is LONG over with. Anyhow, here is a video that perhaps will bring a smile to your day, as it did mine!

Sir. Chipalot

I'm taking the morning of a beautiful Labour Day holiday to sort through some files. I came across some pictures from last summer at my cottage. I realized that I may have never showed pictures of "Sir Chipalot".

"Sir Chipalot" (named by my brother) would hang with me on the hammock, and we'd have wonderful chats over some munchies. Oh my, this picture cracks me up.

;)

Cotton Candy, Organ Grinders, Carousels and more!

I'm embarassingly behind on e-mail replies which is stressing me out, but I'm taking comfort in the fact that at the end of the month I'm going to have someone with me in the studio helping me. (Phewh). In an effort to get me de-stressed, my husband literally dragged me out of the house for a date, to go to the CNE. Sometimes it's good to step away for a bit, as you can regroup and tackle projects with a clear brain.

We went to the CNE here in Toronto ....



I just adore the simplicity of the red and white stripes on carousels tops. It's like a circus big top!


There was this sweet music coming from behind me, and a crowd around a man. Upon further inspection it was an organ grinder, and he had his "monkey". Ha!



I truly adore the CNE for some fantatsic photographic shots like the ones above from last summer when I went. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling the creative flow as much this time around. Being exhausted, I was quite happy with just taking in the sights, sounds, and the aroma of the cotton candy. It was so sweet looking at all of the little kids winning prize, and it brought back so many memories from my childhood. Oh, and who can forget the candy apples! I hope everyone is enjoying their Labour Day weekend!!

xo Lindsay

Want to snoop into our home renos?

Want to see how the studio renos are going? You're welcome to pop over to our home blog over here. xo Lindsay

Quick update

We're still moving the office! Internet is up + running however we're a little behind on e-mail replies. Thanks for your patience!

{Star Gazing}

Hello everyone! Week 1 of the holiday was wonderful - it was spent stargazing at our cottage, (Lots of shooting star action!) and reading lots of old paperback novels - you know the ones that collect on the bookshelves at the cottage, have dog ears, and smell ... well ... perfect. :) Now we're into week 2, and this is a work week as we're finishing the studio and fingers crossed, we'll be moved in by the start of next week.

I thought I would post this picture that I took from the cottage of all of us on the point, overlooking the lake. Although you may not be able to make us out, what I wanted you to see was the sky. Look at all of the stars that you can see, when you head out of the city. I'll be back next week, I hope everyone is enjoying what is left of their summer!
-Lindsay

hippo happiness

I just had to post this hilarious picture of something that makes me giggle in the kitchen. As you've probaly guessed, I have a thing for whimsical, cute things, but I owe it to my husband for finding this one. It's a little hippo sugar container that we found at the dollar store.


Taken out of context of the dollarama, this hippo is pretty darn fantastic, and he's travelled with us from the apartment, to the house. I picked some roses from the garden and hippo, who was fresh out of the dishwasher, looked like the perfect rose holder. I need to go back to the dollar store to peruse the dishware aisle - It's surprising what one can find for $1.00. :)

Studio Design Inspiration

As I'm gearing for the holiday closure and studio move, I'm collecting my inspiration for the studio design. As luck would have it, the Ikea 2010 Catalogue has hit the web - I sat there for about an hour flipping through the online catalogue. (You can view it online here) Although I'm not a fan of a larger percentage of it, just because of my style, a few items stood out for the new studio.

Here are my top three loves from the catalogue for the studio...
I love, love the top picture because it is exactly what I want the studio to be like, white walls, but punches of colour via books/art. The walnut Expedit shelf/desk combo is stunning, although I think the desk itself is MUCH too small for me. The new walnut colour in the Expedit line is fantastic...



The bottom picture is of a new item for the Billy Bookcase which is the tilted shelf for an awesome display of magazines. I drooled over this look! Maybe it can be encorporated into the design somehow.

I made a cup of coffee, and enjoyed about 1/2 an hour of flipping through their online catalogue. I printed off individual pages that caught my eye.

Vacation Announcement

Good day my dear readers!

Friday, August 7th will be the last day that the studio is open for a few weeks. I will be open again on August 24th. WOWZA! That's a long time to be closed! I've never been closed for 2 consequtive weeks, so here is the reason why it's happening now...

(1) I'm taking my summer vacation and...
drum roll please
(2) I'm going to be moving into my new studio! :)

So I need some time to shut everything down, get organized, and start up in the new space. I have some new team members joining me in September, so I want to really focus on getting the office perfect for them, make a space for them and get organized before the Fall.

What does this mean? Any orders placed AFTER Wednesday August 5th will not be completed until the reopening of the studio.

And here are some of my favourite things of the summer...



Lying on my cottage dock with the family, driving through the wonderful Canadian countryside, and alas, The Ex !

Lavender love....

It's been quiet on the blog hasn't it? There is a reason - it's super, super busy. The studio renovation is ALMOST done! Yippee! Pictures will be posted when I've moved in. :)

This is a quick post but I just had to share - This bouquet was on my front steps this evening, a little gift from my super awesome friend who lives across the street. It's lavender from her garden, wrapped with a little string.

I've decided that Lavender is now something I will be adding to my garden for it's beautiful, calming scent...Whenever I walk through her garden, you can always smell the lovely herbs - something I hadn't really thought of encorporating when I started landscaping, but after a walk through her garden I have decided to :)

Isn't it nice to get unexpected gifts like this, especially when it's from a garden? I hope all of you are enjoying your gardens this summer! (And go grab some lavender to add to your garden, or to a pot on your porch - it's SOOOOO nice!)

Customer Photo | Kai's Room

I adore seeing photos of my Alphabet prints hanging in rooms. And look at this .... doesn't it look like the print was made specifically for this nursery? Look at the colours, the stripes, oh, I'm in love!

Here are some of the past photos that customers have sent in from previous posts. Enjoy!

Some new Etsy Faves

I have been collecting some Etsy sellers in my favourite list, and here are some of my new faves!




Don't you LOVE, that bag!? I'm this close to buying it, but I'm trying to save my pennies. I have to slap myself on the hand when I go to close to the "Buy Now" button. I wanted to share the bag with you, as I'm hoping she finds a good home. :)

And the others, oh how I love thee. I already down a Globe Piggy bank which you may have seen in some product shots I've done, and people have asked where I got it (Ebay) but I've found some online at Etsy recently, so take a peek over there!

Globe ,
Kiss + Hug Needlepoint Kit(s) - I only wish she sold them already made!
The Weekender Tote,
Green Earings

Garden Blooms

Just a little post of what's blooming in my garden!

Last summer was our first summer having a backyard, and lots of planting happened. Some plants were brought in late in the summer last year so I never saw their whole cycle, which I'm enjoying this summer emmensely. I thought you may like to see some of these!



Apparently the Serviceberries are edible, and I think that they may be the same things as Saskatoon Berries that my Mom used to pick + eat as a child (She grew up in Saskatoon). I tried a berry and it was good, but tiny. So I decided to leave them for the birds - as apparently Serviceberries are favoured by Robins. (And 6 Robins were out there yesterday munching on them!)

Is it July already? Really?

Oh my, it slipped by me. It's time to announce the winners for the June Blog contest! So, in order to get this post out ASAP, I am skipping the beautiful graphic part of putting pretty pictures with this post. It's wrong, I know. But this post would never get done if I had to do graphics! (Pooped out on this end) :)

The first number that was provided by Random.org for the Birth Announcement package is # 5, which makes the winner Jessica B!

The second numbers drawn by the site were: 4 (Valeria), 3(Eunice), 11 (Susan) and all these three winners get a Birdie Print!

Contact us at info@pennypeople.com for how to redeem your prize!

out of office

Whoops! we have to do some important updates over here so I have to close down shop for a few days. All orders that have been placed will be out the door in the mail tomorrow (Tuesday). Any new orders wont be processed until Sunday, July 5th. No delays on already placed orders will occure. :)

Customer Photo | Amy's Room

Remember our May Blog contest? Amy was our winner of any photo from www.LindsayStephenson.com. Just this afternoon, Amy sent us this gorgeous photo of the print she chose. Doesn't her room look super calming? I love how she picked a print that was going to go in a specific room, with a colour scheme. It looks like it was made for that room! It's soooo calming. Thanks Amy for sending in the photo!!

Pregancy Magazine

So I woke up this morning, was all groggy and such (no coffee yet in my system) and I got a really sweet e-mail from Barbara who has a shop on Etsy called LilDabDesigns, congratulating me on my Pregancy Magazine mention. I was stumped. Really? I was? So.... I happened to have plans to meet my Mom this morning and one of our stops was Chapters/Indigo. So while she was looking for her book, I darted towards the magazine aisle and found the magazine and feverishly flipped through - and there it was - my print!

I was so honoured to be in this magazine, but also to be surrounded by some amazing artists that I totally admire on that page. I walked madly through the store (really, I looked possessed) and found my Mom. I must have looked ridiculous. And I showed her and she screamed ..."There you are!!!" ...I think we startled some people. And then we went for Sushi to celebrate. And that, my friends, was my morning. :)

The only unfortunate thing is, is that they totally got the pricing + size wrong in the magazine. It states that the print is 13x9 & $15.00. When it's actually 13x19 (not 9) and it's $25.00. If you're interested in the $15 print, then you'll want the 8x10 size. You can see the sizing + prices online here at www.pennypeople.etsy.com

Fawn + Forest

I am SO delighted to announce that one of my favourite online retailers, Fawn+Forest, are now selling our Art Prints. :) Yipeee! You can now buy the prints online at fawn+forest, or you can still order them online at PennyPeople.Etsy.com



And we were also noted as a June Forest Find! Thank you!
It's an early Birthday present for me! ;)

Found in the garden....

It was such a super busy week in the studio last week, that I needed to truly take this weekend to re-energize. But I couldn't help but do a blog post about what I found in my garden yesterday - My Peony's were in FULL bloom! I chopped a few stems and brought them into our kitchen where they add so much colour. I am the biggest fan of fresh cut flowers in my home. It's a bit sad that the peony's are so short lived. :(

Re-Post - Ikea Hack

Holly over at one of my favourite blogs, Decor8, did a post on her blog about different side tables. Not that long ago I was knee deep in magazines trying to find affordable yet super stylish tables myself for our new bedroom so I replied + let her know about my mini makeover project. I was super delighted when Holly did a whole post about my project. Hopefully others get inspired by it as well!

Now. I can't take credit for the design idea- it was when I was flipping through one of my favourite magazines; Style at Home - when that I saw this project idea, and it fit right in with my design taste.

To read the original post from September that has step-by-step instructions, click here.

Shopping Refrences: Style at Home Magazine, Lee Valley Knobs, Ikea Rast Table, Colette Bed (shown in picture), Room Colour - Classic Gray (oc-23) by Benjamin Moore

*We have a home reno blog that you are invited to take a peek at! www.aubreyandlindsay.blogspot.com*

Studio Inspiration

This upcoming fall will be an exciting start to the Holiday Season as the much anticipated studio renovation will be complete! To illustrate how excited and in need I am for the new space, I've been packing boxes for the last 2 months waiting to be moved into the new space. ;) I'm starting to see walls, and I'm able to start picturing how it will be laid out. I'm sooo excited!

I've been collecting inspirational pictures along the way, mostly in magazines but some from random places on the internet. Above are some of my inspirational pictures - keep in mind, I have a HUGE binder beside me with more pictures, but these are a nice tiny sampling. :)

*Photo credits - If you know the source of any of the pictures please post or let me know! I've collected inspirational pictures of the rooms I adore, and unfortunately in the past, didn't document their original location.

June is my birthday month and so I found it to be especially fitting that I giveaway as our June Blog Contest, something to do with Birth Announcements! however, ALSO up for grabs is 3 personalized bird prints (see the post below about the new print). So overall, we will have SIX winners.

Prizes:

3 Prizes of BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT DESIGN PACKAGES*
3 winners will get to win a Digital Design package, valued at $25.00 eac.


3 Prizes of BIRD PRINT
Read about the new bird print I've created - 3 winners will get to grab a personalized bird print!

How to Enter: Reply to any blog post in June. It's nice to see comments, and so why not get the oppertunity to win a prize at the same time as providing feedback. :) If you tweet about the prize (remember to @pennypeople) then you get the possibility of a surprise "tweet" gift. ;) Leave your e-mail in the post so I know how to contact you, or e-mail me afterwards at info@pennypeople.com with your contact information.

Description: Pick any of our Announcement styles, and we'll design you an announcement OR invitation to be a 4x6 or 5x7 design which you then upload to your local photo developer and have it printed as a photo or even e-mail the design out to friends! Although this is most common with Birth Announcements, if you don't have an upcoming arrival of a little one, you can use it for a night out with the girls (how chic to have a custom designed invitation!) or for a little one's birthday party. The options are endless! Click here to read more about the "Digital Design Package" (Bottom left corner of the picture)

Etsy Favourites

I love Etsy's system of being able to mark sellers as "favourites". My favourite thing about the bookmarking system in Etsy is that you see a list of your favourite products/stores, and you you see a visual picture of each store, which means it's super easy to remember WHY you bookmarked them. It saves me having to go through a list of favourites, wondering why I saved their link. (Like in my Internet Explorer - with 2,000 links I've saved)

There is no rhyme or reason to this particular collection, other than I think their shops are super sweet! From Top to Bottom:

stitchface - OMG - you have to look at their super cute stuffed animals.

zukzuk - She's gotten a lot of press for her prints, so you may already be familiar with her work. I adore and admire her work.

pinkpandafabrics - A collection of amazing fabrics that I'm drooling over. Eye candy for the crafty. :)

May Blog Contest Winner

{May blog contest winner}
So our winner for a 13x19 print from my photography collection was AMY C!
Yippee! Congratulations. Visit www.lindsaystephenson.com + pick any of the prints and e-mail info@pennypeople.com with your photography pick and your address for shipping. :)

(Sorry that this blog posting is lacking in zipppity-doodah-graphics. We're running on empty! New snazzy graphics will be back to regular programing tomorrow. :)

June Special - New Birdie Print

New for June is a Red Robin print, available to customize with someone's name, or to leave blank to have as a simply classic piece of artwork for your home.

Special price - For the month of June, save $5.00 on this print. Regularly $15.00, this print is $10.00. (Ends at the end of the month)

Celebrity Baby Blog

Wow! How fun is this!? This morning we found out that our Alphabet prints were reviewed on People magazines "Celebrity Baby Blog". Click on the link to read the fabulous review, which made us blush. Welcome to all of our new readers because of this super-awesome review!

Out of office

We will be closed from Wednesday May 6th, and re-opening the 12th.(So closed 3 extra days this week). Replies won't be provided during this time, as I'm shutting down the studio + giving the other team members a break too! :)

Note: Some e-mail communication has been weird lately, which we're looking into. We appreciate your patience if you've sent an e-mail - if you have been waiting longer than 2-3 days for a reply - it's likely due to this issue. We've been super busy, so delays to replies ARE happening, but if it's been an odd amount of time that you haven't gotten a reply, please e-mail me personally at lindsay@pennypeople.com.

Apri Blog Contest Winner Announced

Since I'm leaving on the 7th for my trip out of the country, I picked the 7th poster from this blog post to win our invitation package! Congratulations KDot!!

May Blog Contest Announced

To spice things up a little, I'm going to show you something that I normally don't publicize, which is my photography. Love it, it's one of my passions. I've sold privately my prints when requested, but the are pretty close to my heart so I rarely sell them. But, for May,I'm going to give away a 13x19 print, of your choosing from my website at http://www.lindsaystephenson.com/ (excluding the commissioned pieces of the kids obviously!) The prints have sold for $100.00 - $250.00 privately, so it is a fun giveaway. :)

Here are some of the photos from the site that you'll be able select from.



How to enter:
This month it's a bit different. If you reply to this blog posting in particular, you get 1 entry. If you Tweet about it over on Twitter, you'll get a second entry. (We're @pennypeople)

So reply to this blog posting and either say hi, tell us where your from, or if you have your own website (don't be shy- promote yourself!) Mention in the reply whether you've tweeted about this.

Ongoing for the month of May. Winner will be announced ON the blog, so be sure to check back.

And your company name is what?

A common question that I get when I meet customers, or meet new people at events, is "Why name your company Penny People?" The story behind the name actually has a lot of significance, and so I thought I would tell the story about how "Penny People" came to be. The reason why I'm telling the story, is that I feel that sometimes people think my name is Penny. Nope. It's not. And, I've debated changing our name from Penny People to something else as time passes, to something that would symbolize the company better, but in my heart, Penny People just fits.

The story begins at the Age of 5, when my Dad gave me a graphic tablet. I started drawing on the computer in the early 1980's. But the significant event started happened in 1990, when I was 11 years old at John Fisher Public School here in Toronto. I oddly remember the day quite vividly, perhaps with details being blurred over time, but for instance, I remember where I was sitting in the room, on this particular day. While the teacher was talking (umm, teaching) I took a penny from my pocket and circled it with a pencil, on my desk. I then put two eyes, and a mouth in the circle. So simple really, however from that one doodle I fell in love with the little character that I had just created. And, I named that character, a Penny Person. Give me credit. I was 11 years old.


(Awww, how cute. I'm top left - this is around the time I started drawing Penny People)

Over the years, I continued to draw Penny People privately in my sketch books, developing new techniques by teaching myself art. They were a constant subject in my Illustration classes in High School, and even made their way into doodles when I couldn't focus in OAC Figure Drawing classes. Sketch book, after sketch books are filled documenting the ever changing characters, once only a round head, to what they are today, having ears, some facial structure and more. However, they have always only had 4 fingers. This, has never changed, and I don't exactly know why I never added a 5th.

Skip ahead MANY years, skipping my University Years, and my 2 years being a designer for a Toy Retailer, and now, at the stage where I was going to start up my own company. Since the characters at the time were the primary focus of my company (and still an intergal part of it), being able to change skin tones, hair colours etc...I decided to simply name my company "Penny People". In 2004 I started the application to Trademark the term "Penny People" and in 2008 my application was complete thanks to my team of Lawyers. And Penny People is now, officially trademarked. :)

As the company has grown, the products have diversified, so it's a consideration that the name of the company change. However, nothing seems to have as much significance as the name of the simple characters that kept me company as a youth.

And there you have it. The story behind our name. :)

Unfortunately no pictures of the early Penny People are available, having been packed away prior to our move (and not having been unpacked) so for now, you get to see what I looked like, at the time I started to draw them! :)

Want to promote your blog/business?

If you are an artists starting out, have your own website or blog, I'm offering up one free month of promotion on our blog...aka free advertising. No catch. It's my way of trying to help promote fellow business owners. Simply e-mail me at info@pennypeople.com with the subject line "Blog Ad submission" and let me know your blog/business/website. Not every submission may make it, only because I had to vet to make sure that the products sold are appropriate for my audience (umm, cough cough...my Mom + Dad read this blog, so no naughty items!) Submissions end this Friday, and I'll even help you design a little blog advertisement. The ONLY rule of this is, is that if we put your ad up for free for a month, you have to pass along a good deed to someone else.

If you're interested in advertising over here, of course, we'd love to have you! E-mail us to inquire, and we'll shoot you some info!

Etsy Finds of the Week

I've been a long time shopper/browser on Etsy, long before I opened my own shop where my prints are sold - and in my travels, I've bookmarked a ton of amazing Etsy sellers.

If you haven't been to Etsy yet, do pop over. There is an amazing collection of artists on there. However, be warned, that there are tons of sellers, so that means, a ton of browsing. Which is why I always appreciate reading recommendations for Etsy shops on other people's blogs and I thought I would return the favour and now post some of my favourite shops.

Out of the list of ones I've picked for this week, I've purchased a Red Ruby Rose Clutch - which I ADORE. I'm a very simple dresser, but wow outfits up with jewellery + accessories, and my clutch (which isn't the one shown) always get's ooohsss-and ahhhs from other ladies. Do share your favourite Etsy sellers, I'm always interested, and I'm sure other readers will be too, if you have found sellers that have caught your eye!

Shown Above: Monsieur IV print $30.00, Red Ruby Rose Clutch $75.00, Goose Grease Custom People (Assorted Prices), Sora Studio Jewellery ,

Pssst! Poke over to my design blog to see what I ordered from a Seller in Marburg, Germany, that arrived Friday - which I LOVE!

Preppy Modern Birth Announcement

Just added is a new line of announcements called "preppy modern" inspired by the Seasons fresh colours, and colours you'd surely see on a Lacoste Shirt at a polo match. :) Fresh, fun, and oh-so-cute. We simply adore the look of it in the fresh rectangular announcement style as shown above, but it also can be done in a square format. Click here to see our Birth Announcement Collection. And don't forget to read down further, to read about our April Blog Contest!

Creative Ways to Create Invitations

We're known for our super cute invitations, which is why Today's Parent Magazine called our invites "The cutest, most original invitations around" in a recent issue. At $2.50 each, they include unlimited proof time with a designer, they are printed on our traditional linen paper that our customers have loved since 2004, and come with beautiful envelopes. Our characters are customizable, adding that extra wow factor for your invitations. Also, since WE design all of our invitations, it allows you, our customers, to have extra creativity with any design, which we don't charge you extra for. It's our job to make sure you LOVE your invitations, and have something that is truly reflective of your event. As always, we encourage you to e-mail us with any ideas or questions!

For some, if you're hosting an intimate affair, that doesn't call for "traditional" invitations, or perhaps the budget won't allow for the $2.50 invitation cost, we have some cost saving ways to still get a PennyPeople.com invitation, for less of the cost.

(1) Folding Note Card, with Printing on the inside = $1.80 per invitation
Our folding Note Cards are $1.50 each, and all have the option for adding text to the inside of the card for an additional $0.30 per invitation. Above is a picture showing you one of our traditional folding note cards, and on the inside, are details for a party. Voila!! A fabulous invitation!
Included in the $1.80 is the front design, inside design + envelope. To order this style find a note card design that you love and simply type text where is says "text inside note card."

(2) Digital Design Package = Flat Fee of $25.00
For $25.00 we'll design you an invitation to be a 4x6, 5x7" (or specific size that you'd like) and we'll e-mail you this design so that you can either (a) upload the design to your local photolab and have them printed as photos or (b) e-mail the graphic to your friends/family, if you want to skip the mailing process. Click here to see a helpful image about this option.

(3) 5x7 Photo Invitations = $1.99 each
This is the same process as Option #2 above, except we get them printed at OUR local photoshop and mail you envelopes to go with them. So keep in mind that these are still "photographs".

Favour Inspiration

Happy Easter Weekend! I've been off for the weekend, taking a much needed break, getting refreshed before next week. I was at the Bulk Barn buying ingredients for some scones I was going to make, and, well, no trip to the bulk barn is complete without trolling through the candy aisles. :) I stopped in my tracks when I saw THESE adorable balls of cuteness, in Neopolitan Colours. If I were hosting a shower, or knew someone getting married, I would find a way to use these somehow. I picked up a little bag, as I wanted to show you them, as I thought that some of our brides/grooms, or even someone hosting a baby shower may find these inspirational. The Neopolitan colours are always a sure hit for a theme! I put them in one of our favour boxes to show you, however you could get little celophane bags, fill them up, and then and tie them shut with brown, pink, and white ribbons - and make super, super cute favours for your guests!

Enjoy! (Oh, and yes- they taste as good as they look)

Strawberry Balls Of Goodness, found at the Bulk Barn

April Contest Announced

We've been doing a lot of contests with the prints, but what we've been known for since we opened in 2004 is of our stationery + invitations. So, going back to our roots for this month, we're offering up the oppertunity to win 12 Free Invitations of your choice! Whooop!

What you could use the prize for...
Having a tea party? We'll design you something up for that, or how about you want to host a girls night - if you win, how fun would it be to actually mail out invitations. And of course, save the winning prize for when you wee one is having a birthday! You don't have to redeem the prize right away. We'll give you 12 months, so that way, you'll be sure to have an event to use the prize for!

How enter the contest...
Again, just randomly respond to any April blog post! Say hello, comment on the post - it's nice to see your thoughts! Any one who responds will be entered to win. Winner will be announced at the end of the month on the blog.

The fine print: This is open to Canadian + US residents. Value is approximately $40.00. Invitations are our Linen paper style. Although custom designs are welcomed, and indeed encouraged for the winning prize, we recommend picking an existing design from our collection on PennyPeople.com

Deluxe Envelope Printing

I just had to post this picture of a custom envelope that we did to match a set of invitations for a client. Isn't this sweet? We can design envelopes to match an invitation for an additional $0.50 per envelope - so you can do the return address + carry through the theme of the invitation. :)

March Contest Winner

Sorry for the delay! Our March Blog Contest Winner is Kimberly! Congratulations!
We picked one blog post to do a random number pick, and so chose the March Blog contest post, as so many people chose to respond directly there. :)

Kimberly - Shoot us an e-mail at info@pennypeople.com with the mailing address, and we'll get it off to you right away!

Our April Contest is about to be announced ... so more winners!

Another Alphabet Print Colour Combo!

You guys are quick - the minute I posted about the Sherbert style below, I had about 5 e-mails within the hour asking if I was going to do a more "boy" theme. Wowza. ;) Anyhow, it was in the works, but then my camera battery died, and then I ran out of paper yesterday - not all was going well.

Then, when I was browsing Etsy, I saw someone (who will rename unamed) directly copying my beautiful Alphabet print. Just changed the font oh, so slightly. My heart sank. As I "tweeted" about to my fellow Twitter people, I'm all for creative inspiration - Artists find inspiration from everywhere - even other artists, however directly replicating someones work is not only hurtful, but very much illegal. Yup. That big bad word. I sent her an e-mail, she apologized, and then remove her prints, but it left me feeling pretty sad. But as I said, she removed them, so I moved on.

Alas, today everything fell into place, and here is the new print!

March Contest Winners...

Will be announced soon! And while you're here, start replying to April posts - there WILL be an April contest!

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Some more colour combinations for the Alphabet Prints are slowly being rolled out. :) The first is our new "Sherbert" colour theme! Perfect for spring + summer! Some more colour combinations are going to be released over the next few days, which will play into our April Giveaway...so stay tuned!
Available in our Etsy Shop here

Although we're closed on weekends + Mondays, I'm generally in the studio catching up on things that I can't do when I'm "open". It's a love affair with my job - my husband has come to grips with this. So today, we are busy playing "catch up" in the office!

We're super excited for the MyBump Maternity Fashion show this upcoming Thursday, so you MUST click here to see what some of the amazing door prizes are. As well, we're putting some things in their swag bags, so I thought I would post a picture!

Dear-Born Baby is offering up an AMAZING stroller so two cheers for that! If you havent checked out Dear-Born Baby, they have been voted #1 Baby Store in Toronto, and have been around since 1979 - so they know their stuff. Now, I don't have a wee one, but 99% of our friends do, and well, this store has been our go to place for gifts.

Globe & Mail Style Counsel

What a fabulous surprise to get in my inbox this morning one of my favourite e-mails - The Globe & Mail Style Counsels newsletter. It was even better this morning as when I opened it - my Alphabet print was there! Thank you! Here is a screen shot, but below is the super sweet write up that they did.

"Ever rushed to the nearest big box baby store in a panic on the way to a shower and grabbed a few onesies and a generic teddy bear, all the while feeling like a pathetic friend to your new-parent buddies? Why not try something a little more personal, while supporting a Canadian artist and avoiding a toy that could have been made in China.

What a pleasant surprise it is to see what Lindsay Stephenson at Penny People Designs is cooking up. She creates framed alphabet pictures that come with the sweet little one's name atop a colourful jumble of alphabet characters. She'll also do a custom design on a bird print.

The block letters are modern and clean looking for parents who don't want their nursery décor to get too cutesy, and Stephenson says they'll still be suitable for kids' rooms when they get older. And they're super affordable, along with being sized to fit a number of IKEA frames. Next time a baby shower rolls around, you won't have to hide your gift at the bottom of the pile.

Check out Pennypeople.etsy.com, and expect to spend $15 and up for a small alphabet name print to $25 for a large print, plus shipping costs. -Allison Dunfield"

March Blog Contest

For those of you just joining the festivities, scroll on down to find the post about our March Blog contest - or better yet, click here to read about it!

Deluxe Wedding/Engagement Invitations

These are about to be mailed, but before I do I wanted to post them for you to see a great Engagement Invitation that we did for a couple. They are 2 sided, deluxe invitations which allows for a lot of customization. We created a custom map for the back, and carried through the theme/look from the front. :)

Deluxe Announcements

How cute is this!? We just finished this design + are getting it packed up for our clients. This is a perfect example of how our Deluxe Birth Announcements are pretty awesome. Since everything is customizable, your announcement/invitation can really be anything you'd like. This couple wanted to have the back for a thank you card, and so we put additional photos on the back and they will be able to write thank you notes that go along with the traditional birth announcement.

Remember Sophie?

Remember we had the contest to win the super-dooper huge poster, and our winner was Sophie? Well, Sophie's Mom sent us some pictures of the poster hanging in her room, and the little cutie in her...get this...Giraffe sweater! I love it! Sophie is tooo cute, and I love how the print looks in her room. (For those of you wondering what the relationship between Sophie + a Giraffe is, click here)
Ps., Don't forget about our March Contest - by replying to ANY march post you're entered to win one of these posters...

Toronto Customers, Save on Shipping

My Bump Maternity is hosting a fabulous Spring Fashion Show on April 2nd at their boutique in the Upper Beach at 944 Kingston Road in Toronto + they are inviting all Penny People customers pick up their art prints that night, so you can not only save on your shipping costs of the print, but also, stay and see some new maternity fashions! And get this - if you RSVP you get on the list for an take home bag! (No RSVP is necessary to attend, but it helps them know numbers)

How to order + save on shipping - Shoot us an e-mail at info@pennypeople.com to let us know if you would like to do this and let us know which prints you'd like (and the customization details.) In return we'll send you a manual invoice which excludes any shipping charges. On April 2nd, the prints will be at the store for you to pick up.

This offer is available until March 31st as we need to have time to design + print in time for the event.

Customer Photo | Anna's Room

Another fabulous picture!

Anna's Mom Ali graciously allowed us to post this picture that she had taken of her personalized Alphabet Print. Ali is the super woman behind this popular blog . :)
If you're new to our site, be sure to scroll down some more to see what's new in our world...including a March Blog Contest!

Dont Forget to enter our contest!

Don't forget to enter our March Blog Contest! Scroll down to see it, or click here.
Good luck!

I went to a high school that had a great number of courses dedicated to the arts. Although the high school wasn't per say an "Arts" school, the amount of courses that they offered was fantastic for someone like me that just engrossed herself in anything creative. So, it shouldn't be surprising that friends that I had in high school would likely also follow creative paths like I did. One friend of mine Tanya, mentioned one day on facebook her Etsy shop. I popped over to her store and was flored at how neat her work was. Ummmm. hello! ? How come I never knew this? I love, love jewellery, and you mix that with my love of birds, and you have me fainting. So I just had to post her work as it's truly inspiring to me.

The first is her amazing Bird Nest Necklace. I am so ordering one right now. This one necklace is available on http://www.dearmstanushka.com/.



The following necklace equally won my heart --- And it's $24.00!
Take a peek at her Etsy store front where you can buy directly if you see something you love.


Sorry, just had to gush. ;)

Customer Photo | Hudson's Room

Here is another amazing photo sent in from Hudson's Mommy! Thank you! What a sweet nursery! I love how the print has been framed!

Customer Photo | Owen's Room

Look at this picture!! Tracey took this picture of her personalized Alphabet print in her son Owen's Room, and I just had to share. How sweet! I just love the vignette - I love the frame that she chose and umm...look at that super cute giraffe!

Tracey runs and amazing photography studio, which I encourage you to check out. I was browsing all of her amazing work last night. (Bower Studio.) Thank you to Tracey for letting me share this picture!

March Blog Contest

Once again, we're going to do a fun giveaway for the month of March.

What's up for grabs?
A 13x19 Number Prints - It's one of my favourites!

What do you have to do?
Reply to any of the blog posts here for the month of March and that automatically enters you to win!

Why do we do this?
First, I just think prizes are fun. Hey, who doesnt like free stuff. Second, I think it's a fun way to get some of our blog readers to get comfortable replying to posts. I LOVE to hear comments, and a prize is always a nice incentive. :)

So remember, ANY blog post from March! I'd love to hear your comments, and feel free to reply to earlier posts, I'd simply love to see your name!

{Photo} A week in review

We just finished packing up all of last weeks orders - The 13x19 Alphabet prints were super popular in the last week! We thought you'd like to see how our parcels are mailed. As you can see, we ship orders in study mailers so that what's inside is protected. Time to log off for this evening, another busy day is just a sleep away.

{Photo} Pink Argyle Invitation

This order is about to go out, but before it gets packged and shipped to the client I wanted to shoot a quick picture and show you the beautiful combination. The client asked for our Argyle border from another stationery set to be used as the border on this invitation, and we loved it so much, we made it an constant design on PennyPeople.com. She also ordered matching stickers, which she's going to put on her favours, but I have shown the sticker on our classic favour box to show you a final product. I love the combination!


Invitation available online at PennyPeople.com

Twitter

Ok, I should stop posting for the day, or lay off the caffine. ;) We recently signed up with Twitter! I thought we'd try it out, and it's highly addictive! Click here to add us!

Framing your prints

As you may know, I design my prints to fit within Ikea Frames. I have purchased one too many pieces of art from Etsy for my own home, only to have them sit somewhere, unframed, because I can't find a frame it fit it. :(

I adore Ikea frames for two reasons - #1) They are cheap, cheap, cheap and #2) they are SO versatile. You may have seen my blog post about painting my frames, if not, take a peek over here to see what I did to liven up old black frames which were no longer making me happy. Although I've been painting some of my old frames, I'm loving the look of the natural wood frames - they are super trendy and in line with the Mid-Century Modern looks in homes.

I recently went to Ikea to look at their laminate flooring for our new studio and decided to whip out the camera in the frame section for you. :)

Framing this print size: 8x10 Print
What Frame: Ribba 30 x 40 cm
Price of frame: $12.99

Framing this Print Size: 13" x 19" (Large Alphabet Print, Number Print)
What Frame: Ikea Ribba Frame 40 x 50cm
Price of frame: $14.99

Framing this Print Size: 27" x 39" (Supersize Alphabet Print)
What Frame: Ikea Ribba Frame 70 x 100 cm
Price of frame: $29.99

To Blog, or not to blog...

I've long been asked "Why do you blog?" and I've struggled, in all honesty, to come up with a clear way of explaining my passion for posting. I usually blurt out - "I just like to blab", but really, it goes deeper than that. Another question I get from people is "Should I blog?" and just as quickly I say "Yes - Absolutely".

Part of the reason why I love to blog is that I feel Blogging is a wonderful way to get to feel an intimate connection to a business, or person. I was recently interviewed on my use of blogging for business by American Express who was doing a small business feature, and alas, my piece got cut because of lengh. (Maybe it was once again my blabbing?) But it reminded me that my blog, is an extremely important aspect to my business. I'm able to show you new product ideas on a whim, and write posts like this.

A lot of my customers are also small business owners, so I though that a little pep talk on blogging would be helpful to you. Here are some commonly asked questions about blogging that I get, and hopefully they will help you perhaps add that extra element to your own venture.

Q: I have a website - but why should I blog?
A: Some people have hired outside companies to build them a website, and it's hard for the average person to modify the layouts, say for example, if you have something new you want to share. A blog is an easy way to post updates on what you're doing, for free. I always suggest when consulting to business owners to ALWAYS have a blog link on their website. Post pictures of your store, new products - I visit blogs on a regular basis that I know are updated frequently, as it's fun to see whats going on in other people's lives.

Q: What blogging software do you use?
A: I've always used Blogger, but some people love Typepad. Blogger is free, and extremely user friendly.

Q: Your blog looks different than other peoples? How did you do that?
A: Blogger allows you to modify the blog code in your settings. You need to know HTML in order to play around with it. As an example, I wanted to have bigger pictures in the middle, and two coloumns which allowed me to feature more links & details. This layout is not offered by Blogger, you need to "re-work" their code. On a regular basis I work with small & large businesses to modify their blogger code so that they have something like I do. (Shoot me an e-mail if you'd like your blog re-worked)

Feel free to ask questions here if you have your own business or are simply thinking of how to. Post below, as maybe others are thinking of the same thing! I'm absolutely delighted to share any insights & tips!




Image is sourced from this website - and unfortunately no credits to the artist were provided. :(

Custom Recipe Cards!

This idea I can't take credit for...I have to take my hat off to a few customers over the past 4.5 years who have seen the potential in our Correspondence Cards to be used as Recipe Cards. Every so often we get an e-mail from a customer asking if they can turn our Chef Correspondence Card into a set of Custom Recipe cards. We always think it's super cute idea, but realized that we hadn't shared this idea with anyone else! The Correspondence Cards are the perfect size for recipe cards (5x3.5") and ANY of our Correspondence Card designs I think would be fabulous. I've shown an example in the second best option (next to the Chef), our Apple cards.


TIP: If you'd like to use Correspondene Cards as Recipe Cards & don't require the envelopes, we offer you a 5% discount (for the exclusion of envelopes). Just e-mail prior to ordering to let us know that you'd like to get the 5% off. :)

And our winner is...

.....Christine Anderson!! How did we pick? Well, I had chosen the number 4 as my number, as that's how many years old Penny People is, and in the event of a tie, I picked a random name of Sophie (because of Sophie the Giraffe, who sits beside me at my desk). Congratulations! Christine, just shoot me an e-mail with your mailing address, the poster is right beside me wanting to get shipped to you!

Now, to all of my other loyal blog posters, I did say that I had something for you too. As mentioned, the Poster-of-all-posters is going to retail for $85.00, but as a thank you to you for posting, and being a blog reader, you have the oppertunity to get it for $40.00 (+ shipping) if you are interested, as a "pre sale" price - as it's not yet offered in our Etsy shop. This poster fits in Ikeas biggest frame possible, so framing it wont be a problem. This offer is valid until the 22nd - all you have to do is e-mail us at info@pennypeople.com and indicate you'd like to pre-order this poster at my "blog friend" price. :)

Click here to see my newest poster that I created for my house over at LinenHome

We are Family

I'm going to announce our winner for the Poster-of-all-posters shortly - I've actually gone ahead and gotten the winning poster printed, I'm waiting for it to come back to me, and then it's just a matter of posting the picture. :) I also have a great offer for all that posted also, so everyone really is a winner! (So stay tuned!)

In the meantime, I thought I would post what I've been working on, a new line of art prints! I was inspired by my Dad - he's been working on a Family Tree for some time using a computer program that will create a very detailed graph of our family lineage. Prior to that, my Grandfather went as far back as the 1800's and gave each of us grandchildren a family history book that he created filled with photographs and articles of our family history. So....I thought that it was my time that I added to the family interest and put my spin on it - a personalized Art Print!



I'm just trying to figure out how to offer up the customization to our customers but as soon as I do, they will be available on our Etsy shop. :)

I welcome ideas for the print! (Or any print for that matter) I'd love to hear your comments!

I'm out of the office today picking up stock, as we ran out rather quickly, and surprisingly of paper & all of the things that we need! So I'm off to the paper mill, but I'll be back in the studio tonight to answer e-mails and hopefully see some ideas that you may have for prints, or even feedback on the Family Tree. :)

Ohhh, I love seeing where the Art Prints end up! Don't you love Campbells room? It looks so nice and cozy! Thank you to Campbell's Mom for sending this to us, and she graciously allowed us to post pictures for you to see!