Budding Crafters will put me out of a Job - before I even have one!!

It seems that kids these days can do anything - even have their own shop. 

A step up from the dodgy lemonade stand on the corner of the street (I actually tried that once, surprisingly no one wanted to buy my tangy concoction) these creative kidletts have started their own online card making business at the ripe old age of 12.

I feel like maybe I might have missed my chance.  I'm too old, over the hill, my ship has sailed and these little tycoons are at the helm.

... okay that's a little melodramatic*. 

I'm not going to throw the towel in just yet.  In fact I might even buy one of their cute little cards.  I particularly like the "You Sparkle" glitter card.  How can I possibly be angry at a fellow twilight lover ;)

Check out the creations of these mini card Moguls at http://www.cardcraziness.webs.com/

love
Rach xox

*Except the bit about getting old that is unfortunately true.  It was pointed out to me recently that, as it is now 2011, I am turning 30 NEXT YEAR - eek!  Lucky I was at my brother's wedding when this shocking realisation hit me and there was ample amounts of alcohol close at hand to calm my nerves ;)

Spread the Love Sundays

As promised, every Sunday I will be featuring fellow creative entrepreneures attempting to hawk their painstakingly created wares in an attempt to do what they love for a living!

To start the ball rolling I am going to feature one of my favourites:

Lil Miss Rosie is the home of gorgeous ruffle nappy covers, skirts, dresses, playsuites and matching accessories for the little misses in our lives.  Rachel handmakes all her designs and I can personally vouch for their quality and cuteness after purchasing a few for my Little Miss Evie!  

Lil Miss Rosie has something for every adorable little miss, no matter what the age.



Just some of the scrumptious designs available



Check it out.  Lil Miss Rosie's HQ

And remember, every view/like/purchase helps us all on our way to living our creative dreams.

Enjoy!
Love Rach xox

Easter Madness! Last minute sales

So its almost that time of year again where we spend time with our loved ones and overindulge: we holiday and visit, eat and drink and basically do anything and everything to be merry.  We rush around from place to place (probably fuelled by a constant sugar high) madly trying to squeeze everything in to a teeny tiny 4 day weekend (or as is the case this year a 5 day weekend*).  Shopping frantically as if the stores will never open again!

Ahhh ... good times.

So if in all the craziness you have forgotten to get yourself and your loved ones some Easter cards - fear not!  I am having a 2 for 1 sale on all my remaining Easter cards until Midnight Tuesday.  All orders will be posted express post the following day so they arrive to you before the big event.**

I only have my silhouette cards left (these feature a custom designed die cut in black, layered on a pastel background.  Very chic).  I have them in multiple colours - purple, pink, blue and yellow.  When you order just nominate which colours you would prefer and I will do my best to fill your requests, providing I haven't already sold out!!!

Check them out here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/InvitingInspiration?ref=si_shop


Enjoy your easter break my lovlies! And as I alwasy say: live your life like every moment belongs in a scrapbook.  Just keep in mind that at this time of the year that means not having sooo much fun that you dread having a permanent record of it! ;)

Be safe and happy.

Love Rach xox


*At least in Australia - we have an extra public holiday on the Tuesday for ANZAC day - kind of like our Veterans' day. 
**fingers crossed :) I can't promise that Australia Post will live up to their end of the bargain unfortunately!

Lets get organised!

Okay, so this blog has been a little hit and miss so far.

Time for some structure.  From now on I will be posting at least twice a week on Tuesdays and Sundays with themed posts.*

Check in on How-To-Tuesdays for " ii-DIY " where I will give tips, tricks and instructions for all sorts of crafty projects.  Bare with me, this will be a learning experience for all of us - myself included!!!  I will try to be a good blogger and post as many photos as I can.

If creating your own crafty masterpieces seems out of your reach, why not check in with us on Sundays for "Spread the Love Sundays".  Every week I will be shining the spotlight on a creative entrepreneur trying to make a business out of something they love.  Admire their wares, support their cause and spread the love.

See you all on Sunday for the first installment in the STL series.

Until then my lovlies, don't forget to live your life like every moment belongs in a scrapbook.

Rach xox

* Okay this will probably turn into twice a fortnight knowing me but you have to at least give me credit for my enthusiasm.

Weddings!!!!!!

Ooh I love a good wedding.  All the pretty things that make you reminisce about the times you put crocheted doilies on your head and walked down your hallway with a bouquet of scrunched up toilet paper in your hands!!!   

As a child... of course.

It is my little Brother's wedding this weekend so I am very excited.  To be honest I am still a little stunned that anyone would agree to marry him - to me he is still the little pain that used to terrorise me and get me into trouble all the time.  Love you Doo ;)  But even I must admit that from that little sh#t of a child, he grew up into to a loving and mature young man – most of the time.  Plus I am very excited to be gaining a sister (shout out Bec!) and a beautiful niece and nephew.  Aren't they gorgeous!!! (that's my little tiger in the middle).

So in honour of my lovely brother and his beautiful new family I have added their wedding invitations (made by mwah of course) to my collection and called them "D+B".  This version comes with extra tab inserts for all the important info but these can be omitted if necessary.  This design is very versatile and can be adapted to any event: engagement, birthday, anniversary, bridal shower etc and it can be altered to suit your special needs.  You can put your own twist on it and make it a "D+B+U" (Ha - I crack meup!).  If you are interested, shoot me an email or as always check it out on the sites. (D+B invite on etsy)

Good luck Doo and Bec. 

I love you both and wish you nothing but happiness and joy in your long lives together. xoxoxox

PS.  Bring on the partay! ;)

Very exciting news! One of my easter cards has been featured in a treasury list on etsy. Treasuries are groups of items made along a theme and featured items from all sorts of etsy sellers. They are a massive exposure opportunity for sellers as treasuries are chosen by etsy admin to feature on the front page and in emails to etsy subscribers. The trick of course is to get your treasury noticed. Treasuries are measured in 'hotness' which is determined by the number of views on the treasury, comments and clicks ( to the individual item listings). I would really love it if you guys to check out the treasury featuring my item. If we make it to the top 10 I will give away some free stuff to one if my peeps who supported me.

Have a wonderful day my darlings
Rach

xox

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d8fc912fab46d91dd910081/pretty-purple-easter-on-etsy

Correction!!! Make that two treasuries!!! Feeling that love. xox

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d8e55f31e3d6d915fa0159d/eagerly-experiencing-easter

Thank you very much coolyarnz and mylittleangleco.  After you have finished looking at the treasury, you might want to check out thier stores.

Hooray for Sales!!!

I am very excited to post that my etsy store has made its first sale! Well technically - its first 3 sales!!!! All three items in my scarcely stocked store have sold!!! YEY!!!!!!


I could not be happier - I can't stop smiling!!!!!!


Big thank you to Graham Schulz for being so lovely and supporting my store.  Hopefully this is just the first of many sales to come.


Hope you are all having as wonderful a day as I am!


Love Rach xox

Introductions

Hi my name is Rachael - I love crafts and art and all things creative. And apparently I am now a blogger!!!  Eeeek!

So, I have never thought about starting a blog before now.  It seems odd to me that anyone other than my loved ones (who are forced to listen to my rants because that's just the price of friendship and family!) would care what I have to say.  But it is the generation of technology and social media and online communication, so I guess I should get with the program. 

From that statement you might think that I am 50+ grandma who has been taught how to check her emails by her grandchildren, but I am actually a 20 something (which my husband would point out I can't say for much longer) Gen Y'er who has only recently realised why you would ever want to access the internet on your mobile.*

But my main motivation for starting this blog is simply to get the word out about my invitation business and share with people my passion for pretty stationery.  Inviting Inspiration is an entity I created to give a legitimate basis to my hobby of creating invitations and cards.  Whilst it started out as just family and friends it is now expanding into something which actually resembles a business. NB if the bosses of my current "day-job" happen to be reading this - please don't fire me! Inviting Inspiration (whilst bigger than when I started) is still not ready to be launched on the stock exchange any time soon.  But there is always hope ;)

I think that every special occasion in our lives warrants an equally special piece of stationery to commemorate it.  And to me pretty means texture and colour and style and interest.  Something which not only catches your eye but makes you want to touch it and display it!  Perhaps I might be coming off as an invitation zealot now but its true that I like my stationery!  And nothing beats handmade.  You can't go past a piece of stationery that has been cut and assembled by someone who actually cares how it looks and more importantly cares whether you will like it!

I have tried to design a range of invitations and cards that are stylish, classic and interesting but still within an average punters price range.  But that's enough about that.  This isn't supposed to be an advertisement or a forum for saying how truly awesome I am (those who know me are already well aware of that!). But I guess the point is, if you have a special event coming up that you need a card or invitation for check out my website/facebook etc (you are all savvy people that will find the links somewhere on this page - maybe over there → ????) or drop me an email at invinspiration@gmail.com.  I would love to talk to you about your ideas and help you create the perfect piece for your event.

Until next time my lovely followers (again, I may be getting ahead of myself here) enjoy each moment of your life as if it belongs in a scrapbook.

Love

Rachael xo

*For my non-Australian readers (I may be getting ahead of myself here - I know) that is what we Aussies call a cell phone.  See my blog is creative AND informative!  Breaching the cultural barrier and all that...