Stamping more tags...with Stickers this time!

Yesterday I worked on more of the stocking tags. I snapped a few pics because these ones were done with just stickers. No fancy glue, no fancy glitter fonts, no special layering of paper. Just the paper, stamp and some special stickers Cheryl bought. I actually like them and think they look nice and simple! Go figure! Ah well, sometimes my creative mind is its own worst enemy. The lighting was not very good but I decided to post them anyway. I have to keep reminding myself that each tag represents a stocking....and I want to sell a LOT of them. As the resources and ideas run out, we have been simplifying our designs and ideas. But things are going to pick up here very soon. Just wait and see!

Still Working On Tags.

Remember, I have over 3000 to make if I want to make the kind of sales I desire. So, in addition to all of the other types and colors, I have been adding the grommet to the punch to give it a finished look. I think it adds to the over all look. I know, By fuss with something so trivial? Well, why do they put garnish on your dinner plate at a restaurant? Because people eat with their eyes! We are going for the hand made look and not the "mass produced look" Hopefully it will pay off in the end. I know I'm counting on it and I believe our customers will appreciate it. Cheryl experimented with some epbroitery floss the other day, But it will require a lot of time and effort to put a name on it. I'm not sure if she will want to offer it in the end. But I do think it look good.

Cards, Moths, and Horse Chestnuts.

I forgot to mention this in the past blogs, ( probably because it just slipped my mind,) But Cheryl and I found the remains of a Luna Moth! It is the first one we have ever seen in the wild. Unfortunately, the lawnmower at ACT cut it up pretty good. Either way, Cheryl suggested we take ( what was left of it) home so we could at least say we saw one. It is still on our wall. This picture is much nicer, as ours is missing it's long elegant tails. Anyway, inter resting find on our walks around the neighborhood is the Horse Chestnut. It is a pretty cool nut, with this bumpy husk and three buckeyes inside. I was very excited thinking that they might be American Chestnuts, But alas, They are toxic ( slightly) and will make you sick if you eat them. ( Even horses!) Only deer are able to break them down properly. I'm not even sure if the squirrels will eat them. They are used for medicines though, so apparently the pharmaceutical companies are able to get rid of the bad and keep the good. Other than that, we have been working on tags. I may have to rethink my tag design because the glitter does not like staying on the card very well. I do think it look cool though, and Cheryl says that I will have many more designs that I can experiment with. I still have not abandoned this design, I just have to rethink the "A" either with embossing or just red ink. The red ink would be the fastest design for assembly. Cheryl's snowflake tags are all done for the moment. She likes them as well and we have many more of those felt snowflakes to use up. She likes the color combinations. And they DO match the stockings well. Let's see what we come up with next!

Stamping tags for Stockings.

I know, what was all that stamping for in the previous posts? Well, you see, those where 'thank you's' that go with each order. However, Each stocking that we sell has to get a tag. In the past, I just printed out a bunch and punched them out. Not very much thought went into them. However, this year Cheryl wants to jazz things up a bit. We have over 100 stockings going to a Gallery and we felt there should be a tag that matches the elegance of the shop. So Cheryl and I sat down yesterday and tried to come up with some concepts. I won't post all the "ugly" ones we messed with, But we eventually settled on two designs that are what we have in mind. The first one is Cheryl's design: Simple, Cute, Color Matching, with a felt Snowflake on the back that matches the ones on some of the stockings. I set up a stamp and punched out a few. Cheryl is in charge of the cutting out part, so we each have our roles. And then there is mine. It's true, it might be a little over the top, but Cheryl ultimately likes it and is going to allow me to make a few. My plan is to make as many as we can, Hopefully over 2000! So it will be our biggest year in sales ever! Wish us luck!