Another Snowy Day in Cincinnati

The kids are off school and the husband is home as well. This actually gives me some time to work as they are all out frolicking in the snow. Shane's been taking some pictures so I'll have to post them later.

I've been bouncing around a few ideas for blog topics so keep watching as I'm hoping to get a few down on"paper" today. Some news first:

• My fans are now over 100! Thanks for being a fan and, if you aren't, go do it now. Become a Fan of Handmade Cards by LLK.
• The Go Red for Women! event held at the offices of Dr. Lisa Larkin was on Friday evening. We had a so-so turnout because of impending bad weather but it was a success none the less! I met some wonderful women, ate some delicious food and sold over $200 worth of cards and cozies. If you live in Cincinnati, make sure you attend next year!
• I've had a few promising interviews lately so keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer that something breaks soon.
• Vienna is still on The Bachelor.
• My new studio isn't neat and clean anymore.
• I still have a few Valentine's cards left so check out my shop, send me an email or give me a call.
• I was mentioned in a blog recently.
• I'm one of four creative women that started a support group that encourages and shares our knowledge to help creative women start, build and be successful with their own businesses. The name of the group is W2Wcincinnati. No website or blog yet but we meet every Saturday morning at 9:00 AM at the Caribou Coffee in Anderson. Please join us if you are interested or let me know if you would like to speak at an upcoming meeting.
• I added a new widget to my site so you can purchase my Etsy listings even easier! Look to the left of the postings.

Catch you later!

This Week's Special: Welcome to February!

This is the first of many specials I will be running from my blog!

If you ever go to your local coffee shop and grab a cup 'o joe, tea, hot chocolate or even the fancier temptations (my fave is a mocha), then you will LOVE my coffee cup cozies! They are each handmade by me from double-lined fleece and fit all standard drink cups. The best part about them is that they help keep our earth green. No more using and throwing away those cardboard sleeves. They are also...wait for it...wait for it...machine washable and dryable AND don't need to be ironed. Just take it out of the dryer, throw it in your purse and slip it on to your cup. They work really well for cold drinks too.

So here's the deal...for every cozy you purchase get a FREE handmade greeting card of your choice! After you make your selection here, just put in code Feb2010Special in the notes to seller. Also include the type of greeting card you want. This set would make a great teacher gift for Valentine's Day! Or give it as a gift to your mom, sister, BFF, mailman, husband, that lady down the street that thinks your weird, just about anyone would appreciate it! In fact, you may want to buy a few cozies. There is no limit but the offer expires on Valentine's Day (February 14).

Studio Tour

Shane and I finally got all the components up last night in my new studio. When we finished the basement last year, the plan was always to have the bedroom double as a studio. My dream finally came true after a 4 hour shopping excursion at Ikea West Chester! Here are pics I took...while it's still clean.

Enjoy!

My First Etsy Treasury

I (heart) the Etsy Greetings Team! Since I'm a new member, I thought it was important to jump in with both feet and participate in the Valentine's Day Promotion. You can do a search for "egvdaypromo" to find all the cards and shops participating.

The best part of being in a group is all the new stuff you learn and try because (1) you didn't know it existed before, (2) you were afraid, (3) you didn't think you had the time. I could go on and on. The thing I tried today for the first time was curating an Etsy Treasury. I had to wait until some expired as there are a limited number of showcases allowed. That was the hardest part. While waiting, I perused all the participating members' shops and kept those windows open on my laptop so I could pull them all quickly.

I'd love it if you would all go take a look, leave a comment and make sure to click through to all the listings. This is the part where I learned something new. The more views AND click throughs, the higher the ranking on the "hot" list. Let's see if we can get it to the top of the list and get some of us featured on the front page!

Here's the link:

Je T'aime Treasury on Etsy

Etsy Greetings Team VDay Promo

I joined one of the Etsy teams at the beginning of 2010...Etsy Greetings. I'm looking forward to participating and learning from the rest of the group which consists of over 300 members.

It didn't take long for me to get involved as we are hosting a VDay Promo. There are 33 shops, each one showcasing a Valentine's Day card (mine is in the 3rd row, 2nd from the left) and some are offering special deals. The really nice part is getting some additional exposure for my shop. We are all aware of the over-abundance of information on the web (just look how many people have blogs for goodness sake) and reaching people through multiple touchpoints is essential to e-commerce success. But more on that subject later.

For now, check out my VDay offerings at Pink Purse Creative. The promo runs through January 31 so don't wait to purchase the items quickly as they won't last long!

The Wonderful World of Color

Our first encounter with a rainbow of colors probably all came from the same place...a Crayola crayon box. We all have our favorites; mine is, of course, purple. Even the smell is familiar and comforting. But have you ever really thought about the evolution of their color spectrum?

I came across an incredible chart that shows the progression from the original 8 crayon set (1903) to the massive set of 120 (present day)! The blog entry by Weather Sealed is cunningly written. I get the feeling we are about the same age because I know exactly what he's talking about when he heard a Styx song on an oldies station! The chart though is incredibly beautiful and graphic. I want to print it out really big and hang it on the wall.

I encourage you to take a step back in time, check out the chart, maybe even grab some of your kid's crayons and draw a little picture. Feel free to post your favorite Crayola color here. It'll be fun...just like the old days when we would play 4-square during recess.

Ethan is Turning 8!

He wants to have a few friends over to celebrate this Saturday. You know, totally boy stuff: laser tag in a pirate-themed environment, all the pop and popcorn they can eat plus cake!

But back to the main reason for this post. I threw a few invitations together and wanted to share them with you. Quick and easy with lots of stamps. I used Strathmore Script White Heather (98# Cover) that I got for a steal from Xpedx. Paid $4.04 for an entire ream! The stamp set is Stampin' Up Extreme Elements. I love this set, part of my hostess rewards from the party with Blaise Hoopes. It's the perfect stamp set for boys who are not quite young anymore and I'm using it a lot on my latest custom project too, a Mardi Gras-themed gala. I incorporated three different ink colors from Stampin' Up as well; chocolate chip, crushed curry and green galore. And as Blaise always says, no naked envelopes.

Hope you like them!