More Graduation Cards

I made these cards before I got my ("FAVORITE THINGS") embosser so they are not quite as fancy as my black and orange graduation cards. 
They still feature the "Leave a Legacy" stamp found in the dollar bin at Michael's and also some colorful dollar bin ribbon from Target.  It is amazing what you can do with a few bucks, some cute materials and a little creative juice. 
Don't ask me what I was thinking with the dragonfly cards.  Not sure what was going on in my mind with that but they looked different in my minds eye.  Let's just say I won't be mass producing any of those.  The others I like because they are not in the traditional school color cards that most people send.  Sorry about the blurry pictures... didn't have a chance to retake them.  Enjoy.  Ps. Mom you can purchase some of these as well!!!

Graduation Cards

  I made a few graduation cards.  My little brother is graduating from High School this year and his school colors are black and orange.  Not the most wonderful color pallet to work with but I made a few simple but elegant cards with it none-the-less.  I got the "Leave a Legacy" stamp in the DOLLAR bin at Michael's and the embosser is my new  FAVORITE THING (in Oprah voice)!  The raffia I happened to have lying around from some package I received a while back.  Hopefully my mom will read this blog and want to purchase a few cards from me for all the VHS kids she knows!!!  ;) hint hint.

Enjoy my newest creations.

Love with Words Only

This card is about as simple as it gets but I like it.  I love the wedding vow stamp that is the background and the simple yellow and blue rectangles really make the sentiment pop.  This is perfect for a man who doesn't like a lot of fluff.  Just get to the point and give him a card that says it all. 
This card is entered in a challenge HERE

If you like this card it is part of a set that can be found in my etsy shop HERE

Old Hand Dyed Paper

This card uses some old hand dyed paper that I made when I was probably 12.  Yes I have had it for over ten years!  It was time to bust it out and use it.
I am quite pleased with the results.  This card is entered in a challenge HERE
Enjoy

If you like this card it is part of a set that is for sale on etsy and can be found HERE

FLOWERS

This is a challenge based on a photo of some flowers.  I was in the mood for spring anyway.  Although it is always summer in southern Arizona!  Can't wait until the cacti are in bloom!  Until then here is a pretty flowery card.  This card in entered in a challenge HERE.

What is cool about this card is the orange and pink paper is hand dyed by me.  WAAHOO... I have been hanging on to that paper for years not wanting to use my only piece.  It was time! 

Enjoy.

If you like this card it is included in a set of Spring type flowery cards for sale in my etsy shop HERE

Valentines Challenge

Yay... St. Valentine's Day is coming up.  Not many people know that there are many many St. Valentines but the original for which the day was so named was sent to Rome to renounce his faith and when he refused he was beaten and beheaded (on the 14th of course)  Yikes!  He is known as the patron saint of happy marriages and young people not because of anything special but because people were worshiping an idol who was celebrated on the 15th of February.  So to get peoples mind away from that, early church fathers sent out propaganda about St. Valentine so people would stop thinking about these idols.  Interesting.  Now on to happier matters.  CARDS!!!

This I made as an anniversary card but is a nice Valentine's Day card as well.  Not in the typical red and pink which I like.  This card is made with a stampin' up stamp and watercolored to perfection!  Just kidding!  This card is entered in THIS CHALLENGE!

Also if you like this card... it is included in a set that is for sale in my etsy shop HERE

Happy First Birthday

FINALLY I am back to crafting and stamping.
My wonderful husband has spent the afternoon holding our 7 week old while watching football so that I can craft.  This is what I came up with!

This card is entered in five challenges this week.

Craft your passion - Ribbon
Totally Paper Crafts - Happy BDay
Creative Cottage - Something New
Stamp Challenges - Stamp Something
City Crafter - Sketch Challenge

ENJOY!

Craft Fair tomorrow

There is a huge craft fair this weekend at a mega church near my house.  I am only going as a guest and potential buyer not as a vendor.  I would have done it if I didn't have to put in for my booth a month in advance.  It was just too close to the due date to comfortably do that.  Maybe next year I will do it instead.  Can't wait to see what kind of handmade items they have.  Maybe I can pick up a nice Christmas gift for Drew there.  Or something to put in our new house!  Can't wait to move in just a few weeks.  Well, haven't done much crafting lately as I am just focused on new house and baby but I will hopefully get back into the swing of things for the holidays.  Wish me luck and happy buying tomorrow.

New Challenge

This is a card that I made today for a few new challenges.   It has a specific design and I really liked the geometric shapes to this card.  I water colored the little boy in the middle and I liked that the patterned paper was striped.  I did these on a slant because it almost gives the appearance that the pattern carries through the middle. 


Enjoy.

Entered in craftyourpassionchallenges

stampchallenges

lexiscreations

Stamp Challenge

Entering my first stamp challenge today.

This is a pink themed challenge so I used my favorite little girl stamp.  I also thought it was fitting because the challenge is because of Oct. being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Enjoy the card.

This card is entered in Stamp Challenges Oct. Pink Challenge.

Simple can be better

I like very simple things.  Sometimes too many embellishments make a card so busy that I can hardly tell what is going on.  Plus who wants to send a card in the mail that is full of ribbon and buttons and grommets so that you practically need a box rather than an envelope.  Simple and practical, that is how I like to make cards.  Mail-able, visually appealing, not too busy, but still lovely.

Take this VERY simple Christmas card for example  The nice thing about a card like this is that you can feasibly make a million of them and send them all around for Christmas without taking up a million hours.  Of course I LOVE making the cards.  But at some point I like to send them too.  Part of the fun is staying in touch and reaching people with your creations.

Enjoy this very simple Noel card and Mistletoe card.  Made by NBradley Stationary.

Day Two

Got a few hits on my new blog last night.  That is exciting.  It is hard to get your products out there into the wide world so that people know you.  Here are a few things that I have been reading about to help with this.

1. Keep all your brand names the same. 
                   Blog Name
                   Etsy Name
                   Email Name
                   Business Card name
This makes it much easier for people when they google you and you are likely to get hits in at least one place

2. Advertise anywhere you can
                    This new blog for example
                    For the old ladies at the local craft fair (make sure they all leave with your website and email.  Most of them will likely never venture there because the internet is too difficult to navigate.  But if they pass your card on to their daughters and nieces that might work!)
                    At local businesses.  I am working on getting a few of my kitty cards in veterinary centers around town.
                    Facebook works too but only if your friends check out the links you give them! ;)
                    Comment on other people's blogs and shops.  This may lead them to check yours out too.
                   
3. Do what you love to do and don't worry about the money.  Hopefully if you love your product enough to put it out there eventually someone else will love it too!

First Post

I have been making cards for a while but have recently started to sell my products.  I have attended some local craft fairs.  They are time consuming and often not very profitable.  But I have found that they are a great way to meet fellow crafters and other interesting people.  Craft fairs are also an undercover way to establish pricing.  Craft goers are on a budget and they want to get the most for their buck.  They have come to the fair with maybe a few $20 bills in their pocket and they want to spend it at as many booths as they can.  If you are competing with someone for a product cheaper is always better.  But not so cheap that they think that your product is cheaply made or that you don't make any money.  If you can establish a fair price at a craft fair you know that you can get slightly more than that on-line.  I say slightly more because you need to keep in mind that not only are there more people viewing and considering your product there are also WAY more people who have something similar to offer.

Even if you find yourself at a craft fair that is not very profitable there are always things to be learned.
      1. Meet crafters, scope out their booths and presentation of their products
      2. Check out pricing of similar products, but be sure to keep quality and profit in perspective
      3. Learn how to negotiate and initiate with customers
      4. Keep track of traffic, how many customers were there, how many stopped at your booth, how many were fellow crafters and not looking to buy
      5. Don't get discouraged there are always other ways to sell your product

Here is a recent card that I made.  I like to make cards that are white as a base because I feel like that is the best for writing on.  I also like to leave all of my cards blank on the inside.  If I customize it as a "Thank You" or "Birthday" "Holiday" etc it is usually on the front to leave the inside for personal customization.
This particular card uses a little girl stamp with black ink and a quote also in black ink.  I then watercolored the image of the little girl using water colored pencils and a blending water brush.  I liked the quote in the upper corner because it offset the negative space of that blank area and it allowed me to center my little girl.  I made corresponding cards like this in all different colors.  The background paper always matches the watercolor.

Let me know what you think of the card.
Check out some of my items on Etsy.com
etsy.com/shop/nbradleystationary