My business cards are here!

My business cards came in the mail the other day... I really love them (and, of course moo.com did an awesome job). Great quality! But, I think they're just a wee too light in color. Next time... I will make them darker. :)

I'm only sorta seriously freaking out about how close BlogHer is! Are you going? Are you freaking? Ok. Glad I'm not alone. :)

BY thee way... are you ready for an awesome guest blogger line-up while I'm gone? Me too. I decided to not even try and blog while away... I will probably pop in here and there... but, mostly I'm outta here! :D You can definitely find me wandering around on Twitter for the entire trip. For sure.

♡ Chelsey

Making a living... doing what I love.

{I will be handing out a few of these prints to a few random peeps at Blogher 2011! Minus the copyright. ;D}

Never in a million years would I have thought that I would be able to make any sort of real money through blogging or by selling my creations in my Etsy shop. BUT! I'm on my way. Ok... I'm only able to help pay for a teeny teeny tiny bit of our expenses today... but, it does help! And, the best part: I love this job!

I've always had this need to be creative (run's in my family) and here I am... drawing, writing, photographing everything, watching/taking care of Ruari... that's my job! I LOVE it. I know I'm so lucky to be able to stay home with Ruari... and, then to be able to do something with those lonely naptime hours: it's awesome.

So... why am I rambling on about being so happy and blah blah artsy fartsy? Well... I guess I got pretty excited when I stumbled across this article I found in Studio's magazine: "How to Make Etsy Work for You" (see image below). It seems like you should be able to just throw your creations up on Etsy and everyone in the world will scramble to buy up every last thing you make. Well... if you're on Etsy (or any other handmade/vintage selling site)... you know it definitely does not work that way. Everything this article talks about is sort of a no-brainer... but, it's all things that my brain never really started thinking about until recently: You have to blog about your creations... tweet about them... give some away here and there... advertise... hand out business cards... offer discounts... and so much more. How will anyone know you even have a business if you don't talk about it?

In the first two years I had my paper crowns shop open I had only sold about 60 items (talk about a downer). What was I doing wrong: I wasn't telling anyone about my shop. Maybe every once in a while I would blog about a new crown... but, my old Paper Lady blog was very neglected and I never kept it up to date. Who wants to read a blog that never updates? :) 

I started the Paper Mama Blog in April 2010 and I found the wonderful world of mom-blogging, photography-blogging... everything blogging and things just started falling into place. I'm just doing what I love to do. Being myself is so important (but, can be a struggle with blogging sometimes: how far into my life/world do I want to go and share on my blog?). I used to worry about how I'm not a writer and am terrible with grammar... etc. Hee, I don't worry about that anymore! The way you read my typing is pretty much how I talk in real life (well... I think I may be a bit more scatter-brained in real life... I can go back and edit these words. :}).

So, what's my business? It's this. My blog. My drawings. My photoshopping. That's what I do. And... now, how do I grow? I don't know. I'm just guessing at everything I do. Trial and error. It takes a lot of time and effort and reading/research to get a business started. A LOT (just ask my hubby who thinks I work too hard as a stay-at-home-mom. :D). Whenever Ruari is sleeping I'm either working on orders... or, blogging. I spend a TON of time on it. I am getting faster... sorta. And, more efficient... slowly.

The Studio's magazine article above interviewed fellow Etsian: Timothy Adam. I'm guessing a few of you Etsy shop owners have heard of him. He has a great story (read it here). He has a very successful metal creations shop on Etsy and has a TON of advice and tips for us small business peeps. The funny thing is I actually used to read his blog in 2008 when I was the Paper Lady (RIP Paper Lady blog ;D). I was pleasantly surprised to see how well he's doing for himself 3 years later!

Mr. Timothy's blog has a wealth of info for you to wander through if you are looking for ways to get your shop out and about. Along with a book he just wrote: How to Make Money using Etsy. He can also be found on the Handmadeology blog. Another great resource to help you grow your biz.

So, I hope you enjoyed my random ramblings about my business dreams and do expect new and wonderful things from my shop and blog! Because, I'm constantly working hard to make it more and more lovely!

♡ Chelsey

My shop update!

 I just recently finished up another couple of custom drawings! The drawing above is for the lovely and sweet Ashley from I Believe in Unicorns. AND: I'm offering her readers 15% off of a drawing order for the month of July! AND: if you order before the 15th... I'm offering 20% off your whole order... more details on her post here.

The drawing above was actually a blog banner/custom drawing combo. Miss Megan is crazy awesome! She runs marathons... AND, loves baking. I guess that's a great combination! :D Please, visit her blog.

If you want a custom drawing you can check out my custom drawing down payment listing here for more info! Don't forget to visit I Believe in Unicorns to get your discount code!

One more thing... I was interviewed by the lovely Tammy at Don't Blink! Check it out!

♡ Chelsey

Shop update!!!

Say hi to my most recent finished custom drawing! This was created for Melissa from Hi, Baby. She wanted a thumbprint tree for her upcoming wedding... Don't know what a thumbprint tree is? Well... instead of your wedding guests signing a guestbook... they all mark their thumbs around the tree branches to create leaves! Please, check out my shop if you're interested!

Some banner creations:

The first banner is for Ruthanne of Eclectic Whatnot, followed by Sarah of Little Citizens of the World, Mummarazzi, and Brianna from Unexpectedly Expecting baby. I'd LOVE to work with you! Check out my shop if you need a blog banner!

AND... a photo edit:

You can get your photos edited by me in my shop too. :D Check it out!

AND... check out a little Monday's are Awesome interview by Mandey at Mama and the Dudes! Funny questions. :)

AND... can I get a vote for my blog? ♡

♡ Chelsey

Shop update: more drawings and banners!

I've been drawing and creating banners like crazy! I'm a busy girl... It's hard to find to do anything while being a stay-at-home mom.... BUT, I can do it. And, am doing it... slowly... but, I am. :) The first drawing was for Tricia of Desperately Seeking Silence. She told me to just go crazy! So, I did. Well... I could have gone even more crazy... but, I'm happy with how it turned out!

This cutie is the grandson of a lovely lady that owns a tattoo shop. She thought it would be cute to hang up in her shop.

AND: Many banners... this isn't all of them... just a sampling of what I've been creating. :D Who are these for? Here: This little port, BluEye Blog, Hella Kids, Little Red Buttons, and The Monfort 3.

You can get your own banner... button... drawing... or tattooed baby at my shop: The Paper Mama Shop! yay! Check it out.

AND... don't forget... if you'd like to sponsor me for BlogHer '11.... click the button below. Thanks everyone!

♡ Chelsey

Shop Update!

Hey lovelies! The amazing Allie just showed me some love for the drawing I just recently finished of her and her family. Find all the love here. AND.... here's the drawing:

My Paper Mama Shop.

Thumbs up?

❤ Chelsey

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Just a little FYI....

Don't forget to enter my drawing giveaway over at Sometimes Sweet! It's the only drawing I'm giving away this month! Go... enjoy it! Enter away!

OH, and if you have a moment could ya give me a vote? If you'd like. It's for the top 25 baby journals! Just a couple more days to vote!!! Click the button below and a thumbs up! Yay!

❤ Chelsey

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Happy Customers.

So... the very lovely Jess from TART posted a very sweet post about her recent drawing order from my shop. I LOVE happy customers! Here's her post. Here's the drawing I did of her and that cute family:

And, I don't remember if I ever shared the drawing I did for sweet Danielle from Sometimes Sweet. Here's her drawing I created for her:

And... I created a little ditty for super awesome Amanda from Raising Reese:

AND: a little first birthday drawing I did:

And... some more... :) Happy Tuesday everyone! Also... if you have a moment... we are on the list for Top Baby Blog Journals. If you have a minute we'd love a vote. You can just click the button below and then the thumbs up. Daily. ;D

❤ Chelsey

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What I've been up to...

Happy Tuesday everyone! I have been so crazy/awesome busy with my shops and I just wanted to share with all of you what I've been up to... LOTS of blog banners.... tattooing babies... paper crowns... there are so many. I wont share ALL of them... but... here are a few:

Blog banners:

This is the blog banner and button I created for the lovely Wendy over at Letters to Hannah. It's a combination of my drawings and some photoshop goodness. Please, give her cute little blog a visit! Hannah's adorable!

Courtney over had Daily PawPrints requested a banner with the skyline of her city in it. I added her dog, Mack, to watch over the city.

Fiona from Letters to Littles wanted to update her blog header because her Letters to Little blog would soon be turning into a Letters to LittleS blog! Give her a visit.

Tattooed Baby:

 I was lucky enough to tattoo little Piper (daughter to Amy) from Super-Piper-Callie-Docious. Say that 5 times fast! ;D Please, give her blog a visit! She's a very talented photographer. (And, yup... I put a ton of watermarks all over her. I don't want creepers to steal).

Paper Crown:

I made this crown for a fellow blogger to give to her friend... I don't want to say her name just in case... for whatever reason... the bride-to-be might read my blog. I have no idea if she does or not... but, better safe than sorry! :D There is a title that is on the crown... but, I didn't want to share that... just in case. :D

LOTS of drawing...

Ever since I drew these and made this banner for Mandy at Harper's Happenings:

I've had SO many requests for custom drawings. I have 3 custom drawing orders right now. I really need to say THANK YOU so much to Mandy! I hadn't drawn anything since I was pregnant. Then she saw a couple of my drawings in my Etsy shop and wanted me to draw her and Miss Harper. Thanks Mandy!

AND.... I'm slowly (but, surely) finishing up the next grouping of blogs into my Paper Mama Blog Directory... I've had a LOT of positive feed back since I launched it a couple of weeks ago. Tara from Our Journey has said that she's been found through my directory by people that are going through the same things that she has dealt with.

So... that's what I'm up to... along with blogging of course! One more thing... I'll be accepting new sponsors for the month of April soon! I'll do a real blog post for that later.. but, just a heads up if you're all interested!

Thanks again to everyone that is supporting my business! It's always nice to be able to contribute to the family and help pay the bills! And, I'm getting closer and closer to my savings goal to go to BlogHer '11. Yay!

❤ Chelsey
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Wordless{ish} Wednesday: Countdown to 1... {with a super quick GIVEAWAY}

{It's almost here! This Saturday my baby butt will be turning 1! Yay! I'm excited. I'm not really all that emotional about it. I'm loving her more and more each day... so, it's just so exciting to see her grow!}

{For the next 3 days I'm sharing my favorite photo from each of her months! Today I'm sharing 4 photos with you... starting with her 27 week 3D ultrasound...}

{Just a couple more days! My little soon-to-be 1 year old!}

{AND, guess who Ruari shares a birthday with... Kingston from a Little King and I! Ruari and Kingston will be turning 1 on the same day! December 18th. He was a month early, Ruari was 3 1/2 weeks early. He was born at 1:53 pm, Ruari was born at 1 pm. Head on over to view his little birthday countdown!}

{Ruari would LOVE a vote for our blog as a present!}

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{AND, since Ruari's so excited for her birthday... and, she's feeling very generous... she'd like to give away something from her mommy's shop: The Paper Mama Shop! Yup! Isn't she nice?}

{What do you win? Your choice of one of the following choices: a tattooed photo, a manipulated photo, a blog banner and button, 2 Photo enhancements, or 3 basic touch ups. You can check out The Paper Mama Shop for more examples!}

{The Paper Mama Shop  This is a photo I manipulated of Mr. Corbin from Chronicles of Corbin.}

{Photo enhancement @ The Paper Mama Shop}

{The Paper Mama Shop  This is a photo I manipulated of Mr. Wyatt from I Rock So What.}

{How do you win? Please follow these steps... AND make sure I have a way to contact you through e-mail. If I don't... I'll have to delete the entry... :(}

{Mandatory entry:
1) Just answer this question: How long have you been in love with my blog? ;D{1 entry}

{Optional entries (You only have to comment once for each optional entry.):
1) Follow me (see sidebar) {1 entry}
2) Like my Facebook page for The Paper Mama{1 entry}
3) Follow my twitter: thepapermama {3 entries}

4) Tweet or Facebook about this giveaway... {2 entries}
5) Blog about this giveaway... linking back to my blog (please post blog post link in comment). {3 entries}
6) Link up your Wordless{ish} Wednesday post to the Linky below (Wednesday only)... {2 entries}

{If you have a moment, I'd LOVE to get 

a couple votes from you!}

{I'm going to make this a short giveaway! Last day to enter giveaway is December 19th, 2010 at 11:59PM Pacific time.}

Would ya could ya? Vote for me?