Wedding Inspiration : Seating

The seating chart can often seem like a daunting task to a bride, but it serves as a fun way to spice up your reception.  Whether you decide to decorate your table with florals or play on a theme, your guests will be sure to appreciate the effort that goes into their seating at a reception.

Here are a few ideas that recently caught my eye from the popular wedding blog, Style Me Pretty.  

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

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Not exactly a seating chart, but very creative idea:

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Minted : Inspiration Board Contest

Nectarine & Pink board by Brittany Warren. See more Minted.com

Minted recently started contests for inspiration boards using their products.  While I tried to create a board with my current birth announcement, I found another adorable design that fit much better.  Click the link to "like" my board and I might win a prize!  There are tons of other amazing inspiration boards to check out as well.

Behind the Scenes: Opening an Etsy Store

First, I want to thank everyone for your kind words of support after the launch of my store.  I'ts been on my "to do" list since the first of January, and it feels great to have accomplished this goal.

I thought I would do a quick behind-the-scenes of what goes into setting up a store on Etsy.  For the most part it is a very intuitive process, but there are several steps you have to take to go from "I want to open an etsy shop" to "My shop is open!".

Step 1 |  Shop Name:  This probably seems like an easy step (to name your store and to add products), but, Etsy requires that each of its stores bear a unique name.  So, before I even considered finalizing my business name, I checked Etsy to make sure that GoldenberryPaper was an available store name.  I didn't want my customers to have to type something different to find me on Etsy, so this played a critical role in the very early stages of setting up shop!

Step 2 | Images:  Once you've narrowed down the products you wish to sell, it is very important to have a clear image of these on display for the shop.  Pictures are actually what entice buyers more than anything else on Etsy, so this is a very important step.  While my long-term goal is to shoot my own product photography, I currently lack the knowledge and resources.  So, I created my product images in Adobe Illustrator using a neutral vector backdrop.

Step 3 | Policies:  If you've ever purchased anything online, you can understand why this is an important step.  In order for the buyer to have a clear understanding of what they are purchasing, the responsibility is on the seller to make sure the policies are clearly stated.  This took a bit of time and research on my part.  I know that once I get into the swing of things, I may need to alter these to better fit my operations, but make sure you do your research here.

Step 4 | Tags:  When you type something in the search bar of Etsy to search for a product, I bet you don't think about the marketing that the shops put into your searches.  In fact, each item in everyone's store is allowed 13 tags, or keywords that can help their product get found.  So, if you search for "Mother's Day gift that's purple," you will actually see items that have these words tagged behind-the-scenes.  This is a very time-consuming process for shop owners to try and get inside the mind's of buyers, but it can be a very valuable and useful tool.  I will be changing my tags often nonetheless! 

Step 5 | Promotion: With any launch it's important to let people know about it!  Luckily, with my background in marketing, I am active in most social networks and have created several email newsletters in the past.  I sent out an email blast to almost every contact I have to let them know about my shop opening.  It was a great way for me to announce not only the shop, but introduce my business.  I am looking forward to continuing these newsletters, so if you didn't receive it I would love to get you on my list (email brittany@goldenberrypaper.com).

These are just a few of the things that I worked on to make sure that I had a presentable storefront upon launch.  For more tips on how to open an etsy shop, check out this article.

ETSY STORE NOW OPEN!

SHOP HERE

I wanted to pop in quickly to let you know that Goldenberry Paper's Etsy store is now open!  Check it out here.

Lots more about the shop, the items, and promotions, but for now I am exhausted!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Minted: Greeting Card Challenge

Voting is now open for the Minted greeting card challenge where designers were asked to create greeting cards for birthdays, mother's day, father's day, and graduation.  I was able to fit two entries in and would love your support in voting!

Blooms and Blessings

Life in your Years

February Fun

How was your February?  Mine was full of fun, travel, and new projects.  I'm excited to share what I've been up to this month.

We spent a weekend in French Lick, Indiana celebrating my Aunt’s 60^th birthday.  I made some personalized stationery for her special gift.  She loves the color red, so I thought it would be fun to pair classic black polka dots and script font with a bold red envelope.  

I also had the opportunity to design a party decor suite for a first birthday party.  Happy Birthday Caiden!

Last week, my family and I spent an entire week in Cabo, Mexico.  We enjoyed lots of poolside cocktails, delicious dinners, and the highlight for me was seeing the whales up close and personal.  If you've never done this, I highly recommend it!

View from our house at Pueblo Bonito Montecristo Estates 

Yes, I took this with my iPhone as this humpback whale was breaching!

This weekend, the hubby and I are headed to my in-laws to pick up our dog, Reagan.  They were so kind to keep her for the past few weeks while we were traveling.  I'm excited to see her and hope she remembers us!

Happy Friday Ya'll!