design challenge. pink notes.

I can't believe this month is already almost over and that means this is the last entry to this month's design challenge. pink notes.

Like all the rest it is a folded 4.25" x 5.5" notecard. It features tumbled pink ribbons around a large ribbon. You can purchase 10 for $15.00. All proceeds will be donated to Pink Initiative.



An extra tidbit: This is my 100th blog post! I can't believe it. Looking forward to the next 100!

Christmas List

Have you been naughty or nice this year? Either way it's time to make your Christmas List so Santa can check it twice. Why not do it in style. Order these Personalized Christmas Lists to get your little ones in the spirit (or you.)

And yes my mom still asks me for my Christmas List. Never too old. :) I used the Polka Dot Snowflake design. Which will you use?

The list are delivered by email in a .jpg file for $3.00. You can print and get to making that list right away. Order at my Etsy shop or email me.




I'm also working on adding lots of things to my Etsy Shop so keep checking back.

Notecard Winner!

Well it looks like someone did some serious campaigning to win the UPrinting notecards. Congratulations to Lela with 89% of the votes!

Lela said...

Good morning.One thing I was thinking I could use postcards for was for GIFT CERTIFICATES. Someone recently asked me if I offered them for a photography session and at the time, I had not even thought of doing that. I recently have created a few (post card size) but with a regular home printer.How wonderful they would look to have them printed professionally with a nice gloss to them........

I'm so excited for you Lela, I'll be emailing you with the details.

blabs.

It is no secret that I love handbags and it is no secret that I love the beach. So it should be no surprise to you that I fell completely head over heels in love with Seabags. These bags are absolutely great. They use recycled sails and turn them into lovely eco friendly designs that look great on your shoulder. Starting at $95.00 for a small handbag, this will def be on my Christmas list. ::cough, cough:: Mom ::cough, cough::


Just look at it. Must. Have.

Ok, enough gushing. I have to give a shout out to my bestie, Ashley. She will be celebrating her 26th birthday tomorrow. And in good taste too. Cheesecake Factory here we come. mmmm.

17 days till we set sail to the Bahamas! This weekends goal: To find a dress for the Captain's dinner. Oh my how that Seabag would be perfect for the cruise! Don't know if I can wait till Christmas. ::sigh::

Have a good weekend!

Let the Polls Begin

We have three lucky readers to choose from to win the postcards from UPrinting.com.

The prize is 100 4 x 6 Postcards! The beauties are 14 pt cardstock gloss and can be printed in full color on both sides.



For the poll, pick your favorite entry. The one with the most votes will take home the prize. Poll ends on Monday October 26, 2009. Liz, Lela, Ash...call your grandma is St. Louis and have all her bingo buddies vote for you!

Liz B. said...
Postcards are awesome too! I wouldn't likely use the cards this way, but I would recommend anyone getting married use postcards for their RSVPs. Tradition dictates that you put postage on the RSVP for your wedding guests, and a postcard mails a lot cheaper than an envelope! I did this for my wedding and it was very well received. 16 cents might not seem like much savings, but that's 16 dollars you save for every 100 invites. It also means that your invitation is less likely to cost extra to mail (if your RSVP is a card and envelope) because of weight (so potentially another 20 cents savings per!)
I would, however, probably use the cards to promote my sewing business; a postcard would be great because I could include images of my work on one side and a price list for sewing services on the back.
Thanks for the chance!

Lela said...
Good morning.

One thing I was thinking I could use postcards for was for GIFT CERTIFICATES. Someone recently asked me if I offered them for a photography session and at the time, I had not even thought of doing that. I recently have created a few (post card size) but with a regular home printer.

How wonderful they would look to have them printed professionally with a nice gloss to them........

~Ash~ said...
I want them for our family Holiday pics! That would be so much easier than trying to package all the pics and send them out! Good luck to me! Haha!



Happy voting!

design challenge. pink notes.

I've had a sort of retro inspiration this week for the pink notes. design challenge. Like the previous notecards these are 4.25" x 5.5" folded. You can purchase a pack of 10 for $15.00. All proceeds will go to Pink Initiative.

What is branding?

Technical answer: According to the American Marketing Association branding is " a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary."

My answer: Branding is you. It is how you want you and your business to be perceived. It displays emotion and creates personality which engages people. A brand consists of an image, a message and a promise.

A brands image is the first thing a client will see. It will tell the client about your business? Are you young and hip? Traditional? Your brand should coincide with that. Ways to do this is through logos, color palettes and design techniques.

A brand should have a message. What do you want to tell potential clients? Your message should be consistent throughout your advertising and customer interactions.

A promise: Without it a brand is nothing. What does your company stand for? Is it superior customer service or exceptional quality? Your brand needs to reflect this and your customers need to be able to count on a consistent experience.

With these aspects put together correctly, a company can have a successful brand. As for building a brand...you need to be consistent, persistent and patient. And remember it all about you.

Free Postcards are Awesome!

Are you tired of giveaways yet? No. I didn't think so.

I have recently picked up a sponsorship from UPrinting.com and it is my pleasure to announce to you my first giveaway with them.

The prize is 100 4 x 6 Postcards! The beauties are 14 pt cardstock gloss and can be printed in full color on both sides.



For this giveaway I want to mix things up a little and try something different.

There will be two parts to the giveaway...

For the first part, leave a comment on this post explaining what you would use these postcards for. Get creative folks. Think outside of the box...greeting cards, invitations, thank you cards, save the dates...The options are limitless!

You have until Wednesday October 21st post your comment.

On Thursday I will choose the FIVE best (in my opinion) uses for the postcards and then open a poll. Have all your friends, family and that guy on the street vote for your comment. The reader with the most votes will be the lucky winner!

The poll will close on Monday October 26th.

And because UPinting.com is awesome they are giving me 100 postcards for hosting this giveaway. I'm going to use my postcards for this weeks entry to the design challenge. pink notes. All proceeds will go to Pink Initiative.

Oh and an added bonus to this giveaway is that the shipping is free. What is not to love?

blabs.

It's been a happy week. My mom went on vacation to Pennsylvania so I have been house sitting. It has been nice. Just me and my girl Roxy. Which, by the way, it was Roxy's second birthday yesterday. I treated her to some doggy friendly ice cream. She enjoyed every bit of it.



Speaking of vacations. I am counting down the days till mine. 24 days till I can say Bon Voyage! Bahamas here I come!

Business wise, I finished up a logo design and business cards that I will be revealing soon. I've also been working on all the giveaway prizes. They are turning out oh so lovely. And I love seeing my designs in print. It make everything look so much better.

Earlier this week I came across the most amazing photographer. Clark Little. I am just absolutely blow away by his images. Stunning. I just can't get enough.



Not a whole lot planned for this weekend and I am completely happy with that. Gonna catch the Gator game and go to the Callahan Fair, that's about it. Maybe I can cash in on that rain check that I promised the couch last weekend. That would be nice. You know, because the couch misses me.

Wedding Invitation Design Winner Announced

Well, there is no use for random.org on this giveaway seeing how there was only one entry.

So the winner of the Custom Wedding Invitation Design goes to...

Jacklyn who said...

What a wonderful idea! This has been one of the most difficult decisions for us to make because they all seem to look alike and blend in. To win this would be awesome and ease our minds! Thanks Amanda!

Jacklyn I am so happy to be giving this to you. You and Rodney deserve the very best. Email me with the juicy details and I will get started. amanda{at}anoccasionaldesign{dot}com

Stay tuned next week for another awesome giveaway sponsored by UPrinting.

UPrinting Giveaway

Wanted to tell ya'll about this awesome giveaway that UPrinting is having on their blog. You could win 250 business cards! So head on over to UPrinting's blog and enter up to 3 times!

I'm gonna add a bonus to this giveaway... If you tell UPrinting that you would use the free business cards to print a design from An Occasional Design I will you give you 20% off that design! How could you beat that! Free printing and a discounted design. Sign me up! Well, sign yourself up here. Don't forget to leave a comment on this post that you entered.

Giveaway Prize from UPrinting:

250 business cards each for 4 lucky winners (Free UPS Ground Shipping in USA)Sizes: 2 x 3.5”, 2 x 3”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.5 x 3.5” (skinny card)Paper: 14 pt gloss card stock, 14 pt matte card stock or 13 pt recycled uncoated card stockSpecifications: Full Color Both Sides; Offset Press; 3 Business Day Printing

Attention Tweeters!

I want to know...What's all the Tweeting about? I'm doing research for my Research Methods class. I would really appreciate if you would take my survey!

Click Here to take survey

design challenge. pink notes.

This week I have came up with a very cute and modern notecard for the pink notes line. Like the others it is a folder 4.25" x 5.5" notecard. They can be ordered in packs of 10 for $15.00. All proceeds go to Pink Initiative. Email me with your orders. amanda{at}anoccasionaldesign{dot]com.

Guest Bloggers Needed!

I would really like to integrate my blog with other design professionals. If you are interested in being a guest blogger please email me at amanda{at}anoccasionaldesign.com with your ideas and/or articles. I'm looking for anyone from wedding professionals to marketing specialists.

Logo Design Winner Announced

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I know I did, even though my date with couch was cancelled. Busy, busy, busy.

Let's start this week out right with a winner of a brand new logo design worth $50.00!

Drum roll please....

Random Integer Generator via random.org

Here are your random numbers:

2

Timestamp: 2009-10-12 13:38:28 UTC

Comment 2 was Liz B. She said, "This is so cool! I am hoping to get started selling my sewing creations (gifts, garments, and accessories made from scraps, leftover fabrics, and upcycled thrift store linens) online and at local craft fairs. I already have a design in mind; I have a vintage tablecloth in the colors and aesthetic I want! It would be so neat to have an original design :) You do great work, thanks for the chance at winning this great giveaway!"

Liz, I can't wait to here what you have in mind. Email me at amanda{at}anoccasionaldesign{dot}com and we will get your logo on it's way to the craft fairs!

There is one more giveaway that will be lasting all week long. Check it out here. The winner will be announced Friday October 16th!

blabs.

blabs. A little me time. A little release in this hectic world. A little way for me to come back to reality. Some days I may have a million things to say and some days I might be speechless.

This week has been a whirlwind of emotions for me. The relief of the launch of my website. The excitement of meeting such wonderful people on my blog. {Thanks dearly for leaving comments. They all made me smile.} The exhaustion of juggling two jobs and school. The fear of failure and the pure happiness I felt going through it all. I realized this week that this is my calling in life, at least for now. And with that realization I am going full force and not stopping. I WILL succeed.

This weekend I will be helping my "bestie" with her son's birthday party. Shane just turned one and he is such a little cutie. A handful but a cutie. Ashley has been making awesome decorations for what seems like forever now. Last weekend was her step daughters thirteenth birthday party and she also did the most amazing pink, yellow and zebra decorations ever! As fun as parties are I will sure be glad when I can do a little relaxing. Maybe Sunday...Maybe.

I hope everyone has a good weekend and thank you so much for making this week special. Keep watching out for new things to come and don't forget about the two giveaways that are still going on.

site launch. day 5.

Oh the insanity! This week has been absolutely crazy. But in a good way. I am so thankful for all the wonderful readers I have for participating in the giveaways. To the winners- I really hope you enjoy your prizes. And we are not through yet. I still have one more giveaway to go. Are you ready for it?

Wait for it, wait for it...

Custom Wedding Invitation Design!

That's right people leave a comment on what you want to see on your wedding invitation and you could win! Not getting married? Make sure you tell everyone you know that is about this post. Or maybe you can enter for them and surprise them. Wedding invitations can be very costly and I would like to help take some of that burden away for one lucky reader. The design is worth $100! This giveaway will be open for one whole week! Yep, that's right. I want to make sure everyone gets their chance.

Here's one of my current designs I call "How Devine."

Don't forget the logo design giveaway is still open until Monday. And if you haven't looked at my new website, shame on you! Just kidding, but you can do so here.

We have another winner!

It's time for another winner!

The winner of the Graphic Poster goes to...

Random Integer Generator from random.org
Here are your random numbers:

3

Timestamp: 2009-10-09 13:00:47 UTC


That would be Cassandra M! Cassandra said...

"I would choose the last one and cross out the NOT with a really BIG RED marker. Then I could use it on a fun engagement shoot..."he loves me"... :)) I don't know. My mind is not that creative today. LOL. GREAT giveaway though girl."

I LOVE this idea Cassandra. I can't wait to see it in action. Email me your shipping info and I'll get it right out to you. amanda{at}anoccasionaldesign{dot}com.

There's still time to win the logo design giveaway worth $50! And there is one more giveaway this week that is HUGE!

design challenge. pink notes.

Because I got started a little late with this month's design challenge I'm bringing you another design.





This notecard is 4.25" x 5.5" You can personalize them with your favorite quote. (This is my fave!) I think this quote is fitting for this challenge because we are having fun while benefiting a cause that seems impossible at a first glance. However, if we all come together to join the efforts of awareness and research we can overcome the impossible.

Purchase these notecards and ALL proceeds will go to Pink Initiative. Pack of 10 is $15.00.

Don't forget that I will donote 10% of every order with the color pink in it too.

Email me for orders. amanda{at}anoccasionaldesign{dot}com.

site launch. day 4.

I hope ya'll have been enjoying all the fun giveaways this week. I sure have. So far Tiffanie won custome notecards and Shelly won an Inspiration Book.

Now for today's giveaway. Are you ready for this...

Logo Design!

The logo design is worth $50 and consists of 1 concept and 1 revision!

This is your chance to start your business branding for free. Don't have a business? Personal branding has become all the rage. You can use your logo to show of your style with notecards, personal letterheads and why not put a logo on your resume to make yourself stand out against the masses.

Leave me a comment on what you need a logo for. Winners will be chosen at random on Monday October 12th! Yep, I'm giving you all weekend to enter. Good luck!

You can check out a few logo designs here.

Throw those Post It notes away Shelly!

Thank you all so much for entering the Inspiration Book Giveaway. I enjoyed reading through your comments. Ya'll have some great ideas for using it.

The lucky winner is...

Here are your random numbers from random.org:

7

Timestamp: 2009-10-08 12:42:25 UTC

Shelly Keefe! Congratulations Shelly. Please email me and we will get your design started. amanda{at}anoccasionaldesign{dot}com

Another giveaway is coming right up. In the meantime you can still enter the Poster Giveaway. The winner will be announced tomorrow so hurry on over.

design challenge.

Every month I will be hosting a design challenge. These challenges will be exciting and push me to my creative limits. Each week I will come up with a design that is fitting for the challenge and post it here on the blog. There may even be more than one design a week. Depends on how inspired I am. At the moment I have ideas oozing out of my pours so your definetly in for a treat!
I am uber excited about this month's design challenge. It not only involves pink (my second favorite color) but it is for an excellent cause.

In honor of Breat Cancer Awareness Month I am proud to present...


For the challenge I will design note cards inspired by the color pink. There will be at least one note card a week. You can purchase these notecards for $15.00 for a pack of 10. All proceeds will go to Pink Initiative to help find a cure for Breast Cancer.

The best thing is that this challenge will never end. I will donate all proceeds from this challenge to breast cancer day in and day out...until a cure is found!

And I have one more deal for you... 10% of the proceeds for ANY order with the color pink in it will be donated to Pink Initiative. Isn't that exciting?!

Now let me tell you a little about Pink Initiative... This non-profit organization is a collection of wedding professionals and private donors dedicated to funding awareness, outreach, education and research for breast cancer. Please check out their website and see all the wonderful things the wedding industry is doing for this cause. It is truly heart warming.

And now for the very first design in my very first design challenge.




These folded notecards are 4.25" x 5.5". Don't you just love the textured pink and black argyle? I know I do.

site launch. day 3.

Your going to love today's giveaway. I know I'm excited about it!

Drum roll please.....

GRAPHIC POSTER!!!

These posters are 11" x 14" and are a $15.00 value!

Leave a comment on this blog telling which Poster Design you love the best and where you would put it and you can win that design!

Here are your choices...


This one can be customized with your favorite word and initial!





The Inspiration Book Giveaway is still open too!

Notecard winner!

It's time to announce the winner of the first giveaway. Custom designed note cards.

And the winner is....

Random Integer Generator from Random.org

Here are your random numbers:

2

Timestamp: 2009-10-07 12:45:27 UTC

Congratulations Tiffanie! Email me and we will get started on your design. amanda{@}anoccasionaldesign{dot}com

You still have a chance to win an Inspiration Book here until midnight tonight.

Stay tuned for todays giveaway and my very first design challenge. You won't want to miss it!

I {heart} David Jay

He's the man behind Showit. I wouldn't have an awesome new website if it weren't for his creative genius. Showit is designed for photographers, but you can completely customize everything to your needs. After all the purpose of my website is the same as a photographers...showing off those ever so great talents. :)

Showit is a flash site that offers drag and drop features that make things a breeze...even the not so tech savvy. The best part is that there is a free version of the software. And if you want to take full advantage with a little more storage, more pages, custom URL, and full access to all of the features like SEO, widgets and Club Showit it doesn't break the wallet either. You can also find a promo code that will reduce the price for the first year.

No, David didn't pay me to rave about him...I am just ever so grateful for this product, so I had give a shout out. If you don't believe me how great it is, you can check it out for yourself here. And of course you can see what I did with it here.

site launch. day 2.

Yesterday was more than exciting with the launch of my site. If you haven’t had a chance to look, here’s your chance.

www.anoccasionaldesign.com

You still have a chance to win some awesome custom designed notecards, but here’s another giveaway you don’t want to miss.

Enter to win a custom designed Inspiration Book. ($20 value)

These books can be used for anything. Recipes, Journal, Inspirations. No more post it notes needed. Write everything down in one place.

What will you use yours for? Let me know in a comment and you will be entered to win. Winners will be announced on Thursday October 7^th via random.org.

And we're off...

I am pleased to announce the official launch of my website. Yay!

Take a look now!

www.anoccasionaldesign.com

I am super excited about what is to come with this launch. All week long on the blog there will be exciting giveaways. You won’t want to miss out. There will also be new features on the blog. design challenges. and blabs. will be weakly posts. I can’t wait to share all the new products with you.

Let’s get this baby going full force with the first giveaway.

A pack of 10 custom designed note cards. ($15 value)

Here’s a sample.



Entering is super easy. Follow me on this blog and enter a comment on this post. Let me know what you would use your note cards for if you win. Winners will be chosen at random, using random.org. But hurry you have until midnight Tuesday October 6th to enter.
Don’t forget to add me to your reader so you won’t miss out on all the fabulous things going on at An Occasional Design.