Thanks to all the wonderful families who ordered Christmas cards in the past few weeks. It’s just about time to stop taking orders for these as it is only 39 sleeps to christmas (if the sign at the supermarket this morning is correct)! I will still take one or two last minute orders for the pre-made Christmas cards this week, but you will need to email me asap and you will need to have your photos ready to go, otherwise you will miss out.

In other design news… I am working hard on a bunch of digi scrap goodies to go into my ’stocking stuffer’ - a christmas grab bag that will go up in the store at PBP at the start of December. Eeek! I only have a couple of weeks left! I need to stop  blogging and start designing!

I did manage to sneak this into the shop at PBP today though…

It’s only AUD $2.50 - which is less than $2 US at the moment… so go grab a bargain!

There are six designs to choose from.  When you order just let me know which design you’d like, send in your photos and I’ll send you back your own custom designed card.   I will do some basic customisation of these cards (adding/changing text, photo corrections and manipulations, some basic colour matching of elements and design) to make these cards really fit your photos and personality.

These are all ‘print your own’ cards, so what you’ll get is a digital image file (jpeg or flattened psd whichever you prefer) which you can either print at home or have printed  professionally. For an extra fee I can animate your cards and make them email-ready so that you could send them all digitally and save on printing costs.

So here are the designs you can choose from

‘Classic‘ - a clean, elegant design.
Good for use with a single portrait image. This design can also be order in a minty green colour way.

‘Modern’ - this is a bold, bright, contemporary design.
This design needs three photos which can be cropped to square. This design can also be ordered in a range of bright Christmas patterns.

‘Whimsy’ - bright fun and funky!
This design works best with a single landscape photograph.

‘Shabby Chic’ - a little bit shabby, but very sophisticated.
This design works best with a single image that can be cropped to almost square. This design can also be ordered with a green base colour.

‘Multi‘ - A clean, sleek design to showcase multiple images.
This design will work with twelve or nine photographs which can be cropped to squares, or two landscape images, or one large portrait photograph.

‘Realistic’ - All the rage at the moment in the digi scrapping world, this design is so real looking you could reach out and touch it. This design works best with a single landscape photograph.

How much does it cost?

All pre-made cards cost $15 - which includes integrating your photographs into the above designs and basic customisation.

If you order your card before the end of October I will discount the price for early birds to $10.

To add basic animation and make the card email-ready, please add an extra $10 to the cost of each card.

The turn around time for these cards is approximately one week, but I only have a limited amount of time so therefore I am offering a limited number of custom slots for these cards, so first in best dressed. Please email me via the contact page and make sure you include your email address, the name of your chosen design and any changes/customisations you’d like for your card. When I receive your order I will email you and let you know where your order is in my timeline and when you can expect to get your card design emailed back to you. We can also discuss any other issues you have and you can then email me your photos.

Payments can be made via direct deposit (Australian Customers only) or I can send you a paypal invoice. Please also read through my faq and make sure you understand all the information and terms of use before you order.

I will also be offering a very limited number of custom slots for one of, totally unique, designed especially for you Christmas cards. You can see some examples of my work from previous years here in my portfolio. The earlier you order these the better, but last orders will be taken for these mid November with an end of November delivery date (depending on printing needs). Standard design fees of $30 per card apply for these orders, plus any printing and shipping if needed.

I will not be taking on any more blog design jobs until the new year. If you have already emailed me about a design for your blog, don’t worry I will still find time to slot you in somewhere, but if you are not already on my list, you’ll have to wait until next year… there simply isn’t enough hours in the day.

Anyway…. just a quick community service announcement to say that I am sponsoring two challenges at PBP at the moment!

For starters I am hosting a Button Challenge - To scrap a lay-out using buttons and prove to the Picklemama (the name we affectionately give the owner of PBP) that buttons are not boring!
You can go grab this freebie right now and join in!

I was also approached by Pat the Pickle, who asked me, ever so nicely, if I’d contribute a freebie for the current pickle jar challenge and I was more than happy to oblige.

You have until October 15th to submit your lay-out and get the above freebie as your reward!

So go get busy!

I spent a bit of time browsing around Corey’s blog, Living and Loving Every Minute of It and ooh there are lots of gorgeous photos there! Go and check it out for lots of photography inspiration!

This calendar by jessgonacha at Etsy is just delicious… the colours are gorgeous and I love the way she has this mini version hanging on the wall.

This calendar wallpaper by Christiaan Postma is just way cool…. not sure where you’d put it, but still really ace!

Now this you just have to have… a bubble wrap calendar… imagine all bubble popping fun. Though I am pretty sure we’d not be able to restrain ourselves to the current day in this house and the whole year would be popped before the end of the first week!

So much calendar goodness and it’s not even the end of the year yet!

For someone like me who has snail’s pace internet this could be VERY cool! I am off to have a play!

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

I got a new fancy CCD scanner the other day and since then I have been walking around looking at everything in a new light. ‘Can I scan it? ‘ is the first thought that pops into my head and with this new scanner nine times out of ten I can!

To begin with, I have mostly been scanning paper… which sounds silly I know. Why do I need a fancy scanner to scan paper? My old scanner just couldn’t focus on anything slightly lumpy or bumpy, but now I can scan paper that is crumpled up, folded, scrunched, bent and otherwise warped and still get a sharp crisp image. It’s making me look at paper in a whole new light!

I think it’s safe to say that I’ve always liked paper. I like the feel of it, the colours it comes in. You can fold it, scrunch it, draw on it, stick to things, cut it, make holes in it. I like it when it is crisp and clean and new but I also like the way it ages and an old old browned up and stained book is truly a thing of beauty.  If I was rich I’d buy lots of paper, coloured paper and reams of pure white card stock, paper with a bit of texture and character, origami paper, a stack of old books… I like paper,  it’s just a good thing.

I also like making digital papers… much more than I like making digital scrapbooking elements (though that is growing of me of recent). So I’ve been working on a few paper based items to go into my shop at PBP in the next week or so, using my lovely new scanner and having a lot of fun!

Am I the only one with a thing for paper?

Here is the first one -

For AUD $4.50 you get ten swirls in both .png and as PS custom shapes so they are easy to scale up and down as needed. I drew all these straight into illustrator so there is no jaggies or messy edges, but they are a little wonky here and there, just to add to their charm!

I don’t require credit when you use these items, but it is appreciated if you have a place and a chance to give it. Please read my  commercial use terms of use statement here.

As I get the time I will be adding some more of my hand drawn doodles into the shop at PBP as commercial use packs. If anyone has any special requests please let me know… If I can draw it I am happy to have a go and whip something up for you.