The only reason I know it’s November is because here in Phoenix the 100 degree weather has finally broken.  And there’s Christmas stuff at Target.  If it weren’t for that, I’d probably still think it was July.  October was a good month for me.  I don’ t think it was that I had some super natural wave of productivity hit me, I think I just had some very concrete goals with some very real deadlines.  But, the feeling of accomplishment is still very rewarding!  Starting today there is a week of giveaways on my blog to celebrate it’s “grand opening”.  This was where a lot of my October time and goals were focused.  I also (FINALLY!) ordered business cards, got some printed materials and a sample book put together for meeting with brides and had the best time in Seattle with my amazing husband and wonderful friends.  The only fail was on getting some more holiday items listed on Etsy so it’s making a reappearance for November.  Other things slated for November: after swearing off doing any craft shows I heard about a really awesome show on the campus of Arizona State University called Indie Chic.  So I applied.  I’m not dying to get accepted, but this is the only local show I feel like is in line with what I create and how I create it, so we’ll see.  If I do get accepted then November is going to become print, fold, & package like crazy month because the show is December 5th.  And if none of that happens I need to get to work on some wedding suite concepts that have been floating around in my head.  Outside of work though, November is definitely my favorite month.  I love fall, I love pumpkin everything, I love Thanksgiving and my anniversary is at the end of the month, so I’m really looking forward to November.

On a side note, I’m reeeeeally excited about all of the giveaways on the blog this week and would love for you to share the excitement with your friends and family.  Please feel free to tweet, blog, FB, whatever you do and let people know there is awesome free stuff to be won!

Happy November!

Well, hello October!  I’d like to say you’re looking all brisk and Autumn like, but here in Phoenix you’re still looking sunny and high 90′s like. Ugh.  September was ca-ra-zeee but I surprisingly managed to stay semi on task with my goals.  The one big thing that really needs to not slip through the cracks again is the business card issue.  The cards I’ve been using are totally not reflective of my new “look” and really need to go.  On the productive side of things, the new blog-site (which you are currently reading this on…unless you’re reading in a reader, in which case you should click out and see the new blog-site!) is 99% done.  The 1% that has yet to be finished is to CELEBRATE!  Which I fully intend on doing the first week of November.  I’m  calling it a “grand opening” even though the blog has been “open” for a while, I just feel like there needs to be some official “Yay we did it” finish line sort of moment.  I’ve been hitting up all my crafty inter-web friends to donate some goodies so I can host a week of awesome giveaways and fun-ness here at Paper Mango and I have got some good goodies for sure! (Side note: If you’re a crafty inter-web person and would like to get in on the giveaway action, send me a little note at melanie@papermangodesign.com.) I did an ok job of getting Holiday photo cards in place. One of which recently got featured by the lovely Cyn from River Dog Prints in a guest post she did at The Social Life of Paper. Thanks a million, Cyn!  I still have a few of those designed that aren’t listed in my store, so that’s why it’s on the list for October.  I did pretty good about staying up with custom order clients in September and have even scheduled two in person meetings for the next coming weeks with a local bride and wedding coordinator.  This is where the printed pricing material and sample book comes in for October’s goals.  This really isn’t so much a goal, but more of a “It MUST be done by X date”.  And to top it all off I will soon be walking around beautiful Seattle and Victoria, BC with my husband.  I’m a little nervous that I won’t be able to stop thinking about work while I’m away, but I desperately need the break and am hoping to find some relaxation and rejuvenation.  And there it is.  I hope all of you wonderful Meet Up folk had a great September and are anticipating all of the good things to come in October.  Can’t wait to read all of your stories about how this past month has been!

Best of luck!

The longer I’m doing this thing called Paper Mango the more I realize flexibility is maybe like theeeeee most important thing for me to have.  Personally and in business things are always changing, circumstances are changing, things that I can not control are changing and so, I must change as well.  Not an easy task for a girl who loves routine.  But I’m learning.  So maybe I didn’t meet all of my goals to a “T” but, man, August was a good month for me.  I had a slew of custom orders come in (and go out!), the icing is just about ready to be put on the cake for the new www.papermangodesign.com, I didn’t design 10 distinct holiday cards, but I changed direction and decided to create holiday suites so I really designed quite a bit more than originally planned.  So my goals were met, just not exactly how I had planned to meet them.  The Winter Art Fair is taking a back seat I’m afraid.  Still haven’t heard any thing from them, and I’ve been getting good response from some online advertising so I think I’m going to put my eggs in that basket for now and move on to the next basket when things are a bit more manageable.  The one thing that was really a bust was the business cards.  I had them designed, then saw this cool idea on the Make It blog and decided that might be a cool way for me to make business cards and recycle paper scraps.  Well, haven’t gotten around to deciding on that one, which is why it’s back on the list for September.  Speaking of September, yay it’s September!  That means here in Phoenix we *might* get out of the triple digits which have been haunting us since May.  So, here’s to 90 degree weather, productivity and flexibility.  Hope your August was stellar and that September is full of new and exciting things for you!

1. Used clear push pins and pinned heavy hemp twine to the wall, stretching as tightly as possible.

2. Started clipping my bits of inspiration on to my new creation with my uber fancy clips!  ;)

Easy peasy, right?  So two questions for you to top off this fun project.  What have you been inspired to do?  And what is your inspirations?  Mine is (from L to R): Past Magazine feat. Passion Pit, Paper Mango Gift Tags, silver & chocolate hand drawn dot invitation layers, citrus green & yellow ribbon with a retro design, a pic of the hubby and I from my brother’s wedding, a fab bedroom project from Ready Made, CD cover, a coaster our friend brought us from Kyrgyzstan and a lovely print from Wolfie + the Sneak.

Happy Crafting!

Well, at least it’s Christmastime here in Paper Mango land.  Keeping in line with my Modish Biz Tip blog goals for this month I’ve been slaving away thinking cold thoughts and creating some fun holiday card designs.  And I’m happy to announce the first of my Holiday Collections is up in the Etsy Store.  (Hey, did you happen to notice that handy dandy “SHOP” link at the top of the page?  That will take you straight to my newest items on Etsy.  Just sayin’.)  I kind of have a thing for watercolors and brush strokes right now (and as always crisp, clean lines) and this collection is where those things intersect with a little holiday cheer.  Available in the collection are a 5×7 card set (nice and big for including the annual family picture or letter), an A-2 note card set (short, sweet and to the point), and  gift tags (self-explanatory).  As always, everything is printed on post-consumer recycled paper.

If you have lots of friends, make sure to take advantage of the free shipping for orders of 3 or more sets, and if you happen to own a brick & mortar and if you happen to want to carry Paper Mango’s holiday cards give me a shout at melanie{at}papermangodesign.com and let’s get together!

Step 1: Divide a package of regular ol’ small binder clips from your favorite office supply store into two equal parts.

Step 2: Find two different colors of spray paint that have been hanging out in your garage for a few months begging to be used and spray away with color number one.

Step 3: After they dry flip and repeat with the same color.

Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 with color number two and viola…

Part one of your hanging inspiration board is done!  Stay tuned next week for Part 2.  Happy crafting!

I thought it’d be fun to show you all what I was up to last month when I wasn’t here behind my computer;  a few pictures from our July full of reeeeeally long road trips.  First up was Oklahoma which was full of family, country music, lots of silence and space, beautiful sunsets and guns.  I’m such a little pacifist that is the first time I’d ever shot a rifle.  And of course I managed to break the gun so it was my last as well.  Next up was a fun but whirlwind weekend in Vegas.  And what is Vegas with out spending 45 minutes watching the Bellagio fountains in awe.  Seriously, those things are amazing.  Add a little Sinatra and they’re simply hypnotizing.

And last, but absolutely not least, was a trip to Dallas for my baby brother’s wedding.  Both Ryan and I were in the wedding and I got far too few shots of us all cleaned up and dressed up in our finest.  We had the best time partying with our family and new friends and sent Matt & Mya off on to the journey of marriage in style.  Stay tuned for a post featuring all of their gorgeous wedding stationery created by yours truely in the near future.  I hope you’ve all had as fun and memorable trips this summer as we did!

My descision about holiday season advertising is…I’m hopeing to be a part of the Mesa Arts Center Holiday Art & Music Festival. I’m really feeling the need to connect with people face to face and this will be a great chance to do that. I’ve already got a friend from my Etsy Street Team that’s wanting to share a booth with me. My only fear is that they won’t approve me because I’m not “artsy” enough. If it doesn’t work out I will turn my attention and resources online, but I thought I’d like to give this a shot.

So, things that need to happen for August (besides not dying in the heat), I’m really narrowing my focus in on Holiday Season 2009. I need to seriously get some Holiday card designs under my belt. And if I DO get accepted to the art fair I’ll need to start printing some inventory. The other big priority is getting the new blog live, since it’s FINALLY finished and I need to redesign my biz cards to be cohesive with the new look.

Oh, and the other thing to do in August? Buy Imogen Heap‘s new album releasing on the 25th! (I know I mention her in like EVERY post, but she’s my music hero and I’m SOO excited for the new tunes!)

Good luck to all the other Modish Monthly Meet-up pals out there. Keep calm and carry on!

Have you told your BFF how much they mean to you recently? Best friends tend to (unintentionally) get taken for granted. Take a quick minute to write your BFF a note telling them just how thankful you are to have them around and how you absolutely could not live with out their fashion advice.

Happy Writing!

Happy Writing!