Monthly Archives: July 2008

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Nothing Goes as Planned…

July 19, 2008 – 6:49 am

Sigh - Ping FM isn’t pinging to anything for me but Twitter and I really wanted it to update Facebook too. iFlickr isn’t loading to Flickr from my phone. So, it isn’t going as I planned. Plus, connecting to the EDGE network in that honkin’ huge convention center isn’t too successful either. Oh well, I’m “trying”! When I can update that is.

It was a very successful first day - and tiring! We’re all beat. And we have another 9-5 day today. EEK! It’s been raining here too. Last summer, we had gorgeous weather.

So, I’m trying to get moving this morning to stand in the booth and greet and help with sales. It’s pretty hot in our location - the air isn’t cooling at all…I’d give anything for it to be cold like in other parts of the convention center. I think that’s what I dred the most. I can’t stand being hot. However, it’s so much nicer now that our booth is twice as big. Makes it not feel as crowded.

We had a nice dinner with Amy Kant, Robin Cabana, Melinda Staley, Tammy Tutterow, Tammy’s daughter and my mom. Food is pricey here in this area. I think we’re all ready for some Panda Express! HA HA (right Anna?)

Alright - must go…I’ve been taking lots of photos of the booth, but haven’t done very well with people stuff. Go to the Pink Paislee blog to check out the video footage from yesterday.

By Holly | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments (2)

One more sleep…

July 16, 2008 – 9:43 am

Till we have to get up and head up to Chicago (a.k.a. Rosemont Donald E. Stephens Convention Center). I’ve managed to get the dogs bathed today so Jake and Andrea won’t have smelly pups on their hands. The way they have been sleeping so close to me lately will be interesting where they sleep while I’m away.

Last night, I hit up the mall to pick up some B.E. supplies. Yes, it is my makeup of choice. And, if I had my own real photography studio, it would be decorated like that store with warm pink walls, dark wood and gorgeous chandeliers. You know it!

Last summer at the CHA show, was when the possibilities of Pink Paislee really began. Well, at least my part in it all. I had designed a few things for Bo Bunny - you might remember these:

It was an honor, but my part in Bo Bunny really was to just design some things and have them buy them from me. It was nice to see these in person because it really was a fun accomplishment for me. No, my name was never on them, I probably never got the recognition, but I knew in my heart of hearts I had done something I had set out to do. It all led me to working with Pink Paislee.

During that time, I turned my illustrations into stamp designs for Pink Sugar Pop. A stamp company I developed with my mom:

When talking with Rebecca, it was best to incorporate my already designed stamps into the Pink Paislee world. I was pretty much just doing retail-direct to customers with my company and now I would have an outlet to reach more people. Awesome!

It’s been very hard work getting to this point. And these big shows are where the magic really happens! Seeing the faces and responses. Sure, there are some negatives that come out of it, but I think about the amazingly wonderful variety of products available to the craft market and think, “THANK GOD!” Now, everyone has something they love! And yes, I do buy other stuff besides my own! LOL Some of my favorites that I can’t wait to see at this show are Cosmo Cricket, Sassafras Lass, Making Memories and Maya Road. Love them all!

See you from the show! Remember, I’ll blog once a day, as well as I plan on pinging the social networking sites: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and will do iFlickr and post to my Flickr account. So, be sure to link up so you can stay on top of what’s going on at the show! It starts Friday, but I’ll be sure to update you tomorrow when I get there!

By Holly | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments (6)

My New Kicks

July 15, 2008 – 2:23 pm

This year, for the CHA show, I designed our t-shirts that we’re wearing as part of our staff uniform for our booth. Cute huh? The url goes on the back. If you’re looking for awesome screenprinting, contact my brother, www.jacobmccaig.com as he did the printing. SWEET! They are on chocolate colored long-sleeve t-shirts. This is really style that I love…fresh and vintage/classic looking!

And, I had to find some new kicks that matched (we’re wearing jeans too) and nabbed these at DSW today:

Yep, they are chocolate with pink…too perfect for me! Love! And, to show you a few more projects I from the amazing design team:

Linda made these pumpkins!!!!! These use my favorite collection I designed, Vintage Moon. ;) Not your typical Halloween - but has fall thrown in there too. Sweet!

Katie is the queen of mini books! More pop fashion! So glad that Katie used it in a non-fashion sense…shows a little more versatility! And, we’re so lucky to be next to Clear Scraps at the show! They donated along with Maya Road and Thermo-Web to our team!

And, Nicole’s dressform makes me swoon. I have been collecting dressforms and have three here in the new studio/office!

Today I ran around getting oil change, bank, walmart, my shoes…tonight we go to the mall to pick up some B.E. and dinner. I need to clean out the Jeep tomorrow and gas her up. Plan out where we’re meeting Tammy & Anna on the Illinois side of the river so we can follow each other up.

Hope you’re having a great day!

By Holly | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments (5)

Lovin!!! Pink Paislee Goodness

July 14, 2008 – 5:49 pm

You know, when I design the products for Pink Paislee, my mind is always wrapped up in coming up with something useful, universal, and yet fun and different. It’s not until I see what people create with it that I truly feel satisfied. Beyond thrilled:

Tammy has always had my heart when it comes to making things I just can’t envision. She can pick up scrapped up clearance items at Hobby Lobby and make things like this. Unbelievable!

Dani - oh this girl is the card queen - and now she makes this? Swooning!

Mara-May used my favorite of the two collections, Vintage Moon. I haven’t seen nearly enough done with this collection in my opinion…cuz, well, I want to see it A LOT! LOL So, be sure when you get it that you share. You know, Halloween is my favorite holiday of all time, right?

Anyway, it’s just fun to start seeing these projects show up in my Google Reader. I haven’t opened my Net Newsgator in weeks and decided to just forget about it and start fresh with Google Reader. I can see these on my iPhone now and that works best for me!

By Holly | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments (1)

Creating

July 14, 2008 – 9:21 am

My hands have paint all over them, and not from painting rooms! Nope, not this time! Okay, I lied…I did shower and get the paint off, but metaphorically speaking…my hands show signs of painting. Errr, something like that!

These will go up on ETSY for sure! Anyhoo - I am not done with these, and need to do finishing touches, including something I have an idea to do - so here are some sneak peeks:

I have three hobbies I love to do, but have to do them in spurts. Like, I love making jewelry/beads. Though I’m NO WHERE near advanced in that. So, it’s all basic stuff. Then, I have to switch over to this painting stuff. Which is sorta a new thing for me. And, now, I’m getting the itch to do some paper scrapbooking/altered arts goodies. I’ll cycle back around again.

I’d love to try other things, but I can’t afford to bring on anything else! LOL I have soldering supplies and completely SUCK at it. Though, I’m taking some with me to Chicago to watch Amy do it and maybe learn a little. I’d love to solder more of my jewelry and art.

The other thing I want to do is learn how to photograph the paintings so I can make prints from them.

Speaking of Amy!!!! Girlfriend wrote up my professional bio for me! YAY. I’ve been trying to get it done for over a year now. I cannot write to save my life and even thought I had a few people lined up to help with it and they sorta blew me off so I just never did it. When I mentioned it to my group of friends, she spoke up and well, I LOVE IT! I’ve got to put it online soon. If you’re interested in writing services, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with Amy! If you’re looking for a professional bio, she’s your girl!

CHA is in just a few days and today I’m doing tons of laundry and putting my lists together in preparation for our trip. I have so many plans to see so many friends while there. I get to see Robin again this year, and finally meet up with Amy in person. I get to see Kerry again and hopefully get a cocktail with her. DeAnn messaged me last night asking if she’d see me so of course girl! And, Tammy is bringing her daughter, Anna with her. YAY! (Missouri will totally be in da house with me, my mom, Tammy, Anna, Rebecca and Barry - as well as our make and take person, Jill).

My mom is coming with me to the show and will be working our booth for Pink Paislee. This makes me so happy. I finally, REALLY get to share the whole picture with her. She sees my designs before the world sees them. She hears my excitement, my frustration, my nervousness…the whole ball of inspiration and process. Which is why I’m thrilled that part of her is in our Sweet Cakes collection.

I was surprised to see that Rebecca revealed this collection early on the blog yesterday. I wasn’t aware it would be revealed and I like to share with you too when that happens in case you aren’t a scrapper, but read my blog (I think I probably have more non-scrappers reading anyway! LOL). The two collections for Christmas and Valentine’s are shown (in smaller parts) on the blog - and this collection, Sweet Cakes is my favorite probably because of my mom’s handwritten recipies peeking through.

I believe you can start ordering the two collections in September. Ack, I’m not sure! LOL  To see the previews that were posted, click here to go to the Pink Paislee blog.

Well, I have a lot to do, and another cup of coffee to drink. I will chat with ya later!

By Holly | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments (8)