So here we have yet another lucky winner!  This is for Lynne T. , Congrats Lynne! This is the stamp I wanted to keep for myself being that my first name starts with a ‘T’,  but unfortunately I can’t claim the date for anything, boo!  Coincidentally she placed an order last night so I can slip this into her parcel, which makes me extra happy.  I love when things are efficient, I try to be but I am notorious for making the easiest things super complicated, it’s my gift.  As always, if you didn’t win but would like one of the beauties for yourself, please use the coupon code SS10 at checkout to receive 50% off of this design. Code will be valid until 8.13.12.

On this Monday morn, I have many questions for you. I am wondering if you dear, smart + pretty person can let me know of some great sites to share my shop with?  I feel so completely lost in the sea of blogs now.  It used to be only a handful and now I could never read everyone’s blog (although sometimes I do try).  A lot of my friends that used to read blogs religiously have gone cold turkey citing time as an issue, so then how do you get your fix?  I don’t do Facebook, I tried several times to get into it, but that seems like way too much time and at least with blogs I feel like I can learn something, with Facebook I feel like I am wasting time.  I hate wasting time (seriously contradictory coming from a world class procrastinator). Twitter + Instagram I usually only visit there when I am out and about (almost never); when I am sitting in front of my computer I feel like I don’t really have anything stimulating to to add to the conversation–‘So, I was thinking this may be a two coffee cup day…’, you see? Not so interesting.  So if you would be so kind I would love links to some potential blogs or sites that I can contact and let them know that the shop exists thus keeping me from having to shutter my shop doors and get a job selling Encyclopedia’s door-to-door.  I have been very fortunate that this little blog has had some reach, (some is stretching it) but I know I need to get out of my comfort zone and perhaps knock on some blog doors and be all, ‘uhm, hello, uhm, my name is Miss B. and, uh, uhm, I make really cute things…’ You see where that can get uncomfortable?  I have been avoiding it, but it’s time to and I need your help, because I honestly don’t even know where to start with these blogs, it’s all so overwhelming! Many thanks in advance, you all are always so helpful and it is always appreciated!

I am not exaggerating when I say that I have boxes upon boxes of new inventory that I am unpacking.  I have wanted to add a storage element for the stamps to the shop for awhile. I have personally been using these wood ‘printers tray inspired’ ones in the studio but I could not get the cost feasible to re-sell unless I ordered so many that I would not have room to move in my studio, so I did! I just love them, they look great, have a slim profile so they don’t take up a ton of space, stack well and they are super practical.  Of course don’t need to use them for the stamps you could put other office accoutrements in them or use them as bead/jewelry storage, etc.  I want to stain some, I haven’t tried yet, it is on my super long to-do list.  They have an optional plexi-glass slide top which you can choose to use or not.  I think it’s a nice touch to keep dust + dirt away from the stamps as you really want to keep them away from rogue particles so they continue to print crisply for many moons. I hope you like the new offering!  You can get yours here.

I hope you don’t mind me indulging in a little ‘show & tell’ as I unpack what feels like hundreds of boxes of inventory.  I would be overwhelmed but I am way too excited to see how everything turned out.  These new kraft round boxes are a wee bit bigger than the favor boxes but they hold a surprisingly large amount of items for their size.  All these kraft rounds are extra sturdy so they take paint really well; so go ahead and bust out the acrylics, or spray paint them, even decoupage them they are ready for whatever craftiness you have in store.  The best part is you can dress these up or down. Use a double-sided satin ribbon (my choice is jet black) for contrast or some Parcel twine to keep it clean, simple + rustic. Use them for your bridal party gifts, packaging your handmade jewelry, gifting Grandma’s excellent brownies, or even to organize your work area, really the options are endless! And yes, I will be adding an even larger size soon!

I can not believe it’s Friday, this week just flew by for me!  I have just received an enormous inventory haul at the studio and have been unpacking, styling + photographing items like a mad person, trying to write descriptions and get everything uploaded–I need to clone myself!  I don’t have big plans for the weekend only to be able to show off new wares here next week (I know I am totally wild, right?).  I will announce another custom stamp winner on Monday and she sure is lucky that the dates are wrong for me because the stamp turned out so cute and I really wanted to keep it for myself!  I have the ‘centering your stamp’ tutorial shot now I just need to find a free sec to edit it, hopefully I can post that for you by Tuesday of next week.  Have I mentioned that the Besotted Brand mailing list is privy to special discounts and gets to preview new items before they launch in the shop. That’s correct! Last month all BB list subscribers got a 50% discount for a one full week,  on everything in the shop!  Plus those on the list got some of the new stationery in their orders, always a little something ‘extra’ be it a small token or upgraded shipping.  If you love fine design (and I know you do), then I highly recommend you sign-up today to be in the loop for the next secret discount code reveal . Don’t worry, emails only go out about once a month (if I remember) and they are always worth the extra (minute) space they will take up in your inbox!

For the product photography tip–If you noticed on this image my white was a little blue, that’s because I was wearing navy; I usually wear white when I shoot my products so my clothes don’t add a color cast to the image.  I don’t think it matters much in other types of photography, but product photography on a white background is very susceptible to rogue color casts from the clothes you don. It’s a little tip that I think makes a world of difference, so put on that white t-shirt and get to shooting!

Happy Weekend to you!

Finally!  It has been such a long time coming that these two items are back in the shop.  Our beeswax linen twine is made by hand so it is always a surprise when I can get some from our supplier, that is the way of the artisan. If you haven’t worked with it before it’s an interesting texture where it adheres to itself because of the wax, but is not sticky, it’s great when tying bows, no need to borrow an extra finger to help with wrapping. It is often used in bookbinding which reminds me I should really do a little booklet tutorial one day so you can make some for friends or quick ‘notes to self’ (they are quite addicting). The tags + twine set comes in the cutest round box, it’s not as small as our favor boxes so it will hold your tags and twine in one convenient storage compartment! Yes, today is a happy day.