I'm going to start with a little story. I do not have a scanner, so my MIL takes my hand drawn patterns to work and scans them in for me. When I needed my monster pattern scanned, I called her up and took the pattern and the kids for a visit. She asked me to bring some of the toys I had made for my kids to show off to her co-workers. I came in with a bag full of crocheted and sewn toys, including my two sock cows pictured in the tutorial.
They asked me if I sold the toys I made. I said I hadn't before, but I wasn't opposed to it. They asked a price, and I picked one; and the next thing I knew, the two cows had been sold and I had money in my hands...
wha? I . . .? I didn't mean those cows. . . I thought you talking theoretically. . .um, okay! I guess I can always make more. . .
It was then that I decided I would start to make a few things and sell them. And that's when I decided to open my Lively Designs shop!
I knew that I wanted labels, but after checking the prices of having woven professional ones made (in the hundreds for a minimum order); I sought an alternative. I settled on having stamps made up for me to make my own labels.
I checked etsy.com and found a great price for a custom stamp from Just Off Normal and within a week of order this showed up:
I was way too excited to open it to remember to take a picture of the cute wrapping, "brown paper packaging, tied up with string" and a cute wooden key.
Working with Sarah was awesome. I knew I liked my logo I had designed for the shop and she was able to work it right in. The price of the large stamp included a graphic. I wasn't sure what I wanted and she suggested the cute little monster because the first thing (and only thing right now) in my shop is my Silly Monster Pattern. I love it! It will forever be a reminder of where I started.
The large stamp is about 2" x 3" and the small stamp is 1.75" x 0.75".
I took my stamps to Robert's and asked the woman there what ink I should get if I wanted to stamp on fabric. Without hesitation, she recommended StazOn. So I bought two colors (only two was so hard!) and headed home to try it out!
I stamped directly onto some muslin fabric with these beautiful results.
I love how each one has a slightly different look with the smudging around the edge.
And to test it's stay power, I washed the fabric. It faded a bit, but is still just as beautiful.
My large stamp is for making tags and business cards. Again, I love the slight variance this stamp gives me.
Now, here comes the cool part. I had such a great transaction with Sarah that I asked if she would want to do a giveaway and she's so great, she said yes right away! To give you a little taste of who she is I asked Sarah to introduce herself:
"I quit my job of ten years as an electrical engineer to continue designing, get creative and be able to stay home with my kids. Right now I spend about half the day playing with my son and getting inspired by his antics- my overflowing idea book at the ready- and then a few hours designing each day before starting homework and projects with number 1 when she gets out of school."When I ordered my stamps and the turn around for getting them was so fast, I was excited. But knowing that she does this as a side job to raising two kids, now I'm mega impressed! She has a blog here, and has such awesome stuff in her shop! I love everything in her shop, but my favorite is the Tooth Fairy Box. Such a great idea! (I had a nephew lose his tooth, then lose it again before the Tooth Fairy could come... no money for him...).
Sarah has offered one Small Custom Rubber Stamp for a lucky CWC reader!
How to enter:
- Leave a comment telling me what you would want your custom stamp to be of!
- Follow CWC (new or current)
- "Like" CWC on Facebook.
- "Like" Sima Design Studios on Facebook.
That's four chances to win this awesome prize! Make sure to leave a separate comment for each one you do and to include your email address so I can easily get a hold of you when you win! You have until Thursday May 26th at 11:59pm MST to enter. The winner will be chosen by Random.org and announced on Friday. The winner will get to work with Sarah on their custom small stamp!!
If you don't win, you can still get a great custom stamp of your own, or any of her other great stuff, at Sarah's etsy shop Just Off Normal, and she said it herself, "We are now on Facebook! "Like me, Like me!" and you can get access to special discount codes and coupons".
Good Luck! And look for my new labels as I start to make things for sale!!
