New cards for Mom, Dad & Grads

Last weekend was my first craft show at It's a Good Day Market in Murrieta, CA, and I had a blast! I debuted my new collection of cards for Mother's Day, Father's Day, New Grads and beyond. All of the new greeting cards are now available in the Etsy Shop.

Here's a peek at my booth, created with the wonderful support of my husband. The booth will be growing for my next craft show, Penelope Lane Boutique on April 30 in Long Beach, CA.

Click here to see my schedule of upcoming events. I hope to see you soon!

P.S. Mother's Day is May 8, 2016 and Father's Day is June 19, 2016. In case you were wondering :)

Spring Shows & Shop Closures

March is full of madness around here as I prep for not one, but two craft shows in April! Plus I will be gathering inspiration from far off places where fairytales come true... so the shop will be closing for several weeks ahead. Here's what you need to know:

Spring Schedule:

• March 7: Last day to place a custom order for invitations or any other personalized items. Also the last day to order physical art prints or greeting cards
• March 12-April 10: The Etsy Shop will be closed!
• April 16: Find Enchanted Type cards and art prints at It's a Good Day Market in Murrieta, CA
• April 30: Look for Enchanted Type at the Penelope Lane Boutique in Long Beach, CA

Things will be a little quiet around here in March, but expect lots of new products and anniversary celebrations in April! Make sure you are following @enchantedtype on Facebook and Instagram for the latest!

100 Sales Giveaway!

Today has been a long time in the making... the Enchanted Type Shop has reached 100 sales on Etsy! I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am for every like, purchase, and view of my designs. I love sharing a little bit of magic that I hope has helped brighten your days. To celebrate YOU and all your amazing support, I am giving away my first 8x10 archival-quality art print to one lucky winner!

I'm also celebrating the successful launch of physical products on Etsy. I loved packaging up greeting cards just in time for Valentine's Day, and I look forward to adding more cards for every occasion! You can also now order the Enchanted Type art print of your choice, printed on beautiful archival-quality cotton paper, shipped directly to your doorstep!

I have also been applying to several craft shows in the Southern California area. Watch for details coming soon of the confirmed Spring show schedule. I'm looking forward to start meeting you all face-to-face!

There are several ways to enter the giveaway, and multiple types of entries increase your chance of winning. The winner will be randomly selected on Saturday, February 20th. Entries close on Friday, February 19, 2016 at midnight Pacific time. See below for details on how to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Valentine's Day Cards for the Young and the Young at Heart

This year, give your Valentine a card that speaks their love language. I don't know about you, but when my husband uses Disney references, I know he truly understands me. I also know how hard it is to find cards that fit our "unique" personalities. That's why I'm so excited to be offering my first collection of greeting cards, just in time for Valentine's Day.

Shop online now to find the perfect Valentine's Day card for your Disney loving friends and family. The first three cards feature Disney quotes, including "So this is love" from Cinderella, "You are my greatest adventure" from The Incredibles, and "You'll be in my heart always" from Tarzan.

Cards are packaged in a clear plastic sleeve with a pure white envelope, and delivered in a rigid cardboard mailer by USPS First Class mail. Orders will typically arrive within 5-7 business days. Shop now to ensure delivery before Valentine's Day!

Also available in the Enchanted Type Etsy Shop are coordinating art prints

All greeting card orders are packaged and delivered from my home office

Two designs available for pug lovers featuring my pug, Chloe

Offering physical greeting cards has been a dream of mine for some time. I'm thrilled to finally be able to offer these original designs in time for Valentine's Day. Look for more greeting card designs to be added soon!

Making Dreams a Reality in 2016

Goal setting for the new year is overwhelming. You read about why it's so important, and see all these other people you admire creating perfect, awesome goals. And I really do like the planning & goal-setting part of running my business. Despite my best intentions, the last two years have lacked focus in achieving what I set out to accomplish at the beginning of each year.

So on January 1st, I started outlining exactly what I wanted to accomplish, making sure my goals were S.M.A.R.T. (that's Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based for those unfamiliar). But every time I started to write this post, I found a reason to change my goals. I was paralyzed by fear of not making the "perfect" goal. I was suffering from:

Shiny Object Syndrome.

Wow, her calligraphy is so beautiful! I should devote a goal to just practicing my handwriting!

Geez, look how successful she's been selling X! I should add a similar product to my offerings!

OMG she has so many Etsy sales! Maybe I should be focusing my energy on XYZ...

You get the idea.

To help avoid Shiny Object Syndrome (also in the same family as FOMO-Fear Of Missing Out), I have outlined my goals, printed, and posted them directly behind my monitor so I look at them every single day. I went a step further, thanks to a tip from Heart Love Always, and outlined the first 3 steps for each goal, along with a completion date. These are the goals that are important to me and my dreams for Enchanted Type. I don't want to be distracted by the dreams of someone else when it could take away from my own dreams.

To add further accountability, I'm excited/nervous to share them all with you, my biggest fans!

Show at 3+ Craft Fairs

This has been something that has always intimidated me. After quietly attending several shows in the last year, I'm ready to take the leap and apply for my first show! I'm hoping to show at a few of my favorite craft shows in the spring, then have a strong showing for the 2016 Holiday Season. Applications are starting to open, so this is already in action!

Start selling physical products + expand product line

You can't show at a craft fair with digital products! Again, I've been intimidated to tackle California sales taxes and managing inventory. But with all the experience I have working in retail plus mastering Excel in the corporate world, this is really a no-brainer.

I am happy to announce that I have ordered my first shipment of product from my fabulous printer in Santa Clara, and will be adding it soon to my shop! Several other pieces of the puzzle also fell into place recently, so this dream will become a reality very soon.

Establish Daily Schedule with workout & creative time

I have avoided following a "schedule" like the plague since the first day I became my own boss. After being told when I had to show up and clock out everyday, I relished in the freedom of setting my own schedule. But that's just the problem. I didn't set a schedule.

So while I've been accomplishing many of my business goals, things like working out and fitting in time to be creative have fallen through the cracks. And it's all catching up with me.

This goal is all about baby steps right now, including waking up at the same time and fitting in at least 5,000 steps every day. From there I hope to establish blocks of time to complete certain tasks like accounting as well as creative time.

Reach 700 sales on Etsy

My definition of "making it" on Etsy would be reaching 1,000 sales. While I originally made that my goal for 2016, but husband gracefully brought me off my cloud down to a more realistic number based on historical growth (I'm all about statistics, in case you were wondering). This also lines up with my financial goals for my business in 2016.

Add 200 products on Etsy

Part of this goal is about achieving my sales goal, but it's also to get my butt in gear with adding new products regularly to my shop. I'm notorious for having a great idea, sometimes even designing it, then never adding it to my shop. Case in point: this design, created in May 2015 for the Disneyland 24 Hour Party, added to my shop in January 2016. Oy.

To be fair, I did add the design to my RedBubble shop in May... so I could order our shirts...

I created a production schedule to go along with this goal, but I won't bore you with the details. Just expect lots of new seasonal products, as well as several new collections throughout the year!

Grow community of peers & followers

Finally, one of the main reasons I want to start showing at craft fairs is to see all your smiling faces! I miss helping people picking out products they love, which I got to do on a daily basis during my Paper Source/Nordstrom retail days. I hope to start interacting more with you, my lovely followers, so I can help you and get to know you more!

Plus, I realized how much I thrive by growing relationships with other small business owners. I plan to continue connecting with the amazing people I've met in my first year in California, as well as grow my network by attending my first ever conference, Craftcation, in April!!

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Now that I'm thoroughly organized and amped for 2016, it's time to make these dreams a reality! Stay tuned for news about my first craft show (fingers crossed) and physical products coming to the Etsy Shop!

What dreams are you planning to make a reality in 2016?