January 2017 FREE Printable Stationery & Desktop Calendar

Happy New Year, dear friends!

I've started my stationery company out of my love for letter writing, design and paper and more than ever, this still rings very true. I love every part of snail mail and know that those of you who followed this blog and liked my Facebook page do, too.

In looking back, some of my very popular and most requested posts are about printable stationery shared free to download. Well, I have great news: I'm bringing it back! I'll be sharing one design each month and also include downloadable desktop calendar to jazz up your screen time.

To recap, here are all the free printable stationery I've shared in the past:

1. Peacocks and Pink Roses, July 4, 2011
2. Framed and Lovely, August 23, 2011
3. June Butterflies, June 4, 2012

Here's this month's free stationery download. Get the high resolution here.

Here's the first ever printable calendar I'm sharing with you! Decided to go with air mail colors to get us writing more letters. Get the high resolution here. You can print this or use as screen saver! 

The links expire in 30 days. Sign-up to the newsletter to never miss it and always have it in your inbox!

How do you like the new designs? These are such a different approach in comparison to the older ones but this is what I love about sharing these designs as I get to experiment. A perfect design exercise! I do hope you like it. Feel free to leave comments below.

And hang on tight because I've got a lot in store for 2017!

Love & Letters,

Valentine's Shop Now Open

So excited to finally reveal what I've been working so hard for the past months! You can now check out 45 of my new products on Etsy. I'll be adding more in the coming weeks.

Here's a sampling, I call this design Simple Heart from the Pink Pop collection:

After a long hiatus, I've finally decided to fully invest in my business. If you've seen my previous post about Paper Camp / Tradeshow Bootcamp, the launch of my Valentine's shop is the motion that was set after my attendance of the workshop. I wish I had known about it sooner! I had been dabbling with stationery design since 2009, but prior to Paper Camp, this was all just a hobby.

My style from then has changed so much and I'm still constantly finding ways to improve and translate my ideas to products. I wanted to adapt a more modern look while also being visually minimal. This journey took awhile. The trend for sometime now in stationery reflects a lot of watercolor (see Rifle Paper Co. and Our Heiday) and typography or calligraphy (see Antiquaria and Emily McDowell). While I do adore watercolor as a medium I'm just not good at it nor is my heart in it. And who could resist the beauty and quick sophistication calligraphy brings? I just simply could not adopt these styles. I did try, but it didn't feel me. Here are my dabble in watercolor:

I'd like to say I've gone back to basics. Resorting to the medium that I knew best while still making use of my graphic design skills and oh my, it feels as natural as breathing!

What are your thoughts about the brand's new look and direction? What would you like to see more of? I welcome all feedback and thank you in advance.

Love & Letters,

Gift to Self aka Creative Entrepreneur

A year ago I bought myself a Christmas present- a seat to a 2-day seminar called Paper Camp. Little did I know that that was to be the greatest present I could give myself to date.

Attending it has paved a clear path for me as a creative entrepreneur giving me more confidence with each stride as I made the leap from a hobbyist to a professional. After the seminar, I left feeling a mix of emotions at first. I was overwhelmed by the amount of work it would take me and the many mistakes I have been unknowingly making! I was forced to lay all my cards on the table and decide if I was in it for the long haul or not. I spent a good amount of time soul-searching and asking myself if this was where my heart lies and if it was then I needed to give it all I've got.

Fast forward, I am a few months shy to releasing my first wholesale catalog (Spring 2017!) and part of a community of amazing creative entrepreneurs ready to give each other a hand. I am grateful for every one of them and most especially to Katie Lawler Hunt for founding this wonderful paper-loving bunch.

If you're in the business of Stationery, wedding invites or want to sell your illustrations in a wholesale setting consider attending the next Paper Camp (February 2017). I promise you it's the best investment for you and your craft!

Pictured above is photo posted by Tradeshow Bootcamp today on their Facebook page featuring, yours truly with fellow paper camper and stationer, Gina Singh of Ginametrical whom I walked the National Stationery Show with back in May.