you might remember the e-course that i recently enrolled in (starts in 5 days, eee!) called the art and business of surface pattern design? well if you’ve been tinkering with the idea of signing up, i think i have a little something-something to put you over the edge. how about a chance to win $100 worth of giftware designed by rachael taylor? boo-yah!

alls you have to do is sign up for the art and business of surface pattern design within 48 hours of this post to be entered to win a bumper package of rachael taylor-designed home and giftware worth $100, shipped anywhere in the world!

here’s how to enter:

after checking out the e-course and realizing that you were destined to partake, go ahead and sign up (better hurry though, e-course begins on monday, november 14th!). when asked where you heard about the course, enter ‘going home to roost’, and you will automatically be entered to win. we will announce the winner here on monday, november 14th. you have 48 hours to enter (ends on 11/11/11 at 10:30am pst). good luck!

the package includes (drum roll, please):

apron: £18.00

a brand new design, screen printed brown with the ‘cow parsley’ print. apron comes with an adjustable strap & loop at the top & ties around the waist to fasten.

tea towel: £8.00

brown ‘cow parsley’ pattern tea towel, screen printed & manufactured in the uk. a very generous sized tea towel, dimensions 48cm x 76cm made from 100% cotton. these tea towels will add a pretty accent to your kitchen!

oven mitt: £11.00

coordinating brown ‘cow parsley’ single oven mitt. this design will add a quirky and contemporary edge to your kitchen!

bag: £15.00

black and white screen printed heavyweight fabric canvas shopper bag (with long handles) exclusively hand drawn & designed by rachael. the bag has the popular ‘quirky motifs’ pattern printed on the front & the reverse.

set of 6 cards: £15

cards exclusively hand designed by rachael, blank inside for your own personal message.

about the art and business of surface pattern design

if you have ever dreamt of seeing your designs on stationery, fabric, homewares or other products, sharing your art through pattern, and monetising your designs this groundbreaking course is for you!

‘the art and business of surface pattern design featuring rachael taylor’ is the definitive guide to becoming a surface pattern designer. split into three modules it will take you step-by-step from sketch to pattern to product, sharing technical how-to-guides and industry secrets along the way.

thriving surface pattern designer rachael taylor will guide you along this exciting path from developing your signature style to putting a collection together, and from protecting your work to monetising your designs. with a rich combination of design inspiration, practical advice, demonstrations, creative exercises, resources and interviews with leading industry practitioners, this is the go-to guide for anyone wanting to develop their design skills and break into the industry.

if you want to break into the exciting surface pattern design industry, this is the course for you! find out more and register here: http://www.dowhatyouloveforlife.com/pattern

wrap up: {art} {business} {enter} {giveaway} {prizes} {rachael taylor}

happy monday, lovelies! i’m on the mend from my knee surgery and just wanted to say a big thank you for bearing with me! my mom came out all the way from north carolina last week, and it was so wonderful to have her here. she made us lots of yummy meals and helped with my recovery so much. miss you mom!

now on to something verrrry exciting. beth nicholls from do what you love has just announced a brand new e-course: the art and business of surface pattern design featuring rachael taylor!  if you have ever dreamt of seeing your designs on stationery, fabric, homewares or other products, sharing your art through pattern, and monetizing your designs this groundbreaking course is for you!

you may not know this about me, but i have been an aspiring textile designer for a few years now. as i’ve been training and working on designs, this e-course couldn’t have come at a better time. i couldn’t sign up quick enough! if you have ever dreamed of designing your own patterns or seeing your own artwork illustrated as surface design, this e-course is for you.

the course features 3 modules (you can sign up for 1, 2 or all 3) which will take you through all the ins and outs of becoming a successful designer.

module 1: designing your way- how to gather inspiration, build patterns, create mood boards, work with color and more.

module 2: creating your professional identity- how to start your own label, develop a signature look, develop a collection, market yourself and more.

module 3: monetizing your designs- how to identify multiple streams of income for your designs, sell and license your designs, choose the right distribution and more.

this is only a brief mentioning of each module, if you want to read more detailed outlines, visit the e-course page here!

sound like you? read more about it at the art and business of surface pattern design featuring rachael taylor. don’t delay- the first module begins november 14th!

find out more about rachael and beth here. images via rachael taylor.

wrap up: {art} {beth nicholls} {business} {design} {do what you love} {ecourse} {pattern} {rachael taylor} {surface}

 
happy monday, lovelies! today i’ve got a sponsor welcome and a giveaway for you! anafore ignite is a customer referral program for etsy – just imagine your own customers helping you drive new sales! customer referrals are the key to viral marketing and will help grow your business and bring the power of peer influence to your own etsy store.

what’s even better? they have offered to give away 5 premium evaluation accounts! that gives 5 of you 3-months of their high volume plan app, for free!

how to enter: share with us in the comment section why you think this program would be a good fit for you and your shop. giveaway will end on sunday, may 8th at midnight, pst. i will choose 5 winners using a random number generator and announce the winners on monday. good luck!

learn more about anafore: etsy app, blog, anafore for etsy

wrap up: {anafore} {business} {customer referral} {etsy} {giveaway} {shop} {sponsor welcome}

Solving complex problems requires an inquiring mind and the willingness to experiment one’s way to a fresh solution.
– Daniel Pink, Drive

are you ready to move on your creative goals, but just don’t seem to be going anywhere? between life, work, family and everything else we can all find ourselves stuck in a rut. if you’re ready to pursue your dreams but just need that little extra push, this e-book is for you. making motion: 7 steps for doing more with your creative life by tara gentile is a short, power packed book to help you get the ball rolling on your dreams and aspirations. it’s the same strategy that tara has used in creating her own empire, and she shows you how to build a successful business while maintaining balance with your hobbies and interests at the same time. get started the right way by heading on over to scoutie girl to learn more!

wrap up: {business} {dreams} {ebook} {making motion} {tara gentile}

 
ready to take your business to the next step? kristen hodges is a creative graphic designer that can help bring the vision you have for your online shop to life. her graphic design business, ahoy! graphics concentrates on the handmade community and offers business branding and design for everything from your blog to your etsy shop. aren’t her designs adorable? with affordable rates, quick turnarounds and beautiful designs, it’s time to take your biz concepts to the next level!

visit ahoy! graphics: {shop}{blog}{site}

interested in advertising on going home to roost? click here to download the sparkly new media kit!

wrap up: {ahoy! graphics} {branding} {business} {design} {graphic} {illustration} {kristen hodges} {marketing} {sponsor welcome} {web}

 
yesterday, i got the iphone 4. for many of you, this phone is old news. however, since verizon is the only company that gets service in our sweet little (and very remote) hometown, we’ve been hearing about the joys of the iphone from all of our at&t friends for, well, seems like forever now. i recognize how silly it is to ‘have‘ to have something that didn’t even exist a few short years ago, but what can i say. i’m a sucker. so when we heard that the ‘phone that changed the world’ was coming to our network, david and i bundled up and headed out to the store with high hopes (but not too high) that we would have success. and we did!

as a long time mac user, it just made sense to add this little guy to my lineup. one of the features i’m most excited about is called facetime, where your calls become video calls between you and the person you’re talking with. the reason i’m so excited is that my mom has ordered the iphone as well (go mom!), and we will soon be talking face to face, even though we’re halfway across the country from each other. how amazing is that?!  plus i’ll be able to see my hubby’s pretty face anytime i call him, and that just makes me happy.

so you might ask, “that’s cool and everything bonnie, but why are you telling us about it?”. welp, that would be because i need your help! you see, apps overwhelm me (a statement i’m sure i’ll be laughing at in about a year). there’s just so many, and no way to find the ones i need that i don’t even know i need! i would like to create an app just for searching for other apps. or maybe there’s already an app for that? ah!! anyways, do you have any suggestions for me? oh smartphone, droid, iphone, ipad users??
here’s what i’m looking for:

- apps that would help streamline my business (blog, etsy, paypal, etc).

- best blogging apps (i’m using wordpress here).

- creative essentials

- photography, editing and design apps

- ways to be more efficient (streamlining tasks, etc).

- anything else i need that i don’t even know i need

- or… anything you have that you couldn’t live without

(here are the apps i’ve already added, just so you know: pandora, twitter, places, ibooks, simplist, dropbox, hipstamatic.)

can’t wait to hear about all your favorites! {smooches & hugs} bonnie

wrap up: {apple} {apps} {business} {iphone} {lifestyle} {mac} {phone} {verizon}

good morning lovelies!  ready for my big exciting news?  i’m am so thrilled to announce that i’ll be teaching a 7 week e-course this fall!!  i’m wrapping up the weekly shop help posts and moving on to a more in depth look at growing you business in the handmade market.  my new e-course is called selling the handmade way and will cover all the basics (and more) of growing you handmade business.

 
i have wanted to teach an e-course for small indie businesses for a very long time, and i am beyond excited that the day has finally come!  you’ll feel right at home in this workbook style, hands on, personal approach to learning about selling your goods.  you’ll not only have the opportunity to learn and grow your business, but also to meet other inspirational business owners and get personal feedback and advice from me, along with a few very special expert guests.  visit the new e-course site for selling the handmade way to learn more about the class, topics we’ll cover, faq and a whole lot more!
 

visit the new e-class site here!

 
registration begins today and will end friday, september 3rd.  the class will be held on a private (password protected) blog from september 6th – october 22- just in time to get you and your business geared up for the holidays.  you’ll be accomplishing tasks, putting together an action plan and improving your business, one step at a time.  we look forward to getting to know you!

want a sneak peek? after sharing small business tips here for over a year, i’ve compiled a free e-book highlighting the best of the indie biz advice!  it gives you just a taste of what’s to come, as we’ll be discussing business topics in much greater depth during selling the handmade way, enjoy!
 

download the free e-book here!

wrap up: {business} {download} {e-book} {e-class} {free} {selling the handmade way}

after seeing this post over at design*sponge, i couldn’t help but run out and make my own business cards!

though i absolutely love my moo minis, sometimes it’s hard for me to commit to something so permanent.   i’ve always struggled with ordering so many cards at once- i mean, what if i open a new shop, start something new, or change the name of something?

by grabbing this stamp set at my local office supply store, i can now make my own stamp, and change it up any ol’ time!  all you need after you get the stamp set is a few blank business cards  (one isle over from the stamps!) and your all set to go.  you could easily make your own cards too by stamping your ‘card’ on scrap paper and especially your outgoing envelopes.  think about all the people who handle your mail before it reaches it’s destination- this is a great (free!) way to advertise.

voila!  easily editable, diy, hand crafted business cards!

i hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and i look forward to see you back here on monday!

wrap up: {business} {business cards} {diy} {handmade} {stamp}