print girl ink

I don't just do invitations.

2010-09-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

Running a business is hard. I'm not exactly someone who loves the business side of things. I just love creating and I just so happen to find people who want what I do. Having said that, I get LOTS of "advice" from anyone and everyone with a voice. Most of it is very good advice, assuming that's what I want to do. But I don't. I don't want to sell mass stuff like Tiny Prints and Chickadee Prints. Don't get me wrong, their stuff is great and super adorable and they do offer "custom" stuff. But mostly it's templates and I realize 95% of the people out there want templates and they don't know what they want until they see it. And those websites are perfect for that audience.

I should have a business plan to be successful. Business plan... um, yeah I'll get back to you on that one. I pretty much fly by the seat of my pants. It's definitely not the smartest way to do things but with everything else I have going on in my life it's just going to have to be this way.

I've been told I should do craft shows so people can see my stuff in person. To sell packaged items like thank you's and monogrammed cards. Honestly I don't want to do that. People don't realize how time consuming it is to do this stuff. Yes it would probably get my name out there more but the whole point is... I don't want to do it, at least not yet. I have a full time job as a graphic designer as well as being a full time mom to a crazy 2 year old and then you throw print girl ink in there... it's a lot of work and I like down time, TV and sleep.

My friend posted this link on Facebook and it really puts it all in perspective for the people who might not understand WHY I don't want to do all the extras. I'm happy with the way things are for right now. I like to design. That's what I do. I am a designer. That comes first. I just happen to design a lot of invitations because that's what people want and need but that doesn't mean that's the only thing I can do. I'm currently working on jam jar labels. Cool huh? See I don't just do invitations!

I love doing invitations though and that's the biggest part of print girl ink as well as my referrals. If there's ever a question about my work, I have a list of people who can back me up and it's not just friends anymore... the list of non-friends is now longer than the friend list. Although, I work so closely with my clients that ultimately they become friends in a way. To them, I can't thank you enough for helping me out with keeping print girl going.

Changing colors?

2010-08-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

Just when I think I have everything set and I'm loving it... I change my mind. I am rethinking the colors on my site and blog now. I feel like everything is way too dark. I was thinking baby blue and gray. I don't want to go super trendy with the colors but up to date. As a designer I think it's hard to pin down a good look and stick with it. We are so much more critical on ourselves. Constantly critiquing and changing our minds. It's cool to have a job like this but so frustrating because I'm my worst client.

So I need your help!!! Give me your ideas and what you would like to see changed! I will say that I'm happy with my logo and the general design... it's more the color scheme. So what do you think?

Danielle Kidston Wedding Extras

2010-08-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures I promised from the job I delivered on Friday evening. Photographer, I am not. At least you get to see the pieces! I will be getting photography from the event so I'll show you those when I get them, gives everything a little more umph when you see it in it's full glory!

These are just a few of the pieces but we did seating charts that will be displayed in silver frames, menus, table numbers also in frames (not shown cause the photography was baaad), large invites, place cards for the head table, programs and (not shown) buffet cards, guest book card, in lei of cards. I used premium paper and ribbon from Paper Source.

Next up... a sneak peek inside the print girl studio.

seating chart

menus

large invites for the main entrances to the wedding & reception

place cards for the head table

programs

PGI gets some props!

2010-08-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

This is an email from a bride that is getting married in a couple of weeks. I delivered everything to her tonight! I will have pictures very soon. Everything turned out better than I hoped.

Beautiful colors, gun metal gray, dark purple and sunshine yellow. She was so fun and easy to work with, knew what she wanted but let me get creative. It's not just a menu or a program, for me it's a design piece. Creative design is where it all starts and then having the ability to execute the idea. So thank you Danielle for giving me such a great portfolio piece!

In case you have a hard time reading from the image below, this is what it says...

Stacia,

I just wanted to say thank you again for the gorgeous print materials. Everything exceeded my vision! You have made an extremely stressful couple of weeks so much better!

Thank you again for being so reliable! It really means so much to a bride! You are fabulous and I will pass those cards out!

Thank you again!

Danielle

And it's a wrap.

2010-08-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

This was a large wedding job. The invites I did months ago but this is for the actual wedding. Programs, menus, seating charts, table numbers, buffet cards, and much, much more. All set to be delivered Friday evening. Just like starting a job, it feels so good to finish a job.

An introduction

2010-08-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

I have two other blogs but only recently, like now, I decided it's time to start a blog for print girl ink. I do custom invitations and various print items for parties and such.

Below is a bridal shower invitation (on one side) and then the bachelorette party invitation (on the back side)... a great way to put two into one and help cut costs. Yes I do custom work but that doesn't mean it has to be a pretty penny. Please take the time to visit my website at www.printgirlink.com to see what else I can do!

The idea with this invitation was to show two sides, two events, the whole good and bad sort of thing. The bachelorette side had to still be tame because all of the guests who were invited to the shower were invited to the after party. I felt reversing the colors, silhouettes of the man and woman as well as the party girl and then changing up the fonts gave the shower the "good" side and the party the "naughty" side.

I created this invitation for a very good friend of mine. I am also in her wedding as a bridesmaid, so it was very special to me to create something that fit her style and personality. I didn't show it to her in advance, so the first time she saw it was when it came in the mail. I received a text message telling me she loved it. Phew! Over time I will be showing you the many pieces from her event.

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