the blog

Tip 2 for Writing Thank you notes

2011-06-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

Write them fast. The faster we write them the better the response. My children only have the memory of dog playing fetch unless it involves some offhand promise you intended them to forget (such as "we will buy a cat in 2 years when your brother turns 3") We try to pace our writing to avoid burnout. I've found I only can reasonably expect around 3 or 4 thank you notes a day. After that they deteriorate into silliness or boredom. So the day following a party we try to start to whittle away the list. I let them pick the order since their enthusiasm translates into good writing momentum.

Been Gifted? Thank you note Tip 1

2011-05-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

So you've been gifted. For us this usually happens after a birthday. Now it is time to write a thank you note. There are tons of tips on the internet for how to write a thank you note. And I will try to record some of my own.

1st Tip for writing thank you notes: make your kids 'write' them. I let my kids dictate what they want to say. We follow the basic format: Thank you for (blank). I like it because (blank) Thanks for coming to my birthday. My daughter gets very detailed (ex. I hope you enjoyed your cupcake. My little brother can sleep in my new playhouse, etc) My son just draws "pictures" and gives one word responses which I record. But it can be really entertaining or take up lots of space with pictures. Either way we aim to create something fun to read. And, most important, they take ownership of the process. Gratitude, it is a beautiful thing.

I'm back!

2010-03-22T00:11:00.000-07:00

Wow. It is has been a few months! I've been busy. In my limited time I worked on updating the website. It is switched over and official. Crazy. What a bunch of work that is...it was a great time to refine my product and pricing. I updated older items and left some off and added and added and added. I'm trying to beef up my boy product line. I've got some more ideas I just need a whole day to work on them all. But they'll come out slowly. The new site is

www.swellcards.com

The old site at swellcard should redirect you to the new page. The croc poster is my new favorite. It just makes me laugh. I wonder what his treasure is? I asked Campbell and he said cupcakes and sparkles. Of course.

Holiday Faire

2009-12-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

So the Holiday Faire for my friend's Tiny Tots was very fun. I definitely need to do more of these events because the feedback is great. It is really interesting to see each kid's reaction as they paw through the cards on the table. I always try to mentally guess which card they'll gravitate towards and sometimes I'm totally off. I've been printing up some generic "hi there" and "thank you" cards to pass out as samples. Hopefully, they'll write a note and say "oooh I need more of these" and the recipient will say "ooooh I want my own."

Hot tub santa

2009-12-01T21:12:00.001-08:00

The new seasonal card is out. This one was inspired by my husband who makes good use of the hot tub and has a very bright red robe. I wanted something that was more winter themed than holiday themed so it could be used to send notes through January and early February.

nice package

2009-11-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

I've had a few ideas that didn't quite make the cut this round. One is a laminated "boo-boo" reward poster that features a sock monkey with little white stars. Each reward earns a sticking plaster for the monkey. My 3-year old is very into covering up all the spots with band-aids. The 1-year old just sticks them all at the bottom for some reason. It was very fun to use two boxes of band-aids (yeah dollar store!) in testing...but I'm not sure this product is quite ready yet. I think I'll let it stew in the back of my brain for a while longer. Anyway, this came about because I made these great sticker charts that the stickers didn't release from. Sorry testers...at least they were free! One clever tester friend is using removable stickers with success, so they are back on the site with disclaimers.

So, I've been busy getting ready for gift fair season. Hopefully I can attend a few and make some sales, spread the word. I just spent some time adding some more products. Door signs are a favorite. We mounted ours nice and low with 3M Picture hanging strips. The posters are mounted in light wooden frames with plastic (not glass) protectors. I like mounting them directly to the door so they don't bounce around. The strips are supposedly removable which is handy when Linnea is ready to swap it out for boy band posters. The other new item is the package section. It will allow you to order a few matching items (poster and cards) at the same time. Nice package means easy shopping.

Happy Birthday to You

2009-11-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

After a few modifications, the first two birthday banners are ready to sell! They feature fun patterns and characters from other favorite swell items. I've decided to offer this on both the affordable indoor banner material and my favorite heavy fabric. They are finished just in time for the Greenhaven Mothers Club fall auction and Tiny Tot's harvest fair.

the pink banner
the green banner

Laying down on the job

2009-10-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

Often I find myself testing all things froggy with my nephew's name because he inspired them in the first place. He has a frog blanket that goes with him everywhere. I was trying to think of all the things his frog could do when we weren't looking...so far his frog is tasting ice cream from across the table and jumping on a trampoline. The trampoline frog is probably my favorite because it makes me laugh to think of a frog on a trampoline. How fun would that be if you were a frog, really?!

Trying to think of ways to incorporate some of my designs into different applications I came up with the silly idea of a horizontal growth chart. I thought it might be a unique way for the kids to measure themselves. I don't know if anyone will buy this, but it was fun to make! Campbell loved testing it. It could mount just off the floor or beside the bed (my original vision)

quick lick frog horizontal growth chart

princess mittens

2009-10-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

So we got to go to our friend's inaugural party for her new kid party business Deux Amies. (http://deuxamies-sacramento.blogspot.com/) They get to the party and immediately change into their petticoats, crowns, gloves and boas. It took 5 minutes just to get the gloves on, but oh, was it worth it! She just had this look of wonder on her face. Then photos and out for tea. It was lovely and fancy and perfect. Linnea slept with her "princess mittens" that night. She couldn't take them off. She wears them to ride her bike and just lounge around the house. Who knew? Princess mittens are a huge hit!
I hope to offer tea party invites and thank you notes as part of her package, probably her mid-range. The thank you notes will also be offered on the site (in case someone needs to reorder--fingers crossed!) Check them out!
fairy princess cards
princess tea cards

only girls have sparkles

2009-10-23T00:51:00.000-07:00

This evening I got to just sit and draw with my daughter on the magnetic wipe off board. She would draw a scribble and then demand my help with extra's like hands or arms. My favorite was the pink-purple sparkly shark she drew. (It was a gray blob with lump on one end, until she started to describe it) I made the mistake of asking if the boy green-purple shark had sparkles too. That is when I was educated in sparkles. Apparently, only girl's have sparkles. She demonstrated her point by dragging out her ponies who were obviously female since one had shimmery hooves and one had glittery hair. The boy ponies weren't exciting enough she just kind of waved her hand in their general direction. They get fur. Hmmm. Now you know, so you won't insult and embarrass yourself in front of a preschooler the way I did.

Etsy

2009-10-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of making a fabric, reusable birthday banner. And a friend (co-owner of Koukla Kids, www.kouklakids.com, a super cute kid's store in Sacramento) mentioned the many offerings on Etsy. So I checked out my competition. That is dangerous, I get so sidetracked I could easily waste hours looking at crafty, clever items I never intend to buy. I have an account but never did anything with it. Now I'm kind of inspired to throw my stuff in the mix to see what happens.

don't eat the stickers

2009-10-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

So I've been trying a form of bribery (sticker chart http://www.swellcard.com/sticker-charts.html) to get Linnea to go to sleep and stay in her bed all night. It really got out of hand for awhile. She was getting up for every excuse "thirsty" "hungry" "scared" ...on a side note the scared reasons are probably the most entertaining...one night it was the cheesy-book. Not sure exactly what this is but it runs around and prevents sleep.
So, the sticker chart was working great. But I made the mistake of bragging about its success. Everyone knows, the moment you brag as a parent you are doomed to be slapped down and humbled. Yup, she got up 4 times tonight. Stickers were not powerful enough. We will try again tomorrow. When it works, I love the involvement in the sticker "goal" chart. She wakes up excited and takes 5 minutes to carefully choose her sticker and then pick the one she doesn't like for her brother. I'm not sure why he has a sticker chart since he is still in a crib, but his sister insisted. Right now his chart is on the floor because he keeps ripping it off the wall and trying to eat the stickers. We are working on that.

I can see through my nose

2009-10-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

So my daughter informed the other day that she can see through her nose. (I find this hilarious) She will scrunch up her face and hold her hands to either side of her head, slightly covering her eyes. She will then peer through her partially closed eyes and magically be able to see through her nose. How I can use this in a design I have no idea. I really want to do a super hero series but have a mental block against drawing actual people. Super hero talents I would find really useful...

the ability to eat multiple cupcakes in one mouthful
the ability to wear high heels and not feel foot pain (somehow my daughter already has this, must come with the nose-sight)

Super hero talents others wish they had

strength (to lift things like garbage trucks, major hero work)
speed (this would be my son, who can pull his sister's hair but not run away from the wrath fast enough)
the ability to do battle with a hair brush (this would be my daughter who really hates to have her hair combed)

So feel free to share the abilities you wish you could have (and would it be appropriate as a card personalized for kids? I suppose adults want personalized cards too...)