Andrea came to me via Etsy wanting a set of the Letterpress Sprinkles Cupcake Tags adapted for a brand system for her bakery/patisserie. A local baker in Salt Lake City, Utah she also needed something that would cross over into the online arena where she could promote her brand/shop she’d opened on Etsy as well. In the end, the designs had her two business names but we kept with the same styling and typographic nuances so that there would be visible recognition if one was searching her out but couldn’t remember a business name (like me sometimes ;) These were both letterpress printed on 110# paper in one color of ink. The business cards measure standerd 2×3.5″ and the tags measure 1.5×6″ with 1/2″ rounded corners and 3/16″ hole punch.

After completing this project, I started thinking…it’s hard to turn away orders because someone has a small budget and only needs a starter pack of business cards to get going. I really love branding for people and wanted to provide a way for it to be cost effective for my clients as well as practical on the design and  printing side. So I’ve looked at a few different options and have come up with a solution. Many times when someone comes to me, they are a new entrepreneur on a tight budget, looking for a small branding package. As a result of wanting to contribute more to my customers initial investment, I’m now offering smaller minimums if purchased in a branding suite. Here is the first of a few new packages I’ll be unveiling over the next two weeks.

THE SMALL LETTERPRESS BRANDING PACKAGE! And to announce the launch, I’m GIVING AWAY one set this month (March).

THE GOODS:
1 set of 100 standard business cards – square corners. Letterpress printed, 1 color ink front sided printing. Printed on 110# Lettra paper.

1 set of 50 tags (either 2×2″ or 1.5×6″) – 3/16″ hole punch and rounded corners. Letterpress printed, 1 color ink (same as business cards). Front sided printing. Printed on 110# Lettra paper.

1 banner OR shop avatar OR blog masthead provided in a .jpg file

1 logo provided in a .jpg file

All custom designed for you (or incorporating your own logo) – 3 digital designs presented, 2 rounds of revisions.

LASTLY, HOW TO ENTER: To be counted you must do the following:

1) blog about your business and why you want the branding package. Goals, inspiration or how you got started are all great ways to introduce your business to me.

2) link back to The Dingbat’s Agenda ( http://blog.dingbatpress.com) and my shop (http://dingbatpress.etsy.com)

3) come back to this post and comment with a link to your specific blog post (links to your blog home will be disqualified, it must be your specific post)

Lastly, the more you promote the giveaway, the more I’ll know you want it. Tweet it, Facebook it and show the world you know you want it! All entries need the first three points above to qualify for selection, the rest of the social media plugs are up to you!

Contest ends March 30th, 2010 at 12:00am MST – I’ll choose a winner and announce it on April 1st!
Once a winner is selected and notified, they must respond within 1 week to claim their package. Production will be 4-6 weeks from start to ship date.

Hi guys! I am excited to introduce you to The Pretty Poppy, a little shop filled with handcrafted sterling silver jewelry. Run by one of my good friends from high school, each piece is hand stamped, and in some cases hand carved as well, resulting in a truly unique piece of jewelry. Just in time for Valentines Day, a lucky someone can enter to win the “Love You More” necklace. Measuring approximately one inch on the longest side, this piece is handmade with love, then strung on a sterling silver chain. So very sweet!

Here’s how to enter: Please visit The Pretty Poppy and check out all the different designs. Come back here and leave a comment telling me which piece is your favorite. Simple as that! Spread the word and receive more chances to win! If you leave a post on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc. come back here and leave an additional comment for each with a link or your Twitter ID. Giveaway ends Thursday, 2/11, at midnight (MST), and the winner will be announced on Friday. The winner will be randomly chosen from the list of comments and will be notified by The Dingbat’s Agenda via email.

Good luck and have fun!

This contest is not sponsored, and I am not receiving any monetary gain, gifts or samples to host the giveaway. Just FYI for the FCC :)
UPDATED: CONGRATS COMMENTER #15! I’LL BE CONTACTING YOU SHORTLY!

I know we are all getting ready for the holidays so I thought I’d show you some delish letterpress gift tag goods that you can snag for yourself to put on gifts for neighbors and family, see below to enter:

This will outfit you for the whole holiday season! Coment to enter (one entry only please)

The Goods:
Peace | Joy | Noel Set of 6 Super Thick Tags, 1.5×3″ (2 of each pattern).
Silver Calligraphy Tiny Tags, 1×2.5″, set of 15.
Victorian Flourished 2×2″ letterpress tags. Set of 10.
Love, Santa Letterpress enclosures. Set of 10.
Winter Snowflake Gift Enclosures/place tags. Set of 10.

You have until Midnight on Friday, Nov. 20th to comment for a set of each! That’s over $40 worth of gift tag goodies :)

UPDATED: CONGRATS LISA, I’ll be in contact to get these to you :)

Remember these?

Well I still have a slew of them sitting around! Seeing that I just printed a bunch of them as 4Bar notes for a custom order, I thought I’d offer a set of each to my twits (yes you!).

If you want some, look over to the top right (and ignore my avatar that hasn’t been changed out) and click on my twitter button. Then go twit this EXACT phrase:

GIVEAWAY! Git yer #letterpress Brownish/Greyish 4Bar Aspen Notes + gift enclosures from @DingbatPress, twit to win #DingbatPressAspen

THE GOODS:
1 set of 6, 4bar notes and 1 set of 10 gift enclosures! Letterpressed with love, by yours truly! Random winner will be selected by Friday at 12pm MST.

UPDATED: And the winner is…

I printed these Halloween Ghoul’s Night Out party packs last year and sold one set! There are now too many taking up precious space in my studio so I’m offering one for FREE and have slashed the price from $55 to $40 in the shop.

THE GOODS:

12, A6 Letterpress Invitations (Imprintable) – 2 Color (Silver|metallic purple) with matching envelopes.
12, 2.5×2.5″ Heavy weight letterpress coasters, reverse printed.
12,  letterpress Escort cards|Place Cards and mini-lopes.

To enter: Comment by Thursday the 10th at midnight MST!

I’m debuting a new product over at KwernerDesign, so if you want some for FREE, head over and enter!

BACKGROUND: You may have noticed (especially if you originally came from Kristina’s blog in the first place;) that we have a tie that stems WAY back (well not really). We were in the same design BFA at our Alma Mater BYU-Idaho and although she thinks I’m the talented designer I have to say I secretly ennvied her packaging and design skillz myself. Throughout the years I have thought, look at this girl GO! I think she was the reason I started blogging for my business in the first place, I only wish we lived in the same town, I might be bugging her more than she’d like! Thanks Kristina for hosting such a great opportunity!

I’ve been desperately trying to gut my studio and organize this whole summer and have made a large pile of mixed bag stuff. Which I used to think I’d be able to use or sell off, but to be totally honest? It takes too much time to list a card once, never to be listed again. So I’m giving my remnants to you! Almost all are in perfect condition but just didn’t have enough friends to go in a boxed set. There are a few that were trimmed wrong, but since I know there are some creative types out there I’m sure you can trim away to yours heart’s content and re-use them in your own projects.

You have until Midnight MST on Friday to enter. There will be two lucky recipients chosen at random on Saturday. Below is a photo of a small amount of the plethora of what will be going in the bags. You could get recipe cards, gift cards, blank notes, gift tags, beverage tags, and MORE.

Please excuse the lame photo, I just wanted to get it up for you! To enter: comment below or twit it @DingbatPress (see my link to the side). One comment and one twit per person. A winner will be chosen at random from comments and twitter so get going! Ends Midnight MST on August 28th!

UPDATE: Congrats JODY! I’ll be in contact. For the Twitter winner check out the Twitter feed!

So I’ve had a couple of retail orders go out recently and these were some of the hot items that I printed a lot of. From the Animalia children’s and baby collection these gift tags are great for a baby shower gift or to adorn tea cups, prizes, napkins or whatever suits your fancy. Introducing:

Elephants, Ava. as a set of 10.

Butterflies, Ava. as a set of 10.

Sharks, Ava. as a set of 10.

and Froggies, Ava. as a set of 10.

To win just comment below what your favorite animal is for a chance at one set of each!
The GOODS:
1 set of each of these tags (10 tags/set) in each pattern (40 total).
2×2″ letterpress tags with 1/4″ rounded corner and 3/16″ punched hole.

Giveaway ends Midnight on Thursday the 13th of August, TIMES UP! winner will be drawn at random and notified via email as well as updated on this post!

CONGRATS SUSAN!

So the letterpress Confection Collection is out and available to retail stores along with being listed in the Shop as well! I had a hard time choosing a color scheme for these cards and tags (ava. soon) as I didn’t want it to look like a circus or too similar to the cupcake colorway. With the drab recession underway I decided I was looking for something bright and cheery, with a little bit of tangy sweetness to it. Hence pumpkin, lime and grape truffle pops!

TO win a set of 30 truffle pop recipes + treats cards
(3 sets of 10, 1 set of each color)

Be sure to comment by Monday July 20th at Midnight (MST). (Valued at $45)
For ONE extra entry, Tweet the giveaway with a link back to this post and come back to comment that you tweeted with your username.
For ANOTHER entry, blog the giveaway at your own place with a link back to this post.

Good luck!

UPDATED: CONGRATS EMILY F! I’LL BE CONTACTING YOU FOR MAILING INFO!

Here’s another letterpress giveaway for all those summer brides out there (or those madly in love with their significant other). It just seems that when you know, you just know!

So I thought I’d make a print out of this simple fact of love.

THE GOODS:
If you want one 8.5×10.5″ unframed print be sure to comment below about how you met your spouse/fiance/bf or why you really want one! Comments close Friday at midnight!

UPDATE: CONGRATS BRIT, I’LL BE IN CONTACT TO GET YOUR MAILING ADDRESS!

So I know this is a small one, but you can’t be without too many gift tags/enclosures. I printed these recently and just love how they turned out. All totally different yet so suitable for many occasions!

These Aspen trees tags measure 2×3.5″ and come paired with butter yellow mini-lopes in a pack of 10.

You may recognize these Lace tags/place cards/enclosures, as it’s the same pattern from the Lola Suite. Printed in Pool and paired with brown mini-lopes, they measure 2×3.5″ and come  in a pack of 10.

If you are throwing a party, these escort cards will be sure to impress your guests. Printed in red and paired with grey mini-lopes, they measure 2×3.5″ and come in a set of 10.

The REQUIREMENTS:

To enter, comment on this post by midnight July 3rd and you’ll get ONE SET OF EACH! That’s it and good luck:)
(one entry per person, winner will be randomly drawn and notified after the giveaway closes).

UPDATED: CONGRATS CHRISTA, I hope you have a fabulous day!

For my 200th post I’m offering something special to those who have made this blog fun for me!

I’ve been printing a ton of these lately and wanted to offer a lovely set of 25 as a giveaway opportunity to all you great readers! Below are some that were recently shipped, you can see more photos on the flickr feed.

To enter, you need to comment on this post which dingbat you want (click here and check out the thumbs in the store listing to pick one) and for an extra entry, tweet with a tiny URL back to this post. Humor me – I like to see what people pick to go with their names!

The GOODS:
If you win you’ll get a lovely set of 25 personalized (one-line name/one-color ink) letterpress Traditional Dingbat A6 Notes with printed envelopes.

Size: 4.5×6″ FLAT card, printed on white 110# paper and paired with either matching envelopes or a colored envelope. Ships in 14-20 business days from winning notification.

Good luck entering, I look forward to seeing what sort of a dingbat you all are! COMMENTS CLOSE 6/19/09 at midnight! Winner notified the following Monday.

UPDATE: CONGRATS TO COLLEEN! I’ll email you with more info on your notes :) Thanks to everyone that tweeted and commented!

Announcing our new little peanut: Baby Charlie.

New life is just so amazing! I know in a blogging world the word blessing can become quite cliche. However, sometimes there isn’t any other way to really describe it. For those of you that didn’t know or are relatively new to my blog, we’ve had quite a few life changing events in the last 9 months. The pregnancy was planned and that was about the only thing we expected from the get-go.

From the beginning I was severely ill and on bed-rest regularly (unexpected). After losing 18 lbs and turning into a waif by about 20 weeks, we had some “family catastrophies” as one may call it. My young and totally fit mother had a hemorrghic (sp?) stroke and 12 hours later our son David was rushed to the ER and diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes with Ketone Acidosis. I didn’t know if at the end of the week I’d be planning two funerals or moving on to the next phase of recovery. All happening right before Christmas, I felt my life was falling apart. I can honestly admit now that a pregnancy/new baby was the last thing I wanted to add to my plate. With a whole new set of things to deal with, my husband held my hand and we learned to give injections, check blood sugar, count carbs, live off of no sleep, comfort a 4 year old with new challenges and manage a growing belly and 2 year old sister too.

As I mentally tried to prepare myself for the remainder of my pregnancy I often felt overwhelmed that this child might not get the attention and love he deserves or needs with two other children around the house. Little did I know that Baby Charlie was one of the greatest blessings I could have asked for. His impending arrival gave something to look forward to, to help us move past Diabetes and the stroke. We started to live again knowing there would be a new little spirit in our home that needed nourishing. Since the minute Charlie has arrived we can’t stop loving him and the prospect that he’s the perfect addition to our family. I really can say he’s the perfect baby and we are so happy to have him here!

In honor of new life and overcoming new challenges I’m offering a set of 50 Imprintable Baby Announcements with unprinted envelopes! I’ll even customize the color for you ;) You can choose from sail boats, butterflies, sharks, rhinos, or elephants!

The GOODS:

Set of 50: Letterpress Imprintable Baby Announcements, A6 (4.5×6″)
Ink/Envelopes: Your Choice

To Win: Comment which announcements you want and who they are for! Giveaway Ends 6.9.09 at midnight!

Winner Announced! Congrats Marcee – it looks like I just made your decision harder! I’ll get printing the elephants in light green for you!