There's nothing more satisfying than creating products from clients' own artwork, especially when they know what they are doing!  

Kirsty decided she wanted 2 books and a t-shirt for her sisters birthday. 

The notebook with lined pages was to have a simple black graphic on the front with ivory covers.

And here it is finished. 

The second book was a coloured graphic with a coloured graphic

Looks great don't you think?

The black t-shirt was to have H.T.V. on it

No need for black H.T.V. as the t-shirt was already black 

Just look at that neon vinyl....see how it pops! 

I have to say this was probably one of the most enjoyable jobs I've done for a long time. Understanding what the creator needs in terms of graphic and format helps massively. It's probably best to ask BEFORE you get down to drawing and creating. 

Although the graphics her are one single graphic the coloured ones have to be split onto colours and layered, which can be time-consuming. Understanding this and sending in this format makes the job more pleasurable too. 

It might be good to add here that if you do send artwork it needs to be in 300dpi as a minimum. Anything less is likely to pixellate and the fuzzy printing is not down to the designer nor their printing method by YOUR bad image quality in the first place. Please bare this in mind when sending artwork. 

Fortunately, I didn't have this problem with this job. If in doubt CONTACT US first. 

Interested in having a book made? Here are the links:

NOTEBOOKS & JOURNALS  

T-SHIRTS

CUSTOM MADE T-SHIRT MENS/UNISEX   LADYFIT

Not aRANT.... more a PLEA!

hELLO EVERYONE! Hope you are all doing o.k.?

What a roundabout of a year this has been! 

There I was looking forward, like most people, to the year ahead. Spring had arrived! The next time you lift your head up and look ahead and it's Autumn!

At the start of lockdown, it felt like time had slowed down.... almost stood still at times. Now I feel like we are fast heading towards the C word!

For small businesses, it's been tough and for so many of them, it still is! .... really tough! And 

I'm not going to lie, my mental health has been very up and down and all over the place.  

Glass half full or glass half empty? Well, it depends on what day you ask me lol.

I am so VERY grateful for all those awesome people who have given me orders both large and small and who have kept me going when I wanted to give up!

Every penny spent with a small local business puts 80p in every pound back into the local economy. Shop online with the big boys and you're only putting 5p in the pound back.... pretty disgusting eh?  What you may not know... the big boys pay less tax than most small businesses! Why? Because they have an uncanny knack of offsetting so much of their profits and employ super-smart accountants! Most of them have offshore accounts that are subject to different taxation systems than ours.  

So as the C-word approaches and indeed wherever you can... PLEASE... if you do nothing else this year... shop small, shop local, shop independent. 

The advantages are huge! Not only are you helping a person who had a go at turning their dream into a business and took the risk to have a go, but you'll also find we are incredibly nice people who will bend over backward to give you what you want and REALLY value every penny you spend with us. 

O.k. now here are a few pictures of makes... some commissioned some as gifts.... 

These double-walled thermos flasks keep drinks hot or cold.

WEB LINK FOR THIS PRODUCT

 

Just one of the many cake toppers I've made

I really need to put them all into one long blog post! 

WEB LINK FOR THIS PRODUCT

Personalised Hoodie 

WEB LINK HERE

Personalised Hoodie 

WEB LINK HERE

I love making t-shirts, whether it's for business, business branding or clubs

Here's one for one of the Thirsk Bowmen.

WEBLINK FOR T-SHORTS HERE

After the kitchen repaint, I found this cute cat, brought back from Spain by a friend 

as a little thank you for looking after (and keeping alive) 

her gorgeous diabetic orange tabby cat 'Scooby'.

Do you ever look in the mirror on a morning and think " Oh me gosh! I look like my mother!"?

Me too! So I just had to inject a little humour into my morning visit to the looking glass...

If you can't read it I'll translate.....

Hello beautiful.... You look younger in real life! 

I love designing anything with letters and even more so when it's then cut in vinyl. 

Self-adhesive vinyl can be applied to most clean, dry, surfaces and can last up to 7 years outdoors if applied correctly. 

HTV (Heat transfer vinyl) is applied to fabric using a heat press and is generally used on garments, although I have used it on bags, books and even wood. 

I know that there's a lot of you using vinyl stickers for kitchen jars and bathroom pump dispensers so I thought I'd offer them for sale on the website. 

 WEB LINK HERE

At the moment I'm only offering Black, white, gold and silver self-adhesive stickers. HTV is best applied with a heat press. Using an iron can be an epic failure. 

And can you believe that I am already getting ready for the C-word. I don't want to be overwhelmed by Christmas stock at the end of the year so I think I'll be putting these out as pre-orders, that way I'll only buy-in and make the products that have already been paid for. And it will help me save space and stop everything bursting out of the work/shop door. 

On a final note THANK YOU so much for  every order you give me, it really is appreciated and you are helping keep the wolves from the door and put food on the table ... again THANK YOU! 

Until next time, Stay safe, keep well and please wear a mask xxx

Time for A Catch Up!

Hi Tribe,
We ventured into the studio yesterday, mainly to catch up on maintenance and get this kit idea off to a start. 

I set Steve to work on rubbing down the paintwork on this dilapidated cottage that I fondly refer to as my second home. But first.... he needed to trim back the bush as he couldn't get near the windows!

 During this lockdown I've noticed how blue the sky is. Something I haven't seen since I was a kid! I doubt anyone believed it when I used to reminisce how blue the skies used to be, but thankfully they've now seen it for themselves. 
In a selfish twist, I'm glad the plane companies are going out of business. Not only for the environment but the economy too. If more people spent their money here we would be more financially stable as a country and don't even get me started on the carbon footprint all these travelling planes cause. 

I have to admit, it was a hot day... perhaps too hot (Did I really say THAT?). It was so hot Steve went on a mercy mission to get the last remaining ice cream lollies out of the home fridge. 

I finally put all doubts and worries aside and the work on the new Charity Kits has started! As I said in a previous post it's really bothered me that the smaller charities are down on their vital fundraising. Their shops are closed and the events that they rely on so heavily cancelled. So, I'm making it a priority. 

Oh the irony of paying a small fortune for a diary this year! I bought this and remember almost fainting at the price.... but it went with my branding so I clenched my teeth and bit the bullet!

Now it looks like it's going to end up being a notebook, what with all weddings cancelled and such like.

Perhaps I'll buy a cheap one next year!

I'm thinking of launching the Charity Kits on the first Friday of every month.
This will give me enough time to make the kits, write the instructions and get the blog post written.

I've designed the cards already. I just have to decide on how many to make available and what charities to support.

Steve managed to get the paintwork rubbed down, but the more he sanded the more wood fell out. The heat was unbelievably hot and too hot to paint. So we ended the day on a high, but knew when to stop. at least.

Yesterday seemed much more optimistic. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was when the government announced that we can meet in groups of up to 6 people? And while I have no intention of leaving my little town at least for the time being, it does mean we can see the grandkids, which is brilliant news.

Regarding opening the work/shop. While I'm happy(er) to be in there I am not happy to be open to the public anytime soon. Even though I have all the measures in place that I physically can, it all seems too soon and way out of my comfort zone right now.

The numbers may be dropping as a national average, I know fine well that they are NOT dropping here and while R number is nearer 1 than 0, I won't be opening to the public.

I have a website and I'm happy to do messenger video calls, so the only advantage of opening is that the public can see and touch things. Touching things is not permitted under the government regs even with hand washing.

Whether this is a good idea or bad, I have no intention of putting my life or the lives of my family at risk... it's as simple and clear cut as that.

We drink very little and haven't had a drink all lockdown, but last night it seemed right to crack open the Pimms that has been in the cupboard for at least 2 years and have a celebratory drink.

I'll leave you with a little video of my only lockdown ' non-essential' purchase.....my beautiful, solar, moon-gazing hare and the beautiful blackbird friend that serenades me first thing on a morning and last thing at night.

If you read my blog posts all the way through, please can you leave me a comment, a message or simply a quick hello? It will be nice to have something more than a thumbs up that we usually get on FB.

With love and bright blessings, Sue xox.

What is an Affirmation?

Even strong people crumple sometimes! 

I'm not afraid to admit that my own mental health has suffered over the last couple of months and looking at my FB feed a lot of others are also suffering right now, so I've re-invented something I used to make years ago BEFORE I went into the whole wedding stationery business and somehow it felt that the time was right to bring them back. 

I've upgraded to a metal box and increased the number of cards to 50! 

Previously they were sold in a card box, but I wanted something more durable to withstand many opening and closings. 

I really feel like I could write a book about this, so this post will probably be much longer than I intend….. nothing new there then lol.

SO WHAT IS AN AFFIRMATION?
First off……..

For anyone who’s a cynic about these things, you really have to be committed and try them ad hopefully it will prove to you that WORDS HAVE POWER! More importantly, what you say to yourself magnifies, whether it’s negative or positive. We have all been guilty at one time or another of pulling ourselves down. It’s easy to think the worst of ourselves. Usually, the words we choose to use to ourselves are designed to chip away at our self-esteem and confidence to such a degree in severe cases it can lead to depression and a general feeling of unworthiness. Very often these negative self-beliefs have been sown by someone else. A comment made in jest can so easily play on your mind. Other times you can create them all by yourself.

If you practice Affirmations I will practically guarantee that you will see an improvement. I say practically guarantee because you really have to WANT to change and some degree of responsibility for that lies on your shoulders.

Long before the book, The Secret came out (a book I absolutely abhor by the way, as it equates money and possessions as affirmations - which they aren't!.....it's not all about riches and power!) where was I (jumps off the soapbox!) yes long before The Secret and The Laws of Attraction came out, a lot of us were already practising Affirmations.

So……

Put simply an Affirmation is ‘The 3 P’s’
It’s POSITIVE
It’s PERSONAL to you
And It’s PRESENT… ie you speak it as if it’s already happened.

If you think about it logically, a lot of negative self-talk can bring you down to rock bottom. Feeding the subconscious with thoughts that you probably wouldn’t even say to your worst enemy….
I’m so fat!
I’m so thin!
I’m so stupid!
I hate myself!
I’m just an idiot!
I’ll never have any money!
I’m always so skint!
Everyone hates me!
Everyone takes me for granted!
Etc. etc. etc….BLAH BLAH BLAH

Now if you can talk yourself into believing these things about yourself, it stands to reason that doing the opposite will make you believe the good things about yourself, and in turn, attract those things to happen and right before your eyes.

So an affirmation about say….
I NEVER have enough money
Should be changed to
I ALWAYS have enough to get by on.

I am so fed up
Should be changed to
I am happy

I feel ill
Needs to be changed to
I am healthy

The idea is that you pick one card out a day and say it repeatedly to yourself. I used to write them on post-it notes and leave them all over the house…on doors, fridges, mirrors…anywhere I would look frequently over the day.

The advantage of the new cards in a box is that you can either spread them out in front of you and choose one or take ten out and give them a good shuffle. then choose. However you decide to use them is up to you.

A card maker I know uses them to add to the front of her hand made greeting cards. Cool idea eh? 

If you'd like a set or can think of a friend who would benefit from these right now  HERE'S THE LINK.   or send me your email address to inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk and I'll send a Paypal request (No account necessary). 

In the meantime, keep your chin up....we're all in this together!
Everyone feels the strain right now. Keep talking.... even though you don't want to.  A problem shared is a problem halved.  We are going through some extraordinary times right now but there's no need to go through it alone. I'm available to listen if anyone needs me. 

Message me through messenger on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByScript/

Love and bright blessings,
Sue XOX

Pop-up Box Card and how they work

I remember seeing my first pop-up box card on a Facebook group I'm in. 

WOW! Just WOW! Did someone make that? So I set to work on making my own.

I remember the first one I made took me almost all day, but the magic of seeing it pop open was so worth it!  I set about making one for each of my family members birthdays. They became easier and I found ways around the long-winded ways on You Tube making them quicker at least.

They come flat, but with a gentle squeeze of both sides they pop up into a box and the little graphics, hearts or whatever bob around and bring a unique sense of magic to the recipient. 

Everyone who received a card loved them 

With practice, it was sourcing the graphics

which turned out to be the most time-consuming part.

This is the first one I made for my make-up mad niece. 

The Mad Hatters tea party for a friend

(on the left.)

This one I made for my brother who is mad

on all kinds of pushbikes

I worked on ideas that were quicker to make 

and in turn, this made them affordable. 

I love the way these hearts bob around 

and the glitter card catches the light. 

Watch again how they work......apologies for the awful video..... 

I didn't intend to share it.... but hey-ho! 

I'm going to work on more 'Off the shelf' cards and as time goes on fill up my shop a little with Popup Boxes for special occasions. 

I have toyed with the idea of offering these as kits, what do you think?  I'm keen to know your views so please pop me a comment. 

Any questions will be answered. 

Pop over to the website link POP UP CARDS  to see more. 

Email: inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

The website is of course open 24/7: https://inspiredbyscript.co.uk/

Let's be social! Find us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByScript/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspiredbyscript/
Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pixiesuesimpson/

Favourite Quote Invitations

Not all couples want flowers or graphics on their stationery but if you are one of these, what are the alternatives? 

How about using your favourite quotation? 

Above are just 4 ideas from invitations we have created in the past.
Of course, there are many more and we love bespoke invites as much as you do so make it personal.

What about places you hold dear: London, Paris, New York

We met in ........................ He proposed in........................... We married in..........

Favourite lyrics from a song: Love, love changes everything

Favourite film or book quotation and it doesn't have to be about love: We're mad, bonkers, completely off our heads. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.

I'm sure you can get your creative thinking caps on and come up with something unique that reflects you both. And, of course, I'm here to help you along the way.

If you like what you see above or have ideas of your own, feel free to contact me and let me know what you are looking for, perhaps I can help.

Email: inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: 01609 776 866
Our studio in Northallerton,
 North Yorkshire DL7 8DW is open
Tuesday - Friday
10.30 a.m. - 4.30 p.m. Saturdays by appointment.
The website is of course open 24/7: https://inspiredbyscript.co.uk/

Let's be social! Find us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByScript/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspiredbyscript/
Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pixiesuesimpson/

Not every Bride wants to be called a 'Princess' - Informal Wedding Ideas

Not every couple wants an all singing all dancing event. In fact, I had one Bride who planned her wedding 2 years in advance. She thought that by being organised and prepared she'd avoid the stress and anxiety. WRONG! 4 weeks before her wedding, when everything was paid for, she backed out!

Why? The thought of being centre of attention for a whole day became overwhelming.
When I asked why, she told me "It's just not me!.... or rather it's just not us!"

REMEMBER:

Not EVERY Bride wants to be called a Princess!

The balance of having the wedding 'you want' as opposed to the wedding 'everyone expects you to have' is a fine one.

My advice is....
"Do not buckle under peer pressure"

It's quite acceptable to have a small, quiet, intimate wedding, and to be honest, these weddings usually go down better and are much more memorable that the huge affairs where couples feel obliged to invite everyone from distant cousins to people they haven't seen for years.

Hey! And don't think that having a small, informal wedding, will be any the less meaningful.

Better to have a small group of people who want to share your day, than a stadium full of folk who feel obliged to be there because your mum was friends with her aunty twice removed.

Here's some tips to have a great day:

Forget the sit down meal!
Have the wedding late in the day, followed by an evening buffet and disco.
or how about a BBQ or Tea party?

Ditch the DJ!
Consider playing music through your iPod.

Ditch the photographer! 
Of course, you could provide guests with disposable cameras, but if you want decent photos, ask a friend who's pretty good with a camera or make sure you find a photographer who will take pictures as a sort of camera capture of the day, with no-one having to be ordered about and made to pose for hundreds of photographs.

And.... what about this great idea?
Get all your friends to take photos and get them to upload them to a Pinterest Board you have created or what about Instagram using a hashtag. Make little cards to give out at your reception with the website/URL where you want them to upload their photos!

Still want photos?
To save money.... why not ring the local College or Uni and ask if one of their students would be interested in photographing the day.... great experience for them!

"Who you have at your wedding

 is far more important 

than how many you have

 at your wedding".

And what about my Bride that cancelled just before her wedding?

Well.... she did get married, about a year later.

This time a small wedding with just a few close family and friends

Much more relaxed and more in keeping with the couple's personalities. 

A fairytale ending, without the 

Princess pomp and ceremony.

And by all accounts.... 

they had a ball! 

Are you having an informal wedding? 

Share your ideas in the comments below and inspire others!

If you're looking for  inspiration, for an informal wedding....
 pop over and take a look at OFF BEAT BRIDE there are some great ideas!

WEDDING SCAMS & WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEM

I belong to this awesome FB group WEDDING SCAMMERS- DON'T LET THEM WIN!

Action Fraud is the first place to report money lost to wedding fraud. You can report via their website or by phone. They are supposed to cascade the information to the local police force of the scammer involved but in practice, we have found this does not happen.

http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

Inland Revenue

Occasionally traders may require a report to Inland Revenue. Inland Revenue have advised us that the Police and Trading Standards do not send them information about businesses who are being investigated for fraud. A separate report needs to be made direct to Inland Revenue.

Signs of an unregistered business that is not paying tax include:

• no proper invoices/ does not provide paperwork
• invoices/ receipts that don’t state an address for the trader
• trader does not display their address on their website/ quote/ invoice
• requests payment via Paypal “friends & family” saying it’s to avoid fees

https://www.gov.uk/report-an-unregi...

Trading Standards

Telephone: 03454 04 05 06 Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Closed on bank holidays.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/c...

Online reporting form: https://ssl.datamotion.com/form.asp...

Money Claim Online aka “Small Claims Court”

The system is fairly easy, you start online here https://www.gov.uk/make-money-claim... You will require the traders name and address.

DMCA Takedown

This is used when a trader is using stolen images on their Facebook page or profile to trick clients into booking them or buying from them. Facebook will usually take the stolen content down with 48 hours. Start a DMCA claim here by clicking the copyright button: https://www.facebook.com/help/conta...

Please note that the copyright holder must make the claim. That is usually the photographer who took the images.

Paula Brown from Ollievision Photography also has THIS ADVICE if you are considering Buying wedding services safely on Facebook or Online – a guide for couples who want to avoid being scammed!

Katie B Art Business Cards

And now for something a little different......

I love to help and support small micro-businesses and many of the printers only offer large print runs. 

Printing and branding can easily eat up a large chunk of your budget when first starting out. 

Your brand needs to say something about YOU. 

Katie, from Katie B Art, supplied me with the bee graphic and I did the rest. 

The circular wording around the bee lent itself perfectly to a square format card The unusual square shape made her branding more memorable.

 The great thing about these business cards is that you can punch a hole in a corner and add some string or butchers twine and you have a swing tag. Dual purpose and not limiting the business card to just being 'A business card'.  

If you want to stand out, don't go for conventional! Your product and service need to set you apart, not make you a clone.  

Please pop over and say a big hello to Katie and tell her I sent you!

Find Katie B Art on FACEBOOK 

and INSTAGRAM 

If you like what you see above or have ideas of your own, feel free to contact me and let me know what you are looking for, perhaps I can help.

Email: inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: 01609 776 866
Our studio in Northallerton,
 North Yorkshire DL7 8DW is open
Tuesday - Friday
10.30 a.m. - 4.30 p.m. Saturdays by appointment.
The website is of course open 24/7: https://inspiredbyscript.co.uk/

Let's be social! Find us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByScript/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspiredbyscript/
Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pixiesuesimpson/

A special message to all my wonderful couples

How are you doing? Very up and down I imagine like most of us?

I thought I’d send you a bit of happy post just to keep you up-to-date from my end at least.

I’m upset, of course, for all those who have had to or will have to cancel their weddings this year. Everything is a bit uncertain at the moment and I fully understand that dates are not able to be rearranged.

I’m sure you know how I value each and every one of you who supports my small business. 

I started it 20 years ago on a wing and a prayer with no money in the bank and refusing to borrow money to make it work. I thought if it worked it worked and if it didn’t it didn’t. But better to try and fail than live a life wondering ‘what if’. Thankfully, I've managed to keep my head above water and I'm still needed to do what I love best. 

I want to reassure you I'm not closing... that's not an option and there are benefits to having a small humble property with an amazing landlord. I'll be back open to the public as soon as I possibly can.  The website will be open 24/7 in the meantime. So all is well with the world. 

I’m not going to lie and say it was easy, some months especially in the early days,  were terrifying, but I’ve always had the belief that everything works out in the end and all will be well. It's thanks to you that it works! 

The success of any business lies with your customers and I really feel honored that you trusted me to make your wedding stationery. A little bit of me goes out with every order. So, here’s the thing, if you bought your invitations from me, I will make you FREE OF CHARGE some small A7 change of date cards when you’ve managed to reschedule your wedding. It’s not a lot I know, but if you’ve sent your invites out, you’ll only need to change a few details and I think this will help. It’s just my way of giving back in gratitude for helping support me.

Get in touch via email: inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

Tel: Mobile 07816 537 275

Home: 01609 780 507

Keep up to date or contact me through fb: https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByScript

Please be aware that the page will most probably contain less wedding stuff and more home life, cat pictures, garden pictures, motivational quotes and whatever else randomly pops into my head right now. 

I think I'm acting a bit on the weird side at the moment.... but hey... that's nothing new! This isn't a time for being 'normal'.... it's a time for being human! 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/inspiredbyscript/

(As above.... it may get a bit random!).

If you have any worries or concerns please feel free to chat.

In the meantime, stay safe, stay calm and stay positive.

This is just 1 day of the whole of the rest of your lives together.

Thank you so much for your continued support,

it means the world to me!

REMEMBER: We’re in this together.

Love and bright blessings,

Sue xox

P.S. Just a little side note....I'm using this time to catch up on Blogging, Adding to my website, building up my Pinterest board and doing lots of other important but often neglected work-related stuff... so to avoid lots of cat and home and random stuff, please let me know what you need to see or read and I'll write about that.