Soooo much fun!

I'm having so much fun right now taking photos with my new camera... I can't stop. Here is a little mosaic of some new paper*cakes stuff, things I did on the weekend, etc :) Enjoy! xo





1. MAC Pool Party Postcard, 2. Push the button.., 3. Stealing Radios, 4. Bathtime Fun, 5. More Vintage Patterns, 6. Horsie!, 7. More Treasures.., 8. First Coat, 9. Pink Polka Dotty Bows, 10. Fire Dancing, 11. Victoria Row, 12. Eco Friendly Posy Embellies

Calling All Artists!

Calling all digital artists!

I will soon be opening up a permanent booth at the flea market here in PEI and I am looking for artists to partner with. I am recycling various old frames and I would like to sell them with art work inside! I would like to print your art at home on a professional quality printer - so this would be great for digital artists. You would get 50% of the profits made, and I would include your business card and/or info with any sale made. Reach a larger audience!

If you are interested in a partnership like this, please email me! I would like to get a little bit of basic info about you, some examples of your art, and please ask me any questions you may have. Email me directly at spikernub@hotmail.com

xoxox!

Of making ugly things new again and good deals..

Happy FRIDAY! It seems this Friday has come so quickly.. I guess it always seems like Friday arrives so much quicker than it should have. I wanted to share a couple of things from my Friday so far:





I went to Michaels this morning and was super stoked to find *SO* many amazing deals! Everything shown in this photo came to $51.00 even with tax - which is like 15% or something crazy here on PEI! Mostly everything I got was half off, or even better half off of the last marked sticker. I paid full price for one can of spray paint, and the other I had a 50% off coupon for :) (see Jude's dino?!)





So now Jude is napping and I am spray painting some of the hideously ugly wooden things I picked up at Value Village this week. Isn't it amazing what spray paint can do? This is with only a couple of light coats. I highly reccomend this Color Tool spray paint - available at Michaels! I'm using colors raspberry and olive bright to transform these pieces. The bowl cost $0.69 and the frame $1.99!

It's summer time and things are gooooood..

If you've ever been to PEI, you will know that the summer is amazingly beautiful and you never want to go inside (this makes the crappy winter all worth it). So, I haven't been inside much and the time that I have spent inside I have spent working! Aimee has been over for the last two days helping me out with Etsy stuff! We did a little bit of a training day yesterday, and today she did her thing and I was able to get orders done as well as play lots with Jude which I have missed lately, and work on some chores.

I am finally getting out from under the giant pile of orders I had building up - I love that things are so busy but was struggling to keep up as one person with all the custom and made to order items. Annnnnnnyways.. today Aimee took almost 400 photos with my new camera! I will be slowly tickling items into the shop and onto flickr.. but here are a few previews of what is to come.







You may notice that these photos are seriously AWESOME compared to my old photos, and this can all be credited to my new best friend:



Yay! I finally have a DSLR! This is the most exciting moment I've had in a while! :) Here are a couple photos I took tonight of Jude's first trip to the lake:



It has been so sticky here so we took an impromptu trip out to my mother in law's house and went to the nearby lake. Jude loved it.. and loved being naked in the water hahah.

In Paper*Cakes news - I am slowly adding some vintage items into the shop, and will be adding more accessories as time goes on :) I'm hoping to set up a semi-permanent stall at the flea market here selling cool stuff, vintage/crafts/whatevers so I've been collecting. My sister is law is coming over tomorrow to model two very cool dresses that I found, so watch for those!!









So watch for new things to come in the following days :)

xoxo

Just a quick post to announce....

The job positions! :)

I'm sorry I took so long to get these officially "blogged" - I had no idea how many applications I would get! I want to thank each and every one of you who applied and assure you that I had the hardest time deciding and I am keeping some applications on file for anything that may come up in the future.

I was so happy reading the emails - it seems a lot of you are lurkers here and I really felt like I finally got to know who my audience is! :)

So, I have hired three people for the paper*cakes team! They will be working with me PT to help me grow my business, and allow me to spend a bit more time with my family (and my housework, boooourns lol).

Keira: Keira is a mommy to 2 little girls and lives in Manitoba, Canada. She has a digital scrapbooking blog and is going to be helping with record keeping, document design, and processing. She is a long time paper*cakes reader!

Nicole: Nicole is from Portland, Indiana and she is a student. She will be in charge of Media Relations/PR and will be helping to maintain the paper*cakes flickr group, myspace page, and paper*cakes finds twitter account. She will be posting comments, answering some questions, and chatting/sharing with people. Nicole likes photography and scrapbooking! Check out nicole's flickr photos.

Aimee: Aimee is from PEI and will be working with me locally to help me ship packages, prep and photograph merchandise, and list items on etsy, and model in photos. Aimee likes photography, music, and she is super fun :) Visit her blog and flickr.

Another post will be made soon with official bios and pictures of each new team member! :)

xo

As a closing bonus, I would like to offer everyone who applies a 20% off discount to the shop and a free gift with any purchases over $10 - today and tomorrow only - please use the code: PCAKESJOBS

Prom Makeups!

Yesterday, I did prom makeup for four girls! :) One being my friend Aimee's little sister (the gorgeous red head!). Aimee took these photos of the makeup and has allowed me to share them - to see more of her photography check out her flickr stream here







I'm doing makeup for a few more events this summer, weddings and whatnot :) I'm excited to be getting back into makeup and especially excited that I get to do it on my own terms and don't have the pressure of the beauty industry to deal with.

If you live in PEI and have a special event coming up, I would LOVE to do your makeup! I have 9 years experience, am professionally trained, and I have worked for lines such as MAC, Lancome, Stila, Guerlain, Elizabeth Arden, Red Earth, Shiseido, Clinique, and more :) I've done magazines, billboard ads, tv spots and all of that so you would be in good hands! I have a very extensive professional kit filled with great products in all colors too. I have experience with women of all skin types and colors.

If you are interested, please get in touch with me by email @ spikernub@hotmail.com.

Paper*Cakes Summer Design Team Application Call

Calling all paper crafters! Paper*Cakes is looking for 5 people to join our NEW Summer Design team! If you think you might be interested... please read below for more info and an application form :)

Requirements:

- Design team members will be required to complete 4 projects per month - 1 / week. The projects you make will be up to you, but they must use the paper*cakes products that will be sent to you. I am thinking cards, scrapbook layouts, altered art kinds of things! I am looking for people who will make things in line with the paper*cakes style and philosophy of recycling and re-using.

- Design team members will be required to share and blog about their projects if they blog, and tutorials would be nice (but are not required) every so often.

- I would like it if you have a year + experience with paper crafting, but if you are good experience won't matter!

Perks:

- a 20% off discount to the paper*cakes store!
- a free monthly kit for your designing!
- lots of promo, as your projects will be featured here on this blog and possibly in other places like my etsy shop, flickr photostream, etc

Application:

Name:
Websites: (flickr, blog, any online galleries you may have, etc)
Why you want to join the team:
Can you meet the weekly/monthly requirements:
How internet savvy are you:
Your favorite paper crafts to make:

You may also attach a photo or two of your projects if you like :) Please email this completed form to spikernub@hotmail.com. The application process will close on Thursday, June 25th.

Paper*Cakes is Hiring!

Yay! Paper*cakes is growing... and we (I) need help! This busy mamma can no longer maintain a growing business alone!

I will be hiring 1-3 people, depending on applicants and the time they can devote. I am looking for:

- Someone to maintain our myspace account. Uploading photos, responding to comments, posting bulletins, adding people to friends, things like that.

- Someone to contact people when they are featured on the paper*cakes finds blog. This would require checking the blog daily and sending out etsy convos (from a paper*cakes account) to those sellers or contributors who are featured.

- Someone to moderate the paper*cakes finds flickr group

- Someone to make posts on the blog while I am gone or cover for me if necessary. I would always leave assigned topics, you would have to input the data and make the posts

Now, onto the requirements:

- I want someone dedicated, someone kind and courteous, professional, and with a good knowledge of the internet, blogging, etsy, basic html, etc. I need someone with a bit of experience, or a quick learner. Someone who can type and spell correctly. It would be a bonus if you have the capabilities to use MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Photoshop, etc.

- This will be probably 1-2 hours each day. Things do not have to be done in a scheduled manner, as long as the daily tasks outlined are completed. This means that these positions will have a lot of flexibility.

The Perks:

- You will get a 30% employee discount on any paper*cakes merchandise.

- There will be a paid wage, paid by paypal, weekly. Wage will depend on experience and knowledge but I am thinking around $10/ hr. You can also choose to take part of your wages as merchandise credit if you like, as often as you like!

- You will be listed on the paper*cakes blog as a team member, and get to tell your friends about the cool company you work for!! LOL :) but in all seriousness, if you own your own blog or etsy shop this would be a great way to get yourself some exposure!

- You get to stay home and play on the internet (I mean, work) :)

The Application Process:

- I will be taking applications until the end of this week - Friday the 19th. Please fill out and submit the following form to me BY EMAIL: (you can also submit a resume, but I don't need all your personal address info or dates of employment and all that, it's up to you!)

Name:
Location:
Email:
Related experience and skills:
A bit about you:
Links to your website: (blog, etsy shop, flickr, twitter, etc. Anything you have online that you can share with me so I can take a look at what you can do!)
How many hours you want/time you can devote:
Your future goals:
Why you want to work for Paper*Cakes:

and that's it! :) xo my email is spikernub@hotmail.com. You can also email me or get into contact with me elsewhere if you have any questions regarding these positions!

Positions will be announced on Monday, June 22nd.

Cleaning.

Cleaning, tidying, getting things in order.

Organization, newness, freshness of summer.

New stuff in shop soon!

Can I please move in??

This is a hello kitty castle in Shanghai! See the original article here

Happy Birthday! :)

This is just a quick post to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to two of my favorite ladies! Isn't it funny that you two share the same Birthday?? (both my sister in law and another very good friend had Birthdays on Thursday and my best friend Courtney's birthday is later in the month - I think it's no coincidence that all of these girls are born in June!).

Anyways, Happy Birthday Aimee and Chelsea Ann! I hope you both have a fun day today and remember that if you weren't born the world would be a little bit less cool! Both os these gals have flickr photostreams, check out some of their photos below. (click them to view full size - they will look much nicer and less blurry!)


Chelsea Ann





Aimee

Mother of the year??

Not this gal.. snapped a few photos today after catching Jude in "action"..




First, I caught him with a blue water color pencil, yikes! Then, shortly after.. he grabs my cricut mat. The look on his face was too precious to not snap a pic.



So then he notices me with the camera... and charges over, like he always does, index finger outstretched. This being something he does when something is especially interesting..



Still determind to get the camera, he attempts to scale mommy mountain to reach it, but of course does not let the precious cricut mat slip from his toothy grip!

Stuff, and Junk

This poor little blog is getting neglected! Paper*Cakes Finds has taken off, leaving me without much time to post here. So... what is new in my life... well, lots! My little guy has been walking (no, wait, running!) since Mother's Day and he has kept me really busy! It seems that summer has finally (almost) arrived in PEI - we had a 20+ day yesterday and we all took advantage of it.. I even got a little bit of a sunburn.



My hubby is big into sports, and I attended both a hockey and baseball game this week. The hockey game was special though - they were playing for charity. Here is a pic of his team after the game:


Sorry It's a little blurry!


Earlier in the week, I looked at a couple of houses. Don't freak out - we're just beginning to browse! We don't even know for sure if we could afford a house.. but we are going to speak with a Mortgage Broker this week and see what is in our price range. Here is a picture of one of the houses we looked at:



It's a 3 bedroom with a basement, and a shed. It has a beautiful yard that overlooks the water. This house is located 20 minutes outside of Charlottetown in a small town called Mount Stewart - they have a school, gas station, restaurant, and post office. The house needs some cosmetic work and was overpriced, though.. so we will just keep looking.. we are going to take our time and browse.

I also went to the Dr. this week to have my ankle checked out.. and got a little bit of bad news - it's still broken and hasn't even healed at all! I broke it on January 17th and was in a cast for 12 weeks. I have been cast free almost 2 months and walking around on it and I have very little pain. The Dr. is stumped - so they are testing me for bone diseases and have scheduled me for surgery/bone graft in August. I'm not looking forward to that but I would like to have my ankle fixed up... I can't wear any cute shoes!!! lol :) that and I don't think it would be good to walk around all my life with a broken ankle ;) ;)

There is a new LSS opening here in July, and I contacted them about teaching classes. I am really hoping to do that.. it would be a great way to meet other crafty peeps, and I love to share techniques with others! I'm also in the development stages of an online class, so watch for that! If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know :) So far, the projects I am planning for the first class are a teacup pin cushion, a stitched felt woodland scene, and a fold out mini book.

In thrify news.. I seem to be lucky lucky lately with finding things! Yesterday I got this mirror and set of pyrex bowels at the flea market.. would you believe I paid $6 for this whole set of bowls?! They guy said "That's a great deal" and I said "Yes it really is!!" and bought them and ran before he changed his mind... lol ! :) The mirror was originally marked $40 (a set w/ other pieces) and I ended up getting just the mirror for $18!!! I want to paint it.. but am unsure what color yet.




Orders in the shop have been crazy lately!! I am so happy/excited, but now crazy busy trying to pack them all up and send them out! I didn't get anything new made last week, so this week I am hoping to do lots of stuff! I approached a local store a couple of weeks ago about selling some of my items, and I'd like to get more things done to show them :) I'm also branching out into more jewelery as I can buy supplies here and there. Here are a few pics of some of the newest items:



Anyways, this is turning into a book so I will wrap it up here! xoxoxo