sparkle and shine

Everyone getting ready for the “Wrap Battle” kickoff on Friday? Here’s some inspiration (and a giveaway)!

Wish I could say I was ready — but I am so behind. I still haven’t sent out any of the e-mails that need to be sent in advance. I haven’t even read half my e-mails today yet! As such, things may be rocky until mid-week next week when I get more holiday cards finished and off to the printers, ordering galleries complete and e-mailed to clients, packages wrapped and off with my “bend and snap!” man, plus get myself through another column debut and new deadline… Oh yeah, and I guess I should fit my kids and husband in there somewhere as well. Shall I continue? It’s the same song and dance we all do every November / December and ask ourselves “WHY?!?”

But even so – even with a 39th birthday under my belt this week – I still took the time to “show you mine”. Now you get ready to show me yours!

I’m sending these “gift wrap kits” with client orders I know contain gifts so it’s easy for them to turn around and re-gift the contents to their families.

Never fear! To make sure we all get through the holidays alive, the contest entry deadline won’t fall until the week between Christmas and New Year’s. When hopefully this will all be a distant memory thanks to the spiked eggnog!

     How do you get the above? Here are the vendors:

     1.  Custom boxes – HB Photo Packaging
     2.  Eco Tote Bags – HB Photo Packaging
     3.  Custom logo stamp – Ampersandity
     4.  Alphabet letter stamps – Michael’s $1 bin
     5.  “Merry Christmas” stamp – Martha Stewart Crafts Scandinavian Set
     6.  Christmas buttons – Dress It Up
     7.  Button stickers – Martha Stewart / EK Success Woodland Buttons
     8.  Santa hat stickers – Jolee’s / EK Success
     9.  Clear Bags – ClearBags.com
     10. Holiday Ribbon – Michael’s
     11. Satin Ribbon – Paper Source
     12. Christmas stickers and labels – Moo.com (free templates here)




And what’s a Paperie post without a cool vendor and a little summin’-summin’ you can win? One of my favorite knitters Boondock Studios Fiber Arts has launched a fun tiny little division called “Narrow Wear” and they’re here for a quick guest post!

Narrow Wear makes funky and eclectic skinny scarves, from a huge variety of fibers and textures. Use them as hip accessories for older kids and teens, or wrap them around / pile under newborns for texture and color.

And now one lucky Paperie reader can win the “Mrs. Claus” by Narrow Wear.

How do you win? Easy! Just leave a comment here and let us know what your favorite item in the Narrow Wear Etsy Store is (or what you’d like to see)! That’s it. The winner will be picked this weekend with Random.org, and the winner will be contacted within 48-72 hours of the winner-announcement to claim their prize. Good luck!




Packaging supplies out. Cameras up. Ready? Set. Go!
-Robyn & Todd

haute couture

Remember the amazing packaging contest we had last year? Well it’s back this year and it’s going to be even more amazing!

Don’t forget when you’re busy wrapping up your client and / or holiday orders to stop for a minute and take photos of your beautiful creations before delivering them. The second annual business and holiday packaging contest kicks off on Friday, December 2nd!

Don’t know where to start? Paper Source always has great video tutorials! And with just one of the prizes being a $500 store credit to HB Photo Packaging, it will definitely be worth your time!

Watch this space for more updates in the coming days! And happy wrapping!




New week, new deal for Paperie readers! Today we have a vendor / guest post by Beth Forester of photoDUDS!

“Be Artsy!”

Beth Forester of photoDUDS has just released a new line of templates created just for Artsy Couture Gallery Blocks.

Let’s face it, Artsy Couture Gallery Blocks are one of the hottest items this year. With these designs you’ll be able to impress your clients by offering these upscale custom designed items in your studio.

There are SEVEN different templates designed to work specifically with the Artsy Couture Line. These fully-layered templates are super-easy to customize so you can change the colors to match your photographs.

Not using the Artsy line yet…well look no more because all of these templates also include files for deep Canvas Gallery Wraps.

So, you get two products for the price of one!

And as an introductory offer, these designs are on sale in the photoDUDS store for 20% off. Or you can save 50% off and buy the bundle!

Plus, Beth Forester of photoDUDS is offering Paperie Boutique followers an additional 20% off* the already reduced items or anything else in the photoDUDS store. So not only can you get the special introductory prices but you can save an additional 20%. So head on over to the photoDUDS store and use the exclusive Paperie code: paperie20

*Offer expires November 9, 2011.

Thanks to photoDUDS for stopping by with this incredible offer for our readers!




Earlier this year we featured MamaThredz maternity portrait ensembles from The Art of Pregnancy and Newborn. (TAoPaN)

Yesterday I was lucky enough to photograph a maternity session for Buttons and Bows Photography using the “Sassy – All Mama” gown. You can see the results above (click images for lager pop-ups). To purchase, visit MamaThredz.




Have a great week everyone and check back soon!
-Robyn & Todd

bow-tique!

From One Kings Lane — videos on “How to Wrap the Perfect Gift” and “How to Create a Ribbon Rosette“… (And read on to win a One Kings Lane giftcard!)

One lucky Paperie winner will receive a $25.00 gift card to One Kings Lane!

1. Go to your Facebook and Twitter accounts and post the following on either or both (then tell us where you did):

Win giftcard to OneKingsLane.com and learn how to wrap the perfect gift – at PaperieBoutique.com / @PaperieBoutique – http://is.gd/7uBrmH

2. Friend / Like / Follow Paperie Boutique on Facebook and come back here and let us know (or tell us you’re already a fan)

3. Follow Paperie Boutique on Twitter and come back here and let us know (or tell us you’re already a follower)

4. Share your favorite giftwrap photo on Pinterest – post the link here in the comments. (Here’s my giftwrap board to get you started!)

Each entry requires its own separate comment here. (In simple terms: If you want FIVE chances to win, you have to do the FIVE separate things listed above, and then make five separate comments here telling us how you did them.)

Comment that you have posted to your Twitter and/or Facebook account(s), with a link to where you did it – or that you’ve liked the us on Facebook and/or Twitter – or your favorite Pinterest giftwrap photo – in separate comments here to have multiple chances to win!

ATTENTION: All links you post must direct to public-access accounts. We cannot verify links on private, friends & family only, or passworded accounts and they will not be eligible to win this item. If we have to subscribe to your feed, a website, or forum – or request permission to see them – your entry will automatically be disqualified.

Comment(s) must be posted here by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, September 12th. You can enter up to FIVE times total. Post that you have met the individual requirements in separate comments to have multiple chances to win!

You can enter / post up to five times total – one entry each for all of the options listed above. (PLEASE NOTE: Comments are held for moderation and may not appear immediately. Please be patient! They will show up eventually.)

You have FIVE chances to win, but only one chance PER OPTION – please do not post the same link multiple times. Duplicate links will be removed. Each entry requires its own separate comment to have multiple chances to win!

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The winning number will be chosen by Random.org, and the winner will be contacted within 48-72 hours of the winner-announcement to claim their prize.




Don’t forget we have one other contest going on right now – enter to win!

Have a great weekend!
-Robyn and Todd

P.S.

In case you missed the post late last night, we have a brand new giveaway:

Go here for your chance to win a MamaThredz maternity portrait ensemble.

You have one more chance to get my famous “bonus kit” FREE with purchase!

winning!

I’m excited to announce the winner of the huge epiphanie camera bag contest – it’s Ashley Scheerer of Apix Photography!

Huge congratulations to Ashley, our deepest thanks to epiphanie, and thanks to everyone who entered!

If you didn’t win don’t lose heart. We have another great vendor contest TODAY!

Read on…

One lucky Paperie winner can pick their choice from three The Art of Pregnancy and Newborn (TAoPaN) MamaThredz maternity portrait ensembles – the Mama Slim, the All Mama, or the Simple Mama.

How do you win?

1. Follow TAoPaN on Facebook: facebook.com/taopanspage

2. Follow TAoPaN on Twitter: twitter.com/taopangroup

3. Tweet or post the following to Facebook (and tell us where):
Win theartofpregnancyandnewborn.com / @taopangroup maternity session ensemble at PaperieBoutique.com / @paperieboutique http://is.gd/T5s0eO

4. Post in the comments and tell us which gown is your favorite

Each entry requires its own separate comment. (In simple terms: If you want FOUR chances to win, you have to do all four things listed above, and then make four separate comments here telling us how you did them.)

Comment(s) must be posted here by 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 16th. You can enter up to four times total. Post that you have “liked” the Facebook fan page or Twitter stream, posted to Twitter or Facebook (with a link to where you did it), and / or told us why you want this bag – in separate comments to have multiple chances to win!

ATTENTION: All links you post must direct to public-access accounts. We cannot verify links on private, friends & family only, or passworded accounts and they will not be eligible to win this item. If we have to subscribe to your feed, a website, or forum – or request permission to see them – your entry will automatically be disqualified.

You can enter / post up to four total times – one entry each for the four options listed above. (PLEASE NOTE: Comments are held for moderation and may not appear immediately. Please be patient! They will show up eventually.)

You have four chances to win, but only one chance PER OPTION – please do not post the same link multiple times. Duplicate links will be removed. Each entry requires its own separate comment to have multiple chances to win!

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The winning number will be chosen by Random.org, and the winner will be contacted within 24-72 hours of contest’s end to claim their prize.

Good luck to everyone who enters, and a huge thanks to TAoPaN for the fantastic giveaway!




We have another great giveaway coming up soon – here’s a peek. Stay tuned!

oh, baby!

Recently I ran across an Etsy seller – Baby P Designs – I knew I had to feature as a guest / vendor post (with giveaway!) on Paperie. Not only is Jill amazing to work with, her products are even more amazing in person!

Baby P Designs offers adorably stylish newborn hats and photography props.

A bit about me… My name is Jill, and I’m a knit-o-holic. My love of knitting intensified when my little stinker was born. Unable to find a fun, unique hat to protect his little noggin, I decided to bust out the needles and create my own. And so began my addiction.

A bit about my craft… I’m often inspired by the colorful, textured fibers found while wondering the aisles of my local knitting shop. I also love getting suggestions from photographers and enjoy creating custom knits. I recently learned how to spin yarn my own yarn – now another new addiction! This allows me to make my own handspun spun wool which I use for items in my Handspun Luxe Collection.

One of the best parts of my little business is receiving photos of my items in use and hearing such wonderful feedback from all my amazingly talented customers. I am honored that so many photographers worldwide have chosen my items to add to their prop stash.

My hope for Baby P Designs in 2011 is that it will continue to grow and be a favored source for newborn hats and photo props. Look for some new designs in 2011 including baby hammocks and more hat styles. Thanks for checking out my shop and bright blessings to all!

And now one lucky Paperie reader will win a free caterpillar cocoon in raspberry as shown above! You have three chances to win!

1. “Like” / follow BabyPDesigns on Facebook: facebook.com/BabyPDesigns

2. Post the following about babypdesigns.etsy.com on Facebook or Twitter (and tell us where you did it):
I want to win a caterpillar cocoon in raspberry from babypdesigns.etsy.com at @paperieboutique / PaperieBoutique.com – http://is.gd/jmuWaz

3. Go check out the Baby P Designs shop – then come back here in the comments and tell us what your favorite product is – and why!

Each entry requires its own separate comment. (In simple terms: If you want THREE chances to win, you have to do all three things listed above, and then make three separate comments here telling us how you did them.)

Comment(s) must be posted here by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Saturday, January 29th. You can enter up to three times total. Post that you have “liked” the Facebook fan page, posted to Twitter or Facebook (with link), and / or listed your favorite product – in separate comments to have multiple chances to win!

ATTENTION: All links you post must direct to public-access accounts. We cannot verify links on private, friends & family only, or passworded accounts and they will not be eligible to win this item. If we have to subscribe to your feed, a website, or forum – or request permission to see them – your entry will automatically be disqualified.

You can enter / post up to three total times – one entry each for the three options listed above.

You have three chances to win, but only one chance PER OPTION – please do not post the same link multiple times. Duplicate links will be removed. Each entry requires its own separate comment to have multiple chances to win!

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The winning number will be chosen by Random.org, and the winner will be contacted within 24-72 hours of contest’s end to claim their prize.

Good luck to everyone who enters, and thanks to Baby P Designs for such a cute, fun prize! (Pssst. We also have a JewelBeat Royalty Free Music giveaway right now, too!)




Last but not least…have you thought about advertising with Paperie lately? Kathy of the Boudoir Business Boutique writes:

“I just thought you’d like to know that I’ve received triple the amount of traffic from your site than any other site I’m advertising on! I’m so pleased with choosing to advertise with you!“

Stats don’t lie! Contact todd @ this domain if you are interested in joining our advertising family. And if you are a photographer and are interested in having your packaging featured – or are a vendor and are interested in having your business packaging, marketing ideas, or photography-related products featured – please contact robyn @ this domain to be added to the posting schedule.

gratitude. journal.

When word got out from a recent post, I can’t even begin to describe the response. My brain, and heart, are overflowing with joy and amazement. How do you truly say thank you for something like this? Or the forum posts full of concern? Or the vendor notes of support (like the one when Moo‘s Vice President alerted several colleagues on staff to make sure I was taken care of just because he could). Or surprise gifts in the mail. Or Tweet DMs to check in – one from Pixel2Canvas on vacation in the middle of the Grand Canyon. Or the dozens of e-mails we’ve received. Or a note from a photographer who had just lost her husband and the father of her 5 children, worried about MY FAMILY. (We are so ok by comparison.) Or the little surprises in our PayPal account just because. I mean, it’s more than the human mind can really wrap around.

You go through life trying to do good and just make it day to day. You stumble. Sometimes you stumble hard. Sometimes you even hurt people. You dust yourself off eventually, regroup, reprioritize, remember you’re not really all that (well maybe all that, but often minus the potato chips), and promise yourself that if you don’t learn from those past mistakes what’s the point of the future…so buckle down and get to it… That’s been my 2010. I’ve buckled down and got to it. I had another such gut-check / perspective experience on a CT-scan table just over a week ago to make me even more focused on what’s really important.

In my recent Rangefinder piece, I wrote about the photographer community and my close relationship with my vendors. While being interviewed about this website, the article opened and closed with the following:

I let ‘Fit to Print’ evolve into Paperie Boutique, a standalone blog, through which I’m paying it forward to those who helped me along the way…..What has this experience taught Robyn? “I’ve learned to never underestimate the generosity of people and their willingness to teach and share,” [Robyn] says. “Just when you think you couldn’t possibly be more proud of your professional community, something as simple as a ‘thank you’ or ‘I can help with that’ never ceases to amaze.”

I’m used to being on the organization and donation collection end of things. It’s been humbling to be on the receiving end to say the very least.

Then yesterday the latest ‘random act of kindness’ showed up on my door step.

It’s no secret that I love HB Photo Packaging, but this was just beyond unreal. This was a surprise just for me, just because. You can read more of the details over here at Flickr – please make sure to add to the comments and thank them on behalf of our professional community!

And shop their weekend sale—HB Packaging is having a 10% off summer sale!

And speaking of vendors, we have a winner in the recent Design Aglow contest! It’s Silvine Designs / Silvine Photography:

Congrats to Michelle and another huge round of THANKS to Design Aglow for being such big supporters of this site, and for donating such fantastic prizes! Thanks to everyone who participated as well, and have a great weekend!