Category: Behind the Scenes

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Etsy seller interview with me

Computer monitor with Alura interview with me on the screen

Alura has just published an article where they conduct an Etsy seller interview with me. They asked me several questions about my experience as an Etsy seller – from when I first started to recently making over 2,500 sales on Etsy. You might be interested if you’re an Etsy seller yourself or would just like a peek behind the scenes of the Etsy side of my greeting card business…

The interview covers questions about how I got started, my favourite and best selling items, how I get sales and manage my Etsy shop, my plans for the future and advice for new sellers.

Etsy is quite a substantial part of my greeting card business, being one of my my main sources of income. It was also how I first got started with selling my cards online. Before I had my own online shop I just linked from my website to my Etsy shop.

Nowadays I sell via my website, in person and wholesale as well as on platforms like Etsy and Viing, but it all started with adding one little set of cards on Etsy.

My very first order was on 28 July 2017 and it took until 24 August to get my next one. I then got one order a month until January 2018, when I started offering my cartoon portrait cards. I sold seven of these within a month and felt like I’d hit the big time! In those days I couldn’t even imagine getting orders every day like I do now.

It’s quite funny looking back at the first items I sold on Etsy, as the photos I used were really terrible and even the drawings themselves were pretty basic. But we all have to start somewhere and I’m really glad I did 😃

Read my Etsy Seller Interview here.

[Please note that Alura approached me for the interview and I’ve not used Alura myself, so I can’t offer an opinion on the tools they offer.]

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Spotlight: Flower Vase Greeting Card

With Spring on the way this month’s spotlight is on the flower vase greeting card options I recently added to my Say it with Flowers Collection.

The illustration was actually done last year and was inspired by a bouquet I received with some gorgeous peonies in it (I got kind of obsessed with peonies in 2022…) They looked so gorgeous in the vase that I just had to draw them! I posted it on Instagram but then didn’t think much more about it.

This year I spotted the illustration again and thought it would be perfect as a greeting card, so I created a few designs centred around it.

I’ve currently got a few different flower vase greeting card designs available, for birthdays, anniversaries and to say thank you, as well as seasonal versions for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. Click on any of the images below to see that card in my shop.

Flower Vase Birthday Card

flower vase birthday card

Wish someone special a happy birthday with this blooming gorgeous vase of flowers birthday card.

Flower Vase Anniversary Card

flower vase anniversary card

This blooming lovely vase of flowers anniversary card will win you soooo many brownie points with your other half…

Flower Vase Thank You Card

Flower vase thank you card

Say thanks to someone amazing and let them know how much you appreciated them with this pretty vase of flowers thank you card.

Flower Vase Seasonal Cards

I’ve also added the design to a Valentine and a Mother’s Day card, flowers often being a big part of both these occasions!

Valentine’s Day Card
vase of flowers mother's day card - I'm so blooming lucky to have you
Mother’s Day Card

Hopefully this gives you several options if you like the design and would love to give a card to someone with the flower vase illustration on. Also, don’t forget that if you buy a bundle of 3 or 5 cards it works out cheaper. Why not stock up on the birthday and thank you cards so that you’ve already got them to hand when you need them?

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Updated Greeting Card Illustrations

Updated Greeting Card Illustrations - I'll always bee here for you

I’m excited to tell you that I’ve now added updated greeting card illustrations to several of my best selling designs. As I mentioned in my last blog post my style has evolved and changed quite a bit since I first started. So I’ve spent a lot of time redoing some of my earlier designs and I’m much happier that it’s all a bit more cohesive now.

It’s taken a while to get the photography sorted out and add all the new designs to my shop, but it’s finally done. Here are some examples, but you can see the full range here.

Little Creatures Designs

I’ve been redrawing ants, moles, octopuses (octopi?) and bees for this collection. Each illustration appears on several different designs for various occasions. So if you like the Ant but are after an anniversary card rather than a birthday card, just check out the full Little Creatures Collection to see what’s available.

Fantastic Ant Birthday Card - wishing you a fantastic birthday
Bee Good Luck Card - I BEElieve in you
Mole card - I love you mole and mole each day
Bee Anniversary Card - We BEElong together
Octopus favourite squeeze card - you're my favourite squeeze

Thirsty Business Illustrations

If alcohol is more your thing then I think you’ll like the updates in my Thirsty Business Collection. Covering a range of tastes including wine, beer, bubbly, beer, gin and whisky, you’ll also find designs for a variety of occasions and recipients too.

Beer Father's Day Card - Happy Father's Day to a Top Dad
Wine Birthday Card - Happy Birthday to my Partner in Wine
Champagne Sparkle Anniversary Card - You put the sparkle in my life - Happy Anniversary
Gin retirement card - You're retiring... more time for G&T
Whisky Birthday Card - Have a neat birthday

Sportsy Greeting Card Illustrations

This was one of my earliest collections and has remained popular. It’s always fun to reference someone’s sport and hobby obsessions in a card, with obligatory pun of course. I’ve updated illustrations for cyclists, runners, tennis fans, golfers, yoga bunnies and even my little trampoliner. Once again, there’s a wide range of different occasions with the updated illustrations so take a look at the full Sportsy Collection here.

Updated greeting card illustration for Trampoline Father's Day card
Runner good luck card - You can do this
Tennis anniversary card - We're a perfect match
Cyclist birthday card - Happy Birthday! Hope it's wheelie great
Golfer Retirement Card - Hope it's TEE-rrific
Yoga birthday card - Happy Birthday! Hatha tremendous day

I’ll continue to update more of my earlier greeting card illustrations over time, so if there’s a particular design you’d like me to work on next just let me know. You can get in touch via the contact form or message me on Instagram.

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Greeting Card Design Refresh

Coming soon - greeting card design refresh

I have some news! I started my greeting cards business quite a few years ago, and my style has evolved quite a lot since then. So I’m currently in the middle of a greeting card design refresh. I’ll be keeping the silliness, the punny sentiments and the themes, but I wanted to curate the range and make sure the illustration style is more consistent throughout.

I’ve redrawn the illustrations for my most popular designs which has been both fun and time consuming. It’s been a while since I’ve just been caught up drawing for hours day after day – and it’s been very good for me. I hope it’s going to be good for you too! You might have noticed some of the new illustrations on a few of my Mother’s Day cards, but even if you missed those you’ll soon get to see the full range.

I’m now sorting out all the imagery. Once that’s done I’ll add everything to the website and to my wholesale catalogue. The lovely Emily Dawe has taken some gorgeous photographs for me so it’s all very exciting 🤩

I’m also doing a mini brand refresh at the same time, including my logo. So you might start to notice a few small changes over the next while…

Don’t miss it

If you’d like to be among the first to know when I launch the new greeting card designs, you can sign up here. I’ll make sure you don’t miss out and my subscribers always get the very best launch offers too 😇

Sign up here

Once the greeting card design refresh has been launched, I’ll obviously be retiring the older versions. I do still have some pre-printed stock though. I’ll be discounting these cards over the next while, perhaps even giving some away… So keep an eye on my Instagram and you might get lucky! All my current designs are still for sale until the launch, and will be printed on demand.

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Cosmos Flower Cards and Prints

Cosmos Flowers Cards and Prints

If you liked the Cosmos illustrations I shared with you a while back, then you’re going to love my new collection of Cosmos Flower Cards and Prints 😊

See the full Cosmos Flowers Collection

You’ll find cards for all sorts of occasions, including versatile blank cards to cover all the bases. And you can also buy a variety of A4 size prints to brighten up your home and bring a bit of the outside in 🌸🌸🌸

Here are a few of them…

Some of the A4 prints from the Cosmos Flower Cards and Prints range

As well as the Cosmos illustration cards, I’ve also created a few Dotty typography based cards in colours that complement the Cosmos flower cards, including “Happy Birthday”, “Thank you so much”, “Good Luck!” and “Hurray for you!”

dotty thank you card - thank you so much
Dotty framed good luck card
Dotty framed hurray for you card
Dotty Happy Birthday Card with dotty frame

You’re also going to love the Cosmos Card Set – a bumper pack of 16 cards! I know what it’s like to be caught out when you need a card at the last minute and this set will sort that problem out for you…

It will simplify your life no end because you’ll have a huge selection of cards on hand at all times. There are cards for a variety of occasions as well as blank cards that will work in any situation. So you can just pick the best card for the job each time and delight your friends with your thoughtfulness and good taste 😇

It will also save you money as you’ll get 16 cards that usually cost £3.95 individually for just £2.00 each – a saving of over £30 😃 – and delivered for free too!

Get Your Cosmos Card Set Now
Bumper cosmos card set - 16 cards from the Cosmos Flower Cards collection

The set includes the full range of Cosmos illustration cards as well as the complementary Dotty range. Here’s the full list of what you’ll get:

Of course you can also buy each of the cards individually, or use the 3 or 5 card bundle deals to pick and mix the ones you want.

I’d love to hear what you think of the new range – why not head over to Instagram or Facebook and send me a message?

Shop Cosmos Flowers Collection