Bringing in the New Year with New Packaging, and YoYo Pretties

Happy 2011!

To be honest I haven't really started the new year off on the best note.

After weeks of suffering from anxiety attacks, and crazy mood swings

I lost it yesterday in fit of anger and pure defeat.

I had a good cry, the kind that comes without explanation

and the things that roll off your tongue seem so ridiculous

and yet feel so right.

Although I fought with my poor husband

to let me have a "time out"

he chased me right up to our room

and just held me as I cried uncontrollably.

yeah, like I said not quite the way you want to start off a new year.

But now I'm feeling much better

and hopefully now that i've gotten all that "crap" out of my system

I can get back on track for what I hoped to make of 2011!

One of the things I've been working on during the last few months

is piecing together a more profession, and charming way to mail out my orders.

it's a project that was way overdue

but it's not easy coming up with the concepts let alone the cash.

There is as I always hate a trial and error stage.

For example I found out that stamping is not for me

nor are business cards!

But I still wanted to send a "thank you" that seemed personal and special

and that might also not finds it's way to the trash cane instantaneously.

My solution was to have labels made that I could then attach

to vintage children's playing cards.

I've been really happy with the result - it's both practical, and whimsical!

I designed a new banner for my ittybittybirdy shop last August

along with a few other fun graphics

which I had made into a series of labels

created and printed by Playing with Paper.

I probably could have done all this on my own

but as I have iwork instead of Word

I have found label making extremely aggravating.

so I just ending up deciding to source the project out.

Most of my items will arrive in tissue paper or cute little lunch style bags

but for my smaller items I've come up with this really cute

collection of yoyo embellished boxes.

I'm really excited about these for kind of a dorky reason.

I never quite knew what to do with the one or two left over yoyos

that I no longer had matching fabric for

plus sometimes I make a bunch of yoyos

in some crazy fabric which turns out to be just that CRAZY!

I also have quite a stock pile of what is called B grade cabochons

and other small embellishments which I'm not that crazy about.

Nothing makes me happier than finding smart solutions for silly problems.

YEAH for up-cycling!

So what might you receive in these boxes?

I'm working on creating a whole line of jewelry items.

One such item that I just introduced into my shop

are double yoyo brooches.

These brooch pins are connected be vintage bead chain

and look smashing on a sweater, jacket,

or connecting your collar on your favorite blouse.

I can't believe the changes that my little shop has gone through

just in the last few months!

I can't seem to keep up - I need to find myself a yoyo making robot!!

if only - sigh^^

I hadn't realized until just a few days ago that I started this crazy

yoyo making adventure only just last year.

I guess when you really invest yourself into something

time just gets the best of you.

haha kind of like marriage :D

So now I guess I better get going on making sweet valentine pretties!

I knew I should have gotten started in December but

LOL I guess time just got the best of me in this too.

I really need to get some good shots of my new brooches on,

but every attempt just hasn't quite worked out

so I took what I was able to salvage

and made this whimsical little banner.

Well that's quite enough shop talk for one day!

Thanks for stopping by ~ Chelsea Ann