what would Karl do?
That's what a friend and I always ask. He is definitely quite the personality & he IS a creative genius. Regardless of the guests being packed in like sardines, it is an interesting concept. Even when we don't like the final result, it's always interesting to watch. Read & see more pics HERE.

And for you naysayers...remember the 2011 Fall Winter Haute Couture show? No? egads! I love the set, but then in the last minute of the show when the lights go out & the only illumination besides the set is from the shoes as all the models make their way back out. Just a personal fav...

xoxo
-Kat. 

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_{image via tomboyART}

My friends and family love a good laugh at my expense.
Somehow it almost always ties in with my height. I'm 5'3"- well, almost! ;)
But they all think it's HI-LAR-I-OUS that I have a shoe obsession, sew up all of these flowers and go to the office in my skirt and heels, have a shoe obsession....and then will turn right around and throw on my fav pair of (like UFO) pants, avoid the mall like the plague, will say
'Not right now, baby' to el kiddo when action's going down during a Giant's game. [I know, I'm horrible!)
*sigh*

_
more incriminating evidence. triple whammy.
I like LEGOs and Star Wars and planes.  We are LEGO obsessed lately. My BF uses el kiddo as an excuse to buy new kits. He just wants to see what they look like. Next up will be the General Grievous Starfighter (he has a bunch of the Star Wars themed sets). And this afternoon is LEGO club at our library. Guess what the theme is?
Star Wars. *does a happy dance*
We just realized that Legoland is open now in Florida and will have to go soon. But until then, Legoland Discovery Center will open up in March at Phipps.  

Awe-wait for it-some.

And every time we visit family down in Pensacola, el kiddo wants to visit the NAS Museum to check out all the planes. obsessed. I was a military brat, so I never mind checking them out. I think it's cool. I actually have a fav plane...which I suppose some may call odd...but whatever. The LEGO model of the F14-Tomcat / VF-84 "Jolly Rogers" just goes to prove that I'm not that odd. (Isn't that a great plane & scheme?!) And, yes, it's based off an actual plane...

2012 is going to be a great year, dammit. 
• Giants are going to the Superbowl.

• Last week, I sent a bunch of goodies (Rosa Earrings) off for a wedding convention, Bridal University, in Columbia, MO on February 19th. 

• Today, I'm shipping out another round of goodies (more Rosa Earrings) for the first 50 guests at The Swoon bridal event in Dallas, TX on March 24th. 

• Giants beat the 49ers last night & are going to the Superbowl.

• Cardinal House may also be providing ICE's Wedding Day Hooray with some goodies. More info to come on this.

• Oh, and did I mention that THE GIANTS WON!!! Giants & Pats rematch (personally, I'd like another repeat of 2008 if you couldn't tell...)

Okay, okay. I'll knock it off. So, what's to come?
If the sun ever comes back out in the small window of time I have to take photos in the winter afternoons...I'll be getting the Rosa Earrings up & running in the shop. Need to nail down which sites I want to run ads on (let me know if you have any good suggestions). Then I'll be working on securing retailers (again, let me know if there are any local shops you'd like to see Cardinal House goodies in). And, I may actually participate in some of the Atlanta area shows this year.

_
No fear.
Did you know I still work a bit over 30 hours at the design office each week? 
Yup. 
And then come home to el kiddo? (there are no off-hours in motherhood) 
double-yup.   
I have been working my arse off making things, but very little in actually advertising or marketing. If customers can't find you or haven't heard of you, then what's the point?

I've been putting Cardinal house off to the side for a couple of years. It's what I'd do when I had some free-time (ha!). And for free-time, it's been pretty dang good. 

I excused not wanting to promote the site just yet because didn't feel it was ready. Or, I still need to do this or that. Next month I'll be able to finish that and then I can chat up that retailer. *sigh*

One of those resolutions for 2012...slap the perfectionist me across the face. Seriously. Wake up & go get busy just doing. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. 

I've stalked some comparable biz's for a while now. 
I've always loved this shop and have watched it grow. She's fairly religious & the mushy-mom type. Sooo not my speed. It works for her and that's great. 
This one is pretty new. She's young. I tattled on her because she literally copied above's product pictures to sell her versions with. She actually replaced me at one of my retailers (because her costs were cheaper). Pardon my snotness here but, well, the quality is cheaper. I really don't mean that to be catty as it sounds. But it's comparing apples to oranges. However, that girl's got serious game with her marketing. Not shabby at all for a teenager.

So what has my stalking led me to conclude?
I need to stop being paranoid of taking the leap. Any leap. I need to get out of my comfort zone & get to it. Stop putting things off until I have that line sheet perfected. Because I've done tons (TONS!) of research & come across plenty that keep me wondering how they were picked up by "x" retailer. You know what? They made the leap & just went after the biz. 

So. I am plan to 'bring it' in 2012.

xoxo
-Kat.

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How cute are these guys?!
Thank you, Sarah, for sharing these Valentine's Day printables. These would be cute to bring in to the office with some cookies.
(download PDF printable directly HERE)

Wow. It's 2012. 2012!
Craziness.
As a quickie run-down:
1. The ICE pop-up shop inside Criminal Records (Little 5 Points, ATL) was a big hit! I dropped off a big box of goods for the month & picked up a small shopping bag's worth of remaining inventory. Awesome. And I tested out some new products that were a smash. Love it. So excited about the shop this year.
2. Hope everyone at the Live Your Legacy Summit today in St. Pete has a fantastic time & enjoys their Cardinal House goodies. Thanks, Aurea!
3. Collaborating with a couple of upcoming wedding events in Columbia, MO & in Dallas, TX.
4. Working on updates to the site, including the new SHOP BY COLOR section, and introducing new collections. Can't wait!

Can you tell that I'm excited about 2012?

xoxo.
-Kat

P.S. - In the picture, I'm sporting the Garland Necklace & Rosa Earrings in yellow. The Rosa Earrings will be available to purchase soon.Feel free to contact me if you're interested & can't wait- maybe for some bridesmaids...!

I color code like nobody's business. addicted. not being able to color code is right on up there with not eating pasta or drinking coffee. Without, is there any meaning to it all?
*sigh*
okay, enough of the melodrama. But I love these colorful pens just as much as my black Microns that I clung to throughout design school! There are worse addictions to be had, don't you think?

love this font! free download [for personal use] here at dafont.com

all the CH goodies are packaged, inventoried & ready to drop off Saturday at Criminal Records in L5P [Atlanta] for the upcoming ICE holiday pop-up shop. Goodies from over 80-something artists will be available there from December 1-24! craziness. opening party on the 1st & the first 100 guests receive swag bags [freebies are always welcome!].

actually, if you're in the first 250 people admitted each day at the holiday spectacular show this weekend, you will most likely be getting some Cardinal House goody in your swag too.

soo glad it's almost the weekend! had to pinky-swear [well, you get the idea] that i'd stop friday night to get back to our regular schedule of pizza & movie night. happy to oblige this week. but now, what to watch?

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so lately i seem to be on this non-stop loop continuously asking, "Is it Friday yet?"
seriously.
in the past week and change i've made up several hundred pieces of swag, packaged up all of the inventory for the upcoming pop-up shop, curated Thanksgiving decor theme guest post for the fabulous Sarah [will be up Thursday], bought a new laptop [t'ferred files, re-organized, etc]....

and i've been dreaming up ways that i could simplify other parts of the biz. i've been digging tumblr lately, but i'm just not cool enough to figure out how to make the tumblr posts feed through here in lieu of standard blog posts. ditto that for blogger.
so, i'm back to square one with the blog for now.
but, that's okay. it's been a good branding exercise. i've learned which media venues i want to use & how.
bah.
okay, i can't concentrate on much more beyond Bored To Death right now, so i'm just giving in.

later lovelies.

Well, Happy Halloween and all that jazz. Plans were happily interrupted this weekend with a couple of opportunities that sent me scrambling. I'm happy to announce that Cardinal House will be showcased in ICE Atlanta's 2011's Holiday Pop-Up Shop hosted at Criminal Records [Little Five Points - ATL]. As we get closer to December, I'll fill in the details.

But for now...
On Friday I mentioned that the recent fabric book treasure trove called out coasters to me. Okay, it just so happens that the other serendipitous op was related to home good products. So, I went to work & am super pleased with the results. At home, I've been using some models for a few days now and am very pleased. These are going to be great for casual entertaining. And I'm hoping that the powers-that-be agree!