Happy Happy Birthday Duncan!

I was under the weather earlier this week on Duncan's actual birthday (the 8th) so we're celebrating tonight. We have a hot date at a fancy restaurant and I can't wait. Duncan, so sorry this birthday shout out comes a bit late, but here's an overdue blog post just for you!
From Molly...
Happy Birthday My Love!
Each day you grow older you can count on me loving you more. I love you with my all my heart and soul and can't imagine my life without you.
Whenever I try to write you a love note I end up writing a thank you note instead because I'm so very thankful for the person you are. Your generosity, devotion and love for others inspires me every day.
I love you! Happy Birthday! Thanks for being exactly who you are.

From Olive....
Hello Father. Thank you for holding me up to look out the window when it's rainy and I can't go outside. Thanks for buying me my favorite catnip banana. And finally thank you for realizing that no matter what you're trying to work on, me sitting on your lap is the most important thing. You are an excellent coworker and for that I wish you a very happy birthday. Now go clean my litter!
From Indy...
Hey Daddy! Happy birthday! It's my birthday too! You're the best Dad ever cause you feed me fish pills every day to make my hips better. You walk me to see the buffalo in the park even when it's raining out and take me skateboarding with the boys. I love you even more than pizza!

And now a Duncan montage:


Post Script (from bad tv)...
You complete me: Insert the tool academy guy's dopey sad face... oh yes, this one:

The Poppies

Just a quick little post to ask a favor. Poppytalk is having a contest of sorts to recognize crafty, handmade brands like Vivi Dot. If you don't mind please hop on over there to cast a vote for me!

Thanks to those of you who also participated in the nomination process. It seemed like Vivi Dot was a shoe in for the top five, but after some confusion they decided to include everyone in the voting round (not just the top five). Oh well! On to the next round.

Thanks so much for helping me out with this!

Up next I'll be sharing some sneak peeks at the Spring/Summer 2010 line Duncan and I have been working so hard on. I should have some photos of the new prints together this weekend (after a slight delay) so check back soon.

Vivi Dot Loves Marc and Marc Loves Dots

It's no secret that I love bold prints and splashes, or should I say dots, of color. I am drawn to the same thing when it comes clothing, though I tend to stick to solids and let my accessories make the statement. Marc Jacobs is an obvious fan of bold prints and flashy accessories too. I was just perusing the photos from his Marc by Marc Jacobs spring runway show on NYMag.com and immediately thought his ensembles would look great with some super sized Vivi Dot earrings, rings and brooches. Then to my surprise, a few photos later there they were! Round brooches with pops of color!
Now if Marc would only call me for a fun collab on something for his next show. For now I'll just try taking a cue from Mr. Jacobs and mix and match not only my bright accessories, but also be more courageous when it comes to mixing my prints.






Photo Credit: Imaxtree via NYMag.com
See all the photos here.

Catchup!

I've recently returned from an extended weekend road trip down to LA and Santa Barbara. Now it's catchup time as I have about 3 days to sweatshop myself after my day job and crank out as much inventory as possible for my first show of 2009 (Noise Pop N Shop). I've also been very busy designing and producing many sets of save the date magnets for people who have happened upon my post about my sister's magnets. I'll be posting about that entire process as soon as possible with lots of photos to each of the designs I've created for many lovely brides to be. To top it off our hardwood floors are being refinished so we (Duncan, the kitty Olive, the pup Indy and me) are all quarantined to our bedroom. Interested in keeping up with the madness? You can now follow Vivi Dot via Twitter!

Christmas is Cancelled

Okay, it's not really cancelled just slightly postponed this year.

Seattle is under a blanket of snow with more predicted to be on the way tonight and tomorrow. At first glance this makes everything seem pretty and serene, but only until you try to go anywhere. Most flights were cancelled or extremely delayed yesterday, but things seem to be back on track this morning. That doesn't mean it's not a nightmare getting to the airport and through the security line though. Unfortunately for the Gaines family this means our first Christmas apart. Emily and Bryce are driving into San Francisco from Las Vegas today, but Mom had to make the tough decision to avoid the madness and remain snowed in up Seattle. Luckily there's no shortage of friends and family near by offering her Christmas plans to keep her busy. We'll miss ya Mom and it definitely won't be the same without you with us. Can't wait to see you soon, give you a great big belated Christmas hug and celebrate late this year.

And for your viewing pleasure I've included the good and the bad that come with along with a white Christmas. (photos courtesy of The Seattle PI)

The Naughty:
And the Nice:

Something Special Under the Tree

While I was out stocking stuffer shopping this weekend I just couldn't bring myself to spend ten dollars on a roll of wrapping paper. The cheap stuff is more trouble than it's worth since it's see through and rips so easily but the good stuff is just too darn pricey (especially knowing it will be half off the day after we need it). With all my paper and craft supplies at home I decided a crafty project was in order. All I bought was a package of 100 white hang tags for $3.50 from the office supply store and I was headed back home to get creative. It was the first creative project I had done in a while that wasn't Vivi Dot related so I had extra fun time with it. Here are my creations:Holly and polka dots
Contact paper branch with holiday berries and leaves
Snakeskin paper Christmas tree
Festive Robots
Rudolph

MMMM Mulled Wine

I made my first batch of mulled wine last year for a Vivi Dot friends and family holiday party/trunk show. It was a huge hit and after making it again at this year's party it's now officially a tradition. You really can't beat the way it makes the whole house smell like the holidays and the recipe I use is especially tasty.

I tend to wing it a bit since I make an extra big batch. For instance if I triple the recipe I don't need to triple the oranges. I also suggest letting it sit for at least the 15 minutes the recipe describes. The longer it sits the better it gets. Just be sure to keep an eye on it once the wine is added so it doesn't get too hot, boil, and take the 'fun' out of it. Also, there's obviously no need to spend much money on the wine since you're adding water, sugar, etc, but if you're like me and want to avoid the instant two buck chuck hangover I'd step it up one notch and go with something in the 3-4 dollar range from Trader Joe's.

Here's the full recipe courtesy of the Food Network

Ingredients
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
1 fresh whole nutmeg
2 oranges, thinly sliced
1 bottle red wine

Directions
Combine 2 cups of water with the sugar and spices in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Add the orange slices, remove pan from the heat and let sit for 15 minutes. Stir in the wine. Reheat gently over low heat, never allowing to boil. Serve hot, in heated glasses.

Vivi-Dot-Mobile

Up until now I've depended on City Car Share for all my transportation needs that couldn't be fulfilled by Muni. Though I highly recommend it, a car of my own has become more and more of a necessity as I do more shows, need to restock stores during my lunch hour, etc. After many months of putting it off Duncan and I bit the bullet and bought a car over Thanksgiving weekend. Our new four door hatchback Yaris seems to be the perfect little car for all of our adventures. It gets excellent gas mileage (29 city and 35 highway) and also has tons of room in the back when the back seats are folded down. There's even a nifty little contraption in the back that unfolds and covers up the gap between the 'trunk' and the folded own seats. Megan of MCG and I even fit both of our booth supplies and product in there on Saturday after Indiemart. Our little Yaris came into our lives just in time too as I can't imagine how I would have gotten through my daily trips to the post office without her!
Oh and Indy whole heartedly approves as well:

You too are invited to Macau China

I only had about a week to turn around the third batch of Macau invitations. This meant that I definitely had to scrap the hand made paper lotus flower. There just wasn't any way to get that many of those suckers pumped out in a week while I was working almost full time. I also didn't have time to order more gold boxes so I was back to the drawing board entirely.

I initially pictured an envelope in place of the box. I didn't want to seal the envelope so I thought it would be cool to attach a Vivi Dot and a ribbon to a brad, punch a hole in the envelope to attach the brad, wrap the ribbon around the envelope, and wind the ribbon around the brad to keep it closed.

My first stop was Paper Source to check out their envelopes. I needed to stay within the same budget for supplies which I knew would be tricky. The paper flowers were tedious to make, but they were affective and cheap- just some discounted paper from Flax, a lot of Elmer's glue, and a ton of time. It was all the other components that added up quickly and I'd need to use all of those and add some new items. I needed to put together something as effective and not break the bank.

There was a portfolio type contraption on display that looked like a good option though I didn't see any for sale. The helpful sales associated explained that it's really just two envelopes glued together. I decided to run with that idea and bought their A9 envelopes in black and metallic stardream antique gold. They also had some great metallic gold tassels that were just what i needed to spice it up a little bit.

Next it was off to Flax to stock up on some more chiyogami paper to make up the actual invitation and to decorate the outside of the envelope. I new I'd be using a lot more of this nice paper for this design which would add up fast at $10 a sheet. They were out of the prints I had previously chosen so I had to start over there too. In the end I think it was good that I was forced to mix up the prints a bit. It differentiated this new design much more and ended up working really well.

Lots of cutting and 3 bottles of rubber cement later (the nice Japanese paper really soaks it up) I'm done! Check out the 3rd (and now 4th) round of invitations:






The actual invitation slips inside the black side of the folio. The reverse side of the gold and red circle has the black and gold print from the outside of the envelope.

Click here to check out the first round of invites.

Same Name!

Not to be confused with the Wheel of Fortune category (I guess i just gave away the fact that I'm a wheel watcher/addict).

Anyway.....
So after my last blog post i decided to do a quick search for 'dot girl' on google. I've been learning quite a bit about search engine marketing at my new job so I've been checking out my rankings for various Vivi Dot related search terms lately. It's my pleasure to announce that my blog shares the 'dot girl' title with dotgirlproducts.com- a site that offers 'girl's first period kits and other first menstruation products.' I can't say that's what I was expecting, but I guess it makes sense?

Summer, Allie and I had quite the laugh over it at our Vivi Dot production party over the weekend. We thought of some great period related buttons that would make a great addition to their kits! In all seriousness though, their site design is actually really cute!

So my blog will keep it's name for now.... Until I think of something better or receive a cease and desist from the ladies over at the other Dot Girl. Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section.

Why ‘Dot Girl’

One of the things I love the most about doing shows is being able to interact face to face with my customers. Unlike selling through stores or online, it gives me chance to hear people’s feedback, get their ideas, and hear their stories. It’s really awesome to have people recognize my things from stores they shop in. I often get, ‘I bought a ring of yours at Needles and Pens’ or ‘my friend bought me a set of your buttons at ParkLife!’ It’s also great for product development! People ask for specific prints (I’m still looking for cute bee fabric for a bee keeper) and finally tracked down some cuff link findings after many inquiries about Vivi Dot cuff links.

One girl said she got a compliment on a Vivi Dot item she was wearing from someone working at a store (I think a store on Polk street). Apparently she asked if she had bought it from ‘the dot girl.’ I’ve gotten ‘button lady’ before, but ‘dot girl’ is much, much better and has since become the title of my blog.

The all time best quote from a shopper at an event was at last year’s Capsule Street Fair. A young guy was debating between a Biggie and 2Pac button. He decided on 2Pac and started off down the street. As he walked away he turned back and said, ‘I bet that button maker changed your life. It sure looks like it did!’ I swear it could have been the closing line in a 1980’s brat pack movie (just sub ‘button maker’ for ‘day in detention’).

You're Invited to Macau China

Harrah's Entertainment needed a special keepsake invitation to send to their execs that they wanted to invite to a training/leadership trip to Macau, China. I did some research on Macau and discovered there are some very strong ties to the lotus flower. I decided to tie this into the invitation and explain the relationship between the lotus flower and Macau in some way as well.

I made a paper lotus flower out of red card stock and really nice checked gold and red chiyogami paper. I also made a card to slip under the black ribbon with the Chinese character for lotus flower and the description of its connection with Macau on the reverse side.

The actual invitation sits nicely inside the gold metallic box. The circle invitation is folded into a rectangle and tied up with a thick black satin ribbon. Once you untie the ribbon the actual invitation is revealed.

Entering the blogosphere

Vivi Dot is joining the rest of the universe and is now officially blogging! Check back often for demos, new product posts, upcoming events and all things Vivi Dot!