New Year ... and it's already February

Happy New Year (err ... + one month)! Took a little holiday the month of January to get myself back on track and of course give myself a little rest and relaxation. Let's re-cap what's been going on so far this past month:

Was quite excited to get started on this project. I love sending out holiday cards, but I'm not one to write a year-in-review letter. However, this infographic style card let me get super creative and also incorporate a little bit of what my husband and I did over the year.

Even though this was a labor of love, I'm incredible happy with how it turned out and not sure if I'll be able to top this next year! Be sure to keep an eyes out on my Etsy store, because for the 2014 holiday season this card will be available!

I was also determined to get a few new, fresh designs into my Etsy store which was accomplished. This year's holiday customer favorite was The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer, followed by last year's favorite Merry Christmas Ya'll.

This year has also thrown another great opportunity my way; I'm now a member of the L Bee and the Money Tree team. Lauren found me through my Etsy store, I've done a few personal projects for her over the past few years and now I'm happy to be assisting her during her blogging endeavors.

Here's my bio, what do you think?!
Colleen Flynn Crutchfield (Graphic Designer) is a full time art director at an internet retailer and part time freelance designer for the whimsical. She's been a graphic designer for the better part of a decade and during that time transitioned her passion for typography and beards into a satisfying side business, A Sea of Ink. Lauren found Colleen through her A Sea of ink Etsy shop while looking for change of address cards. Lauren appreciates Colleen's very particular set of skill; skills she has acquired over a very long career. Skills that make her a nightmare for people ... that don't know Photoshop. When life hands her a spare moment she's usually hanging out with her (beautifully bearded, glasses adorned) husband and her (hipster) dog Louie, while trying out the newest craft beers the world has to offer.

Most recently (as in this weekend) I helped my brother out with a logo for his camp's sports league. Got to love when the directions are 'it must say Central Jersey Sports League, be one color, and it has to include a basketball, soccer ball, and baseball bats' otherwise ready, set ... go and give it your best shot.

Seems we're both happy with how it turned out so that's a win/win in my book. In the (near) future, the hope is to get a website up and going for them; going to have to brush up a little bit on my coding skills.

And lastly, very excited to have had another great Valentine's Day season. Last year I sold just shy of (50) cards and this year was a solid (75) cards! I love that other women out there admire and adorable their beautifully bearded men and want to tell them so. This year's best seller was Please Do Not Shave off Your Beard (pictured) and a new design this year, Second Base Beard, was a customer favorite.

Another large order of cards also went off to Ellwood Thompson's in Richmond, VA. They carry the full line of beard cards, plus a variety of other designs.