There's a new blog for Amybug's Attic

Hello everyone out there, I have an announcement! There is a new blog in town that focuses more on my graphic design business Amybug's Attic. It'll also be a spotlight on my fabulous customers and their shops :)

http://amybugsattic.blogspot.com/

Here is the link - be sure and check it out! And if you're here for the Giggleswick Halloween Blog Hop, you'll want to hop on over to my new blog as that's where the party shall be.

Thanks everyone!

New Facebook changes are afoot

I've had several people contact me about changes that Facebook is making so I wanted to update everyone on what that means for your personal page and for your business page graphic-wise.

Here is the new layout for both the personal and business Facebook pages.

And keep in mind that any of my designs can be made into either a Facebook Avatar or a Facebook Timeline Banner. Both can be ordered using the "banner" option on my website.

I hope this helps! Have a great day everyone!

two new designs listed

Work was slow over the weekend so I caught up on some designs that I started awhile back, but didn't quite finish.  The first is a Halloween design that has been in in the works for a good year now:

Next is a softer, everyday design that has been in my "pending" folder for realistically, at least two years. But today it is finally finished.


If you click on the two thumbnails, they will take you to the page the design is listed, and as always, all new designs are listed at the very bottom of the page. Here's hoping that everyone has some time to do something they love today!

we have successfully moved out

As of 7:30pm, we are officially homeless!  I am typing this on my Dad's laptop as I sit in my old room at my parents' house. We are staying with them until our new house closes - that's right we get to move not once...but twice!

The good news is that most everything so far has gone smoothly. The bad news is that our computer may be toast. Which is very, very bad news for my customers and my business. Not good at all.  Zach and my Dad are trying to fix it right now, I am hoping that we can get it up and running asap - I don't like being away from my email for too long!

So if you have emailed me in the last couple of days and havent heard back, I will get back to you as soon as I can!  And to my customers, I appreciate your patience and will get your order filled asap. Updates to come as they happen!

APA closed from 12/26 - 12/31

Just a quick note to let you know that Amybug's Primitive Attic wil be closed from December 26th - 31st.  My website will stay up but please remember that all orders will be filled on the 31st.

Please visit my "Common Q and A" section here if you have any questions.

Have a happy and safe holiday!

Would you like to win a free Amybug's Primitive Attic Auction Template, Banner, Blog Template or About Me Page? If so, you're in the right place. I am starting a new promotion called Template Tuesday 2 Thursday!

I will be posting a fun question the first tuesday of the month, if you'd like to win an APA freebie, just leave a comment (just one!) with your answer and make sure that you are a Follower of my blog.

Comments are moderated (so don't worry if your comment doesn't show up right away) and will be closed at 8:00pm Pacific time on Thursday. I will pick a random number between one and...however many people leave comments, make sure they are a Follower and that will be our winner!

So this week's question is...

What is your favorite back to school memory growing up?
I will also be posting my answer to the question when the winners are announced Thursday evening. Make sure to come back then to see if you are a winner! Have a great day everyone and good luck!

a newsletter.....finally!

After a horribly long absence, I finally sent out a newsletter today to everyone on my mailing list...I hope you all didn't think I forgot about you!! With all the remodeling and the craziness that goes along with it, I haven't done an update in months and I really feel bad about that.

But all is good now! Lemme see if I can copy and paste the newsletter here....hold on a sec....

Welcome to the "End of Summer 2009" APA Newsletter! Hello everyone! I know what you're thinking...”finally, a newsletter from Amybug!” Yes I have finally carved out some time to send out this newsletter. The upcoming Fall and Winter season is going to be busy for everyone and I want you all to be updated about the crazy goings-on at Amybug’s Primitive Attic. I am now offering two and three column blog templates that work with blogger.com! They have been a great seller the last few months. And for those of you that are interested in using your blog as a selling tool, all blog templates come with up to five buttons with your order. Blog Templates allow you to match your website, auctions and even your eBay store! I also wanted to make sure that everyone knew that all auction templates are always buy three within the same calendar month and get one free! Make sure not to add the free one to your cart, just let me know which one you’d like as your freebie via email. This is an ongoing promotion and will never, ever end! I have also started a new blog that will cover my business, my family and also my other fun creative endeavors at http://amyscrazycreativelife.blogspot.com/. Be sure to visit this Tuesday, I will be starting a new promotion called “Template Tuesday through Thursday”. If you become a follower of my blog and leave a comment under the “Template Tuesday through Thursday” post, you will automatically be entered to win a free Auction Template! And if you don’t want an Auction Template, that’s okay! You can choose from a free Banner, About Me Page or Blog Template too. All of these options are available in your choice of the many designs on my website. More details to come this Tuesday! I have listed a few new designs over the past month, inspired by recent trips to the antique store and the upcoming fall season. You can click on the thumbnails below to visit my website and remember that these and all new designs are always at the very bottom of the page. And as always, all designs can be made into an Auction Template, About Me Page, eBay Storefront, Webset, Banner or two or three column Blog Template. Have a fabulous upcoming season and thank you all so much for your business and support! Warmest Regards, If you received this email from a friend, click here to sign up for the Amybug's Primitive Attic newsletter. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), add amybugsells@comcast.net to your address book.

You can also take a peek at this on my website at http://www.amybug.com/EmailMarketing/EndOfSummer2009.html.

Although we're in a crazy recession, I have still had some business and for that I am extremely grateful. Not only for the money either. I really do need this creative outlet for my sanity. I need to create stuff to feel like a human being. To a non-creative type (like my dear husband) this sounds a bit dramatic (who me?), but all you artsy types out there feel me. So a huge thank you to everyone that I work with, I am a better wife, Mom and human being because you are my customer. Thank you!

Oh and stay posted too, I meant what I said about the "Template Tuesday through Thursday too"....and that will be every Tuesday through Thursday too......stay tuned!

thinking outside the box to me means...

going outside the "norm" to accomplish your hopes and dreams. I was thinking about this when I sat down to the computer today and saw orders from my customers and I was instantly happy. Every time that I work with a customer, I realize how amazing it is to have my own business and I'm filled with gratitude. It sounds totally hokey but it's true.

I am thankful that eight years ago, I got the marketing job for instead of the administrative job that I really wanted (the admin job paid more and we needed that extra money). But the marketing job gave me my training to get me where I am now. It is amazing how life works.

And it was when I was laid off from that job (at seven months pregnant) that forced me to really look outside the corporate "box" I had been in for 3 1/2 years. What in the heck do I do now?? Especially with a baby boy soon to be born, this was definitely a time of growth in my life.

Four years later, I work with people all over the world and love the "me" time that I get from having my own business. Another huge benefit is that I work with other small business owners, including work at home Moms like me.

One of my good friends Stacy has recently started her own business too! Like me, she is a scrapbooker, but unlike me she does pages for other people. Beautiful pages. AMAZING pages! She owns Remembering You Scraps and I will hopefully be doing a website for her soon:




What does thinking outside the box mean to you? Leave me a comment (Creative Contribution), I would absolutely love to hear and learn from you! Have a wonderful day everyone!

another new design from my antique store spree

This design features something that I've never purchased before - my first tintype! It was much more expensive than the average photograph, but definitely worth it - I really love the image of the two girls. I also purchased a piece of antique sheet music which I used as the background and the logo at the top.

Now the colors on this one are a little different from what I've done in the past, I'm really getting into this whole altered-art/funky design thing. If you click on the thumbnail below, it is the last design marked "Vintage Tintype and Butterflies":

On a side note, it just hit me that this is design number 146. That's right, I've made 146 designs - now that doesn't mean that I have that many on my website, I have a handful that are still in the design stages. Some designs flow and I complete them quickly and some come along kicking and screaming lol.

I hope you enjoy, have a great week everyone!

antique store fun

Saturday I had the opportunity to have some "me" time...on the way to Home Depot to pick up new lights for the kitchen. Hey I'll take all that I can get! So I headed to my favorite antique mall here in Seattle.

I found the most amazing photograph - you can see it in the logo at the top of my new design here:


If you scroll to the very bottom you'll see "Primitive Schoolhouse" - isn't it just amazing?? I love this photo, what an amazing find! I drew a fun vintage bracket label for the saying and added a white background with some blue lines for the saying - I love the look of old notebook paper. I also picked up an antique dictionary which you'll see a portion of in the main background.

I had such a blast, I even found an old typecase for a project inspired by Ali Edwards, you can read more about it here. Mine is a bit different from hers, it has many different sized spaces. Once it's done I'll be sure to put up some pictures, I am so excited for this project.

Have a blessed week everyone!

Holy Smokes! Three Column Blog Templates!

That is right ladies and gentlemen, I have conquered CSS!!! For those of you who don't know, I don't use an HTML writer for any of my website work/template work. So I've been really reluctant to expand my Blog Template offerings because they use CSS and not HTML, which is a whole new ballgame. But I have conquered it! And now you can choose from a two OR three column Blog Template. I love it when I figure these things out!

It's Blogville at Amybug's Primitive Attic!

I have sold four blog templates today! It makes me wonder if I'm published somewhere that I don't know about =0). I am proud to say that one of my banners was in this month's edition of "Artful Blogging" magazine in the "Banners We Love" section! Wahoo! Life is good =0)