A Note of Thanks

I just bought a house and I'm super excited. I'm in the I'm-telling-everyone-even-the-people-I've-already-told-ten-times stage. It's great. I was updating my friend on all the things I wanted to do before I moved in, asking her opinion on paint colors. For as much as I use colors to design cards every day, I am amazed at my inability to visualize paint color on the wall. I think it makes me nervous because walls don't have "undo" buttons. Anyway, day after the conversation with my friend, I received a sweet (handwritten) card from her congratulating me on the house. The card was attached to a home decorating magazine that was all about the right and wrong ways to use color in a room. It was awesome and just what I needed. It was such a thoughtful and simple gesture, I just had to write about it. Dana dear, you are the best!

This unchosen design was originally for an 11-year-old self-proclaimed diva. But honestly it reminded me of an old friend from college who "encouraged" me to get a tattoo. She wanted one, too, and she had already drawn out exactly what she wanted -- several multi-colored stars in different sizes on her shoulder. It turned out really cool. She was no diva in the only-green-M&Ms-will-do kind of way, but she was definitely the coolest rock star I know. Even now that she's in law school. If this design fits the rock-star diva in your life, drop me a line at bug_designs@hotmail.com !

A customer of mine made the news with her and her husband's great story of stick-with-it-ness in order to graduate with their degrees from the University of Missouri last week. As I do all my communication with my customers online, it was great to finally "meet" Nicolle. Check out her story .

1. They watered your office plant while you were on vacation. 2. They told you your idea was a pretty bad idea before you presented it to the Board, and they gave you suggestions on how to make it better. 3. They caught a typo before your new company brochure went to press, but after everyone else had signed off on it. 4. They told you about that broccoli in your teeth. 5. They called that friend of theirs and raved so much about you and your company that the friend is now one of your best clients. 6. They attended the event you hosted and they enjoyed it so much, they were the last to leave. 7. They attended the event you hosted, but snuck out the back door twenty minutes after they arrived. 8. They brought office donuts. 9. They interrupted their 200-page copy job so you could quickly copy a contract for a client. 10. They entertained a client's 4-year-old while you had the best client meeting ever. 11. They introduced you to a community influencer you admire. 12. They got your ...

I've always been a big fan of assistants, office managers and secretaries. These are the people who really know what's going on. They copy the reports, they chit chat with clients, they overhear important conversations. And usually they are the least likely to get a thank you. Often times, these are the best people to have on your side, and the worst people to not have on your side. They can tell you the best way to get a hold of the Very Important Person you need to talk to, or they can give you so much run-around, you won't know which way is up. Much less ever talk to Mr. Very Important Person. A good way to get them get them to like you? Genuinely (because these people deal with enough cold-calling salespeople to know the difference) tell them you appreciate them and the work they do. Obviously it's nice to send such glad tidings after a big project or a particular job well done. But don't wait for an opportunity. They like out-of-the-blue praise as much as ...

Sometimes I'm really bad at predicting which design a customer is going to choose. And that leaves me with some of my favorite designs unclaimed. I'm going to start highlighting some unclaimed designs here in the blog, as well as some of my favorite designs that were chosen. I'm pretty proud of my concoctions, and I want to show them off! I've been doing a lot of invitations lately, and they are a lot of fun. I'm sticking to the small, intimate parties (no Bridezillas here, please) like bachelorette and graduation parties. My customers have great ideas for themed parties and you just can't find invitations at Target for the "She Got Knocked Up" baby shower. Okay, I haven't done that one yet, but I bet it would be a blast! This unchosen design came from a recent graduation party invitation. The soon-to-be alma mater's colors were green and gold, and the graduate is a big fan of pink. That's where the color scheme came from. Because it was a ...

Did you last notice your friend's crazy new haircut because they posted new photos on their Facebook page? In this world of crazy speed-typers who can shoot out IMs, texts and emails faster than you can say, "Where's my pencil?", when was the last time you really connected with someone? Sat down for an in-depth conversation that wasn't dotted with acronyms and abbreviations. Better yet, pulled out some stationery, a nice pen and (gasp!) a stamp to write a letter to someone in Far, Far Away. Leo at Zen Habits recently posted ideas on breaking away from our self-imposed schedules and just enjoying life. He's really good at that enjoying life thing, and I read his blog to hopefully get better myself. But one of his ideas really struck home with me, and even though I'm addicted to writing letters, I really should do this more. Take time to talk and connect How many times have you run into a friend or family member, said a quick hello, and then moved on becau...

A post from The Church of the Customer is a great reminder of things to remember when writing a thank-you note, especially when representing your company to a prospective or current client. You shouldn't have to tell people to make sure they spell the person's name correctly, but I learned a long time ago my internal spell-check is not published by Webster and I really should double check anything I think is spelled correctly, especially when I'm not writing in Word.

In my day job, we purchased a mailing list for a prospect campaign. Purchasing lists gives me a wee bit of the heebie-jeebies just because we don't know for sure if someone filled out the survey that landed him on the list truthfully or let their two-year-old fill in the dots. But when it comes to getting your name out to people who don't know about you, sometimes buying a prospect list is the way to go. Anyway, as expected, a few people sent back the mailer asking to be taken off the list. This was much more appreciated than the people who sent back the blank forms, which our company had to pay postage for this time as well as when we use the list in the future. For the people who asked to be taken off the list, I'm happy to pay the postage to keep from wasting their time (and our money) in the future. Because these people had taken the time to write a note asking me to remove their name, I wanted to make sure they knew I had done just that. So I wrote them a note thankin...

We all know how a simple "thank you" or "you're doing a great job" or "you look SO hot today" can totally change your mindset and outlook on life at that particular moment. Here are some words that are even more powerful. Take a few minutes for the word-challenge game at www.freerice.com and help some people while brushing up on your vocab.

Upon perusing the ever-expansive Web, I stumbled (actually Twittered if you want to be specific) over a new find that I want to share. It's called JunkMail Greetings . I must warn you, it's not for the faint of heart. But if you want a note card that says what you're really thinking ( There's No "I" in 'You're A Moron' ), definitely check it out. I also highly recommend their blog . Especially if you have ever had a toddler or need another reason not to have a toddler. Locally, The Butterfly Tattoo in Columbia, MO, has another line of cards that are also mildly offensive, but in a good way. What else would you call a card that says, "You just had a baby...time to start drinking" ?

You cannot believe how my heart swelled when I first put www.bug-designs.com up on the World Wide Web just more than two years ago. I knew it wasn't a fancy site, but it signaled my both-foot jump into the entrepreneurial world, and I was proud of it. I'm still proud that that sucker is a home-grown site, made with my own hands. But in light of what else is out there, I know it needs a bit of a make-over. So I'd like your thoughts on the matter. Here's what I'm planning to include: A more graphically appealing banner across the top (if I bill myself as a graphic designer, I had better act like one, huh?) An "about me" page. I read a blog post by the very smart people at Small Business Trends that said people aren't as likely to trust blogs or web sites that have no ties to a specific person. Well, duh. Referral pricing. Some of you are aware that if someone places a new order and mentions they heard about Bug Designs from you, you get 15% off your ...

People can be so funny about the pens they use. Myself included. I have my buried-at-the-bottom-of-my-purse pens for signing receipts and writing the once-in-a-blue-moon check. I have my easy-to-access office stash should someone come to a meeting unprepared. But when it comes to the pens I use constantly, it has to be black ink, have some weight to it, and write smoothly. None of that jerky stuff where you actually have to work to get the pen across the paper. Sa-moooth... It might be all in my head, but having a good pen to write with actually makes my handwriting look better. Or maybe it just makes me want to write neater. That might actually be more the truth. Regardless, having a pen you like and like to use makes writing -- thank you notes specifically -- easier. And the nice thing is it doesn't have to be a $25 pen from the snooty paper store. The Bug Designs pen is actually one of my favorites to write with and it cost me less than $1 each. Don't have a Bug Designs pen ...

Kay Foley rocks. And she'd probably be very surprised to see her name mentioned on this random blog. But I am a big fan, for a couple of reasons. 1. She designs cards, and cool cards at that. 2. She writes amazing and original verses on those cards. For example: She was sick with a cold and she wondered if Belgian chocolates might possibly have a curative effect. "Well, who's to say they don't?" she asked her little dog. Cool, huh? 3. She sells her cards at this fabulous little shop downtown with arts and crafts for the not-so-kitten-sweatshirt-wearing arts and crafts person. She does offer her line from her web site, so the next time you need a great all-occasion card (though she does have some fun birthday ones as well), check out Kay Foley's Ampersand Cards.

My son turned 6 the other weekend. He and 17 of his closest friends tromped off to Chuck E. Cheese, with mom leading the pack. He was adament that no one in his class be left out of his invite list, and I honestly didn't think EVERYONE would be able to come. (Technically I was right -- one little girl from his class wasn't there.) Needless to say, my son cleaned up when it came to new gizmos and doodads. And being the thank you note nazi I am, the next day we began the task of thanking all of his friends. I was impressed that the invitiations he picked out came with thank-you-note postcards, but if you have ever seen a kindergartener's handwriting, you'd know my son wouldn't be able to fit "thank you" in that space. So we made our own from plain cardstock folded in half. The first card we did, I had visions of grandeur that he'd be able to whip out in no time the two sentences I had modeled for him on a seperate piece of paper. About 10 minutes later w...