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...