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Monopoly
by Shawn Colvin **Because she can say it  better than I can**

I don't know what else to do
I would rather do anything
Than write this song for you
And perpetuate this thing
In my head, in my living room
With the usual arsenal
Of broken chords and rusty strings
To surrender all


And I don't like to be so weak
Retreating behind these lines
The same old tongue-in-cheek
Regretting that both are mine
And I don't like to live this way
This is really true
But I know better than to pray now    
About what I just have to learn to do
But imagine the nerve of God
Letting me let you in
And I thought I could let you go in grace
I've gotta think again


Because right now I would be bought
and sold
To see your face somewhere
I would sell your sweet soul
Just to touch your crazy black gold hair
I don't care what's really real
I was someone that you'd heard of
I saw heaven in your eyes
And we made a deal
And that's what I know of love


Music, it never goes
But I told you I hate that shit
When people say"well you know
You got a song out of it"
But I don't know what else to do
I would rather be anywhere
Than here without you

So, when are you going to take me home?

I'm waiting for you.

New Business Cards

Well...not exactly THAT new, two months old to be exact.

Getting business cards made the way you want them can be quite expensive. There are those vista print deals that spam/annoy you to hell once you even let them know you are interested in using their services. I once uploaded a card image, but backed out at the last minute. Ten minutes later, I got an email from a representative asking me why I did not complete my order. Talk about freaked out.

I designed these cards myself--there's nothing too fancy about them, just black and white--minimal yet hopefully eye-catching. The jury is still out on the eye-catching part. I really like the "stitched" theme as it goes with the whole handmade aspect of my business.

Speaking of stitching...

If I ever regret ANYTHING in my life, it would be not taking my mother's sewing lessons seriously. She used to hound me about learning how to sew.   I was on this whole feminist kick back in the day. Funny thing is, I had no idea what feminism actually meant. To me, it was not sewing, cooking, cleaning, or having kids. I know, pretty stupid but that's youth for ya!

So, I'm slowly learning how to sew. In the meantime there are several bolts of fabric just lounging against my bedroom wall. Hopefully, they can turn into something really cool really soon. Baby steps.

New in the Shop...Stickers!

Over the past week, I've been cleaning out all of my old junk drawers filled with all kinds of crap that should have been thrown away years ago--for you Bostonians, I found a bank deposit slip from BankBoston! Well, I ran across some of my old stickers that used to belong to a long gone sticker collection and was immediately taken back to the time I would promise my first born for a sticker I did not have. From scratch n' sniff to glow in the dark, I had them ALL. I swear, I don't know what happened to them or how or why I decided to keep the ones that have found their way into my junk drawer. Regardless, I've been INSPIRED and set out to make the hearty stickers pictured above.

This set of DINNER STICKERS contain 18 steak + peas and carrots stickers.  Each set will come packaged in a clear bag adorned with one of my newly designed labels. Many more sticker sets will debut shortly as I found waaaay TOO much time this past week to do waaaay TOO much stuff!

You can snag this hearty set right HERE!

Bacon + Chocolate?

Yup Yup...bacon chocolate. I was in whole foods the other night with a good friend of mine and we were getting some munchies for the evening. He wanted butter cookies, I wanted this maple bacon chocolate bar. I've tried Vosges's curry bar from the now defunct Temper Chocolates in Kenmore Square and loved it so I decided to up the fear factor by indulging in this novelty.

The result?

In my best "Men on Film" voice a la In Living Color--Hated it!

In other news...make sure you check out my sale + promotion going on in my shop! No more posts this week, I'm headed....to my bed. I'm really tired.

 

SALE + Promotion--July 7, 2008 - July 31, 2008

I'm having a small sale in my ETSY SHOP starting TODAY! Small Notebooks are now marked down from their original price of $6.00 to $5.00.

Also, all orders placed between today and JULY 18th  will get one of these randomly selected coupons worth either 10%, 15%, 20% or FREE SHIPPING on your next order!

Food Diaries

Fresh off the press! These food diaries are the newest addition to the edesse designs product line! Sorry about the sparse posts, I've been preoccupied with tons of other stuff. I was going through some old papers and came across one I'd written awhile ago for a "Cross Section/Panel Data" course I was taking. At the time, I thought it was a masterpiece but reading over it again a year later...not so much. I've gotten my hands on the original data set and would like to see if I can make it into something significant.

To purchase these food diaries, visit HERE!

Jenny B Originals

I happened upon Jenny B's ETSY SHOP last year and instantly fell in love with her gorgeous faux goodies--especially her amazingly realistic cupcakes. Well, she is at it again with her equally yummy faux sugar cookies--another MUST HAVE.

I'm very much inspired by Jenny B's success. In addition to appearing on Martha Stewart's show, she got a MAJOR account with Electolux and her yummy creations were used as props alongside their products! Talk about the BIG LEAGUES! I've ordered many cupcakes from Jenni B and can say that she deserves every bit of it. Not only are her products beyond beyond (yup beyond to the second power), she is beyond beyond nice. This success could not have happened to a more deserving person!

New in the Shop!

This past weekend was a pretty busy one. I decided to designate a hefty chunk of time to churning out some new goodies like the notebook above. In addition to designing new covers, I've also added a line of notebooks that have a folder insert to store papers. I'll be adding these notebooks to the shop throughout the week! The journal above is available now right HERE !

Pimped out Shop!

Check back this week for some awesome new additions to the shop! I was quite the busy bee this weekend! New goodies will hit the shelves on either Tuesday or Wednesday!

Ryan Studio

Nothing says "Perfect Friday" like a perfect painting--especially one from Ryan Studio . Her works are simply stunning and there are many delicious paintings to choose from.

Jammin

Despite it being summer vacation, I'm still working waaaay too hard. In addition to trying to get ahead for next year (I know, I am a NERD), I have work, volunteer work, and edesse designs. I've just downloaded both Shawn Colvin's and Alanis Morissette's latest and greatest and am churning away at new designs and job work. These two albums are musts if you are fans. According to itunes, I have played Shawn Colvin's Venetian Blue, 57 times in a span of 12 hours.

Here's one of my new journals--Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable. It's inspired by Bill Cosby's iconic sweaters! You can purchase his sister (and many other fabulous cousins, great aunts, and baby mamas) HERE!

Summer Newsletter

Even thought It is not Officially summer, I will be launching my summer newsletter tonight and tomorrow. The theme of this newsletter was INSPIRATION and I showcased some of the new journals that are slowly making their way to the SHOP!

Being a small business owner means being everything rolled into one--CEO, marketing director, creative director, designer, manufacturer, delivery woman, accountant, lawyer. I'm not complaining because I LOVE what I do--however, sometimes the inspiration flows slower when you are caught up in the billion other things that you have to do.

If you are interested in receiving my newsletter, please fill out the form located on the right hand side of this blog. I send out newsletters four (4) times a year and include all sorts of yummy specials--like free goodies or free shipping or great discounts.

Don't worry, I don't share emails with other parties. I HATE SPAM. I had to abandon my AOL email account due to the overwhelming number of spam emails received on a daily basis. Your email address will be for the sole purpose of keeping you informed with what goes on around here!

Click on the photo to see the full-sized version!

Workspace

Above is a small (and slightly grainy) photo of my desktop.
Surprisingly, I work best on my bed. I'll tune in to Forensic Files or a marathon of some random reality show and fold, cut, glue, or tape.  Trust me, I've got it down to a science.

Stay tuned as I update my shop later on today with some new AND old goodies!

Anita Grant

I happened upon Anita Grant by accident and instantly fell in love with her skin and hair products.
Her philosophy is quite simple:

"You shouldn't need a degree in chemistry to understand a product's ingredient label. It's so liberating to be able to read the label of a product, understand the ingredients contained within and say 'NATURALLY, I can do better.' "

I could not agree more. 

Anita Grant's website  is stocked full of whipped butters, deep conditioners, pomades, facial clays, fruit oils, lip balms, shampoo bars and organic herbs that look good enough to eat!

Vic Vicini

This Twinkie painting by Vic Vicini is just the tip of the iceberg. I swear, I had a hard time choosing which painting to highlight but you know me, processed sweets win every time.

Although many of his paintings are sold out, you must browse the website to see all of the amazing work he creates.

His website is located HERE.

Craigslist Project

I usually only post garage sale type stuff on craiglist--once, I sold a scooter, so after cruising through etsy's forums, I came across a post about advertising on craigslist. So, I decided, why not try some of my notebooks out?. I just posted an ad under the arts and crafts section selling a few of my notebooks. We will see how that goes. I'm just curious, will someone actually contact me and purchase one? I posted one listing in New York City and one locally, here in Brookline, MA.  For those that do potentially contact me, I'll direct them HERE as opposed to my etsy shop--where you will have to sign up for an account to be able to purchase anything. Big Cartel is something I'm mulling over, as I slowly decide how I want edesse designs to evolve (as well as perfect my picture taking). I'm going to take careful baby steps to make sure I can offer both quality and quantity. For now, it will be a storefront for craigslist type transactions or those random email requests from people who don't have etsy accounts. For those that live close by, we can meet up locally.

Craigslist is really strict about advertising. So, if you plan to put up an ad, please leave out all links to any online shops. If someone contacts you with an interest in purchasing, then you can direct them wherever or you can have them stop by and pick it up.

We will see what becomes of this. I'll keep you posted.

Oh, and that's my Raspberry Sorbet Journal. It's for sale HERE!

Food Planners in Shop!

I just want to highlight that I have Food Diaries/Planners in my shop! You can view/purchase them HERE! There are also tons of notebooks, journals, and notepads!

I also want to thank ALL of your kind words and support!

New in the Shop!

100% recycled materials journals will be slowly heading into the shop! I made a ton of them--all kinds of designs, but you know, photos, those damn photos! This is all I could salvage. I currently have one for sale in my ETSY SHOP!

I've also designed a cool Food Diary. They look just like my spiral notebooks but are filled with food+exercise planning pages. I've listed a Fruit Cup one, but more healthy covers will be making their way into the shop soon.

Bacon N' Eggs

These fun and quirky soaps give a whole new meaning to a morning shower. I absolutely LOVE these soaps from Sun Basil Garden. There are plenty of more awesome soaps in her shop like Pink Grapefruit Sunrise and Sweet Honeysuckle, but you have to admit the Pancake, Bacon, and Eggs RULE!

I just know this shop will be my new addiction--especially given that she has Carrot Cake soap coming soon!

You know the drill....I'm completely obsessed.

Meredith Steele

As if you did not know by now, the only thing (besides Jeff Goldblum) that makes my heart stop is a food painting--especially cakes! This delicious painting by artist Meredith Steele can be found in her ETSY SHOP .

Back to the drawing board!

I've been posting very sparsely lately--I blame that on extreme fatigue. I've had a hellish two weeks and am just now getting back to business stuff. I plan to resume posts this weekend. I have some great food inspired goodies lined up as well as some cool new products to list in my etsy shop!

Stay tuned.

Super Busy

Okay, this has to be the busiest time of my life:

1. Work
2. School--next week is review week for an architectural studio class I am taking--that means blueprints, photos and a wood model! I feel as if I am going to faint. I also have an exam on Monday.
3. Opening Weekend: which is NEXT weekend. Somehow, I managed to crank out 50 chunky notebooks LAST NIGHT as I watched a series of ON DEMAND movies (Jane Eyre, Eye of the Beholder, and Babel). We will see what will transpire over the weekend--I hope a lot!

Sparse posts as I try and do 1-3 in a timely fashion!
Have a great weekend ALL!

Savoring Savor's Soaps

I've been silently stalking Savor on etsy for sometime. I was just waiting for the moment for the shop to fill up with chocolate soaps so I could buy one of each! I'm so thrilled with my purchases and can't wait to receive them!

** From top to bottom:
Chocolate Cardamom
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Chocolate Milk
Sweet Pea Chocolate Heart

South End Open Market (Opening Weekend)

Edesse Designs will be there with a HUGE selection of notebooks, journals, notepads, erasers, and more cool surprises! So stop by and say HELLO!

Oh, the WEEKEND...

It's just a little over two weeks before the South End Open Markets Begin and I'm toiling away in my dark, cold, wet basement with nothing more than a candle light and a bag of ramen noodles to keep me.

Okay, it's not that serious, not even close. I'm actually really excited about participating in this year's Open Markets--especially opening day. I did it for one weekend last year and had a blast. So now, i'm working hard on stocking my tent with tons of eye-catching, mouth watering, jaw dropping notebooks, journals, eraser sets, and FURNITURE--as well as a kick a** display area for all of my goodies! it seems like so much to do with so little time.

I'll keep you all updated so tune in to see what's cooking over here. In the meantime, may I suggest a great movie?

The Thin Red line. It is probably one of the best films I've ever watched in my whole entire life and I have watched more than my fair share of films. Terrence Malick is beyond amazing. My second favorite movie is Mr. Malick's The New World--another must see.

Have a great weekend EVERYONE!

Green

Nah, this post is not about my favorite m&m color! It's about recycling and it is about edesse designs being environmentally sound.

As of today April 30, 2007, edesse designs is going GREEN!

So, what exactly does that mean?
1. It means that the paper in each and every notebook will be %100 recycled or reclaimed paper. This simple practice saves trees, reduces solid waste, conserves water, saves energy and reduces emissions of greenhouse gases.

2. Number 2 will be coming really soon. It is my plan to print ALL of my notebook, journal, and notepad covers on 100% recycled paper. However, I still need to do a bit more research before I settle on a paper that fits the bill--that and I just purchased a huge bundle of card stock so I will need to use that stock up before moving on to greener pastures!

I'm also going to be using environmentally friendly adhesives and packaging material.

I'm excited about bringing you all awesome AND environmentally friendly paper goodies!

Alvin Richard

More Jello wonderfulness courtesy of Alvin Richard , a self-taught painter and registered nurse from New Brunswick, Canada.

Isaac Mizrahi + Target = Obsession!

I found (and immediately purchased) these juicy tumblers from TARGET--and, they are on SALE...like 50% off!  I've always been a fan of Isaac Mizrahi's collections for Target, his homewares have been spot on! I can't wait to get these...I'll have a cookout in their honor!

Jello 1-2-3

Jello 1-2-3 was the best! My mom used to have this ready for us when we came home from school. It was like three for the price of one and they looked so yummy in those clear glasses. I  loved the bottom layer the most. So, there seems to be an online petition to bring this stuff back.

Jello 1-2-3 Petition

Of course, I signed. That's what you do when you have a million other things to do--that or watch Maury Povich.

I'll be back to regular posts soon! School is CRAZY!!

Let Them Eat Cake..

I swear if only I could actually eat this cake! To purchase, click HERE !

Have a nice weekend everybody!

Vitamin C

This is JUST what I needed today. Nothing says great like a dose of outrageousness on a Wednesday.

This juicy painting is by Sarah Lynch and can be purchased in her Etsy Shop !

Email Campaign

Ever since I started my business in 2005, I have been sending email updates using plain ole' text emails but always wanted to send those cool emails with hyper link images and logos. Well, I found a cool company that does all the hard work for you. All you need to do is supply the text and the photos, fill in some fields, add you email list and viola! So, this afternoon, I'm sending my first pimped out newsletter.

Of course, as I get more comfortable, I will fine tune the process. But for any of you who will receive email newsletter 2.0, I would like to get some feedback!

On another note. I was on the bus last night coming back from the grocery store and was thinking really long and hard about my life. Where it was, where is is, and where it will be. If you would have asked me 5 years ago about where I would 5 years later, I would have never guessed the answer would be here.

"Here" is neither good nor bad -- it's just interesting. I was supposed to be an aerospace engineer (according to my dad) a chemical engineer (according to my mom) and was never supposed to even go near anything remotely artistic (according to both). You see, I come from a very strict family who believes that math and science is the end all say all. You can do whatever you want as long as those two things come first. I've always struggled with that. I've always held a desire in my heart for the artistic, but never felt comfortable exploring it for a fear of being viewed as unsubstantial.  However, my parents and I have come to an arrangement of sorts. As long as I get my PhD in economics, I can pursue the business.

So, the question is, am I happy?

Yes, and hell yes.

For me, happiness is defined by what I can do. A PhD in economics will give me a set of quantitatively critical skills to dissect the world I am in. My craft will give me a set of skills that will allow me to appreciate the colors and textures of my landscape.

Polka Dot Shop

This stitched breakfast card set just made my DAY and WEEKEND even though it is rainy, cold, and RAINY! Oh boy! This set comes with three cards--bacon, egg, and toast, plus three white envelopes! You can purchase this awesome set in the equally awesome Polka Dot Shop.

This set is too cute for words! I mean, the toast just speaks to me. Happy Friday ALL!

Brand Spakin New!

Some of these puppies are already in the SHOP ! If not, they will be making their way there soon!

Brownies!

Decadent Brownie Painting straight from Mary Huges Studio.  Beyond Yummy!