Christmas card designs and a curry

Just finished uploading my new xmas card designs today, bit late I know. But with 3 kids who always seem to be on holiday, lots of orders ( no complaints there though) and being at the baby show, it just did not happen. But October and xmas cards, you just cant can you, november is OK. But is that just me, as if you start buying xmas cards you realise that you have not made the christmas cake again, or you have to start thinking about whose family you will be spending xmas with, always a risky subject in our house. Last year we took the easy option and stayed in Abersoch for the whole festive season, this year I think brother in law Mark should host xmas in his new fab barn, will post details on his new barn later.

So after a busy day or trying to look busy I have attached my favourite design and my man has bought some cheap champers from M&S, chocs and ordered a curry, what more could you ask for, especially when you are on a diet. Still got 2 stone to go, lost nearly 3 now - yippee.

Exciting new products

I have fallen in love with these gifts and cant wait to show them to everyone, they are brand new to the UK and europe, they will be launched this October.

I hope you like them, you will be able to buy them on my site very very soon.

Baby Shows - please come and see me

I am exhibiting at the following baby shows over the next 2 months and we are buying some amazing products to sell, we will be the first people in the UK to sell them and probably Europe, they are so gorgeous, very stylish and modern, I just need another baby to use them.

I am exhibiting at:

• IssyBoo in Doncaster on the 10th October


• Baby Show Earls Court - 16th -18th October


• Designer baby show in Slough - 14th November


• Our very own Happy Mondays showcase on the 19th November

I am even having our outfits for the shows hand made!

My other blog which I actually update with Sue's help

As I now run Happy Mondays networking with Sue we have to write a blog as it is a networking group, so please take a look at http://happymondaysnetworkinggroup.blogspot.com/.

I love the group, I have met so many interesting women and mums in business are always so open and willing to help each other, the meetings have been very successful up to now.

Weight loss at last

I had to post about my weight loss. I have 3 kids 6, 4 and 2 and basically have been overweight since the birth of no.1. I have tried to lose weight, but failed miserably. So what happened in July to make me actually really tackle the weight issue at last, instead of hiding from it. I had so much to lose I just could not face it. The answer is I am not really sure, but I wish I knew, as I would bottle it and give it to all those people who feel like I did, thinking about how fat you are 10-20 x a day, your confidence dwindling with every extra ounce, hoping your kids wont notice that you are fat.

I have now lost 2 stone, one dress size down, and go to the gym 4 x a week and feel tremendous, my wardrobe is now a bit more exciting, not quite there yet as still have 3 stone to lose, but so much more choice.

I just hope I can keep on track and lose the other 3 stone and my wobbly arms as my 6 year old kindly told me yesterday, not as wobbly as grandmas but still very wobbly!!!

Birth announcement cards

I love designing and getting orders for birth announcements, the only problem is it makes me want another baby, but 3 is enough and at last I am losing weight, so another would be crazy. I am one of the unfortunate few who puts on weight while breastfeeding.

I am going to increase my collection of twins birth announcement cards and triplets, as I feel that it is a bit small at the moment.

I will also design a few more twins christening invitations.

Probably do all this while on holiday in france trying to relax!!!!!

A busy week

Happy Mondays is taking shape gradually, all very exciting. We are going to have organise a showcase evening for local businesses, have lots of local experts giving informal chats on SEO. marketing, how they set up their business etc and an xmas do.

I think Sue and I are going to be very very busy, but it will be worth it.

On a more personal point, at last I am losing weight, I could not blame Jemima anymore for my huge bodyshape, she is 2 now! So joined the tytherington club and absolutely love it, even if my pulse while exercising is through the roof. I have lost a stone so far - yipppeee.

I am also now exhibiting at the Baby Show Earls Court, in the baby boutique section, I can't wait, we are going to sell some new exciting products from Canada. I hope I get as good a response from this show as the excel show.

Off to the Dordogne next week for a well earned rest, well sort of rest as I will be taking my mac of course, got my mum and friends organising CocoCards from the UK end. Thats the problem with your own business never without it (quite like that actually).

Oh and Happy Mondays is now on twitter - HappyMondaysUK

Back soon

Mums who bake

I have just found the most glorious website via the Mums Club forum, it is www.mumswhobake.co.uk, it hopes to inspire you to start baking, bake more often, or improve your baking.

It has a shop, recipies and forum, and is just a lovely looking website. Hopefully it will inspire me to bake with the kids a bit more, but Molly only wants to lick the spoon and they both fight over who cracks the eggs, so I usually lose my temper or just bake huge cakes with lots of eggs in them!

The Lettered Set

The NY times published a great article on personalised stationery this month - For custom stationery fiends, "social papers" are thriving, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the prevailing digital culture.

Link: Lettered Set

It does discuss how awful pre printed thank you notes are, so maybe I should not be publishing it here, but it also discusses how wonderful it is to write and receive letters, notes, thank you cards in a time when we use texts and emails.

It makes me want to go out and buy letterpress stationery, I hope in time to be selling this on my website. Oh and buy a cabinet like this and the house to match preferably in North Sydney.

Adult birthday party invitations

I have just been asked to do a few birthday party invitations for the older generation, i.e.  not teenagers or babies anymore. A couple have used my cupcakes for 60th and 50th    parties, but I have just added a new section to my website, with only one design at the  moment but more to come.

I created a similar design for a clients 30th, now don't laugh at the photo!

Squidoo - am I the last to hear about it!!

I have just joined squidoo and I am trying to create a few lenses, while doing so found this great lens on childrens birthday present ideas for 1-2 year olds, have a look: http://www.squidoo.com/1st_birthday#module10916733

Once I have squidoo cracked might look at digg this, bebo etc!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get help polishing your written correspondence skills

I have just ordered from Amazon 2 books which I hope will be full of great tips which I can post on my blog and website.

It is so hard to get the wording just right, so hopefully these books will help, and I just love buying books.

The books are -  The Art of Correspondence: An Etiquette Booklet and Complete Set of Stationery"
Florence Isaacs

Crane's Blue Book of Stationery: The Styles and Etiquette of Letters, Notes, and Invitations"
Steven L. Feinberg

Hopefully these will help with my new range of wedding stationery.

New printers - P81

I have changed my printers and I am now working with the lovely Nicky from P81 print in Macclesfield, the printers are great, Nicky is great.

We have already expanded the range to include canvas prints, and I will be adding the option of printing all my cards onto canvas.

New ideas are baby books, photo albums, bookmarks - all coming very soon.

Also the print quality is so much better, the photos look just great, very clear and crisp.

A new mums website called mumsjustlove.com

I was searching the web as I do very frequently the other day and found this wonderful website, funnily enough they had just found my website and featured my mummy cards.

So what do they do - Mumsjustlove find the best products, retailers and offers online for mums and their little ones. everything promoted on mumsjustlove is hand-picked by their editorial team, no listings are paid for which means they are really showcasing the best! their product directory features the best products from literally 100's of retailers and CoCoCards is one of them!

You can link to the article and the website here

http://www.mumsjustlove.com/images/recommended3.jpg  -recommendation

http://mumsjustlove.com/talk/?p=304  - article

Busy busy busy

I am getting busier all the time now, my hubbie made me do an excel chart to show my sales and it is a steep upward curve, so that is great news, I hope it keeps on improving.

I keep getting lots of fantastic feedback which is always lovely and puts a big smile on my face. I have posted some on my testimonial page.

I have designed a couple of wedding invites lately, thought I might dabble in this area, thinking about doing a wedding show to see what the reaction to my cards is, as I know there is a lot of competition. Will put these on my website soon.

It was my sons birthday party last weekend so we did a treasure hunt, luckily it was fantastic weather so 12 lively boys had a great time outside, while mums sipped champers indoors (well sparkly plonk actually!).

I loved making his pirate invitations and treasure hunt clues, that is the bonus of doing this job you are able to treat your children to really special stationery, he just loves his thank you cards, we just need to write them now!.

Baby Show Excel

Gill and I had a great time if tiring at the Baby show last week, met lots of people and the response to my cards and framed prints was just lovely, it was great for people to actually see the quality of the prints and the designs.
Had lots of enquiries and orders already, so if I carry on getting a good response I may go back next year.
Here is a picture of the stand.


[caption id="attachment_54" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Baby Show Excel Feb 2009 Cococard stand"][/caption]


We met some lovely people, our stand was opposite future freak, check out their very way out designs, nothing like cococards, their slogan is 'we dont do nice'.
Some other great stands were lulu sapphire and Huddle and Bliss, i just wanted to have another baby to buy all their gorgeous baby things.

I'm pregnant magazine - Cococards is listed under the webwise section

I am in the Spring edition of I'm pregnant magazine page 126, I am very very happy about this, they took a shot of my home page and reviewed the website.

The only negative with the article,  is when I tell people I am in I'm pregnant magazine, all they hear is I'm pregnant and think I am having a fourth - do they think I'm crazy, well maybe!!!

Baby Show Excel Fri Feb 27th - Sun 1st March

I am exhibiting at the Baby Show Excel London at the end of feb, 29000 visitors expected over 3 days - ahhhhh.

I have been asked to design the celebrity guest invites and press invites, so I will post these here soon.

If you live anywhere near London, please come and say hello, stand C45

Happy New Year

A happy new year to all from CocoCards, I hope this year will be very exciting for CocoCards even when we are surrounded by doom and gloom - maybe beautiful stationery can help us through it!

My exciting plans are to expand my selection of cards and designers, moving into civil ceremonies and weddings and I will be exhibiting at the biggest baby show in the UK at the end of February, they expect 29000 visitors over 3 days, daunting but a fantastic challenge.

I will be adding more birthday party invitations and thank you cards over the next few weeks, I hope you like them.

It is my oldest daughters birthday party this weekend so I am very busy buying jewels, face paints, balloons and making my own party bags with personalised tags and matching thank you cards.

On the subject of thank you cards, my children loved (well OK loved a bit!) writing their cards this year as they had their own personalised thank you cards which made them very special. I will be adding more designs to this section of my website as I think it is lovely for children to have their own stationery.

Speak soon

Helen