simply rosy blog

I don’t know about you, but I have quite a few mothers in my life.  These are a few sets of personalized notecards that I made for Mother’s Day gifts this year.

As my husband was uploading the two invitation samples to the website, he questioned my decision of categorizing the invitations (into “Wedding”, “Bday”, etc) rather than just putting them in one big page all together. My answer to him was that I am going to be creating several more samples during the course of my business, and I would prefer to have them split into categories rather than to have (eventually) HUNDREDS of invitations in one lumped location.

His response to that was, “But maybe people won’t understand that they can use ANY style with ANY paper for ANY occasion. I think that maybe people will assume that these 11 samples are the only invitations you offer.” I am positive that some potential customers will have exactly that response, so I would like to clarify specifically what I mean when I say I am a custom invitation designer. (Brief summary here: http://www.simplyrosy.com/custom.htm)

As we complete the remaining pages in the invitation section of the site, we will:

1. upload images of probably at least 50 patterned and solid colored papers, eventually we will most likely list even more than that.
2. have between 5 and 10 basic invitation styles, with several options for “extras” (like response cards, custom envelopes, ribbons, enclosures, etc).
3. list several standard sizes for invitations.
4. upload files with several font options, as well as list several choices for how you might like to word an invitation.

The main goal for me, as a custom designer, is to offer ANY combination of the above four options that you might desire.

For instance, if you like one of our samples which is listed as a wedding shower invitation, you can use that very same design as a baby announcement or children’s birthday invitation or garden tea party or whatever other occasion you can imagine. Or if you see a complicated wedding invitation, we can easily simplify the basic concept to be used for a wine tasting or even a Super Bowl party!

PLUS, if you have an idea which is not included in the options listed, I will be happy to talk to you about it, and try to create what you are imagining. That means that if you would like a 12″x12″ invitation, with a huge bow around it, in bright green and navy blue floral paper – I will try my absolute hardest to do exactly that!

Or, you may have seen a particular patterned paper which is not listed on my website, but you KNOW that you would like to use that exact paper. I will try to find the paper through my vendors or at local stores. Or if you would prefer, I will tell you the number of sheets which I need to complete your order; you can purchase the paper and mail it to me, and I will reduce the price of your order accordingly.

The main point that I am trying to express is that I will customize every single invitation I design to be exactly what you wish. Of course, complexity often comes with a higher price tag, so unfortunately, I will not always be able to do exactly what you want within your budget, but I would like to work with you to get as close to your dream as possible.

I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope you enjoy the website. Check back soon for updates!

~Kat – kat@simplyrosy.com

I am in the process of creating several more samples to show on the website.  I have made 4 more baby-related samples, and now I am starting to work on some wedding-related invitations.  I am really excited by some of the designs I am using!

It has truly been a process deciding which products I am going to use for my invitations.  The two absolute essentials (besides beautiful PAPER, of course!) are a great paper trimmer and really awesome adhesive.  (I can’t tell you how sick of repeatedly crooked cuts and tiny adhesive dispensers I am!)  Over the past few months, I have purchased 5-7 different paper trimmers and countless varieties of adhesive, and I still have not found the “perfect” tools.  (Although I do admit it has been fun to have an excuse to try so many different products!)

I’m still working on finding my most important tools, but paper is a completely different problem (I have TONS).  Which papers should I use and how many should I display?  Will I be able to find those papers for a long period of time, and if so, how/where can I order in bulk?  Will customers really choose a large mix of papers, or mainly choose the papers used in the samples?  Etc…

This has been a fun ride so far, and I’m hoping for even greater adventures to come!

We have now posted the invitation policies as a page in the blog.  Also, since I have not yet been able to upload all of the custom option details, I have created a temporary list for your information until I have some time to update the option details (i.e. have hours and hours to scan patterned paper swatches).

Let me know if you have questions!

~Kat – kat@simplyrosy.com

The creation of Simply Rosy has been surprisingly easier than I expected. Two years ago, after making my own wedding invitations, I considered starting a custom invitation business, but I assumed that it would be too much work and so put the idea aside “for later”. I have thought about this idea quite a few times over the last two years, but at the beginning of this year, I decided that it was time to get serious.

I found a book about starting a home business, and I made TONS of notes in the margins as I read, listing everything I thought about possibly starting an invitation business. I decided that I would AT LEAST think of a business name and get it registered, and even if I only had one client during my first year, it would still be a start to a business that I could build over time.

In all honesty, it took me about 3 weeks to even think of ONE possible name! My husband was incredulous that it took me that long, but I just drew a complete blank. I am not ashamed to tell you that my initial “inspiration” came from a trip to the grocery store, and choosing “Simply Orange” OJ. My thought process went something like this, “Hmmm…’Simply’…that’s a nice word,” and it all fell into place after that.

I went through several different names before choosing “Simply Rosy”. At first, I liked Simply Perfect and Simply Pink, but those were both taken, so I looked to Crayola crayon names for inspiration. I liked the word “Glow” in one of the names, but Simply Glowing didn’t quite flow right, but I liked the idea of “glowing” as a happy word reminding me of flushed cheeks and “glowing brides”. So I then decided to look at synonyms for glowing, and “Simply Rosy” sounded PERFECT! I even thought of my logo right away.

I mentioned, to mostly family members and a few co-workers, that I was planning to start a business “on the side” making custom wedding invitations. Then a little over a week ago, a co-worker asked if I would be interested in making the invitations for a bridal shower that she was co-hosting. Needless to say that my response was a resounding, “YES!”

At that point, I decided that I needed to create some samples and get serious about designing my website. (All 11 samples on the site so far were designed and made in the two days following the inquiry of my first potential client, and the majority of the website has been built in the last week. Can you tell I was excited?!?!?)

So here we are! Simply Rosy is (mostly:) up and running; I have my first client; and I’m hoping to fill the remaining 9 spaces for the “Grand Opening Discount” (http://www.simplyrosy.com/discounts.htm), so I’ll be looking forward to your order!

~Kat – kat@simplyrosy.com

Well, we uploaded the remaining samples tonight!

So, now that the website is up, I have time to make more samples; oh, what a vicious cycle! (You can see them all at http://www.simplyrosy.com/inviteall.htm.)

~Kat – kat@simplyrosy.com

I am SO excited to be making the first official blog post for Simply Rosy!

Our website is almost complete (we have quite a few more invitation samples to upload), and we will hopefully have at least the invitation portion finished in the next couple of days.

I have already posted a good deal of information on the “About Simply Rosy” page in the blog, and I am planning to write another lengthy post about the idea behind being a “completely custom” invitation designer.

I hope you enjoy the site and our blog, and I’d love some feedback on the website!

~Kat – kat@simplyrosy.com