Package Preview

For my first package purchaser, I have made these lovely greetings.

They are 100% one-of-a-kind.

Get Well

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

Mother's Day

Thank You

And that's just 1/4 of your order (hey, that rhymes!).

Just a short post today since I have birthday cards to make :D

I hope everybody is having a lovely weekend. I have my second interview tomorrow! Cross your fingers!

Spring Has Sprung!

...for now, at least. I think I speak for everybody when I say it would really STINK if we got hit with snow again. YUCK!

 This week has been great through and through. It started on Monday (I know, amazing, right?). I received my first order for a card package. Awesome!! I don't think I've come down from that high yet! I think I might frame the paper as I reminder that I can and I will make this happen.

Later on (tonight or over the weekend) I will showcase some of the cards I've made for that order. They're turning out really great, I think, especially the Mother's Day card. I wanted to make it worthy of MY mother because she gets only the highest praise from me and deserves nothing but THE BEST (Love you Mom!), so hopefully the receiver of that card loves it (I *think* I know who it is going to ;) )  In fact, I think I'll make one very similar to it for my Mom for Mother's Day. I'm pretty sure I have the paper picked out for the Father's Day card, and I'll probably get to that one tonight.  So far I have one of the Thank You's done as well as a few of the Birthday cards, one of the Get Well's and one of the Sympathy cards.

So that's where I stand with that. HUGE thank you to my first package purchaser, YOU ROCK!

Tuesday was Stashley's 3 year anniversary and we're now embarking upon our 4th year together. Maybe this will be the year ;) I'm trying very hard to be patient, but when you love someone with your whole heart, it can be hard sometimes. It will happen when the time is right.

I also had an interview on Tuesday afternoon for the full-time position I mentioned last post. It must've gone well because they called me back for a second interview. WOOT! Keep your fingers crossed for me! I advised them I'd be able to start April 2.

The rest of the week was kinda boring, but boring can be good sometimes--no burnt hands that way!
[Sidenote: Whenever I pour hot water out of the teakettle since my burnt hand incident, I literally hold my left hand behind my back so I don't feel tempted to hold the coffee mug..that's what got me in trouble back in October! Gosh that was awful. I had never screamed like that before in my life, and I never want to scream like that again! My hand is finally looking normal. If you look closely, the part that was burned looks a little more tan than the part that wasn't.]

Anywho! Today is Friday! I have a 3-day weekend that I didn't even ask for, but hey I'll take it! It is supposed to be rainy and chilly here all weekend, so it is perfect creating weather. Until later!

Ashley

Update: Friday turned on me real quick once I went on my lunch. I got a fish sandwich at McDonald's and then parked by the lake to eat it since it was a nice day. I had my radio on and I was charging my phone. It came time to head back to work, so I went to start my car...except it wasn't starting! I called Roadside Assistance that I have through my cell phone provider and they sent a man out to give me a jump. The man tried and tried but nothing doing. I advised him I would call for a tow (he didn't have the appropriate vehicle to tow me) and about an hour and a half later I got my car towed to the dealership in the town I work in. They are so reasonable, and they also were the last time I had a problem with my car around Thanksgiving time. Turns out I need a new battery, so they're doing that today. I'll have Steve take me over to pick it up on Monday before my second interview. So that's that!

Pachetti!

Pachetti is "packages" in Italian.

And that is what this post is all about!!

For about 2 weeks now I have been putting together some packages and plans to build my business. As a Virgo, I am such a perfectionist (which really stinks sometimes!), so you can bet I've been through and through all of this with a fine-toothed comb five times. Over the past week, this led to much frustration on my end,  but I'm hoping it will all be worth it and it will get me to the next level of Fatto con L'Amore.

When I was first given these ideas (BIG thanks to Steve's awesome aunt and my wonderful uncle) I was just going to work out logistics for one plan, but as I got down to brainstorming, I thought, "I like variety. I like to choose." I figure all of you guys would like the same thing--options. Fast forward one week and I found myself with FOUR different plans. Exciting right? I bet you can't wait to see what each entails. I am SO excited to show you what I have been working on on the business side of things.

Staying true to my Italian heritage, all but one of the following plans are named in Italian. I have to admit, coming up with the names of the plans was actually fun and really made me think. Here they are:

Pay Ahead Plan (have you figured out which one is not in Italian yet? Ha ha)

Compleanno      (Birthday Package)

Splendido          (Splendid Package)

Squisito             (Exquisite Package)

Aren't those names fun to say? I almost feel like I'm reading an Olive Garden menu!

Okay, moving on, here are the plans!

Pay Ahead Plan
This plan is pretty self-explanatory.
Paying ahead for your goods opens an account with Fatto con L'Amore in your name.
There is a minimum amount due to start this plan of $10.00, which covers:
3 cards and shipping                or                8 gift/wine tags and shipping

$20.00 covers: 6 cards and shipping                or                16 gift/wine tags and shipping
Why this is great: When you have an event that sneaks up on you (like so many of them do!), you can place an order with me for a card, gift tag or wine tag and I can design it and send it ASAP, since it is already paid for.
Shipping generally takes 2-3 business days(Mon-Sat).
I will advise you when your balance is getting low, at which point you will have the choice of paying more into your account or just using up the balance that is left.
**Once you pre-pay, those funds must be used towards a product of Fatto con L'Amore. They cannot be refunded.

The following packages require payment in full upon placement of your order.
All prices include shipping.

Compleanno- $28
Includes 12 Birthday cards
Please specify gender and any preferred color or theme on order form.
*You do not have to use one card per month.

Splendido- $35
Includes 15 cards
Any combination of the following occasions:
Birthday                    Valentine's Day           Easter                            
Anniversary                Thank You                 Wedding
Baptism                     Graduation                Mother's Day
Father's Day

Squisito- $50
Includes 24 cards
Any combination of the following occasions:
  Birthday               Valentine's Day              Easter                   Anniversary                
Christmas                Graduation                 Wedding                Sympathy                  

Thank You                Get Well                  Bridal Shower         Baby Shower                
  Baptism                Mother's Day              Father's Day


We accept Cash - Check - PayPal
Please make checks payable to Ashley Cescon.

____________________________________________________________________

And there you have it! I apologize for the long wait on these. I really have no excuse for dragging my butt on publishing these to you. Steve took me to see Jim Gaffigan last night--we had a ball. If you've never heard his comedy, I highly suggest it. His Hot Pocket bit had me in tears last night from laughing so hard, even though I've heard it many times before.  I was off all day today since I was out late last night with my Stevie, but I spent it cleaning, going to do laundry, and making green cupcakes for my company this weekend.

If the weather is nice tomorrow, I'll be going to the zoo with them, but if it is yucky out, we'll go have some fun at the casino. 

Maybe we'll get lucky since it's St. Patty's day? 

Hopefully Ida will be looking down on me and helping me win (Miss you every day Ida! 9/23/26-3/17/07).  

Once Steve gets out of work tomorrow afternoon, we'll head out to dinner, and hopefully catch the Sabres game after that.

One more thing!! If you could all keep your fingers crossed for me as I was offered an interview for a full-time position yesterday. If I could land this job, it would be awesome in so many ways! Really appreciate your good vibes!

Wine Gift Tag $1.00 USD

PS I do have order forms, if you are interested and know which package you would like, let me know and I'll email it to you. 

This is a Test....

Does this work??

What about this ??

In Like a Lion...

Happy March everyone! It's been pretty windy here in my neck of the woods, so I'm looking forward to March going out like a Lamb. 

My apologies for the delay in posting. I promise to get better at this.

I have some lovely birthday cards to show you all today and I hope you like what you see!

Lately I have been focusing on using up scraps of paper I have. Scraps make just as beautiful cards, and I'm forced to kind of think outside the box and make different type cards with different layouts depending on the size of the scrap(s) I'm using.

Let's get started...

Fatto con L'Amore $2.00 USD

 I am so fond of this paper. The colors, the pattern..everything about it!

 I found it on clearance at Hobby Lobby, so I probably will never find it again (Waaah). 

Out of the scrap I had left, I was able to make two girly birthday cards. 

Brown with Pink is one of my favorite color combinations, along with Pink and Green (showcased later). On the card above, I paired this lovely paper with some khaki card stock and a delicious-looking little cupcake.

Down below I used a base of pink card stock and added in some fun ribbon accents.

Added some more khaki card stock and a stamp of "It's your day." and voila! A fun greeting card is born!

Fatto con L'Amore $2.00 USD

Apparently I'm a big fan of the stamp I used in these next 2 cards.."Make a big wish."

If I remember correctly, I found it for $1 at Michaels..what a bargain considering how often I use it!

 Since most of the colors in the base of this next one are pastel, I wanted to pair it with something bright to give it a great POP of color..hence the cerulean blue that the message is mounted on top of.

I also included some green self-adhesive gems(another $1 item, this time from JoAnn's) there for some extra sparkle.

Fatto con L'Amore  $2.00 USD

Commence the Green & Pink parade!!

Are you ready for this action?

I lovelovelove Green and Pink together.

It is such a versatile color combination and it suits so many occasions.

I've used it in Easter cards, Birth Announcements, Christmas cards...and here, in Birthday Cards.

Pretty, preppy--PERFECT!

Yes, I love it that much.

Fatto con L'Amore $2.00 USD

The greeting above is a horizontal side fold--one of the new styles of cards I started using Christmas 2011.

I used some pastel pink and green argyle print paper atop pastel green card stock, and I used that color combo all throughout, right up to the 3 gems (JoAnn's, woot woot!) you see there next to the stamp.

Gems are another fun thing I like to use. When I first started my supply collection about, oh, 10 years ago or so, I had one package of gems, and in order to use them I had to lug out my glue gun (not really, it's actually quite small, but still). Imagine my excitement when I found there were self-adhesive gems (and pearls, my fav!) out there..awesome sauce!

Suffice to say, I now have a HUGE freezer bag FULL of these amazing little things and they are all self-adhesive (except for my poor first gems, they've been "thrown under the bed", as my Mom would say, because they are not as easy to use *sniff sniff*)

With help from my wonderful boyfriend Steve and his knowledge of design, I've begun focusing more on using negative space to my advantage, rather than having every card be centered centered centered. While centered is nice sometimes, negative space usage is nice all the time, and it makes for a more intriguing card, in my opinion.

Also I've been trying to keep my cards simple. I've seen some cards on Pinterest that are really busy and I don't feel that's the way to go for me, but whatever floats your boat, I say.

Not hating, just saying it's not the type of card I choose to create in my business.

 This is the card I've made most recently. I made it on Tuesday night while I was watching American Idol.

We don't have cable, and I moved the TV antenna from the living room into the bedroom to use on my TV.  Since my desk is in the living room, I had to move a few supplies(my horribly organized embellishments, scrap paper bag, cutter, adhesives, ribbon) with me that night so I could at least put some cards together.

Here it is!

I had some of that lovely pink and green argyle paper left over so I put it to what I think is great use on this greeting.

The base is just plain green card stock, and on top of that we have some pink ribbon, pink card stock, preppy paper and another great cupcake.

Fatto con L'Amore $2.00 USD

 I like cupcakes, can you tell? Here's a close-up--yum!

Fatto con L'Amore $2.0 USD

And there you have it! That's what I've been up to.

Tell all your friends, and please, no stealing my pictures and putting your name on them.

Okay? Cool, good talk.

Have a lovely day, everyone!

PS Gimme a like on Facebook if you would, please.

Purple, Purple and...Purple?

So here are some Easter cards I've been working on.  I think this first one is just lovely! I always say how I wish someone would give me one of my own cards because I like them all so very much.

 I really enjoy this one too (of course). It's got bright, pretty colors--it really shouts out "Spring!!" to me (Can you hear it??). This card kind of happened by accident, to be honest. I didn't really have an idea in mind for it like I usually do, and I just kept adding to it until it turned out like this. Not bad, huh?

Steve picked out the rubber stamp shown on this card when he accompanied me on one of my many adventures to Hobby Lobby. Doesn't he have wonderful taste?(Yes!)

I love this Little Bun! He's going to show up on lots of Easter cards this year, I'm sure. He's already made his way onto 4 of them! Should I name him?? 

Anyways, I usually stamp him in Silver Ink and then color in his cute little bunny nose with sparkly pink pen.

I have another purple card that is mostly the printed paper in the first card shown. It has a little yellow chick on it. I will either send that one to my niece or this last one with the bun on it. The jury is still out! Monica (my ADORABLE and incredibly silly niece) is craaaazzyyyy for the color blue, so maybe I can make an Easter card with light turquoise on it? I made her a Valentine the other day, and I had to make sure there was at least SOME blue on it among the sea of pink!

I suppose that's will do for now! Two posts in one day, phew! I think I might like this..a place for me to talk about my passion and how my pieces came to be, because, in my opinion, they each deserve their own little story (especially this little bun--name suggestions, please)!

My First Blog!

Hello everyone! I am so excited to be here. I decided I wanted to start writing a blog based around my little business that I started by accident in Spring 2009. Back then I didn't think it would become what it is to me now.


It was then, in 2009, that I discovered I had all of these supplies and only one Scrapbook that I was working on, for my niece.


I suppose I'll start off with my somewhat cheesy Etsy shop description. Prepare yourselves! (You can view my Etsy shop here.)

"Anyone can go into a grocery store and pick up a run-of-the-mill, unoriginal greeting card. Fatto con L'Amore provides handmade, one-of-a-kind greeting cards. Each one is just as unique as a snowflake.

Fatto con L'Amore has gone overseas, with greetings being sent to the UK, and Facebook fans joining us from Italy.

Fatto con L'Amore greetings are just as the name states--Made with Love.

Greeting cards, gift tags,wine bottle tags, cupcake toppers, birth announcements, invitations and place cards are all available and can be made to order, or you can choose from my pre-made selection.

Whatever it is you need to say, say it with Fatto con L'Amore!"

So that's my story. See, cheesy. I told you.

But it's what I love and it's something I hope to build up enough over the next few years to turn it into a real live work-at-home business.

Over time I'll be sharing pictures of my new creations, orders I'm sending out, new supplies...pretty much anything and everything having to do with what I am working on.

I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to comment on anything you like...or! If you like something you see here so much that you just have to have it in your life(or need to give it to someone), simply place an order--orders make me a happy camper!