Where to find Beth Hart Designs this November

Happy Monday! Last week on Instagram I posted a little sneak peek of some new flat note cards coming with me to a few Christmas shows this November. Production is in full swing to prepare for these shows, and I can't wait to share the new products and designs with you! So today, I'm officially announcing the Christmas Show Southern Tour for Beth Hart Designs!

November 6th - 9th, I'll be in Jackson, Mississippi for Mistletoe Marketplace hosted by the Junior League of Jackson. It's an honor to bring Beth Hart Designs to my husband's home state and the state of our college education (Hotty Toddy)! I can't believe this show starts less than a month from today!

November 14th - 17th, I'll be back home in Nashville for my 3rd year at Christmas Village. I love this show for many reasons, but the main reason being that I'm able to see so many of my local customers face-to-face, a relationship that is normally built through email!

November 20th - 23rd, I'll be in Birmingham, Alabama for my 2nd year at Market Noel hosted by the Junior League of Birmingham. This show was wonderful last year, and I'm  really looking forward to returning this year! I'm so honored to be one of the 4 featured merchants in the slideshow on their website!

I hope you'll be able to stop by my booth at one of these shows to say hello! I really love the personal customer interaction that these shows provide - so don't be shy! Thanks so much for your loyal support this time of the year - it means the world to me!

 

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Last Day for Custom Design Orders 2013

Can you believe it's already the last day of September? Where does the time go? I'm so thankful for and feeling very blessed by the number of orders coming in... Thank you so much for supporting my growing business so enthusiastically! 

Because this time of the year becomes so very busy, I will not be able to offer custom design services during the months of October, November and December. That means that TODAY is the last day for you to place any custom design orders for the remainder of 2013. Due to the number of custom design requests already pending, there is currently a 2 - 3 week turn-around time for these custom projects.

Just to Clarify:  Anything you currently see on my website is not considered a custom design, and those personalized products will be available for order through December 6th. "Custom Design" means built from scratch! Please email me with any questions or concerns.

Don't forget! The Annual Early Bird Special ends October 18th! Happy Monday! Here's to a great week!

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2013 Christmas Card Collection & Early Bird Special

The 2013 Christmas Card Collection is here! I'm very excited to offer 10 new colorful and customizable designs - you can view the new cards and previous years' designs here!

The Annual Early Bird Special has been quite a success over the past several years, and it's back again! Now through October 18th, all Christmas Card orders will receive 20% off! You don't need to have your photo ready, but it is requested that you choose a design, quantity, and the wording... then submit your photo as soon as possible. The 20% discount does not apply to custom design orders. If you would like a custom design for any occasion, please submit your order no later than October 1st. Due to the high volume of orders that are processed this time of the year, no custom design services will be offered during October, November or December.

My amazing friend and talented photographer, Molly Wantland of Simply M Photography, provided the beautiful photos that you see below. I highly recommend using Molly for all of your lifestyle photography needs! She is filling up very fast for fall sessions, so be sure to schedule a session with her as soon as possible! For those who order Christmas Cards from me using photos provided by Molly, you'll receive an extra 10% discount on your cards! 

The deadline for all orders needed by Christmas is December 6th, so be sure to place your Christmas Card and Gift orders before then! Thank you so very much for all the support that you've shown over the last several years. I really love providing Christmas cards and gifts for my customers - it's my favorite time of the year!

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Peaches & Cream Pastries featuring The Peach Truck

This past Saturday, my husband and I got up early and went for a long walk at Percy Warner Park - I'm so amazed by and thankful for the wonderful parks we have here in Nashville. Afterwards, we went to our favorite breakfast and coffee spot - Frothy Monkey in 12South. We noticed that  The Peach Truck was parked at its usual Saturday morning spot at Imogene + Willie - just down the road from Frothy Monkey. So we decided to stop and get our first bag of fresh Georgia peaches! P.S. I absolutely love the Peach Truck's branding!

I wanted to make something easy and delicious with a few of the peaches, and I decided to make Peaches & Cream pastries. They turned out to be quite yummy, so I wanted to share the recipe with you! 

PEACHES & CREAM PASTRIES:

Ingredients:  3 large fresh peaches, 2 cans of crescent rolls (I used reduced-fat), 1.5 blocks reduced fat cream cheese (softened), 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, spray butter

Directions:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil the peaches in water for about 25-30 minutes (or until very soft), Remove peaches with a slotted spoon and put them in cold water to cool. Peel and chop peaches and set aside. Mix cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon together. Lay out crescent rolls flat on wax paper and break each can into 4 rectangles (8 total rectangles) using the perforation lines. Spread the cream cheese mixture in the center of each rectangle. Top with some of the chopped peaches and fold the four corners of the crescent rectangle to the center and overlap into a pouch. Place all 8 pouches on a flat greased baking pan/tray. Spray the tops of each pouch with spray butter and sprinkle a little sugar on each one. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly brown.

Yields 8 Pastries: Enjoy! 

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Blog Confessions - Finding Contentment in Simplicity

We've had the most amazing weather the past few days here in Nashville, and I'm loving the cooler temperatures with lots of sunshine! I'm seeing a small glimpse of the upcoming Fall weather, and I can't wait for those pumpkin spice lattes, hot apple ciders, colorful leaves, and of course football games!

I had coffee this morning with my wonderful friend and talented business pal, Molly of SimplyMPhotography. Molly has been one of my longest, dearest friends, and I've been blessed to share a lot of life with her by my side. We schedule regular coffee dates to discuss business, life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. I cherish these talks so much, and this morning led to yet another good chat!

We shared that we both desire to live more intentional lives... making time for the most important things and cutting out all the "unnecessary." As I was driving home from our coffee date, I reflected on how I've been living each day and how I want to change some things so that I can live more intentionally. As a designer and entrepreneur, I'm always thinking of ways to build things, improve things, and beautify/make-over things - it's in my nature, I just can't help it. And while this is a good trait in many ways, it sometimes leads me to feeling discontent with the way things currently are. I want a bigger house with big closets and big bathrooms and a big studio for my business, I want a new wardrobe, I want to lose weight so I have more self-confidence, I want more friends, I want more work functions & events to attend, I use to want more retail stores to carry my stationery line, the list goes on. This world constantly tells us that more is better. But what I'm finding to be true is that I actually want less.

Don't get me wrong, some of these things are not all bad - especially when they are held at a healthy level of importance and when they are used to glorify our Father. But these desires become toxic when they totally consume our thoughts and make us ungrateful for all that we already have. I've been praying a lot to find peace and contentment in the here and now. I want to soak up these moments and appreciate these times and give thanks for my blessings without asking for more. I really want to simplify my life and my business in order to make time for the most important things and the most important people. I don't want to be complacent, just content. 

So I've started making a list of the ways I want to simplify my life. A few action items include going through drawers, closets, the attic, my office, and other areas in our house to de-clutter and get rid of the unnecessary "stuff." Do some overdue yard work and touch ups around the house to better love the home that we are currently blessed to own. For my business, this sparkly new website is one of the ways I've attempted to streamline and simplify, but there are other steps I need to take that will allow me to better serve my clients and spend more time with my family and friends. I guess better get to work!

I've been developing my professional and personal growth by attending conferences for creative entrepreneurs, and while I don't wish to spill my guts or over-share on my blog, I do think it's important that I give you a taste of the real Beth Hart from time to time. I'm far from perfect, and my business is far from perfect... and hopefully I can connect with you and inspire you by being transparent and confessing my struggles. Thank you for reading, and I look forward to sharing more "real life" with you!

I'll leave you with a few lyrics from a song that I consider to be a really good reminder of how to find contentment...

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Celebration Sale!

Wow! I'm overwhelmed with all of the compliments, love and support since the launch of my new branding and website on Monday! To say "thank you" and in celebration of this exciting milestone, I'm offering 15% off anything you see on my new website through the end of August (*does not include custom design). All you have to do is mention "launch party sale" when emailing your orders to bethhartdesigns@gmail.com.

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*Please note: I'll be revealing my new 2013 Christmas card designs and launching the Annual Early Bird Christmas Card Special in September, so don't feel the need to order Christmas cards just yet! Can you believe it's almost time to start prepping for the holidays? Oh where does the time go?

Thank you again for all of your support! I love what I do because of you! Happy Friday!

The Rebranding and Reopening of Beth Hart Designs

I can't believe this day is finally here... I'm so very excited to share with you the brand new Beth Hart Designs! I've spent the better part of 2 months rebuilding my little business - the branding, website, packaging and all. But the rebuilding started long before 2 months ago.

I've been in business for over 5 years, and although I've grown and flourished in many ways, I was lacking one major thing: direction. I started out with the dream of becoming a wholesaler - a big, multi-employee, wholesaling machine like the designers I admired so much while working at Swoozie's. I pursued that dream in 2011 by going to AmericasMart in Atlanta - both in January and July. And although it was successful on many levels (Swoozie's and some other amazing stores picked up my line), I wasn't happy nor did I feel fulfilled.

So in July of 2012, I attended the Stationery Academy hosted by Whitney English and Natalie Chang (two amazing women). I arrived feeling lost, insecure with my brand, and lacking direction. But I left with a spark, a hope and a belief that I could find my way in this great stationery and design world. And that's when the rebuilding and rebranding started to happen. I dug deep to figure out who I am, what my style really is, and how I can best serve my purpose through my career. I'm still working on my personal and professional development, but I'm now equipped with that one thing I needed most: direction.

I'm extremely proud and so very excited about this launch. So much hard work, sweat and tears are in this new logo, website, and overall branding. I'm thrilled to have a logo and tag line that represents everything BHD is about... Delightfully Southern. After 5 years of being in business I finally have a website that can serve as a portfolio for all of the products and designs I offer. Although there are new products and designs yet to come, I can actually be proud to send customers and clients to the new bethhartdesigns.com! My Etsy shop is still a work in progress, but soon many of my products will be available for purchase online. Below is the branding style guide for my new "do." 

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Thank you so very much for all of your patience, support and encouragement throughout this time. Beth Hart Designs would not be possible without you, and I am beyond grateful and so very blessed!  I feel that this is just the beginning to many great things ahead, and I am excited to share the journey with you along the way!