And there are some gooooood-looking products in this sale. Here's what you'll get:

I wanted to tell you about this book I just bought-- Recipe for Press by Amy Flurry.

Amy, who is a freelance writer, editor, and stylist, and a former Lucky magazine editor, contacted me a couple of days ago to tell me about her book because she thought it might help me take my brand to the next level. Heck yeah! So I scooped it up this morning.

I thought you might like to know about it, too, because I know many of you who read my blog are artists and designers yourselves and are trying to launch your careers to new heights. Amy tells me this book will help immensely, and I believe her! I can't wait for it to arrive so I can dig in.

The book has Q&A’s featuring successful entrepreneurs who keep their marketing in-house, including designer Amy Butler (I can't WAIT to read this one!), chef Hugh Acheson, potter and blogger Rebecca Wood, and UNIQUE LA founder, Sonja Rasula.

Also check out Amy's Recipe for Press blog, her facebook page, and follow her on twitter-- lots of good tips to be had in all these places!

The upcoming round of Tara Mohr's popular e-program, Playing Big, is beginning on January 24th, and she wants to help YOU play a bigger game in life!

I really like this idea of playing bigger. While I think I'm pretty good at setting big goals and following through on them, I still let a lot of doubt and fear into my thoughts and my work, and I compare myself to other people often and can't always see why my perspective on the world is valuable and unique and worth shouting from the rooftops. Can you relate? I could use some help in the self-confidence department. :)

What does playing big mean for you?

For me, lately, it means standing up for myself, in my business and in my personal life. I'm not inherently good at confrontation or conflict-- I'll shy away from it, not say anything, and internalize my feelings in order to not have to confront a situation. I would rather be upset myself than know someone else is upset at me.

But I know how important it is to be able to confidently, calmly, and compassionately speak my mind-- it shows respect for both myself and the other person. But it's so scary!

So presently, playing big for me means learning to own my feelings, express them compassionately and honestly, and to respect myself and grow my self-confidence around confrontations.

Wow, I feel funny writing this, but whenever I write something that feels a little scary, I get the most comments from other people telling me how much they can relate to it. So I'll just go with it.

Anyway. Tara's Playing Big program will give you the inner foundation and the practical skills that you'll need to play bigger in your life.

To get a taste of Tara's skill and style, check out her 10 Rules for Brilliant Women. (It was featured on The Today Show!) and the accompanying workbook.

And if you'd like to learn more about the Playing Big program, hop on over to the website. Registration is happening now, and the 6-month long program begins next week, so now's the time to join up if you think it's for you!

(*ps- yes, I'm an affiliate for this course, which means that I'll make a bit of cash if you sign up through my site, but I wouldn't tell you about anything that I don't think could make a difference for you in your life-- so not to worry! I 100% believe in what Tara's doing and know she's a rockstar. Did I mention that she has an MBA from Stanford?? Oh yeah. She's big time!)

My good friend Khristian, being the smartie that she is, created a brand new e-book called Obsessed for aspiring licensed artists that addresses all the questions that come up in the beginning of a career as an artist/ surface pattern designer.

I get so many emails from people asking me how they should get their careers started and how I've managed to get clients, etc, and now I'm thrilled to direct those folks to Khristian's e-book. I wish I had the time to answer all the emails I get in great detail, but I have a  business to run and not enough hours in the day! So I'm happy that Khristian's terrific resource now exists, so people can get the answers they want/need, and I won't feel guilty for not having the time to dedicate to mentoring others through the beginning of their careers. Win win!

The e-book is in the pre-order phase right now, and the price will go up after November 1st, so now's the time to grab a copy if this sounds like something that'd be helpful to you! (Oh, and you can download the intro for free, and I promise it'll make you want to order the entire book. It's that good.)

GET MORE DETAILS AND ORDER ON KHRISTIAN'S WEBSITE.

Today I want to tell you about someone who's been instrumental in helping me start my line of rain boots-- and by instrumental I mean: I couldn't be doing it without him.

Enter: Mark Pound of Blosma.

Mark appeared in my life at the exact moment I needed him to-- I was literally googling "how to start manufacturing products" and was getting nowhere, and then I got an email saying that Mark had added me as a contact on LinkedIn. So I clicked over to check out his profile, and HOLY MOLY, he'd made his career in exactly what I was searching for- manufacturing and bringing products to market! Serendipity. I figured it was a sign that I needed to email him to see if he might be willing to chat with me about how to go about manufacturing a product (I didn't even have a specific product in mind at this point).

So, one thing led to another, and all of a sudden Mark and I were working together, the rain boot idea had taken hold of me, and we were off and running!

Mark has led me down this crazy path of taking my rain boots from an idea in my head, to an idea on paper, to finding a manufacturer, to getting samples delivered to my house last week, and every step in between and along the way.

The reason I'm telling you all this is because I imagine that a lot of you are like me: you're an artist, you're creative, you want to have products out there in the world, but you have absolutely no idea where to begin.

The good news: Mark is writing a series on his blog that takes you through the steps of what's involved in manufacturing a product.

This series on Mark's blog is a terrific resource, and I hope you'll check it out! I get tons of questions about how I've managed to make my rain boots a reality, and my answer is always the same: with Mark's unbelievable help and guidance.

Mark also works one on one with people to do exactly what he's helped me to do, so you can get in touch with him if you'd like to chat about your ideas.

Add his blog to your reader if you want to keep updated with the series and learn more about what goes into manufacturing products--I've learned a TON working with Mark these past 9 months, and I'm so happy to introduce him to you!