Books

Why You Want to Read Design, Profit & Prosper

Many designers find themselves stuck in a creative rut, struggling to turn their design passions into a thriving, profitable business. If you’ve been wondering how to make your creative dreams financially viable, Carina Gardner’s Design, Profit & Prosper is the guide you need.

Stand Out and Create Steady Income

In this book, Carina doesn’t just focus on making money—she provides a roadmap to help you stand out in the crowded design market and achieve long-term success. Carina’s practical strategies will help you create a steady income stream. And will also uncover hidden opportunities for financial growth, and build a business that thrives.

Learn from Carina’s Journey to Success

Carina’s experience is both broad and impressive. From teaching at a university (and launching a new online university) to serving as a creative director for a major scrapbooking company. She has also run her own successful design business for over 15 years, Carina has been through it all. In Design, Profit & Prosper, she shares the smart decisions and strategies that transformed her own business into a profitable venture—and she shows you how to do the same.

Build a Profitable Design Business

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to grow your design business, Design, Profit & Prosper will give you the tools to find and fix the gaps holding you back from reaching your full potential. With Carina’s insider secrets and proven methods, you’ll be ready to build the design business you’ve always dreamed of.

Ready to take the next step? Grab your copy of Design, Profit & Prosper here and start turning your creativity into profit!

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Carina’s 10 Ten Favorite Things For Designers on the Amazon Store

Welcome to a curated collection of tools and resources designed to fuel your creativity and elevate your craft! From practical planners to innovative crafting machines, each item in this selection is carefully chosen to inspire and support your creative endeavors. Whether you’re a seasoned artist or just starting out, these products are here to help you unlock your creative potential and bring your ideas to life. So, let’s embark on this creative journey together!

1. Ciao Bello Light Blue 365 Design Suite Daily Planner: 384 Pages of Practical Planning (Design Suite Planners)

This planner is like a helpful friend that keeps you organized every day. It has lots of pages for writing down your plans without being too big. You can use it to write down your appointments, important dates, and things you need to do. It also has sections to help you set goals and plan ahead.

Amazon Link

  1. Silhouette White Cameo 4 Starter – 38 Sheets of Oracal Vinyl, T-shirt vinyl, Transfer Paper, Class, Guides, and 24 Sketch Pens

This kit is like a magic box full of things to help you make cool stuff! It has sheets of special vinyl for cutting, transfer paper, and even pens for drawing. The best part is that it comes with classes and guides to show you how to use everything, so even beginners can start making amazing crafts.

Amazon Link

  1. Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life

The Legend and the Life: This book tells the story of Coco Chanel, a famous fashion designer. It talks about how she started her career and became successful. Even though she had some tough times, she always kept going. The book has lots of pictures too! Carina also has a video talking about the book https://youtu.be/EsFi0AWwnmU?si=yp7oTUNtNkQefA-A

Amazon Link

  1. WD Elements 5TB Portable Hard Drive, External Hard Drive, USB 3.0 for PC and Mac, Plug and Play Ready – WDBU6Y0050BBK-WESN

This hard drive is like a big backpack for your computer. It can hold lots of files, like pictures and videos, so you never run out of space. It’s perfect for graphic designers who need to keep all their work safe and organized, this hard drive ensures that you have more than enough room to unleash your creativity without constraints.

Amazon Link

  1. Silhouette Cameo 4 Pro 24-Inch Cutting Mat, Power Cords, Integrated Roll Feeder, Silhouette Studio Software

This machine is like a super fast robot that can cut and draw really cool designs. It’s perfect for making crafts and decorations. The best part is that it can do everything much faster than before, so you can make more stuff in less time!

Amazon Link

  1. Wacom Intuos Pro Paper Edition PTH660P Pen Tablet, Medium, Black, Black M

The Wacom Intuos Pro Paper Edition PTH660P Pen Tablet is a professional-grade tool designed to enhance your creative workflow. With trusted Pro Pen technology, this tablet delivers precision and responsiveness for hours of image editing, illustration, or design work.

Amazon Link

  1. Cricut – EasyPress 2 Mint

The Cricut EasyPress 2 offers the perfect blend of speed, convenience, and professional-level results for all your heat transfer projects. With adjustable time and temperature controls up to 400ºF (205ºC), featuring an advanced heat plate design with a ceramic-coated surface, the EasyPress 2 heats up in less than 2 minutes, allowing you to get to work quickly and efficiently. Say goodbye to long waiting times—the EasyPress 2 gets the job done in record time.

Amazon Link

  1. Make Art That Sells book

Unlock the secrets to turning your art into a lucrative business. Carina seamlessly combines insights from art history and personal experiences to offer a unique perspective on creating visually captivating and commercially successful pieces.

Whether you’re an aspiring artist or a seasoned professional, this book serves as a roadmap to unleashing the potential of your art in the marketplace. Carina’s insights inspire you to strategically position your creations, ensuring that your artistic expressions translate into tangible success.

Amazon Link

  1. Design Profit & Prosper: A Surface Pattern and Craft Designer’s Guide to Making Money

Through engaging storytelling, Carina takes readers on a journey through her professional life, from her early days as a university teacher to her time as a creative director at a prominent scrapbooking company.

Drawing from her own experiences, Carina reveals the secrets to her success as a designer. From building a profitable business model to navigating the complexities of the design industry, she shares practical advice and actionable strategies that aspiring designers can implement to achieve their own goals.

Amazon Link

  1. HPN CraftPro 15″ x 15″ Crafting Transfer Machine: Mint

This machine is like a special oven for crafts. It helps you put designs on clothes and other things by pressing them with heat. It’s really easy to use and has a timer and alarm to make sure your projects turn out perfect every time. Plus, it comes in a fun mint color!

Amazon Link

If you would like more information on how you can be a Design Suite Mastermind designer, click the link here to join us today! We can’t wait to see you there https://www.designsuitecourses.com/designbootcamp

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Eek Boo Shriek eBook Now Available!

I’m thrilled, chilled, and hauntingly happy to announce my newest eBook Eek Boo Shriek™ is now available in PDF forma in my shop! It should be available on Amazon in the future but for now, enjoy 60% off the release in the next week!

This book features my recent fabric collection for Riley Blake Designs™ also named Eek Boo Shriek! You are going to love the 8 quilt blocks, stand quilts, triangle quilt, table runners, and mini quilt instructions in this book!

I LOVE all the projects in this book and I wanted to make sure and make it available for those of you who want to make in September and decorate in October! I know my house is going to get a spooky makeover in the coming months!

You can grab this fabulous book (normally $9.99) in my shop here.

(Psst, for this release I decided to also put Sweetly Stitched Quilts on sales so be sure to check that out as well!)

Happy Haunting!
Carina

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Posy Garden Blog Hop & PreSale of Simply Modern Patchwork Quilts

PosyGardenSewingProjects_2_stroke_smToday is the start of our wonderful BlogHop with Riley Blake Designs for my new collection Posy Garden! I can’t wait for you to see all the amazing goodness that is about to be unveiled over the next two weeks! It’s going to be awesome!

Along with that! My new (and first!) eBook called Simply Modern Patchwork Quilts goes on presale today! Eeek! I’m so excited! It will release on August 15th in the Kindle Store on Amazon. I’ll add links here as soon as the presale goes live! I know we are doing a HEFTY discount for the presale so keep your eyes open for it!

***NOTE: It’s on PRESALE NOW! Go to Amazon to purchase it here. The presale price is $4.99. which is 50% off the regular price of $9.99 through AUGUST 15th when it becomes available! That’s less than 50 cents per pattern! Make sure and grab it during the presale period!

There are also four contributing pattern designers to the book including Amy Webb, Amanda Neiderhauser, Christine Cook, and Angie Tackett! These ladies did a fabulous job and I can’t wait for you to see what they have done!

As for the Bloghop, here is the list you are going to want to visit everyday! Come back to this post to link over to these ladies blogs!

I’ll also be reposting their projects over the next two weeks on instagram if you want to follow over there.06_gardenpatchquilt

Okay, here’s the amazing line up!

Monday, August 1st: My Sewing Haven with Carla Peicheff

Tuesday, August 2nd Happy Little Cottage with Debbie Homick

Tuesday, August 2nd The Family Hearth with Bridgette McNay

Wednesday, August 3rd Fort Worth Fabric Studio with Lindsey Weight

Wednesday, August 3rd Happy Quilting Melissa with Melissa Corry

Thursday, August 4th Pretty By Hand with Kristyne Czepuryk

Thursday, August 4th Out of the Blue with Sondra Davison

Friday, August 5th Samelia’s Mom with Anorina Morris

Friday, August 5th Free Time Frolics with Adrienne Woods

Monday, August 8th Flamingo Toes with Bev McCullough

Monday, August 8th Silly Mama Quilts with Brooke Sellmann

Tuesday, August 9th Snickerdoodle Stew with Jessica Stewart

Tuesday, August 9th A Little Patchwork with Ange Hamilton

Wednesday, August 10th Ameroonie Designs with Amy Chappell

Thursday, August 11th One Little Pooh with Tina

Thursday, August 11th Jedi Craft Girl with Amanda Neiderhauser

Friday, August 12th Stitching Revival with Christine Cook

I’m so excited to see all their amazing projects! It’s going to keep myself from sewing all week!

Carina

Psst! If you are in Utah, make sure to come visit me at Elaine’s Quilt shop this weekend on August 6th! I’m teaching a free class in the morning and the Clean Star Quilt in the afternoon. My glamper will also be there to tour all day!

 

 

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