Welcome new friends!

May 30, 2019 Rachel Hillberg

If you’ve found me through my VoyageLA feature and are just stumbling onto this page, welcome! I’m glad you found me! If you’ve been a friend, client and supporter for a while, and happen upon this post on my under-utilized blog, first of all, thank you so much for all of your love and support. And secondly, you can check out the article here: http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-tiny-telegrams-long-beach/

Already the outpouring of support, likes, shares amongst my friends on Facebook and Instagram has been overwhelming, in the best way possible. There have been some really good conversations coming out of it too. Especially pertaining to some of my struggles as a creative with Inattentive ADHD. So I’m thinking, I may try to make regular posts about some of the systems and tactics I’ve developed to harness the benefits of ADD while minimizing the negative symptoms. The more we share about it, the better we will be able to understand ourselves and each other. And understanding that what works for one person may not be for someone else, but it’s nice to have plenty of tools at our disposal, right?

So, to sum up, Welcome new friends, Thanks to all for the love and support, read my article, I’m always down to talk openly about any old thing… and I will do my damndest to post more on the blog.

Thanks again, and go have a tiny adventure today!

Romantic Treasure Hunt! A Youtube Tutorial Just for Valentine's Day!

January 30, 2018 Rachel Hillberg

And for the record, this Mini Guide also applies to the original Tiny Telegram Hunt! The only differences are the themes, frames and some of the images (plus the location choices and number of clues YOU choose), the set up and the search will be generally the same. Have fun!

Tiny Treasure Hunt: a How to Guide

October 4, 2017 Rachel Hillberg

The concept of the Treasure Hunt, or gift scavenger hunt, is as follows:
The giver of the gift (whether it's a parcel, a promise or a special note) hides a special surprise somewhere in the house, and plants clues to lead the recipient, the treasure hunter, to the gift. For the purposes of our Tiny Treasure Hunt game, make sure to hide it under, behind or very near an item or furnishing depicted on one of the tiny treasure hunt cards. Then, working backwards, the giver will leave a trail of clues, with each pictogram card leading the gift recipient forward to the next clue.

Tiny Telegrams Inception

September 4, 2017 Rachel Hillberg

The idea for tiny telegrams started as a bit of silliness - a mini card with a micro written greeting for a friend's 65th birthday after his successful cataract surgery. The card was received with so much amusement and laughter, both by the birthday person and our roomful of friends, that I knew I'd hit on something fun. I wanted to capture that moment and share that kind of delight as many people as possible.

That moment lie lodged in my brain for a couple months, then, while I was in charge of craft actitivities at a good friend's bachelorette weekend in Palm Springs, the atmosphere of creativity and fun (and maybe the influence of a few champagne cocktails) shook something loose: it couldn't just be stationery, it had to be a full experience! Presentation would be everything, all of the details would be carefully considered, thoughtfully designed and handcrafted.

The idea was met with resounding enthusiasm by a tipsy group of very creative gals, and I knew that this could turn into something special. The idea churned in my head, changing and evolving. I bounced ideas off of other creative friends, to make sure the idea sounded just as awesome without mimosas. I played with fonts and images and I doodled on scraps of paper. I looked at bulk packaging and spent hours researching vintage fonts, old woodcut designs and packaging notions... wax seals, twine, etc. I may have obsessed a bit. I spent countless hours wandering the aisles of the local paper store, touching everything. That tactile experience is intrinsic to this product/service I was forming.

Finally, I purchased some tin boxes and made a prototype, photographed it and sent it off to a couple friends who were there at the inception of this wild idea. They liked it. A lot. Realizing my tiny inkjet could not manage a high capacity print job, I found a local printer to make my designs tangable. I took those printed materials home and cut, folded and glued everything myself. Finally, a week after Thanksgiving 2014, I had everything I needed to launch my first few telegram designs in time for the Holidays!