Before. And After.

This is what happens when you live in a one bedroom apartment and decide to open three online businesses. Yikes!

London, Baby!

My boss called me on Friday and asked what I was doing June 17 to June 20. (Im a nanny.) I joked and said, "I dont know, I'll have to check my schedule." She informed me that she had been invited to the Royal Ascot in the UK and that her husband was invited also. Then she said that she would need babysitters (plural) because she wouldnt go without her daughter. I said, "Babysitters? How many do you need?" Then she told me that my husband is invited to go also...which is a good thing because I wouldnt have gone without him.

There's so much to do before we go! I dont even have 5 days worth of clothes to pack!! So, Im going to have to do some shopping. Such a shame.

Wish me luck! My poor husband has never been on a plane, so we're excited! This is another memory that we'll talk about for the rest of our lives. If you're reading this, please send good vibes into the universe for a turbulence free flight. ♥

Becoming More Professional

I have always been rather professional in demeanor due to many, many years of customer service related jobs. This has given me a serious advantage in running my Etsy shops because I have dealt with the nastiest people already in other jobs so I am more equipped to do it with my own business.

However, this isnt about that. This post is about LOOKING more professional. There is only so much you can do to appear more professional in an online store. If I sat here in a business suit every day, it probably wouldnt do much for my shop. Actually, it probably would have a detrimental affect because I would be grumpily tugging at my panty hose and jacket collar all day. YUCK!

When I have sent the items out from my gift shop, I have always known it was important to wrap the packge so that it looks like someone took great care in wrapping it. I started slowly with nothing at first, and then adding custom stickers, business cards, and thank you cards to the package. Then I decided to start using header cards and that really made me feel like a real store! (I felt like the Velveteen Rabbit!)

However, as much of a difference as this all made, I still felt like something wasnt quite right. Then my wonderfully talented husband designed me a new header card and I finally felt like all was right with the world! They are so elegant and clean. I just love them!

Now, the only problem is that I need to change my business card, custom stickers, and thank you cards to match!

My Badly Designed Kitchen

We are living in an apartment which is on the first floor of a 1912 house. I have a bedroom, living room, bathroom, and kitchen. All the necessities, no elbow room. My kitchen is such an aggravation for me because there is literally no counter space. This frustrates me to no end. There is one whole wall which should be covered with cabinets and a counter. But no.

My solution was one of those self assembly island thingies to give us a little more counter space. My wonderful, darling, sweet, thoughtful, loving husband surprised me with one for my birthday and I just LOVE it! I was so surprised and excited...and it provided more storage space, too!! But one wasnt quite enough. So, then my equally loving and thoughtful mom gave me money to buy another one and I just put it together last weekend. I still wish I had more counter space and cabinets, but this is definitely getting me by for now! Thanks Jeremy and mom!! ♥

My First WEDDING Order!

I have always wanted to make something for someone's wedding but never had the opportunity. I bid on a job in the Alchemy section of Etsy and got it! I was so excited! The bride wanted her monogram turned into stickers to close the ribbon on her favors. Three-hundred and fifty of them!

I LOVED doing these. I printed them on textured cardstock and then made them into stickers. I just wrapped them up and they'll be shipped out tomorrow. Thanks for the opportunity, Kathy!! ♥

Iridescent Wings

I'm not quite sure why, but I LOVE dragonflies. I know I am not alone in my love for these extraordinary creatures. They are magnificent.

I happened to be looking at the front page of Etsy when I saw a new listing pop onto the page. It looked like a pile of gift tags but I wasn't sure. I was interested enough to click on the picture and I was delighted to find these from AmyLiz!

Her shop is so beautiful! Even her supplies are presented beautifully. Her items have this vintage aesthetic that is just completely charming. Hers is one of those shops that you just have to use the gallery view when looking through. But I digress.

I immediately fell in love with the stamp on these tags, and that's saying a lot because I am not a big fan of stamping and I am quite picky in general.

I sent her a message asking if she could make me some of these that said, "Thank You" so I could include them in my customer orders. How perfect would that be coming from The Crafty Dragonfly!? She was quite accessible and we sent message back and forth for a little while late one night. She had tags that were smaller which was actually more to my liking. To make a long story short, this is what I ended up with! I am in LOVE with them! They are so perfect. The craftsmanship is outstanding and the quality is impressive! I couldn't be happier and I will absolutely be returning for more of these!

On another, somewhat related note, I sold a set of these yesterday. They were one of my favorite creations and I'm so pleased they have found a home.