A Great Week.

So my days of R + R are almost done. I got to spend a whole lot of time doing a whole lot of nothing. Which is a good thing. And for some reason, the boys decided to sleep in almost every day. I don't know why, but I'm not complaining. I slept until 9 a couple of times and stayed in my jammies till lunch.

But at the same time I am getting a little antsy to start getting back to work. I can't wait to relist everything in my shop. And as soon as I get some photos taken of the new stuff I'll be adding those, too. Whenever I see a "just sold and relisted" post on Twitter I get even more anxious to get back to work. That's the beauty of loving what you do!

As you can see, I've been working on changing the look of The Stationery Boutique. So far, I've made the changes to Twitter, my blog, and Etsy. I eventually want to do my main website, too, but have no idea where to start as far as html goes. I can attempt to do it myself, but who knows how that will end up. I want the design to be my creation, so I don't think I will be hiring a web designer this time. Maybe just someone to do all the html work for me? Is there a such thing?

You know what else has been awesome? In the week that I have been away from home I have been featured on Etsy Item of the Day, Pretty by Pistachio, Lemon Drop Studio is hosting a giveaway featuring my Dandelion Note Cards, AND my Peony Wedding Suite is being featured in an Etsy Treasury. I feel so honored and blessed to be noticed by all of these wonderful ladies! Thank you!

So, Wednesday I will be headed back home, back to reality. Being away has really made me realize how much I love my business and how blessed I am to be able to do it from home.

A Kid in a {Paper} Shop.

OK, so I've just recently started shopping at the Paper Source online store. I love their colors, I love the envelopes (which will start to show up in my shop this summer), I love how all of their products coordinate. Oh how I would love to peruse an actual store. Well, today I finally got to. I am at my moms visiting and she happens to live near the South Coast Plaza Mall in Costa Mesa, which happens to have a brick and mortar Paper Source. I know, to some this might sound totally ridiculous, getting all excited to go see paper. But if you love paper like me, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

So this morning I got the kids up, fed and dressed kinda early cause once 12:00 comes around they are like ticking time bombs. I wanted to spend as much time as I could in there before lunch and nap time rolled around. I had my mom with me too, because the chances of me being totally distracted by the mass amounts of Papaya and Pool were pre-tty high.

I could see it from across the mall and when I walked through the doors I swear I heard a triumphant angelic chorus. The walls were covered in Rhubarb, Curry, Moss and more. It was a sight. I could have easily stayed for a couple of hours but as lunch time approached the kids started to get restless. They even had a little section with a whole bunch of kid stuff. My mom bought the boys some monster looking finger puppets. It kept them busy while I made my final round of the store.

I highly recommend going to a Paper Source store if you are ever near one. You could definitely say I left inspired.

Etsy Item of the Day -- Bicycle Note Cards!

Yay! I'm so excited. This is my very first feature... Thank you Jackie!

Etsy Item of the Day!

Have you guys come across the Etsy Item of the Day! blog? It's a fantastic little site that totally gives props to many of the thousands of Etsy sellers one item at a time. Jackie, the lovely lady behind this wonderful blog has a passion, much like the rest of us, to "buy, sell and live Handmade". Each day you will find a new favorite of Jackie's posted front and center at Etsy Item of the Day. Keep your eyes peeled because one of my items from my Etsy shop will be featured in a couple of days. Don't worry, I'll remind you!


Oh, and you can also follow Jackie on Twitter... @etsytoday.

New Printer

I am so excited to say that I finally got a new printer, a good one, too. I've had my on the Epson Stylus 1400 for a while now. I really wanted to save up money from my Etsy sales so I wouldn't have to dip into our savings account. So I knew I would have to save at least $300.00. Last weekend my family and I we're actually out shopping for some clothes for the boys when I we came across an Office Max. I thought maybe I'd just see how much it was at this store. To my surprise it was way less that I'd seen it anywhere else. It was on sale for $179.00! I knew I couldn't pass this one up. So, it came home with us.

Some of the things that I love about the Epson Stylus 1400:

1. Awesome print/color quality.

2. It prints thicker sheets of paper. Which means I can print business/calling cards from home now. Which means I can make them more affordable for my customers.

3. It's a wide format printer, which means I can print huge prints of my boys.

4. It's fast.

5. It's quiet.

I can't seem to stop finding things to print!

Happenings.

I feel like I've been neglecting my little blog. I've actually been super busy with filling orders. That's a good thing! It seems like just when I get the last order packaged and shipped, I come home and I have another email from Etsy! I am so grateful and thank God every day for giving me this opportunity. Who ever would have thought that I would be able to do what I love. From home. AND be with my kids all day. I am truly blessed.

Speaking of being blessed... I had THE MOST amazing Mother's Day yesterday. I did not lift a finger all day. My boys were angels. My husband cooked the most delicious dinner EVER. Well, look...

I have been keeping pretty busy trying to create some new designs, too. Here are some of my favorites...

And finally, in other news... My friend Jaimee is having a giveaway at a blog called Stuff Under Twenty. I have always been a big fan of her photography and I have my fingers crossed. I would LOVE to win her Zinnia print. I have been eyeing it!

So, that's it for now. Back to work!

Peony Note Card Winner

Wow! I am soooo happy with the participation of this months giveaway!! Thank you to all of you who participated. And thank you to those who Tweeted and Blogged, too.

I wish I could give the note cards to all of you, really I do. But the winner of this months giveaway is...

LulaBoutique, please email me (jennifer [at] thestationeryboutique [dot] com) with your mailing info. Also, let me know what you'd like the front of your cards to read!

You know what? I'm going to offer a little something to everyone who participated. I'm just so appreciative! Until the end of the week (05.08.09) I am going to offer 10% off your purchase at both my Etsy and Main shop if you participated in this months giveaway. Just enter the code PEONY10 at checkout (or message to seller on Etsy).

Thank you everyone!!