Paper Pumpkin - December 2014

I've heard several people lately mention how much the love Shaker Cards, and I think Stampin' Up must have heard too. For Decembers' Paper Pumpkin that is exactly what the sent us! I love getting a surprise every month in the mail that I can escape to after the little one goes to bed and I can craft and craft without having to put a lot of thought into it.

This month we got a gift in our boxes - a Paper-Piercing Pack! I've done it before and this is an awesome set, can't wait to try it out.

With most Paper Pumpkin projects you get a small set of stamps, usually 3x4 sheet. This month we got a full 4x6 sheet of stamps! I love that they can be used all throughout the year. 

All the paper materials and instructions come bundled up and ready to go!

Here is everything included in the kit. The only  downside is that you have to punch out all those stars!!! It really wasn't too bad using the toothpick that was included in the kit. The words are on sticker paper so they are super easy to use.

The finished product! This project made 9 cards total (3 of each design). 

If you're interested in getting a crafty surprise in the mail each month head on over to Paper Pumpkin and sign up now! 

Right now during Sale-A-Bration if you get a 3-month prepaid subscription this qualifies you for a FREE Sale-A-Bration item from the Brochure.

Happy 3rd Birthday Adeline

Ok Ok I know this post is quite a bit late but I have a ton of excuses! But today I'm home sick sitting on the couch so I can get caught up a bit with my blog posts.

Since we moved to Bristol, Adeline hadn't made many friends to invite to a party so we decided to have a party at my parents house and invite mostly family. Adeline got to spend her special day with all her favorite people.

If you can't tell by now, Adeline is horse crazy. But she is also Lego Friends crazy. So we did a combination party. I had a great time  making some of her decorations myself.

We celebrated at home on her actual birthday with a couple gifts. She loved it.

Daddy got Adeline her own Fishing Pole! Adeline loves it and plays with it all the time. She can't wait to go fishing with her daddy as soon as it warms up.

That weekend we went to Newport and had a great birthday party with family.

Mom and I made Adeline this awesome horse cake. I found the mold at Hobby Lobby and it was my first try at this type of icing. If you need any tips let me know! I sure learned a lot icing this big boy late the night before!

Thankful to everyone who came and celebrated the day with Adeline! I didn't get a bunch of pictures as I was busy enjoying the day.

Party Decorations by Crafty Weeks
Lego Friends hair bow and necklace by Boyd's Bow Creations 

Work your business!!!

I've always heard that the effort you put into your business you will get the results from in a year. You can't expect to get immediate results all the time. I've had an online Etsy business for awhile (over four years!), but once I was working Full Time I let the business go to the side and didn't market myself or post on my blog! Now that I am a stay at home Mom to Adeline again I am looking at ways to help my family up financially. I signed up to be an Independent Demonstrator with Stampin' Up and I've started working my Crafty Weeks business more.

Tuesday I woke up covered in Hives, which hasn't happened in as far back as I can remember. So I had to get my husband and daughter out of bed early to take me to the hospital. I have allergy induced asthma, so I can't take any chances especially since the day before I was wheezing. Well all they could do is give me a shot of Steroids and send me on my way. I was thankful to have Alan home with me to help with Adeline all day. I spent most of the day zoned out in Steroid limbo, but by the end of the day I was feeling really good with a lot of energy and started working my businesses and searching for ways to market my Stampin' Up business in a new area.

Facebook has lots of group pages set up for locals and they are great to market yourself, however most of the "yard sale" pages do not allow business marketing! It is selling a good, so I don't see how it is different. So since they don't allow us to post I created my own group on Facebook JUST for advertising your Work from Home or Small Business. If you are in the Bristol area I welcome you to join our little group, I'm slowly getting it built up! At this point I am an Admin of 5 separate groups and run 2 pages, and I may start Administrating a group for Moms here in Bristol soon. You have to get yourself out there if you expect to get you and your business noticed!

Next I decided to set up a separate Page for my Stampin' Up side instead of incorporating it into my Crafty Weeks page. The separate businesses don't necessarily attract the same customers, so it made sense. So if you get a chance please check out my new page and like it!

My Results: By the end of the night Tuesday I had one friend offer to host a Stampin' Up Workshop for me next month, one contact on my Crafty Weeks Facebook page with a custom order of two items (long time follower), one contact through Etsy with 3rd relation acquaintance for a customer order of two items. Then by the time I woke the next morning a customer ordered four of my Scrapbook Flairs off my Etsy site! I don't think me working my business Tuesday directly affected each of the above results - but it had me excited! I don't know about you, but it was awesome.

I came across this picture on a Stampin' Up Demo page and it fits perfectly!