My new nephew!! =)

So... to those of you who read an earlier blog of mine about my sister's baby shower invitations... you will be very happy to know that the writer of The Baby Invitation blog now has a baby nephew!!!!!

Jack Henry Clare was born on September 8, 2010 at 5:59pm. He was 9lbs, 14oz and was 23" long. Yes! A football player of a baby!!!!!!  =)

My sister said they have been teased about having a toddler rather than a baby. LOL

He is *SO* very adorable, as you can see!!!!! We have not been able to make the trip up yet to see him, but I am biting at the bit to go!!

What a special blessing from God. We are *SO* thankful that he had an uneventful birth and that he and mommy did just fine!!!! What a cutie!!

So again, I just want to say a big CONGRATS to the new parents, once again, and hello to my new nephew, Jack Henry!!!!

Does ANYONE really enjoy MOANdays?

Wow! I've been doing *SO* great lately working on my own business things. Last week I had so much motivation, it was great to get so much accomplished for MY business -- not someone else's business.  =)

But then today, ugh, its a MOANday for sure. I feel like I'm outta steam and just tired. I guess it could be from the weekend, but I really didn't do a lot over the weekend either. Who knows?

The other night I told my husband I was taking a break from this thing called "life". LOL He was just kind of puzzled and was like, what does that mean???? LOL I just laughed.  

But don't you wish we could just take a break for awhile? I mean, I guess that's what vacation is for, but you still have bills and daily things to deal with even on vacation. Do we ever REALLY get a break from our daily lives?

Then today is Monday. Ugh. I am just not a fan of Monday OR Tuesday. Monday is the first day of the week -- who likes that? And Tuesday has no purpose. Monday is the first day of the week, Wednesday is hump day. Thursday is the day before Friday and Friday is well, self-explanatory. But there is no reason for Tuesday, IMO!

The next job I apply for, I need to say, I'll be happy to work Wed-Fri. LOL Don't think I'd get a lot of job offers that way, but it would be nice, wouldn't it? LOL

Hopefully when I get out on my own with my own business I can work 12-14 hour days Wed-Fri if I want and take Monday and Tuesday off. Now that would be fine by me!!!!!!  =)

I just wish I knew the person who decided we should work EIGHT hour days with FIVE workdays and TWO days off. How unbalanced is that???? LOL I think SIX hour work days is ideal and then FOUR work days with a THREE-day weekend! I am making it official, who's with me!?!?!?!! LOL

Ok, I'm just blabbering at this point, sorry. LOL I guess this blog has been my little break from my daily grind and reality.  ;)  

Another happy client!!!

Hello blog!

Just had to post about another happy Felicity's Fancy client!!!

Another contact made thru Etsy.com. If you have not discovered Etsy.com you are missing out. The most talented people on the planet selling their wares there. Always interesting and exciting things to find!!

Check it out now!!! www.etsy.com

Anyhey, along with this new client I discovered a new trend in weddings these days. Or well, it might not be THAT new, but still, new to me.

The wishing tree.

Before bidding on the bride's request for "wish tags", I did a little research and found these images to show what a wish tree is. What a great idea!! I always hated the same ol', same ol' archaic guest book. Blah, how boring is that??? So a lot of folks have decided to use the wishing tree instead. Fabulous idea!!

I found a bride who needed 200 wish tags for her wedding. This was the information given: Wedding colors are brown and green. Wedding favors are tree seedlings and herbs, flowers and wildflowers. What a great wedding theme, can't get anymore green than that.  =)   Her wedding is this weekend so we had to turn and burn!!!

Her design...

Then I added the hole punched at the top and they added their own rafia tie.
I thought they turned out very cute and she was VERY pleased, which is what my job is all about.  =)

Baby Baseball Invitation...

I created the location/time card as a baseball ticket. It turned out super cute!!

Round of applause...

Well, I am going to be an aunt again for the second time next month!! My little sister is having a boy and they are naming him Jack Henry.  =)

Of course Aunt Stacie volunteered to do the shower invitations and the baby announcements. I wanted to start the announcements when she told us all she was pregnant 8 mos or so ago. She said, do we really have to do that now?? LOL  I said, no, I guess not.  =)

Luckily my sister is much like me, she didn't want anything that had to do with traditional baby invitations for her shower -- no pastel colors, baby bottles, booties, etc. Thank goodness!!!!!!!! And because she and my brother-in-law are AVID Cardinals/baseball fans she wanted baseball themed invitations.

Awesome!! How fun is that????

The design of the card is based on the layout I have done several other times for wedding invitations. There is a base card and then a card that is mounted on top so it makes somewhat of a pocket to hold RSVP cards, envelopes, location cards, etc.

In this case, it held the RSVP card and the baby registry card.

I designed the piece with JACK on the base card and then stars, baseballs etc. The ball diamond tops the mounted card with the idea that the balls have been hit from the diamond out into the stars.

And I adapted the lyrics to the song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" to fit with Jack's name.

Anyway, I was unable to attend the shower since it was out of town , but my sister said there was a round of applause for my invitation design. I was so very excited to hear that the design was such a great success!!!!!!!!!

Baby Jack will be here soon!! Can't wait to get to work on his baby announcements!

Nothing like word-of-mouth advertising!!

I received an email from a new client today!!! She is needing reception-only invitations. After being disappointed with the invitations she bought, a present client of mine passed my name and contact info along to her. It is *SO* very rewarding to have satisfied clients who are thrilled to pass your name along to others. Life is good today!

Excited!!!

So I have been learning how to use Twitter!! I have a dear friend who is all-knowing about social networking, she has helped me *SO* much!!! I came in today and found that I now have 25 followers on Twitter and a bunch of direct messages from those followers! Too fun!!!!!!! I am finding that I am really enjoying marketing my *OWN* business! A big change from doing marketing and advertising for others for 15+ years! LOL

I have so much to learn, I know, but I am really having fun learning all the ins and outs of marketing in a social networking world online!!

The baby invitation is growing and progressing with each passing day. VERY exciting!!!!  =)

Focus...

Yay! I got the carnival invitations shipped out today!! I cannot wait until the bride sees them live and in person!!!!  =)


So I spent the evening last night packaging them up, I was *SO* happy and excited to have them done so I could get them in the mail today. I got in this morning, I'm in my morning routine and checked my FB page only to find a little package of drama sitting there waiting for me. Ugh. It's always something -- unfortunately. LOL


I won't go into detail, but I am sorry to say that I used up my time and energy on something that was ridiculous, childish and just plain unnecessary. But when things like that pop up and things are said, your first reaction is to defend yourself, of course. So I did and I'm glad I did, but as I sat there wasting all this time and energy, I thought to myself, how sad is it that I let this mess take up my morning and my positive energy? I have so many more important things to do than to sit and get angry or let the negative feelings take over.


We are all in control of how we react to situations. It is my own choice, no one else's. I think from now on, if there is something like that to deal with, I'm going to set a timer. Deal with it, then move on. No more thoughts wasted on it, no negative feelings to take over, etc.


I think if we focus on ourselves and what we know we need to do, we won't get caught up in other people's business where we shouldn't be in the first place. I often think some people have way too much time on their hands. I'd like to give them a few things off my plate for sure!! LOL


I have goals set for myself and I truly need to use up all of my positive energy to meet those goals. So even tho there are a 1,001 things that come along to derail me and rabbit trails to get dragged down, its important that I remember to keep my focus where it needs to be. 


Does that make sense?? Sorry, seems like I rambled more than I got my point across!!! LOL

Cotton candy, popcorn and "I do"...

Well, I just finished invitations and RSVP cards for my first client from Etsy.com/Alchemy


She is having a carnival-themed wedding in June and decided to have me design her invitations!! We basically went thru just one design revision and she was happy!! Hopefully ALL of my clients can be that easy and perfect to work with! LOL


Ok, maybe a little wishful thinking on my part. 


The invitation consists of one background card (7"x5") that has a carnival design faded by transparency so that the invitation information card stands out more. A smaller invitation information card is mounted on top of the background card and the little RSVP card is postcard size (3.5"x6") and slides underneath the invitation information card. Super cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I have bid on plenty of jobs on Etsy.com, I'm am hopeful that I will be contacted for many more jobs via that avenue. 

Progressing right along...

Ok, so posting in my first blog that I would try to post everyday was a bit ambitious for me, but I'll try to get back to posting whenever I can.  =)


I have made some good progress on my office. My walls are painted, just waiting now for hubby and I to install my cabinets so I can get everything in its place. We will also be adding the wanescotting below the chair rail, but that we have put off until next month for $$ reasons. So yes, I am happy to report it is coming along.


And not long ago my mom pointed me in the direction of etsy.com's alchemy section where anyone and everyone can post about what they need to have made or created. I have placed bids on quite a few wedding invitation jobs so HOPEFULLY, I will have some new clients here soon! It is very exciting!!


Also, even if I do not win any of the bids, I have found some wonderful ideas for different invitations I can create on my own and then put in my Etsy store to sell. I was having a hard time just sitting down and designing with really no theme or anything in mind. So this site has been great inspiration for me as well.

Inspiration...

Cool thing... My mom had sent me a website long ago. A woman who had designed for Kate Spade in NYC started her own line of cards and invitations. I had forgotten all about the website and I ran across it the other day. It is http://www.chereeberry.com/

I spent some time there and just looked around. Needless to say, I'm a fan!!!!!!!!  =)  It was great to see that yes, her cards and invitations are amazing, I really love her line, but they are not designs and things that I couldn't do. So it was really inspiring to see her site, how she does things and to read her bio. VERY encouraging and exciting for me!!!!!!!

Just wanted to share.  =)

Been awhile...

Ok, so its been awhile since I posted. sigh. I need to get better at that!!!! I have good news tho'! My hubby and I got my home office set up! My computer is up and running, I have my own workspace! It has been wondermous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We still need to add some cabinets and things for organization, but we have definitely made a good start! It is very exciting! So from now on, I can design and create all in one place, drag everything out and not have to worry about putting it all back and carting it around the house.  =)  So things are progressing. Not quite as quickly as I want them to, but I am going to do better!!!

I have been somewhat sidetracked as of late and it seems that I keep getting my hand slapped and told to get back to my business and get that thing OFF THE GROUND!!!!!!!!!! LOL  I sometimes think I'm A.D.D. LOL I seem to lose focus so easily sometimes!! Eyes on the prize tho' and moving forward!!

So next step is for me to purchase my LLC. I have already purchased my domain name, I just need to purchase my website, get that designed and out there!!!!

It is so easy to get discouraged, overwhelmed and lazy. LOL And as much as I want to get out there and do my own thing, it is scary and like I said, a bit overwhelming.

But I know I can do this!!!!!!!!!!! I have done harder things in my life, I do believe!! LOL

Anyhey! I'm going to TRY, TRY, TRY to log-in each and every day, whether I really have anything to say or not! LOL

Bye for now!

Happy Friday!!!!

Ok, I am a few days behind already.  =(  LOL I have had the crud this week and I've been at home keeping warm under the covers with the pugs, sans computer! So, needless to say, not much has developed on my baby business this week. I do have my to-do list for this weekend tho'. Talked with the hubby and we are going to try to get our computer room emptied so I can get my work space and computer set up!! Yay! for that!!!! I have *SO* much stuff as far as my designing and handmade card stuff goes, it will be so nice to find EVERYTHING in one location!!!! I'm THRILLED about that!!!! Also, I am going to go ahead and get my wedding invitation portfolio started this weekend so hopefully next weekend I can get out to a few bridal stores to present my business. And a big ol' yeehaw on that note! I'm sure I won't be on the computer at all over the weekend, so hope y'all have a very happy weekend! Hopefully I'll be back at the ol' blog on MOANday with good progress to report! later!

Where I am today, January 4th, 2010!!

I have named my new business Felicity's Fancy. I design custom invitations for weddings, corporate events, parties, etc. I create designs via computer and combine that with my card-making skills that I craft by hand.

I believe I have found the perfect name for my business. I wanted something that included my name and something that described my design aesthetic in creating invitations. As dictionary.com puts it, Felicity is the state of being happy, esp. in a high degree; bliss: the source of happiness. And Fancy is the artistic ability of creating unreal or whimsical imagery, decorative detail, etc., as in poetry or drawing.

So I guess finding a name for my baby business was probably the easiest part. LOL 

My list of things to do now includes (in no particular order):
1. Purchasing my LLC so that I am a registered, legitimate business.
2. Finalizing my wedding invitation portfolio.
3. Setting up my home office.
4. Creating content and shooting images for my website.

And that is just the beginning. 2010 is going to be a busy year -- very exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!  =)

Happy blogging...

Hi there, blogging community!

Ok, so I had taken a LONG, LONG break from blogging and I am back again with a renewed sense of duty! It is 2010, I want to hit the ground running!!!!  =)

A brand new year is like a brand new, clean slate, IMO! Time to take a deep breath and forge ahead!! Happy New Year to all!!!!!!

I am starting my own business and thought, to keep myself in check, I would start a blog to record my progress!!! So I have reinvented my blogging page and I am committed to writing a post each and every day -- aside from weekends, of course! I try to treat myself and stay away from the computer on Saturdays and Sundays.  ;) 

I hope you will come along for the ride. I'm sure there will be ups and downs, tears of happiness and tears of pain. LOL  Please feel free to comment with your advice or words of encouragement, both would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Onward and upward!!