The holidays are approaching!

First, let's take a minute to remember all those affected on 9/11/2001 - 11 years later, and on every anniversary year to come, we will always remember.

I went to NYC for vacation last November, so here are a few photos to share today

The new Freedom Tower (Nov. 2011)

 The 9/11 Memorial at night

A view of the new tower from the Ferry

My favorite time of year is starting now!  There's been a slight change in the temperature outside (yay!!), with a little breeze!

I wanted to take a quick minute to show some new items I just added last night (& recently).   As a request from a friend of mine, I made this "Welcome" necktie banner for her son's first birthday party a couple weekends ago.  It can also be left blank, or made with a name or other phrase if you like!

Next up are some new cupcake toppers!  These can also be used as appetizer picks at your party!
I made some for football season and Halloween so far, but I'm going to add some for Christmas, Mardi Gras/Masquerade, and weddings/bridal showers.  I also have one set available of these cute pink and black Eiffel Tower toppers.  The Eiffel tower toppers are limited to a max of 15 right now, but if I can make more, I will post them again!

If you're looking for anything for the upcoming holidays, and you don't see what you're looking for in my shop, just convo me and I can most likely make what you're wanting!  Again, everything in my shop is customizable - colors, words, names, stamp designs, etc!  Custom requests are ALWAYS welcome! :)

Need a vacation....

An Etsy vacation, maybe?  While I'm very thankful for all my recent orders, they've kept me busy most nights after work.  That leaves little time for "me" - doing things like working out, having time with my boyfriend (& not working on an order), spending time with/walking my dogs, cooking, cleaning... etc.  All this get put aside for the most part, and I think it's starting to get to me :)    We are trying to plan a real getaway vacation in the next few months with our friends (Our last getaway - Chicago - was just us), so sometimes I think I should just wait a little longer.   On the other hand, I could do "vacation" now, create some new items, add them to the shop & finish up those extras I've been slacking on. (I STILL haven't painted those other 2 canvases to decorate my office!)

I've done a couple giveaways on Facebook - which I love actually because it forces me to make something new!  Recently, I did a giveaway for a couple "Date" banners, like one you would use for an engagement photo shoot.   I'm thinking of doing another one soon, and am open to suggestions for new phrases that aren't in my shop - so keep checking my fan page!  (PinkPupsDesigns)

Hope you have a great rest of the week, & I hope to post again soon!

New checkout method!

I have some news about my shop!  I am now accepting credit card payments directly through Etsy!  They started offering a "direct checkout" method on Etsy recently, and I just got around to reading about it and setting my shop up for it.   Now, if you don't have a PayPal account (or if you just prefer to skip PayPal and use a card) you can checkout directly through Etsy by entering you card information!  

In other news, I am planning to listing my "lemonhead" favor tags for sale.  I made these as a custom order for someone I know a little while ago.   They read "Thank you for brightening my day! Love, (name)"  They will also be available in orange and lime slices too!  I also started some blank tags and some "Wish Tree" tags for weddings.  I need to take and edit the photos for these still, but once they are ready, I will list these also.  

I hope everyone had a nice weekend and Father's Day!   We went to visit my parents, and I finally got to visit with my Aunt & Uncle who were visiting from Illinois.  They left to go home yesterday.  We spent the afternoon watching sports, playing cards, and enjoying the grilled ribs my brother made. Then drove home to get ready for the work week.  We stayed up really late Friday and Saturday nights, so I was pretty tired! This weekend, I will be going back to my parents to have a baking lesson from my mom - her baklava recipe - which I LOVE!! 

 My oldest brother, niece, and nephew will be coming down to visit next week.  My niece and brother's birthdays are soon, so we will be celebrating  :)    We have plans to visit with one of my college roommates on Thursday night (dinner), I haven't seen her in a little over a year, so it's always nice to catch up!   And tonight, it's Fajita night at my house for dinner!  I try to make them once a week, but I skipped last week, so I'm looking forward to it.   Although lately, I've been having a veggie fajita (onions, mushrooms, and black beans), but I make chicken for my boyfriend's fajitas.   Not that I'm vegetarian, but I'm trying to eat a little less meat.

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

It's back!!

It's back... but I don't know for how long.  My ability to post from my work computer, that is.   I definitely find it easier to post at work, taking a few minutes break to write during the day, than to wait until I get home.  Once I'm home, I'm more inclined to do things around the house (laundry, bathe the dogs, cook, clean, create any orders from Etsy I have, or watch some shows) than to sit at the computer and blog.

I ordered a new set of letter and number stamps - which I am very excited about!  Hopefully they don't take too long to arrive once shipped.   I can't wait to add some new items using the new letters and numbers.  I was very happy to finally find a set of stamps with numbers large enough to work on the card size I cut (4.25 inches square).  Most number stamps I find are only about 1-1.5 inches tall and they seem so small on the cards.  I will start making "save the date" banners using the numbers, I can include the age on a birthday banner, and numbers on any other banner!   And the new style of letters (which includes upper AND lowercase letters - mine now are pre-determined, some upper, some lower) will give my customers more options for the style of banner lettering!  I'm also thinking of using the numbers to make table numbers for receptions!

My Stars and Stripes banner was featured in a Treasury on Etsy today! See it here: Red White and Blue Treasury    Tonight I have a couple orders to finish and get ready to ship, then hopefully I can get a little ahead and pre-cut some cardstock for other banners.  I also want to finish painting one of my two remaining canvases for my home office, so I can hang them all up!  (Only one of 3 is done now...)   It's only Tuesday, but I'm already waiting for the weekend! I wish we had 4 day work weeks, and 3 day weekends all the time!

Leave a comment below and tell my what type of banner or item you'd like me to create with my new number stamps!  Have a great day!

Bloggy, blog!

Happy Monday evening!  I usually dread Mondays, but today started out pretty nicely!  Back in March, a couple I know got married.   A bit before the wedding, she asked if I could custom make a "Guestbook" and "Mr. & Mrs." banner that she had seen (something similar) somewhere else for their wedding. (Of course I said yes!)  So, I did :)     WELL, today, her wedding was published on a blog that I frequently check out!  I had just seen her this past weekend, and she told me their photographer submitted them, and it was supposed to be featured on the blog on June 11th, so looks like she got posted a week early!    Check it out here (Every Last Detail Blog).   There are THREE photos of the banner on the blog today!! (Mr. & Mrs. only - My own photos are below)

Now, these banners are not in my shop, but I can make them for anyone who's interested... in any phrase too!  The weekend was good. Friday we had a dinner date night.  We went to the beach Saturday to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday!  Stayed there a while, had dinner, then headed home.  Sunday we had a typical "Lazy Sunday" around our house.  Just a full day to relax, not do chores/laundry/lawn work, etc.  Sometimes, these days are needed!

 This week is looking pretty good.   My mom is back home now, recooperating in her own bed.  I'm sure she's very happy to be there, plus my dad and their two dogs missed her!  I will be taking a trip to see her sometime soon.  My aunt & uncle are down from Illinois to help her out too when my dad has to work, so it is always nice to visit with them!  (**My uncle and I share the same birthday - different years of course!)  AND if you're reading this - a special Happy Birthday to my cousin Tammy!! (one daughter of this same aunt & uncle who are currently visiting)  Hope you had a wonderful day!

Off to watch some tv, then bed a little earlier than usual.  Hope everyone has a great week!

Busy busy bee!

   That's me!  A busy bee lately!  The orders seemed to be flying in for a while... which is wonderful, and is keeping me busy.   A short weekend trip to Atlanta for Mother's Day weekend (literally in Atlanta for 24 hours, the rest of the time was spent on the road driving to and from ATL).  After the Atlanta weekend, we were gearing up for vacation.   This included working longer hours Monday through Wednesday, finishing up the open orders I had, doing laundry, packing, some pre-trip pampering (pedicure), and getting the dogs ready to drop off with our friends for the trip.
   We had a very early Thursday morning flight to Chicago that week.  LOVE Chicago!   We stayed in the city for 4 nights, close to the river.  Lots of walking, eating pizza, stopping at other recommended eateries, a Cubs vs. Sox game at Wrigley, date night dinner, shopping, sightseeing (architectural boat tour, Navy Pier, Willis (Sears) Tower, John Hancock Observatory, Milennium Park & the "Bean," etc)...   WORE my feet out!  But I do enjoying walking when we visit the "big" cities.  You get to see cute little shops, restaurants, and other little unique places you may miss in a cab ride.   We also took the "L" train a few times too!
   The weather was a complete temperature mixture while we were there.  Highs of 71, 84, 90, 93, and 65!   From 60's to 90's in a few short days!  We were intending for a break from the Florida heat, but it seemed to follow us for a couple days.   We also spent most of one day outside of Chicago, meeting my cousins and their families for a little get together and dinner.   Overall, a great trip, and I can't wait to go back!

   Even this week has been crazy busy so far.  Got home Monday from the airport around 6pm - unpacked and took a little nap (tired!), work Tuesday, then went to visit my mom in the hospital (She had surgery on Monday morning - almost 1.5 hour drive each way, but worth it!), work Wednesday, then had some friends come stay the night before they left for a trip to Indy (we are dog sitting for them, since they just dog sat for us), work today, laundry, cleaning & working on orders...   A few picture below from Chi town (maybe I went a little overboard... hehe!)

    I have a few more orders to finish up this week.  Planning a movie date night on Friday, then to visit my mom on Saturday, outlet shopping, and pool/hang out with friends the rest of the Memorial Day weekend!  Also, I cannot post during the day now (blocked at work :(  )  so I have to put more of an effort to post after work (like now - late night :)  )    I hope you have a wonderful, fun filled (or relaxing) Memorial Day weekend!

New new new!

Monday was a busy one!  No post yesterday (sorry), but I was quite busy at work, and then working on some new orders once I got home.  I did get to post a few new items in my shop!  Pictures at the end here  :)    Saturday I went to my parent's house to clean for my mom, headed back home, showered up and met up with friends at Amigo's for their Cinco de Mayo block party.  Had a great time there, then we headed to a friend's to grill and celebrate once more for my boyfriend's birthday.  We had some friends stay this weekend, so we wrapped up with a short trip to the beach Sunday - it was a hot one! - then some relaxing at home.  Sunday night we watched the last two episodes of "The Amazing Race" (one week behind, and the finale!)   I'm realizing the shows we watch are coming to the season end, and we'll soon have nothing new to watch, but the positive is, it will give me time to do other things (Etsy, gym, play with my dogs...)

I finally got a hair cut today, much needed. I just figured out it's been 3 months since my last cut!  Getting ready for a busy weekend for Mother's Day.  Don't forget to show your Mom your appreciation for her!  I'm hoping to visting the Paper Source store this weekend - almost 100% sure I will!  Trying to get all my open orders finished and shipped by this Friday.     I'll also be working on a new custom banner, which I will add to my shop in the next week or two.   As always, any phrase or name can be made into a banner, and everything in my shop is customizable! (Is that a word?!)    Looks like it's about to rain here, so I'm going to step away from the computer for now.  Enjoy your evening!

Finally Friday!

Happy Friday to all!  I hope you have some fun plans this weekend!   Dinner last night was delicious!    We had all kinds of things to eat.  This restaurant's menu changes frequently, since they use mostly fresh local ingredients.  We had calamari, lobster pasta, filet mignon with potatoes gratin, and some red wine.  We came home and I had a surprise small Publix chocolate ice cream cake waiting in the freezer! We had a little bit of that for dessert.  After we were done with cake, I finished the favor bags, and cut some more cardstock for future banners.  Here's a couple photos of the bags:

We did watch Revenge (Yay!), then off to sleep after a little time on the computer.  I was going non-stop this week it seems (SUPER tired today), so I was definitely ready for bed - especially since it was later than I had planned.   I dropped off the lemonhead favors this morning (I usually ship, but she is pretty close to where I live and it was easier than packing and shipping, plus the party is tomorrow), and came to work.  

Tonight we are going to a concert, and then we'll be busy all weekend!  Sometimes you live for the weekend, and sometimes you're happy to have the structure of the work week.

One last thought (feel free to comment!): Do you think that people who are born in the evening are "night people" and those who are born in the morning hours are "morning people"?  Personally, I was born at 5:31 pm and I would definitely say I'm a "night person", as is my boyfriend, who was born at 7:05pm.  Are you a morning or night person, and what was your birth time?

Have a wonderful weekend!

2 days til Cinco

Third day in a row!  I'm definitely going to try and post more frequently here.  I can't promise it will be everyday, and most likely I won't post on the weekends, but here's to a good start!   Just two days away from Cinco de Mayo celebrations, today is also my boyfriend's birthday (Happy Birthday!!).  Cinco is probably my favorite of the "non-traditional" holidays (like St. Patty's day).  I love Mexican food and margaritas!  Looking forward to spending some time with friends who are coming to visit this weekend too.

After visiting our friends and their adorable new baby boy (their first child), we stopped for some dinner, then went home and I finished an order, and finished two new banners.  I also stayed up to make a birthday card for my bf, which I am not too experienced in card making, but I'm trying :)    (Photos below of the card, and the lace design on my two new banners!)

  I used a pearly pink ink for the lace design, on my shimmery white cardstock, and black letters.   Love this one!  Once I get all the photos uploaded and edited, I will list these in my shop, and add new photos here! (Pink Pups Designs on Etsy)  Sorry if the photos are a little dark - I used the camera on my phone.

On tonight's agenda:  Taking my bf to dinner for his birthday, finish favor bags order, and relax! I hope there's a good show DVR'd that we can watch (like Revenge. Another favorite!) I would still like to make some new banners, confetti, tags, etc to add to my shop.  I just need some spare time.  Maybe I will put my shop in "Vacation mode" and work on this!

Anyone have some exciting plans for the weekend?  I'll probably post tomorrow too, so check back!  Have a great Thursday!

Happy "Hump day"!

Ah, Wednesday.... the day of the week you get a little excited because you know Friday is much closer!  Well, in the case of most of us who work Monday through Friday that is.  On my drive into work this morning (in some slow moving traffic due to road construction) I saw a cute baby alligator, sunbathing on a local golf course.   So cute!  I love animals.. most of them anyway!  If you haven't read my profile on Etsy, I have two dogs - a yellow lab/german shepard mix (Ginger), and a chocolate lab (Jazz).  Both are female, and I refer to them as "My girls" or "The girls" often.  They are my two favorites of course!

Last night I tried something new for dinner.  I made chicken and used one of the new Kraft Fresh Take mixes (Italian Parmesan).  It was yummy!  Served them up with some green beans and a baked potato (half for me, half for my boyfriend).   He loved it, says I should add it to our "Menu".  We have a few foods we like a lot that I try to make once a week - chicken fajitas (or taco salad, but lately it's fajitas), sushi (spicy tuna roll to be exact) with a side of steamed edamame, and now italian parmesan chicken.  :)   Try it sometime!

While eating dinner, we watched The Biggest Loser finale. We watch that show every season.  It's crazy to see how much the contestants change in the few months they are with the show.  Congrats to all of them!

 Plans after work today include: quick gym workout, picking up a few groceries at Publix, then to visit our friends and meet their new baby!  After we get home from that, I need to finish my favor tags & bags for an order, package up some banners to ship, and start on a new order (just got a sale this morning!).  I also started on 2 new banners for my shop: "Gifts" and "Engaged" using my new lace looking stamp. I think shoppers will love that lace one!   I plan to write a post tomorrow, so I'll add more upcoming plans then!  Have a great day!

It's been a while....

WOW!  So sorry it's been so long between posts!  I really love reading other blogs and should realize I need to post more of my own! Things were a little crazy earlier this year.  Trying to get my taxes done for the first time as a shop owner on Etsy.  (I caved and hired a local CPA to help with this.)  I'm hoping next year I can figure it out and file on my own.   I closed my Etsy shop (PinkPupsDesigns) for a while around February so I could work on tax paperwork, get my home office more organized, and create some new items.   Didn't get to far on the creating side, but that's still at the top of my list. Next up are banners that read "Engaged," "Save the Date," "Gifts," and "Celebrate".   Any suggestions of a banner phrase you'd like to see?  I'm always open to new suggestions! 

 The hardest thing is working on new items, taking good photos, and editing the photos... ALL before I can post as a new item for sale.   It's a little more difficult since I work full time during the day.  (Which is where I am now, eating lunch at my desk and writing a new post!)   I am very much looking forward to an upcoming vacation!  Last real trip we (my boyfriend and I) took was to NYC in November 2011.  That was a blast! So much to do and see, and also got to spend time with my college roommate and her boyfriend.  They also came to visit us recently and we went to Animal Kingdom and the beach while they were here (this equates to a mini "staycation" for us!)  We also got to spend a couple days with my niece and nephew around Easter. My oldest brother brought them here for spring break.  They are 6 and 8 years old, so we took them to a waterpark.  Those two LOVE to swim! 

Well, I will try to keep up the posts!  I have some banner orders and favor tags to work on this week!  Then we have some friends coming to visit this weekend for Cinco de Mayo and to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday (May 3rd!).   More beach time coming I believe!   Have a wonderful day! :)

P.S.- You can also find me on Twitter (Twitter page) and Facebook (Facebook fan page).  New followers and "Likes" are always appreciated! :)

Happy Friday!

Just wanted to wish you a happy Friday!  Date night tonight, then I'm looking forward to catching up on some rest this weekend, and hopefully spending a few hours at the pool getting some sun!  (It's supposed to be about 80 degrees here!)   I'm also planning to get a bit more organized in my home office and make a couple new items.   I'm going to start offering invitations, save the dates, etc. so I've started a couple samples of those.  Now I just need to print them and assemble so I can post photos!    Hope you enjoy your weekend!  :)

"Vacation"

Just a heads up... I will be putting my shop in "vacation mode" for a while so I can get some things done.  Since my Etsy shop is my "second" job and is part time right now, I need to use my time after working my day job to focus on making new items, and getting more organized.  I feel I've had some time this week so get started on that, but I would be a bit less stressed if I can get it all taken care of, and get my shop back up and running and FULL of new items! :)   Hope you'll understand, but feel free to send me a Convo on Etsy if you need a custom item in the mean time!   Thanks!