A Clean Studio is a Happy Studio

Good Morning Prepsters!

I am still working on those New Years Resolutions!

I have been on Weight Watchers for 2 weeks now and am down 5 pounds!  Only 10 or 15 pounds to go.  I could probably get there faster if I worked out more often, but I guess that gives me something to work on!  I did purchase the new Your Shape Fitness game for my Kinect, because I was told it kicks your butt!  I'll let you know!

(via Amazon)

One of my other Resolutions was to get organized.  I am happy to say that I am on my way to a more organized life!  I worked for HOURS this weekend organizing my studio/office.  After a very busy holiday season at The Preppy Ladybug, my space was a disaster!  I am too embarrassed to post before pictures, but I am so proud of my after pictures!  Take a look at my "new" space:

My closet is the best!  My husband installed shelving units and removed the doors for easy access. I can store all of my supplies and easily grab what I need!  I made the bulletin board on the right side of the closet.  I bought a poster frame from Walmart, painted the frame white, and glued corkboard to the cardboard on the back!  It was really easy and it looks great in my room!  Below that is my beloved study board from college.  I can take projects to the living room and have a flat surface to work on while we watch TV.

My desk is from Ikea - I bought the top and the legs separately to customize my work space.  I love my dual monitors.  They work with my MacMini or my MacBook so I can see what I am doing!  To the right of my desk is a white board where I can keep track of all of my orders.  If you look closely, you can see the Lilly shift dress magnets!

My printers sit just to the left of my desk so I can easily access them while I'm working on the computer.  The table also provides additional work space when I'm not at my desk.

On the left side of the room are my bookshelves.  There is so much storage in this room - it's amazing!  I use this countertop for my cutting board and shipping "department."  I love having Audrey on my wall for inspiration!

Since I blogged about it, that is 3 resolutions I am keeping in one blog post!  I am also working on a ton of projects behind the scenes that I can't wait to share with you!  I mentioned some of these in my New Year Resolution blog post, so get ready to start seeing some of these ideas come to life in the next week or so!

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year Prepsters!

(via pinterest)

I hope that everyone had a happy holiday and is looking forward to what 2012 has in store!

The Preppy Ladybug had a fantastic holiday season, and I have all of my wonderful customers to thank for that!  I went above and beyond my expectations for 2011.  I added so much product to my website, even I was a bit overwhelmed!  I am so excited that the new gift items I added did very well, and the photo cards were a big hit too.

After all of the holiday orders were taken care of, my husband and I were overjoyed to have a few days off to visit his family in Ohio for Christmas.  I am so lucky to have the best in-laws in the world!  My mother-in-law throws a huge Christmas Eve party at her home every year, and I spent a whole day with my sister-in-law baking sweets and treats.  We don't get to see them nearly enough, and the few days we had flew by.

With the New Year always comes Resolutions.  I am determined to keep mine this year and I feel that if I make them public, I will have to stick with them!  Some are more of a goal than a resolution, but here goes:

1. Lose this extra 10-15 pounds that I have added over the past couple of years.  I have had great results with Weight Watchers in the past, and I am going to count my points to a smaller size!  I have had fun pinning lots of new recipes on Pinterest to try!

(via pinterest)

2. Make weekly posts on blog!  I know I've said it before, but I really am going to try to keep up.  My goal is one post per week.  I'll try to post more often, but don't hold me to it!

3. Expand Holiday lines.  I already started with Valentine's Day, and there is more coming!  I have plans for St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Summer (think BBQ and pool party invitations), Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  Did I miss any occasions that you would like to see?

(via The Preppy Ladybug)

4. Expand The Preppy Ladybug product lines.  You can expect to see our designs on products such as plates and cell phone covers soon!

5. Add more gift items to the website.  I know you love The Preppy Ladybug for your stationery and invitations, but you also love those unique monogrammed or personalized gifts for other occasions!

6. Get organized!  This is both a business and a personal resolution.  My office looks like a tornado went through, and don't even think to look in the closets around my house!  You might get bopped on the head by falling objects.

(via pinterest)

Well, there you have it!  I know I'll be adding to my goals throughout the year, but I am off to a great start.  Here's to a fabulous 2012!

(via pinterest)

TPL Trunk Shows

Do you love The Preppy Ladybug and want to share it with your friends?  Would you like to earn rewards to put towards your own order?  You are in luck - I am now doing trunk shows! 

There are two ways to do a trunk show.  If you live in the Atlanta area, I can come to your house (or wherever you would like to host a party), and set up a beautiful display for your friends to shop.  Your friends will receive 10% off their purchase, and you will earn money and discounts to put towards your own order based on how much they buy! 

If you don't live in Atlanta, but would like to get in on the fun, consider hosting an online trunk show!  You will still earn the same rewards, but your friends will purchase from my website using your discount code.  I will give you invitations that you can email, tweet, or post on facebook or your blog.  Your friends will have one week to make their purchases, and at the end of the week, you get your rewards!

It's fun and easy!  Send me an email at shannon@thepreppyladybug to set up your show!

For the Love of Veggies

I have been craving some veggies lately.  While my husband was traveling this week, I creating some delicious dishes! 

I got the new Cooking Light magazine and was inspired by the Grilled Zucchini recipe.  With the new outdoor kitchen, I just had to try it out!  This is seriously the easiest thing to make.  Just slice zucchinis and toss them with olive oil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, and put them on the grill!  I chopped up some fresh tomato and feta cheese and put the whole thing over bow-tie pasta for a quick meal.  Other variations in the magazine include combining grilled zucchini with fresh parsley, mint, lemon zest, and minced garlic.  Yum!

Before grilling

On the grill

Oops!  I lost a couple!

The other dish I made was couscous.  We had my friend, Kara, and her husband over for a Labor Day cookout over the weekend, and she brought this dish as a side.  It was so delicious, I had to try it myself.  Again, this was such an easy recipe.  I cooked Far East Couscous (pine nut flavor), and added halved grape tomatoes and feta cheese.  That's it and it is SOOO good!

It's *almost* Showtime!

A couple of months ago, I signed up to be a part of the Girls Love to Shop event.  It is on September 16-17 at Cobb Galleria convention center in Atlanta.  This is my second big show, and I have been working like crazy to try and get ready for it!  I hope that everything I have been doing will pay off.

I have been trying to figure out how to display all of my stationery.  It is hard because I can't just put out a bunch of stuff to sell like other vendors, since most things are custom made for each client.  I had the idea to make big bulletin boards to show off lots of different items.  My fabulous husband built my boards on Labor Day, and I am working on painting them this week.  Here is a sneak peek of what they are going to look like!

Once I have drawn customers into the both with my awesome bulletin boards, I wanted a way to show everything, so I am making these big "scrapbooks."  They are essentially my first catalog, so if they work out, I am going to create a printed catalog based on these after the show.  All of the options including fonts, colors, sizes and pricing will be shown.  I think I will have a total of 3 books once I am finished.  Here is a peek of the new books!

I have a bunch of free tickets to give away for the show, and I made up this poster for my mom to put in the workroom at her school.  If you want tickets, send me an email with your address to shannon@thepreppyladybug.com!

Oh, Happy Day!

My darling, loving, dear husband is nothing if not consistent.  This includes his ability to start projects around the house and not finish them.  He is notorious for beginning a project that he assures me is going to be fabulous, and two years later decides he might just get around to finishing it.

Our deck is the biggest project in the works right now.  When we moved into our house 3 years ago, it was falling apart.  "Don't worry," he said, "it can be easily replaced."  We got settled into our new home, and about 2 years ago, he started the project.  He was right, the old deck ripped right out.  We rented a dumpster and by the end of the day, it was gone.  After a trip to Home Depot, we had everything we needed to start the new one.  It started out well enough.  He framed a huge new deck, laid boards, even put in railings with decorative metal poles all the way around.  The finishing touches just weren't done, and then came the idea for an outdoor kitchen.  The kitchen had to go in before the finishing touches could be put on the deck.  Again, he planned it out, set up the frame, and got as far as the counter top before stepping away.  Football season was busy and it was followed by a long winter and a string of excuses.  Other projects gained precedence inside the house.  I must say, my crown molding in the bedrooms, chair and picture frame molding in the dining room, and built-in closets are beautiful!  However, I got so frustrated with the deck not being finished, I had everyone in the family only giving him Lowe's gift cards and grill parts for his birthday, Christmas and every other holiday.  Finally, after expressing over and over how wonderful it would be to have football parties on the deck this fall, we took a trip to Lowe's to buy the granite!

This is truly a happy day, because the granite counter top was installed!  Yay!  Now that it is in, the rest of the deck can be finished!  I have been promised that in the coming days and weeks, he is going to finish staining the kitchen, replacing boards that have warped in the last couple of years, and put all the finishing touches on the deck.  Now that I have told you all about it, I can hold him to it!  I wish I had before pictures, but enjoy some pictures of the counter top being installed this morning. 

Before Granite

Cutting out for the grill

We have counter tops!

From the bar side

Even Coach is happy!

Here comes the fun part....I get to start DECORATING!!!!  I need chairs for the teak table we purchased from Restoration Hardware Outlet, bar stools for the kitchen, furniture for the living area, and other cute decorations.  I hope with it being the end of summer, that I can find some things on sale or clearance!  What is your favorite place to buy outdoor furniture?

Happy Halloween!

Can you believe that Halloween is right around the corner?  It seems like fall descends upon us earlier and earlier each year!  As much as I love summer, I am looking forward to everything that fall brings: football, changing leaves, apple picking, and of course, Halloween!

I have created some fun Halloween stationery to help you and your family celebrate the season!  Since candy and treats are kid's favorite part of the holiday, we'll start with treat stickers.  These are a great way to identify your child or your family's treats.  Whether at a school event, or handing out treats to neighborhood children on Halloween night, these stickers will make your treats stand out!  They are also a great way to let parents know where a treat came from when it ends up in a big pile of candy and treats at the end of the night. 

 Stickers come in 3 different sizes and are $4.50 per page.

Dress up your envelopes for the season too with these whimsical address labels.  I put them on anything I mail from birthday cards and holiday cards to mundane bills.  I like to think that I make someone on the opposite end smile :)

 Stickers come in 3 different sizes and are $4.50 per page.

Because handwritten notes never go out of style, coordinating stationery is also available in two different styles: flat correspondence cards and mini folded note cards.  I love the flat cards, but the mini cards are perfect for writing a quick note!  

Flat Correspondence Cards come in sets of 12 for $12.50.  Bundle packs with 24 cards and 24 coordinating address labels are also available for $26.50

Mini Folded Note Cards come in sets of 10 for $12.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the new Halloween line and are starting to get into the holiday spirit!  Visit The Preppy Ladybug online to view all my designs!