buh-bye, 2010.

Goodbye to 2010,
and hello to a brand new year!
Here is my past year in photos...

January...







February...



March...





April...









May...







June...

July...













August...









{an abnormally warm} September...







October...









November...



December...





I am welcoming in 2011 with a very happy heart.
I am wishing each and every one of you a coming year that is beautiful, good, rewarding, fulfilling, blessed, and above all, happy. :)

OH! And PS.
One of my many new years resolutions is to get back into the daily swing of blogging. I promise you'll be seeing more of me around here. :)
xo!

a date with the christmas tree.

First of all, I have to apologize to all of you. I have barely been around, and I didn't mean to completely abandon my blog. A few things have been happening around here that have been taking up my time, and I think it is high time to share!

Number One... The shop has been busy! I am finally caught up on all of my current orders and would love for you to keep shopping. Order turnarounds will be very quick since I know that you all are needing things super quickly this holiday season, so shop now! The 1300th customer will receive some fab freebies in the mail, let me tell you! :) I'm almost there, eek! Maybe you need some cute gift tags for your presents? Maybe something to add in for a hostess gift at a holiday party? Or maybe some cute confetti to add to your Christmas cards? The shop's got it all. Go peek. :)

Number Two... It's the holiday season!!! Need I say more? What isn't going on at this time of year? Shopping for Christmas gifts, stringing up holiday lights, mailing out Christmas cards, planning a party for Andrew's class. Whew! I'm tired just thinking of all of this. More on the holidays in a moment....

And of course, Number Three... I have been wanting to spend an inordinate amount of time with my new boyfriend! Yes, you heard me right! I am now dating a new & super fantastic man and I am happy, happy, happy. I guess my blog comes second to that. :)

So now you all know where I've been and I promise I'll try to be around more. I love my blog, I love my readers, and I love to share ideas, inspiration, and what I've been up to. So thank you for sticking around and popping in to say hi when you do. It means a lot to me. :)

OK, like I said, more on Christmas now!
I have a date
with my Christmas tree
penciled in for Thursday.
We are going to pick out a tree that evening and start decorating it and I couldn't be more excited! Before decorating the tree however, I always think it is fun to take a look at some decor inspiration. Here goes....


The most adorable little tabletop tree. I adore trees this size. Easier to decorate, but still so festive and fun! This one is from that talented lady named Martha. :) I also am so in love with the tiny little trees lining the windows. So super cute!


I am not a hugely pink kind of girl, but this screams happiness to me! I love the iridescent glass ornaments on the tree and I think it looks like one big piece of candy. Love! {Also from Ms. Stewart!}


I do happen to think that Christmas is a time to incorporate all colors. If you toss on every ornament you have on a tree, it looks amazing. The reason for the season is not to make a color statement, and I think this tree looks fun and whimsical.
{From Country Living!}


Then again, the simplicity of this color palette is totally oozing charm as well. I adore the pillow mish-mash on the couch and love how sparse the tree is. And of course, I am a total sucker for anything paper-chain. Maybe I should get Andrew on that project?? :)
{Country Living, again!}


And finally, my favorite picture for this year. I love, love, love this!!! Everything is so happy in this picture from Country Living... from the flowers on the table that are not classically "Christmas," to the bright and cheery Christmas tree, to the eclectic mix of chairs at the dining table, and the most perfect chandelier ever, this is how I want Christmas to feel at my home.

Special.
Not perfect, but so special.
That's what the holidays are all about. :)
Happy decorating, my friends!
xo!

a perfect stocking stuffer!

Just added to the shop...
gift certificates for the holiday season! :)

If you know someone who loves cards, gift tags, wrapping presents, creating, scrapbooking, paper crafts, etc etc etc.... this might be a perfect option to tuck in with their gift! :) Let the recipient choose what they'd like in the quiet coziness of their home after the craziness of the holidays!

Shop for them here!

And by the way...
Almost to 1300 sales in the shop, as well!
Lucky number 1300 will receive some yummy paper goodie freebies, for sure!
Will it be you?!

PS.
So sorry I have been absent around here.
Please forgive me.
I've been a happy & busy bee, let me assure you. :)
xo!

christmas cards...!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.
Tomorrow!!!?!!!
That means that this weekend kicks off the holiday season!
{Can it really be this time of year already?!}
I am in serious need of figuring out my Christmas cards for the upcoming season as well, so maybe you all could weigh in and help. :)

Shutterfly is amazing.
And yes, I know I run a shop full of handmade and super-unique greeting cards and I could whip some up for myself as well... but, that's not how I usually work. I like a photo Christmas card. {Am I being disloyal to my Etsy shop right now???!!} :) And when figuring out a holiday photo card, I turn to Shutterfly! I adore Shutterfly. I love the photo books and have used them for myself and my own photo storage, as well as for teacher gifts! SO cute.

But now I need help in the Christmas card department....
these are my faves so far. :)


1. bright colored lights christmas card

SO unbelievably cute. This card is one of my favorites- it evokes so much happiness and spirit!


2. holly and jolly christmas card

I love sharing more than one photo, and this is the perfect card to create those photo memories! :)


3. sweet and retro christmas card

The soft green makes this card so adorable. I love the swirly font and the retro feel of it is so super cute!


4. bright and merry christmas card

LOVE the colors. It is classic, but still young and modern.


5. merry zigzag christmas card

I adore this one. It definitely tops my list at the moment. I love the colors and the zig-zag provides a cute and whimsical touch!


6. berry merry photo christmas card

ADORE this. Maybe it is the addition of the "holly" berries that I like??? :)


And of course, these holiday themed address labels are too cute as well.
I think I may have to snag a few of these, too.
On the top is the gift address label.
And on the bottom is goodwill to all label.

So perfect to add on to the holiday cards!

So help me out, friends.

Which is your favorite card??

I am having a hard time deciding on which one Andrew and I will be sending out!

And...

If you are a blogger, go visit here to get 50 free cards from Shutterfly.

Amazing deal, right?

Happy Wednesday,

and a very happy Thanksgiving weekend to you all!

xo!

PS.

Mommy Holly is having a Black Friday sale!

FREE shipping to anyone who uses the code "blackfriday" in the message to seller area through Friday. :) Pay like usual and I'll refund you via paypal as soon as I can!

the holidays are upon us!

And what better time to unveil some holiday items I've been working on! Some of you might have caught glimpses of these things at the Queen Bee Market, but for those of you who missed it, the shop is brimming with new things for Christmas! :)


eat, drink, be merry tags! {my current faves!!} :)


candy cane stripes holiday greeting cards!


sweet be merry gift tags!


funky and bright holiday greeting card!

As always, convo me through Etsy if you'd like to place a custom order or need more quantities of any listings like the holiday tags, brown paper tags, or my line of vintage dictionary cutouts. These little reindeer are the best-sellers at the moment, and are flying out of the shop like crazy! I haven't been able to stop making these, and it makes me so happy that lots of holiday reindeer cutouts are out and about in the crafty world now! :)

Please go visit the shop! :)
It would seriously make my day.
xo!

the queen bee. :)

Wait.
The Queen Bee is over???!
I can hardly believe it.
It is just like Christmas.
You work so hard for it, anticipate it, and then all of a sudden, you are on the other side!
It was so much fun.
Lots and lots of late nights and hard work, but so much fun. :)


My booth, in all of it's holiday themed glory! :)


I will be listing the new holiday cards in the shop, as well as some new tag motifs today and in the next few days as well. I was so tired after the event, that I had to take a few days to recuperate! :)


LOVE how everything turned out though, and was so happy to share again in the Queen Bee crazy fun!!

I didn't get a chance to snap photos of all of the beautiful booths. And I mean, seriously BEAUTIFUL. Everything was magical and gorgeous and I wanted to buy everything. Here are some of the photos that I did manage to get. :)

Wendy Miracle - my sister's booth, full of whimsical children's items! :)


Mallory at her booth! :)


Heidi Devlin Design- my talented momma! :)


White Apple Threads - amazing bags & tshirts! :)


Joy's Hope. Who doesn't love Julie and her amazing booth?! :)


Whippy Cake, home of the cutest hair accessories ever. :)


An overview photo of the Queen Bee Market.
There is so much happiness in handmade. :)
Don't you think?

Thanks, Queen Bees.
I can hardly wait until May. :)
xo!

PS.
My shop is almost to 1200 sales.
Free goodies to that customer,
so hop over to the shop and take a peek! :)
Who doesn't love free things?!
I thought so. :)

only days away.

The time is finally here.
And if you live in my house,
you would most definitely know it. :)
We are busy, busy, busy with
Queen Bee Market prep!!

I am so excited to share with you the newest items to my shop, but am trying to keep my {secret telling} mouth shut so that the items can be a complete surprise at the market! Let me just say, I am oh-so-happy with the way things are turning out.

Are you going to be visiting me
at the Queen Bee Market?!
I hope so! :)

You have two days to shop this time around as well...
Friday, November 12th from 4pm to 9pm
and
Saturday, November 13th from 9am to 4pm
Let me know if you are planning on stopping in!
I will be out and about and around my booth quite a lot,
so I hope to meet lots of you. Come say hello! :)

And if you are not coming to the Queen Bee, {tear!}
new items will be posted in my shop on Monday.
Very exciting stuff, let me tell you. :)

OK, it's back to work for me and happy week, friends!
xo!

The blog in which I go on and on about Halloween. :)

Where have I been???
Yeah. I've been really busy.
As in, really, really, really busy.
Halloween took over my life for over a week and I needed a break. :)
But now I'm ready to share what I've been up to with all of you!


Up first was Andrew's Halloween party at our house.
I decorated and baked and set up lots of crafts for them.
It was extra fun! :)


They were so appreciative and all had such a good time. :)


I adore this 99-cent store find. Glittered black skeleton? Awesome. :)


The kids made lots of crafts and were able to play and eat and play some more. Happiness to the six-year olds, for sure! :)


Then came Halloween.
We had so much fun carving pumpkins.
Andrew just couldn't figure out why the age limit was 12 on the carving tools, since he is such an expert. :)


And of course, the highlight of Halloween? Costumes!!
{Forgive the slightly blurry photo- we were much too excited for trick or treating to sit still for many pictures!}


Andrew was a "dragon-slayer"/"knight"/"ogre"!
Yes, we got a lot of odd comments asking "What are you?!"
I made the costume, and Andrew was so happy, so that's all that matters. :)

We had lots of festive fun.
And now I am so tired of Halloween.
And tired in general.
And I need to get ready for this.
So if you don't hear much from me, consider yourself warned! :)
Happy week, friends!
xo!