March in a Nutshell...

The month of March seemed to fly by for me. It was busy to say the least. So, here we are on the first day of the new month... a few things to share before we head full steam into April:

Our beloved yellow lab, Wrigley had to have some surgery to remove a tumor. Sadly, he has cancer and we found out that the tumor will grow back quickly. He has nerve cancer and it's apparently a fast growing type. He is doing well now and isn't in any pain, so needless to say, this is going to be his best summer ever! I love that big, furry Mama's boy!

I am continuing with my running. Yesterday was the last leg of the Louisville Triple Crown with the Papa John's 10 miler. It was a tough race through a very hilly Iroquois Park, but I finished strong and my brother, Adam kept me going. I beat last years time by almost 20 minutes- that's HUGE!

April 28 will be the Derby Festival Marathon and miniMarathon. I'm ready... running has become a part of my life and a part of my schedule. In March alone, I have run over 68 miles! I will be training all summer long with super long miles on the weekends to prepare for the Columbus, OH Marathon in October. Here I am in my first Marathon in Chicago, an experience I will never forget. 

Mac participated in the St. Baldrick's head shaving/fund raiser again this year at his school. He raised $525 and went over his goal to fund research for childhood cancers. We are so proud of him and his tender heart makes all of us smile! Here's a before and after picture... no teeth and now, no hair!

Lastly, I got a part-time job. I was offered a position at Paper Source. I'm only working 1-2 days a week and I took the job because I felt like I needed to be around creative people. I gain inspiration and gather ideas every time I work! Not to mention a really great discount! ;)

So, it's been busy. My stationery business has also taken off quickly in 2012. Lots of new designs and I plan to have a 20% off discount code as soon as the Facebook fan page reaches 200. If you're on Facebook, click like on the Paper Doll Stationery page!

Stationery News and 20% off!

Yikes... I haven't been updating on my blog in so long that Blogger has the "Follow" link up again and I didn't even know it! It's not that I haven't been crafty, but I just haven't had the time to photograph and post my projects. It's been crazy around here...
My step mother-in-law has been battling lung cancer since Thanksgiving and she has been in and out of the hospital since then. We've had Christmas, I redid my foyer, celebrated Elan's 5th birthday, took Elan to the hospital and got his first set of stitches (6!). I planned and hosted a Valentine's brunch for school moms, and I have revamped and updated my stationery website- which took forever. So, I have been busy.
I took some photos of my latest projects and even some Valentine's, but will have to upload those tomorrow. ;)
I did want to share with you all my stationery website. Paper Doll Stationery is my business that I run out of my studio in my home. I am a "one man band" so to speak and have had the business since 2003. The website has been up and running since 2007 and I have just updated the products and design of the site- I am so pleased with it! I would LOVE for you to take a peak and see what you think! I am offering a 20% off discount right now on your entire order! Just use the code "NEW" at checkout. You can also become a Facebook follower there as well! Here is the site link again: Paper Doll Stationery, share this with your friends and family! The success of my business is based on referrals!
Here are some new items and customer favorites...

Stationery Note Cards and Note Flats:

Invitations and Announcements: 

Gift Stickers: 

I have loads of new things, so check it out! Get a gift for a friend or give to yourself! I can ship anywhere in the USA! Paper Doll Stationery, personalized papers from fun & sassy to traditional & classy!

New Stationery

Hi there... hope you all have been staying dry from the wet weather we've been having! Just popping in today to share some of the new stationery designs that I just added to the web site. I found/purchased the graphics from a darling Etsy shop called Erin Bradley. You can find the stationery for sale in my shop here.

I think this is so fun for the preppy guy in your life...

These were a birthday gift for one of my girlfriends who loves owls! I also paired it with a note pad- she loved it!

The whale design was inspired by an adorable beach towel that my cousin had in Hilton Head while we were on vacation.

I made these for myself since I'm the camera girl in the family! It reminds me of an Andy Warhol print!

Enjoy... :)

Invitation & Thank Yous

Anna's sixth birthday has come and gone, but I forgot to share her invitations and matching thank you notes I made. I purchased the digital images off Etsy and designed them the way I wanted. They turned out pretty cute! I'm in love with these fill-in thank you notes, the biggest reason... Anna can write them herself!

I can't believe October is almost over. Do you have your trick-or-treats ready? Are your little ghouls costumes together? We have a Halloween event tonight, and I can't wait to get the kids dressed up- a skeleton, a cowgirl and a police officer. It will be fun! :)

I have been busy preparing for my holiday show, Temptations, and working on some Christmas gifts. If you are in the Louisville area, you should check out the show- it's November 16, 17 & 18. Click HERE for more information.

Quick shares...

Hello all you crafty chicas! I have been busy... really busy. Not just with getting back into a schedule and school starting, but also into holiday work mode! I have been cranking out new stuff to be sold at my two upcoming holiday boutiques. So, I leave you with some eye candy...

Fill-In note cards for children- LOTS of different styles to choose from for boys and girls, and soon they will be on the web site... I promise!
Super cute appliqued t-shirts for little girls. This one was made special for a dear friend named Molly who just had her first birthday! ;) It turned out really cute and I have lots more ready to sell!

Told ya it would be a quick share... tired, gotta go to bed...

Winner Day!

It's my birthday! Today, lots of fun is happening, so I'll share a super fun layout:

Using the wonderful Dear Lizzy line from American Crafts...

This is at a baby shower I co-hosted with my girls. The above picture is of me and one one my oldest friends, Megan. We have known each other since infancy and now she lives in Chicago... miss her dearly, but seeing her in July! Yay!

And, we have a WINNER! Generated by Random.org with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 71, number 12 was chosen and that my friends is MINDY JETT! Mindy, you just won some Studio Calico goodness:

And for those of you that didn't win, but wish you had, here is a special treat just for you... I have been uploading some new stationery to my store and here are a couple samples:

Aren't they cute? Already made some for mom and a few girlfriends! So... for you, my friend, a coupon that can be used at the online store: 20% off your entire purchase! Visit Paper Doll Stationery and at the checkout, enter the coupon code SPRING for 20% off! Happy Birthday to you too!

Cute, not creepy!

I love all this Halloween paper so much that I made several more festive cards. Here is one that I love. Look at that little boys face!

And, this is a package of 8 folded notes that will be for sale on my website soon. I'm coming up with lots of new designs for the holidays. Thanks to all the Caardvarks sketches a couple weeks ago, it has inspired me to really go the extra mile to make cute, unique cards, packages and gifts.
I will be posting some holiday goods soon! I have vowed to make most of my gifts this year, so I started early! I have to be careful what I share though! ;)

Hope you get to create this weekend!

Busy, Busy Bee!

Ok, I know I haven't been here in several days, but I have been busier than a one armed paper hanger! I finally finished painting the family room and it looks great! So glad that is behind me. Now that it's all fresh and new, it prompted me to change around a few things and get my powder room decorated properly. I found the perfect items to put in there at Dee's, our local craft/home decor store. I am pumped about how good everything looks! Woo-hoo!

The Etsy store seems to be taking off, I got a few more orders today. Here's one getting ready to ship!

Just when I think Paper Doll Stationery is going to be slow for a while, it picks up. I'm not complaining, people, I am thrilled! Here is a cute order I finished up this afternoon:

Family folded note cards with matching circle address labels

Anna is going to a princess birthday party and here is a cute note pad I made for her friend:

And her cute birthday sticker labels:

The kids and I are really enjoying the summer. Fun days spent at the pool with a picnic lunch and easy evening dinners with Popsicles. We try to enjoy nature with walks or bike riding in the morning before it gets too hot. Today, Anna found a huge ant and of course, picked it up. After crawling on her for a minute, the little booger bit her! The boys were all upset that she had gotten bit and they were all crying. Elan hugged her and said, "It's ok, sweetie, it's ok..." I about died because it was so cute. They really do take care of each other and care about each other... that warms my heart!

It's hot, hot, hot out there!

Whew! The heat... it is hot out there! The humidity is awful and I don't think we can go a day without a summer shower. I believe summer has come and is going to stay for a while. I am going to spread some hot summer lovin'...

I chose JMW as the winning recipient of some monogrammed stationery in the new "margarita" stripe. I asked, "What does summer mean to you?" and here is what JMW had to say:

To me, summer means hot, lazy days by the pool, crickets singing in the nighttime air, tall glasses of lemonade, linen and cotton clothes, running barefoot in the grass and fireworks on the 4th of July.


I LOVED that answer! I couldn't define summer any better myself! Congrats, JMW! Email me at profumo@bellsouth.net to claim your prize!

Now, I'm off to paint my family room... stay cool...

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

The $10 gift certificate goes to... (drum roll, please...) Mac choose comment #5 and that is...

Mindy! Woot! Congrats! Please email me at profumo@bellsouth.net to claim your prize. And for those of you who didn't win, there will be another chance, but until then check out http://www.paperdollstationery.com/ for some cute stationery for yourself!

*********************************************************

I hate rain when all 3 kids are home. It's a recipe for disaster: fights, tormenting, T.V. on, constant pestering, and pure boredom. Yuck. Today was torture. I did manage to get laundry done and I made my first batch of strawberry jam from those luscious berries we picked. Looks good and tastes good too!

I'm hoping to do some scrapping tonight, so I'll post those pics tomorrow. Have a good one!

Margarita, Anyone?

I must have margaritas on the brain. All of my stationery gifts have been of the key lime color! This is what Mac took to school for part of his teacher gift:

LOVE the blue and green combo, super cute and summery!

It's Friday, hooray! School is out and summer can begin! The winner of the flag note pad is...

Andrea! (all follower names have gone into a hat to be drawn out by one of my kiddos for prizes from here on.)

Please send me your addy and personalizing information for your own flag note pad. Profumo@bellsouth.net

Congrats!

It's been a busy couple of days, and there is no hope of catching up on projects and rest this weekend because it will be just as busy. Here's to a lazy upcoming week!

*And one last thing... I LOVE my new printer. I got all the kinks worked out and it is great!

Happy Memorial Day + Giveaway!

This is my flag note pad. Very patriotic and great for summertime notes. Want one? I am giving away a flag note pad that measures 5.5x7.5 inches and has 80 sheets of note paper. It will go to one of you! All you have to do is sign up to follow this blog (click on "follow" to the right and it will prompt you from there on what to do.) If you are already a follower, your name is already in the hat, so good luck! My note pads have been super popular and a great gift item. There are lots of designs to choose from! Some of you already know about Paper Doll Stationery, but for those of you who don't, check it out here:

http://www.paperdollstationery.com/

I have made stationery and invitations under the Paper Doll Stationery name for about 8 years now. I realize some of you aren't "crafty" or don't scrapbook, so I am going to add to my blog with new stationery designs and giveaways. It should be fun!

Enjoy the evening and the start to summer, Happy Memorial Day!

By the way, I don't like my new printer. Uploading photos into the correct folder on my computer is a nightmare. And the Adobe software it came with didn't come with good instructions. It will be weeks before I get the hang of it, so I'm bringing back my old printer for photo purposes and using the new one for stationery printing.