grand reopening ofthumbprint designs!

it is HERE! i DID IT! it came hell + high water and i did it anyways.

i am so proud and so very excited to debut my new line of products...

college note cards

i. love. these. these things are my babies! it was so fun to learn about the schools and their traditions while compiling all the phrases and sayings that come on them.

right now i only have four schools available because honestly the hardest, but most fun, part of this is coming up with the sayings for each school!

i am working with a couple of friends to come up with some more designs that will be added soon! :) if you have a school you'd like to work with me on please send me an email. i'd be thrilled to add to my collections!

click on the links below the pictures to get to their listings and see the entirety of each collection!


auburn university note cards


lsu note cards


a&m note cards


osu note cards

make sure you check my sale items for deeply discounted artwork for your home! :)

and because i LOVE you guys and because you were SO awesome - use GRAND10 to take 10% off your order until 2/10 to celebrate the GRAND reopening!

thank you all SO much again for all your support and encouragement and understanding. i'm so proud to be putting something out here that i absolutely love and enjoy doing!

a vlog + a sneak peek

first of all - thank you all so much for the endless support and kind words you have all offered me over the last month. between you guys, my husband, my family and my plain old sheer determination i have managed to at least get one of my new items ready to sell.

so you want to see it right?

i knew it!

a few disclaimers first:

1. it is 8:30 friday night after a long day of work and a long night of work. i'm lookin my best all things considered.
2. i didn't take the time to clean. {waaaaay to excited for that}
3. any suggestions on how to end these things? it is kind of like an awkward ending to a blind date...

anyhoooo

on with the show!

blogging basics:how i organize my blogging

here lately i have been an incredibly busy and scatter-brained person.

the busy part i am used to but the scatter-brained part? not so much. around november of last year is when it started to get really overwhelming. i was beginning to take on sponsors and focus on where i wanted this blog to go. i was overflowing with ideas. they were pouring out of me with nowhere to go.

unfortunately i lost a lot of them, probably never to be found again. i know. sad face.

so i had to develop a system.



the first thing i did was buy an inspiration journal. i went to cvs and found a tiny orange (yay oklahoma state!) notebook for 99 cents to carry around with me. now every time inspiration hits - i write it down. i am now ashamed proud to say that i have way more ideas than time. but i suppose that is a good problem to have.

do you carry an inspiration journal? i highly recommend it. i have been blown away by all the ideas for blogging that i can come up with now that i have somewhere to actually write them down and keep up with them.

it is also amazing what inspires me. a funny quip. a pretty view. something i see in a store. the idea is sparked and the post starts forming in my head before i can even get the journal out of my purse! :)

now that i had an overflowing fountain of ideas (along with sponsors to organize) i needed to develop a schedule and commit to a time to posting them.



thus, this spreadsheet was born. i keep one for every month. i have spots at the top to keep track of who my sponsor shopping features for the month are. i also have a slot for sponsor swap ladies too.

there is a column for the date, the topic and any notes i may have for that day. along with a checklist for when i finish the post.

that little box for the check keeps me accountable to report all the fab ideas in my inspiration journal to you my lovely reader.

it keeps my brain all together. i keep a copy of it printed out in a folder in my purse and make changes to it as necessary. after a few changes i update the file and print out a new copy.

i have also had to train myself that this schedule is not set in stone. it is o k a y if i change something or take something off the schedule. it is also o k a y to have blank spots. i don't have to post every day.

or at least i keep repeating that to myself. sometimes it works. sometimes not.



so those are the two pretty simple things i do to organize my chaotic brain into a blogging schedule. they work pretty well for me. what kind of schedule do you use for blogging?

i'd be happy to share my spreadsheet template with you. just let me know and i will email it right over to ya!

{on getting past a roadblock}

hi.

this post is coming from under a proverbial boulder that the devil has thrown on - not at - but ON me. smack dab on my head.

here is the good part - the devil can knock me down but he can't throw me out of the ring.

january was one hell of a month yall.

for starters i had to come to terms with the fact that all these plans i had set for myself to reopen shop on january 16th just weren't possible. and sitting down and realizing that felt good and bad all at the same time.

there is something to be said for knowing your limits and not over-burdening yourself and i feel like i have realized some of those limits this year.

there is also that lingering "you can't do this - what are you thinking??" lurking in the back of my mind. that was the devil throwing a pebble at my head and trying to knock me off course. i didn't listen to him and just kept pushing on.

so since the pebble didn't sway me - the devil tried a bigger rock.

next up. on a totally mundane and normal monday morning i had a meeting with my boss (who is the owner of the company i work for). and out of nowhere i got a raise + promotion. remember when i complained about how much i hated my job? let's just say that it was like he read that blog post and came up with an offer that would turn my entire mind around.

i am now almost (almost!) too busy at work to blog and keep up a successful online presence. instead of being overwhelmed and stressed i am just doing one thing at a time. (thanks cassie!). i'm doing what i can, when i can. i'm just going to have to make a new schedule to work from and make it happen.

there is something about the devil yall - he is a persistent little bugger.

the rock didn't knock me out. so he thought he could get me by throwing a trip line across my path.

turns out that for most of the items that i am going to make i have to be licensed through either the college or the collegiate licensing company. hehe - NOT cheap or timely. but i have amazing friends and family who believe in me and encourage me to chase after my dreams and help me cut that little trip line right out of my path.

tttttthhhhhpppp :}
take that devil.

but he wasn't through. i finally had everything in order and ready to go.

and the devil found a boulder and rolled it off the side of a cliff to try and stop me. and it kind of sort of landed on my head.

my computer totally crashed. like. gone forever. no hard drive left. nothing.

thank the good Lord above though - i had gone through my computer about a month ago and backed almost EVERYTHING up. and i mean about 90% of the pictures, music and files on my computer are on this hard drive. i also had the foresight to save everything shop-related to a thumbdrive. so i still have all of that.

oh thank you sweet Lord for the nudging to do that.

so i had to order a new computer. and since that is about the fourth time in the last twelve months that my computer has, what i like to call, crapped out on me, i decided to go with the big guns and get a mac.

i should receive it sometime today. which means i have approximately five days to start from scratch and have everything ready to open in the shop by wednesday, feb 1.

remember i said that come hell or high water i was reopening on feb 1.

i believe this qualifies as hell AND high water. don't you think?

here is the important thing.

God knows your dreams and if you pray and ask for his help to achieve those dreams i fully believe that he will help you. some days i question if this is really God's plan for me. some days i know for a fact this is what he wants me to be doing.

so when the devil shows up with his weaponry, and i start to seriously doubt that this is what God wants i have to trust that God will provide if it is so. and i have to fight off the devil (in so many forms - laziness, sleepiness, negative self-talk, and of course literally destroying my equipment) and push through.

and remember that if this is truly what i love and what i want, God will make a way for it to happen.

don't tell God about how big the devil is in your life... tell the devil how BIG YOUR GOD IS. and then make Him smile because he is proud of you for fighting for what He has provided you with.

flying with larue!

the friday morning while we were in oklahoma, chris' uncle la rue walked out of his office right i was taking my first sip of coffee and said, "hey - wanna go flying?"

it took me approximately .32 seconds to put my coffee down and say "yup!"

i think i actually surprised him by how quickly i responded! one thing that i love to do is fly! i've never been scared of it and, aside from the hassle at airports, that is one of my favorite parts of a trip! i know. i'm a weirdo.

i think he also thought i was a little strange because the first thing i said after that was "can i bring my camera so i can blog about this?"

if he thought for one hot second that i wouldn't be sharing this fun flight with you guys he had another thing coming! :)



la rue has a six-seater twin prop plane. he flew in the air force when he was younger and then about 20 years later decided to basically renew his pilot's license when his son also decided to get his.



i dated a guy who had his pilot's license and he took me up in a two-seater plane once. that was probably the scariest thing i ever did. we flew from jacksonville, tx to el dorado, ar. it was about a two hour round trip flight and it was jerky, hot, turbulent and very scary.



this flight was much smoother once we flew out of the air field over the lake. la rue attaches the plane to this little wheeled engine thing to pull it out of the hanger and then we loaded up!



la rue went through his pre-flight checklist and we taxied to the north end of the runway. throughout the flight every time he did something he would explain to me what he was doing and why he did it.

did you know that pilots can change how much fuel the plane is using? if you have a good tailwind you can reduce the amount of fuel the plane uses to conserve it for the trip back. pretty cool, huh?



getting ready to take off!



we took off heading south and flew over lake tenkiller. its a man-made lake that is dammed off from a river. it is a gorgeous lake!



here is a picture of the dam. it is crazy to think that if the dam wasn't there where all that water would go!



here is another view of the air park that tink & la rue live in. the "21" at the bottom of the runway is where we took off from. tink and la rue live at the south end of the runway.



i felt all fancy and official wearing the headset! it is crazy how loud the airplane is so the headset is totally essential. plus you can talk directly to the person with you.



we flew south towards sallisaw, ok and flew over the robert s. kerr reservoir. the sun was hitting it just right and the water looked like liquid gold. it was so awesome!



this is cavanal hill which, according to the local chamber of commerce, is the tallest hill in the world. at 1,999 feet it is one small foot short of being an official mountain. from far away it looks a lot bigger but up close it just looks like another part of the landscape.



these are the towers on top of cavanal hill. i would be willing to bet there are several towers up there for the oklahoma state police and other local law enforcement agencies. this picture and statement has been brought to you by my lovely job. :)



we are flying back around the runway and getting ready to land. this is another view of where tink & la rue's house is in comparison to where we were flying.



making our final approach!



time to pick up your feet - we are coming in for a landing! that is our blue car on the left hand side of the runway and their hanger. that is how close they live to the air strip! it is a really cool neighborhood.

wait - does anyone else do that? pick up their feet when the plane lands? i don't know why but i have always done that! just a superstitious habit i suppose. i just don't want my feet to get stuck under the plane i guess! :)

after being with family for almost two weeks straight it was nice to get away for a little while and honestly, i can't think of a more fun way to get away for a minute! :)

have you ever flown? do you like to fly? what is the furthest you have ever flown? i really hope i get the chance to go up with la rue again! :)

{guest posting atstreeter ltd ♥ ♥ ♥}

ohhh have you met my friend kristina?



she rocks my face off. she is super sweet and has such a great business mind. you can read all about her and her cutie-pie husband here.

and i'd be remiss to not tell you that she is a pretty accomplished massage therapist. you can read all about that on her website.

anyways - kristina was so awesome and let me write up a pretty cool post for her blog.

do you have someone to encourage you?

click on over to be encouraged and read my guest post! :)

{sponsor shopping}gloria joy

today's handmade artist is a lovely lady from tulsa, oklahoma. gloria, from a little paint and gloria joy, is pure awesome. i don't remember how i found her but when i saw the raccoon portrait in her etsy shop i was hooked! i love her style and she is funny-to-boot. let's meet gloria!!


raccoon portrait acrylic on canvas

how did you learn to do what you do?
Mostly from experience. The only painting classes I’ve had were in highschool but I bonded to it fairly quick. I’m a graphic designer as my day job, but I’ve never been able to quit hands on art. Paint does something for me that a computer never can.


diamond invites

where do you find your inspiration?
Inspiration is everywhere! My abstract paintings are based solely on how I’m feeling at the moment. All the other paintings are likely something that reminds me of my childhood, a specific event or item.


Antique Skeleton Key Original Painting 11" x 14"

what is your favorite product in your shop?
All of them! Is that a cop out answer? I use every single painting as decor in my house in the meantime, and I get so sad when it’s time to say goodbye.


wedding programs

what is your favorite handmade shop?
Right now I’m loving BowWowBeds. They have doggie bed duvets and cage covers, I want to spoil my dog so bad right now!


Pear Still Life Acrylic on Canvas

give us one tip for aspiring handmade artists.
Just do it! Stop making excuses and get started. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have every single detail planned out, just get started and let it fall into place.



isn't her work phenomenal? i seriously could stare at that raccoon painting all day long. i would buy it lickety split but i have no idea where to hang it in my house. one day, it will be mine though...

unless of course you snatch it up first! go visit gloria!

find gloria here:
blog | etsy | design website

reader survey

one of my goals for this year was to conduct a reader survey. i'm really interested in knowing who already reads this blog and why you come here every day.

oh, you want to know why? fair enough.

while i am not opposed to the growth of this here little blog, right now i really want to focus on who already reads it. who are you? what do you want to read about here? why do you come here already and what can i do to keep you pretty folks around?

so that is the main reason. the other being that i am just plain nosy. #truth.

so you can fill out the survey via the little box below, or you can click here and fill it out. it is anonymous and there is no way i will be able to tell who you are unless you explicitly introduce yourself.

be nice. be mean. either way, i promise i can take it! ;)

thanks!

♥ ♥ ♥

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

january sponsor highlight

so thrilled to be working with these lovely ladies for the month of january! make sure to check out their blogs & shops!





blog | twitter | facebook | pinterest | flikr






blog | facebook | twitter | shop | blog lovin' | pinterest





blog | shop | facebook | twitter





blog | facebook | twitter | pinterest | blog lovin'





blog | tumblr | twitter | etsy | flikr | pinterest | blog lovin'

good news &bad news

so when someone says to you "i have good news & bad news - which do you want first" you always say "bad news" right? because you always want to follow bad news with good news. or at least that is how i'd prefer it be! so that is how i will deliver today's post. good news & bad news.

bad news first.

i am slightly disheartened to say that, unlike i originally planned and worked very hard towards, thumbprint designs will not be reopening today.

i know. super sad face.

apparently my plans outweighed my ability to get them done. i just really over-extended myself with everything i wanted for my shop. and i finally had to sit down one day and come to terms with myself and the fact that i just cannot do it all at once. i really need to learn how to do things more step-by-step.

but now on to the good news!

yay! super happy face! :D

i will be reopening, come hell or highwater, on february 1 with brand new items that i am really excited about. i have spent a lot of time designing them and a lot of time finding a local business to work with in order to bring them to you.

i am so very excited about them that it literally makes my arms numb just thinking about it! so please bear with me and be patient. i promise it will be worth your wait!!

i also want to take this quick opportunity to say thank you to everyone that has supported me and stood beside me on this little journey. i have been so blessed by all of you and thank God for all that He has given me through this blog and my business.

thank you!! :)

word of the year

i have SO loved reading everyone's word of the year posts. it has been inspiring and fun to hear everyone's word and their interpretation of it for their life this year.

some examples:

beth @ home stories a2z's word is bubbles! how fun is that?
jessica @ allora handmade's word is listen. something we should all do more of!
layla @ the lettered cottage's word is up! (love that movie!)

the word i have chosen this year, or rather, the word that seemed to be chosen for me is
purpose

if you read my goals for the new year you might have noticed that this word seemed to crop up quickly and directly. in fact - here is exactly what i said:

"i want 2012 to be a year of purpose. and for the first time in my life, i am beginning to understand that in order to have a year of purpose i have to be diligent in making some things happen."

clearly, God has a purpose for each of us every single day. every day that you get to wake up again is a day that God has a plan and a purpose for you.

this year i want to intently listen for that purpose on a daily basis. i want to submit to His plan and learn how to give up my plans to do that. i want to go where He wants me to go and not be afraid to journey somewhere i've never been to get there.


this is one of my biggest struggles. the concept of not having a plan and not being in control of what i'm going to do scares the everliving crap out of me. i know i am a control freak. i know that it makes me anxious, stressed, bossy and demanding. but the thought of giving up one ounce of that control and possibly losing it all really frightens me.

what if my tightly wound life just falls to shambles? i can't deal with that.

well. last year i couldn't. this year though, i will learn how. i will. i will probably suck horrendously at it and have major anxiety attacks over not being in charge of what i am doing... but because i serve a loving God who already knows what tomorrow will bring i will put my faith in him and ask him to calm my nerves.

minute by minute i will ask him to sooth my fraying edges and keep me from going insane. this year i will live with God's purpose first.

this year i will purposefully go after things that i really want.

i want to do a daily devotional. so instead of just saying it - i found a devotional and it is sitting on my bedside table along with a pen and a bible. i still have to choose to do it, even though it is sitting there to remind me night after night. but i will do it. in fact - i have done it.

have i done it every single night? no. but if i miss one night (which has happened twice i believe) i get into bed having already decided that tonight i am doing two and make up for the missed night. i have kept it up and i am still on the coordinating day. but this isn't good enough. i have to keep it up for the rest of the year.

and i'm going to do it.

i want to find a defined purpose for my online presence. i've been thrown some major curveballs this month (which i'm pretty sure is what God does when i start to takeover and get all high and mighty in my plans) that will really change the amount of my online time. but part of being purposeful this year is accepting that maybe this (being a blogger and online business owner) isn't where i am supposed to be.

God knows where my purpose lies.

it is scary admitting that all the work i have done and all the connecting i have done may eventually be for nothing. yikes!

anyways - i really didn't meant to get all drag-down and depressed! let's shake that all off and move on! :)

i want to be purposeful in developing friendships. i love to meet people - LOVE it! but i would really like to focus on making a couple of really good friends this year. having friends when you are married to someone in the ministry is really hard. you don't have much time to look outside the congregation for friends. so you search within the walls of the church and it is easy to forget that you will always first - be the pastor's wife and second - be their friend. that is a really uncomfortable pill to swallow!

so i want to find friends outside of the church. local friends. friends i can meet for lunch and go see a movie with and double date with.

am i turning this into a goals list? it feels like it.

i want 2012 to be a year of purpose.

what is your word for 2012? come link up your post with layla's party next monday and be inspired!

how to: center titles with HTML

first of all, i want to thank all of you for the great feedback from my first HTML post where i covered just some really basic ideas and vocabulary.

if you want to catch up, click here and read up! don't worry - we will wait!

today i want to show you how to use html tags in your post titles. it is really simple and can add a little something extra to your posts for emphasis.

a quick aside to say - it is so so important to give your posts a title. really effective titles will help your blog post come up in search engine results. and we all want that don't we? here is a great resource for writing effective blog titles!

i learned this purely by accidental trial & error one day. i figure i could at least try and see if it worked and whaddya know? it did!



first pick a title for your post using some of the guidelines from the link i gave you above.



once you have chosen your title, click over to preview your blog post.

do you always preview your blog post? i find it is so important to make sure your formatting all looks right. i always preview my posts before publishing them.



now lets add some formatting and emphasis. just like we did in the first tutorial, we are going to enclose the title within "<center>" and "</center>".



one of the design elements that carried over from my journalism days was the idea of a "hanger." a hanger is one word left at the end of a paragraph that is by itself on a line. in my head, i can never have one word on a line. drives me batty. so i am going to fix that!



by taking out the space between "chip" and "cookie" and inserting a tag for a line break "</br>" i am essentially hitting the enter key in the middle of the title.



see? doesn't that look much more even now? yep i thought so.



next i want to emphasize how amazing these cupcakes are.so let's underline the word "delicious"! i enclosed the word within the underline tag "<u> ___ </u>".



this little trick is something that i am really glad i tried out! i have tried to figure out how to center my titles forever and i hadn't been able to find a way. just a great example of why you shouldn't be afraid to try something new with your blog every once in a while! :)

happy title formatting!!



is there a specific question you have concerning HTML? i'd love to find the answer for you if i don't already know it!