Valentine Facebook Hop LIVE!

The Etsy Digital Designers Team Facebook Hop is in full swing!! Make sure to grab your 37 amazing freebies! The hop runs until Feb 28th! Below is my contribution. 

Start Hopping HERE

Also I have a couple of items that coordinate for purchase at With Envy Paper. 

AVAILABLE HERE

AVAILABLE HERE

Oh and as a bonus my blog, Facebook fan exclusive and newsletter freebies with be using the same color palette. Stay tuned for those to be released the beginning of Feb.

Happy Tuesday!!

Freebie Preview

Dropping in to share a preview of my contribution to Etsy Digital Designer's Team Valentine Facebook Hop. Also as a bonus I will be adding a few coordinating items probably to With Envy Paper soon. And better yet my new blog and FB Fan freebies will also coordinate color wise. 

Hop starts January 28th!

Are You Ready For A FREEBIE?!?! - NO LONGER AVAILABLE

This freebie is no longer available. I did make a new update set for the teams in 2016 you can find it HERE

I'm SUPER excited for this Freebie!! I love football and I love the Super Bowl. I have great memories of my family's Super Bowl parties (I didn't really watch the games much back then but the food was sooo good!). 

Here is a freebie to jazz up those Super Bowl celebrations. The colors coordinate with each team's colors. You can download just one or both for a fun "house divided" type of celebration. 

Sets include:

*2” Party Circles, 6 designs, 12 circles per page

*8.5”x2” Water Bottle Label, 4 designs, 4 labels per page

*5”x.5” Beverage/Food Flags, 2 designs, 24 flags per page

*2.5”x3.5” (when folded) Tented Food Cards, 1-2 designs, 4 cards per page

*8”x10” Football Sign

*Party Banner, includes capital letter A-Z, each panel 5”x5” 2 panels per page

*PERSONAL USE ONLY

ENJOY!!!!

I have a REAL job...

I was inspired to write this because its something that has been gnawing at me for a while, especially this holiday season...


I am a person, I am a wife, I am a mom, I am a business owner.


I work 7 days a week, holidays, weekends. From 7:30am until at least 1am on most days I work, I fill orders, create new items, put out customer fires, grasp at any article or bit of advise that will help me grow. I spend my day tracking what I earn down to the penny to make sure my revenue is where it needs to be. I spend my day examining and re-examining my shop to figure out what to change or do more of. I spend my day worrying about what the future will bring and being excited that I've made it this far. I spend my day regretting my decision to go out on my own and regretting that I have any small sense of doubt. I spend my day doing a mental cheer each time my phone dings to tell me I have an order. I spend my day grateful that at least for now I don't have to spend my morning stressing over what to wear to work and trying to get out of the house on time, inevitable forgetting something. I spend my day trying to decide if I really have time to do this or that when I really need to spend as much time as possible working. I spend my day longing to be in my college form where I could pull an all nighter. I spend my day hoping that my kids, my husband and my family will one day understand why I often have to tell them I can't do something, or we can't buy something and feeling like the worlds worst wife/mother every time I say it. I spend every minute of everyday working in some form.


Just because I can do it in my pajamas without leaving my house doesn't make it less real, less hard, less stressful. Just because I LOVE what I do, despite the instability, worry, stress and tears doesn't make it any less of a REAL job.


I work 80+ hours a week, I am supporting a family, I am making FAR less than what I made at my last stable, benefits providing, cooperate job. I have to think about every penny I earn and every penny that leaves the house. But I am not stressed because I work so hard and in the end it doesn't matter, I am not trying to maneuver the work politics, I am not up at night wondering what I forgot to do, that I didn't even know I had to do, I am not depressed at the thought of getting out of bed and getting dressed to go some place that I hate. I am finally happy with my REAL job.


One of my big goals this year is to be more willing to express the above by not being nervous or embarrassed to say that I work from home, that I'm self employed, that no I wasn't fired, I chose this path. Still a work in progress...

NEW Items at With Envy Studios 1.6.14-1.12.14

This past week was my first week back to my "regular" work schedule in 2 weeks. My mom and sister visit from a little before Christmas to right after the New Year. I still worked during that time but mainly at night and I was kind of scattered with things. 

Here are some of the NEW items that I added this past week. 

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED PARTY COLLECTION

REVAMPED TRAIN PARTY CIRCLES/CUPCAKE TOPPERS

MONKEY BABY SHOWER PARTY CIRCLES/TOPPERS

WHIMSICAL GLITTER CLIPART

WHIMSICAL GLITTER PAPER

HEART MONOGRAM DIY IRON ON

XOXO PERSONALIZED DIY IRON ON

There are probably a few more items that I forgot to add but needless to say it was a productive week! I have LOTS more to add. I will try to recap the new items each Monday. I show off some of the new stuff on my Facebook page when I list them.

Out With 2013, In With 2014 - Review Post

In January of 2013 I would not have thought I'd be where I'm at today. Back then I was constantly mentally beating myself up for leaving the social work profession to do a job that offered several perks but was one I had no interest in and no passion for. It was a job that on my best day I felt mediocre at, despite working my butt off and being stressed beyond belief the majority of the time.

The first half of last year, I was struggling with feelings of failure and hopelessness. Basically just feeling stuck and wondering if this was really what my life was going to be like for the sake of stability. 

Then we got a few tangible blessings and just lots of cosmic hints that made me think making my little Etsy shops my full time job could really happen. After LOTS of stressing, I took the leap June 1st. 

The second half of 2013 has been nothing short of amazing, stressful and terrifying all at the same time. I made the decision early on to start offering clipart and expanding my digital papers. I have created my own clipart since starting my first Etsy shop back in 2009, but never really thought of selling it. I'm SOOO glad I made that decision because currently that shop is the most popular of the three. I also re-opened With Envy Babies (now known as With Envy Home & Apparel) to focus on digital iron ons and art prints. With Envy Parties, which has been the main shop has been going through its own growing pains. I kind of let it slide a bit while I was working on getting inventory in the other two shops and in that time what customers are buying has changed, so towards the end of 2013 I started to revamp, pair down and streamline what I'm offering. 

I have been working my butt off at the expense of sleep and my sanity and I ended 2013 with my highest grossing month ever!

With 2014 here I have lots of goals but, the main one is that I am able to earn enough to keep doing this full time. I also would love to get  and STAY more organized. It's hard finding consistency when trying to juggle working, wrangling two kids, daily house stuff etc. It doesn't help that I am easily distracted most of the time. Also it wouldn't hurt if by the end of 2014 I am able to go to bed before 1 or 2am more often than not :)

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Here is what I am hoping to add in 2014:

With Envy Parties:

-More party sets

-More instant download party sets

With Envy Paper

-Etsy shop banner sets

-More clipart/paper coordinating items

-More paper/element coordinating items

With Envy Home & Apparel

-Expand birthday shirt offerings

-Add bookplates

-Add more home decor items

I will also try to blog more about my journey! Here is to a GREAT 2014!!!

New Year, New Color Challenge - Winter Frost

Welcome to January's Color Challenge!!

January's Etsy Digital Designer Color Challenge theme is Winter Frost.

Participants are given a specific color pallet created by Robin, from the team and Digi Scrap Delight.

Every month there will be lots of products and FREEBIES from members of the Etsy Digital Designers team just for you...and better yet they will all coordinate color wise!!

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I created these items available for purchase...

Available HERE

Let It Snow Digital Art Print; Available HERE

And then the FREEBIE! 

Facebook Fan Exclusive Freebie available HERE

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Here are the other AWESOME items from my fellow designers!! Share this post! We would love to see what you guys create using our products!!