Days are long....years are short

I had a friend request a custom print for Christmas.  I wanted to make something simple as the message is pretty powerful.  As I was working on it, it made me think about how many times I long for naptime and then bedtime.  I've wished the days away and now I cannot believe that my little baby is 4! Where did the time go.  So, go and kiss those owies, hold that sticky hand and smile at the crumbs all over the floor.  I know I will want them back once they are gone.

*This is in my shop! (With or without the itty bitty footprints)

 

Treat for FB Fans

Go to my FB page, "like" and click on the "goodies" tab to receive 30% off your digital order until January 3, 2013! Go, go, GO!

Hello, Baby. Goodbye, Friends.

The Hello: A friend of mine is having her first baby pretty soon.  I saw this quote on Pinterest and thought it was so perfect.  She likes elephants and used some in her nursery, so I incorporated both.  I hope she and her new baby like it! Welcome Baby Stevens!

The Goodbye: Our dear friends are moving to Australia.  Ashton loves their little girls and was so sad about them moving.  He doesn't quite understand why they have to leave.  To make the transition a little easier, I made some cards for them to write to us about their new adventures. They could be like pen pals!  Good luck to the Tupou family on their new adventures! We will miss you and your crazy humor.   You guys are one of the most wonderful, generous and hilarious people ever.

Namesake

As the spouse of a BYU MBA student, we get to do a lot of cool things.  One is participate with the National Advisory Council (NAC).  They had a luncheon last Friday that included a wonderful speaker, Virginia Pearce. She is the daughter of our late Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley.  I will go into what she spoke of in a later post, but just the fact that I was in the same "room" (we were outside) as her was incredible.  I really loved President Hinckley.  I felt like he understood and loved the youth of the church...back when I was a youth! He made such an impact on my life that I named my firstborn son after him: Ashton Hinckley. 
It is funny how things come together.  For school, Ashton had to find out why he was named what he was.  I told him about President Hinckley and how much Daddy and I loved him, even though we never met him.  We told him he was a wonderful and spiritual man.  He was funny, silly and so in love with his wife, Marjorie.  He was well spoken and respectful of others, especially those in the media.  Ashton enjoyed hearing about this and was able to share what he could remember about the man he was named after.  The next day, to my surprise, I met President Hinckley's daughter.  As cheesy as it may sound, I told her that I admired her father and named our son after him.  She was grateful and gracious showing the slight sorrow of a daughter who missed her dad.  She signed my book and took a picture with me.  She is the closest I will have ever gotten to President Hinckley.  It just goes to show that you can leave a great legacy.  It is just a great a privilege to meet a child/grandaughter/etc. of a greatly loved person.
I think it is important to have something to live up to- to not taint your namesake- to make them proud and be proud of your origins.

Mine isn't that cool- my parents named me after an actress they liked.....if you know me, I am extremely shy in public- so there goes that namesake!
Who are you guys named after?

Manly Stuff

Happy October!  I cannot believe it is fall already!  School has already started and the nights are getting chillier.  I love love love sweater season! 

Anyway, my husband is in the middle of applying for internships.  He is getting his MBA from BYU and they sent a flyer home (haha I feel like I am his mom) for business cards.  While they are professional looking....they look boring.  I thought about asking him to let me design his cards, but I didn't have to because he asked me first!  Let me tell you how wonderful it felt because I felt like he actually likes my work!  He always tells me he does and is super supportive of my little business but for him to actually ask me proved he was a fan.  So, I revised a business card I did for my homework while taking Nicole's Classes.  I think they look professional but are bold and sure to stand out.  At least, I hope.  I ordered these from here and added the Spot UV coating- which is why it is glossy and is slightly embossed.

He is also sending thank you cards to his interviewers and asked me to make him some manly thank you notes.  I wanted to incorporate his manliness as well as his passion for the outdoors.  He previously had picked out this card.  He decided it wasn't macho enough for him (I am making him sound chauvinistic- and he is not even at all!).  I made some drafts of potential cards and this is what we came up with:

For those of you that know Lorin, he is obsessed with mountains.  Any and all mountains.  We have lived in Utah for almost 10 years and he still looks at the Wasatch mountains in awe every time we drive by them- which is everyday because they are huge and go along the highway...for forever....

What do you guys think? 

Ashton's Reptile Birthday Party

I cannot believe I have a 4 year old! My son is obsessed with creepy crawly things....there is no way we will ever have any of those in my house, so a birthday party filled with them will suffice.  I thought it was a wonderful party- the kids had a great time and so did some of the adults!  Jeremy, from Scales and Tails was amazing!  He was so great with the kids and we were treated to a special surprise! 

 I made Ashton's snake invitation, along with his thank you cards, favors and bookplates.  I really wanted to keep it simple this year...I tend to go a bit overboard for my kids' birthdays, but with a 2 month old and recovering from a c-section and yadda yadda yadda...I just wanted to take it easy.  And it worked! Take a look:

 

Sorry for the pictures- just iPhone pics of the unfinished products.  I need to remember to take pictures of the finished products.  Like- I was going to post about the business cards I made my husband, Lorin, but I forgot to take pictures before he left for his conference!  Next time!

Back from hibernation

 I am alive!  I am a mother to 3 children- 4 and under.  I am surviving...trying to get back to normal life with few hours of sleep. 

I have been pretty busy...see?  How could I not snuggle with this precious babe all day long?

 Ashton started preschool- which he absolutely loves!!

Ollie and I hang out, play and nap, of course!


















Little Miss Adelle and I like to go out from time to time- just the girls :)

 

Look at how big she has gotten!  Just minutes old.... 

now 11 weeks old!!!

Trying to balance family, home and work is going to be a challenge.  I always feel guilty if I work when my kids are awake, but I have to- even if it is just 1 hour.  In order for my business to continue I have to put in work.  Nights are difficult as well because I want to spend time with my husband and it is easier to clean the house without little hands destroying what you just completed.  Anyway, after talking with my husband about the difficult balancing act I have to perform, we decided that it will be good for me to have my "me" time and "work" time.  They can't be the same, even if I actually enjoy working.  I have to be more focused in my work time and really dedicate time to produce new ideas and new product.  I am, afterall, providing a small cushion for us to fall back on financially since he is in the BYU MBA program (aka poor students...again!). 

So from now on, I will be more focused and will try to blog about 3 times a week with personal things, but mostly party ideas or client commissioned work.

Coming up...... husband commissioned work.  Doing manly design work was a bit difficult for me because I like beautiful and colorful things.  Stay tuned for the final product!