{What a day!}

Wow! The response from the give-a-way on tip junkie was such a rush! It' felt like my birthday all day long. Ya know, I love being a 'mom-prenuer', but sometimes (just sometimes) working so hard by yourself on building a small biz from the ground up has it's days. I mean, you don't have a 'boss' to turn things in to, you don't get annual reviews, you don't have co-workers to collaborate on projects with...it's just you! So to have a day like this where you get 179 comments/compliments is SO flattering (& needed)! It makes it all worth it! I just need to save all of them & read them when I'm having one of those days. Or maybe I just need to do more give-a-ways!

Anyhow, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be introduced to so many awesome people & hope you come by to visit me often! This was so fun & I truely appreciate all your kind comments!

{Tip Junkie Give-a-way!}

I am so excited to be a part of Tip Junkie's HUGE give-a-way today - it feels like I'm going to be on TV or in a magazine or something! Sorry I'm kinda in the process of updating this blog at the moment...so I don't have a super-cute header right now (I feel all embarrassed like you came to my house when it wasn't clean). But truely, it is on my list.

So, if you haven't had a chance to check Laurie's fabulous blog out...you should! You are truely missing out - but I must warn you now...it's totally addicting! Especially if you are a do-it-yourselfer! I must confess, I'm more of a "lurker" to her blog though....I need to get brave & post comments. I guess I just haven't warmed up to chatting online to people I don't know in person. That sounds so old fashioned - huh? But no, really... I just feel like people are going to read my comment & go "what the - - who are you lady?", IDK. ANYhoo....I come away drooling from her blog everyday & I need to let all these ladies know how talented they are! There are soo many projects on my "to do" list now, because of her - my husband thanks her for that as I'm sure yours does too!

K, so here are the items up-for-grabs today on Tip Junkie from studio jk:

Dandelion Wishes

Monogram - Scallop Family Names Est.

Arts & Crafts Labels


Love Birds

And....I just wanted to share with you "A few of my other favorite things" in my shop right now...

These are my newest labels: Kitchen Labels (set of 6). I love all the labels because I'm an "organizing junkie", but I'd have to say these are the latest & greatest!

The Retro Dandelions are also a fav of mine! They look super cute with three in a row, like a great big field of 'em!

And of course ya gotta love the owls right now! They're everywhere & just so gosh darn cute!

Anyway, I could go on & on...but why don't you stop by my shop & check it out for yourself! And, if you read down further in my blog, there is a secret (shhh...) way to get discounts on new product, so come back to my blog often! And leave comments to the girl who won't leave comments (they are fun to get though)! Thanks for coming by & letting me ramble on like I do sometimes.

{What you don't know WILL hurt you}

It's something just about every woman carries with them. While we may know what's inside our handbags, do you have any idea what's on the outside? Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day.

'I drive a school bus, so my handbag has been on the floor of the bus a lot,' says one woman. 'I put my handbag in grocery shopping carts and on the floor of the bathroom stalls,' says another woman 'and of course in my home which should be clean.' We decided to find out if handbags harbor a lot of bacteria.

We learned how to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake, and then we set out to test the average woman's handbag. Most women told us they didn't stop to think about what was on the bottom of their handbag. Most said at home they usually set their handbags on top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared. Most of the ladies we talked to told us they wouldn't be surprised if their handbags were at least a little bit dirty.

It turns out handbags are so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was shocked. Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria. Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the handbags could make people very sick. It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress.

In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. 'There is fecal contamination on the handbags' says Amy. Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without, with one exception. The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all. 'Some type of feces, or possibly vomit' says Amy.

So the moral of this story is that your handbag won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat. Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in bathroom stalls, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop. Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes. 'If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that's the same thing you're doing when you put your handbag on the countertops' - Your handbag has gone where individuals before you have sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc! Do you really want to bring that home with you? The microbiologists at Nelson also said cleaning a handbag will help. Wash cloth handbags and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather handbags.

**This was an email I had fwd: to me from my dear friend Alyse, that I thought I'd share with all you ladies out there! A great eye opener for all us 'clean freaks'!**

{Vinylicious design of the week!}

I totally jinxed myself 2 weeks ago by patting myself on the back for keeping up with vinylicious friday....because I didn't get to it last week! Isn't it funny how things like that happen!?


Anyway - today's design, "Grand Impressions - Piano Keys" is one I've been thinking about for a while now & finally got around to! It's for all you pianists out there (I use to be once-upon-a-time). And the beauty of this design, is that it is expandable! You can add another decal to either side & make it as looong as you'd like! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! There's just something about the simplicity of a piano that is so beautiful. It'd be really cute with a saying along it too, like...."Life without music would be *flat* (but with the little symbol instead)! I'm sure we could come up with a bunch more quotes. So if you're interested in getting that too, just let me know!

And as usual... get this new design at 30% off the regular price for 1 week only! You'll need to go to my etsy shop to purchase & use the code: "vinylicious" when you check-out in the "message to seller" (& I'll send you a re-vised invoice you can pay from).

{mark your calendars!}

You won't want to miss this boutique! It's at my sister-in-laws beautiful home in West Jordan! We're having great vendors attend so you can stock-up on your essentials! So come stop by to say hi, chat, have a summer snack & of course shop!!

{Vinylicious! design of the week}

Okay, so are you hooked? Are you here to check-out vinylicious friday? I must say I'm pr'etty proud of myself. I don't manage to blog much (okay, or really at all anymore), but I have been totally consistant with vinylicious friday! C'mon, admit it ...you're proud of me too! Well this weeks design is dedicated to a person who does not blog, but he LOVES to read them! And I know in his heart he really can't wait for vinylicious friday! Here's to you Jer!


Same deal, same location... Get this new "Family est. - Trendy" design at 30% off the regular price for 1 week only! You'll need to go to my etsy shop to purchase & use the code: "vinylicious" when you check-out in the "message to seller" (& I'll send you a re-vised invoice you can pay from).

{Vinylicious! design of the week}

Okay, so I really do have lots to blog about...but really have NO time. After all, it's summer break & we have been non-stop! All the personal stories will have to come later (I'll get around to it soon though). So for now, the best you're going to get from me is new designs! Here's the latest....



Custom Monograms! Yea! I just love monograms lately. They're so simple, but add so much to your home decor. And the best thing is they're personalized. Can't find a gift for the person who has everything? Give them a personalized monogram. There are 4 different styles to choose from, so there's something for everyone's style.

Since it is the fourth of July, you are getting four monograms to save on! So that's 4x's the savings - nice! As the deal has been previously... Get these new designs at 30% off the regular price for 1 week only! You'll need to go to my etsy shop to purchase & use the code: "vinylicious" when you check-out in the "message to seller" (& I'll send you a re-vised invoice you can pay from). Happy shopping!

Laurie at Tip Junkie will be celebrating her one year anniversary of excellent tips & blogging by holding a 20+ day giveaway!! Beginning June 30th through July 30th (ish). So don't miss out on your chance to get FREE stuff by checking out Tip Junkie DAILY! Not to mention a huge give-a-way from studio jk vinyl on July 29th!! Please check out http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/ for contest rules and more information!

{Vinylicious! design of the week}

Wow! I can't believe it's friday already! This week has flown by for me (obviously, I havn't posted since last friday). It's been an awesome week though ***sigh***but I'll tell you 'bout that later! So are you ready for today's vinylicious design... good, cuz I'm so ready to show you!!

Introducing "powder puff"! These little babies are the newest additon to the nature line @ studio jk vinyl! I love this design because it's sleek but not too retro...it's more realistic looking with all the "powder" floating around. Get this new design at 30% off the regular price for 1 week only! You'll need to go to my etsy shop to purchase & use the code: "vinylicious" when you check-out in the "message to seller" (& I'll send you a re-vised invoice you can pay from)!! Be sure to pick up 2 to get the look above!

{Organize Your Life - Labeling}

I've decided to start giving some organizing tips every now & then. I'm not necessarily going to go in order of the entire organizing process, but I'll bounce around to all elements of getting your life organized!

Today's topic will be labeling. So a few months ago my SIL Aimee, moved into a new house with this awesome corner pantry! Which I'm a little bitter about...I have THE tinyist pantry ever *sigh* someday though! After I got over it, she decided she wanted some help organizing it. She said her husband & kids went grocery shopping one weekend for her. They came home to put it all away...but didn't know where to put it all. So as to not "mess-up" her system, they put away the fridge/freezer things & left the rest for her to do later. Sound familiar? So we got to work & this is how it turned out!







With a little faith, trust & pixie dust, or vinyl labels ;) it was complete! So as an organizing consultant I can't leave without saying: LABEL, LABEL, LABEL!! It is the essential step in the organizing process! Labeling helps ensure your organizing attempts last longer! Who wouldn't want that after all the work you did to get it that way? Not to mention, it ties the whole project together with a unified look. Now her kids (& hubby) know where to put things away after grocery shopping! That's what I love about organizing is that it helps them, help you!

So the labels in Aim's pantry were custom labels, which I can do for you too. However, I do have some pret-ty nifty lables in my shop right now. There are 3 different sets that are also customizable....

The first set is my kitchen labels that come in a set of 6 different labels. You choose what you'd like each one to be!

The second set is my simple storage labels that also come in a set of 6 you choose. These are big labels you can use with big containers, so you can easily see them when trying to locate something!

And finally, the most popular kids labels set of 6 you choose! These were designed specifically for kids 5 & under! Since most of them don't read yet, the pictures give them familiarity so they know where to get things or where to put things away.

So there you have it! Lables to help your organizing attempts last longer!

{Vinylicious! design of the week}

I've decided to start something new! Every Friday I'm going to post a new design that can be purchased at 30% off the regular price for 1 week! You'll need to go to my etsy shop to purchase & use the code: "vinylicious" when you check-out in the "message to seller" (& I'll send you a re-vised invoice you can pay from)!! How great is that? New product @ a discount!! Nice.

So are you ready for today's design?




Today's design is this stylin' topiary! I've been craving a new topiary for my house lately & decided this is the solution! I think it will be awesome up above my staggered cupboards in my kitchen...kinda like a shadow of a topiary in the background of all the shizzle up there! That'll work right? (Joel will be so proud of me actually 'hooking' our own home up with some vinyl)!

UPDATE:

Here's how the topiary turned out in my kitchen! Such a quick way to add a little sumpin' sumpin' to your decor! Love it!!

{I am SO bitter!!}

So this morning I'm doing my regular routine of checking my email, deciding what I need to work on today, etc. And I run across this link announcing a 'certain' company that I used to be a demonstrator for (those of you who know me will know EXACTLY who I'm talking about) will soon be carrying an extensive line of wall decals!! RRRHH! That really irks me! Like a multi-MILLION dollar industry isn't enough for them?! I mean how greedy & money hungry can you be!? That they have to step on a completely different industry's little guys & take all of their potential sales!! It's like tupperware all the sudden adding hair bows to thier product line! Ya know, it's not like I'm out to make millions here. But now they're going to make it even harder for me (or any other at-home vinyl girl) to make the small financial goals we have in supporting our families. Which is so ironic! They are crushing women staying at home trying to make a little extra money, which is exactly what they promote: women working at home to make a little extra money! And the money they are taking from us is probably just "chump change" to them that they spend on janitors for thier big building! I guess this just hits a little to close-to-home for me. I now know how the "ma & pa" shops felt about Wal-mart! This totally sucks!!