Hey guys!!! My Etsy shop has been like my baby since I opened it up in May of last year, and just like a baby, there's been good days and bad days and we've grown soo much together. [It's almost 1 year old already! I can't believe it!!] As you all know, I'm self taught when it comes to graphic design, and I'm really proud of myself for all the things I've learned this past year and how my designing ability has grown and is really starting to become my own. It's a pretty exciting time for my shop as I am launching more and more new designs and products every weekend!! Even with this semester just starting up, I'm managing my time pretty well between school and 'work.' We all know how horrible I am at mastering that skill but I've really become more focused on what I want to do and where I want to go. Now this doesn't mean that I have figured out all of life's unanswered questions, but I'm as much in the dark when it comes to my future as I've been in the past.
If you follow me on twitter or even instagram, you'll notice my shop has had some pretty amazing success in the little amount of time that it's been operating. I've had more than ten orders come through within a 2 month period, and I even had my first international customer! A lovely lady all the from down under, a.k.a. Australia! It was such fun conversing with her and designing her engagement invitations for her and her fiance. [Congrats, guys!] Also within that 2 moth period, I was fortunate enough to have two repeat customers! They could not have been any sweeter than they were! I had created a House Party card, which I posted about here, and a pretty modern Victorian Bridal Shower Invitation. I was so pleasantly surprised to have not only one, but two customers return to my shop for their paper good needs! I hope they all come back real soon for some more paper goods.
As well, because I want to really expand the products in my shop, and really get my ship name out there, I've been doing minor updates here and there for. Some of these updates include, shipping+processing time, shipping/product costs, new products, & most recently, a New Shop Banner.
It's pretty obvious my go-to design elements are anything coral and extremely modern. I can't help it, it's what my heart loves! The new banner is refreshing and light, unlike my previous banner, which I also used for my business cards. Soo you know what that means, New Business Cards are in the works! I love designing these little bit and bobs that come together a make up a whole brand so beautifully. I'll definitely share the business cards, once I have them all designed and printed.
Some more exciting news [am I the only one finding this stuff exciting?], I am updating all of my shop photos over the course of the next few weekends. I've had a very lovely lady by the name of Krysta assist me with all of my printing needs, and she is amazing all the way around. So I'll have a bunch of samples send to me this week of all my shop items. That's right, REAL PHOTOS!!! No more digital images of my designs! Well, expect for when they are brand new and I haven't had them printed yet. But any way, all the photos will be of actual paper goods, so customer/visitors of PLS can have a better understanding of how the product looks in real life. I'm really excited about this, because it's something I've been wanting to do for my shop for what feels like forever! I'm really glad that my product line has grown over the past 8 months and I'm now able to have beautiful, professional photos of my creations. [Side note: My Etsy Shop hit TWO PAGES a few weeks ago, and I was way too overly excited about it! But it's one of those little things that just make you think to yourself, "Wow! I actually managed to do that!" It's silly and problem minuscule in comparison to other Etsy shop achievements, but for me, right now, it the little ones that help big dreams seem more attainable.]
P.S. Sorry if this was way too long and way too ramble-ly (??), but I just wanted to share all my little updates and upcoming plans for PAPER LOVE STATIONERY.
Hope you have your best Monday ever!!
xxoo
But to be quite honest, I usually buy my kits from Michael's and this year I purchased mine from Target. The quality was atrocious, and the fact that the one I bought was one of only two left and both were open mind you, did not help in the process of assembling/decorating it. But to say the least, it was fun to do it with my younger siblings. 
This was only my second Christmas making handmade ornaments for my family, but I love the little tradition that I started with each relative, and the fact that each ornament I make is a true reflection of the person receiving it + they'll all have a pretty sweet collection of one-of-a-kind, handmade ornaments to adorn their Christmas trees with each year. I only wish we all didn't live so far away, so I could give them their gifts in person, as opposed to send it through the mail. But, at least I get to make their holidays a little bit bright with a handmade gift. 
There had to be at least 15+ presents of all shapes and sizes to wrap!! It was insane, the amount of time it took to wrap them all. I think I stated around 9am and didn't finish until well after 4pm!!! Am i crazy or what?! The response I received, and above all the appreciation I received, from my family when they saw the hand stamped wrappings was soo well worth it!! [Side Note: I am working on a tutorial for this little blog! So if any of you are interested in making your own hand stamped wrapping paper, you should definitely be on the look out for that post soon!!]. Mia attempted to assist me in the process, but as you can see she didn't last long. 
Also, I even managed to make my own hand stamped gift bag. Which was such a mission to accomplished [lol]. But, it too, came out amazing (if I do say so myself). I loved it, as did all of my family, who were quite impressed with it. I used