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TalesOfAPeanut

TalesOfAPeanut

What a surprise!

This morning I got up and checked all my typical sites.  Email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterestthe Daily Mom.  And eventually I got on the computer and went to check my stats on my Etsy shop.

I was kind of confused when I saw this in my traffic sources:

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Moms.Popsugar.com was sending traffic to my shop?!?! WHAT?!?!

So I went to check it out and saw that they were sending traffic to one of my lunchbox listings.  Still not making sense because I hadn’t submitted my lunch boxes for any press.  So I headed to check it out and saw this article and wondered if it’s what was sending me traffic.

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So I clicked open the article and about had a panic attack when I saw this for item #1!

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Are you kidding me?!?!? It is insane to me and SOOOO EXCITING that she found my lunch boxes and happened to place mine first.  SO MUCH FUN!

I was over the moon excited when my Happy Day cards got featured in Stationery Trends but it’s mostly a trade magazine and I submitted for it so to have someone randomly find my stuff and publish it on a big website is so crazy!

My kids love their lunch boxes that I’ve made for them and I love that you can put two different designs on them (from any in my shop or I can create a custom design) and they have a chalkboard on the inside lid.  If your kids need one for back to school just let me know!  They also make great carrying cases for little trinkets and for car rides!

Crafts, Entertaining, Kid Activities, TalesOfAPeanut

A Snowy Spring Day – Frozen Birthday Party Paper Goods

I had so much fun planning and preparing for Charlotte’s fifth birthday party.  I showed her lots of different ideas and only committed to the ones that she was really excited about.  I am excited to share all of our ideas from the party today!

(I was to preface all the details by saying that I did these things because Charlotte wanted to and I wanted to make this day special for her.  I am all about not overdoing things for your kids, especially birthday parties, although this post might make it seem like that wasn’t the case.  There’s a lot that we don’t do that other families do but, in this case, I enjoy crafting and making things and Charlotte and I were able to do a lot of the preparations together which made it even more fun.)

I’m going to start by sharing all of the paper goods that we used for the party.

Tales of a Peanut Frozen Invitation Front

Single Photo Etsy

I started my paper goods shop back when Charlotte was turning one and I designed her first birthday invitation.  Since then I’ve continued the tradition and this year was no different.  I like to include a picture of the birthday child on their invitation so that everyone can have a current picture of them also.  Charlotte worked with me to design this invitation just how she wanted it!

Melted Snowman - Single

I made water bottle labels with Olaf on them that said “Melted Snowmen”.  I set out a water bottle at each girls place but had the extras in a dough bowl on my kitchen island.

Melted Snowmen - Grouped

To make sure that everyone noticed the snow day connection, I created 3×3″ cards with Olaf on them that coordinated with the rest of the decor and wrote what each item was on it.  In addition to the “Melted Snowmen” water bottles we had “Snow Dip” (ranch dressing), “Snowman arms” (pretzels), “Snowman Noses” (carrots), and “Snowman Buttons” (grapes).

Tales of a Peanut Snow Dip

Tales of a Peanut Snowman Arms

Tales of a Peanut Snowman Buttons

Tales of a Peanut Snowman Noses

I sat the cards in a “snowball” made from styrofoam balls that I got from Hobby Lobby.  They were very easy to make (cut off one end to make it flat and then cut a slice in the top to stick the card).

Snowball Place Card Holder

For favors for the girls Charlotte and I made Olaf bags and attached a thank you card. (Directions and a template for the Olaf bag is coming next week.)

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And after the party was over, Charlotte filled out her fill in the blank thank you notes and sent them to her friends!

Tales of a Peanut Frozen Thank You

If you’re interested in purchasing any of these items (all the text is fully customizable) you can check out my shop or see the links below for the individual listings.

Snow Queen invitations

Snow Queen Water Bottle Labels

Snow Queen Gift Tags/Place Card Holders

Snow Queen Plates (in stock, non customizable item)

Snow Queen Plates (customizable)

Snow Queen t-shirt

Snow Queen Thank You Notes

Note: Lots of ideas originally came from Paging Supermom and these are just my interpretations of them!

Books, Family, Personal, TalesOfAPeanut

Friday Peanuts – Life with Three

Friday Peanuts

 

I knew that life with three kids was going to be crazy, but I’m not sure I could have imagined just how crazy it actually is.  I know it’s the sleep deprivation (she’s gone four hours between feedings! like twice!) or what, but it’s kicking my tail.  So in an effort to take my mind off of how tired I am, here are some random thoughts today!

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1. I wouldn’t have made it even this far without lots of help and support.  Thanks to those who have brought us dinner or sent gifts or kind words.  It’s so wonderful to have so much family close by and I’m so thankful for all that they do for us.  In addition, I might have the best husband in the world and he is so wonderful to pitch in and help all the time!  He’s the best!  And in one of the most fun developments, it’s been wonderful to get to have text chats in the middle of the night with my friend Natalie who had a sweet little girl four days after Hadley was born!  It’s much less depressing to be up at 2 am when you can be texting back and forth with a friend in the exact same spot!

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2. I’ve been working on new products and adding things to my shop.  One thing that’s been added are some left over Frozen 10″ melamine plates that I got for favors for Charlotte’s birthday party.  If you’re local and want to pick up from me use code ‘LOCALPICKUP2014’ to not pay shipping.

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3. We had Hadley’s newborn photo shoot with Erin Cobb when she was one week old and we got to see all of our proofs last night.  I can’t describe to you how spectacular they are!  If you’re anywhere in the North Alabama area you really should come and see Erin!  She’s fantastic with kids (and grown ups) and gets amazing shots with what looks like little effort!  As an example, know that before we arrived James was saying that he only wanted to be in pictures by himself.  And yet within 15 minutes of arriving at the shoot, Erin had him not only in pictures but smiling!  She’s a miracle worker!

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4. Thanks to my Kindle and lots of nighttime feedings that haven’t matched up with Natalie’s, I’ve been reading a lot.  I thoroughly enjoyed this new book by Deeanne Gist.  I’ve always been a big fan of her books which are typically historical, Christian fiction.  This one didn’t disappoint!

Set in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Fair, Fair Play follows a female doctor, Billy Jack Tate, as she tries to make a name for herself in a man’s profession.  Things start out complicated in the beginning of the book when she can’t gain admittance to one of the large lectures that she is speaking at because the guard doesn’t believe that she’s a doctor.  The story just continues to have one mishap after another as she finds that being the doctor in the Woman’s Hall at the fair isn’t exactly what she was anticipating.

As Billy Jack adjusts to life as a female doctor, she develops a friendship with one of the guards for the fair, Hunter Scott.  Billy Jack and Hunter learn a lot about each other as they conquer various obstacles that are thrown in their way.  The story is beautifully written, full of adventure and laughter, and just enough suspense to keep you guessing!

Publication date: May 6, 2014
Genre: Christian Fiction, Historical
Setting: 1893 Chicago, IL
Rating: A +

Personal, TalesOfAPeanut

Friday Peanuts – The End of Pregnancy Edition

Friday Peanuts

 

So I’m sitting here after having my last doctor’s appointment before my scheduled c-section next Friday and this morning my doctor told me that she thinks I might go into labor.  At this point I’m basically frozen in a state of panic while I try and figure out all that absolutely has to be done before we go to the hospital while trying not to do too much to put myself into labor.  What a feeling!

In an effort to try and calm myself down I thought I’d share all the random things that are going on around here.  I’d try to make this more than a list but at 39 weeks I think that’s asking a little much, don’t you?

1. You know that dream where even though you’ve been out of college for years you wake up panicked because you overslept your final?  I’m currently having it where I oversleep my c-section.  Not fun to wake up to that kind of panic or to think that I might have to go even longer than planned in this pregnancy!

2. I got a wonderful surprise this week when I opened up my Spring 2014 edition of Stationery Trends magazine.  I was elated to spy the Bright Happy Day cards from my shop featured as one of the “Fresh Picks”!

stationery trends

3. Charlotte had a wonderful birthday party last Sunday, despite the rain.  It was originally scheduled to be held outdoors at our local Botanical Gardens but because of storms we had to move it to our house.  She and her friends still had a blast at our “Frozen” themed party.  I had hoped to share pictures before Hadley’s birth but I’m thinking I might not get around to it.  If not, they’ll be on here eventually!

4. This was me at 38 weeks after Charlotte’s party.  I am carrying Hadley so differently than I did with the other two.  Maybe it’s a result of running after the other two during the pregnancy??!? Who knows.  All I know is I’m ready to meet this little girl!

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5. Any advice about coming home with more than two kids?? I’m not ashamed to admit that I am terrified about the prospect of being in charge of three kids during the day by myself.  Any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated! 🙂

6. We had really bad tornado’s early this week that were reminiscent of the April 27th tornados three years ago.  A swimmer on the Alabama swim team died saving his girlfriend from a retaining wall as it collapsed due to flooding.  I’m very thankful that they never got close enough to us this time for us to have to go into our safe place.  Please join me in praying for all of those who lost family and friends and their homes and businesses.  As we’ve seen over the last three years, tornados leave incredible scars and take a very long time to rebuild and recover from.

Ok, I might have calmed myself down to a low frenzy instead of an insane one.  Back to trying to pack our bags for the hospital and make sure we have clean clothes! Happy weekend!

Show Us Your Life, TalesOfAPeanut

Show Us Your Life – What You Make/Sell (with coupon code!)

200x200 Tales of a Peanut Button

I haven’t posted anything about Tales of a Peanut products in a little while and I wanted to participate in Kelly’s Show Us Your Life today so I thought today was as good a time as any!

So, for starters, Tales of a Peanut is a place where I can create and expend some of my mental energy that doesn’t get excersized while taking care of two little ones.  I started out designing my  kids birthday invitations and it gradually grew to Christmas cards and invites for other people.  I’ve now branched out and started an Etsy shop in May of 2013.  In addition to invitations and stationery, I also create other custom products like notepads, plates, stickers, placemats, and more!

Today I want to share some of the new things in my shop including new designs, new listing formats, and new products that aren’t even up in the shop yet!

57F40H Etsy Listing ImageLet’s start with the “How Does Your Garden Grow” invitation and series.  I’ve found that sometimes it’s hard for people to see all the available designs that I have and so I’m trying a new listing format which is going to include a listing for each product (or similar products) in each design.  This invitation, like all invitations, can be customized by modifying all the colors, making it with or without a picture, changing the text, font, and text color.  I’m working on getting all of the products up in this series but right now you can see that other items listed are stickers, plates, and shirts.  Other products like stationery, gift tags, and placemats in this design should be up soon.

Lunchbox-ChalkboardThis is a new product offering: lunch boxes!  These metal lunch boxes feature designs on both sides (they can be the same or different) and a chalkboard surface on the interior of the lid for you to write notes for your child.  They are of really good quality and would make a great storage or travel container if your child doesn’t want to take a larger lunchbox to school.

PLCMT33 Etsy Image

In February, I teamed up with Mommy’s Block Party to do a review and a giveaway of my placemats.  When people see them in person they immediately fall in love with them and have ordered a lot for gifts for others and for their kids.  They’re great because they’re double sided (with two different designs) and are professionally printed and laminated so they stand up to the test of toddler/pre-schooler roughness.  Plus you can write notes or your child can practice their writing with a dry erase marker and they’re super easy to clean (by hand, they don’t go in the dishwasher).  Our giveaway winner requested a modification of one of our plate designs on one side of her placemat and I love the way it turned out.  This is a great example of how I can turn any design into a design for a product that it’s not initially featured on.

Design 49 EtsyTo ease some of the questions involved with ordering plates, I’m also starting to transition those designs into standalone listings.  This is a new design that I created last week and I love the traditional-ness of it.  Like everything else, all designs are custom modified for you so you can change the colors, fonts, and we can modify the design until you get a design that you love.

Cutting Board MSAnd lastly, I’m about to add glass cutting boards to the shop!  They’re not up yet but if you’re interested in ordering one let me know.  They will be listed for $37 and are approximately 11×8″.  The design is behind the glass so there’s no damage to the design while you’re cutting and the board comes with a textured cutting surface and rubber feet for stability.  This shows a new design I have been playing with but all designs are available on these.

If you have any questions about products or items in the shop please let me know (jennifer (at) talesofapeanut (dot) com)!  You can check out the shop on Etsy and if you look at the top of this site there’s a “Shop Resources” button that will take you to a page where you can access our color charts, font charts, as well as show you lots of designs on actual products.  I’m updating that page often so make sure you check it regularly to see what’s new!

And just to say thank you for reading all the way to here, from now until March 28th you can get 10% off all orders of $20 or more with the code ‘SUYL10’!  Happy shopping!

Charity, Gift Giving, Personal, Shopping, TalesOfAPeanut

Giveaway, Gifts, and more!

I wanted to share a few things from around the web today.

Placemat-Caterpillar

There’s a giveaway for a free, personalized, double sided placemat on Mommy’s Block Party that ends in about 6 hours (11 PM CST).  Head over to her blog to enter the  giveaway!

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Second, TOMS is coming to Zulily Wednesday morning with an awesome sale.  I’m not sure if your kids love TOMS as much as mine do, but if they do you’ll want to be up early to take advantage of the best selection.  The sale starts at 6am PT Wednesday (2/19) so be ready! Not only are TOMS comfortable for me and my kids but I love buying them since I know that with their One for One program they donate a pair of shoes to a child in need for each purchase of shoes! (*affiliate links, see Links and Disclosures page)

Plus….

Beth is hosting a writing contest over at Five Kids is a Lot of Kids with the winner being featured on Mamapedia!

One of my oldest childhood friends opened a new Etsy shop with beautiful original art yesterday.  Check out Red Clay and Cotton for beautiful art!

I’ve got friends hosting a Kelly’s Kids party right now and you can order online throughout the week.  Use code 19871 when you checkout.  They’ve got great looking, classic kids pieces right now including James’ current favorite…button up shirts with a monogram!

Lisa-Jo Baker has a huge project going on right now to raise $150000 between Valentine’s and Mother’s Day for the Maubane Community Center.  Are you able to help?

And, on a personal note, Hadley’s doctor’s appointment last Friday went well and her blood count is still looking good.  Thanks for the prayers and outreach.  I’m headed back in two weeks for another check but as of right now there are no signs that the Fifth’s has passed through to her.