The Party's Over...

Sort of...

After thinking about this a few days I have decided to close Parties With Envy and focus more on Green With Envy Studios. Initially when I decided to open PWES it was because I had all these ideas for party items but I felt like keeping them in GWES would clutter it and shift the focus.


But since opening PWES I have felt overloaded and stressed about what I should be selling there and how I should be selling it. Not to mention really wanting to live up to some of the other really cook party shops that I see out there but just not having the time or resources to make PWES what I envisioned. I have yet to feel happy about the results of my labor. Heck it took almost a year for me to finally feel happy with the look and feel of GWES. Plus I just had my hands too full trying to make both shops equally showcased. The last week it really hit me as I was spending most of that week revamping PWES and trying to figure out what I wanted to create next. Then my day job jumped in a took over for a bit I wasn't really able to do much with either shop. I really wasn't excited about listing new things for PWES or deciding what item to work next. It felt like more of a chore than something fun. On the flip side I have had some fun ideas for more items to add to GWES.

I have several items in the works that I hope to roll out in the coming weeks and I hope to be ready for the holiday season. For now I have decided to bring some of the party stuff back to GWES because I like party stuff and I think it fits in nicely but I'm trying to figure out what I want to bring back and sell and in what format. I had originally just wanted to do printable party items because depending on the numbers in a party its super time consuming to create party items beyond the invite and it gets really expensive for the customer too. But in my desire to reach and please everyone I will probably end up offer both printed and printable but just limiting the items I sell so my shop is still a good mix of items.

Even though I'm really not changing much as I will still be selling party items in GWES, since I made the decision to go back to just one shop I have felt better and more focused.

So once I finish up a few orders I will start transitions party stuff back to GWES and then officially close up PWES. Maybe I will reopen it in the future but who knows, but for now I think I can only handle one shop at a time :)

Halloween Has Arrived!!

Ok so in real life Halloween is still 2 months away but in retail/shop land its almost here. I created a frightfully cute Halloween party set for Parties With Envy Studios. The set includes a customizable invitation, party circles and rectangle tags.

I love Halloween, its my second favorite holiday next to Christmas! I have started brainstorming Munchkin's Halloween costume. Last year she was an NFL ref...a super cute one (especially when she would yell TOUCH DOWN!)

I plan on making my Halloween illustrations available at Green With Envy Studios as well. They would look equally good on bookplates or notecard sets.

Can be found here

Can be found here

Can be found here

I actually had a lot of fun getting items for this set. I took a trip to Party Depot and since they hadn't started setting up for Halloween, those items were still marked WAY down. I didn't have to get much as my mother-in-law had several cute Halloween items that I borrowed :) My favorite is the spider web I used for the invite. She got it along with some Harry Potter book set. It was perfect. I also LOVE the Halloween stir straws. They were way less than a dollar and I plan on using them for Halloween since there was more than enough in the package.

Well I'm writing this blog late and I still have to do a few more things for the shops before bedtime.

BYE BYE!!

From Me To You

I feel like every year the summer gets shorter and shorter. Munchkin goes to "school" year around so there really isn't any difference throughout the year. But with my day job the level of cases is greatly effected by whether school is in or out. So summer finally began to slow down mid-July and now school is preparing to get into to full swing again. Oh JOY!

I remember when I was a kid I LOVED the couple of weeks before school started because we would wait anxiously to find out who our teacher was for the next year or what our schedule was. Then once the info came in the mail is was now stop phone calls from friends to see who was in who's class! Oh I miss it!!!

I thought I would kick off the school year with a set of free Back to School party printables. They can make great cupcake toppers or gift tags. They can also be used for drink straw flags, treat labels etc. The file includes 12 party circles (2 versions of each design). I recommend printing on bright white cardstock (I use 80 lb or 110 lb) or white adhesive label stock. You will need a 2 inch circle or scallop craft punch.

Back To School Party Circles*

*When I was testing and viewed the party circles in Google Docs the solid portion of the circles showed weird dots but when I downloaded it, the dots weren't there and it looked normal. Please let me know if that is not case for you and I can email you the file.


HAPPY MONDAY!!!!!!

Life of the Party!

I have a confession to make, part of the reason I really like designing party items is the hope of seeing how others use them.

I love looking at customer photos from other people's sites and I have to admit I'm a bit envious. So I can't wait for the possibility of seeing my Parties With Envy customers photos.

I had my very first customer today, thanks Jennafer! I hope your daughters party is GREAT!!!

I currently offer Printable Party Circles (both 2 inch and 4 inch) are included. They make great cupcake/cake toppers, favor takes, water bottles, centerpieces, signs etc. I also offer Printable Party Invites with Thank You notes.

Right not I have fully customizable items where you choose, theme (illustration), color scheme and pattern, if desired. That way you get EXACTLY what you want.

I will be adding some parties items that are more "theme specific", but still personalizable. Up next "Farm Friends" Party Invite and Party Circles. It is an updated version of the Farm Friends Flat Note Cards I was offering at Green With Envy Studios. They are currently unavailable as I am updating them.

Here are some of the items from PWES, since I never shared them earlier.

Have a GREAT FRIDAY!!!

TGIF!

Ahhh Friday! This week has been dragging, so I'm super excited that it's Friday! Now I just have to make it through the work day :/


So over the next few weeks I am going to be revamping Green With Envy Studios. I feel like I haven't added anything new in awhile and I haven't really updated photos either. So I will be doing lots of reshoots and taking down some items and patterns that need tweeking. The shop will remain open through the process.

And not surprisingly I am not satisfied with my images for Parties With Envy Studios. So I will be tweeking those this weekend and new images will be up Monday as well as some new items. So even though we're heading into the weekend it seems like when one job ends the next one begins (at least I have a lot more fun with this job!)

Now I leave you with a link to these FABULOUS, totally drool worthy workspaces featured on Oh My! Handmade Goodness yesterday!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

And the Crazy Continues...

So yesterday I indicated I was crazy in regards to wanting to run a half-marathon yet at the same time complaining about not having any time to workout. Well lets add to the crazy parade...




I often look at my shop trying to make sure everything goes well together and it's easy to see the focus of the shop. One thing I really like are party items. I have been offer some invites and two two party packs. They get a lot of views but now many actual purchase and in reality it's really time consuming to put them together. I kept wanting to expand my party items but have put it off because I was trying to figure out how to do that in the best way. Then I made the decision to offer Printable party items. That lead me to a much needed decision. I have a bunch of ideas for party items but I felt like that would shift the focus of my shop. So I thought I would open a second shop, which lead to another dilemma. I have heard having a second shop is added work and trying to focus on both and make a good product is hard. So after some thought I decided to go for it anyway! Enter the CRAZY and welcome...


Parties With Envy Studios specializes in personalizable and customizable party items. Many of the illustrations and patterns on our stationery paper goods are also available for our party items.

I'm really excited about this and I'm hoping it will be the best decision, although I know I'm just putting a lot more on my plate. EAT UP!!