Wedding Season Woes & Whoas

Wedding Season is upon us! And it has taken me by storm. Today I made my 400th sale!  It’s been a rough month for me but this statistic really put all those woes in perspective. May, 2012 found me as much in sales as my first entire year did (whoa). Hence the lack in communication. And – trust me – I am NOT complaining, but my products have changed so much between now and then that a lot more goes into what I do now. And takes a lot more time (woe). Like these – which came out great, and one of these days there will be an entire post dedicated to Ashley’s Lollipop invitations – which required wire cutters and a lot of extra assembly time:

I never get any sleep anymore. I can’t remember a night when I went to bed before 2:30am. On my 2nd wedding anniversary, I went out for a picnic with my husband at the site where we got married (whoa – it was awesome… he had a whole picnic waiting for me when I got home from my day job), and when we came home prematurely due to the 92 degree day, I went immediately upstairs into my air conditioned bedroom and spent the rest of the night in there, alone, working on invitations (woe). Sad, right? In fact, I started this blog post almost 8 hours ago now and am just finally getting around to finishing it.

The big payoff is that I LOVE WHAT I DO.  I get to work with some really awesome people from all over the world who inspire me on a daily basis (and I get to do cool things with wire, which I never anticipated – that was all Ashley’s idea). It’s the really laid back, willing to think outside of the box brides (and often the super traditional ones who are REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THEIR WEDDINGS!!!) that are the most fun. Enthusiasm goes a long way with me. It’s so much more interesting to take an existing design and punch it up a little – plus then you get a truly unique invitation. And I get to experiment. Frankenvitations!

Last month (or was it this month?? I don’t even know what month it is anymore let alone what day) I was contacted by a bride from New England (Massachusetts, to be exact) who wanted a rustic, woodsy invitation. I had just the thing – my Sabrina invitation. But she wanted a birchy-piney feel, so we added in some pine trees and -BAM- Emily’s visions came to life. They came out beautifully. I’m extra proud of these. Even my husband loved them. And he honestly doesn’t comment on much without prodding. Take a look!

Thank you Emily for working with me to come up with a really beautiful variation of this design! I hope you are as happy with how they came out as I am =)

I am also working with a good friend of mine, Jessica over at Seven Layer Designs, on some new  ideas involving papercut invitations – more to come on that. I’m so excited (whoa)!

And if that wasn’t enough to keep me busy, here are some photos of the latest Peacock Parties items!

I don’t know what I was thinking, launching a second Etsy shop in May. Of course I’m glad the new shop is up and running – I have a whole new line of items there… banners, dyed clothespins, cupcake toppers, birthday invitations, etc… and the response has been great!  Much much much more to come there in the future.

In the mean time, a BIG THANK YOU to all you brides who keep me happy on a daily basis with dreams of making this my full time gig. Not only the fun brides, but the ones who challenge me, too. The ones who think they’re nitpicky (actually all you’re doing is making me happier because you love your invites more when you get them!). The ones who come back to me when they have friends or sisters who get married or have babies and refer me their business. I am in awe of you ladies (and a few gentlemen!) and appreciate you more than you know.

It’s time for my honeymoon.

But before I get into that, though, I’d like to say a few other things.

First and foremost, let me just say this: December was a tough month for me, business-wise. It always is – people saving for the holidays, putting their wedding planning on hold, etc. I’m going to come up with a plan for this next year, so that I can start offering holiday cards, stationery sets, and other gifts that can be given to friends and family. There are so many ways I want to advance my business, but I’m just not finding the time to do so. I will MAKE time for 2012!

Second – a shout out to my friend Jess, of Seven Layer Designs. Her blog is a constant source of inspiration to me. I’m not sure if she knows that – I’ve told her, but I’m not sure she REALLY knows it.  In fact, I probably wouldn’t be taking the time today to write this if I hadn’t read her post last night.  Jess makes beautiful handmade stationery which she offers from her website or her Etsy shop.  I’m going to try to find some ways for us to collaborate a little.  She wants to branch into weddings/parties, and I want to branch into stationery. So it seems like a perfect meeting of the minds.

It’s been a LONG time since I’ve posted on my blog, and even longer since I’ve updated my website. These are the drawbacks of leading a double life. Allow me to express myself via math equation: 

((Day Job x Small Business) + Holidays) / Personal Life = Lack of Blogging.

I thought that with the ringing in of 2012 and Peacock Printing’s 2 year anniversary coming up in March, I would make a resolution to be more… well, just MORE. So here’s a short list to remind myself of my goals:

• Improve at keeping up with technology – blog, website, etsy shop
• Bulk up my Facebook followers – find me and follow me and there’s a coupon code in it for you (if you’re already following me, jut ask and I’ll give it to you)!
• Pinterest! If you need an invite to join, let me know. Then follow me! I’m collaborating with the EtsyWeddingTeam to post a new item from each member every week – spreads the word, gives inspiration to brides and crafters, and is just plain all-around fun.
• Get some new designs in the shop! I’ve done a ton of custom work that I really should get out there.
• Expand my inventory. I want to really start highlighting the extras – place cards, menus, programs, etc.
• Save more, spend less. I’m such an impulse shopper.
• Quit my job and do weddings full-time! This is a long-term goal, I am nowhere NEAR being able to do this yet – but it’s on the horizon. Exciting!

In the meantime, I’m going on my honeymoon.

I’ve been so spoiled with my travels lately – this is NOT normal!  I’ll be working til the beginning of February, and then I’m off to the Dominican Republic til Valentine’s. And then I probably won’t be going anywhere else for a while =) So I hope it’s worth it!

I’m going to be running some specials in March in honor of my 2 year business anniversary (and then probably again in June in honor of my 2 year wedding anniversary). Maybe a contest or two. While I’m gone I’m hoping that I can sketch out some new designs, using the tropics as an inspiration – so many bright colors, beautiful beaches, serene landscapes… and hopefully I’ll be back armed with a whole new inventory!