Vermont Bride Military Wedding Giveaway

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Something I have wanted to do for a while is figure out a way for Truly Noted to give back to the community. That is why I am so excited to finally announce our participation in the Vermont Bride Military Wedding Giveaway! This amazing giveaway is for a complete wedding package to be awarded to one deserving military couple. There are so many great local vendors participating and Jackie of VT Enchanted Events is doing all of the planning and coordination so you know it will be beautifully done.

The wedding will be held on September 2, 2012 at the charming ye olde England Inne in Stowe. Here is a list of the local talent lending their services and expertise to make it unforgettable:

Bear Pond Productions | Videography
Barbara Graham Buzzi | Officiant
Green Mountain Photo Booth | Photo Booth
Jay View Wedding Flowers | Wedding Party and Bride and Groom Flowers
Jamie Norse | Groom's Cake
Polis Photography | Ceremony and Reception Photography
Sarah's Weddings by Betty's Flower Basket | Centerpieces
SuperSounds DJ Co | DJ
Sweet Crunch Bake Shop | Wedding Cake
Truly Noted | Invitations
Uncle George's Flowers | Ceremony Flowers
VT Enchanted Events | Planning and Coordination
Weddings, Tents & Events | Linens
Ye Olde England Inne | Reception Venue & Catering

To enter simply tell us your love story and why you deserve to be the lucky couple to win this fabulous event! You can read the contest rules and enter on the Vermont Bride Magazine website. Entries are only accepted until April 1st so don't delay and send us your story today!

Dreamin' and Hopin' and Wishin' and Doin'

Mountain sunrise photo from here

As 2011 comes to a close I have been doing a lot thinking, brainstorming, planning - as in my brain actually hurts and you might find me staring blankly off into space at any given moment. There is so much in my heart right now just trying to bust out and I have been working on figuring out how to make that happen. Because, as it turns out, just because you are on fire about something doesn't make it easier to obtain.

This past year has been full of change for me. I decided to leave my job to stay at home with Eli and pursue Truly Noted full time. There have been so many ups and downs since then, including an anxiety inducing August and September with virtually no sales, and I think I learned a lot. I have always subscribed to the idea that as long as you learn something, every trial is worth it. Throughout all of it, though I have tried my hardest to keep my thoughts on the reason for it all. The awesome rewards of being able to be with my son and experience every little milestone along with him. To give him all of the nurturing, love and attention he deserves.

So what if that means I had to give up cable, a fancy cell phone and going out to dinner? Who has time for that stuff anyway? Especially when you are working your little behind off trying to grow your business into something awesome. Something greater than you ever thought it could be. Something to give me pride, joy, fulfillment and a decent paycheck.

And I really did work my behind off and I did make progress. I did have more sales than 2010. More sales than I ever have had before. I created new designs. I launched a new website. I forged new friendships and partnerships. It wasn't perfect, but it was in the right direction. And I learned so much.

I was also inspired by some pretty amazing people. Other women who intimidated me at first. Who made me want to go back to bed, crawl into a ball and cry about how lame I was. But I wouldn't let myself. Sure, I might have had a pang in my heart of jealousy towards their awesomeness, but then I let it inspire me. I let it fuel the fire inside of my soul that wants to achieve all of my dreams. And then some. I read what they believe, what they do, who they are and I tried to learn from them.

Then I reminded myself that they were once where I am now. They didn't start out ridiculously successful and awesome. Once upon a time they were just girls sitting at a computer with an idea and $2 to their name just like me. They had jobs that they risked leaving to pursue their dreams just like me. They had fears and made mistakes and questioned themselves just like me. But they pushed on and worked hard and eventually made it through to the other side. Just like I am going to do.

So, 2012, I have a lot in store for you. A lot of goals. Some of them might sound crazy and unachievable, but if you shoot for the moon and miss at least you end up in the stars. In the next year I hope to accomplish some amazing things, such as:

• Get Truly Noted set up as an LLC
• Trademark the Truly Noted name
• Sign at least two wholesale accounts in Vermont to carry my invitations
• Forge a relationship with area venues to carry my event stationery line
• Attend at least one seminar or conference geared towards stationery or wedding professionals
• Get to the point where I can pay myself a regular paycheck each month
• Expand the Truly Noted product line
• Teach DIY Invitation classes in my area
• Be able to afford to send Eli to daycare two days a week (I really need this!)
• Blog at least twice a week
• Tweet at least once a day
• Update Facebook at least once a day
• Hit 500 sales in my Etsy store

So there you have it. My goals for the new year. There are a few other, personal goals I have as well just to spice it up. I used to think, when I first started out on this business owning journey, that my goal was just to be able to afford staying home with my kids. If I could make just enough to pay the bills and stay home that would be enough. I didn't want to push it, to try and have my cake and eat it too. But now I realize that I am capable of doing so much more than that and I shouldn't try to limit my expectations of myself. I am looking to the new year like the sunrise in the picture at the top of this post. Beautiful, breathtaking and amazingly large.

Jammin'

Wedding season is in full swing which means there are not enough hours in the day! My office has been jammin' the last few weeks with invitation orders and some other fun stuff, like these darling jam labels.

Of course all work and no play makes for a boring Summer, so I have been doing a lot of traveling to show off my little (or not so little!) bundle of cuteness who has suddenly morphed into more of a little boy! It breaks my heart a little to see him grow up so fast, but watching him grow is awesome and oh so rewarding.

Some exciting things going on and coming up:

Check out my article in the newest issue of Vermont Bride Magazine! I will be contributing a little something in each issue to help with all of your invitation questions and quandaries.

Truly Noted just signed on to be a part of the 2nd Annual Vermont Bride Gala. I am so excited to be a part of this event! It is going to be at Boyden Farm and the theme this year is Alice In Wonderland. Unlike other wedding shows, this one involves each vendor to help bring the theme to life. I have been dreaming up all kinds of fun Wonderland inspired stationery items!

Hopefully coming soon- a new website for Truly Noted! In between invitation mock-ups I have been plugging away at a new web layout that will feature a cleaner, more streamlined look. And of course some new invitation designs! I have tweaked the Truly Noted logo a bit, too, which is going live on my Facebook today!

Hope you are all enjoying this fabulous Summer weather and maybe when the season starts to wind down I might find a little more time to do some blogging! ;-)

Risks & Rewards

I just read this in the latest edition of 'Quit Your Day Job' on Etsy...

"...what I really love is that the risks and the rewards are all ours. Not everything is going to be perfect, but the opportunities we discover and the challenges we face are because of decisions we make. Feeling that type of ownership over what you do each day is liberating." -Shauna, Etsy shop somethingshidinghere

This is exactly how I feel. And today marks the beginning as I just gave my two-week notice at work this morning. So I can't go back now!

The Best Laid Plans

Poster by Etsy seller KeepCalmPosters

I had so many plans, to-do lists, ideas, aspirations....but none of them could stand up to THE PLAUGE the horrible virus I just had. Six beautiful days off in a row, and most of them were spent on the couch. Or rocking a sick baby. Or caring for my equally ill husband.

As horrible as it was I am finding the positive in our plight. At least I already had the days off and I didn't have to stay home from work and lose any pay. At least I had the choice to stay home and care for my baby and I didn't have to drag him to daycare to infect all of the other little babes. And through my fever and pain many things became apparent to me.

1. I hate bringing my baby to daycare (already knew this to some extent) and allowing him to be exposed to heinous germs that make him sick more days than he is well.

2. Being sick for two weeks out of every month doesn't make my job seem very worth it. Especially once you deduct the expenses of doctor's visits and medicine, not to mention the emotional toll it took on both my husband and myself.

3. Having a baby that is always sick is sad. It makes me cry. And then when you get sick and have to care for the sick baby as well you realize what is important to you. And for me that is having a baby who is healthy and happy (at least more days than he is not).

4. I think that whole line about daycare and getting sick being 'good' for babies is totally blown out of context. Yes, exposing your baby to other people and germs is good for building their immune system. Much preferable to keeping him indoors all the time and never letting him see the light of day. Being horribly sick more days than not? Having ear infection after ear infection after ear infection? No, I don't believe that is good for a 5 month old baby. Or anyone, for that matter.

5. It's time for me to act on my heart and do what I know is best for my family.

So I didn't get to post 20 new designs in my Etsy store. Nor did I balance my business checking account and clean my office. My new contacts interested in having a Pampered Chef party did not get called and my house did not get cleaned. But I made a decision- a big one - and I am really excited to start the new chapter of my life.

It's been a long, long time...

Well it's actually only been a couple of months, but it feels like years since I last posted! There have been some exciting changes going on for me both personally and professionally and I am so happy to finally be back to blogging.

Of course the biggest (and best) change has been the introduction of my little man, Elijah. He made his appearance on September 13th after what seemed like the longest pregnancy EVER. Here is his birth announcement that I designed (before I actually gave birth- always good to plan ahead!).


Aside from all things baby I have also just finished designing the new Truly Noted website! I am so excited to finally have this project up and running. There are lots of new signature invitation designs that you can purchase straight off of the website. I also added a new Baby & Kids section where you can find fun items like the Owl Birth Announcement I did for Eli.

Now that I have my new website, new baby, and my Etsy store back up and running I am super excited to see what the future holds!

Good Things Come To Those That Wait

{Image from the long thread}

Waiting for something truly momentous is quite exhausting. Or maybe it's the whole gestating-a-baby thing that is exhausting? Either way, I knew I wasn't going to be able to continue making invitations right up until I go into labor. But when to stop?

I finally decided to do it in stages. Starting this week I put up a sort of 'out of office' notice on my website explaining that I will no longer be taking any custom orders. Couples can still order invites off of my Etsy store until the end of July, when I will cease invitation creation until after the little one has arrived and we have a handle on things. (Does anyone ever feel like they have a handle on a newborn baby?)

But hopefully all of this free time will help me get my new website up and running for when I return. I have so many ideas and designs swimming around in my head, and I haven't had a lot of extra time to work on them. Time is definitely the secret ingredient for making a business thrive and I need to make more of it.

If I ever figure that out how to do that, I will let you know. :-)

I am still here! I promise!

Photo by Ariana Falerni of Becoming Mom

Wow- it has been two months since my last blog post. I have no idea how that happened- well I do have my theories- but that is no excuse!

First off, let me explain the cuteness that is above. I will be having one of those in early September. Holy crap. I still can't believe it! My husband and I have wanted this for a while and it was a long and sometimes frustrating road that led us here, but we are oh so glad we made it.

So, I have been very tired. More tired than I have ever been in my life. And sick. Oh man, the nausea. Which I suppose if I were to have some excuse for my lack of blogging those are pretty good ones. Oh, and I am growing a baby. That is a lot of work, people!

But I have still been making invitations. Actually a lot of invitations, which is awesome! I have so much updating to do and so many things to fill you in on. But its like getting back on a bike after years of not riding. I wasn't exactly sure how to start so now that I am back I am hopeful that it will come to me like an old friend and become a habit of my weekly life again.

Welcome 2010

Ah! A new year! A clean slate! I love starting off fresh and I hope that this year is going to be full of changes- all good- and getting stuff done. Here are some of the things I have lined up so far in my New Year To Do List:

1. Revamp the Truly Noted website, including new design and adding the ability to buy invitations and goodies right off my site! (this is my number one goal this year).

2. Get a new design for the Truly Noted blog- I am looking at designs by Rainy Day Templates. Particularly this one!

3. A super secret surprise that is blowing my mind right now, and I can't wait to share with everyone!

4. Get a hold on keeping tabs on my business expenses and what-not. This is something I struggle with A LOT. I just want to do the fun part of owning a business, not keep track of sales and consumables!

5. This is a biggie. I want to be able to drop down to part-time at my 'real job' by the end of the year and focus on Truly Noted being more of an income and less of a hobby. Which might have a little something to do with #3! ;-)

So that's it- my very ambitious to-do list. Here's to 2010 and all of the great things that are in store for us.

Oh, and by the way, check out the cool free Twitter backgrounds by illustrator Nate Williams! Which reminds me, I might have to add 'Twitter more often than once a month' to my to-do list...

100 Posts! And A Special Offer

Today marks my 100 post! I can't believe I made it! There were times I wondered if I could really keep up blogging on a regular basis (and still times where I find it hard to fit it in). But I have really made it, and it feels so good.

I hope there will be lots more, and my goal is to do more than 100 posts next year! Keeping my fingers crossed I will have more time in the New Year to devote to Truly Noted and blogging.


In the meantime, head over to Before The Big Day for some special deals (including one from little ol' me!).

And Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

It has been a while since my last post, and I apologize for that. We jetted off for a fabulous long weekend to visit relatives in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and the days preceding and following were a little hectic. But I finally feel like I am back on schedule and ready to go!




One of the things that has been occupying my time was trying to decide if I wanted to participate in another wedding show. I finally came to a decision to just close my eyes and jump in head first. Part of my reason for deciding to go ahead was the sad news that Scribbles was closing. A downtown staple for years in Burlington, they were also one of the largest invitation resources around here as well. So, I decided that with them gone it was the perfect time to stick my neck out and let the world know I am here! Or at least the greater Burlington area- hehe.



What is the show you ask?? Well I am glad you did, because it is THE wedding show to attend around here. And of course it is put on by none other than VT Vows. It is called The Wedding Affair and it's more amazing every year. Last year was a Moroccan theme and they had elaborate beds adorned with gorgeous linens and big hanging lanterns and colored glass candle holders. There was a potpourri bar and a candy table to make your own goodie bags, and of course there were tons of great vendors to check out.



Even though I had a small basket of cards in their Wedding Resource Library last year, I think that having my own booth will be better exposure. I found being able to talk one on one with the brides was a great experience. And being a vendor also means I will get a couple of complimentary tickets to give out. Which means I will be having another giveaway! Look for it in the next couple of weeks for your chance to win tickets to go to The Wedding Affair!

A Little Bit Busy

I haven't had a lot of time to post lately since I took the plunge and decided to do the Burlington Summer Evening Bridal Show- that is ONE. MONTH. AWAY. Ack!!

So my spare time has been filled with brainstorming on banner designs, door prizes, displays, hand-outs, what to wear!!??, and lots of other stuff I need to figure out- stat!

But I wanted to make sure I posted info on the show in case anyone wanted to check it out, so here it is:

3rd Annual Burlington Summer Evening Bridal Show
August 20th from 6:30-9pm
at the Echo Lake Aquarium and Science Center

You can check out the official website here!

New Design and Random Thoughts

Just posted this beauty up on the Etsy shop. Very summery and refreshing looking. Makes me want a nice tall glass of lemonade.

Whew! I feel like I have been on a roll for the last couple of days. For the month of June and half of July I felt like I was in a little bit of a funk- couldn't really motivate myself to do anything and just feeling a little down about things. I guess everyone goes through that once in a while, but I sure am glad to be getting out of it!

All of the sudden I feel like being productive and getting stuff done! Clean the office, get those designs out of my head and onto the computer, then onto paper, and then on to Etsy! Return some phone calls, emails and attend to all that paperwork piled up on my desk. It sure feels good.

I also have been doing some research on doing a bridal show that is going on in ONE MONTH! I just heard about it and for kicks asked if there was any space open still. The idea of doing some shows has been in the back of my mind lately as a good way to get my name out there locally. Well I didn't think it would happen quite so fast! I don't really have a table, or a banner, or anything really set up to go to a show, and its cares the crap out of me, but I really think I should do it!

Nothing better than just throwing yourself out there, right?

Featured Invitation!

I was just informed that one of my invitations was featured on the wonderful blog Inventing Weddings. They put together amazing inspiration boards featuring all Etsy sellers! My Red & Teal Leaves invitation was featured in their board 'A Little Bird Told Me'. Yay!

P.S.- Now you can find Inventing Weddings down on the right in my Notable Inspiration links.

And just like that I'm gone again...

Yup, that's right, I'm off again- this time to Boston (or right outside it, anyway) for the big Thai wedding. My bro-in-law got married last May in a lovely wedding in the Vermont Islands, at the Grand Isle Lake House, but her parents wanted to throw them a traditional Thai bash as well. So a little over a year after their first nuptuals we are gathering at her parents restaurant in Burlington, Mass for a weekend full of festivities.

There will be plenty of Thai food, I am sure, as well as a traditional Thai bridesmaid dress and groomsmen jacket for my husband and I- I don't even know what mine looks like yet. I only know that its purple and gold- ooooh! We aren't sure how many people are coming, because apparently Thai people don't RSVP and they tend to bring their entire extended family with them.

There will be a water cermony which I hope to get some pictures of, but not sure how I will pull it off yet since I am going to be in it. Hopefully my MIL won't mind snapping some pics with my camera.

And I will of course post all about it when I get back! Which will be Monday. I might have internet access in our hotel room, though, so maybe I can post updates during the weekend. I will try, but I can't promise anything!

BTW- isn't that picture gorgeous? I snapped this right outside my house Tuesday evening. It was a full rainbow arching right over our road!

Tully, Ho!

I meant to post this last Wednesday, but I got a little busy getting ready for the trip I was going to tell you about. The one where I went to see my Grandmother in Tully, NY and would be gone until today. So that is why it has been a little quiet around here, but I have a bunch of new posts planned for the next week, including full coverage of the second wedding for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, which is going to be a traditional Thai affair complete with water ceremony. I can't wait to see what my bride's maid dress looks like!

(Oh, and the picture above is of the ferry in Charlotte, VT that I took to get across Lake Champlain and into New York- found on this site.)

I Heart Thursday

Photo courtesy of caribb on Flickr

Today I love airplanes. Particularly airplanes that take me to far away destinations and sunny skies and warm weather! Planes that take me to California to visit my friends Patti & Jamie for six glorious days!

So, yeah, that is where I will be until next Tuesday. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Grand Opening!

I am so excited to announce that my Etsy store is finally up and running! It has been a long time in the making and I have spent many hours researching, brainstorming, and creating to make it happen. A labor of love for sure!

When I first decided that I would start my own business I had already been a fan of Etsy for a while and I knew it was the perfect venue for me. Being in Vermont there is not a huge amount of people to support a specialty business like mine, so being able to reach millions of viewers online from all corners of the globe is just amazing.

I have a few items up now and a bunch more to come so be sure to check it out!

Update

Whew! The past week and a half has been quite busy for myself and Truly Noted. We actually got some nice, sunny weather here in northern VT so it has been nice to get outside and enjoy it!

This week I finished putting together some advertisements that will run in two of Vermont's premier wedding magazines, VT Vows and Vermont Bride Magazine. I am very excited to be appearing in both publications since they each played a huge role when I was planning my own wedding in 2006. In addition I will be putting together a fun little take-away that will be available at the VT Vows Wedding Affair show held at beautiful Shelburne Farms. I can't wait, I am sure it will be fabulous.

Truly Noted Is Now A Licensed Envelopments Dealer!

I am excited to announce that Truly Noted is now an official Envelopments dealer/designer! I have been using Envelopments' products to create invitations for a couple of years now, but didn't think to apply to become a licensed designer until recently. There is the obvious perk of being able to purchase their paper products at wholesale, giving me greater flexibility in the price that I charge for the end product. But even more than that, I am excited to have the resource of a relationship with the company.

Their website is a great source for inspiration and design ideas and with the license I also receive the official Envelopments design library. This will allow me to show my customers all of their choices for color, texture and pattern. All around it's a great first step for Truly Noted. I can't wait until my design library arrives!