JoAnne's Baby Shower

When our friend JoAnne found out that she was unexpectedly pregnant last fall, the reaction from us friends went quickly from shock to delight and excitement. With our youngest kids in their last couple years of elementary school, most of us haven't been around babies for a while. Let's face it: at our age, our conversations focus more on peri-menopause than Pampers. We were even more excited when we found out that JoAnne was having a girl, after having two older boys. 

It was just a matter of weeks before we started planning the shower. Actually, I'm pretty sure our friend, Laura, called dibs on making the diaper cake before JoAnne could get the word "baby" out of her mouth. We settled on a French theme, since JoAnne was considering a few French names for the baby, with a pink, black and white color theme (actually Blush and Bashful, according to the guest of honor). The "Bébé Soiree" was on! 

It wasn't hard to divide up the work. Susan, the master organizer, offered to host the shower at her house; Sara took over the bulk of the food prep; Ginny was head of procurement; and Laura did the diaper cake. 

That left me with invitations, cake and favors. I decided that an occasion of this stature and importance merited proper paper invitations and not just an email. I found some cute pink and black scrapbook paper, pulled out my old paper crafting stuff and pulled together a simple layered invite. Favors were easy: store-bought macarons in cello bags with tags that I made to match the invitations. The cake was a little more challenging. We went back and forth on this after JoAnne was unfortunately diagnosed with gestational diabetes. But again, I decided that this baby shower required a cake. Besides, why should people have to go without cake just because of her bad luck? Ignoring my last big cake-baking endeavor, which ended with one layer on the kitchen floor, me screaming so loud the kids heard me from the garage, and an emergency run to the store for more cake mix, I decided on a pink champagne cake with raspberry jam between the layers and champagne buttercream frosting. Thankfully, polka dots went with our French theme, because that's pretty much the only thing I know how to pipe. With the cake decided on, the only thing left to do was figure out a cute UL piece to add to the decor.     

The thing about JoAnne is that she has a huge sense of humor. And also a potty mouth. I'm sure you're shocked to hear that a good friend of mine would (gasp) drop the occasional F-bomb, but it's true. In fact, she's gotten quite adept at circumventing the UL censors to create some unique custom designs. I knew that a cute little "Sweet Baby" sign just wouldn't be be quite right for this occasion. I also wanted to make something that she could use in the nursery after the baby was born. Suddenly, it came to me. Inspired by this book, I came up with the perfect idea. For the front of the tile, I used a damask embellishment in Cotton Candy behind the words "Bonjour Bébé" in one of my favorite UL fonts, Adore.

 

For the back of the tile, I wanted the same elegant look so I didn't change the fonts, colors or design. The wording, however, was something a mom or dad would utter at 3 a.m. when the precious little one just would not quiet down and drift off to dream land. It's possible that I had to submit the letters for this design in a little bit of a different order than you see here.

The pretty "Bonjour" sign was displayed right on a table in Susan's living room, along with the diaper cake and some other decorations. Halfway through the shower, I quietly flipped it around and waited for people to notice. Needless to say, there were plenty of laughs...and a little relief that JoAnne would be the one staying up with a crying newborn soon, and not the rest of us.

Doing this shower for JoAnne was an absolute pleasure. Her baby couldn't be sweeter; she is pink and perfect and has several adoring Aunties fighting over which one of us gets to hold her next. The sign will be go in her soon-to-be-Uppercased nursery and most of the time, it will be flipped to the side that says, "Bonjour Bébé."  Most of the time. Go the fuck to sleep. 

Father's Day Hand Print Project Party

I've come to really enjoy the project parties I've been holding at CReATE Studio in Westlake Village. So far, they've been adults-only evening events.  But last week I held my first "Mommy And Me" project parties where little ones got to create adorable Father's Day gifts.
We started with the Uppercase Living white square boards, applied the "Best Dad Hands Down" expressions, then added each child's hand print. That's when it got to be really fun. Not having really spent time with toddlers for a while, I had forgotten a few things about how they operate. They quickly reminded me.  From choosing paint colors, to sitting down at the table (or on the table, in one case), to actually opening their little fists, they are in charge. I heard little voices saying "I do myself!" more than a couple of times.
The project took the perfect amount of time: the kids were able to complete it, eat a cookie, walk to the park while the paint dried, and pick up their finished projects, all within about an hour.

Raven made three projects: one for her Dad and the others for her grandfathers. 

Mom adds names with a Sharpie. Someone is watching to make sure she's doing it right.

Colton was so proud of what
he and baby sister Sienna made. 

Liam wasn't too excited about
the paint on his hands, but he
sure loved his project!

Between the paint, spray bottles, and lots and lots of cookie crumbs, our projects could have been disastrous. But the moms (and a couple of grandmas) kept their cool, the kids rose to the occasion, and we ended up with finished projects that will make some lucky dads and grandpas very, very happy this on Father's Day.
Since I wanted to take each of those cute kids home with me, I'm going to have to come up with another Mommy and Me project idea pretty quickly.  Can't wait to create with this fun little people again soon!

THAT Clock

 

Over the years, it hasn't been unusual for our customers to be inspired by our products and create something unique and personal to them. After all, that's really what Uppercase Living is all about. What is unusual is for a customer design to become a perpetual best seller. That is exactly what happened with our Time Spent With Family clock.

A couple summers ago, I suddenly noticed that I was selling a LOT of these clocks. They'd been available for a while, with photos floating around the Internet. But all at once, I was getting orders for them from new customers I'd never had contact with. A quick check-in with my demonstrator friends confirmed that they were seeing the same trend. It seemed that a website had shared a photo of the clock and it had quickly gone viral. It was only a few days before we sold out of the clock mechanisms, and our next two shipments quickly sold out, too. People who'd never heard of Uppercase Living were now searching us out to order this clock. Since then, the clock has gone viral a handful of times with sales spiking periodically. The rest of the time, it is one of our most popular items, with consistent orders month after month.


It wasn't difficult to see why this particular item touched so many different people. As our lives become busier and free time becomes more elusive, what matter most are the moments we spend with our loved ones. Adding personal photos to this expression makes it the ultimate custom wall art, showcasing the times and people who mean the most to us.

Before long, we started seeing customers' photos of their clock installations. As you'd expect, many added their own personal touches to the basic design. Why copy our photo, when they could create their own version. We saw different vinyl colors as well as unique frames, sometimes in equally unique configurations.




Inspired by our customers' creativity, our designers decided to give them even more choices. New font designs were soon introduced, proving just as popular as the original, and resulting in more new customer creations.

Each customer photo is as special as the faces smiling out from the photos. I love knowing that each picture was painstakingly selected just for this clock. 

The latest addition to our Family Clocks is a Spanish version. I think it is going to be hugely popular as well. 

One other thing I've noticed about these clocks is that, more than any other item, my customers love to share their photos of it. Not only are they proud of their installation but they love to show off their precious family pictures. I love being able to give them something that is so close to their hearts, and I never get tired of hearing how much they love their clocks.

A Morning At MOPS

Even though I have three kids and I've been a mom for almost (gulp) 15 years, I'd never been to a MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) meeting until this week.  After all this time, never having been a member, I found myself presenting a craft to this group of about 30 moms who meet at Calvary Community Church in Westlake. 

I was invited by a sweet friend who I've gotten to know through my UL business. Cynthia, who's a wedding planner with a great eye for design and a huge heart, is a mentor mom in this group. She's been a long time customer and hostess and has a new UL idea each time I talk to her. She asked me to teach her group a little about decorating with vinyl and lead them through a craft project. 

While I was waiting for my turn to speak, I gave my full attention to the meeting to distract me from the nervousness of public speaking. I watched the group reminisce about the past year, celebrate two new babies on the way, plan for summer playdates and give out a ton of recognition. And presents. Lots and lots of presents. The speaker before me talked about teaching gratitude to kids and taking care of our relationships. Clearly, this was a group of quality ladies (a fact that was not lost on me as I kept trying to ignore those nerves). 

When it was finally my turn, I got on stage and told everyone a little bit about UL and my introduction to it: how I fell in love the first time I saw it and knew I didn't want to lose the opportunity to share it, even though I had three small children and no desire for a new business. I demonstrated a UL installation by adding the word "enjoy" in Etched Glass to an elegant trifle bowl (another one of Cynthia's great ideas), which we raffled off. And I explained the craft they'd all work on: plain tiles that would turn into dry-erase note boards and a place to clip a favorite photo or two. And I got off that stage as quickly as I could! Finally I could do what I really love about my business: provide our products and watch as each person creates something unique and personal. 

Some of the moms kept their projects simple. Others added several words of inspiration. The fun part was watching the camaraderie as the ladies shared suggestions, helped each other out and sweetly made a fuss about how cute each finished tile was.

Yes, there were Bundt cakes! Didn't I tell you this is a quality group? 

I loved seeing what each mom chose and how the special words on the tile would be inspirational to her in her daily life.
Before long, the meeting was over and all of those preschoolers (and younger!) flooded the room with their chatter and energy. It was like the sweet bubble of those two hours the moms had to enjoy each others' company was popped by a toddler's sticky finger or sweet laugh. As the moms said good bye for the summer, it occurred to me how close their friendships would grow over the years. And while they were all there getting support for their young families, they were also becoming a family of friends. What better reason is there for a mom to keep on coming? Oh right, Bundt cake. And presents.

If you would like me to lead a craft project for your group or organization, please contact me. 

For The Love Of Pink!

Say "Hello" to Uppercase Living's newest color, Pink Peony! It was introduced today as a replacement for the discontinued Fairy Tale Pink, and I couldn't be more excited. This is a cooler shade of pink, with a fresh, on-trend feel. In fact, it was chosen in part because it's closer to the current shades of pink being used in home decor products right now, making it a better match for items you're seeing in stores or may already have in your home.

Pink Peony is an obvious choice for designs that are traditionally pink, including girly looks, breast cancer awareness, and spring decor. It's also a great pop of color in room with cool neutrals like gray or brown. It will look great as a one-color design by itself:

Item #21965 in Pink Peony, #30111 Punched Metal Tile

or combined with another color in a two part expression:

Item #21853 shown in Pink Peony and Slate Grey

For those of you who prefer a softer shade of pink, Cotton Candy is still available. Where will you use Pink Peony first?

So, It's Been A While

You may have noticed I wasn't blogging for a while. Like for a couple of years!
I've missed it and I'm back!

My UL business continues to grow. I've been able to achieve some big goals and had some great experiences. The greatest has been being named to UL's Advisory Board, a goal I've had for many years. It's been wonderful working with our CEO, founder and home office to staff. It's exciting to watch our company grow in so many ways. UL just keeps getting better!

I also earned a fabulous trip to our Leadership conference in Cancun last year. In between meetings and training, I spent as much time on the beach as possible, making some beautiful memories with a great group of people.

Just this year, I attended Leadership in Orlando, which was another chance to play before a weekend of training.

Of course, I've spent most of my time doing what I love the most about my business: connecting with my customers, hostesses and team members, to help improve their lives with our products and business opportunity. Whether I'm helping a customer add an inspirational expression to her home or showing a mom how she can make money while working around her family's schedule, I get so much out of making those special connections. Sharing our designs is always fun and rewarding, especially when I meet someone who is as excited about vinyl as I am.

What better way to share that enthusiasm with more people than by jump-starting my blog again? I hope you'll find ideas, tips and inspiration that will help improve your life with a little UL. Thanks for being here.

Just Relax and Pour Yourself A Glass of Wine

Brand New Ideas For Father's Day

With Easter and Mother's Day behind us, it's time to think about different ways to honor Dad on Father's Day. Of course, Uppercase Living has some great ideas for unique, personal gifts. You'll love how easy and affordable these are!

The first idea is great for dads of younger kids. The "Best Dad Ever" expression is placed on our pre-painted square MDF board.  The fun comes when you paint the kids' little hands and apply a hand print to the center. If the hands are small enough, you can do both hands, or more than one child's. I've also done 3 hands on one board by layering the smaller hand prints over the larger. Just use different colors of paint, letting each dry completely before you apply the next. The darkest paint goes on first.

We've also just released 3 new expressions that are perfect for a simple Father's Day project that will become a treasured keepsake. The instructions are the same regardless of which expression you choose. You'll need:

• 8x10 frame
• 1 sheet of scrapbook paper, cut to size. (Choose a light color with a small pattern)
• Your Uppercase Living expression
• Mistick wet application spray (or water) optional

Clean the glass in the frame completely with a lint-free cloth. Apply the UL expression, using Mistick, if you prefer to do a wet application (I always do a wet application on glass), to the glass in the spot of your choice.

Have the kids, grandkids and other family members write messages on the scrapbook paper, being careful to avoid the part that will be covered by the expression. You can also add photos to the scrapbook paper to make it even more unique. Put it in the frame and wrap the whole thing up for Dad!

What I really like about the "I Love You Because" expression is that it's not limited for just Father's Day. In fact, I think I'm going to add it to some Chalkboard or Dry Erase Vinyl and find a home for it in my house. We can all use a little extra love in our day.