I’ve had a great time learning about all sorts of new things with you – like baby blue, outie belly buttons and heartburn. I’m also looking forward to learning about “boy things” like trucks, trains and dinosaurs. I know you will teach me the differences in construction equipment and will be able to name all sorts of dinosaurs I’ve never heard of. Lulu loves trains, trucks and can roar like a dinosaur with the best of them, but you can see the real sparkle in her eye when she plays with her baby dolls and dress-up clothes. She also loves splashing in puddles and sometimes playing in the dirt, but once again…not as much as her glitter and princess crowns. I have a feeling you are going to teach me a lot about rough-housing, trips to the minor emergency clinic and strapping furniture to the wall. If you are as active outside my tummy as you are inside it, then we are in for some trouble! In the moment it may be hard to appreciate all these things, so I’m going to say thank you now for all these memories to come.

Since having your big sister, I’ve really been embracing pink and it’s been a lot of fun. But once we found out we were having a little boy, oh, did the navy blue start flying back into this house! It’s always been a favorite color of mine. Maybe from two decades in private school uniforms where navy is one of three approved colors to wear? Who knows, but point is, I’m glad it’s back. I know you’re daddy can’t wait to teach you how to fish and hunt, work a screwdriver and drive a dune-buggy. He’s a pretty smart guy and you two are going to be two peas in a pod, I just know it. And Lulu? She can’t stop talking about you and how she is going to be a BIG sister! She is telling everyone she sees about her baby brother. I know she is going to just love you to the moon and back – you’re going to be one lucky little brother with a sister like her.

The days are flying by and you’ll be here in just five (short) days. I’m not even going to tell you when I actually started this post – it’s embarrassing. I think I might have to get used to that though, some things will get done and some won’t. Focusing on what matters most is the new theme for our lives and that’s our little family. We are so excited to meet you and cuddle you and see what you look like and cuddle you and introduce you to everyone and cuddle you…well, I guess you get the point!

See you soon, Bubba.

Love you,

momma

Thank you for allowing me to be your momma.

As I hope you will find out one day (but NOT any day soon!), motherhood is one of the most beautiful experiences a woman can have. But being a mother, a mom and a momma mean different things. Or at least to me. I know one day you will call me “mom” because you’re all grown up and cool. I know another day you will call me mother because you’re not happy with me. But for now, you call me momma or mommy and my heart melts just a smidge every time you say it, cry it, scream it and whine it (yes, even the whine gets me).

Thank you for being my first child.

Besides all the gory details of your birth, brief stint in the NICU and 11 weeks of pure hell unwelcomeness called colic, you were the most amazing and perfect baby from day one. I’m sure all parents say that, but for reals, you were. So sweet and cuddly, happy and goofy. You learn so quickly and have always been great with your manners (a girl after my own heart!). I’m so proud of you each and every day. It’s been so much fun watching your little personality come out. You are definitely girly yet goofy like your momma. And becoming very brave and yet still goofy like your daddy. Even though I wish you would stay little forever, I have enjoyed watching you grow up and come into your own. And there’s so much more of that to see. There’s no doubt in my mind you are going to be beautiful inside and out. You spoiled me as a momma by making things pretty easy. Only time will tell what kind of baby Bubba will be, but I just thank God you were my first.

 Thank you for opening me up to embrace all things pink!

I fought really hard to not have a pink explosion in our lives when we found out you were a little girl. I wanted a neutral nursery with neutral bedding, furniture, toys and accents that matched my decor. And I did this because I knew the pink was unavoidable. Everything for little girls is pink. Clothes, dolls, toys, cups, bottles, pacifiers, strollers, plates, bows, shoes, etc. It’s not that I don’t like pink, I really do…most any shade. I just think a little goes a long way. BUT since you got here I have been embracing pink more and more in my life. I always thought pink meant little girl and not feminine. And sometimes it does, but not always. I find myself drawn to pink for little accents in my office, purses, shoes, jewelry, even maternity pants! It’s been a lot of fun and I’m glad we can share in all things pink!

 Thank you for teaching me even more patience.

I’m a very patient person. Really I am. Always have been. But motherhood is definitely a true test of patience. Not every day, but certainly a good number of them. Since your daddy started traveling and I have been carrying around your baby brother my patience has been tested even further.  I have to remind myself often that time goes by way too fast and while every day can’t be pleasant, you should slow down and enjoy it a little more. I wish I could say that I have the patience of Job all the time, but I’m human…and pregnant. Yet seeing the innocence in your face and hearing the delight in your voice often reminds me to suck it up, forget about time or whatever it is that has to be done and just be your momma. Time flies and we all grow up way too fast. So let’s put on the Hoky Poky for the bazillionith time and twirl around in our tutus.

Thank you for inspiring me to go for it!

When I was a little girl I loved playing with crayons and markers, doodling and creating things I thought were pretty. As I grew older and worked on computers, I became obsessed with fonts and poured over them for hours. Along with the perfect way to write my best friend’s name on the notes we would pass in the hallway.  Since college, I played around creating invitations and different things for family and friends. After having you, I knew I wanted to start my own business, but I certainly had some doubts. Could I really do this? Was I talented enough? Would people actually pay for me to create things for them? Well, the answer ended up being yes to all three. Lulubean Designs was born and I haven’t looked back. Not a single day. I didn’t have it all figured out (still don’t actually.) Things seem to be constantly changing, evolving, modifying as I’m able to focus in on THE DREAM. I’ve learned it’s okay to not have it perfect from the start though. A brilliant, sweet lady, Whitney English, taught me a great phrase – Go Ugly Early. And another little golden nugget of advice from Stationery Academy – A year from now, you’ll wish you started today. So, when the time comes for you to follow your dreams, go for it. Things will always fall into place exactly the way they are supposed to.

Alright, lovey. I think that is the perfect way to end my first open letter to you. See you in the morning!

Love you to the moon and back.

XO, your momma

One of my favorite pictures of the two of us. Thanks to my sweet friend, Chelsea Davis, for capturing this moment.

And there’s no better way to celebrate a new product than with a giveaway! We are calling it the Give a Little Love giveaway and one of the best things about the giveaway is that it is for PRINTED Valentine’s Day cards. I’m taking out all the stress for you – personalizing them, printing them on beautiful cotton paper and shipping right to your door. The winner will get 30 cards in their choice of design! There are several ways to enter and one winner will be chosen at random next Friday, January 18th!

To enter, you can:

• Follow me on twitter
• Like Lulubean Designs on Facebook
• Tell your Facebook friends about the Give a Little Love giveaway and link to this post
• Blog about the Give a Little Love giveaway and link back to this post
• Tweet about the giveaway, mentioning @lulubeandesigns and link to this post in your tweet (feel free to use the hashtag #givealittlelove as well)
• Pin your favorite design to Pinterest, and link to this post
• Post your favorite design on Instagram, and mention the giveaway (feel free to use the hashtag #givealittlelove as well)

If you need the link to this post, here it is: http://lulubeandesigns.com/blog/?p=708

Just leave a comment each time you do one of the above, and we’ll draw a winner next Friday!

I’ve included some of the designs here, but to check out all ten head on over to The Shop on Etsy!

I’ve been sitting on these iPhone case designs for a while. I just kept thinking it wasn’t the right time and I didn’t want to put more pressure on myself to roll them out before the Holidays. And then, last night, I just thought…hmmm…what’s stopping me? Turns out the answer was me. I was stopping me. (and maybe a little by the precious time of a sweet girl named Lulu.) But if I’m going to be totally honest, and I am, then it was just me. I already had all the designs done, ordered proofs, tweaked the colors, and even added a few more designs. So really, there wasn’t much left to do. I stayed up extra late last night and got them all added onto The Shop on Etsy and made this little promo annnouncement and looky here…I rolled them out in one day!

Y’all probably remember I attended the Stationery Academy, or StatAcad as we alums affectionately call it, this summer. It was an amazing experience and one of the reasons why I decided to branch out into designing goods like iPhone cases. (Next up, personalized plates and bowls for the kiddos.) Thanks to all of my sweet StatAcad friends that shared their experiences and knowledge on the subject of offering these goods as a designer. I learned so much from you all and continue to do so everyday. XO!

Well, for now, please check them out at The Shop on Etsy and enjoy 15% off until this Friday, November 30, at midnight with the code IPHONECHEER.

And a little insider tip…if you don’t have an iPhone or don’t know anyone who does (but come on, really? No one?!) then browse the stationery, stamps and stickers to find some goodies! The code will work for the rest of the shop as well.

Happy Shopping!

Anyhoodle, to make up for my absence I have a Holiday Card Promo for you! The collection is finally ready and you can download the catalog here. The theme of this year was patterns and colors! I usually don’t branch out much past a good ole classic stripe pattern so it was a lot of fun playing around with different patterns and the vibrant colors. Each design also comes with a fun optional return address stamp design.

And for a limited time you can get 15% off! Order your cards before November 8 for the discount. No need to have your photo yet – just place and pay for the order! Easy as pie…pumpkin pie…pecan pie…Goode Co. pecan pie…okay, now I’m hungry.

I have so many new ideas, so many have-to-dos, so many want-to-dos and just so many to-dos in general – I tell ya friend, its been hard to keep focused. So today, I’m taking some good advice to pen and paper and I’m taking it one step at a time…or actually three steps at a time. One of the million awesome pieces of advice I learned from SA was to write down three things you wanted to accomplish each day. Do those and it won’t seem so overwhelming. So before we head off to Florida for a much needed family vacation, here are my three things for today…

1. Update my Email Signature  (hey, I don’t have to move mountains everyday!)

2. Write Blog Post (yay, done!)

3. Set a Social Media Editorial Calendar (so yes, you will be hearing from me on the regular…please hold your applause)

Oh yeah…and start packing!

Whew, y’all! I have so much to tell you…so get ready!

This past weekend I had the pleasure and honor to attend the Stationery Academy in beautiful Pensacola, Florida.

Yes, I was at the beach, but I was too busy being inspired and educated to visit it. The picture above is about as close as I got! The Stationery Academy is a two-day intensive workshop for Paperprenuers – stationers, designers or any creative entrepreneur that has a love of paper and design. So, 22 women packed their cutest dresses, smiles and thinking caps to learn all that we could learn. But it wasn’t just about HOW to run your stationery business, but WHY. It seems like a simple concept, but after a day full of sharing fears, values, goals and strengths I realized it was something I had not asked myself. I knew I loved pretty paper, beautiful, eclectic fonts and great design; and that I could turn that into a business I would love. But I never stopped to ask myself why. Finally down on paper, I can begin to focus on how I’m going to take those fears and throw them out the window; and take my values, goals and strengths to develop a successful paper company that reflects my true style.  Another amazing thing happened while I was there…I made 21 new awesome, funny, talented, strong, genuine women that deeply love the paper design business. I expected to make friends, but after the amount of sharing, crying and laughing we did this weekend I know I will always be able to call on each and every one of them when I need it. It’s refreshing to be in a competitive industry with a core group of fellow entrepreneurs willing to support each other and share their wealth of information. And that all starts with our hosts, Whitney English Kolb and Natalie Chang. Without them, we wouldn’t have had a reason to be together to explore our businesses and learn so much from them. I want to extend a HUGE thank you for everything you taught us and for bringing us together. Also, thank you and all of our generous sponsors for the jaw-dropping, monogram-elicious SWAG. And Holy Branding, Batman! You southern gals know your SA brand and carried it through every piece. It was preppy, fun, polished and oh-so-perfectly striped. I’m excited to deck out my office, car, luggage and any other place in the house my hubs will let me with it!

Originally, I wanted to attend SA to learn more about how to run a successful stationery business. I did learn that, but I also learned a lot more. Not just from the amazing and well-thought-out curriculum, but from each and everyone of the attendees, hosts and speakers. Every single one had something valuable to share. Take a look at our topics below…I told you it was intensive!

I have to send a special shout-out to my two new besties and roommates, Jenn Sprinkle and Erin Thomas. They are truly amazing, talented women and I am a better person for knowing them both. I’m also an exhausted person because we stayed up way too late chatting and giggling like little school girls. Love to you both!

I now know I’m on the right path to taking Lulubean where I want it to go. And I hope you all will go there with me! Stay tuned for some exciting changes.

In the words, of Whitney English Kolb…

I decided it was a great way to offer my designs and other paper goods at a lower price and a quicker turnaround time. I absolutely love doing custom designs and it’s the bulk of my business, but I understand my clients can’t ALWAYS shell out a custom design fee every time they want something special. The fun thing about The Shop on Etsy is I can include cute gifts like notepads, wood-handle return address stamps, stickers, stationery sets and the best part is it’s all custom – with your name or monogram! They make great gifts for Housewarmings, Birthdays, Holidays and more! So take a stroll around the shop and let me know what you think! I would love to get some feedback.

Click here or any of the pictures below to go straight to the Shop!

Some new things you’ll find…

Lulu and I are taking a little mini-vacation with the family in Galveston this week. We are having lots of fun on the beach, eating, playing with Lulu’s cousin, more eating, more playing and the picture above is from our trip to the aquarium. Hope you all are enjoying the {official} start of summer too!