Holiday Boutique!

Ahh! We are so excited, we just got an email inviting us to participate in the Simple Treasure Holiday Boutique! We finally got the shop up and mostly running, and we are so excited for the chance we have to finally start getting this business on a roll! For anyone in the area, we'd love to have you come and check out all our projects we've been working on! :) Details below! 

50% Off Everything!!

After much deliberation we have decided to make a big decision for our business, and move our family, and business to a new home! We were fortunate enough to find an awesome house for the fam to grow into, as well as a large detached garage for Affinity Grove. We are SOO excited for the possibilities this could create! In the meantime we are trying to clearance everything out so it doesn't get damaged in the process of moving! All in stock items are 50% off with the code MOVINGSALE

Hurry over, we have small arrows for $2.50, digital prints for $1.50, and so so much more! You won't want to miss it, head on over to our shop here before everything you want is gone! And check up on us we have so much we are thrilled about listing as soon as we are settled in the new house! :)

Freebie!

I feel like I needed this little bit of inspiration today and bonus I've been working on my hand-lettering. I wanted to see how I could digitized it, and it worked awesome! I figured I would put it up as a freebie for anyone else who needs this reminder as well!

You can download here!

Free Small Arrow!

You can order at our Etsy Shop Found Here.

And you can view the different styles of small arrows, here, here, and here!

Printables...

One of my favorite things about holidays is decorating! I have my fair share of decorations for Christmas, but in terms of most of the other holidays I am lacking. I probably should send me requests to Rick and have him cut what I want! Maybe eventually, but in the meantime, I love updating all my picture frames around the house with festive printables! We posted a few in our Etsy shop tonight, and I am way excited to print them out and get all ready to celebrate Mother's Day!

I also just printed this one up and put it on the office! I seriously need this reminder multiple times a day. With Rick starting a new job, and a new work schedule, a sassy four year old, and a one year old with an ear infection, along with recovering from two all out birthday parties, and staying on top of cleaning and house, and running a home, I'm wiped! Who doesn't need a reminder to just take a minute and breathe? Ahh...I feel better already.

Finished!

I have yet to see it in person, but the other night my sister sent us a picture of her finished window pane for her entry way with adorable lanterns on the sides, and we fell in love! She used a dark walnut stain and it turned out absolutely awesome! We just posted these this afternoon in our Etsy shop so head on over to pick one up for your house, you'll love it! And don't forget to share with us what you made on social media using #AffinityGrove

Window Pane Cutout

 There is something so rewarding about designing something on a computer, sending it off to the hubby having him program the code, and then watching what I just designed become something real and tangible. This week my sister texted me asking if we could make her a window pane. She just built a new beautiful house, and wanted a big window pane over her entry table, and searched and searched online to find what she wanted, with no luck! She finally wised up and realized we could probably make it for her. We got to work that night and within a few hours of her asking, we were holding the finished product in our hands. Which trust me, looks cool in the pictures, but soo much cooler in real life!

With a nice round over on it, it looked like a real window pane. I am excited to see how she is going to finish it, she talked about doing an antiquing of some sort. It should look awesome. 

We've just got to figure out some shipping details and then you can count on seeing this bad boy in our Etsy shop, hopefully sometime next week!

Don't forget to grab our Freebie while it's still available!

And we're live...

We are way excited to announce that we officially live on our Etsy shop! Head on over to check out what we have listed, and as an extra bonus, take 15% off your $15.00 purchase now through April 24!

Don't forget to like us on Facebook, and to follow us on Instagram@affinitygrove for updates on new products, coupons, and giveaways!

April, and a freebie!

April is our month to do big things! Not on purpose I can assure you. It was the month we had our first baby, a year later we bought our first house in April, we renovated the majority of it the week we moved in and the following weeks and months following. Two years later we had our second baby in April. And now a year later, we are endeavoring to start a business, Rick is quitting his job of 5 years to take a job working in the field he graduating in, and both are a huge leap of faith for both of us! We seem to have that desire for change with the change of seasons, or maybe it just works out that way! I made a printable this week to welcome in Spring, and the changes that ensuing in our lives, and wanted to share it as our first blog freebie!

Before you grab it, make sure to go follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Etsy to get notified when there are more freebies, tips, and products.

Click here to download freebie!

Involved

 Whew, who knew that the beginning part of all this business thing would be so involved! I feel like every day we have a list of a million things we need to do, and only a couple get checked off the list. I mean realistically, most of the things on my "to do" list as wants. I want Rick to build me a new desk, I want him to build me shelving, I want him to cut me this or that to put in my house. You know those wants that really feel like needs! :) He did get my desk sprayed, and put in the office!! YAY! The drawers are still a work in progress, but we are happy to just have the desk so that I have space for the computer, and printer, and camera, and baby monitors and all that stuff that you actually need and use! It looks absolutely beautiful, and I love love love it!

This week he has been busy as ever and put up a peg board in the closet in here so that we could see what we have cut already. Part of the problem we have faced so far has been space! We have really struggled with how to display our cutouts so that we know what we have available, as well as so everything doesn't get ruined. We have had a few casualties along the way, chipped letters, and such from being stacked on the ground, and moved, and stacked and moved. This way is nice and safe, and looks like so much fun!!

 With all of our shuffling around here at our house, moving my sisters stuff out, making the spare room an office/craft room, and making the old craft room a play room, we have had a serious need for some new decorating. I had seen these alphabets around the internet, and have always wanted one. I realized the other day that I could make one! I got to work right away designing it exactly how I wanted it to be, and sent it on it's way to the hubsters to be programmed and cut! I have debated on colors to paint it for the last week, and finally yesterday I made the decision, and from there I just wanted to get it done! I absolutely love how it turned out, and I am somewhat giddy about it! I just sprayed it with acrylic and I am so excited to hang it on my kids play room walls! 

Along with a desk, and a peg board, talented hubby, build me this awesome shelf in the office to display more stuff on, I am not sure what we will end up putting there long term, but for now, there are lots and lots of adorable arrows!

On top of all this, I have been shocked with all the little things that I need to do to stay organized, and make this all legal. Business licenses, state tax id, federal tax ID, inventory lists, sizes, and weights, and packaged dimensions, shipping supplies, router bits, wood, business cards, logos, seriously I could go on and on. Luckily we are getting to the latter end of most of this and I am so excited to officially open shop! 

Setting up Shop!

Things are starting to look official! After a mishap in my typing abilities, I have been worried about not having our tax ID work out! I accidentally put in one wrong number in my SSN, luckily, the tax administration could figure out who I really was, and yesterday we got our official tax ID number. We just have a few more things to do to get the garage in order to complete the fire inspection sheet, and then we can apply for our business license-and then we are legit! In the mean time we are doing our very best to get everything ready for out attempts at running a successful business. Cross your fingers for us. 

We have a super crappy desk right now, I mean super crappy. It could be alright if I wanted to put a lot of time into it. But it's an old secretary desk, and it is just so old. The drawers are crappy, and as cute as the secretary desk look is, the top part is just really in the way. I have really wanted a huge desk for a while now, and when we moved all of our wood projects into the spare bedroom, Rick decided he would build me one. He started a couple of days ago, and while I was at Women's Conference, he finished building the framework of it all. It will eventually have drawers and keyboard holders but in the meantime I am so excited to have a huge desk! We sprayed our first coat of paint on last night, and it is looking awesome. I'm way excited.

We both frequently feel this overwhelming/exciting feeling for this endeavor that we are going to pursue together. In one breathe I am totally overwhelmed with everything we still need to do to even get started. And then in the very next breathe I am so excited for all the things we can design and create. It's pretty exhilarating!