Making it Lovely » Pink Loves Brown

How My Blog Went From a Hobby to a Job

Making it Lovely — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:59:39 +0000

As I mentioned yesterday, there are several topics to not discuss in polite company: money, politics, and your stance on wood finishes. Since I have already, at various points, touched on the other two, why not go three for three and talk about finances?

I’ve held a job, self-employed or otherwise, since I was sixteen. I have been an amusement park ride-operator, a handy(wo)man, a telephone surveyor, a face painter, a babysitter, a record store clerk, a muralist, a bookseller, a web designer, a stationer, and a blogger. Most of those overlapped. For instance, I worked at the bookstore while also face painting for the village events in Oak Park, the combination of which somehow led to my being awarded Employee of the Year for Downtown Oak Park! I didn’t even know that was a possibility, but I gave a brief, awkward acceptance speech at the end of a TIF meeting, and was presented with a plaque. (It used to hang in our apartment bathroom, because that’s a pretty funny thing to see when you visit the loo.)

I’m sure you can tell from my résumé of odd jobs (literally) that I have been raking it in!

Brandon and I were married in 2004. I started my stationery shop in 2005, and I began offering web design in 2006. Making it Lovely began in 2007, and I had intended for it to be a complement to the shop and design business, but mostly just a fun place to chronicle what we were doing as we moved into our first house together. Over time, the blog became successful, and I was able to earn some advertising revenue. Each year, the balance of our finances changed a little (2008 took a hit from doing the National Stationery Show — ouch), but Brandon’s job was always the anchor.

He and I had dreamed of the day he would be able to quit. Steadily, each year, we grew a little closer. Then, in January 2012, we were pushed over the cliff when he lost his job. We weren’t ready to make that leap, and we scrambled for a while. Slowly though, I began to find my footing with the blog and its potential to support us, and in September 2012, I wrote about our decision for Brandon to stay home and watch the kids while I worked full-time on the blog.

Though our income is now fully funded by Making it Lovely, I have tried to diversify the sources as much as possible. Keep reading for a breakdown of how this blog supported us in 2012.
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Maternity Leave: Pink Loves Brown

Making it Lovely — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:36:50 +0000

It’s about time to take a little leave of absence from my shop, Pink Loves Brown. My due date is a mere ten days away, but I’ll be accepting orders through Friday. If you’ve had your eye on anything, now’s the time to place your order!

The Pink Loves Brown Gift Guide

Making it Lovely — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 07:44:04 +0000

It’s back! I’ve made it easy to get gift ideas and shop by price in my shop, Pink Loves Brown.

I know a lot of us are feeling a little more budget-conscious these days, so I’m happy to have so many awesome and reasonably priced items in my shop. Bookplates and stationery can be personalized for free (as always), so the gifts just feel that much more special. And hey, lookee here…

Yes, I’ve added several new colors of paper suitcases to the shop! A quick heads-up: If you’ve had your eye on the light pink, light blue, or dark brown paper suitcases, act quickly because once those are gone, they’re gone for good.

A Discount for Making it Lovely Readers

A special discount just for my lovely, lovely readers! Enter “lovelyholiday10″ to take 20% off through the end of the day, December 01.

Style: November ’10

Making it Lovely — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:57:28 +0000

Clearly I’m looking forward to the holidays. Velvet! Sparkle! Gold! Ruffles! Although, I tend to dress this way on normal days sometimes too…

I love dresses like this one paired with black tights because they’re effortlessly stylish. There’s a maternity version here, but it might need cinching in the waist. Red nail polish would take this look over the top, so I’d wear pink to keep it sweet and a little more casual. Plus you’d look so cute when you pull out your ‘best-ever-oh-my-god-where-did-you-get-that’ pocket mirror! (That was a shameless plug for my own shop, I know.) Lilac earrings and a fuschia velvet clutch add a little more color, while the shoes and ring bring in the shine.

Om

Making it Lovely — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:59:55 +0000

We’ve just returned from a family reunion this weekend at Backbone State Park in Iowa. It was a lovely trip, but we’re glad to be home too.

I’m feeling a bit… overwhelmed, trying to get back into the rhythm of things. Do you ever feel this way? Already today I have overnighted a package to a magazine for a fun project in the works, invoiced an overseas customer for a bulk order from the shop, processed five other Pink Loves Brown orders, and I am now working on a crafty tutorial to go along with that package I shipped to the magazine. I also let Eleanor nap on me this morning which didn’t do much for my productivity, but it is one of my favorite things to do. Anyway, it’s wonderful to be so busy (so much better than not having any work coming in), but it is sometimes difficult to find enough hours in a day.

And oh my, Brandon bought The Twilight Saga for me. No, I hadn’t read any of them, and I hadn’t seen any of the movies, and I hadn’t intended to. We were discussing the series the other day though and I mentioned that I hadn’t heard of anyone being disappointed in reading the books. I said that while they are certainly not serious literature, they must be fun to read. So he surprised me with the full set. Hardcover. Complete with a decorative slipcase and limited edition print. I’m already almost finished with the first book (they go quickly), and I can’t wait to keep reading.

I’ve also been greatly enjoying reading your questions for John Gidding. If you haven’t added yours yet (for the chance to win some pretty amazing prizes), feel free to do so here. We’ll be answering as many as we can on Thursday night at 8:30 EST during our Twitter Chat (follow along with #AmexHome), but you’ve also given me some ideas for future topics here on Making it Lovely.

Let me leave you with this photo today. I think it’s hilarious, but it also makes me think I should just stop for a few minutes, close my eyes, and relax. Om…

Pink Loves Brown in Romantic Homes Magazine

Making it Lovely — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:03:18 +0000

Two sets of my bookplates from Pink Loves Brown were featured in the May 2010 issue! Thank you, Romantic Homes Magazine.

You Still Have Time!

Making it Lovely — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:10:39 +0000

You can still place an order from my shop, Pink Loves Brown, and receive your items by Christmas! The last day to order is this Sunday. May I make a few suggestions?

Paper suitcases ($11.50 – $14.50) can be a gift on their own, or they can be filled with all kinds of goodies.

Bookplates ($8 – $21) are excellent stocking stuffers, and they’re great for teachers and coworkers.

Pocket mirrors (only $6.50!) are great stocking stuffers too.

And of course you can’t go wrong with personalized stationery ($20 – $51).

Or you can give personalized stationery (yes, it can be personalized at no extra cost!) in a paper suitcase gift set ($38).

Just remember to place those orders by Sunday, and choose Priority mail (it’s faster). Thanks, and happy holidays!

Go Sign Up!

Making it Lovely — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:08:10 +0000

Here’s a friendly heads up.

If you’re not already on the mailing list for my shop, Pink Loves Brown, you may want to go sign up… I’ll be sending out a discount code for 20% off on Monday, 15% off on Tuesday, and 10% off on Wednesday!

The Shop is Open Again!

Making it Lovely — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:45:26 +0000

YAY!!! Maternity leave has been wonderful, but it’s time to open Pink Loves Brown again!

Thank you for your patience. Besides caring for a newborn during my time off and also keeping up with the blog here (obviously), I’ve been furiously working away behind the scenes on my business. I switched the entire site over to a new web host, designed some great new stationery, researched and implemented greener production methods, photographed the new items, updated my wholesale order forms (new stores are always welcome, by the way), and entered everything into the site. It’s been a lot of work, but I’m so glad that the shop is up and running again!

Here’s a little glimpse of the new stationery…

And here are the paper suitcases, now available in six yummy colors.

Head on over to Pink Loves Brown and check out all of the new goodies, and of course the old favorites too! And you can enter “yippee” at checkout to save 20% on your order. Thanks again for all of your support. I can’t wait to start sending pretty packages out from the shop again!

* The discount is valid through midnight October 25, and cannot be combined with any other offer.

ReadyMade: Mod Science

Making it Lovely — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:00:39 +0000

Pink Loves Brown’s Periodic Table of Sentiments are featured in the April/May 2009 issue of ReadyMade!

Very exciting, but unfortunately not the best timing for me! I’ll be closing up the shop temporarily for my maternity leave, starting on Monday, April 6. You can still place orders right now though, and don’t forget — I’m offering 10% off with the promo code “stork”!