What's Happenin' Around The Shop

Its been a while since I've done one of these but that is most likely because I haven't put new items up in the shop for a while.   Recently I have been working on some fun and spooky Halloween prints and invites.  While learning my way through the first year and a half of being an Etsy Shop Owner and Blogger I've realized that planning is a BIG BIG part.  However what I am learning this holiday season is that planning WAY WAY in advance is much needed.  A note that I will take down and be sure to implement next year.  {basically start planning for Christmas in July} 

Anywho .. here are some new pieces I have incorporated to my Halloween section and some oldies {but goodies} 

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And some classic Halloween Party Packages 

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So that's what's been happening around the shop.  If you missed my post earlier this week with a Free Download for Boo Mix Treat Tags grab them HERE.

Trick or Treat    

Boo Mix

While my mind is dreaming up everything Thanksgiving and fall, we are not quite there yet.  So I thought I'd get into the holiday spirit ... a little bit.  When I think of Halloween I think treats!  However I want something more than just a bag of assorted chocolate bars, I wanted something that kids could give their friends or teachers, something that you could give co-workers in the office or something for yourself to just snack on!

As I was wasting hours away on Pinterest I came across this fun idea! Its just cute enough that kids get it but not so cutesy that adults can get on board as well!

So I decided to make my own little spin on it ... BOO MIX!!

You'll only need four ingredients:

Golden Grahams

Mini Marshmallows

Candy Corn

Chocolate Chips 

You'll also need a large bowl and some individual bags.

{I used clear plastic bags from Michaels because I had some 

left over but I think little zip lock bags work just fine} 

Basically what your going to make is a little chex mix type treat.  The fun part is though what each ingredient represents! 

Now here is where my culinary skills are going to shine ... careful, you might think your on a foodie blog!

To start, put the Candy Corn in the bowl.

Then add the Mini Marshmallows

Then the Chocolate Chips

And finally the Golden Grahams

As far as measurements go ... eyeball it to make sure you have an even amount off all ingredients.  I mixed mine by hand, but if your germ conscious then use a wooden spoon.

Then I scooped the mix into the bags.

Folded down the bag and stapled it shut. Wheww .. some hard work there.

Now, in order for the fun-ness of this to get across to it's recipients we need to make sure they know what is in the delicious treat they just got!

Cue some Halloweeny Labels - And of course you can download them free!

{ Click Here To Download }

There you have it .. one of he easiest things I have done in a long time and they are just so cute!

Trick or Treat

For some more fun Halloween Prints check out the Wamp Designs Shop

Holiday Decorating

We've all seen it ... walking through the store in the middle of August and BAM Christmas stuff is already out.  Did we skip Halloween and Fall??? What is going on here? 

It seems like every year the stores put out holiday stuff sooner and sooner.  I am convinced it is a week earlier each year and we just haven't caught on yet! I have NEVER been a fan of this, sometimes it REALLY bothers me that I refuse to even look at the holiday sections in stores .. I like to give each holiday their time, so I created:

I came up with this years ago when I first moved out into my own apartment and started decorating for the holidays.  I like to give myself guidelines .. and if those guidelines have dates .. even better! {I know some of you are thinking I am crazy right now but it really helps when you have a game plan ... for anything}  

Now I know that these are just the holidays at the end of the year ... but lets face it ... those are usually the most important and the ones your decorate for.  If your putting shamrocks up in March ... More power to ya! But that's not in my game plan ... for now.  So when it gets towards the end of the year ... this is what I follow:

Halloween {not fall - I'm talking ghosts, goblins and jack-o-lanterns} go up ... October 1st

Thanksgiving {here is the fall stuff pumpkins, scarecrows, hay} go up ... November 1st

Christmas {in all its glory} go up ... December 1st

And of course as the new decorations go up the others come down and Christmas stays till after the new year.

I'm not going to lie, sometimes I get the urge to "pre-decorate" but I never give in {or at least haven't yet}  Its just not fair to the holiday that gets the shortened timeline.

So October 1st has come and gone and where is my post about Halloween decorations?!?!

Well to be honest ... I was a little busy with the whole wedding thing and I will say that we don't go all out for Halloween ... in fact ... sometimes we don't decorate for it a all! {like this year} However when we have a family with small children I vow to do more with that holiday.  For the time being though .. Mike actually really dislikes Halloween so we keep it low key.

If your like me though and are looking for a few subtle touches to your home to show some Halloween Spirit check out some of the prints I have in the shop.  A fun framed print could be just enough for your home or office {hey .. I used to decorate my cubicle ;) }

{Click Here To Download}

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{Click Here To Download}

Happy Holidays!

Creating A Marriage

Now that the wedding is over I had to switch up a few things { ^^ notice the header ^^ }

A lot of times we can get caught up in everything wedding that we loose focus of the real reason we are doing all this.  Moving forward from September 26th I am finished creating a wedding, I am ... 

Now what does that entail? Well to be honest I'll be figuring that out as I go along but I plan to share with you {like I do all my creations} everything that I find, is part of creating a marriage.

What I'd like to share today is what Mike and I did to help get us off on the right foot - Premarital Counseling.  While this was something that our pastor required we found it not only helpful but fun too.  We used the book "Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts" by Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott, along with the books we had a Workbook For Men and Workbook For Women.

The idea was that each week we would read one or two chapters and fill out the exercises in our workbooks {separately} - then we would sit down and go over our answers.  This usually sparked conversation that we might otherwise would not have had if we weren't prompted to.  We would than go and sit down with our pastor and discuss with him what we talked about.

Full Disclaimer - Mike and I have been together for 6 years and have lived together for 3 of those.  There were some exercises in the book that were a little redundant for us having already worked out some of the tweaks that come along with living together and sharing some life responsibilities.

That being said there were some exercises that really opened our eyes to things about each other that we didn't know after 6 years or that we thought we knew but didn't fully understand.

It covers:

• Your personal rules as an individual 
• Dividing home and life duties 
• Having realistic expectations of your partner
• Addressing your self image
• Defining your love
• Your sex life
• Cultivating Intimacy
• Listening to your self-talk
• Avoiding the blame game
• How well do you communicate
• Daily Temperature Reading
• Couple's Inventory
• Your top ten needs
• Identifying Your Hot Topics
• Money
• Mind Reading
• Your spiritual journey

I really believe going through this brought us closer and strengthened our bond.  It forced us to talk about uncomfortable things, come to resolutions to fights that could have broken out if we did not confront it, and learn more about each other.

I would highly recommend this book and workbooks to anyone that is engaged to be married, I would also recommend this book to people who are already married.  I felt it really helped us.

#Becomingtherichards

It is officially done, the wedding I have been planning for a year an a half has come and went.  I must say it was the perfect two days {yes I am counting Friday as part of my wedding too} if I could go back and do it over again .... I wouldn't change a thing! I am truly blessed to be able to say that.

Of course I plan to go into detail about the entire event however I have decided to wait until I get my pictures from my photographer to do that ... I feel its the only way to really show you how amazing it was.  In the meantime - I don't want to leave you hanging so I will share with you what I am calling 

#BecomingTheRichards

We {like many weddings now-a-days} decided to come up with a hashtag so all our guests that shared pictures on Social Media could use it and it would be easy for us to find.  Below are pictures that are directly from that hashtag. In no particular order.

{Grandma Sweeney and I getting down on the dance floor}

{ Mike and I's First Dance - Lets Stay Together }

{ Mr. and Mrs. Richard }

{ Table 10 - Our Fantasy Football Group Text was filled with these gems }

{ My girls getting ready! Brandy, Laura, and Courtney }

{ Girls @ Dinner - Brandy, Laura, Katie }

{ The Other End - Courtney, Marie, Me, Mike, Mark }

{ Jason, Chelsea, and Dan - I love the background though, that is my younger brother Logan who was so emotional the entire day - so sweet }

{ Me, Mike, Talia, and Fulgenzi }

{ Mr. and Mrs. Richard with Mr. and Mrs. Olsen - these two got married Wednesday of that week on a cruise, docked Saturday morning and still came to celebrate with us! }

{ The Guys - Mike looks like he taking some DEEP breaths }

{ The traditional Patron shot before any major festivities }

{ You May Kiss The Bride }

{ Love that Sarah shared this ... Our Fan Programs }

{ The Best Maid Of Honor any Bride could ask for }

{My Favorite <3 }

{ My Mother-In-Law and Sisters-In-Law }

{ Such a sweet moment between brothers }

{ My Dad walking me down the aisle }

{ Mike Singing To Me - All Of You by John Legend }

{ These are the beautiful significant others of Mikes boys - The first ladies of Hillside }

{ Kisses }

{ Photobooth Fun }

{ Sharp Looking Groomsmen }

{ Mike's Friend from Michigan - so happy they could be with us on our special day}


Our Photographer { Alisa Sue Photography } did share one sneak peak that I of course love.  She does an amazing job with her photos and on top of that she is so much fun.  She makes you feel comfortable, jokes around with you and you can tell she really loves what she does and it shows in her work. If you are in the Sarasota area I HIGHLY recommend her.