2016 - A Girl Boss Kind of Year!

Yes I made my family dress up in glitter antlers for Christmas!

2016, you were quite the year in the Billings' household! We definitely shook up everything and anything. 2015 was a rough year for us and we were ready to jump into 2016. Jumped we did! Into new careers, new adventures and new spaces. There was so much that happened, I wasn't sure what to recap or which of the many pictures to share. I decided to keep it simple with some of my favorite pictures and finish with a write up that was recently published in our local paper's Neighbor section.

LOC's first birthday with amazing friends to celebrate a successful year with my website!

Caddy & my first Calligraphy workshop - hosted in my living room!

Cassie's birthday! Celebrating with some of my fav ladies.

Big News!

My new home away from home

Taking the girl boss status to a new level...

First customer!

Fabulous friends on "Goldie" the swan at my grand opening party!

Great support team!

Happy party girls are the best!

The ladies and gentleman that put up with my shenanigans and help me make this all happen!

I seriously have the best in-laws!

I wasn't the only one who made a big career move!

Top Instagram post of 2016! Already have an idea for my next Rifle Card inspo...

Dustin and I both got our careers in check this year and are working jobs we truly love. We still work our booties off and during the year when I was working two full-time jobs it was a little (lot) madness, but I wouldn't have done it any other. Going full-time on the shop during the holiday season was perfect timing and I had an incredible season that went past expectations. There were lots of happy dances, so thank you for shopping small and local! I am so excited to take the shop to the next level with my fun ideas that I will hopefully have time to execute now. Stay tuned for a fun 2017!

I am beyond grateful to everyone who helped make 2016 a year to remember. Your encouragement and pushing helped make my daydream a reality! Thank you to my in-laws, mother, Ryan (good friend) and Dustin for helping get the new shop up and running! It wouldn't be the beautiful space it is without their help. Thank you to all of my customers, followers on social media and fans who make my shop worth running and the enjoyable job it is!

Cherry on top of my girl boss year? A nomination in Wichita Magazine's Wichita Best List! My last favor for 2016, please vote! I would love to win the Best Gift Shop award to kick off a new year. Thank you again for all of your amazing support!

Vote here for Best Gift Shop Category - there are some other local favorites in other categories as well!

Ciao 2016, Hello 2017! Hope you all have a very Happy New Year!

Lots of Love,

Through the Looking Glass Party

The Friday before Christmas, we hosted a colorful Alice Through the Looking Glass party and it was a fun way to kick off the busy weekend! My friend's daughter wanted a fancy, non-babyish Alice party and Carolyn pulled it off beautifully. She mixed her enamel flower market MacKenzie Child's dishes with some of our Truly Alice paper tea cups, which set a bright and fun party table.

When the young party guests arrived, they walked through a fun "looking glass" entrance to set the mood for the event. They were then served tasty snacks and sandwiches with some fancy punch. Since it was a garden/Alice themed party, we put back up the turf backdrop and then added a couple fun touches for their pictures. She evened brought in costumes from the movie for guests to dress up in for pictures - so cute! It worked out perfectly for a garden feel in the middle of December. Carolyn also wrote up a pretty poster with an Alice quote and her place cards were a whimsical touch to the table - great handwriting!

For the craft, they made blue dream catchers. Carolyn purchased sewing hoops and blue yarn, plus some decorations to let everyone add their unique touch. The were so enthralled with the craft, I was concerned by the silence! Definitely a creative one to remember for future parties. Plus, the items she purchased to decorate them with, worked out as fun table decor as well.

After eating, crafting and playing dress up, the birthday girl finished up her party with a big smile. I loved seeing everything come together and Carolyn did a wonderful job turning the back space into a Wonderland. Great ending to a fabulous 2016 filled with such fun events! Can't wait to see what 2017 has in store party wise!

Lots of Love,

Lindeman Carte Lettering Workshop

This past weekend, a fabulous local artist hosted a "Faux" Calligraphy Handlettering Workshop at the store and it was so much fun! Rachel is the owner of Lindeman Carte, an adorable card, stationery and handwriting line. We sell out of her cheeky cards all the time because the sayings are perfect for life happenings and the style is so pretty and simple. Her workshop, same level of pretty and simple in all the right ways.

The font type on her workbooks was great for a bold statement against the black placemats. I adored the marble pieces for name tags and her greenery on the table was gorgeous. It all worked together so wonderfully and looked like her brand image. We laid out the supplies, which included different pens and markers, plus envelopes, a mini chalkboard and tags. She definitely made the workshop worth the price for her students.

During the workshop, Rachel talked us through the basics of writing and then walked us through her very useful workbook. We had time to practice and she walked around to answer questions as needed. Everyone had fun enjoying some relaxing time writing! After we practiced letters, she got us started on the projects. I loved hearing her pointers, ideas and favorite tools to use.

Thank you to Rachel for coming and teaching this fun workshop! Also, thank you to everyone that attended and I hope that you had a good time learning some new skills! It was a sold event and I definitely recommend people take her future workshops. We will work on getting more on the calendar after the holidays!

Lots of Love,