Are you a quitter?

I've always been a quitter. I'm not proud of it. I hate it about myself. But I just always have been. When something got hard or didn't come easy anymore I'd quit.
So it's no surprise to myself or anyone around me that I almost quit selling Thirty One.
I would sit at home with my daughter and whine (in my head) about how it wasn't working for me. Doesn't that sound funny? Sitting around whining because something wasn't working? Rather than going out and making it work. I think I expected people to call me to book a party. Thankfully my lovely director who I hated then and adore now refused to let me quit. She gave me a little tough momma love and I got off my tuckus and got busy. And you know what? She was right. When you work this business like it's your job, it will pay you like one. When you work it like a hobby, it's going to pay you like a hobby. End of story.
So when I stopped whining and started working my business and life in general thrived!
I've never regretted NOT giving up. But I know I would have regretted giving up. 

Me choose?? Me??

Monogramming is the most fun thing ever! If it's not moving, monogram it!
But choosing a monogram is like choosing a tattoo.
You want to make sure you are going to be happy with it forever!!

It's a big decision on your own bag. So nothing strikes fear in a consultant's heart like having a customer ask us to choose. You want me to choose your monogram?
What if I pick wrong? What if you hate it? And then you're stuck with it!

Even just picking font for a customer gives me a panic attack! What if I go too girly? Or not girly enough?

If you MUST choose for a customer ask them a few things. Do you like cursive or print lettering? Are you whimsical? What's your favorite color? These things will definitely help, but you'll probably still have a panic attack when you submit your final choice.

Good luck and Godspeed!

Who doesn't love Target??

These accordion files from Target are AMAZING for hostess packets. They have a slot for everything including any money or orders taken by your hostess before her party. And best part? They're only $1! You have to catch the Target $1 spot on the right day but when you do stock up! I love finding these. Especially when they have the pink ones!
And my hostesses love having everything they need at their fingertips!

The last monogram for the rest of my life..

So, I'm getting married!! We're already practically married but we're making it legal. Here's our engagement picture. Watermarked so no one makes us into a meme! We're silly. And it's fabulous.

Anyway, the point! The super amazing thing besides marrying your best friend, is when your last initial doesn't change!! All my beautifully monogrammed Thirty One bags will still be relevant!!! But I did go ahead and order a Zip Top Organizing Tote with my future last name. How could I resist?? They were on sale!! It's beautiful and I love it and I'm obsessed with it. And the best part is the look on "the Man's" face when he saw it. It warmed my tiny baby heart.

Now I just need some wedding themed Thirty One note cards!!

The perfect baby gift!!

The gift I ordered for my friend's baby shower just came!! I will be filling the Timeless Beauty Bag with all the things she needs for portable baby changing! It's going to be adorable!! Will share pictures when it's finished!

Do you hustle?

I have to remind myself of this. You have to hustle to succeed. It's just fact. I'm a bit of a dreamer. I have a lot of big ideas but I lack the follow through. Thirty One is the first thing that I've really worked for and I am so thankful for it! I found something I love and I can be passionate about! So that helps when it's time to hustle! Now off to work!!

Office in a Box!

Monday I posted a picture on Instagram of my "office in a box". I had several people ask what was in it. So here is a breakdown of the box that keeps me sane. Backstory, I am not organized. I DESPERATELY want to be organized but it never works out. So although I have an office/desk in a corner, it's always messy and I can never find anything. Hence the reason I've started keeping everything I need in this Your Way Cube. It's mobile and small enough to keep organized without becoming overwhelmed. You'll notice that it's not just Thirty One stuff in this box, for me there is no separation between job and home. It's all meshed together because it's easier for me that way. If I have too many "systems" I get confused and again overwhelmed.

So here goes!

"What's in the box??"

We'll start with the big picture, this is my "office in a box". It is a Thirty One Your Way Cube with a Fold N File inside. 

A. Document holder, I keep this stocked and ready to walk out of the house or to a party at all times. 

It has: order forms, recruiting fliers, special fliers, and catalogs. 

B. Various envelopes for mailing catalogs, invites, minis, whatevs. 

C. Hostess packets stocked and ready to go at all times.

D. My fabulous stamp from Dear Madaline Designs

I stamp catalogs, minis, my kid, my dog, anything that will sit still. 

Because I don't use business cards, I stamp my mini catalogs and

pass them out like candy. 

E. Welcome to the Team notecards

F. Labels of various sizes. I use labels to stamp my catalogs. 

Keeps it from smearing and let's me choose where I want it to go.

(on the front over the jean skirt)

G. My weekly planner from Dear Madaline Designs.

H. Extra order forms

I. Extra catalogs. 

What's in my Fold N File? 

Usually I pull this out and throw it in an Organizing Utility Tote when I'm going to a party. Sometimes if I've been lazy and the Fold N File isn't stocked I'll grab the whole cube. But I try to avoid doing that if possible. 

a. Order forms

b. Recruiting fliers

c. Monthly special fliers

d. Completed parties, order forms, order print outs, any notes I've taken. 

e. The Princess's artwork

f. Grocery store receipts. 

(coming soon to the files, business receipts. I ran out of files.)

g. My planner. It holds my entire life. 

h. Pretty tape for mailing. 

i. My timeless beauty bag containing all of my many notecards and stamps. 

j. Extra mini catalogs

k. Small prizes for parties and hostesses, key fobs, nail files, rosette clips. 

l. My thank you cards that I attach to the pink bags, also from Dear Madaline Designs. 

m. Pretty paper clips for my planner

n. My Square reader

So there you have it! My "office in a box"! 

How do you keep your life organized? I'm always looking for new ways to do things!

Don't throw out your old catalogs!

How many of you direct sales consultants have tons of outdated catalogs? I know I do. I tend to buy too many so I don't run out. I'm then left with a big stack that can't be used. I decided to put them to use! Waste nothing! My wonderful friend over at Dear Madaline Designs taught me to make these cute envelopes last summer. My life was changed forever! I now use them for everything!! Christmas gifts, goodie bags, door prizes, so many choices!! Now I will spread the love and share with you! Normally I use a glue stick for these, but the catalog paper is so slick and it's going through the post office I thought it should be extra tight. Hot glue it is!
Here we go! Super cute envelopes in just ten steps!!

Step 1: Gather up your old catalogs. Open it to the middle and find the seam. Remove the staples. Don't use your fingernails! These guys are tough!!

Step 2: Look at all these beautiful future envelopes. Choose your favorite page!

Step 3: Fold the right side in, to meet the middle seam. Flatten the fold nice and thin.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 on the left side.
(you can fold these to make the envelope as small or large as you like)

Step 5: Glue the seam down, from the top all the way to the bottom. I use as thin a strip of glue as possible so it's not bulky.

Step 6: Glue the bottom of the envelope closed, as close to the bottom edge as possible. Remember, thin strips of glue if you're using hot glue. Bulky envelopes are no good.

Step 7: Fold over the bottom of the envelope and glue down. Flatten that fold down nice and tight.

Step 8: Fold down the top of the envelope. I like to make a bigger fold for the top. You will not be gluing this one down!

Step 9: Add your fillings for your happy mail! Your customers will be so excited!
I like to seal the envelope with my business information. Maybe someone will see something they like on my "envelope" and they'll know exactly who to contact!

Step 10: Add your labels and head off to the post office! I guarantee these envelopes will not soon be forgotten!
(I have not been to the post office yet, I don't know how much postage this will take but will update when I do. I can't imagine it will be much.)






I tried to explain it well but if you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments!

Side note, when using these for goodie bags I punch two holes in the top flap and tie it with a ribbon. The bow is usually MUCH bigger but I was toying with the idea of sending the bow through the post. I decided I'd rather use a sticker with all my info on it. 

Happy President's Day!!

A great gift for any occasion! It has the presidential seal of approval!

















background graphic thanks to http://www.freevector.com/

Happy Love Day!

The only Valentine I need! My precious girl. She has wanted a new lunch tote and this bird coin purse for weeks. Every time an order came in and she didn't get it she was so confused. I held strong and saved it! She was so excited this morning.

How to organize your car with just three products!

My car is always kind of a wreck. I can never find anything. I finally decided to take control!! I bought three organizers from Thirty One, the Hang Up Activity Organizer, the Flip Top Organizing Bin, and the Pack and Pull Caddy. I honestly wasn't expecting to love it this much. But it makes my OCD heart skip a beat.
The proof is in the pictures. #glorious!