Studio Pebbles

Target Pin-To-Win Contest Winners

Hey all!! 

I am so excited to announce the winners for the "Pin-To-Win" contest with Target! Best of Luck to everyone who entered! 

Without further ado: Here are the winners!! :D

• Jen Daloisio
• Lisa Barton
• Clara Crays Grace
• Gismonde Valina
• Janis Conn
• Danielle Raines
• Brittany Daugherty
• Gretchen Mason
• Louise Fortune
• Sarah G.

 CONGRATS LADIES!!! Here's what you need to do to redeem your prize: Email me your name and mailing address and a phone number to contact you (this info will only be shared with Target for prize fulfillment). If the prize is not in stock online, a gift card for the amount will be sent for you to use in store, or for another item on Target.com.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, to EVERYONE who played along!! I wish I could send prizes to everyone! :(

If your name isn't on the list, but you would still like to purchase some of the items that were available, I have put together a "shopping list" on Target.com that has all the prize items linked. Some are sold-out, but a lot are still available.   Here is a quick look at what's listed...

I had so much fun picking out these items for my Office Makeover, and for the Pinterest prizes, I can't wait to see how the winners incorporate their new items into their homes. I hope you'll share! 

Thanks again for playing along! And thank you to Target for sponsoring this contest and my Office Makeover! 

xoxoxo
-JP 

Love Is In The Air

I can't believe Valentine's Day is tomorrow people!! Where does the time go? I swear, it was just New Years Eve 5 minutes ago...

In honor of the big LOVE DAY...I wanted to pop in to let you know that I am having a Valentine's Sale on my printables on Etsy. Use the code LOVE50 for 50% off until Feb 20th. These are great for last minute Valentine's, or for your scrapbook pages or Project Life albums. 

Also, if you follow me on Instagram, I shared a sneak peek of this print a couple weeks ago, and I am excited to offer it as a FREE download!! I found this "imaginary conversation" in the most random of places online, and I loved it so much, I had to illustrate it. 

The print is on letter size paper and is 6.75" square and you can download the .pdf by clicking this link here:

I am working on finishing up a couple of blog posts, one about craft storage in my new office, another with a tutorial on how I did the chalkboard quote, and hopefully this afternoon I will have the list of winners from the Target "Pin-To-Win" Pinterest contest.

I hope you all have a love filled Valentine's Day, whether it's love from a spouse or partner, a new special someone, love from your kids and family, or simply love for yourself. Where ever you are, I hope it finds you happy! 

xoxoxo
-JP 

Office Makeover with Target | The Reveal + Pinterest Giveaway

I'm SO excited today to share the big reveal of my office makeover! Target was so generous in providing me with this opportunity to redecorate and reorganize my office with the help of Sabrina Soto, Target's Home Style Expert, and my choice of Target products! 

If you haven't read the "Before" post, you can find it here, where I share the reason behind the makeover and the Design Consultation Q&A with Sabrina.

I hope you enjoy the new look as much as I do! I will go over some of my process in this post, then, I will follow up subsequently on some of the details and products behind my organization choices, especially as they relate to craft storage.

Also, Target is giving you a chance to win some of the items in my room, by participating in a Pinterest contest!! You can find more details at the end of this post! It's going to be a lot of fun friends, so grab a cup of coffee, and join me on my Office Makeover Tour:

Sabrina had a lot of great suggestions for my office in her Design Consultation, and I spent a lot of time reading her responses and reviewing my questions before I started the project, because I wanted to make sure I did this once and did it right. 

One of the first things I wanted to deal with in this space was a major purge and reorganization of my shelving. I decided quite early on that I liked the shelves and the standing desk, I appreciated the time and work that went into John installing them for me, and I thought they still had great potential in the space...they were just a mess. Before we tackled anything else in this room, it was time to do a major purge! 

One of the things that Sabrina advised was to eliminate small items and knick-knacks. As a collector of cute objet d'art, it was a hard to face that some of these items needed to go. But, it was the easiest project for John to help with, so it was the first thing we did. Once it all started coming down, I realized that I wasn't as attached as I thought. (Isn't it always that way with stuff?) Then, I concentrated on clearing off the top shelf as much as possible, moving the boxes off the floor and up to the bottom shelf, eliminating a lot of clutter that had accumulated until the shelves looked and felt lighter. Next, I worked on grouping my storage bins in "like" combinations as Sabrina suggested, to reduce the visual clutter. I replaced quite a few of my colored storage boxes with Target's Room Essentials white Y-weave containers, to blend with the other white paper boxes. 

Sabrina also suggested new task lighting, and I liked that she picked an Architect's Desk Lamp, because it just so happened that we had a pair of similar lights on John's desk, so naturally I commandeered them for my use. :D

The 5 Y-weave boxes each hold a great deal of craft tools; there is one with my paper punches, another with my glue guns and glitter, one with all my ink stamp pads, and another with scissors, tape, pens and pencils and other tools like my bone folder, awl, and glue sticks. The last one is left empty for future items. 

I also purchased a clear multi-use organizational tray in the bath section of Target, and that is where I put some of my latest scrapbooking supplies for work on my Christmas album, which I hope to finish before next Christmas.

On the far left side of my desk, I put my photo printer, my button press and my Silhouette. They are close enough to my computer to be functional and out of the way of my working space. 

The little nook area behind the door originally housed my tower of vintage lockers. In its place, I moved the bookshelf that was already in my office. This keeps all of the "open storage" together in one area, and my papers and supplies are an arms reach away from my standing desk. I also like that it gives me an out-of-the-way space to put a couple of decorative items, and additional lighting. 

The locker tower was moved across the room into the window corner of my chalkboard wall and next to a small white bench that serves multiple purposes. It gives me extra seating when I have a friend or two over to craft with me, and it also gives me a spot with great lighting where I can prop and stage my shop items, prints and craft projects for photography. I also have some hooks in the ceiling, that I can use to hang photo backdrops when the urge strikes. 

Sabrina offered the suggestion of adding either mirror or vinyl decals to my wall instead of frames, but the wall opposite the window is made up entirely of mirrored closet doors and with the chalkboard wall, I would prefer to add chalk art instead of vinyl. Usually I would make my own word art to put on the wall, but I didn't have the time to design something from scratch. Instead, I searched Pinterest for a quote that resonated with me, and was lucky to find a pin of this amazing art piece by Dan Cassaro (www.youngjerks.com) for HelpInk.org. This time, I had John take some pictures of the process, so I can share the details of how I transferred a color image to chalk art in another post. 

Sabrina suggested that I give myself more working area in the form of another desk. I was open to that idea as long as it didn't take up much space. I found a simple, long white table that fit perfectly across and under the window. I would like to find a set of drawers to put under the desk for pens and paper, USB drives, cords, etc...but haven't found what I like yet. So in the meantime, I just used a desk organizer in the window well, a vintage mint and gold ceramic tray, and a couple of small desk catch-alls.

My desk area was really fun to decorate and style, and I spent the majority of my budget picking out the items to help dress it up. First was this amazing acrylic chair from Target that Sabrina picked out, which I love, love, love! On top of the desk are two bouquets of fresh flowers, and under the desk, there is plenty of room for this vibrant yellow nailhead storage ottoman, another Sabrina tip!  It's already a great extra seat for Maggie and I can fill it with a few buddies and busy toys for her when she's hanging out with me. 

I also found this art print at Target, which I hung in the middle of my rather large window, using a 3M Command Hook picture hanger. I love typography and this happens to be one of my favorite prints, so I was excited when I spotted it! I am also madly in love with the pair of lampshades and bases I put together! Target has fulfilled my lamp lust completely with their vibrant collection of lighting options, and these tie in so well with my overall decor, I bought another pair for my dining room! 

The curtains and rod were another Sabrina suggestion, and one of my favorite DIY's for this room. I wanted a graphic pattern on the curtains, but I had specific needs. I wanted grey, I wanted white, I wanted long, and I wanted them lined and not sheer. Well, I did a lot of searching, but couldn't find exactly what I needed in the drapes and curtains of my Target store and Target.com...so instead, I looked at sheets and duvet covers, and found what I was looking for immediately! 

This DIY was so easy, I can't stand it. To make the two curtain panels, I simply folded the duvet cover in half, lengthwise, and cut it on the fold. That's it. Since it's a cover and not sheets, it's already two layers, which gave me the opacity I wanted. I didn't even sew the raw edges. We spray painted an existing curtain rod and curtain rings in teal blue, per Sabrina's suggestion, and hung the rod pretty high up on the wall to give the curtains a straight drop and stronger visual impact. And, to hide the raw edges on the panels, I just folded it over and clipped the curtain ring onto the fold to hold it in place. Unless you are hand inspecting my curtains, you can't tell at all.  :D My kind of decorating. 

Last but not least, meet my other fave DIY project (well, half DIY)...my bingo paper chandelier! Sometimes it pays to hoard craft supplies, and this would be one of those times. 

During the holidays, I bought myself an "ornament chandelier" from Crate & Barrel, which basically equates to a bunch of concentric circles welded together to make a wreath looking thing, and two dozen or so metal rods that hang from it; each rod has a couple of clips where you hang the ornaments from. 

I decided to attempt to attach this wreath to the existing rental light fixture. We unscrewed the dome, took out the light bulbs and basically wedged the metal circle base over the light bulb sockets. Then, we screwed the light bulbs back in and the dome back in place, adjusting it a bit here and there to get it mostly centered, and guess what? It worked!! Or should I say, it worked, which then meant I needed to find a whole bunch of somethings to hang from it. And that's when I found my stash of bingo sheets. :D 

There was too much of a gap around the top, so I used the clips from the wire art hanger that previously hung over the window. The bingo cards came in sheets of 3, which I cut into squares, but for the top layer I used two, cutting off the square on the end, giving me the length I needed. 

I love how it looks, and so far, we haven't burnt the house down! :D 

My Office Makeover with Target was a true labor of love! I'm so lucky to have this chance to work with them as part of the Target Inner Circle team, and I so appreciate the time Sabrina took to give me such a great consultation!

I am looking forward to many productive hours looking out the window over my desk, watching the birds and squirrels in our big tree, and checking out the people walking along my street. It already makes me feel less isolated and more a part of an urban neighborhood, which is sometimes hard to remember when living in such a tiny town.  

Even Maggie loves my office, she keeps walking in and telling me, "Mommy! You're new office looks pretty! Can I watch Diego on your computer?" How can I say no?

And now, as a reward for making it through this marathon of a blog post...

it's GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

If you don't have a Pinterest account, you can go here to sign up, and make sure to follow me, Jennifer Pebbles. I will be pinning some items and similar goods that I used in my room on Pinterest. When the item pinned has been repinned 50 times, it will be "unlocked" and one lucky repinner will win that item. The contest will run approximately 2 weeks, so keep your eyes open and be ready to repin! 

I will come back and edit this post as soon as the contest is up and running, and will also send out the alert on Instagram and Twitter. I will also use these social media channels to alert you each time a new item is pinned. :D

**Edited to add: The Contest is OPEN and LIVE! You can follow along here Pinners will have between Jan 29th and Feb 12th (12pm EST) to repin items to be considered for the drawings. Please remember that 50 repins unlocks each item, and if an item is sold out on Target.com, it will be substituted for a similar item in color, style or price. GOOD LUCK!!!

Thanks again for taking the time to read all about my office makeover! If you have any questions about the items shown in my photos, feel free to leave me a comment or tweet me @jenniferpebbles!

XOXOXO
-JP 

*I am a member of the Target Inner Circle. All opinions are my own. 

Office Makeover with Target | The Before

Remember last year when I shared pictures of my new office, the standing desk, shelves and bins that my hubby built for me during Superbowl Sunday? And then I also shared pictures of the other half of the room, which was Maggie's play area? 

Gone. Done-zo. Kaput.

I really enjoyed the space and had the best intentions of working at my computer "standing up" and cherishing the moments watching Maggie play quietly next to me while I designed and illustrated... It was like that for a while, and I really, really loved it! 

And then rather quickly, much faster than I expected, it wasn't like that anymore. 

Maggie didn't want to play quietly, she wanted to dump her toys on the floor, color all over her desk, and then climb on my very tall chair and pull everything off my desk and bang on my keyboard. 

And I never stood, I always sat, and my workspace went from adequate to messy and full and limited. 

With Maggie at home most days, and my Mom over helping to babysit, it was distracting to have them in and out of the room while I would be trying to work, asking where a toy was, or Maggie not wanting to play downstairs while I was upstairs. 

The point is, it worked until it didn't work, and then we needed to change it. 

We decided to move all of Maggies toys and shelving down to the living room where she had another little play area, and it was a much better decision. Now all her toys are in one space, she has a little table area to play with her Playmobile buddies, and puzzles, and it's more comfortable for my Mom to keep her happy and entertained. 

One of these days, when the magic trifecta of a totally clean living room and play area, combine with my remembering to do so, I will have to take a picture of the whole room so you can see how it works for us...but in the meantime, if you follow me on Instagram, you can see some of it in the photos I post. 

With the play-space cleared out and our furniture moved around a bit, I bought a small round table from Craigslist and tried to set up a nice little area on the other side of the office to house some supplies and maybe act as a photo staging area for product photos and such...this is what it looked like then: 

Yeah. Not great. At least that picture shows you a clean side of the room because here comes the reality (well, the B/W reality, because it was SO MESSY and HORRIBLE, I couldn't show you it in color. Too embarrassing.) 

What a slob!!! :D 

Lucky for me, I'm currently a well-connected slob, and in my moment of need, I was super fortunate to be able to enlist the help of none other than Sabrina Soto, HGTV star and the Home Style Expert for Target! 

I sent her some before photos, basically the nice clean one above and these from last year:

(I did NOT send her the one where my shelves look like a garbage heap.)

Sabrina took the time to review my photos, and answer the questions I had regarding my space and gave me some great suggestions and product ideas to spruce things up! Here is the Q & A from our design consultation: 

Jen Pebbles: I need more working space. How can I reconfigure the pieces I have to allow for a balance of tables and seating? What seating would be a good compliment to my existing furniture and welcoming to friends and visitors?

Sabrina:

• Measure the diameter of your table. Keep in mind ­ a 48” diameter table seats 6, and a 60” round table seats 8.
• Consider Lucite or acrylic chairs. They’re great in smaller spaces as they take up no visual space. They also match your existing seating perfectly!

Jen Pebbles:  I need lots of storage, but I also want my space to look streamlined, modern, and minimal. If I had to purge my shelves, what would you suggest I remove and what should I keep? 

Sabrina: 

• I would either recommend removing the bottom two shelves under the desk space or extend the desk out 6 inches. This will open up your work area and allow for comfortable legroom.
• A storage ottoman would work well in your space, as it’s great for seating while also storing your personal items.

Jen Pebbles: What kind of storage containers would be a good choice to use to corral all of my craft supplies?

Sabrina: 

• If your closet doesn’t have shelving, hanging closet organizers are perfect for alternative storage.
• Stacking storage bins or boxes are space efficient. They’re neat, tidy, and fit perfectly one on top of the other for vertical storage - great in smaller spaces.
• In my home office, I use wall mounted magnetic knife holders and a kitchen organizing system to display my paint swatches, scissors, fabric samples and illustration markers. It keeps everything I need within close reach.

Jen Pebbles: How can I glam up my space? I love bold colors and graphic accessories, but I feel like I have too much clutter and it still feels a bit juvenile. What should I add and what should I take away?

Sabrina: 

• Consider removing all the knick-knacks and smaller items. Those can be stored away. When you accessorize, always try to group items in threes or odd numbers for visual balance.
• Fresh cut flowers add liveliness to any space.
• Organize your storage boxes. Try grouping them on the shelves instead of “sprinkling” them throughout.
• Add patterns and textures. I love the chevron storage bins!

Jen Pebbles: I need the light from my window and blank space on my wall to photograph my art prints, but I would like that functionality to blend with the space. What would you recommend for window dressing and wall art?

Sabrina: 

• You don’t want the windows to overpower in a smaller space. I’d recommend a solid, subtle color such as white or a neutral. Incorporate color in your window hardware instead. If you can’t find the color hardware you like, spray paint it for a fun DIY!
• Wall and mirror decals can add personality to your office. They’re easy to apply and remove for when you want a change.

Jen Pebbles: How can I improve the lighting in my space overall? 

Sabrina: 

• Desk and table lamps are perfect in personal office spaces, especially near your computer and workspace. Also consider task lighting for photographs and art.

Jen Pebbles: If you could do a complete revamp of my space, what would you envision?

Sabrina: 

• Although I love the idea of having a wall-to-wall desk space, maybe consider purchasing a proper desk for your office to float in the space. It will open up the wall and remove some of the visual clutter.
• If you love color, purchase a rug that has a bolder print or a bright color.

 

As you can see, I had a lot of quesitons specific to the way I use or plan on using my office, and Sabrina gave me a lot of great ideas and really got my wheels turning, especially when I started looking on the Target.com website for some of the items she picked out!

It took me a couple of months to get everything planned and ready, and I ordered the main items just after the holidays and then I spent a lot of time traveling back and forth to my local store to shop for the remaining goodies. John helped me to purge, purge, purge!!! and now, I am so excited, because the space is finally finished and I can't wait to reveal it to you in my next post, and tell you how you can have the chance to win some of the items from my room from Target!

Stay tuned friends!! You're going to LOVE IT!!
-xoxo 

#PEBBLESFTW $50 GC WINNER

If you didn't get a chance to see all the #targetinnercircle #targetblackfriday posts over the weekend on Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest, you can still find mine on my Holiday Picks from Target board on Pinterest.

The time to enter the contest for the $50 Target Gift Card has come and gone, and I just picked the winner and am so excited...

Drum roll please...and cue the video:

YIPPEE!!! Congrats friend!!

(Since there were only a handful of people that entered, I would love to send the rest of you a little something, so please send your mailing address to jenniferpebbles at gmail dot com, and I will get all the prizes mailed out this week.)

Thanks for playing along, and I hope you and your families all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend!

***If for some reason, you are using Chrome, and can't see the video, try switching to IE or Firefox, and see if it improves***

Thanksgiving + A Freebie

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

I hope you are having a wonderful day, surrounded by the blessings of love and prosperity and good health and happiness, and that your hearts are full today, and everyday. 

I have so much to be thankful for; my life is blessed by the love of my wonderful Husband and beautiful Daughter and my amazing Mother, who gives of her time and energy to help us work and provide for our family. I am thankful for my friends, my extended family, my career, my opportunities, my buddy Drake. I am thankful for the people who work in service of others, our military men and women, police and firefighters, doctors and nurses and social workers. I am thankful for Starbucks and Target and technology and new clothes and Root Touch-Up, and a million small things that have a major impact on my daily happiness.

Life can be a rollercoaster ride of tremendous ups and downs, but today, when I look around me, I feel nothing but happiness and contentment with my place in the world. Life is a gift I treasure with all of my heart, and I am ever so thankful for the lessons and experiences I have gathered along my journey. 

We are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family, but before we hit the road, here is a little printable freebie... I hope you can use these Grateful Journaling Cards to write down a few things you are grateful for today, and everyday. (I packed this pretty tight on the page to fit it all in, so if you can, print it on the "borderless" page setting if your printer has this option, and as always, if you want these cards to work for your Project Life album, don't choose "Scale to Fit.")

Enjoy!! 

**Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@jenniferpebbles) or Instagram (jenniferpebbles) tonight and tomorrow for my picks from #TargetBlackFriday and a chance to win a little goodie or two!**

Black Friday Awesome

Friends, if there is one thing you should know about me, it's this:

I love shopping.

Love.
It.

High on my list of things I am thankful for, this and every Holiday Season, are: Shop Owners, Product Designers, Fashion Stylists, Directors of Soft Goods, and Target. (duh.)

Our family isn't big on Black Friday shopping, but the handful (or less) of times that we've participated, it's been f-u-n FUN!!

So...when I found out that one of the perks of being an Inner Circle member would be the option to participate in the Target Black Friday Weekend Scavanger Hunt (or as Maggie calls it, a "Havensgir Skunt!"), I was like, Word. I'm in!! What better way to burn off all those Thanksgiving calories? All weekend, we've been asked to take pictures of the deals and gift ideas we find at Target, and share them on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter. We'll be using the hashtags #TargetBlackFriday and #TargetInnerCircle. We'll be competing to win: whoever posts the most pictures at the end of the day on Saturday, gets an awesome prize!!

And to get ready for what could only be the most fun Target Black Friday EVER, I have been supplied with a "Survival Kit" to help get me through the crowds and onto the fun!  Inside my trusty Target shopping tote, I'll be carrying the shopping essentials, like: 

• Extra shopping totes
• Starbucks VIA Pumpkin Spice Latte mix
• A Pen and Notepad
• Trident Gum
• A hefty bottle of h2o
• a Luna bar + fruit snacks

in addition to these, I will be customizing my kit with some additional items:

• Lipstick
• Hand sanitizer
• iPhone, headphones, Holiday music on my iTunes and of course, the Target App!
• my battery iPhone charger
• Visine (you know I'll be fresh off a couple glasses of wine, people!)
• a copy of my victory speech, because I plan on winning this challenge! WOOT!!

Since I will be doing the first leg of my shop-a-thon in my hometown of Silverdale, WA, I have requisitioned my reluctant husband to come along as my assistant. Frankly, I am concerned I might not have made the right choice...he's a little, how should I put this....crowd averse? I should probably put some additional items into the kit just for him, like maybe some Zanax? :D 

Oh, and just for fun, I might have an impromptu giveaway during my shopping adventures...maybe...and maybe you should follow me on Twitter (@jenniferpebbles) and/or Instagram (instagram.com/jenniferpebbles)...just in case. *winkwinknudgenudge*

 Happy Shopping Peeps!! #pebblesftw

Target Inner Circle in NYC

It's been just about a week since I returned home from my whirlwind 48 hour trip to New York City as part of the Target Inner Circle social influencer team meet-up, Target Media Day and the Target 50th Birthday Celebration...and I have been dying to share the details of my experience with you.  Up until the moment John dropped me off at the airport, I still couldn't believe this all was happening, and I consider myself extremely lucky to be a part of such an amazing group of women and such a landmark company. 

Target put us up at The Muse hotel in Times Square (where apparently, Daughtry and his band, were also staying) and after I checked in and cleaned up, I got to meet my fellow Target Inner Circle team member and new buddy, Jennie Lyon from MySweetGreens.com. She and I decided to take full advantage of our first time in NYC and see as much as we possibly could in 5 hours. So off we trudged, in the pouring rain, umbrellas in hand, to Rockefeller Center and the Top of the Rock! 

I think that's when I had my big "OMG" moment- standing up there, looking out at those amazing buildings in the clouds, stretching on and on. John summed it up when he said that New York City is "a monument to human achievement." It's like nothing else on this earth. I live in a beautiful part of the country, with magestic mountains outside my front door, but those skyscrapers are something else entirely. I was floored. And of course, that was also the moment I regretted not bringing my DSLR because my iPhone battery was at 20%. Rookie. 

After I finished kicking myself for not being able to take more pictures, we were on to our next adventure. From that point, we were like Laverne and Shirley, drunk on life and ready to go!! We tackled the subway! We made friends with the locals, and a rider who gave us play-by-play directions on her iPad between stops! We walked for blocks in the dark, rain pouring, clothing soaking wet, hair frizzing, to The Spotted Pig! One of the best restaurants in NYC and we got a table! We ate a burger made by food gods! I drank the best beer ever! Then it stopped raining, and we went for a 43 block walk back to our hotel, all the way from the Village to Times Square. AMAZING! 

The Target Inner Circle team (from Left to Right): Me- Jennifer Pebbles/ blog.StudioPebbles.com  // Jennie Lyon /  MySweetGreens.com // Patrice Yursick / Afrobella.com // Anne Sage / AnneSage.com // Jennifer Chong / blog.JChongStudio.com // Jenny Radosevich /  ISpyDIY.com // Jeanne Chan / ShopSweetThings.com // Alyson Seligman / TheAverageGirlsGuide.com // Amy Mascott / TeachMamma.com // Jo-Lynne Shane / MusingsOfAHousewife.com // Not Pictured: Jessica Shyba / MammasGoneCity.com // Katie Hurley / PracticalKatie.com // Kara Fleck / SimpleKids.net // Gina Homolka / SkinnyTaste.com // Ashley Brown / 7thHouseOnTheLeft.com

The next morning, we were up, bright and early to meet for our Target Inner Circle team breakfast. We got a chance to meet face-to-face with the people at Target who put this whole thing together, and get acquainted with each other before heading out to the Target Harlem store for a tour and shopping trip. I bought a battery powered phone charger. No way was I making that mistake twice. 

Then, after a quick break to change and grab a bite of lunch, we were back on our little bus to head to Media Day, where all the good stuff was waiting to happen! Members of just about every major media outlet (magazines, newspapers, television) were in attendance, but as Patrice put it, "We were the specificly invited guests"...Crazy! 

Media Day packets and nametag, with Jennie Lyon of MySweetGreens.com, Kathee Tesija, Executive Vice President, Merchandising and Supply Chain.

Media Day was where we had the opportunity to learn about the new Holiday promotions and store updates that Target is planning, which I will share with you in an upcoming post. As an information junkie, I loved this part the best, it was great to know how Target is working to improve the shopping experience for its customers, and is staying sensitive to the idea that frugality and saving time is important to us. 

There has already been a lot of press covering the Neiman Marcus collection for Target, (to see the designers and the entire collection, visit Neiman Marcus here) and it was great to get a chance to be one of the first people to see the items in person. The girls dresses by Marchesa was an instant favorite, as was the glittery Marc Jacobs clutches, and the Brian Atwood Studded Gloves.

My ultimate favorite item was a stunning blue sequin paisely top by Tracy Reese, but sadly it will have to remain a fantasy for me since none of the clothing items for women are available in anything larger than XL. This is one area in which I hope Target stores can improve in the future.

The unveiling of the Neiman Marcus collection was just the tip of the iceburg when it came to the fun planned for the rest of the evening. As members of the Target Inner Circle team, we were invited to the exclusive Target 50th Birthday Party! We knew to expect a few celebs in attendance, but woah... talk about star struck...

People, I have rubbed sholders with a few famous folks over the years...I gave flowers to Princess Diana when she and Charles made their post honeymoon Canadian tour. I downed enough liquid courage to talk to Bruce Willis during a performance with his band in Haley, ID...and did you know that my pregnant belly got some love from the guys from Broken Lizard? I should be a pro at this by now...but no. 

From top left: Nate Berkus, Shaun White, Sabrina Soto, and Perez Hilton.

I was like a giggly little kid! There were so many celebrities at this party, I about died. It was hard to walk the line between, "Just another fellow party attendee, no one else is freaking out, why should I?" to "OHMYEFFINGGOD!!!SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!" I think I hopefully settled somewhere in the middle? I was with Alyson and Jennie when they got pictures taken with Nate Berkus, and had the chance to talk to Sabrina Soto, where of course I probably babbled like an idiot, something I chose not to repeat when meeting Soleil Moon Frye, where I kept my mouth shut to avoid embarrassing myself. Later on I decided to put my composure and manners to the test and approach Shaun White for a photo...so glad I did, he was the NICEST EVER!!! He seemed genuinely happy to talk to us, and answered some quesitons about what it's like to design clothing for Target, and talked about the X-Games in Aspen and Target's participation. Considering I am married to a red-headed winter sports athlete, I was pretty jazzed to get a picture. 
 
Me and Shaun, Alicia Keys singing "Happy Birthday, Dear Tar-Jay" :), and me with the Target Musical Performers.

It was truly such an amazing, wonderful, fun filled 24 hours. So many times during this whole event, I kept wondering "Why me?" and to be honest, I'm still not 100% sure, but I plan on making the most of it. Target is a fantastic company (you know they give over $4 Million a week to charity?) and I had the time of my life! 

Top Row: Jenny Radosevich. Middle Row: Jennifer Chong, Jeanne Chan, Alyson Seligman, Jennifer Pebbles, Jessica Shyba. Front Row: Amy Mascott, Jennie Lyon, Jo-Lynne Shane.

Please note, As a member of Target Inner Circle, I was invited to attend this event and Target paid for my accomidations, but all opinions and thoughts are mine alone.

Nice To Meet You

I know you are waiting for me to tell you all about my trip to NYC- I can't wait to share...it was NUTS!! I still can't believe it actually happened. While I am in the process of working on that post though, I thought I would show you what I brought with me to NYC to introduce myself to the rest of the Target Inner Circle team. 

I will fully admit that I am right smack dab in the middle of a rather major identity crisis, especially when it comes to blogging and work in general, but I knew right away that I wanted to include a little something along with my basic contact information that would give the recipient a glimpse of my personality and taste of what they can find on my blog.

Being a long time crafter and "tech-geek," I fortunately had most of the supplies on hand to make these. It's amazing how the years of hoarding supplies can come in handy from time-to-time. :D The only thing I had to order was a couple packages of these print-your-own Silhouette Temporary Tattoo sheets!  I read reviews on a few different versions of this product, and while it was a bit more pricey, reviewers stated that it was worth the price, because they worked great! And now, after completing my own set, I can agree! 

There aren't any incredibly difficult instructions for printing and making the tattoos...you just need to mirror your designs before you hit print. For a detailed tutorial on making tattoos, check out this is a great one here. I didn't use my Silhouette machine to cut these out as individual tattoos...I just made a little group of them, and then cut them into squares with my paper cutter.

I have to tell you, I love 'em! As one of the only people from the Seattle area who made through the consecutive time period of the grunge 90's and my 20's without permanent body ink, it gives me a chance to cash-in on the street cred without the commitment fears! And with Halloween fast approaching, I am sure there are all kinds of uses for these sheets; you can even make them full-color!  I just chose all black because I'm edgy. ;P

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Aside from the Tattoos, I also included a 4"x 4"mini-print, which I printed using my Epson PictureMate 4x6 photo printer, and also a "stacked circles" business card set, that included a photo of me, my Pinterest user name, and my Studio Pebbles blog info. I printed these on letter size cardstock, using my inkjet printer, and used a variety of circle punches (ranging from 2.5" to 1.5") to cut them out. They were lovingly assembled by my indentured servant mother, using tiny multi-color American Craft brads. I think the envelopes are from Clear Bags, and then I just closed them up with washi tape strips in different patterns (as you can see from the photo above, I have a few to choose from). 

Have you made something like this to introduce people to your blog or business? Have you seen other marketing sets like this that inspire you? Next time you have an event to attend, even if you have to make something the day before (...coughcough.) try digging through your supplies and tools and see what you have. You might surprise yourself with what a little last minute motivation can produce. 

The Big Huge Awesome | Target® Inner Circle

Peeps!!! Are you DYING???

I am SO EXCITED to announce that Target® (Yes, THE Target!!) has asked me to be part of  Target® Inner Circle, a small select group of social influencers who get to bring you inside scoop and exclusive access to Target!!!

...and, as our first official activity, Target® is flying me to ...wait for it....

New York City!!!

(can you believe it??)

I will be there to participate in the Target® Media Day and 50th Birthday Celebration on Tuesday, October 16th!! (Yes...like, THIS TUESDAY!!) As part of the Target Inner Circle team, I will be spending the day mingling with Target executives, fellow media members, and celebrity partners! And I get to share it all with you!! We'll be getting an exclusive look at Target's unprecedented Holiday Collection, previewing upcoming plans and products and much, much more!! 

Then, later, I will be bringing my personal style into the equation in a variety of on-line activities here and on Pinterest, where you'll be able to join in and enter giveaways for the chance to win! Later this fall, I will also be taking a trip to Target's headquarters in Minneapolis to get a behind the scenes look at what makes Target tick! 

I have had a love affair with all things Target for as long as I can remember, back to the days when Micheal Graves made those hot looking kitchen appliances and told us that design was for everyone, everyday, at any price. How often do we all drop what we're doing to get to the $1 spot when there is a new batch of awesome stuff? Remember that Missoni collection? I personally include the day my Target opened their new grocery section as one of the better days of my life. And, maybe, just maybe (okay, more than maybe)...my weight loss goal isn't a number on the scale, it's "be able to fit into a Target size XL." I triple-dip love TARGET! This is such an amazing opportunity for me, and I am so humbled and honored to be included.  

And since this is as close to an Oscar acceptance speech as I will ever get, I have to say Thank YOU. The internet has been so good to me, it's where I found my husband, it's where I found my favorite hobby, where I continue to connect with my passion for design, it's where I make my living, and most of all, it's where I have met some amazing friends. Without my blog readers or followers on Pinterest, this wouldn't be happening. We all get to have different experiences in our lives, I feel like this one I get to do for US. I hope you will be excited to follow along! 

XOXOXO- J.P.