I Need Your Help.

Hi faithful readers!

For awhile now I have recognized my own limitations with the business end of my business. In college I learned how to be an artist and designer, not a business woman...they really should have had a 'Running Your Own Business While Being a Full Time Pastor's Wife & Mommy of 2 boys' class...I would have greatly benefited from that. ha. In recognizing my limitations I see how desperately I need help, like in the form of expert advice and strategy.

I view this business as a gift, a blessing that God has entrusted to me. My desire is to be a good steward of this gift, taking special care to be diligent and to give it my best effort. We are called, no matter what we are doing, to do it all for the'glory of God.' I want to bless others and bring glory to His name with the business itself and with the resources it can provide. I want to exemplify the Proverbs 31 woman as I seek to make great use of the gifts that God has entrusted me with.

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

So, a couple of months ago God answered my prayer in the form of The Stationery Academy.

 

"...an intimate workshop designed to

educate, empower and connect
the best new talent in the stationery industry
to explore tried and true stationery business strategy
and learn the keys to powerful stationery brands."

The workshop will be led by stationery industry expert, Whitney English Kolb, designer Emily Ley and special guest and branding expert, Lara Casey. The workshop will offer:

• Two days of interactive workshops focused on simplified, powerful business strategy and building authentic, strong, soon-to-be nationally recognized stationery brand.
• Receive a personalized Stationery Academy workbook that will be used throughout the Academy to simplify, refine and strengthen goals, business, brand and processes.
• Participate in one-on-one collection/design reviews with Whitney English Kolb and one-on-one brand consultations with Emily Ley and Lara Casey.
• Become part of the exclusive Stationery Academy Alumni forum where they'll be able to interact with other alumni, share experiences, ask questions and utilize exclusive resources.

Just so you know, when the workshop was first announced I was so excited that I almost fell out of my chair. And I may have stopped breathing for just a second. Seriously, this is exactly what I have been praying for.

The catch: workshops and conferences like this one are not cheap. The total cost is about $2,000. Eeek! That is a lot of money! I am confident however, that the gained information and knowledge are invaluable. I do believe that this opportunity is well worth the cost, unfortunately my little business cannot afford this amazing opportunity on it's own. So, I am enlisting your help, my faithful supporters. You have a great opportunity now to be a supporter of Ashlee Proffitt Design (as well as the Proffitt family!) You have a chance to really make a difference in the future of this business, to be a part of something where the goal is to bless others and bring glory to God. What do you think?

Can you help support Ashlee Proffitt Design?

{ H E L P }

click below to donate.

All supporters will receive a small gift as a token of my appreciation!

Recipe: Baked Oatmeal

{BAKED OATMEAL}

This recipe is so yummy (thanks to Kelly Shradley for the recipe years ago!) Seriously. I know the name may sound not so appealing but try it and I promise you will not be disappointed. I like to make this for breakfast when we have overnight guests because 1. it's a crowd pleaser, 2. it's easy, 3. it's inexpensive to make, and 4. I typically have all the ingredients on hand.

It had actually been awhile since I made this delightful breakfast goody and was reminded of it when my 4 year old nephew said "auntie ashlee how come you don't make me oatmeal anymore?" haha. He definitely has me wrapped around his little finger because I went out right away to pick up the ingredients so I could make it for him this morning.

Try it and let me know what you think!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cooking oatmeal
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together the first 7 ingredients thoroughly.
2. Stir in the oatmeal and raisins.
3. Pour into a greased 8x12 baking dishes.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.
5. Serve warm with milk.

yield: 8-6 servings

Shop Update: Address Labels!

Remember when I announced that I had designed sweet address labels some time ago as a part of my Fresh Lines collection? Well, they are finally in the shop and just waiting for you to give them a home.

{Address Labels}
{Sweet Cloud}

{Strings Attached}

{Round We Go}

{Dots}

{Argyle Twist}

{Busy Bee}

{Fancy}

Which one is your favorite?

Weekend Wardrobe: Sunday's Best

{Sunday's Best}

My weekend may not have appeared so glamorous to the outside world, but to me, it was just perfect. Friday (our family's day off, probably like your Saturday) had lots of highlights including a carousel ride, pizza from Mellow Mushroom, and Cars 2 with my sweet Andrew. I don't remember much of Saturday except that I chased around my 16 month old most of the day... trying not to laugh at his defiance... he is just so cute, even when doing something he isn't supposed to be doing! And then Sunday was an amazing day spent with my church family, including a pizza party celebrating 6 baptisms after church.

What did you do this weekend? I hope it was a great one!

. . .

Maxi Dress// mine: Forever 21 (not online) pictured: here
Blue Rose Stud Earrings // mine: WalMart (not online) pictured: here
White Rose Bracelet // Forever 21
Yellow Handbag // Gift from my mama!
Silver Thong Sandals // mine: Traffic (not online) pictured: here

Recipe: Amazing Coffee Cake

Tea Party Goodness {Raspberry & White Chocolate Coffee Cake}

This morning I hosted a little tea party for a soon-to-be-mommy. A couple of us mommies got together to drink tea (or coffee in my case), eat yummy breakfasty foods and most importantly to pray over this wonderful godly woman and for this sweet little baby boy who is about to enter this world.

Below is a recipe for some yummy goodness that we had at our little tea party.

April - We love you so much and are so excited to meet baby Austin any day now!

We made little prayer cards with baby Austin's name highlighted on each one.

{Recipe}

Ingredients

• 2 cups biscuit/baking mix
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup 2% milk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup white baking chips
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves (I used raspberry)
  
• 
  TOPPING:
• 1/3 cup biscuit/baking mix
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cold butter

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the biscuit mix and sugar. Whisk the egg, milk and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chips. Pour into a greased 9-in. round baking pan.
• Drop preserves by teaspoonfuls over batter. Cut through batter with a knife to swirl the preserves.
• For topping, combine biscuit mix and sugar in small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.
• Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield: 12 servings.

Recipe from Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious

Real Wedding: J.R. & Allie

{Wedding Photographs by the brilliant Shay Cochrane Photography}

A few months ago I had the pleasure of working on the wedding stationery for sweet friends of mine, J.R. and Allie. Their wedding stationery was inspired by Allie's love for a beautiful palette of blue and yellow. The wedding ceremony and reception were to be classic and timeless with elements of modern and whimsy.

Allie chose this invitation as her favorite and I went to work making it completely custom to fit her and J.R.'s wedding. We added a layer metallic royal blue cardstock for weight as well as a bit of surprise and interest. Yellow string was tied around each invitation as that modern, unexpected element and served to be a useful holder for the response card.

{INSPIRATION}

{Wedding Photographs by the brilliant Shay Cochrane Photography}

{CREATION}

The invitations turned out beautifully,
but even more important than even the wonderful ceremony and reception is their beautiful God-centered marriage.
Congratulations on your marriage!
I love you two and was blessed to be a part of your special day.

DIY: 4th of July

I love holidays. Just another excuse to hang out with family and friends, eat great food,
and make fun crafts (or chocolate covered marshmallows!) :)
At our little play date this week we made the sweet marshmallows below and they look (and taste!) amazing.

What will you be making or doing this holiday weekend?

{Festive Marshmallows by Whimsical Creations}

{Paper Sparklers by Momtastic}

{Red, White & Blue Ice Pops by Tip Junkie}

{Aluminum Can Luminaries by Tip Junkie}

{Fireworks by Hip Hostess (can not seem to locate the original post)}