So, I mentioned a little while ago, that I had some big news that was keeping me away from my regular blogging. I think it is time that I share that big news…My husband and I are expecting our first child!

We are very excited to be embarking on this new, scary and thrilling adventure. I am 15 weeks into my pregnancy and everything is going well so far. Little baby Rinehart should be making his or her way into the world sometime towards the end of January.

Me at 15 weeks

I am so sorry I have been a absent from the blog for a few months, but I have been dealing with the exhaustion of the first trimester. Unfortunately my “real job” of being the Corinth, MS Main Street Director can’t be put on hold and is in full swing. I just put on my biggest festival of the year, the Slugburger Festival, and I can tell you it has been kicking my butt! It is hard for me {a very over-scheduled and active person} to realize that I have to take it a little slower. It has been all I can do to keep up with Main Street, my PLD shop and my housewife duties, so unfortunately, my little bloggity has suffered as a result.

Now that I have entered the second trimester, my energy is slowly coming back. Because the busiest part of my job with Main Street will be coming up with three big events back to back throughout October, November and December, I have already started planning what I want my little one’s nursery to look like. I will be sharing lots of decorating projects over the next few months. Once we find out in a few weeks if we are having a little boy or girl, I will be in full speed ahead planning mode!

You will be seeing more of me on a regular basis, I promise…I will be posting weekly now that I have gotten back on track.

I am so glad to be back with all of you!

Hi all you lovely lemonheads…Thank you all so much for being so lovely and sharing all of your fun summertime activities. I enjoyed reading each and everyone of your comments. So, without further ado, our winner is….Charlene! She said, ” With 6 kids we try to find cheap or free things to do. Letterboxing has always been a family favorite :)”

Congrats! I will be contacting you soon.

American flags by andrewatla

Now I want to wish you all a very happy fourth of July/Independence Day. I hope it is filled with family and friends and a load of thankfulness for the people that fought for our freedoms so many years ago.

Have a great holiday!

I know, I know, I have been a very bad blogger…I am so sorry my lovely lemonheads! I promise very soon you will find out what I have been working on that is taking up so much of my time…but for now you just have to shine on a little bit longer.

Summer: Chairs on Beach by bertvthul

So what can I do to make the time go by a little faster? How about a giveaway? I want to know what is your favorite activity for summertime fun. Just leave me a little comment below and let me know how you pass those super-hot dog days of summer.

So what can you win??

You can win a small custom rubber stamp from my shop…Any small stamp! You could win an address stamp like this classic favorite:

Round Address Stamp by Purple Lemon Designs

a book stamp like this fun stamp:

Book Stamp by Purple Lemon Designs

or even a stamp to mark your handmade goods:

"Handmade by" Customized Stamp by Purple Lemon Designs

You can get an extra entry by tweeting about the giveaway on Twitter. **

You can also post about the giveaway on Facebook. **

Lastly, you can blog about the giveaway. **

**You must come back to this post and leave a comment about your post or tweet.

The giveaway ends next Thursday, July 1st at 5pm CDT. has ended. I will post the winner on Friday.

Thanks for your patience lemonheads…You are all fabulous! Stay cool…

This week, I have been thinking about cheese…Alot. It all started with a post from a friend of mine on Facebook that said, “Is it weird that I have six kinds of cheese in my refrigerator?” I, of course, said absolutely not!

Cheese by jtuason, on Flickr

I have a long love affair with cheese of all kinds. I think I could eat cheese 7 days a week if my digestive system would cooperate. It ranks up there with pork BBQ as one of my incessant loves {more on BBQ at a later date}.

cheese plate by sobodda, on Flickr

Cheese of all textures and flavors is as delightful to me as a cool dip in the pool on a hot day. A perfect release. Me and cheese are snakes {in my vernacular that means we are as tight as peas and carrots}.

Mesa Pizza! by .Bala, on Flickr

I love cheese on lasagna, topping a delicious pizza, paired with crackers, mixed in pasta, served with fruit or just cheese by itself. I love all types of cheese from a tangy sharp cheddar to a lovely Brie to the soft goodness of Feta. Yuuu-mmm.

I know this post is a little out of left field, but it could have something to do with the cup of Mac and cheese I just scarfed down. Just maybe :)

Have a happy cheesy weekend!

Hello all you lovelies. I hope you are all having a good start to summer. I am about to start laying some randomness on you with a new series I am starting…”What I’ve Been Thinking About.” I might be thinking business stuffs, personal stuffs and stuffs out of left field. These posts will probably be sporadic, but that keeps it super fun, right?

I have been thinking about media/press/product kits since I took the most wonderful Bakery Business course in the spring. I want to put one together, but I really don’t know where to start. I want to use it to take my business to the next level.

If you are unfamiliar with what one of these kits are/do, they are a kit that a business owner can send either by snail mail or by email to a blogger, magazine, etc. for your product or wares to be considered for publication. I think I would like both a digital and a hard copy version…What do you have?

I am so overwhelmed by this task, that I am considering hiring someone. Not only with the creation of it, but the distribution of it as well. I might ask those super fab ladies of the Bakery, Jaime and Erin, who they recommend. I just don’t want to get caught up with a PR person that wants to push my product to anyone without putting some thought into it.

So, do you have any smashing media kits that you would like to share? Did you hire someone to help you with your kit or are you a DIY kinda business owner?

I would love to see any kits you would like to share or any you think are just top notch. Also, any tips? You can email them to me at kelly {at} purplelemondesigns.com. I hope to hear from you!

Did you see this fabulous find in today’s Etsy Finds Email?

Rotating bike wheel pot rack via plaidclad on Etsy

This is the most genius reuse I have seen in a while. It spins, holds your pots, and it uses something that might have otherwise gone into the trash…Awesome!

I know you have all probably been hearing crickets when you have popped into my bloggy world lately, but I do promise I am coming back soon.

I wanted to stop by to say, “Hey!” and to give you a little inside scoop on what I have been reading lately. I have been super inspired by the posts Tara Gentile of ScoutieGirl has been sharing. I have really enjoyed everything she has written lately.

What are you reading now?

Hello lovely lemonheads! I wanted to let you know of a little change that you will be seeing if you are a blog subscriber via email.

I have changed to MailChimp, {which also houses my newsletter list} so your blog posts will show up much prettier now :) It is also easier for me on the administrative end, so it is a good thing for everybody. Enjoy the change!

If you would like to sign up for the blog via email, you can visit this page.

A newsletter will be coming out soon, so sign up for that too while you are at it. ;-)

Before I go any further, if you are a man, you might want to stop reading. This post is really for the women in the house. No man bashing, just women empowerment. :)

Old Rustic Building via demjan on stock.xchng

So, over on ScoutieGirl today, Tara has posted a new edition of her “Kick the Door Down” series. It is about how you label yourself. This is puzzling me. How do I label myself?

I think I have many labels; I just can’t commit to one. I am a designer for one. I am also an entrepreneur. One important one that I think many of us gals forget is woman.

This is a biggie, because no matter how far the movement for women’s rights has come, there is still a mountain that we have to climb as women, especially women in business. When I am at my city’s Rotary Club meeting each week, I look around and see very few women. While it is a feat that women were admitted to join Rotary and other civic clubs like it, women still have a long way to go. It seems as a woman, I always have to prove that I am smart and that I can do things as well as a man. I don’t think men have to prove this on a daily basis.

Now, don’t get the idea that this is a pity party, by any means. What I am saying is that to be a woman in the business world makes us better because we have an uphill battle. Yes, I just said it – better.

World is Mine by lusi on stock.xchng

Being women, we probably already juggle making a household work, maybe a child or two or more, an aging parent, plus a few other curve balls that life throws our way. So, to run a business is a piece of cake! We know what it takes for us to get the job done and done well.

So I say, be proud and label yourself a woman first. {LOUD BANG IN THE FOREGROUND}. That was me kicking a door down. :)

Now, how do you label yourself?

Today, I am really excited to finally unveil a new line for Purple Lemon Designs. Hand-stamped journals! I have been working on illustrations and polling you guys for what seems like years {I know it is only months, but I have been so excited about this project!}, so this has really been a labor of love.

This project came about through need. I wanted a small Moleskine journal to take in my Bible to church, but I couldn’t find any artwork that expressed my faith. So, I thought, why can’t I make some with my designs on stamps? I created two scripture verse based designs for Bible study journals. Great for sticking inside a Bible for jotting notes and verses.

From there, I expanded the line to also include “regular” artwork journals too. I love to carry these little darlings around in my purse. So handy.

This hand-drawn illustration is full of lovely little curls and flowers wrapping around a saying I heard of all places on the last season of Project Runway – “Someday You Will Be Amazing” – don’t you just love that?

So that is my big news! To celebrate, I am running a special just for my faithful bloggy readers. Enter the code CELEBRATE in the notes to the seller in check out to get $2 off of each journal you purchase. Offer ends midnight CDT on Sunday, May 2, 2010. You can peruse my journals here.