Weekend Update

I feel completly disconnected with the blogging world! I have had an unbelievably crazy week and a half, well, month!

My in-laws came in a tiled our kitchen last weekend. I posted about that last week. DJ was on his spring break, so he was home with Gretchen last week, and I worked :( I ended up taking the morning off on Friday. Not so I could spend time with them, but I was sick, and I think I just needed to catch up on sleep to make me feel better. And, besides the snotty nose crud, I do.

I convinced DJ that we needed to start looking for furniture for Gretchen's big-girl room. He agreed that we could go and LOOK on Saturday. But, our friends called, and wanted to come and visit. We couldn't refuse their visit, and they agreed to tag along as we checked out furniture stores.

So, we go in looking for this: Which, by the way, is the only bed that I liked, and I'm not in love with. And we ended up with.....

this. Yup, a new dining table! I think we are the only people who could go looking for one thing, determined not to make a purchase, and end up purchasing something completly different and not on our list.

But, I LOVE it! We've used DJ's parents old table, and to be honest, I hated it. I loved the sentimental value of it, but it wasn't my style at all. And, since we've added to the kitchen, we might as well go all out, and get a new table!

One of the Ashley's furniture store in our area was closing. We ended up getting a great deal on the table, and we couldn't pass it up!

As, I catch up in the blogging world- keep your head up- i'll probably have multiple posts in one day.

And, don't forget to enter the Easter giveaway! I only have 6 pathetic entries, and seriously- this bunny clip is too cute!

Easter Garland

As I was browsing blogs today, I came across adorable Easter garland, and decided to try my own. I purchased two different types of scrapbook paper. Hobby Lobby has theirs 3 sheets for $1.00 this week. You'll also need shapes to trace. In this case, I used 3 different spring/Easter cookie cutters.

Trace the shapes onto the back of the paper.

Cut out the shapes.

Arrange the shapes into a pattern. I did bunny, egg, flower.

Next, find a coordinating ribbon and grab a hole punch.

Punch holes into each side of the shapes, and cut the ribbon.

Tie the pieces together with ribbon.

Hang.

The project took all of 15 minutes. I should have made it longer, but I'm out of off-white ribbon. To prevent the ribbon from fraying, you can heat seal with a lighter.

Just Darling!

One of my product testers, sent me this picture of her little honey in her purple/yellow Easter bunny applique shirt and bow! Isn't she just darling!

Kitchen Makeover

We just finished updating the kitchen!

Here is the before picture: This is what the kitchen looked like when the previous owners lived here.

And, here are the AFTER pictures!

We purchased new hardware for the cabinets.

And, added a tile backsplash!

We purchased a new sink faucet.

And, the tile on the other side of the kitchen!

Here's to hoping that these small updates will add to the resale value of our house!

Buying handmade Hair Bows.

By now, you all know that I make and sell hair bows. I wanted to spend some time explaining why I think it's important to buy these (and other products) handmade and things you should look for when buying handmade hair bows.

Why buy handmade?

-You are supporting every day people, not large corporations. Many handmade products are made by women (or men) who stay at home. I feel more comfortable sending my money to help support a family rather than to help support wealthy executives.

- If someone sells home, you know that they love their craft! You'll know that each piece was hand crafted for you! You can't get the love that goes into each product from a machine! I have read and looked through tons of shops and blogs, and you can tell by simply reading, how much they love their products and their craft!

- Handmade products make better gifts! You'll purchase an item, that you can't find in a chain store, you'll know that love has gone into making the gift. Have you ever been to a child's birthday party or a baby shower and brought the exact same gift as somoene else? Buy hand-made and that won't happen, often times you'll have the best gift there!

- Skip the traffic, parking lots, and standing in line. Who doesn't enjoy shopping from home in their pj's?

What should you look for?

- When it comes to hair bows, you want to look for someone that has experience. You want to look at the fluffiness or fullness of their hair bows. Look around and compare prices. Ask the seller, if they can price match for you. Make sure that the seller can and will make custom pieces for you. I would also look at shipping costs, forms of payment the seller accepts, and if the bows are hand sewn, versus tied, and make sure that the clips are either partially, or fully lined. Ask them what kind of ribbon they use. Often times, satin does not hold it's shape. If the seller sprays the hair bow, see what kind of spray they are using. You can spray with fabric stiffer, hair spray, or with spray starch. I do not spray bows with hair spray because it's flammable. Most importantly, look to see if they have happy customers, ask your friends who they purchase items from, and check the seller's return policy.

If you haven't purchased homemade, I hope you'll consider it!

Take the pledge to buy homemade here.

St. Patty's Winner!

Jenny Rose- the Luck of the Irish is with you!

Random choose your coment, #5, as the winner for the St. Patty's day clip!

Because there were 30 entries, you'll also receive a FREE bow!

I'm sending you an email, so check your inbox!

Congratulations!

Splish Splash!

I wanted to do a quick update on Gretchen, for my family and friends.

For those of you who are new to my blog, I'm warning you, that I do blog about EVERYTHING! Not one topic is off limits to me, and I love to blog about my family!

I have a 2 year old daughter, who is my inspiration behind so many things. She was acting silly at bath time Tuesday night, so I decided to get my camera and snap a few pictures. I'm hoping that I can photoshop some of them and frame them for her bathroom. She enjoys drinking the tub water. It's disgusting, I know, but she does this every bath time. Followed by coughing and giggles.

As soon as she saw the camera she posed and said "cheese". I love this picture.

She was busy splashing away, giggling and screeching the entire time! We consistently remind her to make "little splashes". This doesn't always work.

And, one more adorable picture.

DJ and I have been encouraging Gretchen to say her name. As a speech therapist, I knew that she that her being able to say her name would be a difficult task. "Gr" is a blend, which doesn't develop until age 5, the /g/ won't develop until age 3 or 4, and even the /r/ shouldn't develop until age 7 or so. "Ch" is also a difficult sound, that doesn't typically develop until 5-6 years. So, I knew that her name would be pronouced "Deten".

Knowing all of this, I did not realize that she would think her name was something entirely different. DJ often refers to her as "baby girl". So, when you ask her what her name is she'll respond "baby girl"! If I ask her, she'll respond "mommys baby girl", and if DJ asks her then her name is "daddys baby girl". It's cute what kids come up with, huh?

DJ if you read this- we have to stop calling her baby girl!

New Items

You all know that over the past week or so I have been working on expanding my product line.

I wanted to take some time today to share pictures of some of the items I've been working on!

Above: Pink/brown infant tutu with pink/brown damask bow and interchangeable headband. I had a college sorority sister order this for a gift for one of her friends. The tulle is so soft, and I love how the brown tulle shimmers between the pink. Plus, pink and brown are such classic color combinations right now! Suprisingly, this is the first pink and brown tutu that I've made and I love it!

Above: Just the tutu. I might have to make one for Gretchen when she starts dance classes (hopefully, this fall!)

I love the blue bunny shirt. The product tester, did not want a tie applique for her son, so she asked me to come up with something for Easter. I didn't want to do an egg, because it would just be an oval, and I had this blue material. I sewed it on using green and I love how it turned out! Colin will be so cute Easter Sunday for his very 1st Easter!!!

I can't remember if I've shown this mod circle tie, but I love it! I've had a second order for this shirt, and finished it last night. The one above is going out to a product tester!

And, a hair bow. I love the pink and purple dots, and how it can be worn with so many little girl outfits. Plus, it's so springy!

You can check all of these items out, and more, at Honey Pie Accessories.

Giveaway ending tomorrow!

The St. Patty's day giveaway ends tomorrow- Friday, February 5th.

If, I can get up to 25 entries in the giveaway, the winner will receive an EXTRA hair bow!!!

Go HERE and sign up!

Shutterfly Turns 10!

Shutterfly is turning 10 years old this month. Use coupon code March10 by March 11 and receicve $10.00 off your order!