Tagging and Packaging

So when I opened my Etsy shop and made a couple sales, I was a little caught off guard. I realized I wasn't actually ready to ship the monsters I had made. Well, um... crap.

Luckily, I found a whole stack of old paint chips I had kept stashed from my days decorating children's church rooms. They are from this kid's line of Nickelodeon colors that Lowe's carried, although I don't think they do anymore.

At first, I tried painting over all of the Lowe's branding on the back sides, but that looked pretty awful, so I just glued two chips together back to back, in two colors that kind of match the monster they are on. Then I cover the cartoon characters with my shop name the monster name.

Here are 2 of my first sales ready to go.

They also get the little description attached on a laminated card. I hope to get these professionally printed down the road, but for now, they kind of add to the whole homemade look. 

Penelope was shipped out this morning. She was one of 4 new designs listed this week. You can read about the other 3 here.

Anyway, I love the bright paint chip tags, but I'm going to run out soon. I have some cute vintage owl playing cards I might use when that happens. I'd like to keep using repurposed/ recycled items. Does anyone else have any genius ways you tag your creations, or things you have seen other sellers use?

100 Reasons

This is my 100th post here! I've been looking back over some of the things I've posted since November when I started, and it occurred to me that for my 100th post I wanted to honor some of my most faithful and encouraging blogland friends- the ones who have supported me from the beginning. I really didn't know when I started this thing that the most fun part of having my own crafty little nook on the internet would be making friends. In fact, I really didn't know what I was doing, or why.

But when you put just a little bit of yourself out there in cyberspace, it's the easiest way to connect with all of these people who have similar interests and who you would not be able to connect with otherwise. So I want to introduce you to just a few of my best cyber-buds. The funny thing is, I knew all these people just a little bit before, but not as great friends. Now, we look out for each other because we're blog friends, letting each other know about things we know the others would love, encouraging new endeavors, and just plain being interested in each other's creativity. I love it. (And by the way, if I heard someone talking about their "internet friends" like this a year ago, I would have totally made fun of them. Ha! I'm such a snob.)

This is Olivia (and her adorable family.)

She blogs at The Saturated Palette. I hate to over-use the word "lovely," but her blog is just lovely. It feels all warm and homey and happy when I read it. She is a fluid writer, a coffee/ book/ all-things-French snob, and a great wife and mommy. (and babe #2 is on the way-yay!)

I knew her only because she went to college with my husband and I think I met her once. But she was definitely the first person to start commenting regularly on this campy little site I started. I think as a seasoned blogger, she knew how much the creative encouragement meant. :) 

She is also a very talented artist, and she sells both originals and prints of her work in her Etsy shop, Palette Theory. She is pretty much the reason I started my shop. I thought, "Well, Olivia is a person I know, and she has a shop. And she's awesome. Maybe I can do it." I have sound reasoning like that for just about everything. 

This is Carmen.

She blogs at Life Blessons. Her writing is always inspiring and encouraging. She writes about everything in life, from cooking and decorating, to her marriage and her faith- I love the variety. And this girl is living on purpose- everything she does is striving to be a better wife and Jesus-follower. You should probably follow along on her journey. 

We used to go to church together but were never really friends- then we became blog friends and we both wondered why on earth not?  But she has always been an encouragement to me and my pursuits, which is the coolest. And she is adorable. And she has weaned her hair off of shampoo, which I TOTALLY want to try. 

This is Wendy.

She has started her own beautiful photography business, and of course an accompanying blog called Anwen Elizabeth Photography. It's so cool to follow along as this girl follows her dreams. You can almost taste her passion for photography as she writes about growing her business and talents. And her work is gorgeous eye candy. 

Pre-blogging, I had not talked to Wendy since my senior year of high school, when she was a freshman on my volleyball team. I have a horrible memory when it comes to high school, so I sure hope I was sweet to the younger girls back then :) Wendy always acts like everything I make is the most amazing thing she has ever seen, which is hilarious and totally sweet. I'm glad we are cyber-buddies.

This is Erin.

Erin blogs here about her life as mom of a four-year old girl and 18-month-old twin boys- crazy! I love this picture because I imagine it pretty much sums up her life trying to wrangle them. Oh yeah, and most of the time she is single-mom'in-it with her husband deployed overseas. Amazing! Whenever I feel frazzled as a mom, I just think of her and feel better :) I seriously can't imagine how she does it, but she is an awesome mom. And she even makes time to squeeze in a little sewing- like making approximately 139 sock monkey favors for her boys' first birthday. (Not really, but it was a lot.)

And that's just the beginning really. So many other "casual friends" have now become blog-buddies. 

-Courtney takes great pictures and has the most down-to-earth writing voice.

-Stacia is a seriously good cook. I want to eat everything she makes. One time she wrote about this recipe that took 2 days to make. What?!

-My good friend Jessica started blogging about her beekeeping adventures in her backyard- how cool is that?

-Kara is so cute and stylish and always has great tips. (and she just got engaged! Yay!)

-Katie is super crafty, has a sweet humble writing voice, and an amazing story.

-Sarah is an amazing homeschooling mom who just had her fifth kid. 

Anyway, I think I'm done gushing, but I just wanted to send back the love to all these ladies who have encouraged me in large and small ways. So, you should check them out. Also, if you don't already, start blogging and make new internet friends- accept your dorky fate. 

tutus and pillows for a cause

The crafty/ mom blog , Samster Mommy is having a tutu drive. I'm kind of late to the game, because her goal is to get 100 sent in by the end of July, which happens to be Saturday. They will go to the Princess Alexa Foundation, which gives dress up clothes to terminally ill kids. But I wanted to let you know because there is still plenty of time if you make one in the next couple days. And the great part is, you don' even need to sew to make one. See all the info about the drive here, and how to make a no sew tutu here. (I'm sure you could even hot glue the elastic instead of stitching it.)  

  Here is the one I made with blue and pink tulle. Wish I had a cute little girl around to model it.  

  

  

 

   Just to give you an idea of their poofy adorableness, here is Lily in her garden fairy costume I made last Halloween. Hendrix was a garden  gnome.  

  

In other charitable making news, I came across this article yesterday on the etsy blog about another challenge to get one million pillow cases made for people in need. I love the ambition of that goal! Pillowcases are now next on my list. Find out more about it here.                                

 
Does anyone know of any other opportunities like this going on right now? Let me know in the comments!

Shorty come home.

I made shorts for Hendrix! I wish I had tried this much sooner because I would not have bought him any new pairs this summer. It was easy with this tutorial.  

  

I made them from an old men's button up I bought at a thrift store a while back. Ugly prints on men's shirts= very cute toddler shorts. 

The pocket from the front of the shirt conveniently becomes a back pocket. This shirt only had one pocket, but with a two pocket shirt, you could have them on both sides. 
  

I made a couple mistakes, but I couldn't believe how cute they turned out! I think I will be making his every pair of shorts until he decides he is too cool for elastic waist. That's still cool in high school right?  

New Orleans in iPhonography

   

(I can't take credit for these. I'm not the one with the hip phone.)

Trombones. So hot right now.

 

  A view from the Mississip.   

You MUST eat at Jacques imo's. Not an option. Plus, you get to meet this guy.

Nick got to play a little. Backed by Bob Marley, no less.

Wouldn't Be complete without a visit to spotted cat. Or three.   

these dancers were SO good.  

  

 protection marks for a Voodoo Queen.

When is Cincinnati going to get it's streetcars? I love them.

Alligator sausage!

A little irony at the aquarium.

A Banksy at the museum!   

  

The most insane quilt I've ever seen.

No really, it was nuts.  

I love this. Although, I see nothing wrong with a little REO in moderation ;)