GiveAway and Interview -- Freckled Laundry

The promised Giveaway is finally here!!!

Etsy seller and blogger, Jami of freckled laundry shop and freckled laundry blog has graciously agreed to an interview with moi and is offering a truly outstanding prize to the winner. 
(rules found at bottom of post)

I first found Jami through blogland, don't remember exactly where, but I am sooooo very grateful that I did!!!    Her blog is completely chock-full of gorgeous photography of her home decor, tutorials....and items she has made to sell in her etsy shop.  I am completely in love with every single item she makes....her items have such a dreamy, ethereal quality about them, you'll want one of everything as well.

I've just placed my first order with her....her number tags...and can hardly wait to get them, I plan to hang them on a few vintage clear milk bottles....I'll be sure to post pics when I can.

I cannot forget to mention what a total "sweetie" she is...I mean Total!  One of those peeps we "meet" on the internet but wish lived next door....seriously.   So take a quick moment and GO...check out her shop, then come back here and tell me YOUR favorite item...

Now onto the interview...(I am personally very inspired by every answer she gave)...

1. What is life like at your house? (husband, pets, children, etc)

Life is perfectly imperfect. With 21-month-old (boy/girl) twins and a high-energy 8-yr.-old son, life at home is a little...intense! My husband is a Corrections Sergeant on the 2-10 pm shift and is gone most days so it’s usually just me and my beautiful children. Blogging and designing wares for my Etsy shop keep me centered, especially on days when I’m leaning a little too far to the left!

2.  What is your morning routine?

I wake up at 6:30, make a pot of coffee or a latte and hop in the shower. At 7:00, I get the twins up, make them breakfast and put on Sesame Street while I get my oldest son ready for school. Dad takes him and I check emails real quick to see if I have any Etsy or urgent blog emails. The babies and I play for a couple of hours (go for a walk or trip to library, etc.) and then Dad takes over for a bit while I work in my craft room. (My baby girl follows me around like a duckling so she's usually sitting at my desk coloring or exploring the wonders of my craft room while I work). When they go down for a nap at 11:00, it's serious business and I use every bit of the hour and half to work on what needs to be done before Dad leaves for work. My morning routine is pretty flexible though, which is important when managing a family and a new business. Neither are predictable 100% of the time.

3. What hobbies do you enjoy?

I love decorating my home, sewing, photography, and reading a good book.

4. How did you become a designer?

I'm still getting used to calling myself a designer. It's just something that I've always loved to do. I've always followed a creative path and have a bachelor's in Fine Arts. For a short while, I veered off of my creative path (in terms of doing what I love to earn a living) so I'd have to say that making the decision to say home to raise my twins, an entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and a dream made me a designer.

5. How did you start your etsy business?

I signed up. Plain and simple. I had been blogging for about 6 months when I finally decided to follow my dream of selling my handmade wares on Etsy.

First, I registered online for a federal tax ID (took minutes) and then registered my business and name with the state of New York (online). Once I had the particulars in order, I started designing and making my handmade baby shoes and added them to my Etsy shop.

My very first sale was such an amazing feeling. It really helped my confidence to know that somebody loved something that I made enough to buy it. My shop continues to grow and I'm growing right along with it. If you've ever considered opening an Etsy shop, just do it. You'll be so happy you did. And, I'm happy to help if I can.

6. How does your creative process work (where do you find inspiration?)

I find inspiration everywhere...blogs, websites, magazines, flea markets, photographs, music; you name it.

I have a sketch pad and sometimes I'll staple a photo of something that inspired me. As ideas come to me on how to rework it in my own style, I'll sketch them out. It could be something specific (like clay tags) or just a photo of a room with a shabby style that appealed to me. It inspires me to think of something that would look lovely in that space, etc. Often times, I'm just working with a blank page and scribble out ideas (written or illustrated) that come to me. I love working with laundry (textiles) so sometimes I'm inspired to create something to fit the laundry. My mind is constantly in mommy, blog or business mode so it's when I just stop and reflect, that I'm most creative...usually in my dreams.

7. What one thing do you keep close to you at all times?

Sketch book. (I'd say my children but that's 3 things.)


8. Since starting your etsy store, what one thing are you most proud of?

That I believed in myself.


9. What is one thing you would do differently (in your etsy business)

Everything is made to order at the moment. Although my wares typically ship within three days, I wish I would have built up enough of an inventory before opening my Etsy shop doors to ship immediately (aside from custom orders, of course).


10, Is there anything new you have an idea for or are currently working on to add to your etsy store in the future?

Yes. Several. I plan to add my Lavender Dipped Letters to my shop as well as several lavender-inspired wares (laundry wrapped bundles, petite pillows, homemade laundry soap;and linen spray, etc... I'm working on a lavender bunting/banner. I'd also love to sew more ruffled linens, shower curtains, cotton jersey throws and chair hugs, etc. are in the plans. I have ideas to combine textiles and silver metal (i.e. rabbit wire and oxidized steel wire) to create shabby and vintage-inspired hat holders, wireliers (wire-chandeliers), wall pockets, storage baskets, photo clotheslines, etc.

11. Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny? (why)

Mickey Mouse. I lived in Florida for a year after college and weekend trips to Disney World were frequent! Also, Mickey is just a happy lil' mouse whereas Bugs Bunny has a bit of a mischievous streak. Ha!

12. Handmade vs Manufactured (your thoughts)

Oh, my. Handmade. I have such an appreciation for handmade things. Something manufactured on an assembly line doesn't even compare to the heart that goes into making something by hand. Handmade tells a story. It reflects someone's dream or passion whereas manufactured reflects the dollar bill. Manufactured usually ends up in land fills but handmade is loved for generations from both quality and emotional aspects.


13.   What is one piece of advice you'd give to other women who are fortunate not to have to work outside the home?

I guess I would say follow your hearts. Dreams inside your home matter just as much as dreams and goals chased outside of it.

Jami
www.freckledlaundry.com
www.freckledlaundry.etsy.com

Okay, now tell me, did you learn as much as I did???   Are you inspired to make something???

Here's what the winner will receive...

-1 set of hand-stamped White Clay number tags 0-9 in the winner's choice of petite or large size

AND

-1 set of (3) Vintage-Inspired Ticking Stripes Tags in winner's choice of Red or Gray

The photos of the items are posted above.

Now for the rules:   As you know, I like to keep them simple...although it would be nice if you became followers of my blog and Jami's, that is not a requirement...all you have to do is go visit her etsy shop, choose a favorite item, then come back here and let me know what that item is in this posts comments section.  The giveaway will end Monday, July 19th at 9pm est.

The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced next week!!!!! 

Thank YOU!!!!

Burlap and Muslin Thank You Hang Tag Set
by
Victorian Station

I wanted to take a quick moment and send out a special "Thank You" to all the people who have decided to "follow" my blog.

I orginially started my blog just for fun and to possibly promote my Etsy Shop.  But, it has gradually morphed into a wide variety of subjects near and dear to me...one of which is promoting other etsy shops featuring items I find and love.

I'm a big fan of showing appreciation for the gifts we are given...nothing makes the gift giver feel more special than to receive a truly sincere, heartfelt "Thank You".

So here's a few more ideas for anyone to show their own appreciation...

Thank You Wedding Sign
by
Signs By Diane

Thank Heaven For You
by
The Back Porch Shoppe

Burlap Glitter Banner
by
funkyshique

And finally, I wanted share the "Thank You" cards I made for my daughter to send out for her baby shower using the Mixbook website.

This is the front of the card....I tried to upload it with a higher dpi, but either blogger or my internet service wouldn't let me.  I hope you can see enough of the detail.  These look much, much better in person than the pics show, they are much more 3-dimensional, and all the elements and details really pop off the page.  They are also printed on heavy cardstock.

We wanted to make the "Thank You's" as if coming directly from the baby, so I inluded a pic of expectant Mommy's belly and a small pic of the shower thank you gifts.

For the back of the card, my daughter found a poem she wanted to include, it's written as though from the expected little one.   I also left enough space to the left of the poem for "Mommy" to hand write a thank you from herself.  I hope you can see the entire poem...

I hope these items will give you some great ideas if you have need for them in the future, or maybe they'll just inspire you to come up with something of your own.  I'd love to hear ways you show YOUR appreciation, I'm always looking for different ideas...:)))

Baby Shower Gift and Favor Guide

This will be my last baby shower posting, if you missed the other baby shower postings and would like to see them...here they are...

Princess Baby Shower PreView
Baby Girl Shower Topiary DIY Tutorial
Baby Girl Shower Table Decor
Baby Girl Shower Invitations and Branch Centerpiece Tutorial
Baby Girl Shower Menu featuring Strawberry Truffles, Edible Butterflies and Pearls

I thought it appropriate to end the shower series with some shower gift and favor ideas.

For my daughter's shower, we had planned to make the favors, but my little sis found some online... cheaper than we could make them (as seen in the photo at the top of this post, the image below is from beau-coup.com, where you can check out ALL their favor ideas for ALL occasions).

Egg Soap Baby Shower Favors

My sister was very impressed with how fast the favors shipped (they were delivered much sooner than the site stated) and they are always offering deals, I think she purchased them for 20% off.

They were delivered already assembled, all we had to do was remove the cellophane wrap each one was encased in.

Now on to some gift ideas...

I just happened to find these adorable baby cowboy boots from one of etsy's bns treasuries and knew I had found our little princess her first pair of cowboy boots...

The boots are made by Megan of meganesass etsy shop, I would have included the link for these particular boots, but Megan is on vacation until the 18th....she makes them in different colors as well and I debated whether or not to get them in pink/brown, but thought the cream/brown looked more like cowboy boots.  They were truly a hit at the shower when they were opened.

While browsing Etsy, I found sooooo many shower and gift ideas, I couldn't possibly list them all here, but I have made a few treasuries with some of my favs....so if you are going to be planning a shower or in need of baby gift ideas, take a look at some of finds in the following treasuries.

I have 2 AWESOME giveaways coming up within the next two weeks, so stay tuned!!!

And past treasuries...

Baby Girl Shower Menu featuring Strawberry Truffles, Edible Butterflies and Pearls

If you haven't been following along this past week with my other baby shower posts, you might want to check them out as well...

Princess Baby Shower PreView

Baby Girl Shower DIY Topiary Tutorial

Baby Girl Shower Table Decor

Baby Girl Shower Invitations and Branch Centerpiece DIY Tutorial

While looking around etsy for shower ideas, I found a few more absolutely ah-maz-ing etsy artisans.

These Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Truffles were special ordered from amays3402 etsy shop, and were placed on a tall white metal filigree stand purchased from HL.

The cupcakes were ordered from our local bakery,  and I decided on pink icing.  Then I found etsy shop sweetdejavu who makes Edible Butterflies
and Edible White Sugar Pearls
pearls. (the butterflies come in different colors, styles and sizes...and the pearls come if different colors) The following 2 photos are from the item listings, not from the baby shower.

Here is how we used them....

And though we served cupcakes for everyone, I decided to have a very small cake made for the "mommy-to-be"....I added a few of the edible butterflies to the center of the top, and pearls were placed randomly all over (I'm really regretting that we did not get a close-up pic of it, it was gorgeous).  I also scattered a few of the butterfly cut-outs that my sister made with her Cri-cut and scrapbook paper, around the edges of the plate. 

We displayed it on "mommy-to-be's" table in a vintage etched-glass cake plate that was my grandmother's.

The Menu included:
Bite-size buns, also from the local bakery filled with Pimento Cheese Spread, Smooth Chicken Salad and Chunky Chicken Salad
Vegetable Pizza
Macaroni Salad
Fruit Salad

We served a Strawberry Punch and Raspberry Ice Crystal Lite.

We found small 1" plastic babies at HL and froze each one in an ice cube, added an ice cube to each guests punch glass and whoever's baby was "born" (melted out of the ice cube) first won a prize!

We also placed glass candy dishes on each table filled with assorted nuts and handmade ButterMint Baby Booties...

If you are looking for any kind of party planning ideas...go to Etsy's website and type any word you are searching in the search bar (ie. baby, boy, girl, wedding, anniversary) and you will find so many ideas from all the etsy artisans you'll have your event planned in no time at all!!!

Linking up to these blog parties....go check out all the great ideas in blogland...

Baby Girl Shower Invitations and Branch Centerpiece DIY Tutorial

front of invitation

I made the baby shower invitations using the online website Mixbook where you can upload your own photos and edit them, upload your own scrapbook papers and elements to design your own cards, photo books, and calendars.  You can also invite other family members to help out with the albums.   I have made photo albums to give as gifts and am currently working on getting all our family photos put into albums.

In keeping with the "Princess" theme, I titled the front of the invitation "Preparing for a Princess" and I added pics of Miranda, her belly, and an ultrasound.  The back of the invitation had all the details for the shower itself.

I have enjoyed scrapbooking in the past but have found that I prefer the unlimited artistic options by going digital.  Every single background, element and every text was put into place and edited by me.   If you've never tried it but would like to, let me warn you, it can become very addicting...

back of invitation

I've also recently found the online photo editing site Picnik and have just started playing around with it, and so far I'm in "LLLLOVVVVEEEE" with it.  I used it on the back of the invitation to "pixelate" Miranda's last name and the RSVP phone number, I'm not that great at it, but I'll only get better with practice :)

Now for the Branch Centerpiece DIY Tutorial:

The food table featuring the branch centerpiece (I wish we would have taken the pic after we cleaned off the bar in the background)

I started with dead, bare branches that had fallen in our yard out of the large maple tree that drops them every time a wind storm blows through.  I picked the ones that were the most appealing to me.  I then purchased from Michael's a couple of containers of small fabric flowers, Martha Stewart Glittering Glue & Lustre Glass MicroBeads in White Gold.

I proceeded to add the glittering glue to the center of some of the flowers, then sprinkled the microbeads onto it, shaking off the excess...

Some of the smaller flowers, I layered with hot glue.  I also found the tall pink tin can at Michael's and stuffed it with wadded up newspaper to provide support for the branches.  I arranged the branches into the newspaper then used my hot glue gun to attach the flowers randomly.

To finish it off, I added a white feather boa that was purchases at Hobby Lobby to the top of the tin pot.  We plan to place this in the nursery for decoration but I think I'm going to have to cut the size down quite a bit.   To get this to the shower, I had to remove the branches from the tin, and lay them flat in the back of my SUV (the branches were so big, I had to lay the back seats down for them to fit), then I just rearranged it back together at the shower.  It was honestly so easy to do.

I used very little of the glue and microbeads, so I'll have them for another project, so this really only cost me the price of the tin pot, the feather boa and the flowers, probably around $22.

Nate Berkus always says to use things from nature and I think this fits that bill nicely, if the branches get broken, they are very easy to replace, and cost nothing because you can reuse the flowers.

If you missed the other posts about the baby shower, go check them out...

http://mybluepeacock.blogspot.com/2011/06/baby-girl-shower-table-decor.html

http://mybluepeacock.blogspot.com/2011/06/baby-girl-shower-topiary-diy-tutorial.html

http://mybluepeacock.blogspot.com/2011/06/princess-baby-shower-preview.html

Keep watch this week for an awesome interview and giveaway from an amazing etsy artisan!!!  I'll also be sharing the menu, some purchases from other amazing etsy artisans, and a few handmade gifts.

Baby Girl Shower Table Decor

Today is all about the baby shower table decor and how I did it....if you missed Baby Girl Shower Topiary DIY Tutorial or Princess Baby Shower PreView, go check them out.  For the most part, I made everything that I could on the cheap, purchased glass serving dishes, candy dishes, and vases from goodwill and yard sales.  I did however have a couple of splurges.

The top photo is of the the centerpiece on my daughter's table, who was of course the guest of honor (and I just had to share a couple of pics of her and her baby bump)
The fresh-cut flowers were one of my splurges.

We made up place seating tags only for her, the soon to be grandmother's,  and the soon to be great-grandmother's.  We made the tags using chocolate brown cardstock, folded in half, then pretty scrapbook papers in our color scheme, cut using lacey-edged scrapbook scissors which we then "glue-dotted" to the brown cardstock.  I picked up a brown caligraphy pen and wrote the names on these.  Sorry I don't have a close-up pic of the tags.

She chose to have her absolutely ah-maz-ing aunts, me and her sister-in-law, sit at her table... then each soon-to-be great-grandmother and her mother-in-law each had her own table and sat with their friends and family.

Baby Girl Shower Topiary DIY Tutorial

I had planned to upload the baby shower invitation and share with you the online site where I made them, but alas, my puter woes continue....for some reason my wireless printer/scanner/fax is no longer communicating with my router....hubby will have to add this problem to his "honey-do" list.

So instead, today I'm sharing the topiary tutorial.  First I went to our local pottery shop, Zanesville Pottery and China in Zanesville, Ohio and purchased the 6x6 concrete pot.  The next stop was Hobby Lobby (love that store) and purchased more glue sticks, floral foam, a bag of moss,  a 6" foam ball and curly willow branches (I used 4).

I love how the pot as an aged, antique look to it, and I needed something that was heavy to support the height I wanted so this one worked really well. 

The flowers are white peonies, I used the full blooms, the buds and a few leaves.  I already had them from Michael's.

I removed the moss from it's bag and filled my sink with warm water, pushed all the moss down into the water until the bubbles quit coming to the surface and let it soak for about an hour (this really rehydrates the moss and plumps it back up to normal).  Then I drained the water and let the moss drain for another hour in the sink before laying it all out on dishtowels to dry overnight.

Hubby made a hole in the 6" foam ball and I hot glued the curly branches into it, then cut the floral foam to fit into the pot, making a hole in it as well for the bottom of the curly branches (this is the one thing I should have done better, it needed more stability).

I then pulled all the blooms, buds and leaves off their stems and proceeded to hot glue them to the 6" foam ball.  When that was finished and the moss completely dry, I pulled to moss sections apart to fit around the top of the floral foam at the base of the curly branches.

My plan was to place the topiary on the gift table, then my daughter could take it home with her to be part of the nursery decor.  When she saw it, she loved it but wanted a bit of pink added to it.  So I glued some pink geranium blooms in a few places, then we decided to add a couple of blooms to the moss to look as though they had "fallen" from the top. 

We were all very pleased with how it turned out, but getting it to the shower was a challenge, I did not have it stable enough in the base and we had to do some repair work at the shower.

The baby shower was held in the basement of our church and since there was no air-conditioning (and it was HOT), we had to use a couple of fans which really helped , but as you can see in the following photo, our poor topiary that had been through quite an ordeal getting to the shower, was starting to lean.

We also used a few large white ostrich feathers (also purchased at HL when they were 50% off as they were expensive) placed them in pretty glasses on different tables, and the fans of course made them lean as well. 

Princess Baby Shower PreView

Well, I'm finally back with a sneak peek of my daughter's baby shower (which is what has kept me so busy for the past two weeks)!!!

All the decorations were made, the guests invited and arrived, and gifts were opened with appropriate "ooh's" & "aah's" uttered...


And with my first blog post, blogger is already giving me grief....ugh. What the heck! I can't change the font to the one I like...oh well, here goes anyway... I plan to add a couple tutorials on decor items that I made in future posts. I'll also include some links for items that were purchased from some more amazing etsy artisans, so maybe you'll get some ideas if you are planning a baby shower in the future

I still don't have all the pics edited, and today is another busy day, so let me just give a quick shout-out to the absolutely fabulous women in my family that helped make everything come together exactly as I envisioned it...

My

Mom Jeanette

Mom-in-Law Joy

Sister Amy

Sis-in-law Kelly

Sis-in-law Kim

Miranda's Sis-in-Law Abby

(my sis-in-law Christine would have loved to help, but works full time, has a new baby of her own, so I'm thanking her anyway just cause I want to)

 

 

and I can't leave out

Miranda's BFF Hannah for taking the pics so that I could enjoy the shower

 

 

andddddd my son-in-laws family that took the time to stay afterward and help with the clean-up....ALL of you ROCK!!!!!!!

 

 

If anyone has any advice for me on how to deal with the probs I'm having with blogger, I'd love to hear it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I normally upload my pics, then add the text....could this be the problem???)