Feature of the Monday...er Tuesday..

Sara of craftybagsetc! As you can see by the photos, her items are fun and unique! She has a variety of things to suit all needs and tastes...and they are even tested by a 3 year old, so built to last! My favorite is the handbag-addicted keychain...at first I thought it was a real hand bag! The aromatherapy eye mask is sure to relax anyone! Sara welcomes custom orders and ships internationally. Some of her other items include a princess toy tote, more keychains, and actual hand bags! Her shop is:

http://craftybagsetc.etsy.com

And to Sara- sorry this is a day late! I have been sick and it has been a little crazy around here lately. Everyone have a great week, I will post again this week but don't know when!

Bridal Invitations!

I just listed custom made bridal invitations! They were made for my sister-in-law's shower, but I made a "fake" one to put in my shop on etsy. I love how they came out and hope someone will buy them so I can do them again. To all potential customers- I can make these with almost any patterned paper/color you want!

I am planning on putting some new things in my shop:

mini premade accordion scrapbooks

mother's day cards

sets of printed notecards

more onesie cards since the one I had was sold!

premade banners, which will cost less

gift card designs

I am open to any suggestions you have!

I won't be posting too much in the next week or so because family is in town, but I will be checking in at my shop often!

Feature of the Monday

Today's Feature of the Monday (like the title? My sister, Madison's, idea) is Michelle from Cozy Moments. At Cozy Moments, you will find decadent soaps, whipped body frosting, and sugar scrubs. Any of her products will make you feel pampered and relaxed, and some of them look good enough to eat (like the body frosting). Her products are not only beautiful, but affordable as well. I recommend any of the products to a mom who needs time for herself, or an at-home spa with friends. Pictured are a few treats that I am hoping to try!

Last night we went up the in-law's for dinner. My sister-in-law has two dogs, but they don't usually bring them over. Well, they came with the dogs and at first it seemed like Odin was interested in them and maybe even liked them a little. But then one licked him...and after that, he was terrified! He would stick his lip out and cry, turn to me, etc. but then he kept looking back at the dogs. We got it on video tape for posterity- we thought it was hilarious, poor baby.

Interesting night

Last night was an interesting night. An experiment, if you will. Odin slept in our room last night in the pak n play because we had guests. I didn't mind this at all but was wondering how it would turn out. You see, Odin has never slept in our room at home, only on vacations, and he doesn't usually sleep so well. His room is pitch black, and he sleeps in because of that. So last night he woke up twice because of a missing pacifier- totally normal and he went right to sleep as soon as it was popped back in. Well, at one point I heard him going "mmmm....mmmm....mmmmmm" in his sleep. It was so cute and Adam suggested he was probably dreaming of his bottle. Haha, so true! He did wake up at 830 this morning, early for us but all in all not so bad. We had a fun day and now he is napping! Yay!

I also listed some more items, so please check them out! I got my business cards the other day and am very pleased with them. Designed them myself :) The last picture is a custom card for a customer...it was fun to make, definitely something different for me!

New items/sales

Well, I made a few sales recently! Some handmade cards which I will ship today and a custom business card design. How exciting is that? And someone also asked me about making them a banner. I hope things continue to pick up, I especially can't wait for that first custom birth announcement order. Selling on etsy, so far, has not been what I expected. I have to constantly find ways to promote, which is overwhelming, but I have met some great people and seen some awesome shops. I especially love Designing Swanky Moms, the women on there are great and I have made one sale there with more to come!

My new items are the two sets of thank you notecards. I enjoyed making these and hope someone else will enjoy giving them- maybe to your customers? Or to someone who have you a wonderful gift? Also, enjoy the pictures of Odin. We went to lunch with friends yesterday, which escalated into target and then a coffee shop. Gone from the house for 7 hours and the only nap he got was in his stroller for a half hour. But he was wonderful, as usual, and I know I am blessed to have such an easygoing baby. He was enthralled by my friend's 5 month old...kept trying to look at her and smiled at her a lot.

Featuring Macaroni and Glue

It's Monday! That means it is time to feature another etsy crafter. Today's feature is on Macaroni and Glue. I met the seller through Desigining Swanky Moms, and just love her note cards! Although we are both in the same business, our designs are very different and she is worth checking out. Macaroni and Glue makes cards with a vintage feel, and each design can be customized. The Sweet Little Girl Just Thinking notecards are featured above, as well as the Vintage Wallpaper Swirly Notecards. Check out her etsy shop: http://macaroniandglue.etsy.com/.

Today has been great so far! Took Odin to lunch at a friend's house and he was awake for 3 hours and never got cranky (unusual for him). Put him down for a nap when we got home...sounds like he is just waking up now though!

It's Late

I know it's getting late, but I just wanted to post. First of all, a fellow Designing Swanky Mom bought a banner from me today, putting me at 2 sales so far. Yay for 2 sales! She was great to work with and makes and sells adorable tutus on etsy- girlpartytutus.etsy.com.

Today was a pretty good Saturday. We relaxed at home for most of it and then Adam and I went on a date. And yes, they accepted our coupon this time. Did I mention my love of coupons? If you really want to save using coupons, check out thegrocerygame.com. It has helped us tremendously. Oh, and for a budget (thanks Elizabeth!) try ynab.com. It is worth the $40 for the software, at least so far. We actually have a some money saved! Odin is really crawling now...pretty soon he will be moving fast and I will be exhausted trying to catch up with him. He is turning into a mama's boy- do I like that or not? On one hand, it's nice to know he loves me, on the other hand...I wish he would reach for his daddy as often as he reaches for me! You would think he is getting sick of being with me all day! But no, he can't get enough of me. Go figure.

Lastly, I posted a new item- a new pet announcement! It features my parents' dog, Bizou (it means kiss in French, but really it should be spelled with an s.)

My Sweet Baby Boy

Today i wanted to talk about my sweet boy (see above). He is just so precious! Today I dragged him around town doing all sorts of errands, and he was a sweetie through it all. Until Michael's, but he was pretty cheered up when a lady started talking to him and telling him how cute he is (he craves attention). We were almost home and he fell asleep in the car (Oh great, I'm thinking). Usually he wakes up when the car stops...and won't go back to sleep. But this time he was so tired, poor thing, he just kept on sleeping through getting him out of the car, out of his carseat, and into his crib. He doesn't sleep on me much anymore, and sometimes I miss that. The above picture is what he does when he is tired or upset. He lays his head down...on the floor, anywhere....if he is mad he buries his face into the floor. We think it's cute!

I would also say Odin is officially crawling. It's an odd feeling, seeing your baby crawl for the first time...I mean, he was once a peanut-sized embryo/fetus....and now he is getting around on his own!

So back to Michael's...I don't think Adam reads these posts, which is a good thing. I went into Michael's and found one cute thing after another for cardmaking- it was all on sale though! My favorite find was a set of 17 clear stamps on clearance for 7 bucks, and they are nice stamps! I wasn't a stamper until recently, and they can be expensive...oh well :). I relisted my custom banners today on etsy, with 5 new designs, including the peas and carrots banner. Yay!

I've been featured

Good morning! As I write this, Odin is playing with an empty bottle on the floor and getting better at crawling. Well, now he is whining because he doesn't like to be ignored! He has been a good sleeper the past 2 nights, sleeping 11-12 hours each night. Wow! LAst night I had to get a dress fitting for my sister-in-law's wedding, and we got there at 6, because she was getting her dress done. I had to bring Odin since Adam was at an appointment. it was fine at first, but by the time i had my fitting (after 7) he needed to have another nap! THank goodness another sister-in-law was there and could hold him for me. My fitting went fine, but for my next fitting I am going on a Saturday so the baby can stay at home!

Also, today I was featured on a blog! The blog that featured me is http://cozymomentsblog.blogspot.com/. She did a great job! I will leave you with some pictures of my two latest listings, an adoption announcement and a birthday invitation, both available on my etsy shop! The gorgeous baby featured in the adoption announcement is my friend's baby Corban, whom she offered to let me use as a model on my cards!

Featured Artist- Lily-Pie Designs

I decided that every Monday I will feature a fellow etsy seller on my blog. There are so many wonderful, creative minds out there that I had to do it! The first featured seller/crafter is Lily-Pie Designs. In her shop, you can find adorable hair accesories for babies and little girls, cute bookmarks, and my favorite...the necktie bib! Please check out her shop at http://lilypiedesigns.etsy.com.

Color challenge!

I entered a card into a color challenge for the etsygreetings team. The blog is: http://etsygreetings.blogspot.com/ and my card is number 24! So please vote for me if you wish :).

In another news...I made a sale! Jessica bought one of my custom banners. I already made it for her and am excited about it. Hopefully more sales will come soon! Not much new to say except that we went on a date last night...dropped Odin off at Adam's brother's new house since his parents were over there. The house looked great and the two babies (Odin and cousin Bryce) had fun smiling and playing with each other. We went to a restaurant that we had a coupon for...but they wouldn't take coupons from the entertainment book anymore. At least the food was good!