Wednesday, May 30, 2012

:: Getting ready for The Home Girl Sale! ::


Tomorrow night is the first night of The HomeGirl sale! If you are local to Northeast Ohio, you simply must stop by!  I met Gina Bishop a couple of years ago and I am thrilled to be a part of her sales.  Visit her blog HomeGirlShop to get the details, dates and times. While you are there, check out all of her inspiring home decorating tips, she has such a fun style! You can read more about Gina in this article from our local paper. I'll be there Thursday and Friday and I'd love to meet you!

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                                         I just listed some new pillows in my shop this week...








                              They will also be available at Gina's sale this weekend!!!


The Mermaid pillow is my favorite, I'm working on some other new designs like it for summer too...
...and I can't help it, I still am loving chevron!  Well, to be more specific, grey & white and black & white chevron.  The brighter colors, not so much.  I just think it is such a great pattern to throw in anywhere. 




Oh! Today is the last day to enter to win $50 from Blogher and Venus...go to my post here to enter!

Have a beautiful day!

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Thursday, May 24, 2012

My Instagram Kitchen Tour


                          Because I just found instagram...yes, I know you've had it for a year.
                                And because my kitchen is clean, I thought I'd give you a tour. 


           Three years ago, it was actually two rooms.  A small dining room, and an even smaller kitchen. 
                    With our family of six, we decided to knock down the wall separating the two,
                                        and cover the floor with hickory from my dads farm.


                    The shelves are old oak boards with our glasses, silverware, dry goods, and bowls.


                                                                     Plates from jane jenni





Vintage chandelier was a Christmas present from my husband. Old barn beam for support. I love the old    classroom clock, I needed to hang it high, just like it was at school.  The door leading to the basement I  I                                     confiscated from a 200 year old farmhouse down the road. 


                                                            Flowers from the garden.


 
                                                                 Always fresh eggs



Thanks for stopping by!


*There is still time to leave a comment HERE on my BlogHer post for a chance to win $50!  


Monday, May 21, 2012

Sharing one of my "Firsts" {and a $50 Giveaway}


Every year of my childhood the women in my family would vacation in South Carolina.  For two weeks we stayed in my grandma's Airstream trailer on the beach soaking up the salty sea air and hot sun. 
It was my mother and her two sisters, Grandma, cousins, my little sister and me.
The summer I was 11, they all decided it was time for me to shave my legs.  
Do you like my hairstyle and hot pink and neon yellow bathing suit?  It was 1990; I was pre-teen and thought I was so cool.  (I swear my aunt is wearing clothes in this picture.)
Aunt Cindy was my instructor, my mom took pictures from every angle.  Evidently this was a particular rite of passage they never wanted me to forget!
So that went well, and it was a "first time" in my life I will never forget, but I know the next few years were not easy in regards to shaving.  Inexperience, cheap razors, my dad's 2 for $1.00 Barbasol shaving cream all left my legs cut up, bumpy and smelling like an old man.  
Now 22 years later I have four daughters; my oldest is 11. 

I'm sure within this next year she will be shaving as well.  As mothers I feel we all want to give our children more than what we had growing up.  Not that I was set back in life because I had to use men's shaving cream, but I want more than that for my daughter. I want her to know that she is good enough to use quality products to take care of herself as well as for this to be a positive experience in her life. 
Even after I left home for college, I still only bought cheap razors and used just soap out of habit.  Of all people, my little sister gave me my first Venus and a bottle of yummy smelling shaving cream for my birthday one year. Sounds crazy, but it was completely life changing.  Why hadn't I been using this all along?

I want my girls to use this from the get go! 

I'm so excited to give a Venus Embrace to my daughter.  It has 5 blades for a close, comfortable shave, blade refills, and most importantly, the Soft Grip handle is pink! 
To go along with her new razor, she'll try a bottle of Passionista Fruit Satin Care shave gel. We're going to try for smooth skin--no bumps or cuts! She loves anything that smells fruity, so I think she will love it!
What I want for her, what I want for all my daughters, is to grow up feeling confident, safe, and beautiful inside and out.
We all could use a little encouragement when talking about things like this with our daughters.
Share a tip for tackling tough "firsts" conversations with your kids to be entered for a chance to win a $50 Visa Gift Card, courtesy of Venus and BlogHer!
I can't wait to hear your advice!
Rules:
No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/21 - 6/30.
Be sure to visit the Venus Brand feature page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!  If you have a first-time shaver in your home, you should check out some of these great tips from Venus Embrace!

A bit of Button Making












There have been alot of late nights and long days here in the sewing room lately, and I am never without company.  #3 & 4 like to re-fold fabrics, play with the pins and press the "gas pedal" on the sewing machine - not always helpful. :) It certainly slows down production, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love having them close.   

The Tiddlywampus is by far the most crafty, there is always a project in her head.  This time it was button making.  Her little fingers worked for over an hour making handfulls of tiny fabric covered buttons.  These were vintage, two part french buttons.  For now they're in her sewing basket, waiting to be stitched on something sweet.