Summer Dreamin... Etsy Finds

Being a former teacher who is now working in the corporate world... not having the summer time to wind down is definitely toying with my emotions. Thought I'd wander through Etsy shops in search for some beachy/summer finds. Enjoy!!!

I love sea glass. What a beautiful way to wear it! You can find this fantastic necklace here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22298618

I love walking on the beach near the water and watching footprints wash away with the waves! You can find these lovely coasters in the following shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19394571

If I had a beach house, I think this would make a lovely print to hang on a wall. Depicting the type of life I'd love to live! Ahhh.... Thank goodness for daydreams! You can find this affordable item in the following shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9634200

I hope you've enjoyed my Summer Dreamin Etsy Finds!

Just when you're feeling down, God sends in a life preserver to keep you afloat.

So I've been feeling down lately. It just feels like I've been swimming from underwater, holding my breath, trying to get to the top. But all I see is the sun shining in and I can't get to it. I feel like everyone around me seems to be accomplishing all the things I am striving for. Each day there is a new piece of good news for someone else, or I see something regarding business that makes me wonder.... am I doing something wrong? Well a funny story last night brought out all my frustrations.. I'd like to share that story, and then tell you about the life preserver sent my way this morning.

So last night, dh and I are in bed watching tv. He says. "I don't want to go to work tomorrow." I respond. "I never want to go to work." Then he says, "How about we send Roxy and Spike in our place". Now... we own two boston terriers that have the most hysterical personalities. So of course, we let our imaginations run rampant and discuss what would happen if it were really the case. "Could you picture Spike driving to work in the jeep?" He says. "No, he'd crash because he'd be too busy looking out all the windows and sticking his head out for air! Roxy would have to drive." We talk about what they would do at each of our jobs. Now mind you at this point we are hysterically, can't breathe laughing. I've got tears pouring out of my eyes and I can feel the recent frustrations just uncontrollably coming out of my eyes in the form of tears. Then dh tops it off by saying "Know why I picked Spike to switch places with you?" I said, "No, why?" He said, "Because he spends the day in the crate and Roxy gets free run of the house!" Again, laughing hysterically.

It was a laugh and cry that was much needed. I woke up this morning feeling a little better, but still constantly thinking about what I need to do to turn things around for myself. Then God sent in my life preserver. I logged in to Etsy to find a sale. And she decided to purchase two items. I had tweeted about a 20% discount to my 10th sale. She told me she didn't want the discount. She truly was a Godsend to start my day off on a positive note. The well known prayer is something I say often: God Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference. There are certain things I'd like right now, that I have no control over. I need to accept that and move forward knowing that things will change when they are meant to change for me. Giving up that control is the hardest thing for me. There are things that I can control (my business) and I need to focus on those things to make it better. One step at a time.... And I will. It's always easier said than done. But I am making an honest effort to change that thought process.

Please make sure you stop by this shop of Molly's at Uniqueartpendants on Etsy. She has a phenomenal shop! http://uniqueartpendants.etsy.com and is a PLEASURE to do business with!!

Happy Wednesday all!!

Pink and Brown ETSY finds!!

Pink and brown are two of my favorite color combinations. I would like to show off some of my etsy finds! Hope you enjoy and take a moment to check out these wonderful shops!

This beautiful pink and brown baby security rag quilt can be found at Rhoda's Ragbags Shop. This item was just listed today! Follow this link to her shop, she's got some beautiful pieces! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5697744

This gorgeous blanket, bib, burp cloth and changing pad set would make a great shower/new baby gift! You can visit Krossbaby's etsy shop here. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7146185

I think this shirt is just so stinkin cute!! Love this shop name and the things she creates! What a nice gift. This shirt can be found at the etsy shop of Stinkincutedesigns @ http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6053791

Mom's need something too after buying all that pink and brown for the little ones right?! Well I came across this beautiful fresh water pearl and shell necklace with pink and brown pendant. You can access BinaGeyer's shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5012898

Butterflies hold a special meaning to my heart. They represent a dear friend that lost her battle with breast cancer. What a special way for me to end my featured blog with this absolutely stunning pillow. This pillow is made by letterperfectdesigns and can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5263751

I hope you've enjoyed the pink and brown items I've shared with you today. This was fun to create a "treasury" of my own and I look forward to doing another and featuring great artists again!

First Custom Order!!

So I officially had my first custom order today! Another etsy seller by the name of chocoface (http://chocoface.etsy.com/) asked if I could do a bow for her two year old in the colors of the Green Bay Packers! I was very excited to get this request. She had seen my tweet on twitter about participating in the yart sale. Hopefully she likes them and officially buys them! I'm a perfectionist, and won't sell a piece to someone unless I truly believe it is sell worthy. Here are some pictures of the pieces I made for her.

Yart Sale!! 20% Off Entire Purchase!

I will be participating in the Etsy Yart Sale this year sponsored by Team ESST!

http://darlingdazzlesbowtiq.etsy.com

I am offering 20% off of your entire purchase from June 10 - June 14. I will even give discount to custom orders!

Discount will be refunded through paypal after payment is received.

If you'd like to participate in the Yart Sale, you can check out the blog for Team ESST here: http://teamesst.blogspot.com/

If you'd like to shop the yart sale from June 10 -14, search the word "yart" in handmade! Happy Yarting!!!

crocheted baby blanket

So my girlfriend had her baby last night! So excited for her! This is baby #2 for them and their family is now complete since their first is a girl, and the new addition is a boy. I made this blanket for little baby Cole. Yep, that's his name, isn't it adorable?! I love crocheting. It's another one of my past time loves. I'd love to get much better at it, but am finding it difficult to do the fancier stitches. I do try to conquer a new pattern with every baby blanket I make. This is the 4th blanket I've made. The last one I made was an afghan for my husband that took me three months! yes... finding the time to do it is the challenge. Especially on top of making bows. I thought I'd share this picture. I am trying to teach myself how to crochet flowers through different tutorials and videos. I taught myself how to crochet in general just by using a book. And will still refer back to it if I ever need to for something in particular.

New Gerbera Daisy Headbands

Gerbera Daisies are my absolute favorite flower! They were in my wedding, my husband buys them for me. I just LOVE them!! I love the look of the gerbera daisy flower headband. So I finally decided to buy a couple and give it a try. I've made a pink one and a blue one. Added the sparkly gem accent to the center. Attached it to an alligator clip and wallah! Goes great with crochet headbands because it just clips through one of the loops on the band. The gerbera can also be worn alone in a little girl's hair!

Check the listing out here! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25933245

I've been featured!

I've been featured on the following site! This is an exciting moment for me!! Stop by and check it out if you get a chance!

Thanks for your support!

http://etsynj.blogspot.com/2009/06/featured-artist-darling-dazzles.html

When frustrated its best to just walk away.

So I'm in need of time to make more bows. Time to expand my inventory and offer more. I've got a couple of friends that are willing to take pictures of their little darlings wearing my bows. So I need to make enough to be able to send out. I also need to make bows for a cousin's daughter's birthday party this weekend. It doesn't help that my husband/I have something pretty much every night this week. So tonight I sit down to make some headbands. I put together two gerbera daisies and attached them to clips. I was going to make more bows that could be interchangable and sell them as a package. As I'm looking for my sewing needles I can't seem to find them. It was very frustrating as there's only one spot I ever put them in. I got to the point where I decided if I couldn't find them, then I'd be able to accomplish nothing. I was almost to the point of tears because I wanted to so badly have a productive evening. I decided to just pack everything back up and put it away. Brought my laptop into the bedroom to check in on twitter (still trying to figure out that craziness), email, etc. As I'm sitting here, my husband is in the living room and holds something up and calls my name. Wouldn't you know it was my package of sewing needles?! I asked him where they were and apparently they were sitting right on the table on the dish that the candle sits on. I must have put them there without even realizing when I was pulling everything out. OH the joy of being a woman, an emotional woman... an emotional, pms, woman at that! So now that I'm past my frustrations, I'm turning in for a good night's sleep and a morning stint at the gym. I will try again with the bows tomorrow evening.