PS....

did i mention my clips were featured in a magazine?!

indeed!

in the June 2010 issue of Bird Talk, my owl clippies are there in print!

take a look:

YAY!

that is all.

oh, and i know i havent really updated much...but i've been swamped with some wholesale and custom orders. so hopefully, things will calm down this week, and i can turn my attention to making some things for craft fairs i'd like to do, trying all the new ideas i have in my head, and perhaps writing a FANTASTIC post for this blog =)

Enjoy your weekend!

AWESOME GIVE-A-WAY!

ok first off--this blog rocks. so aside from the incredible give-a-way going on now...you should just read it anyway--for fun. because i said so...but more importantly, because its a really great blog. and its funny. so go!

but onto the give-a-way --- its fantastic!

whether you are planning a wedding or party...or if you are like me and spend a gazillion dollars on crafting supplies..this website rocks.

so---go here: http://oneporkchop.blogspot.com/2010/04/tgif-giveaway-50-e-gift-card.html

and enter to win. if you dont, well, you stink. so--nanny nanny poo-poo.

=P

shameless plug post.

yes, this post is a shameless, selfish, total attention-whore plug for my shop.

but i am having a sale. a spring cleaning weekend sale! (even if it IS freeeeeezing in jersey today)....

BUY ANY 3 ITEMS, GET A 4TH FREE! thats right folks, ANYTHING in the shop is up for sale!

buy 3 sets of clips, get another free. buy 3 headbands, get another free. buy a set of cards, a set of clips, and a headband, get a 4th item free! the possibilities are ENDLESS!!!!!

heres some fine print [said in a fast voice...]: 4th item's price refunded via paypal, not applicable to shipping,  reunded via paypal, not to be combined with other discounts or codes

go forth, and shop.

http://www.bellamiabowsnthings.etsy.com/

2 posts in one day....

i realize i posted this morning...after like a month...and now i'm posting again...after like 6 hours...

but I AM ON THE FRONT PAGE OF ETSY RIGHT NOW!!!

so for those who dont do etsy...people make up treasuries. within each treasury is a collection of pretty items the curator (creator of treasury) wants to put together..whether its a color, a mood, or just because. treasuries can be hard to come by bc there is only a limited amount and you have to wait for older ones to expire to get one. lots of times you have to stalk the treasuries (or use tools like http://www.craftopolis.com/ 's treasury countdown) before you get one of your own.

once you make a treasury, it is active for between 2-3 days. in that time, people view treasuries and its a good way to get people to see your shop. but...every now and then a treasury will make it to the front page! this means that etsy picked the treasury bc they liked the way it looked and the items in it, and they put it on the FP for about an hour or so. in that time, the traffic to the shops featured is INSANE!

...and i'm there, RIGHT NOW.

a friend of mine, a fellow member of the Knotties and Nesties on Etsy team (Laurel from http://www.etsy.com/shop/goagainstthegrain ), included one of my headbands in her treasury, and the treasury was picked to be on the front page.

thankfully, another friend of mine,Monica, also from the KNETEAM, (http://www.etsy.com/shop/damaskdiva) taught me how to do a screen shot and here it is!

i had to do it in 2 screen shots bc it wouldnt fit in one.

yay! so thats that....so excited!

hello again...today i bring you SPRING!

so march brings us the idea of spring time...and quite frankly, after all the snow we had, i am totally looking forward to it! i am not really an outdoorsy person at all...and if i am being honest, would much the day inside doing house things than frolicking outside. BUT, i do enjoy staying inside with the windows open, the wind blowing through the screens, birds chirping outside while i take a  nap on the couch....and you need springy weather for that! =)

but also with the springy weather, springy decor is a way to brighten up inside, even during those rainy days of march.

this year i decided to do a little easter/spring decorating....and i figured after my epic fail decorating for valentines day from the dollar store, i would try to redeem myself with easter. so i perused a few blogs and got a few ideas, ran to the dollar store with $20 and a confidence that i would be a success this time around!

and this is what i got:

This is my easter scape...made from all things dollar store (except the mikasa candlesticks--tho the candles are from the dollar store =)

here are a few close ups:

Plastic eggs i sanded and painted robins egg blue and then speckled with black paint. the moss also from the $1-store. i saw this on a blog..i *think* i found it first here: http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2010/02/robins-egg-vase/  it would have been easier if i had been able to find the craft eggs, but my store didnt have them, so i had to take the extra step of sanding before painting. the foam eggs would have been lots easier.

(the vase is made from a metal candle-holder base that was black and i painted white. then i glued it to the glass bowl on top. voila-a $2 vase)

i got 3 of these frames ($1 each)...they were red (i left the edges) and then i painted them in the colors that matched and then white washed the tops. when i sprayed the acrylic sealer, the red bled thru a bit, but i kinda liked it, so i left it.

another frame, a dollar store vase with dollar store flowers. the pink arrangement i used from my daughters first bday. the pots were terracotta from michael's (.89 ea.) and i painted them with watered down pink acrylic, added some dollar store ribbon, and some more dollar store flowers.

more egg-y vases. i made 2 of these (see first pic). and i just used an ice-cream tall glass and turned it upside down for the base and then glued the bowl to the top. added moss and egg. another $2 vase.

these i think, are my faves. i bought 2 birds from the dollar store...which were originally a stone color. they have a sandy texture to them which i love so i left it, and i painted them a pastelly, yet bright, yellow. they are sooo cute!

i do have to iron the runner...but i actually just sewed 3 placemats together...each was "off" a bit size-wise, but i just lined up the fronts..the backs are totally uneven, but you cant tell. lol. for a 3 dollar runner, i'll totally take it. =)

so--i didnt take before pics...but i was too excited to come home and try it out.

in total, this easter scape cost me roughly $18  ($4 more if you include the pink pots i had already--and i had the paint so i wont count that either)

the runner i was looking at at target was like $17 by itself...so i think i did pretty well and manged to make a pretty easter scape for essentially less than one piece i was looking at prior to my dollar store epiphany. 

the only thing that didnt come out the way i wanted it to bc i got lazy was the wreath i had started. i wont even put pics up bc i'm slightly embarrassed by it. LOL. i was TRYING to put plastic eggs around a foam wreath covered in ribbon....but i got too lazy to sand and paint the eggs, so i glued them as is...and well, it looks like plastic eggs glued to a wreath--so i've ditched it. and will not show you bc i think you all would just point and laugh at me....so i'll just leave you with the successes so you will think i am uber-crafty and cool =)

and i gotta tell you....the feeling i get when i walk into the dining room and see my pretty spring-time project is just awesome. it always makes me smile--i think its the yellow birds (and the cheap-o in me that knows i did it on a dollar store budget). even on a gloomy day like today...i have a little spring in my house.

now---if only i could open the windows and take a nap on the couch....tho really, with a 2 year old, who can take a nap? except, maybe her. so my yellow birdies and the happiness they bring me will have to do, for now.

I am no longer MIA....maybe.

hello bloggy world! i am back. perhaps. =)

february is a crazy month and i realize its been sometime since i updated. my daughter turned 2 this month and i went a little nutty with her bday party, even tho it was just immediate family at a local restaurant...but for about a week and a half i was knee deep in fondant, cake, icing, cookies, paper, glue, scissors, and ribbon. and i neglected the blog, the shop, me....and the weeks following i have been just trying to get back to my shop.

for her birthday, even tho it was just family this year (last year was the big crazy party), i wanted to do something special for her and wasnt happy with just doing cake in the dining room at the house. shes 2...i can still make these things fun....not like when shes 31 and just wants to stay home and not face the fact that shes over 30 (ahem....not talking about me. no no. not at all). so for her bday i chose a Minnie Mouse theme. shes obsessed with all things cartoony now a days, but minnie mouse does hold a special place in her heart, and i figured i could do a lot of little things to tie into the theme.

i didnt want to spend a bazillion dollars on party extras and tho i found a great minnie mouse http://www.birthdayexpress.com/yexpress.com/ (http://http//www.birthdayexpress.com/Minnie-Mouse-Dinner-Plates/35953/ProductDetail.aspx) i just couldnt bring myself to order all the extras.

since we were eating at a chinese buffet, we chose one that had a private room. tho we were only 15, they were very nice about giving us half the room for our party and i had free reign on decorations. i didnt need regular plates, utensils, napkins, or cups, so i really just got the cake things. small dessert plates, small cake napkins, and forks. when i went to the party supply shop in town, they had the same minnie mouse line i had seen on the website, so i just bought those things there. then i ordered coordinating balloons, grabbed a few pink tablecloths, a matching minnie mouse happy bday banner, and called it a day. since it was a small party, i didnt have to get too much of anything, so it stayed in budget. if it was bigger, i prob would have skipped the minnie mouse plates and got plain pink ones and tied it together with just the balloons and napkins.

so to add to the decorations, i decided to make cupcakes with cupcake flags, a few centerpieces for the tables, a few things to hang on the wall, and minnie mouse thank you cards for the favors. i did everything i wanted to with the exception of the wall decorations (thank goodness i picked up the banner).

as far as baking, i really wanted to make her cake...with minnie mouse ears, 2 tiers of fondant cake, one pink with white polka dots, the other white with pink polka dots...and some cupcakes (clearly, bc what good are cupcake flags without cupcakes?)...and some cookie favors.

the first thing i did was make the minnie mouse ears out of rice krispie treats and fondant. i figured if i could do that, then i would make the cake...if i couldnt, i'd order one. i tried....

when i took the pic, it was a few days after. the black fondant faded. i was pretty proud of it. kind of sloppy....and i didnt have a #2 cutter so i had to cut it out with a knife....but i was proud. i also realized that i just didnt have the time to commit to making her cake...so i abandoned ship.

called the local supermarket and had them make a cake for her matching th theme....

it came out super cute and better than i could have done.

to make the favors, i got a heart cookie cutter (woo for 50% off since i bought it after vday at michaels) and i also used my wilton circle fondant cutter and made heart shaped and circular cookies. i attempted to flood them with pink royal icing (they came out OK...i have to work on this) and then decorated them.

for the favor tags, i used my handy-dandy cricut and cut out 3 circles for minnies ears and face. assembled her and glued her on a piece of white cardstock ($4.99 for the whole pack of white and black paper...of which i used maybe 6 pieces), attached a grosgrain pink and white polka dot bow ($2.50 for the roll), another piece at the bottom and handstamped "thank you" on the card. i think they came out uber adorable if i do say so myself.

i put the cookies in the bag, threw in some m&ms (yay for post vday candy) that were pink, red, and white and tied it with the favor tag. i think they were my fave part of the decorations.

then i made cupcake tags. i made the template on the computer, printed, cut, and glued them to toothpicks. made some cupcakes, with pink and purple icing and stuck 'em in. sweet. the flags says "Gabriella's 2nd bday. and i ended up making pink and purple iced cupcakes to match the theme colors. they were yummy. and yes, i totally cheated and used box cake mix and canned icing. shhhhhh.

for centerpieces, i got a couple terracotta pots from michaels (.89 each), painted them with watered down pink acrylic, tied a satin ribbon, added a few pink/white flowers, and then i made a flag coordinating to the cake flags.whee!  

then i made gabs a shirt ($3.50 for the tee and i had the transfers already) that matched the decorations and matching shoes (which i forgot to take a pic....black suede mary janes and i added the same bow as the ones on the favor tags). for the shirt, i designed the image in word and made it into an iron-on transfer.

i also made a little centerpiece ... a balloon holder...which housed the main set of balloons. but i dont think i got a pic. i just cut out 3 circles with the cricut, glued them together, attached a bottom piece of black paper and made it into a circle so it would stand up on its own. threw in a matching bow for good measure, and then just slipped the paper weight into the hole.

and that was that! i had so much fun....tho i definitely had to ignore the etsy shop and sleep for a few days, but in the end, i accomplished almost everything i set forth to do.

next year, i will get make the cake. tho i did make one for her actual bday....

so i guess i did alright. =)

*please ignore the AWFUL formatting...i'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing down, and apparently inserting images is not as simple as one would think. lol

Facebook Fan Giveaway!

so as of this morning, i was at 98 fans. 2 away from 100. so i said in honor of hitting 100, once i did, i would host a giveaway and randomly pick one of my fans to win a free gift-a-roo from moi.

well, even tho i am at over 100 now....the opportunity to get something for nothing is not over. lets see how many fans i can get until tonight and then i will use random.org to pick a number. whichever number fan that is (according to my list of fans...first fan=1, second fan=2, and so on) will get a free gift!

so if youre not a fan yet, become one. if you are one, tell your friends! tweet, post on FB, blog...whatever you want to do....but help me get lots of fans today!

www.facebook.com/bellamiabowsnthings



*ps...i hope everyones valentines day was spectacular! i did finish some of my vday projects that i posted about previously...and i will have some pics to put up and a new blog post will come soon after that!

14 days of giveaways...

is still going on!

be sure to visit today to win an awesome prize from our own embellished bayou =)

www.knetetsyteam.blogspot.com

go now!

Valentines Day is fast approaching...

....and i wanted to do something nicer this year than just the door hanger thing i had up last year. my daughter was born 2/13 and last year i was so crazy with planning her first bday i put absolutely NO thought in brightening up the house for the holiday of LOOOOOOOVE. this year tho, we decided on doing just cake and coffee with family for her 2nd birthday, so i have some more time (and brain power) to concentrate on decorating for valentines day. BUT, i didn't want to spend a bazillion dollars on all the amazing stuff i see around the stores. and since my husband got me the Cricut i begged for as one of my christmas presents, i thought it was about time to utilize it.

so this afternoon, in between a couple of custom orders (like this one) i am going to try to make my house look like martha stewart dropped in, without spending the money. i bought about twenty bucks worth of materials plus i had a few more things at home in my stash, so hopefully i will be able to execute the ideas i have in my head.

i will warn you tho....usually when i take on projects like these, they end up failing...miserably. so hopefully my next post will be lovely images of my new decorations instead of me writing about my epic fail through salty tears and smears of chocolate on my fingertips and around my mouth as i suppress my anguish in a sea of hershey bars and sobbing....

spreading the LOVE...and the FREE STUFF!

so i am part of this great Etsy team: The Knotties and Nesties on Etsy. they really are awesome! its a great network of women who all own shops on etsy. and what brings us together? either the knot, the nest, or the bump!

those websites and boards have at some point, gotten us through a wedding crisis, given us a coupon code for shopping online, given us names for vendors, and for some of us, helped with one of the bazillion questions about raising a child or helped us through a pregnancy symptom. the boards are great place for support even through the hardest of times i have seen those women band together and offer advice or just their prayers and "vibes."

and the love has spread to etsy!

the knetteam is what got me really involved in my shop. they are a great team who you can count on if you have a question about business, or your shop, or anything in general. ask a question and get a response...just like the Knot/Nest/Bump boards.

and now YOU can be a part of this LOVE, too!

the KNETTEAM has organized 14 days of giveaways in honor of Valentines Day! Lots of shops are participating and EVERY day for 14 days, beginning on February 1st, there will be 1 (or sometimes 2) shops offering a FREE giveaway from their shop. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE visit our blog at http://www.knetetsyteam.blogspot.com/ and enter for a chance to win a free item from these great etsy shops EVERY day until February 14th..the day of LOVE.

so that link one more time is http://www.knetetsyteam.blogspot.com/! read it, follow it, tweet it, LOVE it!

to sum up this post: go to http://www.knetetsyteam.blogspot.com/ and win FREE stuff every day til vday. thats it. GO AT IT!

let the blogging begin...

when i first opened my etsy shop, http://www.bellamiabowsnthings.etsy.com/, i really thought i would open the virtual doors and the customers would flood in. i had grandiose visions of staying up all hours of the night, trying to complete orders on a table filled with ribbons, orders, and coffee-lots of hot glue burns, late night pizza orders, and money pouring into the paypal account. so when out of that list, the only things that actually happened were late night pizza orders (mainly bc my husband is a pizzaman and i get hungry at night) and hot glue gun burns (bc i am total clutz), i was more than bummed.

and then something happened...i discovered that success does not come without work. i know, a novel idea!

its funny...my entire life my family has owned pizzerias. my husband's family also owns a pizzeria. pizza is in my blood. and if you ask me how to create a successful business plan for a restaurant, i will tell you its all in the marketing. everyone says LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION...but as important as location might be, today, in a world of technology and more importantly delivery, location is not as imperative as it once was. its about getting your name out there, branding yourself, creating an exciting menu, adveristing, and networking. my husband and i would love to one day own our own pizzeria and we sit down at night and come up with new pizzas, menu ideas, names of businesses, ways to expand a customer base and a host of other plans for a business we do not own. yes--this is fun. for us, at least. depressing sometimes, but fun.

YET--when it came to my bows, i thought it would just happen.

but i've turned over a new leaf. after getting out there and "meeting" new people--like the girls on my etsy team, Knotties and Nesties on Etsy , chatting with other etsians in the chats, and exploring the etsy forums, i've decided that its time to treat this shop, just as i would my dream pizzeria - i have to market myself! and now that the government has granted a stay in third party lead testing for another year, i have at least that much time to keep making my clips!

i ordered business cards, pretty packagaing, and started telling anyone who would listen that i opened a shop. i created a facebook fan page and even began tweeting. i started participating in team threads and in team-organized promotions like this one, blogged by one of the KNETTEAM's founding members. i even did a craft show! i added new products like cards and tags in an effort to expand my customer base, since bows are not for everyone, and i even did a custom order for a doggie =) one of these days i will try to add more grown-up bows and clips, too (even tho i personally find the clippies to be great for keeping back bangs and fly-aways!).

and with these things, i have noticed a difference in sales. i am approaching 100 sales (23 more to reach my goal of 100 sales by march 1st), i have over 100 twitter followers (so there are some spammers in there, but hey, they are following!), and i have almost 100 fans on my facebook page. and while i am still not rich and i cant rely on my bow business to fund my daughter's future college education right now, i find that i am excited to have met new people, made a few kids happy with my bows (and one adorable dog), found a bunch of great etsy shops, and managed to really do something with my etsy shop. i have sales! i have good feedback! i have repeat customers! and altho the ideas that i set out with may not have come to fruition (yet), it has really made me reach into myself and find confidence in myself and my product, revitalized my marketing ideas, and reinvigorated the creative side of me that sometimes gets lost in the trials and tribulations of being a stay at home mom to a wonderful toddler.

etsy allowed me to find me again. and that makes me happy.

it also leaves me with a lot of ideas and no outlet for them. i discovered this this morning, when i realized that almost every night for the last 2 weeks, i have had shop-related dreams--whether it be a new idea for a clip or like last night, a dream about trying to get into a treasury. (i curse you, http://www.craftopolis.com/!)

and thus, the blog has been born - a way for me to channel all that energy and get my name out as well (and a chance to rediscover my insane love of writing!)


so bear with me as i try to find a real voice in this blog. i dont want it to always be about bows (but i will use it to pimp myself out...lol)...but it might take me a little while to really hone in on what the focus and tone will be. it might just be a hodge-podge of things (yes, i totally just said hodge-podge), but whatever it turns out to be, i hope you'll stick around to find out =)