The Fabulous Life of Accessories and Yours Truly!

Beware of Rolling Trash Cans

2012-01-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

I can only imagine what was going through Scoobs’ mind as we were walking out of the shelter. I can tell you for certain one thing, there was no way in hell he was going to get into my car. There I am, in the parking lot, asking the dog to get into the car, who doesn’t really know his name yet, and he won’t jump in. I am thinking for sure they are going to come back out and get him. Thankfully, the volunteers who introduced us to Scoobs were outside walking another dog and she told me that when she put him in the car, she had to lift him. Ah…got it. So Scoobs is finally in the car and we are on our way home. First we need to stop at my ex husband’s house because he and his wife have graciously decided to watch Scoobs for us while we went away to Colorado. This was offered before we knew we were getting him. I had some concerns on how this would be for him but seeing as though the shelter told me that taking him home and then boarding him while were away was a better option than the shelter, I felt like we were ok. This was all contingent on Scoobs getting along with their dog. Did I have a back up plan if this didn’t work? No not really. THANKFULLY the dogs got along great. My daughter was off to dinner with them so I was flying solo on bringing Scoobs home. Now I clearly remember bringing my daughter home and feeling somewhat scared and clueless but this was a bit different. I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea truly what kind of dog he is or what happened to him. As soon as we got home I kept him on the leash and let him explore, which he did a lot of. Then I gave him some food and showed him his blankets, crate, and toys. As I was making myself some dinner he decided to park in the kitchen with me and lay on the floor.

I thought it would be fun to take him for a walk. We did a loop around the neighborhood and all seemed to be going well. I was thinking, ok maybe I got this. Then we were walking and there was a dog running around the neighborhood without its owner and didn't have a collar or a leash. I start to panic because I know Scoobs will want to play with him but I have NO clue what this dog is like. Fortunately one of my neighbors was outside, knew of this dog and called its name to go away. Eventually the owner came out and brought him back inside. I was talking to my neighbor for a bit and then went back to the house. It happened to be recycle day so I thought, ok, I will bring up the recycle can from the street. BAD CHOICE. Scoobs started FREAKING out. I kept moving which was not the best idea and he wiggled out of his collar and started to run away from me. OMG! So here I am running through the streets of my neighborhood calling for a dog who has only known his name for 2 weeks. He of course keeps running. Finally, he stopped, I walked calmly towards him and he sat and let me put on his collar. As I have told this story others have told me their dog feels the same way. So maybe this story can help you. My next item of business was to give him a bath, I wanted to wash the shelter off of him. To my surprise he just stood in the bath and let me wash him. After all of this fun, I was exhausted. He went right into his crate and we went to bed. It was this night that I realized I needed to start writing all of this down, because I had a feeling this would be the first of many hilarious Scoobs adventures!

Life comes as you fast!

2012-01-22T17:28:00.000-08:00

After spending some time getting adjusted to the fact that we might not get Scoobs I decided to call the shelter and check on the status of my application and inquire about the puppies they told me about. I called on a Monday around 3:30, she asked for my name and said “Well your application says approved pending a meet and greet with the family”. Um, excuse me? The shelter point blank told me yesterday that I had no shot at getting this dog and now you are telling me he can be mine! A wave of excitement fell over me followed very quickly by a wave of fear…yep straight up fear. The shelter was closing so we had to do the meeting the following day. THANK GOD!

After work I went directly to PetSmart armed with my “What I need to have at the house when I take home a dog I have no clue what to do with list” that I ran by pretty much everyone I know that has a dog. I wandered around the store for about 2 hours. I started with leashes and collars and I am annoyed that there are no good boy dog collars (a new Purplelicious dog line might be coming out as a result of this). Then I wandered to food, picked out a few toys, and then stared at the dog beds for close to an hour. First of all, why do they cost as much as a human mattress? Why are the patterns SO ugly? And the better question, what the heck size bed do I get? Feeling very overwhelmed the store dog trainer walked by and I asked for help. She talked me off of the ledge and said I didn’t need a bed right away and just to give him one or two blankets to lay on. Whew! She also gave my cart the once over and said I was in good shape with what I purchased for his first night at home.

Then I get home and my house looked like a tornado blew through it. Christmas still has not been put away, there is a staging area for all of our ski clothes (oh I didn’t mention we were going away? I will get there), and really just general mess because I am single mother who works full time and also has an accessories business. What I “should” have been doing that night were some Purplelcious orders and those 45 cheer bows I was on the wild ribbon goose chase for, instead I cleaned my house top to bottom. I threw stuff away, folded clothes, vacuumed every room, mopped the floors, and made sure there was not one thing a dog could chew on the floor. I was up until 2am. I don’t think I have ever cleaned this thorough for anyone. Before I went to bed, I laid out all of the things I bought, set up his food bowls, found a place for the dog food and treats. I grabbed 2 of my daughters old fleece blankets and brought them into bed with me. I felt myself becoming a “dog person” and I didn’t even technically have the dog yet.

The next day I could barely concentrate at work. I was so excited at the possibility of getting Scoobs but also very scared. Could I do this? How will I know what to do? What if the meet and greet doesn't go well. I picked Bella up right after school and we went to the shelter. The meet and greet was awesome! He had so much fun running around the yard. Easily warmed up to Bella and really just wanted to play. You can tell he had enough of shelter life and wanted a place to run around! We were out there for a while, I am not sure if this is standard. The whole time I was thinking, "Are we good? It seems he likes us. What more do they need to know?" Finally the volunteer told us he thought we were all a good match and we could finish his paper work and take him home! What was ever more fun is the volunteers who were with Scoobs when we met him came to the shelter during our meet and greet. They said they wanted to say goodbye to him since they saw he had an adoption pending. It was cool to see them there, right at the moment we knew he owuld definitely be ours! I signed the paperwork, got the folder with all of his medical stuff, and was given the leash. Shaking with nerves and excitement we walked out of the shelter doors and our lives with Scoobs began.

The Application Process...and what a process!

2012-01-21T17:43:00.000-08:00

Trust me, I get it. The application process to adopt a dog is a big deal. After what these dogs have been through, its important to make sure new owners will give them the life they deserve! I also learned that adopting a dog is bit like real estate. You have to act fast! I needed references since I have never had a dog. I was really hoping that would not hurt me. I envisioned them flipping to that page and saying, Ugh NO WAY, she’s a dog newbie. BUT thank goodness for amazing friends, especially ones that went above and beyond in telling the shelter how good I would be with a dog. They may have had a little too much confidence in me.

The night after meeting Scoobs I felt this very new feeling of emptiness. I missed him and he wasn't even mine. Then I felt myself checking my email every minute to see if the shelter replied to the follow up I sent via email because they were closed when we got home. I didn’t hear anything back so I called them when they opened the next day. I was basically told that the application ahead of mine looked really strong and that the chances of them getting Scoobs was really good. I felt my heart sink. Then it sunk even deeper when I had to share this news with my daughter. My daughter declared that she wanted to go to the shelter to see him anyway. And that is what we did. I thought maybe if I turned on my charm and showed that we were serious about this (were we?) maybe that would work in our favor. Visiting an animal shelter has got to be the most depressing thing ever. Seriously. Those poor little puppies, looking up at you with those eyes, silently screaming, “pick me, pick me!”, confused about why they are there and wondering what happened to them. Then there are the more aggressive ones that scare the crap out of you by jumping up on the cage. Understood hyper doggie, I don’t blame you for wanting out. We found Scoobs and he came right up to us with his tail wagging. Then he walked to the back of his kennel, grabbed the toy we got him the day before and showed it to us. Did you get chills? I was amazed and it made me want him even more, if that was even possible. His sheet said he was abandoned and animal control picked him up. Poor little guy. While we were looking at him one of the volunteers started talking to us. I told him we were the second application on him. He told me that to date everyone that was supposed to come pick up Scoobs has ended up not showing up. The volunteer at Petco told me the same thing. I couldn't imagine!! And to hear that, being the second application I couldn't help but hope that it would happen again with the people ahead of us so we could be the ones who show up and take him home! After our visit we looked around at some of the other dogs but we didn’t want anyone but Scoobs. I spoke with the people at the shelter, asked if maybe we could do the meet and greet since we were there and they basically told me to try to look for another dog. More heartbreak! They told me they transferred a poodle mix to another shelter and that they had some Bischon Poodle mix puppies set to be fixed that week. They said once my application was approved I could find the dog I wanted. We left the shelter, I was sad and my little one was filled with a bit of rage. I gave her the long talk in the car headed to the other shelter that Scoobs might not be our dog but the right one for us will come. Yada, yada, yada, she wasn’t buying it, neither was I for that matter. I always knew she was smart.

We arrived at the next shelter only to find out that said poodle mix just got adopted right before we got there. Of course we looked around, felt the ting on our hearts looking at more sad puppy eyes. I decided to take her to one more shelter and again, same story, same tears, and we just didn’t like anyone better than Scoobs. I knew the application ahead of ours was set to do their meet and greet the next day and to be honest I went to sleep hoping that it wouldn't work out.

I may have lost my mind…

2012-01-20T06:54:00.000-08:00

Its a new year and again I find myself trying to breathe some new life into this blog. Well I think I have found a new muse. Look for a series of posts and new adventures about a little guy named Scoobs! I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them!

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“That’s IT, I am getting a dog” I cried into the phone to my sister as I sat in the car with a screaming, scared 6 year old waiting for the police to come to my house because we discovered someone broke in while we were away. This was about 2 years ago and I didn’t really take action on that statement for a couple of reasons. 1. I didn’t really have the time and more importantly 2. We aren’t really "dog people". Now before you get upset let me explain. My mom is allergic to dogs and I am allergic to cats. Pets weren’t really an option in our house so I never grew up with a dog which I say doesn’t classify us as dog people. That does not mean that I don’t LOVE dogs, it just means I have absolutely no clue what to do when it comes to them.

Fast forward to last week when I was running around to all of the local craft stores looking for the perfect blue ribbon to match my daughter’s cheerleading uniform because I volunteered to make the hair bows. Being an overachiever sometimes gets the best of me but I will blog about those later. My daughter was not happy on this ribbon quest since we were already in 3 stores and she was getting hungry, NOT a good combo! I decided to stop and get us some lunch but the place we wanted to go didn’t have any parking spots (really?). So I promised her, “Just one more store” and we will come back, so she agreed as long as she got to buy something at the store. As we are walking into the craft store, they had some dogs outside of the PetCo. I asked Bella if she wanted to visit with them, but I think I may have wanted to more. See over the past couple of months, the idea of adopting a dog came to the fore front thanks to a post on a friends facebook page about a poodle mix that was thrown out of moving truck (Heartless jerks!). I thought about it, my sister gave me 7 reasons why I should go for it, I don’t remember all of them but they all made sense and I said ok let's do this! As soon as I sent a message saying we wanted to meet him, someone else adopted him. This sparked the research/stalking of local animal shelters websites and facebook pages and even a visit to one, where I told my daughter we were “just looking”. If we weren’t going away for Christmas, we would have started on this road a lot sooner! It also helped me realize that it was possible to adopt a poodle mix which I was in the market for due to their hypoallergenic tendencies. I had hoped that a poodle mix breed might be a dog my mom could be around. Back to last week, we walk up to the dogs outside with those little “adopt me” vests on and see this adorable tan and white dog, who is very friendly and named Scoobs.

I asked what kind of dog he was and she said a poodle mix. This is where I knew I was headed for trouble and I said, “Of course he is”. Scoobs captured our hearts, we played with him for about an hour, then went inside the store and bought him a toy which he loved. I think the volunteer was totally ready to go home but she let us sit and play with him. Throwing caution to the wind I filled out an application on him. As I was filling out the application I had to ask for help on every question. I thought, here you go, this woman is going to deny you right from the start. We were told we were the second application but to fill it out anyway as sometimes applications don't go through. We said our goodbyes, thanked the super nice volunteer, finished shopping, finally found a place to park for lunch, went home and waited to see if he would be ours.

Candy Everybody Wants

2011-08-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

For a while now I have been thinking about how I can create some cute upcycled items for Purplelicious. At the same point that I had that thought I saw a little girl in Target wearing a Skittles headband. That was pretty much all I needed. I started asking everyone to give me candy and snack wrappers. It is funny how the people at work feel like they are making some sort of weakness confession when they hand me candy wrappers. The prize for who collected the most goes to my daughter who would bring home 6-7 snack bag wrappers everyday from school. It caught on so much that one day she was absent and her best friend collected them from her. Here is just a small sample of all of the wrappers I have collected. What's your favorite?

The first creation made with the candy wrappers were bookmarks which I talked about in a previous blog. I have recently made one for myself from a Reese's wrapper.

Then I tested out some wristlet keychains. I brought these to a craft show and I sold a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup one to a guy named Reese. The candy wrapper keychains can work for guys too!

And then of course I made headbands. The headbands have a solid grosgrain ribbon on the back which is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. I had a few more styles of these but they sold at the craft show. Don't worry, I will make more, look at the pic above, I have PLENTY of wrappers!

I can even make custom items with your favorite candy. These were a special order for some good friends.

I am really having a lot of fun making these items and it feels good to convert trash into something fun to wear. I will slowly be adding these to my Etsy shop to keep your eyes peeled! These are a great way to enjoy your favorite candy without the calories...unless of course you are the one giving me the wrapper!

R.I.P. Iron, its been real

2011-08-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

Anyone reading this who sews, cooks, crafts, etc knows that you work best on your home turf using the supplies and tools that you are used to. Anytime you have gone over to someone else's house to create your art, it just doesn't feel the same using their tools. There is an exception to this, when I go over to sew at my moms, I have no issue, since all of her sewing tools are pretty much the best you can buy. Though you will still catch me using my own scissors, which are inferior in quality than those at my mom's but it just feels weird using another pair.

About a year ago my sister came up to do a craft show with me and was forced to use my work area for her crafts. Well let's say this was a little difficult for her, mostly in the area of my iron and ironing board. Making my accessories requires a lot of iron use so my ironing board and iron take quite a beating. At that time there was not much left of a my ironing board cover. My sister was kind enough to buy me a new one, which was later destroyed. What I didn't know was that she secretly took a picture of my iron and sent it to my mom. Let's just come right out and say that my iron is a potential safety hazard. It is so old and it has fallen so many times that the plastic cracked at the handle where the wires are. Mind you it still works like a dream and that occasional shock when it is filled with water is normal right?

Fast forward to last month when my sister was in town again and discovered that while I did buy a new ironing board cover (purchased by me a few days before she arrived), I was still using the same iron. I arrived at my mom's one day and was informed that she got me a present! It was a Rowenta Iron!!! This is one of the tools at my mom's that I adore using and might be one of the best irons. I was instructed by my mother to stop using my old iron immediately because it is a safety hazard and start using the new one. Well old habits die hard, that new iron is still in the box but I am busting it out today...no really I am. Before you hate on me, don't act like you don't have something similar to this in your workshop/kitchen. If you do I would love to know what it is and if it is a safety hazard may this blog serve as your intervention that upgrading from a hazardous tool to a shiny new upgraded tool isn't such a bad thing! :-) Happy Creating!

Fun with Bookmarks!

2011-06-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

Reading is something that I have always enjoyed. In fact, my ultimate happy place is me sitting on the beach, with my toes in the sand, listening to the ocean, while reading a good book. I am so happy that my daughter also enjoys reading and is slowly starting to get into chapter books. As all of these new chapter books are coming into the house, I knew that I needed to make some bookmarks for her, because buying them is a ridiculous option in my world. The idea first started as using scraps of fabric to make bookmarks and has later evolved into the use of something a little more fun than fabric. I realize we are in the technology age of e-readers and iphone apps but I would like to hope that there are still some people around, like me, who enjoy the feeling of turning the pages of an actual book. I know I can also count on kids still reading books the old fashioned way, at least for a couple more years!

I have recently begun thinking about some ways to incorporate up-cycling into my Purplelicious accessories. I have started collecting candy bar wrappers and snack wrappers. Correction: My daughter has been collecting the snack wrappers at lunch during school at the rate of 5-6 per day, it seems kids eat a LOT of Cheetos and Doritos. If you are a fan of those snacks...I will have some products coming soon for you! I think I have a future sales/marketing rep on my hands. Anyway, I have a lot of ideas for these wrappers (which I will blog about later) and initially bookmarks were not one of them, until I made a small error while experimenting with one of the accessory ideas. I was left with the Hershey bar wrapper that was the perfect size for a…you guessed it, a bookmark! I added some ribbon made from 100% recycled materials and here you have it. With the exception of the iron-on vinly on top of the wrapper this is made with recycled materials. Fun!

Then I experimented with another type of candy and created this! My daughter pronounces these “Mike a Likes”, I refuse to correct her. The reward for her cuteness, this bookmark is currently holding her place in “Where the Sidewalk Ends”. I will slowly be adding these and other candy and snack wrappers to the Purplelicious Etsy Shop so be on the look out!

Don't worry I didn't forget about fabric! In a few short weeks I will be teaming up with Michelle Ciarlo-Hayes of MKC Photography and Kicks by MKC at a booth at the Haddonfield Craft and Fine Arts Festival. We thought it would be fun to make something that was a combination of both of our talents and we came up with…right again, you must have had your Wheaties this morning. We are pairing up some of my fun fabrics with Michelle’s resin Art charms. The charm on the bookmark coordinates with the fabric but can be detached and used to accent anything that you can attach it to. Honestly I think it looks perfect as it is on the bookmark but would also make a really cute necklace! Depending on their popularity at the show, they could possibly show up at an Etsy shop you are very familiar with!

I hope all of you are enjoying gathering the books on your summer reading list. For those of you that have already been to my happy place, I am completely jealous and will try not to hold it against you. If you find you are tired of folding down page corners and/or using scrap pieces of paper as bookmarks, you know where to find me.

Hippie Chick!

2011-06-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

The majority of the hits I get on this blog are for my tie dyed cupcake post. Which can be found here, if you are curious. When the letter came home from school that my daughter's first grade class was having a Coffee House where they would read poems and needed to dress like hippies I was immediately excited! Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong era because I like so many things about that time period. The kids made tie dyed shirts in school and the parents were tasked with accessorizing the outfits hippie style. The headband was simple. I have two peace sign headbands in my Etsy shop to choose from, my daughter has her own version of both. For this she opted for rainbow peace sign headband.

The kids needed to wear jeans so I wanted to make her hippie jeans. I had a pair of old jeans and I found a stash of peace sign bandannas I am guessing from another time I made a hippie halloween costume for myself. That and I am also a fabric hoarder. I cut out the shapes, adhered them to some heat and bond (also something I had "in-stock"), and ironed them on to the jeans. I think they came out pretty darn cute. Here is a picture of my hippie chick. Where is her headband, you might ask? In her desk, she completely forgot to put it on for the show.

While I can't make hippie jeans for your little ones I can definitely help them channel their inner hippie with the peace sign headbands. I may even attempt to tie dye some fabric for headbands this summer, ya dig?

Bridal Accessories with a Wild Side

2011-02-13T09:01:00.001-08:00

Let's face it, almost every one of us has a wild side, but very few are willing let everyone know about it, especially when it comes to a wedding theme. One of my very good friends recently got married and her theme was Zebra print and Pink. For a wedding you ask? Yes, and I will tell you, thanks to a lot of talented and creative people this color scheme looked amazing and was a surprising mix of fun and classy. Since I was lucky enough to attend the wedding, it was very cool to see everything come together.

When my friend told me about her theme choice, I knew she would need some custom designed invitations and luckily I had a friend who specializes in such matters. Kaleidoscope Design Studio is a graphic design company that specializes in custom design work for all of your needs from business to weddings. For this wedding, she created the most beautiful zebra and pink inspired bridal invitations, place cards, water bottle labels, and thank you notes! If you need Custom Bridal Invitations done, check this site out, she does amazing work!

Here is where I got involved. First up, since this friend is also a co-worker we threw a surprise shower for her at work. I of course was tasked with making the cake. For this I decided to do cupcakes. This friend is a huge fan of cakeballs but with the amount of people at this shower I couldn't make that happen. Instead I opted for basic vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. To add a little fun I found black and white polka dot cupcake wrappers and I tinted the buttercream hot pink. To add an additional level of flair I used kitchen scissors to cut mini marshmallows and I dipped the sticky side in pink sugar crystals. I took of picture of them using the Hipstamatic App on my iphone and I love how the colors look so that it the picture I am sharing below.

I was so honored when the bride asked me to design the hair flowers for the bridesmaids and flower girls. Zebra print and pink seemed like a big challenge until I arrived at the fabric store and found a beautiful zebra print satin fabric. The rest was easy. For the bridesmaids, I opted for a pointy 5 petal flower using the zebra fabric as the petals. I accented the center of the flower with a hot pink rhinestone button. For the flower girls I went with my standard black satin hair flower with rounded petals. To incorporate the zebra print for them, I covered fabric buttons with the zebra satin and used them as the center. The bride and bridal party loved them. Since I was a guest at the wedding I also had the chance to see my hair accessories in action which was very cool. One of the bridesmaids was kind of enough to pose so you could see how this bridal party used the flowers. I listed the zebra flower in my etsy shop, you can find it by clicking here.

Today I have another formal hair flower design I want to experiment with. This idea was inspired by my brother's upcoming wedding where I have also been asked to create the hair flowers for the bridesmaids and flower girls. Since my daughter and I are included in that mix, be prepared for many pictures of those in action! This is not the best picture but I am going to add a twist to the red flower on this pattern.

I enjoy everything about making things for Purplelicious but designing custom flowers for weddings is my favorite. I like being able to think outside of the box, work with different fabrics, and experiment with various color combinations. Hopefully more of these custom orders will find their way to me in the future!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes!

2011-02-10T16:30:00.000-08:00

I realize that this blog has been a little heavy on baking experiments as opposed to sewing experiments, but don't worry. I have a few new accessory ideas that I would LOVE to tell you about, if I ever stop baking and work on one of those ideas. Ok, in keeping with the cupcake theme I decided to try a cupcake baking experiment. I feel like it is time to branch out from basic chocolate and vanilla, but really I had a tray of apple slices that I forgot to put out for my daughter's birthday party that were going to go bad. I could have easily used them to make a Jewish Apple Cake which are delicious and simple but I wanted a challenge. After all the easy route is never all that fun. I immediately thought cupcakes, through the power of google and the keywords "apple cupcake" I came across something that read, Caramel Apple cupcakes. Whoa, this got my wheels churning and I wanted an apple cupcake with a caramel buttercream. Sounds easy enough! I searched through a couple of different recipes until I found two that I liked. Each component belonged to a different recipe but I like piecing different things together. It keeps things fun.

Here is the Apple Cupcake Recipe. I must admit that I have rarely made a cake from scratch, I almost always use mixes. (I guess my secret is out now). As I was making this batter I was starting to get concerned. I have made enough cake mixes to know what cake batter looks like and that was not what was in my mixing bowl. This batter almost comes out like a cookie batter. When it was done I re-read the recipe several times to make sure I didn't miss a step. My tips if you are working with this recipe: Slowly add your apples, too many will cause the "batter" to come apart which causes them to crumble in the wrapper after they are baked. Also it might not hurt to spray the liners with a little cooking spray. (I learned this trick one time I tried to make brownie bites in cupcake wrappers). Despite the less than perfect baked cake result they tasted amazing!

Now onto the buttercream. Here is the recipe I used for the Caramel Buttercream. I didn't realize what I was getting myself into here until I was about halfway into making the caramel. The recipe says to make the caramel using the microwave, this made me nervous for some reason so instead I made it on the stovetop. I cooked the ingredients over low heat. This took a while, but I was patient and I just kept stirring. I put a lot of love into this caramel. Then I realized I should have been using a candy thermometer. The recipe says its done when it is thick and bubbly which seems easy enough to decipher but it isn't. My concern was that I was going to cook it too long and end up with hard caramel that wouldn't mix into the buttercream. Fortunately I lucked out with this. As it cooled it was still smooth. If you make this I would suggest using a candy thermometer JUST to make sure you don't cook it too much. Also this recipe makes a LOT of caramel, you can probably cut the recipe in half unless you like having a lot of caramel around the house. The buttercream is very easy to make and the caramel mixes right in. I added the 1/4 cup and tasted it, I felt like it needed more caramel, I kept adding a little at a time until I felt like the flavor was there.

Here is what they look like cut in half. They are very rich and have a very buttery apple taste. The buttercream is a good compliment to the cake. At one point it tasted like apple pie a la mode. I brought them into work and they were devoured in less than 10 minutes, that makes me think they were pretty good. If you decide to make them if you have any other tips feel free to share! Enjoy the caramel apple deliciousness!

7th Birthday Cupcake Fun!

2011-02-08T16:16:00.000-08:00

I am fairly proud of myself for getting out of having big birthday parties for my daughter. It's not that I am against them, while in daycare she just didn't have a circle of friends close enough to her. Now that she is in 1st grade, I am out of excuses and we already did the trip to American Girl Place in New York. I started to research birthday party ideas in the area but we have already been on a birthday party circuit and everything has already been done before. If you know me, I don't like to do the things that everyone else does. I came across a place that did cupcake decorating parties and a light bulb went off when I looked at the price per kid. Granted I have never taught a group of 1st graders how to do anything but I do know how to decorate a cupcake and do crafts. Isabella's 7th Birthday party was decided.

I immediately went to Etsy for the invitations. I found this adorable shop called TrinityStStudio. Her shop is filled with so many creative invitations. She also does coordinating items like stickers and thank you cards. Which reminds me, I need to order those. This is the design I ordered,Cupcake Trio Birthday Party Invitation I just LOVE the colors and they became the theme colors for the party.

My next stop was to Oriental Trading company, I ordered cupcake necklace kits, princess crown kits, and cupcake boxes. Everything was starting to come together. Then I was reminded that I needed to make birthday treats for school. I happened to be looking at my new Cake Pops by Bakerella book and my daughter saw the Cupcake Bite balls and declared that was what she wanted. Its her birthday so I said why not. They were SUPER easy to make and came out so cute, they tasted good too.

With the birthday party looming I was starting to have some doubts about what I had gotten myself into. In talking to some of the mom's at cheerleading that morning they were in so many words, saying, "Yeah good luck with that". I knew that preparation was key when having 14 1st graders at your house. I also decided that if all hell broke lose I had Just Dance on the Wii! I had spent so much time baking cupcakes, prepping necklace kits, and setting tables that I had given ZERO thought to how I was going to decorate the Giant Cupcake for the birthday cake...the biggest detail! The giant cupcake pan is a good time. The possibilities are endless with how to decorate it. I would have loved to use fondant but I know the kids don't like it all that much. I went with buttercream, sprinkles, twizzlers, and a few starbursts. I decorated it, like a cupcake. Genius right? I basically piped stars in strips on the base and then stuck the twizzlers in between the rows. Then used my giant star tip and swirled the icing around the top. The individual cupcakes had little alphabet toppers that said Isabella. I made them by softening and rolling out a few strawberry starbursts and cut them out with my letter fondant cutters.

Next time I would probably make the letters bigger and use the cherry starbursts, the letters got a little lost in the icing. I also used WAY too much of the blue coloring for the bottom, the colors were supposed to match the theme on the invitation. Like always, I am my own worst critic. The cake was a hit and so was the party. It seemed like the girls had a good time and I was able to complete two crafts and teach them how to decorate cupcakes. I did have to play my Just Dance card, with about 10 minutes left, the soda and sugar kicked in and I had lost their attention!

Here is where I run into problems with Bella's birthday, with every successful birthday idea, next year has to be bigger and better. I guess that is less of a problem and more of a challenge. Fortunately, I am always up for a good challenge! Happy Birthday to my favorite person in this universe, Isabella!

"The Best Day Ever"

2010-07-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July definitely ranks pretty high on my list of favorite holidays. For me I feel like it marks the official start of summer. I know technically Memorial Day is but I am also a huge fan of fireworks, so maybe it is the presence of fireworks that seems to make it more of a kickoff to summer!

My holiday weekend didn't start off so great as I clumsily injured my pinky toe while working in my yard. Thankfully, it is starting to feel better. This injury reminded me of a few other 4th of July injuries that required trips to the ER, I am glad this did not warrant that. But in case you were wondering, your pinky toe may be small, but when injured it HURTS!

Today my plan was to stay off of my foot and do lots of craft show prep since I have two back to back shows coming up starting next weekend, as well as a 100 custom embroidered keychain order. Just as I was about to settle in and star the sewing madness, my 6 year old reminded me that I promised her a trip to the movies. After carefully weighing some other times this weekend to go I decided to just let the sewing wait another way and spend some time with my little one! We went to see Toy Story 3. It was so completely adorable and like everyone else I cried at the end. I saw it in 3D and found nothing 3D about it, so if you go save a few bucks and see it on the normal screen. At the end of the movie, Bella gave me a hug and said, thanks mom for taking me to see this today. Ok, well that made it all worth it!

We happened to catch a 7pm movie so we were home around 9pm. We kept hearing the sounds of fireworks, I was feverishly online trying to find out where they were coming from when I made a spontaneous decision to just get in the car and find them. Mind you while I am in my pajamas, we dash out of the house and just start driving. We stumbled upon a location where we could view the fireworks that were actually in the next town over. To my surprise there were other cars in this spot too, I wondered if they were on the same mission as us. Bella was loving it and I of course loved watching the fireworks. It was a clear night so the stars were out, I overheard her wishing on a star and my heart melted. The apple doesn't fall to far with this one!

My Little Fireworks Hunter (bad camera phone pic)

Since we were already out and about I decided we might as well finish off the night with some ice cream from our favorite local place. I didn't tell Bella where we were going I just started driving. She was very excited to discover we were getting ice cream. I broke my major rule of being out in public in my pajamas to get us our ice cream but some things are worth breaking rules for!
Enjoying some water ice in the back of the car!

My Ice Cream of Choice: Chocolate and Vanilla Twist Custard with Chocolate Jimmies!

In the car on the way home Bella told me that this was "The Best Day Ever" and I would have to agree. I think sometimes I get so wrapped up in my to do list that I forget that sometimes I just have to put the list down and enjoy some simple and spontaneous times with my kid. The reward of doing that always seems to outweigh that of crossing things off the to do list. Take some time to enjoy the rest of this holiday weekend too! Have a safe and happy 4th of July everyone!

A New Kind of Bridal Fabric Flower

2010-06-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

One of things that I love about having this business is the chance to do custom orders. Some are definitely more challenging than others, but something positive always comes out of it. Be it a new accessory to add to the shop, a chance to learn a new technique, or an opportunity to think outside of the box even more.

Back in February I received an email about my white satin bride hair flowers. A customer wanted me to make something similar to accent her daughters wedding gown. It seems that they did not order the dress with the flowers on it but ordered some extra fabric in the hopes of finding someone who could make the flowers for them. Wow! They sent me a picture of the gown and I made two sample flowers in the hopes that one of them would work. This is a picture I took with my phone (which explains the poor quality), it shows the flowers on the dress I was trying to duplicate.

The other flower was adapted slightly from my other hair flowers, see the Purplelicious Bride Hair Flower Blog to check out the flowers. The one I created based on some of my original designs is the one they ended up going with.

I have to say it is a complete honor to be asked to make anything for a bride. To know that your creation is going to be a part of her day is an amazing feeling. I was a little bit nervous about actually making these flowers for a gown! For some reason that seemed like a bigger deal than make a hair flower. It was also really fun working with the fabric that was used to make the dress, I could just feel the quality of it. Below is a picture of the finished flowers. The bride's mom found rhinestone centers to use that matched the bride's earrings, so they got sent as is.

But I thought it might be fun to see what this flower would look like with one of my rhinestone buttons, don't be surprised if you see this show up in a certain Etsy shop sometime soon!

I have been having a lot of fun making fabric flowers and have a bunch of ideas for some new designs. But like usual, I've got plenty of ideas but not enough time to make them all happen. With a big craft show coming up I might find the time and will be sure to share whatever I come up with!

"The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog" Cupcakes

2010-06-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

It is just terrible that I have not posted a blog since January. I would promise to try to get better at it but I don't want to let you down. I do have some cool projects I am working on that I want to share with you so there may be hope for me yet!

A couple of weeks ago, I picked my daughter up from school and she was beaming with excitement. It was finally her turn to be student of the week. She was actually the last one in her class to have a turn but I was told later by the teachers that being the last kid is a good thing. It means they are patient enough to wait for their turn.

The first project was Bella's all about me page. For this I took out all of my scrapbooking supplies. This is where I am grateful for my craft supply hoarding tendencies. You never know when you are going to need fun paper and letter stickers! We also used some crayons and Bella really enjoyed making a rainbow design for all of the borders. My favorite part about this is when asked if she had one wish what she would wish for, she put Sun and Hugs. That's my girl!

For the rest of the week we needed to send in various things that are Bella's favorites. The "main event" of the week was when I got to go into her class and read them a story. This also entails bringing some sort of snack for the class too. All along Bella knew she wanted me to make cupcakes but we were a little undecided about what book I was going to read. Being the last kid, a lot of her books were already read to the class with the exception of the Pigeon books, by Mo Willems. Those books are pretty much our favorites around here. I like the pigeon because he has so much attitude and it is really fun to bring that out when you are reading them. You can read more about them here: http://www.pigeonpresents.com/

So being the overachiever that I am I decided to make cupcakes that matched the books. Being the last student of the week I felt it was a go big or go home situation. After a consultation with my fellow baker brain stormer, my sister, she sent me a picture of a hot dog made out of candy. It was decided. I would read the 4 pigeon books to the kids, finish with "The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog" and give out the cupcakes!

Here is how I made the "hot dogs". Again I will add that I did not come up with this idea, it was based on a picture I found on flickr. Basically you need circus peanuts, tootsie rolls, icing tinted yellow, and green sour patch kids. It is a pretty easy process. Cut the circus peanut in half, but not all of the way and then work the tootsie roll in. Pipe a little yellow icing to look like mustard, then add cut up green sour patch kids for the "relish". Here is a picture of the "hot dogs" all lined up and ready to be cupcake toppers.

For the cupcakes I made a batch of vanilla and a batch of chocolate. With 26 kids in the class, there is no way around making 48 cupcakes! I just swirled some homemade vanilla butter cream on them and topped each cupcake with a "hot dog". Here is the final product.

I had such a blast reading to the kids. I was a little nervous at first, I am not sure why. But I could tell for Bella it was so amazing to have her mom come in and sit in her teacher's chair and read to her class, even though I embarrassed her when I really got into acting out the pigeon! Here are some photos of us reading to the class. They were scanned so I apologize for the quality. The kids got a kick out of the cupcakes and so did the teachers. Even though right after this I had to rush into work and had 30 minutes to prepare for an impromptu meeting, it was completely worth taking the time out of the day to be there for Bella and also a great excuse to make another creative cupcake!

Happy New Decade!

2010-01-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

The fact that we were about to start a new decade did not even dawn on me until I was on my return trip from Orlando after Christmas and I was reading a People Magazine. I know, you are probably thinking, "What does she live under a rock?". Well I actually do. If by rock you mean a full time job, combined with single parenthood, combined with running a small business. It was Christmas, I was busy. December was pretty crazy for Purplelicious, it marked the most successful holiday sales season to date! Awesome!

In addition to making fabulous holiday gifts for everyone I got to work on some new stuff too! For starters I got to work on my first sorority keychain order! I hope these Alpha Sigma Alpha ladies love their sorority wristlet keychains! I personally love the fabric and thread color combination!

I also designed a new fabric flower pin. I made this one using Christmas Fabrics but have a few non holiday ones cut out. I am excited that I have found another thing I can do with my fabric scraps! FUN!

I spent Christmas in Florida with my family. While I was there I embarked on a new creative journey I like to call Lego Building. I don't think I even remember the last time I put a Lego kit together or even built with Legos. But on Christmas morning when my nephew/godson asked me to help him, I could not resist him or the challenge. And challenge it was, I honestly did not move from the kitchen table all day. I now have a love/hate relationship with Legos but managed to put 5 pieces together for him. I am resting up so I am ready to tackle more kits for him when I visit them again! Thankfully my little one has not taken a liking to them, I think I will try and keep it that way!

I guess I am supposed to set some goals for the new year/new decade but I am procrastinating like usual. I do know that I have a lot of new accessory ideas and am trying to think a little more outside of the box. I know that to keep a business growing innovation is key. Wow, look at that, I am already goal setting! Before I get out of hand and end up with an "impossible to achieve" list I will quit while I am ahead and wish everyone a Happy New Year (a couple weeks late!) I look forward to sharing more Purplelicious stories with you through this blog and making many fabulous accessories for you in 2010!

Turkey For Two!

2009-11-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

About a month ago when I was talking to my mom I realized that there was a pretty good possibility that I would be alone this Thanksgiving. Most of my family was going to be out of town visiting other family members. I had the opportunity to go to Florida with my parents and join the rest of my family there but since I just started working again, I have limited vacation time and would have had to fly out on Wednesday. NO THANK YOU. Instead I saw these couple of days an opportunity to spend some much needed time with my little one. With me working and her being in school we are lucky if we get an hour a day together before we both fall asleep and start the day over again. I am so very grateful that I got many other offers to spend Thanksgiving with others but chose a relaxing day with my favorite person on this planet!

We started the day with a trip to the movies. We went to see A Christmas Carol in 3D of course. I thought the movie was very well done, the actors did a great job, and the 3D effects were really awesome. But it was kind of dark and Bella was scared for most of it. I could feel her shaking at some points. During the movie I felt bad for taking her but at the end when I asked her if she liked it, she said she really did. She was surprised that I was surprised by her response. I guess if she liked it then that is all that matters!

Then it was time for me to get cooking. Bella requested that I make turkey for Thanksgiving. Now I was not even sure if she would like it but I made it anyway. I bought a little 7lbs turkey breast and made us a little turkey dinner. I roasted the turkey with baby carrots and potatoes. Last time I checked she liked carrots and potatoes but all she ate for dinner was a few pieces of turkey and refused to let me put gravy on it. She is SO picky. I can honestly say that she does not take after me when it comes to food! Overall I think our little turkey dinner for two was quite delicious! I can't wait to make my favorite turkey leftover sandwich tomorrow!

We ended the evening with one of my favorite activities to do with her...bake cupcakes! We made devil's food cupcakes. I taught her how to crack eggs tonight and she did one perfect on her own. My little baker prodigy! I decided to make homemade chocolate buttercream icing because I love it. And I remembered that I bought a new large star icing tip that I had not used yet. I LOVE how the icing looks using the bigger tip, they look more professional. They taste so good, I need to find a way to get them out of my house so Bella and I don't eat them all!

As much as I am thankful that I have a great family I can honestly say that I truly enjoyed having a day that celebrating my little family. Sometimes it is nice to take a break from all of the craziness and enjoy the holidays for what they are about, celebrating with the ones we love. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Working, Running, Creating, and Reconnecting!

2009-11-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

Oh My…no way I have not blogged since August. Sorry about that! I do have a good reason for it, I am now employed and forgot how working completely sucks away ALL of your free time! Clearly it took a little time for me to get adjusted to working again, something I forgot since I was unemployed for 11 months. This adjustment was further complicated with the addition of my 5 year old starting Kindergarten AND me training for a marathon.
Even though I have taken a little break from blogging, I did not take a break from being creative! For the Marine Corps Marathon I made myself a Camouflage Ribbon Athletic Headband as well as made our shirts. I appliqued 26.2 numbers made from camouflage fabric to a running shirt and added an American flag patch on the sleeve. The shirts looked awesome and my sister and I both had great marathons! We both not only finished but BOTH got PR’s. I beat mine by best marathon time by 12 minutes and my sister beat hers by 45!!! The Marines put on a GREAT marathon, the course was beautiful, and the water stops were very nice as well! ;-)

Coming right off of the marathon was Halloween. Since I have nothing but free time I volunteered to make the soccer team Halloween costumes for the fright night. Fright Night was a big event at the soccer fields with trick or treating, a parade, a team costume contest, and a game. So the challenge was making a costume that the kids could also play soccer in. One of the parents came up with the idea for them to be M&M’s and said each parent could make the shirt. Since I was in it to win it and am a bit OCD, I volunteered to make them. The kids were M&M’s and I made the coach the bag, I made them using t shirts and felt. I had the kids wear their black soccer shorts, black long sleeve t’s, and bought them white gloves. They looked adorable! Oh and did I mention we won first place! This Soccer Mom thing is not a bad gig!

November so far has been off to a great start! I fortunately was able to return to my Alma Mater for Homecoming and a reunion with my sorority sisters. I am not sure if I had mentioned this before but my sorority is the reason you see all of this Purple and why my business is called Purplelicious! Tri Sigma’s colors are Royal Purple and White. So naturally purple is one of my favorite colors! One day I was running and listening to Fergalicious, combined the two and Purplelicious was born! Anyway, back to the weekend! It was so amazing to be back together with my girls. Within minutes of seeing each other we were hanging out like no time had passed. When we headed back to campus to tailgate it was so incredible to be back there. I forgot how much I loved that campus and how beautiful it was. You can’t really top a campus that has palm trees. Tailgating was an entirely new experience since Coastal Carolina University did not have a football when most of us attended. I made adorable hair flowers in black and teal (school colors) with purple Tri Sigma letters on them. You can see me wearing it in the picture below! I was talking to my sister as I was getting on the plane and she said, “You are going to have the best weekend because you get to go back to a place where you had some of the best times of your life.” And she was right. Not only did I get to go back but I had a chance to make some new memories and reestablish some great friendships!

I know I always promise to be better about keeping my blog up to date but maybe it is more fun to keep you guessing as to when my next blog will be. Until next time, stay fabulous!

HeadbandsbyPurplelicious now on Artfire

2009-08-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

In an effort to continue to build up my web presence, last month I finally caved and opened up my shop on Artfire! I have seen so many of my EtsyNJ friends making the leap but what sealed the deal for me was that Artfire donated 100 Artfire bags for the goodie bags at the Handmade Faire last month. Now that is just cool!

Artfire claims to be extremely seller focused and they ARE! Not only is listing a new item so simple, SEO functionality is embedded into the listing set up. Setting up my market was so easy and within a day of getting my shop set up I already started showing up in google searches! Good stuff!

As if I wasn't already happy with Artfire the other day they released the Artfire Kiosk application for facebook. Now customers can shop directly from my facebook profile and fan page without even going to Artfire. You can even buy items right there through a secure server. Yay!

Check out my new shop on Artfire by clicking here. And if you want to take advantage of easy shopping through facebook, become a fan of Purplelicious by checking out my Facebook Fan Page and checking out the Artfire Kiosk tab.

Happy Shopping!

Hair Flowers - Bridal Style!

2009-08-25T06:38:00.000-07:00

When I first learned how to make these adorable little fabric flowers I knew I had to experiment with some white satin and make some pretty bridal hair flowers. The concept was to have an adorable satin flower to accent the hair that could be custom made for the bride, her bridesmaids, and even her flower girl. Since I introduced this white satin hair flower to the Bridal Section in my Etsy shop, several brides have purchased it and I have done 1 custom bridesmaid order. Until recently! I reconnected with an old colleague through facebook and she checked out my Etsy shop and saw the bridal flowers. She liked the satin flowers for her bridesmaids but wanted something different for her. I was so happy to be given the opportunity to design her hair flower, I couldn't wait to get started. I had seen instructions on how to make a fabric rose and this gave me this excuse to try it. Below is the finished product. It is currently for sale here.

I love how this came out but when she sent me a picture of her dress I knew it wouldn't work. Back to the drawing board. I ended up at my mom's for inspiration and saw a fabric flower pattern down in her sewing room. I thought it would be perfect except that the petals were too pointy. But I took the pattern and made some adjustments and the final result was this flower.

The Bride loved it and asked me to make that flower for her, the satin fabric flower hair clips for her bridesmaids, and a satin flower barrette for the flower girl. I was so excited, my first custom bridal party order! Here is a picture of all of the flowers that I made. The bride, flower girl, and maid of honor had matching center stones and the bridesmaids all had something different.

I caught a sneak peek at some pictures posted from her wedding and first could not believe how gorgeous everyone looked. But the hair flowers looked so amazing in everyone's hair including the bride's! I hope I get some pictures to have of everyone's hair! It was such an honor to be chosen to make hair accessories for someone's wedding day! I had so much fun doing it and hope that this is the first of many bridal party orders to come my way!

Cranes for a Cause

2009-08-24T08:32:00.001-07:00

Etsy is not only a place for me to sell my hair accessories, it has also become a place where I have found many amazing friends through my membership on the EtsyNJ Street team. Most of us haven't even met yet our friendships continue to grow through social networking sites. When Cat of CatRocks posted a note about Cranes for Killian on facebook, I was amazed to see the response that she got. I had no clue how to make origami cranes but I knew I was going to figure it out and do it. It wasn't long before the status updates from my EtsyNJ friends were about learning how to make paper cranes! Here is the link to what Cat posted which gives you a little background on the request and some pictures of all of the cranes they have received. Cranes for Killian on Flickr The cranes are for an amazing teenage boy named Killian who just a few days ago, lost his long battle with cancer. I never met him but I feel like my life is that much better because I have learned of his story. Even though the battle was tough, he chose to LIVE each day. He started a foundation to help other children battling cancer and since he was a musician recorded an album entitled Somewhere Else which is currently being sold on Amazon and Itunes. Here is the link to the Killian Mansfield - Somewhere Else Fan Page on Facebook if you would like more information. Knowing about Killian when I saw the call for cranes I knew it was something that I had to do. The experience has given me so much perspective. If I am having a bad day or get disgusted with life, I think about that night I was folding cranes and become grateful for everything that I do have in my life!

Here is a picture of my origami cranes. When I first tried to make them I realized it was harder than it looks but once I got the hang of it they were pretty easy. The paper I chose was called harmony and I thought that was fitting for the purpose.

With my paper crane package I also included 2 headbands for Killian's sister. A few months ago, Cat had reached out to me to place a headband order for her to cheer her up. In this package I wanted to give something to her, I can't imagine what she must be going through and from what I heard, she was beyond excited to receive the headbands! I hope that they have received 1000 cranes, as I have been following the story it seems that cranes are coming in from all over the world and Cat is receiving 9-10 boxes a day. I hope they have exceeded their goal! It is amazing to me how 1 child's drive to live life everyday can inspire people to come together and do something as simple as folding paper. May Killian rest in peace and the story of his life continue to inspire everyone all over the world.

Craft Show Tour, A Phillies Game, and A New Baking Adventure!

2009-07-26T11:58:00.001-07:00

Ok I did warn you all that I was blogging at an average of 1 blog every 2 weeks, right? Well I think it might have been a little longer than that but hey, I am a busy girl! July has gone by with a blur, like usual time flies when you are having fun!

I am happy to report that I survived my brief craft show tour and both shows were incredibly successful! First up was the Haddonfield Fine Arts and Crafts Festival. I was so excited when I found my booth space as it was in a great spot on Haddonfield's Main Street! The show went great! Not only did I sell a lot of accessories it was great chatting with customers who not only remembered my booth from last year but remembered the location! Now that is loyalty! The biggest seller at this show, my fabric flower ponytail holders. In between customer interactions I sat at the booth and made more. As soon as I would put some out, they would sell. I think I sold about 30 of them most of which were made at the show! I have been busy making more since some of the shops selling my stuff are going through them quickly too! Thanks to all of the fabulous people that helped support Purplelicious at the Haddonfield Show, I look forward to seeing you next year. I hope you all remembered my booth location, there will be a quiz next year!

The next stop on my craft show tour was the Handmade Faire. It was held at Freedom Park in Medford NJ. This park is awesome and also the location for many of Medford's events including their Relay for Life and their 4th of July Fireworks! The show was organized by my Etsy Friend Abbie and her mother in law Pola. And I have to say they put together an AMAZING show! There are so many things I liked about the show. For starters, ALL of the sellers sold handmade items, which is great to see. A lot of major craft shows add this as a requirement but I think a lot of non handmade sellers still manage to get in. At the Handmade Faire I just felt this sense of community that I don't usually feel at craft shows. That could also be because I knew some of the sellers from the EtsyNJ group! I think my favorite aspect of the show was the music. The theme of the show was Summer of Love and Abbie put together an incredible mix of songs from the 70s. I was in heaven! And the crowd loved it too, it was cool to see people dancing and singing along to the music! I also had a very successful show! Which is also nice! Congrats to Abbie and Pola on a great show, they estimated about 8000 people came to the event and I believe plans are already in the works for a Fall edition in October! I have already marked my calendar! Here is a pic of me in my booth!

Last week we ventured to another Phillies game! It was a business person's special and also the Kids Run the Bases game. It was during the day on Wednesday. Unfortunately the Phil's put an end to their winning streak that game but Bella had a blast running the bases. How it works is after the game all of the kids leave the park and get in line to come back into run the bases. The line was literally wrapped around the ballpark but moved pretty quick. You get to walk down the ramp by right field and onto the field. The kids run around the bases, the parents meet them at home plate and you are done! Bella got a certificate as well. I was surprised she did it, but as soon as she hit the field she was off running! I took some video and realized that I captured her on phanavision as well. Very cute! Here are some pictures of her from the game. Notice the baseball headband! ;-)
Headed in the park!

Walking down the ramp to the field!

On the field about to run the bases!

The final leg of my 3 weeks of madness was a new adventure in baking! My cousin's baby just turned 1 and she asked me awhile ago if I would make all of the desserts for his birthday party. I was so excited! I love to bake and especially love creating baking and cake decorating! When she told me the party was a puppy theme, I was ready for the challenge! Here is what I came up with:
The Main Birthday Cake:

Sugar Cookie Dog Bones for the Treat Bags:

Personal Mini Dog Cake for the birthday boy to destroy:

Cupcakes with a Mini Dog Bone Sugar cookie:

To say that everything was a hit would be an understatement. I definitely like my fair share of praise but I was getting so much, I started to blush a little. It was so rewarding to see my cousin so pleased with everything and little Owen loved all the doggie themed treats!

After three weeks of fun, like usual, I still have miles to go before I sleep. It keeps my life interesting though, I am not sure I would know what to do if life wasn't always busy! I do have one goal, I hope to get back on a regular blogging schedule, we will see how that works out!

2 Weeks!

2009-07-08T06:57:00.000-07:00

I feel like this blog is operating on "Money Pit" time! It seems I have only had time to blog every 2 weeks. Wow has it really been two weeks since my last blog post? I am so sorry to have kept you all in suspense as to the happenings of my fabulous life but maybe getting all of the information in bi-monthly updates is a better way to go? Well for now it will have to do because in restaurant terms...I am in the Weeds!

Picking up where I last left off, my fabulous little 5 year old graduated from Pre-K at the end of the month. Aside from her dance class performance I have not seen her in a group singing performance since her school doesn't really put them on. She had been talking about graduation for months and humming some of the songs so I knew I was in for a treat! She also teased me about a secret song that they weren't allowed to tell the parents about. I am impressed that she kept it under wraps for so long, I was definitely surprised! The graduation ceremony was only 20 minutes but it was adorable and Bella did great. She wasn't nervous, when it was her turn to speak she stood up straight and spoke clearly. she is so much like her mommy it is scary! So I still have a few months to come to terms with the fact that my baby is starting kindergarten in the fall but I am not going to think about that now!

In other news, Purplelicious is on FIRE! In a good way! I recently reached a milestone of 500 Etsy sales which was very exciting for me! To celebrate I had a Customer Appreciation Sale and offered $5 Headbands for one day. Everyone LOVES the $5 Headband Sale, needless to say it was a huge success! My mom thought I was a little crazy for having that sale a few weeks before two upcoming craft shows BUT I was strategic. While I was filling orders I was cutting a few extra pieces of fabric and building inventory! Productivity at its finest, ok not really!

Speaking of Craft Shows I evidently have taken some crazy pills as I have two, count them TWO craft show coming up, back to back. It is Wednesday and I have a good amount of inventory for my show this weekend BUT I have a very long list of things to do. But it will all get done, I am already very accustomed to the late night craft show prep that ensues when you are a procrastinator like me. Although honestly, I think some of my best work happens in the late night hours! As if that wasn't enough, another shop at the Jersey store now carries my products. Haven Boutique in Sea Isle City, NJ now carries Purplelicious Accessories. It is an adorable boutique with lots of great dresses and accessories. It is the first boutique that my products are in and I am excited to see how well they do there!

My 4th of July was great, thanks for asking! I didn't have any bbq plans and my pool still looked like a toxic green swamp so I took Bella to the movies. We saw Ice Age 3 in 3D. Can someone please stop me from paying more for the 3D experience when only 2 elements of the whole movie are 3D. When will I learn! On a positive note we got to see some Amazing fireworks. My mom's friend lives right across from the high school where they set them off so she was kind enough to give us some viewing space on her grass. I have never seen fireworks so close in my life! Bella really enjoyed them and it was awesome sitting there watching them with her. And like I do every 4th of July since I have been divorced, I hope that the next year I am watching them in the arms of an amazing man. Perhaps I need to make my wish at a different time of the year though, it seems the 4th of July wish is not really working!

FINALLY, since my Tie Dyed Cupcakes have become very popular, I decided to make them for the 4th of July. I will call them Patriotic Tie Dye Cupcakes. I made them for Bella's class and this time I made Tie Dyed Icing..fancy! How to make them, these are easier I think because they have less colors. Divide the White cake Batter into three bowls (about 2c of batter in each). Tint one of them red and one of them blue (I strongly recommend the Wilton Gel colors for this). Keep the third bowl as is. Line the cupcake tins and first add the red, I found about 1 tbsp per cupcake was enough. Although the last couple get a little cheated. to offset this, start the next color where you left off! Follow that process for the other two colors and bake. Now for the icing. I used the Wilton Buttercream recipe and also one of their techniques for the icing. I got some paintbrushes and brushed stripes of color into the pastry bag, then added the white icing. You have to squeeze some of the icing out until the color starts to come through but that is how you get the tie dye effect! Below are some pics! Enjoy!

Ok enough fun and frolic, I hope you enjoyed this rather long two week recap. I hope to post a blog next week about the 2 day Haddonfield Craft Show I am participating in this weekend but at the rate I am going on here, expect it in 2 weeks!

Sewing Like the Wind!

2009-06-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite movies growing up was Three Amigos. My brother and I still quote it and my family pretty much always references the Village of Santa Poco because "We Can Sew!". When my mom, sister and I are getting ready for something that requires a lot of sewing we comment that we are in the Village of Santa Poco and are Sewing Like the Wind. For that past month, I have temporarily relocated to the Village of Santa Poco where I have been sewing like the wind pretty much every day! And of course I couldn't be happier!

Why you ask? Well summer is heating up fast for Purplelicious. I wish I could say the same for the weather! I am very excited that Purplelicious Accessories can now be found at two different shops at the Jersey Shore. The first shop is in Stone Harbor New Jersey and is called Alice. It is located on the famous 96th street where all of the shops are. Inside Alice you can not only find my accessories but great jewelry, handbags, painted glass, and a many other handmade items. If you are visiting Stone Harbor NJ, stop by and check it out!

The other shop is called The Maple Tree and it is located in Seaville, NJ. It is inland but right off of Route 9 and you can make a quick stop in there while you are en route to your favorite shore destination! The Maple Tree is an adorable shop filled with handmade gifts. You can find handmade candles, soaps, painted glass, quilts, hand painted garden art, purses, and so much more! The shop is amazing and as soon as you walk in you are instantly relaxed due to the calm and beautiful setting. The Maple Tree is also in the running for the Best of the Shore Hot List in the Gift Shop Category, last time I checked they were only a few votes from first place! Below is a picture of my item display at The Maple Tree, the keychains are selling like crazy there which is pretty awesome!

As if I have not been busy enough trying to keep two stores stocked with product, I forgot about my 3rd shop, VIX Emporium in West Philly. I am in the process now of stocking them up with some new inventory! I also have two craft shows coming up in July which happen to be back to back. I have been accepted again to the Haddonfield Crafts and Fine Arts Festival July 11-12 and the following week was just accepted to The Handmade Faire - Summer of Love Edition at Freedom Park in Medford which is on July 18. July is going to be a busy month but I can't wait, I love craft shows because I am able to showcase new products and most importantly meet some of my amazing customers! I am also excited about the Handmade Faire because I will get a chance to meet many of my Etsy NJ Team friends as they will be vending there as well!

I have not stopped there! In the midst of all of this sewing madness I have been introducing some new products! I have been using this time to tap into my fabric stash that has been sitting there screaming to be made into accessories! Below are just a few of the new headband styles I have created, check out my Purplelicious Etsy Shop for more!

Whew! I am exhausted just by writing this blog. All of this hard work is definitely worth it though! It just goes to show that all of those tiny little things that you do eventually add up and make you successful! Now if you'll excuse me, I have some, I mean a LOT of sewing to do!

Summer is in Full Swing!

2009-06-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, I cannot believe that we are already into the second week of June, this year is really moving at warp speed! Clearly my schedule has been pretty hectic since I have not blogged in a couple weeks. So let me catch you up. I would like to introduce you to my new Baby...My Husqvarna Viking Emerald Sewing Machine. Yeah, the rescue mission performed on my other sewing machine was a short term fix. I went back into full sewing mode and the machine just failed me. I could not be without a machine so I took a road trip up to the Joann Fabrics Superstore (aka The Mothership) and tested out some sewing machines. I got a great deal on this one and it had my heart when it sewed through 4 layers of denim like nothing and has a built in needle threader. It doesn't take much for me to get excited! Here is a picture of her, isn't she lovely?

I may still get my other machine repaired, it would be a good machine for Bella when she is ready to start sewing. I know she is only 5 but she's already got a good eye for fabric, must take after her Mommy!

Making this investment into my business could not have come at a better time. This summer is looking to be pretty busy for Purplelicious! You can now find my products at an adorable little shop at the Jersey Shore in Stone Harbor called Alice. I headed down to the shop last week and set up all of my products. It was beyond fun setting up my accessories display and even more fun seeing it in a store and not a craft show! I was upset I didn't bring my camera to take a picture of the display. The owner wants to give me a bigger space in the store but I need to give her more product which I am working on with my new sewing machine! This week I am headed down to another shop down the shore who wants to sell my headbands. It is very fun being a sales rep for your own products!

I ended the week with a little creative baking. It is almost the end of T Ball season and the start of me having my Saturdays back! There was a party at the coach's house and I said I would make cookies. Any excuse to make a creative dessert! I decided to make sugar cookies that look like baseballs! Below is a picture of them, they were a big "hit" - no pun intended.

Things are definitely heating up at Purplelicious with getting the shops at the shore set up for product and preparing for two craft shows in July. I am also only 8 sales away from 500 Etsy sales. I could not be happier! Summer is my favorite season and if I can have a summer full of strong Purplelicious business, well that would just make it even better!

Doing the Best with What You've Got

2009-05-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

While this is a philosophy I have been practicing a lot since I have been unemployed I feel like it really held true this weekend! For starters while I continue to struggle to find a job in this horrible economy I have my accessories business. When I am not job searching I am plugging away trying to build and expand it. I know that all of the little things I am doing will eventually add up so I am trying to practice a little patience! I was excited to work on some custom orders this weekend. The first was an order for 20 of my Princess Headbands. They are being used as party favors for a little girl's birthday party! Such a great idea!

The second custom order was a request for headbands made with Madras fabric. It was like this customer was reading my thoughts, I was in the fabric store the other day and saw the madras fabrics and wanted to buy them but wasn't sure if they would sell! Well this customer gave me the excuse I wanted to buy the fabric! I also tried out a new design and also covered the elastic. I bought some other lightweight summer fabrics and plan to launch them all together once all of the samples are done. But here is a sneak peak of the madras styles to be listed soon!

The third custom order is a special request to have this bridal satin fabric flower hair clip made in ivory to match bridesmaids dresses that are black and ivory. The hair clip are still in progress but I am excited about this request and I hope it leads to more bridesmaid hair clip orders in the future.

This Memorial Day Weekend was not all about sewing, yard work was the main item on the agenda. Since I am unemployed and have very little disposable income hiring a landscaper is out of the question. My ex husband was not much help either even though he has helped me in previous years but hey, I don't need no stinkin' man! Since I am young and able bodied I became my own landscaper for 2 days. I cut the grass for the first time ever, cleaned up the mulch beds and added new mulch, and bagged about 25 bags of leaves. I am paying the price for being lazy with my leaf cleanup in the fall. There is still so much work to be done. I was secretly hoping for rain so that I would have an excuse to stay up in my sewing room instead of being out in the sun bagging leaves! I got my wish today!

I was enjoying a cold rainy day in my sewing room making custom orders. I decided to also put the finishing touches on the purse I blogged about a few weeks ago. I added a snap closure so I had to take out the lining seam. When I went to sew it back up, it got stuck in my machine and my sewing machine got all out of whack and kept breaking the needle. I immediately packed it up and took it to my mom. Both of my parents were eager to help repair it since it is the tool that has helped provide my main source of income these days. We pretty much took the entire thing apart and my dad somehow figured out how to fix the issue and when I put it back together it was in working order! It runs awesome now because we cleaned all of the lint out. I wish I had a picture of what my poor little machine looked like all torn apart, but I am glad she is all better! Although my mom was pretty much on board with getting me a new machine since she bought mine like 8 years ago for around $99, she is actually impressed it is still going strong after all of the sewing I have done with it!

So I guess that is pretty much what life is about, making the best out of the cards that you are dealt and staying positive. Sometimes doing that takes a little more effort, but all of that hard work will definitely pay off in the long run!

Tie Dyed Cupcakes!

2009-05-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

My daughter LOVES the book Pinkalicious, we read it pretty much every night before bed. We have also made our fair share of pink cupcakes, green cupcakes, and even purple cupcakes. The other night we were reading the book and she asked me if I could make rainbow cupcakes. I had never made anything like that before so I was up for the challenge. Last night when I picked Bella up from school she asked me if we could make them. Since I still had blurry vision from my eye doctor appointment and needed a break from all of the craft show prep I said yes! I was not 100% sure how I was going to master this BUT luckily I remembered a blog I read that detailed how to make a rainbow cake so I applied the same principles. If you want to read about how to make that cake, here is the link: http://www.omnomicon.com/rainbowcake.

Ok, here is what I did.
*I used a White Cake mix, since I have made different color cupcakes before I have found tinting the white is much easier than the yellow for obvious reasons. My 5 year old was part of the process so I will share how she "helped" in case you plan on doing this with your child! I followed the cake mix directions on the box and let my daughter add the ingredients, which I measured out in bowls so she could add them without mess.
*Once the batter was made I divided it into 6 bowls. I used about 1 cup of batter for each bowl. Then divided what was left evenly among the bowls.
*Then I tinted each of the bowls with a different icing color. I added the color and I let my 5 year old mix it in. Try not to overmix here, once you have the color well blended let it be! I used Wilton Icing colors since I have them on hand. I did use a store bought orange which worked fine too!
Here is a pic of what the batter looks like!

Now for the fun part, making the cupcakes! My daughter and I had some power struggle here for the best way for her to help but this is what worked best.
*Fortunately I have 2 cupcake pans so I can make all 24 at once. Add the cupcake wrappers, I recommend using white since the wrapper looks cool after it is done.
*Start with the red first. I used 2 tablespoons or soup spoons I guess you would call them. I filled about half of the spoon with the red batter then had my daughter scrap it off with the other spoon. This way she could help and the batter got where it needed to be. I would suggest using less than more, since that one bowl has to fill 24 cupcakes. By looking at the picture below you can see how much batter I used per color.
* I did the orange next, using the same process and put the batter next to the red. Then continued with the other colors, basically just layering the batter and the colors.
Here is a pic of what they looked like before they went into the oven.

I contemplated for a hot second to use a toothpick and swirl the batter but I wanted to see how these came out. In retrospect I should have done that on half of them to see what the result would have been.
Here is what they looked like when they came out of the oven! See what I mean about using the white wrappers! When you peel off the wrapper it looks even cooler!

To ice them I just made the Wilton Buttercream recipe and my daughter added some rainbow sprinkles on top. I have taken two pictures of what they look like on the inside...so cool!

I hope this blog was easy to understand, this is the first instructional blog I have written! The process is really easier than it looks and I am sure I am not inventing the wheel here but some of my friends wanted to know how I did it. The kids in my daughters class were so excited to eat these cupcakes and they were definitely so fun and easy to make! Enjoy!

Texas Sized Fun and Some New Accessories Too!

2009-05-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was in Austin TX for my cousin's wedding. I was excited for the weekend for a few reasons. One because I have not been away since November, being unemployed tends to put a damper on spending. And two I have never been to Austin TX and it is a place I have always wanted to go. It is after all the Live Music Capital of the World! For only being there for the weekend, I got to experience some different aspects of the city. On Friday night after the rehearsal dinner we did a bar crawl. We ended up at this great place that looked like it was wedged between two buildings. The band was AWESOME, they played 80's music, it was great! On Saturday, before the wedding my sister and I walked around by the University of Texas, we only got to see a small section but it was so fun. We had the most fun in this little boutique called Wish. They have the most adorable clothes and all of these fabulous earrings for $3.50 each! So fun! While trying to find a cab we stumbled up on this amazing popcorn store called Cornucopia. Oh my...some of the best popcorn ever! They have so many different flavors, I went with traditional cheddar and my sister got the candy coated Cherry, but their most popular is Dill Pickle and I can see why, it was delicious! I will definitely be placing an order with them soon. The wedding was so beautiful and fun. The band at the wedding was actual a band that only plays the Beatles. They were really good and the dance floor was packed the entire night! The next morning, I did not want to leave! I would have loved just one more day to explore, but I guess now I have a great excuse to go back!

Now onto the real important stuff, my dress and accessories!!! In anticipation of the event I of course had to find a dress! I was able to find an amazing Sue Wong dress in one of the Rue La La boutiques and got a $300 designer dress for $88. The dress is brown and purple which I was also happy about since I always seem to wear black to weddings! I knew the kind of jewelry I wanted to wear with the dress but knew I would not be able to find it in a store. So I reached out to some talented Etsy Sellers and Megan of CastoCreations designed the most beautiful earring, necklace, and bracelet set. It was not only exactly what I wanted, it looked completely AMAZING with the dress. I got so many compliments on the jewelry and everyone was blown away when I told them it was handmade. Her shop is also filled with some amazing jewelry pieces. If you are in the market for some beautiful jewelry, visit her shop on Etsy! I also wanted to experiment with a new hair accessory. I made a fabric flower out of brown satin and accented it with a crystal purple button and attached it to a hair clip. It looked adorable in my hair, but it was hard to notice because my hair is also brown. Next time I may choose purple satin over the brown but it was still cute nonetheless and I now have a new hair accessory style to add to the shop! Below are some pics from CastoCreations of the jewelry she made for me, a close up of my hair accessory, and one of me wearing all of the pieces!

I definitely had some Texas Sized Fun and was dealing with some Texas Sized Exhaustion when I got home, but it was a great trip! Best Wishes of love and happiness to my Cousin and his new wife!

I Made my First Purse!

2009-05-03T09:12:00.001-07:00

A few months ago I was visiting my mom at her quilter's guild quilt show and I was talking to the owner of my favorite quilt shops, The Little Shop. The owner commented on my purse, she said it was similar to the Amy Butler Birdie Sling Bag and mentioned she was having a class on how to make one. I told my mom about it and she signed us up for the class. I was excited on a couple of levels, first because I have always wanted to learn how to sew a purse, and two I thought it would be fun to take a sewing class with my mom! Making a purse is a lot more work than I had anticipated! I don't know how the Purse Sellers on Etsy do it!

For me the hardest part was picking out the fabric. This bad is more of a tote than an everyday bag but I still was very picky about the fabric. I ended up going with a fabric called 1974 by Urban Chicks for Moda. I paired it with a solid purple for the bands and the straps. Then used another moda pattern for the lining. If I could do this purse again, I would use the solid purple also for the lining and use the exterior fabric for the pockets. Oh well, maybe next time! We cut everything before we went to class, that way we could get right to sewing! It helps that my mom has lots of experience taking sewing classes! Here is a pic of all of the fabric cut out.

The class was two 3 hour sessions. After the first class I had the lining sewn together and had made the pockets. I actually got a little carried away with one of the pockets. I sewed a few more lines to make a pocket for my cell phone, my lip balm, and my business card case. Here is a pic of where I was after the first class.

Before the second class I had to finish top stitching the lining and sew and top stitch the band. I am glad I did that because there was a lot left to do in the second class. I was excited to work with the exterior panels because then I would get to see what the purse would look like. I learned how to make pleats, which was easier then I thought and how to make gussets at the bottom of the bag. I really started picking up the pace towards the end of the class because I wanted to finish it while I still had an instructor and I didn't want to leave with a UFO (Un finished object!). I was able to finish the purse by the end of the class with the exception of one 3" section. My sewing needle broke while I was doing the last but of top stitch. When I got home, I finished it. Here is a pic of the final purse.

I LOVE how it turned out and am so proud of myself! I need to add a clasp on the inside to keep it closed and I plan on adding a fabric flower made from the main fabric to the purple part. I bought an awesome purple button for the center of it. My mom and I also want to make some modifications to the pattern. We used fusible fleece on every piece of the bag but think interfacing on the exterior pieces would be best. I don't think I will sell purses anytime soon but now they I know what to do, I can definitely use those skills to make some cute purses as gifts or even for myself! A girl can never have enough purses!

Custom Order Month!

2009-05-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

One of the many things I love about having this business is that I often get asked by people to make them custom accessories. It seems that April was the month for custom requests. The first request was for a headband that needed to match a kids white t-shirt with navy/white gingham bows and crystals. I had so much fun making this headband because it was something compeletly different then what I am used to making. Here is a pic of how it turned out. Super cute!

Then I received a wholesale request for 15 ribbon belts. The trick with these was the customer asked that each side be a different ribbon and they didn't need to coordinate. It was fun to mix and match and use some ribbons I have not yet used for belts but will be using in the future!

Finally the order that took up the most time but was so fun to make...custom embroidered soccer team headbands! The coach wanted to give the girls on his team a headband as a gift at the end of the season. We went back and forth with ideas and then came up with using Shamrock ribbon (their team is called the Shamrocks!) embroidered with the player's name on one side and the season on the other. Then he decided to get some made for the player's sisters. For them I just embroidered the name on the center of the headband. And of course the mom's couldn't be forgotten! They got plain shamrock ribbon headbands. All of the ribbon was sewn onto Goody Stay Put Elastic Headbands so while the girls are playing, the headbands stay in place! It was so fun working on this order and I think they came out super cute! So if you are looking for a unique custom embroidered headband for your child's soccer, basketball, softball, or any sport team contact me!

The thing that I love most about custom orders is that it gives me a chance to come up with some new ideas, try something new, and even buy some new fabric. It is great to work directly with the customer and make them exactly what they are looking for! Hopefully this is a sign that many custom and large orders are on their way! I sure hope so!

Baseball, Networking, and a New Venture!

2009-04-24T07:28:00.000-07:00

Since my daughter's tball opening day I feel like my life is completely surrounded by baseball! Fortunately I am a big baseball fan so I don't mind too much. This past Sunday we took Bella to her first Phillies game of the season and it happened to be the Phanatic's birthday! She had so much fun. For starters they had all sorts of free kids treats at the game of which she had to sample them all! Then they also had face painting. There were about 10 kids before her and she was the first one to ask for a Phanatic, I mean come on, it was his birthday!

As you can see she was wearing her baseball headband. When we got to our seats, the woman behind us commented on her headband. Being the proud mom that she is, my mom told her that I made it. So I started talking to the woman about Purplelicious and what I sell, and gave her and her friend some business cards. I got an order from her on Monday! It always pays to wear what you sell when you can and always have business cards on you. I was also wearing my Phillies headband but people noticed Bella's more. I may need to start bribing her to wear my headbands more often, she will probably cost me less than higher priced advertising but then again, maybe not!

I did a little more fabric shopping with the pro this week (my mom!). She signed us up to take a purse class at our favorite quilt shop, The Little Shop. We are making the Amy Butler Birdie Sling Bag. So Monday we spent some time picking out our fabrics which was not as easy as I thought it would be. I bought a fabric called 1974 by Urban Chicks for Moda and paired it with a solid purple. I can't wait to see how it looks when it is finished. I also picked up some other new fabrics as well for headband making, so stay tuned for that! I have one more class to take for the purse and it will be completed. I will post a blog about the experience at the end of next week.

So life is still crazy and I am still unemployed but like always I am making the best of it and spending the time off creating and being with my family!

Time Flies When You are Having Fun!

2009-04-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been about 3 weeks since my last blog. Things have been a little crazy around here. For starters, I was working on some Etsy orders, thankfully in the end of March, beginning of April I saw an slight increase in sales which gives me hope that more positive sales trends are in my future. I have also added all of my items into google base using a great tutorial I found in the Etsy forums. It really just gave me another obsession to check every morning along with my google analytics! In addition to business being a little busy, life has been as well. For starters, it is officially Tball Season. My daughter just started playing Tball and opening Day was last Saturday. The day started bright and early with a Parade in which we were the parade! All of the kids and parents walk from a park to the baseball field to commemorate the season opening! Then we were back at the field at 2pm for her first game. How stinkin cute is she in her baseball outfit??

I also made her and the only other girl on her team this baseball/softball themed athletic headband. They both wear their headbands to every game!

Speaking of baseball, that same weekend was Opening Day for the Phillies. I was with my parents in the morning and knew my dad had tickets to the game but was going with my aunt and uncle. Then around 6pm I got a phone call from my dad informing me that I was going! It was so exciting to be at Opening Day, even though the game was very painful to watch.

All last week I pretty much was on a staycation at my mom's! My sister came into town with her kids and my daughter kept asking to have sleepovers there. I was back and forth all week picking up various things that I needed. One of those trips included grabbing my sewing machine and supplies so that I could fill orders. By the time Sunday rolled around, I had a lot of stuff at my mom's. Easter Sunday was very low key and it was awesome. My daughter asked me to "text" the Easter Bunny to let him know that she was staying at her LuLu's (grandmom's) to make sure he brought her basket there. She was very excited to get her basket but was disappointed that the Easter Bunny did not hide any eggs. Note to self.

Today I thought I would get myself caught up on all things Purplelicious. Until I remembered that I had to fix my mailbox. When I came to my house on Saturday to "text" the Easter Bunny (wink wink) I noticed my mailbox lying on the ground. Great. I am not sure what happened, it looks like someone hit it with a car or knocked it down. Regardless I had to take care of it today. Of course it was not a one step process but the new mailbox is in along with some new landscaping that was a result of the placement of the new mailbox. It looks like tomorrow will be my Purplelicious catch up day.

I will try to get back on the blogging routine but from the looks of my calendar over the next couple of weeks, it seems that the rest of April will be a blur as well. *sigh*

Spring is in Bloom!

2009-03-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

The warm weather is still not here in New Jersey but fortunately there are flowers blooming at Purplelicious! When I first started Purplelicious I knew I wanted to make headbands but as I have learned more about sewing I was able to introduce some other accessories like belts and keychains. What inpsired those new lines was not only my desire to expand and grow the business but I was looking for ways to use every last scrap of fabric I have. Most sewers know to never throw out your fabric scraps! You never know what you can make with them! I have a LOT of scraps saved but I mostly have been hanging on to a stack of strips that are a hair less than 10" which make them too short for the wristlet keychains. They are a result of my strip cutting fabric for headbands. Sometimes I have to cut along the length of the fabric to capture the pattern just right and that always leaves me with this little strip of fabric. I was saving them at first to make patchwork fabric belts but for some reason was not motivated to do that, although I have not ruled it out. So then I did a quick google search on how to make fabric flowers. I was not sure what I would make with them yet but thought it might be a cute way to use the scraps. I found this Fabric Flower Tutorial and immediately cut my squares and tried it. They came out SO cute! I got addicted to making them but I still wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. After a little consult with my mom I decided to make them into ponytail holders! I decided to attempt the project while I was sitting at my most recent craft show. I brought 5 of the flowers with me. As soon as I put the first completed flower on the table, it sold. Then I made another one and it sold and the same customer also wanted the one I was working on. It was then I knew I had to add these to my shop! Since this is what I consider a new product launch I wanted to make sure I had a good variety. So I went back to the those scraps and went to town! These fabric flower ponytail holders are made with the same fabric combinations I use for my headbands. You can buy them to match your favorite Purplelicious headband or alone to add an adorable accent to your ponytail! They are also perfect for fabulous ladies of any age! I am hoping this product reaches out to the person that does not wear headbands but still loves cute accessories! I hope you enjoy these as much as I have enjoyed making them. As for what else I plan to do with these awesome little creations...you will just have to stay tuned. I definitely have more tricks, I mean accessory ideas, up my sleeve!

Wow!!! 400 Sales!

2009-03-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

Over the past month or so I have been so busy trying to promote my Etsy shop that I failed to realize that I was so close to hitting another sales milestone! Yesterday I officially surpassed 400 sales! I cannot believe it. I am approaching my 2 year anniversary on Etsy and could not be more pleased with this amount of sales. If you would have asked me when I opened my shop that I would get 400 sales I would have thought you were kidding! And here I am! So another big thank you to all of my fabulous customers and friends who support Handmade items and Purplelicious!

One of the things that helped bump me over this milestone is my Headband Madness Sale! In the spirit of the NCAA tournament, I decided to have a little March Madness sale of my own and I am giving away free headbands! See the listing in the Purplelicious Sale Section of my shop for more details!

New Shoes + Sunny Day = Time to Run!

2009-03-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been on a bit of a running hiatus. I really do enjoy running but have a tendency to not be as motivated unless I have something to train for. The past two weeks I have been working to get on track (no pun intended) running wise since I am participating in a 10 mile run in less than 2 months Yikes! I have been running the gym during the winter because I don't like running when it is cold! I am here to tell you that treadmill running is WAY different than road running. I went out for my first outdoor run this past Monday and I FELT it big time. I also felt my feet not being very happy. It was then that I realized I had these running shoes since November of 2007 and they have WAY too many miles on them and barely any cushion left! I went on Zappos and ordered the most current model of my shoe and they were delivered to my house in two days! While yesterday I thought it would be better to have a rest day after a 5 mile run on Monday and a tough spin class on Tuesday. The surprise warm sunny day and the brand new running shoes were calling my name. I gave in and enjoyed a nice 4 mile run in my brand new shoes. There is nothing like running in a brand new pair of shoes, it is like running on clouds! It made me really hope that spring and warmer weather gets here soon, so I am more motivated to get outside, feel the sunshine on my face, and run my stresses away!

A Green Kind of Day

2009-03-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

St Patrick's Day has come and gone but I hope that I did what I could to make it fun for my daughter! For some reason on Monday I was feeling a little creative, and I was not feeling headband or accessory creative! I was trying to think of fun things to make for Bella for St Patrick's Day. Creative Idea #1: Cute Handmade St Patty's Day Shirt. I realized Monday morning that I had not gotten around to purchasing a St Patrick's Day shirt for Bella. I figured the stores would be out of them so I decided to make one myself. I had a plain white t-shirt for her, stared at the un-used St Patrick's Day cookie cutter and was hit with inspiration. I went up to the craft room and found the green non-shamrock fabric I purchased and placed the cookie cutter over it. Perfect!!! I washed a section of the fabric. Ironed on some heat n bond, traced the cookie cutter, and an adorable fabric shamrock was born. I felt like it was too plain so I found some St Patrick's Day ribbon and made a bow. Then I asked my fellow Internet and Etsy friends to help me decide. Bow or No Bow! Well the Bow won and here is a pic of Bella in her handmade St Patrick's Day shirt. And yes I think I will sell these next year!

Creative Idea #2: Cupcakes for Class St Patty's Day party. One of the things that is challenging for creative people is that the bar is always raised. Once you come up with one good idea you have to brainstorm on how to make it the same or better, which isn't always easy. I don't know why I feel the need to show off when I bake but it is fun for me! This year I decided to add a chocolate shamrock as a cupcake topper. I headed to Michael's and of course they were out of green Wilton chocolate melts so I was forced to buy white chocolate and tint it green myself. Which was easier than I though. Now I had the chocolate but how was I going to make shamrocks. I am not much of a free hand artist. So I found a shamrock outline graphic printed them out and placed it under a sheet of parchment paper. Put the melted chocolate in a piping bag and traced the outline. I need more practice at this but I think that part came out cute. I baked the funfetti cupcakes (the cake mix picked by Bella) and then made a fresh batch of buttercream. It is so easy to make it I hardly ever use tub icing anymore. I piped the icing in a swirl design, added another swirl of the new Wilton Sparkle Glaze, and topped it with a chocolate shamrock! Fun and delicious!!

I ended my St Patrick's Day but going to the gym for spinning class. When you are a single mom, partying on St Patty's Day doesn't happen to often. I was reminded of my years working in the beer industry when St Patrick's Day was practically considered a holiday. We always had a half day and ended up drinking beer somewhere! Good times!

For someone who is not even an ounce Irish I think I did some pretty creative things for the holiday! I really enjoy the days when I have these creative inspirations. It is another benefit of being unemployed I guess...I actually have the time to turn the inspirations into reality!

Blog Neglect

2009-03-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not writing a new blog in over a week. Seriously a craft show really wipes me out and even sometimes gives me crafter's block! I get so burnt out from all of the prep, the thought of creating is sometimes a bit painful. Fortunately for me there was no rest for the weary. Allow me to catch you up on all that occurred last week!

For starters, I met an amazing woman at the craft show that helped me get in touch with her child's soccer coach in an attempt to sell my new athletic headbands. I say new because I made them for the craft show knowing that the town is known for their sports. In talking to her, she asked for some that were specific sports themes. Off to the fabric store I go and discovered ribbon for pretty much every sport. Fun! She had requested soccer and basketball but I picked up some baseball ribbon since my little one just started playing Tball! Not only did I get to make up some new samples but I also got to have a little fun and make a flier to hand out to sports teams! If you are interested in receiving one for your team, please contact me. What makes these headbands so special...well underneath the ribbon is a Goody Stay Put Athletic Elastic. That helps keep the headband in place during activity and the ribbon adds a little fun to the mix! Here is a pic of the sports themed headbands and a sample of the custom Team Colors headbands.

While I was making the kids ones, I decided it would be fun to make them for grown-ups too. I am an active person and due to my naturally curly hair, always need some kind of headband during a workout, run or spin class to keep the fly aways at bay. So I applied the same concept and added colorful ribbon to make Women's Gym/Athletic Headbands. It is the perfect combination of function and style! These can be custom made with any ribbon!

I ended the week with a trip to my first ever Quilt Show. My mom is a member of a local quilter's guild and they were the hosts of the quilt show. I went to not only support my mom, but also to experience a quilt show. All I can really say is Wow! Some of those quilts were completely amazing. My mom keeps trying to get me to learn how to quilt but I don't know if I have the patience for it, but who knows. Maybe someday! I visited with some of the vendors and picked up this adorable jelly roll of fabric from the Flutterby line by Moda. What is a jelly roll (I had to learn this myself!). It is a bundle that contains strips of fabric from an entire fabric collection. The strips are 2.5" by 44". I realized instantly that these are perfect to make headbands with because it saves me a LOT of cutting time! I will be purchasing more of these jelly rolls in the future. I went through and picked out the ones that I liked and gave the rest to my mom so she could make some kind of quilt with it!

I also bought this amazing handmade wool pin from The Noble Wife. This woman makes the most AMAZING pins. They come in all different colors and styles. And some now include a hand painted button in the center. I also bought the pattern so I can learn how to make them myself. Here is the best part. When you purchase one of her pins, you not only get an amazing handmade accessory, you help support a cause. Some of the profit from the sale of the pins go towards purchasing a sheep for poor families around the world. Very Cool. Check out her website for more info and to see more of her amazing pins and quilt patterns! www.thenoblewife.com.

In all, a busy week and it looks like I will have another one this week. Seriously, who knew being unemployed would keep me so busy!!!

Craft Show Success!!!

2009-03-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

If any of you reading this have ever done multiple crafts shows you know that every one you do is a roll of the dice. I have done one show three times and have had three different results. One thing that is the same, is the amount of work that goes into participating in a show. Just read my previous blog for details about all of that! Surprisingly enough I only stayed up until 2am getting ready for the craft show on Saturday. I did not know what to expect from this show. I knew it was a big show and that it has been around for years since I remember going to this show as a child. I pulled up into the high school from my hometown and walked in to check in. On my way I walked past a small room of people setting up, the gym, and found the table. I was told my location was in the small cafeteria and immediately I was not too happy. But there was nothing I could do that was my location and I had to make the best of it. I started to set up my stuff and noticed that my location was directly in front of the kitchen of the cafeteria. I didn't really think anything of it until I saw people actually IN the kitchen and other people buying stuff. It hit me! This is where they are selling food!!! Maybe this location is not so bad after all. And it wasn't. Our little room was filled with people for most of the day. Later I learned that the small cafeteria was the first room people saw when they entered the building which also helped! I had a blast, it was great talking to the customers, seeing some of my friends who came to visit, and making connections. I am already talking with someone I met at the show about a possible order for their daughters soccer team! Without even counting my money I knew I had a good day. And all of my hard work paid off. I also changed up my display a lot. I don't know if it helped but I think it made a difference. I took some pictures yesterday and compared them some pictures I took from a show this summer. For starters, I bought a three tier stand for my headbands. Before I divided them among three t-stands and placed the rest on the table because I ran out of room. The stand worked out well, because my headbands were vertical, I had more space on the table to display some speciality items. While I liked the concept of the 3 Tier Stand, I need a little more space between the tiers but the customers liked being able to see the headbands and turn the racks. I think it also helped to have product at eye level. This may prove to be more beneficial at a street fair.

For the keychains, I had them in a purple basket and then some displayed on the table. People just didn't know what they were. I found these great display stands on ebay and think it worked out great! People immediately knew what they were and liked spinning the rack to see all of the styles. This is definitely staying for future shows.

For the belts, I used another one of the stands I used for the keychains. While I think it looks better than before I still want to do something different for the belts for my next outdoor show.

The ponytail holders are also tricky for me. For this show, instead of piling them into a basket I added them to some jewelry tstands I had bought when I first started doing shows. I like those stands because they really showcase the cover button. I think for the next show I am going to put them on the other stand I used for the belts. So people can really see the variety.

As for the overall table, I think using the stands to pick the items off of the table worked out really well. As you can see from the two photos, from a distance you can really see what I am selling which will help me at an outdoor show. It also gave me more table space to add some new items and spread everything out. I think I need to test the new set up at a show I have done before to really see if it works, but I think I am on the right track. That is what is fun about having a business, you always need to be innovative and thinking of better ways to connect to your customers. Especially when doing craft shows it is so important to make your table stand out from the rest and break through the clutter.
Summer Craft Show Table:

Saturday Craft Show Table with new Displays:

Now go back to the aftermath, organizing the remaining inventory, taking some new pictures, and planning how to make my next craft show table...even better!

Procrastination + Looming Craft Show = Madness

2009-03-05T06:51:00.000-08:00

I happen to be the Queen of Procrastination. I know that I have many counterparts in this arena as well! I cannot think of a time when I wasn't a procrastinator, even when I was in school. I remember one time in college I actually tried to write a paper ahead of time, as opposed to the night before. I felt so accomplished until I saw that I got a bad grade on it. My conclusion, I put forth some of my best work while under pressure. I am not sure why but that is how I operate. My productivity and time management skills improve when I have more on my plate. Even though I have come to accept and embrace this aspect of my personality, working this way really stressed me out!

For some unknown reason, I had a brain lapse after my last not so successful craft show and decided to sign up for another one. Wait, forgive me, I know the reason. I am unemployed and have been trying to grow Purplelicious because I honestly love it and craft shows are a good way to get the word out. I received my acceptance e-mail about 3 weeks ago and I just started building inventory Monday. I have been quoting the Three Amigos on my facebook status joking that I am in the Village of Santa Poco. As you can see from the picture above I am doing pretty well. My plan is to finish most of the sewing today that way tomorrow I can put the tags on everything and make my inventory list.

I bought some new display pieces for this show in an attempt to take my products vertical. The last two craft shows I did, I took a lot of time to observe people and what makes them approach the table. The one thing I realized is that people have no idea what I am selling. The second is when you are walking around, having my headbands displayed flat on the table doesn't make them visible. Since I have no carpentry skills I was forced to by some stands but I think they will really help. So also added to the list for tomorrow is setting up the new displays and rearranging my table setup.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for a successful show. I am hopeful that the addition of a Bridal/Special Occasion Line, a Sorority Line, and an expanded Kids Line will help attract the various consumers that come to craft shows. I also made a series of headbands to match the High School colors for the purpose of attracting the students that are only there because their parents made them come and also to showcase that I can make customized headbands for just about anything!

Ok enough procrastinating!! It is time to get back to sewing!

It's All Greek To Me...Part 2!

2009-02-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

In this case I am using the phrase both ways. When I first went over to my mom's and looked at her embroidery machine, the enter process WAS Greek to me! She has not used it in a while so the two of us sat for a few hours to figure out how to work it! After a few attempts we were successful and I was overjoyed! It was very exciting for me to see my greek letters when we were testing out the font. I brought over some fabric and we tested out two different organizations. Of course Tri Sigma was going to be one of them, but I wanted to show that I could make them for any sorority. When I left my mom's I could not wait to make the embroidered strips into headbands and did just that first thing this morning!

I am so happy with how they came out! I still plan to experiment with the embroidery machine and maybe some other greek fonts but for now, I am extremely pleased with this product! Next step: Embroidered Keychains! Stay tuned!

Always Learning

2009-02-19T06:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my dad asked me to attend a class he was teaching that was part class for people trying to start their own business. My Dad was responsible for teaching the Marketing piece of a business plan. I walked into the room prepared to sit and review his presentation, but I did not expect that I would learn so much. For starters, my dad introduced me to someone in the class. He told her that I have an online store on Etsy. She asked me what i sold, so I gave her a description. Then she said, well show me. That is when my dad stepped in and said, I told her she should always wear a headband. And I thought to myself, wow, I really should and I don't really do it. Then I looked my keys and realized that I never use one of my keychains. Finally, I thought I could give her a business card and I didn't have any with me. All very bad, I should be a walking advertisement for my products and should ALWAYS have business cards on me. There were 5 people in the class that were interested in what I sold including the sorority headbands and I had no cards to give them. Major lesson learned there! Then I broke out into one of the small groups and we were discussing customer expectations and I got some news ideas from that too! I walked away from the class with a list of things I can work on for Purplelicious. That is the beauty of having your own business and life in general, there is always room to grow and ALWAYS something to learn! Now onto that list!

Fabric Shopping with the Pros

2009-02-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

That was what my Facebook status read pretty much all day yesterday! Who do I consider Fabric Shopping Pros? I will get to that in a minute.

It is no secret that my mom is the person who inspires me to create. I am very lucky to have parents with unique talents that help me create and grow my business. My mom is a talented sewer, baker, and is very creative and my dad is filled with business knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit. This combination is why Purplelicious is here and is successful!

My mom has been sewing since she was a kid. She even sewed her own wedding gown, which was gorgeous by the way and one of my prom dresses! Now she is into quilting and makes the most amazing quilts. I wish I had some pictures to post here so you could see her work. Through her quilting adventures she became friends with some great women. A few years back my sister had a craft night at her house where she invited myself, my mom, and her quilting friends. I was not sewing at the time, but I remember my sister made us all favors for the party and she gave my mom and her friends tshirts that said "Fabric Acquisition Team"! Mostly because the three of them have very large collections of fabric. The three of them love to go to local quilt shops to get ideas for their next quilts and of course to buy new fabrics!

I wanted to go to Joann's yesterday because they were having a huge sale and all of the items that I need to make accessories for my upcoming craft show were on sale. When I called my mom to ask her to go with me, she said she had made plans with one of her friends to go to Joann's and our favorite quilt shop, The Little Shop in Haddonfield. I was very excited to go shopping with "The Pros". It was such a fun day. They both have so much experience with sewing it is fun to see them select different fabrics. They also talk you into any fabric that you want to buy, even if you don't know what you want to do with it! I didn't get home until after 11pm because we hung out a little and chatted, but it was the best day! I ended up buying so much stuff (see photo), but I am so excited to start playing with it all! I have also decided that it is time for me to have a craft night at my house, where the 4 of us can sit around my table, share tips, sew, and create together! I still have a lot to learn before I can become a Fabric Shopping Pro but from the looks of my fabric collection I think I have been taught well and am on my way!

It's All Greek To Me!

2009-02-11T17:36:00.000-08:00

I am not sure if I ever blogged about how I came up with the name Purplelicious for my Accessories business. So here you go! For starters, I love the color Purple. I actually always have, even as a kid. My love for the color grew even stronger when I joined my sorority Sigma Sigma Sigma. I was so happy that the sorority colors were royal purple and white! I was running and trying to think of names for my shop and a way to incorporate Purple, and the song Fergalicous came on my ipod, and the rest is history!

My years as an active sorority member were some of the best memories! It was such an amazing experience and I can't imagine what college would have been like with out those girls. I still keep in touch with most of them and even see a few a couple times a year. I love my Sigma girls!

As you are well aware, I have been trying to brainstorm about some ways to grow my business. And it came to me...Sorority accessories!! I know when I was an active member, I would buy anything with my letters on it. And some of the stuff was really bad, but I didn't care. I was so PROUD to wear my letters I needed to have them on everything. Today I finished the samples of one of the pieces of my new Greek Accessories Line! Of course the samples are tribute to my sorority, but the line is my fabric headbands and wristlet keychains, accented with rhinestone sorority letters! It is so simple to order! Find the listing in my shop and let me know the fabric you would like and your sorority! I will even offer a discounted price for large orders! I am so excited to launch this line and hope that you love it, whether you are an active member who can't get your hands on enough stuff with your letters or an alumnae trying to reminisce about your sorority days. Enjoy and Go Greek!

I Have a 5 Year Old...

2009-02-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

Who seems to be 5 going on 16. My sister sent me a text on my daughter Bella's birthday that said, "Can you believe you are the mother of a 5 year old?". And I thought...YIKES! I can't! At first it made me feel old, but then I was overcome with this feeling of joy. I really don't know how I could have lived those 5 years without Bella in my life. She is everything to me and I don't think it is possible for me to love anyone or anything more than I love her. So of course all of this love deserves a 4 day birthday celebration! The celebration began on Sunday where Bella and I made her a cake to have after the SuperBowl. I actually let her decorate both cakes which she enjoyed and I have to say the one came out pretty awesome!

As for day 2. Her father and I decided a few months ago that instead of spending a couple hundred dollars on a party for a bunch of kids we don't know, that we would take her to NYC for the day and I wanted to take her to American Girl Place so she could pick out her first doll. I scoped out the place when I was in NYC with my friend in December. A couple weeks ago I gave Bella the catalog and she pretty much was reading it all of the time and picking out which doll/outfits she wanted. We had intended on taking her on her actual birthday but snow in the forecast changed those plans. So off to New York we went on Monday, we rode the Ferris Wheel at the Toys R Us in Times Square, Bella made a special M&M mix at the M&M store, and we went to American Girl Place. I think I have found the one trait that my daughter has that she did not get from me....Decisiveness. When we arrived at the store, she knew EXACTLY what she wanted. Once we found everything she had picked out before, she was done and ready to leave. She didn't want to shop around, she wanted to get her doll and move on. Honestly I don't even think her dad is that decisive because he wanted to stick around and look too. We headed down to the Disney store next and then walked all the way to FAO Schwartz to find it closed early for inventory...ugh! So Bella got a lot of presents that day and the greatest gift that I gave her in my opinion was not the American Girl doll but a day in NYC with her father, I don't think many divorced couples would be able to do that...but I did, solely as a birthday gift to my favorite little girl!

Her actual birthday was low key since she was with her dad in the morning. But I decorated the house with all of the Happy Birthday Banners I had from her other birthday parties, I made her favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs, and her cake which she requested it to be a strawberry valentine's cake. My parents came over to have dinner and cake with us.

Then I was up late making birthday treats for Bella to bring to school. I decided to make chocolate chip cookie cups and topped them with chocolate buttercream icing and sprinkles. They came out so cute and were super delicious! This ended the 4 day Birthday Celebration for Bella!

I am exhausted, it has been a long week of birthday celebration and yesterday I had a job interview. I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of today in bed, but there is still job searching, headband making, and cleaning to be done. Ahh it never ends! Happy 5th Birthday to my amazing little princess Bella!

Affordable Luxuries!

2009-01-30T06:24:00.000-08:00

I was browsing through some news articles the other day and saw something about the Hershey Company showing sales growth over last year. Intrigued as to why, I watched the news video. They attributed the growth to efficiencies (most likely layoffs), a price increase (something I know about all too well and probably something the customer barely noticed), and the fact that a candy bar has become an affordable luxury. Meaning that in tough economic times, it is easy to "treat" yourself to something sweet for around a dollar and it won't necessarily break the bank. I also think there is a little emotional eating involved here too but that could just be my years of Weight Watchers talking. This news story got me thinking. As a handmade seller I often worry that the economy will hurt my small business and to be honest, January sales have not been as high as usual...BUT I have not lost hope. When I look at the items in my shop they are in my opinion...affordable luxuries! A way to treat yourself to something cute or new to wear that is under $10. I am going to take some time to figure a way to market this new found knowledge! But if you are one of the people keeping Hershey's in business. If you save some of those dollars you are spending on candy bars, you can buy yourself a great new headband, guaranteed to brighten up your day when it comes to you in the mail! Not only will I thank you, but your waistline will too!

I Can Knit!!!

2009-01-20T06:54:00.000-08:00

I would say about a year ago I decided that I wanted to learn how to knit. I must have been watching my mom do it and was intrigued by it. I was with my mom at Michael's before we flew to Miami in November and saw this beautiful red yarn and asked her if she would teach me how to knit on the plane. That is where I got my lesson, it was pretty cool because on the plane I was in the middle seat, my mom was teaching me to knit and was on my right and my grandmom was micro-managing my mother's teaching on my left. 3 Generations of women talking about knitting...pretty amazing I think! When I got back from my trip to Miami I kept at it, I was knitting a scarf which is the typical first knitting project. Let's fast forward to New Years Eve! Yes I was STILL working on the scarf at that point! I had gotten pretty far BUT, somehow I had managed to pick up some extra stitches and since I was only doing a knit stitch, I didn't like the way it was looking. On New Year's Eve my grandmom had me, my mom, and Bella over for dinner. I brought my scarf and yarn and asked my mom to teach me a different stitch and remind me how to cast on! After dinner, my mom taught me how to purl, once I had practiced on my scarf or what could have been a mini blanket, we painfully pulled it apart so I could start over. My grandmother thought it was hilarious that I was still working on the same project since Nov. She said that I better hurry up and finish the scarf so that I could wear it while it was still winter! So I started over, cutting down the number of stitches and doing knit 2 purl 2. I was so excited after I did a couple of rows and saw how it was looking!! Thus my new addiction was born. Pretty much every night, I would put on a movie and work on my scarf. Knitting is so peaceful and relaxing, I seriously LOVE it. Here is a photo of my finished scarf!

My mom was impressed by how well it looked and said for a first project it looked awesome. She said I always was quick study! I have already started another knitting project...can you guess what it is??? Headbands!!! I bought some very pretty yarns and am almost done the first prototype! So stay tuned! I definitely have a long way to go in terms of learning more about knitting but I am excited about all of the possibilities this can bring to my Etsy shop! And now I have something else I can make for everyone next Christmas!

The Pursuit of Happiknits!!!

2009-01-15T07:06:00.001-08:00

When I woke up this morning and saw the white sky I knew without even looking that it was snowing. Ugh...I do not like snow or the cold unless I am at a ski resort! Despite my dislike of the cold, I do like shopping for fun and trendy accessories for keeping me warm! I have a few pairs of gloves and many scarves but I did not have a hat. Ok that is not true, I have hats but they are mostly used for when I run and not something I would wear out shopping! The first place I decided to look was Etsy in an attempt to find a cute knitted hat to match my off white scarf and gloves. One seller in particular popped into my head immediately, Becca of Happiknits! This seller is a fellow member of my EtsyNJ Street Team and the creator of the most amazing hand knitted accessories I have ever seen. Her items and photos are so beautiful that whenever I am able to snag an etsy treasury I always work one of her pieces in. Since I have recently learned how to knit, I appreciate her work even more! I had the opportunity to meet her in the spring of last year and not only is she an amazing seller but she is a fabulous person! I didn't see any hats listed in her shop that were what I was looking for, so I reached out and asked for a custom hat order. She was more than happy to work on it for me and without me even giving her a picture of what I wanted, she created the EXACT hat I was looking for! I was like a kid waiting for it to arrive in the mailbox. The items was packaged in green and white tissue paper and tied together with a piece of yarn! So cute! When I saw the hat in person I was in awe. The stitching is perfect and the quality of the yarn is top notch! And this morning when I put the hat on to take my daughter to school, it kept my head super warm! Here is a pic of took of me wearing the hat as a customer appreciation photo for her!

If you think this hat is cool, it is nothing compared to the rest of the items in her shop. She has scarfs, cowls, shrugs, caplets, hats, and fingerless gloves in pretty much every color you can think of. Each are handmade and knitted so beautifully using high quality yarns. So if you are in the market for some fabulous accessories to keep you warm as the temperatures are dropping across the country, look no further than Happiknits, you may actually want the weather to stay cold so you can wear your accessory from her all of the time!
You can get to her Etsy Shop by clicking the links in the blog or the link below! Happy Shopping and stay warm!
Happiknits.etsy.com

New Year...New Items!!!

2009-01-08T07:35:00.000-08:00

Right around the holidays I made a trip to one of my favorite fabric shops, The Little Shop in Haddonfield NJ. It is a cute quilt shop in one of my favorite towns in NJ and it is always filled with great fabrics! I like to go when I have time to shop because you can't be rushed while shopping for fabric! The main reason I went was because I needed more of the Michael Miller White Fairies fabric. My mom bought be a fat 1/8th of it during a sale and that fabric is my best selling kids headband. See below!

While I was there I was browsing the new Amy Butler Daisy Chain line. Wow, she really does just make the most beautiful fabric. I wanted to buy a yard of everything!!! But in my opinion not every fabric makes a good headband. So I sorted through and picked out a few pretty prints from the line and applied a little restraint! I could have bought WAY more fabric then I did! The holidays got in the way and I was unable to create with the new fabric until last week! And below you will see the fruits of my labor, the first new set of headbands for 2009! Like usual I have more supplies up in my craft room that are patiently waiting to be made into great accessories. If I my say from the looks of this new line, I think I am off to a very fabulous start to a year of great new items at Purplelicious!

Happy Blog-iversary to Me!

2009-01-01T16:19:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been one year since I have created this blog! Time really flies! I feel like I have been much better with keeping up this blog lately than I was when I first created it. I also hope that my readers are enjoying it! I am very glad to see 2008 go away. There were definitely some great parts of the year for me but also a lot of not so good parts. But I guess most years can be categorized like that. As for my big New Year's Eve plans, I had dinner at my grandmom's and then watched Deal or No Deal with her! I am not a big fan of New Year's Eve, mostly because I can't really look back on one that wasn't a bad night for me in some way. So a chill evening at my grandmom's, eating her sauce and meatballs, hanging with my mom and Bella seemed to work for me. I will say this though...this marks the 3rd year in a row that I have kissed only Bella on New Year's Eve, next year I hope that changes! I realized when I was eating dinner that last night there were 4 generations together at the table. It was pretty cool, if I brought my camera I would have taken a picture to capture that moment. I am looking forward to 2009 but am entering it with cautious expectations. I think over the past 2 years I went into them thinking they would be amazing and maybe that is why they fell short of my expectations. So it seems you will just have to stay tuned to this blog to see how this approach works out!

Happy New Year Everyone! Here's to Managed Expectations in 2009!

Why Couldn't I Just Buy Them a Gift Card!

2008-12-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

My apologies that it has been a while since I have blogged. To be honest, the holidays pretty much kicked my butt. For one thing I was busy baking. My aunt asked me to make decorated sugar cookies for her to give to her customers, which I was happy to do but it became more of a game of beat the clock to be sure that they were baked, decorated and packed in time to meet the USPS shipping deadlines. Then I went into my normal holiday baking. I always make homemade stromboli or pepperoni bread and am known, along with my mom for my cookie tray. The tray is pictured below and it has chocolate chip cookies, spritz cookies, sugar cookies, devil's food cookies, and cake balls! All of the cookies were delicious and for one that does not have a sweet tooth I have been eating my fair share of them!

In addition to all of the baking I decided to make some of my Christmas gifts. Big shocker there right! I always do this and think it is a way of saving money and showing off a little. My idea for the handmade gift came from a failed project I was working on. I was trying to make a bracelet out of tiny cover buttons. I am going to try again with that project but I was looking at the leftover cover buttons and thought about making tacks out of them and giving them as gifts. then I said, well I would want to put them on something. I was walking around Target and found a 4 pack of cork board so then I needed something to put the cork board in. I ended up finding great frames at Michaels and decided to decoupage scrapbook paper on the frames that coordinated with the buttons. And the finished project is below.

I know a lot of us crafty people prefer the DIY crafty gifts but I have to say, while the reaction to the gift is worth it, forgoing the crafty give and buying the traditional gift card would alleviate some of the holiday stress...but where is the fun in that??? Stay tuned because these little frames will be showing up in my Etsy Shop soon! 'Tis the Season!

What is Wrong with This World???

2008-12-25T20:56:00.000-08:00

I honestly don't watch the news at night because I just can't comprehend some of the stories that I hear about. I just don't understand what goes on in people minds and what causes them to hurt innocent people. It is one thing to hear about these stories and it is quite another when you know the person in the story. As I type this, an amazing woman is fighting for her life. This woman belongs to my Sorority chapter from South Carolina. She came into the sorority one year after I graduated but I did have the pleasure of meeting her at a wedding. She was also the president of the chapter for a year and did some amazing things with it. She is in the hospital because her husband attacked her with a hammer while she was sleeping. She is currently stable but still has a big fight ahead of her. A battle that I know she will face head on and like all of the other Tri Sigma's I know, she will fight with all she has to beat this and get better. I know I am praying for her and her family while they are dealing with his during the holiday season. One of our alum was kind enough to start a website in her name and set it up to accept donations to help her family with travel and medical expenses for Erin. On this page you can also find more information about Erin and the story. I know it is the holidays, but if you can, please donate to help Erin and her family get throught this very tragic situation.
http://www.erinprince.com

So I Finally Got to See It

2008-12-17T13:37:00.001-08:00

The movie Twilight that is. I woke up early yesterday to get Bella ready for school and began my daily unemployed routine. Drink coffee, eat breakfast, check etsy, log into facebook, and post for jobs. Well unfortunately I didn't have any esty orders to fill. I had christmas cards to do but was just not in the mood. I went to check my myspace and saw an ad for Twilight and said to myself, "That is what I am going to do today". Now I have never in my 31 years been to a movie by myself but I really didn't care. If I didn't take myself I would never go! I did not anticipate also being the ONLY one in the movie theater. But I guess at 12:40 on a Wednesday that could be expected! I will say that some of the previews for other movies were really scary, and I was a bit freaked out being in the theater all alone!

Before I get into my thoughts on the movie, let me talk about my feelings on the Twilight Saga. I was first introduced to the series this summer when my brother's fiance told me about these books. I had no idea what she was talking about but she said she was obsessed with it and that I should read it. She handed me the first book and I read the back of the book, read those three lines, and got goosebumps. It was not long before I was reading Twilight and like everyone else could not put it down. I remember going on my lunch break to Target to buy the next three books because I didn't want to have to wait to continue reading. I absolutely LOVED the series. So much so that I read the entire saga 3 times. What I love about the series is the ultimate love that Edward and Bella have for each other and despite all of the odds their love only stregthens. It is a story of true love perservering against all odds.

As I was sitting in the theater I felt like a teenager I was so excited to see the movie. But perhaps I set my expectations a little too high, I have seen way too many movies based on books that have been a disappointment. I thought the movie was ok. When I left the movie I was not sure what exactly was missing for me. But then in talking with some friends on facebook, I figured it out. The true love romance that is pretty much the basis of the book just wasn't portrayed well in the movie. I think the courtship between Bella and Edward that I LOVED in the book was a bit rushed in the movie. They definitely captured some of the right moments in the end but it was defintiely missing throughout the movie. The movie definitely tells the story of the book but I think a lot of the romance was taken out of it. I could feel this way because I am such a hopeless romantic that perhaps I made the books more about romance then they should have been. But maybe that is why some books should not be made into movies, that way the reader can always remember the story the way they created it in their heads. I am hoping that they take some of the feedback from the first movie and apply it to New Moon but for now, it may be time for me to read the series for a 4th time since after seeing the movie I have clearly caught the Twilight bug again!

On an accessories note! Not sure if you noticed that Bella and Jessica were pretty much always wearing headbands. I want to get a better look at what they were both wearing so I can try and duplicate and sell in my shop! So stay tuned for more on that!

Christmas Cards Made of Gold???

2008-12-16T18:05:00.000-08:00

I thought they must have been when I did the math and realized that including postage, I had spent close to $75 on my Christmas Cards this year. I am blessed to be part of a rather large family. Every year it never ceases to amaze me when I look at the latest excel spreadsheet address list and see 77 lines. There was a point in time when I would be especially crafy and make all of my christmas cards myself. Now that I have Bella, trying to manage card making plus taking the right photo and getting all of the prints made became WAY overwhelming. So now I am of the camp that sends the photo card, it is so much easier to create and order them. I am unsure why it took this Christmas for me to realize the expense of it all but perhaps it is a couple of reasons: 1. I am currently unemployed and am cautious of every dollar I spend. 2. Lately, I equate every sum of money I spend to how many headbands it took me to make that money. 3. I noticed that I have not received many Christmas cards yet. Maybe the lack of Christmas cards is a matter of people just not getting around to it, which I can relate to since mine have not been sent yet. Or maybe it has something to do with the economy. I can tell you I would have rather spent that $75 on more gifts for Bella on Christmas. But that is being selfish, I know that every year my family and friends looks forward to the Christmas Card picture of Bella and I guess I can't really put a price tag on that. So if by any chance you are not of the 77 lucky people to receive a Christmas card from me, below is the prize winning Bella 2008 Christmas Card shot. If only everyone on the address list read my blog...it could have saves me a few bucks!!!

And by the way...you had to know it would be Phillies related! :-)

The Gingerbread House Battle

2008-12-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

My first and last attempt to make a gingerbread house was a disaster. I think I bought the kit for a Halloween House and had these great ideas of how it would turn out and how much fun it would be to do it with Bella. I am not exactly sure where I went wrong but for the life of me I could not get the House to adhere to the icing. I remember giving up after about 30 minutes and buying one made of foam! A few weeks ago while I was at Michael's I saw that Rice Krispies was selling these awesome molds to make a holiday house out of Krispie Treats. I was so excited because I know Rice Krispie treats are more durable then gingerbread so I knew I would not be defeated by it! But at the time, it was not on sale and I did not have a Michael's coupon on me so I said, I will come back and get it with a coupon. Fortunately for me the next week they were on sale. So I headed to Michael's armed with my ad ready to buy the kit, I even bought the Krispie Treat supplies when I was at the grocery store. I am sure you know where this is going, they were sold out of the kits. So there I stood staring at about 20 of the Wilton Gingerbread House kits and I felt like I was staring right into the eye of an opponent. I decided to give it another try. My sister suggested that I make my own royal icing and I would have done that but I did not have enough meringue powder (yes I always have this on hand!). Today, I felt ready to give it another shot. I cheated a little and bought a styrofoam board to give the gingerbread a steadier foundation. I also bit the bullet and used the icing mix and worked with it until I thought it was the right consistency. Much to my surprise I was able to put it together without it falling. Adding groves to the styrofoam helped with that! Now trying to decorate the house with a 4 year old that only wants to eat the candy and the icing was challenge but I think we persevered! I pretty much went through all of the leftover Halloween Candy (thanks for the idea Nikki) to decorate the house. We used starbursts as the walkway, m&m's as lights, a tye-die fruit rollup for the windows, and other candies from the kit. As for the roof, Bella decided to put the candies on that way and it worked for me. We were about an hour into the project and I did not have the patience to make a pretty pattern with them! Finally I spread the rest of the icing onto the styrofoam and we sprinkled white glitter over it to look like snow! Next time I will definitely use my own royal icing so that I can decorate it a little better but I am still proud of myself because this one is still standing and doesn't look too bad! It is pretty safe to say that I have now evened the score! Wilton Gingerbread House Kit 1 - Marisa 1!

A CRAFTacular Day!

2008-12-12T16:01:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't noticed, one of the things I have been trying to do since I got laid off is build up Purplelicious. In addition to looking for a job, I have made Purplelicious my job since I have been home. Thankfully all of the hard work I have been putting into it has been paying off this holiday season. Compared to last year and previous months, my sales trends are up! YAY! On Wednesday I was taking some time to finish up some ribbon bangle bracelets I was working on.

I had an idea to add these crystals I knew I bought during one of my many trips to Michaels! While I was in my craft room searching for them, I found them and in the same bag I came across this crystal applique of a princess crown. I immediately had an idea to make a headband with it.

I also found an envelope of fabric scraps that my sister sent me and in that contained an adorable Alexander Henry print that I knew would make a cute kids headband.

I went back downstairs to finish the ribbon bangle bracelets. Then I went upstairs where I proceeded to make two kids headbands and 9 new wristlet keychains. Craziness!!! I finally finished listing everything today, I am hoping all of that craftiness pays off! Seeing as though two of my new items have already sold, I think I am off to a good start!

What a Week!

2008-12-09T17:00:00.001-08:00

Wow I cannot believe it has been almost a week since I have blogged. I was doing so well too! I am still trying to get caught up after the craziness that was last week. I spent the beginning of the week grieving the loss of my aunt who passed away after a month of medical issues. Even though I knew that her passing was inevitable, I still was not ready to say goodbye. I volunteered to make the photo collage because as only crafters know...there is nothing like a little craft therapy. Her funeral was a rough one, partly because she was the third sibling my father has lost in a little over a year's time and she was the matriarch of the family after her sister died last year. I know that she is with me now all of the time and I will always keep her in my heart and memories. Thankfully I had something to look forward to at the end of the week which made getting through the funeral a little easier. I made plans with my great friend and sorority sister (aka my wingman) to head to NYC and be cheesy tourists Christmas Style. I cashed in the last of my Hilton points to get us a room in the city. The night before I was completely exhausted from the funeral events during the previous days and I had 4 Purplelicious orders to finish but I took a break to plan out what we were going to do in NYC. We had a list of things we wanted to do, it was my job to make them happen. So I was little inspired by the movie Serendipity and thought both Laura and I could use a "fortunate accident" these days! After we dropped our bags off at the hotel, we headed straight to Central Park (via subway I might add) and went to the Wollman Rink. This place was awesome and not crowded at all. It took us a few laps to figure out how to ice skate but we made it an hour and didn't fall!

After we finished ice skating we headed straight to FAO Schwartz. That place is so much fun! We even got a chance to try out the Big Piano that was in the movie Big!

By this point we were pretty much starving and headed to Serendipity for lunch! They had a wait there so we killed time at Dylan's Candy Bar, which was pretty much the coolest candy store I have ever been in. We headed back to Serendipity and got seated right away. What an adorable little place and it was decorated so cute for Christmas. The food was awesome and the dessert was even better. We did not get the frozen hot chocolate but instead got this ice cream, chocolate cake, and hot fudge dessert that was sinful. My hope is that since we ate at Serendipity a little luck will come our way!

From there we walked down 5th Avenue and stopped into some stores here and there until we got to Rockefeller center and saw the big tree. So amazing, that tree is simply breathtaking.

Exhausted from all of the walking we hit the hotel for a quick nap before we went out for a late night of bar hopping. On our way to the train station we decided to hit Macy's again and check out Santaland on the 8th floor. We did not realize that this would entail a visit with Santa so we decided to make the most of it. Let me just tell you when I saw this Santa, I got goosebumps, he was the real deal. Laura and I sit on his lap to prepare for our picture and Santa's turns to me and says, "What do you want for Christmas?" I about fell off of his lap. The rest of the exchange was quite comical but I will keep that to myself and just hope that Santa gets me what I asked for!

I ended the week with a tribute to one of my high school classmates that was killed in the line of duty in Iraq this summer. I ran in a 5K that was organized in his name. It was an emotional run for me mostly because in all of the runs I have done, I have never had such a personal connection to the cause. There were so many people there, it was such a tribute to him. It was also amazing to catch up with some friends from high school I have not seen in ages. Later that evening, I attended a dinner for him and had the opportunity to toast him. After the party a group of us from high school just hung out and caught up. It was a great day in all, Greg was definitely smiling down on all of us that day.

So as you can see I have had quite a week and I have been keeping busy creating new items for Purplelicious for the holidays! In case you have missed my entertaining blogs I hope to be back on a posting routine this week!

A Day of Thanks

2008-11-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

It is kind of a shame to me that as a country we need a holiday remind us to reflect on the things that we are thankful for. While some things in my life right now aren't going quite the way i want them to, I am still grateful for many things. I have an amazing family who has been so supportive of me my entire life. I have a beautiful daughter who's carefree attitude and smile could make you smile on even your worst day. I have the most amazing friends who have been in my life for many years and are always there for me no matter what. Last but not least...I have Purplelicious! My little business that allows me to do exactly what I want to do...be creative and make a little money doing it. I need to head out to grandmom's for dinner so I wish all of you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and encourage you to think about what you are thankful for everyday not just when the holidays force you too!

Change is Good!

2008-11-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I had a customer that requested a custom order for two headbands for her daughter. She requested that they be wide at the top and then taper down the sides. When I finished the order I was really impressed with how they came out and thought that it made the finished product look more professional and more like the traditional plastic headband but of course without the headache! I thought about changing my design but was in the midst of craft shows and could not afford production delays due to a new style. Recently I bought some slightly fancier fabrics and thought that they would look better with the new design. Before experimenting with the satin, I picked up some great new fabrics (see them in my shop) and gave it a try. The final product is still 2" wide at the top by gradually tapers down the side to 1" at the bottom. The picture below demonstrates the difference.

I think that the new design will help the headband fit better. Lately for some of my customers the 2" wide all around was a bit too wide for their head. I have decided to use the new design from this point forward. I will continue to sell through my current inventory but if the old style is not available, all new orders will get this new design. I will also begin the process of updating all of the pictures on my site as the new style are created! If you prefer the old look, just ask me and I can still make it for you that way! I am usually not a big fan of change but I think in this case it works! You are still getting the same quality headband made with awesome fabrics, the design is just a little more fabulous!

Pizza Night!!!

2008-11-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up, Friday night was always pizza night. I am not exactly sure why but I think it dates way back to when my parents were kids and some Italian Catholic tradition of not eating meat on Fridays. Occasionally we would actually make our own pizza's which was always my favorite. My mom would make the dough in a big sauce pot and I would stand across from her at the counter and watch her make the pizzas. As we got older, I would always ask for my own dough to make my own pizza, not sure why, I vaguely remember it being something with the sauce. My best memories are when my brother would make the pizza too and we would listen to Friday with Frank (Sinatra that is) and make pizza all night. Good times! It has been so cold here I thought it would be fun to make homemade pizza with Bella. I do not make my dough in a sauce pot, I use my kitchen aid...I just love making dough in that thing, it always comes out so good! I did not involve Bella in the dough making process because it takes a little while and you have to let it rise. But when it was time she was so ready to get started! Here is a pic of her placing the pepperoni on her pizza. She did not want sauce, I don't know why. Also please excuse my mail pile and she was also munching on some bologna while we were cooking!

This is what her pizza looked like before it went into the oven, not bad for a 4 year old. I pretty much shaped the dough but she kept it pretty good while she was rolling it out.

I decided to cook the pizza's on my pizza stone. Ideally I like to put the pizza stone on the grill and cook the pizzas in there. They come out awesome because the grill gets so hot. I tried to mock the grill atmosphere in my oven, by letting the pizza stone preheat while the dough was rising. Here is Bella's pizza cooking, for some reason when you use the stone, the dough just rises perfect!

Here is the final product. Her pizza came out delicious, I didn't even miss not having the sauce. I have also included a picture of what mine looked like, of course a much healthier version. The joys of watching what you eat. Mine was still delicious but it would have been nice to not have the measure the cheese, say no to pepperoni, and spread the dough out to make it as big as possible!

In all it was a really fun night and something I am going to try and do more often. I want Bella to have the same memories making pizza with me, like I did making pizza with my family!

New Shop at 1000 Markets!

2008-11-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

I was recently alerted to a new marketplace for handmade items called 1000 Markets. I checked out a few shops on there and recognized some Etsy Sellers. It seems that this marketplace really focuses on the artist themselves, I found that most of the profile pictures are of the actual artist as opposed to their work. I really like the interface and your shop page is a combination of Etsy, Myspace, Facebook, and Blogger! In addition to your profile picture, your banner, and shop items, there is a wall for other sellers to write notes about your shop and there is also a blog section. Pretty much one stop shopping! The site processes payments using amazon payments so we will see how all of that works out! I am pretty sure 1000 Markets is still pretty new but I am happy to be a part of this new online marketplace! As if I need another website to maintain but when you are trying to develop a business it can't hurt and I have been kind enough to organize all of my web locations on the right hand side of my blog! So if you get a chance, check out my new shop at 1000 Markets!
purplelicious.1000markets.com

VIX Emporium

2008-11-20T09:43:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been almost a year since I began consigning with VIX Emporium. I remember browsing the forums on Etsy and saw a post from them looking for artists. When I read further I saw that they were in West Philly and knew I had to contact them. I was reading the consignment contract on the train headed to an interview and made the decision to go for it! I think a lot of people get weary about consigning their items but I think of it as a great way to get your product out there. Just make sure the terms still enable you to make a profit. What I love about consigning is at the beginning of some months I get an e-mail telling me that money is coming my way! I forget that VIX has a stash of my headbands, so it is nice to get that paypal bump every now and then! I have since sold roughly about 20 headbands at VIX Emporium and recently sent another 11 (see photo) so that they arrive in time for their 1 year anniversary party. What I absolutely LOVE about VIX Emporium is that it is a market for all handmade items. They carry items from over 140 artists from across the country. For someone who creates handmade items, it is amazing for me to think that someone would have an awesome store that showcases such items! And the owner, Emily, is simply fantastic to work with! Starting Purplelicious has not only been an opportunity for me to make a few extra bucks, I have also met some really amazing people along this journey! So if you are reading this and are in the Philly area, check out the VIX Emporium Anniversary party, there will be live music and refreshments! You can get more information about the party and the shop in general by going to their website: http://vixemporium.wordpress.com

Welcome to Miami!!!

2008-11-18T06:40:00.001-08:00

Last Friday I could not wait to get on the plane because I knew I was headed south for some sun and warm weather. Here in Jersey it seriously had been raining for two weeks. I was hoping to make sure that the sun still exists! I was en route to Miami with my mom and grandmom for a quick trip so we could attend my brother's fiance's bridal shower and bachelorette party. While the three of us were sitting on the plane I realized that right there was three generations of women, it was pretty cool! While on the plane my mom taught me how to knit, which is something I have been wanting to learn FOREVER! So we will see what kind of creative accessories I can come up with in the future, once I learn some more stitches! We had a pretty action packed day. The shower was in the afternoon and it was really awesome meeting the other girls in the bridal party and the rest of Jen's family. It really started to get me excited about the wedding. Later that night we had the bachelorette party and I can honestly say I have not had that much fun in a while! Not that I had any doubt that the wedding would be fun, but after a night out with those girls...it is going to be awesome! When I woke up Sunday morning at 6am for my flight back after only 3 hours of sleep, I felt like a walking zombie. But for a quick trip it was a complete blast! We are actually having another bridal shower for Jen here in January and some of the bridal party is coming up from Miami. I am pretty much planning the bridal shower and the bachelorette party. I forgot how much fun it is for me to plan these things and create all of the invites, favors, cakes, etc! So stay tuned for posts about all of that madness! I wish I could find a way to do this for a living. I guess it is good that I am not working so that I have time to focus on making Jen's Philly Shower Awesome! Thanks again to all those in Miami that made us feel so welcome...see you in Jersey!

300 Sales...WOW!!!

2008-11-11T22:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was having a conversation with my brother about everything that has been going on in my life right now and he said some pretty inspiring words, "Say some prayers - be thankful for what you have - stay positive - it is way beyond your control" As I let that advice sink in, I checked my e-mail and saw that I had an etsy sale! This sale was from a previous customer who happens to be an Eagles fan in Arizona and bought a Philadelphia Eagles headband from me. Then it clicked...that was my 300th sale!!! I glanced over my blog history before I wrote this and noticed that exactly 3 months ago I hit 200 sales! So taking my brother's advice I am going to be thankful that I have a fairly successful online business and fabulous customers who like my headbands so much, they keep coming back for more! I am also going to stay positive and hope to achieve many more sales milestones in the months to come!!!

Santa's At The Mall???

2008-11-10T21:38:00.000-08:00

I happened to be in the mall over the weekend and I could not believe my eyes when I saw kids lined up in their Holiday attire waiting for their turn for a picture with Santa. My heart immediately started to race and my palms got sweaty as all of the holiday anxiety started to hit me WAY too early! I give props to the mom's that are on the ball this early in the game. Bella of course wanted to get her picture taken but I told her we would come back when I had her outfit. It's a good thing I am not working so I have time to get on that task! I know it is November but does it seem a little early to be thinking about Christmas already??? I guess I should not be surprised, behind all of the Halloween stuff I saw some Christmas items on the shelves, retailers just chomping at the bit waiting for the increased holiday sales trends. It is all too much too soon for me, perhaps I am in the denial that Christmas is approaching and fast! I need to ease into the holiday season mostly because it is typically a crazy time of the year for me. Thankfully my sister is a little more aware of these things than I and asked me the other night if I had a Holiday Collection for Purplelicious. To which I replied...of course I do! Clearly I was not ahead of the 8 ball this season! Last year I made these accessories and am proud to bring them back this year! The collection includes two adult headbands made with festive fabric that is still trendy! There are also two children's headbands that are made with black and red velvet and are the perfect accent to your little ones holiday dress! And finally I have two ribbon bows that were an experiment that I think turned out adorable, but I am slightly biased! I truly don't think I will ever be ready for the holidays but at least while I am procrastinating and frazzled, my daughter and I can look fabulous in these great accessories!

Let me catch you up!

2008-11-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

Wow I can't believe it has been almost two weeks since my last post. Time really goes by fast! So let me take you back a little. The night of Game 5 of the World Series I received a phone call from my father at 5:20 informing me that my aunt was in the hospital and that he would be unable to attend Game 5 and was giving me the tickets. I was filled with such a mixture of emotion, while I was excited to get to go the game, I did not like the reason why I was going to the game. On top of all of that, earlier that day I found out I got laid off and my last day was Friday of that week. So with mixed emotions I tried to put it all behind me and enjoy the game. That night I was joined at the game by two of my cousins who also got a last minute call from my uncle. The three of us all shared a mutual feeling of excitement to be at the game, but sadness as to the reason. The game was AWESOME, until the rain really started to come down. In my rush to change some of plans and get out the door, the last thing I thought to do was check the weather forecast. I was prepared for cold weather but not rain. So we sat in the rain and waited for them to call it. It was actually really miserable, because the rain seemed to be coming at you from every angle. We actually quoted the scene from Forrest Gump where he talks all the different kinds of rain! When they finally put the cover on the field I was relieved to finally get some warmth. We didn't want to leave our seats in case we missed anything!! We had a feeling that the game was going to get called since the weather forecast showed rain for the rest of the night. There was a part of me that was relieved when it was called because I thought that my dad would have the chance to see the Phil's win! But when Wednesday rolled around, he was still unable to leave the hospital so I got to go to World Series Game 5 - Part 2. So this time around it was still me and my cousin but his daughter and my other cousin joined us! I was happy to be there with my family, it felt right. It was such a strange experience to be there since the game picked right up where it left off and was only 3 innings. I didn't realize what was happening until someone said...one more out and we win the World Series. Then it hit me! I was going to part of history! It sort of felt anti-climatic in a way because usually you have 9 innings to build up your suspense, making that last out even more memorable. But it was still amazing. Being in the building for that win was unreal, I don't even know how to describe it really. Underneath all of the excitement I wished my dad had been there. My dad has been a season ticket holder since before I was even born and has been waiting just as long as everyone else to see the Phil's win a championship. But I know that if he couldn't be there, he would want one of his kids to be. As I was leaving the stadium, I was freaking out a bit. I was by myself and the people were just going crazy. There were cars just parked near the stadium and they were blasting music and drinking, running up to people's cars, and I just kept saying to myself..."There is no place like Jersey!" Had I not been by myself I probably would not have been so scared! I made sure to buy my dad some World Series gear and called him from the stadium so he could hear some of the excitement! I did not go the parade since it was unfortunately my last day at work and I had a lot things to transition and had to turn in my computer. I heard that parade was amazing and the total number of people completely exceeded expectations. You think?? Philly sports fans are crazy!

So now that I am unemployed, what am I doing? Well not working is definitely interesting. I have spent the last week catching up on stuff with the house that I have been putting off. I am surprised that I have been more busy since I have been home than I was when I was working! I, of course, have been looking for jobs but the job market is not looking to promising these days. I have severance until the end of January but that really does not leave too much time to find a job. I definitely have been brainstorming about some new ideas for Purplelicious so keep checking the shop or here to see what is new!! I will most likely blog about all of the new stuff since I have some extra time on my hands these days! So keep checking the shop and here for the latest and greatest! I am exhausted just writing this post!!! I am off to try and enjoy the rest of my Sunday before my 2nd super busy non work week begins!

World Series 2008 Game 3

2008-10-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

When I woke up on Saturday morning I felt like a kid on Christmas Day! I was so exciited that I was actually attending another World Series Game! We had all been monitoring the weather all day because it was supposed to rain. Before we left for the game, it looked the rain was supposed to stop around 6 or 7 which would have been perfect! We arrived at Citizens Bank Park as soon as the gates opened at 5:30pm. We immediately started checking out some of the World Series merchadise. When we got out of the tent after buying our official World Series Gear, the skies opened up and the wind was crazy. So at that point there was nothing left for us to do but stand around, drink beer, and eat! For some that may seem like an ideal situation but I am here to tell you...it got old after 3 hours of it! At one point all of us pretty much ran out of things to talk about! My dad kept checking the radar on his phone and all we could see was rain. We were beginning to think that they may cancel the game, but I had hoped that they wouldn't. Then out of the blue, the rain stopped and the sky was clear. Everyone was hurrying to their seats because the game was starting. The feeling in the stadium was over-powering. When Taylor Swift was singing the national anthem I was full of emotions and covered in goosebumps. For starters I was grateful to have such amazing parents that gave me the chance to be there, happy to have spent the evening with my family, including aunts and uncles and most importantly, happy that my Phillies were in the World Series!!! I will say this, the way Taylor Swift sang that national anthem was just awesome. Check it out here.

The game itself was full of ups and downs. Back to Back homers from Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were amazing! When it came down to the final innings I was starting to feel pretty tired since I had been at the park for about 7 hours. I know I was not alone, and when that stupid error tied the game, I was praying that the Phils would come back for the win. One, because I wanted them to win the game and two, I just did not think I had it in me for extra innings! The last couple of plays on the inning were amazing and when the 3rd baseman overthrew home and we won, I was freaking out! Hugging my family, slapping high fives to random fans, and just screaming! This morning I woke up exhausted from going to bed at 4am and without a voice, but it was all totally worth it! What an experience! Go Phillies!!!

Bring on the World Series!!!!

2008-10-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

I remember that night in 1993 so vividly even though it was so long ago! But I was fortunate enough to be at the game when the Phillies won the game that brought them to the World Series! It was so amazing to be a part of. The crowd was going wild, the fans were all hugging. It was the first time I saw Philadelphia sports fans actually be nice to each other! I was also fortunate enough to attend a World Series game. I still get goosebumps remembering the feeling of walking into the stadium, hearing music from the Natural, and feeling a sense of excitement and anticipation in the crowd. Unfortunately 1993 was not the year for the Phillies...BUT I couldn't be happier that they are going for it again in 2008!!! Again I am fortunate enough to be attending Game 3, the first game of the Series in Philly and I can only imagine what the energy is going to be like. It has been 28 years since this ball club has tasted this sweet victory and I know that will fight to achieve that title this year! Given this love for baseball, you had to know that I would get my hands on Philadelphia Phillies fabric. At first I was searching on the web for it and came up empty with the exception of one listing on ebay. They wanted $12.50 for a fat quarter...WHAT!!!! I found out that they haven't made cotton Phillies fabric since the year 2000. Once I had that knowledge there was only one other source I could go to. My mother...and low and behold in her fabric stash she had about 7 yards of this fabric from the year 2000. If I ever make fun of her massive fabric collection again, please stop me! She was kind enough to spare a 1/2 yard so I made a few headbands with it! I know I will be sporting mine at the game on Saturday! Check out my website if you want to get your hands on one! GO PHILLIES!!!!

They Say Its My Birthday!

2008-10-20T19:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Me! I started celebrating my weekend a little early on Saturday night with one of my really good friends from high school! We had a fabulous night in Philly, drinking some beers and going through the Terror Behind the Walls. If you live near Philly, check it out. This place is awesome. Incredibly scary and is even better at 12:30am, which is when we went! We had so much fun, we are still laughing about it today. I would share why but I don't know if anyone else would find it as funny as we do! On Sunday I had to put on the soccer mom hat and Bella scored her first goal in three games! So we were beyond excited! After her soccer game I had a nice dinner with my parents, Bella, and my grandmom! I expected today to actually be low key but it turned out to be such an awesome day. I received so many birthday wishes everywhere and from everyone! I am so blessed to have so many amazing people in my life! Bella got me a singing Hannah Montana birthday card and a slice of my favorite Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. Then I came home and had flowers waiting for me from my fabulous friend and wingman Laura! So overall an amazing day. Thank you to everyone who made my birthday completely fabulous! Bring on 31!

Weekend of Fall Fun!

2008-10-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

Given the fact that I have so much going on with my life, it is rare that I can spend any time during the weekend for fun. But since I had Bella all weekend and all the poor kid ever does with me on the weekends is run errands with me, I thought it would be cool to change it up a bit. After we left my regular Sat AM Weight Watchers class we were off to the mall to pick up our copy of Sleeping Beauty. While we were there she asked if she could Build A Bear. I said why not! I pretty much always say no, but thought that today could just be all about her. It was still pretty early in the day and I was trying to think of something else that we could do. The weather was gorgeous, in the low 70s, so I thought it would be cool if we went to a local farm and went pumpkin picking. I have not been to Duffields, since I was a kid. Since it is in the town where I grew up, I was always there for field trips and my mom would take us there to go strawberry picking in the summer. She would also take us there for the occasional cider donut! When we arrived at the farm I was in shock. It was PACKED. There were cars everywhere and they even had parking attendants showing you where to park. CRAZY! There was also a lot of activities to take part in. I bought Bella a wristband that included a hayride to the pumpkin patch, one pumpkin, a walk through the corn maze, a turn in the moon bounce, and a ride on the Barnyard express (a little tractor ride for kids). All for $15..what a steal! We had a blast, it was so much fun just living in the moment with her and watching her have fun. On Sunday, we had a day off from soccer so we lounged around the house for the day. Then after dinner we painted our pumpkins to put on the front step to go along with the other Halloween decorations we put up. She was so proud of her creation! In all, it was a really fun weekend and it was nice to forget about the routine stuff for a little while and let the kid in you come out. One other thing...those cider donuts taste just as good as they did when I was a kid!

Fallin' For Fall

2008-10-04T11:13:00.001-07:00

As someone who would love nothing more than to be able to wear flip flops all year round, the end of summer is pretty traumatizing for me. I still defy the cool weather by wearing jeans, sweatshirts, and flip flops as long as my feet can bear it! That approach seems silly as i have absolutely no control of the seasons changing. So now is when I try to think about the things that I love about fall. This is the only way for me to actually accept the fact that it is here. For one, I do love watching the leaves change color. I do not however love raking them in my yard but at least they are pretty before they fall! Being in the garden state i love that the pumpkin patches are ready and there are hayrides a plenty. I also LOVE Halloween which is my favorite holiday of the year! As for sports, well now I am LOVING baseball playoffs since my Philllies are kicking some butt! But i also love football season! And I have to say as much as I don't like the cold weather it is nice to snuggle up under a warm blanket on those cold nights. Hmm, I think it is possible that I have convinced myself that I...gasp...like maybe even love FAll. Ok let's not get carried away!

Enough about my indecision regarding fall and on to something I do love without a doubt...accessories! While walking around the fabric store, I found some awesome fall fabrics to make headbands with! For the first time ever I have worked with Corduroy and I think these headbands just came out awesome and would look perfect with your favorite fall sweater and jeans...flip flops optional!

Another great part of fall is a chance to show your team spirit! I do have some team fabrics in my collection but can always get different teams. Although my dad may disown me if I make anything with Cowboys or Giants fabric! But if that is what you would like I could make exceptions! Below is my tribute to my hometown team, The Philadelphia Eagles Fan Collection! Go Birds!

So I guess at the end of this blog one could say that I am fallin' for fall, which is true, there is much to love about fall. But my heart still belongs to summer and as each day gets colder, I will be counting down the days til we can be together again!

I Made it Through!

2008-09-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

Another craft show that is! This past Saturday I was a vendor at the Fall Pitman Craft Show. I did this show with my mom who brought some adorable hand-knitted children's ponchos and adult and children's aprons. My mom and I have done craft shows together in the past and have failed miserably! She was beginning to think that she was a jinx. I assured her that before we just never did the right shows. So the night before both of us were cramming to finish up some last minute items to bring with us to the show. We were like dueling sewing machines at her kitchen table to the point where my daughter was getting annoyed because she could not hear the tv! Overall, I did ok at this show. I have done better and I have done worse. I did not make more ponytail holders because at the Haddonfield show they did not sell well. But I should have because they were my biggest seller at this show. It just proves that you will never be completely prepared with the right mix of items. I think the ponytail holders went because they were inexpensive and quite simply times are hard for most people...myself included! But my mom did AWESOME! She sold many of her things and had the best show she has ever had. So another successful show under my belt and my mom has been given renewed confidence that she does make adorable items that people do want to buy! Thanks to all of the fabulous new customers we met on Saturday! I hope you are enjoying your accessories!

I Have Lost my Mind

2008-09-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

Everytime I finish a craft show I say to myself, "Yeah I am not going to do these anymore, it takes so much time to prepare and then you spend the whole day sitting at the booth, when my accessories could sell online while I do other things." Even though I was very successful at the Haddonfield Show I really did try to keep this thought with me. Until I was looking through the bin with my leftover inventory from that show and thought...the Pitman Show is coming up and you already have a tent. So having temporary amnesia regarding my no more craft show positions and a fond memory of the money I made doing both the Spring and Fall Pitman Show last year, I sent off the application and check to the lovely town of Pitman, NJ. I sent the check Aug 20 and got my confirmation this past Monday. Which gives me 10 days to prepare for this show...AWESOME! Looks like some sleepless nights are in my future. Secretly I am excited about this show. I bought a lot of supplies to make fun accessories with for the Haddonfield show but ran out of time to make some of them. So I am looking forward to working with those supplies as well as those that are arriving tomorrow. It should be fun. Oh and you have permission to tell me, "I told you so" if I complain about anything regarding this show!

Back to Business

2008-08-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

I decided to take some time this week and distract myself from all of the stress that I have been under these days. I typically would turn to eating something I enjoy but I decided to also refocus on weight watchers this week. Then I thought I would go for a run (something else I am trying to get back into) and it helped but for only a little bit. So then it hit me! SEW! Not only do I love making headbands, it is the perfect distraction, it keeps my hands busy (so I won't want to snack) and since I have to concentrate on what I am making, it keeps my head from drifting into the craziness. And the benefits of having fabulous new products to list can only help in the long run, right?? So a couple of nights ago that is what I did. I was working on my 200th sale which happened to be a custom order and then I just kept going. 2 hours later, I had 5 new headband styles sewn and took pictures of some other items left over from the craft show. So I bet you are wondering if it was worth the effort. Well it was! Ever since I have been back to building up Purplicious I have had a sale everyday since and am already half-way towards my August sales goals! So all of you fellow Etsians out there...listen to what they say. If you take the time to work on your items and shop, it will pay off not only financially but for me it really helped me mentally get through the week! So everyone...get going! I know I have a new stack of fabric just begging to made into fabulous accessories so off I go! Happy Crafting Everyone!

200 Sales WooHoo!!!!

2008-08-11T08:10:00.001-07:00

I think it is pretty safe to say that I always have a case of the Mondays! You think I would be used to overcoming that Sunday night feeling of dread that the work week is about to start again! Oh well, it was a nice weekend. A change of plans on Friday night left me to have an amazing dinner with my family which included my grandmom's homemade pizza. It was that night that I realized my need for perfection did not come from my father's side after all. My 80-something grandmother was simply pissed that her pizza did not come out the way it usually does. She vowed to never cook it outside of her house again! Now we did not seem to mind because the pizza was absolutely delicious, but I could totally relate to her disappointment. I get that way when something well doesn't come out perfect! Yesterday I pretty much thought the world was ending since it rained and stormed ALL day. It was impossible to even set foot outside, so Bella and I had a lazy Sunday. It was fantastic. I spent the whole day reading a book that I stayed up until 2am last night so I could finish. Thankfully I took that nap yesterday! I know I should have been sewing up a storm and adding new accessories to my etsy shop but getting engrossed in a novel, in comfy clothes, under a blanket in my favorite chair seemed like a better idea. Ok, I have drifted a little..ok alot! Fortunately there were people that spent their rainy Sunday shopping! Last night I got 2 additional sales leaving me needing one more to hit that next milestone. Seeing that final sale this morning was not that big of a surprise since I knew it would be the custom listing I created, but nonetheless, it was my 200th SALE!!! I could not think of a better way to start a Monday and a new work week. I am so grateful to have this business as my distraction from my real job! Not that my real job is all that bad but I definitely can tell you I would much rather spend my days fabric shopping, sewing, and marketing Purplelicious as opposed to staring at spreadsheets all day! Thankfully business has been good to me and now I can ponder how I am going to get to 300 sales to break up the monotony of my work day! Thanks to all of my fabulous friends, family, and customers, without you this would not be possible!

Wanna Get Away???

2008-08-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it is August already. Where did the summer go??? The good news is that there is still a month of summer left and for some people it is vacation time! There is nothing like going on vacation. The excitement, the relaxation, and most importantly the time away from the office! I am a firm believer that you need to be well accessorized while on vacation. After all, you just spent all of that money on those fabulous new vacation clothes and bathing suits why not make them look even better! Hence the motivation behind my Summer Inspired Headbands. I have created a collection of fabulous headbands perfect for a Caribbean cruise, beach vacation, or a week in your own backyard! My headbands are perfect for the beach as they keep your hair looking great despite the elements! I have put a few of the styles in a picture for you below but have many more in my shop. I hope you all enjoy these last few days of summer, I know I will be making every minute of them count!

A Fabulous Summer!

2008-08-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

Clearly I have been having a fairly busy summer since I have been barely blogging. Well I guess that goes with the territory of having just too much going on in one's life. I recently had someone tell me I need to relax more, I am not really sure what that word means but I am hoping this person teaches me a little more about it! In the meantime I will catch you up! The Haddonfield Craft Show was a huge success!!! I met so many fabulous women that loved their shopping experience in my booth! I shared the booth with my sister who just created her Etsy shop called Nicolina Designs. She makes fabulous kids clothing and she did amazing at the show. We received a lot of great compliments about our booth setup and our stuff. So for both of us that was worth the price of admission! We made a pretty decent amount of sales too. We both hope everyone is enjoying their handmade items and don't worry we did our fair share of promoting Etsy too! I definitely over prepared for this show and have a decent amount of inventory left over. What does this mean? Well for you, stay tuned for lots of new accessories to get listed at my Esty Shop and for me, maybe I will get to relax a little since I have rebuilt my shop inventory! Enjoy the pics below and don't forget to check out mine and my sister's Etsy Shops!

Miles To Go Before I Sleep

2008-07-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

Ok I think I may have had temporary amnesia when I decided to sign up for this craft show in Haddonfield which so happens to be THIS WEEKEND! I forgot all of the time, money, and effort that goes into craft show preparation. About 6 weeks ago I had set up a production schedule that I followed for all of 1 week! So now here I am, crunch time, with loads of supplies that need to be turned into fabulous accessories. I utilized this long weekend to sew about 70 headbands. My sewing room is a disaster as is the rest of my house that has been neglected due to the massive amounts of sewing commencing upstairs! I have set up a schedule for the rest of this week which I know I will follow because I pretty much have no other choice if I want to break even after all of the costs! I am however excited to do this particular show as I have been to it many years as a buyer and the turnout is awesome! I am a little bummed that my location is not on the main street but oh well, I am a new kid on the block and this show so I guess it goes with the territory! I have been taking pics of the fruits of my labors and will be sure to post them here so you can all drool over the awesome accessories I will be selling this weekend! Don't worry though...any leftovers will get posted at my etsy shop, but I am hoping I don't have too many leftovers! Ok back to the real job where I can spend all day dreaming about being home sewing!

I GOT IN!!!!

2008-05-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

Around October of last year I went to my mom's favorite quilt shop in Haddonfield called the Little Shop. My mom is an avid quilter and wanted to take me there so I could look through the fabrics. This place has amazing fabrics! So of course my mom knows the owner so I start talking to her about my headband business. She is impressed and tells me that I should apply for the Haddonfield Craft Show. To be honest, this show intimidates the heck out of me. Haddonfield NJ is a really nice area and I have heard that the show is REALLY hard to get into. Plus the booth fee is really high and I would have to sell a lot of headbands to break even. But she assured me that I would get in because there are few people who sell items made with fabric, she said most of the applicants she gets are jewelry artists...no surprise there!!! So I talked to my mom and my sister and we decided that if the three of us split the fee and all made stuff then we could make it work. So I decide to go for it. I download the application, put together a PowerPoint presentation of my work (can you tell I love marketing!), and sent it in along with my check. So on Tuesday I was checking my bank account and saw that the booth fee check cleared...and I wanted to jump for joy, but didn't want to celebrate until I got my acceptance letter. Which came today!!! So it is official!! I am in! I am so excited because this craft show attracts my target market completely, plus it will be fun to collaborate with my mom and sister on items. They are going to make kids clothes. There is no time to delay though, this is a two day show with a lot of foot traffic, I need to hit the sewing machine hard and start making more fabulous accessories so I am ready for July 12-13!!!

Click on this link for more information about the show!
http://www.haddonfieldnj.org/eventscrafts.php

Shout out to my Esty Jersey Girls!

2008-03-16T16:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the most amazing time hanging out with some other Etsy Artists. Since I am part of the Etsy NJ Street Team, there was a meetup organized at the Panera in Hoboken, NJ. Out of my comfort zone again and traveling north towards NYC I go! Thankfully I had Danielle (CreationsbyDanielle) as my wingman to get me from Newark to Hoboken! Maybe someday I will discover why the universe keeps bringing me north to that area! Although I must say I think I have found a new love...Hoboken. That town is really cool and I definitely need to plan a trip back to experience the nightlife! Anyway it was so awesome meeting some of the members of our fabulous street team! We pretty much took over the entire back area of the Panera and talked about Etsy, life, creating, and gave each other some marketing and advertising tips. So to honor the fabulous ladies I met on Saturday I have put together this picture of some of their amazing items!!! If you are reading this, show their shops some love. Their shops are as amazing as they are! Jersey Girls Rock!

Here are their shop links in the order they are shown above!
http://nicerakc.etsy.com
http://trashedclothing.etsy.com
http://lollibomb.etsy.com
http://catrocks.etsy.com
http://creationsbydanielle.etsy.com
http://madebymelissa.etsy.com
http://mysparkletree.etsy.com
http://collectiveelements.etsy.com
http://time4coffee.etsy.com
http://lizarti.etsy.com

Luck of the Irish!

2008-03-04T05:46:00.001-08:00

I remember a pin I had while I was in high school that I would always break out on St Patrick's Day that said, "Kiss me even though I am not Irish!". I am not even a 1/4 of a percent Irish as I am 100% Italian but that doesn't mean that I don't sport some green on St Patrick's Day and give the holiday some love! Since I know that many fabulous women will be headed to their local watering hole or pub crawl to celebrate the day, I thought I would create some fun hair accessories for them to wear! If you are just staying in and celebrating at home or at work...these are perfect for you too! I can also make these in smaller sizes for the little leprecahns in your life! I even made a shamrock ponytail holder if headbands aren't your thing! So enjoy your St Patricks Day responsibly and do it while looking fabulous in your Purplelicious St Patricks Day hair accessory!

Birthdays, Friends, Fun, and Memories

2008-03-03T06:06:00.000-08:00

This past weekend one of my great friends and sorority sister came up from MD to visit me for the weekend for her 30th birthday. When she first told me she was coming she said she didn't want to make any big plans and just wanted to get out of dodge and spend time with me! Well I don't think she realized who she was dealing with, when I have the option to plan something I am going to plan something! Plus I decided to re-live my 30th birthday through her since I spent mine at a funeral last Oct. So I go through our options and decide to cash in some of my hotel points for a night in Philly and then thought we would go out to a nice dinner and then party til the bars closed...just like old times!

Well the view from our hotel was awesome! When you stepped out on the balcony you had the best view of Logan Circle and the Art Museum, since it was an Embassy Suites hotel the room was huge and had two separate rooms. So we made ourselves pretty and went out for an awesome night! Since college we have affectionately called each other wingman since throughout the college years that is what we always were for each other. Well this night was no exception as she took her wingman status to an entirely different level.

The thing that I loved the most about this weekend besides the great night in Philly was the fact that I have had this fabulous woman in my life for almost 11 years. And I think that is one of the beauties of being in a sorority. I still keep in touch with at least 10 of the girls and when we get together even if years have passed it is just like old times. I love looking back on the crazy things we got ourselves into and the funny stories, I can hear them 100 times and they just don't get old for me. But the best part of it all is even as most of us are getting older, we still get together and create NEW stories and memories to laugh about in the future! I know the events from this past Saturday will keep me and my wingman laughing until our next crazy get together!

So Happy 30th to my Wingman, fellow Tri Sigma, and amazing friend!!! I am truly blessed to have someone like you in my life! And here's to another 30 years of crazy memories and nights of randomness!

Networking, Networking, Networking

2008-02-29T08:47:00.000-08:00

Anyone in the business world (whether it is having your own business or having a job in corporate america) is well aware of the importance of networking. Last night I was invited to attend a Meet and Greet with some reps from my college alma mater and some other alum in New York City. Since I saw it as a huge networking opportunity I set out to the train station and got ready for my 1hr 20min train ride into NYC. I was slightly freaking out because I have only been to NYC a handful of times and I NEVER went there by myself. I didn't even know anyone that I was meeting but for some reason knew I needed to be there. So I stepped way out of my comfort zone and did it. I am so glad that I did. Turns out they are looking to start some local alumni chapters in Philadelphia and/or NYC. Since I was the only one at the meet and greet who lives close to Philly it looks like I will be the one trying to get it all together. Because let's be honest...I am bored and have nothing else to do! YEAH RIGHT! But what I do know is that re-connecting with higher level reps and other alum from my alma mater could bring nothing but positive things. So for me, adding this to my already over-flowing plate will be a short term time investment with the possibility of long term gains! The moral of the story is when you see an opportunity to network and get yourself out there...TAKE IT...even if it freaks you out a little and takes you out of your comfort zone. You never know what could happen when you throw caution to the wind and go for it!

Happy 100 Sales to Me!

2008-02-27T21:57:00.000-08:00

I am so excited I cannot believe it!!! I hit 100 etsy sales today and I could not be happier. Not bad for someone who learned how to sew a little over a year ago! AND...not only did I hit 100 sales in under a year with my etsy shop but this last order has not put me 1 headband away from reaching my monthly sales goal of 30!!! I am so grateful that my sales have been picking up and everyone is enjoying their fabulous accessories made by me! I hope that the sales trend continues as I am always looking for fun new items to add to my shop!

Below is a picture of the order that contained my 100th sale. The customer ordered 3 headbands which was the number of headbands I needed to sell to hit the milestone. I had a special offer in my shop that the last 3 headbands sales would receive a free ponytail holder and the 100th sale would receive a free headband. Since this fabulous customer bought 3 headbands, she got a lot of awesome Purplelicious goodies!

Thanks again to all of my customers and Etsy friends! Here's to hitting the next milestone and many sales!

I love Patchwork!!!

2008-02-26T18:21:00.001-08:00

Oh no I think I might have found a new love. Don't get too excited it is not a man but I a new way to sew! For Christmas gifts I gave a lot of my accessories as presents since funds were a little tight. Since my mom does not wear headbands I decided to make her a patchwork scarf...using fabric from her own collection. She has SO much fabric, she had no idea what I even took! Since I had some of the squares leftover I decided to try and make a patchwork belt with it. And here it is:

I am so excited about how cute this came out. I think on the next one I will cut the fabrics into smaller pieces. I am already eyeing up my fabric to see if I can make some more belts like these! I might even make a matching headband for this belt. Stay tuned...I have some other great accessories ideas up my sleeve. Hmmm what fabulous accessory will I create next!

Love...Love...Love

2008-01-20T18:00:00.000-08:00

I find it interesting that I am able to create many fabulous Valentine's items that are all about love when I am in fact not in love. :-( Sad I know, but an aspect of my life I am working on. As an avid believer in The Secret my hope is that if I embrace the Valentine's season I will send out to the universe that I am not a hater of love but a congratulator. So bring on the love universe...I'm waiting! In the meantime check out some of these great headbands I crafted up in honor of this day of love! And you thought I would stop at the cute t-shirts! The three headbands here are for your little one! I know my mom always got me a little gift on Valentine's Day so do the same for the fabulous little lady in your life!

And who says that fabulous ladies can't wear a "cool" Valentine headband too! I think the fabric used in these headbands is simply stated and beautiful!

So who knows, maybe Cupid's arrow will strike me and I will have a Valentine this year but for me sometimes it is a lot more fun to share the love which I think I have done with this great Valentine's accessories! Enjoy!

I am Branching out...only a little!

2008-01-03T20:05:00.001-08:00

As I was wondering around JoAnn fabrics last weekend looking for fun valentine fabrics to make headbands with I got inspired. I was looking at the conversation heart fabric and said to myself..."I wonder if I could make a t-shirt with a conversation heart on it" Then in my head I went through what I would need to do. I reverted back to the sorority days when we would make our own letter shirts. I figured it was a similar concept except I needed something for the letters. Then I walked past the felt. After a couple of consults with my mom and sister and a quick review of my sewing machine manual to learn a zig zag stitch, I was ready to go. I found it interesting how much of my college experiences came back to me while I was making these shirts. In addition to being in a sorority, I also was an RA and made a ton of bulletin boards which got me pretty good at making block letters! So I can thank my college activities for the creation I am about to unveil to you. My favorite part about these awesome shirts is that they can be customized to include your favorite conversation heart saying! I really enjoyed making these and hope to make one for you soon! For more details, check out my etsy shop!

So I realize that the above are shirts and not accessories but what I am finding is that now that I have learned how to sew (I only learned 1 year ago), my mind goes crazy with ideas. And I sometimes surprise myself that I am able to actual create what I am thinking...so who knows what other fun non-accessories I will come up with!

Happy New Blog Year!

2008-01-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

Ok as part of my new business goals for 2008 my blog is born (Check!). My hope is that it ultimately brings me many sales to my Etsy shop but I also would be just as happy to make people smile and laugh about life and crafting adventures that I plan to share with you!

So as the first post is happening on the 1st day of 2008 I thought it would be fun to share how I spent my last day of 2007! One of the things I like about my current job is that my company shuts down from Christmas Eve to New Years Day. This time allows me to be a stay-at-home mom for a week or so. Let me just say, I don't know how you (stay-at-home) mom's do it. Going to work everyday is way easier! My daughter Bella spent most of this time with her Dad so when I got her back I wanted to have a day of fun. Oh and a day of fun we had!

First we went to get some lunch and the pizza place and ate INSIDE. Now to my kid this is better than going to Disney World. I typically do not possess the luxury of 30-60 minutes to sit and watch my kid take forever to eat her food, but when I do have the time, I think it makes her year! The night before we were reading one of the books she got from Santa called Pinkalicious...hmm wonder why Santa got her that book! (He also got her Purplelicious too from the same authors. Anywho, the book is about a little girl who eats too many pink cupcakes and turns pink. So my daughter decides she wants to make pink cupcakes. So after pizza we went to the grocery store for cupcake supplies. So she put on her brand new Princess apron that my mom made and we got to work! How do you make pink cupcakes, well Bella did not want strawberry cake, so I bought a white cake mix and added food coloring to the batter. Then we bought white icing and did the same and added pink sugar sprinkles. She had so much fun making these cupcakes but I think her favorite part was at the end when she was putting the remaining icing on her finger, then sprinkling her finger with sprinkles then licking it off. She told me that she doesn't like the bread of the cupcake (I am assuming she meant the cake, who knew my kid was on Atkins!)

After a nice dinner with my parents and grandmom we came home and relaxed. I was working on some fun Valentine's shirts for my Etsy site (to be discussed in another post) and Bella was playing with her Christmas presents. I decided to let her stay up for New Years because I wanted someone to ring in the new year with! I introduced her to the practice of banging pots and pans which at first she was a little hesistant but came around after she saw a crazy neighbor setting off fireworks. She wanted to do this again tonight but I told her that kind of fun can only happen once per year!

Overall I was very happy to kiss 2007 goodbye and could not have thought of a better way to do it then to hang out with my daughter and have a fun filled day! I think it made her year...shame it was the last day of the year! But for me, it taught me that sometimes you have to take a break from your crazy life and just live in the moment with a toddler. Try it, you will be so glad you did.

Tomorrow I am back to the daily grind as a working mom, I will say that I will miss being home with my angel, but I am ready to get back to the normal routine.