♥lollipops: August 2011

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

what i love wednesday {No.31}

i love blogging!

my morning:

blogging
coffee
twitter
calendar
then off to read my favorite blogs

can't wait to see your loves!

and please don't miss

a 2 week series starting monday!

xoxo,

Monday, August 29, 2011

Fall Newsletter..

my fall newsletter comes out soon!

please sign up below my buttons above google friend connect

and you'll get a 15% off discount code for my shop today! :)

+ stop by very jane today to see my special deal!!

have a wonderful week!

xoxo,

Friday, August 26, 2011

i have a gift for you!
i have been working on this for a few weeks in a few different variations
some will be sold in my shop,
but i thought this one was so pretty i wanted to give it to you today.
it's the quote that has been my blog footer since i began blogging almost 9 months ago.
i have been wanting to make it into a print for a while now.
click download below
enjoy!

xoxo,

Sponsor Love + Giveaway - Little Blue Feather

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in the biz of handmade.
My name is Michelle and I live in northeast Ohio with my husband and two boston terriers! My husband and I grew up together in the same neighborhood and both attended The Ohio State University. In 2008 I graduated, we got married and moved to northern Ohio for my husband's job. When we first moved I wasn't sure what type of job I would have. I lived in a big city for 5 years while in school and then suddenly we were moved to a small area over an hour away from the closest big city in Ohio, and almost 3 hours away from both our families. At first it was a big adjustment, but I knew this was a great opportunity for my husband's career and that there had to be something there for me too! I worked at a bridal salon in our new town where I met some amazing girls that helped make this new area feel like home, but I knew that job wasn't for me. I decided to start Little Blue Feather in 2010 after wanting more flexibility and creativity in my job. I knew wanted to create my own items with my own style and have something that can move with me. In the past three years, we have moved three times and I really love the flexibility working from home has given me!
2. Where do you draw inspiration from?
The place I feel most inspired is at the fabric store. I love walking through a fabric boutique that carries unique printed cotton fabrics and seeing what jumps out at me. My appliques are made from different printed cotton fabrics that give a little mismatched and textured look. I like to pull fabrics that I love and see how I can cut them into little shapes and piece them back together in the form of a unique looking applique.
3. Can you describe your blog and/or shop in 6 words or less?
If I could describe my shop in a few words, I would probably say:

handmade

original

textured

apparel

4. What does a typical workday look like? -this includes family/life ;)
Most mornings I do not set an alarm {or if I do, I sleep right through it} and wake up when I feel ready to wake up. Sometimes this is 8:30 am and other times it could be 10 am. The very first thing I do when I wake up is take my pups outside for a walk and then we eat breakfast. I am not much of a morning person so I spend the first couple hours of my day in slow motion working on computer things and reading articles/blog posts. After I feel more lively, I get cleaned up, play some music and work on filling orders. Most days I am running to the post office 10 minutes before they close or run out for some errands before my husband gets home. Once my hubby is home from work we have family dinner time and hang out together until he goes to bed. Once he and our pups are in bed, I get back into work mode. I am the most motivated to work on things in the late night and find myself having a hard time calling it quits for the night once I get into that work mode. At night time it is quiet with little distractions which helps me to accomplish more! Once I feel too tired to go on, I head to bed and start over again the next day!
5. If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
This is a really hard question for me! There are so many places I want to travel to or revisit with my husband, but I think right now I am wanting to visit hawaii because it seems relaxing, inspiring, romantic and adventurous all in one. I want to see volcanoes, zip line, hike, play in the water, watch the sunsets and relax on the beach with my man :)
6. What is your favorite dessert?
Definitely ice cream! I like all forms of ice cream - sundaes, waffle cones, ice cream cakes and milkshakes. And I love flavors like peanut butter chocolate chip, coconut almond chocolate chip, reese cup...you know just about anything with chocolate pieces in it!

Michelle is giving away a onesie of your choice shown in her etsy shop!!!
(no custom order requests please)

isn't she as cute as her onesies?!!
All you have to do to win is leave a comment here of your favorite item from her shop.

For additional entries, leave a separate comment for each:

1. Follow little blue feather's blog and lollipops blog
2. Like little blue feather and lollipops on facebook
3. Follow lilbluefeather and lollipops on twitter
4. Blog, facebook, or tweet about this giveaway (make sure to include @lollipopscards and @lilbluefeather in your tweet) and include the link to this giveaway. (one entry each)

Feel free to use this tweet:
@lilbluefeather is giving away an adorable onesie of your choice on @lollipopscards! #GIVEAWAY http://bit.ly/p4ljIp

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

xoxo,

InstaFriday

here is my week through my iPhone pics on instragram...

inspiring swimming pool blue

nekkid baby raiding my fridge

outgoing

crafting up a fun birthday card

out to the padres game with the fam

it was such a great game!

once Mr. Boy realized he could be as loud as he wanted to

he started enjoying himself

s'mores. a family tradition before school starts.

cookie dough. yum.

the much ado about you planners i got for my girls!

i love my morning ritual

my much ado about you planner makes my planning prettier!

off to the beach!

have a wonderful weekend friends!!

xoxo,

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Sponsor Love + Giveaway - Sew Beastly

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in the biz of handmade.

Hello there! {waves} It is a pleasure to be here at lollipops today! My name is Citlalli, but you can call me Cit. I am the heart and hands behind Sew Beastly. I am a 27 year old gal who recently ventured out into blogging and entrepreneurship. Some of the things that make me happy are: my loved ones, ridiculous amounts of coffee, rocking out, sewing, cooking...better yet...eating, going on thrifting adventures, doodling, all kinds of flowers, and the beach.

Sew Beastly is my creative business that started brewing as soon as I started making little pouches for myself. I soon had too many pouches, and a never ending fabric collection. I decided to educate myself on how to start my own business, but this was extremely hard to do with a nearly 12 + hour workday M-F. This was all around the time I started blogging, and soon I discovered Indie Business 3.0 {4.0 is due out in early 2012}, and that was it! I knew I had to do it! I went through the course, and finished it. I had a new perspective. I saved some funds, armed myself with some courage, and quit my day job. And that's how I got where I am today.

2. Where do you draw inspiration from?

There's so many places I am able to draw inspiration from, but I think that nature truly helps me out. Anything from a dead leaf to a breathtaking flower sparks emotion in me. I like to find beauty in everything. I like to create something out of what others would consider nothing.

3. Can you describe your blog and/or shop in 6 words or less?

Life, inspiration, thrifting adventures, handmade goodness. {I kind of cheated, four out of those six words are in my blog banner}

4. What does a typical workday look like? -this includes family/life ;)

I'm an avid introvert. {especially when it is 100+ degrees outside}, and I am still learning how to balance my time, but on a typical day I wake up around 8am. Clean up, brew some coffee, watch the news until 9am, and head over to my studio/workspace and begin by checking email. I turn on the tunes get going on my to do list, which usually involves sewing, blogging, and emailing. I usually end up drinking coffee until 1pm, which is the time I usually make myself some lunch and watch the tube while eating. After this I keep on sewing until my sweet boyfriend comes home, it is then when I make dinner. We eat, talk about our day, watch some tv {usually baseball}, and I usually go back to working on emails and blogging after we do the dishes. I usually stay up sewing or on the computer until 1 or 2am. Yes, I am guilty of working all day, but I am a workaholic and I am a one lady show over here, and there is always something to do.

5. If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

The beach, it doesn't matter where, I love hearing the waves crash, the sea breeze, the smell of salt water and feeling sand in between my toes. It has been my lifelong dream to live by the beach in the most simple of ways. I would be happy with a log cabin by the beach and a garden to take care of. Oh! and my boyfriend and Hobbes {my pup}.

6. What is your favorite dessert?

I don't quite posses a sweet tooth, but what rocks my pants in the sweet department is definitely chocolate. I love a good chocolate cake.

Citlalli is Giving away the Kiss -N- Make Up Pouch In Ruffled Blossoms!!!

A denim pouch adorned with three ruffled blossoms and buttons to top it off.

Pouch is fully lined with soft, repurposed, plaid cotton, and has medium weight interfacing

to protect your goodies and to hold the shape of the design.

Pouch measures approx. 8in at the opening, 6in tall, 6in long at the base and 2in deep.

All you have to do to win is leave a comment here of your favorite item from her shop.

For additional entries, leave a separate comment for each:

1. Like Sew Beastly and lollipops

on facebook

2. Leave a comment on Sew Beastly's FB page to say hi!

3. Blog, facebook, or tweet about this giveaway (make sure to include @lollipopscards and Sew Beastly in your tweet) and include the link to this giveaway. (one entry each)

Feel free to use this tweet:

Sew Beastly is giving away an adorable ruffled blossom pouch on @lollipopscards! #GIVEAWAY http://bit.ly/ncu9kT

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

xoxo,

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

what i love wednesday {No.30}

this one is long over due.
i was waiting for the perfect picture.
i just couldn't wait any longer.

i love my family.

the surfer guy.
two girls.
and my toddler boy.
i love them all like mad.
i can't even put into words how much i love them.
isn't it amazing too, how your love grows?
i never realized i'd have so much love to give 4 whole people!
God is good.

xoxo,

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

she's crafty

just moving in

this is my closet right now...

hey a girl's gotta have her priorities straight

am i right?

all you crafty sistas know what i am talking about ;P

have a wonderful day!!!

xoxo,

Monday, August 22, 2011

do not copy

i think a blog is a reflection of one's self, so good choices here are just as important as in real life.

here's to doing the right thing...

dear friends, earlier today I featured a blog/shop. all month long my heart ached. i knew deep down not to advertise this blog/shop, the products are just too similar to a good friend's products. God has been knocking, i finally snapped out of my cluelessness and hit delete.

i am not perfect, but i do have integrity - even if i have to learn it along the way.

i apologize to this month's feature for not saying "no" to begin with. and i apologize to my readers since i will no longer host this giveaway and for any confusion. i am so sorry to my friend who has a wonderful, original product that is being copied, the beauty is hard not to emulate. how could i have been so ignorant?

i stand for pure originality.

you could say, "but business is business." not for me. honesty and originality matter too much. loyalty and integrity outweigh dollar signs -always.

i am not going to tell you how to manage your advertising, i am just telling you how i should have and will be managing mine.

this month's feature has been completely refunded for the month of August.

with love,

Friday, August 19, 2011

back-to-school week {inspiring ideas}

some things i would like to do before school starts are:

get the girls hair cuts

organize clothing into easy to grab outfits (mine too)

organize in general to keep things running smoothly

oh, and finish unpacking!!! oops!

we will get there in time, i'm sure and to motivate me and the girls

i also plan to do lots of these fun ideas...

make a back-to-school centerpiece

via pinterest (no link found)

have a back to school party

paint my nails ;)

a fun countdown 'til summer or back-to-school from eighteen25

organize all those papers and photos + printables from iheart organizing

make cute backpack tags printable from 30handmade days!

make some great teacher gift from lisa storms

here are some ideas from that one lady, Martha Stewart -

you might have heard of her? anyway...

colored pencil roll tutorial

label everything DIY

organize with jars

a cute addition for too-small jeans!

also, new in the shop - lunch notes - perfect little sentiments for

your child's lunch box (or your man's)!

what a fun back-to-school week here on lollipops, i hope you were inspired!

monday i shared some snazzy ways to tote your lunch

tuesday i shared some neat recipes designed for packing

wednesday was what i love wednesday back-to-school edition (please share yours!)

thursday i shared my favorite school supplies and decor

thanks for joining me!

happy weekend!

xoxo,

krystina

Thursday, August 18, 2011

back-to-school week {supplies & decor}

i love back-to-school and office supplies so much half the time i don't even know what something is for, however, i want it... like a columnar pad?!! i guess it fits well with my paper obsession and calendar addiction.

here are some sweet supplies:

i love crayons, mostly the way they smell.