Monday, February 28, 2011

It's about YOU!



I know we've been having tons of fun playing dress up in my shop lately, but I don't want this to be "all about me" day. How boring is that? {pretty boring if you ask me...} So I'm turning Merchandise Monday over to you!

Starting um, now, I will be taking submissions to feature YOUR shop/blog/website on future editions of Merchandise Monday! Exciting huh?

I want to see your etsy shops, websites, blogs, and whatever you've got going for you that I can write a review/feature post about and help you promote your business. After all, sharing the love is what it's all about, right? Right!

Reviews will need to send me an item from your shop to review, and you will also have the option of doing a giveaway for my readers. Who doesn't love to win something, right? :)

I'll still spotlight the occasional item from my shop, or at least new items as they are listed so you don't always have to trudge all the way over to my store to check things out, but we're gearing towards getting exposure for everyone, so get ready!

Shoot me an email, or send me a convo on etsy and we'll get things worked out. I already have two reviews coming up on the calendar, and future spots will be first come first serve, etc. Don't wait, spots tend to fill up fast when your series only runs once a week, haha!

Until next time...

XOXO

Friday, February 25, 2011

Need a good laugh this morning?



If so, go check out my interview as "Guest Star of the Week" over at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom!


Her buddy Tom Selleck even dressed up in chaps for me... yanno, since I'm a Texas girl and all. :) It was alot of fun, I think you'll enjoy it!!



Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!


XOXO

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Thankful Thursday - 2/24/11


Welcome to Thankful Thursday - 2/24/11! I am super excited to welcome our new followers joining us from Flamingo Toes, WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME!! It's so much fun to have new people to share with and who will {hopefully!!} share their ideas and projects with us. :)

I hope you all have popped over to Bev's site to enter the giveaway for 2 onesies of your choice from my etsy shop. If not, go now! I'll wait...

Ok then! :)

This week I am focused on "the little things" in life. It's easy to be discouraged, get distracted, and even overwhelmed by life. It's happening every day and there's always something popping up that you didn't account for. To help keep myself positive, motivated, and smiling I've compiled a list of "the little things" that I am thankful for this week!

"Flower Through Snow" by Treehugger

1. An entire, uninterrupted 2-day weekend with my sweet hubby! With both of us running our own businesses, time can be scarce and uncoordinated. What a refreshing treat to have two whole days together to spend together with our little sugar dumpling. :)

2. Orders, orders, orders! Sure, it makes for super busy days, but I'm always happy when there're orders coming in from my etsy shop. Let's face it- it makes be feel good about myself, and confident in my talent. What better boost is there than that?

3. No more winter crud!! YAAAAY!! I feel like I've been fighting this monster allergy attack for-ev-er... I am SO glad it's over. I felt like such an invalid, haha!

4. Showing of support from friends and family. You all know who you are, and I am forever thankful for your love and support in my crazy little adventure called "Little Birdie." Your positive energy is what keeps me going day and night! :)

5. New Blog/Etsy/Facebook friends! I am so happy to have each and every one of you here and following along with my antics. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I look forward to getting to know you all better!! :)


What are you thankful for this week??


XOXO

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Little Birdie Giveaway at Flamingo Toes!



It's GIVEAWAY TIME!


The super sweet and fabulous Bev, 
over at Flamingo Toes is hosting a giveaway for 
ANY TWO onesies of your choice from my shop! 



Don't miss out! GO! GO NOW! :)



XOXO


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Tutorial Tuesday - Ruffled Scarf

Today's tutorial seems a little bit unseasonal to me because unfortunately, our weather is already making a hard turn towards spring. Ugh. I'm really ready to live somewhere where there are actual seasons, as opposed to about 3 weeks of winter and the other 11 months consisting entirely of the unrelenting heat of hell itself. Ok, so I'm being a little dramatic. But I'm a sweater chick- and even more so a scarf chick!

Aaand segway into our tutorial for this week... ;)

The Crocheted Ruffle Scarf!!

{please excuse my terrible terrible self portrait pic... hubby was out of town and I was having a tough time... 
However, be sure I have been on the hunt for a dress form since this little debacle!!}

This little project is super easy if you have some time to kill and are really good a repetition... because there's lots of that! LOL Okay, first I'm going to go ahead and give you the pattern, and then I'll tell you a few specifics about what I found out as I was working.


This ruffle scarf is very simple and easy to crochet. All you need to do is make a nice long chain that is approximately the length you want the scarf to be and keep doubling the number of crochet stitches on each row of the scarf.

Skill Level: Beginner
Finished Size: 58” (137 cm) long, 5 ½” (14 cm) wide
Gauge: not really important

Materials:
Medium Weight Yarn
Crochet Hook H (5.00 mm)
Yarn Needle

{If you need help understanding the abbreviations? Check out this crochet abbreviation chart.}


Crochet Pattern: Ruffle Scarf

Row 1: ch 203, tr in third ch from hook, tr in each row ch across
Row 2 – 4: ch 3, turn, 2 tr in each tr across
Row 5: ch 1, turn, sc in each tr across, finish off

{For a thinner scarf, simply make fewer rows that indicated in the pattern.}

I used a cream bamboo blend yarn. I don't know if any of you have every tried the bamboo yarn {especially this brand} but it is sooooooo soft and luxurious! It took me almost 4 skeins of this to finish my scarf, but I did make it super long, and a wide weave.



I used an F5 hook, so the loops are a decent size, but not too big to get caught on things, and not too small to be stiff and tight. I love these colored hooks with the bamboo handles {hmm, bamboo again... I'm seeing a recurring theme here, I must be on a bamboo kick!} because they are really easy to hold onto and my hand doesn't get all crampy from holding a tiny tiny metal stick. haha!



Here's a close-up of the weave, it also helps you see how the ruffle forms through the doubling of stitches by row. Doesn't it look so soft and snuggly?? I seriously want to make a blanket out of this stuff.



Finished product: pretty, pretty cascading ruffles of bamboo goodness!


I would love to see your crochet projects! This is one of my first projects since I taught myself to crochet... oh yes, I said taught myself. It's really easy, and there are tons of instructional videos on YouTube, so don't be afraid- jump right in!! This is a perfect starter project!! I actually have 3 other ones in the works now. :)

Okay! Don't forget to link up your projects for this week below!!

XOXO

I'm linking up here this week:





Monday, February 21, 2011

The Big Reveal!



Remember the last post where I left you with a colorful little "teaser"?


Okay, so you've probably already visited my shop at least once last week (right? of course you have...) and seen what all the commotion is about, but if not, here goes!!

Introducing my new line of...








Each burpie is tri-fold, extra padded cotton, {for cleaning up all those huge little baby messes!} and measures 15" wide by 19 1/2" long. Some sets have 3 burpies, and some have 4... it all depends on the fabric collection I chose. Speaking of which, I have been searching high and low for some super fun, colorful fabrics that I am just pumped to share with you all. :)

Right now it's a relatively small sampling, but I'm really enjoying the "ready-to-ship" aspect of these items. With my onesies, each and every order is made to spec for each buyer, so it's a constant stream of work, and creates a delay when it comes to delivery. So, it's nice to have some things on the shelf that I can help my last minute shoppers with!

PLUS as an added bonus, these little guys are perfect for the craft show circuit. A nice little grab-and-go gift with no waiting. Yay!

I would love some feedback if anyone would like to offer some, and there will be more designs added to my shop in the coming weeks so be sure to stop in once in awhile for a visit!


Have a great week!!


XOXO

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Thankful Thursday - 2/17/11


I have been having a really tough couple of weeks. I've been sick with some form of the winter funk, complete with gigantic sinus headache and complete lack of motivation. But I am powering through! Surely soon I will see the light at the end of the tunnel??

In any case, yesterday I received a wonderful little ray of light in my mailbox that brightened up my whole week!! {and brightened up my craft space!}

Meet my Tree of Hope!



Isn't she beautiful??

"This 2" tree is made with Rhodonite chips. The roots are adorned with a blue Swarovski crystal bead (water), Rhodonite(wards off negativity), a silver picture frame (joy), wood bead (earth) and natural mini clothes pins (roots of each Hope)."  - Oceanbelle on Etsy

I absolutely LOVE it! The colors are phenomenal, and the attention to detail breathtaking. You have to go check out her shop, there are so many varieties, you're sure to find something you love.


Brandy, the owner and creator behind Oceanbelle is super sweet and amazingly talented. Like many of us, she's a mom working hard on her business, but she's also a full-time student as well! I don't know how she does it. 

As for me, I am still looking for that perfect spot to hang my little hope tree...

I think it's feeling a little overwhelmed in my work space...

but I'm really liking it hanging from the lamp with the sunshine streaming through it!


So thanks goes out this week to my sweet friend Brandy {Oceanbelle} for brightening up my otherwise blah week! I needed it bad!! :)

Stay tuned for the next few weeks, as she has graciously offered to let me host a giveaway so that one of you can win a beautiful treasure from her shop! More details to come! :)


XOXO



Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Guest Post at BabySwank

Don't forget to pop over to BabySwank 
to check out my guest post on revamping your profile bio!



Baby Swank: ReVAMPing Your Etsy Shop - 2011: Profile Bio with ...: "Your shops profile page is a super important part of your shop. This is where you make yourself real to your customers. If you're no..."


XOXO

Tutorial Tuesday - Ruffled Burlap Lamp

Ok I have to admit that I haven't been doing much crafting the past few days. I am losing the fight with this winter crud, and all I can seem to motivate myself to do is read blogs all day long, haha! So, today's tutorial comes from Terra at mama says sew, and you can find it on her blog, or as the guest blog today on tatertots & jello!

It's no secret that I've been feeling a little hooked on burlap. {It's just so fun!} And more recently I've been drawn to all the lovely lamp makeover tutorials I've been seeing out in blog land. I have absolutely nowhere to put another lamp, but it's fun to dream! Check out this beauty, it is a lamp with burlap on it! Does it get much better?


It's a super easy tutorial, and not only did she create the burlap lamp shade, she also repainted the lamp to this dreamy blue color. And for all you Anthropologie fans, you guessed it, this is a knockoff!

Click HERE for direct link to tutorial.


Happy crafting and think positive thoughts for me... I gotta get better soon!!!


XOXO


Friday, February 11, 2011

GIVEAWAY!! Did I yell that too loud??

Guess what?? 

There is a super cool giveaway going on RIGHT NOW over at My Backyard Eden



How do I know, you ask? Well because it's a giveaway from my shop! That's right! Here's your chance to win some free merchandise from none other than the Little Birdie Baby Shop.

Woo Hoo! Exciting, right? ;)

If you're not already familiar with My Backyard Eden, go get familiar! Carolyn has got it going on over there. She has tons of great tutorials, recipes, decor ideas, and the best thing is: she's super excited about sharing the love. She has a linky party every single week so you can go show off your stuff. :)

Ok, enough reading, go visit My Backyard Eden and enter the giveaway!! 
Otherwise, how are you going to win?? 


XOXO



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