5 years today and Giveaway winner

So before I announce the giveaway winner, I just wanted to wax philosophical on this momentous occasion. Five years ago today I nervously listed my first pillows on etsy. I had been lurking around the site finding an exciting new home full of crafters and artisans from all over the world. And its strange to believe but at the time, there were no people on etsy and no one knew what it was. But I was still afraid to officially list my first items, this was it, there would be no going back. My fabric was from ikea, some of the designs were originals and my pictures were awful. I was also doing pillows and hadn't learned how expensive it is to ship a pillow vs. just a cover.

When I first started this whole thing I was super shy about mentioning this "hobby." I was not a self promoter and I still struggle talking about myself. I always feel like I am bragging. Steve was totally on board with me doing this and using my creativity and my friend Elizabeth and I had talked about it and she had literally pushed me into doing it because she knew I wanted it.

I listed my first pillows and from that day on, every time I have checked my email, my breath catches in my chest. Will I have an email telling me about a sale? I still light up with excitement at each purchase and I get even more excited when someone buys one of my designs.

Five years have gone by fast, granted I took off a long period of time when I had Henry plus I was only really doing it half heartedly while I worked full time. I used to read articles about etsy sellers who were able to quit their day jobs. Explaining how they had first dreamed of being able to cover expenses and then maybe they could cover rent and then one day they could say good bye to their desk jobs and live their creative dreams. I would read these articles while at work, hating my office jobs but grateful for the money and benefits, jealous that someone could truly love their work. Well now I am one of those people. I am a mom to Henry first but now I truly love my jobs and am able to help financially and keep myself going and save. I did it.

So if you dream of doing something, do it. Seriously, plan and work hard and you can make it happen. I intend on doing this for a long time. Let's see what the next 5 years will bring.

To choose the winner, I wrote all your names on slips of paper and then threw them on the ground. Henry got to pick the winner. And the giveaway winner is Chelsea! Congrats Chelsea on winning this awesome fall pillow. I'll be in touch.

bexcaliber: shabby apple

When I first put my fabric line up here on the blog, my friend Melinda asked if she could pass it along to the home department at Shabby Apple. Of course, I said yes in a professional manner and then jumped all over the house in ridiculous excitement. So over the past few months we have been working on some exclusive designs for Shabby Apple. These four pillows/colors will only be available for purchase through their website. I'm excited how they turned out. I was also happy to revisit the Penelope Pillow Cover which I always loved. I hope this is the beginning of a great relationship.

 

Love Pillow Cover in Key Lime and Fruit Punch, find them here. 

Penelope Pillow Cover in Aqua and Cream, find them here.

So thanks again Melinda and the pictures turned out great, she does all the accessory shots for the site. If you have been around here for awhile, Melinda also took my maternity shots long ago. You can see them here if you are interested in reliving my huge pregnant belly.

Oh and don't forget to enter the giveaway. Just leave a comment, so simple! Enter here.  

Saturday at the Park

We have had surprisingly mild evenings here for the past couple of weeks. Taking advantage of the weather, we headed out to a local park to enjoy some bike riding, skateboarding and sliding. I feel like we haven't played at the park in ages and it is true. I think it has been months. Henry loved it and would only agree to leave when I promised him he could pick out two rocks from the parking lot to take home. Hopefully the weather cooperates and we can go visit the park again soon.

bexcaliber: giveaway pumpkin patch

I realize this is the epitome of laziness but I was just too lazy to get out my real camera for the giveaway photo. So here you have it. In honor of my five year anniversary, I am doing a festive giveaway. Post a comment, just one this time-we're keeping it simple folks, and then you are entered to win one of these pumpkin patch pillow covers. You get to choose whether you want mini or large. Pillow cover will fit 16X16" pillow. Pillow is made out of fabric I designed!

And don't forget that I am having a sale in the shop, 20% off everything!

Giveaway ends Friday August 31st at 12:00 NOON. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.

5 Year Etsy Anniversary

That's right. Its been 5 years. Thousands of pillows later I am still plugging away and have no plans of stopping.

From this...

to this in 5 years. Oh those first listings were so sad.
Stop by the shop this week for 20% off EVERYTHING! And now I am off for a week of non sewing. I am taking an etsy creative break to do some much needed things around the house like finally finishing our dining room chairs, some refashions and some projects for Henry. Plus trips to the park, Target, and stocking up the freezer with deliciousness are on the list too. And come back tomorrow for a holiday giveaway!

Big Boy Bed

 As noted before, Henry is now in his "big boy bed." One afternoon I just decided we should go for it. We removed one side of his crib and we had ourselves a big boy bed. We talked excitedly while we were setting up about how Henry was going to have a new special bed. He got on board right away. He loves sleeping in it and hasn't rolled off yet.

 Now not only is it a cool place to sleep but its also fun to pile all sorts of things on it. I love the picture because of his awesome leg pose and his no pants.

 So proud of finding all his little people and having them congregate in one spot.

A solo shot with Bob was requested. And then one with Donald Duck and so forth but we put a stop to picture taking after Donald or we would have been there all day.

fav moments: instagram style

 This is one of my favorite areas of my house. Its right above my desk. Print by Rachel Austen.

 Handsome boy

 He loves to make his arms and legs into X and Y.

 This is Henry on a family shopping trip to the outlet mall. He did really well and Steve and I were able to find some much needed new jeans.

 Our last trip to the beach for the summer. This kid loves water and will surely miss our swimming adventures.

 How is it that your powder and blush run out at the same time? Bye bye mucho dinero. But Henry loved playing with the super deluxe bag that brings makeup heaven.

 We made those heavily pinned baked cotton balls from Pinterest. Henry really enjoyed making them but they weren't as much fun to smash.

 Last week I was screen printing Halloween designs and a certain little ghost made a break for it and ran across this haunted house. So I guess we get to keep this one?

 Sweet hair, dude.

 My score from the Gwinnet Consignment sale. New clothes and toys and books. Birthday and Christmas are almost done.

 Watching Aladdin in a tent. I had found a McQueen camping chair and camo sleeping bag at the consignment sale. Fabric cardboard tubes make the best support. And I was able to take a short nap while "camping"

 Direct from Cars Land in Disneyland, thanks Gramma!

 It seems I have an audience...

 This mirror was my grandma's and I can't wait to find a place for it in our home and spray paint it some daring color.

 Portrait of Steve and I courtesy of a girl at activity days. Nice dress, Steve.

 Pirate Henry watching Pirate Backyardigans

Big boy bed! Mickey was the only casualty.

Finger Painting

As Henry would say "Henry naked and painting." He liked it but he loved washing his hands afterwards best.

Henry Update: I'm Two

Henry is awesome. If anyone asks him how he is doing, he responds "I'm two." Full of energy and spunk, here are some of the things he is into these days:

• Hiding. Especially in the curtains and on the "big bed" which is our bed. He loves hiding under blankets, pillows and behind furniture. He doesn't even care that we are watching him hide and know where he is, as long as we say "Where is Henry?" and he can pop out and say "Here he is," he is happy. When he is hiding with one of us on the big bed, he will yell "Mama (or Dada) come find us." 

• Tangled. The kid loves Tangled-he thinks that is Rapunzel's name-and Flynn Rider. He also loves Finding Nemo and I have started him on some older movies, he liked Aladdin a lot. 
• Talking in complete sentences. I feel like it happened overnight. Instead of scattered words, he is more likely to use a full sentence these days. He also will get talking and just go on and on telling a whole story. We call it "monologuing". When he monologues, only part of what he is saying can be deciphered. Some recent favorite sayings:
• I need a band aid
• I got the power
• Wipe a nose please and I also need water
• I want to watch a movie
• Singing. Henry loves singing. We have been teaching him primary songs and he loves them. He is also really getting good at classic kid songs. He loves singing: 

• Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
• Give Said the Little Stream
• The Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Rubber Duckie
• Search, Ponder and Pray
• Families Can Be Together Forever
• I am a Child of God
• Call Me Maybe
• Wait, I need a hug. I love you.
• He also really loves to change up the lyrics to songs. For example: instead of singing "Call me maybe" he will sing, "Call me Henry" or "Call me hot dog." After such a clever word swap he bursts into laughter. My favorite was when he said "Cover me Pillow Cover."
• He also likes dancing. We have mini dance parties here at home and he really cuts loose. Sometimes he is the only one allowed to dance or sing and will get angry and shout "no Mama, I sing it," or "no Mama dance."
• He is going through a cute/mildly obnoxious phase of continually saying "Mama look at this." And when I look he is performing something for me or sometimes just standing there smiling. He has also started hugging Steve or I and saying "Mama/Dada look at this." We think he is trying to make whoever he is not hugging jealous.
• I have been trying to teach him how to close his eyes without opening his mouth. He can do it if he tries really hard but its pretty funny. 
• He also loves to have me pretend to be asleep and then give me an Eskimo kiss to awaken me. Cute when we are playing, not cute when I am trying to take a real nap and I keep getting his nose in my face.

I inherited a huge box of primary aids from my mom and Henry loves playing with the magnet stories. He requests the "broken bow one" often, its the story of Nephi breaking his bow. He also loves a cute one about a monster under the bed. Henry is also really excited about and enjoys FHE. He sits on his special FHE seat, the red ottoman and will help choose songs to sing, pray and listen for the lesson. After months of working on this, his attention span has really improved from 5 minutes to 15 minutes of sitting still. It helps to have lots of pictures and activities but its really paid off. And he often talks about the things we're learned like Joseph Smith, the scriptures and Daniel in the Lion's Den.

Swimming. Henry is quite the fish these days and loves being at the pool and floating and jumping off steps to me. He is also starting to master using his arm floaties to keep himself afloat. At the pool he is more hesitant but at the lake he just jumps in and doesn't look back. 

He can point out the following letters and numbers with at least 80% accuracy: W, O, S, T, X, Y, P, 1, 3, 2, 0

He has stopped napping. Sad. But he still sleeps 12-13 hours each night and is getting really good at playing by himself. He loves cars, blocks, stuffed animals and books. He hates quiet time (alone time in his room) but if he can play quietly in the same room with me he is happy. He also likes to line up all his cars on the table as I am sewing. They like to drive on the fabric. 

Henry continues to be a wonderful little boy who is such a blessing in our lives. Pictures from July-August.

the unlikely...

We're going to start Monday off with a little quiz about me, don't worry it is multiple choice (and its ungraded).

1. Which of the following items is something I would least likely do?

a. give up Diet Coke
b. sign up to do a 10K
c. habitually clean my bathrooms
d. all of the above

2. Which of the following items have I agreed to do?

a. give up Diet Coke
b. sign up to do a 10K
c. habitually clean my bathrooms
d. all of the above

I won't actually make you comment with your answers, I'll just tell you. I have found myself talked into doing a 10K. Me, the non runner. Me! Crazy, I know. Can you believe it? My mind still boggles.

So wish me luck. I started training last week and so far I actually like walking/running. Its not as terrible as I imagined it would be. I was envisioning a strong giant hand squeezing my lungs into submission while a hundred daggers repeatedly stabbed my thighs and calves but overall I have found I am more capable than I thought. You were right, Stacey Bennum and Jillian Michaels. I am capable of working out hard.

fav moments: insta.gram style

 I have been lazy at blogging lately. Partly because we have a lot going on with Steve starting teaching again this week, my shop is steady and Henry is a whirlwind. So for now a small sample of life lately.
Above: Shopping at Target. Henry loves all things super hero these days although I am pretty sure he has no idea what a hero is. Super hero identity crisis?

 Here is he is "helping" me sew. And by helping me, I mean he threw the spool of red thread around the living room until it was all unwound and then proceeded to tangle himself in it. I did watch him do this and he was so happy I didn't have the heart to stop him.

 Two arch enemies often park next to each other. In this case, they are at Publix (a grocery store) where they are going to buy turkey bellies. Henry calls turkey sandwiches, turkey bellies. We have no idea why. The Joker also had to stop off and get gas.

 Hiding in the curtains.

 We've had tasty blueberries this summer and you know what that means, blueberry muffins. This recipe is my favorite. Just substitute blueberries for the peaches.

 I am already well into working on the holidays. I wanted to try my hand at some watercolor prints for fabric. This holly turned out really well in the swatch, not at all yellow.

 Color map = blankey

 Henry and his friend Lyla just hanging out

 We adore Firehouse Subs and are so happy they have a new location on the east side. Usually we go on date night but we brought Henry along one week. He makes a very handsome mini firefighter.

 Sometimes I like to mix it up and treat Henry to an indoor picnic lunch. Having the AC blasting while eating on a blanket is my kind of picnic. Say string cheese!

Henry got finger paints for his 2nd birthday and I have only been brave enough to bring them out recently. It was a huge hit. Thanks, Titi Cindy. Your original Henry Clark is in the mail.