MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT - Art for the Soul!

Well, it's time to announce the big plans I have.  I plan to announce them in  a big way AND ask for your help. So please, read on!

About 6 months ago, my cousin Trish and I were chatting about starting our own business.  We were talking away and somehow the conversation drifted into what is now our dream idea - starting an in-home paint your own pottery business.  We frequent a local paint-your-own-pottery studio and we love it.  The only problem we have is that sometimes we don't have the time to travel there to paint, then go back to pick up our finished work.  We talked and talked and our idea came to fruition- we want a business that allows customers to stay home and create - we want the projects to come to you.  After some more talking and some planning, our idea, Art for the Soul was born!

Here is our plan - to have in-home pottery parties.  We will have packages including bridal showers, kids birthday parties, girl's nights, and more!  The beauty of it is, we come to you, instruct, take the goods, fire them, then deliver them back.

We have big exciting plans for this and cannot wait to host our first in home party!

In order to do that, we need your help.

Startgarden is a Grand Rapids based fund that endorses two businesses per week and provides them with start-up grants.  The ideas are chosen based on public endorsement so we need YOUR help to get our idea off the ground.

Helping is simple - all you have to do is VOTE and share this with your friends on facebook.  Voting can only be done through facebook and it lasts until next Thursday.

To encourage you to vote we have some plans.  Our first plan is to annoy and badger our friends into voting for us.  So, be warned.  For the next 7 days you will be hearing from us!

We have some other ways to encourage voting and that is by giving away FREE STUFF!!!

We have these fabulous items up for grabs:

Owl mold from Blue Goat Studio:
This mold is made from FDA compliant food grade silicone and can be baked at temperatures up to 300Deg F. It can be used for all sorts of fun projects like jewelry making, candy making, cake decorating, gift soaps, candles, etc. Use with polymer clay, resin, chocolate, fondant, wax, and soap. Approximate dimensions of the molded piece are 1''W X 1.5''T. We do not have a website or facebook page up and running, could you have readers like our etsy page? The link to my store is http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlueGoatStudio.

 



This custom frame insert from Hyde Park Home:
Here is the perfect gift that will not be re-gifted! First dance lyrics or wedding vows, are written by hand on a matte and when joined with a wedding photo,re-create the special memory.  This special gift idea can also be used for:

-Weddings (First dance, vows, bible verse)

-Baby showers (Lullaby's, bible verse)

-Prom photos w/boyfriend or friends (Dance lyrics)

-Memorials (Song of remembrance, favorite song, bible verse)

Winner will choose the sentiment to be written.

THREE nailpolish pendants from sarZjo:

 

And one of these super cool Michigan tshirts (navy blue, size based on winner's preference):

All you have to do to enter this giveaway is VOTE! Once you have voted, enter a comment here that you did so to be entered to win.  Want another entry?  SHARE that you voted on facebook and ask your friends to VOTE, then comment here.  Each comment will count as a seperate entry.  Want even more entries???  Visit etsy and favorite one of the shops above, then comment here that you did!

This giveaway is crazy awesome and you can win a ton of cool goods if you simply vote for our idea!!

 

Ch-ch-changes......

This blog post is a bit of a preview for tomorrow.  There are some BIG changes coming - for starters, I have taken my invitation website down.  I have decided from here on out to just conduct business through my facebook page.  I have gotten most of my business through my facebook page anyway, so it seemed like a logical step to take.

I still will be creating invitations, just most likely not on the scale that I did before.  In the next few days  I will be revamping my page, updating photos, prices, etc. to ensure that everything is current.

Stay tuned for a blog post tomorrow - BIG exciting things happening - BIG things!

We're Published (sort of!)

Recently I posted and shared the invitations of Carmen and Christopher.  I am so excited that those invitations are now published on the website of one of my vendors, CutCardstock.com!!!  What an honor it is to have my invitations on the website of a busy, reputable company!

You can check them out here and here!

What do you think - don't they look so professional??? 

Hello, Time? Where did you go?????

This post has two topics today - hopes and accomplishments.

Let's start with hopes.

To begin that topic, I have to give a big shout out to my friend, Kaylie, of Little Mitten Designs.  Kaylie recently wrote a post that made me happy.  It made me happy because I can relate to it so well.  It also made me happy because I was so relieved to find out that other crafting moms are in the same position as I am - we have no time, EVER!  We have hopes and dreams and ideas galore, but can hardly find the time to put them into fruition.  We want to make time to pursue art, however, time with our precious families certainly takes a very important priority. It was very comforting to read her post because I was envisioning myself being the only one struggling to juggle it all.  I have ideas coming out of my ears it seems and  I find myself crafting during naptime rather than cleaning or doing laundry.  I used to be able to complete projects at my leisure, but I am pretty sure those days have taken a little vacation.

With that being said, I must say, I do have some BIG things on the horizon - BIG things.  Those things will all be announced later, but I will share one little snippet with you.  I recently started selling several of my goodies at an adorable shop in Lake Orion, called Uniquely Yours.  This store is ADORABLE and the best part is, they sell wares created by Michigan artists.  I am such a strong patron of the arts, I love to buy things handmade and handcrafted by others.  This store is the perfect place for that and I am so blessed to be selling my nailpolish pendants, Michigan tshirts, and much more here!  If you're ever in the area, certainly stop by - you will be glad that you did!

I hope to be successful here and to create many more things to sell.  I plan to be having a BIG giveaway soon with the announcement of my other ventures, so stay tuned for that.

On to part 2 - accomplishments.

As you may have noticed, my invitation promotion has slowed down considerably.  This is not because of a lack of desire. Again, it is a lack of time. I am struggling to juggle it all, so my production has slowed way down.  I do love creating wedding invitations though, and I have worked on a few during these past few months.

This set that I am going to show you is purely a work of art.  These invitations are special because they were for my cousin. My cousin's new wife is so sweet, we are all so grateful that we could officially add her into our family.  I was honored to create their wedding invitations and I am so very excited to share them with you all.

They had a January winter wedding, themed with snowflakes and colors of silver, gray and purple.  The invitations were the perfect introduction to a perfect wedding day:

What I loved most about these invitations was that they were different from anything that I had done before.  The invitations were in a silver metallic A7 folder, which I had custom made from my favorite vendor, Cut Cardstock.  This vendor is so awesome - their prices are low, their shipping is fast, and their custom cutting, folding and scoring services are outstanding.  I am so very glad that I found them years ago!

Ok, back to the invitations.Once I had the A7 folders - I cut a slit into the center of the fold - here a ribbon was run through, which held the rsvp card on the inside and was adorned with a custom monogram on the outside.

Inside I used Curious Metallic paper for the invitations .  They were so shimmery and beautiful - perfect for a winter wedding.

These invitations were regal, shimmery, and all around beautiful.  A gorgeous set for a great couple.  Cheers to Carmen and Christopher!

And, as I said before, stay tuned.  BIG things on the horizon.  BIG things.

Oh, How Fun, Colby is One!

My nephew turned one this past December and his party was a year's worth of creative projects put together by my sister.  She knew all along that she wanted to put together a Dr. Seuss themed party and my, oh my was it a hit!  She thought of every single little detail and hand-crafted so much.  The party was a crafters dream  - from banners to party hats - you name it, she made it.  Plus, EVERY single little detail was an accurate ode to Dr. Seuss.  Check out the photos below:

The sign in table - there were party hats, a jar of "One fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" for a guessing game, and the Dr. Seuss book "Happy Birthday to You" for all guests to sign with a note.  The birthday boy got to keep the book with all of the special notes from his loved ones.  I thought this was such a neat idea and a very special keepsake!

 

 

 

My family is known for the cooking skills.  Whenever a family function arises, you can guarantee that there will be food, and lots of it.  This party stayed true to form - there was A LOT of food.  The best part was, it was all Dr. Seuss themed/named food - my sister thought of it all! 

 

My favorite part was the dessert display table - it was beautiful!  My sister made Dr. Seuss cupcake decorations that were colorful and fun - her overall display looked so great:

 

The dessert table served a double purpose - it was a great decor piece as well!

 

The other decor she had was cute, fun, and mostly handmade.  Features included hand drawn placemats for guests to color, adorbale red and blue centerpeices, Dr. Seuss bookmark party favors and more!

 



 

 The invitations were made by yours truly and were truly adorable:

The rest of the awesome details had to do with the food.  We didn't just serve food at the party - it was all Dr. Seuss themed, creative, and oh so awesome!

 

 

The paper straws were one of my favorites!  They were so pretty!!  I also was rather proud of the water bottle labels that I made - a nice detail for sure!!

The party was a blast - and as a crafty Aunt, it was so much fun to help create.  My sister thought of every detail - this party was a Pinterest lovers dream!!