Feature and Giveaway!

I have a couple of things to celebrate today.  First, I'm celebrating being so close to 100 followers on my blog - how exciting!  Second, I'm celebrating the grand opening of my husband and brother-in-law's new etsy shop:  Toddah!

Brandon and Jeremy Todd are brothers, and they are both so artistically talented.  Brandon is a motion and graphic designer by day, and a cartoonist and freelance designer by night.  Jeremy is currently in his junior year in college, pursuing a double major in illustration and graphic design.  After some prodding from yours truly, they agreed to open up their very own etsy shop, focusing on screen printed designs!  All of the designs are original, and the screen printing process is done by hand with lots of time and love.  We've spent many weekends together mixing emulsion, burning images, drying, drying, and more drying, mixing ink colors, and making prints on pillows and onesies!  Now, Toddah is officially open!  I am so happy for them both, and I am in love with their designs. 

They are excited, too, and wanted to start by giving their very first creation away!  So, for the next week, you can enter to win this 14X14 screenprinted bird pillow!  What makes this even more unique is that this design will not be sold in the etsy shop or elsewhere - it is Brandon's logo for his website and blog, and it is not for sale!  So, you will be the owner of something that no one else can buy, ever.

If you'd like to enter to win, please leave a separate comment for each entry.  There are 10 possible entries per person, and the winner will be chosen via random.org on Wednesday, November 2

How to enter:
1 entry:  Follow this blog.
1 entry:  Following Brandon's blog.
1 entry:  Favorite Toddah on etsy (please leave your etsy username in your comment).

1 entry:  Tweet about this giveaway (leave a link to your twitter page).
1 entry:  Blog about this giveaway (leave a link to the blog post).
5 entries: Create a treasury using an item from Toddah's shop (leave a link to the treasury).

Remember to leave a separate comment below for each entry!  Good luck!!

Pinterest and Pumpkin Patches

Over the weekend, my husband and I spent some time at Red Barn Farm in Weston, MO with our dear friends Erik and Jenny.  They are pregnant... with twins.  And, this is their first time!
Considering Jenny and I are both semi-addicted to pinterest, we found lots of inspiration for some maternity photos and wanted to re-create some and have some fun!  We definitely had fun out at the pumpkin patch, and Jenny makes pregnancy look so beautiful!  Here are just a few photos from our adventure.

We certainly had a blast and ended our visit with some apple dumplings, which were divine.  Jenny is due in December, and both babies are super healthy so far!  Wish them luck in their twin journey!!

P.S. If you aren't on pinterest, you should be!  There is so much you can find and keep in one place for inspiration!  If you'd like an invite, just leave your email address:)

Mulva Monday!

Movie Star Mulva, Take 2:

The last time you saw Mulva in a movie, she had a small, supporting role.  About 5 months ago, Mulva was offered a starring role with her best friend Boone in a video about best friends!  Boone belongs to Erik and Jenny Stewart, who come to hang out quite a bit.  She was very excited to take part in the short film, and she was even more excited to do it with Boone.

You see, Mulva is a very sweet pup, but she doesn't make friends very easily.  She thinks maybe she tries too hard to make a good first impression...  She loves everyone she meets, but for some reason, that love isn't always returned.  Her aunts Reina and Mattie don't like to play with her, either.  They will play together, but if Mulva tries to join in, they will stop playing.  This hurts Mulva's feelers:(

But, Boone is special.  He loves to play with Mulva!  So, they are best friends forever!  Without further ado, here is Mulva's first starring role:

Mulva Monday!

Chunky Mulva

Well, Mulva and I have come to realize something.  She's a bit chunky for her breed.  Well, not necessarily "chunky," just not as slim and muscular as most other dogs like her.  I broke the news to her the other day, and she wasn't surprised.  She admitted that she had snuck some chocolate chip cookies from time to time when she wasn't supposed to.  She thinks she may be an emotional eater.  I told Mulva I was partially to blame, because I haven't been exercising her like I should.  Mulva wants to change things, though, because her 4th birthday is coming up, and she doesn't want to start going downhill already.  She wants to be around and still playful when she has a little brother or sister some day, so we decided to get in shape together!  While neither of us are overweight, we could both use some toning and healthier habits.  We don't want to continue at this pace and wake up unhealthy one day, so we're going to help each other stay on task!

This morning, we began.  We walked for about 25 minutes around the neighborhood at 6 AM!  We have a HILLY neighborhood, so it was good for both of us.  Brandon (my hubby) was a little surprised that Mulva and I actually got up that early and walked with him...  We usually like to sleep in while Brandon gets ready for work!   Needless to say, we both got directly back under the covers for another hour of sleep after our morning walk:)

This is Mulva.  She's a cute pup!  Still a slim pup, but we've got some toning to do:)

This afternoon, I got home from work, and Mulva said she still felt tired from our little walk this morning.  She took a big stretch and plopped on the floor.  She'll keep at it though, and we'll be healthy together!

When she does this, I just say, "Stretch it out, Mulva."

 

 

 

Still tired from our morning walk:)

The journey to fitness is to be continued...

Etsy Changes!

Well, I'm making some changes!  I'm a girl with very eclectic taste, and this comes through in my crafts.  In my one little shop, I had flowers, african jewelry, simple designs, and now clutches!  After some extensive research and many helpful blogs on the good ol' world wide web, I decided to break out Impact Jewelry into multiple shops.  So now, I have 4!  It will be A LOT of work to really get them up and running well, considering I plan to take new pictures of everything, getting new banners for each shop, and will need to make TONS more stuff to fill each shop...  But, I think it will be worth it in the end:)  I'm hoping to give buyers a more cohesive brand when they find my shops, instead of just a bunch of different stuff all jumbled together.  This means I also need to work a lot on my photos and make them cohesive within the shops, as well.  Photos always seem to drive me nuts!!  I try to do white backgrounds, but they always don't seem quite white...  I found a good blog advising against it, and I took it to heart.  I plan to make some changes and see what looks best for each shop branding.  If you'd like to read the blog, you can find it here.  If you'd like to see the beginnings of my new shops, you can find them here:

impactjewelry.etsy.com
simpleimpact.etsy.com
impactsquared.etsy.com
practicalimpact.etsy.com


So, I've opened all the shops - now I have to fill them with products and awesome photos!  I've started to work, but I've got a long ways to go.  Here are a couple of examples of one of my first experimentations with photos.  I appreciate any feedback!

New photo - wood background

Old photo - white background

New photo - wood background

Old photo - white background

Mulva Monday!

Movie Star Mulva - Take 1

I have a dog.  Her name is Mulva.  I find her fun and full of personality!  So, I've decided to blog about her from time to time on Mondays and make her feel special:)
A little background:  Mulva is an Italian Greyhound (a miniature greyhound).  She's about 15 lbs., full grown, and will be turning 4 on October 1st!  We have conversations, Mulva and I.  She is quite wise and full of aspirations!
Today, I'll share a bit of "Movie Star Mulva" with you.  Although she hasn't been called by Steven Spielberg yet, she is taking some time to build her repertoire.  She has played a few roles in some low-budget films (and by low-budget, I really mean home movies:).  She is hoping one day to be noticed for her talents and abilities and offered her first big break!  Her first work is below for you.  She played a small role, but definitely made the movie.  Some friends "sweded" The Neverending Story a couple of years ago, and they chose Mulva to play the villain.  And, what a villain she was!  Watch for her near the end, and you'll see Movie Star Mulva at the beginning of her journey to stardom!  Be on the lookout for more Mulva Mondays to see what else she's been up to!

P.S. If you don't know what "sweded" means, just watch Be Kind Rewind with Mos Def and Jack Black! 

New Adventures in Crafting!

So, I've been trying some new things lately.  I am not a seamstress.  About two years ago, I thought I would try to take up sewing.  My awesome mother-in-law gave me her sewing machine, and I bought my first pattern.  It was a purse - a "beginner" pattern.  It wasn't that great of an experience...  I did complete the purse, and I used it for quite some time.  However, it took me and my husband (yes, he was kind enough to help me) over 8 HOURS to complete!!  Needless to say, I gave the sewing machine back to my mother-in-law:)

Now, here I am, two years later, giving it another go!  I got the sewing machine back and this time started with something a bit smaller - a clutch.  I bought a pattern on etsy, instead of a craft store (which is WAY easier to go through and understand), and I told myself I was going to have a good attitude about this, no matter how long it took.  And guess what - I'm making clutches now!

Tweed Clutch - www.etsy.com/listing/79808327

First, I want to give props to whilebabynaps.etsy.com.  Her patterns are SUPER easy to follow, and she doesn't use a bunch of "sewing" jargon.  Also, her nickel-free metal frames are the best, and I'm officially hooked! 

Next, I want to point out that I am not really even a "beginner" sewer (well, I guess I could call myself a beginner now), and the first time making this clutch took me about 3 hours from start to finish.  I've made 4 now, and now it takes me about an hour and 20 minutes, so I'm making progress!

Finally, I want to encourage everyone out there to try new things.  Because I tried something new, I'm adding to my shop and broadening my etsy seller scope.  Plus, it encourages me to not get stuck in a rut.  Next on the agenda - pillows!  My husband and his brother are going to start screen printing (yep, we bought a Yudu)!  I am so looking forward to all the fun:) 

Here are my other fun clutches:

 

 

Charcoal Clutch - www.etsy.com/listing/79133914

Navy Floral Clutch - www.etsy.com/listing/79136903

Nautical Clutch (not yet listed)