$750 Giveaway

Wow I just found a AMAZING giveaway. Busy Mom is giving away $750 worth in prizes. You can visit here to enter! Here are all the links to the hundredes of $'s in prizes.

The Sponsors:

Children

This and That - $20 gift card

Red Pajamas - Little Man's Tie ($8)

Baby Luv Gifts - Cute Custom Beanie ($15)

Baby Bears - $25 gift card

My Custom Baby Boutique - $25 gift card

Baby Goin Places - PocketChanger Diaper Changing Pad ($25)

Layla Legs - $15 gift card & free shipping

Second Story Window - $10 gift card

Inspiring Color Tie Dye - Youth pullover hoodie rainbow diagonal or swirl ($30)

Baby Peas - boy or girl cloth play blocks- set of 4 ($18)

Abby Chase Designs - Lotus Hair Flower ($13.50)

Tadpoles and Tutus - $20 gift card

Make it and Love It - onesie/bootie set of choice (14.99)
PiggyTails Boutique - Christmas tutu and snowman wand with a matching personalized bow ($26)

Jewelry

Four Dog Day - Cute Pink Key Ring ($8)

Jupita - $20 gift card

Zeba - Coin Pearl Earrings ($20)

Jodi Horgan - $25 gift card

One of a Kind Custom Jewelry - $20 gift card

Across The Pond - choice of any vintage button ring ($14)

Kerstin Hanson - $20 gift card

Bath and Body

Krug's Eco-Logic - $15 gift card

Indulgent Creations - Soy candle travel tin, soap and lotion ($16.50)

koko candles - holiday brownie cupcake candles ($25)

Dazzle Dott - $20 gift certificate

Especially for Mom

Mary Zoom - Pink Polka Dot Glam Cleaning Gloves ($10)

Maggie Sue Designs -A cup cozy and coordinating set of Tame Your Mane ponytail holders ($12)Gaia Conceptions - "My Everything" piece (clothing, $40)

BoojiBoo - apron of winners choice (only ones in stock, $28.75)
Stones of Healing - $20 gift certificate

Yummy Treats

A Sugar Affair - $10 gift card

Cakebox Cookies - $20 gift card

A Thyme 2 B Comforted - $25 gift card

Double Dipped Sweets - $20 gift card

KE Cookies - One dozen chocolate chip cookies ($8)

AngelPie Cookies and Cakes - One dozen decorated sugar cookies ($18)

Meg's Creations - 2 pack of cookie and brownie mix ($24 including shipping)

Cookie Art by Sarah - One dozen sugar cookie snowflakes and $25 gift certificate ($53)

Paper Crafts

Paper Treasures 4 U - 2 page 12''x12'' Christmas layout ($9)

Inkspot Workshop - 1 Set of 6 Snowman Gift Enclosures 1 Set of 6 Tree Bird Gift Enclosures ($12)

Take Note - 1 set of personalized notecards ($15)

Articulations - 6 lunchbox love mini cards ($5)

Our Family is Growing....

and so am I :)

I wanted to share our news with everyone~ We are having another baby! After about a year of trying to persuade my husband, I am finally pregnant. I couldn't be happier. Yes many things are going to change, but only for the better. This was not an easy decision for us. Adding another child is not something to take lightly. It all boils down to in 10-20 years would I regret not having another baby? The answer is a big YES :) So here we! I am 3 months along. The first 12 weeks were not a lot of fun. I'm not complaining, but I'm SO glad they are over. It seemed like all I did was sleep for 6 weeks straight. I can now eat food without getting sick and make it through the day without my afternoon nap. The girls couldn't be more excited. I will never forget their reaction when we told them. They couldn't believe it. They were jumping and screaming. I just wasn't sure how they would react, but luckily they couldn't be happier. 9 months will go slow for them, but it will certainly be worth the wait :) Life as we know it has defiantly changed.

Birthday Celebration Line

I want to introduce my NEW birthday invitations. They are so sweet and would be perfect for a toddler birthday party. I also have made matching thank you notes and party favor tags. I already have had a lot of interest in them :) A company would like to buy them in bulk and I have received my first order for a set. I LOVE the line and hope others do too.

Get your Christmas Cards early this year!

CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY

I am having doing a Christmas Card promotion right now! For every order of 2 or more sets of Christmas cards, I will include a FREE set of 12 coordinating gift tags. That is a $10 value. Hurry and place your Christmas Card orders early this year! This promotion is only good until October 31st. Here are a few of the Christmas designs that are available in my shop.

I just wanted to share a design I did for a customer. They turned out adorable. This was the 1st silhouette I have done of a baby. Sometimes I get nervous to do silhouettes because I'm not sure how they will turn out. So far everyone has loved the silhouette drawings I have done :)

Hi!

Sorry it has been SO long since I have posted. Things have been a little hectic around here. We were on vacation in Bethany Beach for a week :) We had a great time! The weather was perfect~ the trip was just too short.

After we got back, it was time to think about Back-to-School shopping. Madison started 2nd grade and Paige will be going to Preschool. It is sad to see them go, but it is a nice break that I think all of us need :)

I also have been busy making lots of changes to my store!! I'm so excited. I have decided to start a line of standard silhouettes. My customers do like the custom silhouettes, but I thought maybe some standard ones to choose from would be good too. Many of the silhouettes are made from pictures of my girls when they were little. The one that says "Collin" was a picture of Madi's 1st steps. The one that says "Taylor Grace" is Paige. All of the silhouettes are have meaning and are very special to me. I also have just started selling some of my note cards with colored envelopes. I have been wanting to do this for a while, but could not find the right company. I finally found a company that has the Euro flap, lots of colors to choose from, quick shipping(usually next day and it's FREE), and the prices are affordable. The company is called Envelopper Inc. I decided to get a few colors to start and see how it goes. With the new products and colored envelopes, I have been taking all new product pictures. All of this has been very time consuming, but I think well worth it :)

Also, Christmas is right around the corner! I have been busy coming up with Christmas cards, gift tags, and prints. Here is a sneak peek of 2 of my FAVORITE designs :) I think I will have more designing time in the next few months. I love to take a blank page and just create.

I will probably send out the snow family as my Christmas card this year. I will need to change the children to 2 girls, and it will be perfect!

Bloggy Giveaway!!!!

I am so excited to be participating in the Bloggy Carnival again! I have decided to giveaway a PARTY Package. These can be made to include your child's silhouette. All that is needed is a profile picture. If you do not need invitations, I will make a substitution. I will substitute a name print or a birth announcement print(8x10) ready for framing :)

This package includes~

10 custom invitations
10 thank you notes
10 round personalized stickers














This contest is open to everyone! Contest closes August 1st. A random winner will be chosen and notified. Make sure you leave a way to reach you if you are not a blogger member.
Contest begins on July 28th, 2008 and ends at midnight on August 1st, 2008. A winner will be chosen on August 2nd and notified via email.


Please visit my etsy shop to check out all my designs. I have many for you to choose from. All you need to do is leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is. Extra credit will be given for ideas about what you would like to see offered in my shop :)

Bloggy Carnival Begins on Monday!

I just wanted to remind everyone that the Bloggy Carnival will start this Monday! This will be the second one I've participated in. Last time I got a wonderful response. It is great to get feedback on what people like the best in my shop. I'm not sure what I am going to giveaway this time ????? I'd like to do something new. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd LOVE to hear from you :)



This is something I worked on over the weekend. I took a photo and made the girls and the background into a silhouette. I framed it and hung it on our wall. I think think the colors look so pretty together :)

I'm Back!

It is SO great to be home! Troy and I had a wonderful time. It is hard to put into words all the amazing things we saw. I have never been outside the states, so this was like a whole new world for me. Everything was so old and had so much history. In Germany the views were beautiful. Everywhere you looked you saw vineyards. They were on very steep hills that looked like they touched the sky. We walked to the top of one and the view was breathtaking. I had to keep reminding myself to stay in the moment, because I knew it would be over before I knew it :) We were treated like like Kings and Queens in Germany. We went to the best restaurants and everyone was so kind. We did get many second glances though. Everyone knew we were Americans instantly. They said we stuck out because of how we were dressed and just how we looked. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but we felt very welcomed.

In Paris we stayed at an adorable little hotel. It was small, but perfect for us. It was nestled by a cobblestone street with little shops and cafes. We walked there to get our fresh danishes and croissants in the morning. We walked everywhere in Paris. We saw all the tourist attraction of Paris. We saw Notre Dame, the Louve, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, and more. We didn't want to over schedule our trip. We wanted to walk and stop where ever we wanted. My favorite part of the trip was our dinner in front of the Eiffel tower. We got a pizza to go and a bottle of wine and headed for the Eiffel Tower. This was a very popular place to just sit in the grass and look at the Tower. The Eiffel Tower is amazing. I could have just stared at it for hours. We ate our pizza, drank our wine, and just gazed upon the beautiful sight.

The Louve is hard to put into words. The art that is in the museum is very old. We saw a hand that was from a statue that was dated 192 BC. It is so hard to believe that things from that long ago still exist. It thought this was old, but I have now learned there are items in the Louve that are 3000 BC. We also were able to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. It was unbelievable to see such important parts of art history. The museum it huge. I think we walked around for 2 hours and only saw an 1/8 of the building.

I was absolutely amazed by the buildings in Paris. No matter where you wandered everything was so detailed and extravagant. The bridges and building had statues and gold everywhere. It was a beautiful city :) We felt very safe everywhere we went. Not everyone liked "Americans" but no one was out right rude to us. We got many stares and some words were lost in translation. Many of the store owners and restaurants spoke English. Some even had an American meanu.

As wonderful as the trip was, it is great to be home. I missed my girls, family, friends. I really missed my routine and that familiar feeling. It is amazing how after you are away for awhile, you appreciate what you have. I love where we live. It is nice to have new experiences and see new things, but nothing compares to home.

Au revoir

I am leaving for my trip on Monday!!! I will not be back until the following Monday. All orders placed after July 5th will be processed and shipped as soon as I get back.

New Invitation Designs

Bubblegum Pink Daisy

I am SO excited to start listing my new invitation designs! I have been working with a super nice gal, Betsy. She is the owner of Buttercreambaby. She is going to start carrying my silhouette invitations and note cards in her shop! We have been working together to come up with a few more background options. She has given me some great ideas to work with. I think they have turned out really cute :) I am also going to be listing these, in my shop, next week!

Baby Blue Stripes

Strawberry Stripes

Tangerine and Lime

I LOVE Summer!

My girls and I are having the best summer so far! We decided to join a pool this year! The blow up pools are just not cutting it anymore. We have only gone a few times, but the girls love it. They are learning to swim and having a great time with their friends. It gives us something to do that all of us can enjoy. They can swim and Mommy can catch a few rays ~ everyone is happy! They are finally to an age where we can do more things. We are past the baby/toddler stage. It is so nice not to worry about diaper bags, sippy cups, nap times, ect. I am really enjoying this new stage! I'm not ready to say no more babies though. I have had baby fever for a few months now. I am just enjoying my girls and whatever is meant to be will be :)

Giveaway at Lipstick to Crayons

I found a great blog the other day I wanted to share with everyone! It is written by 2 sisters Kristie and Jennifer. They have great articles, recipies, and giveaways. I am lucky enough to be doing a giveaway there this week.

I am giving away
~5x7 print(ready for framing),
~8 note cards
~8 round stickers in a matching design.

Go check out their blog and enter the contest :) Hope you win!

I'm going to .......

PARIS! I can't believe it, it's official. I'm going to the most romantic place in the world! If you know me I'm sure you are saying~ Sure you are. But really I am! I live in PA and the farthest I've traveled is Las Vegas. That was even far for me. Before that the farthest place was New Jersey. I know this is BIG! I have always wanted to travel, it just hasn't been in the cards. College, new house, kids, things just have always come up. My husband has to travel to Germany for work. He said~ I really wish you could come, if only you had your passport. Well that's all it took. I was at the Post Office the next morning asking how quick I could get one. That is an opportunity you can not pass up.

The passport showed up in about a week and a half. Pretty quick! So my thoughts~ we are going to Germany, how about Paris??? After lots of discussion my hubby finally agreed! So in a month I will be jet setting to EUROPE for 8 days. If you would have told me I'd be in Europe this summer, I would have said it will never happen. Just goes to show you anything can happen ;)

So now I am shopping for things to wear, practicing my French, and trying to get meds for the 8+ hour flight :) If anyone has any suggestions or tips I would love to read them.

babycakes art Giveaway at Girl Indie

I wanted to tell everyone that Girl Indie is throwing a Birthday Bash. They are giving away tons of really great prizes! Go check it out! I am lucky enough to be paticipating. I am doing my BIGGEST giveaway yet :) I am giving away a framed 5x7 personalized print. You may choose any design from my shop. You may choose a birth announcement , name , or custom silhouette print. We will work together to make sure everthing is just the way you want it. The giveaway runs now thru June 12th. So hurry :) Good luck to everyone!

New Design~ Name Prints

Love Birds

I wanted to share another new design! I think this one is my favorite :) I love the bright colors and the cute little love birds. I love to use adorable children's bedding as inspiration. This one caught my attention right away! Hopefully everyone else likes it too :)

I also have made this design into note cards with matching stickers~

This is another version of the note card with a different background. Any comments or suggestions are always welcomed :)

New Product Line

Girls and Bugs

Boys and Bugs

I am so excited to start listing these! I've been wanting to expand my line to include all children, not just babies. I have come up with a few ideas that would look cute in a toddler or little boy or girl's room. I still wanted to keep it a personalized print, so I did a cute design and added the name in the middle. I am going to list these as a 8x10 prints. Who doesn't LOVE things with their name on it :) I know my girls do! I am also going to make them available as note cards too! I think this would be adorable for a little boy or girl to send as thank you's for a birthday party or to send to say "hi" to Grandma or Grandpa. Keep checking back! I am going to be designing and listing lots of things in the next few weeks.

My little Dancers

I just had to share a picture of my 2 little dancers! This is the first year they will be doing the dance recital together :) Madison has been doing dance for 4 years and this is Paige's 1st year. I know I will need lots of tissues that day. I get so emotional at things like this. Am I the only one? It could be a Christmas concert, preschool graduation, anything that requires them to be on stage and I'm a mess. You just some how see them in a different light. It makes you realize how much they have grown and how they don't always need Mommy holding their hand. I think it makes you fast forward to other "big moments" too~ graduation, wedding day, ect. Sometimes I just wish I could freeze time and keep them little. Time just goes too fast!

Twins Custom Silhouette Portraits

I recently did a giveaway at Pink With Sparkles! The giveaway was for a 5x7 print ready for framing , a set of 8 Personalized notecards, and a set of 8 Personalized round stickers. I was very happy with the response :) I had 113 comments. Dawn was a great help and wonderful to work with.

The lucky winner of the contest was Laura. Laura is the Mommy of 2 beautiful 15 month twin girls. She decided she wanted a custom silhouette done of her girls. I emailed her some tips on how to take a profile picture so that the silhouettes would turn out perfect. This could not have been easy, but she captured their profiles perfectly :) These silhouettes are ADORABLE!

I also did the notecards and stickers for her. She liked the brown with pink polka dots and the white flowers and butterflies. We put the girls names on the front. They are going to be so cute to send to all of her family and friends! Here is the sticker I came up with for Laura. I used both the silhouettes of the girls! I think this is my favorite thing I've created yet!

Thanks to Laura for being so great to work with. I think everything is precious! I hope you enjoy your prints and notecards :)