burp cloth tutorial

today i'm sharing one of my favorite sewing projects. one of my best friends has her baby shower this weekend and i decided to whip up a few burp cloths. i sure hope she doesn't read this before saturday!!

you'll need a pack of burp cloths (i got a pack of 5 at walmart for under 5 dollars) and fabric. of course you will need scissors, a sewing machine, cutting mat, etc but that's a given :-)

1) start out by measuring the area that you want to cover on the burp rag. i like to cover the double padded area. add 1 inch to the length and width and cut.

2) iron over half an inch on each side

3) cut off the overlapping fabric on the sides

4) pin your fabric onto the burp rag

5) start sewing.. i used the zig zag stitch, but any stitch will do!

you now have yourself a fully functional and adorable burp rag!!

random acts of kindness

Source: tumblr.com via Nicole on Pinterest

it was a very busy day in the office, when the phone rang. quite honestly, sometimes if the phone rings when i’m overwhelmed I’ll let it go to voicemail and call them back. i ended up answering the phone and it was a social worker. she needed my help finding a shelter for a homeless family, who had a child with autism. the homeless shelters they had been living at kicked them out, because the child was aggressive and screaming (a lot of children with autism have higher instances of aggression when they are scared or out of routine). my heart dropped and everything that was important, no longer became important at this time. i started doing research on homeless shelters in the area and had my assistant perform some searches as well. between the two of us, we must have called at least 60 shelters and they were either full or would not accept the entire family. after many frustrating and heartbreaking calls i decided to call the family and let them know that i had no options for them and that they would be sleeping in their car. the mom answered the phone with so much hope in her voice and there was no way i was going to be able to deliver her the bad news. i let her know that we would continue to look for housing options, but in the mean time i was going to run to the grocery store and buy them some food. i ended up browsing and shopping in the grocery store for a lot longer than i had planned and certainly brought back a lot more groceries than I had planned. I met the family and dropped off the groceries. they were so appreciative and the look on the little boys face is forever engrained in my mind. later on, i brought him some books and gave the family some cash. my assistant ended up finding a place for them to stay at, which was a vacant hotel rented out my the salvation army. being able to tell the family something as simple as “you have a place to stay tonight” was definitely one of the most eye opening experiences i have ever had.  i went home that night and appreciated everything a little bit more. i made sure to count my blessings and thank the good lord for all that he has provided for my family and i.

custom order- sherri's bridal party

a few months ago sherri emailed me with some ideas she wanted for bridesmaid necklaces. their dresses were a gorgeous dark grey and she was looking for something simple, yet elegant. we decided to go with the francesca necklace, which features four rolled blossoms and is accented with a pearl beaded chain. i created two grey, ivory, and pale blush necklaces to coordinate with her color palette. i am in love with how they turned out for her big day.

follower giveaway announced & a sneak peak

wow, WOW, wow... 353 entries for the first BIG lovely poppy follower giveaway. i appreciate each and every one of you that participated and look forward to sharing more posts (and giveaways!) with you. i'm excited for the future of the lovely poppy blog, for new tutorials (i've got an awesome craft fair project in the works), inspiration, tips on starting a handmade business, growing your blog and more.

what's the number one thing i learned from this giveaway? i suggest if you are are planning on doing a giveaway to not have additional entries worth an additional point value. calculating 353 entries plus additional entries was a nightmare for my excel spreadsheet and myself.
however it was totally worth it and i'd do it again if i could write off 100 dollars worth of products again. i will be doing at least one giveaway a week with products from my shop, but won't be doing another giveaway with three digits until hitting a thousand followers.

you all are probably wondering who won the giveaway? did you scroll down to the bottom and skim through the first two paragraphs? (i probably would have too).

ashley from the vanilla tulip is the winner of the 100 dollar gift certificate to the lovely poppy shop.
ashley- please email me at thelovelypoppy at gmail (dot) com for more info.

again, thank you all participating. you'll want to stick around for the release of some new products..
                                                                       hint below!

giveaways galore.. part three

today’s feature and giveaway is from nicole over at bip and bop, which features the most adorable little felt headbands and accessories. not only is nicole a talented handmade business owner, but she also works with children with autism (which makes her even more awesome!).

here's a little more about nicole:

favorite blogs: Little Miss Momma, Hostess with the Mostess, Lee La La and La Vie Petite

favorite part of the day: It's a tie! I love the moment in the morning when I wake into my twin daughters' (11 months) room and see their smiling faces for the first time. They are so happy to see me that it makes me feel like the most important person in the whole entire world. My second favorite time of the day is the moment after dinner has been served, dishes done, girls bathed, nursed and put to bed. The moment when I get to sit down on the couch for the first time in what seems like an eternity, and do whatever I want.

family: My hubby and I have two twin baby girls, 11 months, Brooklyn and Isabella (aka "Brooke" and "Bella"aka "Bip and Bop" aka "Mini" and "Moe").

hometown: San Jose, California

favorite things about handmade businesses: Committing to my etsy shop has forced me to be creative everyday.

guilty pleasure: that's easy. Reese's peanut butter cups. Heaven!

something you wish you could do: knit or crochet. I am obsessed with crocheted finger puppets (so random, I know).

today she is giving away a 20 dollar shop credit.

*to enter stop by bip and bop's Facebook page and "like" her page, then comment on this post that you entered. you must be a follower of lovely poppy to qualify. for an additional entry stop by bip and bop's shop and comment here on what you'd use the credit for. the winner will be announced november 21st.

she also is offering free shipping on all orders over 25 dollars with the code: lovelypoppy.

good luck!!

{the week in pictures.}

{the week in pictures.}

fresh, homemade guac and chips- best "meal" of the week
new fossil bracelets- best find of the week
fresh mani and pedi- best treat of the week
blossom necklace, old navy skirt, and favorite boots- best outfit of the week

last day to enter the giveaway

today is the last day to enter the giveaway for $100 worth of lovely poppy products.
**if there are 525 followers by the end of the day i'll give away an additional $50 gift certificate for the person who refers the most new followers

[christmas shopping would be a lot easier on the wallet if you won all of this]

..you have about 15 hours left to enter..
-comment on this post to enter if you are an existing or follower (counts as 1 entry)
-refer someone to become a follower and have them comment on this post that you sent them (2 entries for you, 2 entries for them)

how i stay organized

running a small business and growing a blog requires a certain amount of organization. a few months ago i put together a "business binder" and it's really helped me keep track of sales, schedule blog posts, keep track of giveaways, and has helped me keep on track with my goals.

i decorated my binder with glittery scrapbook paper and other patterns that reflect my designs. 

wondering where i got the stamp?? check out my post here.

i picked up a package of the binder divider folders and labeled them with the categories -blog schedule, -to do, -orders, -completed, -receipts, -craft fairs, -stores (wholesale), -ideas/inspiration, and a blank folder for any random papers.

it's been really nice having one place to keep all of my paperwork and comes in extra handy if i'm traveling or want to pull out info away form the computer.

the idea section i use to plan out new products and prototypes, color combinations, and any inspiration.

the blog calendar is printed out a month in advance (plain 'ol calendar from iCal) and i try to plan out my posts at least a week in advance. this has been really helpful to keep track of giveaways, sponsors, etc.

i recommend using a pencil, because if you're anything like me.. you'll change your mind about things a few times before settling.

birthday list

as weird as it sounds, one of my goals this year was to actually come up with a birthday list. i'm VERY hard to shop for (yet very easy to please with a simple gesture). i'd rather buy something myself, instead of ask someone else to buy something for me. my birthday falls right around black friday, which means i'm able to find just about anything i want on sale. this year i've kept the good 'ol debit card in my wallet and put together my wish list on pinterest.

hunter boots

Source: zappos.com via Nicole on Pinterest

fossil purse

Source: zappos.com via Nicole on Pinterest

scentsy bars (i'm addicted to melting these in my office)

Source: scentstand.scentsy.us via Nicole on Pinterest

vera bradley tray

Source: verabradley.com via Nicole on Pinterest

fossil bracelet

Source: fossil.com via Nicole on Pinterest

crayola marker application for the iPad (just for fun!)

Source: store.apple.com via Nicole on Pinterest

foam pillow

Source: macys.com via Nicole on Pinterest

p.s. have you entered the giveaway that ends TOMORROW?? so excited to pick a winner!

weekend update and winners!

i'm feeling refreshed after an extra hour yesterday and haven't been able to stop daydreaming about how amazing it would be to have an extra hour, everyday. how would you spend it? mine was spent catching up with friends and taking a family walk to the neighborhood coffee shop. the rest of my sunday was spent catching up on emails and packaging orders. we celebrated my brother-in-laws birthday saturday night and bailey was pretty tuckered out after getting to play (run around in 3388420 circles) with all of the kids.

life around here has been pretty hectic lately. orders have been picking up and i'm preparing for another craft fair. you'll be noticing a lot of changes around here within the next month. i'll be switching over to wordpress (woohoo!) and will have a new home at thelovelypoppy.com. i'm contemplating switching over to big cartel, but haven't decided quite yet.

i've learned so much over the past month and am thrilled that traffic has increased by over 400%. i'm grateful for all of my followers and have some amazing giveaways coming up.

have i mentioned how terrible i am at saying no? it's really something that I NEED to work on. i'm signed up/ have donated around 20 products in the past/upcoming month. as much as i love being able to help others out, it hasn't financially been the wisest thing for me to do. keep your eyes open on the blog and facebook for where you can win some lovely poppy products!

speaking of giveaways, the winners of the two giveaways are:
little green bird- emily
me and my new life- lowercase letters
*please email me at thelovelypoppy at gmail dot com

a few new items and colors will be making their way into the shop soon.

mustard floral blossom necklace

blossom head wrap

key fobs

elegant red floral blossom necklace

new packaging!

grey sunshine minky camera slipcover

grey argyle minky camera slipcover

windsor floral blossom necklace

newborn blossom headband

all of these items could be yours for FREE! have you entered the HUGE giveaway that ends thursday? if not, you may want to :-)

instafriday

i'm linking up with jeannett for another week of instafriday, where we share a week's worth of pictures from our phones.

is halloween over already? i'd like to replay the month of october, please. last friday night we took bailey to participate in a costume parade and walked downtown to see this gorgeous display of pumpkins.

it's been a running joke around the office this past week that i spend my friday nights hanging out with my dog. it's not really a joke though, hanging out with bailey and my hubby at home is certainly one of my favorite things to do. ...and seeing a bunch of dogs in hilarious costumes may be on my top 3 favorite things ever. bailey went as a ballerina hippo.

this picture shouldn't need an explanation. only in milwaukee would you run into a car like this.

yesterday i was able to participate in a PSA for autism awareness. it was pretty amazing to be part of the filming process and being around "local celebrities"

go ahead and link up, i'd love to see your pictures!!