2014.

I am using this week's prompt from "Girl Between the Lines" to start teaming up with other bloggers! Prompt:

"What is one thing you will do differently in 2014? This could be a goal you didn't meet, a promise you didn't keep, or a reoccurring bad habit. Is there anything specific that you will continue to do?"

2013 was easily the best year of my life,  but I'm pretty sure I say that every year, so either I'm getting better at living or someone up there is really watching over me.  I spent the first half of this year stressing over the planning of my dream wedding and the second half realizing all that mattered was that I was marrying my best friend (but seriously,  the wedding was amazing.)

At the beginning of the year we purchased our first house and have spent every day since then telling each other how much we love it.  It is beautiful in every way I could've asked for and is the thing I am most proud of,  not because we bought it ourselves, but because of the people we have become in it.  I instantly transformed into Martha Stewart,  and my husband suddenly became the most helpful man I've ever met.  We tell each other every day how lucky we are and encourage each other to work hard to achieve our dreams.  That is something I will continue to do in 2014 and for the rest of our lives. 

One thing I would change is the lengths I went to in 2013 to please people. I have spent the past few months doing the things that make ME happy,  and it has paid off ten fold. On my 26th birthday in September,  I made the decision to nourish my friendships with the girls who make me happy, to always seek out new girlfriends and never hold who someone is now accountable for who they were back in the day. When I started designing baby clothes,  it was on a whim. Now,  every time I hear my phone go off with a sale,  I remind myself how incredibly blessed I am to be able to make a paycheck doing what I love.  But I also remind myself that without my hours and hours of hard work,  dedication and marketing, it wouldn't be possible,  and so in 2014 I will always remember I deserve to pay myself on the back. 

In 2014 I resolve for my actions to be more thought-out and my time spent constructively. I resolve to spend more time with girlfriends and less watching TV.  More time on my Etsy shop and blog and less time worrying about unreturned texts. I resolve to always tell my husband how much I appreciate coming downstairs to a clean kitchen. To clean more and create less mess. To continue to grow my business and keep customers happy.  But most b importantly, to make myself happy,  because I totally deserve it! 

Long Hair, Don't Care // DIY No-Ouch Hair Elastics

I am so guilty of throwing my hair into a ponytail immediately upon walking into my house. I hate my hair in my face! I am also guilty of refusing to work out because I don't want to mess up my hair... but thats another story. As much as I love the security of a thick elastic hairband, I just can't stand that lame crease it gives me every. single. time. I came across some fun no-ouch elastic hair ties and decided to try and make them myself... and if for some reason you'd rather BIY (buy it yourself) rather than DIY, feel free to buy them from my shop here!

Step 1: get yourself some super cute elastics! I love prints... LOVE PRINTS. I also love a little pop of color, so here are the ones I selected to sell in my shop.

Step 2: Cut pieces about 5-8" long. Mine are about 6". Tie them close to the end, leaving enough room to make a clean trim/cut at the edge.

Step 3: Light a match or a candle and bring the fraying edges close to the flame but don't touch it. Just close enough to heat the elastic a little to create a seal so the ends won't fray.

Step 4: There is no Step 4. That's literally it! Tie your hair back and get the show on the road!

Set of 4, $4 in my shop

Set of 6, $6 in my shop

Baubles & Babies.

If there's one thing I love, it's statement necklaces. There's nothing like throwing on some flashy baubles to really pull an outfit together. But here's the thing- babies are totally jealous of us ladies because we don't have to deal with the whole "choking hazard" thing! Amiright?! I had to find a way around that because I mean... little girls should have the right to sport some jewels too!

This amazing combo was put together by Baby Jules Boutique. 

Here's where you can find the pieces:

onesie // mine! buy it here. available in short sleeves, long sleeves and on a bib!

high-waisted shorts // made by sugar plum lane baby, will be available again in spring

moccasins ( i die for these ) // faas design

metallic gold bow // baby jules boutique

"2chainz but I got me a few on!"

I love hip hop, and even moreso, I love a good gangster. This onesie is perfect for your little gangster or even as gold baubles. Imagine this with a big black headband with a bow attached... just saying!

Buy it in our shop here.

I love the colors in this one- natural and neutral stones and insanely chic.

Available in our shop here.

Everyone knows your baby can't be chic 100% of the time. I mean theres drool, spit, messy meals... oh wait. You can still wear baubles?! Problem solved:

Both bibs available in our shop here.

Pair any of these with some leggings and a bow and voila! Chic baby, any time of the day!

xoxo,

Peace, Love, Create.

One of the best parts about having a successful shop is getting to team up with other shops that sell complimentary items. I have a few packages on their way for a styled shoot for Valentine's day, and when I got my package from peace love create design, I just had to post something right away because I fell in love with the item!

Adorable packaging, amiright?

I asked for Valentine's prints and they delivered in a big way!

Organic cotton knit leggings in a thicker (but not heavyweight) knit, with elastic waist and cuffs for additional length. They retails for $24/pair (but sometimes you can get lucky and they might have something like this on sale for $14!)

These modern print leggings are to. die. for.

They can be worn year round!

You can buy them here.

If these came in my size, I would be all over them.

But for now, get them for your little one right here.

My favorite part about these leggings is really the quality. I mean, not only are they super cute and trendy, but they are just GOOD quality. They are worth every penny and will definitely last your little one a long time- plus plenty of room to grow into them! Available in sizes newborn up to 5T.

You can follow Erin & Kelly of Peace Love Create Designs on instagram: @plcdesigns

This month I am teaming up with some wonderful blogs to advertise my designs to their "fan" base. I am a member of Bloglovin, where you can choose from millions of blogs to find the ones most suited for your interests. After many hours of research and some decision making, I am now advertising with:

Simply Clarke // a lovely lifestyle blog started by a young wife, emphasis on giveaways & fashion
Sunny With a Chance of Sprinkles // a young mother & nursing student with great diys & lifestyle posts
All That Glitters // monograms. glitter. diet coke. enough said.
All My Happy Endings // mother of three, lots of diys and beautiful photos

My favorite onesies are running on All Things Lovely Daily Deals for the next four days! Run
on over there and check it out,  they're on sale too!

There you have it! I am looking forward to be featured on all of these ladies pages to show the world my lovely little designs! I am off to make a handful of New Years onesies so I can get them out in time for some little girls to sport them on one of my favorite holidays!

xo,

Artistic Struggles and Successes : Welcome!

I am so excited to finally have a little bit of time to start working on my blog. After 2 months on Etsy the shop has become a huge success, and I couldn't be happier. I have been to work with some beautiful shops and wonderful bloggers, so hopefully this will be a good place for me to share all of our joint efforts and team-ups.

First off, let me start with the fact that I do not have children. My shop started as a place where I would sell wedding signs as a way to keep myself busy during planning my own wedding. One day during a conversation with my good friend Ana (who had the little girls), I ended up putting my phone down and running to the local craft store to pick up everything I needed to make onesies. I honestly don't even remember where the inspiration came from, but when it came it slapped me in the face. My very first onesie was for Thanksgiving and said "Gobble gobble gobble" in varying shades of maroon. Luckily, I had a couple of girlfriends with kids to give me feedback. We changed the colors to mustard, orange, and brown, and all of a sudden my shop hits went WAY up. I probably sold about 25 of those onesies in November, which to me was so exciting. All of the sudden I knew what I needed to do: holiday onesies. It was the product that launched a thousand ships.

Before I knew it I was making onesie after onesie. Some of them were custom orders and so cheesy, but they started to sell so who was I to complain? I received a message from an old friend from high school who had seen some of my Instagram and Facebook posts and asked me to design one for her baby's first Christmas. I was all over it. I delivered it to her that evening, and she sent me pictures of her baby wearing it the next day, which I posted on my shop and all of a sudden my page views that I once thought were good became great. I think I sold 50 of those in a couple of weeks before Christmas. I was thrilled.

Those page views lead to sales for all my other onesies and business was booming. Between December 14th and 21st, I shipped out about 75 packages.  After the Christmas rush was over, it was clear I had a business,  which means I had a huge decision to make. Should I go with the cheesy onesies just because thry were moneymakers, or should I remove them and stick with the more streamlined,  chic and trendy designs?  Luckily my girlfriend Ari, ofHaven. designs, was going through a similar struggle. People were asking her to make very cheesy signs that were outside of her taste, and she wasn't sure if she could call herself a custom sign business if she wasn't giving people custom items. After a lot of discussion,  I decided to remove all items I would not dress my own child in. Oh, the struggle. I will always offer custom items, but I do save them for when people ask me for them specifically.

My next step was hiring a photographer. Sarah, from her sea of love, was instantly my first choice.  Her eye for detail and staging is exactly what I was looking for. Her turnaround time was instantaneous and I felt the quality of my shop go up about 5 taste levels. All of a sudden, everything felt right.  Like... it just clicked!  I was essentially a clothing designer!

The best part about the shop is that I found something that I'm really good at. I'm good at the marketing, the hard work and upkeep, filling the orders in a timely manner,  but most of all I just love designing. Photoshop is seriously my bestie. I design every single one in Photoshop before putting it together, which allows me to make each one unique in its own way. I have been very blessed to be able to turn haha be into an actual business. I welcome all of you to join me on my journey and please feel free to email me at anytime for partnerships, sponsorships, or custom orders.

xoxo,