Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Vacation!  It's the word of the day here.  My last order is boxed and ready to ship and everything else will have to wait until we get back.  I'm looking forward to some rest and relaxation, and then returning home rejuvenated and ready to work!

While we're away, a review/giveaway is going on at Crazy for a Deal.  Riki has a great blog where she runs lots of giveaways, offers advice on frugal living and couponing,  and shares tidbits about life as a work from home mom with two kids.  She reviewed our Cream Felt Rosette Wreath and is hosting a giveaway for a cream or grey felt rosette wreath.  Check out her blog and enter to win!

And now, a bit of housekeeping, our Etsy Shop will remain open while we're away, however, orders will not be filled until we return on October 8.  If you can't wait to get your hands on a wreath, Simply Southern Marketplace is scheduled to open tomorrow morning at 9 am.  The store was looking good when we were in there yesterday, locals, check it out if you're near the square this weekend.

Have a great week!

What's Up Wednesday

Happy Wednesday to you!  I hope each of our readers is having a wonderful start to this week's hump-day.  Unfortunately, the signs that I've been in denial about the last few days have hit me hard, and I finally have to face the fact that I am sick.  My immune system clearly did not get the memo that now was an inappropriate time to fail me, and thankfully, it seems to just be the common cold.

Anywho, the above is what I've been up to just in the last few days (with some Kleenex and Germ-X right beside me).  The top left photo shows a few orders that are ready to be shipped later this afternoon.  The photo to it's right is how I spend my time in the car rider line picking up my kiddos from school - packing up orders to be shipped on the way home.  Hey, you have to use the time your given!  The bottom left picture is of a Name Light Block that I whipped up for a local, rush order, and last but certainly not least, we have a Purdue inspired Monogram Wreath.  Go Boilers!

Next week, October 1-5, is our school system's Fall Break, we will be taking this opportunity for some rest and relaxation! If your order is placed on or before 9/26, it will be filled before 9/29. We will begin to fill orders and respond to convos received after 9/27 after October 8th. Thank you so much for your understanding.

Miscellaneous Monday!

I know it is almost over, but Happy Monday!  Today I spent most of my day running around getting some much needed errands done, all in preparation for next week.  You see, here in Tennessee our kids all have this wonderful thing called fall break.  When I first heard about it, after growing up in Ohio where there is no such thing as a fall break from school, I couldn't believe that kids needed a break after being in school for less than 2 months.  I mean, Give. me. a. break.  Now, however, it is my FAVORITE thing ever!  I love fall break.  Not very many places offer this so it is the PERFECT time to take a vacation.  We have enjoyed many family trips over fall break through the years.  This time I am pulling out my passport and along with my hubby and some good friends (Chandra included)  heading to Cozumel, while my kiddos get some special time with my mom who they don't get to see very often.  It is win win!  So Saturday afternoon I will be here enjoying the beauty of the Caribbean 

source: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g150809-d939910-Reviews-Aura_Cozumel_Grand_Resort-Cozumel_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

Before I get to enjoy all of that, I have to finish all of this.  I got 8 wrapped today but still have to add  the finishing touches and get them shipped to their new owners!  Plus a couple other orders that have come in.  We want to get all the current orders shipped before we leave!  We are running out of time! Orders placed prior to this Wednesday will be filled before we leave on our trips, all other orders will be filled when we get home :)  

Have a great week!  Miscellaneous Monday posts will be back on October 8th :)  

Read

Today is Read to Succeed day at my kid's school, so I went in and read to my daughter's class this morning.  One of her favorites is Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems.

I love all of his books, my kids do too.

If you have young children and haven't heard of him, get to the library.  Or,  just go to the bookstore, you'll want your own copy.

On the Embellished Living front, we're so excited for tomorrow and the opening of Simply Southern Marketplace.  Our little portion of the shop is ready to go, after lots of hard work over the last couple weeks.  Stop in and check it out if you're near the Square tomorrow.

Edited to add: Due to unforseen circumstances, the store won't open tomorrow.  Since you won't be able to check it out, go to the nearby library instead and find a good book to immerse yourself in!

What ye be doin' Wednesday

If you can't tell by the title, today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, AND it's also my birthday!  It's been a fantastic day filled with friends, family, and yummy treats from Ganache Desserts here in Murfreesboro - my favorite bakery.  Birthdays, for me, are a time of reflecting on the blessings of the past year.  A dear friend of mine calls this the "Year of Favor" for my family.  My family and I have been able to do a lot of traveling, including to China, have a lot of fun, see extended family, see each other grow a bit (my eldest son and I now wear the same size shoe!) and watch Embellished Living grow by leaps and bounds!  It's been a fantastic last year, and I can't wait to see what's in store for us in the coming months.

As Jacy mentioned on Monday, we've been hard at work crafting and setting up our first display in a brick and mortar retail setting!  We are so excited to see Simply Southern Marketplace open sometime this coming week!  Be sure to like their Facebook page to be updated with the exact day of their soft open.  We will be sure to post it on our page as well. 

 For now, enjoy the pictures of our "store within a store"!

Miscellaneous Monday

Whew!  I am super tired!  We have been quite busy here at Embellished Living, and we are just starting our busy season!!

We had our first show of the season on Saturday!  We are alway really nervous going into our first show after not doing one for a while.  In this case, we hadn't done a show since November!  We always feel like we don't have enough inventory, we forget half of the things we need, we remember tricks we had completely forgotten about.  Getting this first show out of the way with this show was great.  It was a smaller venue so it was perfect to work out the kinks so we know what needs to be done for all of the big shows coming up.  We had a good time, met some sweet people, and helped support a good cause. Special Kids does a lot of great work and we were happy to be a part of the event.

After barely catching our breath from our show, we had to load up our cars again today with our products for the new store opening!!!  We are so excited (and I personally have had complete moments of total panic and had freak out mode fully set in) to have our products in a retail store setting.  It is looking really good but you have to wait till Stacie's post to catch a glimpse of our space ;)  Local folks can check it out this Thursday when the store will officially be open to the public!

So in a nutshell, we are super busy (and our blog is likely to take a hit over the next several weeks) but we are having such a great time and loving how fabulous everything is going!  At the same time when we are all sitting on the beach in 12 days... yeah, we are going to be really enjoying every minute of that too ;)

Captured Memories

The three of us met through a local mom's group a number of years ago.  All new to the area, we were happy to find a welcoming group of stay at home moms and young kids.  Through that group we also met Kate Crafton, who, at the time, was a local photographer.  Not only does she have a really great eye for photography, she also has a heart of gold, a giving spirit and a fun, friendly personality.  Kate taught me the value of a good picture.

My camera is a point and shoot and more often than not, pictures are taken with my iPhone because it's handy.  Sometimes I get lucky and get a really great image of one of my kids or a beautiful sunset, however, most of my photos look like snapshots.  Enter Kate, who, five years ago, started photographing my family.  She  captured us as a family of four, my middle child not even a year old.  She took maternity photos when I was pregnant with my third, newborn photos of the third and family pictures every year since.  On top of that, Kate has supported our business venture with such generosity.  She showed up to a local show to get pictures of our product and booth.  She took product photos for our Etsy shop, and boy can you tell the difference between hers and ours.  And, as she was getting ready to move, she offered to take photos one last time so we'd have good pictures of upcoming products.  Swamped and in the middle of packing, and she stopped to help someone else, she is ah-mazing.  Through the years we've watched her creativity and talent grow, have learned a few things about how to dress for family pictures thanks to her tutelage, and learned how to stage a product photo.

All of this is on my mind because this Sunday will be the last time we have family photos with Kate.  The Crafton family has moved but Kate is coming into town for a day to take pictures for past clients.  I have two gallery walls in my home, primarily filled with pictures Kate took.  I'm sad these will be our last photos by her but thankful for all the memories we see each day, thanks to her.  What a gift.

If you live in Arkansas or are planning a destination wedding, look Kate up.  You won't be disappointed.  Seriously.

Oh, and I'm super excited to be wearing these boots for our photos, love them.

What's Up Wednesday

Hope you have had a wonderful Wednesday!  I've been happily crafting for our upcoming shows and the opening of Simply Southern Marketplace and welcoming some family that arrived today, and then I had the sinking feeling that I'd forgotten something...

The ladies and I have been hard at work preparing for a new and exciting Mom's Night Out that was mentioned to us just last week.  We can't wait to take part in this special night out for moms in our area.

 This MNO, is being presented by Macaroni Kid and HYPE Events!  

From their website:

Come ready to eat a FULL course meal, enjoy entertainment, shop till you drop, and best of all - be PAMPERED!  Enjoy mini massages, facials, manis, pedis, and more (in the special "Full Pampering VIP area") while you recharge and finally take some time for YOU! Produced by HYPE Events, and benefiting Special Kids TN, this night has been designed with Moms in mind! 

Click here to purchase your tickets - tickets must be purchased in advance in order to attend.  Hope to see you there!

 

 

Miscellaneous Monday

Happy Monday!!!  We are enjoying slightly cooler temps today (80's vs almost 100) just as we are ready to launch a couple new fall wreaths.  After all, fall will officially be here in just 12 days!  I told you last Monday that we would have 2 new wreaths to share today.  I am happy to tell you that I am going to share 5 with you today instead of just 2!  Now, some are just fall twists on our original wreaths but none the less they are super cute and perfect to get your home ready for the fall season!  

 This H is our standard Monogram Wreath but this color combo makes it perfect for fall.  I fell in love with this one when I made it and if I ever get a spare moment I have every intention to make one for myself!  The brown ribbon with pumpkin orange accent rosettes is super cute!

A bit of a pattern twist!  Who doesn't love Chevron?  I keep thinking that it is a trend that will go away but it is staying on strong.  I couldn't be happier, as I LOVE seeing all the cute chevron home decor and all of the fashion trends with chevron too!  This wreath is both fall inspired and trendy!  I am excited to say that we just listed it and have already sold one!

 Pumpkin is the color of the season!  It is trending in home decor and come on, it is the perfect fall color!  We had several requests for a pumpkin felt rosette wreath last year and are excited to list it for everyone this year!  (note color is truer in the photos of the H)

This is a new creation for you.  I'm calling it the Cozy Rustic Chic Autumn Wreath.  I know it is wordy, but it's fitting. Right? The wreath is wrapped in a brown yarn with flex of cream and black.  It is accented with burlap, linen, and fabric flowers.  It looks like a cozy sweater, perfect for a cool fall evening, great to accent your door, wall or mantel thru Thanksgiving.

 

Looking for something more for Halloween?  We have this little lovely for you.  The color isn't exact in this photo, but the grey is dark charcoal and perfect for Halloween!  Add the orange accent flower and it is a beautiful and classy addition to your Halloween decor!

These wreaths are just our latest autumn season creations!  Don't forget about our many others in our Etsy shop.

Shameless plugs over with! Seriously, we hope you like our new creations.  We want to make things that you will love for years to come and bring a smile to your face every time you see them.  Now who is ready to climb up in their attic, pull out those fall decorations, and get to decorating?

Don't forget we currently have a 15% off coupon code for all of our wonderful blog readers!  Just enter code BACKTOSCHOOL15 during your Etsy checkout.  Offer expires on September 15th!!

The Best Day

Yesterday was the best day!  It started with the three of us signing a rental contract for a few feet of retail space (more details to come!) and ended with two of us checking out The Strawberry Patch Barn Sale.

The sale, hosted by The Strawberry Patch, had numerous vendors in attendance all of whom were fantastic.  We loved browsing from shop to shop, despite the Tennessee heat and humidity, and found so many gorgeous items that we wanted to bring home.  Unfortunately, most of them were left behind, however, we took plenty of photos!

Beware, this post is photo heavy but it includes some serious eye candy.

Numbers and letters are everywhere in decor these days and this one couldn't be cuter.  Aqua distressed paint on a 4 foot wooden K, the only thing better is that you can get it in a 2 foot or 8 foot version as well.  I'm decorating a girls room in my head as I type, with this letter in the 8ft size as a focal point.

 Check out this Vintage Bus Stop sign from Athena's DIY Home!  It's what drew me into this booth and I really wanted to bring it home with me.  My son LOVED buses when he was younger and I'd love to hang this in his room, sadly we aren't quite ready to decorate his big boy room so I had to leave it behind.

 A cute purse with green trellis fabric inside and a sweet flower to embellish the front by Down A Dirt Road.

Loved this little telephone table from Beautifully aNew and thought about bringing it home.  At $65, we're guessing it was gone before the sneak peek was over.

 This ADORABLE lamp shade/chandy was from the same shop.  Wanted it for my daughter's room, but again, we aren't yet ready to decorate her big girl room.    Did you notice it's hung by rope?  So cute!

And then, a celebrity sighting!  Beyonce appeared to be visiting Best Friends Bakery.  Sadly, we didn't try any of her treats but they looked amazing.

Finally we made it the heart of the barn and found The Strawberry Patch.  We weren't disappointed.  How cute is that chandy painted blue?

 And we wanted to put one of these...

 On this beauty.  Look at the door knobs as drawer pulls.  Swoon.

After drooling our way through The Strawberry Patch we stumbled onto this lady.  She had me at yellow.   At $139, I think she's worth every penny.

 Three French Hens also had some fun bunting.  Yes, please!

And look at this candle sconce on the wall of their booth.  Not something I would normally look twice at, until they painted it ORANGE.  Now I love it!

 The rest of the photos are from Southern Honey Workshop, a collaboration of a couple different shops, I believe.  Unfortunately I didn't get much information other than their name, however, they're opening a shop in Nashville by the end of the month.

 Love the colors on this side table.

 This little unassuming beauty from Kim Elkins Designs found it's way home with me and now proudly sits in my studio.

 Who wouldn't love a Mustache pillow?

And the last purchase of the day, some Annie Sloan Chalk Pain.  I can't even express how excited I am to try it out.

A fun and fruitful shopping experience, but the best part, meeting so many super talented women!  If you're local, check them out and tell them we sent you!

What We're Up to Wednesday

What's in a name?  It took a number of iterations to come up with a name that we all loved when we were naming our new crafty endeavor in early 2011.  We decided on Embellished Living and began with a small craft fair in March '11.  With some more craft show success under our belts, we decided to see what we could do with Etsy.  Beyond our wildest dreams, Etsy and some other big shows have been a great success. 

The ladies and I want to take this business to a new level and really make this our job rather than a profitable hobby.  So yesterday, we decided to take the plunge to make our business bigger!  So the new addition to our name is the almighty comma!  Yes, we are now Embellished Living, LLC.  We are thrilled to start this next chapter and to see where this next step takes us. 

Don't forget our coupon code is still active until September 15th!  Use Backtoschool15 to get 15% off your entire order on Etsy!

Miscellaneous Monday!

Happy Monday!  Hope you all are enjoying your long Labor Day weekend!  We are working hard to bring you a couple of new wreaths this week! I am really excited to pull the ideas together and share the finished product next Monday :)

In the mean time, I want to talk spoons.  We all use them and love them, but lately I have seen more and more projects using them!  Who would have thought that you could turn a plastic spoon into a work of art?  Well apparently all these folks I am going to show you today saw the possibilities in this everyday household item.

The first one I ever came across was, of course, by the Nester.  She is so fabulous, it makes perfect sense she made a  laurel wreath out of plastic spoons!   She has a tutorial if you would like to make on of these for your home too!

image from www.thenester.com 

The Happier Homemaker came up with this hurricane made from plastic spoons.  Another tutorial here to make one of your own!

image from www.thehappierhomemaker.com

Now for the piece that inspired this post!  This beauty comes from Addicted 2 Decorating.  Are you kidding me!  Spoons! It is gorgeous!  I may have to follow her fabulous tutorial and make one of these myself!  She put this whole thing together and then painted each spoon!  The color options are endless my friends.

image from www.addicted2decorating.com

Want more?  Just type in plastic spoons in the search bar on pinterest.  There are a few more creative things people have come up with.  Have you tried any of these projects with plastic spoons?  Any projects of your own? Add the link in the comments, we'd love to check them out!  

 I'm going to leave you with one last plastic spoon image.  Wow

image from deviantart.com

Have a great week!  Happy Crafting!