30th Street Craft Market

This is my next show. Can't wait! 

Harvest Day, Yardley, PA 2013

Last Saturday was beautiful day at Yardley's Harvest Day. The weather was awesome and the crowds were pleasant. Here are a few pics of my day...

Hi! It's me, Vanessa!

The onesie/tee section.

Trick-or-Treat bag section

My mom Pattie came to keep me company! Thanks Mom!

This was easily the cutest thing of the day. This little guy had about enough when he made it past my booth. Apparently it was naptime. He walked to the side with a pout. Sat down and pouted for a while. Then eventually laid down in the street. He was there for at least 20 minutes! 

Poor Mom! She did an awesome job being patient and waiting for him to come around. In the mean time she assured each on looker that he was ok and just "staging a protest". haha Many replied with their own stories of their children or grand kids that did the same.

It was so cute. I'll never forget that little boy.

Happy Grandparent's Day

Today was Grandparent's day and I spent it with my daughter and her grandma. What better place than the Philadelphia Zoo! We had a great time, however one uncomfortable conversation had to take place.

If you have children, you know what it's like to have to tell your parents how you want them to act around your kids or other wishes you have. My house, my rules. I waited forever to be able to say that. Well, this time it comes to my mother and what she wants my daughter to call her...Mom-mom.

I don't know if there are other areas around the US that this is common, but I don't like it. Worst part is, as I've mentioned in previous posts, I have PCOS and had a hard time being able to have my daughter so I take offense to someone else trying to share my title. 

I'm my daughter's mother, not anyone else. So, naturally I have a problem with someone wanting my daughter to call her Mom-mom. 

Am I crazy? Am I looking to much into it? No. Maybe. Either way those are my wishes and I expressed that to my mother nearly a year and a half ago. So, when she said it for the first time (again) in front of me at the zoo, I had to say something and kill that bug right away. 

It made for an uncomfortable conversation, to say the least. But it made me wonder, when does the urge of a parent being in control go away? At what point do I step back and not try to control or influence my daughter in her decisions that involve me? I guess in time I'll learn the answers to those questions....

On a happier note, Eva had a blast, refused her nap due to a 15 minute power nap no the car ride home, and passed out in her mini arm chair. Here are a few pics I snapped before taking her to bed an hour and a half earlier than she normally goes. :) 

So you know what that means... off to the woman cave to sew!

Just what I needed to hear

I have a pretty large family and when you add in my husband's side, its like a small town. haha One of my favorite things about having such a large family is having all the wisdom of its matriarchs and patriarchs at your disposal.  

My husband's aunt posted this to her Facebook tonight and, for me, her timing couldn't have be more perfect. 

"Living a life in Christ 

Do you struggle with trying to "keep it all together" in the midst of life's hectic pace? Genuine happiness and contentment don't come from achieving perfect "balance." They come from knowing how to make your expectations fit your circumstances—and focusing on the bigger picture.

Jesus doesn't necessarily promise us perfect "balance." But He does offer us peace. His peace is the peace of knowing that He has our situation in hand (John 16:33). Come what may, His love for us will never change (Habakkuk 3:17-19; Philippians 4:7). Our God is the God of peace and not of confusion or disorder (I Corinthians 14:33). Because of this, we can know peace by disciplining ourselves to walk with Him. It's a matter of learning to discern His voice and partnering with Him as we make our plans, confront our daily challenges, and establish our priorities for living.

As you identify what matters most to you—and to the Lord—you'll eliminate non-essential demands and gain a sense of focus and purpose. Remember that life in Christ isn't about being "Supermom," "Superdad" or "Super-Christian." It's a question of learning how to channel your time and energy into the fulfillment of your own unique God-given calling—and thriving in it. (from Focus on the Family)" 

--Irene D.

As a young mom and wife I constantly struggle to find the balance of those roles with my own desires and needs. There is a lot of public pressure to be perfect and do things that would label you as a "Supermom". It is easy to get wrapped up in that the world has to offer and forget about what really matters.

I am currently trying to bring in a child (to nanny) so I can afford to stay home with my daughter. It is really hard in our culture to live in the city as a one-income household, but this is something really important to our family. It is our strong belief that if we wanted to bring a life into this world that we should be the ones that raise that life...not daycare. I'm not dogging on daycare. I used it while I finished my college degree....just last week. Whoopie! I digress. 

God blessed me with my daughter and it was difficult to have her. So I feel it is my duty to raise her, which is part of the reason I am working so hard to get my Etsy business going.

So, if you haven't done it recently. I urge you to take a moment out of the day and have a conversation with someone older than you in your direct or extended family. You might might be surprised of what you didn't know or needed to be reminded of.

Locket: A truely the easiest way to make money

In the fast and crazy world it seems pretty difficult to come up with 

something completely unique, but I think I've across one. 

This one is genius. We see advertising everywhere we look, but which one of those actually pay you for looking at them? With the Locket App you get paid simply by unlocking your phone.

Your phone? what? Really? Yes. 

Download the app and disable your current sleep lock settings and get ready to get paid. Earning up to 1 cent per unlocking your phone with a quick swipe and you're gettin' paid. 

There is a 3 swipe per hour maximum, but for you insomiacs out there you can earn up to $262.30 a year just by unlocking your phone. Sure it may not be much, but hey...it's $26.30 more than you started with.

Don't need it? You can donate it to charity! How awesome is that?

So, you're interested in giving it a try follow my link here and give it a whirl. Did I also mention there's a $1/person referral fee? How many friends do you have on your Facebook page? There's money to be made here people. lol 

Do you run a small business or start-up? What a fantastic way to get across via a new way that has people talking 

They can click the channel. They can put down the magazine. They can recycle the Yellow Book. But that MUST look at their phone to answer a call or send a text. 

Why not look at your business before having to do so?

So, check it out and please go via my link so I get credit for referring you. 

http://getlocket.com/r/?a0f90ad6

Wedding Weekend

My cousin got married down south in Virginia over the weekend and that got me thinking about what crazy and funny southern weeding videos I could find. So here are a few that I came across that you're really gonna like.

The Proposal...not country but it was SO great because of how 

crafty the hubby-to-be is and the adorable pups:

Entering the wedding.

The craziest bouquet toss I've ever seen. haha That's so country! I love it!

The first dance..

It's a rough day in the neighborhood

Oh the balancing game of life. As a mother, it feels like I am up against unmountable odds. Wife. Mother. Student. Business owner. Me. How long does it take to learn how to balance everything without putting your own needs last? Is that what being a wife and a mother means? You are last? What you want is less important?

This week my husband and daughter are at our annual family beach week in Bethany Beach, DE while I stay at home for my last two weeks of my college course. I'm retaking this class. Last fall was supposed to be my last then over break I realized I had one more class together. Loan payments being due, I decided to work and attend class. So, during the spring I signed up and gave it a go.

Boy I have to give it to all the single moms out there, because I couldn't hack it. My husband was gone the first two months and my mother helped by watching my daughter when daycare ended and my class was still going on. With only a few hours a night to cook, shower and study, I couldn't keep up. So, here I am retaking this class so I can graduate and put 11 years of college to an end. The irony is I'm still struggling and in danger of not passing. I don't want to put my family through any more stress because of it. Please say a little prayer for me to have the ability to retain this stuff. I have an exam Tuesday. I really need to do well to keep me in a position to pass. Lord help me.

So, needless to say, that is why I haven't written a blog post in a while. However, I do have some good stuff brewin'. Thanks to my wondering fabric merchant Stitch Stash Diva, I will be featuring a tutorial later this month on how to upcylcle tires into ottomans. You may have see them on Pinterest, but I am going to shine a new light on the project. Until then...

Day 2: Manayunk Arts Festival 2013

Well Day 2 of the Manayunk Art Festival in the Emerging Artist tent went very well. It is only the second year they've done it.

All these pictures were take by my husband while on his way with the baby to come visit our booth. 

We live here in the area, so he loaded up the baby in the stroller and walked about a mile to come see us! What a good hubby, huh?

It was estimated that over 200,000 people visited this year. More than half came on Day 1. It ended up raining off and on on Day 2, so I think a lot of people came out early or only on the first day to avoided the increased heat and rain.

 There we are! Me & Brie

Day 2 turned out to be great for us! We did less # of sales but the ones we did make were larger than Day 1. We tripled our sales from Day 1! Yay us! AND by the end of July (when we deliver the order)  we will officially be available for purchase on the West Coast in the San Francisco based children's boutique named Kids Only. Wah-hoo!

Here's Eva walking around Mommy's booth while we were working. Don't ya just love how her stroller matches our company colors?! hehe

Walking around in between the town homes and businesses. And yes, it is 90+ degrees outside and Daddy dressed her in a winter fleece jumper and attempted to use a headband in her hair. 

And here she is in a quick trip to Pretzel Park just yards away from all the festivities. 

Day 1 - Manayunk Arts Festival 2013

This is my first arts festival as an artist and I am having a great time. I must admit that my skills as saleswoman are lacking a little, but I'm getting better at every interaction.

The weather hasn't been too bad so far, mid to high 80s. We had a tent but most of the day we were shaded, but I can't say the same for other vendors. Let's just say there were some lobsters walking around and not the eating kind. :(


We've gotten great response from our new aprons! We may also be setting up wholesale accounts with some brick-n-morter shops. Yay! Here are the aprons causing the stir...

The cupcake one has especially been popular. Unfortunately, I can no longer locate the fabric I used for tie strings and trim. So we're still offering this design on our Etsy shop but as a customizable apron. Here are the options for those interested:

Main Fabric Options

Accent Fabric Options

Please be sure to stop by my Etsy Shop if you are interest. I'm sure this guy is...lol!

Baking Substitutions with Chobani

Baking Substitutions with Chobani

There are so many options in baking these days that allow for substituting traditional ingredients to improve the calorie count or over healthiness of a recipe. For all your greek yogurt lovers I came across on Pinterest this list that uses Chobani Greek Yogurt as the substitute! Yum! 

Try them out and let us know what you think!

Happy baking!

Tiny Prints Flash Sale!

Heads up on a Flash Sale!

It's wedding season, graduation season and summer birthdays. If you're in need of thank you cards and want to take them to the next level by having them customized, a great option is to head over to Tiny Prints here and enter code DEAL0613 to get 50% OFF! The sale runs from today 6/13/13 at 10am PT until 6/14/13 at 9am PT. 

Embroidery Freebie: S'more S'mores

I'm excited to announce our friends over at Urban Threads have released another new embroidery freebie. Pop over while it last and download this adorable design named S'more S'mores.