Hip Christmas

{image made by me in Polyvore} Keeping with traditional red and green, but trying to add a new twist, I'm loving the above color palate for Christmas this year!
Hot pink on a Christmas tree?

yes please!

What colors are you doing this year?

Aqua and red?

Green and red?

White and gold?

Silver and green?

I'm thinking this year is super inspired and triple dipped in color, as I'm seeing all sorts of fun combos.

Can you believe Christmas is less than 4 weeks away?! 

♥♥♥

I love gold?

Have you been bitten by the gold bug?
I never ever liked gold. Gross. Grandma. Gaudy. All of those came to mind.
But then I saw it presented in a way that ignited in me a love for gold...

{image above made by me in Polyvore}
Gold paired with pinks, corals and melon!

YUM.

One of my favorite blogs, MadeByGirl is crawling with pink and gold goodness, as artist Jen Ramos' home is impeccably decorated subtly in the hues. Then today I decided to crack open a way over-due issue of one of my favorite magazines, House Beautiful, to find these:

 Helloooo Pink!

Pink is so underutilized in home decor which is strange since it's so popular in fashion and even more strange is the fact that flowers, the most natural accent pieces, often come in pink.

So what do you think? Would you add pops of pink to your home?

♥♥♥

The Simple Things

Linking up with Rebecca for this week's installment of TST!
Keeping in mind to stop and smell the roses while being appreciative of the simple things in everyday life.

...Like seriously overdue photos from Halloween!
These little family moments are so sweet and I'm so lucky to have my sweet boys!
Also thankful that I got to trick or treat in a tank top! It's still in the 70's here in Phoenix!

And the simple pleasures of working on my handmades at a quiet table.
Short post, I know. OH! And I'm trying to do my first questions & answers post so if there's anything you'd like to know about me, the biz, or my advice for starting up your own handmade shop, just ask!Email me at LaurenRAshby@aol.comAnswers and feedback will be posted in an upcoming post!
♥


 Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!
Now go link up! ;)
♥♥♥

black friday?!

This was the first year I attempted Black Friday.
I had the "great idea" to stay awake all the way through to midnight without napping first.
This is what I looked like at the start. On the way to Michelle's house to hit up Kohls. I wasn't so impressed with the Black Friday selections this year, but Michelle scored tons of loot!

 {that's a whole lotta face!}

After Kohls we went to Target, which was ridiculous! Unless you were there for a big ticket item, the lines were so not worth it. At first I had some jammies for Sam but when I saw the line I jumped ship!
Then it was on to JoAnn Fabric, where it was MADNESS!!!! I underestimated that crowd! By the time I showed up and got my ticket for the cut counter, I was number 92 and they were on number 22. By 42, I left.  I still had a ways to drive home and at that point I was feeling like I was going to pass out. I was amongst a crowd of chipper and energized ladies whom had just woken up and I was going on being up for 24 hours.

So alas, I left without my $1.49 a yard flannel that I was hoping to make some stuffed animals with.
Oh well!

Did you go out for Black Friday? What did you score?
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InstaFriday!

PUT DOWN the leftover Turkey!
It's time for InstaFriday!

Breakfast of champions. Sippycup "milkshake" (milk with strawberry syrup), banana, Froot Loops and of course everyone needs a penguin backpack to hold their water bottle.

I was this close to buying this incredibly sexy pajama onesie for pajama day at school. Then I remembered it was only our grade doing it and I couldn't bear the looks of shame I'd get from the other parents.

Cool idea at Ikea. Cheap ornaments in a big glass vase.

Caramel Brulee just moved into first place, passing up Peppermint Mocha as my seasonal fave.

Sam giving good morning kisses to daddy. Doesn't get much sweeter than that face!

If there was ever a good time to get stuck behind a UHAUL truck, this is it.

Watching Modern Family with the hubs.I need to assign more lazy time to my schedule. Sometimes I forget how fun doing nothing can be.
Click the button above to link up with Life.Rearranged!{incredibly sexy onesie pajamas above available at Target}
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Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

I could get real sappy about all the things I'm thankful for, or I can just leave you with a humorous eCard.

You're welcome!

 Hope everyone has a blessed day and a safe black Friday! 

♥♥♥

time {mis}management

I'm a bad blogger.
By the time I get home from work, tend to my 2 year old, clean up the mess he's made, respond to emails, get orders ready to be shipped, and possibly squeeze in some sewing time, the last thing I seem to think to do is blog!
Basically, I have a major time management issue. I'll sit down to read emails or write a blog post and I get sidetracked by a million things {facebook anyone?}. Know the feeling?
I always count on the weekends to get stuff done/written but then I never seem to get around to it. So my new goal is to utilize my time so that I have weekends free to possibly squeeze in some blogging.
Oh! And check out this glorious little pile I just got from one of my favorite fabric stores here in Phoenix that I keep a secret ;)

I'm really hoping I have time to cut into this sweetness today. My friend Michelle and I are making the trip to Ikea this afternoon for some shelves I've been needing...and probably lots of other stuff. Ikea comes from the Heavens, where everyone loves to organize as much as I do.

Don't forget the 15% off special is still running in the shop, and if your purchase is a gift let me know so I can add a cute little tag or card.
All orders arrive in the prettiest dressings, whether they're a gift or not. Presentation is everything!

As for the blog, I am going to try to write more inspiring posts sharing my experiences owning a shop {for those of you debating taking the plunge!} and I will try to be more consistent.
I am so thankful for my readers and faithful friends. Thank you to everyone who re-added me when I lost all my followers! You are all appreciated!
♥♥♥
Have a great week friends!

How to make cake pops

{cake balls are the same thing, only without the stick)

 Start by baking a cake as usual. You can make it from scratch, or if you're like me, just follow instructions on the box :)
Then crumble it up right in the cake pan.

 Next, mix your crumbles with half a container of frosting.
If your cake isn't sticking you can add more frosting but I wouldn't go beyond 3/4's of the container- these are sweet enough as is!

 Roll into balls in your palm. If balls aren't sticking, wash your hands periodically, it helps.

 Next, stick your cake balls into the freezer while you're warming up the outer coating.

 Follow instructions on the container of your coating. I used "candy coating" which is basically just melted white chocolate. You can also use almond bark. I added red food coloring to get the pink color.

 Next, stick the stick into the now-cold-but-not-frozen cake ball.
Now it's an official pop!
Dip it in your melted coating, making sure to get off excess to prevent dripping.

 If you're doing sprinkles or colored sugar, now's the time!

 Floral foam works best for the cooling process. I stuck my pops into these and put them in the refridgerator to harden them up.

If you have more balls than sticks {that sounded bad} just pop them into mini cupcake liners and you've got cake balls! Just as festive and tasty!

I've heard of cake pops being done at gender reveal baby showers and I'm in love with the idea!
To do that, just add food coloring to your cake mix- blue or pink! Then keep the outer shell a neutral color like white or chocolate so it's a secret!

Now go make some cavities! They're worth it! ;)
♥♥♥

Introducing Lollibands!

Remember these?

Lollibobbies seeeeriously need to be restocked BUT until they are, I have something new for you!
Lollibands!

Three rosettes sit atop a no-slip elastic band.
I have a hard time with bands like these because they slip all over the place. {maybe my head is abnormally small?} but these are really great because they stay put without pulling your hair. And because they're grippy, there are more ways to wear them.

 like this...

 or this...

or however you can rock it!
There are only 7 in the shop right now so go grab yours before it's gone!

Do you notice a difference in the rosettes? I'm now twisting them without raw edges exposed to prevent fray and extend the left of the piece. Some have said they like the frayed look, in which case just mention that in your notes to seller during checkout.
And there are some rosette necklaces in the shop right now with both the frayed look, and without...

 {special thanks to my friend Michelle for modeling the new stuff for me!}

The Simple Things

Rebecca has a darling blog where every Sunday she highlights living for the Simple things in life.
These are the photos I'm linking up this week...

I ::love:: this photo. It was the perfect moment. Those endless rose fields at dusk with a perfect full moon in the distance.

I was at the roses to take photos of product and my friend Michelle. I certainly wasn't dressed or groomed for pictures, but I'm so grateful Michelle caught this sweet moment.

Imagine acres and acres of these. Pure bliss!

I will miss these roses come winter.
It was a beautiful, simple, electronics-free evening which I needed very much.
:) Have a great week friends!

studio update & a Giveaway!

The other day I did something unusual.
I cleaned my studio/craft room/office!
Here's peek at my favorite space...all cleaned up just for you!

This is the "business" side of the room. Where all the uploading, photo-editing, e-mailing, listing and blogging happens.

Yeah I know a lot of the frames are crooked. I also know the pattern of frames is strange. I thought hanging them would be easier with the desk pulled out, but when I put it back against the wall it was kinda random.
I'll fix them eventually. Probably. Maybe.

Sheet music wreath I made that you can see here!

Grand Central Station. This is where my to-be-filled order invoices go, as well as notes and reminders. Pen holder is a vintage preserves jar I found at Goodwill for like a dollar. I love it. I had really hoped to get some coffee cozies added to the shop today during my day off, but the sun's been going down so early around here I didn't get enough light to photograph any! Hopefully tomorrow!

Okay I said I cleaned. I didn't mention organizing.
The shelves and ribbon are in disaray, but I sort of like these photos more. The "keepin' it realz" kinda photos. This is how my other desk looks on any given day, except probably messier.

The ugly lamp is for function, not fashion, as you can see by it's absent lampshade.
Antique wood box at left was given to me by my mom and holds all my templates and patterns.
Everyone has their own way of sewing and measuring- for me I work better with pre-cut cardstock templates in the sizes I use for my products. And doing this helps keep the uniformity of the sizes, as opposed to measuring and cutting each time.

Candy jars hold my spools, fabric scraps, and buttons/doohickeys.
The wire basket next to it holds pre-cut fabric or stacks currently in use.

The fabric. Ahhh the fabric!

I made this ribbon holder by tying a long fabric scrap around the ends of a long wooden dowel (after sliding ribbon spools on) and typing them around a tack in the wall (which is nicely hidden behind fabric.) Super easy, cheap and handy!

So there you have it!
My favorite room in the house.
♥
I'm having a giveaway today over at one of my favorite blogs, Honey We're Home! So go enter for a $25.00 shop credit! :DAnd if you're reeeeally nice, you could tweet about it too!Just sayin' :)
And pretty pretty please re-follow if you were one of my 247 beloved lost followers in a coding error!
Thanks so much guys! Have a great weekend!
♥♥♥