Friday, February 26, 2010

New additions to Quibby's Bows


So FINALLY I was able to take pictures. This (above) is my sign that I HAND painted (thats why it isnt so perfect)...its a cabinet door gone wrong that I stole from my brothers pile of "trash" (he makes cabinets). I am going to use it as a sign..make my "space" more professional. I have another one to do too, but this one took so long I may wait in between..ya know? I modeled it off of my logo.
(below) this are the bow holders work in progress. I stole more wood from my brothers "trash" this is VERY expensive wood, but since I didnt buy it...its great! I am in the process of painting the trim now. Then I will attach a real bow to the top and write "bows" on it. Then of course there will be ribbons hanging to put bows on. I was going to personalize them at the craft fair but I think that might be a bit extreme, but they can be ordered to be personalized. These will all say "bows" though. So, all of this is recycled! Can I add that in my description?? hehe.
(below) is a gift for a sweetie whose name starts with a Q. This was trial run, and after it was a semi-sucess I tried two other "BOY" things. I needed SOMETHING for boys, and this seems to be the answer. I will search the clearance rack every time I go to target to look for t-shirts now. I know that this would have looked better centered BUT there was a pocket and when I took the pocket off you could see where it was...so the Q hides that. Q for quail in case you are wondering.
Below are turtles with scarfs or snorkels (michaels idea). They turned out ok. At first they were to plain, and I tried to put a "pond" but it didnt look good. So I tried to put the next best thing to bows..which is scarfts! (I guess).
And I am in love with this (below). This is a shirt for a little girl with a matching bow...if I were a little girl I would have cried for this...hope some other girls do the same..hehe.
This one (below) is ok...the only problem is that the shirt is Girls XL, I am not sure the size of girls these days but hopefully this shirt can find a home somewhere...and it comes with a matching bow as well.
First etsy order! (Thanks Lauren!) The colors were her choice.
This is the etsy order as well, but I changed out the top bow for a brown/pink bow on a pink clippie...bc its for a baby and she cant wear two...
Last weeks order! (Thanks Shannon!). These are new, they are tiny flowers...

And the normal blue one.
Small Felt flowers!

The purple is my favorite (I now have blue, and am in the process of making black/red)
All the pieces cut out...took FOREVER.
So there you have it! Its so long bc I havent had my camera...gives me a headache just reading it..hope you enjoy! Craft fair in just a few shorts weeks.. EEK!
TGIF, Thank God its Friday! Hope we can get some good weather so we can play outside!
Happy weekend!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Is it already Thursday??

Wow, I cant believe how long I neglected my blog! So sorry!
Michael/husband has my camera and I cant take pictures and put them on my blog. And that's a sad thing because I have SO much new stuff. Entirely new, like never made before new, like not even a bow new! I even made a few things for boys (not bows but cute t-shirts with little turtles). I am going to be doing a craft fair in March, and I am trying to get ready. I want to make a few things that make more than $3 so that my sales may add up. Thats why I have made little girl t-shirts with an adorable felt flower and beautiful green ribbon WITH a matching hair bow! I know you are imagining it now...hehe.

I made a $28 sale last week. I was SOO excited. And along with that sale came another ribbon order which means I have ribbon that needs to be made into bows. But I have gotten a little carried away with the felt so that has been put on the back burner for now. Although I HAVE to get to it before the craft fair. I am trying to keep my supplies at a minimum so that I dont get overrwhelmed. So now I need to finish making the turtle bows, finish the bow holders (paint them), finish my Quibby's Bow sign, make Ribbon bows (bitty buds and blossoming buds) THEN make bow cards. That may take me a while. But I have been putting out products like no bodies business so maybe I can finish all that before March 20th. I should have the turtles done by tonight. Then the painting tomorrow. Yikes, stressing myself just talking about it.

This week has been busy with 'friend activites' it has been nice. I had a knitting potluck at my house on Monday night and on Monday (during the day) I had a new friend come over and we went for walk. Then Tuesday was my bible study and a nice lady took me out to lunch at Jason's Deli! It has been SOO long! And I introduced her (there were other ladies too) to the ice cream/strawberries/almond concoction from my Haghighi babysitting days. It was still delicious.

This weekend should be nice, I hope, not to much planned and thats very nice.

Anyways, pictures soon I promise. Ness is fussing..better tend to him!
:)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Wordy Wednesday


(above=most beautiful baby, look at those lashes!
Its a quiet Wednesday and at this point we are all waiting for "daddy" to come home. Ness is in his favorite spot/jumper,



(So his hair is getting a little out of control..but isnt it cute!?)

So are the Chickens,

And so is Pokey.

We finally got our heater fixed so we are a much happier family. No more mittens to bed!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Newest Creation!

I am so proud of what I just made...it took a while but eventually I got the hang of it. I love the way it turned out. I bought one empty headband with the last ribbon order to see what I could do with it, and here it is! I cant wait until I have more money to buy more ribbon! And this is a good use for that thin ribbon, it doesnt look that good as a flower bow..or even a normal bow, its only good for covering alligator clips..anyways..enjoy!

In other news our heater no longer works...I have tried many times to get in contact with the landlord and no success...its REALLY cold. If it werent for space heaters we would be dead. And of course this is the coldest week (well maybe not coldest but def. cold).

And I finally got my chickens! They came as a perfect valentines day gift! So far only one egg but hopefully they will start laying soon. We have one duck and two chickens. Fun!
Ok, going to warm my nimble hands...haha.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

NoseFrida Review (*Gross Warning*) + Bow Update

So I know that this blog is for bows, but its also my only blog so I have to include "motherly" things as well.
Ness has had some serious boogers since he was born. It may have to do with his "leaky eye" thing but he also may get it from me. Well, as you can imagine, he HATES anything dealing with his face ESPECIALLY his nose. I always used the bulb syringe, it hardly ever worked but it got some out so that's why I continued to use it. Well lately his nose had gotten really bad. To the point that I had to put a pillow under his mattress and two pillows on either side of him (that stopped him from rolling over as well and keeps him "snug" which he likes). I tried using the bulb syringe, like always it just got a tiny bit out, and the more I used it the more I realized that it was causing the inside of his nose to bleed. And of course that was making him scream even more. I started to research other options...they HAD to be out there! That's when I came across the NoseFrida. I saw that they were sold at Whole Foods (of course not ours, when I asked them why he said that it was hard to convince people to use it...bc of the "gross" factor...dang southerners...) and Target (not ours either). So we ordered if off of Amazon, the reviews for it were awesome (I think they were ALL 4 or 5 stars (out of five stars)). It was about $18 plus tax (we get free shipping at Amazon, you can also get it from nosefrida.com I do believe). It comes in a handy carrying case.

So it came in, I was excited yet a little grossed out to use it. For those of you who know me well know that this is the sort of thing that gets me excited....I love being able to "see progress" (the booger tube is clear..lol).

So Michael and I got Ness in his "booger sucking" position and started to suck away. You put the red piece in your mouth and the blue part in his nose. If you go to their website you will see that they have done several studies on this product. They have found that 0% of bacteria gets to the mouth piece if the filter is in. I am not sure how because the filter is basically a sponge cut in the shape of a circle...but I will believe the study.
His boogers were so hard bc he had had them for quite some time, so they wouldn't budge. We put some salt water in with the bulb syringe, still not budging. I was sucking with one solid suck...one solid suck doesnt work (make note). We got a decent amount out but not enough to satisfy me. The next day I decided to do it after we took a bath. I used a wash cloth to dampen the inside of his nose (yeah.hes not a big fan of this) while in the bath. His boogers were much looser. But this time I tried sucking it a different way, instead of one big suck I did a bunch of tiny little sucks. This cleaned his nose right out. So the boogers have to be soft and you have to suck in short bursts.

Just so you know, the boogers barely get past the tip, much less into the mouth pieces...and even if it did get to the filter I cant see it making its way ALL the way up to the mouthpiece. And even if it did you would be able to see it and stop before you inhaled boogers (but that wont happen).

So a summary is that he still REALLY hates it but he doesnt cry as long and since it just sets at the opening of his nose (and doesnt go in) it doesnt cause him much actual pain, he just doesnt like the feeling of having his nose cleaned out. Another con is that the main tube is not firmly attached to the rest of the device so you have to make sure you hold it one while you are sucking (it just sits on top, doesnt latch..Im sure there is a reason..but I dont know what it is).
The good things are that it really works, and you can SEE what you get out. You can also hear it. If the boogers are nice and loose all you do is move the nose piece around the edge of the nose to get all of it, you can hear it getting it...I really like that aspect of it.
Its very affordable. I think that it can also be used for adults...but we haven't had to use it yet so I cant vouch for that.
Overall I think its worth the $18.
Let me know if you have more questions!

Bow business is going well, well decently. My grandmother sold 5 big ones (Saints and LSU colors). I had to order the ribbon online (which I will probably do from here on out) because the stores didnt have it. I havent gotten the ribbon yet but I hope to have them done by this weekend. That website (Ribbon Retreat) has the CUTEST ribbon ever. I cant wait to buy some, but I am waiting until I have paid myself back for money spent (will be done after I sell two this weekend, already have someone that wants them). I sold 2 baby buds (tiny flower bows) to a friend of mine. I have been making more flowers, but I am going to order more ribbons and make more big bows and maybe a few more small ones. I have the felt to make cats and turtles. I made "Pigs with Pigtails" this weekend, very cute; and I have already made elephants, monkeys, and snails. I am also going to make some wooden bow holders. I am going to get the wood this weekend (leftovers from my brothers cabinet business) and I will attach ribbons to it. I plan to personalize them at the craft fair. I will make one with "Quibby's Bows" or something and then the rest will be fully painted but left blank where the name goes, then at the craft fair I will paint them (hopefully they wont take to long to dry!). I think I will make 15 of those, or more if my brother has more wood. I plan to make 200 bows and a few headbands (I ordered one and I am going to see if I can braid a ribbon on it..it was cheap so if I mess it up, not such a big loss). I know its a lot but I am going really fast through the 100 clips I ordered. I will sell them at the craft fair in MS and then the following weekend is another one. If I am successful I may try and join the arts association in Baton Rouge because they have "shows" once a month..tuition is very cheap.
Anyways, that is all! I will post pics soon.

Oh, Michael found a greyhound dog this morning roaming around lost and shivering. He has a collar and we are trying to get in touch with the owner but so far no luck. He is laying on the couch right now...lol.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Giveaway!

Today my bows are in a giveaway! I am so excited about getting my name out there! Check it out:
http://embellishedbayou.blogspot.com/
I found a group called Handmade Louisiana, it is awesome! They have these sorts of things all the time. Its fun to get to know other women who are trying to do the same thing that you are trying to do. And they make some AWESOME stuff. Its fun (and good for the economy) to support buying local.

Today we have a babysitter! Grandma "CC" is going to take Ness for the afternoon, this will be the longest time yet (from 5ish to 10ish). I am not nervous, I know he will be fine (if hes not grouchy like he has been the last few days, but he was better this morning); I just get a little sad. As much as I would like a break sometimes (especially lately), its still sad to see him go for a little while. But I dont want to be one of those moms that cant part from their kid, he needs to learn to be around other people...its good for him! And I think that hes stable enough to not get seperation anxiety..and its not in his personality...so thats good.
Ness is 6 months now, here are two pics to jog your memory of 6 months ago...
And this was this Saturday when he made 6 months...
:sighs: Time goes by to fast.
:)

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Saints Football died...

I took it apart..I couldnt get it to look right. So I decided to just make footballs and sell them in a set of two...

All for the Saints

Let it be known that I have tried to honor the Saints with my craft. It turned out ok, if this were to sell it would be under the Felt Animal Bow category, but you would get a set of 2 for $5.
Enjoy!

I personally think it looks better in real life but that's just me.
:)

Monday, February 1, 2010

My attempt in joining the Saints Bandwagon

So I am in the process of making a felt Saints bow. I wanted to make the mascot but I CAN NOT find gold felt! Crazy! So I am now trying to make a football with something "saintish" inscribed on the ball. Tonight I am running short on time...Ness is fussing ready to eat and its already 9 min. past his mealtime (the boy is like a clock!). Today was "house cleaning" day and and I was busy busy, plus Ness is having nose issues and needs more attention. ALSO we got all our vegetables from the Farmers Market so I had to clean and put those away..anywayssss...Here is what I have so far. This is all I had time for tonight.

Its VERY rough because I had sewn some stuff in and then realized I didnt like the way it looked so I tried to pull the thread out WITHOUT breaking it. I wanted to reuse the thread..well that didnt work..not only did it not come out in one piece it left the football a little shabby. But I will make it better tomorrow...hopefully its not such a busy day on the homestead. Anyways, Night!