Featured Etsy Seller ~ JessiGPhotography

I love finding these great shops and sharing them with you! It's so much fun!!! =) Today's featured seller is JessiGPhotography, and she has some really lovely fine art photographs!

Here is my interview with Jessica! =)

Tell us a little about yourself:
I'm a mom to my beautiful 7 month old daughter. A wife to an amazing husband. I live in Florida and if I'm not playing with my daughter or have my camera in my hand, I'm blogging.

And your shop:
My shop is my photography. You'll probably find many black and white prints because that's what I'm drawn to. I love the mood and emotions that a great black and white piece of art can give you. I do keep a variety of prints in my shop though, some vintage inspired, macro, and beautiful color. 

What is the inspiration behind your photography?
My daughter is my inspiration. I've been into photography for a long time, but about 5 months before she was born in 2010, I got more serious about it. I'm glad I did, it keeps me busy, if she doesn't. 

Besides photography, what are your favorite things to do?
I am a very spritiual person and that comes first. After that, I love being with my family and look forward to the weekend to have my husband home. I blog everyday, except for the weekends because that's family time. I am always looking for new ways to promote and market my photography to get it out there. Of course, I'm a beach, tan, hanging with friends, enjoying a nice fruity drink by the pool {even though I'd rather be on a cruise} kind of girl. 

Where else can we find you besides on Etsy?
You can find me on my blog: lovinthelittlethings.blogspot.com/
My business blog: jessicagrimmphotography.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Grimm-Photography/117992851604221
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JessiGPhotos

Any random fun fact you'd like to share? 
I love to sing and dance and I really enjoy housework, if I'm alone. I can turn my ipod up and sing and dance around. A clean house always feels nice. I try to be supermom and am starting to realize I can't be lol

Aren't her photographs awesome! I especially like the black and white! =) Go ahead and check out the rest of her shop! =) 

Random Post about Random Things =)

Hi everyone! =) I hope you're having a great week! I've been enjoying this spring weather SO much. This picture is from our front flower bed about 10 minutes ago. =)

For some reason, my hair has been REALLY dry lately. Last night I decided to do something about it, and I mixed up some honey and olive oil ( I didn't measure, but it was about 1/4 cup of each) and worked it into my hair. I let it sit for about 15 minutes and then washed it out in the shower. My hair is NOTICEABLY softer and less dry today! =) I thought I'd share it with you in case you're having my same trouble. One note, honey is better for lighter hair colors. It brings out the shine and highlights. If you have dark hair, I've heard that molasses is great for you! =) 

Oh! Today I got my Mountain Rose Herbs order, which means I'll be making Shampoo Bars SOON! I'm very excited! Hopefully I can make a batch today, but if not it will be this week, and I'll let you know when it happens. =) 

Also today I'm planning to paint my kitchen. We live in a mobile home while we're saving up to build, and my kitchen cabinets are all painted. They're also old. The paint is looking a little dingy, and the walls have scuffs on them in places, so today it's all getting a fresh coat of clean white paint! =)

I guess I'd better go get on that. Have a great day! ♥

Featured Etsy Seller My Sweet Potato3

Today I'm very excited to show you some ADORABLE baby things handmade by My Sweet Potato 3! Here's my interview with Christine!

Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I am a stay at home mom of 3 children who are my inspiration and joy of my life along with my husband. As a young girl my Great Grandmother taught me the art of crocheting. I have been developing my skills since and decided I would like to share it with others. I also enjoy playing with my kids, anything outdoors especial camping and hiking, cooking (or trying to cook as my family would say), and I am currently training to run the Sawtooth Relay.

And your shop:
I opened My Sweet Potato 3 almost 2 months ago. It has been a lot of fun selling my hats and seeing them used in professional photography, on everyday kids and even used as chemo hats. I am excited about announcing a discount on all items in my shop that are purchased for young children going through chemotherapy this week-an inspiration from one of my first clients.

What's the inspiration behind the beautiful items you create?
My Great Grandmother taught me to crochet when I was in junior high. I want to carry on her skill, I feel a part of her is with me still when I sit down and work on a project in the evenings. And of course my children! Seeing something you create on adorable little ones is always an inspiration!

Are you hoping to expand in the future? 
Only being open for a couple months, I feel as though I am just starting out. I do have hopes to expand, especially this fall when the chilly weather starts to set in again. However, my priority will always be my family! So as long as I can continue to work on hats in the evenings I am excited about my business growing.

Beside Etsy, where else can we find you?
I just started a blog and would love to have you follow! It is little bit business, a little bit about me: mysweetpotato3.blogspot.com/

Anything else you'd like us to know? Feel free to bee completely random if you like. :-)
~My Grandmother just celebrated her 80th birthday! And from her came 5 wonderful children, 27 loved grandkids, and 28 cherished great-grandkids and we are still growing! I love you Grandma Lila!




Aren't those hats just adorable!!! I LOVED looking through her shop!! Now head on over there and check out the rest of her items!! :-) Enjoy!

Gorgeous Vintage Dresses!!!

I just found these absolutely beautiful vintage dresses from Mill Crest Vintage!!!

Check out these lovely wedding dresses!

 This is a 40's style wedding dress, and I LOVE it!!!!!! I just love the ruffles!

 The lace on this is gorgeous isn't it?!

This 50's day dress is SO cute and springy! I absolutely love it! 

Just wanted to share! :-)

Home Decoration ~ What's Your Style?

Yesterday on Facebook one of the ladies who's business I am a fan of asked, "When looking for items for your home, what are you MOST attracted to?"

This got me thinking, because I love decorating (though you probably couldn't tell by looking at my house!) So I decided to share a few pictures of items that I LOVE from Etsy! :-)

I think this bench would be awesome in an entryway or mudroom! 

Seeing Stars Rustic Bench from True Connection

And this table would look great in fromt of picture windows in my (future) sunny kitchen! :-)

1800's Distressed Grey 6 Person Table Coastal Chic Studio

I love this sign because it's hand painted on rustic reclaimed wood, and I think I'd like to have a ranch some day. :-) 

The Ranch hand painted sign by Hopscotch Dandelions

This picture, aside from being a lot like what I'd love our yard to look like, is a bright beautiful picture that would be awesome in any room! 

Waiting For Friends fine art photograph by Raengray

This beautiful TV stand is a great living room piece! 

40 inch Rustic TV Cabinet from Shaka Studios

I really love the look of this wall pocket! It makes great wall art!

Birch Bark Wall Pocket by NHWoodscreations

This watering can and planter (both of which I would use as planters) are just beautiful! I'd love to dress up my deck with them! I love the delicate ferns painted on them!

 Hand Painted Watering Can & Planter by Painting By Elaine

This barn wood coffee table is awesome. What a beautiful addition to a country home! :-)

Barnwood Coffee Table by Wood Bird Design

And before I go, here's a couple photographs I found of rooms that I LOVE. 

This is the PERFECT country bathroom!

I love the fireplace, the beams on the ceiling, and the flooring in this room!

Ok that's enough pictures for one day! :-) As you can see, I'm pretty old fashioned. Now I ask you, what's YOUR style?

Noella Beauty Works ~ Featured Fellow Etsian!

Hi everyone! Today's featured Etsian is someone I am very excited to tell you about! Jackie of Noella Beauty Works hand makes completely natural mineral makeup! She has lots of gorgeous eyeshadow colors, as well as foundations for any skin color, concealer, and blush. She uses only natural ingredients in her makeup, with no synthetic dyes or fragrances, no preservatives, and no parabens. 
 Jackie was kind enough to let me interview her for this post! 


 Tell us a little bit about yourself: My name is Jackie. I'm 21 years old and I'm currently going to school for Visual Communications. I live in a little apartment with my boyfriend, Aziz and our two cats, Scout and Marissa. I spend the mornings in school, the afternoons and evenings in my studio working and I also work at a coffee shop once a week.
And your shop: 
 My shop is full of all natural, mineral cosmetics, handmade by me. I carry custom blended foundation, blushes, concealer and eyeshadows. I've been slowly expanding but I do plan to expand much more. As you can see however, my schedule makes it difficult. I imagine come summer, when I am not in school I will be expanding much more.
Why natural mineral makeup?
 I have very sensitive, acne prone skin. After discovering how to make my own makeup I decided to formulate a blend of cosmetics that didn't contain any of the ingredients that irritated or broke out my skin. I liked it and so did my relatives and friends that tried it. I ended up selling the cosmetics in my Mom's Hair Salon and got a good response. A lot of people have sensitive skin and I wanted offer a cosmetic that worked well, and was pure and non irritating.
What is the inspiration behind the beautiful colors in your products? 
  I have a tendency to create more colors that suit my taste. As you see, there are many neutrals and a lot of greens :) Those are my colors. However, I get a lot of inspiration from the changing seasons and fashion. I like to look through magazines and find outfits that inspire a color or collection as well.
Is there anything else you would like to share? (feel free to be completely random if you like:))
 I LOVE the country. When I finally settle down I want a house in the middle of nowhere with a lot of land, a big empty and tamed field and some woods. I want my house to be on a hill so that that when I sit on my balcony I can see over the trees below onto a lake or mountains. 
Any advice for other sellers?

 Get your name out there. I know it seems cliché and obvious but really- get your name out. And even when you feel like it’s out- keep going. Never, ever let a customer down and if you do- fix it. Be original in your work. Work hard. Have fun :)
Where else can we find you besides Etsy?
 I currently only sell on Etsy but you can find my facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/noellabeautyworks , you can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/noellabeauty and you can read about Noella Beauty Works at www.noellabeautyworks.blogspot.com


 Jackie thank you so much for letting me feature you on my blog! I really love your makeup and I will be ordering some in the near future! *Review post alert!* 


I hope you all enjoyed this! Have a great day!!

New Newsletter!

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a good week! It's like Spring here right now. My Crocuses and Tulips are coming up, and I can't WAIT to get the garden in! I guess that'll have to wait another couple months though. haha.

As you probably guessed by the title of this post, I am starting a newsletter! It'll be a monthly free newsletter sent straight to your email on the 15th of each month. I am going to be writing about changes and new happenings in my business, featuring an herb a month to help people learn more about them and how to use them, and tell about new products. Since I'm just starting, I'm sure I'll add things or change things, and I'm open to suggestions for improvements!

Here's a little sneak peak of the first edition, due to go out on the 15th.

If you want to sign up, it's REALLY easy! Just type your name and email address into the box at the upper right corner of the blog. You will receive an email to confirm your address, and once you click the link in your email you're done! You won't receive any spam, just the monthly newsletter from me. :-) Although I HOPE you won't want to, you can unsubscribe any time.

Ok I'm off to clean my house!

I'm An Affiliate with Mountain Rose Herbs!

I LOVE Mountain Rose Herbs. They have very high quality products, great selection, and great service and pricing. I get as many of my supplies from them as I can! Recently I signed up to become an affiliate with them, and today I was approved!
 So, I highly recommend you check them out, and if you decide to order, could you PLEASE go through my link? :-) It won't cost you any extra and it'll help me out some. :-) You can either click the banner below or the button at the top of the page.

Have a great evening!

Craft Show!!

Hi everyone! I'm going to be selling at my very FIRST craft show this June!!! I'm SO excited!!! :-D

If you are from Ohio, ESPECIALLY the Cleveland area, you should definitely check out this show. It is going to be all handmade items from artists on Etsy! It is called the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show, and it will be in Middleburg Heights, Ohio at the community center. I will share more details as the show gets closer.

I'm going to be making a lot of different products for the show, ones that I've been wanting to make anyway but haven't had the time. At the top of my list is Bath Salts, Shampoo Bars, Facial Soaps, Liquid Soap, and Beeswax Candles! I can't wait to get all of this stuff made and use it myself as well as list it in my Etsy shop! 

I have a question for you all. As of now, I have about 8 kinds of soap that I will be bringing.

I have:
Lavender 
Oatmeal 
Kelp and Lime 
Bay Spice
Country Garden
Vitamin
Coffee (I'm making more today!)
Castille

I'd like to have 10 different kinds, and I thought I'd let you all pick out the last two! Do you have a favorite scent? A favorite herb? A kind of soap that you've bought in the past and enjoyed? Just tell me about it in the comments! I love getting inspiration from friends! :-)

So I Tried That Carrot Mask...

And decided to post pictures! Haha.

So, I started by steaming the carrots, but I started it too late last night, and had to refrigerate them until I could use them today. Here's me before I started:

I mashed the carrots and added the honey, 

and then tried to spread it on my face, but it wouldn't stick, so I added flour. It stuck much better after that! :-)

Then I looked like this:

Attractive, huh? :-) Now I let it stay on for about 10 minutes, and then rinsed it off in the shower. It felt pretty nice. I looked it up, and wheat flour contains vitamin E and antioxidants which are nourishing for your skin and help slow down the aging process. It is also a mild exfoliant, helping to remove dead skin cells and leave your skin glowing. 

 So, after my shower, I looked like this:

I think I'll try and do that once a week and see if it makes much difference! If you try it, let me know! :-)