Let's Get this Party Started! AND Featured Artist... (Ok, it's me... but I wanted to tell my story too)

Image Courtesy: The Felted Kitten

I was thinking about how we could get this blog a little more exposure, since I'm going to really work at it now.  So, I thought we should play a game:  You get a point for doing each of the things listed below and putting the links to show it in your comment to this post, up to a total of 10 Points... Winner gets a free item of their choice from my shop.

    1) Follow this blog if you aren't already doing so, one point to you if you are already
    2) Blog, Tweet, Facebook or use other social   media to spread the word about this giveaway with a link to this post...
     3) Add my badge to your blog or other website
     4) 'Like' my Facebook page and post a comment there with the name of your favorite item currently in my shop
      5) 'Follow' me on Twitter and post a comment there with a link to your favorite item currently in my shop

Just like in school, you have to show your work... So don't forget to comment on this post with the links to what you did.  Whoever has the most points by Midnight PST on Friday, July 15th wins.  If there is a tie, the winner will be chosen by Random.org.

Good Luck!

Image Courtesy: Love in Bloom Boutique

Hey, so here is the interview I did with myself.  Maybe it's a little schitzo... but oh well!  Mostly, I wanted to tell a little of my story and give people something to check out while they are thinking they may want to be featured on this blog.

     What do you make and what was/is the inspiration for your shop?  I make boutique style hair bows and ribbon flowers and am dabbling in other areas soon (I hope) to be introduced to Love in Bloom Boutique.  I started making accessories, because I had a hard time finding things that weren’t too grown-up or filled with too many other colors to go with my daughter’s school uniforms. I have since ventured into many other colors and love making sweet adornments for girls of all ages.

Tell us how your creativity has woven itself into your life’s journey to make you what you are today. (What instances helped give you the confidence/motivation to pursue this as a career?)  I have always loved playing with color in it’s various forms, from art projects to clothing and makeup choices to light… I love playing with it!  I always wanted to do something creative but just didn't pursue it for lots of reasons.  Anyway, I kept trying to figure out what creative thing I could do for the first five years I was a stay at home mom and finally happened upon this.  I kept getting compliments on what I was making, so I started a little business and here I am.

What is your vision for the future of your business?  Right now I’m just trying to make it through the stage of life where all of my kids aren’t in school yet, so for the short term I’d like to make a couple more good wholesale contacts do a few small shows, and pick up my sales on Etsy and I’d like to branch out by making more types of items (because I like to mix things up a bit). In the more distant future, I'd also one day open up a brick and mortar shop with all kinds of wonderful handmade items.

Tell us about your typical day.  There is always something different happening for me just due to having young children. But in general, I check and briefly respond to any e-mails and convo’s in the morning, work on my blog or making things at nap time and spend three or four nights per week working on designs after the kids go to bed.

Are you trained as an artist?  If yes, what degree(s) or certificates do you hold and where did you earn it/them? If no, how did you learn to make the items you offer in your shop?  I am not trained as an artist. Oh, how I would have changed that if I could re-live my college years!  It’s laughable how little formal art education I have, but I have learned that anything you want to do can pretty much be found in a free tutorial on YouTube or elsewhere on the web.  That being said, I have experimented quite a bit and significantly altered what I learned about making bows (and tutus) with much better results than just following a tutorial verbatim.

 In what other areas of your life (or interests that you have) do you see your creativity shining through? (Gardening, music, performing arts, writing, creative ‘foreign’ language expression etc.)   I love pretty things of all types, so I have a little cottage garden I scratch around in.  I think it’s fun to decide how to mix colors as well as forms, scents and tastes outdoors and often solicit my kids for their ideas.  I also wrote a children’s book that maybe I’ll pluck up enough courage one day to try and have published, but for now I enjoy it with my kids.  I love to cook delicious and healthy things to eat too.  But most of all, I love the beauty and richness of American Sign Language, Deaf culture and the Deaf themselves.  I am regularly involved with interpreting music at the church I belong to and will be starting back to school this fall and working toward the goal of completing the Interpreting Training Program at a local junior college one class at a time.

What is one thing you will be going out of your way to learn more about in the coming year to benefit your business? I’ll be working on managing the work-life balance better for sure.  Long nights in the basement may be fun and productive for the time, but cost much in what I can give my kids the next day.  If any of you have any helpful tips on this, let me know.   ;)

What steps are you taking to ensure your products follow applicable child safety laws? Safety has always been something I have taken seriously.  Because of this, all my items are made from a combination of items that either don’t require lead testing or are certified to comply with lead regulations.  I test items to see if they meet choking hazard regulations and label items for age appropriate use with the idea that parents should be informed enough to make great choices about small parts for their littlest ones.

Where can we find you?                                                                                                                                                                       Http://www.loveinbloomboutique.etsy.com  

Http://www.facebook.com/loveinbloomboutique

Http://twitter.com/#!/loveinbloomshop

And of course, here on Live Love Bloom Craft!

Keep it crafty!

Kristin

Connecting Kids with Nature...

I take my sons to a co-op style preschool and today we had a discussion about connecting kids with the great outdoors.  I picked up a few valuable insights that I thought I'd share with all of you...

• They can grow artistically by enjoying the beauty around them and gleaning the details of how natural things look and feel
• They can grow creatively and intellectually by having some time to be bored because they WILL invent things to do
• They can grow emotionally by accomplishing physical tasks like climbing a big hill.  This produces real self-esteem because they know that even though it was hard, or it took a long time they did it; and it wasn't just mom or dad saying they did a good job for the millionth time. (Praising your kids is still important, but sometimes letting them just come to the understanding that they can  do _________ is more valuable)
• They can grow physically, emotionally and maybe even socially (if they are with friends, siblings or you) by playing ball, riding bikes, climbing trees, digging in the dirt, hiking, swiming, climbing and just plain running around.  Letting your kids outside to move is so good because it not only challenges their bodies, but it helps their brains to release endorphins (chemicals that help us to feel good) as well.
• They can grow intellectually by learning about plants, animals, different environments, counting, sorting, helping you plant and tend a garden, and so much more!
• One mom in our class sends her boys out in their back yard on scavengar hunts regularly to find things like a seed, a small rock, a leaf, a feather, 3 pieces of trash, and a stick.  Depending on your area, you could have them find different things.  The sky's the limit!

Looking for shells on the beach, talking about the pictures we see in the clouds, hiking, hunting for bugs, climbing trees, and gardening are some things I enjoy doing with my own kids.  These are just a few ideas for how/what your kids can learn outside.  I'm sure you can think of more.  Feel free to post them in the comments section below.  I'd love to see what you have to say...

Live it up!
Kristin

Unexpected Blessings...

     The other day, I was out in the front yard and I noticed something strange.  In the middle of a patch of flowering onion was a lone bright yellow daffodil.  I didn't plant it there on purpose, and it had never bloomed before, or maybe I had just never seen it... but there it was: a beautiful reminder that in the midst of the business of everyday life a surprise is sometimes just what we need.  It may come in the form of a flower cropping up in an unexpected place.  Other times people go out of their way to do something unexpected that brightens a dull or upset day.  My daughter is notorious for doing this when I'm having a bad day.  She drops me a note that lets me know I'm loved.  It has the power to melt my heart and can turn my attitude completely around.      
     I notice it works with husbands too... Last weekend, my hubby worked so hard cleaning the house so I could spend some time preparing for a craft show.  Later, when he was out I cleaned up the kitchen and he mentioned to me how that made him feel like all the time he had spent cleaning was so appreciated!
     I think the world could use a little more of this going around... What will you do today to bless someone who isn't expecting it?

Live it up!
Kristin