Hopeful

I think that's my new favorite word.  We're still waiting to hear about a position for Jim that we really want.  Well, we've heard a couple of times, but have been told we have to wait a little bit longer.  So I'm hopeful that it all works out.  I'm hopeful that we can trust what we've been told.  I'm hopeful that I can be patient until Thursday.
My Etsy shop was featured on The Happy Housewife's facebook page this morning.  http://www.facebook.com/TheHappyHousewife  I'm really honored to be there!  She listed my bows with the coupon code, and I'm hopeful that it'll generate more traffic to the site.  I also have a couple of giveaways in the works with other sites.  I'm hopeful that those will work out and all this will really help my business take off.

With that said, here's a picture of one of the recent clips that I designed.
It's really adorable.  Mint green with pink flowered ribbon stacked on top.  SO fun!







I think being hopeful goes right along with being thankful.  I'm still plugging away at my list, albeit slowly, it's coming along.

139. Ladybugs

140. Job interviews
141. Confirmation of HIS will
142. Sunny days to play outside with the kids
143. Day's end… Time to wind down after hard work and relax
144. That my kids help me grow and stretch my thinking.
145. That they have so many teachable moments
146. Afternoons at the park
147. Showing the kids how to roll down a grassy hill
148. The scent of freshly mowed grass
149. Opportunities still looming
150. Little boys so chipper in the morning… I wish I had some of that.

Have an absolutely amazing day!

Happy Holidays...

In May!  I had a bunch of holiday ribbon that I wanted to use and get on the Etsy site, so here they are!  I think my favorite is the snowman one.  Maybe I'll have a sale on them in the near future. :D

These really are so cute and fun.  I love the blue and silver one, too.  Perfect for Hannukah!  They're in the "Holiday Bows" section of my shop, where you'll also find the fourth of July bows.  Here's a couple to look at:

Enjoy!

Oh, and here's more of my list of things to be thankful for:

131. Waking up looking over the beauty of the river.

132. That FINALLY spring has sprung

133. That the entire family is hanging out in the bedroom playing

134. For handmade Mother's Day cards

135. A creative husband

136.Laundry

137. That my dog is not a diva

138.Tide washing machine cleaners… My washer smells GooooooooD now!

 

TEN new designs!

I've been working hard all morning trying to get my new designs made up and uploaded to the Etsy site.  I need a nap now.  If you want to see the new bows, check out the site.  I'm being a bum and don' feel like uploading them all here, too.  :)
In between making the bows, this is what my kids were up to:

The boys made "Sacks" out of their shirts and filled them with DVDs and games.  Pretty creative, I thought.

And Lil' Miss Haven was into EVERYTHING.  Why she felt the need to get into the drawer, I don't know, but this was just one of the strange places I found her this morning.  My kids are AWESOME!

Working hard!

So I've contacted several different bloggers to see if they'd be willing to sponsor a giveaway of my bows.  No news yet...  It'll happen eventually, though.  I'm pretty persistent.  I've been making several new designs, and I'm really proud of the way they're turning out.  Super cute!
Jim's working downstairs today.  We're really hoping and praying that something more consistent comes along soon.  It's so frustrating because every time something comes along that looks great, something happens, and the contract doesn't go through.  We know that we'll be taken care of, it's just a matter of time before he'll be back to work full time... I hate waiting, though.  Five months is a long time to be without a job.
I have the boys cleaning (as well as 3 and 4 year olds can do) their room...  That's always a good time.  They're actually doing an okay job today, though, and so far there hasn't been any fighting... (crossing my fingers that it'll stay that way.)
 Here's a couple of pictures of the new bows I've designed:

I'm really enjoying myself...  They're a lot of fun!

Blog Giveaways Pending???

I'm working on getting traffic to my Etsy site up.  I completely revamped it yesterday, and intend on making some more bows today to get on the site.  I'm actually really enjoying myself in spite of all the work this has been.  The site looks SO much better!
I've been contacting different blogs to see if perhaps they'd like to do some giveaways...  Hopefully I'll hear back soon about that.  I'm confident in my product, and I know that anyone who has purchased my bows has been happy with them.  I just need more business! :D
Anyway, here's some more of my list of THANKFUL!  I love that in spite of everything, we can look around and see beauty.  God is good!
114. That Jim is willing to slave away shampooing the carpets for me.
115. Clean barstools
116. The flexibility of kids' bones!  So glad Jay didn't break anything.
117. Watching all three of my kids eating and LOVING my Grasshopper pie.
118. Chocolate meringue surprises
119. That God made Day and night… The separation between the two.
120. Time spent with family
121. New ideas and inspirations
122. Baby's first steps and words
123. The servant's heart of my mother-in-law
124. TV dinners and movies with my kids
125. Resurrection
126. Stretching that feels so good…. Most of the time
127. The lack of drama in my life.
128. Hide and seek with the kids
129. A cool bedroom to go to sleep in…  I love it when it's not too hot.
130. That the Asher-man fell asleep so quickly tonight.




So much to be thankful for!  And my list keeps growing!  Eucharisteo!




Here's some pictures of some Tennessee Titans bows that I designed for my niece.  I think they turned out rather nicely!

Houston Oilers "Vintage" 4th of July Bow

I don't know why this is sideways...  Pigtail bows with Tennessee Titans Bottle Cap Centers

Tennesssee Titans Stacked Boutique Bow

Sideways Again... ACK!  PINK Tennessee Titans.  This one's my favorite!

Changes Afoot.

A couple of weeks ago, my Stars and Stripes Bow was featured in a Treasury on  Etsy.  While I was flattered and honored to be a part of the treasury, I spent some time looking at the others items that were included.  One of them was a bow very similar to mine, but the shop had had over 5000 sales and had over 600 items listed for sale.  WOW.  So, needless to say, it led me to believe that I needed to up the ante a little bit.

So I've been brain-storming, and doing some research about things that I could change.  The biggest is FREE shipping!  (I will have to increase the cost of my bows a bit to do this, but I think it'll help a lot in the marketing department.)  After all, who doesn't like to see the word "FREE"?  I've also found other ways to display my bows to show them a little better.  Here's one that I made last night:
This bow is pink and brown stacked.  Super cute.  Now for the changes in displaying it.  I got a Styrofoam head and a wig.

Etsy allows up to five pictures per item, so this is how I plan on displaying my bows:  First, as pictured above, then to give a little more perspective, it will be shown clipped to a headband like this:

Then, I'll show it simply clipped into hair, like this:













And then, for another option, I'll show it on a pony tail, (or pig tails, depending on the bows) like this:

I've also taken pictures of all of my headband colors together, and plan on listing that on Etsy for all to see.

  I hope that these changes will make a big difference in my sales.  I also plan on getting in touch with a few different websites that a friend recommended to see if I can get some give aways and that sort of thing going.

I think these changes will help.  If you have any more ideas on how I can improve, please leave me a comment!  Thank you!