Spirit Week - Day 3 - Crazy Hair Day

There go them crazy Christian School kids...

What'er they teaching them kids up there in that school?

School Spirit, that's what!

Necessary Evil

It hurts me to do it, but I've had to do a little restructuring in the pricing department if I want to continue with my crocheting business. I started out as an inexperienced, but learning quickly newby, who was doing it mostly for fun. I had hoped, but never expected it to turn into such an successful side-business.

I could just change all the prices and not give any explanations, but I'm not wired like that. I need to pour my heart out and help you understand why it's such a necessary evil... ya know, so you won't hate my stinkin' guts! I really want it to sink in that I'm not doing it for greedy and self-indulgent reasons and I want you to continue loving me!

1)My yarn supplier is gone, gone gone... so I'm having to order via internet more. Which means slightly higher prices and shipping costs. I'm also having to drive more to get yarn... and well... have you seen the gas prices?

2) I am slowly transitioning so that Stella B Designs will make up more of my income, so I have to make it worth my while. Between the fees for listing, fees for selling and the fees for accepting payments, I was barely breaking even.

3) I'm good.

4) Really. I am. I have learned so much in technique and my abilities are solid. I am fully confident in my skills and although the prices are changing a bit, I made sure that I'm not sitting at the top of the price ranges found on Etsy for comparable items. I could charge at the high end and you'd be getting the same quality from me that you'd find else where out there. However, I'm also a mom who is also concerned with the cost of raising children... like three of them. Girls, even.

You can find a list of the new size chart and pricing by clicking here. I really appreciate your continued support and encouragement! I seriously have some of the best customers - read "likers, fans, followers... and friends".

Spirit Week - Day 2 - The 80's

So here it is, 80's day!!!

I can honestly say, "I've made it"! I am now answering the same questions that I used to ask my mom.
"Did you have electricity?"
"Did you have TV waaaay back then?"
"Was it color TV or just black and white?"
"Did you actually wear clothes like these and do your hair like this?"

No comment.
Because I still might still have just enough painful memories of that awkward time to get my girls in the general vicinity.... with the help of The Walmarts.

I think they're totally rockin' the era hard!
Although, sorry to say it, that I couldn't talk either of them into Leg Warmers.
Fer shame.
But I think you can see, from this picture, that they're ready to enjoy the day of 80's!
We were having so much fun, we even found a random girl from the neighborhood to join in.

no. not. really.
(that's Brenna's classmate and friend, Sierra!)
And here is my best attempt at 80's hair. Even though my girls' hair is shorter and all one length, mostly, I was able to get a little height. The mere look of terror on Brenna's face as I teased and ratted and teased and sprayed her hair was enough to make my day!
Her darned cowlick made it kinda hard to keep the height up, but we were happy with it.
And then there's this lil freak. (I say freak with all the love and warmth and joy of any proud - but bewildered- Mama could have for their child!) She's often been called my little 'mini-me'. I don't think a daughter could look more like her Mom. However, I will deny - to the ends of time - that I *ever* wore my hair like this.

My bangs were much higher and much more impressive.

Lookit the expression on her face! She is the goofiest, most outgoing, fun-loving freak that ever lived! Definitely outshines her mom in the personality department! So wish I could go see all the other kids and the outfits they'll be in today!

Tomorrow - Spirit Week, Day 3 - Crazy Hair Day!!
because the 80's hair wasn't crazy enough!

It's Spirit Week - Day 1 - Career Day

Last night I said "goodnight" to my 10 and 6 year old daughters, and this morning I said "hello" to a super cute Horse Vet and a sweet and sassy Nurse!

Brooklyn, lover of all things horses, showed no hesitation whatsoever when I asked her what she wanted to be! I think she loves them so much that even the shoulder-length glove isn't enough to deter her from her aspirations! *yikes*

And here's my Brenna, 6. She is always so helpful and caring and attentive to the needs of others! It's no wonder that her helpful, healing spirit would lead her to the medical profession. I cut and sewed and cut and sewed some more to make her a miniature scrub set! Her Auntie Kell, also a nurse, lent her a stethescope to help make the outfit complete!

Then, with the help of a fishing license holder, I made each of them a little ID tag.

Rounding off their outfits are, of course, the SHOES... or boots, in Brooklyn's case!

... and "scrub shoes".

Tomorrow is "80's Day"!!
Guess I'm gonna have to start googling the 80's, because I'm way too young to have experienced that time myself! ;o)

Oh.Em.Gee.

So I'm sitting on my couch and I smell this *very* strong smell of coffee...

I know it's not freshly brewing coffee because we have a Keurig... and hubby's not home... and, like I said, I was sitting on the couch.

So I already have a basic guess of what's happening in the other room.

But come on... this?

Soooo... yeah.
And grrr.

I mean, really. REALLY?!
The WHOLE container, guys?

At first I thought it was just my sweet little angel-face, but these are the socks coming off of her favorite little minion. (Face cropped out to protect the not-so-innocent).
Btw, that's not dirt making his white socks look so dingy...
yeah...

coffee.
And that would be the head of my sweet lil Boo!
Again, not flea poop... coffee.
At the end of all that, I ended up with a couple of things...
1. A washer filled one giant, super-huge bean bag cover, coffee-covered socks, one curtain panel, one pair of lil boy minion pants and one purple polka-dotted pajama.

Without questioning why my daughter was still in her pajamas at noon-thirty- er, that time of day, would you look at the feet of her pajamas? Goodness Gracious!

2. A house that smells like fresh brewed coffee. Not even the best candle can get a more accurate coffee aroma filling up your entire house!

3. A brand new memory to file in the Momma Files

*sigh*

A special thanks goes out to my Dyson... She (yes, she - she's pink) did a fabulous job at sucking up that entire container of coffee.

In case you don't know what it's like to clean up all that coffee off of any surface... I'm not gonna tell you. I'll let you ruminate on how many trillion-ka-jillions pieces of coffee me and my Dyson tackled... and pray that you all will someday get to put such an awesome memory in your Momma Files!

Photographer Shoutout - Shady Lane Studios

I say it all the time; "one of my favorite parts of what I do is seeing my hats in professional photos"! It's probably because whenever I try to do my own pictures for my shop, I fail miserably! It just makes it all the sweeter when these photographers make my creations look Soooo much better!

This weeks' shout-out goes to Shady Lane Studios. Located in Idaho, Lauren "Lala" Harms captures some of the sweetest poses. Her attention to detail and high level of quality are a testament of how much she loves her job! Her photos are scrumptious!

I call this one "bum-alicious"!

Stop by her Facebook page and show her some love!

No More Hide n Seek

I currently have four places that people can find Stella B Designs... Etsy, Facebook, Blogger and then **Big Cartel. Big Cartel is a new venue that I'm trying out that seems to be a bit easier and more streamlined - not to mention a bit easier on my pocket book on a monthly basis.

All of that being said... in an effort to make things easier on you, your friends, family, America, Haiti... basically, anyone... to find me, I purchased a domain name! Now, instead of trying to remember "stellabs.etsy" or "stellabdesigns.bigcartel" or facebook/whatever, you can now type "www.stellabdesigns.com" directly into a search engine or url bar and get to my products! For now it's linked to Big Cartel so I can hopefully get a little more traffic there.

I welcome any feedback on your preference of venues!

**DISCOUNT CODE FOR BIG CARTEL: Enter "PROMO10" during checkout for 10% off your total purchase. Please let me know how you like the new venue!