Thursday Feature-Mandy's Joys

Welcome back for this week's Thursday feature.  This shop has the most amazing and adorable plush toys!  They look so cuddly and soft and their faces are so detailed, they just seem to come alive.  Alright, enough gushing; let's meet Mandy Quinn, the designer, creator, and owner of Mandy's Joys.


How I came into being: I have been sewing off and on my entire life. When I first started my business, I was making crochet items for my kids and enjoyed it, but it was not quite "it" for me. I got into origami for a while, but still, even thought I loved critters that I was making, it still was not "it". With the pending birth of my first daughter, I was driven to make her a doll. From there, I started back into plush critters, but sewn and THAT was IT for me. I have always had a place in my heart for plush toys anyway, and watching my older kids fall for them, and fall for them so much myself...that was it. The rest was history.

What inspires you? My kids inspire me so much, as does my husband. Watching everyone in the house get excited with each item made makes us ALL happy. We love nature and that helps bring new colors and visions to mind.

What are your hobbies besides creating? I love to read, not that I get much time for that. We also love going for walks at the amazing arboretum not far from home and just enjoying the beauty around us.
What is your favorite item you have created? That is a hard one! Each creature sparks an attachment, but there is one ogre that somehow had the face my daughter would get when she was little. We would tell her "baby sniff" and she would make such a face we would all laugh!! Add that face to the hair - it looked JUST likes hers at the time...that ogre will never leave my sight. Way too many memories.

Favorite other small businesses? Wooly Topic has amazing felted creatures, Stella and Luna makes some adorable lovies and SimplyCreativebyDL makes some adorable clothes that even fit my creatures with tails!!

Links:
www.facebook.com/mandysjoys
http://indiecart.com/stores/mandysjoys/
https://twitter.com/MandysJoys 
http://instagram.com/mandysjoys#
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MandysJoys

 

So, because I love turtles I have to say her turtles are my favorite.  But, honestly, I love them all.  :)  Another awesome fact about her shop is that she ice dyes some of her fabric to get those awesome bright color combos!  Which creation is your favorite?

 

Please stop by her shop and tell her I sent you!  Have a great day and join us next week for another awesome feature!

Thursday Small Business Feature: Little Lovebugs Boutique

Welcome back to Thursday's Feature!  Today's feature shop is Little Lovebugs Boutique.

 Kristin Demay is the face behind the adorable selection of creations.  I had a hard time choosing which of her items to feature, there were so many cute things!  I think my favorite is the playmat.  I have 3 boys and there are so many amazing girl items; it's nice to see some boy themed things.  ;)

Here's what Kristin shared with us:
I am a stay at home mom to 4 beautiful little Lovebugs. They range from 8 to 1!

 My oldest daughter was my inspiration to start creating bows and 3 years ago I opened up a shop on facebook. Since then my little shop has gone beyond just bows and now launches new items 3 times a week!! A part of me goes into each creation so picking a favorite is hard!! It changes all the time.

Here's a list of where you can find Ms Kristin:
Website: www.LittleLovebugsBowtique.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Little.Lovebugs.Bowtique
Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/lillovebugsbowtique
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lillovebugsbow

 

Please stop by her shop and let her know you found her here!  Happy shopping and see you next week where we will get to know another great store owner!  Oh and Kristin has set up a special coupon just for you! 

 

                                                  Etsy coupon code GIFTGARDEN
                                         FREE SHIPPING ON orders of $25.00 or more

 

Thursday Feature- Dazzling Diva's and Precious Boy's Boutique

Welcome to our third shop feature!  Today we will be getting a little peek into Kellie's world at Dazzling Diva's & Precious Boy's Boutique! Her facebook page has a ton of adorable items for your little ones.  Here's what she has decided to share with us:

I am a stay-at-home mother of three and I started making things for my daughter for cheerleading.  I began selling my creations and my business grew to include monogramming and embroidering.

I love spending time with my kids and shopping.

 I love the flip-flops and I love all the boutiques for kids on facebook.

Kellie is currently having a giveaway for an adorable nautical themed dress.  It ends on Friday (tomorrow) so be sure to get your entries in!

 

Thanks for sharing Kellie and if you stop by her shop, be sure to let her know you found her here! 

Friday Favorites!

Friday!  Yessss!  :)  I am hoping to make this another weekly feature where every Friday I post some items I've seen throughout the week that I absolutely love.  Even though it is too late to order any of these for Mother's Day, I still thought it'd be fitting to feature items honoring our dear mothers.

This first one is my favorite!  I've been looking at it for awhile...actually I love a lot of her stuff and am hoping to purchase from her soon!  I don't wear a lot of jewelry.  I mean, I would like to but always forget.  Anyway, I love the simple yet elegant design of this bracelet!

 

This next pick is an original design by BugabooBearDesigns.  I love everything about it-the cheery colors, the saying, and the layout.  It's perfect for the flower-loving mom and personally, I could see it sitting on my mom's desk at work.  :)

 

I'm a big nature lover and like to incorporate it into my decorating.  A dear friend of mine made me a bird's nest necklace and I love it.  This next idea is practically genius.  Let the folks at InspiredArtPrints create a personalized nest photo for your mom so no matter how far away you are, you'll still be in the nest.  :)

 

 

 

 

This sweet gift would be great for the environmentally conscious momma and I can personally attest to the durability of these unsponges from NatureJunkies.  Cotton on one side and terry cloth on the other, these little gems are great for cleaning just about everything in the house!  Washable and helps to reduce waste by eliminating the need for paper towels and/or disposable sponges.

 

Even though it is getting pretty hot out here in Eastern NC, I still can just imagine cuddling up with this fleece shrug by Designs by Luanne.  Actually, when I picture that, I also picture my kids vulturing it and me having to hide it lol.  It looks so soft and cuddly!

 

 

 

There's always the more traditional route with jewelry like this elegant necklace from TotallyTish.  It would be a perfect piece to wear to Mother's day brunch!

 

 

Last but nowhere near least is an adorable wookie for the Star Wars fan by Jensyarnworks.  SO adorable!  Fyi, she has a lot of other SUPER cute creations.  wink, wink. 

 

There are so many other amazing gift ideas, I could just keep posting!  But, it's time to get going.  There were a few other shops that linked up some awqesome ideas to my facebook page; I just didn't have time to include them.  Please check them out here.  And, if you have a shop and have some suggestions-by all means post a link in the comments!  Confession: I have to still figure out what I am going to make and/or buy for my mom :(  Sorry, mom!  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

Thursday Feature with SarahCoffeyDesigns

Good morning!  This week has flown by for me!  Hope it's been a kind week for everyone!  :)  So, I was super bummed on Tuesday when I went to create the handmade link up and saw that I would have to pay to create a new one.  So, I'm brainstorming for ways to make a new one.  Sorry everyone!  But, we can still support small businesses! 

This week we are meeting Sarah, from SarahCoffeyDesigns.   She specializes in home décor and enjoys upcycling items to create one of a kind creations! 

Tell us a little about yourself and how your shop came into being:
I have always been creative. My mother is a painter and seamstress and taught me everything she knows. When my kids were born I made all their clothes until they were 5. I had so many compliments I started selling to friends and it grew from there. As they were born I got into scrapbooking as well. I quickly realized people love the look but don't have the time to scrapbook, so I decided to seek my completed albums all you have to do is add your pictures. As I got requests my business was born. I used to sell on Ebay and as other sites grew, I moved the business to Etsy.

I have always sold at craft shows. It started at small church shows and grew to 20+ shows a year.

         

What inspires you?
I am inspired by my family and friends all the time. So much of what I do was a request from a friend. The sheet music wreaths was a request and now it is a huge part of my business.


What are your hobbies besides creating?
Besides creating I love photography. I have taken a few classes and plan to take more. I also like to paint furniture. I love to take something that looks like it should be tossed and rehabilitating it with paint.

What is your favorite item that you've created?
My favorite item I created is a tough one. I have a bunch, but I would have to say my youngest daughter's Life Book. It is like a baby book for adopted children. It took weeks to create but we look at it and enjoy it all the time. I used to teach classes on how to create them.

 Favorite other small businesses?
Favorite other small businesses are Studio123 in Raleigh, NC. They are interior designers and furniture painters. So amazing. I also love a place inCary, NC clued the Cary Creative Center. They are a re-use-it place with tons and tons of recycled things. I love walking through there and getting ideas. I love KnB's Marketplace in Fuquay-Varina. I have a booth there and seek my items as well as found up cycled vintage treasures.

 Links where we can find you:
You can find me at www.etsy.com/shop/sarahcoffeydesigns and at www.facebook/com/sarahcoffeydesigns        

 

Please stop by her shop and tell her I sent you!  Thank you Sarah, for letting us get to know you!

Shop Feature: HCMCreations!

Welcome and thanks for joining us for feature Thursday!  Today we will be talking to Heather from HCM Creations, a shop specializing in hand painted home décor.  So, get comfy, grab a tasty beverage (hot or cold), and let's get to know this awesome artist!

Tell us a little about yourself and how your shop came into being:
HCM Creations started from my decision to create gifts for friends and family, my cousin saw some of what I did and asked me to create some things for her wedding from photos she saw on pinterest and that she would pay me. As I created her wedding products, I realized just how much I enjoyed creating with different mediums and decided to start my own business creating things for others.
From there I spent a while choosing a name that could encompass many types of items and finally landed on my own initials, it was simple and covered many products without making people think I only did one thing. HCM Creations was born, I purchased a domain (website is in the works and have put it on the back burner to focus more on my customers and my etsy site instead) created a facebook page and started an Etsy page. Within the first few months I attended a few vendor events and expos, put on my own expo and even got some of my products displayed in a store on consignment; all within 8 months of being in business! I have gained 588 fans on facebook since opening day and never could have made it this far without the support of friends, family and my amazing boyfriend.

What inspires you?
I can be inspired by ANYTHING! Yesterday a thought popped into my head from nothing and will soon be one of the new products I will be offering.

What are your hobbies besides creating?
 When I am not painting for HCM Creations, I am working on design work for my OTHER business Krafty Panda Designs ( I also work a 40+ hour job on top of these) so I stay pretty busy throughout the week. I always make time for family and my boyfriend though so I keep it balanced somehow.

What is your favorite item that you've created?
My favorite item so far has been my wedding and family tree frames, they represent such a special time(s) in a couples life and are a great way to show how two lives became one and how their family grew into more.

Favorite other small businesses?
I have SO many other small businesses that I love I couldn't even list them all but a few that I really enjoy are:

https://www.facebook.com/BugabooBearDesigns
https://www.facebook.com/cutetothecoor
https://www.facebook.com/Yourcraftycreations?ref=profile
https://www.facebook.com/crazybeautifuldesigns?ref=profile
https://www.facebook.com/Andbabymakesthreee?ref=profile
https://www.facebook.com/ldthegraphicdesigner?ref=profile

Links where we can find you:
I can be found on facebook at www.facebook.com/HCMCreations
at Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/HCMCustomCreations
on instagram: http://instagram.com/HCMCreations
my website: www.HCMCreations.com
and by email: HCMCreation@gmail.com (creation not creations)

You can also check out my design page www.facebook.com/KraftyPandaDesigns.


Thank you for stopping by and please visit Heather's pages and let her know you found her here!  Be sure to join us next week to chat with another awesome small business!

If you own a small business and would like to be featured just send me an email: mastarkey81@yahoo.com

Handmade Link up: Week 1!

An InLinkz Link-up