Show Me Your Photos - Chalkboard Mat and Coffee Sleeve Giveaway

My very happy girls in their beautiful rainbow dresses by Banana Orange Apple

I love to see photos of my awesome customers enjoying their new handmade goods that they have purchased from me.  When you take the time to share a photo with me it brightens my day.  I always try to share photos of my girls enjoying their new things, like the above beautiful dresses, because I know how much it means to the person that made the item.

So, to encourage you all to share your photos I decided to do a little giveaway!  To be entered in for 2 chalkboard mats of your choice AND a coffee sleeve of your choice all you have to do is send me a photo of your loved one with one of my products.  It can be a photo of a little one opening their birthday gift of a chalkboard mat, or you enjoying your cup of coffee at the local shop with your coffee sleeve, or your toddler playing with their set of bean bags, or your BFF opening her baby gift set at her baby shower or whatever you can think of!

Just send the photo to me at bamcraftymommas (at) yahoo (dot) com, without the spaces and with the symbols instead of course OR post it to my Facebook Page.  Please let me know your state/country when you submit your photo so we can see where on the globe the photo came from.  You will then be entered into the drawing for the 2 chalkboard mats and 1 coffee sleeve.  You can send your pictures in until Friday July 5th at 8pm EST when I will choose and announce the winner.  Please be sure to only send pictures that you are ok with me sharing on my facebook page as they will all be posted there.

Thank you all for sharing a little bit of your lives with me and happy photo sharing :)

Angel

Autism Awareness Project

April is Autism Awareness month. Although I have never experienced autism first hand, I have watched some of my friends work through this with their children.  I want to partner with you to support a local program.

So, for the rest of the month of April if you go to My Shop and purchase an Autism Awareness chalkboard mat I will donate $4 to The Franklin County 4H Therapeutic Riding Center.  This is a local riding center here in Chambersburg, PA that offers programs for special needs children including those affected by autism.  You can check out their Facebook Page for more information on their program.

I will let everyone know at the end of the month how much we raised.

Autism Awareness Chalkboard Mat

These chalkboard mats are made using the Autism Awareness fabric with bright colored puzzle pieces.  

Thanks for partnering with me to support families working through Autism.

Angel

My "Tower"

I am always so curious to see where other people do their crafting so I thought I would show you mine.

We call it the "tower" because it is in our finished attic.  Actually my amazingly awesome dad who has a huge heart finished it for me last summer just so that I would have a craft room.  I love him.

 Here is my work table.  Please notice how clean the top is, I did that just for the photos.  Also the very large coffee mug, always a must.

Here is the futon that my hubby and kids hang out on while I am working.  It also becomes our guest room when someone comes to stay.  Mostly it is my awesome step-mom because she comes to help me out a lot.

Oh, and I made those pillows.  They are one of the first personal sewing projects I ever did.

Oh wow, this looks so messy but it is mostly organized.  Lots of fabric scraps and scrapbooking supplies stuffed among all of that.

Do you see those awesome green frames on the wall?  Those were cheap ugly thrift store frames that I spray painted, actually my hubby did that for me.  One has fabric behind the glass and the other is regular lined notebook paper.  They are my dry erase "to do" boards.

Yes these are hanging file folders but they organize my chalkboard mat fabric so well.  A great solution!

This is a $5 yard sale find.  It is awesome and holds lots of little do dads and ribbon.

Um, yeah, that looks a hot mess too but it is pretty organized.  Shipping materials on the shelves and bins on top for fabric that needs pre-washed, projects that are in process and so on.

So, thanks for joining me in my tower.  Now you know where I am every night from 8pm till midnight sewing away :)

Angel

My Etsy Shop
My Facebook Page

Qwerty and Chevron as I call them....

Hello fellow coffee lovers!  I am in the process of listing 10 new fabric options for coffee sleeves.  The 2 that I have listed so far I lovingly refer to as Qwerty and Chevron and here is why...

Here is Qwerty, isn't he cute?  Red background with vintage style typewriter keys all over.

Qwerty

And please meet Chevron, I like this one so much that I am keeping one for myself.  I especially love the black sparkly button!

Chevron

You can check out all the other coffee sleeve fabric options that I currently have available in my Etsy shop.

Have a coffee filled day friends!

Angel

Our Dress Up Bin

Last year on their birthday my daughter's received one of the most awesome gifts of all time!  A good friend of mine made them a dress up kit.  Not just any dress up kit that you find in the stores, a completely unique and fun one filled with vintage treasures!  Ever since she made this for us I have been encouraging her to sell them as I am sure others would love them as much as we do.

It is an old suitcase filled with thrift and antique store finds.  There are hats, gloves, scarves, costume jewelry and even heels!  From the moment my girls opened it they knew exactly what to do and started putting pieces on.

We have added to it throughout the year as well.  Throw in some of Grandma's jewelry, the tutu from Halloween and it just adds to the fun.

The best part is you just put all the pieces back in the suitcase and close it up when you are done.  I love that!!!

We play together with it...

and even Daddy can get in on the fun!

Isn't dress up fun???!!!!

Angel

New Venture! Online Party!!!

In looking for new ways to grow my business and get introduced to new folks I came upon a new fun way for you to help me spread the word.  I will now be having online shows!

What is a online show?  I knew you would ask :-)  It is similar to a home party and here is some info:

Q: What is a online show?
A: This is a home party of sorts and I am looking for volunteers to host shows for me.  Since I can't get to all of you I thought this would be a fun alternative.

Q: Is there an incentive for hosting a show?
A:  Yes!  For hosting a show for me you will receive a small gift then 10% back from the sales from the party as store credit to choose what you want.

Q: What do I have to do?
A:  Well, this is up to you really.  You can either have some friends over for snacks and hang out.  Guests can check out my products on the computer and then you gather the orders for me.  Or, I can send you an email with all the info for ordering and you would forward it out to all of your friends and family.  Then the orders would come directly to me and when the deadline that we decide on comes around, I will figure up the total and you can pick your free items.

Q:  What if my friends have questions about your products?
A:  If you are having an actual party I will make myself available at that time to either chat online or to give you a call and make sure all questions are answered.  If you are sending out emails folks can contact me via email with any questions or special requests.

Q: How will you get the items to me and my friends?
A: I will charge a simple $2 shipping fee per person and ship all of the items together to the hostess.  Then you can distribute the items.  They will be sorted for each buyer so you won't have to do that, simply hand them the package with their name on it.

Q:  How will guests pay for their orders?
A:  I will send paypal invoices to each individual so that they can pay separately and the hostess does not have to handle any money for me.

Q:  Can I still host a regular home show?
A:  Sure!  I am still looking to do more home shows, this is just a fun alternative for those that don't live near me or don't have the time to have an actual party.

I am really excited about this and hope to get a few of these going soon.  I have one active right now with a customer in Canada!

If you are interested in hostessing you can contact me at bamcraftymommas @ yahoo.com.

Thanks and have a great day!

Angel

www.BAMcraftymommas.etsy.com

http://www.facebook.com/uniquecreationsbyBAMcraftymommas

I Won A Giveaway from SayWhatCreations

Check out this super awesome bracelet that I won from SayWhatCreations!  Sarah was super awesome to work with as we emailed back and forth.  She put my daughter's names on my bracelet so that everyone who looks at her listing now sees my precious babies :-)

The bracelet is surprisingly light weight so it is easy to wear but it is super strong!  I am still just giddy that I won it and I wanted to share how pretty it is with you.

You can check out Sarah's Etsy shop here and make sure to "like" her Facebook page so you can see all of her beautiful jewelry.

Thanks again Sarah and SayWhatCreations!

Angel

My Etsy Shop

My Facebook Page

New ArtFire Studio is Open!

Hi friends!

I am very excited to announce that I now have a studio on ArtFire!  My shop name is still BAMcraftymommas over there and I currently have chalkboard mats and coffee sleeves listed.

I just wanted to venture into something new and find another venue to showcase my items.

And, I want you to help me kick start the new studio! Use coupon code GETSTARTED20 to get 20% off of your purchase!  Code good for 5 days!

So head on over and check out the new studio!

Thanks all!


Angel

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/BAMcraftymommas

New Photos thanks to F2Photography!

I have been working with the amazingly talented Alexis of F2 Photography to take all new and awesome photos of my products.  Well they are turning out amazing and we are having fun doing it, well at least I am!  Alexis is great to work with, got my photos to me quickly, and took a ton of photos for me to choose from!

here is a great shot highlighting how the coffee sleeves stretch to fit most sized cups

I am heading back to her studio on Monday to finish up the rest of my product and I cannot wait to show you all the new pictures!

Here are a few more of the awesome shots she got for me!

here is a great shot of the chalkboard mats

I just love this one!  she makes everything look so good!

F2 Photography also does family photo sessions as well as products.  Check out her page and let her know that I sent you over!

See you soon!

Angel

Valentine's Day Scrapbook Class

Hi friends!  I just wanted to share an opportunity with you.  I will be facilitating a class at the Chambersburg Council of the Arts and I want to invite you to join me.

The class will be held on February 9th 6-8pm.  The cost is $15 plus a small materials fee which I will try to keep at around $5.

I will walk you through making the pictured paper bag album from start to finish and it will be a great time!  You will leave with a completed project that is ready to be filled with photos and given to your sweetheart for the big day.

I taught a class like this last November and it was so much fun!  Please consider joining us for this fun evening and chatting and creating!

If you are interested in signing up please email me bamcraftymommas (at) yahoo.com

Angel

Personal Projects

So I took some time this week to work on some personal projects that I had been putting aside to work on orders.  Here is what I have been doing!

It is time to decorate for fall so I make the tutu wreath above and put it on my front door.

Then I made this cute fall fabric banner.  I just loved that leaf print and the wood grain print!

Then, it was time to get started on the girls' Halloween costumes.  Here are their rainbow tutus and I will show you the whole costume once they are all done.

Ok, so break from work is over and back to orders.  It was really fun to take a few days and work on some personal projects though.

What projects do you have in the works?

Angel

http://www.facebook.com/uniquecreationsbyBAMcraftymommas
http://www.etsy.com/shop/bamcraftymommas?ref=si_shop

Paint Chip Matchbook Tutorial

You all know how much I love my paint chips!  I thought I would share one of my fun and easy projects with you!

First let us remember that I did not steal these paint chips.  I use the discontinued fans that I get from a painting company.  I would urge you to find some way to recycle as well.

Ok, on to the fun stuff!

1. Trim paint chips to 9 1/2".

2.  First fold 1 1/2" up, then fold approximately 3 1/2" down to create the matchbook.

3. Choose the paper you will use in your matchbook. Cut it to 4" x 2". You slide the paper under the fold and secure with a simple staple.
*It would be awesome to use recycled paper in here as well!

This is what you should have now!

4.  Here is where you can have fun it!  Pull out your stamps, stickers rub-ons and whatever else you can think of and decorate the fronts of the matchbooks.

Now throw some in your purse to write down little notes, give them to your friends, put them in your families stockings this Christmas.

Happy Crafting!
Check out our other great items on Etsy HERE
Follow us on Facebook for more fun ideas HERE

Introducing TJ and a Giveaway

One of the best parts of selling on Etsy is all the awesome people you meet.  Let me introduce you to TJ of TJLundinCO.  She is a super sweet, newly married young lady.  She is making and selling fun jewelry and hair accessories.

Here is a little about TJ:

Tell us how your shop got started? My shop started because I wanted a way to help out financially and yet do something that wasn't too stressful and fun! Since I'm a full time college student and newlywed, this was the perfect hobby. 

Describe yourself in 5 words: bubbly, musical, faithful, silly, and funny

What's your favorite thing to do when not creating?  I love to hang out with my hubby, playing games, watching movies, shopping, and swing dancing! Being a newlywed I've discovered that I love to bake. So I always have something yummy to eat.

What's your shop mission/goal?  My goal is to make someone's life a little more special by sharing pieces of my personality through my creations. I also want to shine forth God's light in the way I live, and hopefully that will show within the stuff I create and also by meeting me :-)

Whats your fav candy bar?  3 musketeers bar! I just love chocolate!

So TJ is giving away one of her adorable headbands to one lucky winner.  The winner will get to pick 1 of 3 headbands.  US winner will get the headband sent to them for free but an international winner will be asked to pay for the shipping.

Here is how to enter!

1)  you get one entry for leaving a comment here

2)  you get one entry for liking TJ on facebook http://www.facebook.com/TJLundinCo (leave a separate comment letting us know you liked her page)

3) you get one entry for liking Bamcraftymommas on facebook http://www.facebook.com/uniquecreationsbyBAMcraftymommas (leave a separate comment letting us know you like us on facebook, or that you already did)

4) you get THREE extra entries for purchasing an item from ours or TJ's shop. just leave 3 more comments letting us know what you bought.

The winner will be picked using random.org on Friday August 19th at 11pm EST.

Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

Angel and Michelle