Grateful to do Laundry?

I have to say that I overwhelmingly happy that all of my orders are out from my various Very Jane sales.

I am so grateful for the opportunity...but wow...the most stressful couple months EVER. I have learned a lot though and I have learned what I can and cannot do.

It's been so crazy that so many things have fallen in the cracks, like laundry...which is really easy to wash...but harder to fold and put away apparently.

I am a stay at home mom but miss my kids...seriously. I've had my sewing machine set up in our living/dining area so I can feel like we are hanging out...

I got a kindle for an early Christmas present from my hubby but haven't had time to curl up with it much.

I haven't had time for my own projects for my family.

So yes. I am grateful for being able to wash, fold and put away laundry. Sit and watch a show with my kids and the time to BLOG (oh yeah...I have one of those).

The whole work at home thing is really appealing, but I definitely know the level at which I CANNOT do it. 

I know I sound a little whiny, but isn't the reality so much more daunting than the fantasy. A super successful Etsy store sounds awesome in theory, but the reality is that yeah...you have to actually make all that stuff...

So I think I am going to be happy with a moderately successful store.

I don't have to be on all the cool blogs or even be a cool blog.

I am totally happy being able to clean my kitchen, make some pretty things for others and myself, and be a super great mom and wife.

And bless your little heart if you made it to the end of my whine fest!

NEW in the Shop!

I am really excited to be finished with my Very Jane orders and moving on (a bit late I might add) to adding new things to Isaboo Designs :)

These are sneak peaks so pardon my pics, I am just stoked to have done something other than a mini wallet or Burlap Banner ;)

Okay, I am really excited about my first piece of clothing for Isaboo Designs!!!!

This is the Little Miss Sassafrass Skirt. Aptly named after my own sassy lady, Bela. 

You can find it on Etsy HERE.

There will also be a coordinating bow-tie for the little man in your life available this week. It will be done in the houndstooth fabric and it is ADORBS!

I have also added a more simple version of my mini wallet. It is a basic change purse with a fun ruffle.

These are $5 and are a great price for Christmas gifts.

Find the change purse HERE.

There will be some more items added throughout the week so make sure that you favorite my shop to see what's new :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

Oh The "To-Do" List

I've always loved making lists.

I apparently love losing them too...

I'm notorious for making 3 mile long to-do lists and then conveniently losing them. 

Lately, I've been living by my to-do list.  

Does anyone look back longingly on the days when you could just speed through the housecleaning as soon as the kids went down for naps and then spend a couple hours vegging and watching your DVR'd episodes of The Real Housewives?

Things have definitely been picking up with my little Etsy store :) and while it's been awesome, it's been interesting making "life" work.


And I can really be a space cadet.


Like the constantly updating activities of all my friends on Facebook on the right side of the screen.  That totally distracts me and my 2 minute "check" on Facebook turns into half an hour of wandering aimlessly.


So I've actually been using my to-do list and keeping it at my side at all times.

And I am learning:
1) Make TIME LIMITS
2) Do not pull up Facebook, Pinterest, or anything remotely interesting during "work" time.
3) Don't forget to stop and relish something wonderful with the kids in the middle of sewing craziness.


Which is so essential for weeks when your washing machine decides to DIE.

 Thus, Bela's first trip to the laundromat. Fortunately, this happened to be a morning Lenny was at school. Otherwise chaos would have ensued.

This little lady is my buddy on Monday and Thursday mornings while big bro is at school.


She is a handful.


Life is crazy. But it's also sweet and wonderful.


Take the time to taste the sweet parts too :)

Very Jane Feature and Keeping the Crafty Alive

Make sure you hop over to Very Jane today because my adorable Mini Wallets are being featured TODAY!

They are only $5 so grab a bunch for yourself and to give as gifts :)

Im super excited because I really love my little wallets :)

 Snag a bunch for yourself and for gifts for friends and family, can't bear $5!

My little Etsy shop is starting to get a little busy and I have to say it's been a little challenging balancing everything, but I am getting the hang of it.

Despite being busy making little bow ties for two weeks (and moving too), I have managed to actually make a few things that I have had on the back burner for a few weeks.

I've been in DESPERATE need of jewelry organization and both of these have totally rocked! The tutorial for the earring holder is HERE. 

I cannot find the necklace holder tute to save my life, but it's just a small rectangular canvas with fabric wrapped around and some cup hook screwed in the bottom. Super easy!

 I very rarely make things for myself, and I always get nervous wearing something I made because I fear I'm not quite cool enough for some of it, but this one took less than 10 minutes to put together and I have worn it nearly everyday with all kinds of outfits. The tutorial can be found HERE.

It's not "chilly" here in Florida yet, so this is a light way to get the scarf look without sweating while you're at it.

Everyone have a happy Tuesday!

Very Exciting!

Today is a really exciting day for Isaboo Designs. My Toddler Bow Ties are being featured as a side deal on Very Jane!

If you are not familiar with Very Jane and love handmade items, you need to be! Very Jane is a deal site (much like Babysteals, Zulily, Ideeli, Totsy, etc...)but for the handmade market. So items like you would see on Etsy, at great prices! 

This is a great opportunity to get an amazing deal on my toddler bow ties to stock up for gifts or the holidays.

So make sure you head over to their website and check it out and while you are there be sure to get on their email list and like the on Facebook :-)

All of the prints below will be available! Have a happy bow tie Tuesday!

Kick it in High Gear

Does anyone else have this feeling, like life just put the petal to the metal and forgot to tell you so you forgot to put your seatbelt on but you can't because you're going too fast?

Ok, so maybe not that bad, but WOW. We have a LOT going on. 

I'm in school full-time, staying home with the kids, working to promote my Etsy store, I'm the team mom for my son's soccer team (hubby is coach), and we have some changes coming up that could really shake things up.

I just have to say now. I am SOOOO thankful for the Flylady method, otherwise my house would be CHAOS. It was a particularly crazy day yesterday and me and the hubs were pleasantly amazed to find how quickly the chaos was contained. Right now I only have time for the basics of the Flylady method and its WORKING.

So lately I have been living by my dry erase calendar

Everyday I list what I need to do and sometimes I even put time limits on things. Like 1 hour for working on orders/crafting, 2 hours for homework, etc. It's nice to be able to wipe things off :)

I can be a big procrastinator and this is teaching me to just GET THINGS DONE. My Etsy shop is teaching me that too.

Remember the "thankful" banner I made?

Well, I had so much fun making it, I whipped up this lovely.

You can find this in the Shop for just $10!

I also had fun taking some new photos for my bow-ties. 

And for more shameless showing off of my children...my baby girl started ballet yesterday...

Again...we are really busy and I can't believe I actually got this blog post done! 


Hopefully, I can get my schedule under control and figure out how to do more than 2 posts a week!


Have a great weekend!

The Mini Wallet and Something for Boys

I posted these lovelies on my Etsy the other day so of course I have to be redundant and share on here too!

 These adorable wallets are in my Etsy store for $10 and would make an awesome gift (I didn't say it had to be for someone else...).

I test everything I make before I list it to ensure it functions well and I am in love with mine. I use a couple different bags throughout the week (diaper bag, purse, school bag) and I like how it fits in everything.

This pretty green one is in the shop too!

I hope you all love these as much as I do...

There are also these adorable bow-ties for little boys up in the shop. It's hard to find cute accessories for little boys, so here you go! I'm calling my first collection "Spots and Stripes" (big duh, I know...)

 Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far, make it lovelier with something cute from my shop :)


Thank you!

New Logo

Before I talk about our preschool fun this week, I wanted to take a moment to "unveil" the new logo for my Etsy Store, Isaboo Designs. This is what you will see on my Etsy page

 

This is the "official" logo.

 

I'm really kinda stoked :) I am hard at work on new things for the store, some accessories for grownups and kids and my coupon/grocery store clutch has the kinks worked out so that will be in the store soon as well. 

I am on Twitter (click on the upper left to follow me) and you can "like" Isaboo Designs on Facebook too!

Tis' the Season...Yes I'm Serious

I know it's 90 degrees where I live, but Fall is coming and it's time to start thinking about the awesome holidays that are coming up and what to deck your lovely halls with!

Why not some lovely bunting ;)


I am really excited to introduce my seasonal fabric choices in my Etsy store! I have several choices in the following themes: Halloween, Fall, and Christmas. I have lots of great designer fabric choices including Moda, Kate Spain, Robert Kaufman and Doodlebug Designs :)

Christmas

Fall

Halloween

 I really had fun choosing these and decided to do this for the holidays to make choosing fabrics a bit easier. You can choose just one fabric or up to 3 for each strand of bunting. Of course if you have something else in mind, I can do that too!


I also have custom sports team bunting available. SUPER fun for parties or just to show your team spirit. You can choose up to 3 colors/prints for these as well. I did this adorable one for my local Jacksonville Jaguars.

Anywho, to make things more fun :) My early bird holiday decor shoppers (and the sports obsessed) can take advantage of a special price on my large size seasonal custom bunting! Until November 1st all Sports Team and Seasonal bunting will be $15! These will have 10 pennants on them and are about 90 inches long. You can place your order HERE.


I look forward to making lots of fun and cheery bunting this holiday season!

Keeping up with the Everyday and Etsy Store News

The college semester started for me this week so it's been a scramble to get ahead on some projects and experimenting with new ideas so here is what I have been up to aside from being an insane person trying to do everything (AHHH!). I really have no idea how school, mommy stuff, blog stuff, shop stuff is going to work...but here we go! I am determined to be organized and so far, so good :)

 My big custom order is coming along and it's actually going quite smoothly. Here is a peek at some of the fun fabrics I am using for this order. SUPER fun!

 I am really wanting to get some market totes in my Etsy because I am so passionate about buying local and this is a great way to help others get on board (a cute tote can change the world!). This bag was a no go, but it was fun to make and is making a great library tote :)Of course about 3 minutes into using this tote bag I managed to spill coffee on it....

  When I got the wild hair to hand embroider the bunting strand on my bag, I got a little crazy and made this little thing. It's embroidered on burlap and adhered to cardstock, I think it will be cute to frame :)

The next one was a biggie...our bathroom. Which has been completed for several months now, but not painted. We had a showing last week and I was determined to get it painted. Three hours of painting later (thank Jesus for naptime)...I'm kinda loving it :)

Now we just need a hefty amount of decor happiness and finally, ONE room completely renovated in our house. Everything else is at like 85% so this is a big deal.

I've been tossing some ideas around for my Etsy store and am going to be adding some new items in the next few weeks so be sure to add my store to your favorites.


I will be adding some fun boys bow-ties, flower headbands, embellished totes, and bunting fabric options for the upcoming holidays. I will be posting updates on new items here on my blog, so make sure you are following :)