Random Monday-April 29, 2013

I was telling my younger sister yesterday about how I've tried to make cool cakes for the kids' birthday parties and always failed miserably.

Case (or cake?) in point:

Princess's princess castle cake for her 2nd birthday. Her expression: "What is that thing?"

Princess's ballerina cake for her 3rd birthday. The barbie doll is clearly thinking, "Get me out of this monstrosity!"

Little Man's sock monkey cake for his first birthday. All he cared about was picking the fondant circles off and eating them.

Princess was listening intently to the conversation and piped up, "You mean, like the rainbow cake, right?"

The rainbow cake is the only one I've made that I thought turned out well.

Not too shabby, right?

Thanks for the ego boost, Princess!

I awoke this morning to a distinctively unpleasant smell in my bedroom.  A week ago, I thought I heard a mouse in the middle of the night so I put out d-con.  I have a love-hate relationship with d-con.  On one hand, mice like to eat it and, then they die.  On the other hand, mice like to hide in strange, secluded places to die which can make it hard to find them until the stench is stomach-turning.  So, long story short, I cleaned and organized my entire room this morning which is no easy feat since Hubby has four (yes, FOUR: work, farm, church, casual wear) different wardrobes which require a great deal of storage and clutters up our room, plus I store a lot of my boutique supplies in our room.  So yeah.  Lots of clutter, lots of boxes, lots of places for a mouse to hide.

I didn't find the mouse.

If you don't see me here again, it's probably because the smell got too strong and I passed out, hit my head on one of our many dressers, and am laying on the floor in a coma.


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A Baby Who Eats and Baby Mugging

Yes, this is yet another post about Star.  It kind of seems like I focus on her a lot these days.  My mom was looking through my Facebook albums a while ago and reminded me that I have two other children as well.  Yes, but when I take pictures of them, they goof off or run away or refuse to stand still for 2 seconds.  Star just sits there and looks adorable when I get the camera out.

You know how most moms have a TON of pictures of their oldest child, a few less of their second one, and hardly any of the kids that come after that?  I'm backwards.  I've gotten more camera happy with each baby that came along.  The older two didn't get their pictures professionally taken until they were 6 months old, but I made sure to get newborn pictures taken of Star.  She's obviously my favorite child, haha!

Speaking of Star....because I do a lot of that these days.

The kid can eat.  This is so strange to me because the older two were not crazy about eating.  Little Man actually hated eating and went through a stage where he would literally scream when I put food in front of him.  So yeah, having a baby who actually loves to eat is completely foreign to me.

She's such a little peanut-at 7 months of age she still weighs under 15 pounds-so I'm not sure where she's putting all the food she eats.  Her standard eating schedule goes something like this:
7:30 am-6 ounces of formula, 4 ounces of pureed baby food
10:00 am-4 ounces of formula
1:00 pm-4-6 ounces of formula, 4 ounces of pureed baby food
4:00 pm-4 ounces of formula
6:00 pm-4 ounces of pureed baby food
7:30 pm-6 ounces of formula
She basically still eats every 3 hours throughout the day.  My sister's 2 week old baby eats every 4-5 hours (which completely floors me.  My girls ate every 1 1/2 hours until they were over a month old).

My little sister fed Star carrots for the first time this week while she was babysitting.  Here's the picture she texted me:

Can't you just hear Oliver Twist's voice? "Please sir, may I have some more?"

Have you heard of baby mugging?  It's the latest meme trend started by Ilana Wiles at Mommy Shorts.  Here's my contribution.

"Get me out of this mug!"

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Random Monday - April 22, 2013

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a cute children's book about Jonah and the whale!  You can enter to win here.

Did you see my new monthly feature?  Every month, I'm hosting a link-up for giveaways so if you have a giveaway you'd like to promote, you can link it up here.

When we went to visit my sister and her new baby in the hospital last week, Princess got the chance to peek in the nursery and see the babies all lined up in their little plastic bassinets.  Her eyes widened as she asked, "Are these babies all for sale?"

I made a list of all the projects and orders I need to finish this week.  It's really long.  I have a sewing challenge for the Boutique Challenge Auctions page to finish by Wednesday, 3 outfits to make for my son, niece, and nephew who are having a joint 3rd birthday party soon, I have to design a graphic for some shirts for a customer, I have 5 dresses, 2 vests, and 1 tutu to make for customers, and I have to make my son's birthday present (overachiever, perhaps?)  Of course, that list doesn't include silly things such as housework, taking care of the kids, running Princess to and from preschool, and the other usual stuff on my list.  You know what?  I should probably actually get started on some of that stuff instead of writing this post :)  Sorry this one is so short!

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How To Make Your Blog Post "Pinnable"

If you're like me, you have a "pin it" button installed on your toolbar and you aren't afraid to use it...liberally (at last check, I had over 4000 pins on my 48 Pinterest boards).  However, not everyone has that button installed or maybe they just need a little nudge to pin something from your blog.

Here's how to make your blog post "pinnable."

First write your blog post, complete with pictures (you can't pin words!), and publish it.  Now before you start promoting it on your Facebook page or Twitter (you do have those, right? Because they're awesome and free ways to promote your blog!) open your blog post like you're going to read it, and then open the Button and Widget Builder page on Pinterest in another tab.  Select the "Pin It Button."  Under Button Type, select "One Image."
Copy and paste the URL of your blog post into the first space.  
Click on the picture in your post that you want readers to pin so it opens up in the window by itself.  Copy and paste the URL of the image into the second space where it says "image."  Finally, add a description of your pin (Examples: Awesome giveaway at Awesome Giveaways Blog, How to host an awesome giveaway on your blog,)  Click on the red button that says "Build It!" and scroll down to copy your html code.
  
Next, open your blog post back up to edit it.  You do not need to be in HTML format to add the code.  Paste the html code right below the image you just built a pin for or wherever you want the button to go in your post.  Publish your post and you're done!

I decided to put the html code right below my picture so the Pin It Button shows up directly below it.

Now, if you want to create a hover button (for an example, hover over any of the pictures in this post!) on the images themselves, go back to the Buttons and Widgets Builder page on Pinterest.  Select the "Pin It Button" and then select the option that says "Image Hover" for the button type and click "Build It."  Copy and paste the html code onto the very bottom of your blog post.  Once again, you do not need to be in HTML format to add the code.  You probably want the description on the pins to be filled in for people which is helpful because sometimes people just hit the period and call it good enough which makes it harder for your pin to be repinned and found on Pinterest.  Click on the image in your post while you're editing and click on "Properties."

Under "Title Text," fill in the description just like you would for a pin.  Hit publish and admire your work!  

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April Giveaways and Contests Linkup

I love entering giveaways online :)  I've actually won a lot of stuff from them so I'm always looking for another one to enter, but it can be hard to find them sometimes.  So I'm starting a monthly feature here on my blog!

Every month, I will have a giveaways post where you can link up your giveaway or any other giveaways you find online!  Of course, use common courtesy and ask the host of the giveaway if you can link it up here first :)

If you're linking up your giveaway or contest here, feel free to grab my button!

<div align="center"><a href="http://supermommyornot.blogspot.com/search/label/GIveaway%20Linkup" title="Supermommy!...Or Not." target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j441/annaliesbabyboutique/GIveaways150x150_zpse7de7cd2.jpg" alt="Supermommy!...Or Not." style="border:none;" /></a></div>

The only rule is that you may link up to any giveaway or contest as long as it's family friendly.





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Jonah Book Review and Giveaway-Closed

Website: http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/books/products.asp?p=9781433679643

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Troy-Schmidt/416873491725221 and https://www.facebook.com/bhpublishing

Twitter: https://twitter.com/troyeschmidt


We received this book in the mail yesterday to review and it's already a hit at my house.  I read it to the kids twice and Grandma read it to them once before bed.  I had my doubts about the book at first because I was worried that it might be a little, um...disrespectful or non-factual, but that was not the case at all.  I especially liked the Parent Connection page in the back of the book that provided Bible references and questions to ask your child.  Princess was able to have a discussion with me about the book and what we can learn from Jonah's the whale's story.

The book says it's geared for children between the ages of 4-8, but I think the humor would appeal to children older than that as well (hey, I thought it was funny and I'm an adult!)  Princess is 5 years old and while she enjoyed the book, I feel like the humor of the situation (the whale telling the story instead of Jonah) was somewhat lost on her.

Other titles in Troy Schmidt's series are "Hey God, Can You Stop the Rain so I Can Get off Noah's Stinky Smelly Ark?" and "Hey God, I'm Having an Awful Vacation in Egypt Thanks To Moses."  which will be released in May, 2013.

Would you like to win your own copy of "Hey God, I've Got Some Guy Named Jonah in My Stomach and I Think I'm Going To Throw Up!" for your kids or grandkids?  Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win!

*The giveaway is open to US residents only.  All entries will be verified.  The book will be mailed to the address provided by the winner.  The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget below and in a new blog post. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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Random Monday - April 15, 2013

First, of all, if you're new to my blog, welcome to my Random Monday series.  It's exactly what it sounds like...random!  There are a lot of things I'd like to write on my blog because I want to remember it later and share it with others who might like it, but these things don't always constitute their own blog post.

Enjoy the randomness!
  
Last week, Little Man came up to me and sorrowfully said, "I'm doing an owie dance. I need a treat."

Today, while eating breakfast in the kitchen, I heard this...
Little Man: "Princess! Stop looking at me!  MoooooooooOm, Princess is looking at me."
The kid is 2.  TWO.  I did not think I had to worry about this scenario for at least a few more years.  *sigh*

I took some pictures of Star the other day.  Most of them turned out super cute like this one: 

And then there were a few bloopers like this.  I call this one "Spot the Photobomb."

I've been making house-divided football shirts and onesies for a while now for my Etsy shop and they've been pretty popular.

I also make house divided dresses for little girls.

 A couple of weeks ago, a customer requested an Air Force/Navy divided onesie, and I love the way it turned out.  Think I should add these to my shop?  I would be able to make them with any branch of the military.

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Shocked and Happy!

I usually don't get around to posting on Sundays, but I checked in to see how many views I had on my blog post from yesterday and almost fell off my chair!

In less than 30 hours, my post on pricing handmade goods has received almost 4500 views, been pinned and repinned dozens of times on Pinterest, and been shared on Facebook numerous times.  It quickly became the #1 post on my blog with #2 only having 1430 views.     

I'm thrilled that so many people are reading it and realizing how underpaid most artisans really are.  Handmade work can be somewhat unappreciated at times, and I think it's great that so many are realizing just how much time and money go into a handmade work of art, be it clothing, photography, jewelry making, or any other art form.

Since I'm here, I might as well mention a few other things too!

First, Tiny Blue Lines interviewed me for a post about being a young mom!  You can read it here.   

Also, did you notice the change in my blog header and Facebook page?  I'm in the process of redesigning my blog and am excited to be getting a new look.  I haven't done much to change my blog since I started it almost 4 years ago, and I think it's time to update!   I decided to go with a blue and yellow theme since those are two of my favorite colors together and were also the colors of my wedding (Coincidence? Probably not, haha).  Oh, and did I mention that there's going to be chevron?  I know I'm not the only chevron addict out here!  I was going to update my blog background and template yesterday, but with so much traffic on the blog, I thought it might be best to wait :) 

My new Facebook profile picture

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Why Is It So Expensive?

I've heard some complaints and comments lately about how expensive handmade children's clothing is. 

Honestly, before I started sewing, I thought the same thing.  Now, I realize that most seamstresses are actually underselling their creations.

Let's figure out why handmade clothing is priced as high as it is.

Here's a dress I made last summer: 

 The materials that went into it are: 2 buttons, heat n' bond for the applique, thread, and approximately 2 yards of fabric.  The fabric I buy for my products averages out at $10-$11 a yard.  Yes, I could just go to Walmart and buy $6 a yard fabric, but I take pride in the quality of my product.  From my experience, you get what you pay for with fabric.  So, the cost of materials for the dress are $1.50 (buttons), $0.25 (heat n' bond), $0.15 (thread), and $20 (fabric) making the total cost for materials add up to $21.90.

Okay, now add in the time it took to make the dress...I spent approximately 2 1/2 hours from start to finish.  My time is valuable, and I deserve to be paid for it just like anyone else who has a job.  Let's say that I pay myself $10 an hour.  (Note: Can you live on $10 an hour?  Not very comfortably!)  That makes the total for labor costs $25.

$21.90 + $25 = $46.90

But we're not done yet!  This figure doesn't include all the hidden costs of business such as buying patterns and business cards, internet costs, time spent promoting the business and updating listings online, sewing machine maintenance, packaging supplies, Etsy and Paypal fees, time to take and edit pictures of the product, camera batteries, electricity to run the computer and sewing machine, etc.  To figure all that in, add at least $5 to the total above.

$46.90 + $5 = $51.90 

Want to know how much I'm selling this dress for?

$35

Still think it's overpriced?  When you take away the cost of materials, I'm not even making minimum wage.

Many of my friends and family assume that, because I'm a seamstress, I save money by sewing all of my kids' clothes instead of buying them at a store.  They're always surprised when I tell them that it's much cheaper and faster for me to buy clothes at Target or Old Navy than to make them myself.   

So, if I make so little money sewing and selling children's clothing, why do I do it?

Because I love it.  There's no way I could put this much time and energy into something that pays so little if I didn't love it.

So the next time you're browsing a craft show or Etsy and find yourself thinking that a designer is charging too much, please remember what goes into each handmade craft and piece of clothing.  



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Exciting Stuff, Ya'll!

April 11th was an awesome day.  Extremely awesome.

If you're a fan of my blog's Facebook page, you know that my sister was in excruciating pain/more pain than the human body can technically handle, and I was thrilled because it meant I was getting a new niece or nephew.  To be fair, having a baby is the only time I wish that kind of pain on anyone! 

At 9 pm on Thursday, we were blessed with another beautiful baby girl in our family!  That makes three boy cousins and SEVEN girl cousins in our extended family now.  At this point, I'm not sure the boys are ever going to catch up, lol. 

This is baby #4 for my sister and her husband.  She will be joining 2 older brothers and an older sister at home.

I can't get over her thick dark hair!  She also has the biggest, squishable cheeks I have ever seen on a baby.  ADORABLE! 

My sister with her new baby.

Thursday afternoon, I had a job interview with the local newspaper for freelance writing.  And.....I got the job!!  I'm so excited since I've always had a strong interest in journalism and writing. 

But it didn't stop there...on Friday, I did something that really made me happy.

I put Star's hair in a pigtail for the first time!

It may not sound like a big deal to you, but when you consider that Princess was 18 months old before she had enough hair for a pigtail, then you might understand why I'm so excited that Star is only 6 months old and has enough hair already.

I just can't get over this innocent little face!

Princess's first pigtail.

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