Final Voting Round

vote for me!

I would appreciate any help from you all!  Please vote for your favorite designs- there are so many talented designers!

Failure

http://houhouhaha.fr/clement-goebels/citation2

 This is something that I struggle with a lot.  I am so afraid to fail that I am afraid to try.  But, as I raise my children, I don't want them to fear things or else they will miss out on so much.  Which is why I jumped into opening my own little design business and why I entered the Minted Design Challenge.  Heck no, I am not nearly as talented as Jessica Hische or ever will be, but I think I can be on par with some designers out there on Etsy.  Some of these Minted designers are incredible and I can't even compare myself to them.  I know I still have A LOT to learn with technical skills, branching out and even trying some illustrations.  I don't sell all that much on Etsy and everyday I ask myself- why?  What am I doing wrong?  I think people like my designs but why won't they buy?  Am I not as good as the others?  And then the whole self-doubt thing creeps into my head telling me to just quit.  Am I a failure because I don't sell nearly as much as I would like?  Am I a failure because I didn't even make it past the first round of voting on Minted?  I seriously don't know. 

I love designing and creating new things.  I would love to do it everyday for 8 hrs if I could!  But, I only have maybe 3 hours a day to give.  My kids are young and need me.  I take my business very seriously and put in 110% on every order.  But the stress of being good enough is getting to me.  Maybe it is good I am taking a break pretty soon to snuggle with my baby girl when she comes. 

But, then I think about this quote and remember some comments I read that other designers made about receiving high and low ratings.  Judging creativity is so subjective.  What one person values is not what someone else may- like technical skill or colors used or simple and clean vs. artistic and whimsical.  I can't let my sense of creativity be judged so much by others' opinions and deem myself a success or a failure by their standards.  It is so easy to say- just insanely difficult to do.  But, I will try because this is my passion.  And, I want my children growing up knowing that their mother was not afraid to try and fail, try and fail, and try and maybe, just maybe- succeed. 


**update: when I looked yesterday I didn't see my name on the 2nd round of voting designs. Turns out I was looking for my company name and not MY name. 1 of my designs did make it to the 2nd round! If you categorize the list by designers, I am on page 10 for those that want to vote. :) I was pretty surprised this morning when I got a notification someone liked my design since the 1st round of voting ended. Thank you for that tender mercy!

VOTE FOR ME!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Click on the badge on the top right hand side of the page and cast your votes!  When you vote you get a coupon code for your next purchase! And tell your friends, family, long lost roommates- ANYONE.  Voting will most likely end tomorrow or Wednesday.  BUT only vote if you actually like my designs :)  I think I have 6 or so on there. 

Or follow this link to see my other designs!

Ok, I am done.  Now, GO!

Baby Adelle's Nursery....so far

I have gotten a late start with Baby #3.  One reason is that we *MAY* be moving but it all depends on a yes or no from a certain school.  And we won't know until July.....almost 2 weeks before baby comes.  Talk about stressful!

Anyway, I finished the baby blanket yesterday and the curtains a week or so ago.  I am procrastinating on other stuff because she may not have her own room.  I feel so behind! I have some clothes and burp cloths but I don't feel ready for her to come yet! Although I am so miserable I want her out...now! :)  

I got this at this shop.  LOOVE monogram stuff.  I will have her newborn pics taken in this.

I made these babies.  I made some for a friend for her first baby and made some for Adelle, too.  Spit up never looked so good.

 These are her curtains.  I bought the white panels at Target and just sewed on the pom poms. 

 I am in love with this blanket.  I want it for my bed! I made it big- so it would fit her toddler bed, too.  I made (aka my mom) Ashton and Oliver's blankets big, too, but not as big.  They LOVE those minky blankets.  This was my first time working with minky fabric and ric rac.  Don't look too closely, though! I was so nervous but I read some tutorials and the key was PIN, PIN, PIN.  Like every inch.  And I used a stretch needle.  Not sure if that is what made it easier.  My mom does not like working with minky but now I found the trick! 

Adelle will be in Oliver's old room, which we painted a sky blue for Ollie.  I feel bad kicking him out of his room but I think Ollie and Ashton will like sharing a room.  So, we are not going to repaint the room.  I like that it will be blue and have lots of magenta/coral/orange.  I like girly with some fun twists.  I will spray paint her frames and iron standing shelf gold...for some elegance.  We will see how it turns out- with a little less than 5 weeks to go!  I also will design some prints for her- can't wait!

P.S. I got all the fabric and embellishments at fabric.com.  I get almost everything from there. It is so nice because there is noooo way I am dragging my boys to a fabric store....it takes so long to look at fabric, find the perfect fabric, and then determine all the measurements for what you want.  No way.  I do everything online. I can't feel the fabric but I already kinda know what I am looking for beforehand. 

Can't wait for this little beauty to come in!

Minted Design Challenge

I have decided to take a chance and enter the Minted Design Challenge.  The deadline is this morning.  I have been working the past few days (I know- I just found out about it this past weekend...) and I am happy with what I came up with.  I used some older stuff I had and spruced it up, changed colors and fonts and some layouts.  I know its a looong shot- with over 2000 submissions- but it is a good way to receive critiques and get to know other designers.  Plus, I get to practice- A LOT.  Even if I don't win, I have a head start on Christmas cards!

I don't know when voting starts, but when it does, will you vote for my designs if you like them? 
Thanks!

In other news, I get about 3 hrs of sleep at night (thanks to baby and bladder) so I have been sleeping during the day when I can.  It isn't enough but I hope you understand if I don't blog very much.  But keep coming back and checking the shop.  I really do appreciate your support!

Lego Birthday Party

Lego Birthday Party by frommewithlovedesign on polyvore.com

5x7 Green and Blue Lego 3 Photo Invitation by frommewithlovedesign
$12 - etsy.com






My son is actually not into legos right now (thank goodness)!  I only say that because I step on enough toys as it is.  And my other son sucks on legos (the ones he has gotten his hands on).  BUT, I know someday, the time will come that he will love legos and needs to have them all.  However, I have friends whose kids LOVE legos.  


Here are some party ideas for a LEGO themed party.  I love them all!  You can keep everything simple (or not- like me).  I am a DIYer but I have been pregnant through 2 kid birthday parties and I hired some stuff out! Best plan ever!  So for those that still want to be a little more involved, I have several party packages you can purchase along with a photo (or non-photo) invitation.  All you do is assemble and voila! 


There is something here for everyone- I would never in a meeelllion years attempt to make that gorgeous cake.  Nope. But, I can make those cute cupcakes with the cute little lego men- in chocolate- yum.  And while I am at it, make those crayon lego men.  My friend did these as favors and my kids love coloring with them! Or for those with a sweet tooth, you can make those lego candies.  You can find those molds here.  And for the ambitious, you can even make those lego men cakepops. 


Can we say "awesome?"  I can't wait to throw one of my littles a lego party.....or can I?  For those of you who have stepped on way too many pointy building pieces, here is your chance to make peace with them and devour a few lego man cake pops and color that little head off.  And make your little child oh so very happy with his all time favorite toy for now.  


**I hope these links work.  If not, they are on polyvore.com.  I want to give proper credit where it is due! I did see all of them on pinterest though.

Ashtonisms

Lorin: "Ashton. Listen to your mother."
Ashton: Brows furrowed. Dead serious face. "My mother is dead. A monster ate her."
Lorin & Brenda: "Bahahahhahaha"

Maybe we should not have him watch movies where the Mom dies......aka all kids movies.

My Workshop- Blog Design

I am currently working on a friend's blog design- I can't wait until it is up!  She is one of those moms that always looks awesome and is incredibly friendly.  You would be intimidated by her, but there is no reason to be because she is so caring and generous- and beautiful! She has a fun style blog and we wanted to spruce it up to match her personality.  Here are some sneak peeks- but you'll have to check it out by the end of this month.  I apologize for the crappy iPhone pics but I just want to give you a teeeeeny peek.   

Can't wait?  (me neither)- just visit Style With Shannon and check out her posts on street styles, kid style and her style!  


Oh yes, before I forget.  She is a style consultant- a brilliant one.  She styled my family for our family pictures in the fall.  She used what we had in our closets (I just bought a striped sweater for Ollie), so it totally fit our personality.  

Orange and Pink Floral Party

From Me, With Love Designs

Here is an example of what you could do with these mod floral pink flower invitations.  I found this gorgeous party here.  This is originally for a little girl's birthday party, but you can totally use this for a bridal or baby shower.  

Look at those beautiful paper flowers.  You can find the tutorial here.  Just use the coordinating flower colors on the invitation (tangerine and pink).  

And you can keep the food simple and use coordinating colors in the sprinkles.  Isn't that ombre sprinkle cake amazing?!?

And of course, use a real flower centerpiece!  These are absolutely amazing.  

This party is simple yet so elegant.  And it is multi-functional for a little girl, a bride to be or even a mother to be! 

Ta-Da!

Finally! After working so hard to get new items in my shop, updating descriptions, pricing, etc. I finally designed my blog!  It didn't take me long to put everything in- what took a long time was figuring out what I wanted it to look like.  I don't know any code so a lot of googling/youtube took place.  

Anyway, I am so glad to have my blog up and I will be posting what I am working on, my inspirations and some family life stuff.  And hopefully I will get pictures from all of you using my products so I can post it to show people using my designs in "real life." 

I will leave you with a picture of my darling boy who loves to be naked.  And climb on everything. And have me chase him everywhere.  Luckily, I was just on the couch relaxing for a brief second and he came to show off his climbing skills....and dance skills.  See the little blur of his right foot?  That's right- he got his dancing skills from his latin mama. Actually, it skipped a generation because I don't dance.  That is all from his abuelitos.