WILW!

I'm linking up with Jamie for What I Love Wednesday!

I'm loving all my follower! I'm up to 94 which means I only need 6 more wonderful people to like my blog before I host my first giveaway!!! I'm  probably more excited about this giveaway than any of you are!

I'm loving the E! True Hollywood Story documentary I watched on Taylor Swift yesterday, which means I'm also loving TSwift! She's just amazing! I remember when her first song came out while I was in high school.

I'm loving that Teen Mom 2 came on last night, and I have I Used to be Fat to look forward to tonight. What would I do without my MTV reality shows?

I'm loving that my sweet friend (who is getting MARRIED in May) contacted me last night about making some of my flower headbands for herself and the bridal party (which I'm in). All the bridesmaids are going to wear cute flower headbands during the reception, and the bride is going to wear hers with her "getaway outfit". I'm so excited to make these!! Our dresses are navy blue (LOVE) so I'll be fabric shopping this weekend for the perfect pattern! I can always take custom orders, and I give discounts for bulk orders.

I'm loving that my talented brother offered to make me a free website! He studied computer animation and just knows everything there is to know about computers. He actually built me the computer I'm typing on right now as my Christmas present! He currently working in Austin and offering inexpensive web design services. Let me know if you'd like his contact info...also he's single. :) Check out his website!

I'm loving this giveaway from the Undomestic Momma! I absolutely love Charm Design's bags so you need to check it out!

I want to know what all you are loving!! Link up with Jamie! Happy Hump Day!

Top 2 Tuesday!

I'm linking up with the Undomestic Momma again for Top 2 Tuesday. She's doing a series on things learned and this week's topic is

Top 2 Things You've Learned About Blogging .

1. Blog about what you love. I think it’s easy to tell when someone’s heart isn’t in their blog or post. How can you expect your followers to be interested if you’re not even interested?
2. Be an active blogger. To make blog friends, it’s important to visit the blogs you follow and leave comments. It’s also important to search for new blogs. Follow people’s links and check out the blogs that other people like. If you like their blog, it’s likely that you’ll like the blogs they like. How many times can I say “like” in one sentence?

I'm still looking for 17 more followers, so I can host my very first giveaway!! I'm already preparing my fabric rosettes...hint hint! Spread the word!

Blog Award!!

I received my very first Blog award today! Thank you so much Kati!!

The rules are you have to write seven facts about yourself, pass it on to other bloggers, and then link it back to who passed it on to you.

1. I go by my middle name. Word of advice to new parents or people who will ever have children, don’t call you kids their middle name! Name them what you want, but call them their first name. It is very annoying later in life for your child to constantly have to correct teachers and not know what to write on standardized tests. It’s even worse in college when they are in large lecture classes. I get so confused sometimes trying to think what my name is in certain classes. My parents actually did this to my brother as well, and we have both expressed our disapproval.

2. I’m a picky eater. I love pizza but only pepperoni or cheese, and I’ll basically eat any kind of chicken. Those two foods are the backbone of my diet. I judge pizza quality. My favorite is Mellow Mushroom...now I want to eat there.

3. I’m hoping to get the new Verizon iPhone as soon as I’m eligible for an upgrade. Mommy? Daddy? Please? I think you owe me since you called me by my middle name.

4. After I graduate, I want to study Interior Design at either SCAD or the AI of Atlanta. Hopefully after I take the time to get my second degree the job market will be more stable. 

5. I wish I made my bed everyday. I started out doing that last year when I moved in to my apartment. I think it lasted a couple of months. My bed is so pretty when I make it, so I really wish I could get better about that.

6. I hate putting away laundry. I don’t mind actually doing laundry or folding my clothes, but I can’t stand putting all my laundry away. It usually sits folded in my laundry basket or laying on my chair for at least a week.

7. I love dressing up and wearing heels. Getting girly is so much fun! I’m glad I’m not a boy…most days.

So, now I'm supposed to tag some of my fellow bloggers:

Lauren @ A Modern Day Wife's Journey

Jen @ Freckle on the Nose of Life's Complexion

Megan @ Mackey Madness

Be sure to check out these girls awesome blogs!!

Featured Item of the Week

So, this is my first featured item of February…the month of love (or at least the month of Valentine ’s Day). Sadly, I don’t have any heart pendant necklaces in my shop. Instead, I decided to make all the featured items this month about items that y’all love (and when I say y’all, I mean people who heart things in my Etsy shop).

This week’s featured item is a Frayed Fabric Flower Headband. This Hand Made and Lovely piece has two hearts in my Etsy shop.

I love this headband as well. The fabric is so fun! It makes me want spring. The fabric features a bold paisley pattern with gray, pink, lime green, and teal colors. The button in the center is a vintage cream colored button. Its imperfections make me love it even more.

Head on over to my shop and “heart” some of your favorite pieces…maybe they’ll be featured next Monday!

A big thanks to everyone who linked up this weekend! Be sure to join in on the first Friday of March for the next installment of “See Where I…”. It’s a great chance to see where your fellow bloggers live, work, or play!

I’m currently looking for 17 more followers before my big GIVEAWAY! I’m super excited because it will be my first! I’ve already started preparing something Hand Made and Lovely for you!

Also, can I just say…Black Eyed Peas?? What?

Link-Up!!

The See Where I Blog link-up is still active. Link-up through the weekend and show your followers where you blog!

Lauren at A Modern Day Wife's Journey and I have decided to make this a monthly event. Be sure to check back on the first Friday of each month for the new link-up. Each month will have a different theme...See Where I _____. Comment with any fun suggestions you have!

See Where I Blog - Link Up

A fun link-up to show your followers where you blog…You could show pictures of where your normally blog, the weirdest place you’ve blogged, or where you are currently blogging. We all get to see what you blog, so show your readers where you blog!!

Be sure to come back the first Friday each month for a new fun link-up topic!

The rules:

1.  Follow the 2 hostesses (Hand Made and Lovely and A Modern Day Wife’s Journey)

2.  Post a link back to the link-up

3.  Share where you blog!

Now to see where I blog...

This is my extremely messy cozy blogging corner. I obviously love color. I post notes to myself religiously. I feel like we should be playing "I Spy" or "Where's Waldo". Who can spot my Hand Made and Lovely inspiration tag?

I want to see where you blog! Link up!

Inspiration

I was asked yesterday by Jen at Freckle on the Nose of Life’s Complexion about where I get the inspiration for my jewelry designs. As I was emailing her back, I realized that I should do a blog post about this. I figured other people might be interested in it too, and I’d love to hear what inspires everyone else.

I can also use this post to answer her in more detail, because there are many different ways I find inspiration.

Most of my pieces are completely unique. I recycle vintage jewelry and buttons to create new pieces. I get my materials from all over! Some have been donated, some I buy at thrift stores, and some were mine to begin with. I’ll start with this example…While at a thrift store in Calabash, I found a really cool pair of vintage clip on earrings. I just fell in love! They were beautiful, and I had to have them! This was near the beginning of my jewelry making and selling days. (See this early blog post for how I took over my parent’s den.) Now, we all know that clip on earrings are out. Almost everyone has pierced ears (besides my boyfriend’s mom and sister), but people who don’t still don’t really wear clip ons. I used one of the earrings as a pendant for a necklace, but it just wasn’t right. I knew the true called for this beautiful piece was as a ring.

 I had never made a ring before, so I went searching for ring bases. My basic inspiration was that I would want to wear that piece as a ring. I figure that if I like something, someone else will too. It must have been true because before I could even post the ring to Etsy, my friend Rachel bought it. I took the other earring off the necklace chain and made that one into a ring too. This beautiful purple floral ring is still for sale in my Etsy shop.

Sometimes, my inspiration comes from jewelry I see other people making, selling, or wearing. I’ve been seeing fabric rosettes and mum cabochons all over the place. I found the flower pieces for sale and got to making mum earrings and hair pins. Both are for sale in my shop.

Everyone has been seeing the fabric rosette trend. I had to have some for myself. I started looking online for tutorials and finally found a good one. I’ve just started making these, but I love them. I haven’t posted any for sale in my shop yet, but I can take special orders and create a listing for you. These are things that I’ve seen in stores that were just way too expensive to justify buying. I try to keep my prices down, because I’m on a college budget. When I price something, I think “Would I be willing to pay that?”.

Now to my buttons…I just love buttons. Vintage buttons were my first jewelry making material. I scrounged through local thrift shops to find unique charms. I can honestly say that I held on to a button from the time I started last summer until just recently. I was waiting for the PERFECT place to use it, because I just loved it. I ended up sewing that button into the center of a frayed fabric flower. It goes perfectly with the fabric. I really hope this flower pin finds a good home. I just love that button.

This post might get the award for my longest post ever! I’m just really passionate about my designs and my art. That’s why I get so excited when I make a sale. Then I know that someone else loves that Hand Made and Lovely piece just as much as I do. Thanks for sticking around. Let me know if there is a certain piece in my shop that you’d like to know the story behind.

Please check out my new Facebook fan page…

Happy Thursday!!