Turkey For Two!

About a month ago when I was talking to my mom I realized that there was a pretty good possibility that I would be alone this Thanksgiving. Most of my family was going to be out of town visiting other family members. I had the opportunity to go to Florida with my parents and join the rest of my family there but since I just started working again, I have limited vacation time and would have had to fly out on Wednesday. NO THANK YOU. Instead I saw these couple of days an opportunity to spend some much needed time with my little one. With me working and her being in school we are lucky if we get an hour a day together before we both fall asleep and start the day over again. I am so very grateful that I got many other offers to spend Thanksgiving with others but chose a relaxing day with my favorite person on this planet!

We started the day with a trip to the movies. We went to see A Christmas Carol in 3D of course. I thought the movie was very well done, the actors did a great job, and the 3D effects were really awesome. But it was kind of dark and Bella was scared for most of it. I could feel her shaking at some points. During the movie I felt bad for taking her but at the end when I asked her if she liked it, she said she really did. She was surprised that I was surprised by her response. I guess if she liked it then that is all that matters!

Then it was time for me to get cooking. Bella requested that I make turkey for Thanksgiving. Now I was not even sure if she would like it but I made it anyway. I bought a little 7lbs turkey breast and made us a little turkey dinner. I roasted the turkey with baby carrots and potatoes. Last time I checked she liked carrots and potatoes but all she ate for dinner was a few pieces of turkey and refused to let me put gravy on it. She is SO picky. I can honestly say that she does not take after me when it comes to food! Overall I think our little turkey dinner for two was quite delicious! I can't wait to make my favorite turkey leftover sandwich tomorrow!

We ended the evening with one of my favorite activities to do with her...bake cupcakes! We made devil's food cupcakes. I taught her how to crack eggs tonight and she did one perfect on her own. My little baker prodigy! I decided to make homemade chocolate buttercream icing because I love it. And I remembered that I bought a new large star icing tip that I had not used yet. I LOVE how the icing looks using the bigger tip, they look more professional. They taste so good, I need to find a way to get them out of my house so Bella and I don't eat them all!

As much as I am thankful that I have a great family I can honestly say that I truly enjoyed having a day that celebrating my little family. Sometimes it is nice to take a break from all of the craziness and enjoy the holidays for what they are about, celebrating with the ones we love. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Working, Running, Creating, and Reconnecting!

Oh My…no way I have not blogged since August. Sorry about that! I do have a good reason for it, I am now employed and forgot how working completely sucks away ALL of your free time! Clearly it took a little time for me to get adjusted to working again, something I forgot since I was unemployed for 11 months. This adjustment was further complicated with the addition of my 5 year old starting Kindergarten AND me training for a marathon.
Even though I have taken a little break from blogging, I did not take a break from being creative! For the Marine Corps Marathon I made myself a Camouflage Ribbon Athletic Headband as well as made our shirts. I appliqued 26.2 numbers made from camouflage fabric to a running shirt and added an American flag patch on the sleeve. The shirts looked awesome and my sister and I both had great marathons! We both not only finished but BOTH got PR’s. I beat mine by best marathon time by 12 minutes and my sister beat hers by 45!!! The Marines put on a GREAT marathon, the course was beautiful, and the water stops were very nice as well! ;-)

Coming right off of the marathon was Halloween. Since I have nothing but free time I volunteered to make the soccer team Halloween costumes for the fright night. Fright Night was a big event at the soccer fields with trick or treating, a parade, a team costume contest, and a game. So the challenge was making a costume that the kids could also play soccer in. One of the parents came up with the idea for them to be M&M’s and said each parent could make the shirt. Since I was in it to win it and am a bit OCD, I volunteered to make them. The kids were M&M’s and I made the coach the bag, I made them using t shirts and felt. I had the kids wear their black soccer shorts, black long sleeve t’s, and bought them white gloves. They looked adorable! Oh and did I mention we won first place! This Soccer Mom thing is not a bad gig!

November so far has been off to a great start! I fortunately was able to return to my Alma Mater for Homecoming and a reunion with my sorority sisters. I am not sure if I had mentioned this before but my sorority is the reason you see all of this Purple and why my business is called Purplelicious! Tri Sigma’s colors are Royal Purple and White. So naturally purple is one of my favorite colors! One day I was running and listening to Fergalicious, combined the two and Purplelicious was born! Anyway, back to the weekend! It was so amazing to be back together with my girls. Within minutes of seeing each other we were hanging out like no time had passed. When we headed back to campus to tailgate it was so incredible to be back there. I forgot how much I loved that campus and how beautiful it was. You can’t really top a campus that has palm trees. Tailgating was an entirely new experience since Coastal Carolina University did not have a football when most of us attended. I made adorable hair flowers in black and teal (school colors) with purple Tri Sigma letters on them. You can see me wearing it in the picture below! I was talking to my sister as I was getting on the plane and she said, “You are going to have the best weekend because you get to go back to a place where you had some of the best times of your life.” And she was right. Not only did I get to go back but I had a chance to make some new memories and reestablish some great friendships!

I know I always promise to be better about keeping my blog up to date but maybe it is more fun to keep you guessing as to when my next blog will be. Until next time, stay fabulous!

HeadbandsbyPurplelicious now on Artfire

In an effort to continue to build up my web presence, last month I finally caved and opened up my shop on Artfire! I have seen so many of my EtsyNJ friends making the leap but what sealed the deal for me was that Artfire donated 100 Artfire bags for the goodie bags at the Handmade Faire last month. Now that is just cool!

Artfire claims to be extremely seller focused and they ARE! Not only is listing a new item so simple, SEO functionality is embedded into the listing set up. Setting up my market was so easy and within a day of getting my shop set up I already started showing up in google searches! Good stuff!

As if I wasn't already happy with Artfire the other day they released the Artfire Kiosk application for facebook. Now customers can shop directly from my facebook profile and fan page without even going to Artfire. You can even buy items right there through a secure server. Yay!

Check out my new shop on Artfire by clicking here. And if you want to take advantage of easy shopping through facebook, become a fan of Purplelicious by checking out my Facebook Fan Page and checking out the Artfire Kiosk tab.

Happy Shopping!

Hair Flowers - Bridal Style!

When I first learned how to make these adorable little fabric flowers I knew I had to experiment with some white satin and make some pretty bridal hair flowers. The concept was to have an adorable satin flower to accent the hair that could be custom made for the bride, her bridesmaids, and even her flower girl. Since I introduced this white satin hair flower to the Bridal Section in my Etsy shop, several brides have purchased it and I have done 1 custom bridesmaid order. Until recently! I reconnected with an old colleague through facebook and she checked out my Etsy shop and saw the bridal flowers. She liked the satin flowers for her bridesmaids but wanted something different for her. I was so happy to be given the opportunity to design her hair flower, I couldn't wait to get started. I had seen instructions on how to make a fabric rose and this gave me this excuse to try it. Below is the finished product. It is currently for sale here.

I love how this came out but when she sent me a picture of her dress I knew it wouldn't work. Back to the drawing board. I ended up at my mom's for inspiration and saw a fabric flower pattern down in her sewing room. I thought it would be perfect except that the petals were too pointy. But I took the pattern and made some adjustments and the final result was this flower.

The Bride loved it and asked me to make that flower for her, the satin fabric flower hair clips for her bridesmaids, and a satin flower barrette for the flower girl. I was so excited, my first custom bridal party order! Here is a picture of all of the flowers that I made. The bride, flower girl, and maid of honor had matching center stones and the bridesmaids all had something different.

I caught a sneak peek at some pictures posted from her wedding and first could not believe how gorgeous everyone looked. But the hair flowers looked so amazing in everyone's hair including the bride's! I hope I get some pictures to have of everyone's hair! It was such an honor to be chosen to make hair accessories for someone's wedding day! I had so much fun doing it and hope that this is the first of many bridal party orders to come my way!

Cranes for a Cause

Etsy is not only a place for me to sell my hair accessories, it has also become a place where I have found many amazing friends through my membership on the EtsyNJ Street team. Most of us haven't even met yet our friendships continue to grow through social networking sites. When Cat of CatRocks posted a note about Cranes for Killian on facebook, I was amazed to see the response that she got. I had no clue how to make origami cranes but I knew I was going to figure it out and do it. It wasn't long before the status updates from my EtsyNJ friends were about learning how to make paper cranes! Here is the link to what Cat posted which gives you a little background on the request and some pictures of all of the cranes they have received. Cranes for Killian on Flickr The cranes are for an amazing teenage boy named Killian who just a few days ago, lost his long battle with cancer. I never met him but I feel like my life is that much better because I have learned of his story. Even though the battle was tough, he chose to LIVE each day. He started a foundation to help other children battling cancer and since he was a musician recorded an album entitled Somewhere Else which is currently being sold on Amazon and Itunes. Here is the link to the Killian Mansfield - Somewhere Else Fan Page on Facebook if you would like more information. Knowing about Killian when I saw the call for cranes I knew it was something that I had to do. The experience has given me so much perspective. If I am having a bad day or get disgusted with life, I think about that night I was folding cranes and become grateful for everything that I do have in my life!

Here is a picture of my origami cranes. When I first tried to make them I realized it was harder than it looks but once I got the hang of it they were pretty easy. The paper I chose was called harmony and I thought that was fitting for the purpose.

With my paper crane package I also included 2 headbands for Killian's sister. A few months ago, Cat had reached out to me to place a headband order for her to cheer her up. In this package I wanted to give something to her, I can't imagine what she must be going through and from what I heard, she was beyond excited to receive the headbands! I hope that they have received 1000 cranes, as I have been following the story it seems that cranes are coming in from all over the world and Cat is receiving 9-10 boxes a day. I hope they have exceeded their goal! It is amazing to me how 1 child's drive to live life everyday can inspire people to come together and do something as simple as folding paper. May Killian rest in peace and the story of his life continue to inspire everyone all over the world.

Craft Show Tour, A Phillies Game, and A New Baking Adventure!

Ok I did warn you all that I was blogging at an average of 1 blog every 2 weeks, right? Well I think it might have been a little longer than that but hey, I am a busy girl! July has gone by with a blur, like usual time flies when you are having fun!

I am happy to report that I survived my brief craft show tour and both shows were incredibly successful! First up was the Haddonfield Fine Arts and Crafts Festival. I was so excited when I found my booth space as it was in a great spot on Haddonfield's Main Street! The show went great! Not only did I sell a lot of accessories it was great chatting with customers who not only remembered my booth from last year but remembered the location! Now that is loyalty! The biggest seller at this show, my fabric flower ponytail holders. In between customer interactions I sat at the booth and made more. As soon as I would put some out, they would sell. I think I sold about 30 of them most of which were made at the show! I have been busy making more since some of the shops selling my stuff are going through them quickly too! Thanks to all of the fabulous people that helped support Purplelicious at the Haddonfield Show, I look forward to seeing you next year. I hope you all remembered my booth location, there will be a quiz next year!

The next stop on my craft show tour was the Handmade Faire. It was held at Freedom Park in Medford NJ. This park is awesome and also the location for many of Medford's events including their Relay for Life and their 4th of July Fireworks! The show was organized by my Etsy Friend Abbie and her mother in law Pola. And I have to say they put together an AMAZING show! There are so many things I liked about the show. For starters, ALL of the sellers sold handmade items, which is great to see. A lot of major craft shows add this as a requirement but I think a lot of non handmade sellers still manage to get in. At the Handmade Faire I just felt this sense of community that I don't usually feel at craft shows. That could also be because I knew some of the sellers from the EtsyNJ group! I think my favorite aspect of the show was the music. The theme of the show was Summer of Love and Abbie put together an incredible mix of songs from the 70s. I was in heaven! And the crowd loved it too, it was cool to see people dancing and singing along to the music! I also had a very successful show! Which is also nice! Congrats to Abbie and Pola on a great show, they estimated about 8000 people came to the event and I believe plans are already in the works for a Fall edition in October! I have already marked my calendar! Here is a pic of me in my booth!


Last week we ventured to another Phillies game! It was a business person's special and also the Kids Run the Bases game. It was during the day on Wednesday. Unfortunately the Phil's put an end to their winning streak that game but Bella had a blast running the bases. How it works is after the game all of the kids leave the park and get in line to come back into run the bases. The line was literally wrapped around the ballpark but moved pretty quick. You get to walk down the ramp by right field and onto the field. The kids run around the bases, the parents meet them at home plate and you are done! Bella got a certificate as well. I was surprised she did it, but as soon as she hit the field she was off running! I took some video and realized that I captured her on phanavision as well. Very cute! Here are some pictures of her from the game. Notice the baseball headband! ;-)
Headed in the park!

Walking down the ramp to the field!

On the field about to run the bases!


The final leg of my 3 weeks of madness was a new adventure in baking! My cousin's baby just turned 1 and she asked me awhile ago if I would make all of the desserts for his birthday party. I was so excited! I love to bake and especially love creating baking and cake decorating! When she told me the party was a puppy theme, I was ready for the challenge! Here is what I came up with:
The Main Birthday Cake:

Sugar Cookie Dog Bones for the Treat Bags:

Personal Mini Dog Cake for the birthday boy to destroy:

Cupcakes with a Mini Dog Bone Sugar cookie:

To say that everything was a hit would be an understatement. I definitely like my fair share of praise but I was getting so much, I started to blush a little. It was so rewarding to see my cousin so pleased with everything and little Owen loved all the doggie themed treats!

After three weeks of fun, like usual, I still have miles to go before I sleep. It keeps my life interesting though, I am not sure I would know what to do if life wasn't always busy! I do have one goal, I hope to get back on a regular blogging schedule, we will see how that works out!

2 Weeks!

I feel like this blog is operating on "Money Pit" time! It seems I have only had time to blog every 2 weeks. Wow has it really been two weeks since my last blog post? I am so sorry to have kept you all in suspense as to the happenings of my fabulous life but maybe getting all of the information in bi-monthly updates is a better way to go? Well for now it will have to do because in restaurant terms...I am in the Weeds!

Picking up where I last left off, my fabulous little 5 year old graduated from Pre-K at the end of the month. Aside from her dance class performance I have not seen her in a group singing performance since her school doesn't really put them on. She had been talking about graduation for months and humming some of the songs so I knew I was in for a treat! She also teased me about a secret song that they weren't allowed to tell the parents about. I am impressed that she kept it under wraps for so long, I was definitely surprised! The graduation ceremony was only 20 minutes but it was adorable and Bella did great. She wasn't nervous, when it was her turn to speak she stood up straight and spoke clearly. she is so much like her mommy it is scary! So I still have a few months to come to terms with the fact that my baby is starting kindergarten in the fall but I am not going to think about that now!

In other news, Purplelicious is on FIRE! In a good way! I recently reached a milestone of 500 Etsy sales which was very exciting for me! To celebrate I had a Customer Appreciation Sale and offered $5 Headbands for one day. Everyone LOVES the $5 Headband Sale, needless to say it was a huge success! My mom thought I was a little crazy for having that sale a few weeks before two upcoming craft shows BUT I was strategic. While I was filling orders I was cutting a few extra pieces of fabric and building inventory! Productivity at its finest, ok not really!

Speaking of Craft Shows I evidently have taken some crazy pills as I have two, count them TWO craft show coming up, back to back. It is Wednesday and I have a good amount of inventory for my show this weekend BUT I have a very long list of things to do. But it will all get done, I am already very accustomed to the late night craft show prep that ensues when you are a procrastinator like me. Although honestly, I think some of my best work happens in the late night hours! As if that wasn't enough, another shop at the Jersey store now carries my products. Haven Boutique in Sea Isle City, NJ now carries Purplelicious Accessories. It is an adorable boutique with lots of great dresses and accessories. It is the first boutique that my products are in and I am excited to see how well they do there!

My 4th of July was great, thanks for asking! I didn't have any bbq plans and my pool still looked like a toxic green swamp so I took Bella to the movies. We saw Ice Age 3 in 3D. Can someone please stop me from paying more for the 3D experience when only 2 elements of the whole movie are 3D. When will I learn! On a positive note we got to see some Amazing fireworks. My mom's friend lives right across from the high school where they set them off so she was kind enough to give us some viewing space on her grass. I have never seen fireworks so close in my life! Bella really enjoyed them and it was awesome sitting there watching them with her. And like I do every 4th of July since I have been divorced, I hope that the next year I am watching them in the arms of an amazing man. Perhaps I need to make my wish at a different time of the year though, it seems the 4th of July wish is not really working!

FINALLY, since my Tie Dyed Cupcakes have become very popular, I decided to make them for the 4th of July. I will call them Patriotic Tie Dye Cupcakes. I made them for Bella's class and this time I made Tie Dyed Icing..fancy! How to make them, these are easier I think because they have less colors. Divide the White cake Batter into three bowls (about 2c of batter in each). Tint one of them red and one of them blue (I strongly recommend the Wilton Gel colors for this). Keep the third bowl as is. Line the cupcake tins and first add the red, I found about 1 tbsp per cupcake was enough. Although the last couple get a little cheated. to offset this, start the next color where you left off! Follow that process for the other two colors and bake. Now for the icing. I used the Wilton Buttercream recipe and also one of their techniques for the icing. I got some paintbrushes and brushed stripes of color into the pastry bag, then added the white icing. You have to squeeze some of the icing out until the color starts to come through but that is how you get the tie dye effect! Below are some pics! Enjoy!




Ok enough fun and frolic, I hope you enjoyed this rather long two week recap. I hope to post a blog next week about the 2 day Haddonfield Craft Show I am participating in this weekend but at the rate I am going on here, expect it in 2 weeks!