Baseball, Networking, and a New Venture!

Since my daughter's tball opening day I feel like my life is completely surrounded by baseball! Fortunately I am a big baseball fan so I don't mind too much. This past Sunday we took Bella to her first Phillies game of the season and it happened to be the Phanatic's birthday! She had so much fun. For starters they had all sorts of free kids treats at the game of which she had to sample them all! Then they also had face painting. There were about 10 kids before her and she was the first one to ask for a Phanatic, I mean come on, it was his birthday!

As you can see she was wearing her baseball headband. When we got to our seats, the woman behind us commented on her headband. Being the proud mom that she is, my mom told her that I made it. So I started talking to the woman about Purplelicious and what I sell, and gave her and her friend some business cards. I got an order from her on Monday! It always pays to wear what you sell when you can and always have business cards on you. I was also wearing my Phillies headband but people noticed Bella's more. I may need to start bribing her to wear my headbands more often, she will probably cost me less than higher priced advertising but then again, maybe not!

I did a little more fabric shopping with the pro this week (my mom!). She signed us up to take a purse class at our favorite quilt shop, The Little Shop. We are making the Amy Butler Birdie Sling Bag. So Monday we spent some time picking out our fabrics which was not as easy as I thought it would be. I bought a fabric called 1974 by Urban Chicks for Moda and paired it with a solid purple. I can't wait to see how it looks when it is finished. I also picked up some other new fabrics as well for headband making, so stay tuned for that! I have one more class to take for the purse and it will be completed. I will post a blog about the experience at the end of next week.

So life is still crazy and I am still unemployed but like always I am making the best of it and spending the time off creating and being with my family!

Time Flies When You are Having Fun!

Wow, I can't believe it has been about 3 weeks since my last blog. Things have been a little crazy around here. For starters, I was working on some Etsy orders, thankfully in the end of March, beginning of April I saw an slight increase in sales which gives me hope that more positive sales trends are in my future. I have also added all of my items into google base using a great tutorial I found in the Etsy forums. It really just gave me another obsession to check every morning along with my google analytics! In addition to business being a little busy, life has been as well. For starters, it is officially Tball Season. My daughter just started playing Tball and opening Day was last Saturday. The day started bright and early with a Parade in which we were the parade! All of the kids and parents walk from a park to the baseball field to commemorate the season opening! Then we were back at the field at 2pm for her first game. How stinkin cute is she in her baseball outfit??

I also made her and the only other girl on her team this baseball/softball themed athletic headband. They both wear their headbands to every game!

Speaking of baseball, that same weekend was Opening Day for the Phillies. I was with my parents in the morning and knew my dad had tickets to the game but was going with my aunt and uncle. Then around 6pm I got a phone call from my dad informing me that I was going! It was so exciting to be at Opening Day, even though the game was very painful to watch.

All last week I pretty much was on a staycation at my mom's! My sister came into town with her kids and my daughter kept asking to have sleepovers there. I was back and forth all week picking up various things that I needed. One of those trips included grabbing my sewing machine and supplies so that I could fill orders. By the time Sunday rolled around, I had a lot of stuff at my mom's. Easter Sunday was very low key and it was awesome. My daughter asked me to "text" the Easter Bunny to let him know that she was staying at her LuLu's (grandmom's) to make sure he brought her basket there. She was very excited to get her basket but was disappointed that the Easter Bunny did not hide any eggs. Note to self.

Today I thought I would get myself caught up on all things Purplelicious. Until I remembered that I had to fix my mailbox. When I came to my house on Saturday to "text" the Easter Bunny (wink wink) I noticed my mailbox lying on the ground. Great. I am not sure what happened, it looks like someone hit it with a car or knocked it down. Regardless I had to take care of it today. Of course it was not a one step process but the new mailbox is in along with some new landscaping that was a result of the placement of the new mailbox. It looks like tomorrow will be my Purplelicious catch up day.

I will try to get back on the blogging routine but from the looks of my calendar over the next couple of weeks, it seems that the rest of April will be a blur as well. *sigh*

Spring is in Bloom!

The warm weather is still not here in New Jersey but fortunately there are flowers blooming at Purplelicious! When I first started Purplelicious I knew I wanted to make headbands but as I have learned more about sewing I was able to introduce some other accessories like belts and keychains. What inpsired those new lines was not only my desire to expand and grow the business but I was looking for ways to use every last scrap of fabric I have. Most sewers know to never throw out your fabric scraps! You never know what you can make with them! I have a LOT of scraps saved but I mostly have been hanging on to a stack of strips that are a hair less than 10" which make them too short for the wristlet keychains. They are a result of my strip cutting fabric for headbands. Sometimes I have to cut along the length of the fabric to capture the pattern just right and that always leaves me with this little strip of fabric. I was saving them at first to make patchwork fabric belts but for some reason was not motivated to do that, although I have not ruled it out. So then I did a quick google search on how to make fabric flowers. I was not sure what I would make with them yet but thought it might be a cute way to use the scraps. I found this Fabric Flower Tutorial and immediately cut my squares and tried it. They came out SO cute! I got addicted to making them but I still wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. After a little consult with my mom I decided to make them into ponytail holders! I decided to attempt the project while I was sitting at my most recent craft show. I brought 5 of the flowers with me. As soon as I put the first completed flower on the table, it sold. Then I made another one and it sold and the same customer also wanted the one I was working on. It was then I knew I had to add these to my shop! Since this is what I consider a new product launch I wanted to make sure I had a good variety. So I went back to the those scraps and went to town! These fabric flower ponytail holders are made with the same fabric combinations I use for my headbands. You can buy them to match your favorite Purplelicious headband or alone to add an adorable accent to your ponytail! They are also perfect for fabulous ladies of any age! I am hoping this product reaches out to the person that does not wear headbands but still loves cute accessories! I hope you enjoy these as much as I have enjoyed making them. As for what else I plan to do with these awesome little creations...you will just have to stay tuned. I definitely have more tricks, I mean accessory ideas, up my sleeve!

Wow!!! 400 Sales!

Over the past month or so I have been so busy trying to promote my Etsy shop that I failed to realize that I was so close to hitting another sales milestone! Yesterday I officially surpassed 400 sales! I cannot believe it. I am approaching my 2 year anniversary on Etsy and could not be more pleased with this amount of sales. If you would have asked me when I opened my shop that I would get 400 sales I would have thought you were kidding! And here I am! So another big thank you to all of my fabulous customers and friends who support Handmade items and Purplelicious!

One of the things that helped bump me over this milestone is my Headband Madness Sale! In the spirit of the NCAA tournament, I decided to have a little March Madness sale of my own and I am giving away free headbands! See the listing in the Purplelicious Sale Section of my shop for more details!

New Shoes + Sunny Day = Time to Run!

Lately I have been on a bit of a running hiatus. I really do enjoy running but have a tendency to not be as motivated unless I have something to train for. The past two weeks I have been working to get on track (no pun intended) running wise since I am participating in a 10 mile run in less than 2 months Yikes! I have been running the gym during the winter because I don't like running when it is cold! I am here to tell you that treadmill running is WAY different than road running. I went out for my first outdoor run this past Monday and I FELT it big time. I also felt my feet not being very happy. It was then that I realized I had these running shoes since November of 2007 and they have WAY too many miles on them and barely any cushion left! I went on Zappos and ordered the most current model of my shoe and they were delivered to my house in two days! While yesterday I thought it would be better to have a rest day after a 5 mile run on Monday and a tough spin class on Tuesday. The surprise warm sunny day and the brand new running shoes were calling my name. I gave in and enjoyed a nice 4 mile run in my brand new shoes. There is nothing like running in a brand new pair of shoes, it is like running on clouds! It made me really hope that spring and warmer weather gets here soon, so I am more motivated to get outside, feel the sunshine on my face, and run my stresses away!

A Green Kind of Day

St Patrick's Day has come and gone but I hope that I did what I could to make it fun for my daughter! For some reason on Monday I was feeling a little creative, and I was not feeling headband or accessory creative! I was trying to think of fun things to make for Bella for St Patrick's Day. Creative Idea #1: Cute Handmade St Patty's Day Shirt. I realized Monday morning that I had not gotten around to purchasing a St Patrick's Day shirt for Bella. I figured the stores would be out of them so I decided to make one myself. I had a plain white t-shirt for her, stared at the un-used St Patrick's Day cookie cutter and was hit with inspiration. I went up to the craft room and found the green non-shamrock fabric I purchased and placed the cookie cutter over it. Perfect!!! I washed a section of the fabric. Ironed on some heat n bond, traced the cookie cutter, and an adorable fabric shamrock was born. I felt like it was too plain so I found some St Patrick's Day ribbon and made a bow. Then I asked my fellow Internet and Etsy friends to help me decide. Bow or No Bow! Well the Bow won and here is a pic of Bella in her handmade St Patrick's Day shirt. And yes I think I will sell these next year!

Creative Idea #2: Cupcakes for Class St Patty's Day party. One of the things that is challenging for creative people is that the bar is always raised. Once you come up with one good idea you have to brainstorm on how to make it the same or better, which isn't always easy. I don't know why I feel the need to show off when I bake but it is fun for me! This year I decided to add a chocolate shamrock as a cupcake topper. I headed to Michael's and of course they were out of green Wilton chocolate melts so I was forced to buy white chocolate and tint it green myself. Which was easier than I though. Now I had the chocolate but how was I going to make shamrocks. I am not much of a free hand artist. So I found a shamrock outline graphic printed them out and placed it under a sheet of parchment paper. Put the melted chocolate in a piping bag and traced the outline. I need more practice at this but I think that part came out cute. I baked the funfetti cupcakes (the cake mix picked by Bella) and then made a fresh batch of buttercream. It is so easy to make it I hardly ever use tub icing anymore. I piped the icing in a swirl design, added another swirl of the new Wilton Sparkle Glaze, and topped it with a chocolate shamrock! Fun and delicious!!

I ended my St Patrick's Day but going to the gym for spinning class. When you are a single mom, partying on St Patty's Day doesn't happen to often. I was reminded of my years working in the beer industry when St Patrick's Day was practically considered a holiday. We always had a half day and ended up drinking beer somewhere! Good times!

For someone who is not even an ounce Irish I think I did some pretty creative things for the holiday! I really enjoy the days when I have these creative inspirations. It is another benefit of being unemployed I guess...I actually have the time to turn the inspirations into reality!

Blog Neglect

I apologize for not writing a new blog in over a week. Seriously a craft show really wipes me out and even sometimes gives me crafter's block! I get so burnt out from all of the prep, the thought of creating is sometimes a bit painful. Fortunately for me there was no rest for the weary. Allow me to catch you up on all that occurred last week!

For starters, I met an amazing woman at the craft show that helped me get in touch with her child's soccer coach in an attempt to sell my new athletic headbands. I say new because I made them for the craft show knowing that the town is known for their sports. In talking to her, she asked for some that were specific sports themes. Off to the fabric store I go and discovered ribbon for pretty much every sport. Fun! She had requested soccer and basketball but I picked up some baseball ribbon since my little one just started playing Tball! Not only did I get to make up some new samples but I also got to have a little fun and make a flier to hand out to sports teams! If you are interested in receiving one for your team, please contact me. What makes these headbands so special...well underneath the ribbon is a Goody Stay Put Athletic Elastic. That helps keep the headband in place during activity and the ribbon adds a little fun to the mix! Here is a pic of the sports themed headbands and a sample of the custom Team Colors headbands.



While I was making the kids ones, I decided it would be fun to make them for grown-ups too. I am an active person and due to my naturally curly hair, always need some kind of headband during a workout, run or spin class to keep the fly aways at bay. So I applied the same concept and added colorful ribbon to make Women's Gym/Athletic Headbands. It is the perfect combination of function and style! These can be custom made with any ribbon!


I ended the week with a trip to my first ever Quilt Show. My mom is a member of a local quilter's guild and they were the hosts of the quilt show. I went to not only support my mom, but also to experience a quilt show. All I can really say is Wow! Some of those quilts were completely amazing. My mom keeps trying to get me to learn how to quilt but I don't know if I have the patience for it, but who knows. Maybe someday! I visited with some of the vendors and picked up this adorable jelly roll of fabric from the Flutterby line by Moda. What is a jelly roll (I had to learn this myself!). It is a bundle that contains strips of fabric from an entire fabric collection. The strips are 2.5" by 44". I realized instantly that these are perfect to make headbands with because it saves me a LOT of cutting time! I will be purchasing more of these jelly rolls in the future. I went through and picked out the ones that I liked and gave the rest to my mom so she could make some kind of quilt with it!

I also bought this amazing handmade wool pin from The Noble Wife. This woman makes the most AMAZING pins. They come in all different colors and styles. And some now include a hand painted button in the center. I also bought the pattern so I can learn how to make them myself. Here is the best part. When you purchase one of her pins, you not only get an amazing handmade accessory, you help support a cause. Some of the profit from the sale of the pins go towards purchasing a sheep for poor families around the world. Very Cool. Check out her website for more info and to see more of her amazing pins and quilt patterns! www.thenoblewife.com.

In all, a busy week and it looks like I will have another one this week. Seriously, who knew being unemployed would keep me so busy!!!