New Location

Well, it's happened! We've moved the blog to the new location on our site! Head over for recent post and fun stuff :)

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weekly shop update

How have you been? Wonderful, I hope :)

Things around here have been wonderful, exhausting, exciting, busy, sometimes overwhelming (okay, overwhelming more often than I'd like to think), but wonder-ful.

 With scenes like this, how could it not be? :)
Olivia just turned 6 weeks old {where did those weeks go?} and has begun to laugh a bit. Little things like a baby's laugh can really brighten your day when you're covered in said baby's spit-up. :) And the other two are still completely smitten with her!

 But this post is supposed to be a shop update, not a baby update {but baby updates are a bit cuter and sweeter, yes?} :)
 So .... did you see on the facebook page that I've put the silhouettes back in the shop? If you were wanting one (or more!) and didn't get it before I discontinued them, contact me and we can talk about it.
As long as I'm talking about the facebook page, have you been seeing my updates in your feed? Chances are, with the changes facebook has been making, you might not ... so, if you'd like to change that {you would, right? :)}, after you "like" the page, hover over what is now the “liked” button, and select “Get in news feed.” That way you'll be able to see when I post new things like coupons{!}, flash sales{!}, or random photos of a cute little baby. :)

 screen shot of the work in progress

Next up - our brand new web site {coming soon to a computer/mobile screen near you!}!
My sister {who is really gifted when it comes to tech-y things} has been helping us put together our own web site. It should be ready to go live in another day or two, and I'll let you know when it does. It will be an integrated shop/blog, a site that has all of our web stuff on it {even Instagram pics :)}. We are working to make sure that when you head here to the blog, you are automatically re-directed to the new location, making the transition as seamless as possible. Oh my, I'm so excited!

There are some other things I was going to tell you, too ..... but I can't remember right now. Oh well, they can wait until next week. :)

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p.s. can you believe it's just a month until Valentine's Day? I'd better start helping the kiddos make their cards and gifts for the grandparents {things like that can take a while when they are more interested in cutting up the finished products than in the idea of giving them away}!

welcome 2013

welcome 2013 by zu

top 12 memories from 2012 (in no particular order):
- finding out that we were pregnant - and telling John :)
- introducing our little ones to the Pacific
- taking them to Disneyworld and seeing their wonder
- having some of my things featured in print!
- celebrating our children's birthdays and celebrating John's 30th
- preparing for Baby
- enjoying a home {and yard!} of our own
- the day I realized we had surpassed the goals we had for the shop this year {still so amazed}
- making friendships with women in my MOPS group and Bible study
- seeing Em and Ian learn to love Jesus
- welcoming Olivia into the world
- watching John, Emma Grace and Ian absolutely adore her {so heart-meltingly adorable!}

13 goals for 2013 (again, in no particular order):
- make date nights happen {and not just talk about making them happen}
- blog on a schedule
- work on improving my product photography {& while I'm at it, my child photography, too}
- finish strong in MOPS and Bible study
- get someone started on "school", someone potty trained, & someone sleeping through the night :)
- be a consistent discipler of our little ones
- cull my fabric collection, only keeping what I'll {realistically} use
- ditto for the rest of my craft supplies
- plant more perennials
- get back into pre-baby shape
- listen to {& heed} the Spirit's direction for the shop, including launching our own website {!}
- seek God's {& heed} direction for our family
- continue to learn to put God first in my time, my day, our finances, and in every way


inspired by this post

decorating for New Year's Eve

What are your plans for tonight? Staying up to welcome the New Year? Crashing early? Celebrating with loved ones, yummy munchies and board games? Snuggling up warm and watching a movie? Doing some online shopping of after Christmas sales (if so, don't forget the coupon code for 15% off of the shop - maybe a good time to pick up the Garland for Every Holiday set?)? If you're online, stop by the temporary landing page for our new website - still can hardly believe it's actually happening! - and sign up for the newsletter so you can stay up to date on sales and things :)

Right now, crashing early sounds really good, but I'm looking forward to a fun evening with extended family, maybe a game or two and some delicious goodies. And enjoying watching it snow. :)

 (one of the lovely bits of living in the midwest is having a snowy mailbox :D)

Have you seen the glittered votives making their way around Pinterest? I made some after seeing them and now think I need to make a few more - maybe in pinks and red for Valentine's Day ... :) These have been adding such a festive touch to our Christmas and New Year's decorations!

The rest of our New Year's decor is centered around our upstairs window. I recently found a small disco ball on Etsy (probably one of my most frivolous purchases yet :D) and combined it with a Snowflake Garland from the shop and a printable Happy New Year banner from theTomKatStudio.

Last year's version of the same window (minus the disco ball) - I made up the twinkle star garland as a last minute way to add a bit of festivity to our house and it ended up going in the shop and becoming quite popular! Kind of fun to see how God uses some of my random ramblings and spurts of creative experimenting :)
I'm thinking that some large balloons (maybe like these) and twinkle lights would round this out nicely - maybe next year!


I've been reflecting back on 2012 for the past few days (and would enjoy making up a year-end round-up post here) and can only come to the conclusion that God is amazing. And, because He doesn't change, that amazingness will continue in 2013.

Here's to a wonder-ful new year!


xo

Merry, Merry Christmas!

What a day to celebrate! The day that God, in His infinite mercy and love, sent His only Son to earth to live among us and be our Savior, ultimately dying (and rising again) in our place. Yes, indeed a day to celebrate.


I'm taking this Christmas a bit slower than usual. In fact, most of my Christmas cards are quickly becoming New Year's cards. : ) There are so many things that I wanted to do that didn't get done, so many things I wanted to make (a bunch of them are on my Pinterest board) that didn't get made. There's always next year, though! This year I spent most of my time cuddling our three(!) babes and learning Olivia's moods and preferences. Which is just as it needed to be : )

It seems that Christmas (not to mention December) has come around again so quickly this year. I'm hoping/planning to put up an end of the year recap post - so much has happened in the last twelve months! God has blessed us beyond our dreams, and are so, so very grateful. This next year is already shaping up to be even more incredible! (one thing being a new website - amazing! We're hoping for it to be live by the second week of January - while you're waiting for the real thing you can see our landing page at www.pltmarket.com sign up for our newsletter {yet another new thing!})


My gift to you this years is a shop coupon code (CHRISTMAS2012) for 15% off of your entire order, good until January 30, 2013. I hope you enjoy it! You have each been so wonderful, and I've been privileged to be able to serve you. :)


Blessings to each of you and your families this Christmas! May you make memories to cherish and enjoy the wonders of His amazing love.


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weekly shop update

So, the weekly shop updates haven't quite as weekly as I had planned. :)
But then, I've been a bit busy with other things!

The other day I took advantage of a certain baby girl sleeping and made up (and listed - such a feet to get both things done on the same afternoon right now!) some snowflake and Christmas-ey things that I've had in my head for a while. :)

Here are a few photos and links to them - there's still time to place an order to enjoy them this Christmas!

The snowflake chair garland - to coordinate with the 10-foot snowflake garland

Christmas Star Cupcake toppers - the idea for these came while we were driving just before Thanksgiving and saw the neighbors' lights. One of the decorations was a star that had the word "JOY" in the middle ... and I knew I needed to make something out of it. :)

Snowflake Cake/Pie toppers (or you can use them as wands for little ones pretending to be snow fairies!)

Merry and Bright cupcake toppers

So, there you have it! 4 new items and one more week to place an order to enjoy them. :) And there's still a few more things I wanted to make for the shop this Christmas ...
Oh well! Here's to enjoying our sweet, darling baby girl and celebrating the wonder of our Savior's birth with Em and Ian.

What are your plans for celebrating with your loved ones?


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SALE, part 2!!!

Have you been enjoying the sale this morning? I'm looking forward to seeing what you've ordered and helping my sister send the goodies on their way to you!

If you missed the code this morning - or were waiting for the free shipping one instead? - here's the next one, and it's good until midnight (EST)!

CYBERFREESHIP

valid in the shop from now until midnight 

Enjoy! and happy shopping!

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