When I Grow Up treasury

I am being featured in an Etsy treasury! It expires Sunday night. This one has the doctor bib in it. Thanks, Straight Stitch!

I'm tired

Really, really tired. Summer is here, it's hot, and I just don't want to move. It seems that everything that can go wrong can go wrong lately. My serger is broken. My camera is broken. My A/C is broken. My daughter's glasses are broken. My toaster is broken (which is the least of my worries). On the bright side, my new computer is up and running and I *think* I have all the kinks worked out, that was a whole ordeal in itself.
So, in all this tiredness bordering on PPD, I'm taking an etsy break for a while. Sewing has become work to me, and not fun right now. I've sewn well over 1000 belly bands and I need to step away for a while. I need to do some exploring in other types of craft and finish projects for me and my family that I have put off for a long time. I still have all the stuff my mom makes in the shop, but the belly bands are gone for now. I want to have the fire again, and I hope it will be back shortly. maybe after I get a full nights rest and a working air conditioner.

Kinda Blue

Thanks to That70sShoppe for featuring the cheerleader outfit in your latest treasury! This list expires 5-4-09 at 5pm.

Almost... (a giveaway!!!!)

I'm almost to 800 sales. I'm excited about that because that means that I have a reason to celebrate! I've made well over 1000 belly bands, and I've been having fun working with my mom. Whoever buys that 800th sale is in for a special treat with their order. I haven't completely decided what that will be, so if that lucky person is you, and you have a preference, let me know! When that sale is done, I am also holding a giveaway for a pair of baby leg warmers, my newest item in the shops. The pay-it-forward giveaway still has two more spots open as well. If you are looking for a shoe-in, go pay-it-forward, or complete my 800th sale!

To enter the giveaway, visit the CutieFruity artfire shop or my etsy shop and tell me in the comments section what your favorite item is, or what you'd like to see in the shop. I'll pick the winner by random.org on Friday, May 1.

Happy 5th Mothers Day to me

Here is a treasury by my team mate Readesign who makes an awesome necklace that looks like my tattoo. It's not in her shop yet, but that's what I want for My 5th Mothers Day.

CutieFruity's first craft show

My mom and I planned for weeks to get all geared up for our first show. I was so nervous and excited. I knew I'd be meeting some people from my Etsy team. The goal of the show for me was to learn the ropes, get my feet wet, and hopefully break even. I did all three! AND I got to spend time with my mom, which was great. A reporter from the local paper came to talk with the vendors about our experiences selling online. We are all pretty misquoted in the article, but hey, it's some sort of exposure for Etsy and for the team. I debuted a few new products at the show: bandana dresses, childrens baking aprons, baby legwarmers, eye spy bags, clutch balls, and bath aprons. All three sold much better than what I have in the shop.

Our table was crammed pretty full. I think we could easily fill a 10x10 tent, and we plan on doing just that this weekend at the Benton City Spring Opener.

On a side note: My husband was laid off a week before this show, so he stayed home with the older kids and I toted baby along. I left early in the morning, worked all day, and got home late. It was a conscious effort to love on my kids and be pleasant. I was so tired. When I got home, to my delight, he had washed and put away ALL of our laundry. I kept telling him it couldn't be done, and he totally proved me wrong. After trading jobs with him for a day, I get it. I get why he acts the way he does after a long day moving dirt. I get now that he is too tired to play with the kids or help with chores. It's hard to go from somewhere full of adults and then come home to a bunch of rowdy, ornery kids. I have tried more to treasure him and all he does for our family. I feel like a total loser now when I enjoy my days playing with the kids or wasting time chatting with my friends online. Trading places totally inspired me to make sure I really do my share in the family, and the house has been looking a lot better ever since.

Eastern Washington Etsy Team Spring Challenge

So, I didn't quite get my pink belly band in the running in time, but the EWATeam is having a challenge, and you likely could be a winner. Ten of our members have crafted items around the theme "Spring". They are vying for your votes! Go to the team blog and vote for your favorite entry. There are some REALLY cute things that I would LOVE to vote for, but, alas, I am ineligible. Which ever entry wins will be the giveaway prize. All those who have voted, whether it for the winning item or not, will be entered to win the winner. Does that make any sense at all? Well, just go vote. We'll see how we all do, eh?

Rapid Cart powered by ArtFire

Here to my right you can see the new Shop CutieFruity feature. I love it. This handy gadget allows you to shop from my ArtFire shop without signing up for the site, unlike Etsy. No username or password to remember, just shop. You can buy right from the blog! I encourage all of you who have discovered how in love you are with Etsy, PUH-LEASE go check out ArtFire. It's just as cool...if not cooler. I'm still deciding, but this little guy right here got ArtFire a one-up from me for sure.

Oh! and my White Camisole Belly Band was the featured item of the hour tonight. I missed it since I was out partying with my friends. Does pizza and movie night at the in-laws while the kids play together count as partying? meh.

white treasury by terminy

How's this for pretty? This treasury by terminy expires on saturday. The more you click, the better it will do!

Its TREASURY time!

This treasury is part of treasury west and expires on Tuesday. It's by Avit and you can see it here. Click it up!!!

Olive Treasury...my favorite color!

This treasury was created by paperfruithair and expires Feb 16. Like what you see? Buy it here.

Treasury Feature

The Tuxedo Bib from the When I Grow Up collection was featured in an Etsy treasury by MaisyBrownReproRetro. A treasury is a collection of etsy listings that members group together. Treasuries expire and there are only a handful at a time on Etsy, so members lie in wait until a slot opens so that they can show off to the rest of the Etsy community what they found on Etsy. This treasury expires on Thursday, Feb 5 at 10:16pm EST. After that you can't see it anymore!

Now selling on Art Fire

A member of my etsy team told me about Art Fire tonight and I went to go check it out. The site is rudimentary, still in beta testing, but you can't beat the cheap monthly unlimited listing fee. Right now it's $7 a month for life and there are about 3000 slots left at that price. If you get 10 other people to join you can get it free for life. It's a lot like Etsy, but cheaper with less frills (so far). It's been on my mind lately to find more venues to sell, and Art Fire looked like it could be a good thing for CutieFruity. If you are interested in selling at Art Fire, please list me as your reffering seller when you sign up. It will say "artfire user name", and that's where you type CutieFruity. I hope it will work out as well for me as Etsy has. Not trying to claim loyalty to one or the other (since Art Fire is really a copycat), just trying to use all my options. You can sign up here.

WHOO-HOO!!! A benchmark and a giveaway!!!

CutieFruity had a kick-butt weekend and pushed over the 500 sales mark. I want to do the happy dance, but that's not a very safe thing to do with a pair of scissors in your hand. My family might as well start calling me Edwarda Scissorhands since I seem to ALWAYS have my favorite tool in my hand or very close by. My daughter has taken after me, though, with her love of scissors, and destroyed the shower curtain yesterday. BOOOOO.

I finally applied for my business license the other day and I feel so official now! To celebrate all the success my awesome customers and family have help me achieve in my 7 months on Etsy, I'm having another giveaway!!! You can enter to win $10 and free shipping for your choice of CutieFruity. You know the drill: Go to my shop, CutieFruity, have a look around, and then come back her and leave a comment on your favorite item. I'd also like to hear what else you'd like to see my mom and I create. My customers come up with the best ideas! So hop to it, you only have until the 15th of January to qualify!

Update! This giveaway has been featured on CafeMom and Etsy Giveaways!

The newest additions to the When I Grow Up collection at CutieFruity

My mom is so rad. She made this onesie for Shawn for Christmas. He's definately 100% CutieFruity. He and the belly he gave me for 9 months was a huge inspiration for my crafty creations. Love him to DEATH!!!

When he grows up will Shawn be in the Navy like Daddy?

Or the Army like Mama?
I don't know for sure, but he's not allowed to be a jarhead...

Get your little Sailor or little Marine (no offense, devil dawgs, just a little branch rivalry) one of the newest additions to the When I Grow Up collection at http://cutiefruity.etsy.com/ . Coming Soon!

SALE! SALE! SALE!

While I was in the early stages of labor, I thought it would be a good idea to take my mind off the pain to take pictures of my newest belly bands before the belly disappeared (and it really has, fortunately). I sewed between my wimpy contractions and went out and took pictures of myself while my husband slept. This week after maternity leave ended I added these bands to the secret stash in my shop. I'm so excited to unveil them this weekend during my sale.


SALE! Yep! That's what I said. From Thansgiving through Cyber Monday, you can get FREE SHIPPING on ALL items at CutieFruity. Whoot-Whoot! With a brand new baby, I'm not about to go battle the crowds at 4am this year at the store. Thankfully there are so many other great deals online! My whole etsy team, the Eastern Washington team, is having a sale ring. You can browse from shop to shop and see what kinds of great sale my team mates and I are having. Just follow the links in our shop announcements to get to the next shop until you get back to mine. Some are running the sale only on Black Friday and others, like me, are doing it the whole weekend. Time to go shopping and see what you can get a good deal on!





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Featured by LottiesLoops

I LOVE my customers, can I just say? I love even more when they love me back. I have been so blessed that I have come up with a great belly band that women like to brag about. I'm so thankful for every compliment and every "thank you for saving my wardrobe" from those who wear my bands all around the world. One of my customers featured my bands on her blog today. She has a lot of great things to say, and I just wanted to share with you...
http://thelyngfamily.blogspot.com/2008/11/recommended-product-for-all-you-preggos.html
THANKS SO MUCH Elizabeth!

Friday Feature by RoseWorks Jewelry

Every friday, Ruthie from RoseWorks Jewelry features a different crafter/artisan on her blog. This week, she is featuring CutieFruity!!! She interviewed me and picked a few things from my shop that she liked. Read all about why and how I craft and probably more you may not know about me. You can find the feature here. Be sure to check it out. Thanks so much Ruthie!

Baby Leg Warmers

Remember in the 80's when all the cool girls had legwarmers? I remember wearing some to ballet lessons when I was about Sarah's age. Did you know they are making a comeback? Oh, yeah, they so are! I frequent the CraigsList Pregnancy Forum, and all the soon-to-be moms are chatting about baby leg warmers. How dumb, I thought. Why can't they just wear pants? Then I saw the light. These things are not only totally cute, but practical as well. All summer, my girls ran around in dresses and I thought that now that the cold is coming, they would have to wear pants again. Oh, no, my friends, they do not wear pants everyday. They wear LEG WARMERS. If you have read a bit of this blog, you know I've been making my own cloth diapers. How bad would that suck if I made all these cute dipes for Shawn, and then I had to put pants over them? Oh, no my friends, his diapers will be seen, and he'll wear baby leg warmers to cover those squishy little thighs. I got a few pairs on etsy from FateGoddess's shop Crawler Covers and More, and they rocked so much, I had to get twice as many more. Sarah never wants to take them off. In the future when my little tyke starts crawling, he won't get chaffed knees, because he'll have these rad legwarmers to wear. I bid on like every pair on ebay. Target sells them, too, and I hear you might be able to get a good sale. Don't be jealous of my cuties, go get your own baby leg warmers!

My Mom featured on NWMomFinds blog

I carry my moms "When I Grow Up" Bib collection in my shop. The doctor bibs are very popular. Last month during the Handmade Kids contest on Etsy, she sold a bunch after making it to the finals. One of those buyers was a blogger from NWMomFinds.com . She decided to review the bib and feature it for Feed Me Friday last week. You can find the review here. There is even a giveaway for a bib of your choice! Be sure to enter soon!