i heart brickyard buffalo

This week I had a great opportunity to be a pick on the Brickyard Buffalo with guest editor Casey Wiegand.  My twinkle twinkle little headband is offered up at 40% off to customers along with other deals from some amazing artisans.  If you aren't familiar with BB they are a pop-up shop that showcases some unique finds from independent companies & handmade shops.  

If you have ever thought about doing a group sale like what they offer, but are a little hesitant, please dont be!  The ladies of BB are like your new best friends, every time you get a sale you know they want to pass out high fives or give you a giant italian family style kiss.  Its nothing but love over there and between the encouraging emails to get you started to the personal interactions during the sale, its seriously fun!  Don't be afraid to just shoot them an email to see how it all works or leave a comment if you have a questions & I can try to help.

carlymegan // brooklynrehab // butterbean leather co. // justlove.lythings

little hip squeaks // boots by becca 

If don't have a shop, don't worry this is still for you!  However, you should be warned to give yourself a spending limit because you will probably want one of everything.  They add new stuff on the daily and a deal runs for a few days- make sure to follow them on instagram and facebook to keep up!

Our sale ends in 2 days so don't miss the deals and don't forget that you are supporting small business, indie, handmade & women!  Isn't that reason enough?

treasure finds: sugar rush

Todays treasure finds are a little off from what I've been trying to do, but only because it was a treasure find for me!  I have built an incredible relationship with Seventeen magazine and their accessories department that I'm so very proud of and each time an item I created in my little studio is featured, its still like the first time.  

I knew they used the Tennessee Tulip for a spread, but tonight I was surprised when I found it on Bonnie from Flashes of Style!  She is an adorable fashion blogger who rocks floral crowns like they grow from her head, obviously thats my type of girl!

Seeing bloggers making more of a presence in magazines, showing off real girl style, makes me so incredibly happy.  Collaborating on projects like these are the best and seeing that this is a part of my job makes me realize how going after my dreams- really was worth it.

So here's to the real girls, doing big things and being proud of it!

shop talk

Its been another amazing year for JustLovelyThings and as a thank you to everyone who supports and encourages my little business here is a sale! 

winter findings

I patiently waited for the mad rush of this last weekends sales to end (obviously I joined in and made hefty amounts of online purchases from my favorite shops), but it also gave me time to really curate items for this new collection.  I have been creating up a storm and I wanted to feature more of the foliage type of pieces, but I decided to hold off and sprinkle them in each of the updates I will be doing in the shop throughout winter.

I hit up my favorite model and friend Cameron (i miss working with you everyday!!!) to do a quick shoot up at my old photo studio.  If you can believe it we shot the entire thing in 30min & I couldn't be more proud.  When I take photos, I've been trying to shoot more intentionally.  I know with digital I can shoot a bazillion photos and then just find the right one- but instead with intentional shooting you are forced to see the image as the final photo you want to achieve.  So when I look through the lens I try to see the end product, which means I rarely crop or edit.  I try to come up with a style & back drop and shoot so it comes out exactly so.

With this little collection I have a few colors that will be marked 'coming soon' also as I mentioned I will be updating more often.  I gave the images in the front of the shop a quick face lift reflecting our flat rate shipping deal and ways to connect! 

Folks I can't stop there.. check out this look book that almost kicked my ass (seriously it took me a while to figure this out, but I taught myself a design program and did it!) and if you fancy a coupon use code 'handmade' at checkout to save 20% off all orders through Dec.10th!!! I would love to know what you think of everything.. xo

open shop & pick a winner

After unintentionally taking the summer off from Just.Lovely.Things, but completely enjoying it.. I'm back.  The shop opened up at 7pm last night with a beautiful new design that matches the vision for all this new branding I've had rolling around in my head.  Of course none of the vision is possible without the help of my amazing friend Dana.  If you are in need of design work she does custom stuff, but also has this adorable design shop envye that has great pre-made goodies.  I'm so lucky to have her in my life, you know we co-own Fawn & Flora together so I get to rack this girls brain on the daily.  Its beautiful!

The vision for my new branding was a mix of stuff: Gold, bits of floral, hints of black & white stripes, chalkboard and doodles.  I would say we got there.  Yesterday I had a couple of girlfriends come over and I took the product photos to get everything just the way I imagined.  I love how the little twinkle lights pop with the gold on the home page!

For the shop inventory, I put in a few old favorites plus some new fall pretties and I introduced the Gold Label.  These are a little more exclusive as only a couple are available.  They are very unique to my usual styling and a maybe more on the dramatic side.  I did get a couple of questions asking if I would be putting up my old stuff (the things I used to make that completely blew my business up) and at first I wasn't sure.  I want to evolve as an artist and since I see copy cats constantly & have had about 20+ of my own customers open shops and sell identical items after buying from me its hard to go back to that style and not be in the same crowd, you know? ... but in short, I realized that my clientele is loyal and no matter how much I get discouraged they encourage me that my designs and my service is what they want- I can't ignore that.  So revamped versions of my old designs will hit the shop along with some baby items later this week and my plan is to do new shop updates way more often!

...and before I forget

To everyone that entered the 5k facebook fan giveaway- thank you so much for the sweet comments, sharing it with your friends on fb & twitter.. with almost 2000 entries: the winner of the $50 shop credit is Amy Lynn Hunt!!  You will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to claim your prize. 

So friends, what do you think of the new shop and what types of things do you want to see in there?

I will be adding the older designs, simple stuff like bobbi's and braids and of course can't forget baby!  Thank you for your continued support over the years, it really is what makes me love what I do even more. xo

hooray 5000 fans!

Today I wanted to share with you a fun little feature one of my products had in Seventeen Magazine, but when I woke up this morning I noticed how close the Facebook fan page was to 5000 fans that I decided to combine it into a giveaway to say thanks so much for all your support!!

I have been working with Seventeen Magazine and their accessories editors since last fall and have sent along many items to be used in photo shoots and stylings.  This is my 2nd feature in their print magazine by contributing something per their request that I don't normally make for my shop.  Its a fun & fast paced challenge to send along 20+ pieces at a time with usually only a 12-24hr notice, but so worth it to see something that I made here on their pages.

For this look they used a faux floral wrap headband to style a Taylor Swift inspired outfit.  The piece they chose worked so perfect with the entire look and will be available in the shop when it re-opens this weekend.  Maybe its just me, but its so surreal to see one of my headbands on the same page as Miley Cyrus.  

I'm looking forward to the Seventeen holiday issue to come out, I have another feature and that one means more to me then any of the others as its something I create and sell already not something I designed per request.. so I think it will feel super official and like my first feature.. can't wait!

So I mentioned the shop is re-opening.. this weekend.  Finally!  Dana from Wonder Forest did a little freshen up of the design for me to match the new branding.  If you are a current customer you know I have pretty much always stuck with the same packaging since day one, with just a few tweaks here and there.  The new packaging is so fun!  Think black & white stripes with hints of gold and floral.

As a HUGE thank you for all of your continued support and the 5k fan reach on facebook I'm offering up my biggest shop credit yet... One of your will win $100 to use in the shop and just in time for the new launch!

THE SWEEPSTAKES ARE CLOSED 

WINNER HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED

*Sweepstakes Details- contest runs 09/20-09/29, winner will be chosen at random, winner chooses two items from outfit additions (in the event items are unavailable a gift card for that items value will be issued).  if purchase is made by winner items will be refunded, if more then two items are purchased then two highest will be refunded.  if winner chosen does not have a gfc profile with a valid email address and a way to contact is not left then another winner will be chosen.  winner will be contacted via email. Open to US, Canada & UK residents only.  Age 18 and older.  Winner will be announced publicly and notified via email as per FTC guidelines.  The fulfillment of this sweepstakes is provided by JustLovelyThings, LLC and sponsored by Heather Smith of JustLovelyThings, LLC.

friday is for friends

Those of you that follow in a reader or via email miss out on all the amazing friends I keep over on my sidebar.  Since they are constantly coming and going like a teenager that hates their mother, I'd like to take just a minute to let you meet a few of them real quick! Take a moment to visit a new shop or start following a new blog.. if you are like me and like to keep things almost creepy I'm sure you will stalk most of these ladies real soon <3

YELLOW HEART ART - shop // blog // fb - code JUSTLOVE15 for 15% off exp 06/29

A SNAPSHOT LIFE - blog // portfolio // fb - TriState area summer promos starting at $75

CHEEKY CHEEKY - blog // shop // twitter - code SUMMERLOVING free shipping for june

GOOD NATURED - shop // facebook // pinterest - code JUSTLOVELY for 15% off

LIVING IN YELLOW - blog // facebook // twitter - code YELLOW for $5 off any sponsor option

RAGS TO STITCHES - blog // shop // facebook - code NEONLOVE for 10% off

ACUTE DESIGNS - blog // shop // facebook - sign up for newsletter for 20% off

THE LETTER 4 - blog // shop // facebook - 20% of proceeds benefit letter 4 + 1

WONDER FOREST - blog // shop // facebook - code 1YEAR for 15% off cards, pouches & prints

CASEY WIEGAND - blog // shop // facebook

GUSSY SEWS - blog // shop // facebook

FOR LOVE OF A CUPCAKE - blog // facebook // twitter

love ❤ club: details!

*all subscription spots are now full, join our wait list & get an invite in june!*

I want to thank everyone that emailed me inquiring about this new & exciting business adventure I am working on. The interest was overwhelmingly appreciated and I can't wait to get this started.  Registration begins at 8am tomorrow morning (pacific standard time) here on the blog and as its the first month I'm limiting it to 50 participants -first come first serve-.  All others above 50 will be notified that they will be on the waiting list for July.  Below you can find additional details on the packages, if you have any questions or anything just leave a comment or email me shop@justlove.ly ((Thanks again!!))

*if you received an email this week, please note just a couple of changes below*

• Sign up & pay a low monthly fee of $12 (includes shipping for US & Canada)
  -or sign up for multiple months in advance and receive a discount
  3mo $32 // 6mo $60 // 12mo $115
  
  
• Refer your friends and get love points
  10 pts per sign up, for every 50 pts get one month of membership free!
  
  
• Each package is guaranteed to have a JustLovelyThings hair accessory
  plus a beauty product sample & coupon
  
  
• And each month it will have an additional item from one of our friends we work with such as jewelry, cosmetics, candles, paper goods, gift vouchers & so much more!!
  
  
• You can choose between Adult or Child/Baby size for your hair accessories- hey the tiny humans need love too!
  
  
• Plus you can set your preferences for items such as receiving small, large or surprise me accessories!
  
  
• All packages are done up with the most love & cuteness available
  and ship on the 15th of every month straight to your doorstep!
  
  
• You can cancel your monthly subscription at anytime however multiple month packages are only transferable (read the small print tomorrow!)

If you are a vendor and would like more details on how your items can be included in LOVE ❤ CLUB™ packages please email me as spots throughout the year are filling up fast!

Introducing: LOVE ❤ CLUB™

How would you like to receive a pretty hair accessory delivered to your doorstep each month?  

Then  LOVE ❤ CLUB™  is for you!  The details are still very new, but after announcing them on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram last night the response was so positive that I just had to share here.

DETAILS:

• sign up and pay a low monthly fee for the package which includes the shipping fee(or get a discount for signing up for multiple months in advance)
  
  
• each package is guaranteed to have a JustLovelyThings hair accessory & a product sample or coupon (the items supplied will be based on new styles, current inventory and your preferences)
  
  
• every month we will collaborate with our other amazing shop friends and throw in some extra swag for you! -greeting cards, jewelry, candles, lip butters.. just to name a few!
  
  
• you can set your preferences to receive adult or childrens sized goodies!
  
  
• each month on a set date the packages will ship out to your address
  
  
• if you are a blogger you can link up with the  LOVE ❤ CLUB™  posts that will be featured here every month, where you get a chance to see how others use their items and show yours off as well!
  
  
• 2-3 times a year we will offer larger packages of multiple hair accessories
  
  
• plus much more!!

If you are interested send us an email to shop@justlove.ly -subject: Love Club

As soon as more details become available you will be notified via email.. 

The first boxes will ship in June 

and sign up for this awesome program starts May 15th!

-let us know if you have any questions or suggestions! xo-

In the studio: custom order

Working on custom orders can be super challenging when someone has an idea in their mind and they present it to you with hopes that you can get the same idea as well.  I don't take custom orders very often, but when I do they end up being some of the most rewarding work I get to do.  

I had a bride approach me with the idea of having a custom piece made for her and her brides maids for her upcoming nuptials.  The wedding was out in the country and had a vintage farm feel to it.  She had been collecting vintage handkerchiefs and wanted each girl to have her own flower made from one.

I have a very specific routine I follow when making most of my flowers, as I'm the one that generally picks out the size, texture and patterns for all of my supplies.  Having just a small square to work with to create a flower was something new to me because generally I have extra pieces and there is no need to ration out fabric.  This was a little different because with each piece being unique, I couldn't just run to the store for more.  I  did end up placing some sheer netting material in with them to give them extra texture and fluff and I love how they turned out!

They worked out just how both of us imagined and each girl had a unique floral clip-lapel as their bridesmaid gift and accessory to wear for the wedding.

The brides' piece was one of my favorite to do as it was simple yet elegant, and I just adored how each friend of hers was thought of in a unique way.

shop party!

This morning my shop JustLovelyThings hit a little milestone online... 2500 sales! I'm so thankful everyday to get to do what I love with both the shops, this blog... just life.  This little feat doesn't count any retail locations, custom orders, giveaway items or market place purchases.. just online.  As a little thank you I have made a limited number of coupons (when  they are gone - they are gone!) for the shop and everything is ready made to ship!  Use coupon code 'bogo' and enjoy a free item with your purchase! Friends, thank you for all of your support! Lots of x's & o's

what are your plans in april?

April is gearing up to be just as busy of a month as the last few have been!  I will be revealing the new studio, I have some fun company product review posts, a rad challenge I'm taking part in, a roadtrip (with some guest contributors while I'm gone!), some fun new tutorials and a bicycle makeover.. Oh don't forget there is the Snap! Conference and The Queen Bee Market..

As you can see it will be fun around here, and I want you here with me!  So if you are a return advertiser don't forget all ad spots are 15% off for you (email me for your code) and if you are a new advertiser visit this page to check out my current ad openings and upon checkout use the appropiate code below to save 10%!!

New Ads:
Small use code small10
Med use code medium10
Large use code large10

just a little shop update..

I decided to put the shop on a small break for a few weeks! I have a ton of new inventory I really wanted to list, but with last weeks big 30% off sale (thank you for your orders!) and all of the amazingly unexpected attention & purchases made with the other shop Fawn & Flora you can see that our shipping department is staying pretty busy!

Not to mention I'm about to move the shop to Storenvy (basically they are etsy & big cartel combined!) and do a complete studio remodel which I'm debuting on Jessica's blog later in the month.  Oh wait there is more =) as most of you know (because I like to pimp it out as much as I can) the Snap! Conference happening in April, which I will be attending, also is hosting The Queen Bee Market and I have a booth there.  Sooooooo you can see that between orders, projects, new inventory and keeping up with this blog (not to mention any sort of personal life I hope to have, which I wont).. I will be just a tad busy.  I hate closing my shop, but I know that if I don't then I can't give it my all. 

This year is all about happiness and following through so I hope you understand, thanks for your support! xo

... something new!

Today is such an exciting day.. not only because it's Valentines Day (yay lovers!), but because Dana and I are launching our new joint shop Fawn and Flora!  We are seriously so in love with this new project of ours and have been collecting and making things non stop for our launch today.  This shop is a little dream of ours that we talked about one day and in all honesty I'm still so surprised how it even came about....

See Dana lives in Ontario, Canada and I live in Oregon here in the states.  We have never met face to face, we haven't even skyped yet, and we have only talked on the phone once!  Considering we are now co-founders of a new online shop this is sort of weird right?! Somehow we completely click, get each other, have the same vision for this new project and even though its all text/email (lots of them!) we manage to communicate just fine!  Although I'm sure she is sick of me and my mass amount of questions regarding shop stuff since she did do all the design work!

We have managed to stock up on inventory, order supplies, plan the shop and even do our 'about us' photos all while living in different countries.  Sure it can get a little crazy, but its fun!  We were inspired by the things we like to create.  We wanted to offer cute and fun supplies for crafters, small business owners and lovers of all things dreamy!  We will keep this shop updated constantly and even have plans for fun weekly updates in the pretty things section of our shop that will feature home decor and vintage finds!  I am so proud to present our new shop to you and I truly hope you enjoy browsing it!  If there is anything you would love to see in there, let us know because we would love to try to find or make it for you!

Love Your Business

The last few weeks of January I mentioned that this month would be dedicated to loving your business and I'm so excited to launch this free series on the blog for you.  Choosing to become a business owner in any field is a huge leap for anyone.  Not only do you have new responsibilities, but learning how much it actually takes to run a business can be the most stressful yet rewarding job of all.  Throughout the entire month of February I want to dedicate this as a place for you to become or stay inspired and to learn to love your business.  Some amazing contributors (!!!) will be stopping by each week to share with you their own experiences within 5 different topics that I have put together.

(source image before edit via)

• IDENTITY

1. the importance of branding
2. staying true to yourself
3. building an online presence 
4. blogging for your business (why to include or not include personal life)
5. keeping personal hobbies
6. creating an image with social media

• PRODUCT

1. website/blogging resources
2. packaging
3. the importance of handmade
4. quality vs quantity (the realistic side of handmade)
5. finding supplies
6. implementing your brand into your product

• BUSINESS

1. how to keep a schedule
2. how to keep up with it all (orders, online, creating, life)
3. how to stay creative in an over saturated market
4. 5 tips in starting a business
5. 5 tips i wish i knew then that i know now
6. beating yourself up, how to not envy others success
7. finding inspiration to create unique products
8. copy vs inspiration

• FINANCE 

1. budgeting
2. taxes 
3. how to separate personal from business
4. setting financial goals

• BALANCING ACT

1. how to maintain a personal life with a successful business
2. keeping relationships strong (marriage, friendships or family)
3. how to be a good wife and business owner
4. how to be a good mother and business owner
5. stepping away and finding your own way
6. truly loving what you do

As you can see it is going to be an amazing month and I can't wait to share all of the posts with you, my hopes are that you will take away something positive.  That you will gain a new perspective whether you are thinking of starting a business, taking your part time business further or just to reflect on your currently established business about where your goals may need to be.  Today I'm kicking off this series by posting over at Revolutionize Her, where I will have a weekly feature through all of February about financial goals.  I hope you join me over there today and every Wednesday plus check back here all month for tips, tricks and learning about others experiences in creating a business that they love.

lazy sunday project: video blog

pajamas..? check.

2 glasses of wine at 4pm..? check.

webcam broke? check.

(so so so sorry for the blurry video!)

Welcome to The Lazy Sunday Project.. where I just wing it and post something unplanned on a Sunday.

It's week 3.. you can see my other projects here.

Today I'm video bloggin' it up, total dork style and that's okay with me!

The shop will be updated later tonight & tomorrow.. plus I will share a discount code on Facebook/Twitter.. and the group giveaway is post poned to tomorrow as I had some late entries & wanted to help my sponsors out by giving them a little extra time!

xoxo happy weekend

love your business month!

I get emails all the time asking for advice on things I have done to get my business where it is.  Believe me I am so grateful that someone would want my help, but I also know that my business is still growing.  I have big plans and I'm no where near being an expert.  We are all learning along the way.  So I'm going to put what I know and have learned to good use and I invited some friends to help out.. some amazing guests that you will not want to miss!  I've decided that February will be 'love your business' month here on the blog.  In conjunction with a month long series I will be contributing to Revolutionize Her, the blog will feature main topics like Identity, Product, Finance, Business & Balancing Act.  Within each of those topics are sub-categories that my guests and I will be sharing about.

If you have a moment head over to the Revolutionize Her blog and start following along (it's a great resource with many fabulous writers!) and make sure to mark your calenders next week to be here!

how to make a backdrop

As long as you can find a good light source (aka the sun) then you can pretty much shoot anywhere!  Living in Oregon you learn to become an indoor natural light photographer quickly, especially during the cold months.  Since I moved out of my photo studio, although I can rent time there, the access isn't as easy as just driving down there since I now need to make sure its available from the other photographers.  So I usually use my house or neighborhood for any photo backdrops I may need.  The area next to my back door is perfectly lit since the sun never directly shines right onto it and the white walls create a perfect bounce of clean light.

I'm going to show you a simple way to make a backdrop in your home for models, products, family pics, self-portraits.. really anything.  I used music note pages from an old book that I got at Goodwill for 25cents and your options on this project are endless as you can use printed fabric, scrap book paper, old book pages, fabric tassels.. see, really anything!

So this is the back corner of my kitchen that leads to my backyard/garage through the left door and my basment through the right door.  With that door to the left open its shines so bright and I knew I wanted to tone it down just a bit, so the dull cream color of the book pages was perfect for that. (please excuse the random dog leash pot holder collection we have going on.. keepin' it real!)

I took the pages out of the book and just started taping them to the basement door, figuring out how far down I would need to go to make sure when I took the photographs of my models I wouldnt see any white behind them. See the little orange helicopter sticker on our door? Thats my husbands' companies logo, we have those damn things everywhere.. cars, doors, suitcases.. you name it!

So you can see once I was finished I really didn't have to cover much of an area because the door will be open I will stand outside of the door on my back patio and have the model stand directly in front of the backdrop.. I also did some product shots and just placed the items on a tall table and shot those in front of the backdrop too.  You do not have to be a professional photographer with fancy equipment and money spent on backdrops or locations to get the picture you desire.  Sure I'm a photographer and I shoot in manual, but if you have good light coming in your camera will do just fine on auto.  Have fun with this!

Supplies Needed:

A wall or area next to direct light coming in

Backdrop materials (paper, fabric, etc)

Tape

Little Job, Huge Impact

 

To see this tutorial used by someone else check out how

 Little Blue Feathers or Blue Eyed Owl used it!

Did you use this tutorial? Send me the link and I will post it here.