Tater and Emily

Hi All. I wanted to do a little update and share some recent photos with all of you. We had a good time this Christmas and were able to get away for a few days to York, ME. It's quite something to be in a place that's mainly for summer getaways during the winter. Because there was no snow yet, we were able to walk the Cliff Walk, too.






Have you taken any winter getaways?

The weekend  started with Tater's rump for breakfast. I didn't actually eat it, but it was pretty tempting. As we have made our way through the Walking Dead series, I have thought about how her leg might feed someone in a zombie apocalypse. In the meantime, she's definitely my best bud for life.

I've also been working on making hot pads for the shop, which will debut at a craft fair in September. Above is a prototype of one of them and I started another few today. So far, they feature a mixture of organic cotton and linen fabrics and I like how the mix of patterns are coming together.

Is anyone else participating in the unSLUMP challenge this summer?

Hi All! This weekend, Storenvy is hosting a big ol' "just because" sale where everything in the sale is 20% off. All of the items in my shop are 20% off. Check out all of the community items for sale here. Check out mine here. 

 Now that my uncles have received their Christmas gifts from me I thought I would share what I made them. I had them send me a few of their favorite photographs and then I chose one to embroider. Their dog is a chihuahua and corgi mix (mixed who knows what else) and so has a funny but adorable look about him. The embroidered photo captures him fairly well.
 I also made a silhouette of  him for one of their ornament trees. They have a small tree just for dog ornaments so I thought this would fit in well. Although shrinky dinks were fairly popular while I was growing up, I don't remember ever making them at home. It was neat to watch the ornament shrink and flex in oven.

I made us a couple banners of the song "Lightning Bolt" by Pearl Jam. It is one of our songs and so I thought I would turn it into a memento for us for Valentine's Day.

Typically, I'm not big into Valentine gifts and don't scour the internet for something that appeals to me. This year, for whatever reason, that is different and there are a couple things that I have been crushing on.

1. Herbivore Botanicals

From their about page:

We bring you products that are truly 100% natural, safe, non toxic, and highly effective. 

We believe in tangible results you can see and feel and we believe in the power of nature to bring these results. 

Every ingredient that we include in our products is there for a specific therapeutic reason. We do not use fillers of any kind, this means that almost every ingredient in our products is an active ingredient. This results in pure, highly concentrated and effective formulas that are a rarity in the skin care and cosmetics world today. All of our formulas are original, created and tested by us, on real people, never on animals and always from scratch - no pre-made bases are used. Additionally, all of our products are 100% vegan with an emphasis on organic and exceptionally high quality, therapeutic and food grade ingredients. 

I have been following their Instagram feed for a while and periodically look through their website for what's available. Then this came out:

Not only does their packaging design appeal to me, I know that the product is high quality and never tested on animals. This is their ultimate valentine's set and it includes a limited edition Coco Rose body scrub, Pink Clay face and body soap, Rose lip butter, Woodblock 70% dark chocolate bar and even a Rose Quartz crystal. All of this is for $42, folks! I couldn't believe it. They have a few more valentine options too, so check them out for further products and details.

2. Box Fox

There are a lot of box subscriptions or purchases that you can make out there. It's fun to try a few different items but once you have a collection of minis like I do, you start thinking about spacing out your box item purchases. That resolution kinda went out the window for me when I saw Box Fox. I had found them through Herbivore Botanicals when they posted they had contributed some items to their boxes. Not only do you receive some amazing items, they are wrapped so beautifully and include a flower! I hadn't yet stumbled across a box purchase who items weren't in a cardboard box with filler, so I was taken with these boxes. Plus, not many boxes include a flower! Here are a few of their Valentine options.




The first one is their Valentine's Box. It includes a gold stacker ring, glass candle, chocolate bar, decorative flowers and a handwritten card. All of this is only for $45, which is not bad considering Valentine prices.

The second one is their Galentine's Box. I like that this is not necessarily for the love of a couple but could be for a girl friend. Truth be told, this one is kinda my favorite because there's a few more non-traditional items included: glass candle, matchbox with matches (!), heart sparkler (!!), pink rock candies, decorative flowers and a handwritten card. This box is only $35.

The next two boxes can only be shipped in the Los Angeles area, which I'm kind of bummed about being on the East Coast. Both include a gorgeous bouquet, size depending upon which you purchase. They are called Mon Cheri and Mon Amor. If anyone has any leads on beautiful boxes such as these that deliver to the East Coast, please let me know.

**Note that I am not compensated in any way to post about these items. I was so inspired about them that I wanted to write a blogpost about them. As usual, I only write about products that interest me and I believe in.**