Yo Momma! Interviewing Creative Work At Home Moms

I'm excited to bring you a new feature here on the Sparkle Power blog. It's called Yo Momma! We have Dylan to thank for that wonderful title. :) Anyway, I plan to do regular interviews with other creative work at home moms out there. I'm excited to learn how other women are successfully balancing caring for their children & running their own creative businesses. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know if there are any questions you'd like asked in these interviews or if there are any wonderfully inspiring creative women that you think I should interview. Do share!

Katherine introduced herself to me a few weeks ago in an e-mail. I was immediately drawn to her style. How could I not like a girl that seems to have the same crazy love for doilies that I do? Katherine blogs over at Making Chicken Salad. It was super fun to interview her & I thank her so much for being willing to go first. Here she is...


Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where you live, how many kids & pets you have? What your business is & what you are making?

**I live in Napa, California with my son, Henry; my boyfriend, Josh; our pug, Pokie; our kitty, Lucy; and three chickens, Miss Chick, Chickie, and Mr. Rooster. I have two shops on etsy.com. At Home With Henry carries vintage items; and my new shop, Katherine Handmade, carries handmade items of all sorts. I wanted a place to be able to sell whatever I felt like making that week, whether it was tote bags, gocco prints, lace bowls, or WHATEVER. I have some crazy ideas sometimes, and it has been really fun to have an outlet for them. I have also had a lot of fun documenting everything on my blog and am planning to offer some craft classes in the very near future.


Moms are super busy. When & how do you find time to create?

**It is tough! The hardest part of being a mom for me is feeling like I am never able to complete a thought (or a sleep cycle!) without being interrupted. It is really hard to concentrate when I am always thinking about what Henry is doing. He is a very creative, resourceful little boy, and sometimes his projects are pretty ambitious (and MESSY)! I am not good at night, so right now I try to get as much done while he is at preschool. I am gearing up to participate in my very first Poppytalk Handmade Market, so have been trying to work as much as I can. Henry will start kindergarten in the fall and his school day will almost double. I plan to use the extra time to really focus on pushing my business to a new level.


Do you feel that your creative nature comes at all from the example of your own mother?

**Sure! My mom was always painting, drawing, & sewing and my sister and I had access to good art supplies growing up. She didn't limit our creativity because she was afraid of us making messes (I am STILL making messes with projects) and it is something that I do for Henry now, too. My mom is also a very "made from scratch" person, and so am I. The general attitude around here when it comes to cooking, baking, projects, etc. is "If someone else can do it, so can I!"


How does your boyfriend support or help you with your creative ventures?

**Josh is very supportive of my creative ventures. In fact, he reads every comment left on my blog and really likes to see what people have to say. I think he knows that I am not a person who could be chained to a cubicle all day, and that it is very important for me to be able to be home with Henry. Josh is super creative, as well, and understands what it is like to have an idea/vision in mind and see it come to life.

What is your favorite album right now, or what are you listening to while you work?

**Yikes--I'm kind of out of the loop when it comes to current music. I have been listening to some of the same albums for ten years or more! On current rotation in my work room is The Supersuckers, Ben Harper, Stevie Wonder, K.T. Tunstall, The Cult, and The Clash. How is that for a mix?!?!


Where online do you look for inspiration?

**OH, boy. There are so many places to find inspiration and it can be creative overload sometimes! The very first blogs I found were sfgirlbybay and design*sponge, and I still read them daily. Sometimes I realize that I have spent so much time online looking at beautiful things that I have not made anything myself. That's when I need a kick in the pants to be productive and I go to Elsie Flannigan's A Beautiful Mess--that girl is a creative machine! I also really like to see how other moms do it. I love Bling on My Sewing Machine!; An Inspired Mess; Hey, Jen Renee!; and Cakies.


What is your favorite household chore?

**Making dinner

You least favorite household chore?

**Scrubbing the floor and the baseboards


How do you take time for yourself? Do you buy yourself a special treat or go to the gym?

**At this point I really consider all of the crafting and making I do a special treat and I love to go to thrift stores to find new supplies. I also love to have coffee or go to the farmer's market with my sister. We live in the same town, but she works a LOT and we don't have the chance to see each other very often!

Thanks Katherine! Isn't she adorable?

Vintage Kitchen Shop Update

All this vintage goodness has been added to the shop today. :)

Quilt Love For the Preschool Teachers

I apologize for going missing around these parts. I was off having fun with my sister-in-law, Haley visiting & the last week of school festivities for Sadie.

Check out the lap quilts that I made for Sadie's preschool teachers as a thank you gift. With the 3/50 Project on my mind, we took a little trip to Stitch Cleveland & Sadie helped me pick out the fabrics. Using Katie's tutorial, I put together these whole cloth quilts & it took just a couple days to make each of them.


The cute little apple note cards that we attached are a free download from Ez of Creature Comforts.



You know that I really like you if I make you a quilt. It's so true because I really, really wanted to keep these once they were finished. We so loved Sadie's teachers this year & are so appreciative of how wonderful they were to Sadie. We are going to miss them for sure. And they deserved a little quilty love from us. I can't believe it's over & summer is here! Sadie is having a hard time grasping just how long it will be until Kindergarten starts & she is very concerned about getting a lunch box. :)

Etsy Finds Friday

My sewing machine is back home & in working condition again. It's crazy just how incomplete I felt for those 6 days that we were apart. Unfortunately, last night I was feeling sick & went to bed early, so I didn't even get to do any sewing. I anticipate getting to it tonight though & my etsy finds are very much influenced by this.


1. 70s Sunshine Yellow & Electric Blue Pin Cushion by Blue Hair Knits
2. Happy Together by Rosie Music
3. Vintage Yellow Buttons by Paper Cakes
4. Anna Maria Horner Good Folks Fat Quarters by Whipstitch Fabrics
5. I AM A SEWING MACHINE by Red Paper Record
6. 1o Wooden Spools of Thread/ Vintage by johnmo

From The Archives: Homemade Bubbles

I shared this bubble recipe last year & it continues to be one of my most popular posts. We've mixed up two gallons of these bubbles in the last few days. My girls are loving them. With the big bubble wands they are easy enough for even Claire to do on her own. I noticed these bubble wands available again in the Target dollar spot just this week. Enjoy!


I mixed up these bubbles yesterday. We've taken them out two days in a row. I imagine this gallon of bubbles will last us quite a while.

1 gallon water
2/3 cup dishwashing soap
2-3 tbsp. glycerin

You can find glycerin in the pharmacy for a few dollars.

The bubble wands were found in the Target dollar spot. I've noticed that the bubbles worked even better the second day after the solution had some time to rest.


Fun, fun

Nine

Nine years ago, on this day, at right about this time Dylan & I became husband & wife.

It's amazing & awesome. :)

We talk every now & then about where life will take us in few years. Where we'll be living & what we'll be doing. We can never really come to a definite conclusion about the city we want to live in. I think ultimately it just doesn't matter as long as we have each other. We'd be lost without each other & we both know it.

Love you, Dyl. Thanks for loving me, craziness & all.

Our Biggest Sale Ever!!!

Help us get to 1000 sales. We are oh so close.

Now through June 5th take 25% off all Sparkle Power posters & prints! That's posters for $7.50 & prints for $6.00! Talk about affordable art. Just enter the code SUMMER IS READY in the "message to seller" & either wait for a revised invoice, or go ahead & pay the full amount & wait for your discount to be refunded to you.

While we're at it....go ahead & take 25% off all posters at Tuff Industries as well. Just use the same code. :)

Feel free to spread word of our sale to your friends. :)

Etsy Finds Friday

1. Duck Egg Hobo by retrofied
2. Mermaid Verdigris Flower Ring by fleur fatale
3. 60s Bright Orange Glass Bowl by Fabulous Mess
4. Hyacinth Top by Annabel & Ruby
5. Orange Blue Flower Notecard Set by Divine Appointment
6. Picnic Pouch Set by Cascade Lemonade

Love Notes

I must admit that I've not been as good at leaving love notes for my guy as I was when our relationship was newer. It doesn't take long, and such a simple gesture can make the recipient feel so loved & cared for.


Yesterday afternoon when I thought for a minute about how I missed Dylan (which I do at least once every single work day), I put together a little note for him & taped it to our bedroom door. A few sweet thoughts for my forever boyfriend.


When thinking about this post, I thought that perhaps Sadie is old enough to start receiving love notes from me as well. I remembered that my mom would write notes to us on the napkins that she packed in with our school lunches. I will never forget dumping my lunch out of the brown paper bag & finding a note from my mom...a silly little poem she made up about my stinky feet in her handwriting on my napkin...and in a sea of noisy elementary school kids I felt so very special & so very loved.

Today I dropped a tearful Sadie off at school. She was not getting along with her little class friend that we babysit on Thursday mornings. I pulled her close to me & told her that everybody likes her & she doesn't have to worry about that....but I know she does. She has recently become very concerned with knowing that she is loved & liked. Even with us...she mistakes punishment for bad behavior as us telling her that we don't love her. And we of course never want her to believe that, so we have to shower her with affection until she feels better. It breaks my heart.

Unfortunately I understand this sensitivity all too well. Here I am an adult that still struggles with the same insecurities. I often worry about what others are thinking of me & most of the time I'm convinced that I in fact know what they are thinking about me & of course it's always negative. It's crazy, I know. It can really bring a person down & it holds me back in so many ways.

So perhaps a few surprise love notes in addition to all the other ways that we communicate love to her will help my Sadie girl along this road.

Swagbucks

So I started using swagbucks about a month ago & I wanted to share my findings with you.

Swagbucks is basically a search engine that rewards you with points for searching through them. When your points add up you can cash them in for prizes. A $5.00 Amazon gift card costs 45 swagbucks & from what I understand you can stack these gift cards together & then use the super saver shipping to get your purchase for free & shipped for free. It took me about 3 weeks of doing my normal online searches to earn 45 swagbucks & cash it in for my first $5.00 Amazon gift card.

I think it's great because I don't have to do anything beyond what I normally do, except using swagbucks.com instead of any other search engine & I earn points quickly. I'm hoping to eventually use these gift cards for some new household linens. Totally exciting, I know. :)

Summer Sleeping Shorts

Last year Dylan cut off a pair of his pajama pants to make shorts. Sadie called them sleeping shorts. We thought it sounded funny & kept referring to them as "sleeping shorts". It has since become our common term for pajama shorts.

I've been working on finding just the right pattern for some summer sleeping shorts for Sadie. This is the first pair I made. Using vintage sheeting I cut this pair out using a pair of pj pants that I made her last year. I added some width & length to them because she's bigger this year, right? Well, no. She's growing taller for sure but that waist of hers is pretty much staying the same size. So these ended up humongous. But the 4 year old thinks that they are wonderful & so they're getting some use. Plus they are roomy & that means they're comfy for her.


The next go at it I used a vintage pillowcase & the Simplicity 4206 pattern. I liked them but they seemed just a bit too short. Looking back they seem like just the right length.


But I made another pair but added some length. Now these ones seem way too long. Although they will be able to fit her this summer & next. So that's a plus.


The second pair seems to be the winner at this point. I have two more pairs cut out & I'm sure I'll do a little more tinkering. In the end they are all going into the jammie drawer & are ready for use on warm nights. Another plus is that they cost next to nothing to make. I'm using fabrics from my stash & elastic that I bought at Joann's for .25 cents a yard (50% off). Heads up...the notions wall at Joann's will be 50% off again for their Memorial Day sale. It's a great time to stock up on stuff like elastic. I got 10 yards for $2.50.

New Crayon Rolls

We had a birthday party to attend this weekend for a Thomas loving boy. So a crayon roll + Thomas coloring book was the gift given. The plaid fabric used on this one is from my Mother-in-law's stash. She used it to make clothes for Dylan & his brothers when he was just a little guy. Cool, right?


I've had a few requests for these crayon rolls lately, so I've added a few more to the shop today. Get 'em while they're hot!

I Want It Too

Keeping my fingers crossed. :)

Etsy Finds Friday

1. Made to Order Cereal Bowls by Lynn Cardwell Pottery
2. go green reversible market day tote by pouch
3. Personalized Custom Illustration by Lisa Rupp
4. Framed Inspiration Board or Jewelry Display by Lilia Rose
5. Broken Plate Necklace by Fox and Clover
6. Keep Calm and Carry On Bottlecap Magnet Set by Just Be Jewelry

A few things to note:

* Lilia is holding a giveaway on her blog for some really awesome vintage trims. Oh how I want it!

* Shanon of My Fine Garden is having a 25% off promotion in celebration of her 1 year blog anniversary. Her prints were very popular during our Mother's Day Giveaways. Get all the details here.

Cosa Verde

I spent some time this morning setting up my cosa verde shop. Have you heard of cosa verde yet? It's this really great online marketplace that connects independent artisans with eco conscious consumers. As they say on their about page...

"We wanted to make it easy to find great green goods for your neo-hippie niece, your grandpa who doesn't believe in global-warming, and everyone in-between. So that maybe, when we remember to value the products we buy for how they're manufactured, as well as for their style or uniqueness, some bigger changes will happen in the way that we think about consuming."

Their site is really well designed & all of the sellers are juried so that you know the products are well designed, eco-friendly & well photographed. It makes for a nice shopping experience....like you don't have to sift through all that not so great stuff looking for the super great stuff. Anyway, I'm excited to see how it goes & it's fun to be a part of this new little community.

If you are interested in joining up & would be so kind to mention me as a referral, that would be great! You can use this URL: http://cosaverde.com/referral/SparklePower/

Winners

Here are the winners of the Mother's Day Giveaways. Please e-mail your addresses to me at SparklePowerCandace@gmail.com by Friday. If I don't receive your addresses by then, I will choose another winner.

My Fine Garden Prints - Shani
Flower Press Tea Towel - dolls123
Michelle Swafford Pendant - Conny
Life's a Peach Notebook - annasoc
SNEAL Heart Brooch - BPR Designs

Thank you so much to all the wonderful etsy sellers for offering up their awesome goods. I hope that you'll add their shops to your favorites & return to them when you need a gift or something lovely for yourself. :)

The Bright Side Project

There are some Sparkle Power goods up for giveaway over at The Bright Side Project right now. If you are not familiar with The Bright Side Project, they have a new giveaway every day! You just have to answer the question asked & then come back later to check the winners section to see if you won. The prizes are always very lovely & so is the blog. A good one to subscribe to if you haven't already.

Have a great Monday!

Mother's Day Giveaways!!

We all work hard & deserve to have a bit of fun! So with the Mother's Day holiday this weekend, I decided to round up some really great giveaways for you, my wonderful readers. Take a look below at the beautiful items up for grabs. Each prize is from a lovely etsy seller. Yay etsy!! Take the time to visit their wonderful shops & leave me a comment on each of the five posts. You have until Monday, May 11th to enter. Winners will be announced on Tuesday morning.

Best of luck to you! Please share the love with your friends! Direct them to the giveaways by linking to my blog.

Hooray for mothers & women!!

GIVEAWAY - My Fine Garden 4x4 Prints

Shanon of My Fine Garden is so graciously offering two 4x4 prints! The winner gets to choose two of their favorites! One to keep for yourself & one for your mother. How sweet is that?! I absolutely adore all of the prints in her shop. They are so dreamy & colorful & look so lovely grouped together. This one is definitely at the top of my want list!


Giveaway details:

1. To enter the giveaway, visit the My Fine Garden shop & leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is.
2. Please only leave one comment.
3. Anonymous comments will be ignored.
4. The deadline to enter is Monday, May 11th at midnight. I will announce the winner the following day.

GIVEAWAY - Flower Press Cotton Tea Towel

Flower Press is offering this beautiful Green Filigree Cotton Tea Towel to one lucky winner. Oh, I love it! Made from 100% cotton & professionally printed & heat set. Don't you want this in your kitchen?!!

Giveaway details:

1. To enter the giveaway, visit the Flower Press shop & leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is.
2. Please only leave one comment.
3. Anonymous comments will be ignored.
4. The deadline to enter is Monday, May 11th at midnight. I will announce the winner the following day.

GIVEAWAY - Michelle Swafford Pottery Oval Pendant

Michelle Swafford is offering this beautiful oval pendant in aqua, my favorite color! You just string it onto your own cord or chain. Michelle has some really gorgeous offerings in her shop. I am in love with this ring & this bowl. Oh, my heavens! Visit the Michelle Swafford Pottery shop & tell me what you love the most.

Giveaway details:

1. To enter the giveaway, visit the Michelle Swafford Pottery shop & leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is.
2. Please only leave one comment.
3. Anonymous comments will be ignored.
4. The deadline to enter is Monday, May 11th at midnight. I will announce the winner the following day.

GIVEAWAY - Life's a Peach Tulip Notebook

This pretty little Tulip Mini Notebook from life's a peach is just perfect for spring! I love having nice notebooks that are just mine (the kids are not allowed to touch!) for jotting down notes & ideas. This one is sized perfectly for on the go!

Julie has lots of really adorable notebooks, cards, and so much more in her shop. I also triple heart her cloth napkins. So cute!

Giveaway details:

1. To enter the giveaway, visit the life's a peach shop & leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is.
2. Please only leave one comment.
3. Anonymous comments will be ignored.
4. The deadline to enter is Monday, May 11th at midnight. I will announce the winner the following day.

GIVEAWAY - SNEAL Made Woolen Creations Heart Brooch

Up for grabs here is a sweet felted heart brooch in the color of your choice from SNEAL Made Woolen Creations. Such great texture & so adorable, it would look great added to a jacket or a bag. I was drawn to this shop by the lovely treasure bowls but the purses & brooches are just too cute as well!

Giveaway details:

1. To enter the giveaway, visit the SNEAL Made Woolen Creations shop & leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is.
2. Please only leave one comment.
3. Anonymous comments will be ignored.
4. The deadline to enter is Monday, May 11th at midnight. I will announce the winner the following day.

Custom Flag Garland

I had a request last month for a custom flag garland & it was so fun to do! Elise was designing a set for hearitfirst.com & wanted a banner with their name in it. Take a look at Elise's photos of the completed set here.


I really loved how this banner turned out. I've got one cut & sitting in my work in progress pile waiting for the letters that spell out "happy birthday" to be added. I hope to start adding these message garlands to the shop more regularly. Any suggestions on what the garlands could say?

Kindred Crafters Coaster Swap

Listen up! The Kindred Crafters are hosting a coaster swap. If you are interested in joining in, you only have a couple days left to sign up. Head over to this post to get all the details. Coasters are super easy & really quick to make. It should be a fun swap. Do it with me!

LobotoME Organizational Products

I received some really great products from LobtoME on my doorstep this week! Jenny was nice enough to hook me up with one of her awesome momME weekly planners & a Feed Me notepad. These could not have come at a more perfect time for me. I am not the most naturally organized person. As my life continues to get more & more busy, I find that I'm having a hard time keeping track of it all. I'm so happy to now have a nice, well thought out & laid out system for jotting everything down. The weekly planner includes places for you to keep track of your daily commitments as well as your shopping list, "me time", dinner plan, exercise, household chores & your daily water & vitamin intake. Seriously! They thought of it all!

She also sent along a few samples of her other notepads...packing lists, fitness logs, honey do lists...they are all so cute & just so easy. They're also super affordable & eco friendly! So cool.

Go right now to the LobotoME blog & enter for a chance to win your very own weekly planner & a Help ME honey do list. Thanks, Jenny!

Vintage Bunting + Doily = Such Goodness

By far my most favorite flag garland that I've ever, ever, ever made:


I appliqued some pretty doilies to the buntings that I worked on this weekend & good golly, I'm in love. These two are now available in the shop. With more to come, I'm sure.



I also happened upon a large amount of vintage stetson marcrest swiss alpine chalet dishes on my solo thrifting trip this weekend. I was in search of some lovely, ornate, vintage picture frames, which of course I can't find ANY of because I actually NEED them! But I did find a big crate full of these lovely blue & white dishes that I just couldn't pass up. They deserve to go to some new homes where they will be loved.


So I cleaned them up nice & I'll be adding them to the shop during nap times this week. So, keep an eye out! Happy Monday to you all! I think it's going to be a good week.

Free Samples

I am a sucker for anything free. Take a look at just a few of the free samples that I've got around my house right now. They've been accumulating & I decided to work using some of them up. I've gone through quite a few little bottles of shampoo & conditioner this month. :)

One of my favorite bloggers, Amy of Mom Advice shares a list of free samples every week in her Freebie Friday post. The samples are easy to request & in a few weeks time you have little goodies showing up in your mailbox. This week I had a different sample in my mailbox three days in a row. Often times the samples come with a coupon for the product as well. It's pretty fun to try new products & it helps to stretch you trips to the store.

While you're checking out Amy's blog, just go ahead & subscribe! She's always sharing such useful tips & information.

Etsy Finds Friday

1. Baby Jane Quilt by rachel cox designs
2. Vintage Catherineholm Yellow Lotus Nesting Bowl Set of 2 by The Vintage Supply Co.
3. The Bandit Bag Lunch Sack by the small object
4. Spring Oilcloth Tablecloth by Modern June
5. Hostess Apron with Ladybug Pocket by Sky Girl Style
6. Large Scallop Cake Stand by whitney smith pottery