New Winner!!

I'm sorry that I have to post winners on my blog but I'm playing it safe! Facebook has rules about doing giveaways and what not and I am a play-it-by-the-rules type of person!:) I spent the past 30 min looking for those dern rules and now I can't find them, once I do I will post a link;)

I took the day off yesterday and we went to Richmond VA to visit their outdoor malls:) I got to visit Anthropologie, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. We have some of those stores where I live but they are much smaller than the ones in Richmond.  I am SO in LOVE with this Industrial Chic look that is exploding everywhere! It's making it very hard for me to do soft, feminine shabby chic to my house (I'm about to redo some of my downstairs in shabby chic) here is one of the items I have to have (or a much cheaper replica ;)

It's a miniature dress form. I have already come up with SO MANY ways on how I would use this lil gal!!!! :) Ok, so on with the new winner....

I had to pick a new winner since the last one did not contact me. REBECCA BARNETT please email me with your address please:) Princynparis @gmail.com

Bee Happy and a WINNER =)

Well, I thought I would start this blog post with a new design that I have and will soon add to the shop, I call it the BEE HAPPY headband. Doesn't it just make you happy to look at it:)I have enough materials on hand to make about 6 and then I'm out of the bees. I bought all of the ones that I could find. I haven't made an effort to find more but if there's a demand for this hair pc once I sell out of the 6 I may be on a hunt for more;) It measures around 3 1/2" and is attached to a clip {like most of my hair pcs}so you can wear with or without the polka dot headband :)

For those of you who have been following me for a while may have noticed I seem to have a huge attraction to bugs:) Whether they are pretty butterflies or dragonflies, I LOVE them! I am a huge nature lover (mainly in the garden area) and love things down to the snails:) I don't have a green thumb that's for sure but I seem to do nicely with the fabric flowers:)                                       

I try and work in what I love about nature in with my flowers, it seems to flow oh so well!

Well, on to the winner for my Share on Sunday giveaway! I used Random.Org to pick the winner and here is the result....

Jean Nguyen White please email me at princynparis@gmail.com with your choice of the Mermaid's Jewel shoe clips or the Orange Blossom shoe clips and your address! Thank you everyone who participated! I may make this a weekly event, it all depends on my workload and what is going on that weekend but I will make a huge effort to do more Share on Sunday giveaways!!

Have a fabulous Monday! :)

A good cause!

Well, it's been a while since my last post, what else is new:) Next to the dusting in my house my blog tends to be the last thing on my mind here of late. Well, I'll try to make this as brief as possible!

This morning I got up to start my daily routine, of eat, do dishes, check or answer emails, work on orders, make sure the dogs are fed and let outside, make sure Paris eats something for breakfast (she is NOT a breakfast person and I have to fight her every morning to just eat something!!!

Any other mothers out there with this problem!!???) get ready to pick up my son from preschool...ok I mentioned this was going to be brief.

Got a lil carried away!

I popped on Facebook to see if there were any messages and what not and saw a blog post from Matilda Jane, as always I took the time to read it:)

For those of you who know me or follow me on facebook may recognize the name.

Matilda Jane is my newest obsession!!:)

I ADORE dressing Paris in their clothes!!!:) Of course she loves it just as much as I do!  Ok, getting distracted again, ah!

Well, after reading the story about this women who lost her husband due to cancer had me in tears! I can't even fathom the thought of losing the man that has become my best friend, husband and father to my children! Just the idea of it makes me want to curl into a ball and cry my eyes out. I immediately push that thought out of my head and say a quick prayer of thanks for everything God has blessed me and my family with!

So allll of this to say that I am now selling in my etsy shop a beautiful children's necklace name Flora Bella.

I made the center of the pink flower with an extra button that came with my most recent order from Matilda Jane. If you have also ordered from Matilda Jane recently and would like for me to use one of your extra buttons you can simply mail it to me and I will use it for your necklace if you were to purchase one. Please note that I do NOT have these buttons in stock they are exclusive Matilda Jane buttons and I do not have access to them! If you do not have a button no worries! I will make your center either a small cluster of white pearls or a single crystal bead to replace the button that is pictured.

Here is a picture of the back of the necklace tied into a sweet bow:) So simple and beautiful at the same time:)

I will donating $5 from the proceeds of this necklace from now until Feb. 21. I don't normally do charity or donations unless it's for my church.

This story really spoke to me and moved me. 

I know $5 doesn't sound like a lot and I so wish that I could do more!

 I honestly don't make a lot doing what I do, by the time you take into consideration materials, etsy gets a small fee, paypal gets a small fee, taxes, shipping materials and of course my time, very little is left over, ha! :)

As long as I am able to pay for my sons preschool and I am able to buy the kids what they need than I am happy with what I bring home from my etsy shop. I just hope that I can make a small difference in this womens life:)

Feel free to spread the word! I've asked Heather from Fabulous Fun Finds to help spread the love as well:) Thank you Heather!! 

GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!!!!

Ok, first I need to apologize for doing this today instead of last night!!!! The hubby was working and I was here with all 3 kids that are ALL INFECTED with cabin fever!!!!!! So to put it mildly, they were acting kinda crazy! lol! I didn't want to be on the computer and have my house fall apart while I sat there and tried to figure out who the winners were!

Ok, second, giveaways are soooooo stressful on me!!!!!! I want to make sure that I do things ABSOLUTELY fair!!!!! I'm always worried, "did I leave someone out?!?!", "did I count right?!?!?" "did I give it enough time??!", "did I make it too confusing!!!??" AHH! you get the picture:) Since I did something a little different and it was a little confusing I picked a winner old school style! I found names all over the place, on my blog, on my wall and on different posts. Not wanting to leave anyone out I wrote EVERYONE's name down (that made a comment) and then wrote down who sent them. I tallied up the # of referrals and came up with a TIE!!!!!! Jordan Michelle Boyer and FORTY TOES, you guys TIED!!!!!!!:) I counted over and over again, trust me I felt like Santa Clause, made a list and checked it twice! Well, I actually checked more than twice, tee hee:) SO Jordan Michelle Boyer and Forty Toes send me an email at princynparis@gmail.com and let me know what you would like, the Mary Mary quite Contrary headband or a $25 credit to anything in my shop:)

Ok, for the next winner, I had my son, Angel, pick out a name! He witnessed me write ALL the names down and double check so that I didn't miss anyone!!! He picked the name and the winner is.......

        VICTORIA MORGAN!!!!
Contact me at princynparis@gmail.com and let me know what you would like as well!!!:)

P.S. Angel wanted me to let everyone know that he just woke up (right as I was starting to do everyones names) and still has bedhead, he was so embarressed, LOL!!!! He is really starting to become a young man! =)

I will be doing more giveaways here in the near future but will featuring them hear on my blog!!!! I've heard rumors that Facebook was closing pages down and I DO NOT want to be one of those pages!!!!! I think it's in their rules that you can't do giveaways. So I will be doing them here on my blog but Facebook will be my main advertisement tool!!! :)
THANK YOU EVERYONE who participated!!!!!!

GIVEAWAY time!!!!!!

Well, it's been a while since I've done a giveaway and I'm way over due!! I also promised one once I hit 500 fans on my fanpage!!:) So this a multiple giveaway! I'm doing TWO! One for you and One for a friend!


Here are the rules as follows....
1) Share this giveaway on facebook with a link, refer a friend to "like" my page and make sure they mention that YOU sent them:)Their comments MUST BE LEFT on my facebook Fanpage!! Winner for this giveaway will be the person with the MOST referrals! Feel free to share on any of the Matilda Jane fanatics pages since I offer M2M items for Matilda Jane pieces. Winner will receive my new headband or a $25 credit to anything in my shop. This will be the first giveaway
2)New followers will need to leave a comment on who sent them on my fanpage and I will use Random.Org to choose a winner from that post, Winner will receive my new headband or a $25 credit towards anything in my shop. This will be the 2nd giveaway.(note this giveaway is meant for the friend you refer and not the person who referred them, so that there's something in it for them too:)

Winners will be announced on Saturday evening at 9 P.M.! If winner doesn't claim their winnings within 24 hours a second winner will be chosen.

Ok, the other thing I will be trying out is my "Introduction Pricing"!!! This is when I will offer THREE of my newest creations at a LOW price!!!! I will only offer them at that price until all three are sold and once they are sold the item will be offered in my shop at regular price! I will be offering my "Mary, Mary, quite contrary" headband for $15!!!!! I will sell this for $24.50 in my shop once all three for $15 sell. I may not be able to do this for all new items due to cost of materials or time management. I won't tell you how long it takes me to make my flowers but I will say it takes OVER 2 hours and when you divide $15 into 2...well, you see I am making very little profit on them:)

You can purchase the $15 Mary, Mary quite contrary here on my blog on the right hand side where the buy it now button is. Shipping will be $2. To explain a little bit about why I am doing this (and I have to give 100% credit to Heather from Fabulous Fun Finds for this idea) I feel this gives customers a chance to experience some Princy n Paris products in their lives for those who may not have bought any of my items. I know $24.50 seems like a lot for a pretty hair piece but a LOT of it has to do with the time I put into each piece! I hand cut each petal and handsew each bead (with the exception of the tiny tiny seed beads that I sometimes use). This is very time consuming but I do it because I love making pretty things!:) Paris is just now getting to the age where she WANTS to wear hair pretties, lol!!! I use to fight her to get her to keep them on but now she goes and gets what she wants to wear for that day:) Momma may need to help her pick but so far that doesn't seem to bother her;)

Playing Peek a boo for our lil mini photo shoot:)

Ok, I tried to explain this as simply as I could but I just read the details to my husband and he was so lost, lol! Granted he doesn't participate in any giveaways and is not too familiar with how they can work. Please feel free to email me with any questions!!! princynparis@gmail.com

Happy Birthday Paris-Noel!!!

Well, today is the day that I gave birth to Miss Paris-Noel 2 years ago:)

Her due date was in the first week of January but I was already 3 centimeters dilated and my doctor was going out of the country for Christmas.

I panicked and moved my doc appointment up a day (was scheduled for the 23rd).

I went in expecting nothing but got a baby instead!!!

My doctor decided to strip my membranes (VERY PAINFUL!!!!) and I went into full force labor!!! She was born later that day!

I was a little upset with myself since my husband, my dad, and I all share the birthdate of 23. Jorels is in Jan., mine in Feb. and my dads is in March so it would have been 4 of the same birthdates right in a row had I just stuck with my original doc appointment! Ahhhh! Getting mad at myself all over again, lol! Oh well:)

I owe everyone an apology for my last couple of posts! I don't want to come across as if I'm complaining or whining, I just wear my feeling on my sleeve! I have ALL WAYS been that way:) I can't help it, it's the way God made me, tee hee =)Just know that I'm choosing to put that behind me and move forward!

I did not plan a birthday party this year, I have actually postponed it for March. So family members and friends if you read this, I didn't forget about you!:) I'm going to try this while she is still young so if it doesn't work out she will be too young to remember:) I've heard of people doing a half way birthday for Christmas babies but that's just too far away for me, lol! So now I can plan a spring March birthday party!! Yay!

I made Paris a flower just for her birthday and to celebrate I'm going to offer it exclusively to you!:) For today only you can get it at a discounted price with a small shipping charge!:) After today {and once I reopen} it will be its original price. I wanted to offer it all day long but time just didn't permit. I started working on this post as soon as we got back from her birthday lunch:)

It's my tea stained flower done in soft pink and cream, this flower has a larger pearl in the center and comes with a skinny lace headband. I have limited lace headbands so once those sell out I will offer a cream satin headband instead.

You can purchase one here on my blog, just use the paypal button in the right hand side. If you would like one and live out of the US message me for a shipping quote, princynparis@gmail.com

I still have one wholesale order I'm finishing up and Christmas gifts {for family} to make and once that is behind me I will be 100% caught up!!!! YIPPEEEE!!!!!:)

Is everyone done with your Christmas shopping?? I'm not! Ahhh! I still have 2 gifts to get and then I'm done:) No biggie.

Merry Christmas!!! 

What matters the most

I've had a lot on my mind lately.

I've sat there thinking over and over in my head what I would write about and how would I word it.

It all comes down to whats most important...

My family!

Earlier this year I quit my job to become a stay at home mom.

I opened up Princy n Paris in January but didn't start making items until February or March.

I never thought it would turn into what it is today:)

I now think that I am in need of some sort.

I missed my sons Thanksgiving recital this year.

Not because I didn't want to be there,

not because I forgot, more or less because I've been so busy that I have somehow put my family on the back burner.

Not on purpose!

I cried that entire day when I went to pick him up and he was dressed in his little Indian costume....

I'm starting to cry just thinking about it.

Somehow someway the hubby and I both missed that he was having a school recital.

Today was his Christmas recital:)

We were all there this time!

Here is a pic of him and his teacher Miss Avery

She is an absolute DOLL and we love her!!!!!

I had plans of making all of the kids in his class a handmade Christmas ornament with their name on it and give the teachers each a gift certificate to my shop (which I still plan on doing!)

After the recital I went to ask the teacher for a list of all of the kids in his class. While she was looking I was looking at the calendar and noticed that today was his last day of school!!!!! I had nothing ready to give to his class or his teachers.

Again I have failed and fell short on my duties of being the mom that I want to be to my kids.

When do I draw the line to what it most important??!!

I have somehow lost focus!

My shop consumes me! More than I ever thought it would!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE what I do but I love being a good mom to my kids more!

Last night I came across another copycat. This one was worse than all of the others because I know she's bought from me and the has copied the items that she has gotten from me.

I don't look for these people!
I swear! They seem to fall right into my lap!!

So, do I continue doing what I do?!? Make hair pretties for others to just copy while I run myself into the ground! That's what I'm starting to feel like! I do ALL of the grunt work and someone just studies my items and makes a look a like and makes the profit off of my hard work.

Just doesn't seem fair, at ALL!

By no means do I want across as whiny!

I'm just keeping it real!

I have this big thing for justice.

Ok, moving on:)Here are some more pics from today:) I didn't focus on getting the PERFECT pic! I just took a couple to remind myself of this day:)

Another pic of Miss Avery and Princeton:)

Princeton being goofy! I swear, I don't know what it's going to take to get a good pic of this kid, lol!

Well it seems as everyone else wasn't in the mood for pics either, lol

On a happy note I have a lot of plans for the new year coming up!:) I have several collaborations that I am super excited about!!:) I am going to try and take things in stride and hope for a better year!!:) I have made some awesome friends along the way and I feel beyond touched at everyones support! I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

I also have THE BEST customers in the world!!!!

I rarely talk about that! but it's true!:)

The biggest compliment to have is repeat customers!!

Most of everyone who has ever bought from me has been a repeat customer, some on a monthly basis!:) That just makes my heart swell with gratitude!:) If I have never thanked you personally, THANK YOU!:)

Everyone has been so extremely understanding to my turnaround times and have even been gracious if I've gone a couple of days past what is promised!

I have had a couple of concerned emails along the way from customers (which is to be expected:) but no one has been nasty or ugly to me!

I do try my hardest to make everyone happy:)

You are all what keep me going:)

Thank you, again, for your support!