{Newsletter & A Discount Code}

We’re busy little bees working towards the re-design and the re-opening of the shop next week! And may I just say that I am in LoVe with our new style.  It’s fabulous!

Wanna know a little secret? When you get a peek at our site next week, you’re going to find a {HUGE} sale section! It’s the first time we’ve had a sale section on the site and we’re so excited to give you some fantastic deals on some super fabulous remnant items. We’ve spent a LOT of time working on the sale section and clearing out the Abby Maddy studio for the new year.You’re gonna love it too. *Wink*.

We’ve also spent a great deal of time working on new creations and designing new styles and patterns for the shop. Next week you’ll get a sneak peek at some of those sassy items, with much more to come in the months ahead.

And guess what? We’ve got a sweet little discount code for you. Just sign up for our newsletter and not only will you be the first to know when new items arrive in the shop, but you’ll also get 15% off.  Just click below to sign up.

See you in a week!

{What’s coming/ Policy changes/ Sneak peek}

The best thing about your first full year of business is that you learn. A lot. I mean, like a whole stinkin’ lot. You learn what you love about your business, what you don’t, what you want, what you need, what makes your heart skip a beat and a whole bunch of other soul searching thoughts you never knew you were capable of thinking.

 

For me, I learned that I really, really dislike production work.  That’s why when our shop re-opens in two weeks, you will find that everything is now made to order. Yes, it may extend production times a wee bit, but it will also ensure that you see more patterns, colors and styles in the shop each season. Plus it will allow me to spend more time with each order, adding those little touches that make Abby Maddy special.

I also learned that I love designing and you will start to see more and more Abby Maddy original pieces in the shop this year. But more on that later. *wink*

By December, my head was positively spinning with ideas, inspiration and creativity flow. I spent a great deal of my time off re-organizing the studio, making things workable {with two babes under foot} and celebrating the hubby’s return from Afghanistan. It has been so incredible to be able to bounce ideas off him again. Even though you don’t often see his face, he truly is a HUGE part of this business and so unbelievably supportive. Just having time to goof off, hang out and relax together has been amazing.

  

And with the growth of a business, you also learn that some things have to change. Beginning February 8th, we will no longer allow pick-ups of any items. Additionally we will only be accepting orders through our website at www.abbymaddy.com {no orders through email, phone, facebook, etc..} We will, however, offer rush shipping, available in March.  We feel this will best serve all our customers, as well as ensure my family’s safety, and my sanity.

We have so many exciting changes and additions planned this year. I truly feel like this will be an amazing year for Abby Maddy and I am so thankful for each and every one of you who helped us get off the ground last year.

To say thank you, here’s a little sneak peek of what’s to come.

See you in two weeks!

{Make it Monday- Kids Placemats}

It’s Make It Monday!

Growing up in the south, there were certain things that we learned at an early age. Batting our eyelashes to convey a point, how to place a “sugar, darlin, honey” in a sentence for maximum effect, how to tease our hot curled hair using Aqua Net hairspray, checking the weather to know when to bake {your pie will not set up if the weather is wrong Suga’} and how to properly set a table.

Since my baby girl is only three, I figure the hot curlers can wait, but its never too early for table manners {she also has quite the knack for southern lingo}.  She’s super eager to help right now, so I decided to whip up these cute little placemats for her to use when placing the dishes on the table. 

You’ll need some felt- I used the large squares of stiff felt that you find at craft stores for the actual placemats. Then grab some contrasting softer felt to use for the plate, silverware, etc… scissors, sewing machine, or needle and thread or fusing.

Then grab a place setting of dishes from the cabinet to trace. I used a water glass, small plate, napkin, fork, knife and spoon.

Make sure you have your place setting right, then trace enough of each dish for your placemats.

Cut out your felt pieces and lay them out onto your placemats in the right place. I pinned my pieces so I could sew them on, but if you’re not handy with the sewing machine {you can also whipstitch} you could use fusing, or even glue. But the stitching will hold up better and you can throw them in the wash if need be.

 

Sew your pieces on and that’s it.

Fun, cute, educational placemats your little ones will love to use!

{Inspiration Workshop- {A Guest} Bedroom}

I showed you a little peek of our guest room last week when I revealed the hubby’s brand new man cave. But I thought I’d show you a wee bit more today, and let you in on a few of my thrifty little finds that help make this guest room crazy cozy.

The guest room is part of our basement, actually it’s right off the man cave so it has the same issues as the rest of the downstairs- no windows, outside entrances, natural light, etc… And its kind of an awkward space. We debated for a while about whether my studio should go down there, so the guest room would be upstairs, but after much deliberating we decided that it made absolutely zero sense for me to be downstairs so far away from the kids when I work in my studio on a daily basis. And there was that whole ‘no natural light’ thing and I was pretty certain I would lose my mind.  Well that and I was afraid that our fall line would have about ten colors of pink that didn’t match because they all looked the same in the dark, right?

So finally we succumbed to the guest room in the basement, which made me feel super super guilty every time someone came to stay. I felt like we were locking our company away in a dungeon. So while I was busy working on the man cave, I decided to give our guest room a little VIP treatment too. But remember that budget I was on? Yeah, it was waaaaay tighter for the guest room so I had to get super creative. Which led to a super cozy, yard sale glam kind of room.

There were three requirements for the guest room. 1) It had to be cozy. 2) It had to provide a clean space for someone to unpack. 3) There had to be place to hang clothes since there is no clothes closet or dresser.

 

 

I think I got the cozy part right, how about you?

 

 

The upholstered headboard is made using a piece of MDF covered in an old quilt and then I stapled a piece of remnant upholstery fabric over top. We used picture hangers to hang it on the wall so we can easily take it with us when we move.

 

The lamps are from Goodwill and I just placed matching shades on them.  The mirrors are also from the thrift store and I sprayed them both white to balance out the look. The nightstand on the right is a plant stand with a mirror on top for a flat surface. The night stand on the left is my fave- just a stack of old suitcases we found at junk stores.  And the stand at the foot of the bed is actually an old table without the glass top- but it makes a great suitcase rack.

For some glam style art, I used the wall decals from the craft store {the kind that come with those little crystals for added glitter} and just stuck them on the wall and placed an empty frame around them. Instant art!

And to deal with the no closet issue, I used an old privacy screen, removed the lace panels and added wooden hangers. Now guests can easily unpack their clothes and make themselves at home. Plus, the openness of the screen doesn’t close off the room which I love.

A small painted desk makes a great dressing table and provides a place for doing make-up or working on the computer.

And that’s how you make a guest room on a serious budget.

I’m linking up!

{On getting it all done- and letting it all go}

Sometimes, on particularly crazy mornings, I glance in the mirror and wonder for a split second who will play me in the Lifetime movie. Not in a vain I think my life is drama worthy kind of way, but more in the way that well meaning people tilt their head to the side and say ‘oh, yes she was a sweet girl before her head exploded’.  And that’s exactly where I was this morning- on the verge of a full on brain explosion.

I woke up to the wind. Blow you off the front porch wind, and a preschooler who was freaking out. Then the storm warnings came, though luckily not for us- yet. Then I remembered she’s star student this week and guess who forgot to pick up snacks and juice boxes over the weekend? Moi! And who said to hubby yesterday, when he offered to go get them at lunch time, that I would pick them up on the way to school at 8am? Moi! And who drug two wind blown babies to the grocery store in the rain this morning? Are you getting the picture?  I also wondered why I didn’t take a minute to lay out my outfit for the morning when I was laying out the kids clothes last night. Why I hit the snooze three times instead of rising with the hubby to have our morning coffee un-rushed? Why I didn’t let the hubs go grab snacks yesterday when he offered? This morning, I had no one to blame but me for the explosion in my head.

People frequently say to me, when talking about the kids, the business, the deployment, I don’t know how you do it. And often its accompanied by very kind words of praise that make me wiggle in my seat in a whole new kind of uncomfortable. I want to scream, who me?? If you only knew! My kids just ate macaroni and cheese for the third time this week {because that’s all they’ll eat and I’m just too tired to argue} the three year old is no where near potty trained because she is absolutely, positively refusing to even try, the baby needs a bath, the car needs washing, the laundry is piled in the closet, I didn’t hit the treadmill last night, my office looks like a tornado hit it, the carpets need to be cleaned, the paint on the walls needs to be touched up, I haven’t fed my hubby a home cooked meal in four days or had on makeup in three…

And then there are those days like today. The ones that start out so rough and then something happens. I let it all go. Baby B and I come home after dropping off sister, he lays down for a nap and I make some breakfast.  I open the fridge and see that I remembered to thaw a roast for dinner tonight. I plop dinner into the crock pot and congratulate myself on not having to cook tonight. I toss in some laundry, start the dishwasher, do a quick sweep of the toys downstairs and then I sit down in our quiet house with the laptop and knock out some work that’s been piling up for weeks. And for a split second, I feel like that girl they’re all talking about who gets it all done. The one who has it all together and under control.  And then I let it all go.

{Make it Monday- Floral Lampshade}

 

You guys know I love me some craft projects, especially on a rainy, yucky day like today.  And for a while I’ve been toying with how to show you all the messes creative things I make. I also love a good tutorial, and often rely on other bloggers when I’m tackling a new project, which is pretty much all the time. I, however, am terrible at remembering to take pictures along the way, and so while I could show you the finished projects all the live long day, I could not even begin to tell you how I got from A to Z. Yea. My brain just doesn’t work like that.

But I want to get better. Really I do.

So welcome to Make it Monday!

Each Monday we will be featuring a no muss, no fuss craft that you could probably even knock out during nap time {stop laughing, it happens occasionally…}

This week’s project is a floral lampshade I just designed for the princess’ room.  These are nothing new and have been in cute little boutiques for years, but they usually come with a cute little price tag too.  My version was done for less than $25.

To start you’ll need some flowers, and a lampshade.

Any lampshade will do, the cheaper the better, but a drum style shade works best. Just make sure your shade is smooth and free of pleats so your flowers will adhere.

For flowers, I went to my local craft store and found the clearance bins and went to town gathering 44 cent flowers.  However many flowers you think you’ll need- double it. They need to be glued very close together to get that boutique look. Otherwise it looks cheap and sparse.

You’ll also need a hot glue gun and some scissors.

  

I started by pulling/clipping all my flowers off their stems and arranging them on the table by color.

Next I began gluing them into “pods” all over the shade. This part is very important if you’re using remnant flowers. Make sure you’re spreading out all your different flower varieties across your shade. Otherwise, if you run out, you may wind up with all your lavender roses on one side of your shade, and be unable to find anymore.

Then just keep gluing, and gluing and gluing……..

   

 

Until eventually you end up with this.

How’s that for easy?

And no one will ever guess you raided the remnant flowers from Michaels.

Make it a fabulous Monday!

{ A Man Cave Reveal}

Ok, so I have been positively beside myself about this secret for months now. Like, clasp my hand over my mouth, squeal with giddiness kind of excitement. I could not wait for the hubby to get home and see it so I could show the rest of you *wink*

It all started with this.

And this.

 

And this.

 

And then we had two weeks straight of this.

And we spent a LOT of time in our basement. And something had to happen. I mean, I was more scared of going downstairs than I was of the actual tornado, and that’s never a good sign.

This space had bugged me since the day we moved in. Its the basement floor of our house, complete with a great room, fourth bathroom and fifth bedroom and utility room. Sounds great, right? It is, except here are zero windows. Fantastic during tornado season, irritating the other 10 months out of the year. It also has no “anchors”- no windows, fireplaces, natural breaks in the room that allow you easily arrange furniture in a cozy way.

So, alas, it became home of the army gear. A place to put everything that didn’t otherwise have a place, a place where hubby could be as messy as he wanted and could rest assured that sirens aside-  I would NEVER make the trek to the basement.

But after two straight weeks of hanging in the dungeon, I had had enough. I decided to take on a little man cave makeover.  And make it a great big deployment surprise.

It turned out to be one of the most fun projects I’ve ever take on. And all my friends and family seem to share my excitement. No one could resist pitching in a little-  from painting the walls to hanging pictures- everyone that dropped by added a little touch. And after months of blood, sweat and tears (mostly when I injured myself using tools I shouldn’t have been using..)

this is what we got….

A Man Cave.

Complete with a mini fridge, wet bar, popcorn machine, treadmill, and flat screen TV.

And no, I didn't install a fireplace- just a fake mantle that I found for $50 bucks at an antique store. And after an entire tube of caulk, a gallon of paint and a visit from my bestie {huge hugs to my girl Thelma}, its the most fabulous part of the room. But we didn't stop there. The wet bar is a $5 desk from a yard sale, painted, with new knobs. The trunks underneath are actual army trunks, circa WWII from a junk store, and the gold retro swivel chairs were $20 each from the habitat store.  And to answer your question, the map is from an actual school house and was free, so no, you can’t find it an Pottery Barn. Sorry. I’m telling you folks, we were on a serious DIY budget. As a matter of fact, I did the entire room for around $1200 and a lot of love.

I even decided to give his bathroom and the guest room a little update too.

Love, love, love it!! And he did too.

Welcome home sweetheart.

Enjoy your man cave.

{Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?}

My three year old has discovered knock knock jokes. She mostly just makes them up as she goes, and every singe time I laugh hysterically. Maybe it’s her infectious giggle, or the way she slaps the table and laughs heartily with pride because she just told me a joke. But despite the fact that they never make any sense, they also never get old.

I’ve been trying to teach her the old stand by, you know “knock, knock- who’s there? Banana. Banana who?  knock knock –who’s there? Banana. Banana who? Knock, knock”….well, you get the picture. But she doesn’t quite get why I’m repeating the line and insists that I just tell her who’s there. *SMILE*  That little girl makes my heart happy.

Source: etsy.com via Stefanie on Pinterest

 

So knock knock jokes aside,  there’s been a lot of talk about oranges at our house lately, and now that Pantone has named Tangerine Orange {Tangerine Tango} the color of the year, there’s even more chatter about this sunshiny color.

Source: polyvore.com via Stefanie on Pinterest

I happen to LoVe the color orange, and so you can bet that it will be showing up in our Spring line, if only I can contain myself that long. It goes with practically everything, and makes your wardrobe pop instantly. And of course, there’s my alma mater with its signature color orange- of which I will be the first to admit, actually looks good on no one. But I love them just the same- and wear it proudly in the Fall.

Source: toryburch.com via Stefanie on Pinterest

The fashion world and fabric world alike are promising some divine choices this year, and I cant wait to see all the fun patterns we get to work with.

Source: blog.hgtv.com via Stefanie on Pinterest

Kind of makes you wanna run out and buy a pair of flip flops and some orange lip gloss,

doesn’t it?

{Are you color crushing? Tell me about it.}

{Homecoming}

I still cant believe we made it. I mean, I knew we would make it, but seriously, I cant believe he’s home. This was round two for us on the deployment front, and while this tour was much shorter {the last one was fifteen months!} this was the first time that I was left alone, with two tiny babies to care for. And it was terrifying.

But somehow, I got up, put on my big girl panties and dealt with it. We didn’t just have deployment to deal with this time, in addition to a 5 week old, a two year old, a business to run, and army responsibilities, the hubby took command mid-tour. Life. Got. Crazy. Some of you may remember this post about how I was freaking out before he left. And guess what? Some days looked exactly like that, macaroni and cheese and all.  But most days didn’t. And we got through.    

 

And now I cant wait for our next chapter. We have big, big goals for our family this year. And now that we’re all together, they seem completely obtainable. I love that.