Saturday Feature, A Blog Swap with Pure Joy!

I am so very excited to have Jamie from Pure Joy here today!  Please be sure to check out Jamie's blog and Etsy shop. I promise you will not be sorry! She is very talented and has a heart of gold! So, without further delay, I'll turn it over to you Jamie...

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Hey there! Thanks for letting me steal the show for a day Lanie! I'm so excited to be over here today...let's get comfy and chat and get to know one another... I get a little wordy sometimes so bear with me!

My name is Jamie and I'm the woman behind Pure Joy! I've been blogging for 6.5 years! Yes, that's a little crazy. It started as a way to communicate with the kids in my youth group...it turned into a family blog and still is, but now it's a family blog with fun...crafts, giveaways, tutorials, photos of my cute kids, you know, the usual stuff.

My husband and I met in college in Wisconsin, got married after a year of dating and a two year engagement. We moved to St. Louis so he could attend the Seminary to become a Pastor in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. We were blessed with our first child Naomi during his last year of school. We moved to Texas were Greg received his first call to serve as Associate Pastor. Our cute little man, Micah, was born 10 months after we moved to Texas. I'm currently cooking our third child who will be another Texan and born sometime in the month of October. So, there's my family life in a nutshell.

I love staying home with my kids and am so blessed that my hubby works so hard in order for me to do just that. I also work as a photographer and have an etsy store to help pay some of the bills. In my spare time (when the kids are in bed) I love to sew, (mostly decorative stuff and clothes for my kids...I'm learning how to use patterns but I'm not a big fan!), I paint, I make felt food and just love to surf blogs and update mine!

Here is the most recent photo I have of all four of us together, from Easter.I worked on this name sign for a friend of mine.
She wanted something that represented
her husbands name and hobby!
I think it turned out pretty good.

I'd love to make one for you with your name and hobby!I love to make shirts and other fun clothes

for the little people in my life.
You can see the tutorial for this shirt here.And I love to make dresses for my daughter who wants
to wear a dress EVERYDAY!
I made this one out of a woman's skirt!
I also love to make felt food.
Although I'm not "officially" taking custom orders,
if there is anything you're interested in,
I'd gladly put you on my list!Thanks for letting me stop by and share a little bit
of the things I love with you here.
I'd love to hear what makes you happy,
what makes you smile, what you love!
Stop by my blog and say hello!!!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Thanks Jamie for sharing with my readers. I am glad to call you friend!

Satuday Featured Blog...Mary K Jewels!

Today's featured blog is Mary K Jewels!

Mary has a beautiful blog to promote her craft and a beautiful Etsy shop to match. She creates some wonderful pieces that can be designed to go with any ensemble.

And her prices? Well, they are more than reasonable! After you read about Mary K here, be sure to check out more of her wonderful pieces on her blog and in her shop!

 

Please tell us a little about yourself.
I have been married for 3 years, and we have one little dog. I'm a Minnesota girl with long winters to get through, so I started scrapbooking and somehow it evolved into jewelry making. I keep up with both craft hobbies by organizing 3-day scrapbooking retreats.

Give us a little insight to what your blog and Etsy shop is about.

Both my blog and Etsy shop are a new adventure for me. After weeks of friends, coworkers, and family begging to buy my jewelry, I decided to open the Etsy shop. I started the blog to feature new designs and advertise sales. I plan to branch out into other types of jewelry, but for now the interchangeable watch bands keep me busy!

What made you start blogging/crafting?
I started making my watch bands after seeing them for sale in other places. I thought they were so cute and such a smart idea, so I decided to give it a try myself. I started blogging to spread the word about my jewelry!

Who does your blog appeal to?
My blog appeals to anyone who appreciates crafting, jewelry, and creativity. I try to post a variety of different designs to appeal to anyone. Many readers have learned that if there isn't something they love, I will do a custom order for them.

What do you love about blogging?
I love being able to reach so many people at once. It's been a great way to advertise my watch bands. I also love getting feedback about my watches. I have lots of happy customers that return for more!

What do you hope to accomplish with your blog/shop in the future?
In the (hopefully!) near future, I will offer gift certificates. Many times customers have wanted to give my bands as a gift but are unsure of color, style, and size. Gift certificates will be the perfect answer for those gifts.

What are 3 of your favorite posts on your blog...

How Do Custom Orders Work?

Sneak Peek Sale

We have a winner!

Please share some of your favorite blogs with us.
Young House Love
Bower Power
Oops I Craft My Pants

Please share your top 3 favorite Etsy Shops
Two Peas in A Pod Designs
Leen The Graphics Queen

Sparrow Graphic

Thanks so much Mary for letting me feature your lovely blog and shop. Your jewerly is beautiful and it has been a real pleasure getting to know more about you!

Saturday Featured Blog... Life in the Pitts

Hey all! Hope your Saturday turns out to be FANTASTIC! I'm excited to tell you about my featured blog for this week! It is Life in the Pitts!

 

I love her blog and her name. Not often I come across another Lanie. Her blog is full of really fun crafts and each week she holds a linky party called A Little Craft Therapy with Life in the Pitts. Super fun and fabulous projects can be found there.

Lanie also has an adorable Etsy shop called Made in the Pitts. After you read her interview, you really must go have a look see. She makes adorable handmade checkerboards and picture frames. Like me, she is a lover of mod podge and paper.

Here is her little interview. My own comments are added in pink. Why? Because I just couldn't resist!

Please tell us a little about yourself.

I'm a newlywed (I think. Does 9 months of marriage still count as newlywed?), and I'm still getting used to this whole being married thing. Yes! 9 months definitely counts as newlywed and I have been married 8 years and I'm still getting used to this whole being married thing too! :)

This past year I got engaged, got married, and moved across the country so my husband could start Dental School here in Pittsburgh.

It took me a while to find a job (Mostly because the job market is tough. But also because I was lazy), and so I started blogging to fill my time. But then I discovered craft blogs. And became obsessed.

Please give a little insight to what your blog and Etsy shop is about.

I blog about my life, and my life includes crafts. But it also includes friends, family, and my adorable, but super frustrating, new husband. I try to keep it funny and entertaining. I guess it's just about my life here in the Pitts.

My Etsy shop is brand new, and I mostly sell handmade checker boards (they are awesome). And wall art. And I'll probably branch out and sell other stuff once my sewing machine is fixed. You should probably check it out. Most definitely!

What made you start blogging/crafting?

Boredom. And peer pressure. I was told that all good wives blog, and so I didn't have much of a choice. Once I found all those awesome crafty sites- Craftaholics Anonymous, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Ruffles and Stuff, etc- I couldn't help but craft.

Plus I live across the street from a Michaels store. A crafter's bliss!

Who does your blog appeal to?

Um, everybody? Well, I like to think so. Maybe... people who like to laugh?

What do you love about blogging?

The comments. I check my email like 7 times a day, looking for comments. I love the external validation.

You know you do it too. Yes...yes I do!

What do you hope to accomplish with your blog/shop in the future?

For my shop, I'd like to sell stuff. That's kind of my only goal. And I don't really have any goals with my blog, either. Just keep writing, I guess.

What are 3 of your most favorite posts on your blog?

Party In The USA

Top 2 Baby Names

Good Neighbors

Please share some of your favorite blogs with us.

Craft blogs:

The Girl Creative

Craftaholics Anonymous

Ruffles and Stuff

Normal blogs: Pioneer Woman (specifically this post)

Motherhood in NYC (especially this post)

Enjoying the Small Things (This post has my heart)

Please share your top 3 favorite Etsy Shops:

Ooh, this is hard. I have like 75 I heart on Etsy. Maybe...

Village Clayworks

Bacon Square Farm

Papercut Art by Tina Tarnoff

Thanks Lanie for being my featured guest today. I really enjoyed getting to know you better and can't wait to see more of your blog. Don't forget to grab an "I was featured" button from the right side bar.

The rest of you have a great weekend and be sure to pay Life in the Pitts and Made in the Pitts a visit! You won't regret it!

Saturday Feature... A Vision To Remember and I Am Only 1 Woman

Please welcome my Saturday Featured Blogger/Etsy Shop owner Bobbie. Bobbie is the proud owner of a lovely Etsy Shop called A Vision to Remember and a beautiful blog called I Am Only 1 Woman. Her shop is filled with gorgeous fabric creations from baby quilts to car seat covers as well as kits and patterns for you to make your own. Her blog features all things crafty, with many tutorials and ideas to get you inspired.

Please tell us a little about yourself Bobbie:

I am the mom of 2 girls (4 and 11 months). I enjoy playing the piano, sewing, reading, cooking and being with my family.

I graduated a year ago with a bachelors degree in business management. All of my instructors thought I was crazy for getting a degree and not using it with a formal job. I enjoy being a stay at home mom and hopefully I will be able to continue doing so.

Please give us a little insight to what your blog and Etsy shop is about:

My blog is basically a snapshot into my craft self. I love sharing tutorials with my readers, introducing them to other bloggers, and updating on my etsy shop.

My etsy shop is full of rag quilts, car seat tents, and lots of patterns for rag quilts, rag quilts, belly band, and fabric flowers.

What made you start blogging/crafting?

I started a blog because all my friends told me I needed to. I love it. I have only told a few friends about this blog, but they are all starting to learn about it. I have always loved to make things, I think that it is in my blood. I just love to share what I do and knowing that others think its pretty cool too.

My mom was always making different things growing up. I remember her and her sisters getting together every couple of years (they live all across the US.) and make some sort of craft. My mom finally pursued her dream of being an interior designer. I think that is where I get my craftiness.

Who does your blog appeal to?

My blog appeals to women that love to create things. I like to make crafts that are frugal (I am a cheapskate) but cute at the same time.

What do you love about blogging?

I love how easy it is. I love the camaraderie that I have formed with my bloggy friends. That is what makes all of this worth it.

What do you hope to accomplish with your blog/shop in the future?

I don't have an end goal in mind. I have never thought that I would have more than a handful of readers, but I do.

As far as my shop, my goal is to lessen the financial strain that crafting can put on us. I am constantly surprised that people like what I do. It makes my day when I sell something and then I stress over it. I always wonder if it will ever be good enough.

Please list the links to 3 of your favorite posts on your blog.

My favorite posts are:

Ribbon Skirt Tutorial

Fabric Flower Tutorials

Stroller/Shopping Cart Cover

Please share some of your favorite blogs with us.

Some of my favorite blogs are:
Get Your Craft On
Fireflies and Jellybeans
and So You Think You're Crafty

Please share your top 3 favorite Etsy Shops.

My favorite etsy shops are:
Miss Pretty Pretty
Lil Blue Boo
and Taffy Jane

Thankyou Bobbie for letting me feature your lovely Etsy Shop and blog today. Don't forget to grab an "I was featured" button from the right sidebar!

If y'all haven't already, be sure to go take a look at A Vision to Remember!

Saturday Featured Blogger/Etsy Shop...anyone???

A few weeks ago, I started a Saturday Featured Blogger/Esty Shop. I am still interested in doing this feature on Saturdays if anyone is interested in some free "publicity".

Here are the previously featured bloggers... Redheads Craft More Fun and Thoughts of A Wife and Mommy.

 Please contact me via the little email button to the right if you are interested. I would love to feature you!

Saturday Featured Blogger... Red Heads Craft More Fun!

This is the second weekend of my new Saturday Featured Blogger post.  I would love to feature your blog or Etsy shop. If you are interested, please contact me by clicking my cute email button to the right under my profile.

If you missed it yesterday... don't forget to visit Friday Favorites this week. I have some great links! :)

Today's featured blogger is Courtney from Red Heads Craft More Fun!

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi! I am Courtney, the fun-loving redhead over at Red Heads Craft More Fun. I am a high school teacher by day and I love to craft in my free time. My husband and I bought our first home and I have been learning how to decorate it on a limited budget ever since.

Please give us a little insight to what your blog is about.

My blog is a way for me to chronicle all my decorating ideas as well as my trials and errors. I love finding inspiration from other things and tweaking it just enough to make it my style. As a teacher we have a saying to "teach like you are teaching your best friend." On my blog I offer tons of tutorials and I try to write them as if I were sitting there with my best friend going through each step. I add in all my dorky/silly comments to keep people (and myself) entertained.

What made you start blogging?

I started blogging for the fun of it! I have no idea why, but I certainly do have fun!

Who does your blog appeal to?

My blog appeals to people who like to craft or who have an appreciation for hand-made decorations.

What do you love about blogging?

I feel like ever since I started blogging, I am the new neighbor on the block who is welcomed with huge, open arms. The blogging world is so helpful and fun. I love that there are people out there who I might never actually meet in real life, but I feel like I've known them forever.

What do you hope to accomplish with your blog in the future?

I hope to have a blog where people feel like they are listening to a close friend talk about her experiences in "decorating" her life. Whether it is moving to a new house, changing careers or having children in the future, I hope to make the most with what I have and "craft" my life and blog into a positive experience for me and my wonderful readers.

Please list 3 of your favorite posts on your blog.

Jute Monogram (also featured here on L.J. and Co.!)

Decorated Dress Form

Glittering Holiday House in a Jar

Please share some of your favorite blogs with us.

Catching Fireflies Blog

Living With Lindsay
Mod Podge Rocks

 

Be sure y'all (that's a little bit of Texas in me) go visit Courtney and give her some comment love!

 

Thanks Courtney for being my Saturday Featured Blogger this week. It has been really fun getting to know you better. I love all of your projects! Make sure you grab an "I was featured" button from the left side bar!
 

Saturday Featured Blogger... Thoughts of a Wife and Mommy

This is a new feature I would like to do on Saturdays. I would love to feature your blog or Etsy shop. If you are interested, please contact me by clicking my cute new button to the right under my profile.

Today's featured blogger is Michelle at Thoughts of a Wife and Mommy! After you read about her, be sure and visit to enter her giveaways:

Pic Pocket Books: Kids Picture Books for the IPhone and the IPod Touch. (3/12)
U Printing Giveaway (3/3)

And follow her for her upcoming giveaways:

Charm Factory
Pawparazzi
Slimperfect

Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Michelle. I am 28 years old. I am married to Sascha. We have 2 children Hailey (6) and Tyler (3). I have an associates degree in applied science (Medical Assisting). I am from Ohio!

Please give us a little insight to what your blog is about.
My blog is about my life, my favorite band (Adelitas Way) since I do promotional stuff for them, and I do reviews and giveaways.

What made you start blogging?
I started blogging because my family wanted updates while I was pregnant with my son Tyler since I was not around.

Who does your blog appeal to?
Pretty much anyone. But I do focus on mothers and kids.

What do you love about blogging?
I love the fact I get to talk to new people. Letting people read my opinion and such. Sharing with others.

What do you hope to accomplish with your blog in the future?
I want to make my blog a place where people would want to come every day and read what I have to say.

Please list 3 of your favorite posts on your blog.

Monster Truck Nationals

Cooking with Kids

7 Years Later

Please share some of your favorite blogs with us.

Thanks Michelle for being my first featured blogger. Be sure to grab an "I was featured" button from the right side bar!