Greg and I have been pushing forward with our little Brown Swan shop and let me tell you… it is time consuming! Between that, work, vacation approaching and school starting back up – I can only do so much. So, I had to cut back in some areas (hence, my none blogging for a week!)

What I am realllly excited about is the fact that our little business is already getting a lot of attention! We have made a couple of sales on Etsy, had some special orders and now… *drumroll* …we will even be in a little shop! Can you believe it?! In addition to the shop news, we may also be a rather large event in September but until I have the 100% “Yes, it’s happening”, I am going to keep that hush… I just rather not eat my words if it falls thru!!

Last night we finally got our flowers in the shop and O.M.Goodness! I wanted to keep every single one of them! I have to thank my BFF for the inspiration and idea behind the cotton fabric flowers. Aren’t they so stinkin’ cute!?

I am going to start adding many more of the polyester vintage style fabric flowers, too. For now we only have 1 on the site but I have a ton more ready to go!

What do you ladies think? Do you like the headbands, clips or pins best? I am curious as to what everyone else wears because I wear everything! I am thinking I need more headbands, though!

There is so much more to share like my visit from my BFF  last weekend and our trip to the *ech* Mutter Museum *ech*! I am praying I get some down time this weekend so I can relax a bit and catch up! I hope you all are doing fabulously on this beautiful Thursday!!!! <3

The post We Have Flowers! appeared first on JustSomeJane.

Congrats to Cindy L. for being our May Day Giveaway Winner!!!

I just know Cindy is going to have lots of fun shopping with her $50 Dornick Designs Gift Certificate! Don’t worry, Cindy – shipping is on me! Oh… and I hear Kathy is adding a lil’ sumthin sumthin to your package!! Enjoy!!!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our May Day Giveaway. To the new folks, I hope you stick around and get to know JustSomeJane. To those who have been following all along, thank you so much for your continued friendship & support!!

You guys are beautiful!! <3
Happy Wednesday!

The post May Day Giveaway… And The Winner Is… appeared first on JustSomeJane.

On Saturday Greg and I did something new! We took a day trip out to Lancaster and we went glass blowing!For Christmas he had gotten me two passes for a demo class where I could try it out myself. Let me tell you… It was so much fun!!

We had the options of making an ornament, flower, paper weight or a dish. We both made flowers. I nearly made a dish but then I saw I would have to put my mouth on something that other people were also putting their mouths on… yeah, no thanks!!!The flowers were the way to go!

I was surprised at how well Greg did. He was awesome for his first time! Me on the other hand… well, it was heavy and I was nervous but it was still so much fun!I think it went pretty well considering. Of course, I will have a better idea of how well i did when I pick up the finished product (it had to bake for 10 hours in a kiln). We get to pick up our flowers in a couple of weeks. It is sorta far, so we decided we will make a day trip out of it.

Oh, and we took tons of pictures!! (of course!)

The studio we were in was so cool and the guys running it were fun and incredibly talented. The atmosphere was laid back and relaxed! There were about 20 people in the class and we all just took our turns at our projects. I am definitely thinking about going back!

Have you ever been glass blowing? What about pottery making? I would love to try that, too. Maybe, I will also take a painting class…. always looking for something fun to do!

Happy Tuesday everyone!! I hope your day is beautiful!

The post We Went Glass Blowing! appeared first on JustSomeJane.

I feel like I have been waiting to do this post forever… If you haven’t figured it out already, I am always getting into something. Some new project, some new class, some new venture… I just can’t sit still!

Greg and I have learned that we like love to create things. He is great at sewing and I am best left to anything but sew!! I did, however, attempt to make a bow tie for him once. It turned out OK. It wasn’t so bad and was certainly usable. When Greg attempted to make a bow tie – well, it turned out really darn good! He got loads of compliments and comments! Next thing you know, we have an abundance of fabric and we are spending our date nights zipping through bow ties… some for Greg, some for his brother, others as gifts…

Matching Adult & Child size bow ties

While Greg was busy making his bow ties, I started working on other projects. I started making fabric flower pins, hair accessories… and even tutus for for my god daughter! We would sit together at the dining table with a glass of wine and chat while crafting, pausing to inspect each other’s work and pay it a well earned compliment… best date nights ever!

Well, we decided to take things to another level – just to see what we can do. Last night we opened our Etsy shop and listed 6 items. We even launched a website: BrownSwan.com named for our clumsy but lovable, non-graceful weimar, Rain.

Right now we are just getting started. 6 bow ties are up… We plan to add many, many more. We also plan to start adding in our fabric flowers (pins, barrets, shoe clips, bouquets, etc)  and tutus!

I am super excited about this, not because we plan on making a ton of money… because we love to create and share!

Please check out the site and shop – let me know what you think! Maybe there is something you are looking for and we can help make it for you? And for any of you shop owners out there… Any advice? Food for thought? Do’s and Don’ts? I am all ears!!

BrownSwan.com
Etsy Shop
Facebook

I hope everyone is having an awesome and beautiful Wednesday!!!

The post Brown Swan Has Arrived! appeared first on JustSomeJane.

With the weather getting warmer and May Day fast approaching… and my appreciation for you guys, of course… I thought it was time for a little giveaway and what better than to give you a chance to pick something up from one of my favorite jewelry designers and artists!Woo~Hoo!

Seriously, I have oooo’d and ahhhh’d over Dornick Designs since my very first ever Etsy purchase back in 2008. I even wrote a review post last year on Dornick Designs in true fangirl fashion. What can I say? I love pretty things. I am proud to say that I have even turned some of my friends into Dornick Designs lovers, too! They know a good thing when they see it. Why else would they be friends with me? hehe!! ;)

I didn’t just want to just give you guys something awesome… I wanted to really introduce you to Dornick Designs. There is something very special about what Kathy creates and I absolutely admire her story on how Dornick Designs got started. She took a hobby that brought her happiness and has turned it into something much bigger. She did not begin with a whole lot of knowledge or a lot of money…

…in 1990, I had to have an operation that had me unable to lift anything over 10 lbs. or drive for six whole weeks. I was going crazy! After 2 weeks, my mom drove me to the local craft store and I was intending to purchase a few cross-stitch kits, or something that I could make while recovering from my surgery. Lucky for me, the store had just started carrying imported beads and real stones [up until then, all you could find was plastic stuff in bags at TG&Y...and this was way before the internet!] My mouth started watering and my heart started pounding…I thought I had died and gone to heaven at that very second…I think I even pinched myself. All I had was $25 to spend and my mom gave me $20 more, just because she could feel my excitement. The girl in the shop taught me how to make an earring and that was the only “bead lesson” I’ve ever had in my entire life. So, with my $45 worth of beads, I started making jewelry. I was just making things and giving things away…not really thinking about “selling” anything at that point. But, those beads were my new obsession…every extra dime I had was spent on a bead, or two. 

About a year after I started making jewelry, the craft store had a contest. There were 5 categories and you could enter something in each one. The winner of each category would receive a $100 gift certificate to the store. I entered a design into each category and waited for the winners to be announced. Days went by and I had heard nothing, so I finally called the store to see if I could pick up my entries. The woman on the phone said “well, we want the winners to leave their designs here for the remainder of the month”. I said “oh, I won one of the entries” and she said “Kathy, you won all of the entries..we were going to call you today”. At that exact moment my life turned around. Here I was with $500 to spend on beads! …

~excerpt from Kathy Hardy’s bio Never Bored

So, here we go… You know the drill!! Enter via Rafflecopter!
Tweet Daily for more extra entries and GOOD LUCK to you all!!!!

Our lucky winner will be announced May 1st!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

p.s.  Be sure to stop by and say hi to Kathy & take a peek at all the beautiful things she creates!
Web: Kathy Hardy’s Homemade Life
Etsy: Dornick Designs
Facebook: Dornick Designs

The post May Day Celebration & Giveaway with Dornick Designs! appeared first on JustSomeJane.

Thank you for keeping my friends safe!

<3

The post Cheers To Boston’s Finest!!! appeared first on JustSomeJane.

In case you are new, the What I Love Thursday post is inspired by the fierce and beautiful Gala Darling.

I have so much that I love right now… Work is going great, my church family is amazing, my bff is coming to see me in 2 weeks and in just a month I will be visiting my Nanny in sunny FL!! What else is there?? LOTS!

Today I Love…

.. reading about the heros that triumph in the headlines coming out of tragic events (there are some bad people but there are many more great people) .. going to R.C.I.A. (so much that I am hoping I can sponsor next year!) .. making faces at oncoming traffic .. seeing the flowers on my magnolia tree .. crafting with Greg .. knowing that one month from now, I will be in sunny Florida! .. my new skyline blue & tudor city teal matte manicure (no salon necessary!) .. spending time with my family at my father’s birthday party .. staying in my pajamas on cold, rainy days .. shopping online .. taking goofy pictures with Greg .. singing out loud .. ending my sentences in song, followed by a “Yeaaah” (oh, yes I do!) .. my deep steep foot stick (my footsies are super soft because of it!) .. my fur babies (unconditional love for the win!) ..

oh… and now I have the sudden need to love on these guys… thanks to my bff sending me oodles of cuteness on this rainy Thursday <3

valais blacknose sheep – courtesy of Tumblr

What has you smiling today? I would love to hear what makes your list for Things YOU Love Thursday!!

The post Things I Love Thursday 4/18 appeared first on JustSomeJane.

image courtesy: GreenGrabBag.com

If there is one thing that I love, it’s getting packages in the mail. Thus, I have become a beauty box junkie. I can’t help myself… I love to sample new things and receiving a little sumthin’ sumthin’ in the mail each month gives me the happies.

Sadly, I have been disappointed with some of the boxes that are out there – Birchbox was lacking, Beauty Army didn’t give me much of a selection… I wanted to try something new, so I started to shop around a bit.

I came across Green Grab Bag by White Apricot and it looked pretty promising. The products were described as vegan, all natural and eco friendly. The pictures of the monthly boxes looked like they had some decent sized product to try (no itty bitty foil packs). And the price was right! $15 a month… so, I signed up!

I just got my first box yesterday and… well… I am very impressed! There was a lot of product and some seriously nice sample sizes!

I went through each of the items and I am so excited to try each one! They all smell so darn good – especially the Hair Beach Waves. I am also looking forward to using the Grape Seed Oil. Have you guys ever tried Grape Seed Oil? What do you think of it?

Anyway, as you can see… there is a lot to this little box and I think it is definitely worth the price. I’ll be keeping this beauty subscription!

I am also signed up with Eco-Emi (first box comes this month) and Ipsy (which, I may cancel soon). I am excited to try Eco Emi – Actually, I really am starting to lean towards more eco friendly and natural products and what better way to get exposed to these natural beauty products than by signing up for a subscription service, right?

I’d love to hear from you guys. Do you receive a beauty sample subscription? What is your favorite? What would you like to try?

If you would like more info on Green Grab Bag, follow the links!

GreenGrabBag.com

Green Grab Bag on Facebook

The post Review! Green Grab Bag by White Apricot appeared first on JustSomeJane.

Other than those couple of complaints, I have lots of awesome things happening here… Greg and I are full swing working on a project that I am hoping to announce soon. Think bow ties, fabric flowers and other fun things! It’s been pretty exciting putting this together and I can’t wait to share with you!Plus we are getting ready for a mini vacation in May to visit some of my Florida family… I definitely can’t wait for that! And this past weekend we got to celebrate my father’s 60th birthday!!

Projects…!!!

Work has been crazy busy – plus I went from working from home to working at my office 2x a week! Holy projects Batman aaaaand now I have to find a cute outfit to wear vs. hanging in my jammies during the day!? Who ever said life was easy? (I kid, I kid!)

Honestly, I have a love hate thing with working from the office again… I love seeing everyone but I hate getting up earlier!! I am soooo not a morning person but it is really nice to interact with people during the day. I mean…my dogs don’t really make great conversationalists.

See, lots of great things happening and I have been keeping busy, busy!!!

Tonight, I received an email from Conscious Box and they want to give you guys a chance to try out Conscious Box for the cost of shipping! How much is that? $7.95 The normal cost for a Conscious Box is $19.95, so this is a pretty good deal if you want to try something new but don’t want to invest too much up front. If you guys want to take advantage of this promotion, just use the promotional code SECRETCODE during the checkout on any “Monthly” subscription at ConsciousBox.com

If you aren’t sure if Conscious Box is for you, take a peek at my review from a couple weeks ago. The boxes come pretty well packed! If you want to get past my chatter and straight to the box, just skip to the the 4 min mark ;)

Anyway… I hope you guys are doing beautifully and are having a fabulous week!! Ooooh and tell me your thoughts on working from home. Do you currently? Would you want to? I am super curious to know!!

p.s. I know I have been silent in regards of the tragic events that happened in Boston. I have been rendered speechless (again).  My heart breaks for those who have been affected by the senseless acts of some evil person(s). I keep everyone in my prayers and just hope that they can find some sort of peace and comfort.

The post A Busy Me and Conscious Box Promotional Code appeared first on JustSomeJane.

As you can see, however, there will be no posing going here… This was a strictly fun morning full on with a game of sock tug o’war!

Bettie Lou and I hope you all have a beautiful Saturday!!!!

The post Saturday Morning Snapshots – Bettie Lou the Borio appeared first on JustSomeJane.