:o*************** (that's a sigh of reief!!!)

Wow, we can totally breathe now!  I can't even begin to tell you how awesome Oglebayfest was.  We were so nervous going into it because we had no idea what to expect.  Sometimes the things that we love the most are the ones that sit in our inventory forever! But we could not be more pleased.  The overwhelming acceptance from the crowd, the pouring out of support from all of our friends, and the new followers of our fun little creations!
First of all, we have to send a HUGE thank you to Phil Maxwell for sponsoring our booth as "Up and Coming Artists".  That took a huge strain off of us and made our decision to participate an easy one! Also, to Rick Morgan for all of his help, words of wisdom and amazing dress-selling!
Then, of course, our families....I have NO idea how we could have done any of this without all of you.....my poor dad bending coat hangers for the hat display, my mom cutting out all of those circles, Aunt Christine's ideas and supplies, Carter's patience and my loving husband putting up with all of our late night crafting sessions and my constant sewing...you all are AMAZING.  We thank you very, very, very much.
We are not sure what our next step is going to be.  Sarah doesn't even want to think about crafting at this point in time.  Me, however, I have already started making a list of new ideas for next year.  We would really like any suggestions (especially for boys!) that you might have.  I want to contribute to this blog often so that we can build a better business.  We didn't get off to that great of a start.  There were a couple of contests that didn't go over so well....Thank you to Crystal Waters for her winning idea (I will be shipping your "winnings" out to you soon) and to the others that commented on our blog as well as all of the texts that I received. That being said....we look forward to staying in touch with all of you.  Please keep your suggestions coming and we will do our best to post some pics of our progress.
Here a just a few pics from Oglebayfest, in case you missed us up there!

Update

A couple of things...

First: Apparently nobody but Deanna wants to win something for free!!  You only have a couple of days to submit your ideas for us to display at Oglebayfest!!  We are wrapping up our inventory ideas, so suggest away!

Second: Sarah and I will be pulling the remaining inventory from Bullfrogs & Butterflies so that we can offer at least a few spring options at Oglebayfest.  We just went shopping and purchased some of the most beautiful fall flowers and materials.  We are so excited to begin this process (although we wish that we had more than 2 months to prepare!)

Finally: We decided to make a new logo, which we LOVE! The other one was just kind of temporary so that we could get this internet stuff going.  So after deciding on a super cute logo, we also decided to make shirts for ourselves to wear during the festival and if we participate in any other craft shows.  When I showed the shirt to my mom, she wanted to buy one to wear while walking around up there as support for our small business.  I decided that we should ask all of you if you would please purchase a shirt to wear (especially if you come to Oglebayfest) in support.  You can order a men's sized t-shirt for $11.  I only have a few days to get them ordered, so if you are interested in supporting us, please get a hold of me and let me know the size that you need!

Thank you to all who have helped us get this far and to those of you that are going to have to put up with the next two months while we prepare!!!

Contest Update!!!

As many of you know, we should be finding out any time now if we have made it into Oglebayfest this year. We are on the lookout for some new ideas of awesome things to create.  So, since our first contest obviously wasn't a hit we are changing it up a bit....
Head over to our facebook page and leave us a comment of something that you would like to see us create.  At the end of July we will pick a winner and they will receive the item that they submitted!!!
*Please make sure that it is relevant to what we do (babies, children, mothers)*
GOOD LUCK and we cannot wait to see what you come up with!

Fingers Crossed!

Sarah and I are getting ready to submit our application to participate in Oglebayfest! Yikes! We apply now, but will not hear anything until the first of July, which doesn't leave us much time to create an inventory large enough for a festival like that. But, I am going to get busy now starting on some projects that have been running through my mind for months....blankets, aprons, bibs and skirts are just a few things brewing up there. So keep your fingers crossed for us and I will post pictures as soon I get started....oh, and will Donnie be mad at me if take on ANOTHER craft??? Did someone say something about metalworking???
PS-On a fun note....should we not make it into Oglebayfest this year, there's always next year and the fun stuff we will have made by then will be up for grabs!

There's Always a Hitch!

So, those of you that know us, know that nothing ever goes off without a hitch (as if it's only US that happens to!).  We were so excited to start the contest and get our first few likes on Facebook, until I figured out there was something wrong! Since we are both new to blogging and I am sure it will take us awhile to figure everything out and you will just have to hang in there with us....anyway, I know that those of you that I have directed to the blog are not going to comment and tell me that I sent you because I'm not eligible for the contest so I understand there not being any comments yet. But it was brought to my attention that to leave a comment you have to sign in using either a Google account or your AIM information (do people still instant message???) and that might be scaring people off.  So we are going to modify the contest a little.  We are still looking for you to send 10 friends to "like" our Facebook page and check out our blog, but instead of commenting on the blog, just leave us a message on Facebook letting us know who sent you.  We will eventually figure this out and we appreciate your patience!  So again, good luck!!!

Finally the time has come!

FINALLY, THE TIME HAS COME TO START THE FUN!!!

As of today, we are launching our brand new Facebook page and starting off our new adventure with a contest!!  The first person to get 10 people to "like" our Facebook page and post a comment on our blog will receive a free hat or headband of their choosing from anything in stock!!!!

If you found us through a friend, don't think that you are out of the running just yet...start working on your 10 friends!!! Just make sure to remind them to post a comment letting us know who sent them! All that being said...please don't stop at 10.....I know all of you out there know more than 10 people...we just wanted to make it easy on you guys! So, have at it.  As soon as there is a winner, we will post it on here!! And should you need anything in the meantime, just email us!!! CoreyAPickens@aol.com
 
Ok...so here's the deal. We really wanted to wait to start everything off until Karah could take pictures of all of the hats and headbands....but since she is in high demand right now (so if anyone is in need of pictures, you had better call and make yourself an appointment now!!!) I decided to take some pictures of everything at the local craft show we participated in today.  So I am apologizing right now for the quality of these images!!! Here is a sampling of our current stock...just remember, it changes daily because when we are not at local craft shows we feature our items at Bullfrogs & Butterflies in Elm Grove. GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

It's Almost Time!

Just a quick thank you to everyone who came out to support Sarah and me at the first annual CASA sponsored Mommy & Me Expo at Wheeling Park's Ice Skating Rink this past weekend. If you did not know about the expo....don't worry, you weren't alone.  I really think that they could have advertised better...oh well, it was the first one and there is only one way to go from there....up!

So, my good friend Karah Sambuco is in the process of taking pictures of all of our fun things.  She is the owner of Foster Fotography and Illustrate Sexy (for women....you must check this out!) and is an amazing photographer.  She recently dropped off the first round of pictures that she has taken of the pinafores and pillowcase dresses....amazing work! Here is a preview of the dresses, for those of you who did not get a chance to see them this weekend.......



 Hope you like them! There is more to come....check back later this week and hopefully we will have some pics of our headbands and hats up with information for ordering and our very first contest underway!! Have a great day!!!