DIYing and also DIEing - pom pom garland

I have my "big" craft show this weekend. It's at my church. Our church is big, and the festival is a pretty big deal.

This entire summer kind of feels like it's been leading up to this weekend. Let me remind you that I didn't know how to sew until June. And since then, it has been non stop every day. I do it because I love it, but it would also be nice to get some extra money in my pocket. I mean I really do love sewing, but like anything else, making the same thing over and over (ie burp cloths) gets tiring and tedious. And tired can't even begin to describe the level of exhaustion I am. 

Anyway, one thing that's awesome about making stuff all the time is that you get to a point that you just "have" supplies. Seeing an awesome DIY on pinterest doesn't seem out of reach when you already have all the supplies sitting on your table. On the flip side, I don't really think it's worth it to do a lot of DIY projects unless you plan to do more stuff in the future. Craft supplies are a huge rip off, and if you starting from square one, you are going to get up spending more than you thought you would have to. Like even if you just need to buy thread and needles, you'll be spending close to $10. 

So my random DIY tonight was fiesta garland to potentially decorate my craft show booth. I see a lot of cool pom pom accents all over pinterest, and I suggest you look around, because they are all super easy to recreate. 

I have always loved this for inspiration...

So today I picked up a multi pack of pom poms at Hobby Lobby and created some pom pom garland.

Eleanor deeply mistrusted my vision and would not comply, so this is the best shot I could get...

If you want to call this a "tutorial," fine. I guess. Buy some pom poms and thread them...

 

Is your mind blown?

Love,

Lauren

STROLLI COOL giveaway time!

This is how I feel about the royal baby....

I mean... I literally cried this morning when I was watching the news that Kate was in labor. The same way I cried when I saw her crawl into that black car at 6am. Anyway, the excitement has me feeling generous, so I wanted to do a giveaway for a STROLLI COOL of your choice!

All yous peoples got to do is LIKE Turquoise & Gold on Facebook, and share the "share it to win it" post. Simple as that! Contest will end Wednesday night, winner will be picked at random, and results will be announced Thursday! I am excited to give one of these to y'all, and I look forward to you spreading the word to your mom friends :)

Love,

Lauren

Ummmmm I love y'all!

I need to basically dedicate this post to everyone who has ordered, shared, or promoted my strolli cool! Going into the launch, I really had no idea what kind of response there would be. Would I sell out the first day? Would no one order anything? There was no way to tell. 

The morning of the launch, my husband so eloquently said he didn't want me to be heartbroken if it didn't go so well. Mostly, I just got mad at him for saying that because I am a very reasonable person, and knew there was a chance that the whole thing could bomb. Plus, HELLO, I have a degree in retail merchandising so I know how all this stuff works. 

BUT... Yall DID buy some! And the orders keep coming at a nice and steady pace! Regardless of the extra income, it's very rewarding to have all the time (and money) I spent in production and packaging pay off. For those of you that have ordered one, I hope you are delighted by the comically large manual I included in the packaging. In my mind, they were going to be a lot smaller... but these look like they have been sized for the visually impaired. 

A lot of people seem unsure about the sizing. There is a FULL SIZE strolli cool and an INFANT SIZE. To be clear, the FULL SIZE is made for any/all regular strollers where your child is sitting upright in the seat...

(can you say PHOTOGRAPHYYYYYY!? Nothing says professional like taking iphone pics in my front yard.)

The INFANT SIZE is only to use in a car seat stroller... 

For those of you without kids, a car seat stroller is a stroller that holds the car seat. Before babies can sit up, it's not safe to have them in regular stroller seats. So a lot of stroller companies offer a "car seat adapter" that allows you snap the car seat into the stroller. NEVER EVER EVER USE THE STROLLI COOL IN A CAR SEAT WHILE INSIDE A MOTOR VEHICLE...

I hope that makes sense to everyone, and if you have any other questions, PLEASE just comment or send a message! Here is a good pic of packaging...

Oh yeah, that's a label! Because this is a children's product, I wanted to really cover my bases with safety, so the label serves as a good branding item as well as a warning label on the back side. Basically it says... don't be dumb and let your kids or pets eat the strolli cool. The inside part is safe and non-toxic... but I'm sure if you ate it that you would probably get diarrhea or something fun like that. But I basically get diarrhea every time I go to Target or Lowe's, so it's not a huge concern of mine. 

Also... I made four dog collar accessories last night. The problem with sewing is that it is a really good version of instant gratification. Which means, it becomes slightly addictive. So like last night, I should have just gone to bed at 9:45, but instead I was sweat shop-ing it upstairs until 11:30...

What do we think of the bow? It attaches onto the collar, and I basically love it. It kind of makes Eleanor look like a circus dog. Abbey's black and white peter pan collar freaking kills me, but it needs a lot of work in terms of construction. Down the road, when it's not hot, and people don't need cooling pads, I think I am going to branch out and do stuff like this. Nothing big or that inspiring, just little fun stuff for dogs and kids. Oh, and headbands for moms, too. 

Thanks again to everyone who has placed an order, and if you would like to visit my store, you can always go to http://www.etsy.com/shop/TurqAndGold . 

Love,

Lauren 

Introducing... THE STROLLI COOL!

The STROLLI COOL is a stroller cooling pad that works with water absorbing crystals to keep your babies cool and happy on hot days. Henry and I work out at the park every single day in Houston, so I originally made one for him just because I was desperate to fix how miserable and sweaty he was in the stroller. The idea was really well received by other moms, and then people asked to buy them, and then, today, I started selling them on Etsy. 

Some of the goods...

How it works...

I promise that I only decided to make these because they really do work. The first time I used it, Henry slept the entire time during Baby Boot Camp. So for any mom that spends a lot of time outdoors during the summer, you will love this. There is also an infant size that you can use for strollers with a car seat adapter. Just keep in mind that the STROLLI COOL should NEVER be used in a car seat while inside a motor vehicle. Common sense, yall. 

Go check out my store, and let me know what you think! If you are someone that I know personally and see often, message me about free shipping and I will just give it to you in person.

Some things that would make me super happy...

1. Like Turquoise & Gold on Facebook

2. Pin your favorite STROLLI COOL to Pinterest

3. Spread the word to your friends

4. Buy one for yourself or as a gift

5. Hint to your mother-in-law that you'd like her to buy you one

I have a lot of people to thank for helping this to all come together. To all my mom friends for their feedback and encouragement. To my dad for buying me a sewing machine. To my husband for being cool with me ignoring him the last couple of weeks. To my mom for supervising Henry when I am sewing. To my sister-in-law for the idea. To my mother-in-law for helping me make my first one. And to the LA City Bus Driver... for taking a chance... on an unknown kid. (If you appreciate that quote, consider us best friends).

Love,

Lauren

Where do I begin?

Life has gotten kind of out of control lately. In a good way, but in a blog-neglecting way as well.

Henry is 9 months old today, and tomorrow is my final weigh in. I honestly think I am going to be ONE pound off. ONE. It really is fine, because I could easily get rid of one pound in an extra week... but to have lost 29 lbs instead of 30 is kind of dumb. I will let you know tomorrow! Here is a picture taken this weekend that I feel reflects some weight loss...

We are adding a big patio onto the back of our house and the workers started today. With a napping baby and two nutty dogs, it's a lot of tension.

We went to my parents' lake house all last week in Marble Falls. It was a really great place to be for the 4th of July. We entered the parade, and Henry got his first swing. I guess the judges couldn't fully appreciate my vision, because we didn't win...

Henry is crawling now which means I literally can't do anything while he is awake. We still haven't baby proofed the house or bought baby gates, so I have to watch him every second...

BUT ALL OF THAT IS SMALL POTATOES! I am in the process of starting a business. I already have an etsy store where I sell invitations and digital art. That part of the store has remained pretty small because I have been booked up doing custom work for friends. Which is so much fun, by the way, and if you are ever interested in a custom invitation, I would be happy to work with you! Also, if you see something somewhere else that you like, I can re-create most stuff as well. 

So what is this business, you ask? Remember the stroller cooling pad I made for Henry a couple weeks ago? Well, it has been a huge hit with other moms, and I quickly realized that I had something special on my hands. I am looking to launch everything on Thursday. It has been a lot of hard work. I got in the water ONCE while being at the lake for a week because I was sewing my life away. Here is a small sneak peek!

I will let you guys know when everything goes live this week! Stay tuned and thanks for checking in!

Love,

Lauren