The best things in life are about the details, doncha think?
Like the caramel I get added to my coffee and the elastic in my maternity pants that I’m still (happily) wearing. Maybe that’s because I keep getting caramel in my coffee, but that’s neither here nor there.

Today I am delighted to giveaway two different gift certificates to one lucky winner! These 2 shop owners have so much in common, they were a natural fit! They are both super talented and creative women, detail- oriented and both love to sew.

As you most likely know, I opened a monogramming shop in May (and will be taking orders again starting tomorrow!) and quickly learned that attention to detail is what makes the store successful. These 2 sewing friends I’m highlighting today are wonderful examples of that!

I have a dear friend, Jenni, who lived in Huntsville her whole life and then up and moved (without even ASKING us!) to Kansas City a few months ago. Something about her husband’s job, but I’m still not quite over it.

Jenni runs a FANTASTIC designer fabric boutique online called It’s Sew Sweet. She features Michael Miller and Moda fabrics (my favorites) along with MANY others. The vast majority of my fabrics come from her shop and I email her with any and all designer fabric questions. (I’m sure she loves that.)

Here’s an example of how this happens. I pick many of her beautiful fabrics to purchase like this one:
 

Then I put it into a customized shirt, bag or anything that needs applique (these 3 shirts were made for triplets and each had different meaning)

See that middle shirt for Kate? I used the above fabric! Fun, huh? Actually every fabric in all 3 of these shirts was from It’s Sew Sweet. Jenni just has adorable fabric for any of your projects- even if you don’t think you’re crafty, they will inspire you!

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Gussy has THE. MOST. ADORABLE. ruffled accessories in the world. She is THE ruffle girl and I’m so happy she’s a friend. Gussy’s real name is Maggie, but I think everybody just calls her Gussy, so let’s go with that. She has a fantastic blog and an awesome site with all her original creations.  

Each ruffle she makes is machine sewn free-hand style, making each ruffle unique. Here’s a snippet of her story: “Almost 2 years ago I sat down at my kitchen table — I wanted to learn how to sew. And here I am now, offering zipped pouches of all sizes, laptop bags, tote/diaper bags, headbands, and wristlet/clutches (all with my signature ruffle) to those that love a little flair And, I’ve recently quit my day job to pursue Gussy full-time.”

Here are some of my favorite Gussy items:

The laptop bag:

The wristlet:
 

And an adorable selection of makeup bags:
 

What’s not to love?

On to the fun part!

Today’s giveaway features a $40 gift certificate to It’s Sew Sweet and a $30 gift certificate to Gussy Sews{The Shop}.

You have 4 different chances to win today! (And don’t be shy about entering 4 times. If someone offered you 4 free lottery tickets you wouldn’t just take one, would you? Have fun with it and make some new friends at these new sites!)

1) Visit Jenni’s store- It’s Sew Sweet- and leave a comment telling your favorite fabric or project you’d love to complete.

2) Sign up for the It’s Sew Sweet Newsletter (top right of her webpage) and leave a comment saying that you did.

3) Visit Gussy’s site and let me know your favorite Gussy item in the comment section.

4) Become a fan of Gussy Sews of Facebook and leave a comment letting me know you did.

* The comment area requires an extra click. See the 3 tiny pictures below- underneath that where it says X comments in orange? CLICK THERE- NOT on facebook or anywhere else. If you are subscribing via email or a reader, you will need to come over to the actual site. You will leave your name, email address- it WON’T be published- and website if you have one. Then leave your comment in the big blank box.

Each comment is a separate entry.

You have 4 chances to win this awesome giveaway!

I’ll have random.org choose one winner Friday of this week. Have fun!

If you have been reading this blog for over a week, you might know that I love Melissa Tash Studios. Melissa has taken pictures of all our children, has given me tons of advice and does our Christmas card and family pictures every year. 

She makes us look good when someone (*ahem* possibly me) has something in their teeth, a child has spit up/ random stains on their outfit, torn her backdrop or has screamed for 30 minutes (or maybe that was me with the screaming?).

Seriously, I have so many links of pictures she has taken for our family, it’s kind of ridiculous. Just scroll down to the post below this if you  think I’m exaggerating. 

The main reason I love Melissa Tash Studios is because I love Melissa. She is a wonderful friend who showed up at the hospital to take pictures of my newborn when my camera died. She is also an awesome mom, wife and for some Melissa trivia- Army veteran. (For more trivia- she’s with her family here sitting in front of her first car!)

She is an amazing person who is fantastic at what she does. Those are my favorite kind of people to be around any time- especially my birthday week!

Besides being a good friend, Melissa is an award winning, professional photographer. She started out skipping classes in high school to go to the dark room, then became a mom with a camera (like many of us) and then made the leap to professional photography.  For the past 7 years, Melissa and her husband Jamie have run a wonderful studio in Huntsville, Alabama and also have a fabulous school portrait company- Spoiled Rotten Photography- and have developed that as a franchise opportunity.

You see pictures of my kiddos all the time, but Melissa actually takes pictures of other families, too!

I love this newborn picture

or this one that’s a favorite of mine- what with the hat and the dandelions- oh my- adorable! (And I should mention I know this gal and she a doll with or without all the cute accessories.)

Melissa photographs senior pictures (love this beautiful girl, too)

Christmas cards (see our 2009 card above), and amazing family shots for any occasion.

To kick off my birthday week of giveaways, Melissa is offering a $200 Gift Certificate to Melissa Tash Studios! Isn’t that exciting?!

Here’s how to enter for your chance to win:

1) Leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite family picture is. (The comment area requires an extra click. See the 3 tiny pictures below- underneath that where it says X comments in orange? CLICK THERE- NOT on facebook or anywhere else. You will leave your name, email address- it WON’T be published- and website if you have one. Then leave your comment in the big blank box.)

2) Go to the Melissa Tash Studios Facebook Page and become a fan. Then come back to leave a second comment to say “I became a fan/ already am a fan of Melissa on Facebook” or something creative like that.

That’s all you have to do! Each comment is a separate entry. Two chances to win this fantastic giveaway!

I’ll have random.org choose one winner Friday of this week.

Have fun! I can’t wait to hear about your favorite family pictures!