Inspired Life Designs

2010-06-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.momentrepreneur.savvymom/entry/2766489Holy cow! we have a lot going on around here :) I really have to start setting aside more time to blog, but the working at home and working out of the home schedule has been way to crazy lately and sleep has been my biggest priority.

1. We have three big things going on with Inspired Life Designs so far. We entered a Canadian contest for children's products, and we should find out soon if we get their seal of approval for our Sookie Wraps.

2. We have also entered the Savvymom Entrepreneur of the Year award, and we are now working hard to get votes to win the grand prize!! To vote for us go to www.momentrepreneur.savvymom.com/entry/2766489, and help us bring this home to make this dream of mine as big as it can be :)

3. And lastly we have a sales rep in Vancouver that will be taking our products around with her on the trade show circuit starting in August. We are so excited about the exposure this is going to bring, and what lies ahead.

We hope you all are having a great spring/summer so far.

Michelle

2010-02-18T15:21:00.001-08:00

Wow I feel so fortunate and very greatful for the amazing response we are getting from mom's across North America. So far we have travelled as far as Texas and Newfoundland and pretty much everywhere in between.

Recently I was contacted by Sarah a blogging mom and lover of etsy from Indiana. She purchased a Sookie Wrap for her son about a month ago and absolutley loves it and so does he. And the part that gave me a little tear is that her son only has one arm and is able to do it up all by himself. This story made me so happy as kids and moms aren't just loving these belts, but they are also making a difference in little ones lives as well. For me it just doesn' t get better than that.

So I have offered a giveaway on Sarah's fantastic blog about all of her favorite etsy finds http://onthesearchforhiddentreasure.blogspot.com/ . I am offering a $20 gift certificate and a 15% coupon for readers of her blog. Make sure you check out her blog and pass this information on to friends as well.

Cheers, Michelle

2010-02-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

My first bit of media is out today, YYYeeeeaaahhh I am so excited.!!!!

I was contacted about a month ago by Kelly who is a blogging mom that writes for a blog called www.simple-momreviews.com. She wanted to review one of my Sookie Wraps. This has been so much fun, and I can't wiait to see what comes out of it.

Today she posted the review and wow I am so excited. Go over and check it out,http://www.simple-momreviews.com/2010/02/so-cute-sookie-wraps-more.html. I am giving away a $25 gift certificate and have offered a coupon code for Simple readers. I have become a big fan of this site over the last month. They review a great amount of products with awesome feedback to help moms make great choices.

Cheeis, Michelle

2010-02-04T09:23:00.001-08:00

One of the things I love about etsy is trading. Sellers hook up with others sellers and trade their items, which is so much fun. I was contacted by Laura at http://lzdesign.etsy.com/ to trade a Sookie Wrap for one of her beautiful hats made out of organic cotton.

I recieved the hat this week and had to post a picture. It is so soft and Sol just loves it. Check out her site, she is a great seller!

2010-01-27T20:17:00.001-08:00

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted anything. But I am still here, I have just been sooooo busy working away filling orders and loading products into the shop. I have had great response from all of my sales so far which has been awesome, truly a dream come true. And I so appreciate everyones comments and support.

Solanna Wraps are now in the shop with more prints to come. I have added some new prints to the Sookie Wraps and a whole new design is on the way. I am just working at loading all of the info and photos, which wow, can take some time. Buckles our in as well and they are so much fun. Black and brown leather snap belts to go with them will be here next week and I will load them into the store then.

New products to come soon are Sookie Straps, our toy leashes so the precious "Sophie" can always be close by. And Sookie Savers pacifier clips, which will be in many of the same prints as our Sookie Wraps, but in a 3/8" width so they work with many different soother styles.

The messenger bags have been a hit, so I am also going to be ordering more colors for those which should be in, in a few weeks.

And I am really exstatic as I won a giveaway from one of my favorite Etsy sellers Ari at http://www.buttercuppity.etsy.com/ I have talked about Ari before, she has been a real inspiration to me with the start up of this business. And she has the most amazing fabric in her store which she sews into the most amazing creations. And yay, I won this one pictured below.

Well off to sew and maybe get to sleep tonight earlier than 1am. Goodnight everyone :)

2010-01-09T20:09:00.001-08:00

Well I have been working away burning the midnight oil to try and get all of the bugs worked out on my website and new items added. One day being able to pay a web designer to do all of it will be so great, but for now it is the do it yourself budget method.

I have all of the supplies now for my Solanna Wraps so tomorrow is sewing and photo shoot day and hopefully I will have them in my shop this week. And yaaayyy, thanks to my dad I now have merchandising cards for my Sookie Straps pacifier chains so those will be coming up soon. Also I am finishing my buckles that I will also have in the shop, and these are really too much fun!

I have added a new favorite product of mine. I broke my own rule as I do not sew these myself. Sewing brocade makes me want to pull my hair out, aaahhh. But the gypsy in me has a serious addiction to brocade fabric and I must have it. So I found these great messenger bags with an amazing price, and I wanted to share. Check them out they are lots of fun.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend and getting way more sleep than I am!

2010-01-02T11:42:00.000-08:00

Yeah, the sun came out today! Now to get us out of our pajama's and actually outsite for a walk.

I am totally addicted to etsy and spend so much time on there looking at all of the amazing creations, and working on my shop of course. If you haven't checked it out yet go for it http://www.etsy.com/, but look out it is soooo much fun.

I always love reading the featured seller article, and one day hope to be the featured seller. But I really loved today's, she is so funny and her products look amazing. I think I will have to order some once I am able to put the fire out on my Visa, lol.

http://www.etsy.com/featured_seller.php

Hope eveyone gets to enjoy some sunshine today :)

2009-12-28T20:06:00.000-08:00

Hey all, Christmas has passed and now I am back at the machine getting ready to add some new products and new patterns to the website.

As I mentioned in one of my last posts, my inspirations to start sewing all began with a little lady named Ari after I came across her blog and etsy shop. She creates the cutest bags with the funkiest fabric that I am totally crazy about. How I would love to have bolts and bolts of it. The best part is that right now she has a giveaway going on for one of her fabulous bags and a matching cheque book cover, yeah!! To enter go to http://buttercuppity.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-road-trip-and-new-giveaway.html

Well off to organize my studio as it looks like a serious storm hit it, but that was just me in a hurry to sew sew sew into the wee hours and not clean up after myself, lol.

Happy Holidays :)

2009-12-24T14:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to everyone, and a Healthy and Happy New Year.

The above photo is from the etsy storke blog. I don't know if I am crazy about a white tree, but I love the ornaments arranged in a rainbow of color and the paintings on the mantel. I love anything with a rainbow and bright vibrant color.

I am having a great time creating on a daily basis which was my goal, and getting to play, play, play with colors and ideas. Solanna wraps will be up on the site after Christmas and I have some very cool belt buckles in the works as well. Busy, busy, busy!

Off to eat some butter tarts and get ready for Santa!

2009-12-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

Well I am busy filling Christmas orders which is great. Thank you to everyone for all for your amazing support, it is very appreciated!!!!!

Sookie Wraps are now available in Chicken Little Childhood Outfitters, and Milla and Sol. These guys have great deals going on right now! Make sure to go check out all of their amazing finds for the little ones in your life, and appreciative parents too :)

Sales are happening through the etsy store as well which is so much fun. This weekend I have to get a world calendar so that I can mark where Sookie Wraps have travelled too. It will be really neat to look at that a year from now and see where we have gone to on the globe. So far I have sent belts to Vancouver, Port Alberni, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Virginia, Michigan, Maryland, and Texas.

If you have yet to check out etsy make sure you do www.etsy.com. It is the most amazing place to find anything handmade from all around the world. Look up www.buttercuppity.etsy.com. This amazing lady has two shops a fabric shop and a shop where she sells happy handbags, wallets, aprons, kids clothes, you name it. She is the inspiration that started my whole endeavor and her blog makes me laugh on a daily basis.

Well off to get everyone around here ready for the day, and take another parcel to the post office. Thank you to everyone again for helping to make my dream a reality. this is only the beginning so spread the word.

Michelle

2009-11-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Sookie Wraps are now in Chicken Little Childhood Outfitters and soon to be in Milla & Sol this week. Lookout here we come to hold up little one's pants everywhere :)

Lot of supplies coming, so more products will be listed soon. I am sewing like mad, and stalking my mailcarrier on a daily basis.

Happy Snow Day!

2009-11-23T14:13:00.000-08:00

Well I have decided I am as ready as I will ever be. With just a few more gliches to work out on my website it is up and going and "Sookie Wraps" are ready to order!

I am heading out this week to talk with interested retailers and we will see how that goes. Other products on the site will be coming soon, I am definately wanting them up for Christmas and my time is starting to crunch down.

I am also super excited about belt buckles that we are going to be adding, these are really cool!

I will be starting a facebook page also, as it is such an easy way to keep all of my customers informed. I never knew what an online business would require when I started all of this. I am feeling a bit like Drew Barrymore's character in "He's just not that into you", when you is having a hard time between her myspace page, facebook, her blog, her e-mail etc... It does get pretty involved, lol.

I hope everyone is having a great week I can't believe we are almost one month until Christmas!

2009-11-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

I came across this quote today that was posted on a blog that I love to follow origionalhardware.blogspot.com. One day I will buy loads and loads of her creations, I absolutley love her work.

After reading it, it really relates to what I have been working on these last six months. I have always wanted to be my own boss and to work with color and texture on a daily basis. As I am getting very close to launching my website and working at aquiring stores to carry my Sookie Wraps, it never has left me this whole journey that we really need to step forward to get to where we want to go. Otherwise we will just stay in safety, never knowing what we could have attained or accomplished. And dreams then are only places that we visit in our sleep.

And though many times after I have been up way too many nights until 2am, I have asked myself why am I doing this. And then doubt sets in with being able to do it at all. I look at my children and know that I am also teaching them to dream big and to have the courage to always go for it. So today I encourage everyone to step forward, you never know where it will take you. It might just take you to a place where dreams do come true!

2009-10-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

Well it is into the wee hours of the morning and I am submitting my first post after working tirelessly on my website. I think I will be contacting my graphic designer for help. I am hoping to have my website and etsy shop up and running by the end of the month, but we will see.

I think my biggest problem so far is narrowing down what I am doing, as I am inspired by everything that I see. So I am starting with my line of Childrens belts "Sookie Wraps", inspired by my petite 3yr olds pants that won't stay up. However I have many, many belts made, and many, many picutures to upload, uuggghh! I am putting it out to the univerese that tomorrow is a better day with progress of the website and etsy shop and I am now heading to bed.

For my mom who is my only reader at this point, here is a picture of one of the many belts. Thanks for your support!