Thursday, October 27

Ruffleeeee Goodness....

So you know I have this thing for ruffles....I {LOVE} em'!
What a better place than Pinterest to find sooooo many ideas, inspiration, tutorials, etc. 
 (You can follow my Ruffleeeeee Goodness board { here } )

Ruffles can be added to anything to create any style!  

Let's start with a few of my absolute Fav's!

...from the talented French Country Cottage
This lovely tablecloth is made from a bedskirt!!  Uh, yeah...can I just say brilliant!

....from Ruffled Blog

Definitely want to sink my teeth into a slice (make it a large one) of this glorious and delicate cake!


Will be making this for my Christmas tree...yep, yep!  Might be a little time consuming but, hey, it's better than paying a large price for plus YOU will have made it!!!


...from the A Slip Shop

What could be better than eyelet and ruffles?  

Use this tutorial to create the ruffled bag of your dreams!  
Touch of chevron (zig zag)..yes, please!

...from the Dill Spiel Blog

Is this just not the cutest thing....EVER!  Tutorial on her blog!  
(What a darling little model)


Have a beautiful and splendid day!

{HUGS},
Steph

Wednesday, October 26

Shop Update...the good news and the blah...

Ok, so for the past month you may know that the shop has been closed for me to stock it full with {Ready-To-Ship} covers.  With me being almost 6 months pregnant, I needed to do something to cut down on my time in the shop.  
You know the usual, fatigue, achiness, and just plain worn out...To fix all that, I closed shop for the month of October and was able to complete all my inventory...YES!  
Good for you and good for muah!  With working on all the inventory, I changed up some designs and added some new fabrics into the mix...really hope you like :)

Shop reopens November 1st!!
...and now since we got all the good news said, it's time for the blah (I can't stand using the word "bad").  Where does one begin when trying to explain something that is sooo difficult! 
Lets start here: The Lord is the one I give all praise to for allowing me to be home to raise my Miss B and open the 
Polka Dot Bungalow
He made the way for everything to run so smoothly as it has for the past "almost" 2 years.  He has blessed it in ways I never knew were possible.  I love my talent {Designing and Creating} then being able to open up shop and sell it to all my loyal, encouraging and sweet lovelies...a dream come true.  

My Mr. Adkins gave me the encouragement in words to start a shop on Etsy.  If you've been with me since the beginning of 2010, you will remember it all started off with lady's brooches/pins, little one's hair pieces and headbands and car seat canopies.  With my love for photography, it branched off from those pieces to Ruffle Camera Strap Covers and rosettte pins.  Ruffly goodness is so fun to create.  

When the nights and days got long and the house became a total wreck, the hubby would still come up and say keep on going on. The stress of a house being a mess can become a battle...haha...especially if your a clean freak like me...lol (my family can tell you that).  My poor husband is now one too...do believe he is worse than me now...I have created a "clean freak monster".  

Miss B is 3 1/2  and my time with her until, can I say it...oh dear...Kindergarten!! is sooooo close and I want to spend these last 2 -3 years with her and NOT behind a sewing machine, packaging up orders, cutting tons of fabric, rolling rosettes...you get the point....
Working as a SAHM 
(a.k.a. Stay at  Home Mom)
It can be quite overwhelming raising and tending to a 3 year old. Yes, I have tried to create a balance between the Polka Dot Bungalow and my time being a mommy and wife.  Several mommy's work an online shop and tend to their children....I give them a standing applause...seriously, I have met so many talented mommy's...you gals rock!

With all that being said, prayers gone up, and several, I mean, several sit downs with the hubby making sure that I wasn't making a rash decision...I have decided to close up shop once all covers that have been made are sold.  Phew, got that off my shoulders.  

Plus....

...I have a baby girl on the way!!! 
I have yet been able to make anything for her and am just dying toooooo!!!!
(Got a lot of cute tutorials in the works ;)

On a side note, once my babies are off to school and I have tons of time on my hand 
{unless, I just can't get a way from my dream pool...haha} 
who knows, I might reopen and start a brand new line of items.....the Lord holds my tomorrow...


Let's end this post with some good news again, shall we?  Here are some of the new lovelies that will be available in the shop on November 1st!!

Enjoy the preview: 

 

"I Do" Collection
{Available in: Mauve with Cream rosette pin, Cream with Black rosette pin or Black with Tiffany Blue rosette pin}





"Miss Fashionista" 



"Classy and Sassy" Collection
{Available in: Blue, Red or Pink ruffles and a black rosette pin}





"True Love" Collection
{Available with a pink or ruby red rosette pin}



"Tickled Pink"
{Now created with a light, pink rosette pin}



"Kaleidoscope"


Soooo, do you like????  Several more designs and "One of a Kinds" still need to be photographed and edited...haven't decided if I'll give a sneak peek or make you all wait till November 1st :) hehe....


Here are a few recent pics taken this past Sunday during and after service....Enjoy :)


Miss B and her best friend...the thumb :)


Very tired of having her picture taken...lol


25 weeks!!!  Kissing her baby sister :)

Much {Love} to you all...can't wait to open the shop!

{HUGS},
Steph

Monday, October 24

{Marvelous} Monday....No. 8

It's a Relaxing and {Sweet} morning around here for a Monday.  Mr. Adkins is off to his last Monday at the current rotation spot..which he has enjoyed, tremendously.  The 5 week rotations fly by when it's a nice place for him to work...you could say it's bitter/sweet just because the place is such a great atmosphere but the weeks fly by.  Now if it wasn't a nice rotation, the weeks would creep oh, so slowly :)  

I'm sitting here, curled up on the couch finishing my coffee and realizing there is only 1 week left until the shop reopens :)  I have had so many comments and emails from you lovelies letting me know how excited you are for the shop to reopen!  That feels good.  Making sure the shop is stock full of {Ready-to-Ship} covers can be quite exhausting!  Already having over 80 ruffle camera strap covers and 90 rosette pins complete along with being a mommy to Miss B, cooking, cleaning, assisting Mr. Adkins at our church, tutorials for the blog and most importantly....PREGNANCY (and getting bigger by the moment) all in 3 short weeks.....it can be quite a load BUT it will all pay off in time. (more on the shop later)

...so to get back to my relaxing and {sweet} morning :)  It's time to show off some talent! 
 Here are the latest tutorials, re-purposing, tours, etc. from last weeks parties!!!

Antique Chase



Classy Clutter

(Just love the cheery colors)

Delighting in Today


Crafty Scrappy Happy


Gardners 2 Bergers


Suburbs Mama


Que Linda

(Make sure you check back with her blog to find out how she did her picture frames...I know I will...{LOVE})

Michelle Lee Interiors

(More Chevron....oh, I want a wall like this)

My Life and Kids


How to Nest for Less (I just love the name)



These talented {lovelies} are who caught my eye this week! Are they not fab-u-lous....

If you were featured today on {Marvelous Monday}, please feel free to button up!  
(Buttons are available on the right hand side of the blog!)

Have a great day everyone!

{HUGS},
Steph


"One of the things I keep learning is that the secret of being happy is doing things for other people."Dick Gregory

Wednesday, October 19

{Going to the Fair}

Ok, so today I may be a little boring with pictures, but I just had to share with you my baby's first trip to the fair :)  We had a blast.  With me being the preggers this year I enjoyed the food...a little too much.  The most enjoyable time was seeing my Miss B on her first fair rides!  What an experience for her.

{Enjoy}






The swing:  This was for sure to put a smile on her face.




Caterpillar Roller Coaster: Her 1st roller coaster!!!  Daddy is so proud :)  He finally has someone to ride them with...mommy is a chicken when it comes to heights ( as you will remember I explained in this blog post )









The Boat:  She and her sweet cousin enjoyed the independence on this ride :)  Just look at the faces!





The Macaroni and Cheese Bowl:  One of a kids favorite foods :) 



Times, like these with my family has to be one of the best things on earth.  

{HUGS},
Stephanie