Tuesday Time Saving Tip - Quality Time

It's AngelaSpots here again. Todays time saving tip is a really important one.

Never be too busy to spend quality time with your children and your spouse. Children grow-up way too quickly and every relationship needs quality time.

I appologize for not having pictures again this week. Feel free to search for items on Etsy using our team tag. "busymomsteam".

What's the Deal?

I love to garden and luckily living in northern California, I can garden most times of the year. By choosing plants wisely and being mindful of the seasons, I can have something growing in my garden, or at least in containers, year round. I've found a great way to save on new plants. Both Lowe's and Home Depot in my area have sale racks with plants that have begun wilting or have spent blooms on them. Often these plants are 50% or more off. And the best thing is that they often just need to be deadheaded. Most times I can bring these plants home, clip off the dead blooms, transplant them to my garden or a pot and in a week or so, they look great! I've gotten some great plants this way. Granted, it takes a bit of knowing your plants. I have bought a few that were beyond my help. However, once I learned which plants I could save, I've found some real winners. I also learned that if I come across plants on the regular racks that look pretty haggard, I can often get a discount just by asking.

My father-in-law gets deals on top soil, mulch, and other items in large plastic bags by purchasing bags that have tears or holes in them. He gets great deals! Most of the time it's just a small tear and the product inside isn't damaged. And some of the guys at the store know to save the damaged bags just for him!

Hopefully this info is helpful for some of our fellow gardeners. Check out some of the flowery items from fellow Busy Moms!

Golden Trumpet Dangles from Echo Endeavor

Shasta Daisy Kiss Clasp Clutch from Bone Calinda

Garden Goddess Earrings from Bijoux Designs for You

Tuesday Time Saving Tip - Moving

This is AngelaSpots. I'm finally back from my big move (our family moved from the city to the country). My time saving tip of the week is

Never move, ever.

It takes up way too much time. Moving is a PITA at the best of times but add an almost 2 year old and a 4 year old and it's a whole different ball game.

Okay so never moving again isn't practical. I do have some time, and sanity, saving tips.

Hire movers, and if you can't afford movers, hire movers just to move furniture.
Even if you're just moving a short distance, put all perishables into coolers.
Have a (or several) suitcase(s) packed with essentials for the first few days (clothing, toiletries, cleaners, snacks, toys, pet essentials etc).
If you have dogs or cats send them to a friend or board them for a couple of days.
Do everything possible ahead of time and schedual double the time you think you'll need for each task.

and most importantly

Arrange to have all of your utilities connected before hand.

We didn't realize but our internet is taking a month and a half to get installed. I'm in serious withdrawl. It's a good thing I can get on at my real job. I won't be able to post pictures with my blog posts until my home internet is installed. Until then you can surf our teams items on http://www.etsy.com keyword "busymomsteam".

Monday Interview- Meet Trina Jonas with Baby Jayne's

Who are you?
My name is Trina Jonas and I'm a stay at home mom who loves to craft and sew! I also love to work out and eat! And I love to have fun. The kids and I have fun every day. I love the ocean, spending time with my family, and being outdoors.


Where do you live?
I live in sunny southern California (about 15 minutes south of Disneyland). We're about 10 minutes from the beach and love being at pool or beach everyday in the summer.

What do you do?

I spend the majority of my time trying to be a good mommy and wife! And my hobby is my business. But I also do a lot of volunteer work. My background is marketing and I also got my Masters in Public Administration, emphasis Nonprofit organizations. I worked for the American Cancer Society for 5 years before quitting to stay home with my first child. I'm very passionate about that organization and still stay actively involved as a volunteer.

How many kids? Husband?

I have two adorable kids- Jayne (who's 4 going on 16) and Ryan (who is 16 months). I'm lucky to be married to my best friend, Jason. We've been married 9 years and together 10.5. We met in college in Utah but were both from Southern California and were excited to move back to live by our families.

And so you have a shop? What's it's name?

My shop is named Baby Jayne's (after my first baby of course). I've only had my Etsy shop since January, but I've been in business since 2005. I actually got into several boutiques in southern CA, had my own independent website with shopping cart and participated in industry tradeshows (where I got some big orders for USA Baby and the like), but I realized that it was all just too much. I didn't want to mass produce my products, I made very little from retail sales, and the only way to increase my profits to make it worth the time was getting everything made overseas. I even used a factory in LA to try and make a bunch of products to meet the orders and it was horrible! The quality wasn't the same and that was so difficult! I realized that at that level my business was affecting my time with my family, so when I had my second I decided to cut back and only do custom orders, and then in January I found Etsy and launched my Etsy store. I just let my independent website expire, and am just selling on Etsy and doing lots of custom orders locally. I'm very happy with all of this as is my family. I'm very passionate about the handmade movement, and the art in our crafts! What we all do here on Etsy can't be replicated by factories.

What do you sell?

I sell baby blankets, and accessories. I try to follow the traditional techniques of quilting. most of my blankets are pieced, they are all quilted and all include a high-end quilters batting. This all increases durability of the blanket and makes it heirloom quality.

But how on earth do you have the time?!

It's fun. I love making time. And my kids have fun playing with my fabric scraps, my daughter has a little kid sewing machine set up next to mine, and I do a lot while they nap or play beside me.

Any thing else?

I love being part of this Busy Mom group and learning so much from so many amazing mom's from all over the world! I really want to get my Etsy shop going and serve as my primary sales portal so I can't wait to keep learning and connecting and making it happen! :-)

Favorite Sport: Playing- golf, watching- football

Favorite Food: Italian

Favorite Color: Pink

And I think it's important to have a little bit of chocolate every day!

Monday Interview- Meet Vicki Davidson with Urban Harmonie

Hi Ladies, Sorry this got up late today. We were traveling back from visiting my family for a few days and just got the kids to bed so I could blog :-) Check out Vicki and her awesome products!

A little about myself and what I do..

I'm an artist by heredity. I enjoy working in different mediums but I really like (and am inspired by) imagining , designing and sewing bags. I get excited when looking at and feeling fabrics. Vintage and modern fabrics, leather, cotton, silk. I love textures and prints.

I live in one of the most beautiful places, the west coast of Canada where the mountains and ocean live as one. Each time I travel and come home, I am amazed by its beauty. I live in a town about an hour drive east of Vancouver, B.C. It's nestled in the Fraser Valley along with a number of other surrounding communities.

I have a part-time job outside of the home but spend more time at home with my children than I do at my 'day-job'. It's important for me to spend this time with my children when they are young...it lasts for such a short time.

I have two lovely girls aged, 4 and 2. A wonderfully loving, supportive husband and two dogs and a cat!

My shop is www.urbanharmonie.etsy.com. I sell handmade bags from clutches and wristlets to diaper bags and totes to reusable lunch bags. I love vintage fabrics and brooches, you can see a little of these things in my shop. I am inspired by eras of fashion. Each bag I make is a reflection of myself, if I didn't sell these bags my closet would be overwhelmed by them!

With such a full life, it's a luxury to find time to create and make these bags. I really plan my days. Certainly during nap times is ideal for working, but also in the mornings after breakfast when the kids are playing. I do a lot of stop/start during this time but any little bit helps. In the evenings, I spend time with my husband but also manage to do work for a couple of hours after the girls have gone to bed. It's not every night I work (I do enjoy watching a movie now and then), but during crunch times I work from morning til night. When it's something you enjoy and feel great satisfaction from then a little sacrifice is worth it!

Some of my favorite things.... Movies play a large role in evening entertainment, but I have to compromise with my husband and also watch movies he enjoys. I really enjoy live theatre (which is a treat) and dance. My favorite colour has always been green and any varying shade of green. I am really adventurous when it comes to food and will try anything (except pickled pigs feet). Some of my co-workers are South Asian and make the most woderful Indian food...oh my goodness.

Reading is one of my favorite past times and I usually get a chance during the day to get in a chapter. I read every night to my children and love the rhyming books. Dr Suess is great writer with wacky illustrations.

I like to sneak in a break for myself in the afternoon, around 3. I sit and have a cup of coffee, reflecting on my day and what I need to do or accomplish or sneak in a little reading (be it newspaper or novel).

My most favorite cartoon character has always been Bugs Bunny. I remember as a child I made a yarn portrait of Bugs Bunny and have kept it ever since! He's such a smarty pants!

At times selling your handmade crafts and such can be a bit discouraging, but you have to keep moving forward inorder to improve and become a better crafter. It takes time to get the hang of selling on-line and Etsy, but can be rewarding when someone takes notice of your creations. You have to take the highs with the lows no matter how far the distance because somewhere in the middle they meet!

Tuesday's Time Saving Tip

Hi Everyone. Hope you all are having a great week!

This week our time saving tip is brought to you by Lindsay of Twisted Designs. Lindsay gets her milk and produce delivered from a local organic produce delivery service. This saves loads of time at the grocery store! You only have to go to the grocery store once or so a week. She also freezes baby food and defrosts as needed.

Thank You Lindsay! Check out Twisted Designs and all our other wonderful busy moms shops for awesome finds! You can find all the busy moms shops' by typing in busymomsteam in your etsy search.

If anyone would like to share their time saving tip for Tuesday's time saving post email angelapaton@yahoo.ca

Monday Interview- Meet Jennifer with Cantaloupe Corner!

Who are you?

Let me introduce myself. My name is Jenifer Hall and my shop is Cantaloupe Corner. I am married to the sweetest guy in the world and we have 2 beautiful , busy boys. Simon just turned 3 and little Ryan is 9 months old. I have the incredible opportunity of being a stay-at-home mom. We spend our days going on adventures around the city and trying to stay out of the blazing Arizona sun. When I was little I lived in a small town in the White Mountains in AZ (Yes, Arizona has mountains, and snow!) My mom was the local 4H teacher for the Sewing and “Wearable Arts” classes. I started sewing when I was about 6 and learned how to do so many other crafty things from my mom.

After my first boy was born I became a craft addict, but I could never choose one hobby to concentrate on. I would start with one thing and stick with it for about a month and then move on to something new. Just in the last couple years I’ve learned to knit, crochet, make polymer clay jewelry and sculptures, appliqué, make baby quilts, I’ve also done a little cake decorating, scrapbooking, home decorating, acrylic painting, furniture refinishing, gardening, photography, . . . . you get the picture. I just can’t get myself to sit still. But, I think finally found something that has captured my attention: making clothes for my boys!

Where do you live? I live in Mesa, Arizona, (next to Phoenix) a.k.a. the “Valley of the Sun”, where the summers blaze at a steamy 115 degrees!

What do you do? In my free time? I Take long walks on the beach, and bubble baths. . . ha ha. I’m a stay-at-home mom so I take care of my 2 little guys. And when I get lucky enough to steal away a few minutes for myself, I work on my Etsy store. I LOVE coming up with new ideas for t-shirts. Sometimes I get so excited about it that I can’t sleep at night. I know, kinda nerdy, but it’s true.

How many kids? Husband/partner? I have one cute husband and 2 adorable boys: 3 years old and 9 months old.

And so you have a shop:

What's it's name? Cantaloupe Corner (see my Etsy profile for the story behind the name)

What do you sell? I sell hand stenciled shirts for kids and moms. I use a dye removal process so there is no ink or paint to peel or flake. My sister and I started doing these shirts over 2 years ago and I had so many compliments and requests that I wanted to share them with the world! They are so soft and easy to care for. Soon I will also be adding bucket hats and maybe even baby shoes to my store! YAY!

How do you find the time? In all honesty, I don’t know. I try to take advantage of every second of the day. I get most of my work done at night after the boys are in bed. Many of my shirts can be done in phases, 3 minutes here, 5 minutes there, so I work on them whenever I can steal a few minutes.

Some of your favorite things?

Movie- August Rush (so good!) and, I admit, I am a big Harry Potter fan.

Color- Sky blue, Glamorous Red, and Orange

Food- Brownies, homemade pizza, and any type of fruit.

Kids book- The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Time of day- Early Morning

Cartoon Character- Garfield

Anything else you can think of you'd like to share :-) I have a blog: www.cantaloupecorner.blogspot.com .

What's the Deal?

Have you ever checked out Etsy Giveaways? It's a pretty cool blog that posts information about handmade giveaways. The title is a little misleading, because the giveaways are not limited to Etsy. It started out that way, but that is not the case anymore. The FAQ section states that they will post giveaways for any handmade item with a definite end date. You can submit information about your own giveaway and the information is generally posted within 24 hours. You can also sign up for a nightly e-mail telling you about the latest giveaways. And best of all? It's FREE! Check it out and tell us what you think!

Tuesday's Time Saving Tip

Hi Everyone! Wow, I can't believe it is June already! Hope you are all having a great week.

This week our time-saving tip comes from Crystal of Annie's Powder Room. Her tip is to get a membership to a Discount club where you can buy in bulk, such as Sam's Club or Costco to save you time grocery shopping and save you tons of money too!

Crystal says she buys as much as she can and freezes what she can. She says she has saved money and she only goes once a month! She buys her milk, meat, bread and snacks and she also joined a produce co-op and has her produce sent to her weekly.

I also have a discount club membership and I agree with Crystal 100%. It has saved us so much money and a lot of my time. One thing I would recommend when buying your food in bulk, is a deep freezer. I have a side-by-side refrigerator so there is no way all the food I buy and freeze would fit in it! The deep freezer has been a great investment for us.

Do you belong to a discount club? and if so do you think it has saved you time and money? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Monday Interview- Meet Crystal with Annie's Powder Room

Who are you? My name is Crystal

Where do you live? I live in Fort Worth, Texas aka Cowtown

What do you do? My days are filled with activity and I rarely sit down...what I actually DO all day long remains a mystery. We homeschool so that takes up a good chunk of my day...after that its all a blur!

How many kids? And husband/partner? I have three little girls...Bella is 7, AnnieClaire is 5, and Lillian is 3 and my Husabnd is 31 lol!

And so you have a shop:

What's it's name? My shop name is Anniepoo but the name of my business is Annie's Powder Room. I signed up for etsy not realizing that would be my seller name and once I started selling it took off so fast I was scared to change it...

What do you sell? Really fun soap!!!

How do you find the time? I have NO IDEA! My kids LOVE to help and my husband does too acutally so you will often find ALL of us out in my soap studio making soap. My husband is going to school full time and not working so he is around a little more these days and can help out a little more.

Some of your favorite things:

Movie- The Goonies!!!
Food- I Tex Mex...chips and hot sauce and guacamole- YUM!!!
Color- green
Drink- I could go for a Root Beer...or a margarita!
Time of Day- I live in Texas so I like the least hottest part of the day!
Kids Book- We LOVE Olivia and Charlie and Lola books and all the old classics like Heidi and Swiss Family Robinson and all kids of stuff really. We LOVE to read at our house!
Cartoon Character- Lola
Anything else you might want to share- I'm a HUGE Ron Paul Fan! My friends think that I am hippie because I had my babies at home, I'm notoriously late to everything, and I like to speak in a british accent to unsuspecting strangers.
Great to get to know you better Crystal!