Heat Sealed

There are so many fantastic designers who sell on eBay that it makes my head spin! Each time I take a moment to browse, which isn't often enough, I love what I see. One of my new e-boutique friends, Amy of funky*monkey*boutique, is offering this design ... isn't it cute (and so is her daughter!)

Thanks to all who have offered song suggestions. You know, all of this music talk got me thinking about the names of bands. I'm really in love with a couple of songs by The Fray. Would The Fray be as popular if it had a slightly upbeat name, like The Joy? And that doesn't even nearly compare with other bands with names that can only be described as....well...different?? Whatever you want to call names like Trip Hizzle, LOL. We Americans like self-deprecating themes (it doesn't pay to be TOO sappy-happy-joy-joy, now does it?). There's a reason the happy little icon Hello Kitty was not invented here!

So in that spirit, I welcome your posts about possible band names, if you and your friends decided to create a band and named it after your hobby. I'm looking for hip, funny, original names that sound like they can actually BE band names.

I'll run this promotion through February 15. Post your best names as replies to this post. My favorite will get a pair of 3-inch Anna-style bows from Birdsong Bows. If you're a bow maker, we'll work something else out. Seriously! I'll get you started (feel free to add your own variations to the theme if I've already stolen yours. I will not choose my own, I promise. They are not that good):

A Bowmaker band: Heat Sealed

A stained-glassmakers band: Jagged Edges

You get the drift! Now post your replies and be merry (just not TOO merry)!

Does Fergie wear bows?

A good friend of mine in the bow world saw my blog for the first time and loved the music! But....she said I was missing one of her favorite songs, Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry." So I added it to the playlist. Wow, my first request!! If anyone else has a request and it fits with the trendy-indie-easy-on-a-mom's-ears theme, drop me a note! My daughter Anna calls it "blog music".

Along those lines, I choose the music based on the tune, mostly, not some underlying deeper theme or message I would like to convey. I wish I had time for that, but I don't! For instance, there's one song about cheating, which I have not done and which I do not recommend, LOL. There's another talking about Jesus packing his bags long ago....I'm a Christian and I do not believe Jesus has packed his bags and given up. Anyway, you get the drift. I'm just havin' fun with the Blog Music. I assume you knew this, but I wanted to clarify since most of you do not know me well!

New this week! This great set of pastel bows, below, in an easy $18.99 BIN. They will go with so many of her items this spring. Also, check out maddie*kate's beautiful outfit to match. Kacey and her mom Kandy do extraordinary work!

Thinking Spring!

This headband is newly listed in my Etsy store. I just love the spring colors....it's an Anne Mitchell print. I use quilt-quality fabric in all of my headbands to make sure they remain durable! This headband fits from age 4-adult. I'm going to make one for myself, too!

Natalia looked so cute on Saturday while she played with her toys. She really loves playing. I know that sounds weird to say, but Anna never stayed engaged with toys for too long. She loved books (and still does; she's a phenomenal reader), but to play with a dollhouse or something else has never been her "thing." It's amazing how different two children can be! Anyway, here's a picture of Natalia looking oh-so-sweet. I'm dreaming of a new camera so I can improve my photography! I'm struggling with changing my depth-of-field in my point-and-shoot. :) If you have camera suggestions, feel free to post 'em!

The "Portrait" (and hair bows too!)

After lots of struggle, Anna finally cooperated for a picture with her new glasses. Here she is! Today we went out and ordered a bunk bed for her room. She's been wanting one for a year, so it was her birthday gift. She should get it within a couple of weeks.

In bow news, this fabulous set is ending soon! I do a lot of One-of-a-kinds on eBay now, so you don't want to miss this one. It's featured right now on Journal Modiste, too, and there are lots of watchers. Be the first to make a bid!

A Crossroads.

Bittersweet news in the eBay boutique world. The MaterialGirls is closing as a design group, but will be re-opening soon as a fun launch group with a new name! So I'm design-group single again, LOL...which got me pondering my 16 months of selling bows on eBay....and got me looking longingly at my fabric....

....and I decided to take a sabbatical from eBay groups for awhile. I'll be listing less frequently on eBay, only participating in guest launches and doing monthly collections. Website and Etsy sales will continue as usual! This should give me time to work on a quilt for Natalia. I've had the fabric for awhile and even started on some hand-appliqued heart squares, but then I began my bow business and it went on the back burner! For those of you who are in groups and who list on eBay, you know how much time that takes. It's fun and rewarding, but it's time-challenging!

Here's a sneak peek at my a couple of my fabrics (including a couple of appliqued squares) on top of my beloved Viking. I'll keep you posted as I have new progress to show!

I have not forgotten to post a picture of Anna in her glasses; just haven't gotten a great shot yet!

Glasses!

I was going to get a picture of Anna with her Tommy Hilfiger glasses, but she's been sick for two days and her face and lips were all blotchy and...yucky!....so her new look will be unveiled soon. She just picked them up today with her dad. She kept looking in the mirror and saying, "I look so wise - like a third-grader. Don't you think I look like a third-grader?" I guess that's a wise grade when you're a first-grader, LOL! Anyway, I'll get a picture soon, I promise!

Since Anna is getting older, and because I love and miss working with fabric, I started making some headbands. They will arrive on my website soon (a couple are there already) and will be featured in my Etsy store. I will occasionally offer them on eBay as well. Here's a peek at my Valentine's version (this one is for sale on eBay right now) -- doesn't little Chloe look so cute? Her mom, Mari, is a great photographer. Visit her About Me page to view her work!

In Blog news, I listened to my Playlist at work and was shocked. Josh Groban's version of "You Raise Me Up" sounded like Alvin and the Chipmunks!! Seriously ... it sounds fine on my home laptop. Check it out -- are you hearing Chipmunks or Josh? So strange!

Buyer's Paradise!

This week will certainly be a boutique buyer's paradise! Several groups are having launches this week, including my group, Materialgirls. We're having a guest launch with TONS of fabulous designers -- the theme is Island Getaway. Sure to warm you up! Here's a sneak peek at one of the collaborations I'm involved in, with bear*threads*boutique and hbd!:

In addition to this mermaid set, I also crafted a hair bow to match madkatdesigns, and I will have the latest Gymbo "Rainbow" match up tonight. Check my auctions after 8 p.m. Eastern tonight for the new items!

I was off from my "day job" today, and Anna was off from school. Since her birthday is Thursday, I brought Natalia to daycare and Anna and I spent the day together. We visited my friend Sarah, to see her new baby, Toby, and then topped off the day with a visit to Chuck-E-Cheese....a parents' favorite haven (ha ha). Here's a picture of Anna, me, and Toby from this morning; excuse the goofy grin of an almost 7-year-old and my au naturale complexion today! :)

Socks on Hands and Heads

Natalia, our youngest, is our quiet child. She doesn't say much. Just a couple of weeks shy of age 2, she says just enough not to invoke fear of a developmental delay. But she had a particularly chatty day, repeating almost everything we asked her to say.

While she napped, I made some covered-button Pony-Os for my Birdsong Bows website. One set was of this lime green, "sock monkey" print shown here in her off-kilter pigtails:

When my husband retrieved her from her nap, she proudly came into the room wearing her red Gymboree socks on her hands, like gloves. She was clapping and waving them like mad. I decided she was a little sock monkey, too, so I put one of the Pony-O's in her hair. I told her it was a Sock Monkey.

She pointed to the top of her head, grabbed the Pony-O and said, "SOCK MONKEY!"

And to think it took her so long to call me Mama instead of Dada.....

A Little Tommy Girl

Big news in my house....my first baby, Anna, is growing up -- and getting glasses. We selected frames together on Wednesday, and I fully expected her to choose the pink frames with "I (heart) Troy" on the inside of the ear piece, but she liked a pair of royal blue Tommy Hilfiger glasses. They have flexible frames, which I liked.

Later, however, she had buyer's remorse. She wanted to know if I could go back and re-order the pink ones instead. Too late, though. (She's already planning for her next pair to be pink, though). She may get these just in time for her 7th birthday next week. She has mixed feelings, so we'll see how her first few weeks go.

In "boutique world," you have to see this fabulous Easter outfit by popular eBay seller maddie*kate. We work together frequently, and I made a pair of bows to match the outfit. I always get the warm fuzzies when I look at her daughter, and then I realized: She looks a little bit like an older version my younger daughter, Natalia. What do you think?

Teeny Toppers and going underground

I was looking through auctions and spotted this outfit by very talented designer, Debbie, of *little*noel*. The auction stood out to me because it was so pretty, and when I clicked on it, I noticed that model Bella was wearing one of the bows I designed for babies -- the Teeny Topper. Meant for babies with just the tiniest amount of hair, I was pleased to see that it worked well to sweep back longer hair as well! Feel free to see it on the Birdsong Bows website on her sister Ava. This bow and other clippies are being offered with FREE SHIPPING through the end of February.

My daughter Anna and I had another gem of a conversation on Friday. She wanted me to drive over the "underground railroad." Thinking this was a good time for a brief history lesson, I talked briefly about the horror of slavery and what the underground railroad really was. She said, "No, mom. I'm talking about the real underground railroad -- like in cities." Ahhh -- the subway. I guess that's an underground railroad too!

Playlist...And dog skirts....

I added a few songs I like to a playlist; I hope you like some of them too.

While I was answering a question from someone visiting my Etsy Birdsong Bows store today, I came across something that made me smile: Designs for Dinky Dogs. Check it out!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear husband, Brad. I should paying attention to him rather than blogging, don't you think? Anyway, I won't tell you how old he is, but he's much older than I..... :)

Babies and Bows!

A very wonderful couple just had their second boy, Tobias, on Monday! I'm so excited for them. Tobias Prince was born to my friends Ken and Sarah. Mom and baby are doing great! I'll post a picture if they allow.
I helped Sarah make a quilt for her first son, Isaak, who will be 3 in April. However, the bow business has taken me away from quilting for the time being -- but I still wanted to get Tobias something unique and handmade!
I selected this bib and burp set, along with a ducky bib and burp set, from Upsiedoodle. She's going to applique a "T" on the bibs for me. Can't wait to give them as gifts! I know they're not reading since they're bleary-eyed tired and just got home from the hospital today....so no surprise ruined!

Today starts the EliteBows "Get Bitten" launch for Valentine's Day! Check us out. We're a relatively new group with lots of talent! I've been experimenting with different photo techniques; here's my bow for the launch. Great price at a BIN of $8.49 per bow.

Enjoy the upcoming weekend!

Chicken

Last night our family was eating chicken, which is fairly common around my house since our youngest has lots of food allergies and chicken is safe! (I welcome any great chicken or pasta recipes that do not call for milk/cheese, soy, egg, or nuts, if you have any, by the way.)
Anna, our oldest daughter, loves birds. She was eating her chicken leg, but suddenly became concerned that the chicken had, in fact, been killed so that she could eat him.
After dinner she went off to work on a little drawing, which I didn't see until after she went to bed.

One one page, she drew several chickens in various stages of development. On the next page, she wrote:

EATEN
After a chicken grows up, he is killed and then eaten.

Wow, I thought. This must really bother her. So when she woke up this morning, I told her that not ALL chickens were raised just to be eaten; some are in charge of egg-laying. She said, "I know. But the ones who die go to chicken heaven, where they can peck in fields of gold, so it's OK."

Birdsong Bows gets chatty!

Anna and Natalia wearing dresses by Willarie

It's taken me awhile to launch this blog since I spent time on the website....and then there was the holiday season.....well, you know how it is!
I'm Deanna (Csomo) McCool, the owner of Birdsong Bows. My husband's name is Brad, and we have two children: Anna, almost 7, and Natalia, almost 2. They've just started playing together more, and it's fun to watch!
I started Birdsong Bows in 2006 when I was looking for a stay-at-home opportunity that would actually keep me at home. I peeked on eBay to see if anyone sold bow instructions, and voila, the "seed" for Birdsong Bows was planted! I love making things with my own hands, I love art; I love "made in the USA," so this has been perfect for me.
This blog will be a little bit bows, a little bit boutique (maybe one of your designs will appear here!) a little bit family; a little bit muse. I'm hoping you'll chat along with me.

Special thanks to Christine (see GenMarie's blog at left) and Timi of Cinnamon Girl Studio (also at left) who created this lovely blog template! It's very much inspired by the stunning work of Shawna of Pixel Perfect Designs, who is my web designer. Watch for a web redesign for spring!