Spring Collection

Just a peek at what is coming this week as the start of my Spring collection. Next week will include even more, but I don't want to give away all the looks at once!

And, for the next two weeks, use the code "FreeShip" at checkout to receive free shipping!

My 12 in 12

I know I'm a little tardy for the party, but I was having a nice little 2 week break from work, and since I was placed in an Air Cast boot to heal a serious sprain in my ankle, I was forced to take it easy. The horror! I'm back at work now, and it's...chaotic. Nothing like jumping right back into it!

2011 was a good year for me. I made a new friend (and she will totally catch a reference in the above paragraph), worked on growing petal & pink, joined IFB, was smarter with my shopping, ate better, and overall improved just about all aspects of my life. I also turned 30. When I was 25-26, 30 seemed so scary to me, I dare even say I thought it was old. As I turned 29, I had a more "bring it on attitude", and now that it's here, I'm bringing it. I'm excited at all the things I have planned, and hope to grow and take in so much more than that.

I'm not one for resolutions. So, instead of making those, I'm making a list of things I'm looking forward to, and even sharing here on this blog. I'm calling it "12 in 12", because I like to give things corn-ball titles. So here goes:

12. Run an uninjured 5k (see air cast mention above).
11. Take in more outdoor activity. 2011 was marred by a rained out camping trip, too few hikes, and even less bike rides.
10. Expand petal & pink. Big plans you guys, stay tuned!
9. Take a photography class. To be honest, I use my camera so much on jewelry pictures, I haven't even scratched the surface of what it can do. I will learn more!
8. Build quality into my wardrobe. I have a good functioning closet now. It's time to up the ante and start investing! (I'm looking at you, coveted MBMJ bag)
7. Start a garden. Okay, so this will probably be husband's doing, but I will contribute by picking veggies.
6. Get 100 more Etsy sales. I hit 100 sales this holiday season* and now I want to bust my booty to carry on the momentum!
5. Celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary with a grilled dinner at our house.
4. Buy a house. (Which is why a lovely grilled by husband dinner would be amazing. We miss charcoal grilling.)
3. Get a dog!
2. Visit Paris (and London, too).
1. Be more open to where this year will take me! I've got such big plans in 2012, I don't want to over look the smaller things, those can turn into the big memories of life.

*to celebrate my 100 sales, I'm running a 10% off promo in my Etsy shop. Enter "Happy12" at checkout! Ends January 10th.

Another giveaway!

That's right! My twitter/blog/now IRL friend Amanda over at Prim and Propah is having a major (handmade-focused) giveaway to celebrate her little blog's first birthday! (They just grow up so fast!).

So clickity-click yourself over her way and enter. You'll thank me.

And then it was June!

Where has time gone!? All of a sudden I was freezing cold and wearing sweaters, and then the next day I was bringing out the sandals and summer dresses. (Quite literally actually. One day it was 50 here, the next day near 80!)

I've been rather busy with stuff I'm sure would just bore you. But I figured I'd keep you apprised of some things going on.

Recent purchases I've mentioned I've had my thrifty little mind on:

1, 2, 3

I was searching for a few Spring/Summer specific items, these are my acquisitions from those specific posts. First up, the Seychelles Joan shoe. These were marked down on DSW (no longer though for some reason) to $50. I jumped at the chance, but only if I could find a pair of black shoes for summer. Turns out I didn't have to go much further than the Seychelles page on the DSW site, because I found these. I love them! (If you're looking for a cheaper option, try these ones from Target). So, the reason for buying the two pair from DSW was they were having a buy 2 pairs, get 20% off. Bringing my total from $109.88 (reasonable for 2 pairs of shoes, in my opinion) to $87.90. But then, I also had some rewards coupons to use (to the tune of $25) so my total was then brought down to $62.90. I am a rewards member, so I get free shipping, so I got two pairs for essentially the cost of one pair (the Gypsy Sandals were $59.94). You can't go wrong with that! (I may be a shoe whore, but I'm a smart shopper). I also purchased through ebates while DSW was at 8% cash back, so I've got that coming my way in my next check from them, too.

Lastly, my orange is not the new pink, but I'm loving it anyway purchase. The Boldly Brushed Peasant top from Anthropologie. I waited and waited and waited some more for this to go on sale, and had figured that after all that waiting, by the time a sale hits my size would be sold out. Well, I was wrong. For a change, an Anthropologie item I was coveting went on sale and I was able buy it.

In the world of petal & pink, I'm hosting a giveaway over at Violet Sage, so head on over there for your chance to win a pair of these. They happen to be a personal favorite of mine and I wear them at least once a week! Your odds right now are looking pretty favorable!

This post is kind of all over the place, but as things slow down, I'll be able to keep things brief in each post and get to the things you want. I've got a few DIY's up my sleeve, so watch out!

Trend I'm Loving: Color Block style

I am loveloveloving the color block trend. I feel like I've been carrying on a romantic fling with color blocking for a few years now, and I think it's because it's clean lines and classic styling make it less of a trend and more of just a bold statement. I love punches of color, and color blocking just feeds into that.

While swooning over some color blocked clothing I thought "I should really make color block jewelry, it's so me!" Then I realized..."duh, Erin, you already are." These earrings are fun and an easy way to get into the trend. You can wear them subtly with just a white top and jeans (let the earrings make the statement) or go crazy, and add them onto a color blocked outfit (which I fully plan to do!).

View 1, 2, 3, 4 in my shop

Just so you know, this weekend I will be offering free shipping with the code "FreeShip". I hope you take advantage of it!

Sneak a peek at petal & pink!

hahaha that title cracks me up. I'm a total nerd and will rhyme when I can. (Although, now I'm cringing. I hate alliteration, and that teeters the line of it....)

Right. Onto business. Here's a sneak peek at my new line. The goods will be hitting the shop later on today, I'll be adding one piece a day all week and all next week. Then sporadically the following. (I'm not a machine, people!)

What do you think? Are you as excited as I am?! There is cohesion when you see it all. I promise. And it's not just green. I have to yell at myself lately to lay off the green. What up with that?

New years reso-what?

So here I posted a list of goals for petal & pink in 2011.

Lets see.

• So far, I'm out of chain, ear hooks, and closed jump rings. Stay on top of order supplies. FAIL.
• I just bought this from Etsy. Pay myself, don't buy for myself. FAIL. (But it's elephants, I love elephants!)
• I've changed my blog layout/design, and my twitter picture. But I'm still incomplete with the Etsy side of this all. C for effort.

The REAL part that I'm excited about is "Launch new line". As of right now, I've got a soft launch date of February 1st! That's right folks, Tuesday! What you should do is like me over on Facebook. That's where you'll get the most up-to-date sneak peeks into what it is I've been working on. I had originally felt that my ideas in my head would end up being two lines, but two contrasting ideas have come together better than I could have ever imagined, and I'm so excited about it. I'm hoping that with this line coming out soon, I'll be able to streamline the process for that line, and start working on another line (I know, crazy right?) for the summer, and also take those new streamlining skills into other parts of my little shop.

I'm trying to not be hard on myself. It is after all, still January. I am just really driven and I'd like to keep that drive to meet the other, bigger goals I've set for myself. (Like more than doubling my sales! yipes!)

MMXI

Happy New Year!!!

I've seen lots of posts about resolutions and the like, and while I feel like I laid out what I'd like to accomplish in my bucket list to my 20's, I figured I might as well lay out some foundation, and some goals for petal & pink.

First and foremost: BLOG MORE. This blog will continue to be a hybrid of DIY, Fashion, Etsy, Creativity, raves, and probably a few rants. I already have a few posts in mind, and I know I sound like a broken record, but putting pen to paper (or in this case, finger to keyboard) is really therapeutic.

Other goals:

• Hit 150 sales in my Etsy shop
• Mini blog/shop makeover
• More features/giveaways, both here and on other blogs
• Do 2-3 shows this year, more if possible
• Track my expenses and start paying myself, and not by buying myself stuff!
• Launch new line
• Customer service
• More Bridal/Custom orders
• Look into and potentially start offering Gift Cards for Holiday 2011.

These are ambitious, but they are attainable. 150 sales means I need to more than double what I've done since I started selling on Etsy in 2007. (Wow, has it really been that long?!) Granted, I know so much more than I did back then, and have seen a steady uptick, I tend to lose momentum, and then essentially undo everything I've worked so hard to accomplish. I had been featured on the Etsy Finds email back in 2008, had been on several front pages between 2008-09 and had pieces featured in the Etsy blog. I had a good momentum going, and then stopped...which then caused it all to come crashing down. No more.

Doing more shows/giveaways will only help me gain exposure, even if it does take a slight hit to my budget at first. I'm working on launching a new line, and will look into hosting a giveaway somewhere for that when it's ready. (If you follow me on twitter, I've been giving sneak peeks into what I've been working on...well that was, until I ran out of supplies.)

Additional goal: STAY ON TOP OF SUPPLY ORDERS!

Customer service is always a strong point of mine, and while it doesn't need improvement per se, it should always be in focus. I think after Thanksgiving I had a sale, and ended up forgetting to send a Thank you email, but there was (and is always) one included in the package, but my biggest pet peeve is buying something and having the sale go unacknowledged. None of that any more. If I have time to email my friends, tweet, facebook, anything, then I have time to type a quick thank you email.

Bridal orders and custom orders are always so fun, adding more of these will only add more creativity into my life. And I love being a part of someones special day.

I've got much bigger goals further down the line, but on my immediate, these will be done this year radar are those big ones.

I hope you all have a happy, healthy and fashionable 2011!

~erin~

Pink. It's not even a question.

I am SO overly excited, about this years Pantone color of the year for 2011. Ridiculously excited.



Pantone Color of 2011, Honeysuckle

For anyone who knows me, you know I'm a HUGE fan of pink. Bright, cheery pinks; subdued, pastel powdery pinks, and sometimes even bright, almost neon pinks. I live for pink. If I can get something in pink, you better believe I'm doing it. (Even my favorite band ever, sings a song about my favorite color ever)
Pantone today, released it's color of the year, Honeysuckle, and I am beyond thrilled. From the Pantone site, they describe the color as: Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world.

And today, it just goes with our fashion. (Yes, I am listening to that song while I type this..."inspiration" is what I'm calling it, but really, it's just an opportunity to play a less played CD by my boyfriend, Steven.)

 I have a huge collection of pink beads in shades similar to this. I have more pink beads than I've been able to use in this shade. You better believe I'm taking advantage.

You see, it's not quite so new to me. I have been using this color for some time now, and I would like to show you the petal & pink contributions (from 2009 and 2010 mind you) supporting this "brave new color":

L-R clockwise: Pink Flourish, Bauble in pink, Berry mini baubles, Preppy bracelet

As you can see, I'm prepared, and you can expect to see plenty more of this shade in my shop for the time being. I love working with bright cheery pinks, and even when Pantone announces its next new color of the year, this color will still be with me. I may no longer be a little girl in pigtails with pink everything, but that girl has grown up, and continued with the color and made it mature with her.

Pink. It's like red but not quite.

Days 25-28. Almost done!

Alright, lets just get straight to it, shall we? I've got a tree to decorate and soup in the crock pot!

Day 25: Gap cardigan, Gap skinny jeans, Mod Cloth scarf, Naughty Monkey Detective boots.

Where: Work.

Day 26: Express lace trim cami, J.Crew Jackie Cardigan, Gap skinny jeans, Steve Madden flats, petal & pink necklace (coming in January to my shop!)

Where: Work.

Day 27: Gap black tee, Gap Skinny jeans (have I mentioned I live in these and own multiple pairs? Can't say enough great things about them!), Naughty Monkey Detective boots (also love love love these), petal & pink necklace and earrings.

Where: Christmas tree shopping, Shopping for holiday decor, dinner out with husband. Overall a nice Saturday!

Day 28: Express lace trim cami, Gap Cardigan, J.Crew Vintage Matchstick Cords, Nine West flats

Where: Laundry and grocery shopping. (I won't lie, I needed to do laundry so I can wear my skinny jeans again.)

Thoughts: Okay, this challenge has been eye opening. Especially when it comes to my warm weather wardrobe, but I'll get into that on day 30. I can say that I am missing the rest of my clothes and getting really tired of these pieces. I also didn't account for the fact that while it was still 60 degrees when the challenge started, it is now only going to be in the 30's this week, and I don't have much that accounts for chilly temperatures.

Just 2 more days, I will make it!

1,000 follower giveaway winner!!!!

Congrats to Amanda! (@primandpropah on twitter) You won the giveaway!

What I know is that she will be getting the Icicle earrings sent to her, what you should do is check out her blog. Any blog that has crafty meets, badass tanks, meets martini, meets cupcake and includes pink banner is right up my alley! She's got crafty-ness and fashion and a picture with the wall street bull in NYC that is hysterical.

Amanda, please email me at petalandpink {at} gmail {dot} com. (Take that email grabber software thing, I learned that trick from the knot, suckahs.)

For those who didn't win, thank you for entering and I'm sure I'll find another reason later on for another giveaway. I'm sure I'll hit another milestone that I'll want to celebrate. (like 100 etsy sales, only 36 to go!) Although at this rate, I might get 2k twitter followers first!

Days 21-24. What I wore.

This isn't original, but this is clever. I wore TWO outfits yesterday! Which means I'm all caught up from my lazy pajama day after Thanksgiving! This is a big deal to me not because I want to shop (although, boy do I!) but because now my challenge will end on Tuesday, and I am free to wear whatever I want the day of my work Holiday party. Which just seems really refreshing.

How did I wear two outfits you may ask? Well, I went to work like I do most other days, and while at work, my husband emailed me asking me out on a date. A date?! Sure thing! Of course, going out in work clothes is not really my thing, so I came home and changed. I figured it was the perfect chance to put on a new outfit for the challenge and catch up. (I'm missing the rest of my closet at this moment, and this is a big deal to be one more outfit closer to reuniting with certain items). So now, I'm on track to finish on time. Huzzah!

So here are my outfits:

Day 21: Target dress and tights, Nordstrom scarf, Nine West flats

Where: Work.

Thoughts: I really wasn't feeling styling my hair that morning. Hence the poodle on my head.

Day 22a: J.Crew Jackie cardigan, Banana Flower embellished top, Express Editor pants, Target shoes, petal and pink necklace (an old favorite)

Where: Work again my friends. I walked to the PO and the shoes were comfy, they always impress me for Target shoes.

Thoughts: I need to cut back on soup at lunch, the sodium is making me puffy.

Day 22b: Same BR top, Gap Cardigan, Gap Skinnies, Naughty Monkey Detective boots, petal and pink necklace

Where: A super sexy date to Office Depot, Starbucks and Barnes and Noble. Starbucks and BN was supposed to be the date, but I was out of mailing envelopes and Office Depot is across the street.

Thoughts: I was so much more comfortable in this outfit than what I wore all day at work. I also drank my weight in water, so that may have helped.

Day 24: Anthro top, Grey Gap Modern Boot pants, Nine West pumps.

Where: work

Thoughts: Why yes, those are my Steve Madden flats in the picture. You see, while I still wear the "death shoes" I have taken to switching in and out of flats to get to/from my office. I left work and realized. Yup. Shoes are still at my desk. I got to my car and realized "ugh. I forgot the asparagus and buttermilk in the fridge, now I have to go back." (What doesn't everyone buy random groceries at lunch?) On the walk back to my office thought "Well, at least I can pick up my shoes..." and then drove home with my asparagus and buttermilk and cursed at my shoes...still sitting next to my desk. It was one of those days.

My other impressions? Well, I'm thinking now I should have gone by outfit numbers instead of calling them days...Also, at this point, I just want to be done. I feel like I have worn every single article of clothing this week alone, and even though I know it's not true, I just want something different. A plain sweater (it's getting cold!) or my pinstripe pants...just something not these clothes. Although, I do have some fun (to me) outfits planned for the next few days. Here's hoping they turn out!

Don't forget, just a little longer until my giveaway closes, don't forget to enter!

Days 18-20

10 more days left. I think this is the part where I start going a little bit crazy. Or maybe it's the onslaught of all things Holiday for the next month that's coming on...either way, here's what I wore for days 18-20!

Day 18: Top, Cardigan, and Skinnies: Gap. Boots: Steve Madden, socks: Target, Neckalce: Forever 21 (or 29 in my case. *wink wink*)

Where: Thanksgiving dinner (house hopping for the best eats!)

Day 19: J.Crew Jackie Cardigan, Anthro top, Gap skinnies, Steve Madden boots

Where: Running errands

Day 20: Anthro Cardigan, Gap Forever Straight Jeans, Steve Madden Flats

Where: My parents house

Thoughts: First of all, I tweeted on Thanksgiving about wearing my black dress and this cardigan. But, I really wanted to wear those boots. I live in them. But when I put them on, the proportions were all off. So I tossed on this instead. The cardigan was still great when it came to hiding the extra servings of cheese potatoes, rolls, and cake/pie gallore.  Also, I'm now a day behind on the challenge. You see, the day after Thanksgiving...I don't leave my apartment. I have always taken the day after Thanksgiving as a sort of mental health day. The most strenuous thing I did all day was shower and put on clean lazy clothes. And I'll tell you this...It. Was. Glorious. I also REALLY love outift 19. I love the way the boots and teal go together. I also think that I wore this outfit in a way, that made it look new to me (on me?) I don't know. All I know is that my husband asked me if this was a new shirt. 1. I wore it last week. 2. It's over a year old. Either way, I'm taking it as a win for the challenge!

I faux hemmed my pants again today. I will have that how-to for you later on this week. I have currently over 160 pictures to go through. I was a beading machine, and created a ton of new jewelry and photographed the hell out of it. I also have the DIY steps for my earring holder to go through, and the faux hem. My computer and I will be inseperable over the next few days. However, if you follow me on twitter, you've seen a few of the pieces I've created for my etsy, and the final product of my earring holder/display. And if you don't follow me...these are the kind of things you're missing out on. Well, that, and my giveaway. ;)



1,000 follower giveaway!!!

I've reached a twitter milestone! I now have ONE THOUSAND followers on twitter!

Back when I realized I was close, I decided I would do a giveaway for hitting it. It's taken longer than I thought, I mean I think I'm pretty interesting, not all of the twitterverse does I suppose. But I've made it. My way of thanking you, my little twitter followers is with at giveaway! I'm offering one lucky winner a pair of earrings! You can pick one of the three following pairs. They're all my personal favorites, and I wear them quite often. Your picks:

Icicle

Little Black Dress (pick from black, clear or pink)

Indigo-go

The deets:

• This giveaway will be open for one week. At 11:59 pm (EST) on Wednesday, December 1, the giveaway will close, all entries after that will not be valid.
• There are 3 ways to enter, you may enter once a day by each method. Any multiple entries within the same day will be disqualified.
• Most importantly, you must follow petal & pink on twitter (@petalandpink).

How to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post including which pair you want and your twitter name (so I can make sure you follow me).
2. Tweet this: @petalandpink is giving away a pair of earrings, find out more here: http://bit.ly/hJblj7 (or something similar. Be sure to include @petalandpink and a link to this blog post since twitter doesn't like you tweeting the same thing more than once)
3. If you have a blog, blog about this giveaway, and leave a second comment here linking back to your post

The winner will be announced here (and on twitter!) on Thursday, December 2nd.

Good luck to all!

New items!

Man, it has been a month for me. Times have been crazy, and I'm looking forward to the fact that aside from a work holiday party, and a dentist appointment, I have absolutely nothing planned for the next few weeks. (Although I'm sure Holiday crazy will take over soon).

I've been beading up a storm, and I've fallen way behind on listing new items on Etsy. I've also fallen behind on renewing items there, too. It's hard to keep up sometimes! I have taken pictures this past weekend, and I promise new items are coming almost daily moving forward!

La Mer. Deep Blue Bracelet

Days 6-13 of the challenge

Whew! It has been a week for me! I'm both sad and happy it is over. I've run the gamut of emotions, and I'm looking forward to some stability. Not to mention that Thanksgiving is coming up fast! I've got plenty to be thankful for, but I haven't quite caught the holiday cheer. Here's hoping this short week at work will help me along. And if not, I'll get the holiday "spirit" via Pumpkin Pie Martini's at my aunt's house. (if you know what I mean...and I think you do.)

Now, onto the outfits!

Day 6: Anthro blouse, Gap skinnies, Steve Madden boots.

Where: A baby shower. Like the hundredth it seems within the past few months. (or third whatevs). This was husband saying "Show me happy to go to a baby shower!" I think my sarcasm is obvious.

Day 7: Gap top, Gap skinnies, Nine West flats, Coach Tote, DKNY sunnies

Where: Road trip with the husband, errands.

Day 8: Anthro sweater, Express lace trim cami, Gap skinnies, Steve Madden Flats, petal & pink bracelet

Where: Work. We were moving files from one cabinet to another. I work in HR, there's a lot of files. We all dressed casual Monday for this.



Thoughts on these days: My hair looked way better in person on Day 6. Looking at it in the picture though, you'd never know! I also swear I washed the skinny jeans Sunday night (Day 7). I live in my skinny jeans, and I actually own 2 pairs of them. I considered just switching to the clean pair, but felt it might be cheating. lol. I love the sweater in Day 8. It's comfortable and the colors are fun. I don't know if it's the angle of the picture or not, but seeing it in a picture, I question the proportion of the print though. I guess we'll see what else happens during this challenge and that sweater.

Day 9: Anthro top, Gap Modern Boot pants in grey, Nine West pumps, petal & pink bracelet

Where: Work. It wasn't too much of an eventful day, honestly.

Day 10: J.Crew Jackie Cardigan, Express Editor pants, Target Mary Janes, DIY bracelet via Beadin' Path

Where: Work. Running a few errands after work.

Day 11: Gap sweater, Express lace trim cami, Ann Taylor Loft pencil skirt, Target Mary Janes

Where: Work, Training session, drinks with husband.



Thoughts: Day 9, I was inspired by another piece of jewelry I've made. I don't know why I never think of mixing jewel tones with my dark grey pants. It was a really warm day, and I enjoyed not having to wear a cardigan or jacket at work. Day 10, I really wanted to wear my coral toned layered bracelet, and love the combination with a silver-grey shade. Day 11, I'm not sure of the proportions of the outfit, but my calves look diesel! Thank-you, Body Pump!

Day 12: Gap Cardigan, Express lace trim cami, Gap Forever Straight jeans, Nine West pumps, petal & pink earrings

Where: Work. Casual Friday. Not feeling color. It happens

Day 13: J.Crew Jackie Cardigan, Express lace trim cami, Gap Forever Straight jeans, Nine West flats, T&Co bangle.

Where: Errands, errands, and a few more errands.

Thoughts: I purposely wanted to post these two pictures together. It's the same pair of jeans, but the hem is different lengths. I've found an amazing trick to hemming long jeans to make them flat-appropriate. You even get to still see the original hem on the jean so it looks really natural. I've also been slowly working on mixing prints. The leopard print with the print on the bangle were big for me. The bangles print is subtle, but the shape/design of the print actually compliment each other nicely.

Overall 30 for 30 thoughts: So far, so good. I really feel like I need to start kicking it into gear with the accessories. Scarves, belts, etc. I've got them all. I don't know why I'm so lazy with them lately. 

Coming up: I still need to do the DIY on the jewelry holder, and I want to also show you how I do the hem on my pants, so that will be coming up too. And I'm preeety sure that there's a giveaway this week since my twitter is at 1,000 followers!! I'm just waiting to maintain that number for a few days since twitter counts can vary often!







The week in review

This week has been pretty eventful for me! A lot of risks were taken, and I've certainly stepped out of my comfort zone. But, it's all a part of taking strides towards my bucket list to my 20's!

Numbers that I've been working on:
#9 shop smarter. I've got a lot of clothes. I've worked on the part where I'm no longer donating clothes that still have tags attached (that was always such a huge waste of money). But I still shop. A lot. So, in an attempt to reacquaint myself with my closet, and the clothes I do have, I have decided to join in Kendi and her 30 for 30 clothes remix. I'm to pick 30 items from my closet, and remix those into outfits for the next 30 days. And the big catch. NO SHOPPING! No shopping for 30 days will be a second to me. Followed only by that one time I did it after college, and the end result was a giant shopping binge at Banana Republic where I then spent the money I saved, and the entire following months shopping budget. That would be a major fail right there, my friends. So, I'll be posting my 30 items, and my 30 outfits over the next 30 days. I will rely heavily on accessories (which are not included in the 30 items) so we'll see just how much it does change things up. It will also spark my creativity I'm sure as I'm looking for new accessories, which will also mean, I'll be making more things, which brings me to my next part of this week.

#8 expand petal & pink. I entered the Martha Stewart Crafts Department "Call to Crafty Arms"! Ah! I wanted to vomit the second I clicked send. And I didn't stop shaking until just now. According to the official rules, they'll be posting the 5 finalists as early as 6pm today, or as late as sometime on November 12. Needless to say, I'll be stalking that page for awhile! I don't expect much, but it would be nice to see my little petal & pink up there! Also, there will be new items created, and posted as a result of the remix challenge, which will be great just before the Holiday season kicks into full blast!

Also happening this week, Dan turned 30! I've been giving him a hard time and teasing him relentlessly about being an "Old Man". He keeps on telling me something about payback, but I'll just cry. Tears always work. (amiright?) Also, it means, as I've pointed out, he's a "decade" older than me! My husband is in his 30's, while his youngin' of a wife is in her 20's. What a stud he is. However, this was more fun when we first started dating and he looked like a cradle-robber being in his 20's, with a girlfriend who was just a teenager. Ahh young love...I still have no idea how he's put up with me this long! (especially after that time when we were past the 3 month dating mark and I told him I could no longer return him to the boyfriend store...)

I'll be sure to keep you updated about the Crafts Dept contest, and be on the look out for my 30 items this weekend!

You can't win if you don't try!

This morning on twitter, I saw someone mention "A Call to Crafty Arms" and read it. And sat on it. Thought about it. And read it again.

Do I think I will be picked as a finalist? No. I'm sure the Crafts Dept. at Martha Stewart is being inundated with amazing crafters hoping for the same opportunity. And selling jewelry, an already overly saturated handmade market, I realize I stand a better shot at winning the lottery. However, when I sent it to my husband, his reply was "You can't win if you don't try!"

And then I realized (for the millionth time).

Rejection is part of this whole handmade/selling world. Not everybody is going to love what I make. Not everyone is going to want to buy it. Every time someone looks at my shop and doesn't buy anything, in essence, they're rejecting me. But, some people do buy. When I'm dedicated to petal & pink, I sell. And I sell regularly. Someone out there likes it, and really that's what drives me. Creating is therapeutic to me. Be it jewelry, paper crafts, photography, baking, something about these things calm me, refresh me, and drive me.

Really, the worst thing that could come out of this, is they totally ignore me and move onto someone who I'm sure is amazing and fabulous, and just as deserving as the opportunity. And really, just sitting it out means I don't even get the chance to win...and how cool would that be?! (And I've got plenty of time off I can take at my 9 to 5 to create away for it.)

sometimes you've got to sparkle.

My latest Etsy addition. Swarovski crystal sparkle earrings. ($17)