Celebrating handmade, day 3!

This is the 3rd and final post of my celebrating handmade series. Make sure to check out post 1 and 2 for other Etsy shop reviews and fun giveaways!

Hands down, the hardest gifts for us to buy were the gifts for our groomsmen. Men are hard to shop for already and these 3 guys are SO different! We really wanted to give them something sentimental but practical. We went back and forth for weeks and suggested everything from custom converse to cuff links to vintage shaving kits. Finally I took my question to Twitter and a friend of mine suggested pilsner glasses. I was originally hesitant to buy anything to do with alcohol (like a flask or shot glasses) because 2/3 of them aren't big drinkers, but I know all of them drink beer and Mando loved it so I quickly warmed up to the idea! I hopped on Etsy to see if I could find some nice, personalized glasses and I found GlassGirlJen. I was really impressed when I read about her engraving process... She uses an old school technique called stone wheel engraving and it's actually really interesting. Here's how she describes the process:

Stone wheel engraving is an age old art form of glass engraving that is not commonly practiced in the world today. With newer technologies such as laser engraving, sandblasting, acid etching and machine engraving, stone wheel engraving has become a dying art. As a stone wheel engraver I spend time shaping my wheel using diamond and stone dressing tools to create different effects on glass. Some I create for a smooth surface, some thick and some thin depending on what lettering and designs I'm engraving.... As I engrave onto the glassware I make cuts into the glass working by hand both upside down and backwards. I sometimes draw guidelines onto the glass however no stencils or templates are used. There will be variations in the lettering, spacing and designs of stone wheel engraving, this is the beauty and character of the art and the one-of-a- kind original piece of customized glassware.

I love that this is a family business and that she is the third generation to continue this art. She worked beside her mother for over 15 years developing her skills. She has a big selection of wine and champagne glasses, mugs, and even trays in her shop. They are all customizable and would make fabulous gifts! Here are a few of my favorites:

 1, 2, 3

Working with Jen was a pleasure. She answered all of my questions about her product quickly and was more than happy to make our custom pilsner glasses. She shipped them quickly and I was beyond excited when I saw them in person. The initial she engraved on each glass is so clear and precise, you'd never guess she did this using an older form of engraving. I love how unique they are and I know the boys are going to go nuts over them!

Now for the good part! One of you lucky readers have the chance to win a pair of gorgeous 21 oz stemless wine glasses with a custom name or monogram, or the cute Mr. and Mrs. pair as shown below. These would make a great wedding or anniversary present, housewarming gift, or something special for the wine enthusiast in your life! Entry is easy, just make sure you follow my blog via Google Friend Connect and leave a comment telling me what you'd do with glasses if you won!

This giveaway is open to US residents only and it will end on Friday, January 13th. You can also find Jen at her website, her blog, Facebook, and Twitter. Good luck!

I hope you all have enjoyed my little celebrating handmade mini-series! As you can tell, it's something that's so important to me and also to our economy. Coming from someone who has their own handmade business and was raised by a woman who owns her own business, I cannot express how important it is to support these companies! Sometimes it can be really easy to run to Target for a last minute gift (I'm guilty of this too!) but next time consider buying local or handmade! You never know what difference you're making in someone's life! XOXO

Celebrating handmade, day 2!

In case you missed yesterday's post, I'm doing 3 days of celebrating handmade and featuring some of the Etsy shops we've been buying from for our wedding! This is day 2. Make sure to check back tomorrow for the third, and final post! You won't want to miss it!

It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to give as gifts for our ring bearers. Since we have 5 (Yes, FIVE! We have a lot of little boys in my family and I didn't want to exclude anyone!) I knew I had to find something that would work for several age groups and also be budget friendly. I wanted to give them something useful too, so I started thinking about what they were going to wear on our wedding day and bowties came to mind. I couldn't get Mando to wear one, so why not my ring bearers? I thought they would be a fun and unique gift and the parents could re-use them after the wedding as well! Once I had the outfit planned out I started my search for the perfect bowties. My sister found Dana Eckert on Etsy for me and I contacted her to see if she was up for the project. Not only was she excited to work with me, but she was very knowledgeable and quick to respond (if you've ever planned a wedding, you know how important that is!).

The ages of our ring bearers will be 15 months, 22 months, 2.5 years, and two 9 year olds. Those are huge age differences so I was excited to learn that Dana's bowties range from sizes 6 months - 9 years. I sent her a photo of the color I was looking for and she found a fabric that matches perfectly and shipped out the bowties in no time! I was so excited when I got them because not only are they adorable, but super well made! I'm pretty sure they'll last a long time even with toddlers wearing them! Here's a picture of how they turned out... I'm obsessed and can't wait to see all my favorite boys rocking these on our wedding day!

Here's a little bit of background info about Dana and how she got started on Etsy:

Growing up in a family with my mother as an artist, it seemed only natural that creativity would be an essential on the daily activity list in our house! I started sewing at a super young age of 9 years old, and have always kept it up. Sewing was a way that I could create and make items that are “just me” and pattern making is a craft that I learned to do through the years. My grandmother and mother were super experienced sewers and taught me the skills needed to make anything as professional and beautiful as your imagine would let you!

How did start up my Etsy Shop? After years of making handcrafted gifts for friends and family, a woman in the grocery store suggested that I start selling my dresses….so I did! It has given me the freedom to work from home, and jump on any new inspiration that may appear!

I reside in a small little town in Ontario, and am so pleased to able to do what I honestly enjoy doing! Having so many wonder and loyal customers has enabled me to continue doing what I love- and be inspired by all requests and feedback that everyone brings to me! I am for sure a lucky girl!

Don't you just love the personal stories behind each Etsy shop? It makes me even more happy to support these small businesses! Now one of you lucky readers will have the opportunity to win one of these adorable Dana Eckert polka dot bowties! The winner can chose whichever of the colors they like below and the size they need! These would be perfect one-of-a-kind gifts or keep them and use them to dress up your little one on Valentines Day! To enter, just make sure you are a follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect and leave a comment telling me which color is your favorite!

Follow Dana Eckert Designs on Twitter @DanaEckertDesigns or on like her on Facebook here. The giveaway is open to everyone worldwide and will be open until Friday, January 13th. Good luck everyone! I know you will fall in love with these sweet handmade bowties like I did! XOXO

Wedding Planning Wednesday - Celebrating handmade, day 1!

Happy 2012 everyone! I hope you all had an amazing holiday season with your loved ones! We had a great time being home and spending time with each other... that's what it's all about, right? Now that it's a brand new year though, I'm ready to dive back into wedding planning, blogging, and making new fun items for Mama Matryoshka! This first post of 2012 is one that is super special and important to me and I hope you all enjoy what I have in store!

One of the things I've been really passionate about during the entire wedding planning process is supporting local, handmade, and small businesses. My wedding planner is just starting up her own business and same goes for the company doing my cake and dessert table. I'm more than happy to hire them and help grow their businesses and I think it's so important for others to do the same. We have also been buying items from local shops and flea markets and using antiques instead of buying brand new. Also, the majority of the decor is either handmade by me and my sister or bought handmade from Etsy. Not only are you supporting a small business, but every item is unique and one-of-a-kind! This is so important to me and I know our wedding will reflect that. To demonstrate my love for handmade, I wanted to do a fun 3-day series celebrating handmade! I'll start by featuring a beautiful Etsy shop and doing a giveaway!

I was so excited to come across the Etsy shop Krumpets Designs on my search for our bridesmaids and flower girls gifts. I really wanted to give them something beautiful that they can wear and that goes with our vintage/burlap and lace theme. After telling her a little bit about our wedding, she custom designed 3 necklaces for my bridesmaids, and 2 matching headbands for the flower girls. Her vintage inspired pieces are so gorgeous and well made. She makes amazing garter sets, bridal hair pieces, and even ring bearer pillows! I just love her aesthetic... here are a few of my favorite pieces and a little bit of background info:

1, 2, 3, 4

Krumpets is a way for me to express myself and to bring the excitement and fun to others lives. My absolute favorite thing is to see others faces light up when they open their product, or see something I have made for the first time. I started out as a young married college student into photography. From there, all the creativity and craziness started. It was amazing to see how a photo can change from adding accessories, and putting a little bit more time into it! Every time I look at a photo, it represents a moment in time that I wont forget. That is what I want to bring to others. Amazing products that make their precious moments last a life time.

I have been married for 15 years! I have 5 beautiful kids who inspire me to be creative. I spend every free moment making things for my kids and others that I love. Every day is a new day to create and experiment. I love to be able to take something "usual"...and make it extraordinary!

 Here are the beautiful necklaces she made for my bridesmaids, headbands for my flower girls, and the garter set for me! I love them so much I'm ordering a matching hair piece to wear on the big day! The quality is unbelievable and they look even better in person! I'm SO excited to give these to my bridal party!

Now for the fun part... the giveaway! The winner will receive this beautiful magenta lace garter. It would be perfect for the spring bride or anyone who wants to fancy up a little bit for their husband!

The giveaway is open to US residents only and will end next Friday, January 13th. To enter, just make sure you are a follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect and leave a comment telling me your favorite item from Krumpets Designs! And be sure to leave your email address as well so I can contact you if you win! You can find her Etsy shop here and Like her on Facebook here.

Good luck everyone! And make sure to check back in tomorrow for day 2... I have another Etsy giveaway for you coming up! XOXO

Christmas cards!

Last Thursday we took our annual Christmas pictures and as usual, I've waited until the last minute possible to order our Christmas cards! This year I'm ordering from Tiny Prints and I'm kind of obsessed with their selection. I looked through all six (yes, SIX) pages of their holiday cards and chose a few favorites ones!

find it here

find it here

find it here

find it here

Cute, right?! I love the variety, too. They have everything... elegant black and white cards, Hello Kitty Christmas cards, pet friendly cards, and colorful, modern cards. In the end we decided to go with this one which was the very first one I saw and I love it! It had a spot for all 3 of our photos and I love the colors. They'll go perfect with our peppermint hot cocoa handmade Christmas gifts!

If you haven't ordered your holiday cards yet, make sure to check out their selection of cards here. Right now they have free expedited delivery to arrive by 12/23 or you can pay a little extra to have them rushed to you even faster! Happy holidays everyone! XOXO

Giveaway! Bountiful Blessings Baby Boutique

As you may remember, I have an obsession with fun and unique hats for baby boys. Let's face it, when you have a boy you kind of get shorted in the cute accessory department. I mean, baby girls get bows, tights, headbands, and jewelry and boys only get hats! So I may or may not be going through this insane hat phase for Cayden. Seriously, it's a problem... I can't stop buying them. One of my favorite places to browse around for cute hats is of course, Etsy. You don't get much more unique than handmade items! Since we are also BIG on the sock monkey here (Okay, I may be obsessed with that too) I started searching for sock monkey hats. There's actually quite a large selection, but I couldn't find anything I liked until I stumbled upon Bountiful Blessing Baby Boutique and saw this hat:

Isn't it adorbs?! It has the perfect neutral color pallet with a pop of rich red and the pom-pom on top is to die for! I started conversing with the shop owner and telling her how cute her hats are and she was sweet enough to send me one to review! Of course I jumped on the chance and a few weeks later I got the hat in the mail. First of all, I was so impressed with the quality. Handmade items can be hit or miss, and sometimes don't look as good in real life as they do in professional photographs. That was not the case with this hat! It was soft and sturdy and the craftsmanship was fantastic! You can just tell that it's durable and that it can really withstand the test of time. I couldn't wait to put it on Cayden and as soon as he woke up from his nap, I tried it on and started snapping pictures.

Okay, I know he's my son and all, but is he not the cutest baby boy in the entire universe?! Anyway... I've been putting it on him every day and I can't get enough! Luckily it's been cold and rainy this week so we've already gotten a TON of use out of it!And guess what? You guys are in luck because one of you now has the chance to win ANY item from Bountiful Blessings! And another one of you will win a 50% off promotional code on the item of their choosing! That's 2 winners, people! And don't worry if you have a girl, because there are PLENTY of options for the little boy OR girl in your life! Just LOOK at these adorable hats!

Girl Sock Monkey Earflap Hat

Baby Bunny Hat

Little Lion Earlap Hat

Homespun Newborn Bear Beanie

STUNNING right?! And the great thing is that she can custom make the hat to the exact size you need! Everything is 100% handmade by her in a smoke free home. Her prices are extremely reasonable (ranging from $17-$23) and she's more than happy to take on custom projects! Overall I had an extremely good experience working with her and I would recommend this shop to friends and family in a heartbeat. And I've already gotten a ton of compliments whenever he wears it!

Now let's get down to business...

GIVEAWAY RULES:

1 winner will receive the item of their choice in the Bountiful Blessing Baby Boutique Etsy shop. Please allow up to 2 weeks production time. A separate winner will receive a 50% off promo code to use on the item of their choice. The giveaway is open WORLDWIDE and will close March 10th.

Mandatory Entry: Heart the Bountiful Blessing Baby Boutique Etsy shop - AND - follow my blog via Google Friend Connect.

Extra Entry: Follow me on Twitter - AND - tweet 'I want to #win an adorable crocheted hat at the Domesticated Delight #giveaway! via @Johnna_Mama http://tinyurl.com/4hz3y36' - only once per day please!

Please leave a SEPARATE comment for EACH entry! Winner will be announced March 11th. Good luck!

CSN review comin' up!

I'm pleased to say that I have been contacted by CSNstores.com as a Preferred Blogger to do yet another product review! I am so excited! CSN has over 200 online stores easily accessible from their website selling anything you need from cookware to tv tables! You may remember when I reviewed my shiny new hand mixer... I'm thrilled to do it once again! Stay tuned darlings, the review will be coming soon! Perhaps another Christmas present for Cayden is in order!

I hear those sleigh bells ringing...

Now that it's November I have Christmas on my mind. I can't believe I have a little over a month left to do everything! One of the things I need to do is get Cayden's Christmas pictures taken, put them on some cards, and actually SEND THEM OUT. I spent money we didn't really have getting his birth announcements/thank you cards from Shutterfly.com after he was born and I never mailed them (they are currently collecting dust under my coffee table). I was really angry at myself and now it seems a little ridiculous to do it when he's 3 and a half months old. HOWEVER, baby's first Christmas is a big deal and I want to get something that we can hold onto forever. I found a good deal at a local photography studio and I'm going to get pictures taken and put them on holiday cards. And I'm mailing them out people!

I love Shutterfly because I think they have the cutest designs, the best prices, and the pictures don't come out blurry (like Snapfish ALWAYS does). I got the opportunity to do a review in exchange for 50 free holiday cards. Bloggers, this is a great opportunity! Anyone can do it regardless of stats and the number of followers you have. If you're interested in doing it click here.

My style for Christmas cards is festive, but simple. I want you to know you're getting a Christmas card without getting assaulted by reindeers and snowmen. When browsing Shutterfly's Christmas card page I picked out a few of my absolute favorites!

















Isn't this adorable? I love the contrast of the Christmas colors with a black and white photo. It looks fun and classic.

















I also love this one. Of course the polka dots are my favorite part, and I also love the red and brown combination.

I just found out that Shutterfly also does invitations perfect for your holiday parties. How easy is that?


















This one is my favorite! My mom always does a Christmas cookie swap during the holidays and it's something I look forward to every year

And did you know you can get gift tags as well? It's a one-stop-shop!





















I found this one which matches one of my favorite cards!

So make sure you check out Shutterfly for your Christmas needs this year! If you sign up for a new account you get 50 free 4X6 prints! And if you don't want to pay shipping you can pick your prints up at Target, CVS, or Walgreens in an hour! Convenient for all you busy mamas!

Happy Holidays lovelies!

Domesticated Delight Halloween Event - CSN Stores review and chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe!

To many holiday enthusiasts, Fall and baking go hand and hand. I am no exception to this sentiment and many an October night you will find me in my kitchen barefoot and aproned. To me, Fall means the spicy smell of cinnamon and nutmeg wafting from the kitchen and warm, cozy, comfort foods on the dinner table.

Prior to this Fall I was living in the dark ages... Mixing batters by hand and letting soup bubble and steam in a big ol' pot on the stove. I didn't know the wonder and savory aromas of the crockpot. The speed and ease of electric hand mixers were beyond me. Until now.

I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to review some products from CSNstores.com. If you haven't heard of them, I urge you to get acquainted. Like, now. No really, I'll wait...

Now that we're all on the same page you surely know that CSNstores is a domestic girl's dream. You can find bakeware, throw pillows, and shoes (!!!) all in the same place and you don't even have to leave your couch. If that's not easy I don't know what is. I was a little bit intimidated when facing the choice of products to review. So many options! But then I remembered what time of the year it was and I knew what I wanted. After browsing the site this crockpot and this electric hand mixer caught my eye. The possibilities! I've had countless slow cooker recipes saved in a folder for ages and I knew I needed a hand mixer, badly. I placed my order and eagerly anticipated my new goodies.

I was pleasantly surprised when I was sent a confirmation email as well as shipping information and a tracking number soon after placing my order. (I may or may not have stalked the UPS site) Clearly customer service is a priority of CSN stores. You can imagine my excitement when I received my package a few days later. I immediately knew which recipe I was going to try out for my hand mixer... Chocolate chip pumpkin bread!

This morning after putting Cayden down for a nap I decided it was the perfect time to try my mixer out. I double checked that I had all the necessary ingredients, tied on my apron, and got to work.
















First I combined my dry ingredients and whisked them together with a fork. Then I did the same with my wet ingredients. Now was the moment I had been waiting for... to try out my new mixer!
















It was GREAT! What normally took minutes now took seconds! And when your not-so-consistent 3 month old is napping that is a definite plus.

Now that my ingredients were mixed together, I poured them in my greased loaf pan and popped my pumpkin-bread-to-be in the oven. Just in time for Cayden to wake up from his nap!
















What started as this, turned into this 65 minutes later...
















Can you say yum?!? This pumpkin bread has quickly become my favorite Fall food. It has just the right amount of pumpkin flavor and the chocolate chips just melt in your mouth especially when you have a piece fresh out of the oven. Mando and I couldn't stop eating it and we had JUST finished breakfast.
















The conclusion to this story (other than your new favorite recipe)? Next time you're wishing for that gadget you've had your eye on or a new toy for your 1 year old nephew or even the perfect piece of art to hang in your living room make sure to go to CSNstores.com! You don't even have to leave the couch, I promise. I can't wait to try out my crockpot next!


Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp clove
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin, and milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Source.

Enjoy!

Domesticated Delight Halloween Event - And the winners are...

First off, I just want to say thank you SO much to all of the sponsors of this giveaway event! It has truly been a pleasure to work with each and every one of you and I wish you all success! Secondly, thank you to everyone who participated and entered into the giveaways. I hope you guys have enjoyed them! If you don't win this time don't worry... I plan to do more giveaways in the future so be sure to stick around!

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for... THE WINNERS!


Giveaway #1 Spooky or Wicked block set from Summers Scraps:








Giveaway #2 Lucky 13 wooden art frame from Red Sangre:








Giveaway #3 Ruffle bum batty onesie from Dreaming of Stitches:








Giveaway # 4 Custom scrapbook page from Pinky's Crafts:










Giveaway #5 Halloween prize package from The Back Porch:












Giveaway #6 Frankenstein bib and pumpkin tea towel from Two Girls Laughing:











Giveaway #7 Pumpkin hat with bow from BabyDo:








Congratulations! Winners, please email me within 48 hours with your name, email address, and shipping address in order to claim your prize! If I do not hear back from you another name will be chosen. Thank you!

CSN Stores – Upcoming product review!

I am so excited to tell you guys that I’ve been give the opportunity to review a product from CSN Stores! In case you all didn’t know, CSN Stores has over 200 online stores for you to shop through… You can find anything from baby toys to cookware or even a bar stool! You can literally spend all day browsing their site (not that I did that or anything… *cough*) The item I will be reviewing has to do with baking and pumpkins, but you’ll have to come back to find out!

Domesticated Delight Halloween Event - Giveaway #7

As you guys surely know by now, I am a bit obsessed with baby girl accessories. Specifically flower headbands, little hats, and sweet hair clips. I just think they automatically add so much cuteness to an outfit! Now don’t get me wrong, I think there is a fine line between having a boulder attached to your child’s head and having a sweet little flower or bow which is exactly why I was happy to find Allison over at the BabyDo Etsy shop. Allison has been making headbands, hats, and hair bows for over 7 years. She started her business when her and her husband was stationed on Okinawa, Japan with the military and has been doing it ever since! She started her Baby Do Etsy shop this summer to focus specifically on baby accessories and is working to expand it to include toddlers and young girls. And you can customize anything you like to the color bow you want and the size you want! I also love how reasonable her prices are. I’ve seen some Etsy sellers charge up to $30 for headbands and hats and Allison’s prices start as low as $4.25! Look at her adorable accessories!

This black ruffle bow on a black crocheted headband is PERFECT for Halloween!



I love the colors on this Halloween inspired bow on a black stretch headband!



Your little girl could rock this orange polka dot bow at the pumpkin patch!



So are you ready to WIN?!? The winner of this giveaway will win this adorable soft fleece pumpkin hat with your choice of attached bow! (I personally like the polka dot one, but then again I’m obsessed with polka dots). How cute would your little one be sporting this sweet hat on Halloween?



Here’s how to enter:

Mandatory entry:

• Become a follower of Domesticated Delight
• Heart the BabyDo Etsy shop here
  

Extra entries (1 each):

• Follow me on Twitter here
• Tweet 'I entered to #win an adorable pumpkin hat with bow at the Halloween #giveaway event hosted by @Johnna_Mama http://tinyurl.com/2a2fa2x’ (once per day please!)
• Mention this giveaway on your blog (make sure to share the link!)
• Visit this post and this post and read the instructions on how to get an extra entry
  

Please leave 1 comment for EACH entry. So if you Tweet about it, that's one comment. If you blog about it, that's another comment. If you only leave 1 comment for everything it will only count as 1 entry so make sure to do it right! :)

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents and the winner will be announced on 10/18/10 at midnight. Good luck everyone!