Calling All Cat Lovers

In honor of my precious furry children, I am looking to feature etsy shop cat items on my blog. To be considered either leave a comment here or convo me on etsy! Items will be featured later this week!

Designer Favors is being Featured

Designer Favors has been chosen to be featured on Budding Creations blog!!! Please stop by and check it out!

http://www.budding-creations.blogspot.com

Also, Budding Creations is having a Fall Inspired Etsy Artisan Contest!! Visit her blog and see what it's all about or follow the link below. Deadline for final entries is September 30th.

http://etsyartisancontest.blogspot.com




Visit Budding Creations!

Great Gift for Teachers

It's back to school time and I found some great new items to use in the classroom or to give as gifts. Check out these terrific etsy finds.

Playing Dough
Did you know playing with Tic♥Tac♥Dough is not only fun, but educational too? Shhh-- the kiddos don't have to know!

Learning benefits:
• Promotes creativity
• Encourages generosity
• Builds fine-motor skills

Tic♥Tac♥Dough is available in an assortment of colors and scents. From calming lavender to brain-boosting orange; unscented also available! Gluten allergy? Gluten Free available!
http://www.tictacdough.etsy.com




Teacher Magnet Set
What teacher wouldn't love this at home or in the classroom!

The magnet was done on an embroidery machine. Rayon embroidery thread was used. It has 2 layers of a stiff fabric inside so that way it is not a flimsy magnet.

The magnet has a 1" wide x 2" long strip of a strong magnet on the back of it.
The ornament has a ribbon loop sewn into it.
karenannesdesigns





Classroom Clipboard
No more loose papers. Keep all of your lesson plans and homework assignments together in one super cute spot.

This is an altered art decorated clipboard measuring approximately 6" X 9". The front and back are covered in quality scrapbook papers and sealed with coats of mod podge as well as permanent acrylic sealer. Various ribbons decorate the clip at the top and there is also a hanger for hanging when not in use. The coordinating papers are in bright colors and various prints, including a cute alphabet print on the back. A great gift for a teacher!!!
kuteklipboardsbyamy

Please visit these great shops for more unique items!

Shape Up!

Designer Favors features 3 great gift box shapes to choose. Not only can you custom design your favor boxes to practically any color of the rainbow, you can also choose your shape.

Favors come in Round, Square or Heart shape. Perfect for weddings, showers, holiday parties, birthday parties, school events, everyday gifts, or just about anything!

The choice is up to you. Feel free to check out the many colors and styles on my etsy shop:

http://www.designerfavors.etsy.com

Back To School

It's back to school time and I'm looking for items to list! If you would like to be featured on my blog, please leave me a comment and a link to your item(s) or convo me. Items will be featured next week.

Here is my latest.

These beautiful paper mache square gift boxes are sophisticated and unique. Perfect for back to school teacher appreciation gifts.

Fill with candy, mints, paperclips, supplies or anything you choose. Each favor is hand painted and features a quaint classroom theme.

Gift boxes are done in the classic classroom colors: red, yellow, blue and green. Each has a white lid and is painted white on the inside.

Favors measure 3” x 3” and 1-1/2" high and hold approximately 1/2 cup of goodies.

Visit my shop at http://designerfavors.etsy.com

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Martha Stewart DIY Wedding Crafts

Martha Stewart Weddings in partnershiop with Esty is conducting a contest for handcrafted wedding items! The contest runs until September 1st with the winners being announced on October 15.

Designer Favors submitted two items. Please feel free to view and comment at Martha Stewart Weddings (follow the links)!

If you make wedding crafts you can upload your own creations! Good luck everyone.

Pink Rose Topiary
http://contributors.marthastewartweddings.com/portal/index.html?ctrl:id=window.default.ContestWindow&ctrl:type=render&ctrl:windowstate=maximized&op=vpic&user=1178211&ccomm=36776&offset=11&cPicId=98655




















Lavender Favor Box
http://contributors.marthastewartweddings.com/portal/index.html?ctrl:id=window.default.ContestWindow&ctrl:type=render&ctrl:windowstate=maximized&op=vpic&user=1178211&ccomm=36776&offset=10&cPicId=98656

Double Dipped Life Winner

I'm so excited. I was one of two winners on the Double Dipped Life 100 Follower Giveaway. The prize - a custom portrait of my son. Thank you so much.

Please visit the Double Dipped Life's blog at http://doubledippedlife.blogspot.com/

She has not quite reached 100 followers as of today. Sign up for some great reading!

Thanks again.

Spreading the Word

Great news! Designer Favors will be featured on Kindly Spoken's blog Wednesday, August 19. My first feature.

Please visit http://kindlyspoken.blogspot.com

Thank you Kindly Spoken for to opportunity. If you get a chance, please visit her etsy shop:

http://www.kindlyspoken.etsy.com

The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love

They say parenting is the toughest job you'll ever love. I do have to agree with that, but it seems now a days it's been even harder. I absolutely love being able to stay at home and raise my two year old son. He is the greatest thing to ever happen to me. But it was tough going from an on-the-go marketing manager to stay-at-home-mommy.

My son is getting more independent every day which started leaving me with a little sense of uselessness. Although he obviously still needs me, I also needed to feel more productive and have a greater sense of self-worth. I decided it was time to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning my own business. Thus, Designer Favors was born.

I started this project about 2-1/2 years ago before he was born but it quickly got put on hold with all of the demands of a newborn. In the past month I've really started to back into my business. I found a wonderful site called etsy which I believe is the best platform for my products. I've also found it very difficult to get things rolling. Fun, but difficult.

I never dreamed I would be keeping up a daily upkeep on Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, this blog and my own website. And I thought raising a two year old was tough! Which leads me back to the title of this post. Which is the toughest job you'll ever love? Your child or your "other child". Both require an enormous amount of nurturing, care and hard work. Although I am still in the beginning stages of my business, I can see this child will be as successful and rewarding as my real flesh and blood. In the end, I have to say my son is the toughest job that I absolutely love, but Designer Favors is a not too distant second!

Designer Favors Facebook Fan Page

Visit Designer Favors Facebook page and become a fan.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=115991817378#/pages/Designer-Favors/115991817378

Etsy Mini

Just discovered the etsy mini feature. What an awesome resource. It allowed me to update my designerfavors website to automatically link to my etsy shop without doing a lot of programming. I am not a web developer, but I was able to design my own website. It is a pretty time-consuming process for me and although I enjoy the design aspects, etsy mini saves me so much time and gives me a great end result.

I also discovered it can be placed in blogs and other sites, but I'm still learning the ropes. If you have an etsy shop and have not used this feature - check it out. It can be found on the bottom of "Your Etsy" under the Promotion section.

Working Hard on Etsy Shop

In the past week I've really been working hard on making DesignerFavors a success. So far I've:
- Worked on this blog (although this is my first post in awhile I've been working on updates and editing)
- Worked on a Facebook page (although it's still not complete, although I did get the word out on my personal account).
- Got involved in Etsy Forums (they can be addicting)
- Revisited my Twitter site and make some new contacts,
- Added new pictures to my Flickr account
- And most importantly I've made several new designs and have been experimenting with photographs.

No sales yet, but I am hopefully that things will pick up soon!

Check out my site at: http://www.designerfavors.etsy.com