Hip Hip Hooray!

I have some very happy news today!  For the last month I have been sitting on some exciting news for Stik A Pin In It and I have been a bit of a nervous wreck.  But now the wait is over and I can share with everyone… 

About a month ago I was contacted by a lovely lady through my Etsy messages. She asked if I would be interested in sending her a picture of one of my Needle Minders (have no idea what that is? Check out the link below to the listing in the Etsy shop) that is listed in Stik A Pin In It, so that it could be featured in a quilting magazine,  Love, Patchwork  & Quilting.  My first reaction was YES! YES! YES! Without a doubt YES!  And then I thought, wait, who are you?  Is this legit? Am I being pranked (really I don’t know what kind of prank that would be, but I thought it folks!). But after doing LOTS of research, asking some trusted peers, and discussing it with the hubby I decided to send in the picture, and give it a go.  During my research I learned that Love, Patchwork and Quilting is a publication of the larger magazine Mollie Makes, which is a popular UK crafting magazine...that I absolutely adore!  Needless to say I was excited, but I was also terrified!  What if they didn’t use it after all?  Or what if it looked ridiculous?  And my all time favorite crazy thought, what if they are using my product for an example of what not to do?!  Like a Hot or Not and I was the Not! Hahaha, I seriously should not be left alone with my thoughts… In the end, it did make it in the magazine, it does NOT look ridiculous, and my feature is a regular feature about a product they like and want to share with their readers...and isn’t that just plain exciting?!

     Love Life Feature in Love, Patchwork, and Quilting

I mean something that I made is now officially in print. In PRINT!  And to be fair it’s also for download as an e-version as well...in fact that’s the only version I have at the moment, well, because the magazine is a UK publication and I have to wait for it to arrive in the mail.  I’m hoping it arrives soon because I’m really not a very patient person!!!

If you want see the featured needle minder or one of the many needle minders, mason jar pincushions, hoop art, and various sewing and stitching accessories check out my Etsy store, Stik A Pin In It!  And if you want to see this blurb head on over to Love, Patchwork & Quilting to dowload an e-version (they even have a 1 month free special going on!) or wait until it's stocked in your local bookstore or news stand!

I'm really excited about this and I hope that it means more exposure and new opportunities!  This is the first time I have ever had something of mine in print or even online and I'm over the moon!  I know it's not the last time though, and hopefully the next time I'll be able to keep my cool and not freak out quite so much... Yeah. I know. I'm not fooling anyone:)

Till Next Time,

One Excited Chick (AKA Shelly Lyn Nguyen)

Glamberjack Party and Pancake Breakfast: Sneak Peak!

It's PARTY TIME lovelies, and the latest party had a theme that will put a little hair on your chest and glitter everywhere else...and here's a little sneak peak into the Glamberjack (belated) birthday party that happened this weekend!  Just in case your asking yourself what exactly a Glacmberjack party is, it is simply a Lumberjack theme with lots of glitter, gold, and well, glam!  Since it was going to be a crafting party after the Pancake Breakfast I wanted to add a little glitz to the theme to make it a tad more fun!

Later this week I will be posting an overview of the party planning and execution as well as some diy's and lots of fun pics from this fun filled shin dig!  But to get you excited here is a tiny sneak peak of what's to come!

I even found a way to add some embroidery and bows to the party!

I'm pretty sure that your drinks taste better when being consumed from a Honey Bear with a bow tie:)

I can't wait to share more of this lovely little party with you!  Make sure to check back or follow my blog for updates and more post about the Glamberjack Pancake Breakfast!

Peace, love, and Honey Bears (bow-tie wearing Honey Bears;)
ShellyLyn Nguyen

The Zombies Are Coming Giveaway!

Heeeelllloooo My Dearest Peeps!!! 

     The time has (finally) come and the Zombies are on the way!!! Be forewarned, there will be lot of exclamation points in this particular post. Why, you ask? Well, because I can...but also because I frickin LOVE Zombies! I do, I really, really do! I don't normally do gore, or horror, but there is just something about a good zombie movie, or TV show, or game, or comic, or... Okay you get the drift. I blame the teenager. As much as I hate horror and gore she adores it and zombies have always been her favorite I guess it rubbed off;) Anyways...enough chit chat and on to the GOOD STUFF!!! 

     So in honor of The Walking Dead starting back up at the begining of this month and the new Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare being released at the end of this month I am throwing (my very first ever!) a zombie themed Giveaway! Unnnnngggggggg!!!!! (that's zombie speak for WOOO HOOO! 
                ❥❥❥ Want to know what you can win? Well here you go!❥❥❥

1.The Walking Dead Hand Embroidery Art as a lumbar Pillow OR Hoop Art in a 7x15 wooden oval frame (as seen in pic above).

2.A Funko Pop from the Walking Dead or Plants vs. Zombies line (the winner will get to choose from a list upon winning)

3.Days Gone By Vol. One of the Walking Dead graphic novels by Robert Kirkman

4.Goodies from both Stik a Pin In It and Lyn Nguyen Boutique! All handmade by moi or the Incredible Mr. N!  These include 

•Felt Pincushion rings

*Birthday stat poster customized for a person of your choosing 

*Bow Necklace

*Felt Cocktail Ring

*And who know what I will feel like throwing in along the way! It's my first giveaway so I'm feeling generous! 

 ❥❥❥To Enter just fill out the Rafflecopter Form Below!❥❥❥

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please leave me a comment or message me if you have further questions and GOOD LUCK!

Peace, Love, and Brains!

Here is some of the boring Stuff (this is also listed in greater detail in the Rafflecopter rules and guidlines

*You must be 18 years of age to enter into this giveaway. 
*This Giveaway Starts February 16th 2014 and will end on Saturday February 22nd 2014 at Midnight  
*Disclaimer- The Walking Dead Funko, Robert Kirkman or any other product featured in this giveaway are not affiliated with this giveaway. These items have either been made or purchased by myself. 

*You must be a legal US resident with a US postal address for the item to be shipped to. I'm so very sorry to exclude any international peeps that stop by, but I'm still a bit intimidated by the whole giveaway thing...but I promise to do more research and hold lots more giveaways! 

Fake It Till You Make It

Hello There My Beautiful Peeps!!!

  It's been awhile since I have posted and I'm ashamed of myself for neglecting it this long!  The Holidays got crazy busy, and as happy and excited as I was that the shops seemed to be doing well, I got way overwhelmed.   So I put the shops in vacation mode and took a little vacation while Mr. N was taking his and while the Teenager was on Winter Break.  I needed it...we all needed it.  Things were starting to get hairy around here, and I was probably not the easiest person to live with (though I think the Teenager feels like that the majority of the time anyways ;).  So we watched movies, played games, made crafts that were silly, fun and non shop related, read books that had nothing to do with how to run a small business and more to do with zombies, assasins, and vampires, Oh My! and vegged...like hard core!  Anyways, before I knew it, New Years had passed and Mr. N went back to work and the Teenager was soon to follow...this meant it was time for me to discard the pajama pants, hoodies, and baggie tees, put on a pair of jeans and strap into a real bra so that I could join the land of the living...and this is where things get tricky.  It should have been easy, I was excited to get back into the swing of things, to start fresh with the new year!  However here it is February and this is my first blog post of the year, and all the big plans I had for the shops and blog just seem to have come to a stand still, like I'm just running in place.  So it's time to blow of the stink, break out the real bra, and just Fake It Till You Make It as my old dance teacher used to say!  If I have a motto that would be it, fake it till you make it,  act like you know what your doing, push yourself to go through the motions and eventually you won't have to "fake it" anymore!  So that's what I'm doing.  I'm starting with this blog post, I kept wanting to start back with an amazing post about all the wonderful things coming this year, and I wanted to have a bunch of stuff in place before I posted it...that just didn't' happen...but better done than perfect right?! (but more on that later)   

I really do have big plans this year!  I have some really exciting ideas I can't wait to share with everyone...I'm creating new items for both shops (some of which are starting to get added to the shop now, like some of the adorable pincushions in the pic below) trying out new things, like my very first Giveaway (and the prizes I have in mind are going to be quite fun...so make sure to stay tuned!) and hit you all with some tutorials, and freebies on the blog!

    Don't ya just love these pincushions and rings?!  Lots more colors being added by the day:)

Something you should know about me is how very much I love The Walking Dead, and in honor of it starting back up this Sunday (2/9/14) I am throwing a Giveaway...Walking Dead style!  Make sure you click on all those social media icons on the main blog page so you keep updated and don't miss out!!!

So now it's time for me to go get busy, I plan on holing up in the house this weekend and getting my craft on while I wait for Rick Grimes to come back into my life!  Hope you all have a lovely weekend and be safe with all this nasty weather out there!

Peace, Love and Procrastination:)

Monday Mood Board: Creative Collection December 2nd- 8th

 

Hello Again my Peeps! It's another week, a fresh new month and an exciting Holiday Season! I have my weekly Mood Board (that never seems to get published on Monday) ready to motivate me. So lets see what I have planned and what is inspiring me the most right now...and hopefully it will help to spur your creativity along as well!

1. Spark: Well for me and mine (as well as many of you out there) it’s Christmas Time!  There is just something amazing about this time of year! And nothing gets me in the mood more than a Christmas color scheme!  Red, Green, and White is my go to palette, and I use it, in some way, every single year. This year, I'm also adding chalkboard to jazz it up!

2. Projects and Progress: I am so excited about this little guy and his friends that I am stitching up! Why you ask? Well because I made him.  And I don’t mean I just stitched him... I dreamt him up, then I drew/doodled him (about 50 different ways) and finally stitched him!  This is a big deal because a decent stick figure is huge accomplishment for me! If you want your own little Reindeer Games Hoop art/Ornament check out Stik a Pin In It on Etsy. Come on, do it...you know you want to.

3.  TBR & Reviews:  I found this lovely little ebook, A Hip Handmade Holiday, on one of my favorite blogs, The Alison Show and I fell in love.  Many of these projects will show up in my holiday decor and friends and family might even get a few of them wrapped up all pretty under their trees! And make sure to check out The Alison Show...this lady rocks it!

4. Guilty Pleasure:  Doppio-  An espresso double shot. Or as I like to think of it, pure heaven.  I have been living off of these as of late, and drink WAY too many in a day. But I can quit whenever I want, I can, if I wanted to that is... but come on, who would want to?! 

5. Featured Friday: Felt is my new favorite material.  I can’t get enough of the textures and colors, and the possibilities are endless.  Recently I discovered felt balls and decided to try my hand at making them myself...I then promptly went straight to my laptop and ordered them pre made in various colors and sizes from other Etsy shops.  So make sure to read this Friday’s Featured Friday Post all about my frustrating foray into felt balls and all the wonderful things I can’t wait to make with them...at least the ones I bought from other people...ha!

So time for me to go stock up on Doppios, craft supplies and cheesy Holiday movies and get busy on my month of handmade holiday goodies!

Peace, Love and Felt Balls,

ShellyLyn Nguyen