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:)

Creative Collection: Nov. 7th-11th

Hello Beautiful Peeps!  Hoping that everyone had a lovely and productive/relaxing weekend and that you're as ready to start your week as I am! 

I am starting up a new Blog Series that I will (hopefully) be posting every Monday...except this week, this week Tuesday is the new Monday.  The "Creative Collection" blog series will essentially be my week-at-a-glance...giving you an idea of what I'm working on, what's inspiring me, what new items will be coming soon to the shop, future freebies and tutorial coming up, a small sneak peak at the "Featured Friday" blog post coming that Friday (stay tuned for more on that later this week!) and a bit of a wrap-up from last week!  I just know that you are all waiting on baited breath to know what I am going to do next...so here you go;)

1. Spark: This week's inspiration (or creative spark if you will) is coming in the form of some lovely Fall colors.  When I can't decide on colors I always fall back on my two favorites... purple or turquoise (or even better, both).  In my opinion you can't go wrong with either one, and Design Seed created this color pallet, dessert hues, that I can't wait to use in my crafts this week!  

2. Projects and Progress:  I haven't had much of an opportunity to stitch lately, and this week I'm gonna change that! I love these little leaves that my cousin Jenna designed, and I'm trying to make myself work outside my comfort zone and stitch on colored and patterned fabrics...wish me luck! And if you adore these Autumn leaves as much as I do, don't worry, they will make an appearance in Stik A Pin In It very soon!

3.  TBR & Reviews:  Most people that know me know how much I love to read (maybe even more than crafting...shhhhh, don't tell anyone!) so I always have a book or two going.  Lately my reading has included a lot of How-To's/Educational books as well as inspirational materials, but I make sure to get to the good stuff too!  At the moment the good stuff is "Catching Fire".  It's a reread for me but I want a refresher before the movie comes out! I'm also pretty lucky that my "educational" reading is pretty dang entertaining...I recommend The Handmade Market Place by Kari Chapin to anyone starting up a small, crafty business.  I have also found a new guilty pleasure (guilty because it's not all that cheap...but way worth it) with Molly Makes magazine.  Seriously folks, if you love the crafty check this one out!

4. Guilty Pleasure:  And speaking of guilty pleasures... who among you have played the hilariously horrible game of pure inappropriateness, Cards Against Humanity?  Some of you are raising your hands proudly, some have no idea what I'm talking about, and some of you are hiding in shame.  I had a good friend suggest this to me a few months ago...so I ordered it and it came in the mail today!  Can't wait to break this out at the next adult game night!

5. Featured Friday:  I never knew I could love a cut up cardboard box and scraps of fabric so much, but I do, I love it, I love it so much.  I love it so very much that it's going to be the center of my very first Featured Friday blog post on, well, Friday.  I know you are all super jelly you don't have your own box and fabric magic, so I will be nice and share with you how my amazing husband, Mr. N, (whom I love almost as much as box and fabric...almost) made this simple contraption that changed my life...okay I'm being a drama queen, but it did make it easier.

 I have to say that last week was NOT an excellent week for me.   I was feeling very overwhelmed and a little under the weather... I kind of just wanted to curl up and hide from the world. Instead I got an unexpected visit from my mum (it doesn't matter how old you are, when you are feeling less than, we always want our mummies) and I went from moping to getting sh** done!   Now I feel refreshed and eager to start crossing off my to-do list...time to take over the world, or at least my small corner of it!

Later Peeps,
ShellyLyn Nguyen

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Hope you Monster Mash like no one is watching and that all the candy is full size! 

Boo to you from our crew here at Stik A Pin In It and LynNguyen Boutiques,

ShellyLyn Nguyen

Hello!

Okay so I am finally getting around to doing this whole blog thing.  Apparently this is a necessary evil when you are building a small online craft business, and I will do it, but I can't promise I will be any good at it!  I am much more comfortable with a pair of scissors and a glue gun then I am with a keyboard and an audience.  I guess I shall console myself with the fact that I have a very small audience at this point (even if that defeats the point;)  Okay, enough complaining, lets get to the basics!!!

Who: ME! Oh not everyone know's who me is? Okay well...Hello There!  I'm ShellyLyn Nguyen (it was about a month before my wedding that I said my full name out loud and had a total Julia Goulia moment...watch Wedding Singer, you'll get it).  I'm a lot of things, a mom, a wife, a substitute teacher hoping to get her Elementary Education degree, an avid crafter, lover of all things cross stitch and embroidery.  And recently an Etsy shop owner...which comes with it's own list of job titles..eg. Constant Blogger!  Hopefully this blog will help you to get to know me better and for me to reach out and meet some new faces as well as share and connect with peeps who have been here from the start!  I will also be introducing you to a few people over time that have helped me to get things off the ground...I think you will love them as much as I do!

What: What is this all about you might ask.  Since I made the plunge from hobby to business (or that’s the plan anyways!) I am creating a blog to go along with BOTH of my new Etsy Shops. You should definitely check them out, Lyn Nguyen Boutique at the moment is selling Hair Bows, some seasonal items, a few printables and in the future will have LOTS new seasonal stuff, various accessories as well as home decor and the thing I am most excited about is our Party Supplies and Decorations!!!  Stik a Pin In It is all about Needlework!  You are going to find, embroidery patterns, as well as pin cushions (hence the name stik a pin in it!).  And stay tuned for several new patterns, including seasonal ones, new pin cushions and other sewing accessories!  I will also be adding some DIY tutorials, free printables, and party planning post to the blog that hopefully you guys will really enjoy!

Where: Here on the Blogosphere of course! Well that and both Etsy stores...and we can’t forget about all the social media outlets! I have a LynNguyen Pinterest Board as well as a FaceBook Page and an Instagram where you can see my latest and greatest!

When:  Ummm, Now? Yes definitely now.  So lets do this dang thing!

Why: It was time.  For years I have heard people say you should do this for a living...especially about the party planning and decorating.  Since I do NOT want to be a party planner this is the next best thing!  Plus my husband (who will now be lovingly referred to as Mr. N) who is wicked talented and super creative, encouraged me to get on it. He has been working with me and helping me to present things oh so much prettier than I ever could have on my own. We seriously make a good team;)

How:  This is the part I'm still learning.  The How.  How do you go from DIY's and party planning to running a small business and writing a blog, as well as making all your inventory?   I'm still learning about all that.  And that, my friends, is the journey I'm hoping you will take with me.

For now that is the gist of things.   I have several new blog post planned about the How and the Why that I am very excited to get up and going!  We also have some tutorials and DIY's for the upcoming seasons and Holidays, free printables, and a couple of giveaways coming your way.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, visit often and I hope you find some goodies you like in my Etsy stores!!!

I’m Out,

ShellyLyn

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