100 Facebook "Likes" Giveaway!

 This giveaway is now closed. The winner is Maria I.! Congrats!

This weekend, my Betty Bow Blue Facebook page reached 100 "Likes"! As a special thank you to all who helped me reach this goal, I am hosting another giveaway. But the best part about this giveaway? You get to choose your own prize! (Excluding headband holders).

Prize options will include ONE of the following (click on each item to view):

• Fabric pom ring
• Poppy ring
• Poppy earrings
• Re-purposed vintage ring
• Button bracelet
• Girl's headband

Other options available, but not currently listed in my shops, include felt dahlia convertibles, (many color options available, can be attached to pins, hair clips, headbands, belts, etc.):

This baby or infant headband:

Your choice of two felt hair clips or hair ties, (other colors available):

Or a single pom necklace (many colors available):

This giveaway will begin at 12:00 AM, Tuesday, February 19th and ends at 12:00 AM, Tuesday, February 26th. To enter the giveaway, follow the simple steps in the Rafflecopter widget below. (ONE easy-peasy mandatory entry, the rest are optional). Update: If you are having difficulties posting a comment at the bottom of this page, then leave your comment on my Betty Bow Blue Facebook page instead, and go ahead and count it as being done on the Rafflecopter widget!

(Links to my Etsy shops: Betty Bow Blue;  Betty Bow Blue, too)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to all who enter, and don't forget to share this giveaway with your friends! 

Giveaway Choices

**This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered. The winners were Kristen J. and Jennifer D.!**

This is primarily a photo post. As promised, here are the photos of the necklaces that will be available for the winner of my giveaway to pick from:

Red, Yellow, Turquoise, Royal purple, Butter cream, Champagne, Chocolate, Coffee, Periwinkle, Sage

Yellow w/white; Pink w/pink; Lilac w/black; Hunter green w/red; White w/black; "Dorothy"; "Winter Wonderland"; "Lila"; "Autumn Leaves"

Not shown, but also available: "Aurora" (orange); white on silver chain; sky blue; "Holly" print; pale yellow; "Georgie" print; and "Lexi" print. (Contact me if you would like to see photos of any of these).

And in case you were wondering how on earth you would wear/style one of these necklaces, here are a few ideas:

Polka dots are "in" right now!

Camera faces are, too.

Wear under a cardigan.

Or on top.

White works too.

Under a chunky sweater.

An added pop of color!

With an ill-fitting cable-knit sweater.

Proudly wear your school colors!

Or an understated neutral.

 The possibilities are endless! Or nearly endless. Which color is your favorite, and how do you plan to wear it if you win?


Click here for details on how to enter this giveaway.

Pom Necklace Giveaway!

 **This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered. The winners were Kristen J. and Jen D.**

It's a giveaway! My first one. But don't get too excited. It's a small giveaway. It's not a $100 gift card, nor a new sports car, or a vacation in the Caribbean. Just a little accessory to brighten up these dreary winter days.

I am giving away a fabric pom necklace to two, yes TWO, lucky winners! And better yet? The winners get to choose the color they would like to receive. And let me tell you, there are plenty of colors to choose from! I've got red. I've got blue. I've got yellow, pink, and green. What I don't have, however, is a photo of all of the necklaces that you get to choose from. I am hoping to take one tomorrow, but for now, here is a selection of some of the necklaces available: Update: Follow this link to view available necklaces.

"Autumn Leaves"

"Dorothy"

"Lila"

Lavender w/black

Red w/ silver

"Aurora" w/ bronze and removable black bow

Champagne w/ bronze

Chocolate brown w/bronze

Turquoise blue w/silver

Royal purple w/ silver

Not the best photos, but you get the picture. (Ha ha ha). Other colors available are bright yellow, butter cream, coffee, sky blue, sage green, etc., and various other prints. To get an idea as to how these necklaces look:

Carnation pink w/ pink cord

So here is what you need to do:

1. Mandatory: You must "Like" Betty Bow Blue on Facebook to be eligible for this giveaway (this does not enter you in the giveaway, it only makes you eligible). Follow the link above.

2. Mandatory: To enter this giveaway, all you need to do is to refer 5 friends to Betty Bow Blue on Facebook. (These friends are NOT required to "Like" the page for your entry. All they need to do is leave a comment telling me that YOU sent them there). It has been mentioned to me that perhaps my giveaway "rules" are too complicated. That I am relying too much on the kindness of others. So to make things easier, simply go to my Betty Bow Blue Facebook page and leave a comment telling me which color you would like to win and you will be entered.

And that's it! Easy peasy. Refer 5 friends to be entered in this giveaway.


But wait! That's not all! Here is how you can earn additional, (optional) entries!

3. For every friend you refer to my page, you will earn an additional entry.

4. Blog about this giveaway on your personal blog to receive 1 more entry. (Don't forget to leave a comment on my Betty Bow Blue Facebook page with the link so I can verify!)

5. Tweet about this giveaway for 1 more entry. Again, leave a comment on my Betty Bow Blue Facebook page with the link to your tweet for verification.

That's a total of 4 possible entries.



And that's it! This giveaway will end at 8:00 am EST on Sunday, January 27th. The winners will be announced on Sunday, and will have 48 hours to contact me to collect their prize. If they do not respond within 48 hours, then they will forfeit their prize and a new name will be chosen.

So get going! Start referring those friends, and don't forget to share, share, share! And while you are waiting for this giveaway to end, feel free to check out  my Etsy shops, Betty Bow Blue, and Betty Bow Blue, too!

Best of luck!

A Stranger to My Blog

It has been a loooong time since I have posted anything here! I suppose it's because I have been busy trying to build my business, but also because blogging can be a little tedious at times, and time-consuming! Taking photos, editing photos, writing posts, editing posts, etc., it all takes time that I could be spending on something else. But I am making a vow to myself to start blogging more; at least once a week is my goal.

A little update on what has been going on. In addition to being home with my 3yo, and trying to build a business, I am babysitting from my house a few days a week too. I am also trying to keep busy making the rounds at local craft fairs. I have been to two in the past couple of months, and both were mild successes.

I have also opened up a second Etsy shop. I wanted to keep the number of listings in my shop down, so I decided to separate my items for women from those for girls and teens. Women's items, including those shown below, can be found at Betty Bow Blue.

Button Bracelets-$18 (Available in various styles)

Poppy Earrings-$12 (Available in gold, white, purple, pink, green, and red).

Poppy Rings-$9 (Available in green, red, white, purple, light blue, and gold)

Fabric Pom Rings-$12 (Available in various colors and prints)

Vintage Rings made from re-purposed clip-on earrings- $15-$22.50

Items for girls and teens can be found in my new shop, Betty Bow Blue, too! Here you will find my popular padded headbands, and various hair accessories, including hair clips, headbands, and hair ties. Here is a selection of some items available (or available soon).

Headband Holders-$25

Bubble Puff Headbands-$9-$11

Felt Flower Headbands- $9 (Available in fuchsia, red, and purple)

Felt Flower Hair Clips-$4.50 (Available soon)

What does the future hold for Betty Bow Blue? Hopefully some more business! I have also been thinking of getting into the "wedding scene", as my sister says. I have already sold a bunch of poppy rings as bridesmaids' gifts this past fall, and I have another bridal order set for next year.

I am finally starting to figure out what works and what doesn't, what sells and what doesn't. I will definitely be continuing with the headband holders, but some items may only be available at craft shows, as they seem to sell better there than online. Either way, 2013 will probably see a few changes with Betty Bow Blue. You will have to stick around to find out!

Headband Holders

Selection of headband holders that I made for a recent craft fair. Headbands fit snugly around the padded base. Two ribbons for attaching hair clips. Lids remove for extra storage inside. Custom orders are currently on hold unless a canister can be provided.

I still have the black & white damask, blue & yellow argyle, and ladybug ones in stock. Have enough fabric to make one more of the rest, among other designs and colors. $25 (+tax in NY). $20 if a container is provided. Read a little more about them HERE.

1. Black & white damask 2. Blue & yellow argyle 3. Polka dots 4. Retro Round 5. Happi Medallions 6. Ladybug Graden 7. (No longer available).

(The purpose of this post was really to give Allison an opportunity to "pin" this to her Pinterest. :-) You can follow her on Pinterest. And while you're at it, follow me too!

Happy pinning!

To Makeover or Not to Makeover?

I've been thinking of giving Betty Bow Blue a mini-makeover. I was printing out my own business cards and packaging, but quite frankly cutting out each one got a little old. I ordered new business cards, with a new logo on them, and would like for everything (cards, packaging, Etsy shop, etc.) to be cohesive.

New business cards

I chose my original image because one of my sisters thought that everything should have a 40s vibe to it because she felt that my products evoked that feeling. The newer image is more modern. Which do you like better? Should I stick with the old one or welcome the new? (See poll on the right sidebar).

Etsy banners:

Old

New

Logo:

Old

New

Opinions?

New Headband Holder

I know that I haven't posted the survey results for the headband holders yet, but I wanted to share one that I made today. I wasn't really planning on starting these already, but I had received two requests through Facebook for one. Then I found out that there is an upcoming craft fair in town that I am trying to sign up for (waiting for the woman in charge to email me back). So I decided to make some of these earlier than planned in anticipation for the craft fair (on February 18th).

I prepared all of my materials the last night:

I had high aspirations of finishing two of these today.

And impatiently waited until naptime today to "whip" one up.

Here is the first one that I have made up (excluding my "mock-up" that was shared in the survey):

The blue fabric is for the next one.

This darn thing took me about TWO hours to finish! And that's not including the time that it took me to measure and cut the fabric and the batting the night before.

I'm not really sure if I like how this one turned out. The pom fringe doesn't really look how I had pictured it would, and I think it might be a little overkill once headbands and hair clips are added. There is a dark purple in the fabric, which coordinates with the ribbon and fringe, but it's a little difficult to see in this photo. There are two hair clip ribbons on this one (the consensus from the survey was to have two), and the padded lid removes for extra storage inside, for hairbrushes, combs, hair ties, etc.:

Tabs inside prevent it from falling inside the container.

I am still debating whether or not I want to try to track down some bases for these, as shown in the mock-up, using one of my votive bases:

What do you think, don't worry about a base, or definitely include one? Ditch the pom fringe, or keep it?