Meet the Blogger: Tia Mckenzie from Lady Stitch Has a Glitch.

Hi Friends!

How are you? How is your summer going? Ours has been pretty busy. The three older kids have all attended camp, as a family, we went to a conference in June, we finished up school, have gone to the pool, two of our kids participated in the kids day of Arts Fest just today. I have been running around trying to figure out where to send our youngest to school next year. Just this week we finally have that figured out for the most part. I got to be at a craft show a few weeks ago. My shop Mt Nittany Creations has been in several giveaways online. I have been selling my wares in a shop in Clearfield for the last several months and have an opportunity in August to be an artist in a Pop-up shop and go to Bead Fest in Philly. I am so excited about this opportunity. I also have started being a distributor for Young Living Oils. Needless to say, life has been full. Hence I have been kind of absent on my blog. I am sorry for that because I love the opportunity to introduce you all to some really neat people.

So for today's Meet the Maker we actually have a blogger, who similarly to me is trying to support small shops. So I am going to allow her to take over my blog and tell you about herself. Without further ado, let's meet Tia.

Hi! I am Tia. I am 27. I grew up in Arizona, but my home is now in Northern Idaho. I am a mom of three. Two stepdaughters and one son. Ages 12, 9 and 2.

I don't do crafting anymore (at least not to sell!) I am strictly a review / general life blogger. I started blogging as an outlet. My friends and I are all grown up now with children of our own so when I didn't see much of my closest friends anymore, at the time I was a stay at home mom I didn't get much social interaction with anyone. So I created working through life's glitches.

I was having the hardest time writing without sounding winey. I mean my days were pretty routine. I was dealing with a teething baby and my fiance was working full time and in school full time. After talking with my sister (who is a review blogger as well) she got me started on reviews. I thought this is an excellent way to help other companies out to get their names out there and it gives me a subject to write on. Plus I get to work my daily life into it! So it began.

Now I work full time, mom full time and blog almost full time. It works, I get to be creative, I get to help other companies, and I get to experience what is out there for small companies.

https://ladystitchhasaglitch.blogspot.com

https://www.instagram.com/unbelievably_stitch/

https://www.facebook.com/ladystitchesglitches/

DIY and Product Review: Pumpkin Carving using a Pumpkin Carving Kit from Vita

Hi friends. How are you? How has your week been? We are doing much better. It seems we are finally coming out of all the sickness that has been hitting our family. I'd love to hear from you. Comment below or email me.

Recently, I was contacted by Abby, a representative for a premier Arts and Craft brand, to review their Pumpkin Carving Kit and write a blog post about my experiences. I am excited to share with you how it went and a carving contest that Vita is sponsoring that goes in conjunction with Halloween and this fall season.

I ordered the toolset through Amazon. Here is what it looked like when it arrived. My kids were very excited to get started. Last weekend, we had the opportunity to head to a local farm for their Apple Festival and purchase our pumpkins.

We started by laying out all of the fun stencils that are included in the kit to pick which one we wanted to use.

We went with one of the jack-o-lantern faces. Whipped out the tools and started working. My husband loves to work with his hands so he got right in there and took off the top using the saw from the kit and had us all helping him pull out the guts.

We found it easier than in years past to get the guts out by using the scoop tool included in the kit. In years past we have used various large spoons and such to help us scrape out the guts. I think the scoop was one of my favorite tools.

We then proceeded to tape the stencil to the side of the pumpkin where we wanted to cut out our face. We then used the poker tool to poke the corners of each part of the face. We removed the stencil and drew the face with a permanent marker using the pokes as a guideline.

Then we went back to using the saw and cut out the face by following along the face lines that we drew. Each of us took turns using the saw to cut out different parts of the face.

Our families thoughts on cutting out the face:

"This was fun." 12-year-old daughter.

"Fun" 10-Year-old daughter.

"Fun" 8-year-old son.

"Was this fun?" asking our 4-year-old "yeah"

" I wish it was electric." Jeff my husband, "but it worked well."

I think it worked really smoothly. Seemed to cut through the pumpkin really easily and seemed easy to follow our lines we drew for our face. Each of our kids, minus the four-year-old, seemed to be able to handle the saw fairly easily. We didn't really use the etching tool but probably would if we had been doing a different design.

The tools seem really sturdy and easy to use for all sorts of ages. Great kit for the whole family. We had a lot of fun carving our pumpkin and if we have time hope to carve out four more before Halloween. The kit seems reasonably priced and it arrived quickly through Amazon. Anyone out there looking to do some fun pumpkin carving this would be a great kit to get. Vita has given me a coupon to be used by my followers. Look below for the info on how to purchase and for the coupon. In addition, Vita is having a Pumpkin Carving Contest. See below for more info.

Here is the Company and Product Info:

• LINK TO PRODUCT(NOTE: link redirects to Amazon):http://vitacarving.com
• EXCLUSIVE 20% OFF COUPON CODE: QQL8Y4FW
• Vita's FACEBOOK: Vita For Home
• Vita's INSTAGRAM: @vitaforhome

So here are the simple details regarding the pumpkin carving contest Vita is sponsoring:

1. Must be a pumpkin (of course!)
2. All entries must either be published to Instagram with @VitaForHome tagged and hashtags:

• #VitaForHome
• #CelebrateWithVita
• #CarvingContest

OR the contestant can email their submissions to hello@vitaforhome.com

3. The winner will be announced on November 20th so contestants will have time to participate even after Halloween.

4. The prize is a $200 Amazon Gift Card.

How exciting is all of this! I hope you will join us and get one of these fun pumpkin carving kits and enter into their contest. Don't forget to use the exclusive coupon included above. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will try and answer them.

Have a great rest of your week and please share pictures with me if you do end up getting the kit and carving out a fun pumpkin. I would love to see what you create.

I did receive this product to give my honest opinion on the product and to share about their contest. In addition, there are affiliate links included in my blog. If you click on one and possibly purchase something you can help support my blog. Thanks in advance.

Product Review: Silk Scarf from Maria of Singing Scarves.

I have been blessed to meet some amazing artists through my journey into the maker world. Maria is one of them. Maria makes hand-painted silk scarves and silk paintings. When she offered to make me a custom scarf, I was very honored.

Communicating and working with Maria went great. She is easy to reach and more than willing to work with each of her customers. Her scarves and paintings are exquisite and her customer service is wonderful. Her children even join in on the painting with her.

Maria has been painting silk for over 18 years. Her scarves and paintings really show the years of skill she has gained. When I received my scarf, I knew immediately how special it was and how I would treasure having this piece of wearable art.

The scarf came with a special individualized pamphlet. It was so sweet telling me how it was made, how Maria sings over each scarf she makes trying to send the joy and messages of her songs to the recipients. It also includes care instructions for the scarf. There was so much care and love put into the package, that it added to the beauty of the piece. Maria puts it this way through her website:

"Singing Scarves are not just the pieces of handwork.

They are not even just the pieces of art.

They are very special gifts to very special people.

Every scarf has a "message" in it -

it might be an extra touch of creativity, devotion, health, love." 

This I have found to be true of the scarf she sent me.

Maria has a great thing going on her. Her scarves are well worth it. I am not sure I can add anything to what she is already doing. The one thing that I would love to see is some type of logo that would remain consistent through all of her online presence. But otherwise, I think I can truly learn from her.

Maria is doing a great business through Etsy and has her own web page and is on Facebook and Instagram. Head out and follow her at one of her various web locations.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/singingscarves

https://www.instagram.com/singingscarves/

https://www.facebook.com/SingingScarves/

http://singingscarves.com/magic/special_gifts.htm

Product review: Necklace from Tasha Moore of Moore Creation 33.

Hi, friends! Happy Wednesday. How are you? How has your week been? Ours has been a little tough trying to get everyone back into the whole school routine. But I am thankful to get back into a more structured routine each day.

I love helping out fellow makers in any way that I can. That is one of the reasons I started this blog. If you would like to know more email me.

Today, I am so excited to bring you another product review, a polymer clay pineapple necklace from Tasha of Moore Creation 33.

Tasha allowed me to pick out what product I would like to test. I chose the pineapple necklace because one of our daughters love pineapples. The package arrived quickly and was nicely packed. Tasha even sent some really cute planner clips for me to use. Thank you for the extras, Tasha.

The necklace is very well made and so adorable. I had my other daughter model it so we don't ruin the surprise for her sister. My eldest really liked the necklace and was asking for one for herself. I love the little face on the pineapple and can't wait to give it to my other daughter for her birthday.

I think Tasha is doing a great job. Her product is great and well made. In her own words, she told me a little about how they are made. "Each clay piece is completely hand sculpted, cured then glazed to make them as strong as possible." Tasha has great communication and is wonderful to work with.

I would love to see Tasha take her branding to the next level and improve on her product photos. I think that if she settles on an official logo and starts using it on her social media, Etsy shop and her packaging, it will only improve on a great product. I would have loved to see her package arrive with a logo that I can relate to her shop and that when I see it I think oh that's from Moore Creation 33. Also, her product photos don't do justice to how wonderful her product truly is. Maybe she can invest in a better camera, taking more photos and putting them through an app to help improve on them.

Don't let this critique deter you from purchasing from Tasha. Her product and service are great and I think that over time, as she learns, and develops her business, she is going to really succeed and go far.

You can find Tasha and Moore Creation 33 online at the following locations:
https://www.facebook.com/Moorecreation33-1939560419614709/
https://www.instagram.com/moorecreation33/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MooreCreation33

Each product we review is sent to us with the intention of receiving our honest opinion on their product.

Our blog has affiliate links. If you use these links you will be helping to provide a way to keep this blog going. Thank you for your support.

Product Review: Oil Cloth bag from Sheryl at Sew Happy 17.

Hi, friends. How are you? How has your week been? What have you been up to this week? Today I have the great pleasure of writing a review of Sheryl's Oil Cloth Bag.

Sheryl gave me the great pleasure of picking out which bag I would be interested in reviewing. This was a fun and difficult task since there were so many choices. Sheryl has a wide array of fabrics to choose from. She also carries a variety of styled bags. I went with a fun blue and white print that I knew would be very useful for our family. I had the pleasure of using it last week on our mini staycation with friends.

Sheryl's package arrived promptly, was wrapped really nicely and contained not only directions on how to take care of the bag but also some extra goodies for me.

The bag and my goodies!

I love the little stickers that Sheryl used.

I had the opportunity to put the bag to use immediately. I really like that it is made out of oil cloth it gave me the chance to use this really pretty bag to carry around some swim items to take to an amusement park. It is also very sturdy and did well carrying around my ipad for our youngest to use for down time at various activities during our vacation.

Look at the fun inside fabric and it has pockets!

love the size of this bag.

This bag is a great size and it also has two pockets along the inside and one big compartment. You could really put this bag to good use in many different ways. These bags are also reasonably priced. With the holiday's quickly approaching these would make a great gift for that bag lover you know!

I think my one critique would be that Sheryl's bags can only be found on Instagram at this time. I think it is a great venue to sell handmade goods, but so many people are missing out on the opportunity to own one of these cute bags.

Make sure you head over to Instagram and check out Sheryl's feed.

https://www.instagram.com/sewhappy17/

Disclaimer 1: Amazon links are affiliate links, so if you click them to look at stuff, you’ll send a small commission our way at no extra cost to yourself.

Disclaimer 2: The maker sent me a free bag in exchange for an honest review.

Product Review: Natural and Organic products from Manning's Handmade Crafty Creations

Hi, friends. How are you? How is your week going? Our week is going well. We have started back to homeschooling. It is nice to have more structure to our day again.

I have the special privilege to review some products of my friend Tamara from Manning's Handmade Crafty Creations.

Here is the selection that Tamara sent me. There is so much to choose from. I will have to come back and review some of the things that I can't do today. Today I will be sharing with you about some hand soap and face soap that I am trying out of Tamara's creations.

When I opened my package I was hit with such a heavenly array of scents. They definitely tickled my fancy and my nose hairs in a good way. I couldn't wait to finish the bar of soap that I had sitting on our sink so that I could start using Tamara's soap. As you can see she has sent a great many of samples I can't wait to try them all.

The first soap that I want to share with you is the one pictured above. I believe it's the Oatmeal, Coconut oil and honey soap. The soap leaves my hands smelling lovely and feeling smooth and not dried out like other soaps tend to with my hands.

The second soap is a facial soap. This one has a lite scent and I love how it leaves my face feeling clean and smooth.

So far I have really loved all the products I have used from Tamara's shop.
I highly recommend you give her products a try.

You can find Tamara's shop online at:
https://www.facebook.com/manningshandmadecraftycreations/
http://www.manningshandmadecraftycreations.xyz/
https://www.instagram.com/manningshandmadecraftycreation

Product Review: Doterra Essential Oils. Seller Esperanza Lacayo from Essentially Love it.

Hi, friends. How are you? How is your weekend going? I am really excited to start our new endeavor of product reviews. I hope to get into reviewing handcrafted products because you see so little of that. I want to help and promote the small shops and get them some more advertising. If you are a small shop and would like us to do a product review head over to our product review page and follow the directions.

Today, we are reviewing Doterra Essential Oils. I was given a sample of this product for my honest review. Esperanza sent me three different samples peppermint, melaleuca, and lavender. The samples arrived in an envelope with three little glass bottles. I first tried out the Lavender. I was having trouble sleeping so after reading the suggestions on what can be done with the oils, I decided to sprinkle some lavender on my pillow to aid in sleeping. It seemed to help me to settle down that night. I did wake with a stuffy nose. I am not sure if I am just having an allergic reaction to the oils or what ever is blooming outside.

Next, I tried out the Melaleuca while washing my hair. I didn't see much difference. You may have to try to use this several times to get a result. I hope to try it out again.

The last oil for me to try was the peppermint oil. This one I placed on the back of one of my clay necklace pendants because it was unglazed and porous their and would absorb the oil. I think that it cleared up my stuffy nose a bit. It smelled very nice around my neck. Made me think of candy canes and such.

I don't know how specifically Doterra manufactures their oils. I know some other companies have special manufacturing. My guess is I will use oils again. What company products I will use, I am unsure of at this point. Esperanza is very sweet. She would be a great advocate to work with and buy your oils from. Here is a small blurb from her web page.I was introduced to the world of essential oils and loved the high-level quality of the products and decided to become a Wellness Advocate to advocate for my own overall health and wellness and help others reach theirs as well.

You can contact Esperanza through these links:
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/essentiallyloveit/
Website:https://www.mydoterra.com/essentiallyloveit/#/