Taking the Plunge: Advertising & Marketing

Yes, yes, I've taken the plunge. I'm not talking about marriage here.

I'm talking about ADVERTISING. For someone with a little antique website like mine, it seemed like a big enough decision....almost like saying "I do."

You have to spend money to make money, right?

This autumn, you'll see my ad in Somerset Life! This will be my first time to be seen in a magazine! Exciting? You bet!

They sent me a sample copy and I really enjoyed it. Nothing like any other magazine I've ever had before. Thick, almost book like pages and lots of great stories on women who create and own businesses...with lots of great photos of antiques and vintage styles. Really quite beautiful.

Although stunning and a great read, I wasn't sure about taking this plunge. It is a new magazine... and I haven't seen it on a newsstand here yet.

But this magazine I have seen. The adored Romantic Homes. I even subscribe to it.

I called them to try and compare rates and advertise as well. Their sales team did not return my call.

Then I tried contacting them on their "contact us" section of the website. The email came right back to me.

So we'll see how things go with Somerset Life. If things go too well, I could be in up to my ears with work! (Of course, this is really a good thing!) Right now I am able to handle everything and take care of Dear Bebe at the same time. ( I may have to enlist Dear Hubs with his help in packing and shipping! )

I am looking forward to finding out. One thing I'm not afraid of .... taking a risk. You benefit either way. If it pays off then GREAT.... and if it doesn't, well, there is always something to learn.

When have you taken a risk? Did it work for you? What did you learn from it? I'd love to hear from you.

Walkin' On Sunshine, Baby!

We went on a pool playdate and had lots of fun.

There were 7 moms and about 10 children!

At one point it seemed like we were all in the hot tub and it was crazy!

But fun!

This is Bebe's friend... she was wearing her floatee outfit and kept touching

the front like it was her belly. She's too cute.

A great morning full of happy mom's capturing some happy

photographic moments! (That's Miss Leslie getting a picture of her little guy.)

Can't wait until we can all do it again in a few weeks.

Another reason to love summer!

A Lake House with Antiquing....and Shopping, Again!

Dear Hubs and I decided at the last minute to travel up north to visit with family and to check out a lake house.

Dear Bebe did pretty well on the ride...and looked excited as we started the journey...

Here is the view from the sun room. Look how great the view is! Having a place on a lake would be REALLY REALLY nice.

There's a cute deck for dining, docks to jump off, and places to bring your boat. I'm just not sure this would be the right one, right now.

We even looked at another one, right down the lane.

This one was so cute on the outside (I can just see the 4th of July fun we could have here!) but the inside needed a huge overhaul. HUGE.

Not really easy to do with a baby.

So it was fun to take a look. We have our dreams. And sometimes they come true. I keep telling Dear Hubs.

"Patience."

I'm not sure he appreciates my words of wisdom.

Then the next day my Dear Sister-in-law and my Dear Mother-in-law took me to a few of their favorite shops.

You know it when you see it. It's going to be good.

Those old, vintage, general stores with the big open shelving and wide counters on either side? You can just picture what it must have looked like in it's prime.

Just too cute. I love these old stores and so glad some towns have kept them intact. Although there really weren't too many antiques for sale in here... I did find some cute things for Dear Bebe.

Then we went to another collection of dealer shops in an older style home. The displays in this co-op are fun to look through.

Here, I happened to find baby clothes. One cute little pair of cotton overalls with roses caught my eye. Unfortunately Dear Bebe has already grown past this size!

My Dear Sister-In-Law was taking it all in. I'm so glad they asked me to go along with them...I love going to old fashioned shops and stores in small towns.

My kind of afternoon!

To see what I found ... check out my Bella Blog, here.

Antiquing Inspirations

This past weekend I went antiquing to stir my creative mind and also to find items to fill my online shop, Bella Rosa Antiques. I love browsing through the different dealer displays. My trusty little camera captured a few inspirational views:

These look like some oldies but goodies.

A collection of shells to remind me of the ocean...

Shiny elegance!Swirly sconces add a little drama!

What inspires you to work on your projects or decorate your home?

To see what I found on my search hop on over here to my Bella Blog!

Summer Time = Picnic

After having so much rain this spring we've really been fortunate to have so many beautiful days this July. Yesterday was a great day for a picnic.

Dear Bebe's little friend is absolutely adorable. Dear Bebe reached out and appeared to try and hug her. I thought it was so cute. Then her friend was trying to do the same thing but I think Bebe didn't know what to do at that point. Its so cute and fun watching her learn everything. That is her friend's Dad looking on. He must have thought it was cute, too.

We all gathered from our church at a local park and devoured homemade dishes brought by each family. I made my pasta salad that I wrote about last year here.


There were all kinds of goodies... fried chicken, potato salads, macaroni salads, desserts. Just what you'd expect from a summer get together. Fabulous! We are very fortunate to be so blessed with so much.


And Dear Bebe really enjoyed the baby swing.

Today Mommy is vewry vewry tired. Too much "partying" I think!

Hope you all had a great weekend. Tell me what you did for fun!

Spiritual Sunday ~ God's Rainbow Promise

After Noah left his ark, God gave him a promise to never destroy the human race again by showing a rainbow in the clouds. (Gen 9:13)

Whenever Noah saw the beautiful bow he knew God was keeping his promise.

How can we relate to this promise?

First, rainbows are associated with storms. Kind of like our storms of life. We see the beauty of God's promise shining through our gloom.

God gives us many promises throughout the bible. It is thought there are thirty thousand of them or more.

And what's even better, God's promises are unchangeable. They have remained the same throughout time.

Just like his rainbow.

For more uplifting thoughts...visit Charlotte and Ginger's Spiritual Sunday.

What's that BUZZ?

Shhhhh! What's that noise? There's something buzzing.

Do you hear it? Come on....tell me you can hear it.

I'm not sure where it is coming from...

Shhhh! I hear it again!

Oh my! It's coming from this package I just received from Oliver Rain.

Why it's a bumblebee backpack for Dear Bebe! HOW CUTE IS THAT?

Of course that's what the buzz is all about.

And a market bag for Mommy, too. (I was a giveaway winner! Whoo hoo!)

Thank you!

And handmade too. You just don't find wonderful things like this at the store anymore.

Only through bloggyland. Isn't it fabulous?

Hope you're enjoying the beginning of your weekend. I'm off to use my new bag.

Girl Time ... Digging Through the Hope Chest

Over the July 4th holiday we had friends of my Dear Hubby's over for a barbecue. They are also now my friends, of course. While the guys were outside running around, playing horseshoes, bocce ball and generally just getting sweaty, the girls were inside.

Having GIRL TIME.

One thing led to another and the next thing you know, I'm pulling things out of my hope chest I've been saving for "someday." For the longest time I didn't know if anyone would ever care...or if I'd have a little girl of my own to show them to. Well, I do have a little girl but she's not old enough yet.

But my friend's oldest daughter takes dance lessons and REALLY wanted to see one of my ballet costumes.

I even let her try it on!

Isn't she sweet? Now at this point I must mention she had gone to a swimming birthday party and her father drove them to our house in a convertible...so pay no attention to her airblown dry hair. Tee hee!

Then it was this Coca-Cola shirt that really made her mother laugh. Does anyone remember wearing these in the late 80's and early 90's? I don't know why I thought it necessary to save it in my hope chest, but I'm glad I did now.

I also shared other items I've been saving like my cheerleading jacket, disco purse (what did I need that for at age 11????), and sequined leg warmers.

One of my favorite things to do is reminisce.

I can't wait until I can share these things with Dear Bebe.

What have you saved for "someday?"

Bambi Sighting

I've been so busy lately I haven't been able to blog about the little fawns we had in our backyard. We live in the woods so this is why it looks like the "grass" needs to be mowed!

It was difficult getting these photos. Dear Bebe had just learned to crawl and I had to keep my eye on her and the deer. It was tough! After I had taken several I looked down at the camera and it read "No Camera Card." Aaaargh! Very frustrating.

So these are the shots I did get. I hope you enjoy the Bambinos as much as I did. They looked so frail and tiny compared to their momma.

Spiritual Sunday ~ Plugging In

(This devotional was written by Jim Liebelt.)

More and more, we are a culture that is dependent upon technology. I find that I rely heavily on technology today. Like many people, I own a cell phone, laptop, and a digital camera. These are great tools that I have learned to depend on from day to day. So, there’s no surprise that these electronics are dependent on… electricity. I pretty much run my electronic “tools” on battery power, and generally, it’s not a problem. Yet, if you are like me, then you know it always seems that it’s at the worst possible moment—when we really need to use that camera, make a call on that cell phone or send off one more email—that the batteries inevitably go dead. It’s so frustrating!

Okay, I know that I bring this on myself! I understand that I ought to keep on top of my battery charging, but I just don’t seem to get around to it. I think I ought to have learned by now that I need to keep these tools charged, especially when I can anticipate times when I have tasks that I need to make sure are completed. Often, anticipating the need is the issue, and is exactly where I run into trouble.

This is a simple, average life experience that has a profound spiritual parallel. We understand we are totally dependent on God to empower us to live life as faithful Christ-followers. We know that we have to stay plugged into the power source in order to be able to face the day-to-day challenges that life throws our way. Yet too often we fail to anticipate our spiritual need. We disconnect and attempt to live life in our own strength. And just when we most need God’s life flowing into ours, we find that our spiritual batteries are dead. Then we experience the remorse that comes from knowing better.

Fortunately, God’s power to recharge our lives is not far away. We don’t have to shut everything down, pack everything up and wait for next Sunday’s church service. We can access God’s power wherever we are through prayer. We can find strength in His Word. We can find support and empowerment through His people.

Today, if you find your spiritual batteries are running low, don’t wait. Wherever you are, plug in!

To really charge your spiritual batteries visit the Spiritual Sunday blog, hosted by Charlotte & Ginger...you'll be glad you did!

The Tatting Lady ~ Dresses, Hankies, Purse, Teddy Bear Gown

Once in awhile I receive a request to sell other people's handcrafted items. Since my website, Bella Rosa Antiques, is mostly about vintage items, I have turned most down. Recently I received an email from someone I wasn't sure I could say no to.

Her email started with tattinglady@.... and it gives her talent away.

Yep, tatting.

I've actually sold a few pieces of vintage tatting. But I didn't KNOW anyone who created these items anymore.

So, back to the Tatting Lady. Here she is in a photo she sent to me. She makes items of tatting, smocking, and Irish crochet.

Here is a snippet from her email:

I have tatted for 25 years. In Cork County, Ireland, the nuns brought out their lace work in 1845 because of the potato crop failure. With the money, the nuns gave the money to the poor who were eating grass. Once the lace work of tatting was seen, it was copied. I learned from a teacher when I was teaching first grade in Gillespie,Illinois. In Springfield, Ill. at New Salem Park, I demonstrated tatting and sold tatted items. I moved to Florida to retire. Now I still show and lecture to ladies, the lost art of tatting.

She even wrote an article about the history of tatting here :

And her pieces are GORGEOUS!

I mean, look at this hankie and framed piece above.

Sweet!

She sent me the photo above and the photos below. I'm sharing them with you and if you are interested in any of them...I've included the price on some.

Dresses 30.00

Booties 25.00, Bonnets 20.00

This amazing teddy bear outfit and these other items I am not sure of the price but I'm sure she would work up something for you.

Tatted earrings, too! Who knew?

I personally love this little bag. I also like the framed tatted piece, the hanky, and the tatted crown on top of the bear's head in the first picture. I can picture the crown with some fancy jeweled embellishments. Wonder if she'd do that for me?

She really does nice work and from what I'm seeing, she can create just about anything using this unique and old art form. Guess it's not lost after all!

Old Fashioned Charm

Over the long holiday weekend we took another trip to visit a quaint and charming small town. It has lovely shops to stroll along and great little cafe's.

Last year when I was pregnant we went there and had lots of ice cream. I mean, I had lots of ice cream! (I'm paying for it now!)

While this year we didn't stop for ice cream ... we did go in several of the cute shops.

Then we took Dear Bebe for a stroll in the lovely park and for a snack. I had just finished feeding her when we took the photo, which is why you might notice the cheerios still clinging to her chin...

There is a live spring flowing in the park which leads to a fountain. Lots of ducks to feed. Here she is on Daddy's shoulders... staring at them. I love watching her expressions as she discovers new things.

She enjoyed the park and we loved taking her. This age is really a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more with my sweeties this summer.