Giveaway Winner

Thanks to all who entered and promoted the auction!  If I could send all of you something I would, but unfortunately there can only be one winner.  That winner is #22, Kim!

Kim said...

Oh so hard to choose!!! I love the photography packages!!

Congrats!  Email me at thedaintydaisycrochet@gmail.com with size and colors for your shell stitch beanie!

One week from today the auction begins.  I am still taking donatings. Get ready for some bidding wars!

Giveaway!!!

I've decided that it has been a long time since I have done a giveaway.  With everything happening with my sister's blog auction, I felt this was the perfect time to do another giveaway to spread the word.  So here is what I am giving away:

Shell Stitch Beanie with Three Mix 'n' Match Flowers

Whoever wins can pick the size they want and the colors of the flowers they would like.  I won't be able to complete the hat until May because I have other orders to fill, but it is a light weight hat made out of cotton yarn, so it works great even in warmer weather.

This is how to enter (be sure to leave your email so I can contact you):

1. Go to Bring My Nephew Home and tell me what item you want to bid on (hard to choose!)
2. Promote the auction on Facebook or Twitter  and comment about it here.
3. Attend the Bring My Nephew Home on Facebook and tell me about it (even invite your friends!)
4. Blog about the auction or add the auction button to your blog and tell me you did it!
5. Become a follower of this blog and tell me about it.

So many ways to enter!  Giveaway ends Sunday, February 27 at noon. 

Blog Auction Info

First of all, I have had a HUGE response to the adoption blog auction I am hosting for my sister and her husband.  I am amazed at the generosity of everyone who has donated items to this auction!  There are people we have never even met that are offering to donate.  God is good, and we feel blessed.

Now comes the next step; advertising.  It is great to have items to auction off, but they don't help us raise money unless there are people who bid!  This is where I am asking for more help.  I have begun to set up the auction site.  It is live, so people are able to go to the site and check out items up for bid.  Bidding will open up on March 6th, but this way people can preview all of the amazing items.  Check them out for yourself at Bring My Nephew Home.  Here is how you can help:

1. Join the Facebook event and invite your friends!
2. Blog about the auction to spread the word. Please grab my auction button below (big thanks to Diane at Something Diane Made for making this). 


<div align="center"><a href="http://www.boersmaauction.blogspot.com/" title="Bring My Nephew Home"><img src="http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p255/betsythompson/button_big.png" alt="Bring My Nephew Home" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

3. Promote the event through your Facebook status or email the link to your friends/family.  Send them here: http://boersmaauction.blogspot.com/
4. Bid on items yourself!  There are tons of goodies up for grabs and I have my eye on a few myself :-)

A huge thank you to all of you who have helped us this far and who are willing to further promote the auction.  You are a blessing to our family and your generosity is an amazing gift!

Blog Auction for Adoption

My sister and her husband are adopting from Ethiopia. They have three beautiful girls already, and have felt called to adopt a little boy. Hearing about their process has taught me a lot about the "long haul" of adoption, especially international adoption. I have learned that it takes a lot of trust, loads of patience, strength and perseverance, combined with a hefty price tag! The cost of adoption is upwards of $30,000 (now you see why this process takes a lot of trust!).

Jill and Jason had a fundraiser last May that was a huge success. They raised $10,000! God has been blessing them throughout this journey and has continually been showing himself and his hand through this process.

That being said, they still have some huge expenses coming up. Once they get their referral they will have to make 2 trips to Ethiopia before they can bring home their son. This is not a cheap endeavor (especially for a SAHM and Christian school teacher). So, I have really felt called to help them out.

Yesterday I came up with the idea of having a "Blog Auction" for them with some of the items I have had in my inventory for awhile. As I was thinking through this, I thought I would also ask if anyone wanted to donate their own items to this auction. I know that there are a ton of crafty people out there who are trying to get their name out, so this would be a great way for some free publicity, while helping out a good cause.

Here is how it will work. I have yet to figure out exactly when I will be doing this, but I am hoping to make it a week long event. As of now, I am planning on making each item a separate post so bids (comments) can be made easily. I will be the "middle man" for those who are donating items. I will send the winners invoices through Paypal, and then send the donors information on the winner. More details will come later, but this is how I am imagining this happening.

If you would like to donate please comment here or email me at bhuizinga@gmail.com. If you would like to bid on items stay tuned for more information on dates! So far we have crocheted items up for auction, IKEA products, photography packages, POSSIBLY Red Wings tickets, and some other baby items.

Thanks in advance to everyone who participates and helps out in any way, whether it be donating or bidding. You will be a part of bringing my nephew home from Africa!

To learn more about my sister and brother-in-law's adoption journey check out their blog, Five and Counting.

(please pass the word along too!)

Q & A

A couple of days ago I posted a status on my Facebook offering to answer any question anyone had. I always have questions for the writers of the blogs I read, so I thought I would throw this out there a an opportunity to answer some questions. So here they are:

Who is your favorite superhero?
Good question :-)  I would say that I think Batman is the coolest.  He drives a sweet car and has a way cooler costume than Superman.  On top of it, he has a cool sidekick, Robin, who is pretty good looking in the movie (Chris O'Donnell).  He has a secret lair and a butler too!  Superman is allergic to kryptonite.  What superhero is allergic to something?  Yeah, Batman wins.

How do you keep the seam on your hats straight?
Almost every hat I make, I start each row with a chain 3 and then dc into the same stitch.  I pretend that the chain 3 isn't there and join the end of the row to the top of the first actual dc I made.  I found that this makes a seam that stays straight, and it doesn't create a hole.  I even do this on hats that ask me  not to do this.  It is just how I prefer to create my seam.

OK....Seriously.  Where do yo get the time to get all your orders done?
Haha, I am in no way finishing orders quickly!  I have orders out until April.  I have learned that I need to be honest with my customers about the time it will take me to complete their order because I am one person who is also a mother, attending grad school, completing an internship, a wife, and sings in a group.  When I DO complete orders, I usually do it at night after my daughter has gone to bed.  I usually crochet most nights (except Tuesdays and Wednesdays because I have things I do till 10pm those nights).  I am often up until 11, but it is definitely my time to wind down and relax. I also try to take advantage of time in the car (when my hubs is driving :-)). 

How long have you been crocheting?
I started some time in college.  I think I was 20, so that would mean I've been crocheting about 7 years.  Trust me, it has been a learning process.  When I think back to the first couple of years I was crocheting, I have to laugh at my learning process of joining, increasing, decreasing, and how to read a pattern.  I'm really glad I stuck with it, even though I frogged a lot of projects.

How did you get your business going so strong? :) And how long did it take to get up and going?
Ya know, I feel like it took off faster than I even realized.  It is amazing how easy it is to get your name out there when you use the internet!  I started by selling at a couple of craft shows, and then started posting things on Facebook, started and Etsy shop and then started this blog.  I did a giveaway on Fingerprints on the Fridge, which helped bring some traffic to my site as well.  The biggest thing was networking, and then as people bought my hats they became automatic advertisement for me!  I would say I really started things in March or so, and by July I had steady orders in. 

Another great way hat my business has taken off is by selling at Village Kids Consignment Boutique.  They found my site on Etsy and asked if I would be willing to sell my stuff in their store!  They have been great to work with and have taken orders for me. 

I think the biggest thing is that I do what I love and I believe I produce a quality product.  I always put the customer first and try to please them.  Like I said, they are the ones that do the most advertising for me!  I keep it exciting by coming up with new styles and color combinations.

I would say that I feel that this past year has just been one blessing after the next with this.  I never thought that things would pick up like they did and that I would be sending orders to California, Alaska, and Europe and have people asking ME for advice on a project.  It has been flattering, exciting, and I really feel that God has had His hand in this endeavor. 

 
Thanks for your questions!  If anyone has anything else they want to know let me know! 

Superbowl Ready

Made this hat this week for my nephew, Owen. He turns 2 in March, but I HAD to give him his birthday gift early. His dad is a die-hard Packers fan and was quite excited about this! I can't wait to post pics of him wearing this!

If you want to make one for yourself I purchased the pattern here.