Reading Material

So I have been surfing the net off and on for the past two days trying to help get the creative juices flowing. In my search, I have stumbled across a few websites and blogs that I thought were worth sharing. So grab yourself a cup of coffee and curl up with your laptop somewhere comfortable so you can spend some time perusing through some of these sites. Hope you enjoy them!





www.craftgossip.com is a great source of ideas and information on everything from bath and body products to stamping. It's in the form of a daily blog post. There are even competitions and giveaways.

http://www.etsy.com/storque/ is an Etsy blog that showcases new talent, fresh shops, weird or odd merchandise, sellers tips, links to top posts of the week, instructions on new craft ideas, etc. I can easily spend an entire afternoon reading through everything on this site!

http://confessionsofacraftaddict.com/ is another fun blog to check out when you get a chance.

There are two local photographers that I think are wonderful so I am including links to both of their sites!

Amanda Anderson Photography is located the southside of Richmond. She specializes in children/teens, families, babies, maternities and now weddings. Check out the gallery on her website at www.amandaandersonphotography.com.

Jennifer, of Warthan Family Photography, has a wonderful blog where she shares lots of the incredible photos she takes of life on the farm. She also specializes in wedding and family photography. She offers a unique farm setting in Waverly for her photo sessions. Check her blog out at http://thecottonwife.com/.

The Craft Show Season Is Upon Us!

With the fall season upon us we are getting geared up for a busy craft show schedule. Below you will find a list of some of the shows we hope to see you at:

• Saturday, October 2nd: Craft Bazaar at Christ United Methodist Church (6818 West Grace Street, Richmond, VA). 9 AM – 2 PM. There’s something for the whole family including bake sale, silent auction, children’s activities, Moon Bouncer, pumpkin patch, games, craft show and more.
• Saturday, October 23rd: 2010 Fall Harvest Event at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church (10627 Patterson Avenue, Richmond, VA). 9 AM – 3 PM. This family-oriented event will feature artwork from local elementary schools, a bake sale, Christmas and other crafts, hands-on children’s crafts, food collection drive for the Central VA Food Bank, Calyspo Cuban Café, local talent showcase, and pet adoption drive.
• Sunday, October 24th: Pumpkin Palooza at Good Shephard United Methodist Church (9155 Hungary Road, Richmond, VA). 2 – 5 PM. Come on by for food, fun and fellowship. There will be bounce houses, live entertainment (“The Taters”), a pumpkin patch, costume contest for kids of all ages, and a craft show.
• Saturday, November 13th: Woodlake Arts & Apples Craft Show at Woolridge Elementary School (5401 Timber Bluff Pkwy, Richmond, VA). 9 AM – 3 PM. Crafters from all of the state will be on hand showcasing quality arts and crafts as well as delicious homemade baked goods.

We are checking into additional shows in November and December. Don’t forget to sign up as a “follower” of this blog so you can be updated on all our events and activities. You can also follow Busy Lil’ Bees Designs on Facebook!

As a way to say thank you to our loyal customers, we will extend you a 10% discount on your entire purchase at one of our upcoming craft shows if you mention seing this blog post.

Customized Christmas Cards Now Available

The countdown to Christmas is on and it's never too early to get a jump start on those Christmas chores--like picking out the greeting cards you plan to send to family and friends. Why not wish them a very merry Christmas with a handmade greeting card? We have six designs to choose from to start and I will be working on additional designs in the coming weeks.

I designed and created all of the cards--with the help of my Cricut and MTC software along with and an extra pair of hands (my wonderful husband who is an excellent help). The cards are available for purchase individually or as a set. We even offer FREE personalization.

Because each card is its own unique creation, please keep in mind that you will need to allow 7 - 10 days for card set orders. That is why we are making these cards available now--to give you plenty of time to get your order in.

The cards have been posted for sale on our Etsy site (www.busylilbees.etsy.com). Check them all out when you get a chance. We will also be adding them to our main website at www.busylilbees.com soon. If you are local to the Richmond, Virginia area, we will waive shipping costs and make arrangements to meet you in person to deliver your card order. If you are interested in this option, please send an email to nhebbe@busylilbees.com.

October is going to be a busy month as we kick off our seasonal craft shows. Don't forget to check back as I will be posting our schedule and even more new products being released soon!

First Day of Fall

Today is the first day of the fall season. It is probably my most favorite time of the year. I love how Albert Camus, a French author, philosopher, journalist and Nobel Prize winner, described the season: “Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.”

September brings the sounds of school bells ringing at the start of a new year, tailgate parties signaling a new football season, local activity calendars are chock-full of fall bazaars and craft shows, apple trees become ripe for the picking, days grow shorter, and cooler temperatures are enjoyed (at least traditionally). It’s a wonderful time of the year to make a daylong trip to the nearby Shenandoah Valley to do some “leaf peeping.” Seeing all those majestic trees, with their leaves boasting every autumn color in full display, is such a welcome sight.

I feel most creative at this time of the year. The last several days have been spent working on creating several Christmas greeting card designs. I hope to have these all wrapped up and ready to display by the end of the week so that we can begin taking orders. So don’t forget to keep an eye on my blog and our websites.

In the meantime, I couldn’t help but take a break to create a free paper piecing project to celebrate the season. You can download the file here. Feel free to use it for your own special projects and don’t forget to take a picture and email it to me (nhebbe@busylilbees.com). I will post it on my blog for all to see!

I will also be listing our upcoming fall craft show schedule by the week’s end. We hope to see you there. If you mention you saw the show advertised on our blog, we’ll give you 10% off your entire purchase.

New Updates

I feel like I am finally getting back into my creative groove! I was able to complete a few personal card projects over the weekend.

I also took some time to create a Facebook page for Busy Lil’ Bees Designs. Don’t forget to “like” us so that you can automatically receive updates on upcoming craft shows, new products, promotions, etc.

Speaking of promotions…within the next few weeks, we are going to be running a promotion for followers of both our blog and our Facebook page to win free gifts. Keep checking back for more information.

We will also be updating both of our websites (www.busylilbees.com and www.busylilbees.etsy.com) so don’t forget to take a moment and check those out as well.

Finally, I will be feverishly working this week on several Christmas greeting card designs. I know you may think it is a little early to be thinking about Christmas already, but it’s only 95 days away. If you want to get a head start on ordering your holiday greeting cards before they are all gone, make sure to either follow this blog, our Facebook page, or visit our websites frequently!

Wedding Madness

Well, it’s been 26 days since my last blog entry. UGH! I had such high hopes for keeping up with my blogging, but alas, life always seems to throw a few curveballs in there that knock you completely off the plate! With my baby sister’s announcement that she was getting married (in four weeks) and needed my help in putting her magical day together, I became quickly overwhelmed…suffering what I call “wedding madness.”

Now that the wedding day has come and gone (and went off with only a hitch or two), I have now been able to actually get some sleep so that I can regroup and get my head back into the game. So I am making the time to update my blog today. I wish I had a whole host of freebie paper piecing projects to offer, but as you can imagine…if there was no time to blog—there was no time to create!

Instead, I will share some photos of the designs I created for my sister’s wedding. I’m considering adding them to the line of products we carry on our own website (www.busylilbees.com) and on our Etsy site (www.busylilbees.etsy.com). Just keep in mind that I haven’t been able to update either of those two sites during my wedding madness, so plan on checking back in a week or two and you will see the latest products we are offering then. In the meantime, I will keep plugging along and plan to have a few free paper piecing projects to share in my next entry. Until then...