instagram – Elizabeth Smillie

little bits of life

August 3, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

It’s about time for an Instagram update on the little bits of our life, don’t you think?

{If you’d like to follow along, I’m @pltmarket on Instagram <3} coming soon to the shop – strawberry shortcake toppers! and the yummy, yummy left overs from taking the photos – taking your own photos can be hard, but the side effects are worth it :)I experimented with custom dying some doilies for a peach colored version of my doily garland – love how they turned out! And I’m thinking of adding something similar to the shop – thoughts?
this darling keeps getting sweeter! This last month Olivia was working on cutting teeth {and especially needy for her mama!} and we’ve been experimenting with new foods for her. She loves just about everything so far!Have you seen the recipe for liquid sidewalk chalk that’s been going around Pinterest? It’s really simple {just 1 part corn starch to 1 part water, and add food color to achieve desired colors} and has been hugely enjoyed by our kiddos.

How gorgeous are these?! My in-laws have some massive hydrangea bushes, and I’ve been given permission to trim to my heart’s content :) Oh my, do these ever feed my soul!
Baby girl, just layin’ around. And being adorable {of course} and melting my heart. And deciding to abandon her pacifier in favor of her thumb. No biggie {what?! No more binky?!}

A bride ordered a large batch of custom cake toppers, one set of which was made of these gorgeous cake flags. Love how they turned out!More adorableness <3 {and it’s a video}Custom stamped cupcake toppers! A customer requested the pink heart toppers stamped with “BABY” and they were so darling {by the way, did you know that any of my toppers can be customized? Just ask for details if you’re interested :)}Have you seen the darling polka dot paper stars that I have in my Etsy shop? A few days ago a custom inquired about getting the dots in custom colors, and I was able to find them! They’ll be so sweet in her nursery :) Zinnias from our yard – I know you’ve heard me say it over and over, but I love my flowers. Who was it who said “the earth laughs in flowers”? Few things brighten my day like their fresh loveliness {of course, snuggles from my husband and babies are pretty high up on the list, too}! Mmm, prepping to make lemon sorbet – it was amazingly delicious, by the way!

And lastly, have you met Kellie from Lemondime? She hostessing a wonderful craft weekend {Craft Liberation!} soon, and I got to contribute some goodies to their swag bags! It looks so amazing, and I’d love to go – since I can’t though, my special little gifts will :)

There you have it – another peek in to our life. It’s kind of fun to see it all compressed together!

Do you have an Instagram account? I’d love to connect and “meet” you!

little Instagram bits

July 6, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Which of course explains why Emma Grace, Ian and John don’t show up very often, but flowers, projects and Olivia do. Of course :)

If you’d like to follow along, I’m @pltmarket on Instagram <3

I had a birthday a few weeks ago and my husband treated me to a night out – at a local dinner theater! It was such a fun way to celebrate, completely different from our normal routine and definitely made it a birthday to remember :)

flowers on our kitchen windowsill. Some were left over from our booth at the Hobnob Market, some were from my little cuties for my birthday and some from our yard. Love looking at their beauty as I do the dishes! I posted this pic and asked if any of you could guess what it was of – and Elizabeth was right! I had opened a fresh box of manilla labels and loved how neat and tidy they were. Our little guy turned three! And I’m just beginning to post the details of the party :)sweet baby girl. She gets sweeter each and every day – hard to imagine that she’ll be even sweeter and more dear as time goes on!

Instagram has video now! And I posted this one of Emma Grace dancing at breakfast :) Finally warm enough to swim! And Ian discovered that our new {to us} pool has a bungehole {drain hole} which means that I have a VERY eager helper when it comes to draining it :) Happy girl bright and early – oh, so early on this morning!Sometimes I forget to eat lunch with the kids, and end up with “meals” like this in the mid afternoon – brownie with peanut butter and coffee.
Our flowers have begun to bloom, and I brought a zinnia in to keep me company as I waded through a day’s worth of emails :)

Ian loves his baby sister sooooo much! another IG video – this time of a rainy day project I’ve posted here before.

they were so patient as I got things ready to go over to my in-laws’ for the 4th :) Watching Winnie the Pooh {while wearing swim goggles, of course} helped pass the time :)

I hope you have a truly lovely and relaxing weekend!

little bits from the week

June 21, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Which of course explains why Emma Grace, Ian and John don’t show up very often, but flowers, projects and Olivia do. Of course :)

If you’d like to follow along, I’m @pltmarket on Instagram <3

It’s been a few weeks since my last post like this, so let’s play catch up, shall we?

my sister-in-law is redoing her master bedroom in neutrals, gray and light pink – and asked for a custom garland to grace it. I love what I came up with! have you tried {re}growing green onions yet? silly baby girl! this is her “I’m such a funny girl – I can grin with my eyes shut!” face … and it melts me.

Of course, she also does this face when she is really tired and crying …. she’s a roller now! Olivia has been {purposefully} rolling her way across the room to get to the curtains and then plays peek-a-boo with herself in them :) new cake garlands coming soon! “mr. & mrs.”, “hooray”, “congrats!” and “we do” will all be showing up … soon. I promise <3

Ian got to touch his first snake on Memorial Day {see? we’re really playing catch up!} and was absolutely fascinated Ian loves his toy horses. Almost as much as he loves his cars and guns :) He has a daddy horse and a little boy horse, and they seem to go on LOTS of adventures – I find them in some of the most random places! being darling, of course <3 a custom cake garland – this time for a little guy’s Thomas the Tank Engine birthday prepping inventory for the Hobnob Market! my rose bush has been blooming! I’s still on the small side, so I’ve been hesitant to cut any long stems, but I’m loving snipping a small bloom every now and then! I’ve been adding some new Red, White and Blue items to the shop – have you checked them out yet? She loves sleeping on her tummy – and sticking her feet through her crib bars. Rollin’, rollin’! She rolled her way over to the box and snatched the tape off of it – apparently it was a pretty fun chew toy until I snagged it away from her! Last night I made up the Brown Eyed Baker’s Chocolate Bundt Cake. Yum. Next time I need a chocolate fix, I seriously need to choose a healthier recipe {although, this one DID have 5 eggs in it – can that count as breakfast? (if you don’t know what I’m referring to, you NEED to watch this video of Bill Cosby)} another custom order! this time a banner of light blue hearts and cream circles stamped with “Bride to Be” – LOVE it! and might even make more for the shop {what do you think, maybe in custom colors?} making up a newborn size lace onesie

and last, but not least, a super fun surprise – Pretty Prudent {aka Prudent Baby} featured our Subway Cupcake Toppers on their blog!!! To say I was excited to find out would be an understatement.

So there you have it – 3 weeks worth of pics in one fell swoop. Are you still with me? ;)

On to other things – I’m planning another giveaway {yay!} and would love your input. What would you like to win from my shop?

I hope you’re having a lovely weekend, enjoying the beginning of Summer {or Winter if you’re one of my lovelies in Australia} and soak in some time relaxing and being refreshed in your soul.

{hugs}

p.s. the giveaway is live! check it out and enter to win your very own set of 4th of July themed decor from the shop!

Instagram bits

May 26, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

This week’s post is kind of a catch-up – so you get two weeks rolled into one. Enjoy!My Mother’s Day rose bush is looking so lovely <3 I’m a rose lover! Especially the soft colors – pink, white, even gray and soft purple – and the full, blowsy cottage types. :)
I asked – and you answered! This storage dresser in the sewing room might be getting a do-over, and many of you chimed in with your color suggestions. Thank you! A sweet color combo on the It’s A Girl! cupcake toppers – I normally stamp the girl version with pink ink onto either vintage or white paper, and this customer asked to add some pink on pink – they turned out super darling! our darling baby being her sweet little self <3 It’s graduation season! These purple stars are the size I normally carry in the shop, and the large gold ones are coming soon! a custom bouquet of “Congrats Grad!” and “Class of 2013” dessert toppers

John had a week of vacation, and we spent most of it at home {or with my in-laws}. We did get away for an overnight, though! Brown County is Indiana’s largest state park, and quite lovely {and quite!} this time of year. We took the kiddos to Story Inn for the night, and then for a bit of an explore in the park itself the next day. They loved being on an “adventure” so much. A sweet color combo! These purple and pink butterfly toppers are on their way to a baby girl’s first birthday party :) And my baby girl just keeps getting bigger! She’s a roller now, and loves to roll her way across the room. She started out on the blanket in the lower right, and made it all the way to my stash of baker’s twine on the other side of the sewing room. :)

How about you – you Instagram? What do you find shows up as a recurring theme in your photos?

Also, don’t forget to use the shop’s free shipping coupon if you’re planning on stocking up on any summer party goods! It expires tomorrow night, so don’t dilly dally too long :)

little Instagram pieces

May 11, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

the photos that I capture on Instagram are just little pieces of our life, and it’s really interesting to see what moments I capture {and which ones I don’t} – of course, it seems as if {since I instagram from our iPad} I only capture the things that stand still. Which of course explains why Emma Grace, Ian and John don’t show up very often, but flowers, projects and Olivia do. :)

here are some of the little pieces of this last week: Monday morning loveliness on our kitchen windowsill <3

I make our black beans from scratch – both to save money and because I like knowing what is {and isn’t!} in our food. Usually I do the “quick soak” method {boil them for an hour and then rinse and cook} because I’m usually making them when we actually need them and not ahead of time, but this week I thought ahead and let them sit overnight. I was so surprised to be greeted by these lovely purple gems when I rinsed them out the next morning! Is it just my beans that do this? Or have you experienced it, too?
A custom cake garland order – triple layered gold scallops! It will be so lovely on her cake, don’t you think?

Emma Grace asked me to make her a braid “all the way down” so that she could be like Rapunzel – the braid reached her shoulder blades, and she decided that might be good enough :)

<3

Instagram bits

May 5, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

the photos that I capture on Instagram are just little bits and pieces of our life, and it’s really interesting to see what moments I capture {and which ones I don’t} – of course, it seems as if {since I instagram from our iPad} I only capture the things that stand still. Which of course explains why Emma Grace, Ian and John don’t show up very often, but flowers, projects and Olivia do. :) I’ve really been loving having fresh anemones, and on Tuesday I shared a photo of them along with a quote from the Wall Street Journal here on the blog – I’ve still been pondering that quote, thinking about the “willingness to try” in all sorts of areas of my life, not just our business. Sometimes it seems as if the determination to continue on, even when it’s rough, thankless and others would toss in the towel, is one of the hallmarks of the path less traveled, doesn’t it?My bright and early companion, ready for her oatmeal breakfast! Sometimes she wakes up soooo early! And hungry! But who can be grumpy at the sweet little voice saying, “Mama, Mama? I’m hungry – you wanna get me breakfast? And make coffee?” {she knows me well}
May Day “baskets” for the kiddlets Bible study teachers! I tried out a Pinterest recipe for Rosemary Olive Oil Bread – it was pretty yummy! Olivia rolled over for the first time! We were on the sewing room floor together – Olivia playing and me packaging orders – and all of a sudden her half-roll {that she’s been doing for the last 2 months!} turned into a complete roll-over! She was so happy :) And I was happy that, even though I didn’t have my camera in the room, I had the iPad next to me and was able to snap a few photos to capture her reaction! And then she tipped herself all the way over for a 360* roll :) Funny baby girl! More on this coming soon! Let’s just say I’m excited :)

I’m having a giveaway! The details are all {here} All that brings us to today, which was a rainy one. Emma Grace took a rest from all the indoor bike riding under the piano – with her scooter next to her, of course.

And did Ian need a break from riding? No way! He just kept riding, and riding, and riding … until he had to go catch some bad guys upstairs {note the gun in his hand} :)

little pieces

April 22, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

here are some of the little pieces of this last week:

blooms in our yard – they make me soooo happy! clockwise: anemones, our new peach tree, returning tulips and sprouting veggies. If only I could keep these lovelies all year long <3 packing up a bunch of Atlas Heart Cupcake Toppers – they are always so lovely!John turned on the radio when he arrived home Monday afternoon and my heart broke – it seems as if there has been a fresh tragedy every day to add to our prayers. It makes my heart long for heaven more, but also yearn to love my darlings that much harder. “for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a strong mind”
we introduced Dessert Garlands to the site! Olivia came down with a fever on Tuesday/Wednesday and then shared it with me – we are just now catching up with everything that went undone while we did extra cuddling <3the sewing corner – so many, many miles of garland get sewn here, so many projects for loved ones and tiny clothes made {and mended}
feeling better – yay!!!I came back to my project after getting the kiddos a snack one morning to find this: a Nerf gun, dart and little boy tools mingled with the white wedding hearts ;D so much love! a bundle of 75 red, pink and white heart dessert toppers, each stamped with “LOVE” on Saturday I was all caught up with orders {yippee!} and took the rest of the day to catch up on cleaning – and baking. Apparently, making things with sugar rests me :) then, once the littles were in bed for the night, John and I stayed up with a movie, cheesecake AND cookies and a game of Scrabble :)

and last, but not least, the GIVEAWAY! if you haven’t entered yet to win one of our new Gold Glitter Scallop Dessert Garlands, you might want to head over and enter :)

see you soon! <3

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

little pieces

April 12, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

the daffodils and candles on our table, just before I took the photos for {this post} gardening hands – I almost always forget to wear gloves! one afternoon I had a fun surprise – my vintage book page lanterns were featured in an Etsy Weddings email! new product in progress – it means lots of experimenting with colors. Creating new things for you is one of the things I love about having a handmade business <3 sleeping babe – just another few days and she is moving from her moses basket to the full size crib we have used for both her sister and brother {onc John gets it down from the attic and I make her some sheets :)} Olivia and mama <3

today is our 5th wedding anniversary {did you see the project I posted for it?} and I gave John this sweet “you & me” mug I found <3

and last but not least, the coupon code for you!

so there you have it! some little pieces of our past week – do you Instagram? If so, did you know that when you post photos of your purchases from the Path Less Traveled and tag them with #thepathlesstraveledmarket, they show up here on the right hand side of the site? It’s a fun way to share with others how you’re using your purchases, and I love seeing them, too!

Also, this weekend I’ll be sharing some customer photos – you’ll love them!

week on instagram from the path less traveled

the random bits, via Instagram

April 6, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Remember how I’ve mentioned Instagram? And how I post to it occasionally? The photos can be a bit random, from my new {broken} coffee mug, to shots of projects in progress, to things that I’m packaging up to send to customers or pretty little packages that have arrived in the mail – bits of just about everything! And lots of baby photos {because she’s just so sweet}. :) If you’d like to follow me and see what we’re up too, I’m @pltmarket :)

Here are some highlights from this week:

Brand new – and hopefully being added to the shop soon – little cloud cupcake toppers! I’ve had these in mind for a while, and finally had the time to make them :)

Have you heard of Dear Lillie? I love her blog, and also her shop. Haven’t bought any of their things yet {I’d LOVE a growth chart!} but on Easter saw that they were having a 30% off sale and so I snatched up the “In Christ Alone” pillow cover. It showed up this week and her packaging was so sweet! And I’m loving the pillow, too. :)

These paper stars are hanging in the children’s room, and I’m hoping to add some to the shop soon. {really, I have quite a list of things that I hope to have “coming soon”!} This little guy has been a reluctant napper for the past few weeks, and he actually took a nap on Thursday. {see those eyelashes? they slay me}

another little pretty that came in the mail – Laura of Along for the Ride was having a sale {I love a sale – can you tell?} and when the bracelet I had ordered arrived, I found that she had included this fun set of hoops, as well! Funny thing – I’ve been wearing the earrings more than the bracelet :) Love them!

I’m linking this on Life Rearranged – do you use Instagram? I’d love to see your photos!

Elizabeth Smillie

The Path Less Traveled

Browsed by
Tag: instagram

little bits of life

August 3, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

little Instagram bits

July 6, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

little bits from the week

June 21, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Instagram bits

May 26, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

little Instagram pieces

May 11, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Instagram bits

May 5, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

little pieces

April 22, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

little pieces

April 12, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

the random bits, via Instagram

April 6, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie