Elizabeth Smillie

customer love – parties edition!

May 10, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Each time a customer leaves a comment saying how much they love their purchase, it makes my day. I especially love it when they tell their friends and send me photos of how they have used the things that they have bought! Last month I shared some party photos, and this month I have a follow up one :)

Amber shared her little guy’s incredibly darling first birthday with us last month, and a few weeks later she sent me another photo to share – this time a close up of her marshmallow pop display!

Amber used the Red, White and Blue Star toppers to add the finishing touch to her super cute idea, as she says: “I put some florist foam in the boxes and stuck the cupcake toppers on the foam.” Great job, Amber! And thank you again for sharing! The star toppers were the perfect finish to your display :)

Do you have photos that you’d like to share? If so, you can either email them to me at elizabeth@pltmarket.com or tag them with #thepathlesstraveledmarket on Instagram – we’d all love to see your ideas!

{by the way, did I mention that I often send “thank you” coupons to the lovelies who let me share their photos with you? Yep, I do :)}

Happy Friday!

flowers for mother’s day

May 9, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

In case you haven’t heard, Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday! And of course, flowers are a classic gift {I love receiving them – do you?}. I’ve been blessed with two sisters-in-law who are mommies, as well as a mother-in-law who lives nearby. I know it’s not always customary to give gifts to moms other than your own on Mother’s Day, but I enjoy doing it – it’s kind of a fun, low stress time of year to bless the other mothers in your life, and it always brings them joy! This years gifts are the sweetest little pots of African Violets that I found at Lowes, topped with some of my Butterfly Dessert Toppers and White Heart Dessert Toppers. By the way, did you know that the heart dessert toppers are a perfect size to write a short note on?I’m adding these sweet cards from Recipe For Crazy {and saving one to frame for myself – I love this print!} and I know that they will love them. Do you give gifts to mamas other than your own on Mother’s Day? Do you give matching gifts? Mix it up with gifts tailored to each mom? I’d love to hear :)

How-Tuesday: chalkboard storage jars {from the archives}

May 7, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

{a re-post from my archives :) originally posted on May 4th, 2010. I’m still loving this project, and still using the jars in my pantry!}

Have you seen all the chalkboard stuff floating around the blog community recently? There have been painted walls, framed chalkboards, mirrors, cupboards, flower and herb pots and the lists goes on and on!

Anyway, I finally got on the bandwagon. Yes, I did, and I can’t believe that it took me this long!
I think I found this chalkboard jar idea on a Martha Stewart email or somewhere, but I could be wrong. I could have thought this up in my dreams ……… not sure about that. But here’s a tutorial about how I did it!

I started with basic clean glass jars left over from applesauce and salsa.

I masked off 3″ squares with regular old masking tape (and squares of note paper to keep the tape straight).

Then I went over the glass with chalkboard paint and a foam brush. I gave the jars 3 coats, letting them dry between each coat.

On the first jar I just took the tape off, but as I did it I found that it looked a LOT better if I scored along the tape with a knife before I took it off. Much much better. Next I went over them with some chalk and rubbed it off the prep (or “season”) them, and they were done!

Fill them with whatever, write the contents on the jar with some chalk, and then ….. ta da! You’ve just made your very own chalkboard storage jars!

Of course, that very last step is to stand back and admire – don’t they look lovely?

happy Monday!

May 6, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

my kitchen window – “kisses” card from Fifi du Vie on Etsy, anemones from our yard, and gold painted glass from the antique mall this last weekend {a $0.10 find – score!}

happy Monday, lovelies! Thank you all for participating in the giveaway – the winners have been contacted, and the garlands are on their way :)

While we’re on the topic of giveaways, is there anything in the shop that you’d like to win? Or be given? ;)

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} :)

customer love – proposal edition!

May 3, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

.: photo curtesy of Brian C. :.

I was thrilled to be contacted by a customer a while back, asking if I could help him with an order that he was planning to use as part of his proposal{!} to his girlfriend. Thrilled is an understatement – because what girl doesn’t love a bit of romance? :)

His plan was to make up a batch of heart shaped pancakes and top them with several of my stamped heart toppers, both the “BE MINE” and “LOVE” versions. He contacted me a few weeks later saying that it had gone perfectly! I can only imagine how delighted she was to be greeted with the breakfast and declaration of his love <3

a Mother’s Day giveaway

May 2, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Mother’s Day is just around the corner {is it sneaking up on you, too?} and to celebrate I thought it would be fun to have a giveaway! Would any of you like to win a lace garland, either for you or for your mom? :) I’m giving away two this weekend!

This giveaway will be short and sweet, ending at midnight on Sunday, May 5th to allow time for it to arrive by Mother’s Day. :)

And to make it even more fun, it’s going to be refer-a-friend style! Both you and a friend {or your mom, maybe?} can win! To enter, just refer your friend(s) to “like” our Facebook page {here} and post a comment mentioning that they have been referred by you. Your entries are only limited by your number of friends – and the best part is, both of you have a chance to win! Monday morning I will draw a pair of names and contact the winners.

Have fun! <3

note – this giveaway is limited to U.S. entrants only. All entries will be selected from our Facebook fan page, not from comments on this post.

May Day

May 1, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Happy May Day!

Aren’t these kiddos just the cutest you’ve ever seen? ;) Of course, I might be just a little bit biased!

May Day is quite close to the end of our semester of Bible study, and I had the bright idea of combining a May Day goody with a teacher appreciation gift {two in one! score!} Yesterday the little ones made up some jumbo rice crispy treats {such a simple recipe that allowed them to “help”} to give to their teachers this morning, and then this morning I helped them package them up in some sweet little bags and sign their name to a note that I had written. As a finishing springy touch, I tucked a Butterfly Cupcake Pick in each and it was just the extra bit of color and “special-ness” that the gifts needed.

The goody bags were a hit! Of course, it would be a bit hard not to be thrilled with anything these cuties handed you {try not melting at those smiles, I dare you!} :)

Do you celebrate May Day? I’d love to teach our children about May-poles and posies next year – do you have any traditions or memories that you’d like to share?

things to think about

April 30, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Last night my husband handed me the Small Business section of the Wall Street Journal with the comment, “here honey, you should read this – there are some great little stories about making a small business work.” Right now my reading time is a bit limited, what with three small kiddos, a business and the rest of life, but I’m so glad he told me to take the time to read! {by the way, reading is one of the things that rests me – I know that’s not the case for everyone :)} I’m only on the second page so far, but already have found some things to mull over and think about. Here’s a quick snippet that I thought you’d enjoy:

“Perhaps the greatest factor that determines whether or not an entrepreneur will be successful isn’t the business idea itself, but rather the entrepreneur’s willingness to try (and keep trying) to turn the idea into reality. Great ideas are abundant, but it’s what we decide to do with them that counts.”

– Samer Kurdi, Chairman of the global board Entrepreneurs’ Organization

So true! Not just in small business, but all of life. I hope you’re having a lovely Tuesday!

customer love – wedding edition!

April 29, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

From time to time, I get an email from a customer with photos of how they’ve used their purchases in their event – today I have a wedding edition that I’d like to share. I love these photos!

From the bride: “You’ll see in the second picture it says “class of…” It’s because we planned an outdoor wedding in west Texas and it just doesn’t rain here, but it did on our wedding day! We relocated our wedding to the High School my husband teaches at, with the help of our gracious friends and family. Little details like the cupcake hearts helped our wedding to still be “us” even with the last minute changes.”

You can see more of the wedding {here} – it looks like the day turned out perfect! Aren’t the photos just delightful?! Janelle, I’m so thrilled that you chose to use my creations to be a part of your wedding, and that you shared the photos with us!

Would you like to add a similar touch to your own event? The cupcake toppers that Janelle used can be found {here}! If you’d like, you can see other customer love posts {here} – do you have photos that you’d like to share? If you Instagram, tag them with the hashtag #thepathlesstraveledmarket, or email them to me at elizabeth(at)pltmarket.com and I’ll feature them here!

The Path Less Traveled

Browsed by
Author: Elizabeth Smillie