Elizabeth Smillie

for Sunday

August 25, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

some loveliness for your Sunday

Ah, the end of August. Our garden is full of late-summer blooms, and our veggie patch {which I obviously couldn’t let be just a veggie patch} is keeping us stocked with tomatoes, basil, cilantro and green onions and the occasional cucumber. It’s been about two weeks since we’ve had any rain to speak of, and our yard is starting to show it. But the zinnias are holding strong! They love the heat, and our new little peach tree is bravely trying to offer us some sweetness {if our neighborhood squirrel doesn’t abscond with them first :)}.

The end of August is a bittersweet time of year here in Indiana as Summer begins to fade. I have a mum on our front porch {thanks Mom!} that speaks to the coming Autumn, and, if I can keep up with watering them, blooms on our hydrangeas and foxglove.

And this August has been a busy one in the shop – today it’s been good to rest. To enjoy these late Summer gifts of bounty. Of loveliness. Because God only gives us a few Summers here to enjoy them, to enjoy each other, to glory in His goodness. {but then, eternity after … ah, that will be glory indeed!} It’s so easy for me to get focused on the busy and forget to rest, even to feel guilty about leaving things undone as I rest, and today I’ve cast it aside to enjoy. And it is good.

I hope your weekend has been full of loveliness, Friends, in spite of the terrors our world has been through this last week. And I hope you are able to grab a few moments to soak it in, deeply, and to rest your souls.

customer love – wedding edition

August 23, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

I love a wedding, don’t you? For today’s customer love edition, I have a lovely customer’s wedding to share with you! The bride is an English teacher and her wedding was book themed {you can see the rest of her gorgeous details on her blog here – she did an amazing job!}. The bride found our Vintage Book Heart Cupcake Toppers, and knew that they’d be a perfect fit for her day – and I agree!

Isn’t it lovely?! I love the colors she used, the fun little touches throughout {personalized Converse!} and the book page table runner is amazing! Jill, thank you so much for sharing these photos with us, and congratulations on your marriage! May you and your beloved find that your love and joy continues to grow through the years <3

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! Also, I often send “thank you” coupons to the lovelies who let me share their photos with you – so if you’re looking for a coupon for your next order, sharing photos is a great way to get a discount!

facebook giveaway

August 20, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Oh, you guys – you did it! I’ve been teasing you on Facebook for about month now with a promised giveaway, hanging it out in front of you like a carrot for when we got to 200 “likes” on the fan page – and you came through! In less than a month, through you sharing it with friends and spreading the word about our little shop, we’ve added over 20 new friends and now I’m thrilled to share the giveaway! {and yes, I know I just had a giveaway – but you guys were fast!}

I’ve been working on getting the kinks out of these sweet little Glittered Votive Holders so that I can add them to the shop, and they’re finally ready. Just in time to give one to you. :) These votives are perfect for weddings, holidays {Christmas and New Year? Of course! 4th of July? Definitely!}, parties – I even have one in our bathroom to add a bit of glittery-glam :)

So, how can you win one? I’ll be posting this on the Facebook page, and all you need to do is leave a comment there {not here}. I’ll randomly pick a winner next Tuesday morning {August 27, which also happens to be my parents’ 30th anniversary! Yeow!} and announce the winner both here and on Facebook.

Now for the nitty-gritty – the votive up for grabs is the one pictured, and this giveaway is open to all of you {even you international lovelies!}. I will cover the shipping expense and even toss in an unscented tea-light so that this pretty little votive is ready to use. :)

a library inspired baby shower

August 19, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Tonight I have something quite darling to share – a library inspired baby shower!

One of my customers {Dina of Honey & Fitz} used our Book Star Garland as part of the decor for this darling baby shower that she designed and hostessed for a dear friend – you can read her tell all about it on the sweet feature that Style Me Pretty Living did this morning :)

Photography: Ruth Eileen Photography, Design: Dina of Honey & Fitz

P.S. We have a winner for the giveaway! Congrats to Kristel P.! I’ll email you your gift card code tomorrow :) And thank you to everyone who entered! I’ll be having another very soon – we only need one more Facebook fan to reach 200, and then we’ll celebrate with something pretty and sparkly!

new little things

August 17, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Hi Lovelies,

There are some new little things in the shop! Have you seen them yet? I’ve been having so much fun making up these pretties to share, and now they’re finally ready!

Pink Glitter Heart Cupcake Toppers

Kraft Heart Toppers

Pantone Emerald Green Toppers

Pastel Hanging Stars

Red, White and Blue Hanging Stars

Also, I’ve been tweaking some of the features here on the site – and I’m enjoying the changes. I’m not sure about you, but doing deep cleaning and sprucing in our home can be fun for me {not always, but it can be :)}, and here in the shop it’s the same! Little things like lightening the color scheme and adding some new commenting tools {have you noticed?} are each little things in themselves, but put all together they have made a huge difference!

Also, do you remember how I mentioned on the Facebook page that I’ll be giving away a new “little something” when we reach 200 fans? That was only a few days ago, and you have already gotten us with 2 of the giveaway! Speaking of a giveaway, have you entered for a chance to win the gift card yet? I’ll be posting the winner on Tuesday morning, so you have just a few more days to enter :)

I hope you are having a lovely, relaxing weekend enjoying this tail end of Summer. And I’ll see you here soon!

customer love – children’s room edition

August 16, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Well friends, it’s Friday again – which means that it’s customer love time, and today I have a children’s room edition to share!

Last month a mama contacted me regarding a custom version of my new Large Hanging Stars – she was creating a whimsical woodland bedroom for her little guy, and was looking for stars in shades of white, yellow, gold, and some soft blues.

Some of the artwork in his room is from the Wheatfield, Winnie the Pooh, Babar, Good Night Moon and other art based on favorite classic children’s books by Shannon Presti and Vicki Freeman, and she was hoping to finish off the “play” corner with some sweet ceiling decor that reflects the whimsy and wonder in the pieces. After some emailing back and forth, I think we came up with a perfect fit for her growing boy:

And here’s how they look in his room!

Isn’t it just lovely?! I love how she played on the “starry” theme for him, bringing a feel of wonder and adventure to his room. She says that her little loves them, too, and keeps calling them “his stars” – isn’t that darling?

The playful fox fold-up play tent is from SnailCandy on Etsy, and the artwork she chose from the Wheatfield can be found here and here {I LOVE Katie’s work! In fact, if you look carefully around our home, you can spot an example in almost every room :)}. If you’d like to create something similar, you can find the large 12″ size stars in my shop here, and I’ll be adding the smaller 9″ and 6″ sizes soon. :)

Thank you so much for letting me share this, Nancy – I really love how the space turned out!!!

Have you entered the giveaway for a gift card to the shop yet? If you haven’t, don’t delay! :)

artwork images are by Katie Daisy from the Wheatfield

dreaming to live {and a giveaway!}

August 14, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

-Howard Thurman

So, I recently stumbled upon a new blogger {Jessi of Suzie Studios} who I’m loving, and yesterday she penned a post about dreaming {let’s dream again}. It struck such a chord with me – I’ve been feeling something very similar, and my husband and I have been having conversations about “new” – new ideas, new plans, new dreams.

I believe that dreaming is a needed part of an abundant life. There is something soul-awakening about being open to the ideas and thoughts that God directs, and I can tell when it is lacking from my days. Of course, talking about dreaming and actually doing it are so very different – it seems that I need slowness and space to dream, to listen to my husband’s dreams, and that needed slowness and space do not come easily in this house!

Do you have dreams? What do you dream about?

Some of the things I’ve been dreaming about are related to the goals I have for this year, and others are connected to this shop, our future, or my walk with the Father. Many of these dreams are not fully formed, and some – if I/we pursue them – will take quite a bit of sacrifice. They might turn out “successfully” or they might not, but for the present, the fact that we are dreaming is in itself a success. The dreams are dim sometimes, but as we begin to pursue them we come alive.

Sometimes, in the midst of the busy, I lose my dreaming. My thoughts get foggy, full of work, kiddlets and the “need to do”. I lose the zest, the joy and the delight in beauty and life. And then I realize that I’ve let my priorities slide and focus shift away from the Light. But then faithfully, every time, He kindly shows me beauty again, reminds me of my dreams or gives a new one.

One of the biggest blessings of having the shop and blog has been the freedom of being able to work out my dreams and share them with you – and then seeing it spark a creative flame in your own lives and hearing how you share it with others. And on a related note – how would you like to win a PLTMarket.com gift card to use for things you’ve been dreaming of or to use as a gift?

I’d love to give one of you lovelies a $15 gift card to the shop, and it can be used on {or toward} anything you’d like {some garlands, perhaps?}! Use the rafflecopter widget below to add your name to the drawing, and come back daily for additional chances to enter. {If you’re reading this via email, you’ll need to click through to the blog to enter}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will end midnight on Monday, August 19, 2013 and anyone worldwide is eligible to enter! I will announce the winner the following day. <3

lace onesie {part three}

August 12, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

I’m so excited to share this with you today! Do you remember the lace onesies that I’ve shown you how to make {here and here}? And how I mentioned that we welcomed a sweet new niece into the family {my first niece!}?

I packaged up a few of the onesies that I had embellished as a welcome gift for Baby Brooke, and her mama was just tickled to be able to use them in Brooke’s newborn photos! We have a sweet, sweet friend who is quite a talented photographer, and she did an amazing job! Of course, Sarah had some gorgeous subjects to work with, and the result is a set of precious keepsake photos <3

If you’re in the Ohio area and would like to contact Sarah regarding a photo session, her website is Living Joy Photography, and here’s her Facebook fan page. She also made the darling head band Brooke is wearing {love it!!!} and has an Etsy shop where she sells others like it. Even if you’re not close enough to have her capture some memories for you, you can still enjoy some of her amazing talent!

some darlingness {because, well, photos of babies just make the day better}

August 10, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

oh. my. goodness. the darlingness of this wee one just does not stop!

she just gets cuter, and sweeter, and more darling as each day goes by. did I tell you that she has four teeth now? and army crawls? and prefers to be in the center of the action? she has learned to clap, and now loves to cheer her siblings on! her laugh is the sweetest thing in the world, and her sister and brother dote on her, watch out for her, and are incredibly proud of each of her new accomplishments. miss Olivia has grown our hearts. and even though I can hardly bear to see her move out of the toothless infant stage, I know that this next one will be full of even more joys.

{photos taken by my mom}

customer love – movie party edition!

August 8, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Today I’m thrilled to be able to share another customer love post with you – and this time it’s a movie party edition! Dawn ordered one of our darling dessert garlands in yellow and white, and used it to top this amazing Kit Kat candy cake:

Dawn says: “We have a Random Movie Club that has been meeting every month for 15 years. I made this Kit Kat Cake for the anniversary this year. It’s a dark chocolate cake with brownie frosting. With the candy all over it, it seemed like the perfect “movie” snack cake and I thought the glittery star topper added the perfect “Hollywood” touch!” I do too – isn’t it just perfect? Great job, Dawn!

p.s. I often send “thank you” coupons to the lovelies who let me share their photos with you – so if you’re looking for a coupon for your next order, sharing photos is a great way to get a discount!

The Path Less Traveled

Browsed by
Author: Elizabeth Smillie