Organized ... Not Organized!

For the most part I would like to think that I'm an organized person! I mean I manage the house, do everything and than some for my boys, run everything for Tiny Hiney, and of course take care of myself. But when I get into a zone and a pile of fabric I seem to forget almost everything I just mentioned!

Needless to say, I'm sorry dear bloggers that I have not been good about keeping the blog as updated as I should! I need to get a calendar and pick a day that I WILL write a post! Any after that will be a cherry on top. To bad there's no day that starts with a "B"!

Now that the apologies are out of the way LOOK OUT! Here comes a couple of post!

And the winner is ...

I know everyone says this, but I have THE BEST fans ever!! Our 250 Fan Giveaway started last week and we were SO close to 250 fans I wanted to do something to get us there and give away something new!

Thanks to some new technology we had an awesome set up and a great giveaway. But what's standard with new technology, PROBLEMS! Mobile wasn't working, links weren't working, and some people couldn't see things. Thankfully everything was a simple click fix!

Today the contest ended. When I logged on this morning not only has we reached the 250 fan goal we passed it by 14!!! SAY WHAT?? So I know I have the best fans ever to have gotten us so far!

But the time has come to pick a winner. And since my fans did such and awesome job I decided to pick not one but TWO winners!

And without further ado ...

Here's the officially drawing powered my random.org ...

 

 

Thank you to EVERYONE who entered and who is a fan of Tiny Hiney Business! I wouldn't be here without each and every one of you!

250 Facebook Fan Giveaway!!

We're SOOO close to 250 fans on facebook, so I think it's time for a contest to get there (and maybe beyond!) 

I'm in LOVE with kids pajamas. I mean my boys have to have at least 10+ pairs each! And now that I've found a place that sells solid blank pajamas (from Bright Blanks) ready for cute appliques and embroidery I'm even more in LOVE!

Stock picture from Bright Blanks

So to reach my 250 fan goal, I'm doing a giveaway (and testing out the Rafflecopter! haha!)!! Here's the details ...

Fill out the form below and do everything to get more chances to win! 

Its just that simple!!!

I'll close the contest on Sunday and announce the winner on Facebook!

What are you waiting for ... go win some cute PJ's for your little!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We've grown!

When I started Tiny Hiney Business it was really just to make things for me and my boys (blankets, pillow, stuff for cloth diapers, cute clothes, etc.). I had gotten a machine for free through a special at my my other job. Then someone liked something and asked me to make one for them, or someone was having a baby and I'd make them something, and word began to spread. So I started making more and growing more. I upgrade to a facebook page, an etsy account, a new machine, taking classes to get better, and finding new things to make. I've enjoyed the growth over the past 3 year. I love seeing all the little ones with their creations and mom's excited about their new gear.

I started to realize the "legal" side of things was lacking this past year. Yes yes, not doing anything meant I never had to worry about taxes or paying for stuff. But it also meant someone could take me name, steal my pictures/ideas, and in the end hurt me and my business! That's where the planing started for getting my LLC. 

Actually it was really simple, Legal Zoom did everything for me! HAHA! I just had to patiently sit and wait for the state to say YES! 

  And yesterday, no thanks to a bad UPS delivery (a story for another day), it all came! All my documents and a Georgia sealed paper saying I'm now a certified Limited Liability Company.

 

I wont lie, I'm still kinda bummed. While it comes in a nice, well put together folder I was seriously hoping for a nice certificate or something that I could frame! I mean really, I can't hang my folder or this boring piece of paper!! 

But whether I have something hang or not, I'm proud of where I've come. And I'm excited that on my next batch of business cards I get to add three little letters!!

It's time to logo.

Since the beginning I've made sure that my name was on the product or picture. I've water marked everything so it can't be cropped out. I've ordered and made my own cloth labels. But this summer I realized that I needed something more than a font for Tiny Hiney Business. I needed something to make those watermarks and labels looks cute and unique. 

So it was time for a logo. But what logo do you make for a business name involving little butts! I wish the answer was as clear as the question. But after searching Etsy I found Style Graphic Designs (https://www.etsy.com/shop/StyleGraphicDesign) to help me with that. 

Here were the first two designs after a few simple questions ...

Both are super cute. But I don't have anything owl, and while pennants are big right now I just wasn't "in love". After a couple back and forth emails we picked more of a sewing theme, much easier than hineys and better than just adding a random character!

And here we have the final logo ...

 I absolutely LOVE it! And I didn't just get this logo, I got this logo in multiple sizes, color, black & white, and watermark!! Style Graphic Designs did an awesome job and were a pleasure to work with! Now to order some new products to show off the new logo!

Picture Perfect!

While we were waiting on getting to Hawaii I was staying with my mom. It was great to have extra hands with the boys and she was getting tons of grand-baby time before the move. And in her house there's hard wood floors throughout, while was GREAT when taking pictures! Fast forward to Hawaii and base housing, and there's nothing but carpet and linoleum flooring.

It came time to make something I've had on my list for awhile ... a floor drop! It hind sight I'm not sure why I didn't do it sooner! Supper easy and cheap!

I picked up some linoleum wood parquet floor tiles for 99 cents each. I wish I could have gotten the wood floor planks but they only sold those by the box! And then used some left over MDF we had from another project. 

The best part about the tiles is they were basically stickers! And cutting them down to size was a breeze!

And drum roll please ... TA-DA!!! All done! I even have 3 left over tiles to either take back or use for another project! I LOVE how it turned out, and it definitely looks better than the basic carpet or linoleum!!

And TA-DA ...

 

(of course when I take a the really picture I'll make sure you don't see the edges of the floor drop.)

Doesn't it look great? Now I need to get to work so there's some equally as cute on the mannequin!

Storage Issues Solved

In this new room, even with the new bigger shelves I bought, there wasn't enough storage! I needed something to hold all my patterns, nicknacks, office stuff, and preferably my embroidery attachment and serger.

Once again I wasn't finding anything that I like, weither it was price or style there just didn't seem to be anything out there to fit the space. So the hubs and I decided to try something we've always wanted to ... making our own furniture! And our first project would be a leaning wall shelf for the Ana White design (http://ana-white.com/2010/07/plans/leaning-wall-shelf).

The beginning ... we've got the wood, the tools, and the design!

 Safety first (haha) don't want sawdust in your eye!

 

 Yes we were safety with our eye wear but the hubs wasn't with his footwear!! Thank goodness nothing happened. 

All the pieces, now it's puzzle time ... and of course things aren't "perfect" so I'm sure well run into some interesting issues. 

Put together, sanded, and painted! Looks great, but don't look super close! We made more than a few little mistakes and for sure a couple big ones! We ended up having to rip the whole thing apart once we got it in the room since the angle was way off! The important thing is we made it, and fixed it!

Here's the final look, nicely decorated and doing its job in my sewing studio!

All in all this was a great starter project and we learned ALOT! Now we're hooked and have plans for things in every room! Our garage is about to get a little more crowed too since we definitely need to expand our tool collection. Not having the right tools makes things super hard and create alot more work!

Now to get to work!!

When you can't find what you want ... MAKE IT!

I'm a big DIY-er ... which can be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. I always seem to have issues with finding a cut table that fits where in my room or one that's the right height. So for the past 2 moves we've made where I've been lucky enough to have a sewing studio I've made my cut table.

But this time we're in Hawaii and I know we'll be like a mini-hotel, so my studio definitely needs to double as a guest room. My first thought was to make a Murphy bed and have the cut table hinge off the front of that. But in the end that was more trouble than it was worth. But I did like the idea of a hinging table that could fold away to provide our guests with more room. The wheels started turning ... and here's what we came up with a Murphy style cut table!

 

The best part about using a pocket door is they're cheap, easy to cut down, and LIGHT! So I have my table, 35" legs, and hinges for both the table top and legs. 

I placed the legs so they could fold down flat and attached them with little hinges. I also got locks, but since the table is on carpet and I only use it to cut/pin/prep on so there isn't much movement, I don't think I'll need them.

 

Standing!!!

Folded!!! It came out PERFECT and really opens the room when closed!

Now to add all my nicknacks and tools. I can't wait to get to work!

A bunch of boxes, a drive, some fun, a flight, and lots of waiting!

Well we had a fun and at sometimes stressful summer. But we made it to Hawaii in one piece!

Here's a small glimpse into our trip ...

 Hubby graduated TBS and started the journey ...

     

... celebrated our littlest turning 1 (it was an early birthday so we could share it with friends and family, his real birthday would be 2 days after landing in Hawaii and we wanted it to be fun!) ...

 

... visited some fun characters and events along the way (Disney is a BIG thing for us.We took both boys right after they were born and for their birthdays, so this is our 4th Mickey Birthday picture!) ...

 ... and then the REAL adventure began! 8 pieces of luggage, 2 car seats, and 1 stroller (plus our carry on's) haha! ...

... and after what seemed like FOREVER (but was only really a month and a half) we have a house and our stuff!! 

Now the real adventure beings! Unpacking, settling in, and exploring! Being is paradise is great, I know some spend a lifetime saving to simply visit so I plan to make the best of everything while I'm here. Even the problems ... like no Joann's, Micheal's, or Hobby Lobby! I can't wait to start all the new projects both for the house, the studio, and Tiny Hiney product line! So stay tuned my friends our Hawaiian Hana hoʻopīhoihoi!!

New Sewing Studio!

Lots has been happening around here! Trying to make things and furniture fit into a new house that were bought for another house is always a welcomed challenge! But I think the best part is we lucked out on getting a bigger house than expected and I have a true sewing studio!!! I can't wait to decorate and find a spot for everything!

Here's a look at the before, a simple room with a nice size closet and great natural light!

Now give me a few to figure out how everything is going to fit! And I definitely need to get new shelves for my MOUNTAINS of fabric! While we were in California I went to LA Fashion district and mini-fashion district (a huge store in Anaheim thats just like LA but all in one big warehouse!) and stocked up on some of my favs!

DIY!?! Tutorial?!? What to do ... ?!?

I really want to do more than just post things that I've done or in the process of ... but I'm not sure what?!?! I know there's the stand by tutorials, although a good 95% of what I make is done with a pattern (that I didn't create) or something that I've tweaked off of some tutorial already out there! 

I'd also love to showcase the building of my new sewing room, but again that's something that is MONTHS away! (Although I have already begun shopping, even found a new desk!)

I need to think of somethings, maybe even branch away from the sewing machine for some?! Or maybe just do some "showcase" posts about wear I get my appliques/embroidery?!

Anything that you would like to see?

Moving Madness!

So I know that I haven't been on here .... but SO SO SO many things have been going on! 

As I announced awhile ago we're relocating to Hawaii. But first my husband has some schooling in Virginia. So we packed up our house and moved ... he went to Virginia and I went to Georgia to be with family. 

Well moving is never fun, and it's even less fun when you do it yourself, and even LESS fun when it's into a storage unit! This is my whole life right here ... 

 

And that's not even all of it!! So much stuff for our little family! 

Anyways, now we're some what settled for the time being. And getting back into the swing of things is proving harder than normal. Thank goodness for family!! 

I'm excited to announce that Valentine's has taken over ... some many hearts, red, pink, and white fabric being thrown around! I can not wait to get this new collection out! Some of the little men stuff is so cute that I'm taking my two littles out to do a mini photo shoot to show case it! 

Here was my set up today ... 

busted out my mom's machine so I could sew while my machine did the embroidery work! Not a bad set up, I think that I'll keep and eye out for a nice used Bernina now so I can do this again. Don't be fooled by the "cleaness" for this was a BEFORE picture. I'll have to take another one tomorrow night with the AFTER.

I've got Mail!

Nothing can is fun about Mondays ... its the start of the everyone going back to work, getting back on schedule after slacking during the weekend, and for my writing out my weekly to-do list for the house and work schedule for Tiny Hiney. Thank goodness it's not pay days because than it's also bills and grocery lists! Oh for the little things!

But one thing that does brighten up a Monday is hearing your doorbell ring around 2pm and opening the door to see the Mr.UPS man with a big box for you!

HAHA ok so it wasn't the biggest of boxes! It should have been there's almost 50 shirts in there!! 
 

Looks like I know have something to keep me busy! 

Things to look out for ... Valentines, Mardi Gras, and a set of Monthly Baby Onesies!

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho it's off to work I go!

We've got something to tell you ... ;)

As a lot of you know we're a Marine family here at Tiny Hiney. Love our special little life and all of the great things its provided for us. But the good ol' USMC is throwing a lot our way this year including a move to ... (insert drum roll) ...

HAWAII!!

Yes I know, so very exciting! We can not wait and very  much looking forward to the new adventures this is going to bring to us! But it also makes things a little stressful between now and when we finally will be settled. We will have a series of times when we'll have to close or limit orders while we're in transition. 

Either way, 2013 is starting off with a BANG! And the best is yet to come!

Welcome to 2013!!

Happy New Year from our Hiney to yours!!

There's so much that I am grateful for this past year, and even more that I'm excited for for 2013! It's going to be a great year and I can tell!

Like everyone does I'm making some new years resolutions for Tiny Hiney ...

• I want to be better ... better organized, better seamstress, better blogger, better EVERYTHING!
• I want to "upgrade" my business with some new equipment and certifications

Seems simple enough but I know it's going to take work. I have a ton of ideas and I need to just make an extra effort to get them done. Today is day one, and I'm off to a good start!