give-away

okay girls, you know how much i love to share cute stuff and some other momma talent. in fact, i have been referred to in the past as a bad influence for the bank account. hehe. :)

well, today is no different. i have more to share, and luckily for all of you...she is hosting a give-away.

i want you to meet erin of easely erin. this girl is uber talented. i mean, like full of talent. i don't know if you recognize her name or not...but she is the brilliance behind my new logo (well, new about a year ago). she came up with the idea of that sweet little brown goose that you see on my logos. pure genius. well, not only is she a whiz in the graphics design department...but she also sews. and she makes some fine-looking stuff. i drool over her bags daily.

i have known erin since elementary school. i knew her then as 'ubin spoon' a nickname that i still find myself calling her. we grew up in savannah together and found each other again through the wonderful world of facebook. she has become one of my good sewing buddies over time and i know that i can shoot her an email in the wee hours venting about some stupid thing my machines or doing or what-not. she is also a huge animal lover, which you all know how much i think that says about someone's character.

but, it is now time for you to meet her. here you go.

Wondering about Easely Erin? Well, it isn’t misspelled… EASELY comes from Erin’s background as an artist. Not just an artist in a specific genre of mediums either. With a BFA from the University of Georgia in painting and drawing, and then a resume full of graphic designer positions to marketing positions, Erin is now being creative at home with her two sons. Being a stay-at-home mommy to one year old Huck and two year old Elton has given her some time during naps to learn how to sew and find ways to let her creativity escape! Easely Erin was started with hand-made doggy snuggle pillows out of her love for animals and then blossomed into original handbags, totes, pouches and other goodies. She’s always brewing new ideas. Right now it’s handbags, but who knows what kind of creative goodness will eventually be shared with her loyal customers through Facebook and Etsy. For stories of how she got started and tons of fun photos of projects that she does outside of making handbags, check out her blog: http://easelyerin.blogspot.com/

one of the things i love about this girl...her brain works like mine. she, too has a problem sleeping at night with all the ideas brewing and going on. we giggle together about sitting up in bed and grabbing a pen and paper to jot things down as they come up. it's funny in our own warped, creative way. :)

well, now on to the give-away fun! you see, she is so organized that it is all contained in one beautimus graphic.

got that? like her on facebook, if you haven't already. here, she will post updates about the give-away and what all is at stake. but, you must make haste...the first give-away will be on WEDNESDAY!! i mean, i don't know about you...but i NEED that chickadee bag. for real. or maybe that is just the bag-lady in me talking.

so, get on over to Easely Erin on facebook!!

coming soon (well...not in the near soon)

just doing some website work ladies...no need to stalk the etsy! taking a breather from the machines to work with some lovely html codes. yippee. :)

but get ready and start singing...

cheer up sleepy jean,
oh what can it mean.

your welcome for getting it in your head.

support the moms!

okay, first of all...just a few 'business' things to do. fortunate for us, BG 'business' is the most fun. :)

• there is anther give-away going on. whoop, whoop! amanda jones is hosting a give-away that includes brownie-goose AND molly blossom. remember her? she is the awesome bag-maker and earring-maker that i featured earlier in the year. she is also doing some sew-alongs for those in the area, and just happens to have her hands on my milly pattern! check out her info for more details on the sew along. AND check out amanda's blog for give-away info!

• i am having some serious moments of pride here at BG! i keep getting photos that you awesome seamstresses out there send me of what you made with my patterns. this is an amazing feeling and it is so fun to see all of you put your own spins on it. man there are some talented folks out there!

• i have about 3-4 patterns in the work as we speak. i am trying to divide my time between chirrens, husband, house, labradors, sewing and pattern making. TRYING to find a good balance here, but am having a ball sharing my patterns. the other fun part is having great friends and talented tailors test them for me. i LOVE a sewing bud and this just fuels my fire. the other fun thing is learning what i have been mis-spelling for eons. hehe. so far, i have learned that all my life i have been spelling the word "voila" as "viola" pronouce....ve-oh-la. hehe. and also been saying the phrase, "the patience of job" and calling him jobe. hehe. awesome. think i must have missed the day in elementary school when they taught spelling. :)

• another proud moment i had was when i let my little lou be a seamstress for a day. check out what she did here on my blog. love that child.

now, let's get down to supporting the mommas.

being a stay-at-home-working-mom myself, i decided early in the game to make a sort of pledge to try my best to support other work at home moms when i can. for instance, i don't buy fabric wholesale. i could, and i could probably save myself at least $2-$3 a yard (which adds up quick considering my addiction) but i don't. instead, i head on over to etsy and hit up mommy-run fabric stores (like my most fave, HB Fabrics) and feed my fire. those extra few dollars don't really matter to me in the long-run since i know just that little bit helps that momma stay at home with her babies. something that i wish EVERY mom could do. i also try to promote mom-run businesses when i can. there are some crazy-talented moms out there that should be showcased! anyways, this basic reasoning is why i JUMPED at the opportunity that was presented to me by another talented mom, meagan of Made-By-Meagan.

she came up with the idea behind Made By Mommies which is a facebook page devoted to all sorts of mom-run businesses. this will be a place for people to go to find mom-run fabulousness, for other moms to advertise/promote their businesses and for networking. it is FREE, no strings attached. :) this is not limited to just clothing, whatever your trade...sewing, cooking, baking, photography, stationery, etc. BRING it. if you want to be featured, email your info to:

buy(dot)mommies(at)gmail(dot)com.

this is gonna be the most fun, and i can only imagine what kind of trouble my paypal account is about to get into. :)

so, get your info in or get your shopping on! thanks again to meagan for the awesome idea!

and now, let's see if i can muster up the motivation to finish up this sweet pattern....

lots of news & fun stuff!

okay, i would apologize for being a slack blogger and not letting all yall know what has been going on...but for once, it isn't my fault. for some reason, blogger has not wanted to publish my posts the last week. whatevs, just glad it wasn't some serious news like orders open or something like that of the past. :)

anyhoo...let me just list all the fun and fabulous stuff i have going on here at BG.

1st - did you know about the BG giveaway? oh my, you must! BG was featured on the blog of Amanda Dove Wells and she did a little Q & A with me. so, if you have ever wondered how BG came to be, what goes on in my crazy little head when i design or anything else about me...check it. here is the link. http://www.amandadovewells.com/?p=559 but, even if you don't want to know about me or think you already do...check it anyways because she is offering a giveaway and at stakes is an oh-so-popular Milly Dress, one of the faves of the BG Originals. eeeeks. the giveaway ends tomorrow...so get on it, dog-gone-it!

2nd - i finally, after many, many requests and pleads from many of my sewing buds that i have met along this journey made a decision. i am now selling the patterns that i design. holy moles. it took a lot of soul-searching and talking to myself before i came to this decision. i had a hard time at first letting go of what i considered dear to me, but once i made the decision and saw all the support and positive feedback that came, i could have cried. have i ever told yall how amaze-balls you are? so, i am slowly learning the world of pdfs and conversion and scaling and all that jive. my patterns will be available in my etsy shop (brownie-goose on etsy) as i finish them. i currently have only gotten the Milly done, but so far...she has done very well which further encourages me to get my camera in my sewing room and sit down in the wee hours to my pdfs. :) so far, i have had requests for the mae dress, lola bells, katie top and jill top...any others you for sure want to see?

3rd - this goes along with the patterns and is so fun that i just cannot stand it. my husband was one of the ones behind me in supporting the sales of my patterns. he also really, really wants me to offer a sort of sewing class/lessons for people. now, the pure idea of this sounds fantastic and fun, but also overwhelms the snot out of me. you see, when i sew...i sew how it works for me. these methods are not always what you would learn in sewing 101. they aren't wrong methods by any means...but they are amy-isms and don't always make sense, just ask my friend Phoebe who puts up with me in the sewing room sometimes. so, until i learn to convey what to do in the sewing room in a 'proper' way and figure out where to put people and electric plugs and such i will leave this to other seamstresses who thrive in this setting. like sara of molly blossom.

this is where the fun begins. she is offering a sew-along for the newly released Milly pattern. how fun, right? now, how do you get in on this fun? this is what she has to say:

Have you been wanting to make your little girl beautiful, boutique style clothing but aren't the type that can sit down and breeze through a pattern? Do you have a sewing machine that needs dusting off and a yearning to make beautiful things? BG Originals and Molly Blossom have the perfect solution. Join me, Sara, at my house on June 18 (formerly mis-stated as the 13th) at 3:30 pm with fabric and your machine and leave with a beautiful Milly Dress using Amy Norris' beautiful dress pattern.

Don't miss this opportunity to get the pattern at a discount and have a personal guide to ensure your success. There are only six slots available for the special rate of $27 per person. I will take you from beginning to end of this lovely, layered beauty and you'll have a dress and the pattern to take home with you to use again and again with endless combinations.

Message me with questions or to register. on facebook, find Molly Blossom.

so, isn't all this just so fun? i know...right!

okay, now that all this exciting news is out and hopefully finally going to publish...what are you waiting for? get on over to amanda's blog and enter the giveaway and then, if you are feeling up to it....get you a spot in sara's sew-along!

have a fabulous memorial day weekend and stay awesome BG fans!