It's Been A Long Time ....

Meet my family.the reason I do my handmade business along with my interest in all things creative.
They have been a great support to me in this handmade journey through the world of Etsy and the many other avenues I get to share my love for handmade gifts and home décor.
When I began I was making shirts,bows and tutu's but my love for handmade gifts and décor started about a year later and continued to grow.


I really love making things from wood and stone.

 In 2012,a few items I created went viral on Pinterest.

I was receiving 40 plus orders a day
I could not believe it.

I did not know what was going on.
Customers were sending me messages congratulating me.
That week I received almost 200 orders.
Most Etsy shop owners might have taken the opportunity to grow but I chose not to.

I am not sure if it was out of fear or exhaustion at the time.I was working from the time I woke up till the time I went to bed.


I now choose to control it more by putting my shop in vacation mode .
So this particular block was keeping me really busy.....while I was a just little bummed so many began to copy the layout and design.....


I decided rather than letting it get me down,I would copy myself and make other styles and prices to give my customers more to choose from in my shop.So if you wonder why I have not been here, I have been busy making things.




You can find my shop at http://www.designsbysyds.etsy.com  and if you find it in vacation mode,you can also find my items at  http://www.facebook.com/peace2udesignsbysyds  .
One more place you can find my items at is in Waco at Spice Village just down a few blocks  from The Silos / Magnolia Market close to the river.
I love being at Spice Village ,I also hope to open a space closer to Fort Worth  since I live in Burleson. *Update- I am now at Gracie Lane in Arlington also.
I love to help fellow Etsians and Artists so if you ever having any questions about what you can do to help your handmade business,just send me a message.I would love to hear from you.

Colorado Vacation Part 4-Roughing It

Yes,go ahead,make fun of us now,lol.We went tent camping.Let me tell ,if you are going to go tent camping,Colorado is a great place to do it.The last time we tried this,we got to the tent site,opened up our trunk and found that the tent case was in there but not the tent.We did not make that mistake this time! 

We camped outside Canon City across from the Royal Gorge.The view was beautiful and great weather in August.It was a bit cold late at night and early in the morning.So you need blankets and jackets if you try it.We did not go completely primitive,they did have bathrooms and shower facilities.I don't know if I could go completely primitive.

Sydney absolutely loves camping.They had a swimming pool,splash pad,and a bouncing pad,and a game room,and a small shop on site for necessities. The camping site was called Prospectors.They do have cabins and Rv sites also.
We even had electricity to watch movies in the tent as you can see Sydney doing.

We were sad to leave the last day.It was a short and sweet trip.Camping is beautiful and beats the prices you pay at Hotels if this is your sort of thing.I like paying $20.00 a night for all this so I can rough it a bit especially when I know how much my daughter loves it.

Pardon the pictures,not use to taking pictures with my phone.

Stay tuned for our travel back home.

Colorado Vaca. Part 3

 The Royal Gorge

So I really don't like to walk across the Royal Gorge.
I just want to get to the other side in a hurry.
You can drive over it or walk over it.We walked.
In the picture you can see my daughter Sydney and my husband Lonnie.
They have flags from all the states going across the bridge.So of course we had to find the Texas Flag

We took a wagon ride and got to listen to the driver tell us stories of the Indians.

Sydney loved the wagon ride.It is very short but to a child,it seems adventurous and is no extra cost after you have paid to get in.

They do have horseback riding which is an additional coat.You have to be 7 and up to ride them.

Then we walked through the old town that had some shopping and of course you have to pan for
gold and stay to watch the gun fight.


I wished they would have found gold,we had fun trying.

The real gold was watching our daughter have the time of her life and both of us spending quality time with her.

So thankful to God for my husband and my daughter.

Colorado Springs Vacation Part 2

  The North Pole

If you ever wanted to take your children to the North Pole,this is the place to go.It is just a few miles up Pikes Peak Mountain.It is a wonderful little amusement park nestled in the mountains amongst beautiful scenery.It is great for all ages!      I even went to the website before our trip and printed coupons.So you can get in for a great price too.

I love the fact that it had a beautiful little chapel and presented the real story of Christmas.Even in the souveneir shop,it had a little book for children ,I want to say it was called the Kneeling Santa but I am not sure but I intend to do some research because I would like to get it.I know it was prefaced by Pat Boone ,although he was not the author.If you know the book I am talking about,please let me know.If you have read it,let me know your thoughts.

My husband loved the ferris wheel,I am sure He had a great view but I dont mix well with heights,lol.It certainly was neat just to see one in the mountains.  

One of Sydney's favorite rides is The Peppermint Slide.It is pretty neat ,you climb the stairs inside and then slide down on a burlap slack.They also have a little train,the candy cane roller coaster,toy shops,candy shops and the list goes on.If you need Christmas decorations,they have those too.If  you want to see Santa,you can do that too.This is certainly a fun place for kids and where the adults can be kids too. 

          

Colorado Springs Vacation Part 1

                      The Seven Falls

This is located by Colorado Springs close to the foot of Pikes Peak.One of the most beautiful places I have seen.

There may not be as much to do in Seven Falls as other place but the views are breathtaking and a must see in my book.

This is the tourist shop and snack area at the bottom of Seven Falls.Let me tell you,coming from Texas and the extreme heat,it was so nice just to sit here and enjoy the weather and the scenery.

This is the actual Seven Falls.You can climb stairs to get up one side or take the mountain elevator to get to the top of the other side but once you get to the top  you can't see as much as you can if you take the stairs.But it's still worth the view for those who can not climb stairs.

You can see the mountain elevator in the next picture.

My husband and my daughter having a good time.We always seem to take vacation the same week as my daughter's birthday.She turned 7 this past week.Happy Birthday to my sweet Sydney.To know her is to love the energy she has and wish that you could be able to bottle it up ,lol.

Sydney's favorite thing we saw at the the bottom just outside Seven Falls was this beautiful fawn.

I will share more of our short and sweet vacation in my next post.

Thank you for stopping by my little blog!

Remember that God created all this beauty,it is for us to see His handiwork.If He can create all this beauty around us,He can do anything .Sometimes we need to take what we see in nature and apply it to our lives.When we step back and let God do what He needs to do in our lives(let His will be done other than ours)...He can make something beautiful and use us for his honor and glory.He created so much in 7 days and we act like He can't handle our lives. 

"Do what you can do and let God do what you can't."

Silverton ,Colorado...Faith That God Can Move Mountains

This is the small yet beautiful town of Silverton,Colorado.Nestled in the mountains close to Durango.They offer free style skiing and snow mobiling.

They have a few little shops and nice places to eat.They don't have as much to offer as Durango but defintely worth seeing.
The beauty as unbelievable.You can surely see God's handiwork.





There is a train that comes out of Durango leading to Silverton.
The views are breathtaking and a definite must see.
You can ride on an open or  closed cart.
They even stop on the way for a picnic.You can bring your own lunch or choose to eat from their concession stand on the train.
The scenes are unbelievable from the train.I have to say the open cart is the way to go especially for those who love to take pictures.

I could not help but take this picture of this lovely church building tucked in snow.It was small but so beautiful and the only one I saw in Silverton. 

This was one of the best vacations we have taken.We did stay in Durango rather then Silverton.They have more accomadations.Plus when it has snowed quite a bit,Silverton can be a rather scary drive but a gorgeous one.

So I leave you with this last picture to remind you of the awesome beauty that God has created.Makes you realize that God can do anything.He can make something from nothing.He can supply all our needs and use unfortunate happenings in our lives to His honor and glory.Do you have faith that God can move mountains?

Sydney's Present From Hillbilly Handiworks

Tonya from Hillbilly Handiworks did such a cute job with her presentation,I left it the way I received it for Sydney to unwrap.

We actually let Sydney open it early on the way to our destination for vacation.

She was getting so excited to see what it looked like.

At last,she loved it.She had to take it everywhere we ate on  vacation,even if we stayed in the hotel room for dinner.Thankyou Tonya from Hillbilly Handiworks for doing such a wonderful job of her personalized placemat.You can find Hillbilly Handiworks on Facebook and Etsy.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/HillbillyHandiworks?ref=ts