Goodbye to Little Window Shoppe
May 18, 2009 by Emily · 62 Comments
My Dearest Window Shoppe Readers and Friends,
This post has taken me over a month to write - partly because this is my last post on this blog. I am so sad to announce that as of today, Little Window Shoppe is closing for good.
The decision was not taken lightly and was really hard to make, but a combination of factors came together that brought me to this post…very much wanting to spend more time with my family (I have a very busy two year old who needs more mommy-time), 
getting ready for baby #2 in November (I’ve been out sick for two months! But it’s totally worth it as we’re so excited to have a new baby come to our family), and finally getting ready for a move to a new state with my family this Summer (my hubby is starting a new job).
{Photo source: Wilson Library Reserve}
I have learned so much from blogging at Little Window Shoppe and will be forever grateful for the kind friends I have made and the amazing experiences that I have had here!! Thank you so much for taking time to make Little Window shoppe a part of your lives and for being such a fantastic community. And also, thank you for all of the nice emails and inquiries about how we are doing.
Before I say goodbye for good, I want to thank a few people who helped me along the way:
First and foremost, my husband Scott. He is an incredibly supportive husband and friend and was the first person to listen to my every idea and concern throughout my blogging adventures. He has also been Superman at my house and has cooked, cleaned, taken care of our two year old and helped me out while I was sick over the last seven weeks! I couldn’t ask for a better man in my life and I love him so much!!
I also wanted to thank Holly of Tutus and Turtles. She is so cool and listened and talked to me for hours on the phone as I worked out how I would end my Window Shoppe blogging days. Her blog has been an inspiration to me from the beginning and I think that her blog ideas rock!!
Finally, I wanted to thank each of the writers and contributors for Little Window Shoppe. Each of them had creative and beautiful ideas to share and I’m so grateful and honored that they wanted to be part of this blog with me. They have become some of my dearest friends and were the best group of writers a blog ever had! They even sent me tulips when I was sick (just about made me cry, I felt so loved).
Please visit each of their blogs to keep up with their cool ideas!
- Vanessa - her blog: I Never Grew Up
- Lauren - her blog: Supermom Central
- Michelle - her shoppe: Sweet Mady’s Paper
- Michaelle - her blog: Monkeys Momma
- Cassie - her shoppe: Madison Envy
- Kelly - her blog: Albany Mommy
Also, I wanted to leave you with a few additional recommendations of blogs I love - in case you are looking for new places to subscribe:
- www.simplemom.net - this is my absolute favorite blog to follow…it has the best family tips and ideas that make sense, the ideas are easy to follow and I just can’t get enough of its coolness.
- www.howaboutorange.blogspot.com - artsy, tons of crafts, diy ideas, printouts, and the best time-wasters ever.
- www.thepioneerwoman.com - recipes, photoshop tutorials, photography 101, down-to-earth life.
- www.makeandtakes.com - the coolest (and most creative) kids crafts ever!
- www.metropolitanmama.net - and for all you contest lovers, this Metro Mama has excellent giveaways all of the time - and she writes helpful articles with tips for parents. Love it.
There are so many more…but I think this is a great start.
If you want to stay in touch with me, you can follow me at a few sites:
- www.emilyjune.com (I’ll still be designing blogs and websites - starting again this fall).
- I’m also going to be checking in and updating my facebook page and my family blog regularly. They will have weekly updates of my family life and the cool fun things we are doing.
**If you want to stay in touch with me at my family blog or on facebook, just email me or leave a comment letting me know and I’ll send you the links.**
Thank you again for making this the best blogging experience I have ever had!!
Always,
Emily
Lily Haven
March 24, 2009 by Emily · 5 Comments
With twirly skirts, patchwork aprons and Spring dresses, Lily Haven is the perfect place to find beautiful, unique clothes for your little girl.
Celebrating the essence of childhood, Lily Haven’s handmade clothing collection showcases vintage details, timeless designs and vibrant colors. I love this double layered skirt. It is made with loads of ruffled fabric, so it’s super twirly and bouncy. Wasn’t that the best part of dressing up when you were little?
How to Make Fairy Crowns
March 17, 2009 by Vanessa · 10 Comments
This past weekend we celebrated my daughter’s 3rd birthday by throwing her a fairy party. We made fairy crowns for all of the little girls attending, they are very simple and inexpensive to put together.
Supplies
- Green Floral Tape
- Wire (floral wire, jewelry wire or you can even use pipe-cleaners or an old wire hanger)
- Fake Flowers
- Wire Cutters
- Three different colors of ribbon
Instructions
- Cut the wire to the desired head circumference and twist together the ends to make a circle. If you have to thin of wire just double up on it.
- Next, wrap the wire in green floral tape.
- When you wrap the tape around the second time add in the flowers and leaves. These flowers I just picked up in the dollar bin at Wal-mart.
- Weave Flowers around the entire circle.
- Add your favorite ribbon. I took purple, pink and silver ribbon and used a yard of it for each headpiece.
- Finally, tie your ribbon in a loop knot to attach it to the crown.
Written by Vanessa of I Never Grew Up
The Little Travelers Giveaway
February 6, 2009 by Emily · 374 Comments
Contest Update:
*We have a winner!! The randomly chosen winner for this contest is: #13 Kasey. - Congratulations! Thank you to everyone who participated - please stop by again as we have a new contest each week.*
Why I Love this site:
The Little Travelers website is one of my favorites. I love seeing pictures of their adventures, learning from their experiences and am always impressed with their upcoming destination. I believe they recently returned from Iran….
A few months ago I posted about their adventures and now they’re back for a giveaway! As a re-introduction to their excellent message, I want to share with you the original post:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Them:
The world is a book with immense opportunity to learn, where memories are created through hands-on experience and friendship is the common language. Truly priceless.
You can join The Little Travelers from your own home as they travel the world, meet new friends and explore new cultures and customs from Japan to the British Isles. You can experience their adventures to find Nessie the Loch Ness monster, learn about going to school in Japan or visit the home of Harry Potter! Each adventure is captured on DVD and will be fun for your children to watch to see what life is like in a new place.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dress Up Sets:
In addition to their DVD’s, they have super cute Dress-Up Sets made with Duppioni Silk - a luxurious fabric that has been the choice of princesses and emperors for thousands of years.
Win It:
The Little Travelers would like to giveaway a DVD and Dress-Up Set of your choice to a Window Shoppe reader ($60 value)!
To Enter:
Simply leave a quick comment letting us know which DVD and Dress-Up Set you would choose if you win. This giveaway ends on Sunday, February 15th at midnight PST. The winner will be chosen randomly and will be announced at this post Monday, February 16th. Good luck, everyone!! (Please feel free to read our contest rules for additional details)
(Optional) For extra entries:
- Are you a Subscriber? Just let us know you’re subscribed to Little Window Shoppe in an additional comment.
- And (Or) Blog about this giveaway and include your blog link in an additional comment (comments with links are temporarily held for moderation)
- And (Or) Stumble us: (www.littlewindowshoppe.com) and tell us your Stumble Upon name in an additional comment.
Win a Superhero Cape from Plum Pear Apple!
January 21, 2009 by Emily · 437 Comments
Contest Update:
*We have a winner!! The randomly chosen winner for this contest is: #325 Jody C. Congratulations! Thank you to everyone who participated - please stop by again as we have a new contest each week.*
Superhero capes!! I am suddenly wishing that I were a {decade or so…} younger so that I could pull off wearing one of these awesome capes each day myself. I think this is the cutest cape shoppe on the block. 100% handmade by the very talented Erin, of Plum Pear Apple, her capes are BRIGHT & COLORFUL and are made to be as cheerful as your childrens’ personalities! You won’t find any bland or dingy colors here.
Win It:
One Window Shoppe reader will win TWO of these delightful Superhero capes! That’s right, two! You will win a custom cape for your own little Superhero and one more custom cape for your little Superhero’s partner in crime - whether that be a best friend, sibling, cousin or even just another deserving child you know about.
To Enter:
Simply leave a quick comment letting us know your favorite fabric or your favorite cape from the finished capes gallery and who the two capes will be for if you win. This giveaway ends on Thursday, January 29th at midnight PST. The winner will be chosen randomly and will be announced at this post Friday, January 30th. Good luck, everyone!! (Please feel free to read our contest rules for additional details)
(Optional) For extra entries:
- Are you a Subscriber? Just let us know you’re subscribed to Little Window Shoppe in an additional comment.
- And/Or Blog about this giveaway and include your blog link in an additional comment (comments with links are temporarily held for moderation)
- And/Or Add this site to either Stumble Upon, Twitter OR Kirtsy and let us know about it with your Stumble, Twitter or Kirtsy name in an additional comment.
Umecrafts Felt Treats That You Can Make
December 17, 2008 by Emily · 3 Comments
Imaginary play is an important part of any child’s life. And for a little girl, her toy box and play kitchen isn’t quite complete without a play tea party set. Best of all, you can make this felt set yourself!
One of Little Window Shoppe’s fabulous sponsors, Lit’l Brown Bird, has the cutest shoppe called Umecrafts. All Umecrafts tutorials come with actual cut-out pdf patterns and easy to follow step-by-step detailed colored instructions to help you along the way. {Priced between $4 and $10}.
And don’t forget to add a few delightful treats to your tea party too. These felt cakes look almost yummy enough to eat…
Discount:
Enjoy a 20% DISCOUNT on ALL patterns from now untill December 25th! (See Umecrafts’ shoppe for more discount details).
The Perfect Doll
November 4, 2008 by Vanessa · 6 Comments
For the past month I have been searching for the perfect doll to give my niece this year for Christmas. Dolls are very special in my house, both of my daughters have a certain doll they sleep with every night and talk about throughout the day.
I wanted the doll to be unique, funky, cuddly, eco-friendly, handmade and colorful. To my surprise I found quite a few that fit all of the things I wanted.
Poot & Boogie dolls were my top pick, I fell in love them instantly. The dolls are individually handcrafted and prewashed and shrunk with 100% cotton and 100% wool materials, stuffed with Eco-friendly fiberfill derived from EcoCraft corn. They are “handcrafted with love and smiles” in a small house on a hobby farm in Aldergrove BC. They accept custom orders and you can purchase the dolls through Natural Pod for $34.95 each.
These Modern Rag Dolls from the Etsy shop IkdDesigns are being sold to raise funds for the owner’s upcoming Ethiopian adoption. I love how colorful and cuddly the dolls look, the owner has quite a collection of dolls that are priced at $40 each.
Here are just a few of the other wonderful dolls I found on Etsy:
Doodle Girls from Bit of Whimsyprims $32
- Beth Ann from Madison’s Craft Nook $25
- Fiona from Baby Bomb $35
- Mermaid Dolls from Tiny Green Apples $30
Vanessa’s blog: http://www.inevergrewup.net - Ideas and Reviews to Help Parents Entertain, Care for and Educate their Children.
Fun Halloween Features
October 20, 2008 by Emily · 2 Comments
Over the weekend, my family and I went to a witch-palooza event at a little boutique village near our house. It was so much fun to see all of the shoppes and boutiques decorated for Halloween with treats and funny-looking witches. Likewise, many of the online shoppes I have come across lately are also ready for Halloween and I wanted to display some of their work today.
My first feature is from Panjo Kids “Super Capes for Super Kids!” Now what would Halloween be like without a few good capes to play with?
These spooky soaps from Twin Birch Bath and Body are so adorable. I love the rubber ducky pumpkin and witch. There are even more to choose from…Franken~duck, Mummy~duck, Ghostly~duck, & Dracu~duck. Wouldn’t they make perfect party favors? You can even customize the labels.
Tutus are perfect for all occasions and Halloween is no exception. At FaBOWlous, you can create the prettiest costume ensemble complete with poofy clips, bows and a custom made tutu for your little girl.
You can’t go wrong with this sassy little feature from Dainty Couture. Sturdy and personalized with your initial, this little black bag is all ready for to go for trick or treating.
And finally, FALL in love with these cute Trick or Treat and Boo Signs from My Lil’ Doodlebugs.
Halloween Ideas: Oeuf Animal Tails
October 14, 2008 by Emily · 4 Comments
Want to find a unique a Halloween costume? Oeuf’s clip-on alpaca animal tails make Halloween a creative adventure! They are a great alternative to the basic costumes you can find at the store and they are perfect for dress up and imaginary playtime too. Priced at $28.
Sweet Shoppe: Cubs Kids Wear
October 6, 2008 by Emily · 4 Comments
“Handmade with love” Cubs Kids Wear clothing for children and babies is handmade using only the finest quality materials. This shoppe offers a variety of fun accessories - like tutus, capes and princess wands.
I loved the princess wands - these magical must-haves are handmade from scratch to match your tutu and can be designed as creatively as you want. They would go along perfectly with Cubs Kids Princess Party Packs ~ where you can design a set of tutus for your guests and the party girl gets her tutu for free.
Featured Shoppes
