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
Oreo Spiders
October 28, 2008 by Emily · 9 Comments
Oh, how I love Halloween activities! I have been really enjoying Halloween this year. Last night, my little family and I made these ‘almost-too-cute-to-eat’ Oreo spiders (although we really did eat a lot of them). And while I’m not a fan of spiders in real life (umm, definitely not…eeek!), these ones were a lot of fun. A few oreos, a little frosting, m&m’s, chocolate chips and chocolate Twizzlers did the trick.
We also created a few baby spiders and my husband simply couldn’t resist making the big “daddy spider” (that we lovingly referred to as “Big Bertha”). He’s so creative.
How to Make Spooky Candy Monster Houses
October 22, 2008 by Emily · 5 Comments
A few weeks ago, I discovered this fun idea for making Creepy Candy Halloween Houses at Make and Takes (one of my all time favorite crafting blogs!) I LOVED it to pieces, so my best friend JaNece and I decided to make our own candy monster houses for a Halloween activity with our kids. It was a blast and I think JaNece and I got way more into it than our kids did. This is a picture of the houses we made! Aren’t they cool?
This activity was just like making a ginger bread house, but with a Halloween theme. Here is how we made ours: We first lined tin foil around a cookie sheet and set up our graham crackers using powdered sugar frosting.
Powdered Sugar Frosting
1 pound powdered sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
We mixed the egg whites until stiff and then added in the powdered sugar with the vanilla. After we mixed ours together, we put them in little frosting bags (plastic baggie with the corner tip cut) and added orange and black food coloring. We used the frosting to hold up our graham crackers and candy and it worked like a charm!
For the mouth - this was JaNece’s idea - we took an apple slice and then cut a wedge out of the middle. To top it off, we added almonds for teeth! Brilliant, don’t you think?
You will have so much fun making these, I promise!! What is your favorite crafty Halloween activity?
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.
Fresh Ideas for Modern Living
October 9, 2008 by Cassie · 8 Comments
In the last couple weeks, I have loved finding new Halloween décor ideas while surfing blogs, all of the creative people out there amaze me. I came across Matthew Mead from another blog and really liked his clean, fresh, and modern ideas. You can take a look at more of his entertaining tips on his web site Matthew Mead Style.
He also has two awesome books that you can find at Barnes and Noble and Borders Bookstores. Tricks and Treats is his Halloween book and recently Matthew wrote an entertaining book called Entertaining Simple.
The best thing about Matthew Mead’s ideas are that they are simple and easy that won’t take going out to the store to buy all new items, they are meant for real people like you and me!
What are your favorite Halloween décor ideas that you have discovered this year?
Cassie’s shoppe: Madison Envy - offering the latest items in fashion.
Printable Art by Vink
October 2, 2008 by Emily · 6 Comments
Design by Vink is a collection of colorful printable/digital designs, images and papers for all kinds of projects, including paper-craft, scrapbooking and cardmaking. You may also cut these out to use as embellishments, tags and patterns.
Just perfect for craft-making during the Holidays too. Here’s a little peek into a few of the images that you could print and cut out for Halloween projects that you may be planning. These little pumpkins and monsters make me smile, aren’t they great?
Halloween Tote Bags
September 30, 2008 by Vanessa · 7 Comments
The Etsy shop Mimi & Reese has fun and functional items to help get you all ready for candy collecting on Halloween.
Instead of carrying an all-too-typical plastic bag or pillow case, how much more durable (and not to mention cuter) would these bags be for your kids to carry around on Halloween night?
Forget about the kids, they would be adorable for adults to carry around too! To grab your own, check out Mimi & Reese to see all of their personalized tote bags for sale.
Vanessa’s blog www.inevergrewup.net - Ideas and Reviews to Help Parents Entertain, Care for and Educate their Children.
Over The Tipsy Top
September 25, 2008 by Cassie · 8 Comments
I love anything with glitz, glamour, and glitter so when I came across Over The Tipsy Top Designs I fell in love! Tonia and Marla are always up to something new and usually it involves MP&G (Modge Podge and Glitter).
The best thing about what the Tipsy Girls do is they find basic items from The Dollar Tree or Wal-Mart and make them Over The Top. So not only are their designs darling but very affordable and easy to do. Check out Over The Tipsy Top for their latest on Halloween décor that will have all your friends asking, “Where did you get that?!?”
P.S. These girls do the most amazing giveaways…even if you aren’t into the girly décor their giveaways are well worth the look!
Cassie’s shoppe: Madison Envy - offering the latest items in fashion.
Holiday Tablescapes
September 18, 2008 by Emily · 2 Comments
J. Bee Designs creates custom tablescapes with hand painted glassware (I don’t hand-paint glassware, but I imagine it must take a lot of time and work)! The glassware is painted to match your linens and color scheme for decorated holiday, birthday, and anniversary tables.
In the spirit of Halloween (coming in about a month, can you believe that?), I was drawn to these Halloween-painted cookie jars. Fun!
Featured Shoppes
