Bitter Berry Boutique

A couple of weeks ago my sister, Rachel, and I got the crazy idea that it would be fun set up a booth at the Azalea Trails Craft Fair at Bergfeld Park in late April. We both love to make things. She is super talented. I pretend to be. So why not give it a shot?

Yesterday morning we asked friends for help with a "shop" name (because it's required for the craft fairs) and thus the

Bitter Berry Boutique

was born. Thanks, Randi! It's a perfect play on our last names.

Among the awesome things that my sister, the "bitter" part of the boutique, is crafting, are the most adorable 6x6 pre-made scrapbooks!

They make the perfect: baby shower gift, parent/grandparent brag book, coffee table scrapbook.

They are 10 pages long. That includes 4 double layouts (2 pages each), a personalized cover and a back cover all neatly placed in to 5 page protectors.

She makes them for all occasions. It just so happens that I have baby on the brain, so those are the ones I took pictures of. Some ideas of "theme" books that she can make are: girlfriends, cousins, vacations, family, engagement, wedding and siblings. You name it, she can do it!

Here is the adorable book she just finished for my Madelyn:

They are hand stamped using only high quality, Stampin' Up materials!

All you have to do is crop your pictures however you would like to fit on the page and put them in!

The best part about it is that they are only $12 or 2 for $20!

She will take custom orders if you have some ideas of what you want. Each front cover is personalized on all of the books for no extra charge!

$12 for a personalized gift for someone special or yourself?

Unbeatable.

Rachel has a few other things up her sleeves for the craft fair coming up. Hand stamped decorative tiles, hand stamped tile magnets, greeting cards and maybe a few other surprises! More pictures to come soon!

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As for the "berry" part of the name, ever since I was on bed rest and used my weeks of immobility to learn the craft of bow making, I have loved it and have not stopped making them!
Here are some pics of a few of the bows that I have been working on:

Although not every bow that I make is the exact same size (that would be boring), I have 3 main sizes that most of my bows can be classified as:

Small bows are $1. Medium bows are $2 or 2 for $3. Large bows sell for $3 or 2 for $5.

My favorite part about selling bows, for every bow that you buy, I will make one for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler. TMFHS is where Madelyn was transferred to after struggling to breath for days after birth. I will never forget how I felt, walking in the door of Madelyn's room after a test that we could not be present for and seeing her sweet little forehead with all the goo from the tape from a week of IV's and breathing aids cleaned up and donned with a precious little cap and purple flower clip. Sherri, her nurse, had gone out of her way, so that despite the ventilator, IV's and machines, we could see our little miracle in the way most parents dream of seeing their baby girl. Soft, sweet and dressed in something girlie.

In December, we went back to visit the nurses and delivered the first round of bows.
Whether I sell 0 bows or 100, this will still be something that I do. It amazes me how something so simple, made such a difference to my husband and I that day and although I would never wish for any family to experience having a child in the NICU, I pray that it blesses them as much as it did us.

Corker bows are $4 each. Considering they require a lot of work (wrapping on dowel rods, baking, cooling, trimming, sewing, etc.) they are well worth the $4! Here are a few that I have finished so far:

And some ribbon that has been baked and is ready to be made in to an adorable bow for the princess in your life :)

Before I had a little girl of my own, I never knew how much fun it would be to make all the cute things for her to wear. From bows to headbands, onesies to tutus, girls are so fun to dress up!

Crochet headbands are $2 each. (Have you noticed that some of these that you can buy in the store are way too tight?? And because of that leave marks on your little one's forehead? I will take custom measurements for the black as I am waiting for more of the other colors to come in and sew them to fit your child perfectly!)

Although my talents have not extended to hat making (yet!), I love these precious beanies. They are $10 each or match them with any 3 bows of your choosing (the bigger the better in my opinion) for just $15! I have pink, brown, white and black!

These are a few of the super cute ribbons I picked up this week...

as well as some bows "in progress"...

I love these two:

I cannot wait to finish some of these brown and pink double layer bows!

Among the bows, headbands, and hats (notice the black one on Madelyn in the pictures below), I have enjoyed making these sweet Tutus!

They are perfect for pictures, dress up or to accompany an outfit.

They are $10 for any size and can be made with a solid elastic band or a ribbon to tie!

Those are just a few of the things that we have been working on lately! My project this weekend: Tutu Onesies and super cute socks!

There may be an etsy store in our future, but we are just trying to get ready for the craft fairs first! Like something that you see? Shoot me an email at kathrynbilberry (at) yahoo (dot) com or leave a comment below! Your feedback is always welcome (unless it's rude, of course).

The most exciting thing about our crazy idea to join the craft fair at the last minute is that we have been having so much fun! I have been busy putting off laundry and doing dishes and all my other daily duties because, "I have to get ready for the craft fair". Madelyn has loved modeling everything for me (or at least she has not told me otherwise). So far, it's been fun. More to come in the days ahead so stay tuned!