Moxie Glass Company Straws

My husband always thought it was ridiculous that I used a plastic straw with my mason jar cup when I told him the reason I liked using my jar cup was because it was glass and therefore did not leach any chemicals into my beverage, PLUS it was better for the environment.  I did major in Environmental Studies for goodness sakes!  ;o)  He is absolutely right that it is a little silly I was not also using glass straws.  I knew they were out there so I did a little research to see what I could find.  There are actually quite a few different places you can purchase glass straws, just as there are thousands of people who make tutus and hundreds who make mason jar cups.  I was perusing the glass straws on Etsy and fell in LOVE with the critter straws made by Melissa of Many Mini's.  She owns Moxie Glass Company in Fort Collins, CO.  Melissa and I got to chatting, as I LOVE to do, and we decided to start working together.  She is going to be supplying me with straws and I am going to be supplying her lids for mason jar cups.  She actually is a VERY talented glass blower and offers many other unique glass creations at very reasonable prices.  You have to check out her art!  I just found that she has a Pinterest page too, but I have YET to get into Pinterest.  I hear from MANY people it is addicting, but between my girls, the goats, chickens, teaching part time, my hobby/side job- Jeni Harvey Designs, I just can't find the time to check out one more thing!  Anyway, if you are looking for the most adorable, custom glass straw to go with your mason jar cup, I know just the lady to help you out.  :o)  Or if you decide to get a straw with your cup from me, stay tuned as I should be carrying her straws very soon!!

Mason Jar Straw Drinking Cups and Lids

It's been a while since I've posted and I must say that I am much better about keeping my Etsy shop up to date than my blog and Facebook page.  Life has been extremely busy keeping up with Scarlet and Madrone (2 and 4) (check out my friend's jewelry shop named after them- Scarlet & Madrone), the chickens and goats, my side jobs of making mason jar cups, tutus and photography, teaching Transitional Kindergarten and of course trying to stay on top of housework!  The last one I tend to just keep the laundry and dishes done and everything else I get to when I can squeeze in time because as most of you know, it will ALWAYS need to be done so it can wait.  ;o)  Currently, my 3' x 6' island is covered in gift baskets filled with a 24 ounce mason jar cup, several recipes I canned this year (peach butter, roasted pepper dipping sauce, all fruit plum jam, grape jelly), venison jerky as well as jam filled shortbread cookies.  I love homemade items for presents so I am hoping that others do as well.  Also on my island are the last of my Christmas cards that need to get sent out, movies, mail and a whole bunch of other miscellaneous other items.  Unfortunately it is a catch all for everything and it is also a huge pet peeve of mine to have clutter on it!  Kind of a vicious cycle!!  

Anyway, we are loving the country life we live and are continuing to add more work to our load.  My husband is currently building a greenhouse so he can easily grown produce year round and I want to start growing fodder for my animals.  It is seed that you sprout and then grow for 8 days and feed it to all the animals.  It reminds me of wheatgrass.  It does not grown in soil and the animals eat the green and rootmass.  It is super nutritious and way less expensive than corn based bagged feed and alfalfa.  I just recently started researching Dexter Cattle.  They are under 1000 pounds and are a dual purpose breed: good milk production as well as a good meat breed.  Currently we drink raw goat milk and I make cheese, but I would LOVE to have fresh butter and cow milk cheese.  My friend who makes the most amazing sourdough (I get a loaf every week in exchange for eggs) wants to go in on the cow with us so that'd be great!  Well I hope I didn't bore everyone too much.  If you are interested in homesteading or any of my products or photography, send me an email or message.  I would love to chat!  Thanks for stopping by my blog.  I have got to get back to work.  It's going to be a LONG day!  Thankfully the sun is out so the girls can go outside and play!  Doesn't get much better than winters in CA.  :o)

Halloween costumes 2012

When Madrone was born, she was given a BEAUTIFUL vest and chaps set from a friend.  This year she was finally big enough to wear them.  I pieced together the rest of her costume, red hat from a thrift store from Lala, red plaid shirt from an online Carhart store, red Ariat boots from an online store, belt buckle from Amazon and jeans were hand-me down Levi's.  I figured to top off her costume our Miniature Horse Gambler had to included in the equation.  We had our annual Fall Festival at the school I work at and I asked my principal if Gambler could attend as well.  I explained that he is more like a dog than a pony and is as broke as a horse can be.  She said that would be fine so I loaded him up in my minivan and he was the hit of the festival.  My crafting buddy Sierra of Legal Needle and I had a booth there where I was selling my tutus and mason jar cups and she was selling her knit and crochet goods.  So when Gambler wasn't walking in the costume parade, he hung out next to our booth getting lots of love from students and families.  My other daughter Scarlet is a piggy, if you couldn't tell.  :o)

April 2012 Tutu Giveaway Winner

Since Blogger was not cooperating and some people were having a hard time leaving comments on the post, I counted ALL comments that were left on the Facebook post as well as the Blogger post.  There were 7 total entries!  I think I had 5 for the last giveaway I did so that is GREAT!!  The entries are numbered in order they were posted.
 

And the winner is...

                                         Equi-Endurance said...                                                                                 2


Your TuTu's are so cute and so are your girls - Oh and can you post a pic of the hen tutu again please :)


Carol-Ann


May 1, 2012 8:52 AM

Congratulations Carol-Ann, you have 48 hours to contact me with your order.   If I don't hear from you, a new Random winner will be chosen.

Tutus for chicks

Last year I not only started making tutus but also got in to chickens.  I got 10 different breeds of chickens including the very dark brown egg laying Marans breed.  I contacted someone on the website BackyardChickens.com and she gave me the name of a breeder who lived pretty close by to me.  I bought two hens from her and sent her a link to my website when I posted the picture of one of my hens wearing a tutu.  She loved my tutus.  When I contacted her this year about getting some more chicks from her she asked if I would be willing to trade tutus for chicks.  I said, "ABSOLUTELY!"  Bartering is the best!  So today her daughters got their tutus and I got my chicks.  Here are the adorable sisters wearing Extra Full Whimsical K's Tutus.  Look closely at the pictures and you will see the rain drops.  Of course it started raining right as we started to take photos!!
 

Comment on this Post to Win a Custom Tutu!

Enter to win a custom tutu, shipping included if you are unable to pick it up!

Ways to Enter

1. Comment and tell me what style and/or color scheme is your favorite.
2. Follow Pretty Tutus for You on Facebook. (If you already follow, comment saying so.)
3. Follow Pretty Tutus for You on Blogspot- Enter your email address on top right side of my blog  (If you already follow, comment saying so)
4. Post a picture of the tutu you purchased from Pretty Tutus for You on my FB fan page.
5. Tweet about our giveaway with a link!
6. Blog about our giveaway with a link!
7. Post about our giveaway on any related forum- If you post on multiple forums, you will can get one entry per post.  You MUST make a separate comment for each one.


Come back and comment that you have completed any of the above items. Each one needs it's OWN comment. You may do each of the above for a total of seven comments = seven entries (unless you post on multiple forums). Be sure to enter comment using the "Name/URL" option if you are not a registered user. URL is not necessary, but name is so I know who you are if you win!!


Giveaway Rules


Giveaway ends on Monday, April 30, 2012 at 11:59 PM PST (MIDNIGHT). Comments are numbered in the order they were posted. The winner will be chosen via Random Number Generator and posted on blog by 12:00 PM Tuesday, May 1, 2012. Winner will then have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen.

Chosen Shop

I had a customer, Mary Beth, contact me about wanting to order five tutus.  She is having her first child and is going to use them to hang in her nursery and then her daughter Violet will wear them as she gets bigger.  I was honored and excited to make these tutus.  She chose five Extra Full Whimsical Tutus all of which were color schemes I had never made before.  They ended up amazing and the Mimi tutu is my new favorite color scheme!  I asked Mary Beth if I could take some pictures of Scarlet and Madrone wearing two of the tutus before I shipped them to her and she said sure.  Scarlet (blond hair) is wearing the Extra Full Whimsical Ella Tutu and Madrone (brown hair) is wearing the Extra Full Whimsical Mimi Tutu.  Of course I had to take pictures of the girls with our baby goats.  These are triplets from my goat Tilly.  My milking goat Clara had one little spotted buckling and I should probably get some pics of him wearing a tutu before he gets too big.  ;o)


Ok, back to the tutus.  I also asked Mary Beth why she had chosen my shop to buy tutus from when there are THOUSANDS of people who make tutus.  She gave me these reasons:

"1) Quality. Some of the tutus on other shops looked thin. I love the extra full and the whimsical style that you do. Your tutus looked like they were made well and were pretty. Also, some of the tutus had flowers or ribbons on them. That isn't what I was looking for.

2) Choice. I liked that you would custom make the tutus with any color. And that you offered a large variety of colors and styles.

3) Picture quality makes a difference. I like the format of showing the tutus as they are being worn so you can get idea of how they fit and the size, and also showing them laid out. Some shops did not have clear pictures- glare, etc.

4) Price. I felt like the price was right. The thin tutus that I saw on other shops were less expensive, but they were not as pretty. Some of the shops were charging a lot more, but I didn't feel like I would have gotten a better tutu.

I hope this helps!

Mary Beth"

I was honored to have gotten such an amazing and in depth reason for choosing my shop.  She received her tutus and was extremely pleased with the product.  That makes me VERY happy.  Customer service is just as important to me as a quality product.  She was so cute; she asked where else she could post comments about the tutus and my shop to help.  :o)  Thanks Mary Beth for ordering tutus from Pretty Tutus for You and CONGRATULATIONS on Baby Violoet!!

Pictures to come of all five tutus hanging in her nursery.

Lily's (Smash the Cake) 1st Birthday Session

A FABULOUS photographer in Spring Texas, Lauren Gaines, purchased two tutus from me. The first one was an Extra Full Hybrid Fall Tutu.  After waiting two weeks and over 100 Etsy conversations later, we finally deemed the tutu lost and I made and shipped her a new one.  She received the new tutu and a few days later the first tutu showed up.  Turns out her post office had it delivered it to the wrong house!  When she asked her postman about it he said he hadn't seen it but then he noticed it in the wrong bin after talking to her!

She ordered a second tutu for her daughter, an Extra Full Hybrid Lily Tutu.  It was for her first birthday.  I shipped that one delivery confirmation the first time around and it arrived within two days, just like it should shipping from California to Texas.  Lauren had a vision for Lily's first birthday party and she captured this vision BEAUTIFULLY on camera.  Here is a collage she made me from the pics I chose from her website.  Check it out, the pics AMAZING!

Now, not only do I have some wonderful photos of my tutus being used, but I have made a new friend in Spring Texas.  Thanks Lauren for your purchases and allowing me to use your photos!  Hope to make some more tutus for adorable Miss Lily and I hope to meet you in person some day!!

Digital Design

So with my passion for photography and my love of Photoshop, I have decided to sell some of my digital designs.  My tutu business is morphing into a tutu/digital design shop.  I am sticking with the name Pretty Tutus for You because I still have a bunch of business cards and tags for the tutus, but just know, I am starting to do photography and digital design as well.  

I added a photography page to my site and I will be adding a digital design page as soon as I get around to it.  You can see all of my products for sale at my Etsy shop if you are interested in looking right now:  www.prettytutus.etsy.com 

So far I have photographed two families, one engagement session and have an upcoming wedding and family photo session as well.  I have sold my Minnie Mouse inspired invitation to four people and I have also sold my Bunco score sheet!  Pretty exciting!  

 Every excuse I have to make a card, invitation, announcement, I jump on it because I enjoy taking pictures and creating cards, etc., on Photoshop.  My latest was our Christmas card.  I made a 5 x 7 flat card and also a 4 x 5.5 accordian fold card.  I went with a bee theme because we are trying to live more self-sustainably- living off the land I guess you could say.  :o)
  

If you like my work, I would love to know.  If you have something in mind and want me to do it for you, I would be honored!  Have fun perusing my site and I hope to work with you in the future- whether it be making a tutu for you, taking photos for you or designing something...maybe all three! 

Any store bought costume can be made better with a tutu!

 Halloween 2011

Extra Full Hybrid Fall Tutu

Here are some pictures taken by a photographer in TX.  She found me on Etsy.  The Fall Tutu is red, burgundy, brown, yellow and gold.

These pictures were taken from another photographer in Pennsylvania  :-) 

Chicken Tutu

As some of you know, I have turned in to the Crazy Chicken Woman.  ;-)  I am LOVING having chickens and have a wonderful flock of nine different breeds of chickens.  This is one of my Rhode Island Reds, Belina, wearing a Classic Hot PB Tutu.

Comment on this Post for Tutu Giveaway

Enter to win a custom tutu, shipping included if you are unable to pick it up!

Ways to Enter

1. Comment and tell me what style and/or color scheme is your favorite.
2. Follow Pretty Tutus for You on Facebook. (If you already follow, comment saying so.)
3. Follow Pretty Tutus for You on Blogspot- Enter your email address on top right side of my blog  (If you already follow, comment saying so)
4. Post a picture of the tutu you purchased from Pretty Tutus for You on my FB fan page.
5. Tweet about our giveaway with a link!
6. Blog about our giveaway with a link!
7. Post about our giveaway on any related forum- If you post on multiple forums, you will can get one entry per post.  You MUST make a separate comment for each one.


Come back and comment that you have completed any of the above items. Each one needs it's OWN comment. You may do each of the above for a total of seven comments = seven entries (unless you post on multiple forums). Be sure to enter comment using the "Name/URL" option if you are not a registered user. URL is not necessary, but name is so I know who you are if you win!!


Giveaway Rules


Giveaway ends on Friday, September 30, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST (MIDNIGHT). Comments are numbered in the order they were posted. The winner will be chosen via Random Number Generator and posted on blog by 12:00 PM Saturday, October 1, 2011. Winner will then have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen.

Extra Full Fall Tutu

Today I sold two tutus!  Yeehaw!  Here are a few pictures of Scarlet wearing one of them.  I got a request for a fall colored tutu so I decided to use the colors yellow, gold, red, burgundy and brown.  I guess it is more of a Midwestern/East Coast Fall Tutu since our fall colors are mostly yellow and gold.  :-)

Extra Full Whimsical Sister Tutu

My fabulous neighbor made another purchase from my shop.  Like myself, she LOVES the look of the Extra Full Whimsical tutus.  She has ordered six tutus so far, one for her daughter and the others for gifts.  Thanks so much Maiddy!  The most recent order was for her daughter, pictures to come, and two sisters who are the same size as my girls.  She chose fuchsia and light pink for the sisters.  I was asking her what to name them and we agreed on Sister Tutus.  I had to take pictures of my girls in them before wrapping them up, I couldn't help myself.  :-)

Event Today

If you're in Roseville today, come visit Pretty Tutus for You and Legal Needle from 10 to 3 at Sunflowers Farmer's Market. (Where Ross used to be on the corner of Douglas and Harding)

Patriotic Tutu

I have been working with a photographer in Pennsylvania named Julie Weimer of JW Photography.  Here are some pictures she took of girls in an Extra Full Patriotic Tutu.

Extra Full Whimsical Lillian Tutu

Here is a collage of the adorable Miss Lillian in the tutu she won in a giveaway. 

Pretty Tutus for You has been reviewed!

Danielle from Makobi Scribe ran across my shop on Etsy and wanted to do a product review.  I sent her a Hybrid KM tutu.  She finished the review and posted it yesterday.  You can read the review and enter for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to my shop at http://makobiscribe.com/2011/07/pretty-tutus-giveaway.html 

Extra Full Hybrid Jessica Tutu

The tutu in this photo was a custom order for a photographer in Pennsylvania.  It was made for her daughter Jessica and is apple green, hot pink, fuchsia and white.

Minnie Mouse photoshoot

Scarlet will be one on July 10 and Madrone will be 3 on July 11.  They are having a Minnie Mouse inspired birthday party.  I took their pictures, created the invitations and we are ready to party!  The picture is the front of their postcard invitation.  The tutus they are wearing are the matching tutus I purchased for them before I opened Pretty Tutus for You.  I loved the extra full look of them and they inspired me to create the Whimsical style tutus.

Classic Sweet Tutu

I brought some tutus up to take pictures of them and Madrone wanted to wear one.  :-) I had an Adult Tutu, a Teen, a Newborn and thankfully a Toddler tutu.  She really wanted to wear the Adult Tinkerbell Inspired tutu, but I had to break the sad news to her that a size 38" waist just wouldn't fit her.  Instead she got to wear the Classic Sweet Tutu.

She reminds me of a mix between Shirley Temple and Marilyn Monroe in the b&w.

Hybrid Elmo Inspired Tutu

The Tassio's came to visit.  It was Layla's 2nd birthday.  She LOVES Elmo so I made her an Elmo inspired tutu.  She wanted nothing to do with it, but thankfully her big sister Gianna was all about modeling it for me.  :-)

Luke, Gianna and Madrone are getting down and dirty on the rock pile.  Tutus are great for EVERY occasion, even ones where you get really dirty!  They were covered in rock dust.  I had to take Madrone straight to the bath when we went inside.

Extra Full Whimsical Signature Tutu

I was so excited to get to make my favorite tutu in a larger size.  I asked my "older models" if they could come over and try it on so I could take some pictures of them in it before I wrapped it up for the person who ordered it.  My models, Kaley and Allison, were very excited about the fullness of it and both were willing to try it on for pictures.  Thanks girls!! 

If you love this look, it can be done with any of the color schemes.  Just make sure you order Extra Full.

Tutu Giveaway Winner

And the new winner is...

Miriah Crawley said...                                                                            6

My favorite is the scarlet. I love the color combination. I have hung them in the girls room on the wall and will post a photo soon.

April 22, 2011 11:29 AM

Congratulations Miriah, you have 48 hours to contact me with your order.   If I don't hear from you, a new Random winner will be chosen.


Thanks to everyone who participated!

Miriah requested an Extra Full Whimsical tutu in hunter, emerald, apple and pops of purple and fuchsia.  A picture of her tutu is below.

Tutu Tug-of-War

I was reading the Working Mother magazine my wonderful secretary at my school put in my box, and I saw "Mid-tug-of-tulle, I dropped my end."  Of course, it sparked my interest and I just had to read it. 

The gist of it is about picking and choosing your battles, and I LOVE the conclusion the author came to at the end.  With that said, order YOUR girl a tutu and make her smile!!  :-)

Comment on this Post for Tutu Giveaway

The contest is now over!  Winner announced above.

Enter to win a custom tutu, shipping included if you are unable to pick it up!

Ways to Enter

1.  Comment and tell me what style and/or color scheme is your favorite.

2.  Follow Pretty Tutus for You on Facebook.  (If you already follow, comment saying so.)

3.  Post a picture of the tutu you purchased from Pretty Tutus for You on my fan page.
4.  Tweet about our giveaway with a link!

5.  Blog about our giveaway with a link!

6.  Post about our giveaway on any related forum.

Come back and comment that you have completed any of the above items.  Each one needs it's own comment.  You may enter up to six times.  Be sure to enter comment using the "Name/URL" option if you are not a registered user.  URL is not necessary, but name is so I know who you are if you win!!

Giveaway Rules

Giveaway ends on Sunday, May 1, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST (MIDNIGHT). Comments are numbered in the order they were posted. The winner will be chosen via Random Number Generator and posted on blog by 12:00 PM Monday, May 2, 2011.  Winner will then have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen.

Tutus shipped to Norway!!

One of my really good friends has three beautiful girls.  They are living in Norway for her husband's work.  She ordered each of her girls a Whimsical Scarlet tutu.  Here are some pictures of her 8 month old twins, Sienna and Makenna wearing theirs.  Pictures of Lillian, almost 3 years old, to come!

A great way to use the tutus when not being worn.  :-)

Tutu photoshoot 4/2/11

We had a litter of Weimaraner/Lab puppies a couple weeks ago.  The Lab sire of the puppies have two human girls he lives with.  They wanted to come see them so they came with one of their friends.  Somehow, tutus got mentioned and I got to make two tutus for one of the girls and the friend!  I am waiting on a name for the color scheme.  I told the friends they could get to name it.  They even let me take pictures of them in their new tutus!

Scarlet wearing a tutu

Scarlet is wearing an Infant Extra Full Classic PG Tutu.  The PG Tutu is light pink, fuchsia and apple green.  


The Classic tutus are a lot shorter than the whimsical tutus.  However, if you like the Whimsical style with the shorter length, just let me know!!  The price of this hybrid tutu will be the same price as a Classic tutu.  If you like the Classic style with the Whimsical length, the price will be the same price as a Whimsical tutu.

Out and about

Well we took a trip to town today.  Madrone wore a tutu and got many compliments but nobody asked where I got it so I couldn't hand out any business cards.  :-(  However, my tutus are now officially for sale at:

Loved Again Children's Boutique

4076 Grass Valley Hwy.

Auburn, CA  95602

(530) 887-5437

Kids Closet

948 B Lincoln Way

Auburn, CA  95603

(530) 888-1809

You can buy or special order them at either of these shops or order online or via email.  :-)

Weimaraner in an X-Large Whimsical Tutu

Here are some pictures of one of my Weimaraners in a tutu.  The colors are red, black and purple.  You can purchase tutus for your pets on the left side of the blog below the drop-downs for purchasing tutus for people.

Names of tutus = color schemes

When ordering, you can refer to the name of the tutu if you want one made with that particular color scheme or you can choose your own colors.  I will name the tutu after who it is for if I have never made that color scheme before. 

To see all color schemes made so far, check out my "Whimsical," "Classic" and "Hybrid" pages.

Classic vs. Whimsical

After making a Kira tutu, I came to the realization that I really want to make two different styles of tutus.  The first being the "Classic" style.  They are shorter and the edges are straight and all the same length.  The "Whimsical" style are longer and edges are cut at an angle and the tulle varies in length.  Below are side by side comparisons.

It begins...

Wedding Tutu

Three and a half years have gone by since my wedding.  A huge black garbage bag was full of orange tulle just wanting to be used.  I finally found a use for it and repurposed the tulle into an extra full "Whimsical" tutu.  The "Wedding Tutu" is 22 inches long and drags on the ground when Madrone wears it.  After making this tutu, I decided to open Pretty Tutus for You.


I find making tutus therapeutic after a day at work teaching Prep-K and after getting Scarlet and Madrone to bed.  I also just LOVE the way they make a child feel and how cute he/she looks wearing one.  Yes, boys may want to wear them too.  One of my students in my class put on the Wedding tutu and was twirling around the room in delight.

Little did I know how much time and energy went into creating a "shop" even for something as simple as tutus.  The business cards, order forms and blog are still a work in progress.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I hope I can make many people happy with a pretty tutu.  Remember, tutus are NOT just for children.