Buy Handmade: Julie the Fish Hand Stamped Personalized Keepsakes

Julie the Fish offers a fabulous variety of hand stamped, personalized keepsakes, and I think she literally has something for everybody! Whether you are looking for a gift for a man, woman, teenager, child, coworker, or a special occasion, she has just the thing. And if she doesn't...guess what. She does custom work too! So you can let your imagination loose and get something completely unique. Awesome! The prices are very reasonable, and Julie works fast, considering how much of her work is custom. You'll want to get over there right away to make your purchases, because December 7th is the cut-off to ensure Christmas delivery.

Be sure to read all the way to the bottom of this post, because Julie's got a GIVEAWAY for you!!

I think the first thing that caught my eye at Julie the Fish was these custom guitar picks. With a 17 year old rocker in my own home, I loved it that I had found something mom-made, handmade, and cool enough for a teenage boy. :) The finished quality is very good, and the size works perfect for us because my son prefers the smaller jazz picks, so he is going to love this.


These leather bracelets are another unique find that will work well for guys or girls:


I just love these necklaces. Such a great gift for a new mother! I got one for a new mommy on my Christmas list, and I'm very pleased with the quality and look of it. So sweet!


This sort of creative piece is right up my alley. I love swirly trees, and anything that can be personalized with a larger number of names.

Julie sends out her products in sweet be-ribboned gift boxes, and I love that. It's all done and ready to give!


Here's my interview with Julie!

Tell a bit about yourself:
I'm a mother, teacher, and artist.
I stay home to take care of my two little boys during the day.  
I love my guys and enjoy all the funny realities of being a mom.  
At night I teach English as a Second Language.
My students are native Spanish speakers learning English.  
I have fun using both of my fluent languages every night.
I'm also an artist/crafter.  
I love to create just about anything.
My newest passion is hand stamped jewelry.
I just can't get enough!

How did you get started creating your products?
A friend of mine had a simple stamped necklace and I loved it.
I thought, "I can make that!" 
so I started creating custom pieces.

What inspires you?
I am inspired by my customers, their lives, and stories.  
I love creating a custom keepsake piece that someone
will cherish for years to come.
When someone has a special occasion
I feel honored to create a piece that helps them celebrate.

What are some of your favorite items in your shop?
My two favorite pieces in my shop right now are the
square name necklace 
and the love necklace.

All of the pieces in my shop
can be personalized with your information.
Also, if you have an idea of a piece
you'd like created I can make it happen.

GIVEAWAY!
Julie is giving away one of her 
hand stamped initial necklaces!  
The winner will get to choose
what letter you want on the necklace,
plus can choose from an assortment of crystals
or other adornments to go
with it.  Sweet!  

Want to win?! Here's how:

1. Visit Julie the Fish and browse around. Find your favorite item.

2. Come back here and post a comment, telling about your favorite item. BE SURE that I have your email address with your comment, or else there's no way for you to win. :)

3. Get an extra entry to win by becoming a Facebook Fan of Julie the Fish! (let me know in comments that you have done this, and your name as it would appear in her fans) Julie's Facebook Fans will get an extra 10% off their purchases in November. (hurry!)

4. Get an extra entry to win by placing an order with Julie the Fish! (let me know you have done this in the comments section)

5. Blog about this to your peeps! (send me a link to your post in the comments section)

6. Tweet about this post! (let me know in the comments section)

7. Winner will be chosen on Saturday, December 5. (I'll send you an email if you're the winner)

Buy Handmade This Holiday Season!

As all of you who shop (and browse!) at The Baby Boutique know, I love-love-love to promote handmade, mom-made products. There are SO many talented women and mompreneurs around now, and I just love to support those businesses. This year I have decided to tell you about some of my favorite mom-made products, to encourage you to Buy Handmade for all of your holiday gift-giving. Tune in over the next few days to see what great stuff we have in store. There will be giveaways!!! :)

I am reading an absolutely inspirational book right now. It's called Stretching Lessons, by Sue Bender. It seems that nearly every page offers me something fresh that resonates with me, and speaks to where I am in life. So often this is my experience with books that find their way to me, and I am always grateful when it happens.

I could (and might!) share many quotes from this book. Tonite it's this one:

There are times
when it is a strength
to move inward--
to trust oneself enough
not to push out there in the world
by sheer will or effort.
And there are other times
when taking on something difficult
can be a worthwhile stretch.

Once I give myself permission to say "NO,"
I can imagine saying "YES"
with less effort and more trust.

How will we know how far we can stretch if we don't try?

On the Desire to Create

I'm not Mormon, but found this to be extremely encouraging and felt it was worth sharing.

It serves no worthy purpose
for me to minimize my gifts, my ideas, my heart,
to make others more comfortable.

It serves no worthy purpose
for me to pretend to be less
so others can pretend to be more.

I will not stop moving forward.

How To Live

My friend Babz had this on her status and I loved it so much I decided to share it:

1. Live humble, transparent lives
2. Stay open to correction
3. Audit your actions regularly
4. Stay in touch with the real world
5. -wash some feet
6. Make your family a priority
7. Live modestly and give extravagantly
8. - build a team
9. Develop keen discernment
10. Maintain your spiritual passion - daily appointment with god.

Time for More Monday Music!

And this ukulele version is pretty fun too!