Cindylu Designs

Love is in the air!

2011-02-07T22:55:00.000-05:00

In honor of Valentine's Day just a week a way, I thought I would suggest some gift ideas for that special someone in your life:

Heart Mother's/Grandma's Handstamped Necklace with Swarovski Crystal Dangles

Key Necklace with Heart Keyhole Charm

Bookmark with Handstamped Disk

Handstamped Sterling Silver ID Bracelet

Or here are some phrases inspired by songs that I can stamp on a handstamped circle: "Always Be True", "You Are Loved", "All My Loving", "Endless Love", "Hello, I Love You", "Give a Little Love", "Love will Keep Us Together", or "All You Need Is Love"

If you would like to place an order to have in times for Valentine's Day, please place your order by Wednesday.

Also, you can use coupon code vday2011 to get 14% off your order.

19 Months!

2011-01-24T21:16:00.000-05:00

Well, its been a few months since I have posted on my blog. You may have noticed I changed my blog background as well to try something different.
My last post was in October and right after that, I was the busiest I have ever been at Christmas time. It was great, but I am glad the holiday rush is over. It's hard to believe that Christmas was just about a month ago.

My little girl just turned 19 months. Only 5 months before she is 2 years old! Since I last posted, Madilynn had her 18 month check up. At the doctor's visit, they measured her and she was 32" and 20lbs and 5oz. Still a little girl! She is just now wearing 18 months and still in her 12 months clothes.

She has been enjoying the snow! She learned how to throw her first snowball from her grandpa and she learned she likes the taste of snow.

She just amazes us with everything that she does. She still loves Elmo and now really likes Bert and Ernie.

She had a great time at Christmas and yes, of course she loved playing with the boxes. She even fit in one of her doll boxes!

Something fun we did before Christmas was go to the Children's Museum. We have an annual pass and wanted to make sure we went around Christmas time to check out the slide. We had to wait a little bit, but it was worth the wait. She was smiling all the way down! Patrice waited for us while we were in line, so she could get Madilynn on video.

P.S. I will be announcing a Cindylu Designs giveaway in a few days. Stay tuned and be sure to like Cindylu Designs on facebook to be notified of specials and new products!

Etsy Holiday Boot Camp - Week 5 & 6

2010-10-31T14:06:00.008-04:00

So this week I am combining week 5 & 6. I went to Chicago with family last weekend, so I catching up on my blog posts!

Here are the tasks for Week 5:

Check out 7 Lessons from Adam Braun - Adam has 7 life lessons. I really liked all of his 7 statements. One of them that stuck with me was "Become hopelessly optimistic about the things that make you feel most alive." I really thought this one could be applied to anything in life. I think if you truly believe in something that you will do the things necessary to get you there. I also really liked "To achieve unreasonable things, you have to become an unreasonable person." This one is so true too because to be successful in anything in life, you have to be willing to do things that most people are unwilling to do. So it helps to believe in what you do and the time and energy that you put in things will come naturally and won't seem like work.

Read Etsy's Guide to Photography - I read though this and know I need to get better on my pictures. I have been thinking about working with a photographer who has taken pictures of jewelry before to see if she can help me or swap out some pictures for jewelry! I am going to contact her and see if we can get something set up soon, so I have them in time for the holidays.

Shoot Photos of Your New Work - This totally goes with the previous item. I try to take photos of an order before I ship it out and post it on my blog, so everyone can see it. I am not always so good at this because I tend to work at night, when lighting is the best! I will be working on this, so everyone can see all my new designs.

Check in with your Boot Camp Buddy - I did check in with Tiffany to see how her first show went for her. Hope to hear it went great!

Post in the Boot Camp forum thread - I made a quick post on the thread.

Week 6

Read This Week's Check List - This was an interesting article. While its important to keep up with trends, I think people will always want something personalized with their name, their children's name, their monogram, etc. But I guess there are different ways to do it, so here are the latest trends: The 70s are back! While the 50's have been huge this year, mainly due to the show Mad Men, which I love, the spring collections for 2011 have been featuring many styles from the 70's. I am not sure how I can incorporate the 70's into my jewelry, so let me know if you have any ideas! Another trend is geometry. Bold and minimalist designs follow this. I am not sure how I can implement bold, but I know a lot of my designs are simple and minimalist. A third trend is Fall Colors Recycled, which includes warm and neutral fall tones like greys, browns, beige, mint, and muted pinks and blues. I love all of these colors and especially them together! I am actually working on some new designs using flowers. Some of the flowers I have made are in these colors. Here is a preview of the flowers.

Check in later to see what I do with them! The last trend is Pattern Insanity. I am not sure how to use this one with my jewelry or if I even want to!!

Revisit your prices This is always a tough subject. You want to feel like your prices are fair, but you don't want to feel like you are doing your work for nothing, even if you totally love doing it! The basic formula used for determining your pricing is broken down two ways. Your wholesale price = Cost Price (Labor + Materials Cost) x 2. Your wholesale price is the price that you charge for someone who is ordering a large quantity of your product, maybe 50 or 100 at a time. While this cost helps cover all the other costs to running a business, like website costs, credit card processing fees, etsy fees, business insurance fees, taxes, and the many other costs, it wouldn't cover all costs. Your retail price is calcuated by taking your wholesale price X 2. This is the price that you would charge your retail customers, like ones at home shows, craft and art shows, and on etsy. So using the formula, let,s use a necklace for an example. For the labor cost, what do you think is a reasonable amount to charge for your time? Everyone thinks their time is valuable and it is! There are many things that you can do with your time, that is very valuable including spending time with family and spending time with family (I repeated that on purpose.) Sometimes it's definetly hard to take time away from them to work. So let's say you think your time is worth $15 an hour and it takes you 1/2 hour to make the necklace and your cost of materials is $15. Your wholesale price would be ($7.50 + $15.00)x2 = $45 and your retail price would be $90. This sure does seem like a lot to charge for a necklace, where the materials cost $15, but this is a basic formula for pricing. So the next time you are looking to purchase something that is handmade and think its not worth the price or that you could do that yourself, just know that its not just the cost of materials that matter, but someone's time and creativity and also that you will probably never make the time to make that item. Please remember your local artists during this holiday season.

Check out this reading list One of the articles on the reading list was about how to be a better blogger. It talks about how its important to "make yourself useful", meaning offer information on a subject that not a lot of your readers know about. I am hoping that these blog posts will give you a better insight into etsy and how it works. Most of my friends hadn't heard of it until they saw my items on it.

Connect with your buddy - With the busy holiday season, it is difficult to keep out with sales and shows, and keep in touch with other sellers, but I am hoping maybe Tiffany and I can connect sometime and share our successes.

Well that is it for this week. Until next time!

Etsy Holiday Boot Camp - Week 4

2010-10-19T20:24:00.003-04:00

This week has been busy for me, just getting ready for the Junior League Holiday Mart, coming up in a few weeks. I will be participating in the Mistletoe Madness again this year with my holiday earrings and wine charms. I am really excited to see how it goes this year.

So, I am into week 4 of the Etsy Holiday Boot Camp. Here is what is on the agenda this week (can you tell I love lists!):
1. Read this week's article - I read the article and it basically talks about telling your personal story and how that can help increase sales. I went on my etsy site and realized that I needed to personalize my profile. I really took some time to add more to it. So check it out and let me know what you think!

2. Etsy Success Keyword Exercise - The goal of this exercise is to make you think of
words that describe your style of items and your key branding values. Then you can use these words in your descriptions and tagging words. Here are some the words that I can think of that describe the style of my items: casual, chic, cute, elegant, pretty, simple and vintage. Then I tried to think of a term that would describe how I try to brand my jewelry. I thought of cherished pieces and simply stated. Any other suggestions?

3. Check in with your bootcamp buddy - I just posted a comment to Tiffany on her blog to see how she is doing. Be sure to check out her blog at http://jewelrybytiffany.wordpress.com.

4. Extra Credit - So for extra credit, which I couldn't not do, you read an article about how to more effectively write. It basically said that you need to write the same way that you talk, by using the same words that you use when you are talking to a friend. You should keep your writing simple and clear. Hopefully my writing is simple and clear!

Well that is it for this week. Also don't forget that I am looking for ideas for a new item for my holiday season. Please submit your ideas either by commenting on this blog or sending me an email at cindy@cindyludesigns.com. If I pick your design, you get it free!

Picking out Pumpkins

2010-10-10T21:19:00.008-04:00

Can you believe its fall time and that summer is over? Yesterday it was about 85 degrees, so its really hard to think about fall. A couple of weeks ago, we took Madilynn to the doctor for her 15 month check up. She did really great, until they had to give her 4 shots. I felt so bad for her. Here were her stats at the visit:
Weight: 18lbs 13ozs
Height:30"

I can't believe how amazing she is. She loves pointing to things and either telling you what it is or saying what it is. She says and points to a lot, including kitty, daddy, tree, flower, piggy (which is too funny how she says it, she sounds like she has an English accent!), football (which of course Brad gets excited about that, she says it every time she sees it on TV), Elmo(This is a new one. We showed her a couple of sesame street videos online, ones where celebrities on a guest on it and sing a song with them. There are some really cute ones. She likes the one with Adam Sandler and Feist. Here is the link to watch it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py2f38iPBeI, doggy, ball (Everything that is round is a ball!), milk, and I am sure there are some other words that I can't think of right now.

Also, if you ask her where her eyes, nose, mouth and ears are, she can point to them.

Here are some recent pictures from last weekend when we went to Traders Point Creamery's Octoberfest. Madilynn had fun picking out her pumpkin and watching all the other kids. The food was okay this year. We went last year and they had pretzels and this year they didn't, which I was very disappointed!

Etsy Holiday Boot Camp - Week 3

2010-10-10T20:27:00.006-04:00

Well, its week 3 of the Etsy Holiday Boot Camp. This has been helping me think of the holiday season and what I need to. Here is the list this past week:
Read this week's Boot Camp article - The article talked about selling custom work, which is of course what I do! It said you should always show all of your options available so your buyers know what their options look like. I have a picture that shows the crystal colors that my buyers can choose from for birthstone colors, but I don't have a picture that shows all the crystal colors. I was thinking this would probably be really good for my bridal jewelry. I have a Swarovski color chart. Here is a picture of it:

Maybe I can find a way to take a better picture of it, so I can show each crystal on it? I will have to play around with this.

Fill in the Blank Exercise - With this task, you are to come up with something that you have been meaning to get done, but haven't. I just ordered and received all of my supplies for my holiday earrings. I will have my holiday earrings at the Junior League's Holiday Mart in the Mistletoe Madness area. I received all the supplies this week and have been working on the earrings this weekend. I hope to have them done in a couple of weeks. I have to make about 100 pairs!

Six Success Secrets Exercise - I read this article and it had some great tips about believing in what you are doing and trying not to get discouraged.

Check in with your Boot Camp Buddy - I just emailed Tiffany as I was writing this post. I am excited to see how we can help each other.

Get a Head Start on Your Holiday Stock - As I mentioned before, I just ordered my supplies for my holiday earrings, but I definitely need to look at my other supplies and see what I need.

Post in the Boot Camp forum thread - Just completed that one!

I looked back at week 2 and I still need to figure out some new design ideas. I am thinking about adding a charm bracelet to my collection. One that maybe you can add charms as you go, like for each child or grandchild's name. Any thoughts or comments? Also, like I mentioned in week 2 if you come up with a new idea for me and I choose it, I will make the design for you as a gift!
Thanks!

Etsy Holiday Boot Camp - Week 2

2010-10-03T22:38:00.008-04:00

The holiday season always creeps up on me and I feel like every year I should plan better, so I am participating in the Etsy Holiday Boot Camp.
Okay, so here is the list of things that I need to do this week:
1. Read this week's Boot Camp article - Done!

2. Make a list of your most popular items - I was looking at my sales from QuickBooks and here are the top 5 items that I have sold so far this year:
* Hand stamped circle necklace

* Photo Charm necklace

* Bookmark with hand stamped circle - http://www.etsy.com/listing/56759739/bookmark-with-sterling-silver

* SoU Necklace - I just realized that I sell a lot of these at my art and craft shows, but I don't have a picture of one to sell on etsy. So I will be working on that this week!

* Keychain with hand stamped circle

3. Brainstorm new work you'll offer this season - I have been thinking about what some new items could be and I have been really trying to get more bridal items out there. But as far as items for the holidays, I haven't come up with anything yet. Any ideas?? I would appreciate any ideas of items that I am not making that you think I should be making. If I pick your idea, I will make it for you for free!

4. Find your Boot Camp buddy - I found my boot camp buddy and she is from Fishers too! Her name is Tiffany Magid. Check out her cute jewelry at tiffersm.etsy.com

5. Post in the Boot Camp forum thread - Done!

Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp

2010-09-27T21:15:00.002-04:00

As you know, I sell my jewelry through etsy.com, which supports handmade artists. They are starting their Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp this week. Its hard to think its time to already think of the holidays! So each week they will be posting ideas, checklists and helpful resources. There is even a Holiday Boot Camp Pledge!
Here it is:

I, Cindy Schum, pledge to participate in the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp to the best of my abilities. I vow to check in every week, do my homework and support my fellow Holiday Boot Campers. I will read the weekly newsletters and blog posts, check in on the weekly forum thread, read the weekly blog post, check off the checklists and salute the mascot. I promise to share what I've learned with those who need it, support my fellow Etsy indiepreneurs and, most of all, have a positive and persistent attitude. I understand that together we can spread the word about our handmade and vintage goods, making this holiday season a more unique and meaningful one to gift givers and give-ees everywhere!

I will keep you updated on how I do!

Donate Funds for Ovarian Cancer

2010-09-23T22:48:00.007-04:00

Be sure to check out this link:

http://candacerose.typepad.com/blog/2010/09/inhonorofleahvandeberg.html
My Ovarian Cancer Keychain is featured!

This a blog from Candace Rose. She is on etsy as well and has found some other etsy sellers who have items for Ovarian Cancer awareness. Be sure to check out all the great items that people make and will donate money from each sale for Ovarian Cancer awareness and research.

Find a Cure

2010-09-07T22:11:00.003-04:00

In honor of my mother in law's personal fight with Ovarian Cancer and September being Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, I have designed a special key chain with a simple message, "Find a Cure". The disk is sterling silver and includes a teal color bead. The price is $20 and $5 will be donated to the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Southwest Ohio. You can order the key chain on my website: www.cindyludesign.etsy.com. Thank you for supporting Ovarian Cancer awareness and helping find a cure!

We will also be participating in a walk this month and I had bought an ovarian cancer onesie for Madilynn a few months ago. I thought it would be neat to make it into a dress. So, Anissa from Two Little Bugs Clothing, designed this dress for her, using the onesie and adding some teal fabric at the bottom. Isn't too cute! I can't wait to see Madilynn in it!

Thanks Anissa for the awesome job!!!

Check out the Giveaway!

2010-08-25T20:46:00.004-04:00

I recently met Anissa from Two Little Bugs Clothing and we shared ideas and talked about each of our creative outlets, jewelry and clothes! She designs cute girls clothing, barrettes, headbands and lots more. Right now, on her blog, she is doing a giveaway for one of my stamped necklaces!

Here is the link to enter the giveaway and check her blog out!
http://twolittlebugsclothing.blogspot.com/2010/08/cindylu-designs-giveaway-is-here.html

The giveaway is until September 1!

Check out some of our recent designs!

2010-08-23T20:35:00.005-04:00

Here are some pictures of some of our orders that we have made recently. These were all orders that we customized just for them. Check out our designs and if you don't see exactly what you are looking for, just email us and let us know your idea!

Madilynn Update

2010-08-17T22:53:00.006-04:00

It's been too long since I have blogged or given an update on Miss Madilynn. It's hard to believe that she is almost 14 months! She is just so cute and so fun.

Here are her current stats:

At her 12 month check up she was 18 lbs(little thing!) and 28 1/4 inches.
She eats about anything, except right now she doesn't like pineapple and peanut butter. We will keep trying!
She loves her milk.
She is running and testing what she can do and get into!
Her favorite words are daddy daddy, kitty, doggy - whenever she sees or hears a dog she yells doggy.
She is always doing something new! Yesterday she was actually blowing her nose! We had to wipe her nose and she decided to do it herself and blow into the tissue. She kept doing it until she got all her snot out. I just can't believe she knew to do that!

With as hot as the summer has been, we haven't been out as much as we would like to, but here are some pictures of Madilynn playing with the hose! I was watering the flowers with Madilynn and she decided it would be more fun to play in the water. By the time we came inside she was drenched! But she had a great time!

Happy Girl!

Ready for more!

Look at her tougne sticking out!

Home-1

2010-04-13T23:04:00.001-04:00

Check out the latest page I just posted using Showit: Home-1

New background!

2010-04-04T17:35:00.001-04:00

I hope you like the new background! I thought it was really cute and it was actually named Madelyn, so of course I had to use it!

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-04T17:25:00.004-04:00

Madilynn's First Easter!
She had lots of fun going to church with her grandparents. We found a couple of plastic eggs with candy in her diaper bag. She had fun shaking the eggs and hearing the candy, untill Patrice and I ate the Hershey Kisses! She also had her first taste of corn casserole and loved it!

Her first time in the grass! We coaxed her in grass by putting the camera in the grass.

On her Blackberry with Grandma!

In her new dress with mom and dad!

9 Month Birthday

2010-03-25T20:08:00.007-04:00

Madilynn went to her doctor today for her 9 month check up visit. She did great, except when she had to get her shot. She cried for a little bit and stopped after daddy started playing with her.

She weights 16 lbs 31/2 ozs and is 26 1/4" inches tall. She is just such a petite little baby. The doctor said she looked great and we won't see her for another check up until after she is one year old. We do have to come back in a couple of weeks to have her ear checked. She had an ear infection a couple of weeks ago and the doctor said it still had fluid in it. So she put Madilynn on another antibiotic to see how it goes.
Madilynn has been moving around a lot more. She's got the crawling thing down and can go pretty fast. She also likes to pull herself up on the coffee table or any chair in the house.

Her eating has changed recently because she is not taking as much from the bottles as she used to. She is eating more food. She really likes the puffs that melt in her mouth.
Here she is drinking water from her sippy cup. She loves holding it herself!

Madilynn's firsts these past weeks:
First ear infection - Hopefully the new meds, help clear it up this time.

6-9 month size clothes - She just started wearing 6-9 month clothes. The pants are still kind of long, so we have to roll them up.

Happy Baby

2010-03-09T20:00:00.013-05:00

It's been a few weeks since I have posted on my blog. First, here are some pictures of her over the last few weeks:
This is her in her matching hat and scarf that she got from her Uncle Aaron and Aunt Jen. I am sure next year it will fit her perfectly!

Playing with her drum set.

These are pictures of her with her aunts and uncle when they came to visit:

I love her face in this picture with Andrew. She looks so relaxed.

This is a picture of all the sisters together. We all haven't been together in a long time, so it was nice to visit and catch up on our lives.

Madilynn has had a lot of firsts lately. Here's what she's been doing:
Her first word: Kitty - Her first sounds that was a like a word was da da, but Kitty was basically her first word that she spoke after hearing us say it. I have been trying to get her to say ma-ma, but no luck so far!

Her first time standing up in her crib - She did that this past Saturday. I went into to get her from her nap and there she was standing up! Luckily, Brad had put her bed down the week before, so she didn't fall over

First time in a highchair at a restaurant - On Sunday, we had lunch with some friends visiting from Chicago and we decided to see how she would do in a highchair. She did really well. She kept herself busy by banging her hands on the table and looking around at everyone in the restaurant

First high 5 - This weekend, we showed her how to high 5. She picked it right up and now, every time you put your hand up and she will tap it. It is too cute!

First time crawling up a stair - I didn't think she was ready to do it, but she did it tonight. I was sitting on a stair and watching her try to pull herself up and she finally did it after many attempts. After she got on the first step and tried to get on the second one, she fell down and couldn't get back on the second step.

First time she was fully awake for one of Patrice's concerts - Patrice had a concert a couple of weekends ago at a church. Madilynn was up the whole time, making noises, so grandma had to take her out in the lobby so she didn't make noises over the singing!

First time standing up on her own - Now she can lean up against the couch and play with something at the same time.

First pair of Levi's

I can't wait to see her first steps!

Crawling Around!

2010-02-17T20:35:00.006-05:00

Little Miss Madilynn will be 8 months old next Monday, which is so hard to believe. She has really been moving around a lot more. Just a week ago, she would crawl a few steps, then stop and look back. Now, she crawls, without looking back. She likes to find the littlest thing on the floor and try to pick it up. She is also sitting up all by herself now. Just tonight, she was standing up and holding on to her Exersauser by herself! She held on for about a minute, before she got interested in something else and let go.

Another new thing that she is doing is waving. We taught her how to wave and now she will do it sometimes when she sees someone. It is the funniest thing to watch.

Also, last week she got sick for the first time. She has had a runny nose and a cough. The doctor said there really isn't anything that we can do, except wait for it to go away. Today, she is doing a lot better and really doesn't have a runny nose. We can occasionally still hear her cough at night and she goes right back to sleep.

Madilynn had a busy last weekend with spending time with her grandparents and going to a voice competition for Patrice, which Patrice got 3rd place at! She had a great time with her grandparents, smiliing when she saw them in the room. We were at the voice competition for about 3 hours and Madilynn did really well. It probably helped that everyone around us was paying attention to her and she was looking at all of the babies and kids around and laughing.

One other funny thing that happened this weekend, has to do with Michael Buble. I am not sure if you all are familiar with him, but he is a singer and had a new album recently come out. We downloaded his new CD on iTunes and got a bonus video of his song, "Haven't Met You Yet" a few months ago. The video is basically Michael Buble singing and dancing against a white background. Since babies like to look at faces and like the contrast of white backgrounds with pictures, I thought it would be a good video for Madilynn to watch. When we showed it to her, she couldn't keep her eyes off of Michael! She was mesmerized by him. So, last Friday Michael Buble was on the Today show for the Olympics because he is from Canada and he was performing two of his songs. We had to record it because it was on after we left for work. When we came home Friday night, we started the recording and Madilynn was playing on the floor. As soon as his voice came on, she turned her head to the TV and just sat there and watched him. She was laughing, smiling, and swaying during his performance. It is neat to see that she is already into music and enjoys listening to it. Well, that's it for the last two weeks. Sorry no pictures, I can't seem to get my camera to load the pictures on my computer. I will work on it later and see if I can do a post later.

February is here!

2010-02-02T21:29:00.009-05:00

I can't believe its already February! It's hard to believe that Christmas was over a month ago. I have been busy working on my jewelry, trying to get some new pictures up on my etsy site.

Round black Swarovski crystals with clear, gray, and black Swarovski crystal dangles on a sterling silver chain.

I am also participating in a show this coming Saturday called Just Girls, From Fashion to Rocket Science. It is being held at the Ritz Charles in Carmel from 10am -4pm. The tickets are $5.00 per person.

Bridget Sloan, the 2009 Champion Gymnast will also be there from 1-2pm. I think it is going to be a great event and something fun and educational take your daughter to.

This past week, Little Miss Madilynn got to try carrots, which she didn't seem to mind as long as they were mixed with some cereal. She is starting to really sit up on her own. She is still not crawling yet, but she is almost there. Here is a picture of her with one of her favorite toys, a stuffed bunny Peep!

Here is another picture with her flower headband, hanging out on the floor.

Hanging Out

2010-01-26T22:22:00.002-05:00

Here is Madilynn hanging out with Dad. Look at those cheeks!

Madilynn with Grandma, looking right at the camera!

Trying new foods

2010-01-26T21:49:00.006-05:00

After her first bowl of sweet pototoes!

It's hard to believe, but Madilynn is already 7 months! She seems to do something new every week. This past week she has discovered that she can put her toes in her mouth. So now, every time, we change her diaper, she puts her toes in her mouth and laughs. Speaking of changing her diapers, she just moved up to size 3 diapers. She was in size 2 diapers for a about a month before those got to be too small.

She has also really started to sit up on her down. She can sit on the floor and prop herself up. She is still being vocal, saying da-da and making her own sounds.

Over the last month or so, she has been trying all kinds of solid foods. We started her with rice and oatmeal cereal and she did great with both of those, so we moved on to fruits and veggies.

I decided to make her baby food, one because I like to cook and I thought it would be something fun to do for her and two, because it really is less expensive than buying her food at the store. It isn't too difficult to make the food. I just usually steam the food and puree it in the food processor and put it in ice cube trays and freeze it. Then you can put the cubes in a freezer bag and pull out what you need.

I have made for her sweet potatoes (her first food!), apples (her favorite), pears, carrots, yellow squash, avocado, papaya, and peas (her least favorite!) She will eat about anything, as long as you mix it with something sweet like apples or pears.

A few pictures of her "enjoying" her food!

Here are her first bites of food.

Then she was like, what is this??

Madilynn - Month 6 - Her First Christmas!

2010-01-20T22:44:00.007-05:00

Here is Madilynn "opening" her first present. She was trying to rip the paper.

Here she is trying to eat the paper! Look at her face! Now she wants to be everything in her mouth.

Speaking of trying to eat everything, she has one of her favorite toys in her mouth. It's actually a stuffed bunny Peep from Easter last year. She loves to put one of its ears in her mouth.

This was our Christmas card picture. Can't wait to see what Madilynn will look like for our Christmas picture this year!

Madilynn - Month 5

2010-01-20T21:52:00.005-05:00

Here is little Miss Madilynn at 5 months. When she was 5 months, she was really starting to move around a lot more and turn her head to look at everything. She was also starting to put everything in her mouth!

Here she is with Grandpa hanging out.

Doesn't it look like she is saying "Loser"??!!

This picture was taken at our old house right before we moved. We closed on our new house right before Thanksgiving, so we spent our 4 day Thanksgiving weekend moving. It was exciting to move the new house, but sad to leave the house we spent over 7 years at. When we bought our first house Brad and I were just 23 years old and Patrice was 9 years old. We had so many memories there, but it will be fun to make new memories at our new house!

Madilynn Month 4

2010-01-16T14:18:00.010-05:00

Here we are at Trader's Point Creamery on the northwest side of Indy for their fall festival. This was Madilynn's first time out in her carrier. She did really well and had fun hanging with dad. She got her first pumpkin and got to ride on a hayride. The outing really wore her out though. She fell asleep on the way home in the back seat with Aunt Patrice.

For Madilynn's first Halloween was a labybug and was just too cute!

Here she is without the full costume with her cute red and black stripe tights!

Madilynn Month 3

2010-01-14T20:20:00.004-05:00

Here she is with Grandma Jean. Grandma Jean is who Madilynn got her middle name from.

When Madilynn was 2 1/2 - 3 months, (right when I was going back to work) she was sleeping "through the night", which meant going to bed around 11pm and getting up around 5:30am. As long as she was getting continuous sleep that works for all of us!

Here she is with dad at almost 3 months.

At 3 months she was really starting to become more aware of everything around her. Here is a video of her on the floor with me. I was sticking out my tougue to see if she would do the same thing and she did. Watch the video and see her do it. She is too cute!

Madilynn's First Six Months

2010-01-09T23:15:00.019-05:00

Welcome everyone to my blog! This is something that I started over the summer when I was home with Madilynn. I started it to use with my jewelry business, Cindylu Designs and then I thought it would be fun to include Madilynn in my blog. I am finally making time to do it. I thought I would recap her first six months with some pictures and milestones. My goal is to try to blog about her about once a week. So we will see if I can keep up with it! She is so fun to watch. She is always doing something new. Actually just today, she started making da-da sounds. It was so cute. Maybe she will be saying ma-ma soon.

Here are some pictures of what she looked like the first few months. I will post the rest of the months.

So, here she is when she was born at 6lbs 13oz and 18 1/2 inches.

This is her at the hospital, just 2 days old.

Here she is on her way home from the hospital. I just laugh every time I see this picture.

This is her at 1 month old asleep in her crib. So precious.

When she was first home with us, she was eating about every two hours. So I was up with her, every two hours and Brad was up because I was up. So we really didn't get much sleep that first month.

At 2 months she was hanging out on the Boppy. She liked to lean on it and look at everything. She was really strong and she would hold her legs straight when you put her in front of you. She also always had really good neck control. She still had her dark hair too!

2009-12-02T20:07:00.002-05:00

Get ready for Christmas with Cindylu Designs.

Handstamped Jewelry

2009-07-26T23:33:00.006-04:00

Here are some picures of some of my most popular hand stamped pieces:

Hand stamped circle necklace with two childrens names and their birthstones.

Hand stamped double circle necklace for an expecting mom with the month she is due and a birthstone.

Hand stamped multi stone bracelet with a quote stamped on it. Each stone is unique and hand wrapped.

WELCOME!

2009-07-26T23:29:00.002-04:00

Welcome to my blog! I am excited to share my jewelry. Since this is my first blog, I will be learning as I go. I will be featuring some current jewelry pieces on this blog, as well as orders as I make them.