I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
Amazon Prime Day has been announced for July 11th! | This post contains affiliate links |
If you're not a Prime Member yet, sign up now so you don't miss all the very best deals and perks. During Prime Day (which is actually 30 hours long), Amazon will be having super sales and flash deals on tons of items from every category.
Prime Day is a great time to get a jump start on Christmas shopping, buy presents ahead of upcoming birthdays, and to get a great deal on something you've been wanting for yourself too of course. Besides the amazing deals on Prime Day, your Prime Membership entitles you to FREE 2-day shipping on most items, a great selection of free streaming movies and tv shows, and more every single day of the year.
We've been Prime Members for years and take advantage of the free shipping and streaming tv constantly. Living out in the boonies, Amazon has really become a necessity for us. We especially love Prime Day because it gives us a chance to get a jump start on gifts for the rest of the year without having to make the long trek out to the Outlets and hunt around for a deal.
Our toddler loves flash cards... well, loves dumping them all over the living room mostly. After getting tired of constantly picking them up I decided it was time to do something about it.
After buying some $1 packs of flashcards from Target Dollar Spot (love Dollar Spot!), I punched a hole in each one and reinforced them with hole reinforcement stickers before stringing them together with binder rings. If you don't have binder rings, you could also use a piece of ribbon or string.
And that was it - easy-as-can-be! Now I don't have a couple hundred flashcards thrown all over the living room, and they're super-easy to pack for car trips and travel!
I've been saying for awhile that signs are coming to the Etsy shop, and by golly they will be!
It's been slow going, especially since I can't use most of the paints and stains I would like to right now (being pregnant limits what I'm allowed to use), but slowly over the summer I'll start releasing some limited New England-inspired signs with more to come later this fall after I recuperate.
"Hey, what happened to the "Handmade Goods" in your logo?" you may ask. Well, since the blog and my social accounts talk about more than just my crafts, I was worried the logo was a bit confusing especially to new followers. In addition to my crafts I often share about product reviews, DIY, mom topics, and New England lifestyle and wanted the logo to be more encompassing of those things too.
Don't worry folks, my Etsy shop will still use the original logo and is still going strong - lately I've been working on expanding what we will carry (but more on that later).
Just wanted to let you know that nothing about Birch Landing Home is changing - other than a small tweak to the logo on the blog/social accounts :) Thanks so much for following along!
As you know by now, I love sharing about companies and products we love on my blog and our Instagram - and most especially those made right here in New England. I decided it would be so fun to highlight some of our local New England Makers regularly on my blog and thought I would kick off the series by sharing a little bit more about myself and Birch Landing Home by answering some frequently asked questions.
Birch Landing Home is best known for hand-etched wooden ornaments, garland, and other handmade crafts. I also run this blog where I mainly focus on New England lifestyle, motherhood, and budget-friendly DIY projects.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and your business.
My name is Sarah and I’m a wife, stay-at-home mom, and self-confessed Pinterest addict living in rural New England with our dog and chickens. I started Birch Landing Home a few years ago after our daughter was born because I was looking for a flexible, creative outlet to work from home while still being a stay-at-home mom. I’ve always loved making crafts and thought selling them on Etsy was a good start, I also thought it would be fun to document the little DIY projects I was doing around our home and so I started this blog also.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My #1 job is stay-at-home mom… so my priority is taking care of our daughter, our animals, and chores around our home. During nap time and after we put our daughter to bed for the day is when I get a chance to work on crafts for my Etsy shop and write articles for the blog. I’m thankful for the privilege to be a stay-at-home mom and the flexibility to be able to work on Birch Landing Home when I’m able to.
What’s your favorite part about owning your own company? And least favorite part?
My favorite part about running Birch Landing Home is the flexibility and adaptability… when I first started my Etsy shop I was making jewelry but then decided to go in a different direction and focus more on rustic-style crafts. It was great being able to change my focus like that and make Birch Landing Home what I wanted it to be. My least favorite part is probably self-doubt… Every time I send out an order I worry if the customer/store will like it, what they will think of it, etc - I don’t want to disappoint anyone. Also, because I use a lot of natural materials there is quite a bit of variation in my work too and I worry people won’t appreciate that rustic aspect of it.
What has been the most exciting moment for Birch Landing Home since starting?
By far my most exciting moment for Birch Landing Home has been being featured in Martha Stewart Living Magazine as the Instagram Favorite for that month. I was so thrilled to be selected and featured - I have been reading Martha Stewart Living Magazine for years and have several of her craft and cookbooks. Such an honor!
What advice do you have for people just starting out?
My advice for those who want to start a handmade business or blog is… just start! It’s easy to overthink everything, over plan, and obsess over details and never get anything in motion. In my opinion it’s better to get things started and then tweak and finalize things as you go. It’s also important to keep finances separate and keep track of all income/expenses for tax time.
What is your long-term goal? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
My long-term goal is to continue to grow my Etsy shop and blog. I would love to get more wholesale accounts for my crafts throughout New England, it’s so exciting to see my items in local shops. I also hope to continue to grow my blog following and hopefully get more opportunities to be featured in print. I’ve been lucky enough to be featured in a few print magazines so far (including Martha Stewart Living Magazine, Food Network Magazine, and New Hampshire Magazine), and I hope exciting features like that will continue in the future.
Why do you love sharing about New England Makers?
I love sharing about New England Makers because I think there is so much talent in our area that deserves to be shown off. There are so many wonderful, hardworking, creative people who work in lots of different materials and styles. I always love discovering new-to-me businesses and sharing about them.
DO YOU OWN A NEW ENGLAND-BASED BUSINESS AND WOULD LIKE TO BE FEATURED IN AN UPCOMING INTERVIEW? OR WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN HAVING ME STYLE, REVIEW, AND FEATURE ONE OF YOUR PRODUCTS? Please drop me a note.
Don't forget the true meaning of Memorial Day (Hint: It's not about BBQs and boating.). Thank you to all those who paid the ultimate price so we can enjoy our freedoms.
It's always fun to explore your own state and see what hidden gems there are. This past weekend was gorgeous and we decided to head out to the Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm in Tamworth, NH to get a taste of rural living over the last 200 years.
The
Remick Museum chronicles the life of two rural country doctors, their families, and the way of life as it used to be. It's a working farm with livestock and gardens coexisting alongside historical artifacts and buildings. Our daughter was a HUGE fan of the petting area where there are friendly goats, sheep, and a miniature horse to interact with and feed.
Hello there!
There are many outbuildings and dirt paths to explore - and the views are gorgeous!
My favorite part of the property are all the amazing artifacts and antiques - it's incredible how far medicine and home life in general has evolved over the past 200+ years. The Remick Museum does a great job showcasing the old and new(er) way of life.
Old Kitchen
Newer kitchen of a later generation
No rest for the weary, wether you're a farmer or a doctor - and especially not if you're both!
Overall we had a great day at Remick Museum and will be back for sure! They host lots of fun events throughout the year, including kids day camps, programs on different farming subjects, ice harvesting in the winter, and more.
Just a short walk from the museum is the
Tamworth Lyceum and
The Other Store (yes, that's really what it's called), which are perfect stops for lunch or coffee before heading home. And if you visit in the summer months, you can catch a play at the The Barnstormers Theatre in the evening (check their schedule for details and showtimes).
When I was growing up my Grandpa always threw his extra pennies in a big jar on the kitchen counter for me. And every time we visited I always checked to see how high the pennies had creeped up. Waiting for the jar to fill seemed to take forever (and for us it did take years for the jar to fill each time), but it taught patience and was something special to look forward to. This simple tradition is one I'd love to bring back for our own kids. **Make sure to scroll to the end to enter the $200 Target Gift Card Giveaway!**
Once the jar was finally filled to the brim it was mine to take home! Guessing how much money was inside was always the most exciting part. Since there were only pennies it came to around $14-15 each time but that seemed like huge money as a 7-year old. Growing up my Dad always instilled on us that gifted money (received for birthdays, Christmas, and even the penny jar) needed to go to our college savings account so that's where it went. I didn't mind though, as a kid it was exciting just bringing it to the bank and hearing the coins run through the counting machine. Though I didn't realize it at the time, looking back that was such a sweet and important lesson -- that Grandpa thought of me every time he put a penny in the jar and that even small savings can add up over time.
Now that we have little one (and another on the way), I want to continue this tradition still. So with just some simple Ball Jars, I punched slits in the top for change and labeled each grandkid's name on tags - these jars are going to my parents' so they can continue my Grandpa's simple legacy for all their grandkids.
I have such fond memories of this tradition and want my daughter and future baby to have a simple custom like this to look forward to when visiting their Grandparents.
Giveaway
I've teamed up with a couple other great bloggers to give you a chance to win a $200 Target Gift Card! Just think how many Ball Jars - or anything else you'd like - that you could buy ;)
Giveaway is for $200.00 USD. Open to US residents 18+ only. One (1) winner will be chosen. Prize must be claimed within 48 hours of announcement or a new winner will be drawn. Prize delivered via email. All entries will be verified. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Target, Rafflecopter, or any other entity unless otherwise specified. Blogger not responsible for delivery of prize. a Rafflecopter giveaway
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