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! |
A tradition I started last year was to donate a percentage of profits from Birch Landing Home at year-end to Charity. I’m so happy to say that this year we were able to help support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in addition to our donation to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Thank you so much for all your support for my Etsy shop and blog this year, I hope to continue to grow them and be able to give back more each year in return.
I shared this photo on my Instagram Stories earlier and got so many comments I figured it was worth explaining! Here in New England during winter, things get sooo dry indoors with the freezing cold temps outside and heat cranking inside - as a result your skin and throat really suffer, feeling constantly dry and scratchy. | This post contains affiliate links |
One solution is to get a humidifier to put some moisture back into the dry air. In fact we do have a
cool mist humidifier upstairs that we run at night when it's particularly dry or we're sick, but otherwise you can't beat the price and efficiency of an old fashioned "New England Humidifier" - a.k.a. a pot of water on the wood stove or radiator.
It works by simply adding moisture into the air by letting the water evaporate. It's most efficient when you put the pot of water on the heat source so it evaporates a bit quicker, but if you don't have a stove or radiator you can also leave the pot by a heating vent or just in the room with you. If you do leave the pot on your stove or radiator, just make sure it doesn't go dry (you want to take it off when you leave the house too) otherwise you might end up with a scorched pot!
Did you know I donate a percentage of profits from Birch Landing Home at year-end? So everytime you place an order or visit my blog that donation gets the chance to grow!
Last year I was able to donate to Amazima Ministries and Disabled American Veterans - I haven’t decided where this year’s donation is going yet so if you have a favorite charity please share!
Here's the reason I've been so MIA recently ;) This little lady has been keeping us busy and it's funny how easily you forget the sleep deprivation from the first baby! I feel like a first-time mom all over again, relearning all those newborn rules.
This month I'll have some review posts for L.L. Bean and Safety 1st coming as well as an interview and giveaway with Woodboogah - stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed we get some sleep!
School is starting back up and that means it's back to the daily grind of packing lunches for most parents. Parenting New Hampshire magazine interviewed myself and few other NH-based bloggers for our "Brown-Bag Makeover" tips and tricks.
You can pick up a copy of this publication at many locations across the state, or read the article HERE online.
"Brown-Bag Makeover" | Parenting New Hampshire Magazine
After having helped with Hurricane Relief work after Katrina, I encourage anyone who wants to help with donations to give monetarily to charities, instead of donating supplies and "stuff." Unfortunately the generosity of stuff tends to overwhelm distribution centers and so much ends up going to waste.
A few months after Katrina we threw away dumpsters-full of food, clothing, and school supplies - not because it wasn't wanted or needed but because the distribution center was overwhelmed with too much random stuff to organize and distribute in a timely fashion and sadly all these donations were quickly ruined by mice and water damage.
Please donate money instead so they can buy and coordinate what they essentially need right now and don't overwhelm them further logistically.
Our friends Seagate Studio have been very involved with the Travis Roy Foundation for years, and we're honored to donate a set of three Hand-Etched Birch Snowflake Ornaments for their upcoming Instagram Auction to benefit this very worthy cause.
“The Travis Roy Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the life of spinal cord injury survivors and their families by providing special adaptive equipment grants and funding research.
It is an organization that is near and dear to my heart and one that I have been heavily involved with for over 10 years. Travis Roy (a native Mainer), is my husband’s cousin and also my close friend. In 1995, Travis was a highly recruited Division I hockey player starting his collegiate career at Boston University. Eleven seconds into his first shift of his first game playing for the BU Terriers, he slid head first, awkwardly into the boards, cracking his 4th and 5th vertebra and leaving him a quadriplegic. His story could have stopped right there, but instead he has dedicated his life to helping other spinal cord injury survivors and inspiring all who meet him through his motivational speaking career. He graduated from Boston University, taking just an extra year and started the Travis Roy Foundation while he was still a student. Since its inception, the TRF has raised over $9 million, consistently raising over $1 million per year in its most recent years.
The biggest fundraiser event for the TRF is not some glamorous gala that only the elite can afford to attend, but rather a summer back yard Wiffle Ball tournament that takes place every year up in rural Jericho, Vermont. This tournament which hosts over 24 teams from across New England is played on 3 fields that are modeled after major league ball parks and a field from a popular baseball movie, aptly named Little Wrigley, Little Fenway, and Little Field of Dreams. It is an incredibly moving and magical weekend and by far my favorite of the whole year. And THIS is what I am fundraising for.”
— Samantha from Seagate Studio
The Auction will take place on Seagate Studio's Instagram (@seagate.studio) from July 31st - August 3rd, 2017. Please check their feed frequently during this time and consider bidding on one of the many great items that have been donated.
If you would like to learn more about the Travis Roy Foundation or donate directly, please see their webpage HERE.
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.
