purple hair. red lips. closed shoppe. new home. oil pulling.

It's so strange, it was only Monday when I announced that I was "slowing down a bit". In the 3 days between then and now, I feel there's so much I need to update you on.

+ First of all, my hair is preeeeeetty lavender now. (as requested)  I'm pretty much in love with it completely and may never change it again. Except to grow it out. My goal is to have lavender mermaid hair. (also it inspired me to buy red-lipstick, which has never looked good on me, but I have to admit I LOVE IT!)

+ The shoppe is now closed until further notice. I put the last 5 cloud mobiles up for sale, and after they sold (the very next day!!) I put 'er on vacation mode. I'm not sad yet, because I'm buried in orders I have to get out, but once there's a calm and no more orders, I know I'll really miss it. I'm excited to finish my class so that I can have time to re-open the shop. Plus I'm planning a new addition to the shoppe for when it re-opens, and I can't wait to have some fresh things to offer you. It's a good and exciting season indeed.

+ I re-budgeted, as I mentioned I needed to do. I love budgeting. holy cow, being organized is like a drug for me. Due to our extreme organization, and budgeting skills- we'll be looking for a new house to rent this spring/summer! You CAN'T know how excited I am about that. Our very own space? Hallelujah!

+ T & I are trying this oil pulling thing that's ALL THE RAGE right now. Seriously. In one day I feel like I went from never hearing of it before to seeing it eeeeeverywhere. I've done some asking around and reading up, and I really can't see any negative to trying it. So we're going to give it a whirl. I'll update you on how it works for us after we've used it for a week. Have any of you tried it before?


I think that's about all the updating I have for today. Off to work on orders!

I like that I blogged today because I wanted to, and not because I needed to. It's a great day.

In the shop:

So this is exciting. About a month ago I realized that I never made Fern a birth announcement. I know it's too late, now, to send any out to family- but I wanted to make one for her baby book, and also one just to frame. Just a lovely little piece of art that she can keep in her room. I hadn't painted in years. I actually lost any desire to create art after somebody commissioned me to do an album cover for them, and ended up not using it. Not using it was actually fine, but later I saw the band post the album cover on facebook, and it had turned out he had just gotten his sister to completely trace and redraw what I had. All credit to her. So I put my brush down, and just quit. Leave it to Fern to spark up my inspiration again. (as she always does) I went to Hobby Lobby and found a watercolor set on clearance, came home and created a watercolored birth announcement... and then I did another, and another, and then I decided I could sell these, and then I needed some ideas for the fellas...  Now I have 7 styles in the shoppe that you can purchase and customize to your own babe. Or really anyone.. It doesn't have to be a baby. Anyway, I'm just kind of proud to be painting a bit again.

I'd like to get better product photos, but these will have to do for now.
Anyway, head on over and see all the designs, if you'd like. You can go straight to the "birth announcements" tab to get straight to the newbies.

woodsy baby

Hi friends, just popping by to let you in on a little exciting news! This little sweetie of a woodland mobile is in my shoppe now! Hooray! I've been teasing my IG friends with this mobile for nearly a year, saying that it was "coming to the shoppe soon". Honestly, it was never put in the shop because I didn't have photos of it until recently. well ta da! here it is!

These little trees are very fragile. Because of their fragile nature, I'm selling them ala carte. What does that mean, you ask? It means that with your order, you'll receive the trees and the strings that attach them to the base of the mobile, so that I can ship them in a padded envelope for safety. (it also costs less for you, because shipping is less this way.) However, that also means, that some assembly is required. But! it also means, you get to be creative as well! As you can see, I used an embroidery hoop for my base, you can do the same or get creative and gather some branches, some wire.. whatever you choose! The fun part for me is seeing how you choose to hang them. :)


You can get this sweet little mobile here in my shop.


(I also make the little tipi you see in the bottom photo. Currently only locally, but if you have any ideas of how to ship 6-8 ft poles cross country, please let me know! more importantly- WHAT to ship them in.)

Koru

I never really knew what I wanted to do, or fully who I was, until I became a mother. Now that I have, my life has changed increasingly. When we had our baby girl we decided to name her Fern. A long treasured name of mine dating back to Charlottes Webb obsessions. More than that, I wanted her name to be something relevant to me. A name that meant something. If you look up the name Fern in any baby book, it's going to tell you that the meaning of Fern is "a green leafy plant" or something of the like. well, obviously. But in Maori culture (native New Zealand, which is where I lived for 18 months and grew the most beautiful bonds) it means so much more. Koru in maori means loop. Koru refers to the spiral shape of a new unfurling silver fern frond. It symbolizes new life, growth, strength, and peace. How completely appropriate. The koru symbol is found on jewelry made of jade and bone throughout new zealand. I was gifted one, by a friend, when I lived there.

Since becoming a mother so many things have come to light for me. I've started knowing myself better, and discovering my calling so much more clearly. Part of that calling and passion I never knew I had, or if I did it was misdirected, has submerged through a new business I've recently launched. Just a small little thing on etsy. May I introduce to you, my shop for babies and children, Moons & Junes, which is now back from vacation mode, with nothing new to show for my absence but my willingness to create again. 

honored to be mentioned.

Let's take a little break from vacation photos for a tic, and talk about how special it is to be talked about on somebody else's blog. TWO lovely ladies have mentioned my shop to their sweet readers in the past couple of months, and I just wanted to say how special I feel to have caught their attention. I am over the moon. Pop on over to see what they had to say about me.

Melissa from Fawn over Baby mentioned my dreamcatchers in her DIY post of how to make your own, and Christina at Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe included my cloud mobile in a post about a few things she's loving right now.


You'll want to head over to their blogs whether you're interested in what they have to say about me, or not. Fawn Over Baby is full to the brim of posts that'll give you baby fever. From newborn sessions, to nursery features and more... If you're a momma especially, you have to visit.
I can't get enough of the genius recipes that are on Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe. Sweet Corn ice cream, are you kidding me? stop it.  not to mention, how beautiful, inspiring, and so uplifting both of these ladies are in the blog community.

I'm a huge fan of them both.

Brickyard Buffalo

Hi friends! I'm letting you all in on a little secret a little early.. since we're blog friends, and all.This Thursday, June 20th, my storm cloud mobile will be on Brickyard Buffalo for 40% off! That's big savings people. There are only 20 available for this price, so if you want to get in on these big savings, you should rush right over, first thing. It makes a lovely baby shower gift. Spread the word! :)

Even if you're not in the market for a baby mobile, you should really check out Brickyard Buffalo. They have the sweetest items on sale. They have great stuff for mom, and baby... and sister, and friend, etc etc. Always at a discounted price. Subscribe to their emails and you can get weekly updates on what's new in the shop. (and there's always something new)

<<<>>> This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. <<<>>>

also-
Google Friend Connect will soon be no more, so for those of you following via GFC, you should hop on over to Bloglovin'. It's much more organized, and well worth your time. You can follow me there by clicking the button to the left. 

A little something for the tiny lumberjack in your life.

I have exhausted my girlie creative side lately with all the glitter and lace. For all of you with little boys, I apologize for that. For those of you who require a little bit of rustic in your nursery, I've dedicated this mobile to you in sneak peek form. That's right, you blog/instagram, facebook followers get the very first sneak peek of my woodsy lumberjack mobile before it even sets foot in the shop.

Just a few little alterations and finishing touches before this little guy is ready for a new home. Mobile will go on sale at the beginning of June.


Love you guys. <3 Thanks for making my job incredible.

Dreamcatcher Giveaway

I just finished these gold dreamcatchers for the store, and thought it would be nice to give one away. It's one of those pimp me out, sort of giveaways where I benefit too. Here's how you can enter:


a Rafflecopter giveaway
After you've done all your M&J pimp outs, just sit back and relax. The winner will be revealed Thursday, May 9th. Stay tuned to find out who won.

Thirty before thirty

I get to mark off #28, because after I wrote this list a lovely lady named Kacie from LA purchased the LED cloud mobile! and shortly after that my old friend, Reghan, purchased one of the Chloe dreamcatchers! This is so exciting. Not only because this is finally real, but I don't know Kacie at all. Support from your friends is a beautiful thing, and I've been blessed beyond belief with mine, but once you make that first sale from somebody you don't know, it feels like the universe saying "well done. you've been accepted into the etsy club. People really like your stuff". Thanks universe! and thanks Kacie! 

additions.

I started Moons and Junes as a mobile shoppe for babies. Since opening, April 1st, I've had several people interested in Dreamcatchers. Luckily, they were something I could design to fit into my shop feel. I'm happy to announce that our "Chloe Dreamcatcher",  which has hints of silver and pink in it, is available for sale on etsy. It's just so sweet and subtle.

Dreamcatchers originated with the Ojibwa tribe. Throughout time other Native American tribes have adopted the sign and its significance has altered. In 1929 Frances Densmore wrote in her book Chippewa Customs that  "even infants were provided with protective charms"...(Dreamcatchers) "caught any harm that might be in the air as a spider's web catches and holds whatever comes in contact with it."

What parent doesn't get a little insomnia over their baby sleeping by themselves in the night? Fern has been sleeping in her crib for months and I still sleep with the baby monitor right by my head... just in case. I probably will until she's a teenager... or moves out of the house.. Monitors don't pick up signal all the way in the dorms do they? ... I'll be working on that.
I think these dreamcatchers are a sweet little extra way to hope for good things in the night when you get some shut eye.. along with prayers, and baby monitors.. maybe just a couple middle of the night "peeks". We can never be too protective, can we?

An introduction...

They always say the first line is the hardest to write. I'm getting that same vibe with the first post. I suppose I should start with an introduction. Hello! ::waving:: My name is Shayla. I'm getting married in October to my favorite person of 4 years. We have the most beautiful daughter who will turn ONE in May [I don't wanna talk about it], and I'm starting this blog because I have recently started a business that I would like to share with the cyber world.

All of my life I've dabbled in this and that, but I would quickly change my mind in what I wanted to do.  Always wanting to find a niche somewhere, I searched and searched, and I've appreciated many outlets. Nothing ever grabbed me and took hold, though. Nothing stuck. I was never deeply passionate about anything. Nothing, that is, until I had my baby girl. I realized that everything in my whole life had never lit me up, or made me think, or kept me going like she did. Being a mother is my true calling, and although being paid is necessary for taking care of that sweet thing, all I ever really wanted to do was parent. On May 27, 2012 my life found its purpose. I'm still learning what all that entails.

newborn photos by Hibben Photography 

I've always been a creator. I've painted, crafted, made jewelry, baked, and even tried my hand at music. (I dont wanna talk about that one either..) When it was time to put together a nursery, we knew we wanted something "us". Something that wasn't gobs and gobs of pink, and something that could be original, and didn't look like anybody else's nursery. True to who we were, we started searching at thrift stores, and local shoppes, etsy, and even craigslist offered up the sweetest vintage rocking chair you've ever seen. We began to compile pieces from here and there and it wasn't until I began to register for items for my baby shower, that I realized we had no mobile. Nor was there a mobile out there that fit into what our nursery was. Initially I just made some paper pom poms to stick up in the corner over the crib, but when that would no longer do, I got my lace doilies and yarn out, and I created a one of a kind mobile for my sweet.

I was so proud of myself, I started creating more and more. Searching for inspiration on pinterest, and in nature (as one would). I found our house overrun by 5 different designs of mobiles, and some of the pieces I needed, I had to buy in bulk. Now our living room is a store room of puffy white clouds and lace, and books, and so on and so on. Thus, Moons & Junes was created.

I opened the etsy shop at the beginning of March, and have started to expand, though I haven't listed many other things yet. I had a beautiful, talented, photographer friend Melissa Green, take the most dreamy photos of my mobiles, and if those won't sell 'em nothing will. I've had so many friends already inspire me and help me, and burn their fingers on hot glue for me. Even if this never reaches more than 20 people, I've already been so incredibly blessed. My dreams are for this little quaint online shop to grow and for other people to fall in love with mobiles as much as I have. I hope this is what I do. I hope that I can stay home with my sweet little love and watch her grow and develop new creations as she does. Wishes and hopes, and sweet baby rolls. That's what my dreams are made of.