The Reviews are in......

So I have taken part now in a few more reviews...get my little shop noticed and maybe get an order or two. But even I have been blown away at the response I have received. My hits are way up and I am getting questions left and right...which is always a good thing. SO I say....REVIEW and what better way to do reviews than to do them on mommy blogs. I am really having a very positive response to all this.

The first review was done a few days ago on July 8th. It was done by a very busy mommy to Four Monkeys. Her little girl wanted to be a Patriotic Princess for the 4th...and what a princess she was!! Twirling around and prancing about. The review is an awesome one as well (see here) and i was very proud that she felt so strongly about this tutu.

The next one was done on July 12, 2009 by another working mommy at The Dirty Shirt. Jennifer, did an amazing job on this review. Plus she allowed me to do an E-Gift Certificate giveaway to Sugarbeez Tutus. Please go to her blog The Dirty Shirt and follow the directions for your chance to enter and win a $30 Gift Certificate to Sugarbeez Tutus.

HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!

Daily Treasures

On Etsy there is a great little click through called a Treasury. Sugarbeez Tutus has been featured on it once or twice...but NEVER twice in one day!!! How sweet is that!!!

Mystic Wand, a shop that hand makes and sells beautiful jewelry, made a "Celebrating Independence" treasury that featured the "Patriotic Princess" tutu!! What a honor, I was so excited to get the convo that stated Suagrbeez had been featured! How awesome!

Then a few hours later, another shop on Etsy called Teacup Elephant made another Treasury using the SAME tutu!! How exciting is that!!! What a double honor. The Teacup Elephant is a mother daughter team who sells trinkets and treasures of all kinds, making all gifts a special experience. The treasury they made was called Stars and Stripes Forever. What an amazing treasury and awesome picture of the "Patriotic Princess".

I feel so blessed to have been featured twice in one day on an Etsy Treasury!

Another Etsy find

Another Awesome etsy find!! I just love all that I find on Etsy! From sweet prints and cards, to unique gifts....Esty is THE place to find items, handcrafted by people who care and LOVE their product! You find small businesses in all sizes from the mommy who works while her kid is napping, to the business who has 10 or less employees. The common thread among Etsy-ians, is a sense of community and charity and also a sense of pride in their work. Pick a store, any store on Etsy and you will find an owner who loves, truly loves what they do.

• In my daily...ummm..sometimes hourly...search on Etsy, I came across this little company. She is a mommy who makes little shoes for your little bitty sweety. Mia Joie has been featured in magazines, including Pregnancy & Newborn and Brides Magazine. What a sweet little shop. Check her out...and support a mom biz!

And the winner is

In recent weeks, I have participated in a photgraphy studio's giveaway. Leah Remillet Photography can be seen all over Sugarbeez Tutus. She is a dear friend and a wonderful Photographer. This is the tutu up for grabs...We called it "Patriotic Princess" and it turned out so beautiful!!

The winner turned out to be the mom of the little girl who modeled this tutu!!! What a lucky ducky she is!! She is the little girl you see pictured above. Her tutu was sent out in time for the 4th...because who could look just plain ole red, white and blue when you could wear a tutu? This house will get a ton of use out of this little tutu, with three daughters running around, this will be worn again and again. It's a good thing that these are sewn and crafted to last! I know my own diva does a number on her's but they always can be fluffed and shaken and turn back to new. Man that tutu maker must be pretty good at her craft ;)

To review or not review....that is the question

Being in the wonderful tutu making biz I am in...and being fairly new to selling online........I have been approached several times to do a "review/giveaway" on a mommy blog. What is this "mommy blog" and how would this work?

I have been promoting Sugarbeez through my online shop and through the boutique Candid Gifts but I still needed a little more exposure. So I decided to pay for some on a site called Mom Made That! This is where I was asked if I wanted to participate in "reviews/giveaways". Not knowing what that meant....I went straightway to the forms on Etsy and found mixed...ummm..reviews about these mommy blogs. Some of the artists who had participated in a blog had gotten burned, strung around, and not really taken seriously. They were promised a review on a certain date which didn't happen....or a write up which was less than a paragraph. But some said that being on a blog helped their business and got their names to many who they themselves could not reach. I weighed the risks. If I sent a product to a "reviewer" and they gave me a less than wonderful review or worse...complained....it would be out in cyber space FOREVER. If I went along, put my love and heart into a tutu and sent it....only to get a review that really should have been an email of thanks....I would be crushed.

So I proceeded with caution. I am not yet big enough to sent out my tutus for free to a lot of people and the cost for things like shipping and packages and boxes...not to mention my keep bags and materials...were all on me! But the cost to advertise with some blogs is a monthly bill and/or/plus a per-click...YIKES!!!! So in the long run it was cheaper and, I have to say, a tad bit scary-er to send it. So I did and waited. Would the family love or hate it? Would it fit? had I written down the measurements correctly....or send it to the right address? My tummy in knots....I waited for a response. I choose three reviewers to write a little something and one giveaway. To my surprise...and total excitement.....my first one came in today. I actually started to cry when I read what she wrote and how excited her little girl was to receive her tutu in the mail. Then....hours later.....still walking on cloud nine....I read it to my mom (BTW she is my best friend and most supportive person) and then read her the comments and cried...again!!!!


Thank you to Flying Giggles & Lollipops for a job very well done and the most awesome review a small business could get!!! She did such a wonderfully beautiful job and I am so honored she choose Sugarbeez Tutus to review out of ALL of the talented tutu makers out there!!! I am so pleased that your sweet baby girl LOVED her tutu! The pictures she has posted are just too cute of her little girl doing what little girls do best in tutus......become a fairy or princess or...in this case.....Abby Cadabby.

Thank you!

Dance with my Daddy

Another wonderful Etsy artist! This etsy shop has the sweet and modern prints. This is one talented SAHM! She creates a beautiful array of silhouettes with a modern touch. This great shop is called PaperPuddles. She was featured on the front page and that is how I found her. What amazing art she does...I am so impressed! I have chosen to show the following prints to give you an idea for Father's day.....in case you were drawing a blank. These would look so good in any home and go with any decor. She can even personalize these prints. Go to her shop and check it out. You will be so glad you did!
I just LOVE how this print looks...so simple and cute! What a sweet present this would be for that first time daddy!

I just LOVE this little posting! What a beautiful moment! I think every little girl has danced on her daddy's feet at one time or another. It also shows the personal name that can be added.

Treasury On Etsy

For many selling on Etsy...two major events mark a "you have arrived" on the site. The first is to be featured on the home page. This is such an honnor and with all of the thousands of Etsy sellers and millions of items being sold, it is quite an accomplishment! The next is to be featured in a fellow Etsy-ians "Treasury". This is a list of their TOP PICKS from all of the sellers they know. I treasury may group items together by color or contect or even by style or craft. Sugarbeez is honnored to be listed in a treasury from Hand Made Bling. For the next few days we will be featured as someones TOP PICK! How awsome is that!

I LOVE Etsy

If you haven't found Etsy yet...you NEED to! This place rocks! It is all completly handmade items from art to pottery to jewlery to (of course) my tutus! I will be featuring little shops that I LOVE in this blog as well to give these shops some extra exposure.

This is a little shop called Little Bitty Bakery. It has the cutest little felt handmade play food EVER!! I just HAD to HAVE this sweet little tea set. It is so cute and even have tea bags...how SWEET!! They have a ton of play food and even "Bags of sugar and flour". All of the items are handmade and made of felt. So cute!!!

Life is Grand.....

I have always thought Life was a grand thing. But after looking at these picture taken by a friend of mine...I truly realize just how wonderful my life has become. I stummbled onto making tutus as a way to make something for my daughter. I truly never expected to become someone who makes tutus for extra money. But here I am and I am so greatful!!

This picture was taken at a little park. I just love it so much! It just shows the wonderful spirit of the little girl and of course the tutu. What a wonderful job my friend did! You can find Candice Ivey in IL. She is so great with kids. You couldn't find a better Photographer in IL than her!!

Sisters By Chance.....

Here are some new pictures that our sweet Miss Leah Remillet Photography. She is a beautiful Photographer in WA and has taken some beautiful pictures of her sweet baby girls in my tutus! I am so excited and honored that she did this! They are just gorgeous! She did a wonderful job!

If you are in the Vancover, WA area...look her up! She is the best!!

Hello...again!

It has been such a while since I last posted. With the schoolyear ending and my job just becoming a complete frenzy of activity (I'm a school nurse by day and a crazy mom at night), I have let this sort of go by the way side. Well, summer is here and so are new moments to enjoy the day and get to blogging!! I am working on some very cute new items for sugarbeez tutus and will post this evening on the newest of the new. Check back with me this week as posting is going to be a crazy thing!!

Tulle...what wonderful fancy

I have to make 4 tutus by Monday because the shop in downtown Belleville, IL will be featuring Suagrbeez Tutus for the next little while. As excited as I am, now the hard part comes. How can I decide on just 4!!! I have so many favorites and ideas floating up in my head that it seems impossible to pick only 4. I finished the tags last night and have to say...they look very sweet!!!

Here's the link to Candid Gifts Blog they make the most wonderful baskets for all occasions and they deliver in the Metro-East area but ship too...check em out!


I also wanted to take a moment in this entree to thank a person who is becoming a very special part of the Sugarbeez Family Leah Remillet Photography. She takes beautiful pictures and has graciously decided to use Sugarbeez Tutus in an upcoming shot. I am so forever thankful!!

Win/Win Rewards Program

Sugarbeez is now offering a "Win/Win Rewards Program". If you purchase a tutu or another item from http://www.sugarbeez.etsy.com/ and you LOVE it, tell a friend. Get that friend to mention you in the checkout section and you will get 10% off. If another friend buys from me, you will get another 10% plus a free gift!! Keep spreading the word and you could recieve 10% off of Sugarbeez Tutus!!

You will get a certificate for the first mention in your next purchase. This will have a word to use during checkout to recieve your 10% and Free gift!!

This is what I truly call : "WIN/WIN Rewards Program"!!!!

Awsome Opportunity

I was in downtown B -ville the other day, getting some supplies for a tutu. I saw a little shop called Candid Gifts. Thinking it would be a great place to get items for Allykat, I went inside. It is very cute with tons of cute boutique items, neatly placed of course. I wondered to the front and asked if they ever sold tutus...as soon as the question came from my lips, I was amazed! I am never that bold. But the lady brightly said "No, Do you make tutus" My mouth ran dry and I think I just shook my head yes...or something. She then goes on the talk about the shop and how they take in local artist and that was mainly who was in the shop. I told her I sell on ebay (some now) and Etsy and that I have been doing it (selling them) for a little over 6 months. Talk lead to more talk and before I knew it, I had left out of there with a promise to look at my work, a contract to fill out, and a list of networking nights, sites and information. I was so "high on life" I forgot why I was in downtown in the first place and went to pick up Ally at daycare!!

What an amazing turn of events. I then browsed the stlhandmade.com, the espw.org and all the other information she gave me. I am looking forward to bringing in my craft and possibly selling it in a brick and mortar store.


"Oh like a little sweet chocolate....how a day can turn from sour to sweet"
Marylin Monroe

The Name!!

To tell about Sugarbeez one would have to tell the name. It's a funny little name I think and one that has stuck in our family since us two became three.

When my husband and I decided to try for a baby, to say it was difficult is a major understatement. We tried doctor's, acupuncture, standing on our heads, anything we could think of. When the treatments failed...we were heart broken. Then came that dreaded word...infertile!!! Oh how I hate that word!!! It is a nasty little word with tons of nasty feelings attached to it!

After rounds of fertility treatments, we finally got pregnant!!! Oh how the joy just spilled onto everyone around us!! After enduring months of morning sickness, high blood pressure, bed rest, SUA and NST's she came!! A healthy little girl born 6 weeks early and 26 hours of labor, but healthy! We were so excited. The next afternoon, after she was born, we both were sitting with her, just watching her sleep. She was snuggled next to her daddy, when this sound....this little buzz sound came out of her. We looked at each other and giggled! My husband turned to me and said "My little Sugarbee".

So I am sure you have made the connection now, as to the Sugarbeez name. She still makes that sound...I do not know how...when she sleeps.

Sugarbeez Tutus

If you LOVE Sugarbeez Tutus on ETSY.com, then you will love this blog. It has all the latest information on the site, new information as far as craft shows goes and some funny things that happen along the way. Sugarbeez Tutus are one of a kind handcrafted tutus made right here in Princess Mannor. We pride ourselves in making princess, fairy and ballerina dreams come true. This blog is to inform current and future customers and followers of the goings on of Sugarbeez. Look for us on http://www.sugarbeez.etsy.com/ or click the link labeled "What's on Sale" and see first hand the items on sale in the shop.

Have fun!!