Thursday, February 4, 2010

Bella Mia Bows & Things Giveaway


Bella Mia Bows & Things happened out of need for cute and affordable bows and clips for my daughter. I started learning how to make them prior to the birth of my baby girl, fully expecting lots of hair and a need for lots and lots of clips. I definitely counted my chickens before they hatched because my adorable Gabriella was born with not-so-much hair. The irony is grand, isn't it? But, even without the need for hair bows/clips I found I couldn't stop making them. It was addicting--buying ribbon, learning new techniques, putting something beautiful together.

Before I knew it, I had tons of clips and no baby to attach them to =) I couldn't even do the fun trick of slipping them into a crocheted headband, because my feisty baby did not keep it on! So I put the clips down and resigned myself to a life full of people asking how old my "son" was. Even though I wasn't making the clips, I continued to buy ribbon. This should have been my first clue that I was a closet ribbon addict. Patterns, solids, holiday ribbon....if it was on a spool, I wanted it. Trips out of the house almost certainly ended up at the craft store, where my bald baby and I would walk out with bags of ribbon. Then, it happened! The ribbon started taking up more and more space! So, the inevitable happened--I started making clips and bows again in anticipation of my daughter's hair quickly growing in. It really wasn't until her first birthday that there was enough hair to justify using a clip to keep it back. By then, though, I had tons of clips and I had started making them for friends and family.

Then one day, I was on my local NJ board on The Nest and I kept seeing the term Etsy come up. I sort of knew what Etsy was but I had never really looked into it. I decided to go exploring. Once I discovered what an awesome place Etsy.com was and I showed my husband my newfound happy place, he mentioned maybe putting the clips I had made online and making a little room in the house. With a little prodding from him and a quick trip to the craft closet to see just how many bows/clips I had, I bit the bullet and created a storefront.I came up with the name Bella Mia Bows & Things based on a name I called my daughter in a lullaby I had made up when she was born, Bella Mia (which in Italian means, my beautiful one). Little by little I started filling the shop up with clips and bows made from all that fun ribbon I had bought before and voila my Etsy shop was born.

I opened my shop in June 2009 and since then I have added more and more inventory including newly added paper products and scrabble tile pendants, as well as different kinds of bows and clips. I sometimes have bow-holder or two and I plan to add more adult-themed clips in the future. I have even made a couple bows for a fellow Etsian's adorable pup. What started out as a little hobby to make some bows for my daughter has grown into a side business, allowing the creative side of me to flourish and grow with it. I am constantly looking for new products to make and add to the shop, as well as looking for fun new ribbons to create with. Not to mention, it has also caused my new addiction to paper.

I hope you have as much fun looking in my shop as I have stocking it. And as a token of my appreciation, I am giving away a set of 4 clippies, made with Valentine's Day in mind!

Please visit me at my shop: www.bellamiabowsnthings.etsy.com
You can also find me on facebook: www.facebook.com/bellamiabowsnthings
on twitter: www.twitter.com/bellamiabows
and in the blog-o-sphere at www.bellamiabowsnthings.blogspot.com

The following set of 4 bows is today’s prize:

Contest is open NOW until 10 pm CST TODAY when comments will be closed. This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only.


5 ways to enter:
1.) Leave a comment on this post with your favorite item from Bella Mia Bows & Things Etsy shop.

2.) Tweet about this giveaway with the following phrase: “Check out the @KNETTeam blog! Today’s freebie is from @bellamiabows #day4 http://knetetsyteam.blogspot.com/” and leave us a link to your tweet in the comments section. **MUST LEAVE US LINK TO YOUR SPECIFIC TWEET**

3.) Follow Bella Mia’s blog and leave us a comment telling us you did.

4.) Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave us a comment with the link to your blog post.

5.) Follow Bella Mia on Twitter, and leave us a comment with your Twitter username.

That’s a total of 5 chances per person! WAY COOL!

Ready, set, go! Winner will be chosen tonight by random.org and will be announced on this blog and on our Twitter page. Winner has 24 hours to contact us via e-mail to redeem their prize at bellamiabowsnthings@gmail.com or via Twitter.

33 comments:

Krissy said...

I love the Monkey clips!

Krissy said...

I follow Bella Mia's blog

Callie said...

I love the love the to stiches 6 bow set!
HeidiJaneBlankets@comcast.net

Callie said...

I already follow her blog!!
HeidiJaneBlankets@comcast.net

Callie said...

I blogged about it!
HeidiJaneBlankets.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I love the "4 inch double layered boutique bow - red and white." Pretty!

Beth
bethnaf at hotmail dot com

jakiesmom said...

i like the picnics to petals red gingham flower clips

nannypanpan@sbcglobal.net

Amy said...

I love the Velvet Glam clips.

Amy said...

I'm following your blog!

Amy said...

I blogged about it!
http://supermummyyam.blogspot.com/

Pamela said...

I LOVE the RU RAH RAH korker bow. My hubby and all his siblings all went there, plus my mother in law works there so our house is a BIG Rutgers house. Thanks for the chance.

pamac808@mac.com

Pamela said...

I follow her blog by RSS feed.

pamac808@mac.com

Katyp said...

I love the Hello Kitty clips!

mrs.messi said...

I love the cupcake and sprinkles bow! Adorable shop!

lisa.messier @ gmail.com

Gosfam said...

I like the Cupcake and Sprinkles fun sweet treat clippie.

mattles22 at yahoo dot com

Gosfam said...

tweeted: http://twitter.com/gosfam/status/8640725375

Gosfam said...

I follow Bella Mia on twitter: gosfam

Lesley said...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38374222

Love these clips. simple. classic. and oh-so-cute. Perfect for Valentine's Day.

Lesley (vedahanks on thenest.com)

trdmosgrls said...

I follow the blog :-)

trdmosgrls said...

I love the Pink and brown polka dot korker bow!

Cathryn's Closet said...

I love the valentines day bows. They are the perfect color for the holiday!!
Courtney

Saragus said...

I love the picnics and petals clips!

Lisa said...

I follow the blog!!

Lisa said...

And, I LOVE the argyle clippie!!

Christie said...

I love the heart sculpture clippie. So original!

Christie said...

I am following Bella Mia on twitter

babybloomingbouquets@gmail.com

Christie said...

I am facebook fan of Bella Mia.

babybloomingbouquets@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

The heart sculpture and the cupcake clip are my favs!
Sarah
seavila26@yahoo.com

Wilma said...

I like the Picnics and petals clip the best.
willyjean8 at hotmail dot com

TheCraftyKitchen said...

I LOVE the "Leave 'Em in Stitches" clip set!

TheCraftyKitchen said...

I tweeted about today's giveaway! (Not sure exactly how to link a tweet, but if you go to my Twitter page http://www.twitter.com/AXOCutie143 it will be there!)

TheCraftyKitchen said...

I follow the Bella Mia Bows & Things Blog!

TheCraftyKitchen said...

I follow @bellamiabows on Twitter!

@AXOCutie143