Mini Blog Conference and Registration

We are so excited to announce the fabulous speakers for the September 29th Mini blog Conference happening at the same time as the Fall Boutique! 

We will have a ballroom for the boutique and a conference room for the blog workshops. So you will have the opportunity to enjoy both on the same day! 

Without further ado Let's get to know our amazing blog workshop speakers:

 

Andrea Howe

Workshop Title:

Discovering Your Blog Direction and 

Staying the Course

Andrea is a wife to her college sweetheart, and mother to a 7-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy, with a third on the way. In 2011, after 12 years of working in the fashion industry, she left her job to become a stay at home mom, but now feels even busier than before! When she’s not driving her kids around, she’s busy reading, cooking, eating, drinking chai tea lattes and plotting a way to get the craft room she’s always dreamed of. Andrea loves to blog about style, DIY's, her children, her 3rd and final pregnancy, and living a creative and inspired life.

Besides blogging at her 2 blogs; Four Flights of Fancy and For The Love Of, Andrea is a writer at Disney Baby and recently joined forces with her blogging partner in crime to start The Craft Cabinet, which looks to encourage women to turn their creative inspirations into 

reality.

Alissa Circle

Workshop Title:Finding Your Voice When Working With Brands 
Alissa Circle is the author of well known Orange County creative lifestyle blog, Rags to Stitches, She is the wife of one amazing and supportive man and mommy to two little ones, a daughter who just turned 4 and a son who is almost 3. Alissa loves to blog about life as a mommy, her faith and she is known for her Coffee Date Vlog link up on Fridays, where people come together and share their hearts over a cup of coffee.

As someone who prides herself on being knowledgable in the social media area, Alissa loves working towards building a positive community online. With both a degree and Master’s in Education, Alissa began her career as an educator before becoming a mother and starting her blog in 2007. By 2010 she was working with blogging agencies as both a blogger and Campaign Leader. Through working with brands such as Walmart, Levi’s, Smart & Final, KMart, and TCBY, she sought to pursue her passion to help companies grow their brand by teaming them up with other bloggers who love to spread the word about fantastic companies and products just as she does.

In 2012 Pollinate Media Group was formed and with over 400 bloggers in the Pollinate Community, they work with wonderful brands such as Cost Plus World Market, Child to Cherish, Fox/Universal Studios and People Magazine.

 April Perry

 Workshop Title:How to Make Blogging a Powerful Experience  April is the mother of four children, Alia, Grace, Ethan, and Spencer, and the wife to her best friend, Eric. They live in southern California, where life is full of laundry-folding parties, family jogging sessions around the park, and daily nap times. She received her bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in family science . . . just two weeks before her first daughter was born, and for the past five years, she has been devoting a large portion of her
discretionary time to building The Power of Moms.

April spends most of each day being “Mommy,” but she also enjoys actively participating in her church, writing, playing the piano, and organizing closets. The Mind Organization for Moms program is one of her key passions, and she loves helping other people feel giddy about their lists and files.

 As a mother, April is working towards achieving greater patience and living more in the moment. She appreciates the sweet, unexpected moments that pop up every day and make her work worthwhile, but she still feels that motherhood is a lot harder than anyone ever let on. Her hope is that The Power of Moms can help her and other mothers be the best they can be.

April blogs at The Power of a Family and is author of many articles on the Power of Moms website.
 

  Natalie Ensor

Workshop Title:  

Beyond The Screen: 

Using Your Blog and Shop for so Much More

Natalie Ensor, the creative force behind TAKE THE CANNOLI, is a twenty something (for just a little longer), wife to Micah, mama to two sweet babes; Elsie Pearl & Vernon Ribble, a Southern Californian girl, and a crafter of sorts. She is a lover of Jesus, coffee, all things vintage, the beach and pastries of course!

Nat sees everyday as a new day. Some days are fabulous while others require extra mascara to help accentuate the only thing she has going for her because she is rocking her pajamas all day. Though she has no idea what each day will bring she does know God is faithful and good.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says” Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are New Every Morning; great is Thy faithfulness”

And so she blogs about the everyday: the good, the bad and sometimes ugly. You’ll find touches of crafts, fashion and DIY projects. If she is feeling really spunky, she may even toss in a recipe here and there.

Through blogging Natalie has opened up about life as a stay-at-home mama (the joys and sorrows) and talks about both the struggles and triumphs she has gone through. This year has already been amazing for Nat and she has been blessed by new friendships and opportunities through her blog. She has gained perspective on who she used to be, discovered who she is now, and caught glimpses of the woman she is becoming. Out of this little ol' blog an online shop was born. Nat also owns a shop filled with hand-stitched lovelies (a.k.a embroidered hoop art) which started as her therapeutic outlet. The pieces in her collection are inspired by affirmations, scriptures and any other thing that brings joy along the way! Nat’s hope is that these hoops will be a blessing to others as they are displayed in homes and work spaces.

Through her blog and her heart to “give” Natalie has recently been appointed an Ambassador for the “Sole Hope” Organization in the SoCal area. Sole Hope provides closed toed shoes to children in Africa as well as training widows and homeless the trade of shoemaking. Natalie has been instrumental in hosting her own shoe cutting parties as well as facilitating numerous parties across the country.

How exciting to spend the day learning from these four amazing women who have so much to share! 

Registrations is now open!!!

Each Workshop is $10 

or you can purchase an all day pass for $35

Class Schedules are posted on the registration page.

CLICK HERE TO BE DIRECTED TO THE offical REGISTRATION PAGE

The Faces behind Penelope Lane Boutique

Sarah and Nancy 

The Mother/Daughter duo behind Penelope Lane Boutiques

Nancy has been involved with boutiques and crafts since she was a young girl. Her handmade crafts were sold in craft fairs when she was just ten years old. However, as a young adult, Nancy became more interested in marketing other crafter’s items. She began her own business as a manufacturer’s representative for infant clothing and gifts made by a number of crafters. One of her vendor’s lines even ended up being sold at Nordstroms!

Nancy’s dream was to stay at home and raise her four children, so starting this business helped her to work most of the time from home. After she sold that business, she developed a line of baby announcements, called “Tiny Tidings.” She sold that business, and spent the next few years attending nursing school. After she became a Registered Nurse, Nancy has worked on medical floors of two hospitals, as a hospice nurse, and currently works part time mentoring nursing student at a local community college.

 

As much as Nancy enjoys working with the nursing students, she also loves being involved in the craft world, and that is why she and Sarah have so much fun with the Penelope Lane Boutiques. Nancy’s experiences have helped her to plan, organize, and implement quality boutiques while having fun doing it. She and Sarah love to work with the vendors and enjoy visiting with the guests who come by to shop.

 Nancy’s favorite thing to do, however, is spending time with her family. Her husband of 35 years their four grown kids, and 5 grandchildren!

Sarah: with Nancy being her mom she has been around the craft world her entire life! She has always enjoyed handmade crafts either made by others or making them herself. She has attended craft boutiques forever and never imagined she would one day host her own. It's like a dream come true. She loves being surrounded by such an amazing community of talented artisans. 

After graduating from college with a degree in Human Development and psychology she found her passion was working with people with special needs. She worked in that field for a few years before she married her college sweetheart, Bryant. Now Sarah's time is spent with her little family. Her husband (and huge supporter) of ten years and their children, Katie, Ella and Carter. She feels blessed to be a stay at home mom and enjoys blogging and crafting along the way.  As her daughters grew so did their loves of crafts too. One day a few years ago Sarah and the girls sat down to craft and soon after Little Penelope Lane was created (which eventually lead her to starting up boutiques as well)! You can read that story and more about Sarah here.

Sarah blogs at Having a Hull lot of fun and  Little Penelope Lane