Baby Babble

Last summer while I was wandering around at the Maple Valley Farmers Market one Saturday morning I came across Jennifer Orchard’s booth. She had all these great items she could personalize for baby and kiddos. As an expectant mom, I loved all the different items she had, but I wanted to wait until Lyla was born before I got anything like that. I guess I’m a little superstitious.
So, this summer, one of the first things I did when the Farmers Market opened for its second season was to find Jennifer. One thing I really wanted her to do was a personalized piggy bank. I had spied those last summer and it never left my mind.
I asked Jennifer to do this for me and the next Saturday it was ready.
Side one:

Side two:

And the front:

After a while, I saw that she had bracelets, so for my mother-in-law’s birthday I had her make one for Lyla and one for Gale that said “Grandma” on it. I didn’t snap a pic of the one for Gale but here is Lyla’s.

While we talked over the details for the bracelets via Facebook, I mentioned I wanted a bracelet like that for myself, but I couldn’t order it myself. I mentioned to Jennifer that I had a birthday coming up, so, she contacted my husband on Facebook and set it all up. I was none the wiser until shortly before I got the bracelet. What impressed me the most was that she delivered it to our house just a week after giving birth to her third child, a sweet little girl named Kali, but she also remembered the details I had mentioned wanting on the bracelet.

And here it is… I haven’t taken it off yet.

She also personalized a clock for Lyla’s room over the summer. Keep in mind she did all but the bracelet for me WHILE pregnant. Amazing to me. I love this clock. I think the tick-tock white noise helps Lyla sleep better.

Jennifer, who is an accountant by trade as well as a mom of three cute kiddos, tells me she got into this while she was pregnant with her daughter four years ago.
“I went to a baby boutique and they had these adorable baby bracelets selling for $65 and up,” she said in a Facebook message. “Well they are exactly the same as the ones I make now and I had to have one so I bought it and realized that there are a ton of moms out there that would love to have this unique gift but can’t afford to pay that kind of money. So I bought materials, made up a bunch and opened my Etsy page selling them for half the price.”
Then she started looking for other ideas to add to her Etsy store so she began looking up wholesale companies.
“I came across blank piggy banks and thought ‘Hey I could paint them!,’” she said. “So, I added that to my website and so far my piggy banks are my top sellers but take me the longest to make! Since then I have just kept my eyes and mind open and added things here and there to my inventory.”
Click here if you want to check out what she has as she won’t be at the Farmers Market for the rest of the season now that she’s got her new kiddo to take care of.
I just can’t begin to tell you how much I love these great personalized items Jennifer has made for me this summer. These are great practical items that will later become keepsakes for our daughter. This is one of the things that really makes being a new mom fun.