Hopie-Jo Give-A-Way Time!!!

It's time for a give-a-way!!! It's been awhile since we gave anything away, so, in celebration of the month of love, February, and we now have over 200 fans on Facebook AND we have 2 new products, we felt it time for a GIVE-A-WAY!!!!

What are we giving away, you ask?



This super cute "Kiss", because we love our fans!! This "Kiss" will be sent to the winner of our give-a-way as either a key chain (with the pink key ring) or a bag tag (with the silver ball change)

How do you enter the give-a-way, you are wondering? Entry is a two step process:

1. Sign up for the Hopie-Jo newsletter, Hopie-Jo in the Know. If you've already signed up for our newsletter, you're already half way entered, just go on to step two.
2. Post on the Hopie-Jo Facebook page or here, on our blog, whether you would want the "Kiss" as a key chain or a bag tag.

You must do both steps to be entered in the give-a-way. One person, who completes both steps, will be chosen at random to become the proud owner of the "Kiss"! Good luck!! And feel free to share this give-a-way with all your friends! Our winner will be chosen on Thursday, February 3.

By now I'm sure you've figured out what our new products are, Bottle Cap Bling Bag Tags and Key Chains!!


Look how cute they are! Bling up a backpack, purse, athletic bag...anything that needs a little bling!


No boring keys with our super cute Bottle Cap Bling Key Chains!


We hope you love our new products as much as we do! Remember, we LOVE custom orders! We can make Bag Tags and Key Chains with school/team logos, initials, anything you want!

Don't forget to share this and good luck with the Give-A-Way!!

Happy New Year, Happy Valentine's Day, Big Sale, and have you seen our website?

WOW, I've got a lot to cover. This is what happens when I don't blog for awhile...several months...since SEPTEMBER!!! I'm embarrassed!!!

First of all, Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that 2011 is off to a great start!! It has for Jo, she is up in Wisconsin, ice fishing, ice skating, freezing...well, she's not ice fishing and ice skating (she is still dealing with back issues) but her kids and hubby are. I'm sure she's relaxing by a hot fire or something! JEALOUS!

Second, BIG SALE going on in our Etsy shop. We've put everything on sale that's been hanging around the shop awhile. We figure it's time to freshen the place up a bit and start putting new items up for sale. So make sure you check out what's on sale. Good deals going on!

Valentine's love has taken over our Etsy shop! Along with the sale, new Valentine items are in the shop! Before Jo took off on her winter wonderland vacation, she made some super cute Valentine bottle cap bow headbands and bottle cap charms. Her creativity inspired me to get my creative juices flowing and start making some stuff as well. The outcome is fabulous; an Etsy shop with lots of fun Valentine items and more on the way. Soon, Wright's Flowers and Goose Feathers will also be stocked with Hopie-Jo Valentine love! Check out some of our new items.










We also have a new item, bottle cap bow beanie!

Isn't it the cutest?!?! This one is in our Etsy shop, more are on the way.

FINALLY, have you checked out our new website? It's not really new, it's been up for awhile, but it's taken Jo and I awhile to get all the info and photos to our fabulous web designer (she is so super patient with us, thankfully!!) So check out our website at hopiejo.com. One day we hope to sell directly from the website, but for right now, it's just informational. I can't say enough good things about Danielle, our fabulous web designer. She took our existing logo (created by the wonderful Michelle) and built the website around it and complimented it perfectly! Daniella's web design company is called Open Mind Design. Check out her Facebook fanpage and become a fan! We love Danielle and we are so happy with our website!! THANK YOU DANIELLE!!

I think that's all I have for you right now. I promise to update the blog more often so they aren't so long. I wish you all a happy and healthy 2011!!
xo
Hopie

LaPorte Sunflower Fair Coupon!!

DON'T MISS IT!!

Tomorrow, September 18 is the LaPorte Sunflower Fair!! Hopie-Jo will have booth set up so make sure you stop by and see us. It will be a fun day and the rain will stay away!!

As a "thank you" to all our fans, here is a coupon to print off, bring to the Sunflower Fair, and receive a discount on your entire Hopie-Jo purchase. What a deal!


Make sure you sign up for our newsletter. This is the last coupon we will post on our blog. In the future, only our newsletter subscribers will receive the coupon.

See you at the Sunflower Fair!

New Product!! Multi-functional magnetic boards and bottle cap bling hooks

A couple weeks ago we came up with the idea to expand our bottle cap charm holders into a more functional all purpose magnetic board. Don't worry, we are still making smaller charm holders, we are just giving our buyers more options. Everybody likes options!

To realize our new product dream we had a very important task...SHOPPING!!!!! We headed into downtown Chesterton to Yesterday's Treasures, one of my favorite antique/vintage/resale type shops. They have everything there!! Jo and I were on the hunt for cute vintage fabric to cover the boards and also lace and crochet doilies/table runners/clothes/trim etc. Our trip was a complete success and we left Yesterday's Treasures with lots 'o treasures!

Two days ago we came up with the bottle cap bling hook idea to compliment our new boards. Which meant more shopping. We love shopping just as much as we love custom orders!
So here it is, our first multi functional magnetic board:

It looks a little bare, doesn't it?

Love the vintage crochet across the top!

So what makes these boards so special and functional (besides the fact they are handmade with love and vintage/reused materials)?

Take a look!!!!

The crochet is for hanging earrings, the bottle cap hook holds necklaces, and the board not only holds bottle cap charms but can hold up pictures or notes or anything else!

Close up of the crochet.

Boards will be sold with 2 coordinating bottle cap bling hooks. We can custom make these to various sizes and colors. If you're interested, send us an email to hopiejo@gmail.com. We will also be selling boards at the LaPorte Sunflower Fair on September 18.

Also, for girlies that like headbands but aren't into bows and ribbons, we present the simple, yet stylish, bottle cap bling headband.

This is one of our crotchet headbands with a bottle cap charm magnet attached with an alligator clip.

SO fabulously cute!!!

We have 2 weeks until the LaPorte Sunflower Fair and we have so much to do!!! If you're going to the Sunflower Fair, don't forget to stop by and say hello!

CAUTION - Rip Current Warning...please don't flash the fishes

In our last blog I mentioned that last Sunday Jo and I, and our families, went to the beach and the waves were HUGE, but I didn't have my camera to back up my claim of wave hugeness. I was smarter today.

I woke up this morning and immediately checked the weather. Had to make sure it was another perfect beach day for Jo and I and our families. Partly cloudy skies, upper 70s, no rain...but wait...a warning? What type of warning could there possibly be on such a perfect day? I clicked on the little warning sign and it said: CAUTION- Rip current warning. Which means only one thing HUGE WAVES!!!!!! Don't get me wrong, we take rip current warnings very seriously. First rule, respect Lady Lake Michigan. She is a beauty, but she can be deadly if not respected. So I went over all the rules with my kids about the waves and the rip currents, etc...then we all did a happy dance....WOO HOO BIG WAVES!!!!!

Enjoy some pics of our super fabulous day at the beach enjoying BIG WAVES! Thank you Mother Nature for the North winds blowing across Lake Michigan. And sorry to all the fishes I accidentally flashed while body surfing and being pounded by waves.

Look, Hopie-Jo toes! :)

Work Hard and Play Hard....well...kinda!

Reins of Life Dog and Pony Show...AWESOME!!! 2ND Saturday local artist event in LaPorte...AWESOME! It was a super busy Saturday last weekend, but we had a blast and it was well worth it.

We were a bit worried when we woke up to rain last Saturday, but by the time we got to Reins of Life and got our booth set up, the rain had stopped. One nice thing about the rain, it kept the heat down in the morning. By afternoon the sun came out as did the heat and humidity. But it was all good, we were in the horse barn! :) Oh yes, since the weather was hot, vendors got to set up in the horse arena of the barn. It definitely kept us cool, but the sand floor was a bit messy. Truth be told, we were glad to be inside.

Booth pics!

We used two tables and filled them both!

Doesn't our booth look so full and pretty!

A pic of the inside of the barn

Our families came to visit us and take in the events of the Dog and Pony show. I wanted to go home with a Shiloh Shepherd. She was a 9 month old rescue and I fell in love with her. But hubby said no...so I refrained from adding extra chaos to our already hectic life. If it were up to Jo's kids, she would have been taking home a Japanese Chin. Anyway, we both made it through the day without adding a family member, much to the relief of our husbands.

After a long day at the Dog and Pony Show, we headed into LaPorte for the 2nd Saturday artist event. We hung out at Goose Feathers, met some shoppers, was interviewed by the LaPorte Herald Argus, and had a great time. If you live in La Porte, or close by, stop by Goose Feathers. Not only do we have a super cute display and fabulous charms, but the rest of the store is really cute too! Jo and I both purchased a couple items while we were there.

I wasn't smart enough to take a picture of our display, but I did take a pic of the outside of the store.
YEA Goose Feathers!!

Jo and I, and our families, relaxed all day on the beach on Sunday. Definitely needed after our crazy Saturday. It was a perfect boogie boarding/body surfing day. The waves were HUGE! Of course, I forgot my camera, so I can't visually back up my claim at the size of the waves. But I seriously don't remember them ever being any bigger than they were on Sunday. Crazy big...and so much fun! Me and my bikini had a hard time dealing with the force of the waves! I always had to check myself before standing up...I think I probably flashed some underwater lake life during the course of the day! So much fun!!

Tuesday Jo and I took our kids to Brookfield Zoo. The weather was perfect; partly cloudy and not too hot. Here are a couple pics from the day.




I would include a pic of Jo on her scooter, but she would probably get really mad at me! Since her back still isn't better, she rented a scooter to get around the zoo. She rode it like a champ and didn't run over any kids. Yea Jo!!

Jo's kids started school on Tuesday, but mine don't start until next Wednesday, so I took my kids back to the beach on Thursday. No waves on Thursday, the water was really calm. Of course, I remembered to bring my camera but no exciting waves for fabulous picture taking fun. So I just took a couple random shots, just because the beach is so gorgeous and I pinch myself everyday that I live here again. I really missed the beach and "my" lake! And the beach was practically empty 'cause some schools had already started!

The beach!

My kids in the water.

My knees!

That's my pretty hot pink toe.

Blue bucket...nothing more.

So after a week of play, Jo and I are ready to focus on Hopie-Jo again! My super fabulous friend Michelle (she designed our logo/stickers/business cards, etc) ordered some Hopie-Jo swag for her niece's birthday. Hopie-Jo LOVES CUSTOM ORDERS (I think we've mentioned that before). Here is a pic of what we put together for her niece.

A holder, 6 charms, and 2 necklaces. I hope her niece loves it!!

We have 2 craft shows coming up, the LaPorte Sunflower Festival on September 18 and a Holiday Craft Show at Indian Trail Elementary School in LaPorte in November. Along with preparing for those shows, we are going to try and get our product into a couple more local stores, one in Valparaiso and one in Chesterton. And we are going to get lots more product on our Etsy site. Lots to do, but with kids in school, we'll have more time to get it all done!

Busy day tomorrow!

Hopie-Jo has a BIG day tomorrow!!!! Beginning at 8:30ish am and ending around 8:00ish pm. That's a long day...but we are excited!!!

First stop, Reins of Life Dog and Pony Show. What a great organization! We are so excited to be a part of their first ever Dog and Pony Show fundraiser. There will be lots of different dog and horse related demonstrations and events throughout the day, along with vendors (we will have a booth set up) and also a silent auction (we've donated a charm holder, 3 charms, and a necklace to the auction). It takes place tomorrow, Saturday, August 14 from 10:00am - 4:00 pm. at their location in Michigan City, Indiana at 9375 W. CR 300 North. If you're local, stop by! It's gonna be a fun day. Click here for more information on the event.

Immediately following the Dog and Pony Show, Hopie-Jo will be headed to La Porte for the 2nd Saturday local artist event. Hopie-Jo products are now being sold at Goose Feathers, 515 State Street, LaPorte, IN, and we will be at the store tomorrow evening from 5:00 - 8:00 pm. Click here for more information on LaPorte's 2nd Saturday event. Swing by Goose Feathers tomorrow evening and check out our bottle cap bling and the rest of the super cute store!

We can't believe the summer is almost over! Once the kiddos are back at school, Hopie-Jo will be putting a lot of time and effort into our Etsy site and also getting our product into other local stores.

AND, our website will be done soon!!! We have a fabulous designer working on it and we hope to get it launched within the next couple weeks. Thank you Danielle!!

See everyone at the Dog and Pony Show or 2nd Saturday in LaPorte!