Putting It All Together: The Journey Begins

Hi! I'm Lizzy Russell and this is my "brand". Some may call me a "Jack of all Trades", and that is probably a pretty accurate statement. I really have a lot of hobbies, love them all, and have had them for a longgggg time.
   From a young age I aspired to become a better Martha Stewart (this was all before she went to jail). I started watching HGTV around the age of 10, and tried to compose a "cookbook" filled with recipes from my Family Circle magazines that my grandma, on my dad's side, bought me. In addition, my grandma, on my mom's side, has always been an amazing cook. I don't think I have ever eaten something she cooked that I didn't like. I had a "bookmark" business, a "frame" business, and a "beady baby" business, all of which consisted of me making and trying to sell things. Going back even further, I dreamed of designing dresses in elementary school, and eventually settled on making pillows. My mom would tell you that I created lots of gifts for my parents for every holiday. In 5th grade I learned to crochet from a good friend and did some yarn canvas work (like tissue box covers).
   Needless to say, I have a serious passion for crafts and cooking. When my husband proposed to me in 2011, I decided that I wanted to DIY my wedding as much as possible (this was pre-pinterest!). My crazy ideas freaked my family out, but in the end, everything turned out just like I envisioned it! My photographers were so blown away that I created my own bouquet from fabric, as well as my hairpiece, the bridesmaid's bouquets and the boutonnieres, that they said I should try to sell them. After I got through my first year of marriage, I decided to pursue this idea and created my "brand": With Love By Lizzy. I didn't really promote it too much, and kind of put it on the back burner while I tried to get my school career in order (I work as a school librarian for my day job). I ended up getting asked to do a bouquet for a bride and was thrilled! This was during my first full school year, so it was a little rough trying to get everything done and still have time for my other passion.
  I am now in my 2nd year of school and love every bit of it, but I still miss my cooking and crafts. Any time there is anything special going on at school, I make sure to rush to the food sign up because I love any excuse to bake something new and yummy! In addition, cooking and baking is a great way for me to relax, but for 2 people, sometimes it's just too much. My husband often refers to me as a "food pusher" because I make these things and can't eat them, so I try to make him eat them.

   This brings us to the present! I am getting my Facebook page (which you can find here) in order, and am going to try to add a new "line", Busy Lizzy. In addition to the random crafts I have added to my page, I am hoping to add food! I feel that now is a great time to dive in, as Fall/Winter brings all types of get-togethers, tailgating, parties, etc. I have to give credit to my dear friends, The Brown's, for this brilliant idea. They live in West, TN and have started a little side-gig of cake balls and whoopee pies (if you live in West, TN let me know and I will point you in their direction).  I am hoping to add photos of the different types of food I "specialize" in, but my menu is pretty open to change. This is where my other hobby comes in handy, couponing! Since I usually try to coupon most of my ingredients, I am hoping to keep my prices low and reasonable enough so that people feel comfortable asking me to make them food! :-)

   Be on the look out for my photo album on Facebook to grow. I am going to leave off prices for now until I figure out how much I should charge, but if you find something you are interested in, please let me know and we will work it out! I also have a cooking blog, http://lizzycooks.blogspot.com. I am happy to share my recipes and info because I know that most people are capable of making everything that I make, but just don't have the time or haven't done it enough to feel confident in their abilities or craftsmanship.

In the meantime I will be blogging my journeys and new adventures/products! I hope you stop by from time to time to see what's up.

Thank you for supporting me as I pursue my passion! :-)