I am very excited to announce a new category on my blog where I will be highlighting other “Do-It-Yourselfers” and their handcrafted projects. I couldn’t be more thrilled and excited to feature Two Sparrows ‘Handmade Headbands and Hair Accessories’ as my first story. Plus there’s a chance to win a FREE hair accessory at the end!! I sat down with Carolyn Hoerl, creator of Two Sparrows, at her home to get the scoop:
Maggie: What inspired you to create the Two Sparrows and how did you come up with the name?
Carolyn: “My inspiration would be by [twin] daughters, first and foremost. I created a blog about a year and a half ago when I was pregnant with them. The blog was based off of [the Bible verse] Luke 12:6-7. We were going through a difficult time in my pregnancy and we had just found out that we weren’t sure if the girls were going to make it or not. We wanted to start a blog just so we could keep people up on what was going on with them.” The verse says: ‘6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.’ “The verse really spoke to me about how important the little things are and how important our little situation was, and we knew the Lord had it in His hands. So we started that blog and called it More Than Sparrows, and that is where the Two Sparrows name came from. Obviously my daughters are my inspiration, and I have automatic models I can use.” she said with a chuckle. “I love to create and think of different ways to use materials. I was getting tired of seeing the same things or buying the same headbands for the girls, and I was like ‘OK, I really want to create something new but also something that had a modern, posh twist'”
Carolyn, sporting a Two Sparrows headband she made. Photo by Nancy Noble Barnes
Maggie: How many have you made so far?
Carolyn: “I’ve made a bunch for a couple different craft fairs, a bunch for a local store called Trendy Tots, and for my Etsy account- so probably around 200 total.”
Maggie: How long does a typical headband take to make?
Carolyn: “I think about the headband and say: ‘Would I put my kid in this?’ I want to make sure that it’s perfect; that there’s no undone stitch, so it does take a little bit longer. Everything is hand stitched- some of them are glued, but everything is made to be precise and very good condition. From start to finish each one would take 30 minutes, depending on how involved they are, it might take 45 minutes. I do them in steps. For example; I’ll sew all the elastics, or cut out all of my fabric strips, and I’ll do the backings and assemble them as a system so that saves a little bit of time… It’s a lot of late nights and up til 2AM” she added with a smile.
We then had to take a quick pause because the girls were waking up from their nap and Carolyn had to run upstairs and get them. I was amazed at her balance with one girl on each hip as she returned to the living room and sat on the floor with Henley and Eden, now one years old, as we continued our conversation.
Maggie: Where do you get your materials from?
Carolyn: “Usually its just from Jo-Ann Fabrics, although I have used upcycled materials from Goodwill. Some of my best ones were from silk shirts, skirts or dresses from Goodwill”
Maggie: Where do you find the time to make all these headbands?
Carolyn: “What do you mean?” she laughed as Henley crawled across her lap and grabbed the TV remote, “I have loads of time! Like I said before, I’ve had quite a few late nights. Usually my creativity comes after they go to bed because I have a chance to sit down and think about things. I just start one, and all of the sudden I’m doing five more. I work here and there during nap time sometimes, but typically I save it for night time so I can focus my time on [the twins] during the day. It’s an outlet for me, I really enjoy having fun with that and I actually look forward to the end of the day, and its a good way for me to focus on something that I love to do and I can be creative with.”
Lovely Eden. Photo by Nancy Noble Barnes.
Beautiful Henley. Photo by Nancy Noble Barnes.
Carolyn’s hard work has certainly paid off. I’m so amazed and impressed at her work ethic. I think about how difficult it is for me to finish a project, I can’t imagine what it would be like if I had one year old twins!
If you are interested in hearing Carolyn and her husband Jordan’s full story on their twins, please check out her blog! It’s truly an incredible story.
Also, Carolyn has been so gracious to do a hair accessory give away! She normally sells Two Sparrows hair accessories on her Etsy account, but one of you lucky ladies can win one for free! It’s simple. All you need to do is leave a comment below saying what you do to remedy a bad hair day. If I’m having a bad hair day, I usually throw my hair up in a topknot. (which would look even cuter with a topknot hair clip from Two Sparrows!) If you would like to purchase a hair accessory from Two Sparrows, you can use the coupon code: storystylevision and receive 20% off your purchase!
You have until Friday January 25th to enter for the free hair accessory! The winner will be selected randomly. Good luck!
xo,
Maggie
