Christmas Light Storage for Sewers

I am always emptying bolts of fabric which leave these cardboard "boards" as they are often called by fabric enthusiasts. We took down the Christmas tree and were packing up the lights, oranaments, etc. I had a few emptied boards and my husband smartly wrapped up lights on them, each held 3 sets of 100 lights and tucked perfectly into the storage bins. I thought this was a great use of these sturdy boards which often end up in the recycling bin.

Kanzashi Flowers and New items

I have attempted my first four Kanzashi flowers, two were completed (semi) successfully. The others did not go so well, one is already tossed the other I will share below and one is now on a coin purse.

I got for Christmas "Kanzashi in Bloom" by Diane Gilleland. Overall this is a good book with good descriptions and pictures and a good number of ideas. While I usually have no problems doing new sewing tasks I had a lot of trouble with sewing my petals together, I think the round petal directions are missing some information, I am actually going to see if I can contact the author (she has a very nice website) and ask if I am just missing it totally or if the directions are lacking what I would call a key component.

I finally got one completed this was after viewing several Youtube videos, a few multiple times. For me the trickiest part of this was sewing the petals together and the location of this in relation to all the layers. My fist one did not work based on the directions, the stitch was not going through all layers, the result it fell apart pretty much completely on the back, then the flower as a whole no longer held it shape.

Here was my first attempt, above the petals will not hold their shape in the left view, which is the front, looking at the back all the folds have not been stitched down as they were too far from the sewing line. This is the step I found to be off in the directions, I had to trim back farther to catch the folds in the stitching, the second flower below was more successful.

For the blue flower I also used less petals, only 6 instead of the 8 I originally tried. This also shows the back view with a fabric cover glued down to hide the stitches and also protect the flower petals from coming undone. This is also a good base to add to something, like bag, hairpiece, etc.

I found I had to do more cutting then the book described to get an accurate sewing placement. This then made the flowers smaller then the books described they should be. I think I worked around it and a few tips from the Youtube videos I was able to complete my flowers. I also did a second stitching from the back to help make the flower lay flat.

This is the latest one I did, and the one that ended up on the coin purse. This was a trick I found on Youtube video that had you string the petals directly onto a needle, this way you can also gauge petals are the same size, I did not pin these petals as they went straight to threading.

The supplies are quite basic for simple flowers items most sewers would have on hand, fabric, scissors, thread, needles. I did need to buy a low temp glue gun, I just got a cheapy at Michaels as I have never had a need for a low temp glue gun. I gathered my supplies and happily started ironing and folding, I thought I will be making loads of these in no time. Alas, it was not so simple, but with any new task I think sometimes you have to make some errors to fully understand the process and improve upon that.

Also being a sewer the thought of gluing fabric is not a comfortable one, I imagined I could/would sew these parts, however I think for some of the construction a glue gun will be loads and loads easier, as long as they are durable and can withstand some wear and tear I too will be gluing fabric.

This is my fist completed project I will keep for myself to test the gluing of the white start button and the durability of the flower staying in place. This was constructed entirely of batik scraps, from this pillow set I made a few summers ago, you can see that blog post and pillows here. Hooray for scraps!

New Fabrics Sneak Peek

I have been busy planning and buying new fabric for the new year and for new items I have planned. Here are a few lovelies that should be in my hands by the end of the week, I shall be stalking the mailbox each day!

This is just a sampling, admittedly I have ordered so much I cannot recall every piece that is coming my way. I often buy focal fabrics online then shop locally for coordinates to complete the look. I hope to hit 4-5 local quilt shops in the next two weeks.

Ah, The New Years Resolution Post

Ok, not really but sort of in a way. Don't we all hope to resolve to do something? Something small, something we were/are trying to do anyway? There are the old stand bys; lose weight, be more organized, keep in touch with others more...I will not bore you with those...you're welcome :)

In the years since I have had my little business I always seem to start out the year with new ideas and visions for where I can take my business in the coming year. That is the joy of this young venture for me there is lots of room to grow, lots more I can do.

• This year I want to move forward but feel I need to work through some of the old first, so that is my first idea, or hope or resolution to use up supplies and back track through items I have not worked with in awhile. The result, I hope to add a line of pieced and embellished items, this was actually my goal when I first started selling handmade purses and accessories. Items that had a more quilted look, using my love of piecing and saving all sorts of scraps to create one of a kind accessories. To this I really have wanted to do embellishments to add more character to my items. I have done this limited amounts with yo-yo brooches and am going to expand into Kanzashi flowers, a folded fabric art that has endless possibilities.

Yo yo brooch embellishing a small satchel

• Do more offline, this means shows, I hope to do 8-10 shows in 2012. I have been somewhat proactive having already sent my package off for a show I hope to do in Feburary. I have also tracked down websites of other shows and put into my calendar when applications go live or are due.

• Blog more, ok maybe just in December, I did none in 2011. I also hope to actually get my mailing list off the ground, and spend more time using Facebook.

• More organized, as it comes to receipts, expenses I am looking into Outright.com to aid in this task.

• To my organization, I also need to track my production, hours spent and items produced more closely. I did this in November and December and was both surprised and happy how this helped and motivated me to do more, be more efficient. I am working on a few spread sheets to help this task.
  

• I hope to and feel I will finally need to accept credit cards at shows, with this I am hoping to find a device or tablet that will allow this at point of sale, so researching options.

So that is a few, and looking at it is exciting to have a plan, may not get everything done but it gives me something to aim for.

So, onto my personal crafty goals...sigh these can get long so just a few. First and foremost finish some of the many many works in progress or ufo's-unfinished objects. I have stacks and stacks of quilts pieced to be quilted, quilts halfway through, it is sad that so many things undone for so long. I tried to do this last year and post about it and sadly only 2 entries in the 2011 UFO Completed tab, it will be deleted to not remind me of this defeat.

New things for my family, myself, gifts, etc. When I got out my Christmas Stocking book I was sort of bummed I have not made stockings for my family...really we are still using these dollar store stockings? I actually said this to myself, they were intended to be cheap stand ins while I made us real ones...this is the year 2012 Santa will deliver to handmade stockings. I sort of actually fantasize about doing a stocking challenge for myself like weekly or monthly...we'll see :)

Learn a few new things, I already hinted at my fabric flowers so that is top of my list, I actually had to buy a few items to get started, namely a low-temp glue gun, and a few other glue items. I also asked (and got) some soap making kits for Christmas, I should be able to make about 30 bars of handmade soap. They are simple melt and pour that is about all I feel brave enough to try.

I also have this strong desire to do decoupage fabric, so look for some of those creations for my personal fun, who knows maybe a new item to offer in the future...

Happy 2012 to all, I will hopefully be back to post some of my successes and of course revisions :)

Potato Pancakes

Let the leftovers begin! I made a mountain of mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving and this morning we had potato pancakes for breakfast. Super easy recipe that you can easily adapt to your taste or what you have in the fridge.

This recipe made 6 medium pancakes.

• 2 cups mashed potatoes
• 1/3 small onion grated
• 3 slices cooked bacon
• 1 egg, beaten
• butter for pan

Beat egg in bowl, to that add additional ingredients. Melt in skillet butter, drop spoonfuls into pan and press flat, I found them to be gooey so I sort of had to pry them off the spatula with a butte knive. Let cook about 8 minutes until crisp, flip and cook additional 6-8 minutes, watch for done-ness.

Serve with chives and sour cream.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sale

I rarely do sales, sure I mark things down from time to time, but an all out shop wide sale, not so much. But since I elected to not do any shows this holiday weekend I thought I would join in the online fun, well I hope anyway.

Etsy is or will be promoting 3 tags this weekend, Free shipping Etsy, Black Friday Etsy, and Cyber Monday Etsy. You can read more from the etsy November Merchandising Desk here in this blog post. I will be doing a combination of offerings; free shipping on some items and discounts on other items and in particular my BlackFridayCyberMonday section will especially be discounted.

I have been busing getting my shop ready, here is what I have done so far and what I still need to do to be totally ready.

I am using a few off etsy apps to help get ready as well, I signed up for Etsy On Sale over the summer and finally did the full read through to apply sales, and change tags in my shop. I also bought the 25.00 package and got 125 credits to use. You can use these credits whenever you like, each action you apply to your shop costs credits. A sale is 4 credits, and a tag change/addition/delete is 1 credit.

I also will be trying for the first time a few of the apps on Craftopolis there you can edit a title and the first paragraph of your listing, these are suggestions made by etsy if you are participating.

Readying my shop:

• I cleaned up my sections, condensed items and reduced the number, this was to help reduce cost of using etsy on sale. Since credits are applied by entire shop or by section having less sections will reduce that cost a bit.
• Reviewed ALL my tags, this has actually been an ongoing project but I finally went through one by one and made my tags more relevant and also made sure I had enough room to add the 3 etsy tags for this event.
• I am listing...a lot, I hope to have nearly 200 items listed by Thursday, I have been doing this since early October, I have listed about 125 items since then.
  
• Created a "Free Shipping profile" to be applied to some of my listings, this will only be for US transactions.
• Writing my new first paragraph for my free shipping and % discount that I will add via Craftopolis later this week. I like to type it out and live with it for a few days first.

I plan to have most of this and ready to go on Thursday, with EOS you can schedule so mine will begin at various times late Thursday to midnight on Friday.

You will have to check out my etsy shop for the sales and deals, and free shipping items. I hope it will be a fun sale for buyers to get some of their shopping done!

Shrine Show November 18 and 19th

Had a GREAT time at the Shrine show Friday night and will be heading back this morning. My spot was next to my friend Molly, from MollyCoddle Tiles. I had a great time meeting new people and hanging out among such creativity.

This is just a few quick pics to share of my space, looking forward to this morning, and going to grab a few bake sale goodies as well.

Craft Show Craziness...Readiness

I do a limited amount of shows each year so for me they are always a panic, so much to do above and beyond making the items. This year I am hoping to be more organized and less panicked. I have the first of three this coming weekend and now that it is Monday and set up is Friday I am actually starting to pack up now (really RIGHT after I post this to my blog).

I also thought I would give a checklist of things I need and want to take along, I know when I started I was somewhat guessing. Here are a few of my essentials.

• Change, I bring $80.00 in paper money, usually 4 10's, 4 5's, 20 1's, plus coin since I collect sales tax, I just bring a lot, at least 30.00 in coins.
• Sales tax license
• Secure location for money
  
• Receipt pad(s)
• Pens, scissors, tape, small notepad
• Calculator
• Clip board, for checks and receipt signing
• Merchandise bags, I have 3 sizes
• Business cards, postcards, fliers, etc.
• Table coverings
• Gridwall hardware, I keep this stuff in a small plastic box, also I need for some assembly screwdrivers, plier and wrench, good to have all.
• Apron, I also stock this fully before the show with some cash, business cards, pens and a small calculator, also a lip balm :)
• Bowl of candy - obviously optional
  
• Small decorations, I sometimes bring a few nutcrackers along to add a festive touch to my table, since the shows are actually Christmas I am not worry about offending, just be mindful of the crowd if you choose to decorate.
  
• Signs or pricing, I often just price in bulk and use mini frames to help sign, I once did a blog post on this idea here
• Cosmetic bag with a few personal items, make up, brush, toothbrush, etc.
• Small cooler or lunch bag, I always bring water, soda, and dry snacks such as pretzels, granola bars.
• Grocery bags for garbage collection at my booth
  
• Printed list of above
• Admin basket or bag, I use this to keep things I will always need to know right where they are, like my apron, cash, lists, etc.
  

Some pics of my spare room, top, stacks of stuff needing to be priced and placed, middle my growing collection of baskets, its good to have options, and the guest bed, which is really just another table.

I am lucky to have a good size extra bedroom and am able to set up a 6 foot table, which seems to be the standard size for inside shows. Here I can play with my displays and items and have a good idea of set up before I get to the show. I also draw a little diagram and refer to it when I get to the show. For me my mind is always racing so having this for references does help. If you cannot use an actual table, mark out your space on the floor or bed a visual before the show helps a lot.

Here is a sort of picture of what I will do at the show, I have a fair amount of flexibility to move around as needed. Making this and stapling it to my checklist and make sure it goes to my admin basket for the show.

Columnists | Crafter turns fabric into practical items | The Detroit News

I am super excited about my weekend feature in The Detroit News. I had the chance to share one of my accessories and talk a bit about my selling life. I did an event Saturday at "State of MInd" it was fun to have several people say they saw me in the paper. Here is the link to the article below.

Columnists | Crafter turns fabric into practical items | The Detroit News

I still need to actually get my hands on a copy for myself, as I sort of missed it when it came out on Friday. I have a few nice folks who will be saving it for me.

New Item Stocking Stuffer Coin Purses

I have a new item this year, very Christmas like, which is unusual for my shop. I rarely sew any holiday items as they don't do very well for me...really, not everyone wants a Santa purse?

So, I have had this idea for a few years and finally did it. I was in the sewing room on Saturday and actually felt kind of bored - very unusual feeling. I remembered this idea and having a few holiday shows and stacks of Christmas fabric I finally worked up a design and started making these. I am calling them "stocking stuffer coin purses" kind of cute, huh? This way I can also legally use "stocking stuffer" on etsy and be found by eager holiday shoppers...tee hee!

A little bit of the design process, pattern pieces for the stocking and lining, then the revision, I wanted it wider and rounder, I re-drew my pattern and ended up with the perfect size.

So this is how it starts, I need a stocking shape, I have several books on stockings so I pulled those out and adapted one to the size and shape I wanted. Luckily I only had one that was done first that was not my desired size, a quick edit and I not have the sweetest stocking coin purses. Added to each a vintage jingle bell and these will great to use all season long. I plan on using mine to keep all my Christmas Receipts in ONE place in my purse.

While I am really planning these for offline events and markets I could not resist adding a few, above are the first two I added to my etsy shop.

A close up peek of these vintage jingle bells, and all the colors one last time!