Sassy News

Etsy Kids Team Treasuries

2011-10-05T08:44:00.001-04:00

This post features some of my favorite Sept. treasuries from Etsy Kids Team members:

Baby It's Fall by Althea1326
Newborn Lovelies by Beanstalk by Yizzy
Keeps on Beating by Lil Princess Bow
Making Lemondade from Lemons by Apple Tree Boutique
It's Game Time Baby by Baby Swank:

Flight 93 10th Anniversary Memorial Trip

2011-09-12T09:17:00.000-04:00

This past Friday on Sept. 10th, we went to the Flight 93 National Memorial dedication. We were supposed to take part in a bike ride down to Shanksville and to the memorial on Sept. 11th, but when we found out they were doing the dedication and unveiling of the memorial wall and that George and Laura Bush, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and the group that are raising the money to build this memorial were going to speak we decided to leave a day early and went on our own. I'm glad we did.

Field opposite the crash site

So under some very dark skies we packed the bike, put on our rain suits and rode the 2 1/2 hours south to Shanksville. We got pretty wet a couple of times on the way down--which I can tell you on a bike doesn't feel all too great--but it was well worth the ride and I'm glad we went.

We got to the memorial at 9:30 am. We didn't get parked and in the park until noon. Traffic was that heavy. It's a very long, winding road that leads to the memorial itself--all through pastureland. We ended up parking about a mile or so away from the site because we got tired of the stopping and going--not to mention the above picture is what the parking area looked like. No way were we getting a bike in that mess.

Of course the line was long and security was pretty tight. The one thing I did disagree with was that they made people take the flags off the poles and toss away the poles. I didn't think that was right. True, the poles were pointy but we were going to honor the people who gave their lives for this country and I just thought that was wrong. Oh--and those are S.W.A.T. guys fully armed on top of the security roof.

This is what you see after you walk into the site. On the left, a black wall they have built to keep people away from the crash site. Far away to the right is where they had the dedication ceremony. We were all sitting in the open--the big white tent is Red Cross and the smaller tent is the pavilion where the speakers sat.

There was a lot of media. See all the trucks? Check out the guy on the left's jacket. We're still in Steelers country and two things we love are our Steelers and our country. There was a woman walking around with a Ravens bag. Wonder if she made it out unscathed.

We were sitting pretty far away so it was hard to get a good picture of the dignitaries. Maybe you can pick out George and Laura Bush, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden. Also the men who are raising money and started this memorial spoke (one of them wearing a cowboy hat). They all gave wonderful speeches and all called the passengers "heroes". As a matter of fact, the word "passenger" wasn't spoken as much as the word "hero". Biden and Clinton gave credit to George Bush for pulling this country together when this happened and taking action. Biden even got a bit emotional towards the end of his speech because he recognized that these heroes saved his life--literally. If that plane had crashed into the Capitol building where he was, he and countless others would've lost their lives.


Rude People

One thing that did bother me was the fact that there were some rude people there. These people would NOT sit down through most of the ceremony (which was about three hours long) even tho they had chairs. Also the woman behind us wouldn't shut up and kept talking on her cell phone. Seriously. So disrespectful to others there and to the event itself. This was not a "celebration". So much different than when you go to The Wall. Thousands of people and you can hear a pin drop there.

The most emotional part of the ceremony was when each hero's name was called an the bells tolled after. There was a woman who was pregnant on that flight and her unborn child was also mentioned and they tolled the small bell for it. There weren't many dry eyes during this part of the ceremony and many, many heads were bowed.

The end of the ceremony came when they unveiled the wall with the 40 names. It's made of marble and each name has it's own "slab". We were a bit far away (and I was a bit too short) to see them actually unveil it, but Mike did get a picture beforehand when it was still covered. They gave the family members and guests 30 minutes to view the wall by themselves. I really wanted to see it but there were so many people there. Me and Mike are going to go down again either this fall or maybe in the spring when it's not so crowded so we can see the wall, the bells, etc. up close.

This picture was found online for one of the news agencies. We were riding for Deora Frances Bodley. I'm not sure who this man is who is touching her name-perhaps her grandfather (she was only 20 yrs old). I will never forget Deora and I will always think of her now.

Crash site. Where the heroes are laid to rest.

Going to this memorial made this really sink home and made me realize that these were people like me and you who had lives and families, who either went to school or to work every day--just like you and me. They were ordinary people who did an extraordinary thing that day. Joe Biden said it best when he said, "Everyone has courage in them and maybe one day it will be called into use." It was called that fateful day at 9:58 am on Sept. 11, 2001.

Walking Out with a new perspective on life.

So when you see shows, advertisements, etc. about 9/11, please PLEASE do not just think of the planes, victims, firemen, and police officers that lost their lives in NY--think of the 40--rarely spoken of--true heroes that died taking this plane down so it wouldn't reach it's destination. I give respect to those that died in NY, but the firemen and officers were doing their jobs---the passengers of Flight 93 knew they were going to die and instead of sitting back and letting it happen they took matters into their own hands and launched an attack against the hijackers and saved countless lives in so doing. That, in my opinion, is what a true hero is. I find it sad that the media does not give these 40 heroes the true recognition that they deserve.

Just a footnote: it took the fire crew and police 15 minutes to get to this crash site after the plane went down. 15 minutes. There was no nicely paved road at the time only pastureland--and it only took them 15 minutes to get there. Please think of them too.

Deora Frances Bodley: A Fallen Hero

2011-09-03T11:51:00.002-04:00

On Thursday of this week we received our Flight 93 memorial ride package. In it was a short biography of the Flight 93 hero we are to represent, a pin, patch, dog tags, t-shirt, and flag with the hero's name. The t-shirt has the Flight 93 Let's Roll Ride logo on the front with the names of the 40 heroes who lost their lives in a field in Shanksville, PA on Sept. 11, 2001.


Biography, T-shirt, flag, pin, & patch


Pin, dog tags with hero's name, and patch.

Back of T-shirt with heroes' names

Me and Mike will be representing Deora Frances Bodley. She was the youngest passenger at just 20 yrs old. She was from San Diego, CA and attended Santa Clara University where she was studying in French and psychology with her major and goal to be a child psychologist. Deora loved children and spent her free time volunteering at the San Diego Zoo and the Special Olympics. Deora loved her family, reading, and writing. She was on her way home after visiting friends in New Jersey.

I ask that on Sept. 11th, you keep Deora and her family in mind and say a prayer for them. So sad to lose someone so young to such a tragedy, but she will be remembered forever as one of America's young heroes.

Kids Day Event

2011-08-14T12:17:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I set up a booth at a Kids Day Event held at our local Market House in town. I was hoping I would do well since most of my items are geared for babies and children--and guess what--I did!! It was such a BIG relief compared to the last show I did (only made $27). The man who organized it is planning to make it a yearly event, so I can't wait until next year! A lot of people were truly interested in my items and a few took my cards so I hope I get more local business from it. My main goal was to get my brand out there locally and I think I accomplished that.

Practice Booth Pics

It was also a ton of fun! I had the PERFECT spot--right next to all the entertainment! There were clowns that were making animal balloons, face painting, and just entertaining the kids (who LOVED them!). There was also a pretty lady there who danced with hula hoops (she was SO amazing!), a band (which actually wasn't very good at all), and a DJ (who played golden oldies). So I got to watch the kids get their sweet little faces painted, try out hula hooping, and dancing. So cute!

Face Painting

Hula Hoop Dancer

My biggest selling items were hair clippies and pins--mostly owls, flip-flops, and kitties:

I also sold a bear tooth fairy plush, a couple of Cuddle Monsters, and a couple of aprons (size 3/4 seemed to be the favorite)

Oh--and did I mention the cute vendor apron I made for myself :)

All in all it was a very good day and I truly enjoyed it!

Aging Parents

2011-08-02T08:51:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile since I've blogged. Reason being: life in general. Seems sometimes (ok--a lot of times) things come up in your life that throws you completely off schedule. Something like this recently happened to me.

Dad and my great nephew Chase a year ago

Dad when I went to vist

A couple months ago, I got a message from my brother that said my dad was feeling really depressed and was saying that he didn't think he'd ever see me again (I live in PA--my family lives in TN). That same afternoon my oldest niece called saying the same thing. He's been having health issues. He has pancreaitis and was in and out of the hospital for a month or so. I guess this really got him down so he got a bit depressed.

Well, he's the only dad I have so I decided I'd better get my tail down there for a visit. It had been two years since I last went. I usually try to go every year but finances being what they were, I couldn't afford to go last year. I spent three weeks there and it was a good visit. I'm glad I went.

If you have aged parents (mine are 73 and 74) I don't have to tell you how hard it is watching them age and have health problems that come with aging. I probably don't have to tell you either, that you realize your parents are not going to be here forever. What I do have to tell you is to spend as much time as possible with them and be there for them like they were for you growing up. It's the least we can do.

A Rat Named Daisy

2011-05-18T15:25:00.001-04:00

A couple of years ago I decided to get a new pet. I already have three cats and a chinchilla, but for some reason I've always liked hamsters, guinea pigs, etc. I do not know why. I thought maybe that feeling would change once I became an adult, but apparently not. So, while I have Rocky, my chinchilla, I wanted something I'd never had before: a rat. Now I know what you must be thinking, "A rat--ewwww gross!!!" which is what I always thought myself in the past, so imagine my surprise when I absolutely fell in love with Daisy!

Daisy is my very first rat and I'm so glad I made the decision to get her. She's very calm and docile, and believe it or not, extremely lovable! I know, I know, you think I've fallen off my rocker, but she really is quite a friendly critter. There's nothing she likes more than to lay on my lap under a blanket and get her nose rubbed. She'll lay there for hours enjoying the attention--talking to me all the while.

Saying "hello" to Rocky

Daisy is not only quite friendly towards me, but it seems as if she likes other furry critters too. One day last week when I took Rocky's cage outside to give it a good spraying down (he lives in a three story mansion that's almost as tall as I am), I decided to see how her and Rocky would get along (I usually let Rocky have free reign in the bathroom while I clean his cage). Well, she was friendly enough, but Rocky--well apparently he doesn't like other critters. I just happened to snap the picture above at the perfect moment because two seconds afterwards, Rocky bit Daisy on the nose. Poor Daisy--she ran into my arms as if to say, "Save me from that big, hairy beast!!".

Last night, I decided to take Daisy out of her cage, like I do most every night, while Scooter was in the bedroom (if she's in the house, she's stuck up my butt) just to see how they would react to each other. Well, I must say, that was a better show than what I was watching on TV! It seems Scooter was a wee bit curious at first, and Daisy being a friendly critter, just wanted to make friends:

Scooter was ok with that at first and was actually very well behaved: she didn't try to bite, scratch, or otherwise attack Daisy--just seemed curious was all.

Until.....Daisy decided to chase her around the bed. I haven't laughed that hard in quite some time! Every time Scooter would lay down and relax, here would come Daisy--trying to groom her and play with her, and up Scooter would jump and run away! I tried to get a few pics of the whole shenanigans but Scooter would jump up so fast every time Daisy came near her it was a bit difficult. But it was indeed good entertainment!

Now, while I dearly love Daisy (I never thought I'd say that about a rat), she is getting old. I've had her for a bit over two years and rats are only supposed to live 1-2 yrs at the most, so I'm afraid Daisy won't be with me very much longer. She's lost quite a bit of weight and mostly sleeps these days (even when out of her cage), so it was rather nice to see her show a bit of energy while she chased Scooter around the bed. I'm not sure if I'll get another rat or not after she's gone, but I wouldn't mind another one. By the way, if you're looking for a first pet for a child, I would highly recommend a rat over a hamster, gerbil, or guinea pig any day.

My 1st Craft Show

2011-05-01T10:07:00.000-04:00

I apologize for the blurry pictures. This is a view of my Lil' Bit Sassy section.

Schoolhouse Designs Section

If you have any suggestions about how better to display my items, please let me know!

Yesterday I did my very first craft show. It was held at the local college (Allegheny) by some students. I must say, they did a great job of organizing the event. The tables were all set up for us when we got there, a student helped us unload our cars and carry our things up (it was on the 2nd floor) to the hall, and they even served us free cookies, tea, and pizza for lunch. The only flaw I did notice was that they needed more signs. They only had one sign pointing to the parking lot but no signs on the building itself to tell you what door to go into or how to get to the hall. It was at the back of the building too so made it even more confusing. Needless to say, the only people we had attending were college "kids" and some of their parents.

Unfortunately, none of us vendors did very well. I only made $27. The show was free, so that was a plus. I got a lot of "ooohs" and "ahhhs" over my things, but not really any sales. I think next year (if they have it and I decide to do it) I will focus on wallets, wristlets (I noticed a lot of the girls were carrying those) and adult sized aprons (they seemed to love my kids aprons). I really thought my Allegheny Gators would go over well but I didn't sell even one of them. If anything, this has not deterred me. I am more determined now to make my little business a success locally.

I think there were a few reasons we didn't do well. As I said, I think the signage was a part of it, plus it being the 1st year they've tried this. I did meet some other vendors and that was great. One even told me about an event coming up at our local Market House from May till September. Each 2nd Saturday of the month they will be having a little fair with certain themes (healthy living, wool spinning, etc). One of the themes in August is Kids Day and I might just do much better at it. I am willing to give it a go.

Another good thing about the day was that I won a couple of doll purses from another vendor. They had a Chinese auction and some of us donated items for it. The purses are really cute and I think I'm going to send them to my great niece. The vendor that made them didn't have a website but she did have an email address (smonkeybusiness@gmail.com) and a brochure with the purses. If you're interested in American Girl doll clothes & accessories, send her an email!

Kabi Designs

2011-04-14T08:11:00.001-04:00

I have a thing for polymer clay. I can't make anything from it myself (been there, tried that, didn't work), but I love, love, LOVE the little figurines, jewelry, and buttons that some artists can make with it! So I was very excited when Kabi Designs was featured in blog ring post on Handmade Artists Forum. I am so excited to be blogging about this shop and it's unique polymer clay items!

Karina is the owner of Kabi Designs and this is a little bit about why she loves working with polymer clay:

In March 2006 I discovered the wonderful world of Polymer Clay - and since that day - I practice daily so I can learn new techniques !

I love experimenting with clay and creating just about everything - but I especially enjoy making jewelry in which I use many different techniques, using canes that I make and enhancing the beauty of the canes and techniques with Glass beads and Swarovski Crystals in many occasions.

Also, I have entered the wonderful creative world of Fantasy Figurines which I also make out of Polymer Clay!

So let's take a look at some of my favorites from her shop.

If you like any of these items, please be sure to check out Kabi Designs for more original polymer clay items!

Tam's Crafts and Collectibles

2011-04-14T07:53:00.001-04:00

I would like to tell you about a lovely jewelry shop on etsy. It is called Tam's Crafts and Collectibles and she sells lovely jewelry at VERY affordable prices--plus it's guaranteed!! She has several styles so you're sure to find something for yourself, friends, or family. Here are just a few examples:


Turquoise Nugget & Gemstone Set


Oil Slick Bead Necklace with Earrings


Twisted Heart Pearl Earrings

And of course she has many other jewelry pieces to choose from. So why don't you stop by and say hello and check out her lovely shop!

End of an Era

2011-03-31T21:58:00.002-04:00

On our way to Daytona in '98

You see, this bike? Well that's our 18 yr old "Geezer Glide". In this picture it's packed and on it's way to Daytona for Bike Week. This was in '98 and El Nino was blowing through. Just so happened that on the morning we were to leave, it was 50-some degrees out so we canceled the trailer rental and decided to ride. So we packed up our clothes, tent, and sleeping bags and off we went. Took us two days riding about 10 hrs a day to get there. The further south we got, the warmer it got. It was a good ride.

Of course when we got to Daytona it was COLD. Low 60ºs during the day and dropping down to the 40ºs at night. Which might have been ok had we been staying in a motel. But we were camping out and sleeping on the cold ground. Needless to say, on the trip home I got so sick that I completely lost a day. We had to stop and put up in a motel so we were late by a day getting home. The morning after we got home we woke up to snow on the ground. Made it just in time.

Flat tire on way to Peoria races.

We've had quite a few good times on this old bike. Lots of road trips. Lots of great memories. We used to put 10,000 miles a year on it--mostly doing road trips. We enjoyed going to flat track bike races in Hagerstown, MD; Peoria, IL; Parkersburg ,WV; and even Indianapolis a time or two. This bike has also been to Myrtle Beach four times, Alburquerque, NM, and Memphis, TN. I wasn't there on the two latter trips, but that's no matter. This isn't about me. It's about an old, reliable friend. This old bike has gotten us there and back many a time without a hitch.


New Friend

So, when Mike brought our new V-Rod home it was a bittersweet moment. I was excited of course, but also sad that we will soon part with our old friend. You might ask why we got a V-Rod, which is a much smaller bike. Well, you see, we haven't taken a road trip in many years now so we no longer need a big bike. Plus, our old bike is, well, old. Though we've maintained it well and taken good care of it, it's still older. So it's time for a new bike.


New V-Rod

My only hope is that our old reliable friend will find a good home and that the new owner will have as many happy memories as we've had on it. I will miss it dearly. It's truly the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.

40 Bikes, 40 Flags, 40 Heroes: Flight 93 Memorial Bike Ride

2011-03-23T16:56:00.001-04:00

As some of you may know, me and Mike are participating in a memorial bike run in September of this year for the Flight 93 Memorial Fund. We were so honored to be chosen to go on this ride. We will be leaving our town of Meadville, PA to be joined by other riders across the state on September 11, 2011 and will travel to the location where Flight 93 went down. There we will participate in a memorial ceremony to honor those passengers that were on the flight.

As you may not know, we are currently sponsoring ourselves on this ride. Sponsorship is $1,000, so we are looking for donations to help fund our ride. Any monies donated over the $1,000 sponsorship fee will go directly to the Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign. So, if you'd like to donate, please contact me directly for instructions at lilbit8867@gmail.com Thank you in advance!

For the First Time

2011-03-22T09:56:00.001-04:00

I simply must talk about something that I'm EXTREMELY excited about. Some of you may know that I normally watch Dancing with the Stars. Now, while I like this show, I usually don't get too excited about it. This season is different. I am so excited I can barely contain myself (no coffee needed to get me bouncing off the walls). The reason being: my favorite Steelers player will be competing. That's right, you all know him as Hines Ward, I on the other hand, affectionately refer to him as My Dear Hines Ward. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this man (I don't mean in a smoochy, kissy sort of way). I respect him, admire him, and think he's an amazing player. I love how he speaks his mind no matter the consequences, and I like how he sticks up for his fellow team players.

So, you can just imagine how excited I was last night for the first show of DWTS! I could barely sit still. Thank goodness Hines was one of the first to dance or I might've had a heart attack by the end of the show if he were last. And I must say, I was very pleased with his performance. Normally the athletes seem to be the worst dancers, but Hines, well let's just say Hines has some pretty nice hip action going on (I know I didn't say I loved him in a kissy kind of way but....)!

Last night was the first time I ever voted for my favorite dancer. Guess who it was. Yes, I used all 11 votes too. And next week, I plan to do the same thing. I don't care if Hines breaks a leg doing the jive, I will still vote for him. I am after all, his biggest fan (ok, that's a bit ironic since I'm only 4'8"). Yes indeed, I do love My Dear Hines Ward.

P.S. I don't know if any other Steelers fans out there watched last night, but did you see Franco Harris in the audience holding The Terrible Towel? Yeah, that was the greatest thing EVER!

Embroidered Sewist's Tote

2011-03-18T10:23:00.003-04:00

So far the only thing I've made with my embroidery machine have been match games. They take quite a bit of time since each set comes with 20 game pieces plus the basket. And to think I've only made three sets! Two of the girl sets have been sold. The animal set is in my shop waiting for someone to buy it for some lucky child (hint hint).

So, while these are fun, as I said before, they are quite time consuming. I decided for my next project I would make something that wouldn't take quite as much time. I found a pattern for a thread basket that I found on Secrets of Embroidery site. When I started making the basket, it seemed rather large and the instructions were a bit confusing as I got more involved, so I decided to just turn it into a tote. It took me most of the day, but I love how it came out.

Except for the yellow striped fabric, it is made from four fat quarters I had in my stash. I think if I make it next time, I'll not make the top section quite as tall as it makes the embroidered block look a bit off center.

Here is a close-up of the embroidery design. Can you believe it was only $1?? And how true is the saying! I did have to change a few colors so they would show up on the yellow, but I think it turned out well.

This is the back of the bag. There are three 7" x 7" blocks (back and sides) with the sewing machines and 2" strips with a coordinating fabric (thread spools) connecting the blocks. The top and bottom of the bag are also the thread spool fabric. This is the first time I've ever attempted to make anything closely resembling quilt/piecework.

As an added feature, I decided to put some pockets on the inside. There are three of them. I also added a bottom to keep the bag square when standing. This was meant for a Secret Sister swap on an online sewing group I belong to, but I may just keep it for myself and use it as a "I don't need that much at JoAnn Fabrics today" bag.

Food & Wire

2011-03-08T14:37:00.000-05:00

What artists do when you give them food and wire.

Bathing Dog

Cat Doodle

Dancing Queens

Spooning Bananas

Orphaned Egg

Old Grape

Paper Training the Dog

Peanut Zombies

Robbed at Knife Point

Brains Taste Like Cauliflower

A Modest Pear

Walking the Dogs

Walking the Plank

Best Macaroni Salad EVER!

2011-03-02T18:30:00.003-05:00

I love macaroni salad. I'll eat it in summer, fall, winter...no matter what the season (I feel the same way about soups and stews). For years I've tried to figure out how to make a flavorful salad. Through trial and error, I've finally come up with an easy, flavorful dressing for mac salad and you won't believe what the secret ingredient is! I'm not telling, you'll have to read the recipe to find out for yourself :)

Basically, you can make your mac salad the way you normally do, with this variation for the dressing:

Dressing Mix

Mayo

Ranch Dressing

Onion powder (because I don't like raw onions)

Knorr Vegetable seasoning mix (the kind you use for spinach dip)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine ranch dressing and mayo and stir until it's blended well (I never measure so you'll have to eyeball this a bit).

Pour in the vegetable seasoning mix (for a large bowl you can use all of it--smaller portions only use about half), salt, pepper, and onion powder.

Mix until it's well blended.

Spoon dressing mix into bowl and mix until everything is covered well.

Chill in the fridge for a couple hours and enjoy!

Sample Exchange

2011-02-23T17:48:00.002-05:00

In the past, I have signed up for several exchanges where you make and send samples to the host, who in turn packages them up and sends them to participants in the exchange. This is a great way to get your name and items out to customers who might otherwise not know you exist. The sellers simply put the samples in their packages when they mail them out to buyers--thus promoting your shop!

I would love to host a sample exchange. It's simple enough to get involved: just leave me a comment here if you'd like to participate, how many, and what types of samples you'd like to send. The more samples you send, the more buyers will know who you are--simple as that. You don't necessarily have to send a sample of something you make in your shop either--just something that shows off your craftsmanship and gets buyers interested enough to go have a look at your shop. If you cannot think of samples to make, you can simply send some business cards (you will also have to send a business card or your shop address with each sample of course).

I will let you know when the boxes will be sent once all participants have sent their samples to me and I package up the boxes (I will divide samples evenly). I will then let you know when I will have to have your samples.

I Shall Overcome

2011-02-21T16:33:00.002-05:00

Have you ever wanted to make something so badly but no matter how hard you tried you just couldn't get it right--be it crafting, cooking, or whatever? Well, last year I encountered that. I wanted to try to make wedding soup from scratch. Now, if you don't know what wedding soup is, well, you're really missing out! It's an Italian soup that has mini meatballs, chicken, spinach, small pasta, carrots, and celery. Well, of course I could figure out those ingredients, but what I couldn't figure out was the broth. This soup has such a totally different tasting broth from any soup I've ever had (and I've had a lot of soups!). Not chicken, not beef, not vegetable--just not sure what it was about that broth--but that was the part I couldn't seem to get.

UNTIL one day, I decided to do a little experimenting. I decided to mix chicken and vegetable broths. So I combined them half and half. And guess what--it turned out right!! MONTHS I spent trying to figure out that darned broth and it was something as simple as combining two broths. Well, isn't that just the way the cookie crumbles?

If you'd like to try making a big crock pot full of this wonderful soup, here's the recipe (and let me know if you've ever had this experience). Oh--and I don't measure things so you'll just have to sort of eyeball the ingredients.

Wedding Soup

Ingredients:

Equal parts chicken and vegetable broth

Frozen mini meatballs (which I usually quarter)

Chicken breast cooked and cut up

Carrots (diced)

Celery

Frozen spinach (or fresh but don't use canned--gross)

Any type of small size pasta

Parsley

Italian seasoning

Garlic

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except pasta in a large pan or crock pot and cook until

carrots and celery are almost done.

Add pasta and cook until done.

I also like to take sub rolls, separate the tops from bottoms, sprinkle on some olive oil, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese and toast. Dip it in the soup---Mmmm mmm good!

My 1st Embroidery Project

2011-02-16T19:26:00.000-05:00

If you had read my blog a few posts ago, you know that I recently purchased my aunt's White 3300 embroidery machine. I didn't get much of a chance to use it when I first got it due to orders I had to fill (definitely NOT complaining about that!), so this past weekend I was determined to make time to play with the new "toy".

Well, things were not as easy as I thought they would be. My first tries were not good to say the least. And whatever could go wrong, did. First needles were breaking. Then the thread was getting bunched up under my fabric. Then it would skip stitches. Then it would get loopy on top. I was beyond frustrated by Sunday afternoon. I thought I would never learn how to operate this "easy for the beginner embroiderer" machine.

Well, we did figure out some things we were doing wrong. First thing was I had the fabric in the hoop wrong. That could explain the broken needles. Next thing we discovered was that you have to have the pressure foot up when you thread your upper thread otherwise it won't go between the tension plates. That could explain the loopy, skipped stitches. Next thing was you have to use a lightweight cotton/polyester thread for your bobbin. That could explain the bunching thread underneath the fabric.

Now you may ask yourself why I didn't read the manual. I did. But some of these things were not in it. They were on the video that came with the machine. The video that I had wanted to watch over the weekend but Mike didn't hook the VCR up so I could watch it. I watched the video yesterday--when he finally hooked up the VCR. Wow, that sure would've been helpful to watch BEFORE I decided to try this "easy for beginning embroiderers" machine out.

Regardless, we finally did figure it out and I am happy to say that I made my first project with it. Now mind you, I still have to figure out a few things, like how to center designs, but all in all, I think it came out ok.

These cute little animal designs are on the machine already. I made two of each design. The backs are the same fabric as the lining of the bag. I plan to make four different sets of these little match games. I have designs picked out (that are also on the machine) for boys, girls, and one for either/or. The decorative stitching on the game pieces I did with my sewing machine (ahhh so nice to work with after The Beast). So, anyway, that's my first project. I am hoping that from here on out I won't have so many problems again. Crossing my fingers!

The Baby Quilt

2011-02-09T19:49:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, Mike's mom was going through some boxes and found his old baby quilt and gave it to him. I'm not sure what relative of his made it, but when we got home I really took a close look at it and what I discovered was remarkable.

One one side it's embroidered with cowboys, ponies, a windmill, rooster, and other boy designs and the binding is made with fabric that has old Christmas designs on it. The other side is embroidered with a pig, ducks in a pond, a little girl, calf, and girly designs and the border on that side is the same fabric as on the boy side only in pink. This makes me think that whoever made the quilt must've made it while Mike's mom was still pregnant with him so didn't know if she was having a boy or girl. I think this was a great idea!

It's a pretty heavy quilt too so I'm not sure what they have inside of it. Mike seems to think it's an old horsey quilt he had as a child, but again, with the pink on one side and blue on the other, I really believe this was made before he was born.

Now what truly amazed me, and maybe this is because I'm a sewist myself, is the detail in this simple quilt. And I use the term "simple" very loosely. You can tell by looking that this quilt was completely made by hand. Check out the detailing in this embroidery--it's PERFECT! Can you imagine how long it took? And was it done freehand or did they use some type of pattern?

Another amazing thing is the quilting itself. The stitches are so small and perfect--I can't even sew that straight with a machine much less by hand!

The last detail is the binding. Can you see the very tiny hidden stitches? Wow.

So, the next time you see an old vintage quilt, take a good look at it. Notice the workmanship in the stitching and the way the quilt is made. Notice the tiny details. Then think of how long it took to make since most vintage quilts were stitched by hand. Now, aren't you amazed?

New Toy

2011-01-28T12:55:00.001-05:00

Last year me and Mike had been talking about getting an embroidery machine. I thought it would be a great way to boost my sales if I could personalize some of my items. Plus I could embroider all types of things like kitchen towels, tote bags, etc. Well, we didn't get one last year. When Mike asked me a couple weeks before Christmas what I wanted, I told him a sewing chair would be fine. I don't like asking for expensive things so I didn't want to ask for that embroidery machine. But, I did decide to mention it. After discussing it he said that the finances were good enough that we could probably look into it. I was so excited!!

So, Mike being the researcher, started reading reviews and things online and decided that a Janome 300E or 350E would fit my needs. Well, it just so happened that I mentioned we were looking into embroidery machines when my aunt mentioned she had one she was willing to sell. So, after a couple weeks of talking (online), I mulled it over and decided hers was a pretty good deal--especially with all the supplies she was including with it.

The machine is a White 3300. It's six years old but she only used it at Christmas and it still has four years left on the warranty. She paid $500 for it new. She sold me the machine and all these goodies for $850 (including shipping)! I think I got a pretty good deal considering all the supplies. I don't have to worry about having to buy threads or stabilizers or anything to get started--I'm ready to go!

Here is a list of all the goodies:
4 1/2 cases of thread (148 spools of 1,000 meter Madeira)
2 cone threads (black and white)
4 larger spools of thread
5 packs of needles
2 packs of spool caps
3 hoops (different sizes)
2 thread color cards
5 rolls of sulky (every kind possible)
5 designer discs (including the Disney and font disc that came with the machine)
Design reader for transferring designs from the computer to the machine
Pre-filled white bobbins
3 embroidery templates (3 sizes)
5 catalogs (for wholesale supplies and designs)
Embird binder (program manual for digitizing)
She also threw in some sample designs she stitched up:

After waiting ALL day in anticipation, my machine finally arrived yesterday at 5:00 (what a long day that was!). I haven't had time to play with it yet but I hope to this weekend. I have SO many ideas I want to try out!

Doll Blankets

2011-01-20T16:57:00.001-05:00

Back in early December I had a little contest where participants gave me ideas of new items I could make for my shop. I had two winners: Tiffany and Jan. Tiffany suggested doll blankets and Jan suggested a doll sling. I am happy to say that I made both and my winners liked their prizes. I will have to tweak the doll sling a bit, but overall I think it turned out well and I did get the gist of what Jan was looking for.

Tiffany said that her daughter just loved the doll blanket--which makes me very happy. There's nothing more satisfying than making a little one happy with something handmade. She's going to have a giveaway on her blog and the winner will receive a doll blanket that I will make especially for the contest. I will post the link when she gets it up on her blog.

I am happy to say that if you don't win the blanket or would like one now, you can purchase one in my etsy shop! I made a variety of them from pink camo to baby designs. They measure 24" square with rounded corners and are also reversible! They will wrap an 18" doll (that would include American Girl dolls) nice and snug! So, hop on over to my Sassy shop and get your little girl a one of a kind blanket for her baby!

New Ideas for the New Year

2011-01-06T13:09:00.000-05:00

So now that it's another new year, my resolution is to focus, focus, focus on how I make items for my shops. I have a bad habit of making only one or two of a new item instead of several at one time--so this year I am going to try to make one new item at a time--and several of that item rather than one or two. I also want to give myself a week to make as many of a new item as possible. This may help me to achieve my goal better. We shall see.

I did make a list for both of my stores of new items I definitely want to make this year, and I tried not to make it an unrealistic amount. Are you curious to see what I have in mind?

For my Lil' Bit Sassy shop I want to make:
Children's aprons
Doll Slings ( I have already made a prototype)
Doll Blankets (also made one of these already)
Pacifier/Teething Toy bibs (bibs that a pacifier or toy can be attached to)
Baby/Toddler Bowl/Utensil holders (keep dishes clean in a diaper bag)
Doll Diaper Bag Sets: bibs, diapers, changing pad, and wipes.

For my Schoolhouse Designs shop:
Kitchen Sets: matching pot holders/hanging dish towels
Potato Bags: use these to cook baked potatoes in the microwave
Crochet/Knitting Needle cases
Make-up Organizer: a small open bag with several pockets
Book-style Kindle/iPad Covers

I don't believe that list is too unreasonable. I do have 12 months to complete it after all. On another note: I am getting an embroidery machine this spring!! I am SO excited about this. Along with this, I plan to make embroidered shirts and other items. I can also personalize items already available! I am hoping this feature will boost my sales somewhat. I've had several requests to personalize my art aprons and now I will be able to do it in a more professional way.

Christmas Idea

2010-12-19T20:58:00.000-05:00

I'm the type of person who mulls over what to make family (and friends) for Christmas. I think about this for MONTHS before I actually decide on what to do. I do like to make useful items rather than decorative things that will only be used once a year, however; this year I came upon an idea that could be both useful and decorative--hanging dish towels with matching pot holders! Now we all know that you can NEVER have too many kitchen towels or pot holders, so I think these will be wonderful gifts! And I can make them in either Christmas, kitchen, or novelty fabrics.

Creative Contest

2010-12-08T19:01:00.001-05:00

Oh my have I been remiss on blogging!! Shame on me! I wish I could say it was because I've been SO busy filling orders, but alas that is not the case :( As a matter of fact, this is the slowest season I've had since my first year selling online. I'm not sure whether it's the economy or if I need to revamp my Sassy store.

I think after the New Year, I may try a little revamping and see what happens. Maybe more aprons for little girls (other than my art aprons). Maybe I'll even try my hand at making baby booties. I think I also might need to make more items for older children since other than my art aprons and monster dolls, most of my items are for babies and toddlers.

That being said, I have decided to have a little contest. Let's see how creative you can be! Here's how it'll work. You give me an idea of what new item(s) I can make and carry in my Sassy store and if I like the idea(s) enough, I'll make the item and give you the first one! Who knows--if I like several of the ideas, there could either be several winners or you can win more than one item! Sound like fun? Just post each idea separately (so I don't get confused or miss any ideas in the shuffle). I'll choose a winner(s) on Dec. 17th. That gives you a little over a week to come up with some ideas. So--get your thinking caps on moms and let 'er rip!

Schoolhouse Designs

2010-11-17T10:24:00.000-05:00

After much debating for months, I've finally done it. I've taken the plunge. I've opened up a second etsy store. I decided to do this because after opening stores on Zibbet, Artfire, Craft is Art, and Bonanza--nothing was moving. At all. so, I closed all but the Bonanza store and decided to just stick with etsy and eCrater (where I sell everything from books, to craft supplies, to handmade items). I wanted to get back into making bags, purses, totes, wallets, and the like but wanted to keep them separate from my Sassy store since that is more focused on baby and children's items. So, I opened the new store and called it Schoolhouse Designs (3). I had to add the 3 since there was already a Schoolhouse Designs and Schoolhouse Designs 2. So far I only have iPad cases and a couple of purses but I'll be stocking it gradually. I also would like to make Kindle cases, wallets, etc. So please, check it out and let me know what other items you'd like to see there! Schoolhouse Designs

Modge Podge Caddy

2010-10-20T17:02:00.001-04:00

I found this plastic caddy on clearance for $2 at a local department store and thought to myself, "What a perfect way to keep all my scissors, fabric markers, etc. handy and within reach on my cutting table!". So, I bought it. After bringing it home and looking at it, I thought it was a bit boring looking so I decided to spruce it up a bit. Well, I have PLENTY of scrapbook paper so I found some I liked and walla! here is my new cutting table caddy! If you'd like to make one of your own, here's how:

First, gather your supplies. All you need is your caddy of course, scissors, a paint brush, paper, Modge Podge, and trim if you'd like to use that.

Begin by laying your caddy onto your paper with the bottom even with the bottom edge of your paper, and while rolling it, trace the shape of the top of your caddy in pencil.

Cut along the pencil mark you just made.

Apply a thin layer of Modge Podge all the way around your caddy using your brush.

If your caddy is uneven shaped at the top like this one, start at the front and carefully wrap your paper around it making sure you smooth it as you go. If your caddy is even around the top, you can start in the back and work your way around it. When you are finished, apply two to three coats of Modge Podge, letting it dry between coats. When last coat of Modge Podge is completely dry, apply your trim. I used braided trim and applied it with a hot glue gun. You can use Modge Podge if using paper trim, but if using any other trim, I would suggest using glue to apply it.

Now, put whatever you'd like in your caddy and enjoy! These would work well anywhere: home, office, school, craft room, etc. They would also make great, inexpensive gifts if you're on a budge.

'Tis the Season

2010-10-18T12:24:00.001-04:00

I know for some it's a little too early to be thinking about Christmas yet, but for we sellers and crafters, this is the time of year when we need to get our holiday items made and listed in our stores. I usually don't make a lot of Christmas items since I have never had much luck in selling them, but I think it was due to the fact that I listed them too late in the year (in November). So this year I decided to get a head start to see if I could perhaps make some holiday sales.

To start off with, I have made some adorable (if I do say so myself) stockings that are made to resemble pajama bottoms--complete with a button flap pocket on the back! I think these would make unique first stockings for baby--as well as for children. I have made some in baby flannel fabrics and will make others in traditional Christmas fabrics as well. I have already listed a few in my Lil' Bit Sassy store and some in my Lil' Bit of This 'n That store. I will be working on more this coming week and get those listed.

Those are just items I'll be selling. Now for some items you might also find great for Christmas. Comyc Gyrl has lots of cute items in her eCrater shop. Brooches and pins, ornaments, cards, decorations, kitchen items and more--so be sure to check out all her goodies!

Another great store to check out for Christmas goodies is Your What Not Shop also on eCrater. You will find tins, ornaments, home decor and more in her Christmas section.

Belle's Block Part 2

2010-09-22T17:16:00.000-04:00

Some time ago I had written a post about the memorial block I had made for one of my nieces. After I had sent a picture of it to my mom and two nieces, they each wanted one for themselves. I decided rather than doing blocks (because they are a bit big and would be hung from a rearview mirror) I would try to find another way to make them. Today I finally got around to working on them!

These were made for my mom, oldest niece, and her youngest sister. The first one is for my mom--it's my niece Amy holding Belle when she was born, and my mom who was present at her birth. The second is my oldest niece Mandy (Amy's older sister) holding Belle the day she was born. The third is my niece Angie (Amy's younger sister) taking a little nap with Belle on Christmas Eve of 2000 (Belle passed away the following March). I thought these would mean a bit more than just a picture of Belle herself. I put her name and dates on the backs.

These were made using printable fabric (that I made myself), background fabrics, ribbon, and stiff, heavy Pellon interfacing. Making the printing fabric and printing the pictures took the longest. I think they were well worth the effort tho. I decided not to tell my mom or nieces I finally got them made--I'm just going to send them and surprise them!

Help Needed with New Item

2010-09-06T19:00:00.001-04:00

I have been thinking for quite some time that I should make laptop sleeves and totes. What I decided today was to make and sell them in sets. Since laptops come in all sizes now, I had no idea how big I should make them. Enter my Twitter friends! Thanks to their help and advice I have decided to make sets for iPads (since it was suggested they need a harder cover to protect the screen), a size for 10"-13" laptops and a size for 14"-17" laptops. Now, here's where it gets fun! What I need is exact measurements of the different sized laptops. I have a 17" laptop, so mine actually measures 15 1/2" wide x 11" high when closed. So, the favor I need is for you to measure your laptop (when closed) and let me know the measurements :) And if you also have any suggestions for options, etc for the sleeves and covers (such as pockets--make it padded, etc) please feel more than free to let me know! I want these to stand out from all the rest so anything you may add or suggest to make mine different will be very welcome advice! And who knows--maybe I'll just give one of these away :)

Inexpensive Gift Ideas

2010-09-05T11:08:00.001-04:00

Christmas will be here before you know it so you need to start making that list! I decided to post a few tutorials that will help you make fun, practical, and inexpensive gifts. Ready? Here we go!

Manicure Kit

Our first tutorial will show you how to make this cute manicure kit! So easy and would make great gifts! You could even do one in kids' fabrics for little girls! Best part: you can buy the manicure sets anywhere--including the dollar store! You can hop on over to dhbuscher.com to get the complete instructions.

Leg Warmers

Our next tutorial is by Venezie Designs. She'll show you how to make these cute leg warmers from a pair of women's socks! Another great, inexpensive gift idea!

Composition Book Cover

This would make a great gift for the students on your list! It's made using strips of fabric so you can use up some of those scraps you have! To find out how to make this one, hop on over to V and Co Blog

On-the-Go Activity Book

This is a great item to make for the little ones on your list! It's made completely out of felt so it's inexpensive and fun! There are three activities in the book to keep the little ones occupied: tic-tac-toe, dress-up, and coloring. You could probably make cars instead of the dress-up doll for boys. To see how to make this cute book, go visit At Second Street blog.

Onesie Dress

We can't leave baby girl out now can we? This cute little dress made with fabric and a onesie only takes 10 minutes to make! You can make baby girl a whole wardrobe in an hour! To see how easy this is, go to Prudent Baby and check it out!

Lined Zipper Pouch

This is a great one for the guys (even though the picture shows feminine fabrics)! I've made Mike a couple of these and he uses them to hold his golf tees and balls. To see how easy these are to make, go see A Pretty Modern Life

Menu Planning Organizer

Our last tutorial is for Moms-on-the-go. It's a menu planning organizer. This is made using fabric and ultra firm stabilizer. There is a pocket on the left for a legal sized pad where Mom can write down her grocery list and pockets on the right to hold her menus for the week, recipes, and coupons! I think this might be on my to-do Christmas list! To find out how fun and easy this is to make, go visit Little Big Girl Studio

Why Did I Unfollow You?

2010-09-01T12:51:00.001-04:00

I am not offended very easily. I have a sarcastic, warped sense of humor and I usually just shrug things off and don't take things very personally. However of late, I have been offended. Repeatedly. By the same people. What is continuously offending me? I am being considered a racist. If you know me--personally--then I am sure your eyes have just widened considerably. If you do not know me very well, let me tell you a little bit about myself and then I will tell how it's come about that I've been called a racist.

I was raised in a household with two older brothers (who weren't nice at all to their little sister) and my parents. My dad worked two jobs to support us and keep a roof over our heads so the only time we really saw him was during weekends (he worked 1st and 2nd shifts so by the time he got home we were already in bed). I loved my dad. I respected my dad. I thought my dad hung the moon. He was my hero. Therefore I hung on his every word and tried to live my life by the principles he taught us. One of those principles was that you did not judge a person by the color of their skin but rather by their merit, personality, who they were as a person. I have lived by this advice every day of my life. I pride myself on not "seeing" color when I look at a person. And I have never, EVER uttered the "N" word in my LIFE and nor would I utter it now. If I had even said that word when I was growing up I probably wouldn't of been able to pick myself up off the floor for a week.

Now, considering all this, how do you wonder, could I have come to be called a racist? Well I suppose some people in these times, seem to think that if you do not support the current president or agree with his policies and if you stand up for America and what you believe in, and you don't have the same opinions as these said people, you are now all grouped as being racist. This is not only untrue, but it is also hurtful to those of use who are not racist in the slightest. As I have stated before, I tend not to take things personally nor get offended, but I cannot help to take this personal. "Racist" is an ugly word in my opinion, therefore being deemed as being one because I do not have the same political views or opinions of others is hurtful to me. And it makes me wonder, do others see me this way too because of what I believe in? I certainly hope they do not.

Because of this reason, and because I can no longer deal with being offended in this way, I have unfollowed some people on Twitter who I have been following for a long time. It's not political. I still follow others who do not agree with my political views, however; these people have never offended me the way these others have. These people are making me so angry and I do not want to be an angry person so I believe it is in my best interest, and theirs, to just unfollow them. I will miss our joking around but I just cannot deal with offensive remarks any longer. I hope you have a very happy and healthy life. All I ask is that maybe you should think of people and who they are before you call them ugly names and group them all together because you don't agree politically.

Oh, and some of you just post links to things which doesn't offend me--just annoys the crap out of me.

Fabric Storage Baskets

2010-08-29T18:29:00.001-04:00

I'm very excited to announce my next new item: fabric storage baskets! These are made the same way as my magnet baskets except in three sizes:

Large: 12" wide x 7" high

Medium: 10" wide x 5 1/2" high

Small: 7 1/2" wide x 4" high.

These can either be hung or just set on a shelf. To hang them, you can slip either a curtain rod or painted dowel through the loops and place it on brackets. These are also reversible! Simply flip them inside out and you have a new look! They will also fit inside each other for storage.

I will be working on some of these this week and get them listed in my NEW Bonanzle shop! This is where I will be selling items such as these, purses, and non-baby/children related items. I have a few things listed there now if you'd like to check it out.

I was going to give this set away on my blog, but alas, I had a "bad sewing day" and had some issues with how they turned out, so I will probably give this set to my mom or keep them for myself. I haven't quite decided on that yet. I would like to give a set of them away in the future though. Does that sound like a good deal to you?

I Think I Peed My Pants a Little

2010-08-28T09:16:00.001-04:00

For those of you that don't know, me and Mike ride a motorcycle. A rather BIG motorcycle. As a matter of fact, it's the biggest you can buy. It's a '93 Harley Ultra Glide--what we called "back in the day" a dresser or bagger. Mike has been riding since he was a kid (most people start on dirt bikes and graduate from there). I've been riding since--well I really can't remember my first ride to be honest--my dad always had a bike so I would imagine I was pretty darned young when he started giving me rides. Needless to say, me and Mike both love to ride. We used to take A LOT of road trips when we first met (and for several years after). All in all, we'd put about 10,000 miles a year on this bike, which is pretty good when you only have four or five months total of good riding weather during the year. So I would have to say that we're both pretty experienced riders. We don't speed--just cruise.

Of course we've had some close calls--who hasn't that rides? Unfortunately there are people out there that just do not pay attention to what's going on around them. So, as a rider, you have to make sure that you're extra alert and diligent and be aware of your surroundings constantly. It just comes with riding a bike. Most people are not watching out for you so you have to watch out for yourself. We have had so many people just pull out in front of us (I remember one occasion where we had to actually pass a pickup on a two lane or we would've bitten the tailgate of his truck at 50 mph and thank the good LORD there wasn't anyone coming the opposite way), tailgate us, etc. Now how these particular people don't see us is beyond me. As I mentioned our bike is big--bigger than most cars nowadays (it weighs 750 lbs unpacked)--and LOUD (but not in that annoying Screaming Eagle muffler way). I think it's more they just don't give a damn. These are probably the same people that pull out in front of semis.

Anyway, I've never been really "paranoid" of riding. Until a couple of years ago. About the time that people started talking on cell phones more than watching the road. And now it's texting. These people (and you know who you are) don't watch the cars around them much less people on bikes. They're scary. They're a danger. They should have their licenses revoked. Driving is a privilege not a right and if you can't abide the rules of the road and drive safely, then you don't need to be behind the wheel of a 2,000 pound death machine. Just my opinion.

I also think that maybe they should either raise the age when a person should be able to get a license or make it mandatory that they need to go through driving school before they get a license. No experience and lack of judgement will also get someone killed. Like us yesterday. Now, as I mentioned, we have had a few close calls--but being motorcycle riders--we're always aware of our surroundings--you have to be. Even so, there are those times when even evasive action cannot save you. I thought that's what was going to happen to us yesterday as we traveled home from a friend's cottage on the lake.

There we were, minding our own business, enjoying a leisurely ride home, when here comes two cars in the opposite direction (we were on a two-lane). The one car was trying to pass the other. Well, that was fine and not much cause for concern since they were about a mile away and the passing car had more than enough time to pass. But she didn't. By the time we realized she was neither 1) going to slow down and get back behind the car she was trying to pass, or 2) speed up to get around the car before she got to us, it was damn near too late. Mike had to get over on the burm of the road so we wouldn't get hit head on by a car doing 55 mph ( we were doing about 45 by this point since Mike had slowed down when he realized this car was not going to pass in time). We were three vehicles wide (two going the opposite way of us) on a two-lane road. That's fine in Nascar (when all the cars are usually driving in the same direction) but NOT ok on a public road. That was pretty much the closest we have ever come to actually being killed on the bike. Needless to say, I have to do some laundry today since I believe we both messed our pants a little.

Mike got a pretty good look at the passing car's driver and he said she was REALLY young. Lack of experience and lack of judgment is what I chalk it up to--that almost got two motorcyclists killed. And they say motorcycles are dangerous. It's not the motorcycles that are dangerous--it's the people in cars that pay no attention (or like this one--lack of driving experience) that are the dangerous ones. But do they say that people should stop driving cars? No--people should stop riding motorcycles instead. I think people who drive carelessly should just stop driving altogether. Save some lives.

A Crafty Weekend

2010-08-23T10:43:00.003-04:00

After making all those tool aprons this past week, I decided I needed a little break from sewing. However, since I am not very good at just sitting around and always need to be busy, I decided to do a little crafting. I don't craft too much, but it is a nice change once in awhile. The first thing I decided to make was something for myself (which I rarely do!). This came about when I had used up my container of Oxy Clean. It was a rather nice sized container and I hated to throw it out so I decided to repurpose it into a caddy for my fabric paint markers. I used paper, ribbon, and Modge Podge. I just spread a thin layer of Modge Podge onto the container, wrapped my paper around it (after I cut it to size of course) and then put a couple more coats of Modge Podge over the paper. Then I glued ribbon to the top.

The next thing I decided to make was pin cushions from recycled cans. I used paper, fabric, felt, 2 1/2" styrofoam balls (cut in half), Modge Podge, and buttons, gems, etc for embellishments, and sand . I basically made these the same way as the Oxy Clean container but with a few more steps. The most time consuming part was waiting for the Modge Podge to dry. They were fun to make and I may make more in the future. I do believe I will try to sell these.

I also made some more book clips

And hair bands! I ran out of covered buttons so will have to order more so I can make more book clips and hair bands.

I still have to decide if I want to open another etsy store or maybe a Bonanzle store. Or I could put them on my Craft is Art store. Not sure yet. I want to keep my baby/children items separate from other things I make such as purses, housewares, etc. Where would you prefer to buy them?

1st Wholesale Order: Tool Aprons

2010-08-20T19:48:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I got my very first wholesale order. I was so excited! The buyer wanted 14--possibly 18--tool aprons for her son's birthday party. This was such a fun order because during the "I'm thinking about it" stage she asked me what could be put into them for girls. So I made a few suggestions: play hair dryer, brushes, etc so they could play "beautician"; art supplies, and play kitchen utensils. I'm actually glad she asked me that question because I had never thought of marketing my tool aprons for girls too--but now maybe I will!

After she made the decision to order them, she decided she wanted solid colors: pink w/purple trim for the girls and navy w/red trim for the boys. She also wanted them personalized. This presented a challenge since I don't own an embroidery machine (which will be the FIRST thing I buy when I hit the lottery) so I had to figure out a way to do this. What I decided was to embroider the names onto shapes (oval for boys, hearts for girls) in felt that matched the trim colors and then applique them onto the aprons. Now mind you, I am not very good at embroidering--especially freehand--but I did the best I could. I also decided to stitch the pocket dividers using a decorative trim and in thread colors matching the trim to break up the solids a bit.

I decided I would make one apron of each so I could send her a picture of what they looked like and get her approval before I made the rest of them (smart, no?). She really liked them, so away I went! It took me a total of four days to make them. Two days to cut them out and two days to make them (I did boys first and then the girls). Not as long as I thought it would take! And walla! 14 tool aprons!

Come Take a Tour

2010-08-13T10:26:00.001-04:00

We live in a red brick schoolhouse. It was a school until the early 50s. There was an average of 30 students who went to this little school by the swamp. When Mike bought it in 1983, he had to do a lot of work to it--new windows, new roof, etc. When I moved in (1998), we redid our living room: new carpet, new ceiling, finished the fireplace. We also redid the laundry room: tile floor, painted, new cabinets. And put a tile floor in the kitchen. A few yrs later, we built a deck and added french patio doors. We spend a lot of time there in the good weather months (that being all of about 4 months out of the year here).

I thought maybe some of you would be interested to see what the inside of an old schoolhouse looked like so I decided to take a few pics this morning (I do apologize for some of them being a bit grainy--the house is a bit dark inside so it's difficult to get clear pics on cloudy days). I hope you enjoy them. So, let's start our tour, shall we?

First, the house! As I said, this was a schoolhouse until the early 50s so it wasn't made into a house probably until the late 50s/early 60s. The pillars are not part of the original school--those were added later. Mike had to replace them a few yrs ago because they were wood and rotted. These ones are aluminum. There are seven rooms in this house plus an attic. Being a rather small house, the rooms aren't large, and yes, I do wish we had bigger rooms.

This is the original bell. Not brass--metal. We have had so many people stop and ask if they could buy the bell. Of course you can, but you have to buy the house that's attached to it! Mike plans to repaint the bell tower soon (I hope). Oh, and did I mention we have bats in our belfry?

The deck. We spend a lot of time here in the warm weather months (all four of them!). As you can see, Jinx likes to lay on the deck too. I must admit, the bench he's on is the most uncomfortable thing in the world! We have cushions we put on them when we sit here. The deck chairs however, are VERY comfortable. Itty usually sleeps in one of them or on the hammock.

If you come in the house through the patio doors or back door (we never use the front door), you'll walk into the laundry room. I didn't post pics of it because I had done that some time back in another blog post. On the left is the living room. The laundry and living room are an addition to the original school. This old barn door is used as a divider between the living room and laundry room. It was here when Mike moved in. I kind of like it.

The living room's walls are made from wormy oak. This is not paneling--it is actually oak planking. I love it. I think it adds a rustic look to the house. When we remodeled this room, we decided to do it in a southwest style/theme. It goes well with the walls. This glass window is on the wall that divides the living room from the dining room.

This is my favorite part of the living room: the fireplace. Mike put the stone on this shortly after I moved in. I love it. We use it often in the cold months (that would be approx. 7 months out of the year). That's a fox hide hanging on the chimney. He found it in an antique shop eons ago. I show it to Rocky once in awhile and give him fair warning that if he doesn't behave, this can happen to him.

Now we'll go into the dining room. I love our ceiling. It's done in wood planking and painted white. I would never replace this ceiling. It also has beams that run from one side to the other. Yes, one of the bulbs on the fan is burnt out. Been that way for months. As you can tell, Mike doesn't get in too much of a hurry to do things.

This is a stained glass window that one of the owners (I have no idea how many families have lived in this house) put in. Not sure why or what purpose it serves, but it does look neat.

The staircase. Mike and his friend replaced this when he first bought the house. It's made of oak. I usually replace the flower garland with a Christmas one come the holidays. That's about the closest I get to decorating.

Can you guess what room we're in now? This is the wall that divides the kitchen from the front hallway. I like this little window. I think it gives the kitchen a nice country feel. It used to have a curtain but I replaced all the curtains with ones I made and just never did one for this little window. I rather like it plain.

The sink is right under that little window. We found this faucet and had to have it. I think it goes so well with the rustic look of the kitchen. Don't they remind you of the old fashioned bathroom fixtures? We have one for the bathroom sink too but haven't installed it yet. Another room I'm still waiting to redo.

These are the cabinets. Again--wormy oak like the living room walls. I love the shingle paneling above the cabinets. The ceiling in the kitchen is also like the ceiling in the dining room.

This is where I eat most of the time. The window looks out onto the back yard. I either read my book or look out the window when I eat. And that's the end of your tour! I didn't take pictures of the bathroom or bedroom because they're nothing special really. Hope to redo them before we get too old and feeble. One day maybe. I hope you enjoyed your tour through our little schoolhouse. Stop by for a visit sometime!

First Wholesale Order

2010-08-12T08:43:00.001-04:00

I am so excited! A few weeks ago a seller on etsy had contacted me about making tool aprons for her son's birthday party. She wasn't exactly sure how many she'd need or what fabrics she wanted so said she would get back in touch with me when she figured it out. She's been contacting me pretty regularly since then. She's finally decided that she wants girls and boys aprons. Girls in pink with purple trim, boys in navy with red trim. She also wanted them personalized

So yesterday, I made one of each so I could send her a picture of how they looked. I decided to embroider the names onto felt (heart shaped for girls, oval for boys) to match the trim colors. I also decided that I would use decorative stitching for the pocket dividers in the trim colors just to break up the solids a bit. They turned out cute! I sent her a picture of the two I made and she loved them. So now I need to make 11 more of them. There could be a total of 18 but she hasn't heard from a couple of the invitees yet.

In other news, my niece requested that I make a blanket to go along with the frog pillow I made for her little boy. So, I made him a small rag quilt. It turned out so cute! These are so fun and easy to make, just a bit time consuming because of all the cutting you have to do. These may be future Christmas presents for the little ones. I think they'd all enjoy their own blanket.

Refrigerator Magnet Baskets

2010-08-05T18:22:00.000-04:00

A couple of months ago I had a brainstorm. While browsing in a dept. store I came across letter magnets. I remember these from when my nieces and nephews were younger. They LOVED these things! My Mom had them on her refrigerator and they would play with these for hours on end. And it wasn't just one or two nieces, but all of them loved those magnets when they were little. So, I thought, "What could I possibly do with those?" And then it hit me--why not make a little basket that would hang on the refrigerator that the little ones could put them in?" I thought it was a good idea because another of the little ones' favorite games to play was putting stuff in a bag or box and taking it out--another thing that kept them entertained for hours. So I decided to combine the two and this is what I came up with.

I think it'd make a great gift--I priced them very reasonably and I'm also including a choice of either a set of letter or number magnets to go with them! I do plan to make more of these this weekend. These little baskets would also work on a dresser or shelf to hold small items or toys. I might even make some in "grown-up fabrics" and maybe different sizes for Mom (or Dad). So--we'll see how these sell!! I personally love them! Might have to make myself a few.

It's All Relative

2010-07-28T19:28:00.001-04:00

I have been a very busy bee these past two weeks thanks to some of my, um, lovely relatives. You see, I am the only crafter in my family. I do have a niece who does a little crochet but she's just started and doesn't have a lot of time to stitch since she has two (very adorable if I must say so myself) little ones. While my younger nieces like craft kits, they are a bit young yet to actually be "crafty" if you know what I mean. So, this basically means that I'm the only one who seriously crafts. Because of this, I am often receiving requests. I'm not complaining. As a matter of fact, these requests have made me put my crafty cap (that's sort of like a thinking cap, only for crafting) on. Which I don't mind a bit--as a matter of fact, I rather like it. Mostly because it challenges me and let's face it, life would be a bit boring if you weren't challenged now and again.

Last week, I had one of my teenage nieces ask if I could make her a book bag. She didn't want anything fancy (thank goodness), just something simple to carry a binder and a book or two. Oh, and maybe a pocket for pens and pencils. I must say, this project was by far the easiest request I've had thus far. It came out so well that I asked her two sisters if they also wanted one. Naturally they said yes and told me what fabric they wanted (Chinese dragons and Scooby Doo). I made all but Scooby (have to order fabric when my niece tells me which one--she is soooo slow) and sent them pictures and they love them--which of course makes me feel great.

The next request (just yesterday as a matter of fact) was from one of my older nieces. Her little boy needed a small pillow for school and she couldn't find one anywhere. All she seemed to find were baby birth announcement pillows. She saw a picture of a monkey pillow I had posted on my FB page (I had made it for Mike's great nephew for Christmas) and asked if I could make one of a frog or turtle. I didn't think that would be too complicated since all I'd have to do is change the face a little. So I did. Another quick and relatively easy project.

Well of course I couldn't make one for Tyler and not make one for his little sister Kayden because that certainly wouldn't be fair. So I decided to try and make a bunny. I think I need to round my ears a bit more because it looks more like a kitty to me, but she's not going to know the difference.

So far, those are the only requests I've received. Oh--I take that back. When my niece saw the frog pillow, she asked if I could make a blanket to go with it. It never ends. But that makes me happy.

Shop Changes

2010-07-23T10:55:00.000-04:00

For quite some time I have been debating on making some changes in my stores. First off, I decided to make my etsy store to exclusively sell only baby and children related items. I also closed my supply store at etsy and moved all my craft patterns and supplies to my eCrater store--since it's free to sell there.

Another change I decided to make was to take my bags out of my etsy store and place them in a separate store. At first I was thinking of opening another etsy store for this purpose, but the more I thought about it, the more I wasn't so sure. I already have two stores that I carry my bags in: Zibbet and Craft is Art so maybe opening at etsy store wouldn't be very productive. Not to mention there are SO many bag/purse sellers it's rather hard to compete on etsy. So, for now, I have decided to just keep my bags at Zibbet and Craft is Art.

Since I did decide to keep stores exclusively for bags, I thought that I had better get some more inventory in, so this week I've been working on that. I have made four new X-Factor bags for girls: monkeys, butterflies, Dora, and Raggedy Ann. I will be making a Pooh one this weekend and after that, more medium and large sized X-Factor bags. I will also be working on various other styles of bags too. So for the next few weeks, I intend to be a very busy girl!

Last week, I worked on some Monster dolls for my Sassy and eCrater shops. These are so adorable! I made them using a Bit of Whimsy pattern. She makes the most adorable dolls! Click on the link to check out her shop!

So, as you can see that although I have been slacking on blog posts, I haven't been slacking at the sewing machine lately!

Tutorial Tuesday: Kitchen Helpers

2010-07-20T08:07:00.000-04:00

I have been seriously lacking on my tutorial Tuesday posts, so I think I'd better make that up! I've decided to do two tutorials today instead of just one. Hopefully you will find both items useful! The first tutorial I want to tell you about is a reusable produce bag by Mauby's. She's a fellow tweet, quilter,and pattern maker. This bag will make your produce last longer in your fridge, and best part is, won't cost much to make! To make this bag, just click on this link to Mauby's Blog: Produce Bag

Since we seem to be having a kitchen theme going, let's make our next tutorial also something you can use for kitchen. These are cute and handy hanging dish towels from Sassy Sanctuary. You make these using--well dish towels--so no extra fabric is needed. You can make these to match your kitchen decor or even for holidays. They would also make great gifts! To see how they're made, just click on this link: Hanging Dish Towels

Book Review: Sew Darn Cute

2010-07-07T08:27:00.001-04:00

This week's book is called "Sew Darn Cute" by Jenny Ryan. It features the cutest projects for everyone! It's divided into four chapters so you can easily find projects according to descriptions. For example:' Pretties' contains accessories such as fabric bracelets, embellished tank top, fabric button necklace, scarf, headband, etc. 'Totables' contain bags and cases for your glasses, laptop, wristlet, and pouches. 'Nest' contains items for your home such as coasters, curtains, towels, and fabric art. 'Kids Stuff' contains just that--cute stuff for kids like monogrammed t's, bibs, quilts, and toys. The last chapter is called 'Crafties' and it has misc items you can use for your crafting organization such as crochet hook cozy, craft apron, needle book, sewing machine cover, and a wrist pin cushion.

You can find "Sew Darn Cute" at these locations:
JoAnn Fabrics (where I purchased my copy)
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Borders
Overstock.com

Belle's Block

2010-06-30T13:52:00.001-04:00

For those of you who may not know, nine years ago my family lost a precious gift. Her name was Isabella but we called her Belle. Belle was taken from us at only 3 1/2 months of age due to SIDS. It was the most difficult thing my family has ever been through. It is difficult enough to lose a loved one, but when that loved one is so young it's so much more difficult. But we came together, provided each other (and especially my two nieces) strength and support, and we made it through because that's what families do. We may have times when we don't all get along, but when we need each other, we know we're there for one another.

After Belle passed away, my niece, Amy (her mom) had given family members a pink ribbon to hang from their rearview mirrors in their cars to remember her by. It happened that Amy's sister Rose was a bit too young at the time to receive one. Now Rose is 17 and has her own car so Amy had asked me if I could make a block, similar to fuzzy dice, because she could no longer find the ribbons, for Rose. So that is what I did today. It was my first try at making a block and it didn't turn out perfect, but I hope Rose likes it just the same.

Book Review: Nursery Stitch

2010-06-28T18:47:00.001-04:00

If you are like me, you absolutely LOVE books--especially craft books. Since crafting seems to be the "in" thing now, there is no shortage of wonderful books for every type of craft. Personally, I sew, cross stitch, do plastic canvas, and a little bit of paper crafting, so these are the books I usually purchase. I have so many crafting books in my collection that I love, that I thought it might be fun to review one each week! The books I will review will not be hard to find, and I will try to provide links so you can purchase your own copies.

So--on to the first book to be reviewed! I just happened to purchase this book today at JoAnn Fabrics (with a 40% coupon of course!). I saw it there last week and couldn't wait to get my flier with my coupon so I could buy it! It is called "Nursery Stitch" by Rebecca Shreeve and features 20 adorable projects to make for babies. Along with applique designs you can use on purchased items, such as bibs, towels, pillowcases, socks, and clothing, there are also some very cute projects you make yourself like toys, mobiles, a rabbit blanket, fleece bear hat, and a dog draft stopper.

I am very happy with this book and all it's adorable projects! If you'd like to purchase a copy of your own, either check your local JoAnn store, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Overstock.com, or Amazon.

Faces Pets Entry

2010-06-28T07:49:00.000-04:00

I am entering my chinchilla, Rocky, for the weekly pet faces photo contest. This picture was taken after I made him a new hammock and he had to test it out. Rocky is 12 yrs old and I've had him since he was 12 weeks old. He's such a sweetie.

I heart faces

Christmas Bags Finished!

2010-06-25T09:40:00.001-04:00

Bags for three of my nieces
I know this seems like a very strange post for June, but you see, we have started a new "tradition" in my family. Since I only see my family once a year, and rarely at Christmas, I decided last year that I would no longer send gifts down south. Instead, I would take them with me (or send them ahead) and give them out at my yearly visit. It was such fun and the younger kids really enjoyed opening gifts in May (which was when I went down last year). Plus I get to see if everyone likes what I made them. So, that's why this is a Christmas post in June.

Little Wonder Bags for teen nieces
Now, usually I ask everyone what they would like for me to make. Since most don't know, I just decide for myself. This year, some of my family are getting new bags. This includes all my teen nieces (because let's face it, what teen girl doesn't like a thousand bags) along with my younger nieces. My one brother did request geocache bags for him, his wife, son, and daughter-in-law, so that's the type of bags they're receiving.

Geocache Bags
What DOES amaze me when I make everyone bags is how different and varied their tastes are from one another. For instance, three of my teen nieces who are sisters chose such varying fabrics: horses, bright hearts, and skulls. While my brother and his family also chose a variety of fabrics: cats, wolves, Tinkerbell, and Philly Eagles. But, that also makes it interesting I suppose! And they probably won't grab another's bag by mistake.

As for the rest of my family, well, I'm not quite sure yet. I was thinking snack bags for the rest of the men to use in their lunchboxes, and maybe place mats with matching napkins for the rest of the gals. I did make two of my younger nephews tool aprons (which I also sell in my store) but I have three more nephews whom I haven't yet decided what to make. Sometimes it's difficult having a large family but I wouldn't change it for the world!

Bobbin Wraps

2010-06-17T12:56:00.002-04:00

While looking through a Clotilde catalog, I discovered something that would be very handy for sewists. They were called Bobbin Wraps and they were elastic bands in a variety of colors that you put on your bobbins to keep the thread from unwinding and making a mess. A few years ago I had bought something similar only they were plastic. These, however were softer looking and came in colors! Clotilde sells these wraps 24 in a package for $2.48. Sounds like a fair enough deal for something so handy right? Maybe not.

You see, I looked a bit closer at these wraps and they looked like nothing more than baby hair bands. So, I thought that the next time I was in a store that sold those, I would look and see if maybe they would work just the same. So today, that's exactly what I did. I bought a package of 72 for $1.00, brought them home and proceeded to try them out, and guess what? They worked! So for a lot less money, you too can "make" your own bobbin wraps!

What's In a Name?

2010-06-16T16:11:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered where some sellers come up with their names? I know I do. I'm sure there's a story behind practically every name. For instance, I named my shop Lil' Bit Sassy because so many people have called me Lilbit because I'm small. The "sassy" part came because, well, I tend to be a bit sassy too. Hence, Lil' Bit Sassy. Most people I know say that it suits me well. I believe that if you have a unique, maybe even humorous, shop name then buyers may be more likely to purchase from you.

The reason I'm blogging about names is because I have been thinking of opening another etsy shop just for my purses, accessories, and non-baby/children items. All I have to do is think of a name. Since I'd like to focus mainly on purses and bag, I'd like the name to be appropriate for those items. I'd also like something on the humorous side since I like to laugh. A lot. I have received a few good suggestions such as: Hag Bags, which I really liked, but alas, there is a website called that. Although I may be able to change it a bit. Maybe, say, Old Hag's Bags. Another name suggestion was Sassy Hag Bags. Or Sassy Bags--incorporating my Sassy name.

So, do you have any suggestions? Would LOVE to hear them!

Tutorial Tuesday: Meal Planning Organizer

2010-06-15T08:08:00.001-04:00

I thought this was a great idea: an organizer you hang in your kitchen to help you plan out the meals of the week! It holds a lined pad and pockets for recipes! It's a great idea and would be so easy to make. These would even make great gifts for other family members, friends, and other busy moms. All you have to do is hop on over to Little Big Girl Studio's blog and check it out! Meal Planning Organizer

Rescued Bird

2010-06-13T11:42:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year when little fledgling birds are learning how to fly. Unfortunately, with four cats, there are bound to be fledglings who become kitty toys. While I was cleaning Rocky's cage Friday, one such occurrence almost happened. A fledgling goldfinch was fluttering all over the place--right around the hose. Unfortunately, Jinx and Jezzy were nearby. I thought I was going to have a hostage situation, but fortunately enough, the little goldfinch flew into a tree in the backyard and stayed there. Close call!

Not five minutes later, here comes Itty Bitty with a baby bird in her mouth. Luckily, I retrieved it. I'm not sure what type of bird it was, only that it was very small and couldn't quite fly yet. I found a website that said if you found a fledgling to leave it be and the parents would come help it. Not likely in this case. So, I took it inside and put it in an extra cage I have. It also said to soak cat food in water and then mash it up and to feed the mixture to baby birds. So, this I did.

Baby bird did ok the first day but didn't eat much at all. The next day it was chirping every hour on the hour for food so I fed it every hour from 6:30 am to 5:30 pm when it decided it was roosting time. It slept all through the night. This morning, baby bird wasn't very chipper, felt a bit cold, and didn't want to eat. I deduced that it probably wasn't going to make it, but wanting to try everything in my power to give it a chance, I put it on a heating pad. But, that didn't save it. Baby Bird went to birdie heaven this morning. And while it makes me sad, I do know that I did everything in my power to save the little guy so I'm satisfied with that.

And hopefully, all the little fledglings will learn to fly soon and I won't have to rescue anymore of them. Fly birdies, fly!

Out With the Old, In With the New

2010-06-10T20:18:00.001-04:00

As some of you know, I have a pattern/supply shop on etsy (http://www.LotsOPatterns.etsy.com) as well as my handmade shop. I opened this shop because I decided to clean out some of my stash and get rid of some patterns I might never get around to doing. A couple of months ago I found a free selling site (eCrater) and decided to try it out. You can sell anything there--it's not handmade only--so I listed some books, some of my handmade items, and just a variety of things that I can't sell on etsy. Since most of the items in my Lots O' Patterns shop have been there since I opened it, and obviously didn't sell, I decided to save a little money and list them on eCrater rather than to keep paying listing fees on etsy. So as things have expired in Lots O' Patterns, I've been listing them in eCrater. I only have a few items left and they should be expiring soon.

Now, I've been throwing around an idea about what to do with the extra etsy shop when it's empty of stock. One idea is to move my baby/children's items into it and make it exclusively a baby/child themed shop and to use my Lil' Bit Sassy shop for other items I make such as my purses, accessories, and household items. If I decide to do this, I won't be able to use Lil' Bit Sassy as the name of the baby/children's shop, so I was thinking Sassy Bug for it and Lil' Bit Sassy for the mixed item shop. AND if I go with this, should I get new business cards printed? Also--will customers lose me? I suppose I could always write a note in my shop announcement saying that if they're looking for baby/children's items or purses,etc. they are now at...and post a link.

So what would you do if you were faced with this? Any opinions or suggestions would be most welcome!

House Repair: New Entryway Roof!

2010-06-05T11:47:00.003-04:00

Before: The railing and concrete is what was torn off
Mike decided to take this week off work so he could replace the roof above our back door. Previously, it was a concrete slab with a railing around it. Now, this did not make much sense, but, well, what can you do? Anyway, the big problem was that chunks of the concrete would fall down right above the door so it was getting to be a bit risky when you were standing there trying to unlock the door. Personally, I don't think much more could ruin your day than getting bonked in the head with a chunk of concrete while trying to get in the house, so Mr. Procrastinator was forced to do something about it.

After they tore off the concrete, they installed chipboard
With his friend Kevin's help, they tore down the concrete (Mike had tore down the railing last yr but that was as far as he got) and replaced it with a metal roof that is sloped quite a bit more than the concrete. Which, being up north, is a very good thing. They also installed ice jacks. If you don't know what these are for, they allow the snow to melt and drip slowly rather than just falling down and burying you alive. Another good thing.

Mike working hard. That's Kevin's dad supervising
So now I need not worry about getting knocked out by concrete or buried in snow. Happy happy, joy joy! Oh--the sides and gutters still need to be put on yet but I thought I'd go ahead and blog now bc those will probably take another 10 yrs to do :/

I do wonder how long it may be before Mike repaints too. New roof really makes that part of the house a bit shabby.

Finally Finished

2010-06-02T09:34:00.000-04:00

A couple of months ago I got an order to make some baby items. The expectant mother is a friend of my niece's and she sent me a TON of Curious George fabric to make these items with: fleece, cotton, and flannel. The only requests she had were two blankets (one small, one larger), a car seat cover, bumper pads, a quilt made from the leftover fabric, and things to decorate baby's room. All of these were items I had never made before so I had to put my thinking cap on.

I figured the easiest thing to do would be to choose one of the fabrics and make everything I could out of it, and then continue on with each of the fabrics. So I started with fleece. I made her a crib sized blanket and a smaller blanket.

I also made a car organizer, car seat cover and snuggle wrap from fleece.

Then it was time to move on to the flannel. Since the flannel was the only fabric I had enough of, I made the bumper pads from it. I also made some bibs and burp cloths and a monkey blankie.

Now I was left with the cotton. I made quite a few things with it. A travel high chair, wall letters, a stuffed monkey (from a Bit of Whimsey pattern), and a toy set.

And lastly, I made a rag quilt with the leftover cotton and flannel. My first attempt but it was fun and I really like how the rag quilts look.

Thank You Letter

2010-05-24T13:19:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, I was contacted through my etsy shop by a group that gathers expectant moms of deployed soldiers together and holds a huge baby shower for them. They contact various sellers and organizations to ask if they'd be willing to donate items. I thought it was a good opportunity to get my name and baby items out there and I also thought it was a great cause. A way of saying "thank you" to the soldiers who are out there protecting our freedoms. So, I decided to donate some wrist rattles and teething toys.

Last week, I received a letter from one of the moms thanking me, even though she couldn't use the wrist rattle as she was having a boy and the one she received was for a girl. She went on to say that she passed the rattle onto a friend who was having a girl. I was so touched that this wonderful lady (can she be called anything but) had taken the time to hand write me a letter thanking me for something she couldn't really use for herself.

So, I decided that I would make her something, for her baby boy, that she could use just to show my appreciation at the time she took to write and send me that letter. I made a burp cloth/bib set for her. I chose one of the cutest boy fabrics I had and I plan to send it to her tomorrow. It's the least I can do.

What To Do?

2010-05-13T22:22:00.000-04:00

I need some advice. I've noticed that although my character blankies are absolutely adorable (if I do say so myself) and I have gotten quite a few compliments on them, they're not selling well. So what do I need to do to make them more appealing? Change the description? Better pictures? List them separately? If you think I should do any or all of these things, please let me know your opinions and what you think will make them move. If you think I should take better pictures, how would you "pose" them? I'm so not creative at this type of thing.

My Sewing Space

2010-05-12T08:10:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately I do not have a room totally devoted to my sewing. I actually live in an old brick schoolhouse so I don't have a lot of room to work with, but I do the best I can with what I have. And here's my little sewing space:

My small sewing table sits in front of the dining room window. It has a leaf that can be folded out if I need extra sewing space.

I also have a cutting table that has two leaves. When these leaves are down, it's pretty compact at 12" wide x 36"long. Folded out, this table is a whopping 36" wide x 60" long! Usually I just fold one leaf out when using it. I store it under the stairs and beside my chinchilla's cage.

I use the end of the dining room table for my ironing. Since most of my projects are smaller, I find a tabletop ironing board works great. When not in use, I just lean it against my cutting table.

I do have a room upstairs that I use to store all my fabric and craft items. It's a larger room, however; it has a slanted ceiling that is very low so virtually no wall space. If it weren't for that, I would probably make this room my sewing space as well. To store my craft items, I have a plastic shelf with my drawers and organizers. I keep some trims and other odds and ends in them. You will also notice all the black and white boxes under the shelf--these are all my sewing patterns.

I bet you're wondering what's in those blue boxes aren't you? That is just some of my ribbon. I have it all organized according to color.

And let's not forget all my fabric! I store it in metal cubes according to theme and then by color. For example, all my baby/kids fabrics are together, animals, floral, novelty, etc. The smaller fabrics on top are fat quarters.

And last but not least: my MIL gave us an old secretary that I sanded down and repainted. I store all my finished shop items in it and it works great!

So now that you've seen my crafting/sewing space, what does yours look like?

New Job

2010-05-02T18:31:00.000-04:00

Some of you may know that I recently got a temporary job for the census bureau. I will be an enumerator, which basically means that I will go to houses that the census did not get a questionnaire from and try to urge the people/person who lives there to help fill one out. This job is only temporary and will end on June 21st, but hey, a job is a job and I really need the money.

Training started last Tuesday. I cannot even put into words how boring it was. Eight hours sitting in a hard chair (even an ass blanket didn't help) every day for four and a half days, listening to the same things being repeated time after time. Let's just say it was extremely hard to focus and not fall asleep. The best training day was Thursday because we only had to sit in class a half day and then went out in "the field" for the afternoon. It was so nice to get outside and off those darned hard chairs. My butt was certainly thankful.

Friday, it was another day of "training". It wasn't as bad though because we basically went over the problems we had the previous afternoon and any questions we might have had. And trust me, there were plenty of both. Turned out to be interesting because the people who did the map spotting (marked the roads and houses we have to enumerate) did a pretty piss poor job. There were roads/streets that were nonexistent, with houses I might add, that we had to enumerate. How you do that with a non-existent road and house I have no idea! It was nothing but a mess. So, I shall have fun this week trying to figure it all out to say the least.

Regardless of how difficult it may be because of bad map spotting, etc. I am looking forward to it. I'll get to meet new people, get some exercise (I plan to walk as much as possible), maybe get yelled at or told to get off someone's property, and who knows, maybe even get bitten by a dog or two! Good thing they're paying me well.

Tutorial Tuesday: Recycled Jeans Pocket Pets

2010-04-20T07:52:00.001-04:00

I thought something cute and fun would be in order for this week's Tuesday Tutorial. So, I have for you recycled jeans pocket pets! They're adorable little stuffies made from recycled jeans. These would be so cute sitting on your couch or chair! There is a cat, dog, and owl. So, hop on over to Art of Green Recycling's blog and get your craft on!
http://artofgreenrecycling.blogspot.com/2010/02/recycled-jeans-pocket-pets.html

Have You Ever Had....

2010-04-18T08:56:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had one of those days when things just don't go right? I'm sure you have, I mean, who hasn't? Yesterday was one of those days for me. I had big plans of doing a little crafting. I was going to make covered button rings. I was so excited! But first I had to go to JoAnn's and get some glue. That in itself, was no problem--so far so good. I was very excited to get home so I could get my craft on!

Well, here's when my decent enough morning started to turn sour. It turned out that I didn't have the size covered button tool I needed to make the little buttons to attach to the rings. Well, ok, maybe I'll just make buttons then. Yeah, didn't have the size tool I needed for those either. Hmmm, well ok, I guess I'll just work on that order for baby items then.

So, I got out the fleece, cut out a car seat cover, sewed it like I THOUGHT the directions said. That was wrong. Had to tear it out. In the process my seam ripper broke. So I had to use the little cheap-o one that came with my sewing machine. After I got it all tore out and resewn, I was getting ready to put the elastic in. Turns out I didn't have enough. Well, let me just see if it'll work anyway. Not only did it not, but the elastic ends came unpinned and now the elastic is stuck inside the cover. Big SIGH. Needless to say, that was the end of my crafting for the day.

Maybe I'll try again today. Or maybe I'll just take an all-day nap.

Tutorial Tuesday: Cat House

2010-04-13T10:05:00.003-04:00

This week's tutorial is for the cat lover. We all know how our kitties love places to hide and feel secure, so this week's tutorial by Sew Take a Hike will tell you how to make an adorable house, complete with windows, for your kitty!
http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com/sewtakeahike/2010/01/a-cat-house-tutorial.html

A Wonderful & Exciting Week!

2010-04-09T16:14:00.007-04:00

I'm not by nature a depressed type of person. I'm usually happy most of the time: always joking, always smiling, always laughing, but sometimes life can really get to you. Especially if you are experiencing hard times--which I have been. Through it all I have tried to remain optimistic and my usually jolly self, but it has been harder and harder to accomplish this. I know I am certainly not the only one to have problems and feel down sometimes, so I know most people can relate to what I've been going through.

After two weeks of feeling depressed because of financial reasons, I have finally had a wonderful week. I cannot tell you how much it was needed. The first thing to happen was that I got a call from the Census Bureau asking me if I was still interested in a job. Since I haven't worked in over a year, the answer to that was, "Um, YEAH!". So I start training on the 27th. It's only temporary (maybe a couple of months) but it pays well and I REALLY need the money. So it is certainly good news.

The second thing that happened was that I received a $10 gift card in the mail from JoAnn's! Yes, I know, that sounds pretty silly, but I believe all my crafty friends can relate to how exciting this is lol.

The third thing (and don't laugh) was that my hot chocolate man of Wednesday night's "Criminal Minds", Shemar Moore was on Ellen. Oh YUMMY!! I truly enjoyed that! And best of all--he was on Weds afternoon so I got to see him TWICE that day!! Woo hoo! Hey, it's the simple things in life.

Now ALL that happened on Weds. Now let me tell you what happened last night. As I was coming in from outside, I noticed a HUGE hole in the old maple tree stump (if you can call it a stump since it's 5' tall) with a bunch of "shavings" on the ground below it. Naturally, I thought "WTH"?? I asked Mike about it and he said he noticed it when he came home. I of course wondered what in the world could've done that. My first thought was "pileated woodpecker". Ooooooo--more excitement! Let me tell you, I have been waiting for 10 YEARS to see one of these! We hear them across the road in the woods all the time beating on trees but had never seen one.A few minutes later, I had gone into the kitchen to finish my womanly duties (i.e. wash dishes) when Mike called me into the bathroom. Lo, and behold there it was--a pileated woodpecker!! I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how excited I was!! Mike had tried to take a picture of it from the bathroom window but the screen was on and all he got was, well, screen. So he took the screen out of the bathroom and bedroom window so we could try to get a decent shot of it. Naturally, it had flown away by then and night was falling so I didn't think it would come back again that night.

But TODAY--there he was in all his woodpecking glory! And I managed to get a few decent shots!! Hey, what did I say earlier about the simple things in life?

The Winning Bag

2010-04-07T13:27:00.006-04:00

And here it is, the winning bag from my bag naming contest! Linda chose a celestial fabric I had in stock and I used a purple fabric with swirling starts for the lining and handles. I think it's just the neatest bag I've ever seen! Linda plans to use her X-Factor bag for her knitting projects! Congrats again, Linda and I hope you enjoy your new bag!

Tutorial Tuesday

2010-04-06T13:43:00.003-04:00

For this tutorial Tuesday, I have a video link on how to make a customized card using a paper napkin. This is so neat! Will have to try it myself. If you make any of these, would love to see your creations! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hpqpeljWd4

And the Winner Is...

2010-04-02T08:39:00.003-04:00

Today is the day I picked a winning name for my new style of bag. Let me just say, ALL of the name choices were so great! I had a very hard time deciding which one to choose. But I did choose one. I like the "X-Factor" bag that Linda suggested. Be assured, however that there were quite a few runners-up! I want to thank all of you for participating!

So, Linda, you can visit this link to see fabrics I have in stock. Just let me know what bag size and fabric you'd like (also your address of course) and I'll get your bag made! http://lilbitsassyfabrics.shutterfly.com/
Email: lilbit-sassy@hotmail.com

Name That Bag Contest

2010-03-25T09:40:00.010-04:00

I am so in love with this new bag! I love the style, the size, and I especially love how the bottom looks. I plan to make this bag in several sizes:
small (approx. 6" x 6")
medium (approx. 7" x 7")
large (approx. 8: x 8")
The one pictured is a medium. When opened, it looks like a square bucket. It has two inside pockets and closes with a loop that fits over a button on the front of bag. The large bag will also have the choice of a front outside pocket.

The only problem I have is finding a name for it, so this is what I decided to do: whoever comes up with the most creative name will win one of these in their choice of size and fabric! I will leave this contest open until Friday, April 2nd (don't want to announce a winner on April Fool's Day--they might think it's a joke!). So, let's hear those creative name suggestions! You can also enter as many times as you wish!

Challenging Children

2010-03-24T08:39:00.010-04:00

My great niece and nephew are the sweetest kids in the world, however, when it comes to gifts, they can be quite the challenge! I don't mean that they are difficult to please, I just mean that they really love to challenge my creativity. Not that I mind. I love a good challenge.
When asked, Tyler said that he wanted a bat doll for his birthday. Ooookay. Who knows where five year olds come up with their ideas. So, to the drawing board I went to try and create a bat doll for him. I actually used a Bit of Whimsy Mollie Monkey pattern for the body but still had to come up with a face, wings, and legs. So, I did manage that quite well. I made the body with black suede and the ears, wings and legs from black cotton that has a gray swirl pattern. I think it came out rather cute!Tyler's sister Kayden's birthday is next week. I asked if she'd like a girl doll with a couple of skirts. Nope. Not at all. But what she WOULD like was a robot doll. Yellow. A big doll. A girl one. Here we go again! This time I used my robot blankie as a template for the head. I made it a bit smaller because the blankie pattern was a bit big. That was the easy part. Then I had to figure out how to do the arms and legs. I looked around on etsy to see how people were doing their robot hands (I already had an idea for the legs/feet)and saw that most were doing claw-like hands. I'm not very good at drawing (can't even draw stick people) so even something so simple as claws were a challenge for me, but I managed. And so here is Kayden's big girl robot doll in yellow.

Can hardly wait for their next birthdays to roll around.

Make Your Own Bubble Mailers

2010-03-23T15:20:00.006-04:00

I have decided to make Tuesdays "Tutorial Tuesdays" on my blog! Every Tuesday I will post a craft tutorial. These will be sewing, crafting, crocheting, etc. The first tutorial will show you how to make your own bubble mailers. Imagine the smile on the recipient's face when they receive something in a mailer that you made yourself with fun patterned paper! They are easy to do and you do not need a lot of materials.

Here is the link:
http://blog.shoplet.com/office-supplies/diy-custom-bubble-mailers/
Would love to see pics of your handmade mailers!

Getting My Craft On

2010-03-17T17:18:00.006-04:00

It seems that lately I've been focusing more on cross stitching and sewing so I haven't crafted in quite some time. So, Monday morning I got the urge to do some crafting instead of sewing. I had bought a few supplies some time ago but just never got around to doing anything with them (I'm the only one that does this right?). I happened to find some jumbo paper clips and wondered what I could make with them. As it happened, I have a bookmark that is made with a large paper clip. It has a rubber frog on top of it (love that bookmark!). I thought I could make bookmarks with the clips, but what could I use for decoration? Ah-Ha! I have covered buttons! So I dug out some scrap fabrics and my covered buttons and proceeded to make four bookmark clips. I love how they turned out. And they were so cute, I decided to put them in my Artfire and eCrater shops.Since making the bookmark clips was so fun, I decided I would do some more crafting. Last night, being Tuesday, there was nothing on TV I wanted to watch, so while watching Celebrity Apprentice on Hulu, I made some barrettes. Some were made with mini roses and some were made with bug buttons I happened to have (no end of supplies in this house). I think they turned out rather cute. They're also listed in my Artfire and eCrater stores.

What's Cool About This Country

2010-03-13T22:25:00.003-05:00

People that know me, know I love this country. They also know that I believe in my 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms. They also know I enjoy guns and target shooting. Having said this, let me tell you one reason why this country is great:

Today me, Mike, and Mike's buddy Kevin went to a gun raffle. This gun raffle was sponsored by the PA State Police. At this raffle, there were probably 200-300 people. Not radicals, not violent people, not people who were ready to "rise up" against the government...just regular folks like you and me. And while sitting there observing all these people having a good time, meeting with friends, meeting new folks who also shared their interests, it occurred to me that I love this country and the people in it. No, let me restate that: I am IN love with this country and the people in it.

Now some might say that because these people--these regular folks--would be "crazy" or "violent" because we were, after all, at a GUN raffle trying to win GUNS. And we were also drinking FREE beer!! Lions, and tigers, and bears OH MY! Alcohol and firearms, why someone is bound to get hurt! Don't be shocked--no one did. No fights broke out, no protests were held, and at the end of the day, everyone left as peacefully as they came. Some happier than others because maybe they had won a gun or some other prize they were raffling off.

Oh, and did I mention that it was held by the PA STATE POLICE? Oh, I think I did. Did I also mention how many officers were actually there--off duty---enjoying the raffle themselves? A LOT. So much for crazy, gun toting Americans!

Deals of the Day

2010-03-08T13:31:00.009-05:00

I love a bargain! Yes I do. And today I got one that I'm SO excited about! I had to pay a visit to my local JoAnn's store to buy more felt for my counting book (still in the process of making it but will post when finished). While there, two of the associates were trying to decide which tote they wanted to purchase. Then one of them informed me that these totes were on sale for $4.99--they were regularly $14.99!! Well, I had to go take a look for myself.

So I walked around the corner and couldn't believe what a bargain it was! These are nice sized totes--big enough to carry my laptop (which is what I plan on using it for), they have two side pockets (one inside, one out), PLUS they are reversible! Thick batting is also used between the fabrics to give it a very cushy feel--perfect for protecting my laptop. They only had three colors to choose from, but since I'm not picky, that was fine by me! This blue one is the one I chose.

Another bargain I got today was this adorable pattern. It's by Simplicity and they are also on sale for $1.99 each. I love it! I can't wait to make some of these cute baby things!

Isn't it funny how certain items become popular? I always wonder how these things start. Who decides what is to be popular and what is not? And once something does become popular, why must we all have it? I have noticed that cupcakes are the "in" thing right now. Not just the food itself, but anything having to do with cupcakes. You see them all over: shirts, purses, toys, book covers, even wall art.

With that in mind, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make some cupcakes. Not the kind you eat (to be honest, I'm not much of a "cake" eater. I know, I know, there's something wrong about that)but rather the kind you can hang on your wall. And they turned out cakefabulous if I do say so myself! These would be SO cute hanging in your kitchen, bakery, craft room..even your little girl's room!And what would a cupCAKE be without a little ice cream to go along with it? So, I made ice cream cones too! They are creamtastic! Best of all, these could go in boys' rooms (the girls can't have all the fun!).So if you're hungering for some cute wall decor, drop in my shop and buy yourself a half dozen cupcakes and a couple of ice cream cones! I can also customize these in colors of your choosing too of course :)

Redesigned Teething Toys

2010-02-14T12:46:00.005-05:00

If you had read my previous post you know that I and other sellers have had problems with a certain patent. Due to this, I have decided to redesign my teething toys to prevent etsy from pulling my toy sets yet again. I must admit, it does irritate me to no end that I have to do this because of this woman who seems to have the idea that no one other than herself may use ribbon loops on any baby items.

Be that as it may, I did sew on my ribbon loops in another fashion before I decided to just redesign them altogether. Since her patent reads that the ribbon has to be sewn INSIDE a seam, I decided to sew them to the OUTSIDE back of the toy. Now, this probably would've worked, but there was a bit more work involved and it was a bit more difficult to topstitch neatly around the toy while making sure the ribbon stayed in place.
So, because of this, I just decided that a redesign was in order. So, my NEWLY designed teething toys only have ONE ribbon loop that holds the teething ring. Because I can no longer put more loops around the toy, I decided I needed to add something to make up for the loss of the ribbons. So I put a squeaker inside! Maybe babies would actually prefer the squeaker to the ribbon loops anyway. After all, they do like making noise lol.
So, there you have it. And to be quite honest, I hope I sell more of these than "you-know-who" sells of her TAGGIE blankets and toys! So there!

Patent Problems

2010-02-08T15:21:00.004-05:00

As some of you may know, some sellers on etsy and ebay have had some of their handmade baby toys/blankets removed because of patent infringement. There is a company called Taggies, Inc and they are going to handmade selling sites, stores, online shops, etc. getting baby toys/blankets that have ribbon loops on them removed because they infringe on their patent. The woman who has the patent is named Julie M. Dix.

Now, according to quite a few people, these toys/blankets have been around for quite some time (as far back as the 70's) so for this person to have a patent on something she didn't quite "invent" herself is beyond belief, but to have items removed is even worse. Especially when some of these items are obviously not infringement. I did find out that if it can be proved these items were actually made (via photo, article, etc.) before 2003, then it would make her patent null & void since, apparently, she is NOT the inventor of these toys/blankets.

There are a great number of sellers out there who are getting very weary of her antics. She has gone above and beyond to harass some sellers. It is my belief that she has a serious power trip going on. She seems to think that using ANY ribbon loops on ANY type of item is infringing on her patent. She also seems to think she owns any word associated with "taggies". While she may have copyrights to the word "Taggies", as far as I am concerned, she does NOT own the words, "tag", "taggy", or any other word of that nature.

I have had my teething toy/wrist rattle sets removed because of this woman. And I am more than a little infuriated. I have revamped them and relisted them on etsy. I opted to cut my ribbon loops so that they are now separate pieces of ribbon. I left one loop to hold the teething ring. This should not infringe on her patent since I only have one loop (her patent refers to having loops ALL the way around the toy).
But, we shall see what happens because it appears that etsy won't get into this mess and if she says someone's toy/blanket infringes on her patent, they just seem to pull it without reading the patent themselves to verify this information. Which also infuriates me. Etsy has said that they are only a marketplace and therefore won't get into any legalities. However, I do think they owe it to their customers to at least make sure their items infringe on a patent before they take said patent holder's word for it and just pull items.

Art Aprons

2010-01-13T14:37:00.002-05:00

I decided to take a break from my Christmas crafting (yes, that’s right, I said “Christmas”) to try something new for my shop. I hadn’t listed anything new yet this year and thought that I really needed to do that. So, I perused my ideas list and decided to try my hand at making art aprons for kids.

Normally when I start a new project, I get a bit excited and nervous at the same time. Excited because I love to create. Nervous because there is always that fear that things won’t work out how I would like and I will be forced to give up. Not that I’m a quitter! It takes quite a few tries at something before I will actually give up on it. Mostly because I’m stubborn and I. MUST. WIN.

With this in mind, I was quite surprised at how fun and easy these aprons were to make! So fun in fact, that I’ve made three of them in the past two days (all three are listed in my shop) which is pretty good for me since I’m usually a one- project-a-day kind of person.Oh, and not only were they fun, but they were a great way to use the HUNDREDS of fat quarters I have in my stash J Ok, that last was a bit of an exaggeration, but you know what I mean!

Logo Bookmark Tutorial

2010-01-05T18:49:00.011-05:00

I truly appreciate my customers. As a thank you, I like to enclose a free gift with every order. Something small, yet something that will let the customer know I appreciate their business. I've been giving away corner bookmarks, but I thought, "What about full sized bookmarks"? And wouldn't it be neat if I could put my logo on them so the customer would remember my shop? So, how to do it?

I decided to use my shop banner for my design. I resized it to 35% (you may have to play around to get yours the correct size)and printed it out. Then I cut around it with decorative scissors. I cut it small enough that I could put a background behind it to make it "pop" a bit more.Next, I needed to make a background. I used solid color card stock (but you can use designed card stock if you wish). Using my bookmark lamination sheet (mine measures 2 1/8" x 6" but you can buy them in various sizes), I made a template. You will have to make this slightly smaller than your lamination sheet. If you are using 4"x6" or 5"x7" sheets, you can make these any size you wish. Just cut them out after you've laminated them. I drew as many backgrounds as I could get onto my card stock sheet. I did manage to get six out of an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet and 12 from a 12" x 12" sheet.Apply double sided tape to the back of your design. Center over your card stock background and tape into place. I decided to write my shop site on the backside.
Place your bookmark into your lamination sheet and laminate! Now you have a nice little gift to give to your customers!

Why Women Shouldn't Take Men Shopping

2010-01-03T09:06:00.008-05:00

Anyone that knows me knows I love a good laugh. My aunt recently sent me this joke and it had me laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. I thought it would be fun to pass along and maybe if you're having a bad day, this will make you forget about it for a brief moment. Enjoy!
*****************************************************
After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Target.

Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women - she loves to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Target.

Dear Mrs. Samuel,

Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and
have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against your husband, Mr. Samuel, are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in other people's carts when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. July 7: He made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away'. This caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to lose time and costing the company money.

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&Ms on layaway.

6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told the children shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department to which twenty children obliged.

8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?' EMTs were called.

9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.

11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme.

12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.

13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed
through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'

And last, but not least:

15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here.' One of the clerks passed out.

Being There

2010-01-02T15:10:00.009-05:00

My little great nephew Brody (whom I refer to as my little leprechaun)was born on New Year's eve two years ago. I didn't get to see him in person until he was 18 months old. It's very difficult when you live 750 miles away from your family and only see them once a year. Especially when the little ones seem to grow so fast!Because of living so far away, I don't get to go to very many b-day parties or family events. But, thanks to modern technology and the internet, I was fortunate enough to attend little Brody's 2nd b-day party yesterday. How is that possible you ask. Why the answer is just a download away--Skype. I had recently discovered this wonderful program shortly after I received my laptop. My laptop has a built-in camera and I was so excited to discover this because now, even though I can't be at family events and holidays in person, I can still "be" there.Niece Amy and my Brother (her dad) Bub.

So, thanks to Skype I got to visit with family and friends for two hours while they gathered together to celebrate the New Year and little Brody's second year of life. It was a lot of fun and I along with my family, enjoyed it. Now if only they could invent a computer that would let you give real hugs and kisses.Amy (Brody's mom) & her newest, Chase

Reorganization

2010-01-01T08:48:00.008-05:00

I am generally an organized person. I like to keep things neat and pretty and in their place. However, sometimes I get distracted (or to be more blunt: lazy) and don’t keep things as organized or as neat as I intend to. During the Christmas holiday, I became quite busy with orders and because of this, I found that I had made a mess of my fabric. I kept telling myself, “When the rush is over, I’ll straighten it all out.” I really did have the intention of doing this, I swear!

After things slowed down, I thought that I had better do something with my fabric mess. While looking at it I also came to the decision that I no longer liked the way I had it arranged. I have had my fabric arranged in different ways twice now. First I had it wrapped around cardboard. Same cardboard they use in the fabric stores only cut down to size. That worked pretty well but I decided to change that because it wasn’t very convenient when I had to unroll all the fabric off the bolt for smaller pieces.

So then I decided to roll it and put it in baskets. That worked pretty well for awhile but when I would buy new fabric, I would have to try to jam it in it’s proper basket. I was running out of room! So I had to figure out another way to organize my fabric.
I was inspired by fabric sellers on etsy and the way they would have the fabric stacked in their pictures. It looked so pretty and neat! But how much room would that take up (I’m limited on space)? Well, what the heck, I decided to try it out.
It took me a couple of tries to figure out how to fold my fabric so it would fit neatly in the metal cubes I use. I did manage to get it accomplished in less than a week though! And I am quite pleased with the way it looks. I can also shuffle through them and see what I have on hand easily enough. I still kept the stacks in themes (animal, baby, novelty, misc, floral, and flannel). That was one thing I didn’t want to change when I decided to reorganize.

I liked the way it looked so much, I decided to do my fat quarters the same (they’re stacked on top of the cubes)! So, how do you like it? If you have any fabric organization tips or techniques, I’d love to hear/see them because, I’m sure, I will reorganize again in the future. I guess I like change.

Are You Scared?

2009-10-31T13:09:00.003-04:00

This is Brody.
He's a year old.
He weighs 18 lbs.
He likes to steal his Mom's food after he's eaten all his.
He doesn't care.

Mom is pregnant with his baby brother.
She's hungry.
He doesn't care.

Mom asks for a bite of HER sandwich.
Brody's baby brother is hungry.
He doesn't care.

This is the face Brody makes if she tries to take back her sandwich
Are you scared yet?

And the Winner Is....

2009-10-26T11:25:00.001-04:00

The winner of the tote giveaway is Christian!! Congrats!! I'll just need an address so I can send you the tote! Thanks for entering!

The Art Case

2009-10-21T16:36:00.005-04:00

Last year I had made my little great nieces and nephews coloring totes for Christmas. They were tote bags that were the perfect size for holding a couple of coloring books and a box of crayons. They absolutely loved them! Being the person I am, I always look for ways to improve some of the things I make (either I'm a perfectionist or just plain anal--you be the judge).

While getting a cross stitch project all ready to work on, I took a look at my project case. Inspiration! Why couldn't I take this same idea and make an art case for kids? Maybe instead of just holding a couple of coloring books and box of crayons, it could hold a bit more. I have had this idea brewing for some time now, but of course as usually happens, it got put on the back burner while I worked on other projects.

A couple of nights ago, I thought to myself: Christmas is coming. I have a few baby items in my shops now, so I should work on something for older children. What about that art case idea?! Sure! Why not? So the other day, I made a sketch of my idea. Then I proceeded to figure out measurements, etc (all the "fun" stuff!). And walla! I have made my first art case! I must say, it turned out quite well--the first time! I know, right? When does anything ever turn out right the first time lol.

So here is the finished product! It will hold 12 crayons and markers (each in it's own pocket), coloring book(s), activity books, or whatever books you choose to put in it. It also has a pouch so your budding artisan can store scissors, stickers, glue, etc. I had planned to put a sketch pad in it, but not quite wide enough. It will hold coloring books and other books though so I'm debating whether I should make it wider for a sketch pad.

So, let me know what you think! I would love to get these listed in the shop ASAP so any suggestions or ideas for improvement will be very much welcome! Also, should I include the supplies (crayons, markers, coloring books) or no? Or should I make that up to the buyer? And most importantly, how much would you be willing to pay for something like this (with or without supplies)?

Tote Giveaway

2009-10-17T09:24:00.006-04:00

Are you looking for a new tote but don't want to pay a lot of money? How about a free one? I am having a giveaway for this cute little tote. It would be perfect to carry to the beach (for those of you who aren't freezing this time of year), shopping, or you can use it for your every day bag!

It's made of brightly colored cotton fabrics and contains plenty of pockets to keep your essentials well organized.

Top and lining of bag feature bright blue striped fabric while bottom and handles of bag are black with brightly colored stars. Front and back pockets have brightly colored stripes on a white background.

There are seven various sized pockets inside. Bag closes with a magnetic snap that is located on the tab and body of bag. Batting is used inside of bag for durability and stiffness.

To enter giveaway, just visit either (or both) of my shops and let me know which item(s)you like best.
www.LilBitSassy.zibbet.com
www.LilBitSassy.etsy.com

For extra entries, tweet about it, post it on Facebook, blog about it, or follow my blog. Just post separate comments with links.

Giveaway ends Oct. 25th. I will post winner's name on the 26th. Be sure to post a contact link (email, blog, twitter, FB, etc.)

More Interesting Facts

2009-08-25T11:33:00.003-04:00

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury. --Well that might've been true LAST year.

Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)

The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $16,400

The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair..

The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987, 654,321

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession

Q.. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'?
A. One thousand

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common?
A. All were invented by women.

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey

Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father's Day

Did you try to lick your elbow?

How Did that Phrase Come About?

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have, 'Rule of thumb'

Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'.. .and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English language.

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase...'Goodnight , sleep tight'

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.' It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's'

Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice.

Wrist Rattles

2009-08-17T20:09:00.005-04:00

I am so excited about my latest project! I have made quite a few of these and they are so fun! Introducing wrist rattles for babies. They feature cute prints that babies will love. Each of them are stuffed lightly with polyfil and contain bells for a soft jingling sound when baby shakes his/her arm. Velcro on the bands make these fit even the smallest wrist. These are listed in all my shops and would make a great addition to your gift basket--or stocking stuffer! Christmas will be here before long!

Why I Love Charm Packs

2009-07-30T18:02:00.002-04:00

I love charm squares. What are charm squares? They are precut coordinating squares of fabric (usually 3-5” squares) that come in 20-80 piece packs. Why do I love them? There are several reasons. For one, they are convenient. They are the perfect size for smaller projects. Being precut also means that some of the prep work has already been done—mainly the measuring and cutting of fabric. They’re also all the exact same size. Which means better uniformity in projects.

I also like the fact that they come in such wonderful prints, from babies to florals. You can also find them in cottons, flannels, or even home décor fabrics. You can make anything from quilts to totes with them. I have used them for sachets, coasters, totes, purses, and baby toys (I’m not a quilter). I’m sure in the future I will find even more projects in which to use them.

I also like the value factor. They usually cost $5 per pack and up (my quilt shop usually sells them from $6-$8). It all depends how many charms are in the pack and the designer. Let’s say for example, you purchased a pack of 40 charms for $8 and you wanted to make coasters with them. You could make 20 coasters (since they are usually coordinating fabrics, you have a front and back piece). You have spent 40 cents per coaster (not counting your interfacing). Now is that a bargain or what!

So the next time you visit your local quilt shop, take a gander at what charm packs they may have. You may be surprised at the variety and what you can make with them. You don’t even have to be a quilter to love them!

Taggy Toys

2009-07-26T16:21:00.009-04:00

So what do you think? This is my newest project: taggy pillows! Aren't they cute? I was inspired to make these because my great nephew has a tag fettish. He has to have his blanket when he goes to sleep but not for the blanket itself, it's the tag he wants. That left me wondering what I could make for him that he would like as much as his blanket? Maybe some kind of toy with silky ribbon on it? And that's why I decided to make these taggy pillows.

They're soft and squishy and the ribbons are silky and soft. They are 4 1/2" square so they're perfect for little hands to hold and squeeze. I've been making them out of bright fabrics that babies like. They also have two plastic rings attached to give teething babies something to chew on. These can be removed for washing. You can find these and others in my etsy or artfire stores. They would make a great gift basket item!

The History of Sayings

2009-07-21T12:58:00.001-04:00

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500's:

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor". But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot......they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the low. In Britain, in the 19 th century,the government imposed a tax on windows.The really poor bricked up their windows,to avoid paying the tax. Hence,they.."Did n`t have a pot to piss in, nor a window to throw it out of "..

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell . .. . brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip an d fall off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs.."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus,someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer....

And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !

Cat Blankie Giveaway

2009-07-19T10:31:00.010-04:00

Isn't this cat blankie adorable? These are so great for babies, toddlers, or younger children. They are made with soft, cuddly flannel and measure 19" wide x 22" high. They're small enough that a toddler can carry them around quite easily without dragging them on the floor. The face is made from fleece that has been hand embroidered and appliqued onto the head. Safety eyes will not come off.

These have been toddler tested and approved. How, do you ask? It just so happened that my friend had her two grandsons yesterday and when I showed them to the youngest (who is just under two years old), he loved them! These would make great gifts.

Now, that all that is finished, would you like to win one? Here's how: just tell me a funny children's story or something hysterical that they've said. You can also earn extra entries by posting this on your blog or tweeting about it (leave links for me and extra comment(s) that you've blogged and/or tweeted). That's all there is to it! Also make sure I have a way of contacting you if you are the winner. I will pick the winner on August 1st.

Good luck!

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar

2009-07-15T13:01:00.004-04:00

No one can make you serve customers well. That's because great service is a choice. Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point. He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey

He handed me a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.' Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment. This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.' I said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'
Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.' Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.' Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal,Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed me another laminated card. 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'
And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

'Tell me, Wally,' Harvey asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?' Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining!

Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'' 'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers weren't friendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles. How about us? Smile, and the whole world smiles with you.....The ball is in our hands!

Animal Blankies

2009-07-14T08:18:00.004-04:00

After deciding I wanted to focus more on making baby/children items, I came up with these animal blankies. I had a pattern of the monkey, but after I made it, I thought I should come up with more animals. So, I made a teddy bear, cat, lamb, frog, and robots. I daresay they came out cute! Since these little blankies woke up my creative side, I have a list of other animals I'd like to try to make also. So I may be working on these for quite some time!

These are made from flannel fabric so they are nice and soft. The faces are made with fleece that are appliqued onto the heads. Face features are hand embroidered. They do have safety eyes but I guarantee these cannot be pulled off! These are the same type of eyes they use on stuffed animals. They measure 19" wide x 22" high so are small enough that a toddler can carry it around without tripping over it.

These are listed in my etsy shop as well as my Artfire shop. So, if you have a baby shower or b-day coming up, these would make great gifts!

Letter from Iraq

2009-07-13T12:26:00.003-04:00

I know I normally blog about my business, but I felt the need to blog this letter from a soldier. I couldn't agree more with what he has to say and wanted to pass it on. Maybe people will stop and think about it and change the way they feel about certain things.

WRITTEN BY A SOLDIER IN IRAQ.

Okay, I need to rant.

I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson . As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn't the point
of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood , and even Congress sees the need to hold a "moment of silence" for his passing?

Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he's a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom? All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the constitution and the United States of America . Where is their moment of silence? Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over
them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying "good riddance," and "thank God for IEDs?" When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a "Pop Icon?"

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan . They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them. But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it. Feel free to pass this along if you want...

Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military; "So that others may live..."

Losing Confidence

2009-06-30T18:07:00.003-04:00

It hit me today: I'm totally losing confidence in my creative ability. Just when I think I've come up with something original that would be a best seller, it doesn't seem to happen. I may sell four or five of my great ideas, but that's all. I'm not sure what the problem may be. Is it the fabrics I'm using? My workmanship? Pricing? The economy? What? I receive a lot of compliments on my new creations, but no sales.

And sometimes, I see another seller with a similar item that may or may not be up to par with mine, but they seem to be doing quite well at selling. I'll also admit that it irritates me a bit when I see they're selling them at a higher price. I've tried raising my prices, lowering my prices...nothing I do seems to matter. I'm just not sure what I will have to do to boost my sales. Is there something about my products that needs changing? Do my prices need adjusted? Please, if any other sellers, or buyers, out there have any tips or ideas, I would really love to hear them and would greatly appreciate any feedback you may have. Of course, if anyone even reads this blog and decides to respond to it that is. I seem to have a problem with getting responses also, so I'll just wait and see.

Ho hum.

New Curtains

2009-06-26T16:52:00.006-04:00

This past week I decided to take a bit of a break from work sewing to do some home sewing. I was badly in need of some new kitchen and dining room curtains. Ours were old, falling apart, and didn't really match either room. Given that our house is an old schoolhouse and has a bit of a rustic interior, I decided to go with fabrics with a country feel to them.

For the kitchen, I chose a patchwork fabric in burgundy, green, and blues. I think it's adorable and though dark, these curtains go with the room so much better!

For the dining room, I wanted to go with a more neutral tone since I change my tablecloth and linens by the seasons. So I chose a fabric with a cream background and blue watering cans. I absolutely love these! I'm not quite sure how I feel about the tie backs though. I may decide to remake them from the same fabric as the curtains.

Now my next project is to make chair cushions for the dining room chairs. I'm not sure what fabric to use for those. Should I go seasonal, or should I just go neutral like I did with the curtains? Decisions, decisions!

Creative Day

2009-06-14T19:36:00.003-04:00

I finally finished making all the travel wallets that I had cut out today. To reward myself, I decided to do something new and completely different from my usual type of crafting. I had purchased some adorable sea creature applique patterns from Precious Patterns (you can find them on etsy) and thought "how cute would those look on onesies"! So, I thought I would give it a try.

I decided to do some research and see how what other etsians were selling their appliqued onesies for. There are so many sellers making them! Well, what could I do differently with a onesie to make mine unique? I was in a creative mood, so I came upon an idea: what if I made a dress out of a onesie? How cute would that be? And this is what I made! Isn't it adorable? I just LOVE it! I will definitely be making more of these in the future. And yes, I do plan on selling them. Maybe in several sizes and of course, different themes and fabrics.

Being Creative

2009-05-31T17:05:00.004-04:00

I'm so sorry I haven't posted in so long! I've been quite busy the past two weeks! I've been making more travel wallets for my online shops. I have decided to go through my fabrics by theme (which is how they're organized) and choose which ones would make (in my opinion) cute travel wallets. I've already finished novelty prints and I am now currently working on animal prints.

I have eight animal print wallets cut out and ready to put together but I'm on hold. You see, my local quilt/vacuum shop was running a special $10 off a maintenance and repair check on your sewing machine. Since I hadn't taken mine in in quite awhile, I decided to take advantage of the special. They say it may be a week before I get it back. EEEEK!!! But at least it'll be all clean! As soon as I get My Precious home, I plan on finishing those travel wallets.

I have been working on some paper items while my machine is MIA. I'm making envelope and corner bookmark sets. These are GREAT promotional items for your business! I use them myself! I usually give a bookmark as a free gift with purchases made in my shops. I use the mini envelopes to put my business cards in also.

Recently, I ran across a blog that posted online handmade markets, so I decided to see what was available besides Artfire and Etsy. I found two that I decided to give a whirl. One is called Blujay. There are no listing fees and only a 2.5% selling fee. The other I decided to try out is Winkelf. This one is absolutely free if you get the basic setup. So you may want to check those out for yourself if you're thinking of expanding your online store(s). You can find the links to my shops there on the left side of my blog page.

So, that's about all I've been up to! What have you been busy doing?

What is Memorial Day?

2009-05-25T08:48:00.001-04:00

I have just found out that someone had to do a Google search to find out what Memorial Day was all about. I cannot tell you how much that saddens--and worries--me. Is Memorial Day about a day off work and cookouts? No, it is not. It's about honoring those that served and died for our country so we could be free. It is not a "happy" holiday, it is a somber one. So, please don't wish anyone a "Happy" Memorial Day. And maybe, if you have time between grilling and playing games, remember those that gave their lives for this country. And if you happen to shed a tear or two for them, don't be ashamed of it. It shows you truly remember and appreciate what those brave men and women did for us. For our families. So we can have a day off work and cookout with friends and family. And if you do have a minute or two in your busy day today, maybe you could say a quick prayer for those that are still fighting for our freedom. Amen.

And PLEASE tell your children what this day is all about. Don't let them have to Google it to find out.

Organizing Time

2009-05-19T13:33:00.003-04:00

I have a little dilemma that maybe my fellow crafters out there can help me with. I would like to know how you organize your crafting time--especially if you sell things. Do you devote so many hours per day/week/month to your craft or do you just craft when you find the time in your busy schedule? Do you write a schedule for the day/week/month? Do you make a list of goals that you want to accomplish for any given day?

The reason I ask these questions is because I read an article a fellow Twitterer posted that said if you treat your hobby like a hobby instead of like a business, it will never become a business. It said to set reasonable goals and to put yourself on a schedule where you can devote specific time/hours to your craft. I'd like to try this so I can see if it really makes a difference in my sales, but I'm wondering how best to do this. Should I set myself up to work a certain number of hours every week or play it day by day? Should I devote so much time to making certain items every week, or should I just make whatever I feel like at the time?

So, my question to you is: how do you schedule your crafting time and decide what to work on (if you make more than one type of item)? Do you have a set schedule? Let me know!