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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Friday, October 29, 2010

Fabric Sale


You might want to go check out the fabric clearance sale over at Above All Fabric.

Melanie is currently offering some of her fabric at $3.99 or $5.99 per yard -and we're talking nice fabric .... Michael Miller, Amy Butler, etc. The sale lasts through the end of this month, so after Sunday the deals will be over. It is definitely worth your time to go check it out.

(And no, I don't get anything for plugging her site, but I sure wish I did!)

Hope everyone has a fabulous Halloween weekend.


Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Kitchen Fun

I've been wanting to make an apron for awhile now, but just couldn't find a pattern that I liked. Once I saw this one, I knew it was the one. It's classic, reversible and easy... what more could you ask for?

I made it for a young lady I know who loves to bake and decorate cupcakes and cakes... I thought this would be perfect for her.

I found the fabric at Hancock's... cute pink cupcakes (her favorite color) and then I spotted the brown with pink polka dots and knew it would be the perfect contrasting fabric.

Here is the back...

If you would like the pattern, I found it here.   It's listed in the tutorials.

I hope she likes wearing this as much as I enjoyed sewing it!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Crafting Success

I had soooooo much fun at my craft show! I thought I did pretty well for my first time out.  I learned a lot, met some great new people, and also made some contacts for some future sewing projects. So, all in all, I would say it was a crafting success. Here are some pictures of my table:
That's my sister... she helped me by being my cashier. My Mom was there too, she bagged up merchandise for me. Isn't family great?

The dryer vent pumpkins were a HUGE hit... I sold out of them!
The denim purses were also a favorite... I only have one of them left. People loved the idea of the crayon rolls, but surprisingly, I did not sell as many of them as I thought I would. I did, however, sell most of the tote bags with the matching crayon rolls.. go figure!  I didn't sell a whole lot of my fabric baskets either.. they were an item I thought would sell quickly. Just goes to show you that you never know what people will like!

Here are a few things I learned that I thought I would share with you:
  • I read somewhere that the Chinese believe it is good luck to give your first customer of the day a discount or giveaway, so I did that. I think it worked!
  • I also read that it is a good idea to make up coupons for a discount at your booth and pass them out to the other vendors. I did that and passed them out to the other vendors before the doors opened. Quite a few of them came over to my table throughout the day and used their coupon - it was a great way to generate some sales, and to meet other crafters.
  • Smile and interact with your customers - my sister called me "the social butterfly of the craft fair" but that's okay... by getting up and talking to people who were looking at my items, I probably made a few more sales. I noticed that other vendors who did not interact with people did not do very well.
  • Have candy at your table - I put some candy in one of my fabric baskets and encouraged people to take a piece. Again, a good way to strike up conversation or get someone to take a look at your items.
  • Have business cards and pass them out. My Mom stapled one of my business cards to every bag. They are also good to have on hand for people who would like to contact you about custom orders in the future.
It was a lot of work preparing for the show, but I really enjoyed it and will definitely do it again.  Thanks for all your positive comments and well wishes, it was much appreciated  :)

Friday, October 22, 2010

Wish me Luck!

I'm down to just the last two place mat pillows and I will be done with my sewing for the craft show. Wish me luck that I have a profitable show!

I will take pictures of my booth and share them with you next week.

Have a great weekend and, as always, be creative!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Almost Finished

I am almost finished with my items for the craft show ... yay!  Just have a few more placemat pillows to make and I'll be done. Here are a few zippered pouches I made:


Have a great day ... and remember to be creative!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Sew Much To Do

Still working on items for the craft show this weekend. Here are a few things I've finished:
Still have more Christmas fabric baskets to do, hope to finish them up today.

Here are some finished crayon rolls:
I needed some that were more "girly" so found this cute floral fabric and made several of them.

I made up a quick pillow for my Mother-in-Law, who is crazy for frogs - she really liked it:

Off to do more sewing... have a great week... and be creative!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Back on Track

Okay, enough with the Halloween decorating... for now, anyway (yes I still have some things I plan to do!) I have to finish up some things for the craft show, which is a week from this Sunday.  I'm working on some zipper pouches right now. I found some beautiful fabrics at the Sewing/Quilt show I went to a few weeks ago.


The above fabrics and zipper came from the booth that Melanie from Above All Fabric had. It was so nice to see all of her fabrics in person... and yes, I went a little crazy purchasing some.. ha ha!

From a different vendor, I purchased some fat quarters at around $1 apiece.



Gee, I seem to be in pink/green mode, right?  No fear, I picked out some other fabrics in different colors that I will be working on this afternoon.

I still need to make some more fabric baskets. I've got lots of Halloween and Thanksgiving ones done, but still need to do some Christmas ones. They finally got in some fat quarter bundles in Christmas fabric at Joanns, so those are next on my to-do list.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Be creative!  :)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

DIY Halloween Decorating

I've been decorating the house, inside and out, for Halloween. Thought I would share with you a couple of DIY projects I did.

I wanted a mat for my front door, but did not want to spend the $15 or so they wanted for one at the store, so I made my own! I found this black mat at Target for $3.99:


Some orange spray paint and a pumpkin stencil made out of cardboard later, I had this:


I think I like it even better than the ones I saw at Target! 

Next, I had an old plaque that had gotten faded from the sun and had definitely seen better days:

I spray painted it with a coat of orange, then a bit of black, then another bit of orange


I hot-glued on some Halloween pom poms I found for $1 a package and voila


A new "Boo" Halloween sign!

A few photos of my front porch:



Hope this inspires you to create something yourself!



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Saturday, October 2, 2010

Sewing/Quilting Festival

I'm off to the Sewing/Quilting Festival with my SIL Becky. This is my first time going to one of these, and I am super excited. Becky is a veteran, having been to many shows, so I'm sure she'll show me the ropes!

I'll post pics later of some of my great finds ... cuz you know I won't come home empty-handed!  Have a great weekend and Happy Sewing!!!