A Big Christmas Tote

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. I love decorating, giving gifts, and making sweet treats to give out. I got this adorable penguin fabric last year and couldn't wait to use it again this year. I think I may use it to make an appliqued baby onesie with a matching dot skirt. We'll see how brave I am. I've only ever listed one other outfit on Etsy and it never sold:(

Last one for this weekend

It's pouring rain outside right now so I wasn't able to take pics in my usual spot - and no carnival for us:(
So happy I met my goal for today, maybe I'll get caught up on some scrapbooking tomorrow.

#3 of 4

This one came together really quickly (I took a nachos break before listing it:)). Have to whip up some orange pants to go under Matea's goldfish Halloween costume and then we're headed to a carnival this evening so bag #4 might not be listed until tonight.

Bag #2

Two down, two to go. I promise the next one won't have brown in it. I'm thinking maybe a messenger inspired style with a psychedelic black and multi-colored fabric I haven't used in quite a while.

Bag #1 for today

Trying to get four bags completed and listed today. Here's #1. Blue owl fabric is next so check back in a few hours.

Retro Rocket Babies

I don't think I'm supposed to say this (per the laws of etiquette), but I've really been loving my bags lately. I mean, I usually like my work, some more than others, but I've really loved the last 10 or so bags I've done and would love to have kept any of them for myself. Anyway, I love this rocket babies bag. I just want to squeeze their little cheeks. So cute!
Do you see how the shape of the pocket on the front exactly mimics the shape of the bag? I did that intentionally and it actually worked out. That never happens for me! I usually just dive in, try something new and then get really bummed out when it doesn't turn out like I planned.

Anyway, make sure you check back with me this weekend. I'm supposed to be sewing almost all day on Saturday or Sunday so I'm hoping to list at least three new bags this weekend. I've been thinking about listing a few travel wipes/diaper pouches but hubby says to stick to bags. Whatchou think?

Soooo glad I bought this fabric

I was initially on the fence about this fabric but am really glad I decided to buy it because it is so much cuter in person. The dolls are really adorable and I love how colorful it is. And I'm really liking this new shape so I'll probably be using it a lot in the coming weeks.

Customer Appreciation Sale

There's no better boost to my self esteem than having a customer buy one of my bags and be so happy with their purchase, they come back to buy another one. So, to say thank you to all of my customers, and stir up some repeat business to make myself feel good, I'm beginning a customer appreciation sale that will run through 11/30/07.

I'm offering 10% off the purchase price of anything listed in my store now through 11/30 to repeat customers. If you see something you like, buy it, use Etsy's checkout system to pay through Paypal and then email me letting me know that you're a repeat customer. I'll refund you the 10% of your purchase price through Paypal. A "repeat customer" is anyone who has purchased from my store before (including trick or treat bags). Sorry, this offer doesn't include custom orders.

Happy Shopping!

Another birdie bag

I'm definitely going through a bird phase right now. I've purchased three birdie fabrics in the last two weeks and am using birds a lot in my scrapbooking too. I just listed this cute little owl diaper bag on Etsy. The last pic is of a birdie scrapbooking project. I'm in a paperclip swap (where you somehow embellish the top of a regular paperclip) and the little birdie is what I'm doing for the girl group.

Some recent baby gifts

I made these gifts for our friends' girls. Riley is their new baby and Avery is the big sister. The pictures aren't the best but I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. I wish you could see how teeny tiny the little twirl skirt is. And it has adorable little pink tulle along the hem! I can't wait to see a pic of Riley in it. And we made Avery some felt cookies and personalized her own little cookie sheet for her. I made a set of cookies for my girls too so next time Avery comes over, they can spend the afternoon baking fake cookies.

Kristi, now's your chance!

Perfect bag for a mom of two boys and if I remember correctly, isn't this one of your favorite color combos?
This is new fabric I got yesterday and I love it! Love the brown and aqua together and I really like the kind of retro flowers.
At the request of some customers, I made the strap a little longer on this one. I usually make them about boob level...boob level when they're hiked up to a respectable level. This one is more au natural boob level. I've breastfed two babies for a year each so that means the bag falls around belly button level:) I totally think this one works worn across the chest, messenger style too.

New Fabrics on the Way

Just ordered these yesterday. I've been thinking about buying those rocket babies for a long time and finally took the plunge. And I ended up buying the Japanese doll fabric. We'll see if I start getting hate mail.

Today's bag for Etsy

I know this color combo isn't for everyone but I really love how the aqua pops on the olive green background. And hey, I didn't put these colors together, Amy Butler did, so blame her if you think it's ugly.

I think this is probably my favorite style of bag. Simple and clean for showing off really pretty, large scale fabrics. Crafty Mama's due for a new bag so if this one doesn't sell within a few weeks, I'll probably keep it. Although the last time I said that, Shana stole the bag out from under me so I'm not holding my breath.

Lena vs. Shanna, it's war!

Go back a few posts to the red and white custom bag for my friend Lena. Look at the comments. Even though they appear to be nice, I think Shanna and Lena are either competing to be my best customer or my best friend. Maybe both. Notice how I mentioned that this was Lena's fifth bag and then Shanna posted a comment saying she has 3 or 4? Well, guess who just bought the frog bag? That's right, Shanna. So, now the stats are Lena 5 vs. Shanna 4. And Shanna already has her eye on a fifth (the pink and green floral) so I definitely think this is a competition. Shanna's from Arkansas which for whatever reason, makes me think she's feisty (did you guys hear about Gretchen Wilson getting cited on a flight for being too feisty?). Lena does karate (however, she did miss class recently to get her hair did so I don't know how serious she really is). Ladies, please note, in addition to money, I like diet pepsi, chocolate, free babysitting, and scrapbooking stuff.

Cute and fun or tacky and offensive?

While checking out novelty fabrics on Ebay yesterday, I came across this one which I think is super fun and adorable. But then I started second guessing myself and wondered whether it might be offensive. So, I consulted my friend Lena (when did she become my moral compass) who is as if-y on the fabric as I am. So, do you, my public, find the fabric fun or offensive? Yes, I realize it's not everyone's taste, but if you were out at Trader Joe's and saw someone carrying a bag made from this fabric, would you shout out, "How dare she!"?

Only one bag today

I had grand plans to sew as much as possible today while Steve and Bella are out of town, but I'm just not in the mood so this is my one and only bag for today. I had just a tiny strip of this frog fabric left from a custom order I did a while ago. I'm really happy with how this one turned out and am going to spend the rest of Matea's nap checking out similar funky, novelty type of fabrics on Ebay.

Lesson of the day: Stalkers work fast

So, I listed the cute little birdie bag around 3:30 yesterday, went to the beach with the fam, came home 4 hours later and it had sold! The lucky purchaser is Andrea, one of my stalkers/scrapbooking online friends/Prima purchaser/Mom to the adorable Mateo who I think would make beautiful, big brown eyed babies with Matea some day. Anyhow, moral of the story, you should all be stalking me because you never know when someone might be sitting at the computer, hitting the refresh button over and over and over again to see whether I have anything new in my Etsy store yet.

Little Birdies Bag

I think this fabric is really beautiful and the scale is kind of large so I kept the design of the bag fairly simple so it just shows off the fabric. Steve's taking Bella to visit his parents for the day tomorrow so I'm hoping to get lots of sewing done during Matea's naps.

Custom Bag

Just finished this custom bag for an addict friend. She already has four bags from me, this is her fifth and after seeing my fabric collection last night, she doesn't seem to be done building her collection. When you walk into her house, she has all of my (her) bags hanging on a cute little wall rack in her livingroom. I told her she should have my pic above it on a plaque with "Crafty Mama" on a little gold plate.

Today's Bag

I like how this one turned out but am resisting the urge to add brown to it. I know, it's obvious I love brown, but I really like deep red, cream, and chocolate brown together. Anyhow, I think I'm just going to step back and leave it alone.

Attention stalkers....

Andrea, Kristi this is directed at you. I won't be listing anything new for a few more days. I just finished up some custom order onesies yesterday (I'll try and post pics of those tonight), I have three trick or treat bags to make this weekend, and then I'm making a custom bag for a friend. So those cute little birdies will have to wait a few more days. I'm half way done with a bag made from the new red floral fabric but my grandma's staying with me this weekend and if I leave her alone too long she'll start "helping" around the house so I don't know if I'll have a chance to work on it before Monday.

Please don't buy this bag....

so I can keep it for myself:) I love this one! My absolute favorite color combination and the perfect size. I know, I could have just kept it and not listed it on Etsy at all but I am trying to help feed my family and all so, whatever. Anyhow, if you love it, you better buy it fast because if it's not sold in about two weeks it's mine!

And, can I just say how much I love getting new fabric. Even better than new clothes because you don't have to worry about whether your butt looks big or your muffin top hangs over the top. And I'll just say it again, www.quilthome.com rocks! Placed my order on Thursday morning, shipped that day and had it in my happy little hands on Saturday. Trying to decide whether to work with those cute little 70's birds or the pretty red fabric this afternoon.