Speaking of Etsy sellers

I just have to show you one of my favorite Etsy sellers... Lightning Bugz. I stumbled across her shop sometime before Christmas last year, and I found her stuffed animals to be irresistible! I ended up buying the bunny below for Courtney for Christmas. Its name, "Candy", just seemed to call out to me! Lightning Bugz (whose real name also happens to be Candy) also makes little play packs for the animals, containing blankets, pillows, some clothing items and a little bag to carry them in. I bought one of those for Courtney for her birthday in February, custom made to match "Candy". Soooo CUTE!

Checking back at the Lightning Bugz shop later, I noticed she had many of her stuffed animals on sale at half price, so I quickly snatched up "Cupcake" (green and pink kitty below) that Courtney had admired via the computer, and I got a blanket/pillow set for it, too... all to keep and play with at Grandma's house.

Now Lightning Bugz is making and selling Waldorf inspired dolls (bottom right pic below). They are so adorable, and I'm sure take many, many hours to make! No, I haven't bought one of those... yet. ;-)

Here's some good news: Because Lightning Bugz is so excited about making the Waldorf inspired dolls, she has all of her stuffed animals on SALE to make room for the dolls! Check 'em out and maybe grab one (or more) while they last. Make a child happy like my favorite one below. :-)

One final note on Etsy sellers: Jess's shop is permanently closed. It was fun while it lasted, but she has gotten so busy with her freelance design work that she just doesn't have time to "play" with it anymore. I considered taking it over or opening one of my own, but at this point, I don't think I will. Thanks to all of you who purchased our products! We're both very happy with our 417 sales!!

Still a bag lady

Yep, I'm still sewing bags. Below is a custom bag that I made last week - one of our original totes.

I have another custom order to work on now... another of the totes. Actually, my boss custom ordered it herself, as a gift for a friend. Yeah, that boss... a.k.a. Jess. :-) So I guess I'd better get busy!

Don't be surprised if you don't see many more posts from me before Christmas. Unless there's something I just HAVE TO show you. Like another blizzard... or some Courtney tricks... or something. ;-) But I WILL be back!

A new combination

Yep, I'm still making buckets. Here are #'s 61 and 62. A customer requested this combination of fabrics. I like it!

I mailed them to Jess today for the Etsy shop, along with the Buttercup Bag (#41) and book cover (#36) below. The book cover was also a custom job. It's smaller than the others, for a Japanese paperback.

I find it hard to believe I've actually sewn that many items (not to mention 26 tote bags and 35 business card envelopes)! And even harder to believe that nearly all of them have sold!

My 39-yr.-old iron and Kenmore sewing machine have served me well. I hope they keep on keepin' on!

This is why...

... I've been unable to post every day. I shipped these to Jess today.

And I just now got a custom order for a couple more buckets [would you believe I've already made 57 (and sold 50 through our Etsy shop) of those babies?!!], so I'll continue to be busy! But never fear, I've kept my camera busy, too, so I have more to post. Keep checking back!

Stiiiiiill sewing!

A week and a half ago, Jess posted on her blog about the business card envelope I'd made for her. Turns out her blog readers thought it was pretty cool, and many left comments saying they hoped I'd make more and sell them in our Etsy shop. Hey, I aim to please! And it sounded to me like a pretty good addition to our product line, so I whipped up a bunch of them and shipped to Jess on Saturday. She should receive them today, and they'll be available for purchase in the shop as soon as she has time to photograph and list them. She's been awfully busy with freelance design jobs lately, and since they do make "a little" (ha!) more money than the Etsy shop, they take priority with her time. ;-) Anyway, here's a peek for you at our newest product.

They're pretty quick and fun to make.

Speaking of Jess's 'real' work, did I ever show you her design portfolio? I don't think I did. Anyway, if you're interested in seeing samples of her work, check out Jessica Jones Design.

It's been a busy week

Here's what I mailed to Jess this morning for the Etsy shop.

The two on the left are from the same pattern, just a larger size. Below is a little more comparison.

Since there's a little more room inside, I made the pocket a bit bigger and sectioned off a place for a pen.

So it was a week of accomplishment. I was very glad for the rainy weather so I didn't have to feel like I should be doing things outside. Also because it was a great way for my late-planted garden to get started. Now if we just get some sunshine and warmer weather, things should grow like crazy. Oh, yeah... that means the lawn, too. Always something to do.

Just so you know

I haven't been just sitting around watching birds all day. ;-) Here are the latest bags which got listed in the Etsy shop today.

(Click to enlarge.)

It's official!

Finally I can show you what I've been doing with all that fabric! When Jess posted on her blog about this bag that she'd made, she had a number of commentors saying they'd love to buy one if she sold them in her Etsy shop. Unfortunately, the free pattern was for personal use only, and not for making to sell. However, the woman who designed the pattern (Rae Hoekstra, madebyrae.blogspot.com) got so many requests for license to sell, that she agreed to do it, and yesterday she put the pattern for sale in her Etsy shop. We knew this was coming, so I started making the bags, and here's what I've sent Jess so far. They are now available in her Etsy shop!

A closer look at a couple of them:

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

Their size is about 11½" wide by 7½" high. Don't they look delicious in those fabrics?!

Update: They sold out in less than 24 hours. Not that I was surprised, between the cute pattern and gorgeous fabrics! ;-) I shall be busy making more!

Why I don't post every day

It's been a busy week! I mailed these buckets and book covers to Jess this morning to list in the Etsy shop.

And Monday my shipment of new fabric is supposed to arrive. I'm excited! My bags, buckets and book covers will take on a whole new look! Fun!

I'll still post when I can, but don't worry if I skip a day or three... it won't be because I died (I hope!). ;-)

A sneak peek

Here's a quick look at our new product for the Etsy shop. Someone suggested to us that we make book covers, because she'd had a fabric one at one time and used it so much that it finally wore out. We thought it sounded like a great idea, and this is a sampling of what I mailed to Jess today.

There are two different sizes, what we figured would be pretty standard for most paperback and hardcover books (the dimensions will be listed in the shop). Each is reversible, with a different fabric on the inside and an attached bookmark.

Here are some of the combinations.

They should make reading more fun, don'tcha think? Or perhaps hide from prying eyes what you happen to be reading? ;-) Not to mention protect your book, of course.

We REALLY appreciate the suggestion (thanks, Audrey!), and we're open to other ideas any of you have of fabric items you might like to see in the shop or think others might be interested in buying. Feel free to email me your idea (there's an email link in the right sidebar if you don't already have my address).

So there you have your peek. They should appear in the shop on Thursday or Friday!

So pretty!

Jess's new fabrics are now available for sale, and she received her batch of them yesterday. These are "Beads". I love them!

Take a look at the rest of them on her blog.

I can't wait to get some. In my mind are visions of these delicious new prints on bags, buckets, b.... oh, yeah - our new item that I'm working on for the Etsy shop, which should be available next week. I'll "show and tell" you more later!

Spring colors

As I was driving to town the other day, I couldn't help thinking that right now is the absolute dreariest time of year! EVERYTHING is brown. The snow is gone... nothing's turning green yet. It's just plain 'blah'.

I'm really glad I have something pretty to work on in the house. Here are a couple of the latest buckets I've made from Jess's 'Peapod' fabric. (I don't know why the lining looks so drab in the photos... it's actually a brighter, "lime-ier" green, more like the green in the print.)

I also finished another bag out of the same fabric. Much more refreshing colors than looking out the windows.

The above and more are all headed to Jess's later today for the Etsy shop.

Speaking of spring colors, Jess has some new fabrics that should be available very soon. (There's even a "Candy" colorway. Ha!) Check 'em out! If you see any print or color combinations you might like a bag or bucket out of, let me know. I'll be getting a shipment once they're printed. I can't wait to get started making things from them!

BTW, happy first day of spring! Let's hope it's here to stay and that things turn green fast!

Need any birthday cards?

Head on over to Jess's Etsy shop and grab a package. The price is great, and today only, she's throwing in a set of her postcards for free! How fun is that!

All gone again!

The Etsy shop is now empty of buckets again. We've sold 20 of them already! Jess just received a couple more yesterday, one of which is already spoken for along with 2 custom bags. And 2 other bags have sold in the last couple of days, so we're down to ONE of those left in the shop! Guess who's gonna be even busier at her sewing machine! I may disappear from the blog completely! No, I wouldn't do that... honest. But I might get even slower at posting.

Here's a new color bucket that I just made. It's fun to be able to do so many different color combinations.

Need a new mousepad?

Jess has hers all marked down to half price this week in the Etsy shop. That makes them only $5! What a deal!!

Done and gone

Wednesday's post became this:

And they've been shipped to Jess to hopefully be received today.

Many more to make!

Wordless Wednesday

Good news, bad news

The good news is that today Jess listed the newest 6 buckets I gave her, and there are only 2 left already! Business is booming!

Update: The other 2 also sold within 24 hours of listing!

The bad news is that I'm going to be busier than ever making more buckets, which means I'm going to have even less time for my blog posts. :-(

I have some great pics and videos from our weekend to show you. But for now, it's late... in fact, it just became Tuesday... and I'd better get to bed because Courtney will be here at 7:30!!

Progress

WOW!

My first 4 buckets sold out in less than 24 hours! And commentors are "crying" and asking for more. Good thing I have more in the works!