Saturday morning with a cup of tea...

It's really early on a Saturday morning. I should be sleeping....but, long story short, I am at my parents house waiting for my car to get inspected. So, I made a cup of tea, grabbed Mom's laptop and here we are.

What are your plans for today? I have a super busy day (my poor husband has had to hear about it all week, sorry!), especially for a pregnant lady who just wants to curl up with a book.
1. Car inspection @ 8:00 am - check
2. Bank
3. Sew Cute! at home party - so excited about this...I'll let you know how it goes!
4. Tutoring session
5. HOME - but making soup
6. Rest
7. Dinner with friends

So, at least I am getting a little bit of blogging done, with a cup of yummy Chai tea.

This week while reading blogs, I've noticed a trend. People are posting things such as, " 10 Things you didn't know about me from reading this blog" and so on...so, why don't I jump on the bandwagon? What's great about this is that it is not a forward and you don't have to respond...but if you want to....leave a comment!

10 Things you didn't know about me from reading this blog:
1. My husband's name is Doug and he is very cute
2. My parents have a chihuahua named Shandy and he just came running out, barking at me!
3. I've always wanted long hair, but can never grow it past my shoulders
4. My brother's name is Jamie and he has three darling children (and a lovely wife)
5. I really hope my baby has strawberry blond/red hair!
6. My career goal in college was to be a neuroscientist....we'll see about that.
7. I broke my right ring finger playing basketball freshman year of HS - it was in gym - I have no athletic ability at all!
8. My best friend lives in Colorado; which is way too far away for me!
9. I love Barbies
10. My bunny, Velvet, likes to snort at Doug (and me, sometimes!)

Life: Crazy Love

This blog is about life, not just handbags.

"The fact is, I need God to help me love God. And, if I need his help to love him, a perfect being, I definitely need his help to love other, fault filled humans. Something mysterious, even supernatural must happen in order for genuine love for God to grow in our hearts. The holy spirit has to move in our lives." page 104, Crazy Love by Francis Chan.

My husband encouraged me to read a book that he recently read - it's called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. He told me that as I read it, at times I wouldn't even feel like a Christian and that this book would make me desire God more. So, I picked it up and read four chapters on Sunday. Then, I took a few days to digest the fact that I don't love God enough and almost feel like a fraud. I read more today.

That sounds harsh. And, I'm glad. I've been a follower of Christ for my whole life...no life changing, radical moments in Meg's life. I love God and try to serve Him. I do Bible Study, I go to church, I help the needy. But, it is not enough. I need to give my all to Him.

I just read the chapter about Love - being in love with God. It's hard to think about being madly in love with your creator and not just your husband (or wife). But, it is what God desires and made us for. We are not followers of Christ to get to heaven. If that is what drives your faith, think again. I don't think about heaven too much...to be honest, it scares me...we don't know much about it. But, really, I should want to look forward to spending eternity with my maker, the Most High God.

Do you have a pulling on your heart? Is your soul tired? Even if you are not a Christian, or if you are, I'm am sure you feel the tug for more. The back cover of this book states, "Have you ever wondered if we're missing it?" Can a woman who has followed God her whole life miss the point? Yup. And that is why I am reading Crazy Love and looking more indepthly at the scriptures.

I'm at a life transition. I am three months pregnant and so happy! I'm really nervous, too. Isn't it a great time to fall in love with God and truly follow Him? I think so. I'm sure this won't be easy (the author said it wouldn't) or quick, but I hope to change my thinking about God. I hope to share my faith more and not be so comfortable. Everyone has their "ish", we all have stuff to work on....knowing and doing are two different things, though.

Here's a quote from A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God that really speaks to what my heart is saying.

"O God, I have tasted thy goodness and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still.
Show me thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, 'Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.' Then give me grace to rise and follow thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long."

What do you think? Leave me a comment or better yet, read the book.
crazy love book website

Giveaway Review

I taught elementary school for three years and one thing I learned is to review information! So, I'm going to review my giveaway information for you! I've noticed I have quite a few new followers, but no new giveaway entries. So, to clarify:

~To enter the giveaway, you must:
1. Be a follower
2. Leave a comment on the giveaway post stating:
-your email (so I can contact you)
-which bag style you like the best from my etsy shop
3. There are other ways to get multiple entries as well...go to the original post for details!

giveaway post

Hurry....the giveaway ends in two weeks!

Coming soon....
Photos of my new table runner. I finished it last week in time for the first day of Spring...but haven't had time to upload the photos! It's gorgeous. =) Have a great day!

new items

It feels like it is officially Spring! In NH, you can never quite expect the weather to stay constant for too long...but these new coin purses will help you keep the Spring mood!


Birds of a Feather Flock Together



Pink Flowers Make Me Smile!

My First Giveaway!

Yay! We did it! Now that I have at least 25 followers (through blogger and/or networked blogs), Sew Cute! is having a giveaway! Thank you for being a follower of the Sew Cute! blog and now you can have a chance to win my newest item - the zippered coin purse!



The winner will get to choose from three fabric selections!

Here's how to participate:
1. This giveaway is for my followers, so you have to be follower (or subscribe to my blog) to participate.

2. In order to get signed up for the giveaway, leave me a comment to this post saying your name, email address (so I can contact you if you win!)and which Sew Cute! bag you like the best - you can look at them on my esty mini sidebar or go to my etsy site
You can also be entered other ways ~ yes, more than 1!

~write a blog post about this giveaway (1 extra entry)
~facebooking this giveaway (1 extra entry)
~buy an item from my etsy shop (5 extra entries!)

How do you enter extra entries?!!

~In order to get the extra entries, you must come back to this post and leave a comment about how you promoted this giveaway, with a link to where you promoted it and your email address so I can contact you.

How will I pick the winner?!!!

~I'll tally up the entries, assigning numbers to each, then use random.org to pick a winner!

You have until April 6th to enter!

Shop Local!

Happy Friday! My mother-in-law's birthday is coming up next week and I was thinking yesterday that it would be cool to shop local. Maybe it is because I make my own handbags and sell them that I thought of this or because I have spent a lot of time on Etsy this week. I've been reading forums, blog posts and just acquainting myself more with the site and the world of crafting for business.

When I was perusing Etsy, I noticed a "Shop Local" tab and clicked it. You can search for Etsians who live in your area! I found a local Etsian who lives right down the road from me in Rochester and she has super cute jewelry. MamaLuna11 Her pendants are made from old Scrabble pieces...I'll let you check out her page for more info....check her out, seriously! So, I ended up looking through her shop and purchased a gift for my mother-in-law (hopefully, she is not reading this blog post!).
This is one of the pendants from Mama Luna's shop!

I just got me thinking about shopping locally. Outside of Lucy's Art Emporium in Dover, where I sell my bags, there is a big sign that states "shop local". In these hard times, it makes sense to support local artisans who are trying their hand at making some money doing what they love to do. And, if it is interesting and fits with our style/needs. So, next time you need something new or for a gift - shop local! Check out Etsy!

Follow!

Coming Soon! I am going to host a Sew Cute! Giveaway. Once I reach 25 followers, I will post info on an initial giveaway (one of my new coin purses in the fabric of your choice!)...then, watch your chances for a second, larger scale giveaway (a clutch or a bag!) when I reach 50 followers!

So, for now, check out my blog, reach some past posts and keep an eye on my follower list!

Today's Project: Bright Pink Knitted Hat

I started a new knitting project at work today. I've used this pattern once before and the hat came out great! Although, it is getting warmer outside here in NH, it is never too early or too late to start knitting projects for the cold weather!

Sew Cute! Saturday & Sunday

This weekend, I got a bit of quilting done - both for Sew Cute! and my own projects. I finally finished the wallet/coin purse duo for a custom order. t The coin purse took a bit of work, I made two and finally perfected it with this one.

I also decided that I want to make a Spring table runner with some pink lemonade fabrics that I picked out last year. I started this project this afternoon. I should be done sometime this week.

Here's the pic of what it will look like finished:


Among other things, I found out that I sold a few items at Lucy's...and was very excited about it. I realized that with Spring coming, I should try out another store to sell my bags at. Today, I headed down to Portsmouth and checked out another store. It looks promising...so we'll see!

lists

If you read my last entry, I am trying to expand my blogging abilities. It is important to not just blog about Sew Cute! and my business ideas. But, today is a day for organizing my thoughts!

This morning, I was reading my etsy email and all the wonderful tips and tricks they give you to promote your business. Of course, it would be wonderful if I had the time to actually implement all of these ideas - maybe I would increase my sales! Day by day, right? At least, while I am at work, I can do research and find cool ideas, document them here and then go back when I have time. That's the plan, anyway! One of the featured tips was from the curious pug, an etsy seller who blogs and posts helpful tutorials. If you get a chance, check it out - it is a great list of how to boost your etsy business. The five tips I liked the best were:
~4. Add your shop address and blog url to your email signature. - a great tip, why didn't I think of that?
~19. Make a slide-show quick and easy with Google Picasa and post it to YouTube. - she even includes a tutorial on how to do this! It's a creative way to get a new group of people looking at your stuff.
~23. Use your 14 tags wisely. You can also include your shop name as a tag in a few of your items so buyers can find you by searching for you on etsy. - I just recently realized you could type in your own tag at this point of adding an item on etsy and adding your shop name is super!
~17. Host a giveaway. - once I have some more followers and my shop has more inventory, this is top priority!
~26. Thinking about taking custom orders? It would be wise to take a non-refundable 50% deposit from the customer before you even begin. Then have them pay the rest after you set up a reserved listing with images. Don't just go through email with a custom order. Set up a listing on Etsy. - I think I need to look into this, I thought I set it up, but might need to revisit!
Thanks, Curious Pug, for all your helpful tips! Here is The Curious Pug's etsy page - the curious pug. Check it out!

#1 thing to do this week: set up a flickr account!