What I've Been Up To

I feel like it has been forever since I have listed a new item in my etsy shop! And, that is because I have been working on a huge custom order for one of my parties. I am working steadily on the bags (especially trying to get some done while my husband is in Haiti for the week) and thought I would share some of my creations with you!

Sweet Pink Mini-Tote! A first in two fabrics!

Divine Lime! Love the new fabrics!

Most popular fabrics! A new twist on the black and yellow birdie fabric.

I have a couple other bags that are almost done and will post them soon! In the next few weeks, I would like to try something new with my blog - a tutorial! I like to make matching key chains to go with my bags and since they are super easy, thought I would share!!! So, be on the look out for my key chain tutorial coming soon!

Wouldn't you just love a matching key chain for your Sew Cute! bag?

Friday Finds and More!

Happy Friday! It has been awhile since I have written! Busy, Busy in the Tappan household. I am now 17 weeks pregnant and every day is a new adventure. Yesterday, I woke up angry and this morning I woke up ready to cry and throw in the towel. I guess these hormones really take a lot out of a girl! My husband is afraid to get out of bed in the morning, never knowing if it will be his sweet wife or the monster twin awaiting him! I guess he can handle it.

Part of this emotional rollercoaster is my HUGE bag order from my most recent Sew Cute! at home party....no complaints here, but I am a bit overwhelmed. I have made 6 bags (various sizes) with matching wallets, keychains, etc. and still have 5 bags to go. Thankfully, the accessories are already completed. My etsy shop is waning and the store I sell my bags in needs more! YIKES! Doug reminded me I just need to breathe and take it one day at a time. I will try that and get back to you!

On a happy note, today is our 5 year anniversary! April 16th was the date of our first date....and we got married one year later. Doug and I have known each other since high school, so this was no speedy engagement. It's been a great five years, full of love and learning and I wouldn't trade any of it.

Since I am expecting, I have been searching Etsy for cute baby items. I even tried to post a treasury, but to no avail. My friends use "nursing bracelets" - beaded bracelets that have numbers on them to help you remember when you last nursed, and what side you nursed on. I found this particular bracelet very cheerful and fun from a seller called Chunky Monkey Toes.


Do you have any favorite baby products? Help a girl out! Post a comment with some links to great finds that worked for you. Also, any suggestions on which cloth diaper hybrids to use? =)

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend. =)

a little bit of Spring

Sorry, I haven't been around all week! I actually had to work, at work! Crazy, huh?
I have a few updates for you and a few treats as well!

Last Saturday's bag party was fantastic! I sold a ton of purses, wallets, mini-wallets and booked a party! I am extremely overjoyed that Sew Cute! is on it's way....feels hard to believe that a year ago I hadn't even thought up Sew Cute!. I need to remind my self of God's faithfulness and provision at all times of this business venture....even when I'm so tired from being pregnant and have HUGE bag order looming over me! So, the party took in over $500 worth of orders. Now the job is to order fabric, start making bags, and figure out how much is actual profit, how much goes to my investor (dear Mom) and how much to put back in the business. It is quite a learning process.

I am also toying with the idea of getting thank you cards made - I may do them myself with publisher or check out etsy to see if there are any crafters out there who can do it for me! I need bags as well for my bags! Or somesort of packaging. I've heard the Dollar Tree offers some great deals on smaller bags (for wallet, keychains, etc), but I need to explore larger options for the mini-tote and the regular totes. Hmmm....

Remember a few weeks ago when I posted the Spring table runner I was making? Well, I finally have the photos! It is so pretty and looks great on my kitchen table.

The finished product!

A close up view.

On an end note, the giveaway is almost over....so, go to the giveaway post and enter to win one of my new zippered coin purses!

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!

whims and goals

I have a very interesting job. I work as a temp for an educational firm in the Quality Assurance department. Basically, I check data printouts with the web versions to make sure the data transferred correctly. I like it. I can listen to audio books while I work and there is absolutely no stress! Yay. Lately, we haven't had any work...maybe 15 minutes of small jobs here and there. While we wait for work, we can do basically anything at our desks. The past few weeks I've done the following:
-blog
-read Harry Potter (almost done the whole series for the millionth time)
-read other books
-listen to Pandora
-knit mittens and start a baby blanket
-learn how to crochet
-facebook stalking
-blog searching
-search for bag patterns and tutorials on the internet
-search for new recipes
-make my grocery lists
-embroider
-finish a few Sew Cute! projects that can be done by hand
You get the idea. If I could bring in my sewing machine, cutting mat, and rotary cutter, I would be the happiest gal alive! I am seriously thinking about it! With all this "free" time, I could be designing and making beautiful bags. But instead, I sit here and dream about how I am going to go home and create. Then, I go home and am tired! Probably from doing nothing all day...or it could be my 9 week secret =).

Today, I got the idea to remake a bag I have had since sophomore year in high school - so that's 1996 - it's a great bag - bought it from Aeropostale on clearance for like $7. Bright orange canvas, small messenger bag style. It was great for day trips and weekend trips where you are walking all around and need to carry the essentials - wallet, phone, water bottle, snacks, hand sanitizer (yes, I carried little hand wipes back then, too!). I always brought this particular bag with me to the Soul Fest, a Christian music festival in NH. If you are reading this and went to either high school or college with me, I am sure you remember this bag. Anyway, I realized the other day that it would be a perfect bag to take with me to the Museum of Science, though I didn't want to carry around a bright orange bag while wearing a bright red jacket! So, I thought, Meg, you make handbags, you can make this bag! Thinking about it now, I am going to find some fun decorator fabric (the heavier fabric at craft/fabric stores) and something to imitate the strap and make myself a bag. Maybe two. One for winter and one for summer. Then, I thought, as I was taking my walk at break time, I can sell some, too! Who doesn't need an all purpose bag? I'm so excited about the prospect of this now, at 3:30 pm, but I know when I get home, I will be sick and tired! Well, that is what weekends are for. Sewing! I'll try to find my orange bag and take a pic of it for you all (my two followers) to see!
Happy blogging.

busy, busy

Sew Cute! at home...
has been born. In two weeks time, I will have hosted two Sew Cute! at home parties. So far, I have about 15 people RSVP'd to attend. It's pretty exciting to think that this could really be something. Maybe this time next year I won't have to work full time, you know, quit my day job? I also have people interested in hosting parties of their own. The problem - how to organize parties and be able to sew the bags in time for my customers! My husband thinks I will be very busy and a bit stressed; but let's cross that bridge when we come to it!
I'm pretty excited about the promotions for hostesses. Here are a few:
Hostess Benefits:
10% off your purchases automatically!
$100 in sales – 20% off, free keychain
$150 in sales – 25% off, free wallet
$200 in sales – 30% off, free clutch
$250 + - 35% off, free clutch and wallet
Signing up for a party – free wallet to match your bag!

Purchase benefits:
Buy any bag (small, medium or large) and get 20% off a matching wallet or clutch.
Buy any bag and wallet/clutch combo, get a free keychain.

Tomorrow, I'm heading back to Lucy's Art Emporium to add some more bags/clutches to my stock there. I made a darling purple birds mini-tote last weekend, as well as two clutches today.

cute & quick new project!

a nursing cover...no, not for me. a friend of mine just had a baby and instead of a bag, she wanted a new, fun nursing cover. now, I am not well versed in the world of nursing accessories, but I have seen some very cool covers at church. I found some fabric she liked and went to work. After googling a bit, I found a site that had mommy-type projects and skimmed to see a free nursing cover pattern. www.blisstree.com.It was easy to follow, and the pictures were very helpful. I did change a bit on the pattern - I cut the strap fabric wider and folded it in to the middle and then again to make a more clean cut seam. I also used zigzag stitch so it wouldn't fray. All in all, it only took about 45 minutes. A great new project!