NEW CRAYON WALLET UNLEASED!

Well for those of you that asked about it, My new design for the crayon wallet was a huge hit at the bazaar. I had a few sales, but a ton of compliments on the great design. I sent a few to kids to test them out, and got responses from the parents as well.

The test show, these thing are Awesome!!! The kids loved them, the parents REALLY loved them, and oh how they were admired. I thought about posting a pattern on how to make them, but I decided it should be exclusive to my shop because of all the sweat and tears it took to design. I am very happy with the outcome. This is a marketable product, and I am proud to stop hoarding it finally and release it to all of you. The new design hold 12 crayons (included) and a 4x6 notebook (included).

To celebrate this great accomplishment I am doing an EASTER SALE in my shop. Buy 2 wallets in the new design, and I will send you another of your choice for free! I am working on getting more listed, as well as adding pictures to my flicker for fabric choices. These make great EASTER GIFTS. Convo me if you need a custom order. Thanks again to everyone who was so patient with me getting this out!!!

Sunday Stash

Well I didn't have time to get a photo of the new fabric that came this week from Fabric hound, but I decided this week I wanted to show you the progress on my stash organizing project. I cannot decide if I want to color coordinate everything.

Do you think I should. I still have bins full of fabric but this project will be for the stuff I want on hand all the time. So should I separate all the colors? Right now its in stack by measurements. Half yards, or full. I did try to keep collections together though. Please help I am stuck on what to do. I also have way to many scraps still, so I plan on listing them in the store this week if I get some time.

Winner Winner

OK this is my favorite Item from Jane's shop. Since everyone shared their favorites with me, I thought I would do the same for you. Tonight I had the privilege of drawing 3 lucky winners for her 3 beautiful prizes. I decided not to put all the pics of my Numbers up since ,well they are not very cute anyway, I wanted a picture of my favorite fabric instead. There were 205 entries WOW!!!

Random Number one was 71 ~ Tins and Treasures said...
I love the background on your blog...I am now a follower!
From Jane's shop, I like the yellow flower quilt fabric. Hope you had a good weekend. Take care ~Natalie

Random Number two was 22 ~The Quilted Pomegranate said...
Hello again...here is the link to my blog post about the giveaway, & I am now a sew-fantastic follower as well.

Random Number three was 109 ~ Gene Black said...
I totally lust after "Clotheworks Seasons Flowers Quilt Fabric"
And I am a follower

Jane will be contacting you all shortly

Thank you everyone For your super comments, and thank you Jane for the wonderful Gifts. Please take a few minutes to thank Jane over at her blog. She loves comments to.

Our next giveaway will start early this week because of the fact that it's Easter related so stay tuned!!!

CONGRATS TO ALL THE WINNERS!!!!

WOW Sew much Fun! I love Bazaar's

Despite the small turnout, and the down pour we got here. I had a lot of fun networking with other crafters. I sold about 8 items, so not all bad, but the fun outweighed the small turn out. Some of these crafters had some great items, that no one even knows about yet because they only sell at bazaars. I invited a few of my favortites to come and check out Etsy.

When I first discovered Etsy, I remember how excited I was. Today you would have thought I worked for them LOL. I think it is wonderful having all those crafters in the same room, it feeds my creativity in so many ways. There was Some Beautiful Jewelry By Angelique, who by the way it setting up a website for you all to be able to see soon. I saw some handmade bears, knitted blankets, soap, and even clothes.

You really can tell the difference in a room full of crafters, who really loves what they make, it shines through in their personality, as well as their product. I also invited a few of them to join us here in blogger world. It will be exciting to see them again even if it is online.

So here is a few pics, not very good ones, but hey I got up at 6 am and my lighting in the room was not that great either. That's my excuse, and I am sticking to it.

(Can you tell I wanted to be noticed with my bright Orange today)

DON'T FORGET LAST CHANCE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY, I WILL DRAW 3 LUCKY WINNERS TOMORROW!!

Yay! Today is the Bazaar!!

I am so excited, today is the spring bazaar. My first one, so we will see how it goes. It's the first one of the spring to, so I hope everyone has all their crafty stuff all over the place. I love seeing all the different things that people make in one big place.

I don't have a lot to bring this time cause most of it has sold in the last few weeks, however My friend Angel will be there with her beautiful Jewelry, and there will also be some gorgeous Quilts and fun stuff from the Sometimes Crafter. Wooohoo. This is gonna be fun!!! I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday as well, I will let you know how it goes.

Friday's Loyal Commenter Award

Sara Maria Brockunier

A New Englander at heart who loves to quilt, knit, read and listen to music. Moved to New Hampshire in 2004 and still in love with the area and people.


Sara Has been a loyal reader of Sew-fantastic for awhile now. Her comment when I was sick really made my day. She has gone out of her way on numerous occasions to let me know that she has stopped by, not just on the giveaways.

Please take a minute to make a new friend over at Sara's Blog. Leaver her some wonderful comments. She is clever, and witty, and her posts always make me laugh. Her sense of humor and great kindness really make her one of a kind. Thank you Sara for all your wonderful comments. Please display your award proudly.




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Say It Forward

Sew-Fantastic Is part of a new Venture......

Say It Forward — Carnival of Loyal Commenters
Written by Janice


There are not many things more beautiful and appreciated to a blogger than a good comment. We bloggers live for them.
When we open up our site in the morning and see a new comment sitting there waiting to greet us, well it makes our day – one sparkling gift handed to little ol’ us in the middle of the big, big blogosphere.
Yes, comments are the jewels of the blogosphere.
But how can we thank our loyal friends and readers for giving us these treasures?
First and foremost, we can return the favour!
We can visit their blogs and leave them comments. The golden rule of blogging – do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. It makes the blogosphere go round.

Blog visiting and commenting are how I have made my best friends online. However sometimes it can be difficult to keep up with them all.
Leaving a comment is like walking up to a new friend in the playground and introducing yourself. It is how we make friends in the blogosphere.
What if we want to do EVEN MORE???

Because we want to do even more to recognize and thank our commenters, we have created a new weekly carnival…
Say It Forward – Carnival of Loyal Commenters
Say it Forward is a new weekly carnival where bloggers feature their loyal commenters!
Each blogger will write a post featuring one, two or three of their loyal commenters and then add that link to the carnival.
In the posts, bloggers can include photos, bios, interview questions or even quotes from their comments – whatever works best to turn the spotlight on commenters and show them how much we appreciate them taking the time to read and comment on our blogs.

What if the commenter we want to thank isn’t a blogger? No worries! Shine that spotlight anyway! Share their comment(s), their name – anything you can to say THANKS!

If you are selected as a Loyal Commenter either by our site or another blog, you can display this Loyal Commenter badge with pride.

So Tomorrow SEW-FANTASTIC Will give it's first ever Loyal Commenter Award!

New Segment Give your opinions and ENTER!!

Image from google search

So I wanted to start a new segment on Wednesday's The segment will be called Our Featured Crafter, or something like that. This will be an Interview like setting in blog form. Every Wednesday a new crafter will be featured and a list of questions will be answered by them. The Questions will be random and usually focus on their crafting or blog, or even their etsy store. This will be a great way to meet new people who love the same things as you, find out how to start something new, or be introduced to a new shop or blog that you may not have seen before.

If you are interested in being a featured Crafter please email me at terriharlan@rocketmail.com, and I will send over some questions to be asked in our interview. Let me know what you all think about this idea. Of course critique is always welcome to. How do you think the segment should go?

If you would like me to email you the application to see if your interested I can also do that.

Celebrating 100 Handmade Sales

So this week my Esty store is approaching it's first 100 sales. It may not seem like much, but to me this is a great accomplishment. Me, the procrastinator in projects. Saying I will fill up my shop with all these wonderful ideas in my head then realizing, I really don't have the time.

A few months ago at the beginning of the new year, I decided it was time. Sophia was at an age that she was a little more independent, and I could craft at the dining room table while still keeping an eye on her. Since I started filling my shop up in February, the sales started coming. I am grateful for all my readers, my buyers, and my fellow crafters for making this all so much fun.

So to celebrate the up coming 100th sale on Etsy, I am offering 15% off everything in my store to my blog readers only. Just write "100sales" in the notes to seller section and I will refund you through pay pal. This sale will only last until Thursday Morning so go get them early, I have new items coming after my bazaar this weekend. This will not apply to previous purchases or custom orders.

THE 100th SALE GETS FREE SHIPPING!!!

I can never say it to much, Thank you to everyone. You are all Sew-Fantastic!

Like Christmas in the mailbox today

I had to share the order I received today from Pink Chalk Fabrics. They had a sale last week, and of course I had to take advantage of it when I saw all the Denise Schmidt fabrics. I got them in a home decor weight this time because I just loved the deep rich colors. I joined a Flicker group for Sunday Stash, and since I missed yesterday I thought I would make it up to everyone today.

Another cute find on Etsy was this new pincushion. His name is Freddy, and he is as happy as a clam sitting with me at my sewing table. He helped me finish all the orders that I was behind in today (from being sick) Freddy sure was fun to look at while I sewed today. Funny how the smallest things make us smile. I saw him on the front page of Etsy when I logged on last week, and was happy that I had seen him first.

And now for our princess, In the mail today was her tutu, we ordered from Sweet Pea's Place

What a great deal she has on Children's item's. I loved the time and effort she put into it, looks just beautiful, and for such an incredible price. She is taking orders now for Easter go get one fast. Sophia doesn't want to take hers off.

Spring is in the air Giveaway

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY

A wonderful stay at home mom of 3, And quilting guru Jane, runs this fabulous fabric store called Jane's Fabrics. She specializes in, but is not limited to bright colors and vintage retro fabrics. I have had the pleasure of knowing Jane through my blog, sharing stories and projects as well as many laughs.

Jane was kind enough to offer a giveaway this week to our readers here at Sew-Fantastic and might I say how generous this weeks giveaway is.. A well established seller on eBay and a beautiful quilter, her store inspires many ideas, and handcrafted items.

There are 3 yes 3 Prizes this week. 3 winners will be chosen in order to win these 3 fabulous prizes. To enter just stop by Jane's Fabrics and pick out your favorite item, then come back her and leave a comment letting us know what you picked. That easy.

Prize 1. Salina Yoon Barn Yard Animals Panel

And one yard of each of her coordinating prints (shown below)

prize 2. Moda Butterfly Fling Panel, and matching Charm Pack

Prize 3. One yard of EACH of these Spring prints from the Clothworks Line “Seasons”

Want Extra entries????

2 Extra entries for following this blog (please let us know you are a follower)

3 extra entries for blogging this giveaway . Please leave the link in a separate comment for reference

5 extra entries for EACH purchase made this week in Jane's shop
(make sure you tell her sew-fantastic sent you. Then leave another comment saying you purchased from her.)

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!
Contest ends March 29th 2009 Winner will be announced in next Sundays entry.



COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED, WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY

Taking a sick Day

Sorry I went MIA for a bit, I am currently dealing with this enormous flu bug that won't leave me alone. I started some orders yesterday, but didn't want to affect the quality of my work. So that being said, I am taking a break. I need lots of water and lots of sleep. Hopefully my head doesn't explode. (that's what it feels like) I will see you all on Sunday For Jane's Fabric Giveaway. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

New Pattern Finished Today

It's Finished!! I finally sat down this week and designed a user friendly pattern for my crayon wallet. Everyone wanted to know my secrets. How I get the measurements so perfect, how I get the fabric to not bunch up, and many more. I promise this pattern is different then all the ones you have seen. It took 3 days to perfect. With 10 full pages, and 15 color photos this pattern is fabulous. I have converted it to a file small enough to be email friendly, and it's ready for your pattern collection

I want to say a quick thank you to Christina for her help with editing, it made a HUGE difference. This pattern is for anyone from a beginner to a pro sewer. So without further ado I give you The Crayon wallet Tutorial. available in my shop now.

Heads up On a Huge 50% Off Fabric Sale

Do you have a list of fabric that you are dying to get? Me I wanted to order some more Olive lotus fabric from Amy Butler. So last night I did. at 5.00 a yard, or only 1.25 for a fat quarter.

Quilt Art is having a huge online sale but it's very limited on time so hurry and get over there. Choose from Kaffee Faset, Katie Jump Rope (Denise Schmidt) , Joel Dewberry, Amy Butler, Micheal Miller, and more all at 50% off today. This is an online sale only, and they can ship up to 6 yards for only 4.95. Head on over to Quilt Arts online right now before it's all gone.

New Craft Monday ~ Working with Linen

Although mom couldn't make it this week, I decided that I would put aside some time to work on somethings new. I finished up my orders and then decided to try some projects working with the linen I bought last week.

This was my first time using linen for anything. Yeah I know, where have I been. Ever since I started to fall in live with Japanese fabrics, I have also started to love linen. There are more uses for it then I could have imagined. The only downside is that it was very time consuming to work with, hard to iron, and doesn't forgive easily.

My first project was a simple pot holder I made it with 2 layers of flannel in between. ( I suggest if you want this to function as a potholder to add more layers, otherwise it's a great decoration).

Then I decided to try a bag, I just love the warm feeling it gave this bag. I was afraid that when it was done it would be one of those projects that hung out in my closet for a few years. I was so wrong, it came out beautiful.

I suggest trying some linen in your projects, My Friend over at the Sometimes Crafter has a few tutorials using linen if you need some ideas. If you want to see more pictures of this bag click here.

Citrus Gnome Giveaway Winner

Yay the contest is over, and we have our lucky winner.

First of all thank you to everyone who participated in this giveaway. Me and Suzanne both had fun reading all the comments, and seeing the feedback about her beautiful products.

Tonight we used Mr. Random Generator to pick out one lucky winner.

There were 126 entries total with the most entries going to Rachel for buying 2 gnomes from Suzanne.

So on with the show.......

Number 10 was..... Bebesboutique said...
I am a follower of your blog. I went and checked out your friends etsy store and OMG her knitted items are soooo cute. Love the mice, goats and pigs.

Congratulations to you Bebesboutiquem please email me with your info to pass on to Suzanne for your winnings.

It's not to late go get one yourself in her shop right now.

The next Giveaway will be March 22nd

I am also thinking about a frequent reader award, some kind of prize every month to the most loyal reader. How do we know you came by? Well leave a comment silly.

Hope everyone had a great weekend see you tomorrow.

Katie Jump Rope Checkbook covers

New items are coming this next week. I was so excited about getting back into making bags, that I decided to work on some accessories for them as well. I love the one of a kind feel of handmade goodies. This item you won't see everyday, but when you see it you will love it.

Just listed in the shop now, and more on the way. Leave a comment and tell me what you think of adding the checkbooks and debit card holders to my Etsy shop.

SAMPLE SALE!!

I wanted to let everyone know about the new section I have added to my store as of today.

When I design something new, it usually takes me a few tries to perfect it the way I would like to present it. These items carry character flaws next to the general items or measurements that I decide to use in the main product.

This last week I was designing a new crayon wallet, after many tries perfecting the pattern I have listed this cupcake wallet at a discount prize AKA the SAMPLE. Every listing will state why it is being sold at a discount, it usually will be a measurement issue, like in this case it was to big.

Look here or click the picture to read why and see the great deal, there is only one!

Spring is in the Air

I just love Spring!!

Just when you thought Spring would never come, here it is! Me and the family woke up and had breakfast together which we usually do on Thursday mornings. This morning was different though, we had tons and tons of SUNSHINE! I just love the colors of spring.

Then a good friend of mine over at The Sometimes Crafter posted these beautiful reverse applique coasters. They are amazing, and I can't wait to make them.

Do you wanna make some? Then grab your coffee or tea and head over to The Sometimes Crafter and get your free tutorial.

City Blooms and Coffee

Yep, this is what I woke up with this morning. My plan for a new bag in this beautiful City Blooms fabric. Now the original plan was to design something new, but with Sophia and me playing catch me if you can all day, I really didn't get time to design. Maybe tomorrow!


So if you count all the playing I did, the trip to our local craft store for a few things, and playing dosee-doe with Sophie. This bag took me a total of about 12 hours. LOL Now it's Finished and for SALE HERE!

And like I said my weekly habit shopping at Fabric Supplies, This is what came today.

I don't have a plan for most of them yet, I just had to have them! ENJOY

DON'T FORGET GIVEAWAY ENDS SUNDAY ENTER HERE

3 Projects down many to go

I think what I like most about Etsy is custom orders. People tell me what they need, and I create it. This week I am pleased to announce that I have officially started making bags again. To be honest I didn't think I would for awhile, but it's a passion I cannot ignore. Now if I could just learn to take good pictures of them I would be set!

I had someone request one of my crayon wallets to hold smaller crayons and a larger notebook. This was the outcome. This is not the actual item she wanted this is a sample of hers thats available in my store right now. HERE

I was happy to have sold the bag from lasts weeks green week post. Someone bought it today, and although it makes me sad to see it go, I know it will go to a loving home. If you would like one made for you let me know or you can buy this beautiful Amy Butler version HERE

And for this mornings Creativity session, I had all this nickle hardware from my previous store, so I made some linen blend FOB keychains with this cute Japanese import called Cheeky Bunny.

Have fun checking out all the new stuff I added this week in my Etsy store, and if there is something that you would like to see just let me know. I have a trip to the craft store tomorrow and I am SEW excited.

The old switcher-roo

I know it's new craft Monday, however instead of posting my craft I wanted to take tonight to thank everyone. I have only been blogging since right before Christmas 2008, and in that time I have gone from knowing the one person that got me here. To knowing hundreds of the most wonderful and creative people.

I want to thank you all for your comments, which I absolutely love and try to reply to as many as I can. I want to thank you all for sharing my stash of beautiful fabrics with me, and for learning new crafts with me. I want to thank you for all the positivity that surrounds my life with my family, and now with all of you.

It's not always about new craft Monday or green week, or giveaways, I want you all to know that I adore each and every one of you for all the positivity and creative outlook you bring to my blog, and to my life on a daily basis.

Thank you

It's Giveaway Day ~ Citrus Gnomes

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting a most wonderful person, who recently opened up a new shop on Esty. Suzanne is the owner of Downinthemeadow.

Her quality knitting and whimsy characters bring joy into many lives. And she has offered up one of her fabulous gnomes to one lucky Sew-fantastic reader..

Each gnome has been hand knitted in pure hand spun merino wool and stuffed with pure merino fleece. By Suzanne herself.

Look at these super cute Citrus gnomes, they are my favorite. Makes me think SPRING!!

Or she has other personalities as well. So go check out her shop here, leave a comment telling us what you like best from her store. Or what color gnome you would like to win.

Extra entries????

2 Extra entries for following this blog (please let us know you are a follower)

2 extra entries for blogging this giveaway or tweeting it. Please leave the link in a separate comment for reference

5 extra entries for any purchase made this week in Suzanne's shop Downbythemeadow

(make sure you tell her sew-fantastic sent you.)

OK GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!

Contest ends March 15 2009 Winner will be annouced in Sundays entry.

Green Week ~ Day 5

Sorry I have been pretty busy this weekend already , but here is my green. I listed 3 bags in my shop though... GO see here.

Geen Week ~ Day 4

It's Finished

Look! I made my green today. I wanted to get one up in the shop today, so I set that as my goal for green today. I wish I could put more in there today for everyone, but there is a ton of detail in them. Many hours are put into each bag. Well a whole day if you count the time with my Sophie. :)

This bag came out flawless! I have never said that about any of my bags before. Everything just came together perfectly. Might I mention that this is the first purse for sale I have made since I closed my purse store right after Sophie was born.

This bag is for sale here if you want it. Get it before it's gone.

So Spring like and fun, So fresh and Clean LOL. JUST BEAUTIFUL!!

My New Tree Bag

I sewed all day to finish this one, of course in between taking care of Sophie. That is why projects take so long anyway. Today I wanted to use the fabulous fabric I bought yesterday on my outing with Christina and Brice. I threw together a few colors that were all matchy matchy... and started sewing.

Oh pretty trees huh. There were a lot of pieces to this project, and it was sew much fun.

How cute is this..... Right side

Middle front pocket

Full view.. It's my new bag. yay!!!

It had tons of pockets to. ha ha ha ha.