Christmas is right around the corner

I can't believe it's the 20th already. I have so much to do to get ready for Christmas. My big thing is that I've been making blankets for my girls. I've finished one, but I'm running out of time for the other. Oh well, she's only 9 months, I'm sure she won't care too much.
I haven't really been making too many things for the business lately. I worked real hard last week to get ready for the Sugared Plum. I made onesies, bibs, burp cloths and pacifier clips, along with a couple of new blankets. The boutique itself turned out to not be very profitable for me. Oh well, that happens. I've done pretty well online this month though. I hope it continues after the first of the year. I have a lot of new ideas for some blankets and other stuff. Here's a picture of one of the onesies I did last week. I appliqued matching designs from my blankets onto onesies. They really turned out cute. This is the only one I've posted so far. So keep your eyes open for a bunch of new stuff!

The Sugared Plum

So, much to my husbands chagrin, I am doing another Craft Boutique. Actually he's very supportive, it's just a busy time of year. The Sugared Plum boutique is going to be held in Herriman on December 14th and 15th from 10am-7pm both days. It's going to be held in a house that is for sale and there are quite a few vendors signed up for it, so I hope that it has a really great turnout! This month I have been mostly working on some things for my girls and getting Christmas ready, but this week I am busy at the sewing machine again trying to finish up a few things for the boutique. I always get kind of frantic when I'm preparing for one of these. I keep thinking of all these ideas of things I want to make and I feel like I just need to hurry and get more things done so I can sell them. I really hope I do well at this one. I could use a good boost before Christmas time. Anyway, wish me well. I'll be back after to report how it went. And if you're in the area, come and visit.

Haven't Done Too Much Lately

I've haven't really worked on too many new things lately. I keep relisting on Etsy, but haven't had too many sales. Although over Thanksgiving weekend, I sold 4 things! I was so excited. When that happens, I think that things are really going to pick up, then another week goes by with nothing. I've got to find a way to sell more. I need to get into advertising or something. I just don't know where to begin. Right now, I'm working on blankets for my two girls for Christmas. I figure I'll continue relisting and hoping that things will sell until after Christmas, then I can start working on new designs and finding ways to sell more stuff.
I'm really excited about the blankets I'm going to be making the girls. They are "rag" blankets. I've never made this kind before, so we'll see how they turn out. I cut the material for the first one today, but am having a hard time coming up with a design. So, who knows how it will turn out. That's the funnest thing about this business - trying to come up with new ideas and figuring out how to make them work. My favorite so far has been the pink and brown quilt, mostly because it was something new and a challenge. It's had over 900 views on Etsy in the few weeks that it's been there, but no takers. People on the forums don't think I should lower the price, so we'll see what happens. Someone out there will eventually find it and have to have it.
I got a bunch of fabric on after Thanksgiving sales, and have been working mostly on Receiving blankets. Here's a picture of Alexys "modeling" the swaddle look. Isn't she cute?

4th Anniversary

Today is our anniversary. Chad and I were married 4 years ago, on November 15, 2003. I thought I would just post this slide show with pictures of us and our kids during the past 4 years.

My favorite so far!

I just finished this blanket. It's larger than the others that I have made, so it would be great for adults as a lap blanket, etc. Anyway, I hope it attracts a buyer quick, cause I just might keep it. It took me a while to figure out how to do parts of it, but I think it really turned out great. Probably one of my best. Here are some pics.

Craft Fair Followup

Well, I was a little disappointed with the Craft Fair. I guess after being so busy this week trying to get ready for it, I had gotten my hopes up. I also had anticipated a bigger turnout. I know it was advertised in the paper here every day for a week and the place said they spent quite a bit advertising it, but it just didn't pull too many people in. Oh well, I at least sold a few items, although I didn't receive my goal. That's okay though, I'll make it next time. The best thing about the craft fair was that my mom and sister came up. My sister makes these really cute memory boards and she thought she'd try to sell some of them. I'm going to start posting them on my ETSY website, so if you're interested, go take a look at them! Here's a picture of one of them. Anyway, I was up late last night getting ready, so I need to get some good sleep tonight. Oh, I almost forgot, I one a Scentsy fragrance warmer at the Craft fair today, so that made it an even better day! Lucky me!

Getting ready for a Craft Fair!

It's been a while since I last posted in here. My problem with this blog is I don't usually have anything very interesting to say. Just things like, Oh, I made a new blanket today or Oh, I sold a blanket today. Doesn't make for a very interesting read! I need to spend some time looking at other blogs to see what they right about, maybe then I can come up with more interesting blogs. However, thanks to all of you who do read this.
This week I have been sewing like crazy getting ready for a Craft Fair I am doing this Saturday. I've made 9 blankets so far this week and I still feel like I have a ton to do before tomorrow. Yikes. I should probably be sewing and not blogging. The past little while I have been working on Minky blankets. They've all turned out really cute, but can be a pain to sew because the fabric is so stretchy. Thanks to my mom, I was able to get the pinning figured out. Just a little side not, my 2-year-old will come up and pick up a pin and say, "I found a pencil mom." She's so cute. I've also been making more nursing blankets. Today I am hoping to make some pacifier clips and a couple binky blankets. We'll see how that goes. Well, wish me luck for tomorrow! I hope I come home with no blankets!

My first project in over 2 weeks, hurray!

I was finally able to make another blanket after over a two-week hiatus. It felt good to get back to the sewing machine. I have fabric to make a bunch more blankets, so I've got to get moving. I'm hoping to do at least one craft fair before Christmas and I'd like to get my inventory up a little more. I also have a bunch of ideas for other things I want to make. I'm going to try to make aprons and i want to get going on my jean blanket. Hopefully that turns out well. I also have a lot of ideas for baby onesies and burp cloths, so I want to jump on that too. Whenever I go to the store and look at their patterns, I have a tons of ideas of things I want to try and sew, whether I attempt to sell them or not, I just want to try and make them. So, I think I'm going to try and just finish the blankets I have, then start making other items. We'll see how it goes.

Business As Usual

I'm back from Florida, so business is up and running again. I actually sold 2 blankets while I was gone so I was happy about that. I'm excited to start sewing again. I brought some fabric back with me and I'm hoping to start making some new kinds of blankets and other items. I'm also interested in getting into some Craft Fairs coming up here before Christmas. I'd like to get my inventory moving so I can make some new stuff.
Our trip to Florida was a lot of fun. I had a great time with my kids. They are so much fun. Florida was nice and warm. Kind of sad getting back to Utah and having it so cold and rainy. We did a lot fun things. To read about it more you can look at my personal blog, http://chadshannonandfamily.blogspot.com.
Well, I hope to be posting some new things in the next couple of days. Meanwhile, here are a couple of pics of Florida.
Oh and when I got back, my husband had cleaned the entire house and painted our front room. It looks great! I've got the best husband!

Here in Florida

My business has been put on a temporary hold since I'm here with Myra and Lexi in Florida. We're visiting grandparents and having a great time so far. The kids are loving it and I'm loving the warm weather. Chad's at home, holding down the fort and hopefully I'll sell something while I'm gone so he has to take care of the boring stuff like packaging and shipping. Anyway, I'm still busy thinking of ideas and have spent the past hour promoting on Etsy. Hopefully I'll get a sale soon!

Nursing Blankets

I've started making Nursing Blankets recently, so I thought I would post a picture and tell about them. A friend of mine had a similar nursing blanket, so I thought I would try to make something like it. It just a serged-edge receiving blanket with an extra strap filled with polyfil beads, which you toss over your shoulder and this keeps the blanket in place while you feed your baby. I think they turned out really good, but we'll see if they sell. I'm also thinking of making them with a detachable strap, so the weight can be taken off and it can be used as just a blanket. Here's a picture.

New Design

I'm so excited about my new blanket. So far I have just made what I know how to make, but I finally got up the guts to try something new. I've had 73 hits on Etsy already, hopefully someone will buy it! Here's a picture and the link. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7223396

Too Early for Christmas?

Yikes, Christmas is already in the air. I can't believe that many stores are already getting up their Christmas items. It seems that Christmas shows up earlier and earlier every year. Oh well. I figured, if you can't beat them, join them. So, since the stores have been carrying Christmas fabric since July, I figured I had better buy some before it was all gone. HaHa! Here are my 2 newest creations. I thought they turned out so cute. Myra especially like the blue one. She kept trying to lay on it. But then, she wants every blanket I make. On ETSY, there are a lot of posts in the forums about Christmas items. I guess i need to start my Christmas shopping. It would be nice to get it done early this year. We'll see. I'm sure I'll probably be out on Christmas Eve, getting that last minute gift. But who knows, Christmas is still ONLY 3 months away.

Wal-Mart is a Bad Word

I hate Walmart! I dislike their long lines and lack of customer service. The other day I was shopping for new fabrics and decided to take a little trip to Brigham city (20miles away) to look for new designs. Once around the fabric tables I realize I had made a mistake. They didn't have anything I was looking for. I did find a couple of cute prints and made my way to the cutting table, where I had to wait for someone to show up. The lady helping me was totally grumpy and when I told her I only wanted 44 inches, she acted as if I was a retard. "You mean 48 inches, not 44, whatever." After she begrudgingly finished cutting my fabric, I asked her the location of another item. Her curt reply, "We don't have that." Was followed by a swift exit, leaving 4 other people to be helped my one worker. I eventually made my way to checkout where I thought I was lucky to have on 2 people in front of me, especially since the baby was beginning to fuss. Fifteen minutes later and after a lot of tears, it was finally my turn. Talk about slow! When she rings me up, I realize that I had been overcharged for some of my fabric. It hadn't shown on the tag, so I couldn't have caught it earlier. When I tell the worker, she shrugs and says, "You'll have to have the fabric department fix it." As I glance behind me at the 10 or so people waiting in line, I figure it's not worth it and go on with my purchase. By this point, the baby is hysterical and so I finally exit Walmart. This was just one experience, let me tell of some others. At the deli counter, I was told, after asking for 2 slices of ham (I only needed 2 for what I was making) that next time I would have to purchase more or they wouldn't sell it to me. Why would I buy more if I didn't need more? Another time I attempted to buy an item and was told at the checkout stand that I couldn't purchase it. She couldn't even give me a reason. She just said that she couldn't allow it. Walmart has long lines, the aisle are often blocked with boxes, they are often out of what I need and I can never find anyone to help me. I hate Walmart, but, despite everything, I'm not going to quit shopping there because they are just so darn cheap!

Busy day on the Web

Is using the phrase "the web" outdated? Just wondering. I've spent a bunch of time trying to get my website and blog name out there into the world. There are so many places to go. The frustrating thing is that after so much work, no more sales. Oh well, patience. I'm sure learning a lot about the internet. It's great fun. The kids have kept me busy today so I didn't get much sewing done. Chad's up at school tonight working on a presentation, so I have the evening to myself. I have so much to do, where to begin. Probably shouldn't be on the computer any longer. Well, I thought I'd post tonight, a couple pictures of my adorable little girls. Myra is 2 and Alexys is almost 6 months. They are so much fun. I just adore them.

Purple Monkeys

Today has been a fun day on the web. We just got DSL, so I was actually able to do a little skipping around on the internet. I have started to discover the world of forums on Etsy and although I only looked around a little, I found a bunch of cool things. I was able to post to have my shop critiqued and got some helpful tips. I also sold a blanket. It's been a couple of weeks since I've had any action on the internet for sales, so I was pretty excited about that. It was one of my favorites, the purple monkey blanket. Well, here are a couple more pics of recent products, the Keep on Trucking blanket and some fun colored burpies. Check them out on my website. Until later...

Blue Ducks, Teddy Bears, Pink Frogs and More...

I'm still continuing to make blankets, although I'm just about out of all the fabric I purchased on our trip to Yellowstone. These blankets are so cute, I really hope that people can get into them. I went with my friend Janelle to a fabric store today to look at fabric, but it was so pricey. However, I got a lot of good ideas. I need to own a fabric store, then I can put all my good ideas in motion. I also have had an idea to look for a hemstitching machine. Then I could advertise to hemstitch people blankets for them. It would be a good job to do from home. Now I just need a hemstitching machine. I guess they don't even make them anymore so they are pretty difficult to come by, so if anyone has any ideas. Let me know. Also, my sewing machine was having problems today. I fiddled around with it forever and finally found out that I should have been oiling it. Oops! That fixed the problem in a jiffy, so I'm back on line to complete a bunch moresewing projects. Here are some pics of recent blankets I've made.

CuddleBaby Blankets

I've recently started an online business called CuddleBaby. I specialize in handmade Baby to Toddler Blankets along with other kids items, such as; onesies, burpies, binky blankets, pacifier holders, and more ideas to come. I've been selling my blankets through Etsy.com, this great place where you can find tons of handmade items, and through Mafooku.com, an online listing. I've been doing this for about a month and have done okay. I'm hoping to really get going with it. I have so many fun blankets I've made and I want people to see them. I've also sold blankets a few times at our local Gardener's Market. That's been fun and I've also done pretty well there. So, check out my website! I'm continually adding new products, so the store will change often. Check it out!