Holiday Boot Camp: The Perfect Products

Okay, what is a 'perfect product?' According to the email from Etsy, we should be churning out our most popular items. If we have no sales, we should look at our hearts. For me, I have no intention of looking for the best item and churning out twenty of them.

The best part of home made is its unique quality, the sense of having a one of a kind gift. I think seeing twenty six items that are nearly identical would turn me off.

What do you think? If you have a shop, are you getting in gear for the holidays?
~Anne

I've finally found someone with the same fabric crisis as I have!

I was checking out the nifty 'your reading list' when I came across a fabric shopping story. Now, I love shopping for fabric. After a terrible day full of customers that ought to be featured on customers_suck, I skip off to my local Jo - Ann's and immerse myself in whimsical fabric shopping.

Knowing all of that, you understand why I was taken by another person's hard choice - btween fabric or film. Now I buy a lot of fabric ( I have now resorted to buying a sorting system for the fabric) and I often face these same choices. This or fabric?

Fabric always wins.
You can read the story yourself at Dulceholic.
http://tinyurl.com/2fjpyvy

I have a confession to make. I love to browse the Etsy Critique forums and get feedback- or see what feedback is offered about. It feels like more of a community to me there.

While browsing, I found a spectacular little store. They sell greeting cards (3!) as they are just starting out. They have bravely waded into the Critique pool, however, so I expect to see a lot more from them!
The store name is Makimamo and they are bringing the art of hand written cards back to life!
I love the use of vibrant color in the cards. Check them out!

~Anne

Terrible pattern

If you had stopped by my house for a bit of tea last night, you would have caught me in a full - on conniption fit. The reason was that I had unearthed some old patterns that I had bought some time ago (I want to say years ago) and I was excitedly pouring through them. What did I find? A list of colors, a notation of if the stitch is made of ribbon or floss and a stitch type. For eample, 'tiger lillies' had orange, ribbon, straight stitch. Yellow, ribbon, straight stitch.

Oh, fantastic. These three things tell me everything I need to know to stitch a believed tiger lily, yes? No!

I was so incensed I immediately started doodling my own pattern, chopping off the flowers that were just not right for the piece. I then wrote *capable* instructions for each flower and how to stitch it. Any one picking up that first pattern would be lost, wondering why thier piece looked nothing like the finished piece!

They'd have to have a fair amount of imagination to know what the finished piece even looked like, as the only photo of it was a sideways shot framed by six other items, one of which was placed across the 'mixed heart pillow'.

I may return to the original pattern in a fit of pride, but for now I leave you with the *real* mixed heart piece that won't give any one a brain aneurysm.

~Anne

Mixed Flower Heart: New Pictures

Too many pictures to choose from! I really like how the Mixed flower heart turned out. I intended a far simpler piece from the onset (as you can see in the original pattern posted earlier!) I may take this one out for another spin with the original pattern for a kit...

New Piece: Pink & Purple Bow Bouquet

All of the photos of the Pink & Purple Bow Bouquet Kit! Learn how to create this and items like this: http://tinyurl.com/38vee4k

Pattern making for the lazy sketch artist

This is how I create my patterns:

Comparing the two hearts, you can see that the heat transfer heart has far less markings. This is because I view the heat transfer pattern to be 'less is more'. I hate being roped into 'having' to do something because it's sketched on the fabric. Embroidery is wonderful when its spontaneous- if you want more spider web roses after you've made the template, you can just stitch them right over the markings for another flower!

The first is simply a 'diagram' to remind myself of what I envisioned the final piece resembling. I normally draw upon real flowers such as these:

so that I have a clear image of how I want that spider wed rose to look. Am I crazy, or do you change your mind often as well?

A compass is a dangerous thing

What happens when you give an amateur at sketching a compass?You can tell that I am a terrible artist of flowers. These are my 'place holder' markings that I use on my linen to mark which is which. After a terribly long 9 hour day I didn't get much done, but the rest of the week is easier and I hope t list a bunch of new items for the sale on SRE. Don't forget to add the code to message to seller for 10$ off and free shipping!
~Anne

You may have noticed a few items vanished from my shop. I opened up my 'finished pieces' boxes to family and some pieces were purchased.

:)

In celebration of the unexpected sales, I am having a sale on ALL SRE (Silk Ribbon Embroidery) pieces! Every piece is 10$ off with free shipping, this week only! Enter 'blogger' in the message to seller to be refunded!

I'll leave you with my favorite tutorial:
http://serynascreations.blogspot.com/2010/06/purple-pearl-fuschia-tutorial.html

I ordered some new colors of ribbon, so stay tuned for new tutorials! The SRE kit is in my shop if you wish to learn SRE spiderweb roses!
~Anne

Liliac or Euphorbia

I am enjoying a full week at work. It is nice to gain more responsibilities, but I am now coming in on what was supposedly my day off :P I do promise that I will get the next tutorial up ASAP. Which would you like for me to share- lilac or euphorbia?

~Anne

The Official Silk Ribbon Kit for Spider Web Roses

Hello!

I have listed the first Silk Ribbon Kit for spider web roses. It will come with two needles, three original designs and enough material to practice one of the designs.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/55974717/silk-ribbon-emboidery-instruction-kit

40% off Fabric coupon

	Printable 40% Joanns Fabric and Craft Coupon Exp 9/11/10 http://bit.ly/cqrRzQ

Many thanks, CoutureDogBow, for sharing this on Ety Forums! Need any fabric?
~Anne

Want to be a kit tester?

Hello!
How are you today? Having been struck by inspiration last night, I am currently drafting silk ribbon kits. The kits will include the pattern by me, the ribbon and a guide on how to sew the kit. Having never created a kit before, I would love to have some 'pattern testers' try out the fist kits to see how practical they are. I'll give you the kit, you only pay shipping and handling. As I'll mail it in a bubble mailer, it shouldn't be very expensive. Most of my ribbon mailings are about 1.40 - 2.00$. As you stitch it, give me feedback on how the kit is working out for you!

Comment here! I like the idea of about five testers, all levels of experience.

Found the camera...

I found the camera... in my bag at my fiance's house. Technically, I still think he had it :P After being deprived of the camera, I snapped a few pictures of the recent project:





this is just after it was removed from the hoop and hand washed, it still needs a date with the iron. I have a rule about ironing after 11 P.M. - I don't do it!
I have listed this piece on etsy! You can find it here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/55800805/mother-daughter-silk-ribbon-embroidery
Look forward to some pictures to start flowing now!
Be well,
~Anne

Another Shop has caught my eye

It's taken me a bit to find this (as its saved on my fiance's computer, not my own), but if you ever need an inspiration, this is just the shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SewCanYou?ref=top_trail

The featured fabric always fills my mind with 'I could do X with that'. She has thought provoking fabric stocked, including this piece that I always imagine adorning some crafty woman's craft room. You sew so much for others, this piece could be just for you!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/45776301/sewing-print-cotton-fabric-1-yard?ref=v1_other_1

Finally, the name itself tends to encourage me. 'sewcanyou!' How cute (and encouraging!) is that?
~Anne

I would love to share a favorite seller with you: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lornabateman22?ref=seller_info

Lorna Bateman offers several silk ribbon embroidery kits that could be a great way to apply the stitches that you have been learning! I recently purchased a pin cushion stand and I adore it. The instructions are clear and concise, even for my non - mechanical mind. I hope to be completing it tonight to show off.

I apologize for the tutorial's absence, but we have once again lost the camera. I insist that he took it to photograph something, he's certain that I brought it back to my house. The camera will be found!

My mother has also enlisted me for a wedding gift; something that I am both excited and nervous about. I'm pleased that she admires my work (she should, she taught me everything that I know!). I'm a wee bit nervous because I've never embroidered something that I didn't assemble myself. It will be a learning experience, I'm sure. She actually bought the pillow off of etsy- it looks something like this:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/55105471/vintage-love-throw-pillow-covers-16x16?ref=sr_list_4&ga_search_query=silk+ribbon+pillow&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes[0]=tags&includes[1]=title

Perhaps my first alchemy attempt :P
~Anne

The time machine

Today felt like traveling in a time machine- I found an old sewing basket! I had packed up my room and organized everything (trying to become more efficient!) and out popped an old basket full of my first felt cell phone holders! I had pre cut all of the circles and had embroidered cutesy shapes onto them, all on a whim. Time to sit down and piece them all together!

I do have a day off tomorrow - I feel a new tutorial coming on!
~Anne

Fallen behind

Hello,
Thank you for reading. I know that this has been a quiet place in cyberspace lately. My day job doubled my hours for the last two weeks. Its' nice to have a bigger paycheck, but I have not been able to get to listing anything that I've made.

I have been working on sewing fobs for scissors and working on cross stitched pin cushions. I have everything I need- maybe I need to request time off to get time to finish (just kidding!) Who can request time off in this economy?

So, lets fill this space with your stuff. Do you have a new line? Do you want to talk about a new seller you found on Etsy? Comment here and I'll post your comment as a blog entry :)

~Anne