Making Lemonade

If you're stopping by from Kelly's Korner, hello and welcome!  After spending just a little time looking around my blog, you'll quickly realize that I love to sew bags.  When I left my job as an interior designer two years ago to be a stay at home mom, what I missed most was all the fabric I was surrounded by everyday.  Silly, I know- but I'm pretty sure some of you can identify with having a fabric obsession.  So it didn't really surprise me when I purchased a sewing machine and started sewing simple handbags to satisfy my longing to work with fabric again. 

Now that you know the background for how I got started sewing, I thought it would be fun to share with you the story of how 2 yards of SHOCKING YELLOW fabric unexpectedly became the best selling item in my Etsy shop.  When I decided to make the Amy Butler Weekender bag this past summer, I knew I wanted to incorporate this fabric somehow:

Problem was, I had never seen it in person- just online.  My store location didn't have any stock, but one of my super nice readers said she would pick some up for me and mail it to me.  Imagine my surprise when I opened up the package and saw how IN YOUR FACE BRIGHT yellow this fabric was.  Oh dear.  There was no way I could use this fabric for my Weekender.  And so the fabric sat for awhile on my shelf. 

Not wanting to see the fabric go to waste (or hurt the feelings of my sweet reader after all the trouble she went through for me), one day I started playing around with it.  Just for fun, I paired it with this lime green geometric fabric and put it in the shop.  I thought it was cute, but didn't really expect it to sell.

Guess what?  It sold.  I listed it again.  Another one sold.  And another one, and another one.  At some point, a sweet bride-to-be contacted me to see if I would make four custom zippered pouches for her bridesmaids.  She wanted this color combination:

I finished her order and sent them on their way.  In the meantime, I listed it in the shop as well, just to see what would happen.  Again, this BRIGHT YELLOW fabric got lots of views and hearts.  And thanks to that bride-to-be, this color combination has become my number one selling item.  Since then, I've worked with lots of other brides-to-be on their own custom color combinations.  I love working with these ladies because they are all so excited and "into" the planning of their weddings and I get to be a part of it.      

And that's my story of making lemonade when you've got a bucket of lemons, or in my case, 2 yards of SHOCKING YELLOW fabric :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Random tid-bits

Want a peek into my life right now?  Here are some random tid-bits.  I know, very exciting.  You better make sure you're sitting down.

-Yesterday I took both girls to the doctor.  Avery had her 2 year check-up, and it went very well.  She's doing excellent.  Now if only I could get her to stop screaming on the car rides home from any activity she doesn't want to leave.  Zoe was there for a couple of vaccines.  Zoe has been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks now.  And when I say through the night, I mean like 11 hours straight!  Go Zoe! 

-You know your life is too busy when you have to order new bras on Amazon.com because it's impossible to get out and do any shopping with two kids.  At least there's no sales tax and my purchases qualified me for free Super Saver shipping- whee!

-Trying to juggle life with two kids has been an adjustment.  In order to make myself feel better about my crazy life, I've started watching Jersey Shore.  I know, it's the lowest of the lows when it comes to trashy tv.  I look forward to Thursday night because that's when the new episodes air.  Is it sad that I know all their names and I cried last week when Ronnie and Sammi were breaking up?  Not because I thought they were a good couple, but because of how horrible they treated each other during the break-up. 

-Here's what a 72 yard roll of jute upholstery webbing looks like:

-I've started re-building my wardrobe.  When I was pregnant with Zoe, I decided to get rid of everything that I owned prior to my pregnancy with Avery.  I hadn't worn any of it for almost 3 years, and I figured everything would be pretty outdated by the time I got around to fitting into it again.  My current wardrobe of jeans + t-shirts = B.O.R.I.N.G.  So I made the resolution to start buying things that would make me feel better about myself and would require a little bit of thought when getting dressed in the morning.  More layering of pieces to create an outfit (isn't that what Stacey and Clinton are always saying?).  But after looking at what I've bought so far, I think I need to widen my perspective and move to the other side of the color spectrum.

-Lastly, here's a look at my sewing table.  See that grey handbag near my machine?  Yep.  It's been sitting there untouched since last week.  All I have to do is sew on the handles and it will be finished and ready for the shop.  Anyone know where I can find 5 minutes so I can finish it?

That's all I've got for you for now.  Hope you enjoyed this sneak peak.  Anyone want to share something totally random from their life right now?

Birthday #2

This past week Avery turned 2!  She surprised us this week by saying a few new words- horse, moon, toes.  She can whip through the house like a tornado and leave a mess in her wake faster than you can blink an eye.  I love seeing her discover something new or figure out a new way to play with her toys.  She understands FAR MORE of what we say than we give her credit.  She loves watching Sesame Street, Curious George, Dinosaur Train, Clifford, just to name a few.  And she loves reading her books.  Especially books with animals in them.  Her absolute favorite thing to read is a kids magazine called Wild Animal Baby.  I can't even tell you how many times we've read these to her.  Seriously, if you've got a child under the age of 5, you should subscribe to this magazine.

 Happy Birthday Avery, we love you!!!