I love the designing!!

So, it's been a busy couple days over at Etsy for me :) I think it's a fantastic, amazing way to start off the new year!

I've had a number of people approach me about a range of design ideas, and here are just some of the ones I've been having a blast creating!

How to Fold a Fitted Sheet

I make a LOT of fitted crib sheets, and over the past few months have mastered the art of folding them. I've starting using this method to fold ALL our fitteds (crib through Queen size) and I'm delighted with the amount of room I save in my linen closet, and in the office from having them folded nicely.

So, how do you do it?!

First off, make sure your sheet is clean! I like to fold mine as soon as they come out of the dryer.

You'll need a clean surface to work on, the top of my laundry system seems to work well for me. A table, or even a couch or bed would work equally well!

Now, put both hands inside the sheet, and find the two top corners (I like to work with the narrow length - my arms aren't long enough to work on the wider width!) Make sure that those corners are poked out, completely.

Place the top of the sheet on top of your work surface. Now, reach down for the bottom two corners. This time, you'll want to poke them from the outside, in (the reverse of what you did before).

With your hands still inside the corners, actually, I use my index fingers, put the bottom corners into the top corners. They should fit together perfectly. Now, holding the outside of the corners, shake out the sheet. This should cause all fabric to fall nicely, as it should. Adjust any caught pieces, so you minimize wrinkling.

Next, fold the sheet, from the bottom up, into thirds. This actually depends on the size of the sheet. My queen sheets get folded into quarters, just fits the shelf a little better!

Smooth out any wrinkles. Now, I fold each side in to the middle,and fold once more, so you get a perfect rectangle.

Isn't that pretty?

*Pictures are coming, I promise!

Sewing like CRAZY

I have temporarily put my Etsy shop in vacation mode, so that I can catch up on orders. I just organized all the fabrics for the orders that I'm working on this weekend, and I'm going to be spending a LOT of time in front of that sewing machine.

Can't wait to see how everything comes together, and to get a lot of these big orders out of the way.

The plus side to having to work so much, is that I don't have a moment (okay, not really) to stress about or wonder about where I'm at in my cycle, and if I am or am not pregnant.

:)

Oh, and CONGRATS JODENE!! She had a healthy baby girl this morning, and I'm so excited for her!

A wee bit overwhelmed.

I had to put my store in vacation mode, since I've had so many big sales recently I can barely keep up.

I can't wait for Jay to be off on Sunday so that I can spend the whole day slaving away at my machines. Eek.

I have so much to do!

Oh, and I did ovulate this month! I shouldn't even know that, I wasn't supposed to keep track. Ah well, at least I know :P

It's Market Day!

Wow, it's beautiful outside, it's hot and absolutely the best weather we could ask for on this fundraising market day!

I have everything ready, all set up in my kitchen waiting to be piled into the van! I even splurged and bought some fabric to make a table cloth for my main display table. It's white satin with white and teal tulle around the outside. Jake walked by it and did a double take saying "Dats NIIIIIIIICE, niiiiiice, oooooh". :D So cute.

I have three toddler bedding sets that I'm looking to part with (take up too much space), so they're going to be clearance priced. I have a bunch of blankets, leg warmers, crib sheets, a couple pairs of Little Shoes, and the dresses! Still have to figure out how to lay everything out, but my lovely mother-in-law gave me a mini bolt of tulle which I think I'll use to hang the dresses up front, and some of the blankets along the sides. I'm also so lucky to have someone lending me a couple extra 6ft tables, so I will have space to lay it all out properly without being too crowded.

I'm going to bring my camera with me this time, so you can see what the booth looks like all put together!

The only thing left is to decide what to wear so that I don't melt in the heat!!

Market Weekend!

I am really excited about my weekend! Jason's not working, and I have two back to back markets :) Tomorrow is the Heart of Ladner Night Market fundraiser for the new Hospice in town. It runs from 4-9pm in the Harbourside complex of downtown Ladner.

Sunday is my regular stint at the Steveston Farmer and Artisan Market at 3rd and Moncton, from 10am til 4pm.

I am quite stoked about the new little girl dresses I'm going to put to market! They're super cute. I have 8, although one sold this afternoon, so down to 7 for the two days. I have the material cut out for another 6, but it's midnight, and I want to sleep tonight. Besides, I have markets until the end of October, I'm sure there's plenty of time left to sell them, and they layer well for fall!

See how cute they are?




Also pretty pleased with how a couple of my bedding sets have turned out, and how they look in the nurseries! This first set was awesome, her color choices were black, white and yellow. We did a crib skirt with this funky hummingbird print, three fitted sheets (black dots, yellow minky and I think a white minky), a blanket, and some changing pad covers. I LOVE the furniture selection, and the choice of colors. Might not work in our small space, but it sure works here!


This one is one that was just delivered today, in time for her shower on Sunday. I LOVE IT. I loved every second of making the set, the colors are so vibrant, and I was amazed at how everything coordinated so well in the finished nursery. She knew exactly what she wanted, and this baby is super lucky to have such a nice room!

Sewing

I do a lot of sewing...a LOT.

It pretty much takes up 99% of my free time (that is, time I don't have maternal obligations!) and as much as it frustrates me at times, when I don't have enough room, or I can't find my scissors for the 54321847th time in a row, it really is a fantastic way for me to spend my time.

I love creating these pieces. You take fabric, sew it in a few places, and POOF, it's something awesome. I love that process.

The other day I bought a TON of different fabrics, just for fun. I'm going to make a bunch of blankets to (hopefully) sell at the markets, along with minky sheets and changing pad covers. I think I'm going to stock a bunch of those things, they seem pretty popular, and make good gifts! I am going to attempt to bring my prop crib to set up an example of what can be custom ordered...

Ah, so many things to plan!

Hey, at least it gives me something to do :)

Still up at midnight

The hubby was cleared to go back to work, and as such, started back on Saturday night. I can easily admit that I'm glad he went back on the 2-12am shift, because for the majority of the day I'm too busy with Jakob to give Jay a second thought. BUT, when Jake's down for the night, and I'm left to my own devices, well, I start to worry.

Ugh, I know that I am completely powerless in preventing him from getting hurt, and I just have to trust that he has the training and everything to be safe, but it's so hard!

I made fourteen pairs of baby shoes tonight, in an attempt to occupy myself. It worked for a bit, but then I started getting too tired to focus.

I really should sleep, he'll be home in an hour.

"Quit Your Day Job"

For as long as I've been on Etsy, they've been running a blog feature called "Quit Your Day Job". When I started selling my goods, I would read the articles, and laugh, and say "There's no way I'll ever be able to do that".

Well, the other day I gave my notice. I only have five more shifts that may or may not involve me getting my butt kicked. I REALLY like the people I work with, so much, but we don't work together regularly, and when it comes down to it, my safety is worth more than what I was making on an hourly basis. LPO's take a lot of shit for what they're paid. Sigh, I hope I can keep up the contacts I've made there, I met some fantastic people. It got to be too much, with Jay getting set to go back to work this week, my parents moving away and constant sewing... The plan now is to devote myself completely to SusieCues and my boys! And hopefully have enough time for friends and fun, and less stress with time management.

I made my 60th sale today. Pretty excited about that! 55 sales since January 5th, which is pretty good for a relatively new seller. The best part is that the majority have come in the last couple months, and have been substantial, "I can live off this" type of sales. Good times.

I had a lunch date with my dad the other day (have to get them in while I can!) and we talked all about setting up a legitimate company, getting a bookkeeper, and all sorts of business stuff. My dad is really smart. I'm glad that he's willing to share his hard earned knowledge with me, even if he thinks I'm crazy for going full bore with this plan.

I don't know what we'll do if sales slow down, or if people all of a sudden decide not to buy from me anymore, but we'll deal with that when we get to it.

With my new availability, I was able to sign up for almost all the dates at the Steveston Farmers and Artisans Summer Market! I have nine dates lined up there, where I'll have the easy-to-sell things, like crib sheets and changing pad covers available, and lots of examples of what I can do for custom work. It would be delightful being able to fill local orders! I even bought myself a 10x10 tent!

Crazy. Life is crazy!

But life is also great.

SWAP MEET SATURDAY

I'm going to be at the Cloverdale Swap Meet on Saturday, from 9-1pm! There are going to be tons of people there with everything you can imagine for kids at great prices!!

Come on down :)

NEW Website

I finally launched www.SusieCues.ca It took me forever to figure it out, and I understand fully why people decide to pay other to design sites for them! It's nothing fancy, I'd rather make my bedding sets fancy than spend any more time online!

Hoping to say Bye-Bye to Etsy, and go it alone :)

Wish me luck!

New Directions

I think I'm going to start going to swapmeets... I have heard some really good things about them, and there are some huge ones out in Cloverdale at the Fair Grounds, and they allow people to sell new goods there.

I always do really well with the leg warmers at craft fairs, and now that I have an assortment of items, and about a billion leg warmers, it would be good to market them elsewhere than on etsy. The one downfall is that it costs money to have a table, and you're not always guaranteed to make it back.

But, tables are only $25, that's about three pairs of leggings. Not bad. I bet I could do better than that, especially if it's as busy as people say they get.

Going to sign up for a few, just to see. Bonus is that it's located five minutes away from my sister-in-law's place.

Will have more details as they get closer!

Sew Sew Sew

So... I've been sewing a lot, and it makes me really happy. I love that I can be working AND looking after Jakob. It's pretty phenomenal. Of course, there's a lot to do before people start beating down the door trying to buy things from me ;) BUT, at least I can tell myself it's worth the effort to get the ball rolling.

I've been really good at only spending money on materials from money I've earned through sales, so that's not so bad, especially when I managed to hit a few really awesome sales.

Got permission to use Great-Grandma's (<3) serger, and it's the COOLEST thing I've ever used. Oh my goodness! It makes life so much easier, plus it's an excuse to get out of the house with Jakob and let him have time with his Great-Grandpa!

I have a custom order bedding set that I'm waiting to sew. I ordered the fabric before Christmas, so any day now. I really like what she chose! It's a pretty pink and white damask print. Should be fun to put together.

Other than that, I made almost 30 pairs of leg warmers today, taking my time uploading them to my etsy site, though. Have to space them out so I don't get lost in the crowd.

Ah, market saturation...?

Anyway. It's past my bed time!

Adventures in Etsy and Happy New Year!

So, a while back now, I set up my own little shop on Etsy (the mecca for buying and selling handcrafted goods online).

I've sold a few things, and learned quite a lot more than I ever intended. For instance, in order to sell things in the states, you have to meet all sorts of crazy labeling regulations, and have to submit your goods for lead testing and phlatate testing. UGH!

So, I've ordered myself some fancy labels, which I'll admit, will make my products appear more professional. I have NO intention of going big time with my endeavors, I just want to make a little extra money for buying things for me :)

I've got a bunch of baby leggings listed, and two bunches more to list. I have to remember to list things daily, and at random times during the day, so that they stay at the front of the search pages.





I have my bedding sets, and custom listings posted, but I also have my sets in a local business here in Ladner. Fun times. If you'd told me that I would be selling a product in a real STORE, I never would have believed you, but here we are, and I don't quite know how I got here.



Really though, all I want is to be able to make some money while being able to spend time with Jakob, who is growing so quickly it's mind blowing. He's amazing, he's fast, he's funny. He's my everything!

I also started making baby slings, mostly because I wasn't happy with the ones that I paid a lot for. They never fit me quite right, so I made my own, and they seem cute enough, and I know they're well made enough to sell online too. We'll see. When my sleeping baby awakes from his nap, I think I'll put him in one to photograph for the site.

I can't believe it's the last day of 2009. This has been the fastest year of my life. Incredibly amazing, but so quick.

I hope you all had a wonderful, marvelous Holiday Season, and wish you all the best for 2010.

See you in the new year :)

SusieCues.Etsy.com

Since going back to work isn't going to work, too many details to list, I've decided to try to open a shop on Etsy and sell custom made toddler bedding. So far I've mastered the duvet cover, fancy pillows and cool tag blankets.

:)