Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Major Shop Update!

Hello all of my lovely friends!

I apologize for the lack of recent blog updates (I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter of some sort...) but I've been busy with a huge Shop update!

Sew Serious at Etsy has a whole new look and a bunch of new items! I'd love some
feedback on the new design and shop profile page, so if you have a moment, stop on by and then let me know what you think. My design was wonderfully done by a fellow Etsian, MabelMcBee, who offers custom designs in her shop.

Also, I have a brand new batch of Business cards on their way to me and they are the cutest! If you'd like to have a few for you and your friends, just let me know in my comments. I'll contact you and send some your way. :) I'm excited to show them off and share.

I'll end here (I have to get back to sewing!) with a new item in the shop, The Brown Birdie Messenger bag.
Have a beautiful day!

xo,
Rachel


Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patties!

And a happy start to a new week. I have several new items listed in the shop, including a new purse. And because it's still St. Patrick's day here, I'll give you a pic of something green. There's a matching pouch in the shop too. I just love this design and color combo. And the mossy hue of the wool felt is just perfect.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful and supportive comments about my house guest situation. I'm feeling much better at the moment and am glad to have things back to normal here at chez Sew Serious. This week is going to be a busy one, and I'm hoping it goes quickly. Congratulations to Miss Knits, as her post number 4 was drawn so she'll be receiving the new happy cloud pouch!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and Saint Patrick's Day. I'm off to watch a movie and be a not-so-faithful Irish girl and celebrate with my favorite bottle of beer, an artisian Belgian brown ale called McChouffe. Oh my amazingness is all I can say about this beer. A bit expensive, $8 for a 12oz bottle, but worth every penny as a treat. If you can find it, try it at least once, not bitter, but smooth, delicious, nutty and not too complex. Plus, there's a little gnome on the label. Fantastic. :)



Cheers!
Rachel


Saturday, March 15, 2008

Time for a contest!

Indeed! I need a little fun right now!

My house guest situation went from okay to horrible. Let me explain...


The Mister had run into an old friend when we returned home on a visit almost a year ago. With the economy doing so horrible back home, The Mister offered to help his friend in the future with a place to stay until he could find a job and get on his feet here in Colorado. A few online conversations took place and then *bam*, friend had a plane ticket.


So, we prepared and discussed the situation. He wouldn’t be the first person from home that we had helped, and with our other friend doing so well with a fantastic job, his own place and his family here to join him, we gav
e it a go. Unfortunately, personalities and people change, and there was a little unspoken uneasiness at first go. The Mister and I chatted again and decided to push on and try to make things work.

Our guest lasted one week. I can’t really begin to describe how awful it was near the end. Let me say that I sat in my own home and listened to our guest on my phone, say not so nice things about The Mister and I on several occasions, and while I was in the room. Seriously! I tolerated it the first time, but could no longer when it continued.

Not only am I quite frightened by confrontation, but I was also home alone with a man I did not know. He actually weirded me out quite a bit. (His wife informed me I should have been scared because he could have hurt me, and she wished he would have... goodness..) The Mister was away at work and had friends checking on me regularly. Finally, we decided it just couldn’t go on any longer. Our desire to help to house, feed, transport and in The Mister’s cas
e, recommend someone who was basically talking trash about us in our own home was completely gone.

He was asked to leave. He refused and threatened to call the police stating he had the right to stay in our home as long as he wished until we had him evicted. The first friend we helped came over to make sure things went smoothly. We offered and did pay for his ticket home. I apologized over and over for the situation, tried to be kind and even packed a bag of snacks and beverages for his trip. He continued to argue and then finally gave up. He was given his ticket money and dropped off to go home.


The situation was unfortunate as a whole, but I feel horrible for The Mister as he learned many things about an old friend that he did not know before, things that had happened in the past that our guest had bragged about doing to him. We do know that he and his wife bragged about knowing how to break into our house and hoping that they see pain come upon us in the future. Nice, huh?


It’s been a rough few days, but I’m happy to have my home back, the kittens are no longer hiding under the bed (they did not like our guest...) and with all my windows and doors locked, I’m feeling
okay. lol.. I’m a worrier. :) I’ve had a lot of offers from local friends to help out in anyway needed and it’s great to know we have real friends who care.

/Rant

So, I need to be cheered up a bit and think it’s a great time for a new Blog Contest! Just post a comment to help cheer me up and sometime on Monday I’ll have a friend pick a number for a random winner.

The prize is this cute new zipper pouch made from adorable Japanese imported fabric. Vintage buttons and a bit of ric-rac make this pouch even cuter, huh? Just look at the cute little happy clouds!

So please, comment away my friends! I hope your weekend was a pleasant one!

xo,
Rachel

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

A bit of calm

The daily craziness slowed down starting this morning. The wholesale order is shipped, I finished a few other crafted goodies I'll share later and even fixed a coat button that has needed fixing for sometime. It's such a nice change of pace for the moment. I can get some simple housework finished, make a few appointments I've been putting off and watch a few films I've been wanting to see. Also, I think the kittens need a bit of "mommy time" since I haven't been around to play with them too much.

I'd like to share a few pictures of the kitties when they were just a few months younger...


And each of them when the Mister and I first took them home at 5 weeks, so young I know!

Itty bitty Bobo and sister Lulu.

Cute, eh? ;)

The shop is going well but slowed down a bit recently. I'm working on a few new goodies and I'll be posting about them soon enough. I'd like to thank Susan for featuring my Birdie messenger Bag on her blog! :)

*New Contest*
I'm planning a new contest for sometime this week, so be sure to check back for a chance to win something cute from Sew Serious!

:)
Rachel







Thursday, March 6, 2008

Goodness!

I've been so busy the past few days, I've neglected my blog!
We have a new guest staying with us until he can get on his feet. He came from Michigan where the economy is so poor, that it's difficult to find a job, let alone a good job. He's the second friend that the Mister and I have imported to Colorado, the first already doing well on his own. So, we've been getting settled in the new situation and the kitties are in need of some intense love. Lulu has refused to come out of the bedroom since our guest arrived and Bobo just walks around whining. Not fans of change my kittens.
In other news, I have my wholesale order for Kate at the Paper Sparrow about 98% complete. I was finishing up the last two pieces and broke my last sewing machine needle, so I'll be getting a replacement tonight and packing everything up tomorrow. :)
Also, I've been busy making new goodies for my shop to help things along. I recently re-stashed my fabric supply (I'm always restashing! hehe) and have been playing with my new fabrics, which include some cute cute new japanese imports. I've made a few new wallets, pouches and several clutches. Here's a few pics, but you can see the rest in my shop, of course.


There's also a few more new things to come soon. Cute as can be fabrics eh? I just love the little sheep and matryoshka dolls!


If you recall my CAKE etsy group, I just want to share that several members are having some fantastic sales. You can read about them and chat with some of us by visiting us on the etsy forums here. Also, there are several blogs by members, so stop by and take a peek.

Oh, and remind me never to blog about how beautiful of a spring day we're having here until Winter is actually over. It snowed the next day and has been fairy cold every since. Anyone with warm weather.. send some my way? Thanks.

:) Rachel




Saturday, March 1, 2008

Apple Mouse Messenger Bag and Happy March!

Thank you to everyone for all of the comments about my first month on Etsy. I appreciate all of the lovely feedback. :)

Happy March 1st! Today is a beautiful day outside and the smell of spring is certainly in the air. How exciting?!

To start of a new month for me, I'd like to show you a new item in my shop, The Apple Mouse Messenger Bag.




It's made from a gorgeous earthy brown/eggplant wool and lined in the cutest apple mouse linen blend fabric. You can check out more pictures in my Etsy shop.

Enjoy your weekend!
Rachel