These fabrics came last week. Pretty fat quarters from here. It's my favorite shop at the moment, speacially because I like to purchase fat quarter bundles and this shop is pretty organized and displays all their products really well. I am a big fan of Darlene Zimmerman and her collection. I've quit the victorian style and it's definitely not for me. I am not that shabby. I am not too modern and I love colors!!! I am also watching this and very tempted, but I need a pause. I need to avoid looking at fabric as much as I can. Sooo very crazy, isn't it? Call me weird! I don't mind. Maybe next month...hahaha! My husband doesn't understand either.
Sometimes I peruse over here and I like these by Lecien (not the dark ones), and these and these (ooooh so perfect for the kids!!!), and these are gorgeous too!! I could go on and on...oooops, I could not forget these...wow, one day I will put my hands on them! As you see, I don't like fabric with huge patterns...not yet.
I want to make quilts for my sons. Being so girly makes it hard to pick fabric for boys. It must be something easy and simple, because I don't really enjoy long projects...
And how about books? I put my eyes over this group sometime ago and I am also addicted to home decor books, sewing books, craft books and mags...these books are cool, but they are written in japanese, yes it's just eye candy, who said I want to read anything? Gimme photos and I am pretty satisfied!!! I got them from this bookstore in San Francisco and what I like about Jeu de Paume books (childrens' rooms) is the reality, the honesty they show other people's kids' rooms. Don't you just hate, not hate....hmmm too strong for that, but don't you just dislike these books or mags where they have all things perfect and very expensive furniture that tou can't afford at all??? And who says that kids' rooms are always pretty, clean and organized like on those mags and books??? Hahaha, impossible. If you have kids, the walls will have scribbles and sometimes...buggers ( I told them, don't do it...but I will find one here, another one there...helpless...) Unless your kids are very perfect and out of this world and you don't let them explore their little space...yes, perfect books for perfect kids! Sooo from my part...kudos for Jeu de Paume books!
A flair for vintage...
Hope you have enjoyed the links and photos. I must rush now...have a nice week!!! Xoxo!
I built this template last year and now I am giving it away for the first person that ask by e-mail (blog at pixieblossoms.com). Only one person can have this template and it is for Blogger, it's coded and ready to use. Customization available, but not free. This is a linkware, that means you must keep a button on the template linking back to my blog. Savvy? Banner for Typepad or Wordpress is also available.
...and this post is all I needed for today!!! Aaaaw, colors make me so happy!!
Up: this template is taken now. Check it, what do you think?
Last year, I purchased two vintage quilts for my children. Pure eye candy. I loved the fabric so much and they did too. It's fun to look at all these colors, patterns. These below are my favorites, I photographed each piece, to show you. As you can see, small flowered patterns make me swell! Haha! Some people would say that these are for girls only, but do I mind at all? I am sure my little ones don't either! Obviously the quilts have much more fabric on it. These below from Daniel's quilt. At the moment I have a crush on "Little Darlings VI" and "Fresh Picked" by Darlene Zimmerman, "Look and Learn" by American Jane, I also like "Sweet Scape" by Verna Mosquera, Ooooh my Gosh...look at this..."Rambling Rose" by Dena Designs, "Katie Jump Rope", "Barefoot Roses" by Tania Whelan, "Cherry Baby" by Lake House Fabrics and "Pastel Antique Flower Collection" by Lecien. Hello husband, are you there, reading this? Probably not. I want fat quarters for valentine's day!!!!
Last summer...
Some positivie thinking for today? Slow sales, no motivation, cold days, tight time...here is. For some, might be just blabs, but I tell you...it's hard to be motivated, but I've been thinking positively lately and it a good exercise for our mind.
I've been cleaning up some stuff over my shops, removing photographs, reediting them, keeping bags for me, remaking banner, uploading photos to Flickr, organizing my playground! Hehe. I am late with e-mails and do not get mad if I don't visit your blog. I just do things here in a rush, because I have little kids that need me so much and also I hate dirty house and late laundry. Sooooo, thanks a lot for links, comments and kindly messages. I love all. Feel kissed!
Another collage for kid's room and a fancy egg box filled with bits and bobs. We had butterflies in the house and cat has adapted to his new home...
My favorite season is (obviously)...spring!
I can't wait for spring again...
Last May I made my first "serious" bag and I got thrilled when after few days it was sold on Etsy... May is my favorite month...I was born in May. If I had a daughter today, I would probably name her...May!!!
The beggining of 2007 was very hectic for me and my family. We've moved to this town and for couple of months I was too terribly busy and feeling tired, despite all that, I enjoyed ordering my moo cards and building my first bulletin board for our fridge in February, making a Valentine box for my kids, receiving flowers from him and having fun with a space that I could call my own. The month of March was truly beautiful. I worked on some fancy Easter Eggs. I did not get to give them away, simply because they were too cute and sometimes I am selfish. Haha! Kids were participating on little projects and I also made a cute collage for my son's room using a squared canvas, a branch of an aspen tree, buttons, cork, paint and felt. He just adored it!
Next: April and May.
Before leaving...did you hear about this? So sad...I've enjoyed every issue of it!
I was not going to blog today, but something has been deeply annoying since I started to sell handmade things. Price. How to price my items. I know some of you that stop by this blog have an Etsy shop too or you sell some place else. You probably face the same dilemma. I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like selling myself short. I've stumbled over this and this articles about how to price our handmade creations, you might wanna take a look.
My husband truly supports my hobby, it is a hobby for now, I keep repeating that, because I (obviously) don't make a living with things I sell. I've sold very few things (all the bags sold out), but I am proud of it. Because it's a hobby, the profits can cover the expenses of supplies I buy. So...my husband is actually paying for me to play with my sewing machine! Probably, yours too. It's cool, but he tells me..."you gotta be kidding me, that you are selling these bags for that price, gosh Zee, you are giving them away!!!" Ooops, he is very realistic. I am too, but I often forget about all I go through to make one bag, for example. Just like everyone else, I go out to shop for fabric. I like to see the fabric in person, I like to touch and visualize patterns and look for delightful combos. This is one of the best parts of the job. I often go with little one, that hates the store and will bug me all the time to go home fast. I go home and right away, I wash and dry all the fabric. But hey, I also spent money with sewing notions: Ribbons, buttons, laces, thread, batting and the list can be endless. If you are a seamstress, you know how much supplies you need to start working.
After drying, I press with iron. I fold all the fabric and they go to my small stack on the shelf. Sometimes I will take several weeks to make something with them. I will be waiting for ideas and energy to make it. Sometimes I just don't feel like making anything, one more reason to say that what I do is a hobby. The day(if ever happens) I take it for a real job, I will have to set up hours of work and even hire someone to help me...that's only a dream!!! Haha! Continuing with my little rant. My husband asks..."how many hours do you put in just one bag?" I whisper... "hmmm, it depends, as I usually like to embroider and make it slowly as I am not super experienced on making them (but that doesn't mean they are not well made)...I think 5 - 6 hours each." He laughs and one more time he says..."you gotta be kidding me that you are selling them for that price!!!" I reply..."well, at least pays for some supplies." Shame on me. I feel stupid.
I believe that there are a lot of talented people that don't even start making things by hand just because they would not feel happy selling what they would create. They just don't believe that buyers would pay a "fair" price for their items. Some people start it and quit it quickly, after all the hassle of puting so much time and money on handmade projects. Sometimes, they just don't sell anything and get really frustrated. In my case...I don't know what is gonna happen...
From the site linked above, here is one of the things that caught my atention: "Finally – and importantly, when pricing consideration needs to be given to what the market will bear. There is no point carefully making a bag or purse, or embroidering a cushion, working out the costs factoring all the elements above, and then finding you are selling a $50 item at a craft market where the average price of items is $5! Make sure you have the right market for your work – and correspondingly the right work for the market. Look around for the right place to sell your $50 cushions, and make the right products to sell at a market where the average price of goods is $5."
Reading that, I ask to myself...is my dream of work from home reasonable? Should I insist? Are people willing to pay the price I think is fair for me? What people really think about my designs?Should I think big just because I've been lucky selling few things on Etsy and getting good feedbacks? Is Etsy right for me? Too many questions darlings...I just don't have the answers at the moment. I just finished 2 bags last night and all I feel is happiness for all the handmade process. It includes great feelings, that no money will pay. If I seat by a sewing machine it's because these great feelings I have, not because the money...but I have to rethink prices, I really do. Hubby is a hard worker guy and my hobby is also a hard work with lots of love. One of a kind, unique, special. That said, here are my new babies... and oooh, yes, if you care reading about Etsy's a bit more...here is a link for you. And ooooh, yes, I forgot that after making them, I have to take photos, edit photos and upload them to the web...so you figure it out! But...other questions bother me...do people really consider handmade goodies? Do buyers really know all the process we go through? If they do, why so many cheap handmade things out there??? Do people think big or do they just wanna pay for their supplies and have fun? Sigh.
It's been a while and it was good! Right now it's raining a lot, we got the first snow, a tiny bit and it's super cold!!! It's finally saturday. These days were really busy. My workspace is taking shape. We got shelves in the closet, pegboard on the wall, new rug, new chair...I just don't know if I wanna paint the walls. Maybe. Blue or acqua would be the choice, but I like the way it is now - very light ivory.
These last months I had to rethink my time, my priorities in life and it's working good. Making things, showing them for you is important, because make me feel more productive, creative, keeps me sane. Being a stay at home mom is hard work. As you know, a 24/7 job, and no days off at all. The routine can bring me sadness or even a little bit of depression, imagining that I could be working on something really cool, attending classes somewhere... but the coolest thing is happening now and sometimes I get lost, sometimes I just forget about it!!! This statement is going personal. I planned to do not bring personal wisperings here, but (oooh, it's snowing really good out there!!!!!) is not easy, right? Well, my children are the most important for me and they deserve the best. They love my attention, they love when I play with them. There will be a time that I will be by myself in this house. I am learning to organize my time now, to appreciate every moment. It's satisfying to make things for the house, to give attention to my family, to see my home the way I wanted. One day, my children won't be here anymore. I will be old. They will grow up. I will miss this time now, little toes, baby faces, funny things they say...
Yes, I wasn't in the mood for blogging at all. I rather take brakes than just delete my domain like I used to do sometime ago...
Mr. M. came home with a gift for our bed. We don't know the quilter's name, but she offered it at my husband's work. He thought that I would like it too. I did. I just regret buying that greenish bedding, it's ugly...ugh! I don't find much reasonable (for us) prices on california king size beddings. Next time, I might get something from here.
Later, I got curious to know what fabric combination she used to make this quilt. It wasn't difficult to discover them online. Just a few clicks! She made it with Shangri-la, by 3 Sisters for Moda Fabrics. I loved it. Sadly or luckly, here in town we have only 3 fabric shops. One is owned by a local resident and they have Moda, I did not resist bringing home a jelly roll for my next sewings. I am pretty tempted to make a quilt one of these days. That day in the store, they had a class for Bernina users. They also teach quilting and machine embroidery...I wonder if one day I will be able to attend any of those classes!!!
I wrote this post on Saturday, but I did not have the time to finish it with the images...today is Sunday!!!
Zee
♥
mom of 2 little boys, wife, cats, photography, Photoshop, crafts,
sewing, handmade things, Rio de Janeiro, Arizona...
hey, my mother language is
portuguese!
If you like what you see, get a cup of tea and enjoy! Thanks!
♥
