Simply XSBaggage

New for Thursday

Good Morning! How's this for a bright and shiny face?

That's Isaac, my sweet Grandson. He's so fun, and growing and changing by the day. And he's the happiest baby ever! Okay, enough gushing, on to business.

More new fabrics arrived:

And I got busy:


I've listed these over on my website, XSBaggage & Co.. You can just click on the website name and go on over to have a look! I love how these turned out, and I decided to list the Handbag, matching Checkbook Cover, and matching Key Fob all together as a set.

I'm going to be spending more time getting my website up to speed as far as new products, as I've sort of neglected it and used Etsy for my new listings. I love Etsy, but my own site gives me more flexibility. For now, I'll be using both sites, but listing different products on each. So keep watching for more new, fun stuff!

Daffy-dils

These are blooming in my backyard and I can look out of my studio window and see their sunny faces.

The 'Rooster Couple' once belonged to my Grandparents. Then they were in my Mom's yard for years. And last year she gave them to me for my Birthday!! I love to see them peeking through the daffodils, and I love the memories of seeing them in my Grandparent's yard as a child.

I should cut some of these and bring them in the house to put in a pretty vase, but I think I enjoy seeing them out the window when I'm working almost as much as if I brought them in, maybe more.
Remember the Handbags that I made for my Girlfriend's daughters back here? The zipper order finally arrivied so I could finish my girlfriend's and here it is:


I also had some more of my big fabric order come in!! I know I'm a craft geek, but I get so excited about new supplies and fabric orders! I've been making some fun products and I'll share that with you tomorrow.

Saturday Garage Sale Finds

So, it's another rainy Saturday, and what better way to spend it then going to Garage Sales with my girlfriend! The 'Garage Sale Season' is just starting to warm up around here. Each weekend the listings in the Classifieds get a little longer. We scouted out several, and I came home with some bargains:

First off, see that super cute bowl with the little kids in red all around it? $1.00!! I love it!

One of the Garage Sales we went to was the home of a quilter and she had lots of fabric pieces for sale. I'm pretty choosy about what I'll buy, but I did find two pieces that were really nice. When I went to pay, she said that one of the pieces I picked out was free because it came from the 'Free Scrap' box. Free?? Well, let me go check out that 'Free' box again... and so, now I was not so choosy! All but one of the pieces in my pictures here were free! Yay!
I also picked these retro craft magazines from the '70's.

I don't knit or crochet but I love looking at the pictures in these!

Then, I came home and found two of my favorite magazines had arrived in today's mail.

So far, it's been a banner day!

Friday, already?

Whoa, the week zips by sometimes! I've been so busy playing with my new fabrics this week that I seem to have lost track of time. I love what I'm doing so much, and I get completely engrossed in things I'm working on.

Seriously, I come up to my studio in the morning with my cup of coffee, and the next thing I know, I hear Dr. K coming in the back door from work! I have a slight moment of panic: yikes, I don't know what we're having for dinner, the thought hasn't crossed my mind all day. Thankfully, he is completely laid back about this. We usually just 'wing it', as in cook up some hamburger and veggies, or go get sandwiches or chili from the sandwich shop across the street, or have cheese and crackers.

And when I do take the time to cook dinner, he is sooo appreciative. I'm thankful that he understands that right now I'm working long hours to make my business successful. He has been there and he 'gets it'.

Over at Etsy, Ashabee's Creatiions was nice enough to include one of my Reversible Belts in her Treasury list:

It features some beautfiul works, all in warm calico colors! And you should check out her shop as well. Even though it's now officially Spring, we still have some brisk days. I think her beautiful Neckwarmers would be perfect for keeping warm without the bulk of a heavy scarf.

Have a great weekend!

Ducks and Deer

I purchased some cute Japanese import fabric last year and decided now would be a great time to use it. So I've been whipping up some cute little Zip Pouches.

A great way to organize things in your handbag, they could be used for cash, (I never seem to have any though), debit cards, (the way of the world it seems) those Espresso punch cards that seem to pile up in my wallet, your cell phone or iPod. What else can you think of?

Oh yeah, they would make a great Mother's Day or Easter gift, especially with a few chocolate eggs or a gift card tucked inside!

I've listed them in my Etsy shop, go on over and have a look!

Too many irons...

Not really too many irons, but possibly too many irons in the fire recently. Or maybe it just feels that way because I've been sick with a cold for about 11 days now and my energy level hasn't been what it usually is. Add to that, that it's tax time and I'm trying to gather everything I need to have my taxes done. Because 2006 was my first year in business and I just kind of hit the ground running, I wasn't very, ummm, good about keeping records. In fact, the truth be told, I have never had my bookwork/bills/receipts be so unorganized as they are right now.

I spent a good part of the weekend trying to get a handle on it and I'm making headway. I also had the bright idea that since I'm organizing tax info. I should organize my other files better, and oh yeah, I should re-do the spare bedroom, and yeah, let's clean out the patio. I was really on a roll! Until about 5:30 last night when I flopped on the bed drained of all energy.

You see, I'm so used to working outside the home full-time, that now that I'm not, I forget that I don't have to get every little thing done on the weekend. I can take a break from my studio and work on it little bits at a time during the week if I want to. I just had that revelation last night! And I haven't worked outside the home since last August...so I'm a slow learner.

I've started receiving some of the fabrics that I ordered at the NW Fabric Show that I talked about earlier. I'm super excited about these and can't wait to start putting my ideas together!

I really love these, and they are such a nice high quality cotton! See the one with the black background, it has big flowers and leaves in lots of bold bright colors!

These new fabrics are actually helping to motivate me to get my bookwork done so I can get started sewing! Might be just the kick in the pants I need!

Kick Start

It's a very rainy Saturday and so I am getting kick started with a good strong cup of coffee. I bought a French Press Pot shortly after I started working from home full time. If you've never had coffee made in one, you really should give it a try. You can make it as strong (or weak) as you like. Mine is just a little 8 oz. size, perfect for me. I put 3 heaping teaspoons of ground coffee beans in. I buy organic beans at a market near here and grind them at the coarsest (is that a word?) setting.

Pour in the hot water. And I love the irridescent bubbles on top.

Put the lid on it, and let it steep for 2-4 minutes. Push the plunger down and pour into one of your favorite coffee cups. I highly recommend adding a little Coffee Mate Cinnamon Vanilla Creme flavoring to it! I am seriously hooked on this stuff!

Then, because it's St. Paddy's Day, go ahead and treat yourself to a wee little cookie!!

Gracie...again

This little doggy gave us quite a scare this week! But here she is, back at work at the office today! And ready to play. She was giving me this look like 'what was all the fuss about?'.

She may have a bit of damage to her liver from the toxins, but we've got her on SamE now which is supposed to promote liver health (according to the Vet.) I see on the box that it is also used to treat depression. Hmmmm... guess she'll be one super-happy dog!

So, it's back to business as usual around here. I've added a few new things to my Etsy Store for Spring, and will be adding more later. Check out these sunny accessories:

If you're thinking ahead to Easter or Mother's Day, these would make great gifts. Especially filled with some chocolates or a gift card!

Gracie

This is our family pet, Gracie. This picture was taken last summer shortly after we received her. She has become a part of our family, and that really hit home for me last night. She had gotten into some very toxic pesticide and began shaking and trembling uncontrollably. We rushed her to the Veterinary Clinic late last night as soon as we saw the first symptoms. It was a long couple of hours watching the Vet. fill her with all sorts of medications, into the eyes, down her throat and intravenously. I was praying for her through all of it. He finally told us he'd done all he could do and that we needed to leave her for observation. The next 4 - 24 hours would be critical and we had to face the possibly of losing her as he told us that what she had ingested was lethal.

We came home and just sat stunned. We went to bed very concerned that we'd be getting a phone call early in the morning saying that she hadn't made it. But Gracie has so far surprised us and the Vet. She had a rough night, but her trembling has subsided and she may be pulling through it. We are very hopeful, but have to wait another 24 hours for blood tests to determine if her liver or any other organs have been damaged. We're just anxious to get her back home and I'm sure she's just as anxious to get home! And Gracie, when you get home, I promise I will never get irritated at you for digging holes in the yard again.

Spring?

Could it be? The first signs of Spring?

My Camelia bushes are loaded with buds and starting to bloom! I have two big bushes, one is a soft pink and the other is a bright, almost flourescent, pink. I had another big Camelia in my yard, a big white one, but the other 'unnamed' resident of this house decided to take it down in one of his "let's tear out all of the bushes and trees" moments. Ooops!
I love how the petals look sort of waxy, plastic...? If it weren't for the bit of browning and spotting from the rain, they would hardly look real.

Here's a custom order I recently finished for one of my best friends. Her two daughters, one a new Mom, the other in grade school, came over and picked out the fabrics for each of their bags. They really captured the look of spring!

I'm working on a new bag for my friend too, but waiting for my zipper order to arrive before I can finish it. I'll post pictures of her finished bag too.