Product Review -- Frame Purse Making Kit

I've read lots of interesting features on amazing Etsy artists, and seen lots of great pictures of items while browsing, but now and then I'd love to read about the actual product. So, here we go. Everything I review will be something that I have personally purchased and used.

My first product review is on the Frame Purse Making Kit sold by U-Handbag. There it is in the picture from her Etsy shop. It's so cute, and I've been dying to try to make this kind of clutch purse. I make other clutches, so it's not a stretch for me, but needed the basics.

First of all, fast shipping. I think it took just about a week to come from London to Atlanta. Everything you need is in the kit except thread and glue. The thread was not a problem. I'll get to the glue in a minute. I dove right in and made it the day it arrived.

Lisa's pattern is so easy to follow, and she herself describes it as "easy peasy". A couple of notes. Follow Step 1!! At least the part about reading all the way through. I've been sewing for over 30 years, so sometimes I take little short cuts, and this pattern was no diffeent. All went well until Step 10 and the gluing.

To start with, I didn't have the glue she recommended, but hey, I'm a crafter with glue. Got out the E6000 and even have a long pointy tip thing, but it seemed to be just too thick and didn't come out in a smooth line. Next up was Fabri-Tac, a glue that I highly endorse, and have used often in attaching trim to window treatments. But my bottle was not new, and the tip was cut a bit far down, making the hole a bit larger than desired.

Still, I'm impatient, and wanted to see the finished product, darn it! I forged ahead, mostly making do with the fabri-tac, but I had neglected to read the part about "working with one side of the purse at a time". Oops. Once I started to stuff the edge of the purse into the channel of the frame, well, it was a gluing nightmare. After getting it all over my fingers, and having it squish out around the edge, I did somehow manage to successfully insert the bag into the frame. Mind you, this has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the kit itself. Just a reminder that this kit maker knows what she's talking about!

Bottom line: If you enjoy sewing and trying new projects, this one is a very fun and satisfying one indeed. The fabric and frame included are high quality, leaving you with a wonderful finished product that closes with a satisfying snap. Here's my finished purse. Not too bad, but I need practice.

Besides buying U-Handbag products on Etsy, you can also purchase them via their website, U-Handbag.com, and check out her fun blog for more tutorials on making handbags.

My rating for the kit: A+

Back to School

The Etsy Blogger Team's Blog Carnival is always so timely and topical, and this time is no different. What does back to school mean to me? For all those Etsy Bloggers with the young children heading off to elementary school, getting up early, making lunches, and mounds of homework... enjoy it if you can, because all too soon back to school will mean something totally different. Time flies is a saying that really is true!

My oldest graduated earlier this month, but my youngest is just starting his sophomore year in college. Back to school for us meant last minute packing, with nagging on my part, and declarations like "it will only take me an hour to pack all my stuff, mom" on my son's part. Shopping was kept at a minimum this year (unlike heading off to a freshman year) so that was good.

So, after a day's worth of packing (that was one LONG hour!!), last Saturday we headed north, spending the evening walking around campus, scouting out the new dorm, checking his mailbox for the coveted parking permit, and a last evening of bonding. OK, honestly, after dinner he met up with his friends that he hadn't seen in a couple of months, returning to the hotel room in the wee hours of the morning. We didn't even hear him come in, but about 2:45 a.m. I heard my husband shuffling around, and then a frantic, "have you heard from Kyle?" Um, no, I was sleeping, and my cellphone was somewhere in my purse across the room. But then, he said, "never mind, he's here sleeping." About 3 feet away on the sleeper sofa.

Sunday, after snagging a prime unloading spot by the dorm, we had a nice "free" hotel breakfast, and then the unpacking started. Kyle's dorm room is so small, that it's crowded with 2 people, downright uncomfortable with 3. He's so happy to be there, though.

Mama and her Baby Bird in his new nest

Since getting home, I have been wallowing around in our nest, which seems much too big for just the two of us, looking for birdies to take care of. I should snap out of it soon, and enjoy sleeping through the night again. Life is so much easier when you don't know what time they get home or what they've been doing!

August's Etsy Blogger -- Memories for Life Scrapbooks

The featured blogger for Etsy Bloggers this month is Edi from Iowa. As you can guess by the title, she's makes scrapbooks for her shop, Memories for Life Scrapbooks. I love these unique word albums that she makes:

But I think my favorite albums are from her Simply Stunning collection. Here's a great one for all the memories you made this summer:

Edi is one busy girl, working as a machine operator while working on her MBA besides running her delightful Etsy shop and blogging. You can read more about her by clicking here, or (until August 31) on the Etsy Blogger Featured Blogger logo just to the right.

Where Have I Been?

Added on Friday, Aug. 14: Just checked into the Etsy Bloggers message board and discovered this is one of the topics for the blog carnival! What luck!

Well, it seems that I am no longer grateful on a daily basis. Not so, dear friends, just haven't recorded anything here for what appears to be several weeks. I've been preoccupied with things out in the real world like daughter's graduation and party, and guests, and her move, and just all the other more mundane parts of life. My Etsy shops have been neglected as well, but a few lovely buyers have stopped in to both of them and I am truly grateful for them.

So, with all that busyness, some time in early July I decided we would need a vacation. After taking my mother and mother-in-law to the airport last week, 6 of us headed southeast to the Georgia coast. Specifically to St. Simon's Island. And we had a lovely time. Lots of pictures were taken, but here are a couple. The first is our view of the Atlantic Ocean from our condo balcony. The second is standing on the beach looking back at our condo. See the red swim trunks hanging from the balcony? That was ours!

Featured Etsy Blogger -- Miesmama

I'm just going to pick right up where I left off. I know, I know... where are the three things I'm grateful for everyday. Well, my internet was out since last Thursday. True story. So I do have three things for today, but before I get to them, the Etsy Blogger Team's featured blogger is Becky, an upstate New York crafter that writes Miesmama, and runs her Etsy shop of the same name.

Her blog is really cute, and right now she's writing about the best things of summer, and I'm really enjoying it! She has great pictures. In her shop, you'll find lots of "handmade goodness". Things like felt pins, garlands and goodies for your hair and home. Here are two of my favorite things:

Tooth Fairy Pillow


Ouchless headbands adorned with
Cute Felt Flowers

OK, now for my three things:
1. Beautiful summer weather right now with cool mornings, sunny afternoons, and delightful evenings.
2. Anthony at Comcast.
3. Quiet.

The Evil Serger

OK, everyone at Bernina, no freaking out! But you have to admit that sergers can be a wee bit intimidating, what with all the threads to be threaded. And when you pull open the little door at the bottom with the hooks and diagrams, and threading that is just not intuitive, well, it's enough to make just about anyone go running for cover.

So, I bring this up today, because I spent the better part of two hours trying to get mine back in good working shape after it started doing weird things a couple of days ago. The best plan would have been to get out the manual before I started, but it was (and remains) MIA. With no other choice, I boldly cut the threads, looked at the diagram, and rethreaded. Giant loopy stitches resulted, followed by cursing. I played around with the tension. Still giant loopy stitches. More cursing.

More looking for the manual. More cursing. Looked inside, and one line wasn't threaded right. Ack! Decided to rethread again. Then the lightbulb went off, and I changed the needles, too. Bingo! That was all it really needed.

That makes the three things I'm grateful for today:
1. Bernina, for making a top notch product, that really makes me think.
2. Simple solutions.
3. Napping. OK, that one doesn't really have anything to do with sergers, but naps are great, aren't they!

Recovering

Or is it re-covering? Either way, I wanted to share this great project I've been involved with. My daughter may argue that it's really HER project, and it is. I'm more of the project manager/supervisor, and was the chief seamstress in charge. She and her fiance bought a dinette set off of Craig's List, but hated the practical, but ugly, salmon pink vinyl that adorned the chairs.

Nobody remembered to take a before
picture, but here are the remnants in the trash.

After a quick trip to the fabric store (she is The Decisive Bride, after all), they returned with enough fabric for one chair. After stripping off the old vinyl (not an easy job), I showed them how to measure and make a pattern for each piece. They did the cutting out and pinning, and I sewed the pieces together. As we progressed, the pinning, and therefore the sewing, got much more accurate!

Teamwork on the Pinning

And on the stapling.

Satisfied with the first chair, they returned to the store, and bought enough for the other 3. This past weekend, the pinning, sewing and re-stapling was in high gear, and the project is really almost done. I should add that they removed the pedestal stand, and Thomas has done all the repair work and repainting on those. He's taken most of the chairs back to Tennessee for final re-assembly.

This whole project has made me grateful for thriftiness, creativity, and willingness to jump right in and try something new!

One Almost Finished Chair

Happy Birthday, Roland!

Today is Roland's 49th birthday, so I'm dedicating my three things to him! I'm so grateful that I was set up with him on a blind date almost 30 years ago! Wow, that sounds like a long time ago. I guess it really was. I'm so grateful that he asked me to marry him more than 26 years ago (we'll celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary in October). And, I am so grateful that he is such a wonderful father to our two children.

The picture of our happy family was taken last year at Kyle's high school graduation.

Introducing a New Blog...

... and making it a part of my 3 things for today. You see, I am so grateful for the ambitiousness of my daughter. She is enjoying the planning of her own wedding so much, that she thinks she would love to be a part of the wedding industry in some way. To that end, she has started a blog, The Decisive Bride. It's a bit sparse now, but stay tuned!

Today, I'm also grateful for positive test results. Positive, as in, boy, this is good news! All my bloodwork from last week's physical is in the normal range, except for my cholesterol. It's slightly elevated, but the good kind of cholesterol is also high (which is good), so it all balances out and makes it just fine.

Finally, I'm grateful for water. We woke up to no water this morning. ACK! Of course we all had somewhere to be, and needed to take showers. Thankfully, it was back on by about 7:45, and we were off to the races. Living in a major metropolitan area, you just don't expect to not have water, and when it's back, you really are grateful!

Today's Three Things

1. I'm grateful for ice cream. Just about any time, any place. Not any kind, because I do have my favorites, but I love low fat frozen yogurt just about as much as the full fat kind. And it's almost time for my nightly treat! Yum!

2. Netflix. I love that I put the DVDs in a list, and they show up in my mailbox, and then when I'm done, I drop them in a mailbox. No fuss, no muss. So far, only one snafu when Hotel for Dogs showed up unexpectedly. The nice Netflix customer service guy said I could go ahead and watch it, and I did, but really, I think skipping it might have been a better idea.

3. Great old situation comedies that have come out on DVD. Tonight (thank you, Netflix) we're watching WKRP in Cinncinnati that came out in 1978. So funny!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Three things for today:

1. I'm so grateful to know Joanna Adams, pastor of Morningside Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

2. So grateful also that it rained today, which meant we didn't have to water our plants after a hot week without any rain.

3. And finally, grateful that the drought is over in Georgia and that we CAN water our plants if we need to. Of course, restrictions are still in place, at least for Fulton County. We can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays with our odd-numbered address. Click here for more info.

Happy Birthday, America!

Photo by David McNally, USAG-Yongsan, June 23, 2008 and courtesy of U.S. Army

I am so grateful that I am an American! I love the 4th of July, and all the celebrations!

I am so grateful that the founding fathers had the foresight to sign the Declaration of Independence in the middle of the summer, so that our celebrations can be all those fun things like road races (congrats to all the local Peachtree Road Race runners), swimming parties, adventures at lakes and beaches, picnics and cookouts, and warm summer nights lying under the stars on a blanket watching the fireworks! I'm sure that's what they were thinking when they signed on July 4, 1776!

And finally, I'm grateful to my friend, Kila, of Go2Girl, for giving the Inventing Weddings blogger my name. I was featured today! Check it out at inventingweddings.blogspot.com.

Gotta Love a Sale!

The three things start today with my love of sales and a shameless self promotion. I am always so grateful to find a great sale. I mean, you know that it could be last season's stuff, but who cares?! It's a deal. I'm offering just such a deal at Down the Street. I've added a huge clearance section with everything 25 to 50 percent off. My shop direction has evolved (that will be another post), and these items, while still great, are no longer part of my vision. My most hearted item is also in the sale, so enjoy. And shop!

Today, I'm also grateful for car repair shops that offer great customer service. Thanks, Phillip at Professional Automotive Repair.

And the third thing I'm grateful for is great writers. I love to read, and don't do it quite as often as I'd like, but thanks Stieg Larsson for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. My current read. And it's quite a page turner, keeping me up past my bedtime.

Summer's Top Five List

It's the Etsy Blogger team's Blog Carnival time again, and it goes so well with my new gratefulness series! This Carnival is exploring either your favorite summer recipe (I'm not a big cook, so you're out of luck on that one), or the five things you love about summer. And I do LOVE summer, and on top of that I'm always so grateful when it arrives, so you guessed it... my 3 things I'm grateful for become the 5 things I love about summer today. Here goes:

1. The Heat! Yes, you read that right. I love living in the south where it starts getting warmer in March, and stays warm through October or so. And in the middle... summer... it's downright hot! OK, sometimes the humidity can be annoying, but that's what air conditioning is for.

2. The carefree days. OK, well, yes, I'm an adult, so my days are not really all that carefree, but it's more of an attitude about summer that lends itself to less frenzy and more relaxing.

3. Grilling and eating outside. I know. You can grill anytime, but there is something about cooking out in the summer that is less about cooking, and more about an event. Plus, it keeps your kitchen nice and cool.

4. Summer thunderstorms. I love the way that the heat builds up all day, and come late afternoon, the giant clouds roll in, thunder and lightning ensue and when it's all over the air feels so fresh and clean.

5. The beach. Really, any vacation, but there is nothing like the hot sand and the cool surf to soothe the soul. So load up your beach bag, and hit the road!

Have a marvelous and safe summer!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Three things I'm grateful for today:

1. my personal trainer, Kathy. She makes me push way harder than I would working out on my own, and my body is that much stronger for it.

2. gas grills. Grilling out is such an easy way to cook, and the kitchen stays cool and reasonably clean. It was grilled chicken tonight. Yum!

3. Etsy, for giving a chance to stretch my creativity, and really work on my selling and marketing skills, which are mediocre at best.

Three Things

A blog confession. I am not really a great blogger. I don't seem to have the will or stamina or drive to keep at it, and make it fresh and lively and exciting. Yet, I can't seem to let it go. For now, I'm going to attempt to catalog 3 things every day that I'm grateful for. Not original, I know. Probably not that ambitious either, as I've seen other suggestions to list at least 5 things. But, hey, I'm starting slow and we'll see where this takes us as an exercise. Some days, that will be the extent of the entry. Other days the focus will be on another topic, but will end with the three things. That's it. No other rules. Let's get started.

Three things I'm grateful for on Sunday, June 28, 2009:

1. A husband that gives his heart and soul to everything he does.

2. Second (and third, fourth, fifth, etc.) chances.

3. My ripening tomato.

Featured Etsy Blogger: LazyTCrochet

Meet Tricia, the yarn goddess behind Lazy T Crochet, this month's featured Etsy Blogger. She creates knit and crochet fashions and accessories like wearable shawls, shrugs, sweaters and also one of a kind designs like hats, headbands, scarves. I also noticed a couple of patterns in her shop in PDF format, so if you are a knitter or crocheter, check these out!

Here are a couple of my favorites from her shop:

So summery!


Gorgeous color!

She currently has quite a large sale section as well. Interested in learning more about Tricia? Visit her blog, after you shop!

Summer Plans

It's Blog Carnival time again over at Etsy Bloggers, and a big oops from me, because I somehow let May get away from me without participating. So sorry fellow bloggers.

Anyway, the topic I've chosen for this carnival is summer plans. I love summer. I love the hot weather, and I love the lazy, relaxed feel of summer even when we aren't really able to be lazy or relaxed. This year we have no vacations planned, but hopefully that won't stop us from being spontaneous and having a fun weekend away somewhere. In fact, we do have an overnight stay in Chattanooga planned later this month when we head up there to meet our daughter, Laura's future in-laws (and they meet us).

Which brings us to what seems to be consuming our summer for now. Wedding plans. Laura is doing a lot of the planning now since she'll be moving from Atlanta (where the wedding will be happening on this very day next year) to Lexington, Kentucky. None of her bridesmaids live in Atlanta right now, though, so I'm doing a lot of these things with her. With the wedding so far away, planning has been relaxed and going smoothly so far.

I'm also doing a lot of sewing, and will try to improve on my posting about works in progress, plus news and features on my Etsy friends (no promises though... this blogging stuff is work!).

Several of my friends on the list over there of One a Day Challenge members make beautiful wedding jewelry, but I think that Fen, of Bead Flora Jewels may take the (wedding) cake with the weddingist of all... a French beaded bouquet. Feast your eyes on this beautiful creation:

Jenna Bee Behm

June 26, 1998 -- May 15, 2009

Check out Quiltsy's May Daze!

The Quiltsy
Etsy Street Team Presents:

May Daze!

May 10 -16, 2009

Play our game during May Daze and you could
win one of these fabulous prizes!

STOP TO PLAY, STAY TO BUY

Has the long, cold winter left you in a daze? Well, Quiltsy
is celebrating the coming of spring in a big way, with an assortment of prizes
worth $350!!

Our May Daze promotion is sure to waken your adventurous spirit
with a lively game of hide & seek through participating shops. While the
game is being hosted, you will also be treated to special promotions offered
by each shop which can range from free shipping, to free gifts and/or discounts.
Winners of our game will receive prizes from among our most popular-selling
items.

Quiltsy Team members are quite a creative bunch, and you will
find within the items for sale new twists on traditional quilts, as well as
other delightful items in the fiber arts arena.

HOW TO PLAY

1. Your objective is to find the secret letters hidden within
   listings of participating shops. These letters will be placed in one of the
   4 alternate pictures in a listing of the seller's choosing.


2. There are SIX words in total, and 35 shops. The letters
   that belong in the same word will be the same color to help you unscramble.


3. The letters will be hidden in a quilt-related item; the
   seller may opt to give a clue, so be sure to read the shop intro!


4. Once you have located all the pictures, unscramble the
   matching letters to form a quilt related word/phrase.


5. Send your answer in a convo to QuiltsyTeam.
   (You will need to sign in to Etsy). Please include the words "May Daze"
   in the subject line.


6. For each correct answer, you will get an entry to win one of six prize packages.
   The number of prizes in your package is determined by the length of the word.
   So for example, if you unscrambled the word "lotion", and your name
   is drawn from the correct entries, you would win six prizes!


7. We encourage you to buy from participating shops, but there
   is no purchase necessary to enter or win.


8. Winners will be drawn from among the correct answers received.
   Winners will receive notification of their winning entry by May 25, 2009.
   You will be asked to provide your shipping address at that time.


9. Your prizes will be shipped direct to you from the shop
   giving the prize. This is great because you will get little surprises in your
   mailbox over several days. How fun!

RESTRICTIONS

1. No Quiltsy Team members or their families may play.


2. Drawing only valid for correct answers received between
   12:00 AM EST May 10 through 11:59 PM EST May 16, 2009


3. Only one entry per user per word. So you cannot submit
   "lotion" over and over; but you could submit "lotion"
   and "soap" to get two entries.

We sincerely hope you enjoy our May Daze promotion! Good
luck!

LIST OF PARTICIPATING SHOPS

Please visit QuiltsyTeam.etsy.com
for the complete list of shops and to play the game!!!

Remember: you are looking for letters like this in one of the images of a
listed item in their shops!

Written by LoveBug
Studios. Letter image provided by ForQuiltsSake.
Prize photos submitted by participating shops.