Alice&Victor Newsletter

 Introducing something new!

I have a couple of new products hitting the shop right away, and I am planning some sales in the next couple of months, and I didn't want anyone who was interested to miss out just because they didn't happen to see the notice on Facebook or Instagram... and I sure don't want to post the info multiple times over hoping everyone sees it, because nobody needs that much noise.

So... my solution is to start an email newsletter.  That way, once in a while when I have information to share, you'll get it right in your inbox.

I invite you sign up for Alice&Victor's email newsletter - be the first to know the news! Thanks so much for your interest and support.

XO,
Carolyn

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Where A&V Will Be This Fall

This is where you'll find me out and about selling this fall.  There are some great events on this list that I am excited to be a part of!

Saturday, September 24
Etsy Made In Canada Sale
This is the second time Regina has had an Etsy sale; I was in last year's and it was pretty great to be surrounded by people who do what I do, but with all kinds of different things they make.  Come check it out if you can.  There will be workshops on macrame, paper making, bullet journaling, and starting an Etsy shop as well as the shopping.
Research and Innovation Centre Atrium, U of R  10-5

Saturday, October 15
Henry Braun SCC
I prefer the all handmade sales over craft and trade shows, but I had no other sales in October so thought I'd add this one in.  Hoping for some good crowds.
710 Graham Road, Regina  10-4

Saturday November 5
Maranatha Women's Wellness Day
This event is in Winnipeg at my family's church, and while I will not be in attendance, there will be a table of my goods for sale.  Check with the church as to the best drop-in shopping times. 204-832-1371


Saturday November 19
Cathedral Christmas Craft Sale
Second year for this one, too.  It is the same day as the sale at Westminster Cathedral, and just across the street and down a bit, so you can take in both and don't even have to move your car.
2900 13th Ave, Regina  10-5

Sunday November 20
Twinkle: A Holiday Handmade Market
First time joining up with the Wren for an event, but it promises to be awesome.
The Exchange - 2431 8th Ave, Regina  11-5

Saturday November 26
Holiday Bazzart
Bazzart is the annual outdoor summer sale put on by the MacKenzie Art Gallery; this holiday version take place inside.  I've been once - a lit of talented people!  I applied for Bazzart this year for the first time and was thrilled to get in to both summer and holiday shows.
3475 Albert Street, Regina  10-5

Thank you to all who shop local and handmade.  It makes our communities better places.  :)

May Got Crazy

The boy on two wheels! On a bike path!!

With something every weekend, it felt like we ran through May.  I had a two day sale (which stunk) to start the month off, then we went to Winnipeg for a visit.  My aunt was visiting from England, so we wanted to make the trip when she was there; I saw her last when 4 year old M and I took a trip to see them a dozen years ago.  N and his cousin Z have a grand time together - a highlight was going to the Lego Store in Polo Park then getting some 'Superkid' popcorn.  We played Pounce, as we do, and M WON.  I came in second - IN THE NEGATIVES.  Way to go, kiddo.  I hope they gave you the champion shirt.

Last weekend we went camping for 'May Long' as it's called here in Saskatchewan.  We have friends that we traditionally go with, even though we suffer through the cold almost every time... suckers for punishment I guess.  Or camping enthusiasts?  Maybe I'm the only one bothered by the chill...  Anyway, with this year's early summery spring weather, it was a great weekend.  We had lots of hikes (and geocaching!) in the warm sun, and two thunderstorms to watch.  Awesome.  Nolan even went for a swim. (He is four.  It wasn't THAT warm.)

Bedtime Marshmallows

And then this weekend I had two sales - Saturday was my favourite, the Street Fair of the Cathedral Village Arts Festival.  Crazy busy and decent selling.  Today was another show I took on since I was going to have it all packed up anyway, but it was another dud.  Lesson learned - Don't do tradeshows in the spring!  They are not the right fit for me.  I am, however, very much looking forward to being in Bazzart on June 18.

Chinese food tailgate picnic in the park.

Now, that's a month of full weekends, but honestly, our weeks are pretty empty, so it's not as if life is busy... But now we've got something to fill our weekdays, too, for the next couple of weeks.  N's preschool teacher left in March to have a baby, and their usual sub, a lovely lady who used to teach there, came to fill it.  One morning they needed a sub for the other teacher, and since their sub was already teaching, I got a call from the director.  Who didn't even know that I used to teach there.  Meant to be??  And then... Sub-teacher had holidays booked, and Baby-teacher decided not to come back right away after all, so yours truly gets to be teacher for the last two weeks of school.  Fun!

N and I went to all three classes together (one is his class) on Thursday and Friday last week to meet the kids, and tomorrow we start on our own.  I say we because N thinks we are teaching.  He went from not wanting to go to school anymore (I think he's just done with routine) to today telling me that his new favourite day of the week is 'school-days'.  I just finished my lesson plan - we're working on the food groups right now - and am actually kind of looking forward to having fun there.  Wish me luck!

12+ Uses for Wheat Bags

Some people love wheat bags and can't live without them; some have no idea what they are.  Here are 12+ uses for a wheat bag:

 
1.  My most common use of a bag is to keep me warm when I'm cold around the house and just sitting in one place.  I'll tuck it around my shoulders or on my feet or on my lower back, and I'm not tempted to crank the thermostat.

2.  Even when you are moving around, it will stay on your shoulders or on your lower back if your shirt is tucked in around it.

3.  Toss one into bed to warm up the covers before you get in.

4.  Cuddle up with one or more when you go to bed.

5.  Tuck your child in with one as a cuddle buddy.

6.  To soothe sore muscles.  Wheat bags can drape over any place that needs heat.

7.  Take one in the car when you have that short school run that's not long enough for the car to fully warm up.  Put it over your lap and you're set.

8.  A pair of handwarmers will keep your hands warm while walking the dog or waiting for the bus.

9.  Tummy troubles can be soothed by a warm bag on your stomach.

10.  Keep one in the freezer for the injuries that need an ice pack.

11.  Keep any size in the freezer to cool off - the back of neck works great - during summer heat or hot flashes.

12.  Cold packs bring some relief for migraines when placed across the eyes or forehead.

13.  Keep a stash in the house for gifts for teachers, bus drivers, piano teachers, coaches...

Did you find any new uses for your bags in this list?  Are there any other uses I've missed?

I make four different sizes, and can make custom sizes if none of my regular ones fit your needs.  Check out my wheat bags at Alice&Victor!

Exciting Upcoming Sale Schedule!

I've been waiting to hear (by the end of the month - nothing like last minute!) about a bigger sale I had applied to.  It's a juried sale, which means they pick & choose, verses you pay & your table is reserved.  I heard this afternoon, and I am going to be in Bazzart!  It's the annual sale put on by the Mackenzie Art Gallery, and it is full of great artisans and their wonderful creations.  I'm pretty stoked to be a part of it.

Just a few years ago, we were walking down 13th at the Cathedral Village Arts Festival, and I thought to myself that this was a sale I wanted to be a part of.  Last year I was in it and loved it, and this year I'll be back, AND in Bazzart... what will next year bring??

Here's what I have coming up this year so far:

Sat May 7, 11-4 & Sun May 8, 11-4  Spring into Summer

Saturday, May 28, 10-5  Cathedral Village Arts Festival

Saturday, June 18, 10-5  Bazzart

Saturday, November 26  Holiday Bazzart

You can shop online anytime at Alice&Victor on Etsy!!

Sunday Shopping!

It feels like a long time since Sunday Shopping was a big issue.  There have actually been a few times that I've been glad that Safeway is open till 10 on Sunday! 

But that's not what today's post is about... I wanted to let you know that I will be participating in a sale this Sunday at the Hungarian Club from 11-4 - the March Madness Craft & Trade Show & Sale.  The admission is free, but you are encouraged to bring a food item that, along with our table fees, will go to helping local families in need this Easter.  So it's a worthwhile cause. 

(If you are in Regina, you should go to church at the Ap first at 11 and watch the 4 year olds sing in the service.  Mine will be the one not singing.)

I had a good visit with an old friend yesterday in her shop about which of my goods and special-for-them items she would like to carry this fall.  I am hoping to get into four different retail shops this year, and that is the second one so far.  Thankful to be able to work with her!  I'll give you more details once things are a little closer and finalized.

I am still very pleased to be an Etsy seller, but am realizing more that that is just one of many opportunities for my business.  Alice&Victor wouldn't be where it is without the Etsy platform.  It is a great foundation to be able to point people to; a visual warehouse where they can see all my items, by my shop is ME and all the things I can dream up for it. 

Thanks for being my supporters - I appreciate you all!

Christmas Gifts from Alice&Victor

My sales are over, and my shop is mostly updated; all the things I was making for the sales are now finally showing up online!  After a day of many shops yesterday, we actually have our Christmas gifts almost all purchased.  Feeling pretty relaxed.  :)

The shots above are a fun little thing Etsy has set up this year - I finally got around to trying it out.  And now I have to go wrap a wheat bag for Nolan's teacher before I go pick him up from his last class of the year!

If you were interested in purchasing Christmas gifts from my shop, TODAY is the deadline for shipping within Canada!  After today, or if you live outside Canada, convo me for priority rates.  Of course, if you are local, you can pick up goodies from my home until the 24th.  :)

New Products

I got an invitation from the Regina Family Child Care Homes to be a part of their craft and trade sale happening on March 7 in conjunction with their annual conference.  It's from 8:30 - 4 at the Conexus Arts Centre, if you are close by and want to come.

It gave me a boost of motivation to sew up a few things that I've had in my mind for a while - Kid Sized wheat bags that are half as long as my regular ones (9x6), and mini 5x5 wheat bags to keep in the freezer as ice packs, or 'Owie Bags.'  I figure the crowd at a child care conference may be interested in some child specific products - here's hoping, anyway!

These are the kid sized bags - I've mad a few for friends before, but never had them listed in the shop until now.  I let Nolan pick one, so the blue cars bag is not in the shop, but the rest are available here.

And these are the Owie Bags.  They have covers that are removable, just like my bigger bags, but these have a full double layer of the flannel on one side, so you can choose your level of protection from the ice, or you can use the opening as a pocket to hold the bag in place.  This first batch is quite full, so a little difficult to get in and out of the cover; I think the next batch I will try a third less filling. You can find these in the shop here.

These next two are favourites - I love using N's hands to show the size of the bags.  He's a fun little hand model.

This one shows a regular bag and a kid sized one for comparison.  The owls are fun.

I found some time too, to make up new regular wheat bags - I've got 11 new patterns that I've just listed today.

I'm also hoping to have a booth at the Cathedral Village Arts Festival May 23rd, and at the Etsy Made In Canada Sale on September 26th.  I'll keep you posted on those as they get closer.

Thanks for having a look!
Alice&Victor

Shop Update: A New Product!!

I launched a new product in my shop last week.  Years ago I sewed us a bag to fit a score pad & pen, a deck of cards, and our dice.  It's been so handy to grab when we want to play something at home, and we throw it in whenever we go camping or on a road trip; nice to have it all together and ready to go.  One thing I love about it is having a long term record in the score pad notebook - I love looking back at who played what when, and who won!  I thought of making some for Christmas gifts last year, and did make and give one, but thought they would be great to make for the shop, too.  I've got two finished and listed, and plan to have a bunch more available soon.

The fabric I used for those bags was leftover from a big project I did for my friend Holly.  She is a teacher, and is using tables instead of desks in her classroom.  She asked if I would make her 30 seat sacks - pockets that fit over the backs of the chairs to hold the student's books.

So that's what September has looked like from my sewing machine's point of view!  I've also been trying to build up a good stash of stock - the more you have in your shop the better you fare in search results, and also I am doing a sale in a couple of months, and want a good selection of each product for my table there.

Studio Shots

The kids and I were downstairs playing after lunch and it struck me as funny, all the different things I had on the go on my sewing counter.

This is a custom order camera strap cover I just finished.  There is a fitted version of this in the shop, but this girl wanted one of the scrunched styles.

A baker's dozen coffee cozies.  I've had this fabric sorted and ready to go for a long time, but finally got around to putting it together.  They just need buttons.

These are going to be mini zip pouches.  They are from basic grey charm packs, just like the coffee cozies above, which means narrower bags than I've been making, and each side, and each side of the liner inside, will be a different print.  I hope they turn out as fun as I think they'll be.  They are cut and interfaced and just waiting for zippers.

This stack will become handwarmers eventually.  I'll sew a few here and there and hope to have them all done by the fall.

I found this jellyroll at my local fabric shop yesterday and thought it was perfect for camera strap covers.  There will be 10, and they will have different prints on each side.  Can't wait to finish these and show them off!!

And a pile of magic bag covers to sew up.  I've made at least one of each fabric, so they're all listed, but I would like to get them all sewn up and ready to ship off.  I have to keep up my stash of the actual wheat filled bags, too - those were also out and sitting on the bucket of wheat on the floor.  Oh, now what to work on next.  That's the fun part of this 'job' - I get to pick!

I've also got this little bit of inspiration sitting out there as a reminder.  Thanks for coming on the little tour!  What are you making these days??

What to do when you buy the wrong ribbon.

We got a 'prayerline' email the other day from our church, and one of the people to pray for was a dear lady who was in the hospital.  I thought I'd send her a little card and let her know how special she was to me, but I had no cards.  Sigh.  So today I made some.  And she'll get one of them asap!

I've been having fun making bookmarks lately, (and have a bunch listed in my shop here), so I stocked up on ribbon at Michael's a couple of weeks ago. 

I didn't realize till I got home, though, that one package (the biggest bunch that I got, of course) was adhesive backed.  They wouldn't work for the bookmarks, but I decided to keep them for other projects.  Like this one.

I pulled out my box of blank cards (you can get these sets at Walmart, Michaels, Chapters), the adhesive ribbon, my flower stash, and a couple packages of self adhesive gems.  The flowers all had gem centers already.

It was super simple - I picked a card base that went with flowers I had, picked the best ribbon to go with it, and added a few gems on some of them.

Why it works: Any design is more satisfying to the eye when you follow the rule of thirds.  Slap that ribbon down with one third of the card on top and two thirds on the bottom and you're halfway there.  Then remember that things groups in threes are often more visually appealing, and it practically makes itself.

Once again, nothing fancy, but nice to have around when you want to send a little note:

By Special Request...

In January I had two sales through Etsy plus one custom order that I'm still working on, one sale through Used Regina, and one custom order coming from that, I had one "Can you make this?" from a friend, and some little things that I made for Madeline.  So it was not too busy, but all over the map as far as what I was doing.

Bows for M - Madeline asked if I could take her shopping because she wanted new bows.  I had a look at one of hers, told her I could probably make them for her, and let her have a look through my stash.  The backings came in a package of four, so this is what she got.

Custom size magic bags - (forgot to take a picture...) The fellow who bought three magic bags emailed the next week saying a coworker saw him using one at work, and wondered could I make them twice as wide?  I was happily in between buying fabric and cutting it all up, so it worked out fine.  I've made one extra long, a couple of squares for a lady who was happy with the old size she had, but needed new ones, some small 'across the forehead for migraines' bags, and a handful of half size 'kid-sized' bags, but this is the first time I've done ones so big.  At $25 each, I'd do them again.

Boot shapers - a lady from church who has bought a number of things from me in the past sent me a link from another Etsy shop wondering if I could make 'something like this.'  It was a pair of boot shapers - have you ever seen these before?  I don't think I have, but I also keep my one pair of tall boots laying flat, so haven't thought of the need for something like that.  I played around with some stuff I had and came up with something that worked for her, and who knows?  It might be something that would sell well at a winter craft sale - one to keep in mind, anyway, especially when I see fabric on sale...

Zip pouch with dividers - The request for this was from a girl who wanted separate compartments for her quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies.  Obviously American - we would need one more compartment.  Add Toonies and Loonies and take away the pennies!  The first attempt at this was a learning experience - a little stiff.  This is the second try, but the dividers are still too loose fitting for my liking.  She can take it or leave it, but I'm not spending any more time on something that won't make me much.

What are you making these days??

An Etsy Update

December 10 marked two months of having my Etsy shop up and running.  I wanted to take some time to look back, figure out the stats and think about what I've learned. 

My first two sales were to people I knew, but the third and fourth were to strangers - that felt like success!  (Five of the 12 total orders so far have been to people I know.)  The first sale was 11 days after opening.  The first month had three orders. 

Some orders were for multiple items; this is the summary of what I've sold through Etsy in these past two months:

Wheat Bags - 11
Zip Pouches - 3
Coffee Cozies - 2
Camera Strap Covers - 1
Handwarmers - 7 sets
Bean Bags -  1 set
 
It's encouraging to see that I've sold at least one of everything I offer... it also shows that the wheat bags and handwarmers are the best sellers!  I've got 13 more pairs beside me in the works as I type.

To compare, these are the sales for the same amount of time that were not through Etsy.  These numbers include:

• my only craft sale of the year - a table at a women's event in Winnipeg that I wasn't even at!
• an order for 60 coffee cozies to a local coffee boutique
• three orders through Used Regina / Kijiji
• many were because people were made aware of what I sell when I began promoting it

Wheat Bags -29
Zip Pouches -3
Coffee Cozies - 72
Camera Strap Covers -2
Handwarmers - 4 sets
Bean Bags - 2 sets

So 25 items sold through Etsy out of 137 total...  Still, it's been a great opportunity to brand my little sewing habit and have an excuse to sew different items.  I've been thrilled with this experience and have a couple ideas for new products to add after the holidays.  I'll be sure to give you the first peek here!

The Etsy shop also provides a good upsell to orders from Used Regina or Kijiji - I only list my wheat bags on those sites, but when someone sends me a message asking about them, I can direct them to my shop in case they see something else they'd like to pick up at the same time.  The last girl that came wanted 4 bags, and left with two sets of handwarmers, too.

I am figuring out the whole shipping thing, estimating and adjusting, ordering packaging materials and making friends with the post office ladies.  *Rookie tip: go to the same post office all the time so the workers get to know you.  Oh, and I got a small business card that saves me 5% on shipping with Canada Post - my first piece of plastic with Alice&Victor on it!!  So exciting.

People can make treasuries or collections on Etsy - I was featured in one made by another Regina Etsian.  That was kind of exciting... Etsy is like many other online worlds in that some people are slightly addicted.  You can follow people and shops and see what they are liking and making, and some people you see on there lots.  Obviously more activity and interaction in the forums gets you noticed, but moderation is key.

So there are a few bits about my first two months - I think beginning just before Christmas was a winner time, but here's hoping the new year is just as fun & profitable!

Welcome Alice&Victor to Etsy!

It's a big day, everyone!  I've been getting set up for a couple of weeks and I'm ready to show you the 'finished' product... my new shop!
 

Alice and Victor are the kids' middle names, both named after loved grandparents.  I figured it would be a name I wouldn't grow tired of.  :)  In trying to come up with a description (because Alice&Victor says nothing about what I sell), I realized that useful and colourful described pretty much everything I make.  And seeing all that fun colour when I use them lifts my spirits a bit, so I threw in playful... a better word than happy, I think!

I am thrilled that I have items selling in retail shops and through word of mouth and online sites like UsedRegina; I set up a shop of Etsy as another outlet to sell the goods I sew. I'm not expecting it to be a huge income generator, but a place where my goods can be found by people who are searching for them.

My business cards are ordered and now I have to figure out how to re-package some of my things with the new branding.  I chose the blue/grey background and dark blue letters because what I make is usually so colorful.  For a while I had brightly colored and patterned cards, and while I really liked them, they were often too busy and clashed with the goods themselves. I think these will go fabulously with what I make - I like that the font is a little playful, too.

I'll sign off here, because I know you want to click over and check it out, ha ha... As I put Nolan down for his nap today, I told him I was going to go rest, too, and he told me 'Nap.' I think that might be a good idea... Later, friends!