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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Introducing... Alice&Victor !!

Last week I mentioned that I was thinking about opening a shop on Etsy... Well, this past week I did it!

Alice&Victor

It took me so long to come up with a name... I love this one, though - it's the kid's middle names.  I'm excited to show you the shop header that I'm working on.  Hopefully soon!

That's why I haven't been writing much this past week; my spare time has been spent dreaming up this new shop and reading up on all the stuff I need to know to open.  I took the plunge and the first step of actually creating my Etsy shop the other day, and am in the process of coming up with the design / look and am starting to list some items. 

I just came in from a little product photo shoot in the back yard to get more pictures of my goodies - Madeline said she was watching me out the window for a bit and that I look like a pro!  Ha!  I did pick up two pieces of white foam board at the dollar store the other day for a makeshift lightbox; propping them up on a lawn chair together with the use of my reflector seemed to work ok - I'll know once I have a look on the computer if I need to adjust anything.

So mark your calendars and get ready to shop! October 10 is the date I am planning to launch this thing.  Thanks to so many of you for being supportive of me and my little shop in the past. (And another one - in the comments of my last post a friend said she found me another place to sell!  I appreciate you, Deb!)

Little Pouches!

I've been wanting to sew some little pouches for a while now, and have a whole bunch of tutorials pinned and waiting... I finally jumped in, and made a whole bunch! I'm in love with these little beauties!

I love the bright colors, the colorful zippers, and the fun linings.  The orange with blue is in my purse, and I've given my mother-in-law one that is red with an orange inside.  It was special because it had zig zag stitching to fix the cut on the lining piece where Nolan practiced cutting with scissors.  I guess I shouldn't have taught him sitting at the sewing desk, but it made for a memorable fun little bag.

Click on over to the shop to see each one, if you'd like.  The shipping on these would be pretty cheap.  Just saying.  I've got more in the works already.

Thought I'd show you something else I finished recently.  These bibs are upcycled from an old towel - super solf, but the ends were frayed.  I used a bib my mom had made as a pattern and finished with bias tape and velcro.  They're great.

Lastly, a couple of better shots of the camera straps I made.  I'm going to have a table at the Women's Wellness Day at my family's church in Winnipeg at the beginning of November, so if you're planning to be there, you can pick something out in person.  There will be magic bags, coffee cozies, the little pouches and the camera straps.

Cards for Sale & Quilty Coffee Cozies

Holly:  Do you sell thank you cards?

Me: I never have, but there's a first time for everything!  How many?

It's always nice to have an excuse to make stuff!

I also did a little sewing this weekend with this great pack I picked up.  If I don't find somewhere to sell them retail, there's always something that comes up (like the Maranatha Women's Wellness Day?), so I'm happy to have a stash on hand.

Shop Update

Just a peek at the new magic bag covers I've got; my fabric store had a couple of sales recently, so I added these:

and these:

 

to these:

(I added the numbers for ease of ordering; you can find all the details if you click the shop tab above.)

**********

It looks like my coffee cozies may have found a retail outlet, and I haven't even started looking yet!  Carla was using hers today when she went to the museum (she is their bookkeeper), and the gift shop owner, who already sells my magic bags, asked her where she got it.  She's interested - after inventory is done! - so I have a few weeks to build up a stash of those as well.

Shop Update!

Just a quick note to say that I've finally got my shop updated with all the stuff I have on hand right now.  Have a look!  There are magic bags, coffee cozies, bean bags, baby tag toys, and magnets.  I will also do aprons to order.

Homemade Christmas... Not This Year!

With the wee man around, I made the easy decision that I would not be making the majority of the Christmas presents this year.  I don't know that I've ever made more than I've bought, but I do like to make as many as I can.  This year, not only did I just shop, but I shopped online for a bunch of it... so easy!! 

I did, however, have a big sewing session the week before Christmas.  I posted here about the coffee cozy I made myself, and here are the 10 I whipped up for my friend Holly:

I didn't have time to quilt them all like I did with mine, but had enough fun fabric that I made them doublesided - still works and looks great.

And the second side...

I will sew up a few more when I have some time; if you'd like one (for $4) let me know your favorite color and I'll make one up special for you.  Shipping will be way more reasonable than it would be for a magic bag, too...

A Silver Lining

In the spring, I was approached by someone who had seen my magic bags on Used Regina or Kijiji, asking if I would like to come and have a table at their vendor's market.  I planned to do that, but it ended up being cancelled.  So when she let me know it would be on again in September, in conjunction with the town fall festival, I started sewing again...

It was the worst sale I've ever been in.  Nobody came!  My guess is too many events scheduled for the day, and all the other stuff was more fun.  I sold a grand total of one item: a set of magnets for $2.  (I took magnets and poppycock to sell along with the bags.)

When I went to our credit union before hand to get a float for the sale, the friendly teller asked about it, and wanted me to bring a bag by for her; when I went to return the unused rolls of coin yesterday, I took her a few samples.  Later that afternoon, she called, asking me to bring more samples, because lots of the staff were interested and wanted to see some of the other fabrics...  So the ladies at the bank are going to make it worth my while to have gone to that sale.  Nice!

In the last two weeks, I have had three other orders for bags.  Word of mouth is a wonderful thing!  I've got the shop updated with all my current fabrics (and you'll notice that I've upped the price to $15.  Don't worry, I've still got my friends and family rate!) I'll post them here for you, too:

The Dad Collection (Dark, Argyle)

The Colors Collection (top: Yellow, Sky, Green bottom: Indigo, Purple, Teal)

The Fun Collection (Blue or Green Chevron, Frogs, Chickies)

The Red Collection (Strips, Dots, Flowers, Strips & Dots)

Belly Shots & a New Addition to the Shop!

A couple of shots of the little bump to show you - this first one I took last week, and the second one was on Sunday.  I like that it's got my family in the background...  Sean had golfed in the afternoon, and M and I got slurpees and walked around the lake, then watched a movie at home.  When Sean got back we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and spent the rest of the day outside.  Beautiful weather this week.

 

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I found some canvas in my studio that I bought a while ago to make a gift.  I used it all up and made some bags for the shop!  Sturdy canvas bags that are perfect for library books or the beach: I have two of the green & blue available, and another pink & black that has vertical stripes.  Only asking $8.

My Shop

I've added a new page to this blog story - look up at the tags under the header - see it there?  On the end? 

My Shop. 

I wanted to put a link on here somewhere to information about the magic bags I make, since they just keep selling, and I am happy to have the word spread.  And since I'm usually making something for someone and tend to make in multiples, I often have goodies left over.  I will list them there for your shopping enjoyment.  At present, I just have the bags and a tie onesie listed there, but I am working on some canvas bags and should have those photographed and listed soon.

Come visit my shop!

Mass Production: Magic Bags

My stash was getting low, so I picked up some new fabric last week, to have on hand if needed.  A few days later, I got an order from Winnipeg.  I'm sewing up a storm to have enough to take when we visit there next both for the order and to be able to leave a stash there, too.

Mass Production!

These are both so cute!  (Green Owls / Monsters)

The Circle Collection - flaps open and ready for the insides. (Green/Blue, Purple, White/Pink)

Sale ready.  (Dots, Pink Owls)

If you want any of these styles, let me know at followandlead (at) gmail (dot) com.  I'm always bringing in new fabrics, but nothing stays around too long!