The Sewing Mom

As I’ve said here before, I am working on selling what I sew, having my own small business. It’s definitely not easy, and one of the trickiest parts of starting a business is that you have to spend money before you can make money.

Spending money really comes into play when you consider the supplies you need. Of course, I have to purchase fabric and thread among other actual sewing items. But there are other items that have to be considered, including mailers, labels, and packaging supplies. I’m on a very limited new business budget, so it’s nice to know there is a place where I can get wholesale products at a great discount.

The truth is, anybody that knows me will tell you, I’d rather spend my money on fabric, so buying wholesale for other supplies allows me to do that!

Tags: wholesale products

How is it possible that I can feel that I accomplished quite a bit today, while at the same time, I feel like I got nothing done?

I got up this morning with good intentions.  I got the kitchen and family room all cleaned up and vacuumed.  I got the sheets washed.  I even changed light bulbs in the patio that had been burned out since we bought the house a year ago.  I spent a little time over a cup of coffee reading blogs and responding to comments and then I headed out to do errands.

I picked up more fabric at the quilt shop (another new bag will be made soon!).  I then went and picked up hair supplies for each member of our family and even stopped and bought dog food.  On my way home I made one last stop for groceries for tonight and tomorrow nights dinners and then came home.

I spent a couple of hours then on the computer dropping EC’s before starting dinner.  Now here we are, it’s after 8 and I haven’t even checked my email today, much less worked on any sewing project.  Perhaps that’s the problem, I haven’t sewn anything in almost a week and I have several projects that I’m in the middle of.  Maybe I need to focus on those this weekend.  Of course, if I’m sewing, then the yardwork won’t get done.  I’m feeling a bit torn tonight, maybe I just need a good nights rest.

Sorry for going on, I just need to talk myself through it!

No tags.

If you’re a reader of my blog or you’ve read the title of it, you know I sew. One thing I don’t sew is clothing. I’ll sew costumes, but not every day outfits, I just don’t enjoy it. So, that means, a shopping I must go.

I’m going to be attending my niece’s graduation from nursing school in a couple of weeks and I have no idea what to wear. I basically live in my capris and jeans and don’t really have much else that isn’t 15 years old. I don’t really want to buy anything that I won’t wear again, but maybe something I could wear out to a casual dinner. I really do not enjoy shopping for myself, so this could be a challenge.

I’m checking out the “Spring Event” at OhSoChicBoutique where I can find cute dresses and, if I use coupon code “SPringFling” at checkout, I’ll get a 15% discount. I’m hoping I can find something quickly so I won’t stress about what to wear!

What do you think is appropriate dress for this type of graduation?

Tags: OhSoChicBoutique.com

I missed this meme last week, but I’m not letting that happen again! Posting Four Foods on Friday means my weekend is just about to officially begin. This week has been rather busy for all of us, so I’m glad it’s Friday. This is a great meme, if you’d like to participate, give Valmg a visit!

This week’s questions:

#1. When going out to dinner what items do your order? Appetizers, soup, salad, dinner, dessert. I usually will have soup or a salad and dinner. There are certain restaurants that I look forward to ordering desert, but that doesn’t happen too frequently.

#2. How predictable are you when eating out? Do you usually order a meal that you’ve had before or do you like to try new things? That too depends on where we go. Some restaurants I tend to order the same thing, particularly Italian or Mexican. Others, I tend to order something different every time I go in.

#3. When eating at a restaurant, what beverage do you like to order with your meal? Most of the time I just get water or ice tea, but, depending on my mood, sometimes I’ll order a glass of wine. I’m cheap and don’t like paying the price of alcoholic beverages that I can have or make at home!

#4. Name a meal that you ate at a restaurant that you liked so much you tried to recreate it, as well as the name of the restaurant and the recipe. I don’t have a meal that I’ve tried to recreate, but I did try to recreate the bread pudding that our local KFC used to have on their buffet. I’ve never been successful at making it though, so really don’t have a recipe to share. However, if anyone knows a good, sweet bread pudding recipe, I’d love it if you’d share it with me. In fact, I’ll post it here if you share it!

Tags: Four Foods on Friday, meme

I’ve been out shopping and running errands this morning. My first stop was the quilt shop (of course) where I spent way too much money, but love the fabrics I bought! I was also looking for Mother’s Day gift ideas for my mom and my step-daughter. My step-daughter will be celebrating her very first Mother’s Day this year. I know it will be very special for her, her husband will ensure that. I was thinking of something we could do that would make it an even more memorable occasion for her.

I was looking at unique gifts, something they wouldn’t buy for themselves, but something they could cherish for many years to come. I am considering a portrait painting like this one.

I can choose any photo and then upload it or mail it to Paintyourlife.com where they will create a portrait using the medium of my choice, pencil, acrylic, watercolor or charcoal. Once they’ve completed the portrait, an image of it uploaded for me to view. If I’m not completely satisfied, they’ll make changes. This process continues until I give final approval and then the portrait will be shipped.

I’m just waiting for my husband to come home so we can select which phtograph to use. It may be difficult to choose, only because she’s such a beautiful baby, and very photogenic! I’m also considering having a portrait made using my own daughter’s baby picture.

What do you think?  Have you ever had a professional portrait made?

Tags: paintyourlife.com, professional portraits