Busy, Busy, Busy

Most of this past weekend was spent getting ready for the Sketchworks Art Mart on Saturday, and I feel like I was pretty productive. Saturday was not productive, however, in that respect, but it was still a fun day. We went to the Inman Park Festival, and it was great! Bought a cute little dress for Pookie (which I forgot to take pics of) from hipkiddie and a matching hairclip from Poopadoop. I'll be sure to post pics of the model in her new outfit soon. I also got the requisite kettle corn...man I love that stuff. So we walked around and got all worn out, then pretty much napped the rest of the day. That Market is so huge, and there are so many fun things to see. The food prices were ridiculous though: $18 for 3 corn dogs and 2 lemonades. That's almost as bad as Turner Field! Anyway...

I had taken off work on Monday to do a few things, and I was happy with the result. My embroidery machine was working hard almost all day. I finished 2 burp cloths, and 5 or 6 bibs. Of course I didn't take any pics last night or this morning, so I'm waiting for my VP of Marketing & Promotion (aka; my hubby) to take some today while I'm at work. Lots of cute stuff!

**EDIT** Pictures!
Here are the bib designs I was working on yesterday...Aren't they cute?

I was doing a bit of Etsy shopping (Etsy-ing?) last week and stumbled on this fabric, and I had to have it:


It's from Luminous Threads, and she has a ton of wonderful fabrics! I'm loving the Heather Ross stuff right now, so there may be some goldfish and/or bicycle fabric in my future. In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out what to do with my new gnome fabric. Suggestions?

Beer, Badge Clips, and Promos...

They are three unrelated items, and I would have liked to have stuck with the alliteration, just because I think alliteration is cool, but I couldn't think of a B word for promotional items. Can you?

About the beer...there is an awesome seller on Etsy named Tracy, and she has a shop named The Homespun Raven. She makes really nice signs and shelf sitters with fun sayings, and I had to have one. My husband is an avid beer drinker; not just a casual, hey I'm going to have a beer-type drinker, but he really gets into the science of it, and actually brews his own. So I thought, a sign with the famous Ben Franklin quote would be a perfect "just because" gift. Aren't I a swell wife? Here is what Tracy produced for me:

Isn't it great? We just got it in the mail yesterday, and I love it, and more importantly, my hubby loved it too. Go visit her shop! She has lots of great stuff, and does custom orders, too. http://thehomespunraven.etsy.com/.

Badge Clips: In my day-job, I work for a large corporation here in Atlanta, and we're very secure. We have to scan badges to get into each building, and there are lots of them. So that means that everyone here has an id badge, and most likely a badge clip to go with it. They're all pretty boring, at least the ones that I've seen, whether they have a company logo on them, or not. Poking around Etsy, I've seen some pimped up badge reels, so I was like, I could do that, with my embroidery machine (I think it needs a name) by my side. I formulated a plan yesterday while I was at work, then when I got home and after putting Pookie to bed, I went to work. This is the end result:

I like it so much better than the ol Security logo that was on there before. Adds a little splash to something I have to carry around constantly. I'm thinking of offering them to employees, and a few may show up on Etsy, I haven't decided on that one yet.

Promos: Since we have a few markets coming up, I've been trying to think of something good to use as a promotional item. I would love to do magnets that are big enough to put the biz name and website on, but I want a Tecre button machine to do that, and those are expensive (I do have a birthday coming up - hint, hint). I do have my lovely Xyron machine that can make anything into a magnet, so my dream of magnets may still be realized. Still working on that one. Anyway, my new fascination with Mod Podge yielded some fun art clips (clothespins with pretty paper on them), so I wrote the website on there with one my many trusty Sharpies, and glued on a magnet. Ta da!

I love Sharpies. They can do anything. Now we have pretty clothespin magnets with the website on them to giveaway. I need to break out my stash of paper and make up some more. They can't all be purple. Or can they?

It's Almost Grilling Season...

I know this doesn't really have much to do with the main focus of Sugar Plum Delights, which is stuff for babies and kids, but I thought this design was cool, and I couldn't wait to stitch it out. So, I present the "Grill King" Apron:

And a closeup:

Isn't it fun? I thought this would be a perfect gift for Father's Day! There are so many wonderful embroidery designs out there that I'm finding it hard to limit myself to items for children. I might have to move "other" items to another shop. We shall have to see! Anyway, this apron is not currently available in the shop, but if you're interested, please email me. I'm thinking of offering customization on these as well. So your Grill King can have a personalized apron of his very own! Keep an eye out for towels with this design coming soon. Birthday season is coming up in our family, so this might be a winner all around (Katie: shhhh!).

These aprons, as well as some I'm working on for the ladies, will be available at upcoming markets. Come and check us out!

Burps Galore!

Does three or four burp cloths qualify as "galore"? Exactly what is the number of something to be considered galore? I'm not sure, but I think this qualifies. I'm on a burp cloth kick. After arguing with my embroidery machine the other night (I won), I was able to produce these lovelies:

I was really happy with the way they turned out. "Hannah" was the first one I did, and I decided that I placed the design too high. "Addison" was a little better, and finally on "Boy" I hit it just right. I think they're super cute with the ribbon on the bottom. And much easier to deal with (in my opinion) than a fabric bottom. In case you're wondering, these do have a purpose. Hannah is expected to arrive May 5 to my friend Heather in Orlando (don't look Heather!), and Addison is my cousins new little girl. The Boy cloth I just thought was a cute design, and it's now available in the shop. I decided to do a bib to match, and they're available as a set:

Bibs are new to me, but I thought this one was easy, so be on the lookout for more bibs popping up! Next I need to order some bloomers/diaper covers and see how those do. I'm also looking for a cute "Girl" definition to go with the "Boy". Any suggestions? Hey wait a minute, this could be a contest...I'll have to think on that one. Stay tuned!

Mondays, Home Cooked Dinners and more...

Ah, Monday. The day after Sunday when it's hard to drag yourself out of bed and get back into the routine. Fortunately, it's a little lighter in the mornings now, so it doesn't seem like you're getting up to go to work in the middle of the night. That is a definite positive. It's still difficult, though. But I'll keep on until someday (ah, someday) when I can quit the dayjob and actually do something I like to do all day. Hope springs eternal!

Speaking of liking what you do all day, my partner-in-crime/sister-in-law Katie has started up a little business of her own, and I'm really excited for her. From her flyer:

"At the end of a busy day when you don't have time to cook for your family, wouldn't it be nice to have a prepared, home cooked meal, ready to pull out and put on the table? Consider these simple (kid tested and approved) meals from Katie's Kitchen. Let Katie do the work for you and make dinnertime at your house a little less stressful for a change."

She's offering two different sizes of meals; the Small serves up to 3 people, and the Large serves 4-6 people. I can personally attest to Katie's skills in the kitchen. When we first brought my daughter home from the hospital, we had 3 or 4 meals of hers in the freezer, and everything was very quick and easy to prepare, and most importantly, yummy! For more information, visit her website: http://www.katieskitchenonline.com/.

In other news, I've been working on my embroidery machine skills, and I think I might be getting the hang of it. I have so many ideas I want to put into action, and not enough time! I did recently buy some blank aprons, so be on the lookout for those soon! I've gotten lots of great designs and can't wait to use them. Want a sample? Of course you do!

I think this one is perfect for Father's Day..I bought black bib aprons to put this design on. Isn't it fun? Be on the lookout for this to be in the shop soon!

Short Update

This is going to be a short one. Just wanted to update the calendar to note that there is no Northside Farmer's Market this weekend, unfortunately. Apparently there weren't enough farmers available on that date, so the whole thing had to be cancelled! Farmers are busy this time of year, so it does make sense. But, we will be at the Sketchworks Art Mart in Decatur on Saturday May 3! This is a new one for us, but it sounds like a lot of fun. Come out and see us!

Sketchworks Art Mart
Saturday May 3, 11am - 5pm
3041 North Decatur Rd
Decatur, GA 30079
-North Decatur Rd between Dekalb Industrial and E. Ponce

More details will be listed as they come in!

Fabric Fridays!

I'm starting a new feature today, Fabric Fridays! I love fabric so much, I wish I could buy bolts of all my favorites. I also love poking around on Etsy and looking at all the great fabrics people have for sale. So today I was shopping around, and after buying some ribbon I probably don't need, I decided to look at fabrics. My, oh my. So many fun prints! These were a few of my favorites:

When I saw these two prints, I thought of my mom. She collects tea pots and loves to drink tea..

I know they don't coordinate, but now I'm thinking, well, I could just make her two bags for her to carry around her stuff, or maybe an apron that she would probably never wear.... hmmm. These two lovely fabrics are available at My Heart and Sew. They also have lots of other fun prints I'm having a hard time resisting.

Spring is upon us here in Atlanta, and there's tons and TONS of pollen laying around to prove it. I found this super-cute bright and cheery non-pollenating flower fabric at It's My Notion:

I just love it! Makes me think of a cute little girl dress, or maybe a tag blanket with comfy fleece or minky on the back. This is all going to get me in trouble, I can tell! Maybe this idea of featuring fabrics once a week isn't a good idea after all!

April!

Wow, it's April. I'm still trying to figure out where March went, but I guess when you're sick for a month, you lose track of time! Anyway, I realized I hadn't posted anything in a week, and thought I better catch up!

Katie and I are planning on doing the Northside Drive Farmer's Market on April 12th, which is only next Saturday. Yikes! Katie's been knitting like a fiend while I am running behind. I haven't put together a single tutu yet! I'm just hoping the market goes off without any problems, since as far as I know there hasn't been any advertising. This worries me! So we may or may not be out there next Saturday. I'm going to look into the Peachtree Road Farmers Market as well, and see what they have to offer.

I've slowly but surely been practicing embroidery. It's so much fun, I wish I had more time to do it! So far I've done my little key fobs, seen in a previous post. I was very excited when a few of them sold on Etsy! I'll have to whip up some more for upcoming markets. I've also done my first burp cloth:

I was really happy with the way it came out, I think it's super-cute. I want to do some basic non-personalized burps to have available at markets, so people don't have to wait for me to do a custom job. And it's always fun to be able to take something home right away! I also thought of just doing initials, any comments on that? I want to do up bibs that way as well. Let me know what you all think!

Aside from those little things, I've made up some more clippies:

I love the colors on these, I think they're lots of fun for Spring. They would be great to mix and match and make your own sets! They're available in the shop now. Get them while they're hot!