MadBags :: handmade bags & more!

Sale!!! 25% off everything in the shop!

Many things have been happening and I've been contemplating a big change.  A decision has been made to close my Madbags Etsy shop in an effort to open a new shop with a new name.  It will still be me, and I will be carrying some of the same things I have always had.  The only difference will be the name and also the addition of some new products. 

 

The desire to create products that go beyond bags has always been in my mind but I have felt very limited with the name I currently possess.  The name Madbags came about rather quickly without the foresight of expansion.  I do plan on keeping the Madbags shop open for a while so that my past customers will be able to know where to go, as I have a notice there about the new shop. 

I will be having a sale starting today to clear out all of the Madbags inventory I have that is labeled with a Madbags tag.  (Any new item that has to be created, will not be included in the sale) 

 

Everything in the shop is now 25% off!

 

I suppose I should mention the new shop!  My new name is the Figg Boutique and you can get there by going to either www.figgboutique.com or www.figgboutique.etsy.com.  It may be a little while before I list any items, depending on how quickly I sell out of my current stock.  I'm also waiting on my new labels to arrive.  If you would like to be added to the new Figg Boutique newsletter you can send a request to [email protected]. I will be sending out either a monthly or quarterly email with news and info about special sales and savings. 

 

 

I'm back. well, sort of..

I finally updated my blog credit card and am now able to post on here again.  Been a WHILE. I'm hoping to have a summer sale soon so check back in the next week or so to find out all about it.

Holiday Sale Flyer

Take a look at what's to come!

  Working on some new styles and thought I would share them with you!  These are just a few of what I'll be showcasing at my trunk show this Saturday.  It's been a while since I've been motivated to make any bags but inspiration came and now my mind is in overdrive. 

Hope to see you at the show!!! 

 

Election Day - Get out there and VOTE!!!

Just got back from voting!  This is such a huge election- no matter what, take time to vote today!  

Halloween Fun

Winter Trunk Show

I'm having a trunk show this Saturday, from 5-8 p.m.  If you are in the area and would like to come, send me an email and I'll give you directions! 

There will be a door prize! 

I am a true fan.

3 years ago, our church offered a marriage class based on the His Needs, Her Needs book and we decided to take it.  It was wonderful and we learned alot about each other.  One of the things that we had to do during the course was go through a LONG list of activities and check off what we like to do together.  It was a huge disappointment when we realized how little we both actually enjoy doing with each other. 

A week later I had an epiphany (sorry if that is spelled incorrectly).  Paul was watching a football game and I had plopped down on the couch to watch it with him.  About halfway through the game, I screamed- "I like watching football with you!".  It hit me that whenever he was watching football I was drawn into the room.  We were so excited about finding something we like to do together and from that point on he started explaining how the game worked. Then he said, ok, now you have to pick a team.  I had always like watching Peyton Manning play, and after a few games into the season, I decided I really liked the Colts.  Can you believe that was the year they went to the Super Bowl and won?  It was pretty cool. 

Paul was raised in Nashville and is a huge TN Titans fan.  It's always been a ton of fun when we play each other because we do a ton of trash talking and really get into the rivalry.  Our birthdays are within a month of each other and instead of getting normal gifts, we bought each other tickets to the game Titans vs. Colts at Nashville. 

Sorry this ended up to be such a long story, but well, as you can see, it was a big game.  We stayed with the fam and went shopping as soon as we got into town for gear- 

  You think we got enough?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here we are all geared up and ready to go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drive over...

 

 

The field!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

86 minutes until kick-off!!!!

 

 

 

 

And sadly, at the end of the game, we lost 21-31.  As you can see, I was sad while my husband was not.   

 

We had THE BEST time though.  I hope we are able to do it again next year.

 

 

 

Borderline Pneumonia

 

Have you ever been sick and it seems like you just can't get well? That's how I've felt for 3 weeks. A couple days ago I was starting to feel a lot better and then yesterday, ALL day, either I was blowing my runny nose or sneezing my head off. Allergies right? That's what I though too since the weather is starting to change and it's getting cooler. So I took some benedryl before bed last night and woke up feeling really bad. My whole head was congested and it sent me into this kind of depression. Kind of like, I'm just never going to get better, might as well accept it...

Paul on the other hand was not convinced and made me go to the doctor. It took him about an hour to convince me because I'm always there for an hour or two and I certainly didn't want them to send me home with “It's viral, nothing we can do”. I have lots of work to do and it was going to interrupt my day. Of course this cold or whatever it is was doing that too.

So I went to the dr. and I'm glad I did. They pricked my finger, ran some tests, and came back with borderline pneumonia. I got some antibiotics and a shot in the rear and I was on my way. The pressure and congestion in my head are much better but the steroid shot is making me a little cranky.

On a totally different, way out there, kind of note- my son bought his very first cd the other night. He has a PSP that can play mp3's and has a ton that my husband put on there that he likes but this was his money and he got to choose it. You'll never guess what he bought. Boston- greatest hits. His favorite song? Long Time. I'm an eighties girl and I think its pretty cool that he got what he likes and not just what is popular right now. And I like it too. In fact I've already put it into my itunes. So, you may ask, how does he, a 9 yr. Old, even know about Boston? RockBand. He loved “More than a Feeling” and wanted to hear more.

Birthday Savings

Key Fobs

I have 4 scrap boxes.  Filled to the top with fabrics that are just waiting to become something special.  I decided to start making cute little key fobs and try to clear out some of the excess.  I've posted some in my shop today and will post more soon.

I'm seeing a little light coming through...

I have been working really hard this week on goals and I've come up with quite a few. 

 

1. I have been wanting to have another Winter Sale at my home like I did last year so one of my goals last week was to set a date.  This is a pretty important one.  I set a date for November 8th! Now all I have to do is get prepare to have enough inventory for that sale and also create invitations, etc. etc. Sounds easy right?

 

2. Set a date for a Winter Sale online, and also establish what the sale will be (discounts prices, what will actual BE on sale, etc.).  I still haven't decided on this one yet but it will have to be after my trunk show.  Maybe mid-November so that items can be shipped in time for Christmas. 

 

3. A daily goal of listing 6 items per day on Etsy.  This one is a challenge but I've been able to do it, so far.

 

4. Find out when my kids elementary bizarre is and if I want to be involved.  My friend Tiffany told me the forms were in so tomorrow I plan to go check it out.

 

5. Create a monthly newsletter to be sent out the first of every month.  This is an extremely large goal for me.  I am NOT really consistent so I'm hoping this will help me with that. 

 

6. Create some shop policies.  Etsy has a new feature for this and I've yet to add mine. 

 

7. Organize a list of products that I sell for parties, shows, etc. 

 

8. UPDATE MY BLOG site!  It is in much need of updating and it's just another thing that takes up time.  BUT, it still needs to be done. 

 

9. As I was gathering my thoughts together I thought really hard about cutting my fabrics down to maybe 10-12 fabrics that would be used for one year, but I've decided to wait for the Spring for that.  I just cannot afford to buy so much at this time and I have so much fabric now that needs to be used, I decided a more realistic goal would be to use the fabric I have until its gone.  This is probably going to be the hardest one since I have a love affair with fabric.  My concentration right now is going to be working towards paying off my debts before I make any more large purchases.  So if you want to see some new fabrics from me, start buying what I've got!! 

 

That's about it.  I've got some new things in my shop that you probably haven't see before.  Go check 'em out :)  The headbands up there are new too. 

It's a new day.

Last week I was really discouraged.  There were many reasons for that.  The biggest was probably that I am a woman and it was that time when I'm about to have my 'womanly' time.  That looks stupid.  Okay, so I'm was a few days away from starting.  For some reason, I didn't realize it, or maybe, subconciencely (how do you spell that?), I didn't want to acknowledge that my God given ability to bear children was the source of my poutiness.  I don't know really but whatever the reason I had the funk.  And I was mad at everybody.  My husband the most, bless him.  He has learned over the years though.  He used to say 'aren't you about to start' and that made me REALLY mad and then I'd be in denial for a few days until I did actually start.  He knows me so well that he just keeps his thoughts to himself and we are all better for it.  Why can't we admit why we feel so bad, or even think it could be the problem?  We women are weird sometimes.  I will admit that.

 

So the other reason I was down was that I felt like I never can get ahead.  On top of that, I feel like I don't have any real goals.  This whole business of bags started as a way to bring in some extra funds to do the extras.  Stuff for the kids mainly but also for me just to play with.  Now its still that, but more and I'm not sure where exactly I want to go from here.  I know I should have a goal but I'm really indecisive and making small decisions are difficult.  Ask my husband... no don't.  So this week, I've decided to make some goals.  I bought myself a planner and some new fabric as well.   I have made one major decision.  I've cut out offering custom orders online.  It really stresses me out and in the long run, I will survive without them.  I've given myself until this next Monday to put my goals down on paper and hopefully I'll share them with you and get some input.  So that's where I'm at.

 

Here is some of the new & old fabric I've just purchased and am itching to work with...  

I need a plan.

Seriously.  I am so easily distracted and even when I devote a whole day to my studio, I find myself lost with where to begin and what to actually DO.  I waste so much time thinking of what I need to do, I don't accomplish very much at all.  Then there's the internet.  Email, blogging, wholesale shopping, etc, etc. I decided today I need to make a plan, and not just in my head, but a well thought out, written plan. 

So no cute pictures today or any long note for today.  I'm getting m pen/paper and doing some much needed planning.  Wish me luck.

Day One- Biggest Loser

So my husband says to me, I going to take a 30-day challenge and lose some weight. I was like, ok, great.  Then our minister decided he would take the challenge along with him and make it like "The Biggest Loser" on tv.  I thought, you know, I would love to beat both of them, so I joined.  We now have, hang on let me count... 7 people in on the game and I believe it's been changed to a 60-day challenge.  I mean business people. Today was a good day and I'm optomistic for the coming days.  I actually drank all my water on the first day!!  This is huge for me since I absolutely HATE water.  We still haven't decided on a prize yet but hopefully it will be worthwhile. 

Still not back in the groove of things since Cooper's Closet.  I did clean up my studio and put most everything away today but it's still kind of chaotic in here.  I'd like to be productive tomorrow, especially since I will need something to take my mind off food.  Have I ever mentioned how much I like to eat?  Well, I do. 

Maddie had a birthday at the beginning of this month and I never posted about it so I'll do that now.  Mom let us break into her house (very brave woman let me add) to have a pool party for 11 little girls.  I made a cake to look like a pool/ocean/water? with ocean animals on it.  It turned out pretty cute, and it tasted pretty good too.  Gotta move on because now I'm thinking about cake... The best part was that all my family (all 3 sisters) were able to come up and celebrate with us.