MadBags :: handmade bags & more!

Ooh la la! My creative sister

I think I've mentioned in the past that I have a creative sister.  She has taught me a LOT of what I know about sewing and one day I hope to be as good as she when it come to sewing.  She asked me to post a few pes files she created so that anyone can have them for free.  She tried to post them somewhere else and had a little trouble and then thought she would give me a little bit of free advertising posting it here.  Of course, how can I say no to that??? 

If you monogram, you will love these designs!  Here is a picture of her daughter, (my sweet niece), wearing an outfit she put the designs on. 

I just wish they were .art files so I could use them!!! 

Download bistro_chair_left.pes

Download bistro_table.pes

Download bistro_chair_right.pes

Download eiffel_tower.pes

Download eiffel_tower_bush_left.pes

Download eiffel_tower_bush_right.pes

Download ooh_la_la.pes

Download shopping_girl.pes

I made a nap mat!

I was up until 3 am this morning working on this little number. I know that sounds crazy but once I start a project, I HAVE to finish it. Maddie has to  have a nap mat for school and now that I have the tools, I wanted to make her a special one! When I showed her this morning, Jaden asked why he didn't have one like that? See he had one of those ugly red and blue plastic ones and I had to explain that I didn't know how or the stuff to make one back then. Mainly he likes things to be fair. He's all about it. This time I just had to remind him he gets all kinds of cool stuff too from time to time when Maddie doesn't and he seemed satisfied. After we got past that, Maddie wanted to inspect it, hold it, and fold it back up, oh and of course, lay in it.

I think she likes it! I'm glad too because it was a doozy to make! I didn't have a pattern and I have never used binding before but I'm very pleased with it and I didn't have to pay $60-$99 for it either. I was so surprised when I first started looking for one at how much they cost. There is a lady about an hour a way that makes them for $30 but they are all either character prints or fabric that fades when washed. I don't like character prints and I wanted something that would look great even after several washes so I decided to just make one myself. Upon close inspection you will see that the binding is not real pretty, but it looks great from far away! And also, I'm not fond of using batting... you out there who quilt are amazing. I never get out all the gaps. The bias tape binding was a little easier once I watched this funny video from The Angry Chicken. She is a hoot. (Carla I bet you will laugh a lot when you watch it since you sew.)

Oh, I almost forgot! I made a little adjustment to the normal mats I have seen. I made a small pillow that can be taken out when washing the mat. This way the pillow fluff won't get all yucky and lumpy after washing.

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You can see how excited Mad was about it. And of course it has her name on it, which she loves.

Come see me at the Market Street Festival this Saturday

I hope you will be able to come out Saturday and enjoy all the activities planned at Market Street.  You can find out all about it here! This coupon will be good for Market Street only so print it out and bring it with you, and only good for madbags items. 

For all of you that will not be able to attend, plan on visting my online shop May 5 for a SUPER TUESDAY SALE! I'll post the details after Saturday.  I may even have another giveaway...

Some things you may not know about me...

1.  I like lists.  I make lists all the time.  My husband is the opposite when it comes to list-making and doesn't understand my obsession.  I make lists for what I'm going to do for the day, what I need to buy at the store, fabric lists, price lists, whatever it is, I'm gonna make a list for it.  Does it help me?  Sometimes.  I am a visual person so I need to have those reminders to help me accomplish my goals.  Most of the time though,  I don't get finished with everything I needed to accomplish and then I'm just ill about it.  Do I keep making lists, yes!  It's what I do.

2.  I like organization.  I like a clean house.  I like everything in its place.  Don't just come over unannounced though because the house will probably be a wreck.  My workroom stayed nice and pretty for about a week, maybe two.  Now, for the most part, it looks like this-

            

My fabric scrap bins stay full, well over-full really, and anytime I have a show coming up (Market Street Festival... May 3... you know you want to come see me) my studio is in complete shambles.  I don't have a lot of storage area for completed items so my dining room usually holds the overflow.  I actually cleared off the dining table last night and we had breakfast this morning.  Yummy pancakes. 

3.  I really love food.  The thought of pancakes reminded me of this fact.  I love all kinds of food.  As for sweets, I'm not so much into chocolate but I love sugar.  Hard candy is the BEST.  This is all I'm gonna say because if I don't stop, I'll have to go fix me something.

4. I'm cheap.  I mean really cheap.  It's really hard for me to make big purchases.  For the first two years of MadBags,  I used my very first sewing machine that I got when I was 9 or 10.  It's a Kenmore.  Great machine by the way.  Anyway, I also had another machine that a friend had loaned me when her mother passed away and she had no interest in sewing.  Some of you know that both of those machines died, well temporarily (I've had them fixed just recently).  I had wanted an embroidery/sewing machine for years but just couldn't stomach the price.  When both my machines quit on me, (you can read about it here) in the same week no less,  I had to bite the bullet and get a new one.  It was time.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Bernina.  I was, however, sick for a long time afterwards thinking about how much it cost.  And it's not just big stuff that makes me queasy.  I will search long and hard for the best price/quality on everything before buying. 

5. I am a Diet Dr. Pepper addict and I hate water.

6. I am non-confrontational.  I loathe public speaking.  My husband is a minister and is totally comfortable speaking to large crowds, whatever.  I am extremely content to blend in with the crowd.  Of course I'm claustrophobic so I'll probably be blending in with the edge of the crowd.  Makes my escape much easier...hee hee.  In college, I had to take Speech.  Let me just say that I was in the bathroom everyday before that class.  I really like what I do because I can work alone in my studio and make contact via the internet which is much easier for me.  Shows are a little stressful for me but it's good for business so I just grin & bear it.  If you saw the newspaper article I was in, you'll see that I had to be interviewed.  The author of the article originally contacted me through email and asked if she could interview me.  I wrote back, can we do it over email???  She said, I'd like to call and speak to you.  I said ok... I was nervous from then on.  I even asked Paul if he thought it would be ok if I asked my best friend to talk to her as me and answer the questions for me.  He was like, uh, no Sara, you have to be the one the do it.  Get over yourself and do it.  Ok he didn't say that last part but I'm sure that's what he was thinking.   So I did it.  I sweated all the way through it with my death grip on the receiver.

7.  I have been working on some new things.  Surprise, I've made a list of them...

• I have the Ginger Blossom line from Michael Miller listed in my shop
• I am now making cute boutique aprons.  I wear mine everyday in the studio.

   

• I just got in a ton of these sippy cups that you can personalize.  They are so cute!  I wish my kids were still small enough to use them.  No wait, that means diapers.. ok so maybe I don't.

• I also ordered baby bloomers and baby boxers to personalize. 

• All these things (with the exception of fabric) and more will be available at my Market Street booth! 

 

Sushi Wraps

I made my own sushi last night.  Yes I know it's not pretty, but it was really good!

 

I found this little kit at Walmart about a month ago and finally got up the nerve to try it out last night.  It comes with rice, the seaweed wrap, and soy sauce.  All you have to do is add your favorite ingredients.  I made asparagus rolls.  I just heated up the rice the kit provided in the microwave, steamed some asparagus, spooned the rice onto the tine wraps, added the asparagus, a tiny bit of mayo, and some sliced almonds, then rolled it all up.  YUMMY!  I'm going to try it next time with bigger wraps so it will look better. 

I may even go all out and buy a bamboo mat to roll it up with.  The kit was great for me though since I know NOTHING about making sushi.  It was alot easier than I thought it would be.  I had some leftover shrimp sauce that I used to to go with it. 

Been getting alot of monogramming done. Thank you to all my friends and family placing orders so I can practice!  I'm starting to get the hang of things.  I'm learning what stabilizers to use, how to adjust tension, when to use toppings/backings, etc.  I don't get so nervous about it and I believe it may actually be fun one day :)

   

NOW Monogramming

I've got my machine up and running!  Been doing alot of work for friends and family to figure everything out.  I am now available to anyone that needs it! 

I made a bag for my daughter (it started out as an easter basket bag, but ended up WAY too big so now it's a cute overnight bag) I still don't know what happened with my measurements...  I guess I just got carried away.  Luckily she is going to a sleepover birthday party tomorrow night and will have the cutest bag to take with her ;) I'll have to post a picture when I find what folder I stashed it in...

On a completely different note-

Throughout today, I will be posting new listings in my shop.  For those of you that were not able to attend Cooper's Closet a few weekends back, you can use this coupon:

Mention the code above in the notes section upon checking out and WAIT for a revised invoice before making payment.  I will take the best discount.

There are a few exclusions:

1. Coupon cannot be used with any monogramming listing

2. Coupon cannot be used with custom orders such as contacting me directly for one

OR purchasing a "Pick your own fabric" listing

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Also, to those of you that were asking about the tampon hide-away cases.  Hmm.  I like the sound of that... I am working on a slightly different design so that I can list it in my shop without infringing on the design by threegreenapples.  If you are interested in the one I have previously posted about, shoot me an email and I'll get one made up for you.  I'm going to sell them for $10 plus shipping.  My new design may be a little bit higher but not by much.